Hey everyone! I know it feels like I've disappeared, but I haven't. It's been an extremely busy and crazy month (or two) with lots of things going on and lots of reasons I haven't been able to update. But I love this story and I am determined not to abandon it.
I hope I can make it up to you with his action-packed chapter where lots of stuff happens simultaneously. That's also perhaps another reason why it took me forever to get this out – there was so much editing. It was really important to me to have all the boys in check – character wise. I can only hope the next chapter won't take as long.
Thank you to Indianagreaser, MarandaW and a little jem for being my eyes and ears this time around. And now (finally) on with the story.
XXX
"You mean to tell me that you —- you fell?"
Ponyboy eased himself back against the pillow that Steve had squished behind him in the hospital bed. He wore a fresh gown and a blanket haphazardly covered his bony knees.
"We may have to tell the doctor about this,"
"I don't see why," Pony grumbled. He sighed and looked up at the nurse tiredly, attempting to replace the angry expression with one of innocence.
Pony's left arm lay curled up beside him, the area where the IV had been looking slightly black and blue, but not bleeding.
The nurse looked at him incredulously. He couldn't tell by the expression on her face if she actually believed him, though. So he turned on his best Sodapop charm with his own dash of naivety thrown in.
It worked. The nurse felt bad for him. It was obvious by the way she patted his arm when he innocently begged her to help him, with his eyes.
She came closer to the bed and quickly pulled up the bedrail, which she suddenly realized had been unexpectedly down on Pony's left side, where the IV had been connected.
"Let's just be safe and put this up," she said cautiously, looking around as if she was being watched. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt. I could have sworn it was up before," she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Dr. Wexler wouldn't be happy if I left it down…"
Pony shifted under the nurse's stare and then followed her gaze as it travelled to the door. It's like she was checking that the coast was clear.
The nurse planted her hands on her hips and cocked her head, sure it would help her read her patient better.
"So, you really fell," she began, more like a statement than a question. "Can you tell me how it happened?"
"Yeah, uh," Pony said quickly, afraid if he didn't get the story out fast, she would start probing even more, "I was trying to reach for my book on the chair over there," he pointed to an empty chair next to his bed, "And I, uh, lost my balance and fell out of the bed. That's how the IV came out."
The nurse looked at the chair dubiously and Ponyboy cringed, averting eye contact. She was obviously wondering where the book was now.
He felt the rising panic start to build up as he glanced at Steve for reassurance.
"I don't see a book," the nurse said, narrowing her eyes.
"Yeah, it's this book," Steve jumped in, grabbing Pony's backpack and pulling out To Kill a Mockingbird. He stood on the other side of Pony's bed, waiting for the nurse to put the IV back in. "I put it away after I found Pony on the floor. Cleaned the spot where the IV came out, that's why it's not bleeding anymore."
"And you weren't in the room when it happened?" she asked.
"I was - I was, uh, in the bathroom," Steve said suddenly, wondering when he had become so good at lying. He knew how to whip out a good comeback, but lying was another story. Soda and Two-Bit were always better at that.
The nurse looked at him stunned for a moment, and then her mouth lifted into a wide smile. "Well, aren't you the sweetest," she said with a twang. She looked at Pony, "You are lucky to have a friend like him."
Steve hid a smirk behind the book he was holding, when he saw how horrified the baby Curtis looked by that comment. Pony saw the smirk and rolled it his eyes.
The nurse was none the wiser.
"Yeah," Pony grunted, the sarcasm laid on thick, "so lucky."
Steve almost laughed out loud.
There was an awkward pause in the room as the nurse looked up at the bags that had been holding Pony's antibiotics. Still connected to the IV, they hung, completely empty, like a pair of deflated water balloons.
The nurse wrinkled her nose as she looked up but didn't say anything besides, "I need to get you new antibiotics."
Pony was exhausted. This was the longest that he had gone in days without sleeping. He wanted to stay on the nurse's good side though, so she wouldn't get the doctor or ask more questions.
He blinked tiredly. "I'm sorry," he said, making her features soften.
"It's alright, sweetheart. We'll get this cleaned up in a jiffy," she said, patting his arm.
Steve knew at that moment the little shit had won again and everything would be fine.
"You're looking a little pale there, Ponyboy, are you sure you're alright? Any dizziness? Does something hurt?" She asked, concern furrowing her brows.
