After Pony went to sleep, the position he was in made it hard for Soda to go to sleep himself, even though his body was asking for some rest. His priority was Pony, though and whatever made him comfortable was more important.
Steve pulled up a chair on the left side of the bed, next to Soda, and they talked quietly with each other, in the way that best friends do. They even started something of a card game, even though Soda couldn't really join in and Steve would play games by himself with Soda watching.
Darry went over to Two-Bit, who was standing in a corner, his back turned to the bed. He put a hand on his shoulder and Two-Bit jumped and swerved around, his eyes wide and glistening with tears that threatened to overflow.
"Darry," Two-Bit said dejectedly, "I didn't mean to make things worse. Steve had told me on the phone, I figured someone had told him already and I wanted to make him lau-"
"Two-Bit," Darry interrupted, "No one is mad at you. And if Soda is mad at you," he said, glancing back at his brother, and knowing he would have a talk with him later, "he shouldn't be because we all know you didn't mean for Pony to get upset. He's just not himself right now and I'm sure it's not easy to wake up and not understand what's going on…"
"Anyway, we probably should have told him early on that some of his hair was missing," Darry added, putting his hands up and feeling ashamed, "But there was too much going on…"
Two-Bit nodded, chewing on his cheek. "Well alright," he said with a drawl, but he didn't feel too much better. "I'm gonna go have a smoke, maybe get something to eat," he said, his eyes still downcast, "You guys need anything?"
"We're good," Darry said, speaking for everyone. He looked at Two-Bit with concern in his eyes, hoping that what he had said had actually made an impact. Looking at Two-Bit's face, he wasn't so sure.
Two-Bit turned and left the room.
"Soda," Darry said, his voice pitched low, "You didn't have to be so mean to Two-Bit about what he said. He feels bad enough."
"Yeah, I know," Soda replied, biting his lip and feeling guilty . If there was anyone who would feel bad for what had happened, it was Soda, with his heart on his sleeve. He, too, hadn't been himself with all the stress of Ponyboy in the hospital.
They didn't have much time to finish the conversation as a nurse came in to take Pony's blood pressure.
"Aw, it's ok, honey," the nurse replied, when she saw Soda looking at her and wondering if he should move, "At least he's sleepin' right?" she smiled.
She put the cuff on Pony's arm from the other side of the bed, turning him just a little to do it. Pony didn't even stir through the entire process.
Pony slept for a while and even Soda managed to doze off a little bit. When he awoke sometime later, Darry was looking at him curiously.
"What?" Soda asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You were snoring," Darry chuckled.
Darry meant no harm, but after that comment, Soda figured it was probably better he didn't stay in the bed, so that Pony could sleep more peacefully. Anyway, he wanted to get out and stretch his legs a little bit and he was starting to feel the hunger pains that had previously been nonexistent because of the stress. So he carefully pulled his arm out from under Pony's arm and shifted him carefully so that more of his weight was on the other side of the bed. He delicately rearranged the tubing and then he got out of the bed. Again, Pony didn't stir.
"How long was I out?" he asked Darry.
"Not long," Darry said, "Something like a half hour. Pony's been out for more than an hour though, so that's good."
Soda looked around the room and spotted Steve once again staring out the window. No sign of Two-Bit though and he felt mighty guilty about that.
"Has Two-Bit been back yet?" he asked.
"Not yet," Darry said. "You look like you could use some fresh air, little buddy. Why don't you and Steve go get something to eat?" he said, giving Steve a look, "Seeing as how Steve ate the sandwich he bought you."
Steve shrugged sheepishly. "I was hungry. It was the only thing around," he said. "Hey, I bought it anyway."
"Come on, Soda, I want to have a smoke," he said, "and see if the snow has stopped."
"Alright," Soda said, "But I don't want to be out long. I want to get back," he said, looking at Pony worriedly - and who could blame him.
Darry reached into his pocket and took out his wallet but Steve put out a hand to stop him. "I got it," he said.
Then he put his hand on Soda's back and basically pushed him out of the room.
XX
Later that morning, Darry was sitting and drinking a small cup of coffee one of the nurses was kind enough to offer him when Ron walked into the room. He wore a new change of clothes and a white lab coat, and Darry wondered vaguely when he saw him if he actually kept clothes at the hospital.
