Blizzard Chapter 10, an outsiders fanfic

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me until now. I hope you will continue reading - a whole lot will happen in this chapter - and the next few. I love the reviews...really!

There's also a lot medical stuff coming your way and I couldn't have done any of it without the help of my girl, Indianagreaser. You are simply the best! If you're in the medical field, you'll surely appreciate...and even if you're not. Well, I did my research.

Oh, and we're gonna find out what Pony has soon - or what the doctor thinks he has. Stay tuned.

~ Simona

"Ahhh!" he cried, his eyes tightly shut, "My neck!" he screamed. Darry looked up at Soda in horror.

"What's wrong with him?" Steve asked from above, trying and failing to feign disinterest. He was still standing, looking down at the scene. Darry ignored him.

"Pony? Your neck hurts?" Soda asked, not knowing what to think. It was a strange symptom.

"He's been complaining about his neck hurting all afternoon," Darry said. He tried lifting Pony again, this time extremely gently, and cradled him to his chest. Pony let him.

But not before Soda had touched his cheek.

Soda gasped. "Darry, he's burning alive! He needs a hospital," he said, his voice wavering.

"I'm sick?" Pony asked, his voice hidden in Darry's chest, like he was trying to talk through a piece of wet cotton.

And then to prove the point that he was, Pony started trembling in Darry's arms. Darry immediately started rubbing his back to try to warm him up. He could feel the cold emanating from his his frozen fingers and Darry wondered absentmindedly if it was possible for him to get hypothermia on top of everything else.

He looked up, "Steve, go start the truck," he commanded. "Make sure the heat is on."

Steve ran off to do what Darry asked. At that point, Pony was dozing off again. Darry lifted him up to carry him to the truck, keeping one arm out so his head wouldn't flop. The snow made it 10 times more difficult to walk with Pony in his arms. Darry was afraid he would topple over a couple times. The snow blinded him.

Darry followed Soda back to the truck. Neither one spoke a word. When they got there, Steve was waiting for them, holding the passenger side door open.

"What about your truck, Darry?" Steve asked, although he knew already what the answer was going to be.

"We'll leave it here," Darry said, confirming what Steve had assumed would be the response. "I can pick it up later."

"Soda, you go in first," Darry told him, keeping a firm grip on Ponyboy for now.

Soda hesitated. "Is there going to be enough room?" he asked.

"He's going to lay across us," Darry responded.

Sodapop climbed into the truck and scooted over to the middle of the cab. Darry carefully slid Ponyboy in after him and Soda pulled him into his lap, laying his baby brother's head against his left shoulder and letting his legs spread out. Pony didn't stir.

"Think you can drive to the hospital?" Darry asked Steve, just before he was about to get in.

"I think we can make it," Steve said, "We'll have to drive slower than usual."

Darry nodded, fully trusting his friend. He climbed into the truck, picking up Pony's legs as he sat down and then laying them across himself. Darry was grateful that the heat was on full blast, even though they would all roast after a while.

The truck rumbled to life, making a ferocious sound and Steve quickly shifted gears and pushed it forward.

"Pony," Soda called, wanting his brother to know he was there. "It's Soda. We're here, honey. It's going to be ok," he said, as if he was trying to reassure himself and not the sick boy on his lap. "Darry's here, too."

Soda kissed Pony's wet hair and stroked his head gently.

"I'm right here, Pone," Darry called, leaning over.

At first Pony was limp in Soda's arms, but in the next moment, he was shivering again, even though it was warm in the truck by that point.

Darry decided he would shrug out of his own jacket to cover his brother with it, under Soda's arms, which were wrapped around him

The truck meandered through the rough snow towards Tulsa General. While Steve tried his best to avoid the mounds on the road, they hit a number of bumps along the way. Each time they did, Pony felt them and winced or cried out in pain, making Darry's chest go tight. He grimaced and looked at Soda, who would constantly make his own face but try to ignore it.

After the third bump, Pony's small and feeble. voice called out again. "Soda?"

"Yea, Pone, I'm here," Soda said in his soothing voice.

"Where is Darry? Where is he?" he called out feebly, "Tell him not to go anywhere."

"I'm right here, Pony. I'm not going anywhere, ok?" Darry said from a distance, putting hand hand over his brother's to provide some sense of security. Pony wasn't paying attention anyway.

"I'm sick," Pony said, matter-of-factly. Soda shot Darry a look, the worry evident in his eyes. He was saying funny things again. Then he turned back to his brother and kept a hand in his hair, caressing gently.