Steve frowned as he watched Pony rub his eyes. Man, the kid certainly looked tired. He was blinking at the nurse slowly and didn't even have the strength to return the smile she was giving him.
Damn, everybody always coddled the kid, Everyone always believed him. But guess in this case, Steve was happy about that. Still, he knew Darry and Soda wouldn't be when they found out. And they would blame him, he was sure of it. What exactly would he tell them anyway?
"I'm ok," Pony answered the nurse, who then told the boys she'd be back in a minute with something she called an IV tray.
Steve came closer to the bed, and Pony noticed how he was watching him, a stormy look in his eyes.
"I"m ok, Steve," he replied, his voice weary.
Steve answered back suddenly, as if he had snapped out of a daydream, "Yea, sure, you are, kid, but why don't you lay back down anyway?" He gently pushed Ponyboy back down on the bed, angling the pillow behind him at the same time.
"You think she believed us?" Pony hedged softly.
Steve smirked, looking at the poor kid. "Yeah," he said, slowly, "I think she bought it. Just stick to the story - if anyone else asks."
Pony was satisfied with that answer, but he was also dead tired and he wished fiercely that he could take a nap, or that one of his brothers would arrive.
The nurse came back holding a caddy full of IV supplies.
She looked at Pony, who was now laying down more than when she had left and gave him a small smile.
"Ponyboy," she said, "You sure you're ok, sweetie? I have to ask to make sure before we set up any sort of new IV."
Pony nodded. The nurse explained that she was going to put the IV back in the same arm, but in a different spot. She wrapped the tourniquet tightly around his upper arm and started looking for a new vein. "Ok, let's see what we can find here," she said, and pressed lightly when she found it.
"Ok," she told Pony, "This one looks ok. Little pinch, hold real still for me." The needle came out and Pony turned away as he felt it go into his arm. "Ok, don't move until I get it taped in there. There, all done."
The IV was back in his arm. Ponyboy sighed. Steve was here - his brothers weren't. So much for going home anytime soon, he thought in exasperation. Then his cheeks went a bit red at the thought.
"Why don't you get some rest, dear?" the nurse was saying as she was packing up her box. "You've had quite an ordeal."
If she only knew…
"You watch over him," the nurse was telling Steve and Pony could have huffed out a laugh at the way his brother's best buddy kept his lips pursed and was trying so hard to keep his look nonchalant, like he didn't care. By then, Steve was slouching in a chair at the foot of the bed, flipping through some car magazine.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Steve asked, not even glancing at Pony when the nurse left the room.
"You're not gonna leave me alone again, are ya?" Something in Pony's voice made Steve look up.
"Nah, man, I got ya," he said, trying to be nonchalant, "I'll stick around."
Pony was startled when he felt Steve pat his leg over the blanket
He looked up at the IV bags, once again filled with fluids and he could have sworn he felt the cold liquid flowing into his veins. It made him shiver.
"I wish Soda was here," he said absent-mindedly as he sank lower into the pillow and tried to find a comfortable position on his right side.
"You and me both, kid," Steve responded. He looked down at his watch again and realized Soda should have been back by now. Where in the almighty universe was he?
Steve watched Pony's eyes droop until he was breathing lightly.. He wasn't about to get up and go make a call, seeing as what happened last time had been a hassle for everyone involved. But it wasn't like Soda to be late getting out of work when his baby brother was in the hospital. What was going on?
"Where are you, Soda?" he asked aloud.
XX
Soda sat in the passenger seat of Two-Bit's broken down clunker of a Plymouth, with his head in his hands. "No...no! This can't be happening now," he yelled, not caring how loud he was, "THIS. CAN'T. BE. HAPPENING. NOW!"
Somewhere between panicking and trying to keep himself calm, he looked at Two-Bit, "I need to get to the hospital!" he said, his voice low and threatening, "Pony is waiting for me."
"I know, I know," Two-Bit answered, uncharacteristically serious. "Stay cool, Pepsi. We're gonna get there." As if Darry's nickname for Soda would help Two-Bit right now.
It didn't matter. Two-Bit looked in the rearview mirror and spotted the police officer. In the next moment, his nervous eyes suddenly narrowed, bordering on annoyance and anger. Before Soda knew what was happening, Two-Bit let out a stream of curses and shot out of the car like a cannon.
