[Darry's POV]

"Family of Ponyboy Curtis?"

I quickly got up and shook the doctor's hand. "Darrel Curtis, his brother and legal guardian."

"I'm Dr. Williams, I'll be in charge of your brother's care," he replied.

"How is he? Can we see him?" I asked anxiously.

"First and foremost, Ponyboy is going to be just fine. Our initial assessment shows he sustained a concussion and broken wrist, along with some scrapes and bruising, due to his fall. As for right now, the next steps involve setting and casting his wrist, as well as monitoring the effects of the concussion. If you'll follow me you can see him now if you'd like."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I moved to follow the doctor to see Ponyboy. Dr. Williams looked back at our group before stopping in his tracks.

"I'm not going to prohibit you all from seeing him, but in his current state it may be better to limit visitors to family only," he said.

His current state? What did that mean?

"Me and Two-Bit will head out, I'll take him back to your house and get him to eat something," Steve said from behind me.

One look at Two-Bit told me this was probably the best decision for both him and Ponyboy, considering he had been a mess since the accident.

"Yeah, okay, I'll see you guys back at the house later," I replied.

Steve and Two-Bit left as Soda and I followed the doctor back to see Ponyboy. He led us through the maze of hallways in the hospital before finally pausing outside of a room and opening the door.

We walked into the room to the sight of Pony lying in a hospital bed as a nurse took his blood pressure. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to notice the cuff squeezing his arm.

I quickly moved to be at his right side as Soda moved to his left. "Hey buddy, how ya feeling?" I asked, gently stroking my thumb across his forehead.

Ponyboy didn't respond, and Soda looked up at me with concern.

"He hit his head pretty hard, so he's pretty out of it, but he should be waking up soon," the nurse said reassuringly. She noted his blood pressure on her clipboard before nodding politely and quietly leaving the room.

Dr. Williams then moved to gently access Ponyboy's wrist again, gently feeling it.

"His x-rays show us that his wrist will have to be set before we cast it, which we'll do after giving him a dose of ketamine. It won't necessarily put him entirely to sleep but rather will keep him relaxed and drowsy and act as a pain reliever. But first, I'd like to try and wake him up to assess the effects of the concussion and explain what we're going to be doing."

I nodded and moved to gently hold Ponyboy's uninjured hand to let him know he wasn't alone. I glanced over at Soda and noticed him touching Pony's shoulder, also letting him know he had someone here with him.

Dr. Williams then began to gently shake Ponyboy's shoulder. "Ponyboy, can you hear me? You're in the hospital, open your eyes if you can," he said.

After a few moments of silence, Pony began to gently stir. I began rubbing my thumb across his hand and encouraged him to wake up. "C'mon Pony, open your eyes," I said.

Ponyboy groaned and began moving his head from side to side before finally opening his eyes and looking at me. He then began to realize he was in an unfamiliar place and started to try and get up.

"Hey Pony, don't go hurting yourself, we're right here," Soda reassured.

Pony looked at Soda with wide eyes before his face clenched in pain.

"Can you tell me where it hurts Ponyboy?" Dr. Williams asked.

"My head…and my wrist," replied Ponyboy.

"And can you tell me what year it is? And where you are?" Dr. Williams asked.

"It's 1966 and," he paused to look around the room, "I think a hospital?" answered Ponyboy.

I smiled quietly and put a hand on Ponyboy's shoulder, glad he wasn't so out of it that he couldn't answer the doctor's questions.

The doctor seemed pleased with Pony's answers as well. "Excellent Ponyboy, now I want to explain to you what the plan is. In case you don't remember, you took quite a fall at track practice and ended up with a concussion and broken wrist. In order for your wrist to heal properly, we're going to give you some medicine to relieve the pain and set the bone before casting it. After that, you should be fine to return home tonight and wear the cast for 6-8 weeks. Any questions?"

Ponyboy shook his head but I don't think he quite caught all of what the doctor said. I made eye contact with Dr. Williams and nodded to show him I was listening as well.

"Great, we'll get you some pain meds and have you on your way in no time," said Dr. Williams.

We waited for a while, Soda and I doing whatever we could to ease Pony's pain, and Pony mostly dozing. Eventually, the nurse came in and started an IV, and placed an oxygen cannula under Ponyboy's nose. We waited even longer before finally Dr. Williams returned with another doctor to assist him.

"Alright Ponyboy, I'm going to give you some ketamine through your IV and then we'll get your wrist set. You might feel somewhat drowsy and maybe say some funny things, but you shouldn't feel any pain," Dr. Williams explained.

Ponyboy nodded slightly and I watched as the doctor injected the medication into his IV. At first, it didn't seem to have any effect on Ponyboy. Just as I was about to ask Dr. Williams when it may start to work, though, I noticed Ponyboy staring intently at me with wide eyes.

"You're really tall Darry," Ponyboy slurred. "Like, really, really talllllll."

He dragged out the last word and I couldn't help but laugh at my drugged-up little brother.

"They give you the good stuff Pony?" Sodapop asked, chuckling.

"Oh yeah. I'm ready to fly. Kinda like I flew down the track today. At least before I fell," Pony said.

Everyone in the room laughed at that one, causing Ponyboy to frown.

"Don't laugh at me. This is very serioussss," he slurred.

"Don't worry Pony, we're not laughing at you," I reassured, pushing his hair out of his face.

"We're going to set his wrist now. Ponyboy, let me know if you feel any pain at any time, okay?" Dr. Williams said.

Pony tried to give a thumbs up with his uninjured hand, though he couldn't quite get his fingers to cooperate and it looked more like a loose fist. The doctor seemed to understand, though, and he and his assistant began carefully maneuvering Ponyboy's left wrist. Ponyboy remained quiet throughout the process, his eyes half closed and staring off into the distance.

Once his wrist was in position, they began wrapping it in the plaster. "Any color you want in particular, Ponyboy?" Dr Williams asked.

Ponyboy looked thoughtful for a second before confidently exclaiming, "pink!"

Soda and I laughed at that, but I quickly said, "Let's go with white instead just in case he's not happy with his choice when the drugs wear off."

Both Sodapop and Ponyboy seemed disappointed with my choice, Pony because he genuinely believed he would be happy with a pink cast for 6 weeks, and Soda because he wanted to see Pony's reaction to his choice.

I shook my head at my brothers before turning back to Pony as they finished wrapping the cast. Once it was finished, Ponyboy began moving his plastered wrist in front of his face strangely, as if he had just discovered his hand existed.

"We'll have to tell everyone I got bit by a shark. Or fell off a cliff. Or both," Pony said.

"I think you'll need a more believable story little buddy," Soda replied.

"No, that's what you need to tell them," Ponyboy said angrily.

"Alright Pony, that's what we'll tell everyone," I said, hoping to not get him riled up.

"Your cast should be able to come off in 6 to 8 weeks, just make sure not to get it wet, and let me know if you have any questions," Dr. Williams said. I shook hands with him and the other doctor before they left the room to get the necessary paperwork.

Ponyboy fell back asleep as we waited, Soda and I staying at his side. It had been an eventful day, I just hoped we could get out of here and get him home in one piece.