And… I'm back! It's been a while. Probably at least a year, right? Well, the short version of the story is that a job that I had for 4 years (even when I started writing this story) suddenly got more stressful and more intense and it was hard to find the time and energy to continue the fanfic. But alas, I finally got the hell outta dodge and I have a new job, which thankfully, is much more stress-FREE. I'm publishing again (and hopefully this will become a pattern.) Basically, I've been working Chapter 41 for quite a while, but it's finally ready. So let's continue where we left off, shall we?
Thank you to everyone who has kept up with the story until now. And please keep reviewing! It helps me stay motivated and pushes me to write more.
"Pony?" Soda called. No answer.
"Soda, he's out," Darry said.
"Yeah, I know," Soda sighed, running a hand through the sleeping boy's hair, "Boy, he fell asleep fast."
"Always does," Darry answered dryly, "Soda, we need to talk." The deep voice cut into the thick silence.
Pony had once told Soda that Darry's eyes reminded him of two pieces of blue-green ice and Soda could feel them boring into him now. In the past he had always tried to look – well, past them – for what they really were, worry not anger.
Right now it was hard to remember that.
Soda looked at Ponyboy, who was lying flat against the bed, his head turned to the right so that those ugly, sharp staples on the side of his head were the focal point – through no fault of his own.
He had been so tired when Soda had rolled him back to the room after the shower – Darry meeting them halfway – and he'd collapsed onto the bed, practically begging to fall asleep. He was asleep even before Darry had thrown that cheap hospital blanket over his thin frame.
The way his lips turned up spoke volumes though, the easy smile on his face made him look so much better. His face was glowing. Whether it was the pride at finally being able to be up and about (sort of) or the newly washed hair, Soda didn't know, but he wouldn't have given up seeing that moment for anything. Not even getting blasted by Darry. Soda felt better, too, that panicked feeling from before slowly subsiding. But he knew he was in for it.
"Sure, Darry," Soda replied, knowing what was coming. He turned around and his voice was soft. "But let's talk outside. He's all tuckered out."
Darry moved to follow Soda out the door, but not before giving him a playful shove and a smirk. His lips pursed like he couldn't keep away the smile. "Tuckered out? You sound like mom."
Soda smiled even though he felt that familiar twinge.
Outside the door, Soda peered through the rectangular glass window watching his kid brother, as if he had left him hours earlier instead of a minute before. It was Darry's voice that broke him out of his reverie.
"Soda, what are you doing? Darry called out from behind him.
"I'm watching him," Soda said, "You remember the last time we were out here, don't ya?" He fought against the panicky feeling but it wasn't as bad as before.
Darry sighed and Soda turned around noticing Darry's muscles bulge out of his tight black t-shirt as he crossed his arms in front of his chest."Mind telling me how you got out of work early?" he asked stoically.
"Would you believe – good behavior?" he asked, cracking a small grin that was more guilty than anything else
"Very funny," Darry said, and of course, he wasn't laughing, "Soda, what were you thinking?!" he asked, as he uncrossed to talk with his hands. "You left before your hours were up. Does your boss even know you were gone? You know we can't risk gettin' in no trouble right now. We need every penny to pay for Pony's medical bills. And I'm not even roofin' like I usually do."
Soda's grin faded fast and his bottom lip drooped with the disappointment his brother felt in him. "I know…" he interjected,
It was like Darry didn't even hear him. "And the social worker, haven't heard from her yet, but you know I will soon. If she hears you're not at work – not doing your job – she'll think we're not responsible and we won't be able to pay those bills."
"We're responsible Darry, we've been with our brother, by his side, every single day."
Darry's head was spinning fast. Like the way he felt that moment he'd hit Pony that night. How he had frozen and his eyes had bulged and when he'd looked down at his hand, he saw it had turned red. And all that while Pony had run off. It was the same feeling.
"I wasn't – I got us into this mess – " Darry heard himself saying.