"You! What, are you following me?!" he started. The officer remained calm, looked up, and tipped his hat. He gripped his baton in his right hand and tapped his left palm with it lightly, lips curving up into a smirk.
"Well, well, well," Officer Franks sauntered over, a smug look on his face, "If it isn't Keith Matthews. Fancy meeting you here, son - you and I have a nasty habit of running into each other."
He was laughing as he said it, which made Two-Bit mad - but he sure didn't show it.
"Jesus H. Christ," he said, laughing back at the officer, "You have a nasty habit of showing up where I am at all times!"
"Now wait just a minute, son," Officer Franks put his hands in front of himself in a stop motion, still holding the baton, "Contrary to what you may be thinking, I'm not following you. I saw a car stalled on the road and thought I'd come black ice really is something," he said, looking around, as if he could spot it on the street. "You're lucky there aren't too many other cars on the road right now," he said, gesturing with his baton.
"So lucky," Two-Bit practically clucked his teeth at him, "They should give me an award for luckiest man alive!" he laughed wildly and then eyed the baton in Officer Franks' hand, "Stop wavin' that thing at me. I ain't causin' trouble."
"Course you aren't, son,"
"Stop calling me son! I ain't your kid!" Two-Bit replied, his voice rising.
Inside the vehicle, Soda was getting impatient. He could see Two-Bit angrily waving his arms around wildly but he couldn't hear what they were saying. His friend had some nerve wisecrackin' to the fuzz like that. Sure, if it had been any other day, Soda probably would have joined him for fun. But Pony was waiting for him and time was of the essence.
If that damn police officer wasn't around he would already be out checking the engine.
Soda warily opened the passenger side door and carefully stepped out, dodging the patch of ice at his feet.
The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.
"Officer, I'm Sodapop Curtis…this here's my friend and I can assure you he wasn't speedin' or causin' any -"
"Trouble?" Two-Bit gaped at him, then suddenly laughed out loud and slapped his knee like everything was irresistibly funny, "Soda, I ain't in any trouble. The car stalled. This guy just showed up!"
"No one's in any trouble," the officer said, and Two-Bit wished he could wipe the smirk off his smug little face. "I'm a friend," he said.
"We are not friends!" Two-Bit felt like he wanted to spit fire.
"Ok...well, I'm a friend of your momma's then," the officer said and it was like someone had touched Two-Bit's ears with a burning iron rod, they were so hot.
"You're a friend of his momm - you mean you're -" Soda looked at Two-Bit, then back at the officer, the realization hitting him like a full force wind.
"Officer Rick Franks," he said, finishing the sentence and holding out his hand for Soda to shake. Soda took it, eyeing the baton in his left hand.
"
"Officer Franks, huh?" Sodapop smiled, the tension slipping away when he realized it was THAT Officer Franks and one of those bad cops that liked to rag on the Greasers for no reason.
Soda glanced at Two-Bit, knowing he was so going to rib him about this later.
"You've heard of me?" The officer asked proudly, sticking out his chest a little more. "Guess my reputation precedes me."
Sodapop looked at Two-Bit and then the two of them burst out laughing.
Officer Franks' smug grin quickly turned into a frown. He suddenly got quiet and serious.
"What can I do for you boys?" He asked, making Two-Bit shake his head. Why was this guy always showing up? He wasn't asking for charity.
Soda answered before Two-Bit had a chance to open his mouth.
"My brother's in the hospital," Soda explained, "I had to work and I asked Two-B —- Keith here to pick me up and take me to him. But his car stalled on the way,"
Right, Ponyboy, Two-Bit thought. This was about Ponyboy. He had to remember that.
"Ahh, the one that had brain surgery," Officer Franks said.
"You knew he — Right, how did you -"
"He stopped me last time, remember Soda?" Two-Bit said, "Almost ran me over!" He growled, looking at Franks. .
"Oh right," Soda nodded.
"You seem to forget I also gave you a lift," Officer Franks said.
"It was the least you could do. You almost killed me!" Two-Bit sassed,, "Way to uphold the law there, Officer, running fine upstanding citizens like myself off the road." He pointed at himself dramatically.
"Don't think you would have made it to the hospital without me," Officer Franks shot back, sounding a bit hurt.
