(Soda's POV)
Two-Bit managed to get me discharged from the hospital pretty quickly, but that didn't mean I was going to leave the hospital, it just meant I got to spend all of my free time with Pony in Darry's room, waiting for our brother to get better. The doctor wasn't happy about me no longer being under his direct supervision, but he said as long as I took it easy and kept taking my medications, I should be fine.
As Pony slept, still using Darry's bed as a pillow, I couldn't help but look at him and think about the events that led us to our situation. I thought about our parents dying, Darry taking custody of me and Pony, and what scared me more than anything, I remembered a gun being pointed at my baby brother, only to have Darry save Pony's by taking two bullets for him. I shivered at the memory.
"Soda?" Pony asked, straightening up in his chair. I had been rubbing circles on Pony's back to hopefully prevent any nightmares from haunting him, but the shiver must've ran down my arm and woke him up. Dammit. The kid's gotta sleep. "You okay? Why are you up? Did Darry wake up again?"
"I'm alright, Pony. Just keeping an eye on you guys," I said with a small grin. "And no, it's only been a couple hours, honey. The doctor said even though Darry was ready to wake up, his lungs weren't, so they're having him sleep some more until his lungs are ready too." Don't tell him about the worst case scenario. "It might be a while before he wakes up again."
He nodded, apparently taking my word for it, even though I barely knew enough to give Pony any sort of information I had on Darry's condition. Then he looked around the room. "Where's Two-Bit?"
"He had to go home. He'll be back tomorrow," I said. After he got me officially discharged from the hospital, Two-Bit didn't stay much longer before he went home. Not only did he have a kid sister to look after while their mom was working a late shift, but the poor guy was tired and in desperate need of a good night's sleep. I was thankful he was there for us, but he needed to take care of himself too.
"Two-Bit's been real good during this whole thing. He's a real good buddy," Pony said suddenly, like he was reflecting on this experience like I had been. "I just hope Darry wakes up again soon and can be our guardian again."
I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Me too, baby. Me too."
Once a full two days passed since Darry woke up, Dr. Jones said they were going to start easing Darry off sedation, which apparently meant he would hopefully wake up slowly. I was a little disappointed they couldn't just stop giving Darry the medicine all together so he could wake up quickly, but after the doctor explained it to all of us, it made sense why they did it that way; it was supposed to be safer and easier to see how he was breathing and if he was ready to be taken off the ventilator. The doctor also encouraged us to keep talking to Darry, even while he was sleeping, so the guys and I made sure to always try talking to Darry while we were in the room with him.
As the next few days passed, it felt like we were all walking on eggshells in Darry's room. When the guys came to visit, they stayed relatively quiet, which was weird for our gang. We all wanted Darry to wake up, but we also didn't want him to wake up if his lungs still weren't healed enough for him to breathe normally. I think everyone that saw Darry wake up the first time was probably afraid the same thing would happen again. Hell, I wasn't even there when it happened and I was scared Darry waking up would have the same outcome every time.
With both me and Pony being free from the clutches of the hospital staff, we were free to come and go as we pleased, so we sort of made a schedule so one of us would always be with Darry, while the other one could eat, sleep, or shower at home. Two-Bit and Steve had talked to my boss on my behalf, and apparently the man didn't expect me at work for at least a couple weeks, so I had plenty of spare time to spend with my big brother while he was stuck in a hospital bed. Since Pony was still getting over his pneumonia, I tried to convince him to be home most of the time, but he ignored me and spent more time in Darry's room than anywhere else, just like me.
"Soda, are you mad at me?" Pony's quiet voice suddenly sounded.
The two of us were playing a card game in Darry's room while everyone else was gone. I was pretty sure Johnny and Dally were off doing something together and Steve was at work. Two-Bit had said he'd be back soon, he just needed to do something, and I was starting to wonder if there was something going on that he wasn't telling us about, but I never asked him. My brothers were my priority, and if Two-Bit was hiding something, I'd find out later.
"Course not," I said after the shock of Pony's question wore off. "Why would you think that?"
