A/N: I got this chapter done so much faster than I expected but I also was planning on adding a lot more lmao- I am so sorry this chapter is so much shorter than the others! more will definitely happen but I just wanted to introduce some more characters!! There will be more interactionscomfort between the brothers in upcoming chapters lol. I know there hasn't really been a lot lately but it's coming
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Darry woke up to the shrill of the telephone a few hours after dawn, sparing a second to be surprised that he let himself fall asleep. He shot from his recliner, making sure to be gentle as he stepped out of the room, avoiding any of the creeks in the wood floor so as to not wake his brothers. They seemed to be asleep, not exactly restfully though, as they seemed to have moved around a lot in their sleep over the course of the night, which was true. Darry hadn't been sleeping for long before he was rudely awoken, as he spent his night camping out in Pony and Soda's room, busying himself with reading a book he stole from Ponyboy's bookshelf and, of course, checking and rechecking his little brothers over and over again. They would have laughed at the sight of him, if they were conscious, teasing him for acting like a 'helicopter parent' as they like to call it.
After about four rings he got to the phone, picking it off the receiver and voicing a hello, sounding more grouchy than he meant. If this was his boss, he was screwed-
"Hey, Superman!" A cheerful voice sounded through the phone and he knew who it was immediately. Two-Bit.
"Hey, Two-Bit , what's up?" Darry responded, running a tired hand over his face. He was kind of surprised that he was calling. One of the many things about Two-Bit is that if he needed to say something he was not afraid of bursting through the front door and announcing it to the whole house, even if it was five in the morning and he woke everyone up in the process.
"Well, I heard through the grapevine, AKA Steve, that your kid brothers were sick! I'm appalled you didn't seek out my assistance!" He said, pretending to act aghast but knew he wasn't being serious.
"Well, sorry, Two, but you're not exactly number one on my list of people I can trust around sick kids." Two-Bit laughed heartily before continuing.
"Nah but seriously, my mom heard about it and she wants to come and give you a hand." When Darry began to protest through the phone, Two-Bit interrupted him.
"No, no, no," He said, as if speaking to a child. "None of that, Superman. My mom went through four years of nursing school and it doesn't matter if you have a secret stockpile of medicine in your basement, you can't take care of both of them on your own." insisted, not taking no for an answer. "Oh, and I'll be there too, of course." He added at the end.
Right. As if that will make it more bearable.
"Doesn't she have work?-" Darry tries to argue, feeling bad that he was dragging his single mother out of a much needed work day just to take care of her son's friends.
"Nope! She's off today. They're having some sort of annual health inspection at the store so everyone has the day off."
Darry stayed quiet. On one hand, he desperately needed the help that was being offered. He doesn't know how much longer he could handle them both and it hasn't even been a full twenty-four hours. But on the other, he doesn't really want to accept it. He knows how to handle concussions relatively well since Pony had one a while back and he was much worse off than Soda, having just gotten back from his little 'expedition' and suffering the consequences of malnutrition and exhaustion. And he could handle a case of the flu. Sure it wasn't the most ideal situation to be handling yourself, but he'd get them through it. Right?
"Darry, you and I both know your mother would do the same exact thing for our family. I know it hurts your pride, but just let her help. At least until the worst is over. And if you think I'm being annoying, just wait and see what happens if I put her on the phone. She wouldn't take no for an answer even if there was a twister outside." He joked, but sounded more sincere than he has in a long time.
"I mean, if you insist-" Darry gave in, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
"Great! We'll see ya soon!" The receiver hung up and a monotone beep came from the other end.
Daryy took the phone away from his ear and stared at it in confusion for a second before hooking it back up. Ok, then.
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Thirty minutes pass before the doorbell rings. He wasn't really used to hearing it, practically no one rings it anymore but instead just walks right in. The only people who rang the doorbell were friends of Mom and Dad, but the only times they come around anymore are for quick stop-bys during the holidays, where they bring over a pitiful little fruit basket or something of the matter.
But he gets up to answer anyway, leaving the bedroom door open as he leaves, making sure that Pony and Soda are comfortable, despite the fact that the last couple of hours has been rather uneventful. Ponyboy's fever didn't go up, but it didn't lower either. Darry kept swapping out washcloths every hour or so and woke him up every two or three hours to give him his dose of medicine, and he seemed to be hanging in there. He had the doctor on speed dial though, because the words of Mrs. Kennedy rang through his ears everytime he took his fever. As for Soda, there didn't really seem to be a large change in his state either. He was waking up easier and easier though, staying awake for longer periods of time each time, and more aware of what was happening. But, he was still exhausted and in a pretty big deal of pain so Darry didn't make him stay awake for any longer than he needed to be, although it would be a lie if he said he wasn't relieved.
He walks through the silent house and opens the front door, and find and Lorraine, Ms. Mathews, standing at the door, carrying a bag of who knows what, but it looks pretty stuffed. Darry opens the screen door and welcomes them in, which is aimed more towards Ms. Mathews as her son just waltzes around here like it's a second home anyway.
