Sorry that this fic is taking forever it's one of those ideas that I don't know if I should drag it on or kill it early. Anyways, I have more ideas! Especially because this was supposed to be a friendship fic

I hope you enjoy!

Sodapop squeezed Ponyboy's hand again, trying to see if it was responsive. Dr.Anderson watched him for a moment before leaving to get Ponyboy on an IV. Sodapop stayed by Ponyboy, a new understanding of his baby brother. This time though, he knew his words were hitting him.

"Hey baby," Sodapops voice was quiet, something he had long forgotten to be. "It's gonna be alright, stay strong for me okay?" Soda's voice was breaking and tears were starting to slip from his eyes once again. Suddenly, a person materialized in the hallway and Soda turned back quickly, almost giving himself whiplash. Two-Bit stood in the doorway, his hands up in mock surrender. When they locked eyes, Sodapop felt his shoulders slump a bit.

"Whoa there, didn't know ya would do that," Two-Bit joked as he handed Sodapop some chips to eat. They sat there in silence, eating quietly. Sodapop bounced his leg up and down, something in him getting antsy. He couldn't stay cooped up in a hospital anymore. Two-Bit noticed, taking a look at Ponyboy and then to Sodapop.

"Everything alright?" He finally asked. Sodapop sighed, putting his chips down and fully looking at Two-Bit. It was only then that Two-Bit was able to see all the stress that was on the middle Curtis. Soda looked exhausted and on the brink of passing out. Still, he sat up strong, his hand going to his brother in the hospital bed.

"Im not sure if anything will ever be alright," Sodapop admitted. Two-Bit nodded, opening his arms for a hug. Sodapop gladly took it, relishing in the unusual warmth and comfort that Two-Bit brought. Two-Bit bit his lip, trying not to cry as the middle Curtis did. He was only 16, being comforted by a 17-year-old. Two-Bit hated it, he hated how old he felt as he tried to help Sodapop.

Two-Bit hated how the cards of greasers were never in their favor. He hated how he knew that nothing was going to be the same. But what he hated the most was the thought that the youngest Curtis wasn't going to make it. He had already seen the brothers' relief when Ponyboy was alive, and he hated the thought of them being crushed if he died.

Two-Bit bit his lip until it bled. His mind swirled and suddenly, he didn't feel too good. Sodapop pulled away quickly, checking Two-Bits temperature. "Two-Bit?" Sodapop asked quickly, his tears quickly wiped away. Dr.Anderson walked in, a nurse in tow with the IV. They witnessed as Two-Bit passed out on the hospital bed.

The nurse moved quickly, moving Two-Bit from hitting the parts where Ponyboy had injuries. Then, she looked to the doctor, with a look asking him what to do. The doctor walked over, gently putting a hand on Two-Bits forehead. Sodapop watched with worry, tears coming to his eyes. Before long, Two-Bit sat up, his eyes going all around.

"What happened?" Two-Bit asked, his voice almost a whisper. He looked to Sodapop, fear evident in his eyes. Sodapop, full of worry, just looked at him concerned. Then, Two-Bit caught the doctors eye, his eyes going wide at the sight.

"You passed out, it appears that you have some symptoms of shock and a slight fever," The doctor instantly started explaining. Two-Bit looked at him, almost in shock. It was a rare sight to see Two-Bit sick, Darry had joked once about the amount of alcohol killing any bacteria in Two-Bits body. Sodapop thought about it, a ghost of a smile coming to his face as he watched Two-Bit follow the doctor outside.

With only the nurse inside the room, she got to work on putting Ponyboy onto the IV. Sodapop watched, cringing when Ponyboy didn't even flinch at the insertion of the tube. However, just that one tube was hardly noticeable compared to the other tubes Ponyboy was on. After she was done, she left quickly, leaving Sodapop back with Ponyboy.

Soda's leg couldn't stay still. Everything in him was telling him to get up and just move. But, his mind wanted him to stay, just in case something happened to Ponyboy. It had only been an hour but, someone suddenly came in. Sodapop whirled around again, looking right at Darry.

Darry looked exhausted, with his unoiled hair falling in tuffs around his face. His eyes locked onto Sodapop and Soda couldn't contain his tears. "What happened?" Darry asked as he walked to the other side of Ponyboy's bed. Sodapop wiped his tears, hating it more in more in that room. The deafening silence was canceled out by the annoying sound of Ponyboy's heart monitor. Still, Darry waited, expecting an answer.

"Two-Bits sick… so is Ponyboy," Sodapop finally whispered. Darry put his elbows on Ponyboy's bed, looking right at Ponyboy. His breath grew heavy and he closed his eyes, trying not to imagine a life without his parents and Ponyboy. When he knew he was okay, Darry reopened his eyes. Sodapop was still crying, but the tears were replaced with small sniffles.

