SADLY, I DO NOT OWN THE OUTSIDERS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE AMAZING S. E. HINTON!

Author's Note: Hey! Hope everyone's having a good summer. I'm done with dance camp, our performance went really well! I'm gonna miss it, can't wait to start classes again in the fall. Thank you guys sooo much for the reviews, a ton more people reviewed, and I was very impressed. Keep it up. I also managed to PM everyone who reviewed except guests and Pixie Silver, cause you disabled your email account, so thanks for reviewing! Hope you like it!

Chapter 8: No Nicotine

DARRY'S POV

The negative red numbers seemed to scream at me from the bottom of my credit card balence. -$14,269.75! I was mortified and absolutely horrified. Mortified because the lady behind the counter at the bank was looking at me like I was mentally challenged as I stared, red-faced and stammering, as I tried to speak but my voice failed me. I was in complete shock. I had no idea we were this far in debt. And I had till March 12th to pay my balence. It was March 4th. Oh, God.

"Excuse me," said a sharp voice. The lady behind the counter was tapping her foot, obviously annoyed. Her name tag read "Lindsey." Well, Lindsey was just going to have to wait. I was double and triple-checking every deposit and withdrawal. I had cashed in five paychecks, and Soda six, and we had a few more deposits here and there, but that was it. Everything else was another little payment: food, clothes, new roofing supplies, track shoes, other things that seemed of no real importance. If it wern't for the last withdrawal, we would have been in good shape. But there it stood, in small black fine print; Tulsa General hospital, payment from Darrel Curtis jr. One appointment, 3 day stay private room, one chemotherapy session, 5 day stay in regular room. $12,783.75. I couldn't believe the cost of that one little treatment.

Lindsey cleared her throat. She was really starting to get on my nerves now, smacking loudly on her gum. "Sir, you need to hurry up. There are other customers waiting." Sure enough, there was a long line of impatient people behind me, glancing doewn the line to see what the holdup was.

I sighed and handed her back the papers. "Here you go." She glanced down at the paper and looked back up, a bored expression on her face.

"Do you wish to pay off your debt today, or will that have to wait?"

I clenched my teeth. "I'll pay another day."

"Your balance has to be paid off by the 12th, or you'll be in a whole load of trouble." She almost looked pleased at that last part.

"I'm aware of that. I have a meeting with our health insurence this afternoon."

"I sure hope so." She mumbled her breath, "You're sure gonna need it."

I mumbled a "thank you", resisting the urge to flip her off, and hurried out of the bank to the truck. I was on my lunch break, and had been planning on dropping by Tulsa General to check on Pony, but it was already 1:34. Lunch break ended at 1:45, there was no way I would be able to drive out to the hospital so quickly. It was starting to snow, too, which would surely delay the ride. I still felt guilty about leaving him there in that hospital all alone, but Ponyboy had insisted we go to work and stay there. I swear, he was getting stubborner then Soda.

The last few days had gone surprisingly well. Well, as good as they can go when in our situation. Dr. Mitchell's had confirmed that the chemo had shown improvment on Pony's count of immature blood cells. That was defiantly good news, if he kept it up, he would be able to go home on Friday. It was Monday, only four more days. However, my worries were far from over. After three days at home, he would be back for a second, more aggressive, chemo session. I couldnt stop thinking about it. Even I myself was worrying that I would give myself an ulcer. I had always been a worrier, imagining the worst possible, and some nights I would lay awake at night for hours, picturing grusume images in my mind. Heck, I was sad to say that I think even Pony was coping with this better then I was, even if I didn't show it. The kid was defiantly tougher than I'd given him credit for, he hadn't complained while during his hospital stay.

A sudden squeal of brakes brought me back to reality. I had accidentally run a red light, and the driver next to me didn't look to pleased about it. I waved a "sorry" to him. He flipped off his middle finger at me. I could see him cussing me out through window. Ugh. I had hit rush hour, and the snow was coming down harder.

