The boys jumped up, gathering around the doctor. He looked like the exact kind of guy Dally would make fun of. Middle aged, short hair, glasses, super socy starched white shirt and tie. All neat and tucked in and nerdy. His lab coat and stethoscope were the only things that made him look official. If he were a student at Will Rogers High the greasers would have had a field day picking on him. And now they were at his mercy.
Impatient to hear the news, Steve spoke before the doctor could begin.
"Well? Don't just stand there man, tell us ... what's wrong with Dally?!"
Darry squeezed Steve's shoulder warning him to calm down and let the doctor speak ...
"Boys, my name is Dr. Sullivan and I'm going to be looking after your friend while he's at Tulsa General. After running a few tests I've determined Mr. Winston is suffering from acute appendicitis. Do you know what that is?"
The guys looked at one another, shrugging. Sure they'd heard of appendicitis, but none of them could really explain what it was all about. Dr. Sullivan took their gestures as a cue to explain further.
"The appendix is a pouch which protrudes from your large intestine. It's located in the lower right side of your abdomen and its purpose is poorly understood. When your appendix becomes inflamed, it's called appendicitis. The exact cause isn't always clear, but it absolutely must be treated. If left untreated the inflamed appendix can rupture and that is a life-threatening situation. The treatment for appendicitis is an appendectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the appendix. The quicker we get to that the better, so my team is prepping Mr. Winston for emergency surgery right now."
"And after he gets the surgery, Dally will be ok?" Johnny interrupted quietly.
"Well, if we were simply dealing with an inflamed appendix my answer to you would be yes, young man. Unfortunately that isn't the case." The doctor looked down for a moment, a grave expression on his face. "Your friend is a very sick young man and you boys certainly did the right thing bringing him in. I only wish you would have brought him sooner. I'm afraid Mr. Winston's appendix has ruptured which is going to complicate his recovery. I don't want to frighten you, but I feel I need to be honest ... I've seen ruptured appendix lead to dire consequences. A ruptured appendix leaks bacteria into the abdomen causing peritonitis. This can spread quickly, resulting in septicemia. A cascade of reactions can follow, eventually causing septic shock, organ failure and, in the worst-case scenario, death."
The doctor's last ominous word hung in the air so long you could have heard a pin drop. There was absolute silence from the boys. They were too shocked to speak.
"Now listen, I know that's a lot of information for you boys to take in," Dr. Sullivan continued, "so let's just do this one step at a time, alright? First, we need to get your friend through the surgery. Once that part is over with we can focus on treating his peritonitis and we'll deal with that together when we get there. His condition is serious, but Mr. Winston is young and strong so I'm hopeful for a good outcome for him... for all of you. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to our patient ..." Dr. Sullivan tucked his clipboard under his arm and quickly disappeared down the hall.
After the doctor walked away Soda saw the look on Darry's face. Without so much as a word he knew exactly what was going on. Walking up to his big brother Soda looked Darry square in the eyes and raised his voice ...
"You stop that right now Darry Curtis! Don't you even think about doing that!"
"Doing what?" Darry growled back.
"Blaming yourself, that's what! We both know exactly where Dally would be if it weren't for you so you can just get that stupid idea out of your thick head, you hear me!?"
"Soda, if I'd have just brought him in when my gut told me to maybe his appendix wouldn't have had a chance to burst! Dally's in there fighting for his life right now and maybe he wouldn't be if I'd have acted sooner. I knew something serious was going on. I - I let him talk me out of bringin' him ..." Darry looked away, tears in his eyes.
Soda's heart nearly broke seeing his big brother beat himself up this way. He softened his tone, but continued to speak his piece ...
"C'mon Dar. That's the whole point. You just said it yourself. Dally talked you out of bringing him here. And if you hadn't stepped in when you did, he'd still be on our bathroom floor pretending to be a tough guy. He'd still be there denying there's something wrong, telling us he's fine, and being stubborn as a mule. Dally would have died on that floor tonight if it had been up to him. But he didn't, Darry. He's here gettin' help instead and he's got one person to thank for that and it's you."
Darry started to speak, but Soda shushed him, pointing a finger in Darry's face.
"This conversation is over and I don't wanna hear another word about it ... understood?"
"Ahem..." Two-Bit clearing his throat made the brothers cast a glance in his direction. Ponyboy was standing beside him, tear tracks on his cheeks.
"Please stop. I don't like it when you two fight." Pony's voice trembled - it sounded small and young.
Soda walked over to his baby brother and pulled him into a hug.
"Aw Pone, Darry and me weren't fightin'. I was just lookin' out for him same as he always does for us. We're fine. Promise."
"But Dally ..."
Soda held Pony at arms length by the shoulders and looked into his brother's watery green eyes. Reaching up he ran a gentle hand through his brother's hair.
"Shhh ... honey. It's gonna be alright. You heard the doctor. He said he's hopeful for a good outcome. That means Dally's gonna pull through. They're helpin' him now. We made it in time. I know we did."
"But what if you're wrong?! What if it's too late? We can't lose him Soda, we've already lost too much as it is." Pony burst into tears again, burying his face into Soda's flannel shirt. He didn't want to be a bawl baby in front of everyone, but right now he couldn't help himself. He cried quietly in his brother's arms releasing all the pent up stress of the night.
Then the boys felt Darry put his big arms around them, pulling them both into a strong hug.
"Hush now you two ... everything's gonna be ok. Soda's right Ponyboy, Dally's gonna be just fine and we will be too."
Darry spoke the words confidently, but in his heart he said a silent prayer.
"Please Lord, let Dally be ok. And please let the rest of us be ok too. I don't think I can bear to see these boys let down again."
Thanks again for reading. I love your reviews, so if you have time let me know your thoughts :) TulsaGirl