Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders.
Fluffy chapter involving everybody, enjoy and thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows!
Sodapop's POV
I woke up to the sound of light coughing and my arm being tugged on. Without even opening my eyes I already knew that it was Ponyboy. I yawned and sat up and stretched my arm that Ponyboy wasn't clinging onto. When he coughed again I leaned down and reached for him, sitting him on my lap.
"What's the matter honey?" I asked him softly.
He only whimpered in response, shifting closer to me.
Frowning, I rubbed his arms gently. "Do you feel okay baby?"
He shook his head, his lip wobbling. Sympathetically I drew him even closer to me. He was sick, I could tell. Even in the little light that was offered at this time of night I could tell his nose was runny and that he was definitely rubbing at it, involuntarily making it worse.
I caressed his cheek, nearly groaning when I felt how warm he was. My concern only grew larger when I saw him clutching his stomach.
"Does your tummy hurt?"
He nodded again then winced as if the simple action caused him more hurt. "Uh huh," he managed to wheeze out.
I continued to caress his cheek, eventually moving to his back, until I heard his breathing even out and knew that he was asleep.
I got up and went downstairs going into the living room, where I saw Dallas asleep on the couch. Feeling brave I walked to the couch and gently pushed his feet up a bit and sat down, rocking Pony's still form even though he was a bit old for this kind of treating, it just felt right.
I felt horrible for him. Not only was he not feeling well but his birthday was only two more days away and if he's still sick during it... Sighing, I looked down at him tenderly smoothing his hair back, frowning when I heard him groan. My poor baby. Can't even escape the pain in his sleep. I silently wished somebody else would wake up so I could get him some medicine. Averting my gaze over to Dallas I willed myself not to nudge him awake. Plus it's almost four in the morning and Dallas most definitely is not a morning person and nobody wants to deal with that.
Sighing again, I stood up and carefully placed Ponyboy on the couch, smiling when he didn't stir, and wrapped him up in a warm blanket. Quietly I went into the bathroom in search for some medicine. There was no way I'm just going to wait for somebody else to wake up. Especially since the only morning person was Two-Bit who I know has never taken care of a sick kid before, at least none that I know.
After going through almost every cabinet in the bathroom I found something he could take but felt awful because he hated this kind, but it was the best one for him and it worked the fastest. I rushed to the kitchen to grab a spoon and discreetly made my way back into the living room. When I glanced up my mouth dropped and I made a small gasping noise.
Dallas Winston was wide awake holding Ponyboy in his arms, rocking him gently much like I had been earlier. Smiling softly I walked over to the couch and sat down beside them, setting the spoon and medicine on the coffee table.
Dally looked up and noticed the medicine and looked over at me questioningly. "You want me to wake him up?"
I shook my head. "No he's fine. Let him sleep its too hard to get him back to sleep when he's sick anyways," I whispered back.
Dally nodded and went back to rocking Ponyboy. After about ten minutes he peered at me, whispering, "I've got him. You can go back to bed man."
Once again I shook my head. "It's fine Dal. Trust me it takes more than one person to take care of him." Ponyboy stirred a bit, causing Dally and I to hurry and sooth him back into a peaceful slumber by rubbing his back, stroking his hair and murmuring softly to him. We both sighed in relief when he stilled, cuddling up against Dally and his breathing was once again evened out.
"C'mon Soda I've got it all under control," he tried again but I just shook my head, a bit annoyed as to why he wanted me to go back to bed so badly.
"Don't you have to work in the morning?" I eyed him apprehensively, wondering what he was planning on doing if I were to leave but I wasn't so sure I wanted to find out.
Shaking my head once more I softly whispered, "I'll call off." Seeing he wasn't going to get me out of here he just nodded.
We then sat in an awkward but yet comfortable silence. Time passed by quickly though and Ponyboy didn't wake up once or even stir, looking a bit more relaxed with the both of us here with him. I felt his forehead, gently pushing his soft hair out of his face. Still warm.
Half an hour later I could faintly hear Darry getting up and walking into the bathroom without noticing Dally and I with Ponyboy. A few minutes later I heard the water running.
Pony coughed in his sleep, his eyebrows furrowing in discomfort. I looked at him with sympathy and gently got up, quickly going upstairs.
Dally's POV
I watched Sodapop get up and go upstairs. I glanced over at where he was previously sitting questioningly but just shrugged it off.
Looking back down at Ponyboy I saw his nose running a bit so I reached over to the box of tissues that just had to be on the other side of the coffee table. Standing up a bit I grabbed the box and sat it on the arm of the couch then gently wiped his nose, causing his face to scrunch up with discomfort. When I finally got it cleaned I just threw the tissue on the table and rubbed Pony's back.
He stirred again so I began shushing and comforting him as best as I could. "Shh it's okay baby." I rubbed his back again, slower than before, making him fall back asleep.
I glanced up quickly to make sure no one heard me and, thankfully, saw nobody. I still heard the water running and Soda's feet pattering softly down the stairs. He came back into the room holding something I couldn't see in the darkness.