Also, he was jealous because he wanted desperately to find his own change of clothes for himself, but with the weather outside, he had no idea when that would actually happen.
"Hey Darrel, how are you?" Ron asked, and Darry got up from the chair to shake his hand.
"Hi Ron, how are you?" Darry asked.
Ron kept his voice low when he noticed that Ponyboy was asleep.
"I'm good. Finished my night shift a little over this morning and thought I'd stop by and say hello before I go to catch a few hours of sleep," he said, "How's Ponyboy doing?"
"Well," Darry answered, "They weaned him off the sedation and he woke up this morning. He seemed ok, he understood what was going on...but he complained a lot about headaches."
"That's normal," Ron said, "I think he'll probably have to be on the antibiotics for some time before those go away, unfortunately. Plus it depends on how bad the infection is. And the lumbar puncture sometimes causes spinal headaches. The hospital will know better how to treat all of that once they get the results of the lumbar puncture."
"How long does that take?" Darry asked.
"It will take some time," Ron replied, "At least 48 - 72 hours," he said, "So you'll probably find out tomorrow or the next day."
Darry nodded, "He wasn't too happy to find out that they had to shave some of his hair off," he chuckled in spite of himself.
"I can imagine," Ron grinned, "I remember when I was a teenager, my hair was my most prized possession," he said. Then he surprised Darry by jokingly running a hair through his thick mop. "Still is," he grinned.
Darry wanted to ask Ron more about himself, like where he came from and how long his family had been in Tulsa - he remembered vaguely hearing from his father that they weren't Tulsa-bred, but he obviously had never asked Dr. Reed personally.
And he wouldn't have the chance to ask Ron either. In the next minute, sounds were coming from the bed. It was like a cross between a moan and a cry of pain. Darry shot up immediately.
"Pony?" he asked. He looked at his brother, whose face was scrunched up tightly like he was in a lot of pain. He watched Pony lift his right hand and put it on his face, tightening it into a fist as if that would take the pain away.
"Pony? What's the matter?" Darry asked again, coming closer. "Is it your head?"
Somehow, in his weakened state, Pony still managed to sit up, hunch forward, and curl himself in a ball, as if that would help. "My head...my head hurts," he said, his voice strangled, like something between a cry and a whimper.
"When was the last time they gave him medicine for his head?" Ron asked.
Pony paid no attention to him, the pain was just too intense.
"It was hours ago," Darry said, standing at Pony's side and rubbing his back. "The doctor had him on morphine, he said next time they'd put him on some kind of new medicine...Toradol I think it's called."
"Well, let's page the nurse," Ron said, pressing the call button and knowing he would go out into the hall and get one himself if one didn't come right away.
Ponyboy slumped against the pillow, looking like something was going to come up. "Pony, you ok?" Darry asked. Pony closed his eyes, seemingly swallowed whatever it was down, and then opened his eyes again.
"I don't feel good, Darry," he choked out.
"What do you feel?" Darry asked.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up…" Pony said.
The nurse came in at that moment. It was a different nurse from the one in the morning. She recognized Ron. "Hi Dr. Reed," she said. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked.
"He has a bad headache again," Darry said, "It's been a while since he's had medicine. And he says he feel nauseous."
Ron turned to her, "Is there a standing order from the doctor?"
"I have to check but I think so," the nurse said.
"I would also recommend an anti-nausea medication, like Promethazine," he told her.
The nurse nodded. She turned and crossed the room. "I'll be right back," she said.
"My stomach," Pony moaned, and he cradled his middle with his right arm. He didn't tell anybody but the room was starting to spin. He shifted on the bed to try to take some of the pain away, but he ended up turning onto his right side and sinking against the pillow and the thin mattress.
"Darry…" he called out, and he felt a rough hand touch his hair.
XX
Soda and Steve went to get soup and sandwiches (the soup was for Ponyboy) and Soda treated himself to some chocolate milk. After the two of them went outside to smoke a cigarette (or Steve did and Soda just about froze to death) they came in and found Two-Bit sitting head down in a smaller waiting room located near the cafeteria. There was a can of Pepsi next to him on his left.
