18. Visitors

To Pony's surprise, Dallas was the first of the guys to visit her, walking right into her room on Sunday afternoon not long after she woke up and glaring down at her with his arms crossed. Darry, who had been reading the newspaper at her side, gave him a warning look over the top of the paper. When Dally just stood there, he put it down, doing some glaring of his own, Soda going kind of tense on her other side. She didn't think she'd ever seen Dally awake before 10am, but here it was 9:30, and he was fully dressed and everything. She could totally believe that he'd gotten up early just to yell at her, but with the way Darry was watching him, she doubted he'd get more than a few words in before her brother kicked him out.

"Hey, Dal. Thanks for coming, man," Soda tried. Dally nodded, grunting a little, but didn't take his eyes off Pony.

"What?" she demanded before either of her brothers could say anything else. They'd eased up on the pain meds so she still got to be sleepy all the time, but she was hurting more too, and she didn't feel like dealing with Dally glaring at her like that. If he wanted to yell, she guessed she couldn't stop him, but she knew Darry probably would.

"You ever pull that shit again…" he started, and he jaw dropped, incredulous.

"What shit? Keeping you from getting shot?" she interrupted, feeling brave since Soda was snickering on one side of her. On her other side, Darry rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh. To her surprise, Dally didn't even get mad or yell back at her. Instead, he snorted, shaking his head and looking almost fond.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?"

She just rolled her eyes. "You ought to be thanking me. I saved your life, remember?"

"Man, your kid sister sure is mouthy," he told Darry who picked up his newspaper again, shaking his head and ignoring him. Dally tapped his knuckles against Pony's bed, meeting her eyes and looking real serious. "That was close, Pony. Too close. You hear? Jesus kid…I thought he'd killed you."

He looked haunted, and she remembered how he'd refused to look at her when he'd been trying to keep her from bleeding out…how he'd cried. She hadn't thought that Dallas Winston ever cried.

He grinned, back to looking cool and cocky. "They ain't gonna bother you no more. We kicked all their asses."

"They said Randy wasn't at the rumble."

"Yeah, but we're gonna find him." Dally told her carelessly, sitting in a chair at her side and pulling out a chocolate bar that he tossed onto her lap.

Pony didn't bother trying to defend Randy. Even if she had cared what happened to him, there was no way Dally would listen to her. Instead, she held up the candy bar. "You pay for this?" she wondered, and he rolled his eyes.

"I can take it back," he offered, reaching out, and she laughed, snatching it away before he could grab it.

She met his eyes then, laughter dying when she saw how serious he looked…how he kept looking her up and down like he thought she might pass out or something. "Thanks, Dally," she murmured, hoping he knew it wasn't just for the chocolate. She might have saved his life, but he'd saved hers too.

He waved her off, watching as she peeled the wrapper open and handed Soda a piece. Darry took some too when she offered, and in the end, Dally held his hand out for a piece, shaking his head at her and chuckling to himself.

He didn't say anything else about what had happened, but he did seem like he was relieved to see her. It was strange…she'd never liked Dally all that much…had never considered him any kind of friend. He was just a scary guy her brothers palled around with. Now, though, he was acting like they were friends, pulling out a deck of cards. Her brothers both scooted their chairs forward to play, and he handed her some cards too. He even stayed with her when her brothers went to get lunch, smuggling back enough burgers for all of them, and as they all ate lunch together, she realized that she didn't hate the idea of being friends with Dallas Winston.

Dally left when she started to nod off, patting her shoulder and telling her he'd see her around. Both her brothers thanked him for coming, and she realized as she dozed off that he'd stayed for almost two hours. She'd never really imagined Dally as someone that would spend time in a hospital room, but he hadn't been half bad company.

Keith showed up with Susie about an hour after Dally left, like they'd planned it. She was just waking up again when they got there and found both her brothers standing at the door, talking to Keith real quiet . Susie hurried into the room as soon as they made eye contact, dropping into a chair and grabbing Pony's hand, eyes wet with tears that she fought to keep from falling. Their brothers all stayed on the other side of the room, giving them some space.

"Hey," she whispered, wishing she had something better to say to her best friend who'd held her hand when she'd been bleeding out in the middle of the park.

"I thought you were gonna die," Susie whispered, lips trembling. "I thought…I thought he'd killed you."

Pony squeezed her hand back, shaking her head. For a second, she wanted to joke that of course she wasn't dead…that it took more than a bullet to kill her. That she was too tough. But that bullet could have killed her and she didn't feel tough, tired and hurting in a hospital bed. So she just tried to smile. "I'm okay." It was only kind of true, but it was the best she could give her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. They all ran off after…" she trailed off, swallowing hard.

They'd talk more about it later when their brothers weren't watching from the other side of the room. They always were more comfortable talking about real serious stuff when they were on their own. But for the moment, she just squeezed her friend's hand, the two of them quiet until Keith approached, looking both sober and serious, which was rare for him.

"You scared the hell out of me, kid."

