I wanted to get this chapter out a lot sooner, but alas...man plans and God laughs.

A big shoutout to Indianagreaser for help with all the medical stuff. And of course, to all the people who have shown interest in the story thus far.

Reviews are highly highly appreciated!

X X X

All three boys had grown up going to Dr. Reed, the family's pediatrician since Darry was 5 years old. Pony ended up going to him the most because he was the family klutz - always bumping into things, his nose in a book. Darry, of course, continued taking him there after the untimely death of their parents and it was Dr. Reed who had recommended Pony go to see a specialist for his nightmares.

Dr. Reed was a kind old man, maybe somewhere in his late 60s, who hadn't retired just yet. He was balding with extra tufts of white hair that kicked out in the back and kind eyes. He always carried around some kind of clipboard or binder and he always wore a lab coat to his appointments, even when it wasn't necessary. It juxtaposed the messy hair and was a way to distinguish himself from his patients, but he never meant any harm. He was pleasant and thorough and the Curtises liked him.

Dr. Reed's practice was located on the 4th floor of a four-story office building, closer to the other side of town. It also housed lawyers' offices and accounting practices on the 2nd and third floor. Nobody really knew what went on on the ground floor, but it looked like a shipping facility.

Dr. Reed shared his practice with a Dr. Fox, but Darry didn't know that other doctor so well.

Pony pretty much slept the entire way there, which Darry was pretty grateful for since the roads were getting slick. He moaned once or twice, mainly when the truck skidded over bumps in the road, but he didn't wake and Darry let it go.

Unfortunately, when they finally parked, Pony was a bit green around the gills and told Darry he was going to be sick. Darry got out of the truck immediately, almost forgetting to take the key out of the ignition (luckily, the parking break was on) and came to the other side, carefully pulling Pony down from his seat. Keeping one hand on his back and the other around his waist for support, he had Pony vomit into the wet grass below.

Darry wanted to chalk up the incident to car sickness, which Pony had a history of, but he knew it was obviously more than that and he hoped Dr. Reed could find the cause.

"Darry - " Pony sputtered, coughing up the rest of his bile, his cheeks pink, "Can I just...sit down for a minute?"

The passenger side of the truck was still open and Darry eased him backwards to lean against the cold steal underneath the seat. The snow was starting to come down in large clumps but neither brother paid much attention to it. Darry kept a hand on the top of Pony's head, as if he was trying to protect his little brother from the flakes that were coming down. It didn't really help, of course.

Luckily no one had witnessed the episode either, as the parking lot was mostly empty.

"Take your time," Darry said, rubbing the back of Pony's head as it fell forward and he tried to collect himself. Darry wished he had better words.

It was nearing 3 o'clock and Darry didn't want to be late. After asking Pony if he felt ok (he knew he didn't really), Darry hauled him up carefully and helped him move forward, similar to how Soda had just half an hour before. Pony was like a baby fawn trying to balance himself on unsteady legs that would crumple at any moment. But they made it inside and Darry breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the instant warmth of a heated facility. He kept his arm around Pony, more to keep him balanced than to provide support and they took the elevator up to the 4th floor.

Upstairs in the waiting room, Darry eased his weak little brother into a chair and peeled off his jacket before going up to the receptionist. There, he was in for a surprise. The woman in the booth told him that Dr. Reed had to run out for a personal emergency, but his son Ron Reed would be taking his place. When Darry initially objected, telling the receptionist that they had been going to Dr. Reed for years and felt comfortable with him, the receptionist told him that Dr. Ron Reed was a practicing doctor in the pediatrics ward at Tulsa General. Even that didn't make Darry feel any better, but there was nothing he could do at that point as they were already there and it was important to him that a doctor look at Pony.

He went to sit back down next to Pony and whispered to him that Dr. Reed's son would be taking his place. Pony nodded in agreement but he wasn't really listening. His cheeks were burning.

Darry looked around the waiting room and realized the two of them were the only ones there (aside from the receptionist.) He hoped the doctor - or doctor's son for that matter - wouldn't keep him waiting for long.

He was in luck. A few minutes later, the receptionist was leading them to an empty room with an examination table. Darry wondered why there a nurse wasn't on hand to do that, but then quickly realized that everyone had gone home already.

Darry kept a firm arm around Ponyboy as they followed the receptionist. He knew if his hold wasn't around his brother, the poor kid would topple any second. When they got to the room, Darry told Ponyboy to climb up onto the examination table. Pony did as he was told but immediately hung his head and closed his eyes. What he really wanted to do was lie down and take a nap, though he knew he couldn't.

At first, Darry sank into a chair next to the table, but in the next moment he notidce Ponyboy swaying and he was legitimately afraid he would tip over. So he got up to help steady him.

"Pony?"