"We know...We know you are, baby," Soda said, hoping the hand in his hair would lull his brother back to sleep, "Just rest now," Pony bent his head and slumped against Soda's chest, dozing off again.

"Where are we?" Darry asked in a low voice, "How long until the hospital?"

"Still a while, it's hard to see out here," Steve said in a frustrated voice.

It was killing Steve to drive as slow as he was, but there was no going around it. The blizzard had basically shut down the city and even with the high beams on and no traffic on the roads, it was hard to get around.

"Don't speed up," Darry said authoritatively, "No need to get us all killed in the process."

Steve cleared his throat, hesitating before asking, "How bad is he?" He turned to his right to glance at Pony before getting his eyes back on the road.

"He's hot," Soda answered, "But his fingers are frozen," he said and as if to prove his point, he took Pony's left hand with his right one and interlocked them, particularly because he saw that Pony wouldn't stop flexing his fingers.

As if on cue, Pony began to shift again. "Soda?" he called out.

"Yeah, I'm here…" Soda soothed.

But Pony barely acknowledged him, twisting his head from left to right. Then he stopped

"Turn off the lights, Soda," he said, squinting, "They're hurting my eyes."

"There are no lights on, Pony," Soda said in a bewildered tone. "Shh," he hushed his brother, putting his hands around his neck and hugging him tighter to his chest. "Go back to sleep."

Darry had to content himself with putting his hand on Pony's knee.

Pony moaned and mumbled something incoherently that no one could understand. Then louder, "Home…" he drawled, "I wanna go home…"

"We're not going home, little buddy" Darry told him, not even sure if Pony was listening, "We're going to the hospital. You have a high fever. The doctors need to figure out what's wrong. Just - lie still."

Much to his brothers' chagrin, Pony's eyes popped open. They were unfocused and feverish and Darry knew when he saw them that Ponyboy didn't really understand what was going on. "Nothing's wrong with me," he slurred, to which Steve let out a snicker. Soda pulled him close again and stroked his arm.

"Stop talking, Pony," Soda said in a low, but firm voice, "Just rest."

"We're getting close to the hospital," Steve announced, and sure enough, the dimmed lights of Tulsa General were up ahead. Miraculously, Steve steered the giant truck around more snow and pulled into the area that led to the emergency room.

He parked in a strange spot, and Darry wasn't even sure it was legal, but he didn't want to worry about that right now. And who would be driving up in a blizzard like this anyway? He pushed the thought out of his mind.

As the tow truck died down, Darry got out first. "Steve," he said, "Go in and tell them we're here, see if you can have them waiting for us,"

"Sure thing, Dar," Steve said, slamming his door and running inside.

Darry started pulling Ponyboy out of the truck and with Soda's help, he had his now limp baby brother back in his arms. They carefully maneuvered around ice and sleet to get to the front doors of the ER. Soda carefully held the door for them and when they moved inside, Steve was waiting for them by the ER's front desk.

Immediately, a nurse came up and with a concerned look, but barely a word, she led them down the hospital hallway to a private room, bypassing nurses and gurneys and orderlies in white scrubs on their path.

The nurse had Darry lay Pony down carefully on an examination table. "I'm Julie, I'll be your brother's nurse," she said, before asking them what happened.

"He's been sick for two days - we thought it was the flu," Darry explained, "Fever, throwing up, sleeping a lot. His fever seems really high, though, it isn't going down. He's not responding to us…"

"He's saying funny things," Soda added.

"We had a doctor's appointment today, I took him and on the way back, we got stuck in the snow," Darry said.

Darry wrung his hands, "The car got stuck in the snow, I went to go ask for help and left him in the car - not for a long time - he's not really himself, he got confused...He fell in the snow...Our brother here rescued us just in time though," Darry said, proudly grasping Sodapop around the shoulders.

The nurse poked her head out the door, "I need some help in here!" she called and suddenly there were two more nurses in the room.

Steve stayed out of the room, leaning against the wall just outside the door, but he watched as more two more nurses filed in. Soda wanted to go closer, but Darry kept him back with a firm hand on his shoulder, so they wouldn't get in the way of Pony's care. They watched as the nurses removed his clothes, including the soaked pants, and Soda's oversize sweater and dried him off with towels.

"Heart rate is fast," a nurse said, "Cap refill is 3."

Pony, who had been in and out of consciousness in the truck, was now barely moving. Darry couldn't ignore the pallor of his face, the sheen of his skin, and the sickly bruises around his eyes.

A nurse got out a cuff and started to measure his blood pressure.