She believed it. He still looked kind of scared. "I'm sorry." Pony hated that she'd scared him…hated that they'd all been so worried about her.

"Don't be sorry. That Russell guy sure is lucky they got him locked up. I ever get my hands on him…" he shook his head, trailing off, and Pony was sure he could think of all kinds of things he'd like to do to Allen Russell, but he'd have to get in line behind her brothers…and maybe Dally too. "How you feeling, kid?"

"I'm alright."

He didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't argue. He just took a seat on her other side, ruffling her hair. "How long they making you stay?"

She shrugged, trying not to wince when it hurt. "They haven't said much. Maybe another day or two."

"You ready to get out of here?"

Pony nodded. As much as she didn't want to switch to pain medicine that might not work as well, she really was ready to not be in a hospital room anymore. It was boring, even if she was sleeping a lot.

He smiled easily. "Don't worry, Pony-kid. We'll keep you entertained while you're stuck in here."

Keith kept his word. The two of them stayed for about an hour, Susie keeping close like she was scared Pony was going to disappear while their brothers talked about the rumble, Keith replaying the best bits for her while pretending to beat up Soda, and she thought that if they weren't in a hospital room, and if it weren't for Darry's presence, it might have turned into an all out wrestling match. But Darry relaxed a little more every time she laughed, so she figured they'd be alright as long as Keith didn't push Soda too hard. He mentioned Randy Adderson too, and how he hadn't been there. She wondered where he was, and couldn't help thinking that he'd now lost two of his friends…not that they hadn't both deserved what was coming to them. She still hated Bob Sheldon, and she hoped they kept Allen locked up for a long time. Still, he'd tried to be decent a couple of times. She guessed that ought to count for something.

When Keith and Susie headed out, telling her they'd come see her when she got out of the hospital, Soda climbed back onto the bed with her, ignoring Darry's hovering.

"Be careful, little buddy," he finally cautioned, like he couldn't help himself, and he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

"I'm fine," Pony muttered, resting her head on Soda's shoulder. It hurt when he climbed into bed beside her, jostling her no matter how careful he was, but she wanted him close. "You can lay down too if you want." She patted the bed beside her where there was blatantly no more room, and he chuckled, squeezing her shoulder.

"I'll take the cot. Soda, you ought to go home and get some sleep tonight."

"I'm good here," he told him, hugging Pony a little closer, and Darry sighed, smiling a little.

"That doctor's gonna bring her dinner in a little while, and you're going to have to get up."

"I know."

"When we get home, you've got to be careful, you hear? No rough stuff."

"Geez Darry, you act like I'm going to challenge her to a race or something," he scoffed, turning his attention to the TV.

She froze at that, eyes wide. "I forgot about track," she groaned, turning to Darry. "I won't be able to run!"

He shook his head, not unkindly. "Sorry, kiddo. Not until the doctor clears you."

Soda squeezed her in a hug. "Don't worry about it, Pony. You've still got two more years to run track."

Soda never had understood why her and Darry cared so much about sports. He'd never liked them much anyway, even if he did always cheer for the two of them. But getting a track scholarship was her ticket to college. Sure, good grades would help a lot too. But if she had good grades and she could run fast, she might not have to pay much of anything at all for school! What was she going to do if she couldn't get a scholarship?

"He's right," Darry interrupted her spiraling thoughts before they could get too bad. "You've got two years left, and the scouts don't start paying too much attention to you before your senior year." He sounded so sure that she couldn't help being comforted. If anyone would know about this stuff, it was Darry. He'd gotten a partial football scholarship after high school, even if it hadn't been quite enough. Now she knew he worried the same would happen to her…that she wouldn't get quite enough in scholarships to go to college, and then she'd be stuck working a crappy job close to home to try and save up enough.

Soda did move when they brought her dinner later, and it took some convincing, but between her and Darry, they finally managed to get him to go home so he could get some sleep. Pony wanted him to stay…she really did. But he looked exhausted, and between the two of them, she knew for a fact Darry wasn't leaving. It was kind of surprising, honestly, but as he explained to Soda, he had to be the one to take her home when they finally let her go. So Sodapop agreed, but not before giving her another tight hug, and promising to see her the next day after work.

It was another long night, but not because Darry was the only one with her. She could see it now, how much he cared about her. He was constantly checking on her to make sure she was okay, and he'd pulled that cot they gave him real close so he could keep an eye on her all night. She was glad of that because when she woke up sobbing in the middle of the night, he was there almost instantly, like he'd been laying there waiting for him to need her.

Climbing into the bed beside her, he pulled her into his arms, trying to be careful, and she hid her face in his chest. She wanted the old nightmares back…the ones so bad she couldn't even remember them. She wanted to stop remembering Bob's hands on her or the way that knife had felt, going into his back. Crying only made everything hurt more, and Darry's hand made soothing circles on her back as he tried to calm her down.

"You're okay, honey. It's alright," he murmured. She was glad he didn't ask what they were about…glad he just held her. "Nobody's going to hurt you, you hear? I've got you."