He shrugged and looked down at his cards, but I knew something was still on his mind. I waited patiently, and it took a minute for him to keep talking. "It's just… I know you said it wasn't my fault, but Darry-"
"Honey, please don't start this again," I said, forgetting about the cards and reaching towards Pony to ruffle his hair.
"What if… what if he doesn't get better?" Pony asked, completely ignoring me. "What if he's stuck in here, hooked up to a machine forever?"
I froze. I purposely didn't tell him about that specific possibility, but I stupidly underestimated either my brother's intelligence or his imagination because his fear was a real possibility. He can't know.
Rather than indulge in Pony's worries, I changed the subject. "Do you think Darry's tough?"
"What?" Ponyboy asked, obviously confused by me answering his question with a different question. "Of course I do."
"And don't you think he'd do anything for us?" I asked.
"Yeah," Pony said, clearly not getting where I was headed.
"So if Darry had to fight to get better just to make sure we were okay, don't you think he'd do it?" I questioned, a grin appearing on my face.
Finally, my brother understood what I was trying to say.
"Yeah, he would," Pony said with a small smile.
"Exactly," I said, giving him a light-hearted punch in his good arm, making sure I didn't hit him too hard. "Darry's doing everything he can to get back to us. He's just too stubborn and tough for his own good, that's all. I mean, he woke up before even his own body thought he should!"
My words seemed to ease my brother's concerns since he smirked at me, but there was still one more thing he apparently wanted to say. "I'm still sorry for being the reason you and Darry got hurt." I opened my mouth to argue, but Pony is just as stubborn as Darry, so he wasn't letting it go. "I know you're gonna say it was the Soc's fault, and I get that, but I can't help the way I feel sometimes. I'm sorry."
I wanted to beg my brother to not blame himself, but nothing I could say would change his mind. Darry and I protected him, and that's it, but Pony's mind wouldn't let him see it that way. I certainly would never blame my kid brother for being attacked by a crazy person with murder on his mind, and I know Darry would agree. If only he'd wake up to tell Pony himself.
"Don't apologize for feeling things," I said calmly as I pulled him close to me and hugged him. Pony's emotions made him different from everyone else, and I never wanted to hear him wish he could be cold and emotionless like a lot of other people are. "It's not your fault, and I wish you'd believe me, but I understand. I'm not mad at you, and I know Darry won't be either." Then I pulled away from Pony to look him in the eyes and give him a smile. "Except maybe for not taking care of yourself. You still look a little sick and tired. You sure you don't want to go home for a bit?"
Pony quickly shook his head at me. "I'm fine Soda, really."
I knew Pony just wanted to be with Darry, just like I did, so I didn't argue anymore. I'll just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't overdo it or anything.
We continued playing cards for a little bit, and right when we started discussing other options for spending our free time, I heard movement coming from Darry's bed. Pony must've heard it too, because at the same time, we both turned our heads to look at our big brother. For a second, I was worried we wouldn't get any other signs that Darry was waking up, but then his hand moved.
"Darry?" I said, moving even closer to his bed and putting a hand on his knee, giving it a squeeze. Pony copied me and pulled his chair close too, then he grabbed Darry's hand. "Hey Dar, you waking up?" I studied my big brother, and I noticed his eyes were twitching, along with his eyebrows and lips. He's really waking up!
"Darry?" Pony's tear-filled voice was so quiet, I wondered if he really even said something, or if I just imagined it.
"Pony and I are here, Dar. We're both here… just waitin' on you big brother," I said. I noticed there were tears falling from my eyes, and I didn't bother wiping them away.
Pony and I kept talking to him, trying to coax him into waking up, and it seemed like it was slowly working. His movements got bigger, and the twitching in his face started to look like he was trying to make facial expressions as we spoke to him. Then his head turned slightly to face me and Pony, and that's when I knew Darry could hear us.
