Alternate ending.

All work presented below is from TheNightNinja. She also created the sequel. But let me clear something up first. The sequel is just an alternative ending to the original ending so it's a continuation, but really the ending isn't that. So here's the alternate to before that, if that makes any sense. So if you want a sad ending, end at the previous chapter. This has potential to end well.

Again all rights to this chapter belong to TheNightNinja

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Darry looked at his little brother's door, he knew something was wrong with his little brother and he knew that bringing him to Johnny would help but he wasn't sure if Pony was up for the trip. He decided to go with his gut and walked into his brother's room.

"Hey Pony, baby I have a surprise for you but you need to come with me and the guys" said Darry gently running his hand through Pony's hair, it hurt him to see his baby brother so frail and broken. Pony groaned softly.

"Common baby, lets get you into some clean clothes and then out to the car" soothed Darry gently pulling Pony into a sitting position. He got Pony dressed before carrying him into the living room, giving the others a glare that said 'say anything to him and I will kill you'. Soon they were all in the car, Two-Bit was driving because Darry needed to sit next to Pony, who kept talking to himself. Darry was really worried about his baby brother and didn't want to leave him next to Dallas and Steve.

"Pony, honey, we're almost there, do you think you'll be able to walk baby?" asked Darry softly. Pony nodded slightly. They all got out of the car, Pony couldn't walk well so Darry half carried him. Darry could tell that Pony was very very weak and needed help quick. Also the doctors could also see that Pony was in really bad shape. After a few words with the doctors Darry had arrange for Pony to be placed in the same room as Johnny before going to see him in a minute.

"Mr. Curtis, may I speak to you for a moment" said the doctor

"Of Course" said Darry following him out of the room

" Mr. Curtis your brother's Jaw is severely fractured and his leg is broken to the point where it might never heal and even if it did it wouldn't work the same ever again, we need to perform several operations on him, on to wire his jaw back together and another to amputate his leg. His arm is also broken quite badly and will require another surgery to fix, also there are quite a few of his injuries that are infected." said the Doctor. Darry paled.

"Now I understand that you have been in the process of filing to sue this hospital because your friend's IV was hanging low enough to trip over. I am prepared to make a deal with you, if you don't sue the hospital we won't inform the state about your brother's condition." said The Doctor

"You have my word sir" said Darry quickly.

"Good, now that that's settled, I am also Johnny's doctor and understand why you requested to have them in the same room, now under normal circumstances we would have notified his parents of his condition however, we looked at his medical file and a few other things and have found that in all circumstances of him requiring hospitalization and his primary doctor visits that it's been your family taking care of his medical needs and the school has noticed that there are days when he comes to school with significant bruising and conducted an investigation where they found they his parents are abusing him, due to the fact that your family is caring for him and providing him with the things his family should have, this hospital has decided to take legal action in ensuring that Johnathan Cade is placed into your custody" said the Doctor

"Thank you so much sir" said Darry sighing with relief, though now he could hear Johnny yelling for Pony. Darry went into the room to try to take care of the situation.

"Johnny, Pony will be here soon, they had to take him into surgery" said Darry

"Why? Asked Johnny, the venom in his voice making Two-Bit, Steve, Dally and Soda flinch

"He's hurt really bad, he'll need you now more than ever Johnny" said Darry

"Who Hurt him" asked Johnny menacingly. Dally sighed

"We did Johnny, I'm so sorry, it's just he tripped over your IV, he almost killed you and we sorta flipped out, we made him believe he killed you and we beat him up" said Dally

"How badly is he hurt?" asked Johnny, his voice calm but the anger in his eyes made Dally flinch

"His leg needs to be amputated, and his Jaw is badly broken, his arm will also never be the same and he is very sick from the infections" sighed Darry. Soda gasped, his baby brother would never be able to run track again or write or do anything he loved, and it was all their fault.

"So you mean to tell me, that my best friend is even more hurt than I am and that no it wasn't the socs who beat him to a pulp both physically and mentally like they did me, but his own friends and family" said Johnny slowly and menacingly

"Johnny, don't be mad at Darry though, he had nothing to do with this, he was trying to help Pony" said Steve. Johnny's gaze softened when he looked at the worried expression on Darry's face

"Johnny, the hospital is going to work things out with the state so that you are placed in my care, that way you can help Pony and I can take care of both of you" said Darry softly. Johnny sighed and turned to face the wall.

"Can all of you except Darry and Soda leave, please" asked Johnny, his voice soft but they could tell he was angry, scared and extremely worried about his best friend. The three of them sat in silence for what felt like forever but eventually the nurses placed Pony on the bed next to Johnny, he was still asleep from the anestesia.

"Pony!" gasped Johnny. Darry walked over to his baby brother's bed and stroked his hair

"Pony, honey, can you open those pretty green eyes for us? Johnny's here baby, Johnny's alive and he's really worried about you" said Darry gently. Johnny sat up in his bed and looked at his best friend

"Pony, I'm here, please wake up, i won't let anything else bad ever happen to you" said Johnny. Pony opened his eyes a little bit and groaned, he was sore all over, couldn't talk, could barely move and felt awful.

