Soda's POV

There was a sudden silence when Pony said he couldn't fell his legs. Was he paralyzed? What was wrong?

"Pony, wiggle your toes for me, please." The doctor said.

Pony made a concentrating face and tried to wiggle his toes. I looked down at his feet. Nothing.

"Thank you, Pony. You get some rest now. Mr. Curtis, I'd like to speak to you for a moment, please." The doctor said.

Darry got up to follow him out, and I joined them.

"I'll be right back, Pony." I said before I closed the door.

"It's worse than I thought. Apparently, the burns on his lower legs are so bad that they killed off the nerve endings in his leg. He more than likely will not be able to walk again. The good thing is that he won't feel any pain in his legs." The doctor said.

I gripped Darry's arm. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Pony...not being able to walk?

"Will you need to amputate his legs?" Darry asked, his voice hoarse.

"Not at this time. I hope that the burns will heal nicely. There is still a chance that he can have some mobility, but it isn't likely. I'm sorry to give you such news like this. I know it must be hard for you. Should Pony ask, the kids he saved all made it out okay. He didn't get to two of them, though. The fire fighters did, but one didn't make it."

One didn't make it? Pony would really blame himself for that.

"What should we tell Pony?" I asked, nearly crying.

"I think you'll know what to tell him, when the time is right."

The doctor walked off and Darry and I stood there for a few minutes.

Darry took me in his arms and we hugged each other. I had no idea how to tell Pony this.

Darry's POV

Soda and I walked back into Pony's room. He was looking off to the side when we came in. He looked weak and scared.

"Hey, baby." I said as I sat down beside him on the bed. I leaned his head against me and stroked his hair.

Soda sat on the other side of Pony's bed. He moved some of Pony's wires across his lap so he wouldn't bother them

"Did...the kids...get out?" Pony asked after he pulled his oxygen mask away.

"Um...yeah, about that. You were really brave, Pony. I'm proud of you."

"The kids?" Pony said again. I sighed.

"You got all but two out. The fire fighters got them out, but...one didn't make it."

Pony looked away from me and I saw the tears form in his eyes.

"Hey, look at me." I said, placing my finger under his chin and turning his face so he'd look at me. "You did all you could. You got those kids out. If you hadn't done anything, it would have been more than one. Don't go blaming yourself for that."

Pony nodded, but the tears still fell down his face. Soda reached his hand over and wiped at the tears with his thumbs.

"It's okay, Pony." Soda said softly.

He started having trouble breathing, even with the mask on.

"Shh. Calm down, Pony. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth."

Soon his breathing calmed, but tears still flooded his face.

"What...happened...to my legs?" Pony croaked out.

"They got burned, honey." I said, holding him closer to me.

"Will they be okay?" He asked, looking up into my eyes with so much hope, I nearly cried.

"I don't know, baby. I don't know."

Two-Bit's POV

"I'll get it!" I hollered from the kitchen. For once, I was at my own home. I ran to the phone and picked it up.

"Hellooo!" I called into the phone.

"Two-Bit? This is Dallas. Pony and Johnny are back."

"They are?" I said, not wanting to believe it yet.

"Yeah. Pony got hurt, though. It was an accident. He's at the hospital right now, and so is Johnny. Johnny's okay, though."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Could you find Steve, too? I think Soda could use him about now."

"Sure. I'm on my way." I said and hung up.

"I'm going out!" I yelled, though my mom didn't really care to know that.

I ran outside to my car, and got it. I sped out of our driveway and headed to the DX.

"Steve!" I yelled after I rolled down my window. I pulled up beside the DX, waiting for Steve to come out.

"What!" He called back, sounding annoyed.

"It's Johnny and Ponyboy! They're back. They're at the hospital. Come on, let's go!"

"All right. Hold on a second." I heard him mutter as he ran back in the DX to close up.

He came running out and hopped into the car.

I explained what had happened as best as I could. Steve cursed under his breath when I told him Pony was hurt. I just wondered how bad it was.

We pulled up to the hospital and went inside.

Dallas and Johnny were sitting in the waiting room when we came in.

"What's going on?" Steve barked, while I tackled Johnny in a hug.

"Long time no see, man! Jeesh, you look like shit." I said as I stepped back to get a better look at him.

Johnny smiled slightly. I ruffled his hair.

"It's good to see you, kid." I said.

I turned back to Dallas and Steve.

"-burned really bad."

"What?" I asked.

"Pony got burned. He looks awful, man." Dallas said, cursing under his breath.

"Can we see him?" I said.

"Yeah. Come with me." Dallas led the way and we went into Pony's room.

Pony's POV

"Hey, Pony." Two-Bit said, forcing the smile to remain on his face. I noticed the look in his eyes that said he was shocked and scared. Dallas, Johnny, and Steve trailed behind him.

"Hey." I said hoarsely and tried to smile at him.

"It's been a while, kid." Steve said, his mouth turned in a half-smile.

I was surprised that Steve was talking to me like that. He usually just said something mean to me or something like that. Steve didn't like me.

Johnny was standing against the wall. I was afraid he was afraid, because the look in his eyes told me that he was.

I began to drift to sleep, and the gang took their leave already.

"Get feeling better, kid." Two-Bit said before he left. I smiled at his to reassure him. I hated to think that they were worrying about me.

Soda's POV

Darry and I followed the gang outside to the hallway.

"Damn. I didn't expect him to be that bad." Two-Bit said, shaking his head.

"That's not the worst of it." Darry said.

The gang all looked at him quickly.

"What do you mean?" Dallas asked.

"They think... that Pony won't be able... to walk again." Darry finally got out.

"What!" They all exclaimed.

"Does the kid know?" Two-Bit asked.

"No...not yet." I replied.

That was the next thing on our list to do. I never wanted to do it, though.