She fell asleep in his arms, and to her surprise, she woke up in them too.

He'd held her all night.

Steve and Johnny showed up on Monday morning around ten, slipping quietly into the room like they were afraid of waking her, Steve with a bottle of Pepsi in his hand, and Johnny with a book. Darry had moved back to his own chair and was flipping through the newspaper without seeming to see it. She kept wanting to suggest he get some sleep since he'd been awake with her for a lot of the night, but she figured that if she took a nap, he might be more likely to give it a try. So her plan was to finish picking at the breakfast he insisted she try and eat, then go back to sleep.

"Hey guys…you didn't have to come all the way over here," Darry told them with a tired smile.

"Lazy greaser just wanted to skip school," Pony told him, smirking when Steve rolled his eyes. Behind him, Johnny laughed, taking one of the chairs.

"Smartass. You get into more trouble than anybody I ever met, you know that?"

"Didn't you get arrested for disturbing the peace a month ago?"

"Brat." There wasn't any heat in his voice though, and he was grinning at her. "Here. Figured you'd need a fix soon." He used his keychain to open the bottle of Pepsi, then held it out to her.

"Thanks!" She really had been dying for some soda since all they had was water and orange juice at the hospital. Not even chocolate milk.

Steve watched her for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had gone soft. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure had Evie worried. She wanted to come up here too."

Pony grinned at that. "You should have brought her!"

"She didn't know if it would be alright. She might come see you when they let you go. How long you gotta stay here, anyway?"

"Hopefully they'll let her go today sometime," Darry put in. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Good. Soda's looking forward to his vacation." He sat on the cot, laying back and getting comfortable like he was going to take a nap and she rolled her eyes, draining half the Pepsi in one gulp.

"Eat, Pony," Darry ordered, kicking the cot where Steve was making himself at home.

She obeyed, taking a bite, not wanting him to worry. When he looked back down at his newspaper, she held the fruit cup out to Steve who took it real quick like that would keep her brother from seeing.

"Did you just come here to sleep?" he asked instead, looking over his newspaper at Steve who popped a piece of cantaloupe in his mouth, eyes still closed..

"That and the free food."

It hurt to laugh, but it was worth it to see Darry relax a little, going back to his newspaper with an almost smile on his face. They were all quiet for a little while, Darry dozing off while he tried to read, and Steve throwing pieces of fruit into the air and trying to catch them in his mouth, only making it every few pieces. Pony was about to give up on her breakfast when Johnny finally spoke, holding up the book he'd brought. "I thought you might be bored, sitting around. They had this one at the gift shop."

She took it with a grin. She hadn't read The Hobbit yet, but she'd been wanting to. Darry had brought her books too, but it was too hard for her to focus when she was falling asleep all the time. Still, it had been real nice of him to think of her. "Thanks. Have you read this one?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I don't read much."

She knew what he meant. Johnny wasn't dumb any more than her brother was dumb, but he had a hard time in school, and she knew his teachers didn't care if greasers learned anything half the time. So he probably wasn't real good at reading. "You ought to come over when they let me out of here. If you want, I mean. We'll read it together," she offered. "Darry probably won't let me out of the house for a while anyway," she joked glancing over at her brother.

"You got that right," he muttered, not even looking up from his paper. His eyes were starting to close though, and to her surprise, Steve cracked an eye open, glancing back at Darry.

"Hey, Superman, switch with me, would ya?"

Darry blinked at him, watching him sit up. "What?"

"Take the bed. I don't want to fall asleep. Besides, you look like you're about to start drooling on the paper, and I want to read that."

Steve grinned when Darry gave him a look, reaching his hand out as he sat up.

"Come on, man. You sleep, I'll watch the kid."

"I don't trust you to watch a house plant," Darry grumbled, but he did hand over the newspaper, dropping onto the cot and pulling the blanket over his face, making Pony realize he must have been more tired than she'd thought.

"You can go home if you want, Darry. Get some sleep," she offered, but he shook his head, moving the blanket back and forth.

"I'm good, kiddo," he muttered, already half asleep.

She doubted it, but arguing would just keep him awake, so she left him alone. The TV was on soft in the background, and Pony expected they'd all just watch it, but Steve moved the chair a little closer to her bed so he could kick his feet up, being careful not to jostle her. "Well, kid," he started, voice real soft. "You might as well go ahead and get started on that book. That ought to put us all to sleep."

She turned to give him a look, but he was grinning, looking surprisingly fond when he looked at her. Johnny grinned when she turned to him, picking up the book and handing it to her. So she opened it to the first page, rubbing her eyes and yawning before she started to read.

" In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit," she started, blinking heavily despite herself. But she managed to keep going for a couple of pages before it was almost impossible to keep her eyes open. Pony didn't remember falling asleep. But she did remember Steve easing the book from her hand and pulling the blankets up over her. And if she wasn't sure that it was absolutely impossible, she could have sworn that Steve Randle tucked her in.

There will probably only be 1 more chapter! Thank you so much to everybody who has been reading and reviewing!