"Oh come on, Darry, we've talked about this. You can blame yourself for getting stuck in the snow. You were coming back from the doctor. Pony was bad off before —"
"And YOU – you need to be at work when you're supposed to be. We can't look bad," he huffed, "The state's not around yet, but they will be soon and we gotta be on our best behavi—"
"My boss won't find out, Darry. He wasn't even there," Soda revealed, "Steve covered for me. Like a good buddy. You know we wouldn't risk something without a good plan. And a good reason," he added, fighting the urge to check on Pony one more time.
"Soda, that's not a good–"
"Darry!" Soda shouted, his voice echoing in the empty white halls and Darry thought he heard someone shush them. "You saw what Pony was like earlier. I – I – I panicked," Soda's voice softened, "Like before. Well, not like before, but yeah, I was worried. I had to come needed me."
Darry's face also softened. But his voice remained controlled. "Look, I get it, Soda. But you have to think of your responsibilities."
"Pony's my responsibility!"
"Your responsibility – and mine – is to make sure our brother is getting the best care possible, and we can't do that without money."
"He won't get better without our help," Soda responded as if he hadn't even heard, "Look maybe the state should pay our hospital bills – cause my brother needs me right now and I'm gonna be there for him."
Darry stopped and just looked at him. Then he shook his head and uncharacteristically broadened his mouth in a crooked smile. "You know how naive you sound right now, Pepsi? The social worker, she don't care about us. She just wants to make sure we're staying out of trouble and paying our bills. And we ain't exactly rollin' in dough."
Soda stood there, feeling sheepish and scratching the back of his head.. "Look Darry, I ain't gonna lose my job. And Steve, he knows what we're up against – he won't let me lose it either. I'll be careful. But Pony's still my top priority and he needed me today. So I don't regret it."
Darry nodded, chewing on the words. He's mine, too….Not just yours. He thought. Both of you are.
"Soda we ain't gonna foot the bills on my paycheck alone," Darry said again, feeling like a parrot. "Just – stay at work next time, alright? Don't risk it."
Soda was annoyed and wanted to reply he would do what he god damn pleased when it comes to work – and his brother – but a nurse – one of the ones whose name he could never remember – appeared out of nowhere and he wondered how much she had actually heard.
Not enough sleep and always focused on his brother, he could never remember the names of those nurses. He hoped he wouldn't have to anyway.
What he did remember about this one was her kindness – she had a kind smile and he felt like she genuinely did care about Pony.
You could tell that she liked her job and she did it well. She liked taking care of people.
She had been the one who had changed Pony's sheets after he had soaked through them and done it so warmly that she had probably made Pony feel less ashamed, and that made Soda genuinely happier.
"Hi boys," she said, pretending like she hadn't noticed she'd interrupted an argument, "Just passing through. Started my shift about 20 minutes ago. It's time for Pony's antibiotics. He's sleeping, I assume?" she asked.
"Yeah, he's sleeping, " Soda spoke up, "He had a shower earlier so it wiped him out."
"I heard about that," the nurse was saying, "Good to hear he was up and about!"
"Yeah, I think he's feelin' a lot better," Darry piped up. Soda looked at him then and narrowed his eyes – because how did Darry really know? He had been at work.
Darry looked back at Soda and caught him looking at him strangely. "What?" he shrugged, knowing what Soda was thinking, "I saw him after the shower. He looked better!"
The nurse didn't want to get in the middle of anything. "Well, Nurse Cindy did tell me his color has improved," she said, "Anyway, I just have to add some antibiotics to his IV, hopefully, it won't disturb him," she said, turning away from them and heading into Pony's room. Darry and Soda followed.
Soda made sure the door eased closed behind him and didn't slam.
Pony was still mainly in the same position, though a little more turned to the right. His left arm, which held the tube connected to the IV was unfurled in front of him, on the blanket. Nothing was moving through the tube though – the bags that hung at the top of the IV pole were empty.
The nurse quietly took her place next to the IV pole. She began to clean the port closest to Ponyboy with an alcohol pad, before attaching the medication syringe there. Then she pushed the contents of the syringe through to the tube.