They continued to fling comments, voices raised one over the other until finally, Sodapop had had enough. That was when he got between the two of them.
"Hey! HEY!" he said in the middle, where Two-Bit practically took a swing at him. He ignored Officer Franks completely and looked hard at his friend, "I'm sure you're having fun with this little squabble, but I have a sick brother who's in the hospital waiting for me! We're late! We need to figure out how to get your car fixed so we can get the hell outta Dodge and back to Tulsa General."
"Yeah, yea, I know - soon as we get rid of Marshall Dillon here." Two-Bit quipped, but he still proceeded to pull out a cigarette and put it between his lips, ready to light. Soda proceeded to knock it out of his mouth and into the snow.
"Hey! What was that for?" Two-Bit asked, annoyed as if he didn't already know.
"No time for smoking now," Soda said, glaring at Two-Bit, "You'll smoke when we get back to the hospital."
"How's your brother doing, son?" Office Franks spoke up, the concern in his voice genuine. Soda's eyes softened as the anger left his face.
"He's alright. Still sick," he mumbled, worried about Pony, "Doing better." he added grimly.
"What do you care?" Two-Bit retorted the cigarette Soda had knocked to the ground suddenly back between his fingers.
Officer Franks shot him a look but didn't respond.
"Good to hear," he said directly to Soda. There was a pause, and then, "Listen, if you two need a ride to the hospital, I don't mind…"
"Not this again…" Two-Bit threw his hands up in the air.
Soda stared at the officer, then looked at Two-Bit, uncertain of what to do. He let out a heavy breath he didn't realize he had been holding and then gave his pal a rare sneer that made him think of Steve, or even, the late Dallas Winston. "
He couldn't keep the sneer on his face for long. Sodapop shrugged his shoulders and shot his friend an apologetic look, "It's not like your piece of junk's gonna get us there," he told his friend.
"I don't take charity from the cops!" Two-Bit said proudly.
Sodapop smirked, "You already did once."
"Yeah, well, that was different. I had to see Pony -"
"And I have to see him now!" Sodapop cut in loudly. Although he knew how close Sodapop was with his baby brother, Two-Bit was impressed. He'd have to tell Pony about all this later when he was feeling up to it.
"You will, son," Office Franks piped up, "I'll take you there."
Soda began walking towards the Officer, glad he had a fast way of getting to Pony, but Two-Bit wasn't having it.
"Wait just one minute," Two-Bit said putting a hand over his heart dramatically, "You mean to tell me that you, Sodapop McGreaser Curtis, the greasiest hood on the East Side, want to catch a ride with this baton-twirling, doughnut-eating, gun-wielding no good piece of -"
He'd have gon merrily but Soda interrupted.
"Two-Bit!" Soda said in a panic, looking between his pal and Office Franks. "I need to get to Pony -" he hissed through his teeth.
"Well you ain't gonna do it with him. Nobody in his right mind would get a ride from the fuzz…" Two-Bit crossed his eyes haughtily, a smile playing up on his lips.
Officer Franks crossed his arms back at him "You did," was all he said. Somehow he knew Two-Bit wasn't serious.
Man, this wasn't the Officer Franks Two-Bit remembered from a few days ago. This Officer Franks had balls, Two-Bit thought.
"Soda, you know if you just took a look under the hood you'd get my car up and runnin' in no ti-"
"There's no time. We're already late."
Officer Franks sighed heavily. "Boys, I have got to get back to work soon. What's it gonna be?"
"I can't believe this is happening again…" Two-Bit muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
Two-Bit winced, looked over at Soda and knew the battle was lost.
He sighed heavily, defeated. "Alright, alright," Two-Bit huffed. Then his eyes turned dark and he gave Officer Franks one of his rare death stares. "Let's go then."
"Well now, if it's gonna be like that, son, I think you better ask nicely," Office Franks drawled with a smile.
Two-Bit rolled his eyes, then took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth, "Can you...please...give us a ride?"
Officer Franks suddenly smiled wide. "Well, I wish it was your momma asking that, but sure, let's go."
This time it was Soda that barked out a laugh.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Officer Franks exclaimed, and Two-Bit cussed low and hard under his breath.
"You owe me big time for this man," Two-Bit hissed at his friend, a finger pointed into his back.