I managed to make it to the work only 5 minutes late. Gerald, my boss, gave me a look but said nothing. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and though he knew the situation and sympathized with it, he still expected me to be at work and on time unless it was absolutely critical. I tried to follow that rule because believe me, we needed the money. I grabbed my tools and headed up the ladder to my section of the roof, near the chimmney. It was still snowing, but not enough to be dangerous. Plus, I knew Gerald wouldn't call us if the roof unless we were in the middle of the worst blizzard of the century. And I highly doubted that would happen.

I was pretty distracted for the rest of the day, it's a miracle I didn't fall off the roof. I did hammer my thumb, though, and it hurt like h***. Lately, I had been thinking about my parents, what they would have done, what I would be doing if they were here, what I had been doing wrong. I knew it was unhealthy to think like that, but hey, I couldn't help it.

Finally, it was 6:30 and we could leave. I hightailed it out of there and drive as quickly as I could to Reed & Scafer's Health Insurence center. I had a meeting with them about covering the cost. I would have just go along with the health care plan that Mom and Dad had, but President Lyndon Johnson had just signed the Medicare and Medicaid bill, and I was about to find out if it applied to our situation.

Reed and Scafer's was a small, brick building, and was probably as old as Tulsa itself. Reed and Scafer were the two guys who opened it, but they were long gone, so various employees took it over. I had been here a few times; when Soda tore his ligament (again) and when Pony had his tonsils out. Our insurence usually covered about half the cost. Hopefully, that would change.

10 minutes later, I was in a worn-out wooden chair behind Robert Lynoyd's desk. Papers and files and hospital bills were strewn across the surface. Robert was behind it rubbing his forehead as he looked at our bills.

"Well, Darrel, as you probably already know, in a whole lot of debt." I nodded. "We can stick to your old insurence plan, with this office, or we could apply you for President Johnson's new Medicare and Medicaid plan. Of course, with this office, we would cover about half the cost. However, the other plan would be very helpful. Medicare wouldn't be necessary because it extends hospital care and doctor coverage to people aged over 65 and over. Medicaid seems to fit your situation perfectly, though. It extends medical care mainly for the poor, and especially focuses on giving coverage to low-income children and their guardians. We could enroll you in the program, but it's very difficult to get in. It doesn't offer coverage to every poor person, there are just too many people who are hard up on money. Income is only one factor in deciding who's eligible. You have to meet the criteria for the whole plan. You can send in an application, but I'm warning you Darrel, it's a slim chance. Of course, if you aren't eligible, we'll offer you our plan as normal. You want to go for it?"

"Why not?"

He slid an application across the desk. Name, town, state, insurance, situation, monthly income, Parent, siblings, address, phone number, medical issue. I got a pen and filled it out, then handed it back to Robert.

"Here you go."

"Thanks. We'll send it in, should get the results back by the 8th."

"Thanks, sir."

"Don't mention it."

I left the office, and headed down to the DX to get Soda and head down to the hospital.

PONY'S POV

Dizziness overtook me the moment I woke up. The room spun around me, and I started shaking and sweating. I felt tired and my head hurt. My stomach felt nauseous, I grabbed the trash can and held it steady.

"Hey," the curtain was drawn back and Nathan was looking at me. "You all right?"

I barely managed to nod before I started dry heaving. Nathan waited for me to finish.

"Gosh, you okay? You wanted me to call Maggie?"

I shook my head. I knew what this was. "I'm not sick. Well, I mean I am, but I think this cause I have to stop smoking."

He stared for a minute, then burst into laughter. "Oh boy," he chocked out, "Get ready for one h*** of a ride."

"What do you mean?"

"Shoot, when I first started chemo, I was still smoking, but the second week I was in the hospital, Maggie found out. Confiscated all my 8 packs of Kools. God, by the second day, I nearly killed some old man in the lobby wrestling for his cigarettes. I lost, cause the nurses thought I was pysco and pulled me off him. Worst 3 weeks of my life, all I could think about were cigarettes."