Soda and Darry had watched the nurses do this so many times by now, they were practically experts at knowing how it would go. But they still scratched their head in wonder when a nurse like this one would do it so smoothly and quietly that Pony wouldn't even stir. It had happened a few times – but not all that many. Ponyboy was a pretty light sleeper and it wasn't so easy to sleep in the ICU with nurses over you at all times. But he was still sick and exhausted, so it was possible.
Darry and Soda were impressed.
The room continued to be quiet, although surprisingly not tense and with the occasional scraping of a chair. And then Soda's stomach rumbled.
Darry looked at him and cocked his eyebrow, trying not to laugh. He wasn't succeeding. "Hungry?" he asked in a low voice.
"What makes you say that?" Soda responded, grinning again.
"Looks like your stomach's louder than the nurse," Darry retorted.
Soda glanced at Pony worriedly. His mouth hung open slightly. He was breathing heavier than usual. But he was still asleep. Soda looked back at Darry and whispered loudly, making Darry cringe, "Yeah well I forgot to eat lunch. Been kinda busy. So yeah I'm pretty hungry.
As he said that, the door to the room swung open.
" – Somebody say hungry?!" a voice exclaimed from the door. Somehow Two-Bit's voice still wasn't as loud as it had been before – since the whole incident when he had joked about Pony's hair, Two-Bit had become more mellow, more serious, especially in the hospital room. He understood the severity of the ICU and Pony's situation, even if he had been getting better. Plus he didn't want to get forcefully punched by either one of the Curtis brothers.
Two-Bit sauntered in followed by Steve. They both carried bags of food. Darry immediately put a finger over his lips. Two-Bit glanced at Pony who was still out like a light as he balanced a tray of drinks.
"We come bearing gifts," Two-Bit offered, his voice relatively low. "Vitamin C, D, A, and B."
The nurse eyed the greasy bags from her place over by the IV. "There better be some applesauce in there Mr. Matthews," she said with a grin. "Or toast perhaps?"
"Yeah, Two-Bit, where's the applesauce?" Steve echoed, dogging his friend.
"Shoot, I knew I forgot something," Two-Bit said just as Soda swatted Steve in the stomach, "You're being loud!"
"Ow, geez Soda what'd you do that for? Two-Bit's the loud one…"
Two-Bit only wagged his eyebrows
"Hey, you guys brought dinner – " Soda started to say before he was interrupted by the nurse.
"Pony's all set for now," she said to Darry, "Shall I have someone bring him a tray?
Darry glanced at Pony, sleeping soundly. "I guess not for now. We should let him sleep."
"Yes, that's probably a good idea," the nurse agreed, "Well dinner will probably be available for the next hour. So let me know."
"Ok sure," Darry replied, "Thank you.
"Let me know if you change your mind," she singsonged as she left the room.
"That's the first nurse that didn't bother us about the food we bring in here," Two-Bit was saying as he put the tray down on a counter by the window.
"Yeah, she's one of the nicer ones," Soda responded.
"Maybe she should have," Steve replied, coming closer to Soda, still holding the greasy-looking bag, "This one's as greasy as you, he quipped handing it to his buddy.
"Gimme that," Soda said, grabbing for it. Darry cringed with every crinkle of the brown paper bag, but Pony kept right on sleeping. Soda took a burger out, unwrapped it, and immediately took a bite.
"Geez, Soda, inhale that why don't ya?" Steve looked at him with a mixture of awe and disgust.
"What?" Soda asked, his mouth full, "I'm hungry." Still chewing, he passed the greasy bag filled with more burgers over to Darry. Darry looked deep into the bag for a while, not really wanting any more greasy food, but knowing he didn't really have a choice if he wanted to relieve his hunger without leaving. He pulled out a pack of fries in a paper container, picking at them first.
Steve went over to the window where Two-Bit was standing with a couple more bags and the tray of drinks. As Two jumped up onto the window ledge and pulled out his own wrapped burger, Steve dropped into a chair. It was quiet in the room as everyone chewed on their respective meals. Steve kicked his feet up on the ledge, leaning back and partially turning away from Pony's bed. Then Two-Bit looked out the window and did a double take.
