Things are about to get intense, guys. Enjoy!
Despite at least four cups of coffee that day, including the one with Ron, Darry was still exhausted. When he realized that Ponyboy had been sleeping for a hefty portion of the afternoon - a good sign - he decided he, too, would doze off in a chair in a corner of the room. Of course, he gave specific instructions to Soda to keep an eye on their little brother and wake him up for anything, big or small. He trusted that Soda would watch over him anyway.
The dimmed lights in the room didn't help matters, only making it more difficult for Darry to stay awake. There were still no playing cards, so Steve made do by flipping through a men's health magazine he had found near the nurses station. He sat in a corner, the yellow light from the bathroom illuminating the room and giving it an eerie glow. Two-Bit and Soda sat with him, laughing and pointing at the funny pictures of bulked up bodybuilders posing and the headlines that read "Muscle Power" and "How To Build A Super Physique." None of the guys were in bad shape, but they certainly weren't body builders and of course it was Two-Bit, the least fit, who would get up and do bodybuilder poses as if he were competing for Mr. World Fitness.
The three of them sat talking for hours - they always had something to chat about - although Soda would get up constantly to check on Pony, like he wanted to make sure he wouldn't break.
Most of the time, Soda didn't touch him, afraid it would interrupt his sleep, though once in a while he would delicately brush some hair to the side.
It was just after 5pm and since it was winter, the sun was already setting - hanging low over the frost on the window as it dipped into the west. The clouds gathered and brought an early night, like something out of an Edith Wharton novel, with thickening darkness swelling against the piercing white snow.
Ironically, it wasn't Soda who eventually caught something unusual going on with Ponyboy. No one was really hungry, so there was no point in going to the cafeteria, but Steve figured he would find a vending machine and get a chocolate bar and a Pepsi - to hit all the basic food groups of course.
On his way back, he entered the hospital room and noticed that Ponyboy was shaking. Like trembling fiercly on the bed. Steve did a double take to make sure he wasn't imagining things and then crept closer. Something was up.
"Soda," he called and Soda immediately looked up from his conversation with Two-Bit, hearing the distress in Steve's voice. "Something's wrong," Steve said and he moved up to Pony's side just as Soda and Two-Bit did the same.
"Look, he's shaking," Steve said, pointing at the shivering figure on the bed.
"Pony?" Soda called out with concern. Despite the shudders, it looked like his brother was almost suffocating with the hot blanket on top of him. Sodapop pulled it back, hoping by some miracle that maybe that's what it was. It wasn't. The move made Pony tremble even more.
"Maybe he's dreamin?" Two-Bit suggested. Even a nightmare would be better than a worsening condition.
"His cheeks are red," Steve pointed out.
"Ponyboy?" Soda called out in a panic, pressing his hand against Pony's forehead and then his cheek to confirm. "God dammit, he's burning up!"
Feeling the cold touch of Soda's hand, Pony opened his mouth and blew out air, like he wanted to say something or watch his own breath. But that wasn't it. He began to moan and shift around on the bed.
In an uncharacteristic move, he lifted his hand to try and swat Soda's hand away. Soda was shocked.
"I'll wake up Darry," Two-Bit said quickly and he went over to the oldest Curtis, who had fallen asleep in a strange position, arms crossed, head hanging off to the side and supported by his own shoulder.
"Darry," Two-Bit called out, a hand on Darry's shoulder to shake him awake. "Darry, wake up!"
Darry jerked forward, blinking furiously and rubbing at his eyes. "What? What's going on?" he asked, his voice panicked.
"Ponyboy has a fever," Two-Bit told him.
Darry got to his feet and rushed to the bed.
Sodapop was trying to shake Pony awake. "Ponyboy…" he called gently and suddenly, Pony's eyes popped open.
"Soda…" he croaked out, his voice scratchy. "Soda...where's Soda?"
Ponyboy's vision was foggy and his eyes darted back and forth, not able to focus on anything in particular. He closed them again. "Soda!" he called again.
"Pony, I'm right here," Soda responded, then he repeated the sentence. "I'm right here,Pone," He placed a hand on his right shoulder to show him, "Open your eyes, kiddo."
Ponyboy's eyes flipped open, but he wouldn't turn to look at his brother. "Soda," he called out again hysterically. "Soda, where are you?"
Pony may have been weaker earlier in the day, but he seemed to have some strength now. He lifted his left arm to push Soda's hand away, almost pulling out his own IV in the process.
"Where's Soda?" he asked, not realizing his brother was right next to him. "Someone get Soda…"
Soda's mouth gaped open. He couldn't speak.
"Ponyboy," Darry called out apprehensively, also shocked at what was happening. "Soda's right here. We're both here. Darry and Sodapop."
Ponyboy looked up at the ceiling, his face burning. "What IS that? Tell mom to turn that alarm off…"
He was referring to the heart monitor which was beeping incessantly, but to the guys, he wasn't making any sense.