He sat back down, gently lifted Pony's arm up and slipped something under it, which he immediately drew close and nestled against it.
I squinted to see what it was and saw that it was his teddybear that he is almost never without.
After Pony was settled I heard the shower shut off and five minutes later Darry appeared and went into the kitchen, to make some coffee I presumed, then came out and eyed Soda and I questioningly, not noticing Pony.
"Pony's sick," we told him simultaneously. I looked down at him to see if he awoke and saw him still out like a light and cozied up to his bear.
Darry strode over towards us, felt Pony's forehead then looked at Soda.
"Did you give him any medicine?" he asked quietly as not to disturb his brother's sleep.
"Not yet. I wanted to let him sleep awhile," Soda whispered back.
Darry nodded then turned to me. "Can you wake him up?" I nodded and waited for him to leave before handing Pony back to Soda.
He rolled his eyes then began talking to Ponyboy in a soft voice. When he opened his eyes Sodapop smiled down at him.
"Hey baby boy. Can you take some medicine for me?" Pony nodded drowsily and I guessed he didn't even realize what that meant at the moment.
Soda grabbed the medicine that he had placed on the table nearly two hours ago and the spoon, placed it down beside him and picked up the teddybear, that fell on the floor when I was handing Pony back to him, and gave it back to his little brother hoping to distract him from the medicine. It worked and Ponyboy barely registered the spoon going into his mouth, although he did make a face when he tasted the medicine but swallowing it down nonetheless. Darry came back in quickly after that and handed Pony a sippy cup filled with chocolate milk in it to drown the taste of the medicine out of his mouth.
None of us even registered the door opening. When looked to see who it was and saw Steve, by himself, I just about sagged with relief. Steve was never a morning person so he never slammed the door, that was Two-Bit.
Steve sat beside me, propping his feet up on the table eyeing the medicine concernedly.
"Who's sick? Pony?" he questioned turning his head to look at me.
I nodded wordlessly. It was just us in here right now. Darry and Sodapop were in the kitchen trying to get Ponyboy back to sleep. When they finally succeeded Darry carried Ponyboy back in the room, sat down in the recliner and kept Pony in his arms, still wrapped in his blanket and clutching his beloved bear.
Soda was still in the kitchen, probably calling off. Steve got up, patted Pony's hair and pushed his bear closer to him then quietly went into the kitchen to see what Sodapop was doing.
They both came back in minutes later, both called off and not going to work. Darry just nodded his approval and went to call himself off. I didn't understand why both of them wanted to stay home. Ponyboy seemed like he was feeling a bit better than earlier.
Steve was holding the now asleep Ponyboy, rubbing his back soothingly to keep him asleep.
The door opened again, then slammed causing the three of us to groan in unison. Glancing at Ponyboy I saw that he woke up and was burrowing himself deeper into Steve's chest, trying to block out the insufferable noise.
Two-Bit looked at us inquiringly then noticed Ponyboy and his face immediately became remorseful. Soda smiled magnanimously at him and went to help Steve put Pony back to sleep. It took them only five minutes and Ponyboy was asleep with his thumb in his mouth, his other arm clutching his prized teddybear and his face burried in Steve's chest.
Darry came back in shortly, called off I assumed, to see what the noise was, stifling a groan when he saw that it was Two-Bit. He smiled at Ponyboy's sleeping form and sat down in the recliner.
Just as everyone settled they all had to stand up again and move all around the room, except Steve who was still holding Ponyboy and I. Steve glanced at Sodapop and rolled his eyes.
"Soda would you sit down already? You're making me dizzy." Soda turned to look at him and nodded but didn't move. I just ignored him until he started to pace around again.
"You're gonna disturb your brother." I told him, nodding at Pony. That obviously wouldn't happen though, the kid sleeps like a rock but I knew Soda and he wasn't about to take any chances when it concerned Pony. He sat down, bouncing his leg up and down, never the one to stay still.
After awhile Darry became tired of Sodapop's restlessness and got up, muttering something about making more coffee. When he came back he had one cup in his hand, strode over to Soda and handed him the coffee, which confused me because it will just make him even more jittery.
Sodapop's face scrunched up as he brought the cup up to his nose, smelling the beverage. "Coffee?"
Darry glanced back over at him and nodded. "Just drink it."
Soda's nose wrinkled up again as he placed the coffee on the table. "No thanks.."
Steve and I rolled our eyes at each other as Two-Bit grabbed it, gulping it down as if his life depended on it. A moment later he spit it out, making fake gagging noises. "What's in this?"
"It's just coffee Two-Bit. There's nothing in it," Darry told him partly amused and partly annoyed.
"Oh so that's what's wrong with it. It needs sugar. Lots and lots of sugar."
"Yeah because that's the last thing you need." I rolled my eyes at him as he merrily shrugged and went into the kitchen in search of some sugar.
"He'll just be heartbroken when he realizes that we don't have any." Soda said, glancing in the kitchen then back at his brother, sighing.
After awhile I became bored and turned the TV on, leaving it on the channel it was already on from the night before.
"Dal this is boring. Change it," Two-Bit complained, trying to steal the remote off of me.