"I don't believe it," he said, louder than he intended, "It's snowing again."
"Yea right," Steve waved him off like it was just more nonsense from Two-Bit. Crossing one leg over the other on the ledge, he began tossing fries into his mouth and leaned back even further like he was too cool to listen to one of Two-Bit's stories. One of the legs on the chair hung precariously in the air for a minute before slipping as the chair tipped backward too far. Suddenly there was a loud crash and Steve was on the floor.
Soda practically choked on the burger he was still eating as he whipped around to look at his friend. Steve had fortunately not hit his head or hurt himself anywhere else.
"Steve, you ok?" Soda asked from across the room, but he couldn't hold back the laugh.
It was only Steve's pride that was wounded as Two-Bit hopped down from the ledge to grab his friend's arm under the bicep and help him up.
At the same moment, Ponyboy shot up from the bed with a shout, eyes bugged and open, and head and neck coming way off the pillow. He obviously couldn't go far, there were still tubes and the IV. But he felt like something – some noise – had jolted the life out of him as his heart pounded.
There were suddenly hands on him, one on his chest, the other on his shoulder. He thought he felt one on his hair. They were gentle and protective.
"Pony," Someone called out, "Easy, kiddo,"
It was like he had just woken up from a nightmare.
"What was that?!" He asked, stunned, breathing heavy, and trying to catch his breath.
"Lay back down kiddo. It's alright," Someone was easing him back against the bed.
He looked up at Darry through bleary eyes as his big brother turned towards the window on the other side of the room angrily. "You guys are here 5 minutes and you've already woken him up! I oughta boot you out right now."
"It was an accident, Darry," he heard someone grumble.
Pony was still wrapped up in the throes of sleep when he looked around confused.
"What?" It was still so hard to talk and he was so disoriented, "What happened?" he asked.
"Good going, Steve," Someone was saying from across the room. But he didn't sound mad – more like laughing.
"You think I did it on purpose?" someone else growled. It was Steve, of course.
Someone was touching his hair, a thumb gently brushing against his forehead. "Sorry, we woke you, kiddo," Soda was saying, "Go on back to sleep." He turned and looked over at his brother.
"Soda, what was that?" he asked
"Steve fell over in his chair," Soda said smiling and his eyes shone as he fought not to burst out laughing. He hitched a thumb back at his friend, "Good ol' Stevie." Soda turned his body slightly to make sure Steve was ok and Pony tried to look past him at his brother's best buddy who was attempting to collect himself.
Being startled had given him a headache, but Pony was already waking up and trying to make sense of what was going on – somehow he knew it would be hard to go back to sleep no matter how much Soda's fingers on his hair made him tired.
"Can I have some water?" he asked, suddenly realizing how parched his throat was and Soda was immediately pouring him a glass from the pitcher and adding a straw.
"You're not going back to sleep, Pone?" Darry asked as he helped Pony sit up and squashed a pillow behind his back.
"I don't know," Pony replied, wondering if he should. He certainly felt tired enough. Was getting up was the right move? His body ached something awful. The glass of water was held under his lips and he sipped from it, grateful Soda wasn't asking him to hold the cup as he drank.
Two-Bit and Steve stepped up closer to the bed. "Hey Pony," Two-Bit grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Sorry I woke you kid," Steve mumbled, still rubbing the back of his head.
Pony looked up at him like he was trying to size him up. "It's ok," he said softly between sips.
"You hurt yourself?" Soda asked his friend.
"Nah, not really," Steve replied.
"Just bruised his ego," Two-Bit blocked his face off in Steve's direction so only Pony could see what he was saying.
"Well, at least Humpty Dumpty over here didn't crack his head open," Darry mumbled giving Pony a look.
"But he sure had a great fall!" Two-Bit quipped, slapping his knee like it was the funniest thing in the world.