"Is Two-Bit okay?" Darry asked, trying to get Sodapops mind off of Ponyboy.

Sodapop shrugged, his leg bouncing up and down again. Darry watched him carefully, leaning back into the uncomfortable plastic chair. "Go check on him. Remember what the doctor said about worrying all about Ponyboy," Darry added. Sodapop looked at him, almost in disbelief. He was quick to argue but was shut down.

Finally, Sodapop got up, feeling guilty at the relief of walking out of Ponyboy's room. He hated how quiet it was, and how the only sounds were there for Ponyboy, but Ponyboy would never respond to them.

Darry held Ponyboy's hand and gently swept his fingers against Ponyboy's forehead. The warmth was still there, a remnant of the fever that must've happened when he was gone. A pit formed in his stomach, and the memory of talking with a lawyer hit him. The lawyer had been nice enough to tell him that the train company was going to provide compensation for the funeral and half of the hospital bills, but, compensation was never going to be enough to get his parents back.

The quiet heart monitor rang out in the room, never giving Darry complete silence to think. However, that sound was better than the sounds outside of the hallway. Codes were being yelled out as some patients struggled to hold onto life. Darry hated the thought that Ponyboy was one of them, that he was the one who could be coded at any moment.

"I really miss ya, little buddy," Darry said, choking on the words. His grip tightened on Ponyboy's hand, enough to try and let him know that Darry was there. Ponyboy made no movement, the rise and setting on his chest being the only reaction. "Glory… we can't lose you," Darrys tears started to slip from his eyes.

He didn't want to imagine a life without Ponyboy.

The soft twitch of Ponyboy's hands threw Darry out of his thoughts. He held onto Ponyboy's hand, sitting up straighter. "Pony?" Darry asked, his voice cautious. His mind focused on his hand, and whether or not he was going to be able to feel the soft twitch again. Yet, Ponyboy's hand stayed limp, causing Darry to lose hope.

Darry leaned back into his chair, "I'm really going insane…" A small chuckle came from his lips which was almost instantly replaced with a sob…

~~~

In the DX, customers were looking for Sodapop. Some of them were nice enough to just think that he was gone, others just took to asking the cashier where he was. Steve tried to ignore them asking from the garage as he worked, throwing himself head on into his work.

He didn't want to think about the Curtis parents, but he especially didn't want to think about Ponyboy. Memories of the Curtis family hit him, it almost felt like he was losing his own parents…

Their boss had been fine with Sodapop not being able to make it for two days. After all, Sodapop had used his paid time off to spend with Sandy, leaving the boss with not many options. Just two days, Steve thought, two days, and Sodapop would be torn between quitting for his kid brother or leaving for work to keep their family together. Steve hated how his mind went to that, how he kept thinking about the kid, or how their parents were dead. And when he thought of their parents, he thought about the accident, leaving him thinking about if Ponyboy was going to live.

"Hey Steve I'm done for the day," the cashier yelled out. Steve sighed, knowing that it was now his turn to man the register. The second Steve walked out of the garage, he saw two familiar faces. Johnny stood next to Dally and Steve noticed the small rings around Johnny's eyes, showing that he had probably cried himself to sleep. "Hey guys," Steve greeted. The duo looked at him, with Johnny smiling a bit, the sadness evident in his eyes.

"Hey… how's Pony?" Johnny asked. Steve watched as Dally stiffened, most likely not over the fact that it had only been two days since Mr and Mrs.Curtis died. Steve looked at Johnny, the words stuck on his tongue. He had spent the entire shift trying to forget about the condition Ponyboy was in, but now he had to remember it.

"It ain't lookin' good," Steve admitted the images of Ponyboy having to have more machines put on him. All because a nurse couldn't check on him. The thought made him angry, the negligence could've led to another dead Curtis. Still, Steve looked at Johnny, knowing that the information was hitting him hard. "What's wrong with 'im?" Dally asked coldly.

"No nurse went to check on him and…" Steve was unsure of what else to say. He knew that if he said the wrong thing, Dally was going to lose his cool again, but, Dally remained stoic. "And what?" Johnny asked, his eyebrows furrowing a bit.

"He had to have some more surgery. Turned out he had some broken ribs and now…" The words continue to get stuck on Steve's tongue. He tried to think of ways on how to say it, without making it sound like he hated the kid for living through the crash. Johnny and Dally looked at him, some fear growing on Johnny's face. Steve didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to understand that Ponyboy was really in a coma. But, from the look of Johnny and Dally, he knew he had to tell them the truth.

"Ponyboys in a coma."

I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all for favoriting, following, and reviewing! I really appreciate it and thank every single one of you! :D I assure you that this fic will be finished in around two weeks! I'm getting a new computer sooo more updates (for all my fics) ;3