Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders

Hello all. Thank you all so very much for posting comments and such. Very very much. I bet you've all been waiting for this chapter. *WARNING* This is a very, very, emotional chapter. If you can't take that, I suggest you don't read. It almost made ME cry, and I couldn't even cry during the actual movie.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Darry and I bolted in the room. As I rushed over to Sodapop, I could see his face was completely white. He had bruises all over his arms and legs. I ran up to the bed and spoke softly, "Soda?" He didn't respond. Darry quickly started explaining, as Two-Bit walked into the room.

"He broke his spine, and he had surgery. Last night he got a fever, and they tested him for a bunch of different diseases. It turns out he has bacterial meningitis." I could see how close he was to crying. "But doesn't it take months for them to know?" I asked, scared. "Apparently not," Darry answered softly. I nodded.

Soda breaths were fast and short, like he couldn't get enough oxygen. I glanced around the room, and there were doctors all around. They were looking at all these different papers, and talking in a hushed, urgent tone. I looked at his face, and whispered his name again, but he didn't respond. I held my breath, silently praying that he would live.

I glanced at Two-Bit, and his face was about as white as Soda's. I kept listening to the ECG monitor, and I kept tricking myself into thinking that the beeping was getting slower and slower.

The nurses and doctors were rushing all around the room, not even seeming to notice us. They were putting all kinds of medicine in him through shots and his IV.

Then what we were all hoping for happened. Sodapop's eyes slowly opened. I thought for a second it was some reaction to one of the medications they had given him. "SODAPOP!" Two-Bit, Darry, and I all screamed at the same moment. The hospital staff looked pretty happy too. He weakly smiled at us. "Hey guys, miss me?"

From the look on his face, I could see Two-Bit was about ready to punch him in the face for scaring us. Darry hugged Soda's head till he couldn't breath. "Whoa there, big guy," Soda gasped. Darry jumped back and apologized.

I was still terrified, and I think we all realized that Soda was still not to far from dead. His face was still pale as when we had walked in the room, and even just 4 words made him run out of breath.

A woman in white clothes walked up to us. I figured she was a nurse. "The doctor wants to talk to you," she said, and beckoned for us to follow her. Darry told Sodapop that we'd be right back, and we started walking out of the room.

Out in the hall, there was a doctor. The nurse walked away and the doctor walked towards us. He spoke in a soft tone, as if he was trying to calm us or something.

"As you probably know, Sodapop is still in very great danger. And, by the looks by it, he probably won't make it through the night. I would spend as much time with him as you can today. We gave him pain medication and… Sleeping medicine."

I blinked. I knew he was bad off, but, I didn't know he wouldn't make it through the night!

Darry nodded to the doctor and thanked him for telling us. Two-Bit sighed. "I'll go call Steve," he muttered, and walked down the hall. Darry and I walked back into Sodapop's room. Darry pulled a chair beside Soda and sat down. "Is everything okay?"" Soda asked. "Well, I mean besides all this…" Darry opened his mouth to say something, but instead, Soda answered himself. "Yeah, I know." Darry didn't look surprised. "Two-Bit is calling Steve. I don't think he knows much about this whole thing." Sodapop tried to nod his head, but he flinched when he did.

Two-Bit limped in the room. He had abandoned his crutches somewhere. "He's on his way," he murmured, then he came over and stood against the wall. Everyone was completely astonished. I wished the doctor would have not told us. I mean, seriously, how insensitive can you be? Tell someone that their brother's about to die? And then telling the brother that he's going to die? I'm sure that's what everyone wants to hear.

Soda tried talking to us, but he couldn't even finish a sentence without running out of breath. After 30 minutes of failing to communicate, Steve ran through the doorway. "Well that was fast," coughed Soda "Soda! You're alive- I mean… Um," Steve stuttered. "He knows," Darry groaned, staring at the floor. Steve sighed, and took in the moment. The room was completely quiet, the doctors weren't even in the room anymore. I guess they thought it was useless.

After knowing Sodapop for so long, I could tell that his eyes were closing more and his breaths were getting slower every minute. It looked like we all wanted to say something, but we didn't. Darry sat there, his arms rapped around Soda's torso, like he wouldn't let him go.

I would have bawled, but my mind was clouded with furiousness. How could those doctors just leave him here to die? I mean, couldn't they at least try something? I mean, I know that they gave him pain medication and stuff, but, why do they just give up?

I waited and waited… And didn't know what I was waiting for. I was waiting for a miracle, that's it. A miracle. I would have given Soda my life, so he wouldn't have to die, if I could.

My miracle didn't come. I don't think any of us had to say our goodbyes to Sodapop; he knew how much we would miss him. And in a blink of an eye, his eyes closed completely, and the room was completely silent, except the sound of the ECG monitor. "Beep, beep, beeeeeeep"

GreaserGirlHeart14, as you can clearly see, I'm a rule breaker. Hope you all enjoyed!.... Though you probably didn't... Oh well.... And yes, I know that it DOES infact take waayyy more than 2 days to diagnose meningitis. Trust, me, I know. I had it.... But that's the only reason I could think of. Because, well, if he didn't instantly die from the car wreck, then how could he die?