"Well? Do you now?"

"Nah, it gets better. But I'm warnin ya, you better keep away from people with cigarettes, cause you'll be ready to murder for them.

"Real helpful, considering all my friends smoke."

"Yeah, we'll, you'll get used to it." He hard eyes glimmered for a minute, then he turned away to face the wall.

I lay back down, drumming my fingers impatiently against the mattress, my leg twitching. I was restless and bored and annoyed. I wasn't sure if this was cigarette withdrawal, or if I was just going stir crazy. Iglanced at the clock on the wall. 4:47. Johnny and Two-Bit said they would drop by after school, maybe Dally, too. They should be here any minute.

As if on cue, Two-Bit burst into the room, followed by Johnny, who entered more quietly, and finally a scowling Dallas slunk in.

"Hey, kid!" Two-Bit yelped, bounding over. "How ya doing?"

"Hey, Pony," Johnny said, tipping a stack of books next to my bed. I was supposed to be keeping up with schoolwork.

"You look like s***, kid." Dally commented.

"I think it's called lack of nicotine. I'm not allowed to smoke."

A slow grin spread across Two-Bit's face. "Shoot, never thought I'd see the day where Ponyboy Curtis had to stop smoking. You've gotta be the biggest weed-fiend in the neighborhood."

"I know it. God, I want a cigarette."

Two-Bit was grinning. "Ten bucks he'll break and make a desperate attempt to bust outta here and buy cigarettes before Friday." He turned to Dally.

"You're on."

"Hey," said Johnny, lowering his voice, "What's you're roommate like? He okay?"

Dally flipped his switchblade open. "He ain't a Soc, is he? Or do we need to get out our switchblades and talk some sense into him?"

"He's fine, Dal. He's a greaser."

He nodded but didn't put down his switchblade down. Nathan turned back around and opened his eyes.

"Uh, guys, this is Nathan." He nodded at Two-Bit and Johnny. They nodded back. Then he saw Dally and his eyes widened. He looked shocked.

"Winston?"

Dally looked hard at him. "D***. Hureed?" Nathan nodded.

Well, I didn't think anyone expected that. "You two know each other?"

Dally looked really shocked. "New York. Knife fight of '58. Shoot, kid, I thought they'd killed you for sure. Or you were in jail."

"Nah, they took me to the hospital after the fuzz took you away. Knife missed all the organs. That's when we packed up and headed down here to Tulsa. When did you move down here?"

"Glory, must've been what, six, seven years ago?"

"Well, wasn't expecting this."

"No kidding. Well, good to see you alive."

"Yeah, back at ya."

Two-Bit, Johnny, and I were all staring at them. I was dying to know what happened, but I didn't push it.

It was a pretty quiet visit after that. I was practically falling asleep, so I just leaned back, closed my eyes, and listened while they filled me in on what was going on at school and all that. They left a little while later, informing me that Darry and Soda would drop by later. I just nodded, feeling lousy. They left.

I pulled the covers up around my shoulders, shivering, ad fell asleep. My last thought was, "D***, I need a cigarette."

SODA'S POV

The powdery snow was falling quicker now. I shivered and pulled my jacket tighter around me as I worked on a beat up truck. I envied Steve, who was probably warm and comfortable inside as he read a car magazine. Our shift was ending in ten minutes, so no one was really stoping by.

I was beat. I had been working extra shifts all day to pay for the hospital bills, I knew our insurance wouldn't cover all of it. I missed Pony something awful around the house, quiet as he was, it seemed a lot quieter without him around. I was just thankful that the chemo was working so far.

A car pulled up in the parking lot, headlights cutting through the thickening snow. Our car. Darry stuck his head out the window. "Hey, Soda, hop in!"

I glanced at the clock. My shift had ended. "Hang on!" I yelled to Darry, hurrying inside.

"See ya, Steve!"