"No. I'm not in the mood for watching shows that are made for two year olds."
"Mickey Mouse is not for two years olds. It's-"
"For two year olds and you. My bad." I cut him off.
"Well why don't we just vote on it." I only nodded, knowing no one else would side with him anyways.
Before we could do anything Steve handed Ponyboy over to Two-Bit and quickly began flipping through the channels, eventually settling for Gunsmoke. Just before Two-Bit could make another protest the door opened and Johnny quietly walked in and greeted us.
"Hey Johnny!" Two-Bit greeted back, a bit too loudly causing the rest of us, minus Johnny, to shush him angrily. He just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, mumbling a quiet "sorry."
Johnny looked at Ponyboy and seemed to understand what was wrong. He brought his hand up, gently placing it on Pony's forehead then stroked his hair.
This made Darry quickly get up and grab the medicine that was still on the table. "Can one of you wake him up?" he asked not looking up. Since Johnny and Two-Bit were closer to him they woke him up, shaking him gently. He opened his eyes, blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep out his eyes.
Darry strode over to him, smiling softly at him, pouring the medicine in the spoon. "Can you take some more medicine for me baby?"
Ponyboy made a face, apparently now knowing what that meant, but nodded with some reluctance. Two-Bit shifted Ponyboy in his arms so he could easily sip the medicine. He gulped it down quickly, reaching for his cup filled with chocolate milk. Johnny chuckled and grabbed it for him, handing it to him. After Ponyboy was finished with it Johnny placed the now empty cup back on the table.
"Ready to go back to sleep honey?" Darry asked him softly. Ponyboy shook his head. Darry frowned. "Why not?"
"Not tired," Ponyboy mumbled, sounding tired but not looking tired. Johnny walked over to Two-Bit, took Pony in his arms and bounced him around slowly and soothingly while his other hand gently stroked his hair back, trying to put him to sleep. It didn't work. Ponyboy looked more like he was having fun than sleepy.
"Maybe he's just hungry or something." We all turned to glance at Steve. "It's worth a shot." He shrugged. Johnny nodded and handed Ponyboy over to Darry. He brought Pony to the kitchen to see if he was hungry while the rest of us silently watched.
"Oh would you look at that?" Steve gloated as Pony ate, more like devoured, the soup Darry made for him. "Right again."
"Wait a minute... When were you right earlier?" Two-Bit interrogated, eyebrow raised.
"It happened before you got here. When it was quiet."
Two-Bit placed his hand on his chest, acting hurt. "Oh Stevie I'm wounded."
"Good."
"Pony, you tired now?" Darry questioned once Ponyboy finished eating. Once again he shook his head.
"Here let me try," Steve muttered quietly so Pony wouldn't hear. He walked over to him. "C'mere." He lifted him up and grabbed Green Eggs and Ham off of the table and placed Pony on his lap and began reading to him. I exchanged a bewildered look with Two-Bit. Since when did Steve care about kids? He even let Pony turn the pages for him. I still thought that this was strange so I looked at the rest of the gang to see if they were as confused as I was. I saw that Johnny was a bit shocked but smiling, Two-Bit's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide, Darry didn't look as surprised but he still watched them with amusement, and Sodapop didn't look confused at all in fact, he looked like he was expecting something like this to happen.
I glanced back over at Steve and Pony. He still didn't look tired, but guess nobody was ready to give up anytime soon. Steve handed Ponyboy off to Sodapop, thinking he'd get a better reaction.
Soda sat down in the rocking chair with Pony in his arms, glanced up at us with a look that said, 'this is how it's done' then proceeded to slowly rock the chair back and forth while softly humming to Pony. I resisted the urge to laugh, Pony looked much more awake and bored than tired. He sat up and busied himself by playing with Soda's sleeve. Sodapop sighed, not finding any progress, and settled for bouncing Ponyboy around in his arms. I smirked and got up, moving towards them, grinning smugly.
I lifted Pony up and rocked him in my arms. Soda shot me an incredulous look.
"Dally I just tried that."
"Yeah, but your humming ruined it."
"It did not. Pony loves when I do it, don't you hon?" Pony grinned nodded at him happily. "See?"
"You two sound like girls." Two-Bit stifled a laugh. He looked down at Pony, glanced back up at me and made tsking sounds. "Let the master handle this." When we gave him looks of doubt he threw his hands up defensively. "You guys do remember that I do have expirence with kids, right?" At our blank stares he continued, "My sister."
I just shrugged and handed him over. What worse could he do anyway?
Two-Bit took Pony over to his toys and dragged all of them out for him. Ponyboy grinned wide and grabbed his coloring book and colored, trying his best to stay in the lines.
Steve eyed Two-Bit questioningly. "How's this supposed to help him sleep?"
"Who said anything about that? He isn't tired. I told you guys that I have experience."
"Barely." Steve huffed.
Two-Bit just scoffed and sat down beside Pony, watching him color. He smiled fondly, Pony must've stayed within the lines or close to it. I smiled too, happy that the kid was feeling a bit better.