FOREVER CHANGED

CHAPTER 6

THE GUARDIAN

Ponyboy spent the entire hour, of his last period science class, staring at the clock. Darry was going to meet the gang at the hospital, to discuss what the judge had ruled. It had only been a little over a week since Darry applied for guardianship, but a representative had called their house, the night before to announce a decision had been made. Ponyboy wasn't sure, but he thought the rush had something to do with the letter Dr. Franklin had sent to the judge; the doctor's high school buddy.

Two-bit was sitting on the hood of his car, waiting for Ponyboy to come out. When he didn't see Pony come out, Two-bit went around to the side entrance to find him talking with Cherry Valance. "Hey Pone, you ready to go?", he called out, suspicious of the pretty red-head. Cherry was startled, as if she were caught doing something illegal, she handed something to Pony and briskly walked off.

Ponyboy ran up to Two-bit, "What'd she want"? Pony looked down at his schoolbooks, "Aw, nothing' …..she just wanted me to give this book to Johnny, she thought he might enjoy me reading' it to him".

Two-bit picked up the book and paged through it, he shook his head and smirked, then tossed it back onto the books Pony was carrying and kept on walking.

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Afraid that they were late, Ponyboy ran ahead of Two-bit, to Johnny's room. The room was empty, except for Johnny and his nurse Maggie. She turned around as soon as she heard Pony walk in, she put a finger up to her lips, and quietly walked over to the door.

"Is he okay?", Pony whispered, nodding to a sleeping Johnny.

Maggie nodded "He had a rough day, the physical therapist came to evaluate him. He worked some of Johnny's muscles….it was extremely painful, so we gave him a little extra pain medication, he should be awake soon".

Pony waited out in the hall, where Two-bit was sitting with Soda and Steve. To pass the time until Darry arrived, Pony started to read the book Cherry gave him.

Pony was so engrossed in the novel, he hadn't even noticed when Darry had arrived; until he heard Dr. Franklin's voice "I got a message you boys wanted to see me".

Darry nodded, smiled and handed a folder to Dr. Franklin "I have the papers right here, I'm now officially Johnny's guardian".

The guys jumped up from their seats and gathered around Darry. The 'crowd' was going wild and Darry felt like he just made the winning touchdown.

"That's great Dar, how'd they decide so soon?" Soda asked.

"At first they said no, that the only way I could become Johnny's guardian was to become his foster parent, so I did. That means Johnny'll come home to live with us, and the state'll pay most of his bills until he turns eighteen", Darry explained.

"Johnny's gonna live with us.….that's great", Pony exclaimed excitedly.

Dr. Franklin shot Darry a, 'do you know what you're getting yourself into', look. Darry ignored it for the moment and asked, "How long do I have before Johnny has to be released"?

"Well he was only covered through the end of this month, which is in five days, but an anonymous donor came forward and paid the bills through the end of June. If he's doing well, I can probably release him in early July, if not, he will still have to go to Lawndale", Dr. Franklin said.

While the gang was celebrating their victory, Dr. Franklin took Darry aside, "Son are you sure you want to do this?"

Darry nodded. "We'd do anything for Johnny", he replied honestly.

"I'm just worried about you, your brothers and your friends. Johnny will need constant care in the beginning; he'll need to be washed, turned, dressed, fed, his burns will have to be cleaned and bandaged, he'll need extensive physical therapy…..", the doctor explained. Darry's felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The doctor continued. "Even I would have to think twice about taking care of someone as severely injured as Johnny", he added, patting Darry on the shoulder.

Darry nodded a 'thank you' to the doctor as he turned toward his office. Darry looked at the happy-go-lucky group and wondered, did I make the right decision?

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Johnny could here a commotion outside of his room, not being able to move, he strained his eyes to see what was going on.

A few seconds later, the group came in wearing huge grins on there faces.….. all except Darry.

"Hey guys, what's up?", Johnny asked in a groggy voice.

Pony spoke first. "Darry's got some great news, right Darry?", he looked to his brother.

"Yeah, great", Darry replied, sounding a little less enthusiastic then he had wanted to.

"Should I tell him, or do you wanna?", Pony asked.

Darry smiled at his brother, "Naw, you go ahead Kid, tell him".

"Darry went to court today and became your legal guardian…you can stay here, you don't hafta go to Lawndale", Pony explained.

Johnny smiled a little and shifted his eyes toward Darry. "Thanks Dar, I really appreciate that", Johnny replied sincerely.

Darry laid his hand on Johnny's arm and smiled.

"That's not the best part man, the judge said you don't have to go any nursing' home……you're gonna come home and live with us", Pony chuckled.

Johnny's eyes widened and he looked intently at Darry, "No, no….I can't do that…."

"Hush Johnny, don't worry 'bout it , we'll take care of everything", Soda chimed in.

"No, I wont….."

Ponyboy looked into Johnny's eyes, the were filled with confusion and fear, something he had seen a lot in those dark eyes. But there was also another emotion, one Pony couldn't figure out just yet.

"Johnny"?

"I'm not gonna let.…my friends waste their.….lives takin' care.….of me. I'll go to Lawndale….I don't care….I don't want….my friends…takin'.…care…of…me", he gasped out as loudly as he could, which was just above a whisper.

Johnny closed his eyes tightly, his face wracked with pain; his friends were left, standing around his bed, in stunned silence.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Blondie 24-7, Maddiecake, Flag and SamSammySamantha, for the wonderful reviews. I love reviews, they're like Christmas presents. So tell me what you think, will Johnny decide to live with the Curtis' or will he go to the nursing home instead? HMMM, read the next chapter to find out!