"Temp's 103.8," the other nurse called out, and Darry saw the nurse's expression shift to worry for just a moment before going back to the task at hand. The nurse went through the list of vitals - Fever - high, respiratory rate - high, blood pressure - low.

"He has poor skin turgor," the other nurse said, "looks like he needs fluids. He's definitely dehydrated."

"Family stated he was laying out in the snow for an unknown amount of time and he's all wet," they heard Julie say.

"So are you thinking there's a possibility of hypothermia?" one of the others asked.

A nurse set up an IV in Pony's arm, letting him know there would be a small pinch. He didn't hear her, but when it happened, the unfamiliar touch made him twist.

A long wail rang out and Darry and Soda were suddenly on alert. They watched as Pony started moving, bending his knees and curling inward, while flailing his arm with the IV to the side. Still, he was too weak to really do anything.

"Don't move, honey. I've still got to tape this in," the nurse who was doing the IV said. "Cheryl...help me hold his arm so I can secure his IV."

"Pony," Soda called out, getting closer, before Darry could stop him, as they taped the IV "It's gonna be ok, Pony," Soda said, putting a hand on his brother's calf in hopes that it would get him to stop moaning.

Pony turned in the opposite direction, towards Soda's voice and opened his eyes, noticing that his brother was there. "Soda…" he called out, his voice hoarse and tense with nervous energy. He reached out for his brother.

"I'm right here, Pony," he said, grabbing the outstretched hand.

The nurses noticed Pony calmed down with the familiar touch.

"Are you his brother?" the one named Cheryl asked Soda and he nodded. "You can go up to him. Try to keep him calm," she said.

"Pony," Soda said, moving up further along the table so that he stood by his brother's right shoulder. He pushed his hair back and put a hand on his burning cheek. Pony sighed in relief. "Shh," Soda said, "Relax, baby. Stay still, they're going to take care of you here."

"Soda," Ponyboy moaned, his eyes like slits, "I can barely open my eyes…"

"You don't have to, buddy," Soda said, quieting Pony with his hand through his hair, "Just relax…"

Darry and Nurse Julie were standing off to the side. Darry crossed his arms in front of himself, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"His name is Pony?" Nurse Julie asked him.

"Yea...Ponyboy Curits," Darry responded in all seriousness.

"Alright," Julie said, "The doctor should be here any minute."

In the next minute, a man with thick wavy hair and sideburns entered the room. He had a friendly, but serious face and wore a white lab coat and tie. The man introduced himself as Dr. Roberts. He got a report from Nurse Julie and started asking Darry about Pony's symptoms.

"He also seemed like his neck was bothering him," Darry added, "I didn't tell you that before," he said, turning to Nurse Julie, "He was complaining about it a lot."

By then, Ponyboy was even more curled up on the table than before and he had put his hands over his eyes to block out the light.

Sodapop moved back as the doctor came over to examine his brother.

"Hello," the doctor said pleasantly, leaning over Ponyboy. 'My name is Dr. Roberts. I'm here to help you. Can you tell me your name please?" he asked.

The doctor paused, waiting for a response.

Ponyboy's chest tightened a bit hearing the strange voice, and knowing that Sodapop was no longer next to him. He moaned but said nothing more.

"It's ok, the doctor said, "We'll try that question again later," he said in an understanding tone, though Darry and Soda both scowled.

The doctor paused, noticing Pony's hand over his eyes. "Is the light bothering you?" he asked.

Pony moaned and Darry thought he heard a yes somewhere in there. The doctor certainly heard it.

"Are you in pain?" the doctor asked. Pony nodded, the effort tiring him.

"Hmm, photophobia," the doctor murmured out loud, "and pain." He turned to the nurses. "Can we get the patient some analgesia and an antipyretic for the fever? Tylenol should do the trick," he said. "And dim the lights please."

The lights in the room were dimmed.

"Is it better now?" the doctor asked and Ponyboy answered, "Yes," in a strained voice. He wished he could see this doctor better, he sounded pleasant enough. But his vision was hazy.

"Ok, could I have you lie on your back now," he said, helping Pony to turn. Pony's eyes tightened despite less light.

"Could you open your eyes for me, please?" he asked and Pony opened his eyes, but then cried out and quickly shut them as opening them made his head throb harder.

"I'm sorry about that," the doctor said and continued with the exam.

"Eye response is 3," he told Nurse Julie. Darry wondered if that was good or bad.

"Can you tell me what your name is?" the doctor asked, hoping for a response this time.

