FOREVER CHANGED

CHAPTER 16

ONE STEP FORWARD

For the next two weeks, Maggie was working nights, filling in for a coworker who was on vacation. During the days, she decided to help Johnny build up strength so he could start going to physical therapy.

"Okay Johnny, you ready?", Maggie asked cautiously as she and Ponyboy, prepared to get Johnny out of bed. "I-I think so", he stuttered nervously.

Maggie was a little apprehensive, Johnny hadn't been fully upright since before he was hurt.

Ponyboy stood anxiously, watching as Maggie slid Johnny's legs off the bed, letting them dangle over the edge, then gently pull him up. "That's it, slow.…steady breaths", she whispered, rubbing comforting circles on a small patch of his back, that hadn't been burned.

Johnny felt dizzy and nauseous and it was hard to catch his breath. Maggie held onto him tightly as she stood from her seat, she nodded for Ponyboy to sit there. "He doesn't look so good Maggie", Pony stated, watching Johnny's face turn a sick shade of green.

"This is pretty common, it should pass", she replied, leaning Johnny forward so his head rested on Pony's shoulder and ran to get a cup of water…and a basin, just in case.

"We've got to do this fast", Maggie instructed Ponyboy, then turned back to Johnny. "I'm not going to lie to you Johnny, this is probably gonna hurt like hell", Maggie revealed, but Johnny already knew that.

"Johnny, you okay?", Pony asked concernedly. "I'm scared…what if I fall?", Johnny asked quietly; scared because he wouldn't be able to use his burned hands to catch himself . Ponyboy looked at Maggie for reassurance, she could only give him a sympathetic smile.

Johnny was always putting on a brave face, even though he was scared to death, Ponyboy knew this and so he decided to be brave for both of them.

Pony leaned Johnny back a bit, so he could look him in the face. "Do you trust me Johnny?", he asked confidently.

Johnny swallowed hard. " 'Course I do", he answered quietly. Pony smiled, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you…I promise".

Johnny looked from Ponyboy to Maggie. " 'Kay, I'm ready", he stated shakily.

Maggie smiled and pushed the wheelchair closer to the bed. "Just like I explained Ponyboy. On my count…1...2...3", she prompted.

Johnny bit his lips, but a groan escaped when Pony hoisted him by his underarms and placed him into the chair.

Once Johnny was settled, a collective sigh was released. Pony grabbed a towel off Johnny bed and wiped his sweaty forehead, then did the same for Johnny.

Johnny was in a great deal of pain, but he tried hard not to show it. "How was that, Johnny?", Maggie asked. "Not so…bad", he gasped. Pony leaned down. "Liar", he whispered, with a smile.

"Well Pony, now that you're able to get Johnny out of bed.…should we try getting him back into bed?", Maggie prodded.

"NO!", the boys both answered in unison. Maggie giggled. "Okay…let's get to work then", she stated authoritatively as she took hold of the handles and pushed Johnny into the living room. "Work? I thought that's what we just did", Ponyboy groaned, following them out.

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The most important aspect of therapy for Johnny right now was to regain the use of his arms. Maggie didn't just want him to be able to function, she wanted him to live as independently as possible. That meant being able to push him in his chair, write, feed himself.…but right now he couldn't do any of that. First priority…his hands.

When the beam was falling on him, Johnny instinctively put his arms around his head, protecting his face from being burned, but leaving his arms exposed to the flames. His left hand was in worse condition than the right probably because it was positioned on the outside.

Both arms were burned from the middle forearm all the way to the tips of the fingers, and on both the front and back sides. The bad burn on the palm of Johnny's left hand, the skin to tightened as it healed, causing his fingers to curl into an almost perfect fist. Maggie was sure he would need a few surgeries to try to correct this. The wrists had also healed stiffly.

So day after day, Maggie and Pony, or whoever was with Johnny at the time, stretched his fingers and rotated his wrists; mainly on his right hand. This was very, very painful but as usual, Johnny rarely complained….his only request was that for every hour he had to endure during the day, he'd be rewarded with equal scoops of ice cream that evening. Darry ended up picking up a fresh pint every day, after work.

It was Darry's birthday, the gang was sitting around the table playing poker. Ponyboy held the cards while Johnny moved the chips back and forth with his still bandaged hand.

They were quite the duo, winning more than half the games. "Yer cheatin'", a drunken Steve slurred from across the table.

"How?", Pony asked defensively. "There's no cards up my sleeves", Johnny smirked innocently. Pony laughed out loud, "You're just a sore looser Steve".

Steve jumped up, grabbed Pony's arms and pulled them behind him. "What'd you say punk?", Steve yelled, pulling harder, this only made Pony laugh harder.

"Cut it out Steve", Soda said. "Not 'til I get an apology", Steve demanded. Ponyboy wiggled, struggling to get out of Steve's grasp.

"Take it back and I'll let you go", Steve grunted. "Never", Pony growled back. They fought for a few more minutes until Pony called out, "Okay, okay…that's enough".

"Say yer sorry", Steve demanded. "C'mon Steve…my shoulder…it itches", Pony explained, nodding over his left shoulder.

Johnny leaned down a bit, slowly bringing his hand down to Pony's shoulder, which was right up against his chair. "Here Pone, let me", Johnny volunteered, rubbing his hand across the itch.

"No fair Johnnycake", Steve protested, letting go of Ponyboy. He walked back over to his seat and picked up his cards. "See I told you they was cheatin'", Steve grumbled.

Maggie smiled from her place next to Darry., the last few weeks of hard work had paid off. It may not have been a monumental occasion, but in the recovery of Johnny Cade, it was a huge step….in the right direction.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this was not the intended chapter. I had originally written a chapter on how Maggie and Darry get together, but this chapter flows better with the upcoming chapters.

Please let me know if you want me to post the Maggie/Darry chapter. If so, please review because I would have to post it next, otherwise the rest of the story wouldn't make as much sense (and I'd like to update by tomorrow or the day after).

CLARIFICATION: Last chapter, Steve wasn't necessarily hitting on Maggie, he was just flirting...I always thought Steve and Two-bit were really big flirts, always chasing the ladies.

REVIEWERS: I love a lot of reviews, you guys are soooo great. To: WhoaaReally53, Blondie 24-7(welcome back), Maddiecake, wopo12, and iheartponyboy33, thanks, thanks, thanks.