"Darry, honey, how are you?" She asks, immediately going in for a hug. Darry needs to lean down a little bit but it feels good to be able to hug someone. Lorraine is a shorter woman, with hair similar to her sons, rusty colored and slightly curled at the bottom. She has warm brown eyes, unlike Two-Bit's grey ones, and reminded of his own mother. She had a very nurturing way about her and she proved how she cared time and time again, even through smaller things such as the homemade dinners she sent over every once in a while.
"Thanks for coming, Ms. Mathews," Darry says, standing straight up when she starts to let go.
"Sorry about the doorbell thing, Darry. I tried to get her to just come straight inside but she wouldn't listen. I didn't even know the dang thing still worked!" Two-Bit said walking straight past them and into the kitchen, sounding as if he was rummaging through something in the fridge. Typical. His mom was putting her bag down when he heard her laugh to herself.
"It's the polite thing to do, Keith! I thought I raised you with manners!" She yelled at him through her smile. That's another thing Darry liked about her. She knew how to kid around like her son, but also knew how to act like a civil member of society when she needed to be.
Darry couldn't help but laugh too, naturally feeling more relaxed knowing that he had backup now.
"Alright, don't mind him," She said, standing up after arranging her things on the floor, her bag neatly tucked away right in front of the couch, and her coat folded neatly over the arm. She put her hands on her hips and let out a breath.
"So, what's going on honey? What happened?" She asked, her voice soft and sympathetic. She took his arm gently and they walked towards their bedroom. trailed behind them, surprisingly quietly. She noticed how tired looked, with prominent bags under his bloodshot eyes and it looked as if keeping his eyes open was more work than it was worth despite the few hours of sleep he got. His hair was a mess and he was still in his clothes from yesterday, and a tired frown was plastered on his face no matter how much he tried to look relaxed.
"Uh," he said, running a hand through his hair, trying to figure out how to tell her in a few short words. They got to the bedroom and stood in the doorway for a second before entering, Lorraine and Darry standing at their bedside, while Two-Bit stayed in the doorway, watching and waiting for someone to ask something of him. That and the fact that he felt out of place and disquieted to see two of his best friends in such a dire situation.
Soda and Pony lay in bed, still sleeping. But while Darry was gone, they adjusted themselves so that they were practically nose to nose and were lying close together, as if it comforted them, which it probably did. Ponyboy sleeps in bed with Soda for a reason, of course, and Darry doesn't think Sodapop would admit it, but he thinks he prefers to have someone with him anyway. And based on the wild positions of entangled limbs he finds in the cold winter mornings, he wouldn't put it past either of them.
"Pony came home early from school with a fever yesterday, the nurse said it's probably the flu. She said that if his fever doesn't go down in twenty-four hours then I'll need to take him to the doctor. It hasn't gone down yet, but..." He trailed off, clearly worried. "He's thrown up yesterday and overnight, but he hasn't in a few hours. I think there are a few other things that are making him feel bad but he hasn't really said it. And Soda, I'm worried he has a concussion. His ribs are messed up too, and he seems to be in a lot of pain. He's been sleeping pretty much since he came home the other day." He said all of this while Lorraine was doing a general check on them, as in feeling Pony's forehead for his fever and checking under Sodapop's bandage where the cut got that's assumed to be where the source of his concussion is.
"Well, I will say, these will be my first patients!" She smiled, standing up straight from where she was knelt by the side of their bed.
"Get my bag, will you sweetie?" She said, turning to look at Two-Bit who was still standing in the threshold. He nodded simply and left towards the living room. She looked at Darry and smiled.
"Don't worry honey. I don't think you got much to worry about. I'm just here because you can't deal with two sick kids all on your own." She said quietly, as to not wake and .
Darry nodded. "Thank you, again, for coming. It's really a big help."
"Oh, no worries. After I heard I couldn't just make you fend for yourself, and after all you do for my son? I'd be awful to not help you out. And at least I get to put this degree to use, right? I'm a little rusty, but it's like riding a bike!" She joked, giving that same warm smile that reminded him so much of his mom.
He nodded again, but before he could respond, came back into the room.
"Here you go, Ma'." He said, handing her the bag. When she placed the bag down and began to rummage through it, took a spot on the other side of Darry and whistled slowly.
"They look bad off, Darry. Did you find out who jumped Soda?" He asked,
He sighed. If he was being honest, he really didn't give it a single thought. He'd be worried about that when he needed to be but these last twenty-four hours have been clouding his thoughts beyond belief.
"No, I don't even know if Steve knew."
Two-Bit didn't respond to that, instead just nodding and turning his head back to look at Pony and Soda.
"Why don't you go get some sleep in a bed, Darry. You look exhausted," Lorraine said in a consoling voice. He hesitates, not exactly wanting to leave their sides, even for a few hours. Sensing this, Two-Bit spoke up.
"C'mon, Dar' we got this. They're in good hands, we'll wake you up if anything happens. Go catch some Z's." He said in a voice that did not offer an argument, practically guiding him to his bedroom.
Darry barely remembered to change into clean pajamas before falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
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A/N: Please excuse any grammatical errors!!