"Darry is it really bright in here or is it just me?" Pony asked looking up at the lights. Darry followed his lights weren't too intense in his opinion.

"I dont' think they're particularly - what's the matter, Pone? You ok?" Pony was covering his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Just have a headache, that's all," Before Darry could say another word, Pony had indeed laid down on the table, his hands still over his eyes. Darry sighed and leaned against it next to Pony's legs. Poor kid was really bad off. He waited with Pony for a while, his hand occasionally doing circles on his lower back.

Before Pony had the chance to doze off, though, the doctor came in. Darry leaned over his brother and helped him up to a sitting position with one arm.

He sure don't look like a doctor, Darry thought. Dr. Ron Reed was clad in a pair of blue jeans and a knit sweater. He had a stethoscope around his neck, but he wasn't wearing a lab coat. And his longish curly hair had some gel in it, but a few random strands fell lightly across his forehead, sort of making him look like a more dolled up Jim Morrison. Darry couldn't decide if this man was Greaser or Soc, because he looked like a little bit of both.

"Ponyboy Curtis?" He said out loud, looking at the clipboard he carried in hand. "That's an unusual name," he said as Ponyboy looked up. But then quickly added, "I like it."

As the doctor looked over at Darry, Darry went over to shake his hand. "Dr. Reed, I'm -"

"Call me Ron," Dr. Reed interrupted immediately, "Dr. Reed is my father,"

Darry was a bit surprised, but said, "Ok - uh, Ron - I'm Darrel Curtis, Pony's older brother and legal guardian,"

"Hi, Darrel," he responded, "Nice to meet you."

"We're used to having appointments with Dr. Reed - uh, your father. He's been our pediatrician for years -"

"Pediatricians run in the family," he smiled. "You're looking at one - I work at the hospital," the doctor said. He turned to the sick patient. "You must be Ponyboy. Looks like you're having a rough day, huh?"

This was a funny doctor. Ponyboy wanted to laugh but he sort of scowled unintentionally. Ron put his hand out to shake Pony's and immediately noticed the heat and the clamminess from his skin.

"I feel like we might be able to roast some marshmallows on that skin of yours, huh Ponyboy?" Ron said and it was the first time in two days that Darry saw Pony chuckle.

Dr. Reed - Ron - went over to the sink and began to scrub his hands, even though immediately after, he would put on latex gloves. As he did, he told Darry and Ponyboy that his father had asked him to take on his last appointments because he was worried about driving in the snow and had a longer drive home.

"Some weather, huh?" Ron said to no one in particular. He stopped for a moment to study the patient.

Darry thought he saw a flicker of worry in his eyes, but it passed quickly as he smiled.

"How about we take your temperature - I think your brother here might like having you stay quiet for a bit longer -" Ron grinned, glancing at Darry. "But first, you want to tell me what's been going on? What are you feeling?"

"He's been sick for two days now, at least," Darry cut in, "We thought it was a cold - maybe the flu - his fever has been high - but he can't seem to move around too much without getting dizzy, and he's been throwing up a lot…"

Ron is studying Ponyboy, as Darry is saying this, looking him over as if he can diagnose the boy by features only, rather than tests.

"I can't keep anything down," Ponyboy said, shaking his head.

"He threw up in the parking lot," Darry added.

"Is that right, kid?" Ron's eyes darted from one brother to the other, but he kept them from getting too big so as not to scare the boy. He shrugged. "Well, you wouldn't be the first." Pony chuckled again quietly.

He stood back and thought for a moment, realizing this could be more than just the flu that is going around Tulsa.

"Hmm...let's start by taking your temperature," he said. The doctor took out the thermometer and popped it in Pony's mouth. There was an awkward silence for a brief moment as the wind howled outside.

Pony is still swaying every so slightly. For a brief moment, he wished he had brought Soda along. Soda would know how to work the room, so Pony wouldn't have to speak, effectively comforting him and leading the conversation at the same time.

He couldn't do much, but Darry noticed that Pony looked stressed, so he went to stand by him, rubbing his arm for support. And then Pony realized with some guilt that it was comforting to have Darry there too.

Finally, the doctor, blessedly, took the device out of his mouth. He quickly looked at the thermometer, his eyes going wide.

"Well, Ponyboy, you're certainly cookin' something," he said aloud. "103.9. Just under 104 degrees,"

"Wow," Darry said under his breath. Then out loud , "Well, it was 103 not too long ago…but then we went outside…"

"I don't know if there's a direct correlation to being outside, even in this weather," Ron responded quickly, "Raised temperatures can come from anywhere. Extra movement, trip itself. Just moving around. You have been resting a lot at home the last couple days, right Ponyboy?"

Pony nodded.