"Ahh I see Superman makes jokes now," Steve grumbled.
The laughter that bubbled out of Pony's mouth wasn't so much because the joke was funny — it was stupid really — but because Two-Bit was so ridiculous and that Darry had actually made a joke.
Maybe things were getting better.
The guys beamed, proud of themselves for making the youngest Curtis laugh. It was good to hear that sound!
"You must have the hardest head on the block," Two-Bit quipped and Steve rose his hand up like he wanted to slap him.
"Alright enough!" Darry bellowed like an annoyed father as Pony rubbed his eyes, still too tired to focus.
He was exhausted. Soda saw it. He watched him lean back against the pillows. "Why don't you go back to sleep, Pone?" he asked quietly like it was a secret between the two of them. He knew Pony didn't want the attention.
Ponyboy pulled at the thing in his arm.
"Careful of the IV, kiddo. You just got some new meds," Darry explained and Pony looked down, not even remembering the nurse had put the IV back in after the shower. He had been so tired.
"You alright, Pony? Maybe you need to rest more," Darry asked, taking in his brother's pale complexion and repeating what Soda had said.
Pony shook his head, but Soda did notice him lean back against the pillow.
"You feelin' ok?" Soda asked just to be sure.
"I'm fine. Maybe fine enough to go home," he said matter-of-factly, pointedly looking at Darry.
"Not even 5 minutes of being awake!" Two-Bit blurted out with a grin.
"Not yet, Pone," Soda replied, "But they're moving you soon remember?"
"Moving me…" he echoed.
"Yeah, out of the ICU," Soda said cheerfully like he wanted to believe Pony would be healed in a matter of days. "They say you're doing better…"
Pony looked at Soda, frustrated, and almost like the wind was being knocked out of him. Then why do I still feel like crap? He wanted to ask out loud, but he knew he didn't want his brothers to worry. And he felt guilty for even feeling the way he felt when Soda looked like a puppy dog that was waiting for his daily treat.
But Soda also squeezed Pony's shoulder from the side of the bed and gave him a look. At the end of the day, he understood.
"You want something to eat, Ponyboy?" Two-Bit asked as he walked back to the area near the window where he had left his own greasy bag and drinks. "I got a burger here with your name on it!"
Ponyboy turned green at the thought.
Soda saw it. "You don't have to eat now if you don't want, kiddo," he said, though a glance at Darry showed the older brother was annoyed by that comment. Pony had to eat to get better! "Or we can get you something from the cafeteria downstairs…"
Two-Bit wandered over, holding a long styrofoam cup that had a straw in it, "Lucky for you, I got something else I think you're gonna like," he smiled and shook the cup slightly, acting more confident than he felt.
"What is it?" Pony asked skeptically.
"You'll have to drink to find out," Two-Bit said, his grin almost maniacal. He started handing it over.
"That better not be any sort of alcohol," Darry warned.
"Come on, Darry, whaddya take me for?" Two-Bit shot back, trying to look innocent. "The beer is for me." He winked at Pony.
"Yea, it better be…" Darry mumbled.
By then Pony was eyeing the cup, taking it from Two-Bit's hand and nervously taking a sip. Then he gulped it down and his face was unreadable.
"Well?" Soda asked, cocking his eyebrow expectedly.
Pony smiled. "It's a milkshake," he said, then went back for more. "Chocolate."
Soda lit up.
"His favorite," Two-Bit chimed in from across the room. When Soda turned his head, Two-Bit was drinking from a similar styrofoam cup with a straw.
"You like it, Pone?" Darry asked.
"Yeah," Pony said breathlessly, going in for more sips.
"You see, Dar? You gotta trust me. I wasn't gonna poison the kid…" Darry rolled his eyes.
"Hey Two-Bit, I see you got one for yourself. Where's my milkshake?" Soda asked, teasing.
"Next time you're in the hospital for a week –" Two-Bit said between gulps, "I'll get you plenty of milkshakes," Two-Bit said in between slurps.
He was only half-joking, but Pony almost choked on his shake.