Soda gave Two-Bit a look, remembering what they had gone through in the last few days. Two-Bit got the hint and closed his mouth.
"So," Officer Franks said, as the boys climbed into his police vehicle, Soda in the passenger seat and Two-Bit in the back, because he couldn't bear to sit up front. "This is the second time I'm giving you a ride, son," he said, looking at Two-Bit through the rearview mirror.
"How 'bout putting in a good word with your sweet momma?"
XXX
When Darry Curtis got to Ponyboy's hospital room, he was taken aback when a nurse stepped out, carrying an IV tray. He knew it wasn't normal and was worried something had gone down while he was at work.
Darry frowned as he stared at it, and furrowed his brows. "Nurse?" he asked, "Did something happen? Is everything alright with my brother?"
The nurse was a bit startled but quickly composed herself. "Well, uh, yes, everything's fine but - well, there was a little accident."
"A little accident?" Darry's eyes grew big.
"Oh, nothing serious," she said quickly, "He just happened to fall out of bed and the IV catheter came out…"
"He happened to fa-He fell out of bed?" The worry hit him full force, "Wasn't there anybody watching him? Is he ok? Where was Steve? Aren't there nurses watching him?"
"Now, now, Ponyboy's just fine," she said, patting his arm one hand in a way that wasn't comforting. She held the IV tray with the other. "What he told me was that he was trying to reach for a book that was on a chair next to his bed and he just happened to lose his balance...his friend - Steve - was in the bathroom…"
"Steve in the…" Darry trailed after her.
She continued, fumbling over her words, "The bedrail was down...I could have sworn that I had put it up before I left, but perhaps Pony had forgotten...that he put it down, you know, sometimes these things happen…"
"I can't believe he fe-I can't believe Steve would let this happen. He was supposed to be watching hi-"
"I assure you everything is ok. I asked Ponyboy if he was feeling dizzy or had any other symptoms. He's perfectly fine. We don't even need to get the doctor," she said,
She glanced down the hall toward where a doctor was standing and speaking with another nurse nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes warily traveling back and forth until they went back to Darry.
"The only thing that happened was that his IV came out," she told Darry, "But it's quite easy to get that tube back in. I did it just now."
The nurse noticed the concerned look on his face.
"We're going to keep a close eye on him. Don't you worry. He's resting now, and his friend is there too," she said.
There was that damn arm patting again. The nurse gave Darry a smile and left. Darry pushed open the heavy door and stepped in.
XXX
Steve didn't know what made him do it - it certainly wasn't something he usually did, but he felt bad for the kid. And so sometime after Ponyboy had fallen asleep, Steve put the car magazine down and got up to look him over and make sure he was really ok. Ponyboy Curtis was always real good at hiding how he really felt, and always made those sorry ass excuses that he didn't want people fussing over him. Like he was some tough guy who knew no pain. Tim Shepard after a fight with the Brumly boys.
Steve looked down at him. His breathing was light, his face pained. Man, if Dallas Winston could see him now. Caring about some kid. But then, Dally cared about Johnny.
Steve noticed how Pony shivered in his sleep. Was the fever back? Some symptom of meningitis? He felt Pony's forehead. He didn't feel too hot but how could he know?
I ain't no doctor, Steve thought. Then he realized that the blanket was barely covering him so he took it, lifted it up, and placed it gently over Pony's limp frame, making sure it laid over his shoulders.
Heavy footsteps and then a low voice. "Steve?"
Steve let go of the blanket and jerked his head around. His face was beet red.
"Uh, hey Darry," he stumbled. Darry's face was rigid — but then Steve could tell by his eyes and the way his lip turned down that he was somewhere between worried and angry.
"Jesus, Steve," Darry said, probably louder than he should have, "They said he fell? Is he alright? Where were you?"
"It's not what you think, Darry," Steve said, his voice tense. Man, he didn't want his head busted in. "I went to call Soda…"
"The nurse said you were in the bathroom!"
Steve winced, realizing the mistake he had made. He nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, yeah I was in the bathroom. I heard a thud - you heard it from the nurse? What else did she say?"
"She said his IV came out,"
"Ah, yeah, she fixed that up real quick." Steve stuttered.