"Ponyboy," Pony garbled out, his voice low and bothered.

The doctor looked at Darry and raised his eyebrows.

"That's his name," Darry affirmed quickly, "His name is Ponyboy. He's not confused. He has an unusual name," he said smoothly.

The doctor nodded and turned back to the patient.

"Ok good, and Ponyboy, where do you think you are at the moment?"

Ponyboy mumbled something incoherently and no one could understand him.

"Do you know what time of the day it is?" Dr. Roberts asked.

"Day..." Pony trailed off, his eyes closed.

"Ok," Dr. Roberts didn't let this go on long. He rose to look at the nurses, "Verbal response score is a 4. The patient is not very oriented in time placement," he said.

"Ponyboy," he said, "Could you please raise your right arm for me?"

This time there was no response. Dr. Roberts took Pony's hand and pinched it to provoke a pain response and Ponyboy immediately jerked his right arm away.

"4 in the motor response," Dr. Roberts said. "GCS score is 11." The brothers stood and watched silently, but didn't know what the doctor was talking about.

Dr. Roberts had suspicions as to what was wrong, but he continued with the examination.

"Ponyboy," he said, leaning over again, "Can you try to move your chin to your chest, please?" he asked. No response.

"Can you try touching your chin to your chest please?" he asked again.

Pony moaned and shook his head. He already knew the task would be too painful and he didn't want to comply.

"I'm very sorry to do this, but I'll be lifting your head so your chin can touch your chest," as he began to do that, Pony immediately cried out in pain and jerked his head, flexing his legs at the same time.

Darry saw that Sodapop gasped and he cringed, but tried to remain calm. It was hard to see their baby brother in such pain, but he trusted that the doctor knew what he was doing.

Dr. Roberts moved down to Pony's legs and asked, "Ponyboy, can I please lift your leg up?" He did so, making sure the right leg was at a 90 degree angle at the hip and the knee as well.

"I'll be straightening your leg for a bit," he announced, and as he did so, Pony jerked forward in pain, flexing his head and the other leg as well. As he cried out, Darry flinched and it took everything for Soda not to pull the doctor away.

"I'm sorry about that," the doctor told Pony, and looked up at both Darry and Nurse. "It's just a test we have to do to find out what's wrong. All three signs are positive. I have an idea of what it could be," he said, as if that could make up for it.

Before he continued, though, the doctor checked Pony's reflexes with a small hammer and shined an annoying light in his eyes, making his groan and try to move his head away.

"Pupils are PERRL," he said aloud to the nurse.

What the heck does that mean? Darry thought. Luckily, Nurse Julie could read the look on his face. "It just means his pupils reacted to the light being shined in his eyes."

The bright light in his eyes seemed to tire Pony and he closed his lids. Soda, who had started holidng Pony's hand again, felt it go limp in his and he wondered for a moment if his brother had passed out. But the doctor and nurses didn't seem to worry.

The doctor stepped back and thought for a moment before walking over to Darry and Nurse Julie. Soda was behind him.

"Are your parents coming? Are they having a hard time getting here? Weather is so terrible right now." Dr. Roberts asked Darry.

Darry sighed, "Our parents are dead. I'm Pony's legal guardian," he said.

"Sorry to hear that, son," the doctor said in an even tone, "We still have to do further investigations - flu, strep, and blood work just to be sure -"

"Doctor, we already did all of that at Pony's doctor appointment today," Darry told him.

"Who was your doctor? Maybe we can get the results," Dr. Roberts said.

"Our doctor was Dr. Reed - Ron Reed - son of Dr. Jacob Reed...wait a minute!" Darry said, the sudden realization hitting him. "I completely forgot! Dr. Reed - Ron - told us he was a doctor at Tulsa General. Do you think he could be here now?"

"Yes, I know Dr. Reed," Dr. Roberts said, nodding. "He's here. Let's page him to come down from the pediatrics ward."

"Dr. Reed is a night owl," Nurse Julie piped up with a smile, "Takes his job seriously. He's always here."

"I think Dr. Reed said the test results would be here. At this lab. He told us he wanted to rush them because the other lab was closed for the day." Darry explained.

As one of the nurses went to page Ron, Darry turned to the doctor.

"Dr. Roberts, you said you had an idea of what could be wrong?" he asked. Soda, hearing the discussion as he was watching over Pony, turned back to the group.

"Well..I suspect it's more than just the flu," Dr. Roberts told them, " The fever, vomiting, neck pain, aversion to light...they all signs point to something called meningitis," the doctor said.