"I've been here for a week?" He croaked.
Soda looked at Darry. For once he was at a loss for words.
"More like 5 days, kiddo," Darry said quickly. It was true the days had all run into each other. At the same time, Two-Bit was offering Soda his shake, and Soda was mumbling something along the lines of, "Not with your slobber on it."
"I'm officially never getting out of here," Pony muttered, frowning and sinking back against the pillow, styrofoam milkshake in hand. He pulled the straw out of his mouth, annoyed by his circumstances.
Soda squeezed his shoulder and gave Pony a look like he felt sorry.
"Keep drinkin' kid you might get outta here sooner than you think," Steve quipped.
"There's more where that came from," Two-Bit said in agreement.
Soda got up, squeezing Pony's knee before he went over to where Steve was pulling out a deck of cards and Two-Bit was near the windowsill sucking down the shake.
It was almost like whatever the air was charged with had dissipated when Soda moved away. Pony suddenly felt extremely exhausted, like he couldn't keep his eyes open. It might have had something to do with the shake. Usually, food gave a person energy but in this case, sucking it down - as tasty as it was - was using up the little power he had left and it felt heavy in his stomach after days of not eating.
Before he even realized it, Pony was nodding off, his eyes glossing over as he fought to keep them open.
Even though he was across the room near Steve, Soda kept a sharp eye on his brother and watched as his chin hit his chest, head bobbing as his eyes shut. The styrofoam cup teetered in his hand
"Darry!" Soda called out and Darry came out of his daydream to gently grasp the cup out of Pony's hand. Pony, who was totally exhausted but still not fully asleep, felt it and he felt Darry's hands push him against the pillow. But he kept his eyes closed like something was pulling him under.
Darry shook the cup slightly and was pleasantly surprised quite a bit of it was gone.
"I think that's the most real food he's had since he's been here," Darry said aloud to the others.
"If you can call milkshakes real food," Steve smirked.
Two-Bit looked proud of himself.
Soda, who had perched on the window ledge, turned his head to look out the window.
"I can't believe it's snowing again!" he said, peering out at the flakes that were getting heavy and fogging up the window. "Man, I thought we were done with the snow.
"Snow?" Pony's low voice echoed from the bed as his eyes fluttered open and he grasped for the object in his hand that was no longer there, looking around confused. "Hey, where's my shake?"
"I took it away," Darry answered. "You were going to drop it, Pone."
"Why?" Pony asked, still disoriented, "I didn't fall asleep."
"You definitely fell asleep little man," Darry replied, the corners of his mouth curling up in a smile.
"I was…dozing," Pony retorted. Darry nodded with a grin.
"It's snowing?" Pony asked, looking towards the window.
"Yea, it's snowing again!" Soda replied a little too enthusiastically. Suddenly he had an idea. "Hey…You wanna come and see?"
"Soda—," Darry warned.
"What?" Soda shrugged his shoulders innocently. "What's wrong with letting him see?"
"Soda, Pony needs to rest —" Darry said through gritted teeth.
Pony was weak but he was sick of the bed and sick of everyone babying him.
"I wanna see —" he said.
Something was telling him to get up and look at the snow. Like right then seeing the disaster that put him in here was the most important thing in his life right now.
Though if he had said that to Darry, his older brother would look at him like he'd grown two heads. And anyway, it wasn't only the snow.
"Come on, Darry let the damn kid stretch his legs a little." Steve chimed in, surprising everyone.
Darry looked worried. "Pony?" he questioned, " You sure you feel up to it?" He asked.
Well, if he couldn't go home, then at the very least he could get out of the damn bed. And this time, he wouldn't have to go about it alone.
"I'll try," he answered.
Darry didn't know what to think. On the one hand, he was thrilled that Pony wanted to get up. It was a good sign. On the other hand, he was still pretty weak.
"Alright," he sighed finally, "But I want you sitting by the window, not standing." Pony nodded, "Soda, come over here and help me."
"What about my IV?" Pony asked, showing Darry his arm.