"How did this happen, Steve? Darry asked, "You were right here. You were supposed to be watching him."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, man." he said, looking away and trying to collect himself. "It wasn't nothing. He was trying to reach for a book. The bedrail was down. I mean I didn't see it but -"
"I was only supposed to be gone a couple hours," Darry said, rubbing a hand over his head, "I knew I should have stayed. You were supposed to watch him, Steve. And where's Soda anyway? He's supposed to be back by now, isn't he?" He stopped realizing how all over the place he sounded, "You sure that's all that happened?"
"I WAS watching him, Darry. You know how stubborn Pony is. He ain't gonna listen to me."
"He's sick! He's not in his right mind! He was practically at death's door, what, like two days ago? You can' t let this kinda thing happen…"
"Darry…" the voice that came from the bed was garbled and timid, "It wasn't Steve's fault…"
Darry hadn't even realized his teeth had been clenched until he released his jaw with the sound of his baby brother.
"Ponyboy," Darry let out a breath, and Steve stepped away from the bed to let him come forward. "I'm sorry I woke you up." He put his thumb on Pony's forehead, near the hair he had left, and rubbed softly.
"You were yellin'," Pony replied, his eyes squinting in his half-asleep state. He had the most terrible headache. "Why are you mad at Steve, Darry? It was my fault…I had a nightmare…"
"You had a nightmare?" Darry was puzzled. He looked over at Steve, who looked just as bewildered, "You mean that's why you fell?"
"Yeah...that's why I fell..."
What is going on? Steve wondered. That's not what we're going with...Is he mixed up? Is he lying?
"You have got to be more careful, little buddy," Darry said, the anger leaving his body. He couldn't stay mad at a sick kid. "Something bad could have happened."
"I know…" Pony said, fighting hard to stay awake. "I"m sorry. Don't be mad…"
"Let's not talk about this now, when you're sick," Darry sighed heavily. "You should go back to sleep," he told Pony, his fingers lightly trailing up and down on Pony's right arm, helping the boy relax and fall into a deeper sleep.
When he was satisfied that Pony had fallen asleep, he called out to Steve and then motioned his head towards the door. "Let's talk outside," he whispered.
After what had happened earlier, Steve didn't think it was the best idea to leave Pony in the room alone, but he couldn't say no to Darry. Hesitating, he followed him out the door.
XXX
"He's mixing up his facts, Darry," Steve was saying, angry at Pony for putting him in this situation, "He was reaching for a book, on a chair away from the bed and he lost his balance. Ask the nurse. That's what he told her, too."
"Maybe he didn't want to tell her about the nightmare," Darry wondered, "You know he's always kept them to himself."
"No, man, I was there…there was no nightmare."
"So he fell? Just toppled off the bed?" Darry raised his eyebrows in question. Then he put his hand on his chin waiting for the answer. Or like he's contemplating whether I'm telling the truth, Steve thought nervously.
"Yeah, I was there, Darry. It wasn't a bad spill or anything. He didn't even get a bruise. Just the IV came out."
Darry looked at him incredulously but held himself from getting too angry as he tried to find out more information.
"I don't know," Darry sighed, "Something doesn't add up. Why was he even trying to read? He could barely sit up a day ago.
"I don't know, Darry, kid's bored," Steve replied.
"So in the time that you were in the bathroom…my brother…managed to lean over so far he fell outta bed? For a book?" Darry shook his head.
He definitely doesn't believe me, Steve thought. Maybe I should just tell his brothers. For his own good. They deserve to know.
No. Kid asked him to keep a secret and he would do it. He wasn't a rat.
"Did he pull the bedrail down too?" Darry was asking, "Nurse said she doesn't remember it being down. I don't think she would forget something like that. They've taken pretty good care of Pony the whole time he's been here."
"I don't know who did what," Steve answered, "It was down."
If Steve was there, why wasn't he giving him any details? That made Darry angry.
"Were you there?, Steve? Were you really there? Not sure all this would have happened if you were, in fact, there. Christ almighty," he muttered.
"Darry, it's not what you think…" Steve rubbed at his forehead and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
Darry glanced through the small vertical window. He hated leaving Pony alone in the room, but at least he could see that he was still deep asleep.
As the conversation grew heated, Two-Bit and Soda rushed up, practically sprinting. Soda was in front, looking anxious and jittery and more so, when he heard raised voices.
"Hey guys, what's going on? What's with all the yellin'?" The realization hit Soda in the next moment and his mouth opened, "Did something happen?"
