I do not own Dirty Dancing.

Chapter Twenty One

POV Baby

Trouble In Paradise

Quietly, in the back seat of Johnny's car, I changed back into my own clothes. As of now, I was only wearing my underwear, and the slip I'd worn under the dress. In the front seat, Johnny scratched his arm. Carefully, I pull on my white jeans.

"Hey, Cousins. Wherever you are right now, I want you to look at the sky. Look at those stars! What a show! Here are the Drifters,"

Wonderful,

Wonderful,

Wonderful,

Though the radio plays, the car seems filled with a near deafening silence. I get a sudden chill, like someone's watching me. When I look in the mirror at Johnny, his eyes are on the road. I must be imagining things.

Finally, he spoke up. I'd waited for the past half hour for a word out of him, and nothing. Until now, "You did good," He says, "You worked hard." I don't know what to say. I can't tell if I should compliment him, or wait for more. Instead, I say the only thing that pops into my head.

"Yeah, I saw that old couple from Kellerman's, and I thought that was it,"

Immediately, he commented, "Oh, me too, me too," Johnny stole a glance at me while he spoke. It made me want to blush, him looking at me in such a state of undress. "You know, but, by the second turn, you really had it,"

All you have to do is touch my hand,

To show me you understand,

"Yeah, but I didn't do the lift," I remind him, turning my shirt right side out.

"You did real good," He reassured me. Again, I feel that sensation of someone watching me. I try to pay it no mind, and put my shirt on.

And something happens to me,

That's some kind of wonderful,

The sensation doesn't go away, and as I tuck my shirt in, my curiosity got the better of me. I look in the mirror, to see Johnny's blue eyes staring back at me. They flit away at a moment's notice. Casually, I wonder just how long he'd been watching me. Had it been for the whole ride?

Any time my little world seems blue,

I just have to look at you,

And everything seems to be,

Some kind of wonderful,

Clumsily, I climb into the front seat. I watch Johnny as often as I can without him knowing. Once, luck isn't on my side, and he catches me looking at him as he tried to steal a glance of his own. Together, we grin shyly, playing coy. I scoot nearer to him.

I know I can't express,

This feeling of tenderness,

I knew ever since the lake that I was falling for Johnny. But what I didn't know was how he felt, or if something would ever happen. It was possible he liked me too, I'd caught him with enough dreamy, almost lustful expressions on his face. But there was no way for me to be certain, without admitting my feelings or asking outright.

There's so much I wanna say,

But the right words just won't come my way,

I just know, when I'm in your embrace,

This world is a happy place,

And something happens to me...

I reach to the floor and pull on my white sneakers as we approached the staff parking lot. As I checked my hair in the mirror, Johnny got out and walked around the car, opening the door for me. I grabbed the hand he offered, and stood up. "Thanks," I whisper, a sound barely audible under the frogs and crickets.

Johnny could have let go of my hand at any time, but he didn't. We stood there, not letting go of the other's hand. I want so badly to tell him how I felt. I wanted to feel his lips on mine. Johnny looked down at me softly, and I thought, briefly, that maybe, he wanted it too.

All of a sudden, Billy came running across the lawn, stopping to breathe when he reaches us. "Johnny! Come on, it's Penny!"

All three of us immediately start running towards Penny's cabin, where Billy came from. In the commotion, Johnny dropped my hand, "What happened?" Johnny asked his Cousin.

"Something went wrong," Is the best he can do for an explanation. Billy was no Doctor, and wasn't likely to know exactly what had gone wrong. "She's been waiting around until you got back,"

"You didn't call an ambulance?"

Johnny rushed over to Penny while Billy explained, "She said the hospital would call the police, she made me promise," Johnny sat beside Penny, and held her hand. She was drenched in sweat, and bleeding all over the sheets. He brushed back a few strands of her blonde hair. Penny moaned. "He didn't use no ether, nothing."

"I thought you said he was a real MD?" I ask. The Doctor had to have been an idiot to do this and run off if he had his medical license.

"The guy had a dirty knife and a folding table!" Billy exclaimed, "I could hear her screaming in the hallway, and I swear to god, Johnny, I tried to get in. I tried,"

Penny drew in a rattling breath, "It's all right. Johnny's here." He comforted her.

These people... they don't have the knowledge or equipment to deal with something like this. Penny might die if we didn't get her to a real Doctor. There was only one at Kellerman's who would help and not call the police. My Father.

I ran all the way to the cabin, so out of breath I could barely speak.

Trying not to wake Mom, I shake my Father. "Daddy,"

"What? What is it, Baby?" He asks.

"You have to come with me," I tell him, wishing I could save this conversation for later, "Right now."

"Is it Lisa?" He asked in an alarmed tone.

I'm out of breath from the run, but I managed to get out a "No," I had no time to explain this to him. We needed to get to Penny. As my Father climbed out of bed and put his shoes on, I grabbed his black medical bag, and stood to wait in the door.

I was not going to let Penny die tonight.

"Excuse me. Excuse me! Everybody clear out, please." My Father took Johnny's place at Penny's side, taking her hand. Johnny stood back and watched, albeit reluctantly. He knew there was nothing he could do to help. Penny moaned, and Dad immediately slipped into his Doctor persona. "Okay," He says. Johnny winced at Penny's pain. My Father gently touched her forehead, which was slick with sweat. Penny whimpered. "Yes, I know that hurts. We're going to take care of that." My Father released a sigh, reaching into his bag, "Who's responsible for this girl?"

"I am," Johnny answered. My Father looked at him, a disappointed expression on his face. What stung the most was that I knew Dad would believe him. While it was true that Johnny was responsible for her, as he was the closest thing to family she had, my Father would believe that meant Johnny was the Father. "Please. If she..." I touch my hand to Johnny's arm, lightly. I knew he was scared, and hurting, but he needed to stay calm for Penny.

As my Father ushered us outside, one thought circled through my mind.

What had I done?

It is a long time before I see my Father again. An hour or more. Who knows? It feels like forever. I'd made the right choice in bringing him here, even if it meant him finding out the truth about where I'd been spending my days.

Finally, Dad stepped out of Penny's room. I don't ask about her. I would find out eventually, and I didn't want the fight that I knew was coming to come any earlier than it had to.

Billy immediately jumped, and shook my Father's hand, "Doc, thanks a lot,"

Johnny extended a hand in an effort to thank him, who looked coldly at Johnny, "Doctor Houseman, I don't know how to thank you, to tell you, to-" Johnny stopped as he realized that my Father didn't want his thanks, his handshake.

Gently, Dad touched a hand to my shoulder, and turned away from Johnny. He lead me down the steps, away from Penny, and Johnny, the very place I want to be most right now.

I want to stay. I want to talk to Penny. There are a thousand things I want to do.

But with my Father watching, none of them were going to happen for a while.