Before anyone could stop him, he arched his back and lifted himself off the bed, as if to deflect the people around him.
"Pony," Darry cried, "Stay down!" He pushed his brother back down on the bed, careful of the tubes.
"He's delirious…" Soda choked out.
"Can someone get a nurse?" Darry asked aloud, just as Soda began stroking Pony's cheek and telling him to calm down. It seemed to pacify him for the time being, and his eyes were closing again.
Steve disappeared out the door.
Suddenly, Pony spoke up as if it had dawned on him that Sodapop was, in fact, next to him.
"Soda…" he slurred, "What's happening?" Pony swallowed thickly, his eyes still closed, "What's happening to me?"
Soda started to answer him, but before he could Ponyboy was babbling incoherently again.
"Soda, it's snowing...It's snowing out. Tell Darry to come inside. It's cold."
Darry didn't know what to say so he put his hand on Pony's left cheek and rubbed his arm.
"Pony, I'm right here," Darry repeated, "I didn't go anywhere."
Pony opened his eyes again and they wandered the room, not focusing on anything in particular. He turned his head to the right, staring at Soda, but not really seeing him.
"It's cold…" he murmured incoherently. "It's cold..outside…Too cold."
"Shhh, baby. You're just sick," Soda said softly, finally finding his voice. He stroked his brother's hair, "You'll be fine, ok? You're gonna be fine."
He wanted to say something else but Steve reappeared in the next moment, followed by the nurse.
"He has a fever?" she asked, looking inquisitively at Darry. But she didn't want for answer and immediately put her hand on his forhead, his cheek, and his neck, nodding.
"He has a fever and he's saying strange things," Darry answered, "He's confused. I don't think he understands what's going on."
"Ponyboy?" she called out, snapping her fingers in front of his face, and then patting his cheek lightly to get his attention. Ponyboy opened his eyes again and looked up but didn't look at her directly.
The nurse lifted Pony's arm and put two fingers on his wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was fast. She pulled his chart from the foot of the bed and wrote something down. Then she took out a thermometer, seemingly out of nowhere, and stuck it under his tongue. Ponyboy almost gagged on it, but miraculously it stayed in his mouth.
"104," she murmured, her voice sounding anxious.
'"That's high!" Soda cried. She looked up as if suddenly realizing there were other people in the room. "I'll page the doctor," she said, and scurried out.
Pony was quieter than before, but he was moaning and his head was moving fitfully from side to side. Nobody said a word, but they were all remembering how sick he had been months ago after the rumble on the night that Dally and Johnny died.
It wasn't long before the nurse hurried back into the room, followed by the same doctor, Dr. Wexler and another nurse.
Two-Bit and Steve stepped back as the nurses went to work and Darry had to turn away when he saw that one of them was pulling at Pony's bandage on his head to make sure nothing was wrong there. He wasn't ready to look at the scar or the staples.
The other nurse took Pony's wrist again and quickly stuck a needle in his arm to draw blood. Pony yelped but he wasn't lucid enough to understand what was happening.
The doctor told the nurse to rush the blood work and she took it and hurried out of the room.
Darry spoke up. "Can you tell us what's going on?" he asked the doctor.
Dr. Wexler finished writing down something on Pony's chart, gave it to the other nurse, and then looked at the group.
"It looks like sepsis," the doctor responded, "Blood poisoning. It's the body's way of responding to the meningitis infection. That's where the fever and delirium are coming from - also the shivering, most likely. I'm not going to sugar coat things. It's serious - it can lead to poor blood flow, low oxygen levels in organs, septic shock - but I'm optimistic that we caught it early and can provide the proper response."
"What can we do?" Soda asked.
"Well," the doctor said, "I'm ordering more aggressive antibiotics. But we need to work on getting his fever under control. I'll have the nurse bring in some cold washcloths."
"He may not be himself for a while," the doctor added, "We're going to keep a close eye on him, so that he doesn't get worse."
The nurse was injecting something into the IV bag next to Pony's bed. Pony appeared calm for the time being, though it was hard to tell. After the nurse was done, the doctor left, but not before warning the boys that they needed to watch him carefully and let them know if things get worse. The disorientation was all part of the condition, he said.
Darry scrubbed his tired face with his hand. He looked at Soda, whose mouth was turned down.
"I thought he was getting better," he whispered, his eyes watery. Soda took Pony's hand and it seemed to calm down the poor boy.
A few minutes later, the nurse came back with a basin filled with cool water and a few washcloths.
"You can wash him down," she said, handing a washcloth to Soda and another to Darry. "It will hopefully help his fever and will probably make him feel better."
"I want you to come get me right away if something is wrong," she added and left the room.
Darry was first, dipping the cloth into the water and then squeezing it out, before pressing it against Pony's neck and chest. Soda was next, pressing his cloth against Pony's forehead.
The cold compresses seemed to help. Pony kept his eyes closed, but he sighed contently and Darry was relieved, hoping this would do the trick.
Things couldn't possibly get any worse, could they?
XX
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