"Soda, you're late," Steve said crossly, angry at the mess he was in, "Pony's been waiting for you."
"Two-Bit's car stalled again," Soda said quickly. He looked from Darry to Steve, trying to read their faces. Darry looked anxious and worried and Steve was nervous and fidgety, which was not like him.
"Wait, did something happen?" Soda asked, just as Two-Bit explained, "We got a ride here." He failed to mention who exactly had given them the ride.
Soda's voice went higher. "Wait, what happened to Pony? Don't tell me something bad happened? We were only 20 minutes late. Steve, don't tell me something bad happened while we were gone…"
"You're almost an hour late," Steve said stone-faced, but then he sighed, "Nothing bad happened-"
"Pony fell out of bed," Darry cut in, trying to explain the situation more matter-of-factly than actually trying to make Steve look bad.
Soda wasn't having it. "He fell out of the - " he said trying to process, "Wait a minute, Steve, where were YOU?"
"I was busy giving you an update on the phone at the nurse's station," Steve frowned.
Darry looked at Steve with a mix of anger and disbelief, "Wait a minute, you told me - you said you were in the bathroom."
"Not exactly…" Steve cringed.
Soda wasn't really listening anyway, his mind on his brother. "Wait, he fell out of bed? Is he hurt? I need to see if he's ok!"
He rushed past his brother and best friend, pulled at the knob, and pushed open the heavy wooden door. Pony slept in an awkward position. The pillow he had been laying on had fallen down behind him so that it was squashed under his shoulders instead of his head. Without support, his head had rolled awkwardly to the side.
His left arm lay limply at his side, where the IV was, though the nurse had added the needle in a different place and the black and blue mark from the first needle was prominent.
"Soda! He's fine!" Sodapop heard his older brother call from somewhere behind him, "Leave him alone, he just went back to sleep…"
Soda came closer to the bed, scanning Pony's features for bumps and bruises and any other signs of hurt that only he could see. Soda had a knack for that when it came to his kid brother, after all.
When he realized there was nothing out of the ordinar – though Pony did look pale, but surprisingly clean - he jerked his head around, eyes blazing. He was ready to knock some heads together.
"Steve, where were you?" he asked again, not paying attention to how loud his voice was.
"Soda, it ain't like tha-"
"How could you let this happen?" he accused, "Where the hell were you? All you had to do was sit here for a couple hours."
"Hey, I know I deserve that," Steve said, his face going red, "But I WAS here. The only time I went out was to give you that fuckin' update you asked for. When I found Pony, I helped him.I got him back into the bed. Nothing happened…"
"Nothing happened? Nothing happened?!" Soda stopped, taken aback. He tilted his head quizzically as if trying to reel in his anger. He was so mad. "He would have never fallen if you had been here -"
"Soda -" Darry said, trying to evoke some semblance of calm, even though he was angry too. "Lower your voice…"
Steve scratched his head and rubbed his forehead again, avoiding eye contact. He was mighty angry himself and realizing he should just tell everyone what had really happened, despite Pony asking him not to.
"I don't know why I even asked you to help me out," Soda went on, "You think my brother's a brat – some tagalong kid. All you had to do was sit around with him for a couple of hours. I should have been here, instead. You're better off at the DX,"
"Soda," Steve began, "It doesn't matter how I feel about the kid. You asked me for a favor and you know what I do it in a heart-"
"You should have been here!" Soda interrupted, "My brother's laying here, sick as a dog in a hospital room and you let him fall out of bed?!"
"I didn't LET HIM fall -"
Soda lunged at Steve but stopped short when he heard a voice.
"Soda…" Pony called out tiredly. Soda whipped his head around to look at his baby brother. Pony looked like he was going to cry, his lips turned down in a scowl. He had lifted his head off the pillow but his body was still heavy with sleep and sickness.
"Why are you blaming Steve?" he asked timidly, "I already told Darry it's my fault."
"It's not your fault, honey," Soda replied, his voice a little softer, "Of course it's not your fault. You're sick…"
"Yes, it is," Pony confessed grouchily, "I was the one who wanted to get out of bed,"
"And someone should have been here to stop you!" Soda replied, his voice getting louder.
"I did stop him!" Steve countered, "You weren't here, Soda, I was...so how could you possibly know what happened?"