"Johnny?" he said in a soft, barely audible whisper because he couldn't move his mouth

"Yeah, I'm here Pony, Don't worry" said Johnny

"Go back to sleep baby, you need your rest" said Darry gently "In fact both of you need your rest"

"We'll be back tomorrow baby" said Soda running his hand through Pony's hair. They left and Johnny looked around to make sure no nurses were nearby. He got out of his bed and walked over to Pony's laying down next to his best friend and holding him close.

"I will never ever let anyone hurt you ever again" soothed Johnny. Both boys fell asleep, Pony's condition stabilizing to the point where the nurses decided that it was best to leave the boys like that. Pony awoke the next morning with Johnny's arms around him making him feel loved and safe and happy for once in a long time. Johnny was still sleeping so pony buried his face into Johnny's chest. Suddenly pony felt someone petting his hair, Johnny was asleep so pony thought it was Darry. But it was was actually Two Bit, who had realized just how much damage their actions had caused, pony could have died from his injuries, that they had caused him, and as it was Johnny would probably never speak to them again and pony wouldn't be even talking at all for a long time. Steve and Dally were no longer welcome at the Curtis house but because two bit had wanted to try and make things right earlier he was given a second chance, though he knew Johnny would never forgive him. The voices in Pony's head were gone now, replaced by Johnny's gentle voice telling him things were going to be ok e emotional connection between the two boys had grown stronger now that they were so close to each other and Pony's soul needed It's brother to protect it.

"Hey pony, your brothers had to work today so they asked me to come keep you company" said Two Bit gently, Johnny woke up at the sound of two bits voice and pony cuddled closer to Johnny for protection.

"you have some nerve coming here two bit, then again you always did have the Iq of a tomato, I can take of pony right now and he doesn't need one of the people who caused him all this pain to be here, you've done enough" growled Johnny. Two Bit was shocked, Johnny had never used that tone of voice

5h agotimid little Johnny was pissed off. Two Bit sighed, he didn't want to cause Pony anymore distress and get his heartrate up higher than it should be, the nurses would throw him out real quick.

"I'll tell Darry that it's best if he and Soda be the ones to visit" said Two-Bit, slightly heartbroken, but he knew it was his own fault. After Two-Bit left Johnny wrapped the blanket even tighter around Pony

"Don't worry Pony, I'm here, I'll take care of you now" soothed Johnny

"Please, tell me this isn't a dream" Pony whispered, his voice hardly even a whisper and no one but Johnny would have heard it over the machines.

"It's not a dream Pone, I'm really here, and everything is going to get better, I will protect you now and forever" soothed Johnny. Eventually both boys were allowed to go home but pony had to have his medicine injected into him because he still couldn't open his mouth. Johnny didn't trust anyone else to take care of pony, well except Darry but he preferred to be the main carer for Pony. one night Pony and Johnny were in bed, Pony was sore and wasn't looking forward to another doctors appointment tomorrow. There was one thing nagging Johnny though."Pony?" asked Johnny softly

"Mmm?" murmured Pony

" Pone, I know you had voices in your head, what were they telling you to do baby?" asked Johnny

"They were telling me to kill myself, I was going to that day Darry brought me to the hospital, if they had left me alone at home, I would have done it" whispered Pony, Johnny pulled Pony close to him

"Oh pony, I'm so so sorry I didn't wake up sooner. I could have stopped this from happening" said Johnny

"I'm sorry" whimpered pony

"shh,it's not your fault baby" soothed Johnny.

"Please, don't leave me again, I don't think I can take it" cried Pony

"I'm not going anywhere" soothed Johnny. Pony was crying again, his tears soaking Johnny's shirt.

"I'm going to kill Dally and Steve, and if there's time, two-Bit" hissed Johnny. Months passed and Pony slowly healed with the help of Johnny and his brothers. The rest of the gang still came over it had taken a while for Darry to forgive them but everyone still walked on eggshells around Pony, who had finally started going back to school. He was currently working on his homework, his right arm had been rendered immobile despite the bones healing, the doctors said that the infections had destroyed most of the nerves and muscle tissue, so Pony was using his left arm with great difficulty plus some help from Johnny. Steve, Dally and Two Bit had decided amongst themselves that since they practically lived at the Curtis house it would be a big help to Darry if they actually started paying rent. So now the bills were being paid on time and the house was kept clean enough for Pony's wheelchair, his dead arm wouldn't allow him to use crutches and prosthetic limbs were way outside their price range even with the extra money. Johnny getting a job was out of the question because Pony still needed quite a bit of care. One afternoon all the boys were lounging about the living room watching Mickey. Pony and Johnny were on the couch, Johnny's arm wrapped protectively around Pony. Pony was falling asleep, he still shied away from Dally and Steve though he was doing better with Two-Bit, he would laugh at some of Two-Bit's jokes but it still hurt to open his mouth. The gang was almost back together but they still had a long way to go before they earned Pony's and Johnny's trust back.