Ron formed his lips into a thin, tight line, thinking for a moment before continuing. "It's a bit of a high temperature, yes, but let's not get concerned yet. It could be a bad case of the flu. It could be something else. There are some tests I want to do first to see,"

Still wearing the latex gloves, the doctor took out what looked like a long cotton Q-tip in a plastic package.

He explained to Darry and Ponyboy that this was the test kit used to check for the flu through the held the Q-tip in front of Pony, who eyed it warily. "Ok, so I'm going to take this Q-tip," he said, "and I'm going to stick it up both sides of your nose. First this side," he said pointing to one end, "and then this side," pointing to the other.

"It has to go far back there. It may feel uncomfortable for a moment," Ron continued, "but if you hold still I can do it real fast, okay?"

Pony eyed the Q-tip like a blade, but he looked over at Darry and knew he had no choice. While he couldn't turn his head at that moment, his right hand began to move along his side as if he was searching for something. Darry noticed this and put his strong hand over it comfortingly, but discreetly, to calm him down.

The doctor checked his nose for obstructions with an otoscope before he began. He opened the package and took out the nasal swab. "Just tell me when you're ready," he said.

"I'm ready," Pony said tiredly, like he has just lost a race.

Ron counted down - One. Two. Three.- And then it happened as quickly as possible. Before Pony had time to object, Ron had inserted the swab into his nose, pushing it further back.

"Wow," Pony said when it was over and his glazed eyes watered even more, "That almost felt like it reached up into my brain."

Darry's eyes rolled inwardly at Pony's shrewd observation but kept his thoughts to himself.

"This will check for the type of influenza you have, if that's what it is.," the doctor said putting the specimen in a tube and capping the bottle, "I'm going to send this to lab at the hospital, along with the other tests we do today to speed up the results," he told the boys, "I know there's a lab here, but it's the end of the day and you guys are the last appointment. The lab is closed and people have gone home. I will drop this off at the hospital after this appointment - it will get seen faster that way," the doctor told them.

Darry thanked him."No need to thank me," Ron responded, getting out the next test, "I have to head over there anyway."

"Now Ponyboy," he continued, "You haven't said anything about your throat hurting. Does it? Is that one of your symptoms?" Ron asked.

"I wouldn't say it hurts," Pony admitted, "It's been a little dry. I feel like I need water all the time," he said timidly.

"Can I take a look?" Ponyboy let Ron gently use his hand to grab his chin so that he could peer down his throat. "Good news is it doesn't look very red. But you can never be too sure," he stood up, looking at Darry. "I still want to do a throat swab just to be safe and rule out strep throat. Is that ok with you, Ponyboy?"

Pony said ok and Ron opened the package for the throat swab, quickly inserting it into Pony's mouth far back in the same way he had with the nose swab. The swab scraped the back of his throat. It had only taken a minute, but Pony was already gagging like he might hurl again. He willed himself not to, but his head was spinning.

'Water," he gasped out and Ron quickly poured him some from the sink in a paper cup, handing it to Darry, who held it up to Pony's lips and watched him gulp it down.

"Be careful, Pony, not too fast," Darry grumbled.

Miraculously, though, Pony kept everything down this time.

"So, Ponyboy," Ron began, "I have a few ideas as to what you might have, but I can't know anything for sure just yet. I can see from your temperature, and from just plain lookin' at ya, that you're - well you're not well off, to put mildly. We all know this. It could be flu, it could be norovirus - which is just the stomach flu. It could be something else. Still no way to know for sure just yet, which is why I wanted to do a blood test. Like a full CBC - a complete blood panel. We have the ability to do the full blood test here - the results can be sent off to the hospital. It will take some time, but I can call you in the next day or so with the results," he explained.

"Full blood test, does that mean needles?" Darry asked, frowning. He knew his little brother would have a hard time with that.

Darry and Ron both eyed Ponyboy who looked like he might pass out.

"Well, just one needle -" Ron said.

"Ponyboy here's - not so good with needles," Darry said slowly, as he stood next to his brother and put a hand on his back.

"This will be real quick," Ron said, speaking more to Ponyboy then to Darry "and it's necessary. It's the best way to know for certain what's going on with you, kid. Alright?"

Ponyboy took a shaky breath. He couldn't remember the last time his blood was taken but was it really so bad? He couldn't figure out where his fear of needles came from, but his palms were already sweating.

Darry put his hand on Pony's shoulder firmly to keep him still. But he also gave it a gentle squeeze to stay he understood.

Ron spent a bit of time setting things up - attaching a thin tube to a container that would hold the blood. When he took out the needle, Pony swallowed hard and turned away, trying not to think about what was coming next.

And then Darry had a firm grip around his shoulders and before he knew it, Pony was leaning in, hiding his face in Darry's neck like a scared little kid. He felt like a baby - but he chalked it up to the illness making him feel that much more vulnerable. Or at least he could use that excuse.