"I know my brother!" Soda said stubbornly.
"Soda…" Pony called out, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Obviously not well enough -" Steve replied, not being able to hold back any longer.
"It should have been me here," Soda blurted out. "I wouldn't leave him here while he's sick."
"But you did…you had to go to work. And that's totally fine. You asked me to watch over him and I did," Steve replied.
"You left the room!"
"So what? I left the room for a minute – to update you! I thought you would want to know that Pony was ok. How could I know he'd –" Steve broke off, "Hey, if you were so worried about your sick kid brother then why were you late anyway? Pony's been waiting for you for the last 2 hours!"
"It wasn't my fault. Two-Bit's car stalled in the middle of the road."
"Why should I believe you?" Steve shot back haughtily, even though he knew deep down Soda wasn't lying.
"He's telling the truth, Steve," Two-Bit jumped in, "My car wouldn't start. He was late because of me."
"We were trying to get back," Soda added, "You're bothering me about being late, but you can't even manage to sit still long enough to watch over my kid brother,"
"He was sleeping. I thought it was ok to go out for a minute," Steve growled.
"He fell because of you!"
This was getting out of hand. Darry looked over at Pony who's face was paler than before and his eyes were wide in shock. He looked agitated and soon he was scrunching up his eyes against the pain that was suddenly splitting his head.
Darry came over to the right side of the bed, and put his arm around Pony's shoulders, trying to provide some sort of comfort and protection.
"Guys, would you mind having this fight somewhere else?" Darry hissed, but nobody heard him.
Steve had stopped arguing back and was just letting Soda yell at him. Soda's face was red and angry.
"I thought you were better than that, Steve," Soda spit out,
"Soda, you're talking nonse-"
From the bed, Ponyboy rubbed at his temples, the terrible headache coming on full force.
"Soda…" he called out again, his voice dragging.
His head was throbbing. It was probably the consequences of a stressful day, doing too much too soon, and constantly being woken up in the midst of a sleep cycle.
He lifted his arm to hide his eyes, which had welled up.
"Poor kid was practically on his deathbed two days ago, you think he's ready to be alone?" Soda was shouting at Steve.
"So-da!" Pony bellowed and suddenly everyone in the room froze. "Soda, stop it! Just stop it! Why won't you listen to me? I told you already it's not Steve's fault," he said, his voice a high-pitched whine.
Soda went slack-jawed until he finally spoke up again. "Pony, I was just trying to help," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
"You don't know what happened," Pony cried out, "You weren't here! Steve was!"
Soda took a step back, in shock, Pony's word's hitting him hard. His eyes looked hurt.
But Pony was angry. Just hours ago he didn't want to be alone, but now he wanted everyone to leave. He was too wrapped up in the pain, the dizziness, and the constant stress and interruptions.
"I don't need your help!" Pony heard himself saying to his brother.
"Pone -"
"You're making everything worse!"
"How?" Soda asked genuinely, his voice thick. "Steve should have been here when you fell…"
"No! Soda, why won't you listen?"
"He needs to learn some responsibility…"
The pain in his head was intense and there was some nausea bubbling up. Pony knew in that moment that Darry would tell him he needed to get rid of the stress.
Pony had covered his ears, as if to block out the noise. He couldn't listen to Soda and Steve argue anymore.
"I can't – I can't - Soda please –" He was practically rocking back and forth. He couldn't see. And he couldn't take it anymore.
"Get out!"
"What?"
"Get out!" Pony shouted again, his words breaking into a whine. "Go!" he shouted again, practically gagging on his own words.
Pony was reaching out to be comforted by Darry and his older brother leaned in close, cradling his head as if to protect him. Darry actually wondered if Pony was going to get sick. For a split second, he thought about going to find that emesis basin.
"Soda," Darry called out to him in a pacifying voice, "Maybe you should step out for a bit. Get some air. Clear your head," he said more sternly and when Soda looked at him he knew Darry meant business.
But he was such disbelief, his feet were rooted to the floor. He looked to his older brother to side with him and tell him not to leave. But Darry wasn't having it. He needed to worry about Pony right now.
Pony was trembling and Soda couldn't take it anymore.
He turned around and fled the room.
XXX
I hope you enjoyed this action-packed chapter!
Reviews please.