He didn't know if Two-Bit was dozing off or if he was just sullen, but he clapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Hey you!" he shouted and Two-Bit jumped.
"Jesus Sodapop, if I wanted an army wake-up call I would have joined West Point," he said gruffly, but there was a hint of a smile on his face.
"Why are you sitting out here all by your lonesome?" Soda asked. He picked up the can of Pepsi and turned it around in one hand. "Who's this for?" he asked, the corners of his mouth twitching in a smile.
Two-Bit rolled his eyes. Soda knew exactly who it was for. Soda moved the can to another chair and sat down next to ihm. Steve remained standing.
"Pony went to sleep," Two-Bit said, his face completely serious for once. It was strange, "I just didn't want to bother anyone," he sighed, "I'm sorry that I made a joke about his hair…"
"Aw come on, Two-Bit," Soda said, "You didn't know. I shouldn't have told you to keep your trap shut," he explained, "We should have told him about the hair ourselves, but he's just been under so much stress, I didn't want to start something new."
"Makes sense," Two-Bit said.
Steve crossed his arms in front of himself and looked bored. "Knock it off you two, before I knock both your heads together," he said. "Now let's get back up to the room."
And just like that, all was forgiven.
When Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit returned to the ICU, Ponyboy was awake and there was a nurse and a doctor hovering over his bed. Pony was rolled over on to his right side, looking ill. Darry was standing off to the side holding Pony's right hand.
The nurse went over to the IV and started injecting something into it.
"What's going on?" Soda asked loudly. "I left for like 10 minutes!" His worried voice made the doctor turn around. It was Ron.
"Hi Soda," he said, but Soda just looked at him, too worried.
"He woke up with a headache," Darry said, knowing there wasn't time to exchange pleasantries, "And he says he feels nauseous. So the nurse is giving him something for both."
"So-da…" Pony called out, having heard his brother's voice.
Darry moved aside and let Soda come closer. He bent down, his face close, almost nose to nose with his brother.
"Hey Pony," he said, rubbing at his hair, "Are you in a lot of pain, kiddo?"
"Mmm," Pony closed his eyes and opened them again, "I just don't feel good. I don't want to throw up again…" he moaned.
"It could be the headache that is making him nauseous," Ron explained.
"There's an emesis basin in the bathroom that he can use if he needs to throw up," the nurse said as she finished injecting the medicine. Still, nobody went to get it.
"Maybe throwing up will make you feel better, Pone," Soda suggested.
Pony shook his head. Tears glistened in his eyes again, but they didn't fall this time. Soda took his hand and rubbed the knuckles with his thumb. "Maybe you can squeeze my hand when you're in pain."
"Yeah…" he said.
The nurse finished what she was doing. "This should start to work soon, Ponyboy," she said, "But don't be surprised if you start feeling drowsy. It might put you to sleep. And that's ok, you need your rest."
Pony was starting to drift off...
Suddenly, he opened his eyes again and caught sight of Two-Bit behind Soda.
"Hey Two-Bit,"he said, swallowing thickly, and Soda turned and motioned for Two-Bit to come closer.
"Hey Ponyboy," he said, "Don't tell anyone, but I got you a Pepsi," he said, placing the can on the table next to the bed. "You can have it later when Darry is in the bathroom," he joked.
The room filled with soft laughter. Pony's face twitched upwards, but it was hard to keep it up.
To everyone's surprise, Ponyboy took his hand out of Soda's grasp and held it out to Two-Bit, who took it right away.
"Two-Bit," he said drowsily. "I don't really like your haircut too much. Maybe it's time you shaved it off…"
Everyone laughed.
"You beat this thing, Ponyboy, and I might just do that," Two-Bit replied.
XX
I've been getting a few questions about this so I wanted to address it here. Pony is NOT completely bald. One side of his head still has hair, the doctors only shaved the part on the left side where the incision was made, which is common in brain surgery. It probably does look a little strange but not as strange as it would if he was completely bald.
Anyway, we all know how important hair is to a Greaser - I wouldn't be ok with making him bald.
Reviews, please!
~ Simona