"See ya! Hey, I was thinking of having Evie over tonight. You want to cone along, bring Ssndy? It's snowing out, the ladies like it, it could get pretty cozy." he gave me a knowing look.

"Thanks, Steve, but I gotta go visit Pony. Some other time?"

He just rolled his eyes. I left, not wanting to get into it.

"Hey, little buddy. You have a good day?"

"Ehh, it was all right. It's freezing out!"

"Hey, you can't complain. The snow was practically burying us on the roof!"

I laughed. "I can't wait to see Pony."

"I know, it's been weird without him around."

"He can come home on Friday though, right?"

"If everything goes as planned. But remember, Soda, it won't just be back to normal when he comes home. It's only for a couple days. He's gonna be weak, you gotta take it easy with him."

"I know, I ain't stupid."

"Did I say you were?"

I ignored him. The rest of the ride to the hospital was quiet, we were both lost in our own thoughts. We finally got to the hospital and up to the seventh floor. We waved to Dr. Mitchell and Mrs. Dunthers in the hallway, but didn't stop to talk. We didn't have much time.

We got to Pony's room and went on in. He looked a little better, with only a couple of I. V.s in. Ihe was pale and sweaty, though. Something was off. I pushed that aside though.

"Hey, Pony!" I said, bending down to hug him.

"Soda!" he sounded half glad, half annoyed.

"What's got you all grumpy?" Darry joked, messing up his hair.

"Cigarettes! I can't smoke! I'm going crazy! I swear, if I can't have one soon, I'mhgpoing to go crazy. Literally."

Oh, boy. I knew giving up smoking was bad for anyone, but Pony was really hooked on it. This wasn't going to go over well.

"Giving up smoking is hard, Pone, but it really is for the best."

"It's not hard, Darry! It's impossible!" He moaned, rolling back on his pillows dramatically. "I just want one d*** cigarette. It's all I can think about."

"Ponyboy Curtis, watch your mouth."

"I'm sorry. Not smoking is just really making me grumpy."

"No kidding," I joked him. He glared at me. "Kidding. Oh, come on kid, lighten up!"

He gave me half-smile. "That's better. So what'd ya do today?" I sat down on one side of the bed, Darry on the other.

He leaned his head in my lap. I absent-mindly stroked his hair. "Not much. Slept. I got to know Nathan a little ( who I assumed was sleeping, cause the curtain between their beds was drawn), he's pretty tough, kind of like Dally. He actually knows Dally it was pretty bizarre, when he, Two-Bit, and Johnny stopped by he recognized him. From some big knife fight back in New York."

"That's crazy. Hey, Pony, did Johnny bring your schoolwork?"

I rolled my eyes. Darry needed to go easy on Pony about the schoolwork, he was in the hospital, for Christ's sake!

"Yeah, I'll start on it tomorrow." he said, yawning. "I tried to start it, but I couldn't concentrate. So how was work for you guys?"

We filled him in on our days, he was out 10 minutes later.

"Soda, we gotta leave."

"Darry! We just got here! 10 more minutes? Please?"

He sighed. "Fine. Im going to the bathroom, you'd better be ready when I get back."

I nodded. He left, and I stroked Pony's hair as he slept. I felt lucky.

Author's Note: I was amazed that nobody used the Medicare and Medicaid plan in other cancer fics! I mean, they always have them struggling to pay the bills, and I was doing research and it was like "Whoa! That's perfect. " it really was, it fits their situation perfectly, I think, abd even came out in that year! Everything about it was true, by the way. Also, Nathan's 16. Don't know if I mentioned that.

Well, has everyone been watching the Olympics? I have ;) Good luck to all the countries. Omg did you guys see that swimming race last night? France beat us ( America) by like millimeter! That was incredible! Haha. Hope you guys liked the chapter, please let you know what you thought in a review! Thanks! Stay Gold! -Emily ;)

I GOT ALL MY INFO FROM THESE WEBSITES:

Radical movements create context for 1960s health care reform

Medicaid Act, 1965

President Johnson

Effects of quitting smoking