"You have a tube in your throat. It's breathing for you," Pony explained. At first, I didn't know why he bothered to tell Darry about the ventilator, but as he kept talking, I realized exactly what he was doing. He doesn't want history to repeat itself; he wants Darry to stay calm and not fight against it. "When you wake up, they'll take it out as long as you can breathe fine on your own, okay? You just have to stay relaxed."
I was so proud of my baby brother. Even after everything he had seen and been through, he was trying to coach Darry into waking up and preventing any more harm to come Darry's way.
Suddenly, Darry groaned, the sound echoing louder than I expected.
"We know it doesn't feel good," I started, trying to go along with Pony's calming technique. "You're gonna be hurtin' for a while Dar, but you're in a hospital… the doctors will fix you right up and you'll be good as new in no time. But first thing's first, you gotta open your eyes."
It took a lot of patience and pleading, but eventually, Darry's icy blue eyes opened. I had never been so happy to look into those eyes, even if they looked confused and scared.
"Hey Dar," I said with a smile, fighting against the tears that wanted to fall. "Good to see ya, Superman."
Darry's mouth moved around the tube, and he started choking. Alarms started blaring from the machines next to us, and since the room was previously so quiet, the noise was practically deafening. No, please don't let this happen again. I need my big brother to stay awake.
I could see the panic in Pony's eyes, but his voice sounded steadier than I expected. "It's okay, Darry. That's helping you breathe. You gotta relax."
"Don't fight against it," I said, trying to double-down on Pony's instructions. "Just wait until-"
"What's going on in here?" I recognized Dr. Jones's voice quickly approaching. Seconds later, he and a nurse were standing on the other side of the bed and looking down at Darry. His tone shifted and he spoke louder so he was heard over the alarms and Darry's choking. "Hello Darrel, I'm Dr. Jones. We have you attached to a ventilator to help you breathe. Would you like me to remove it so you can breathe on your own?"
I didn't know why the doctor was asking stupid questions, and I wanted to yell at him for it. Of course he wants you to remove it, but he can't tell you since it's stuck in his throat! However, I stayed quiet as Darry's eyes shifted to the man and gave him a definitive blink in reply.
"Alright, when I count to three, I want you to give me a big cough, okay?" Dr. Jones said and he and the nurse got into position. "Okay, one, two, three."
Darry let out a noise that could've been considered a cough and the nurse started taking the long tube out of Darry's mouth, all while it sounded like Darry was gagging. Glory, how did all of that fit inside him?
As soon as the tube was out, the doctor put a clear mask on Darry's face. "This is an oxygen mask, Darrel. It should help make breathing on your own easier. Now try to take a breath in."
It was painful to watch, but I couldn't take my eyes off Darry. His eyes were squeezed shut, his chest was moving in uncoordinated movements, and between his gasps and the machines blaring, all the noises made the scene even more chaotic. Please let him be okay.
"Relax Darry," Pony said, his shaky voice sounding soft and comforting. I saw Pony move his hand onto Darry's shoulder and he shook it a little. "Slow, deep breaths."
Again, I went along with Pony's comforting tactics. "C'mon Darry, do it for us," I said, giving his knee another squeeze.
The gasping sounds Darry let out slowly started getting quieter. I was terrified that it meant he wasn't breathing and he'd have to be sedated again, or worse, but the smile on Dr. Jones's face told me otherwise. "That's it, Darrel. You're doing great."
Pony and I sat there silently, watching and waiting. Eventually, Darry's chest rose and fell in an even rhythm. Moments later, my big brother opened his eyes and blinked the tears away so he was staring at the ceiling.
I moved my hand to Darry's and squeezed it so hard, I was surprised he didn't flinch. I just needed to be sure he was alive, breathing, and was really there with us. The warmth from his hand confirmed he was really alive and I wasn't losing my mind. "Dar?"
Darry blinked slowly and kept his eyes on the ceiling. Did he hear me? Is he okay?
"Darry?" Pony asked, the fear in his voice was obvious.
Finally, Darry's eyes moved so he was looking at us. Then, behind the oxygen mask, a quiet, gravelly voice left Darry's mouth. "Hey guys."