Fortunately, neither Darry nor Ron said anything about it. Darry only felt bad that he could feel the heat radiating off Pony's cheeks.

The needle came without warning and Pony almost flinched, if not for his brother's firm hold. His face did go white, but it was over in a flash, and eventually, he didn't really even feel the needle - which made him wonder inwardly just how sick he really was. Darry made sure not to let him see the blood when it came in and the procedure was over quickly.

"I will get this to the lab as soon as I can," Ron said. "In the meantime, Ponyboy, I'm going to write you up a prescription for some strong antibiotics and some anti-nausea medicine. I'm sure that will help you keep things down. But even if you're not hungry, you should be drinking a lot of water. Dehydration is a worrisome thing," he said.

Ron put a gentle hand on Pony's shoulder. "Ok, get well soon," Ponyboy nodded and smiled weakly. Ron turned to Darry, "I should be calling soon to let you know about the results. Maybe even in the next few hours, if we're lucky. Keep doing what you're doing," he said giving Darry a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, doctor," Darry said, reaching out to shake his hand. Ron helped him get Pony down from the examination table. "Feel good, kid," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Ponyboy was feeling sore and lightheaded by this time, as Darry ushered him out of the room. He had Pony sit in a chair in the waiting room as he went to pay the receptionist and Pony practically collapsed into it, feeling exhausted and a bit overwhelmed at how ill he was still feeling. Darry scowled, and patted him on the shoulder awkwardly, but then went to take care of the bill. Still he glanced back once or twice, knowing Pony was bad off.

Darry took out his wallet to pay the receptionist who sat behind the counter, acutely aware of the fact that the lights in the room had been dimmed and no one else was there. At that point, Ron also came out.

"Wow, Jean, looks like you're itching to get out of here, aren't you?" he joked with the receptionist.

"Have you seen it out there?" she shook her head.

"Why, how bad is it?" Darry asked, noticing her worried eyes.

"It's really coming down," she said, "It's thick - and it's sticking, too. If I were you - let's just say I'd be heading home as quickly as possible."

"Good to know," Darry, turning to the doctor quickly. "Thanks again, Ron," he said.

Ron's happy-go-lucky expression was suddenly more serious. "Be careful out there," he said.

XXX

Pony was feeling so lousy that he couldn't really keep track of anything, but he knew that Darry was distracted after talking to the receptionist about how bad the snow was coming down. He had even forgotten to use the phone to call Soda as he had promised.

He was exhausted by now, the appointment had taken a lot of him and he sort of stumbled along, thankful that Darry was keeping a firm arm around him, so that he wouldn't fall. He couldn't understand why his body wouldn't work - and why it felt so cold while his face felt so hot. Still, he kept it tucked under Darry's arm so that at least he could feel protected under his brother's grasp.

Darry seemed distracted, but then he suddenly asked, "How you doin' Pony?" as if he had just remembered he had a sick brother close by.

Ponyboy sighed. He wished everyone would stop asking him that question. "Fine," he mumbled. He just wished he had some meds on hand instead of having to wait to fill a prescription. Truth be told, he was also aching for that anti-nausea medicine that the doctor had prescribed, as the sickly feeling that made his stomach churn was starting to get the best of him.

"Sure look fine," Darry smirked and grinned one of his rare grins. "That doctor was nice, at least."

The two stepped out of the elevator on to the ground floor and gaped when they looked through the glass of the front door at the mess that was going on outside. The snow had already blanketed much of the lot, and what cars were still left (there were very few) looked like white-covered lumps. The flakes were still falling hard and fast. The wind was so strong, you could hear it howling as it whipped through the air, rattling the windows and blowing the snow off the building. Darry wondered for a minute if he was even going to be able to press the door open.

He was stunned. How were they going to do this?

Stopping just before the front door, Darry took a deep breath and assessed the situation. He wasn't looking forward to driving home, but they would need to move fast.

"Pony, you stay here. I'm going to go clean off the car and turn it on, get some of the heat going. I'll bring you back a warmer jacket. I don't want you out there more than you have to be," Darry said.

Before Pony could even nod, Darry had pried the door open. The wind was so fierce that Pony had to turn his face away so he wouldn't feel the sting. He watched Darry inching towards the truck, shielding his face from incoming snowflakes. The whole thing seemed comical - or a least it would have been if he wasn't feeling so anxious.

Pony pressed his face against one edge of the big glass door. The iciness of the glass felt incredible against his burning skin. He grew tired quickly though, and eventually couldn't even hold his own weight up. He pushed himself up heavily against the wall. But then his legs began to buckle and he felt himself sliding down against it, eventually pulling his knees up to his chest.

Maybe he could just doze here while he waited…