"It'll go with you," he said. "It's on a pole with wheels." He thought for a moment that he should do the wise thing and ask a nurse for approval, but when he saw how happy Pony looked, he decided he would just go with it.
Before anyone could ask him if he needed help, Pony sat up a little too quickly. Then he pulled the blanket off his legs and turned himself around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. That was a bad idea because the room immediately spun and he almost fell forward face first. He collected himself quickly, but everyone saw it.
"Whoa, whoa, not so fast, Pone," Soda said, coming closer to steady him, "You almost fell."
Pony sucked in a breath and suddenly Darry was there, too. He looked at his little brother hard as he put a strong, steady hand on his shoulder. "You ok? One step at a time, little buddy. Just tell us when you're ready," he heard Darry saying, "We'll help you."
"You'd think we were challenging him to the 400 meter," he heard Steve quip off to the side, "Hold your horses, kid. Snow's still gonna be there in a few minutes."
"Lay off, Steve," he heard Soda retort. Pony wanted to throw out some witty comeback on his own, but he was still trying to fend off the dizziness.
"Take your time, Pone," Soda said gently.
That comment definitely got the youngest Curtis going, though. Suddenly he was sliding down onto the balls of his feet, hoping no one would pay attention to the bony knees that were sticking out of his hospital gown. The exhaustion was still eating at him. His shoulders felt incredibly heavy, probably the worst they've ever felt. But he wanted to do something that wasn't lying flat on the bed.
For a second, he almost thought his knees would buckle, but Darry was there to keep him upright and Soda was coming around with the IV pole on wheels. He had almost forgotten about it, if not for the familiar pull of the tape on the inside of his arm.
"You ok, Pony?" Darry asked and Pony nodded in the affirmative, as Soda come to stand next to him, left hand on the IV pole, right hand on Pony's left shoulder. Thankfully, Two-Bit came over to pull the IV pole separately so Soda could focus his attention on his brother.
And so began the funny little procession to the other side of the room – Darry and Soda keeping their hands light on Pony's back as he moved. Soda took his little brother's fist into his own palm, helping Pony keep his balance. They could see he was still a bit dizzy and unsteady, but walking was easier this time, and faster, like his legs were finally remembering what to do.
As they came close to the window, instead of sitting down in the chair that was set up behind him, Pony bent over the ledge to look out the window, trying not to think about how the cold wall under the sill hit against those bony knees.
He stared out at the falling flakes in front of him, even clearing the fog from the window to get a better look. As he looked down, he noticed how they streamed down steadily and how patches of road snuck through the snow-covered ground.
He stared and it even made him a little woozy and a little nauseous. All that snow again. Like when he and Darry had been stuck on the side of the road. He thought he heard someone calling his name, but he was distracted. Everything white and gray and yellow and even a little blue.
And the snow was blinding. And so, so bright.
He remembered the same nauseous feeling when he fell out of Darry's truck, the same blinding snow hitting his face with full force, cold and wet, against his flushed face. That biting wind that hit against his feverish cheeks and how he couldn't puke what little was left in his stomach fast enough. And everything was so, so bright.
Darry picking him up under the neck and that sharp, blinding, awful pain that came with it. Soda's concerned face in the unfamiliar truck and how the lights were blinding and so bright he had to shield his face in someone's chest.
The trembling and the deep cold that made him wince and someone stroking his hair gently.
Then someone carrying him again, the sharp, wet snow hitting his cheeks, despite cold hands trying desperately to hide his face. Being rolled down the hall on a bed. Voices around him, but he couldn't focus. Squeezing his eyes shut against the lights above that hurt his eyes.
And everything was so, so bright.
Pony felt a sharp pain in his head, hitting him right between the eyes. He backed away from the window, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, and somehow fell backwards into the chair that was there for him like someone had pushed it under his backside.
He lifted his hand up towards his face, hiding his eyes with it. He felt himself panicking a bit and breathing heavily and feeling nauseous all at the same time.
Someone was shaking him and he'd wish they'd stop.
The pain was fierce.