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Ponyboy doesn't know how long he and Johnny had been at this church for. A week? Month? He's been sleeping so much the days have blurred together a long time ago; whenever that would be. It's not like he can help it; his chest is feeling heavier by the hour and his coughing just won't stop, even after Johnny made the trip to get him some medicine a few days ago (or was it hours?). It's all he could seem to do lately, even when Johnny tries to keep him up by reading Gone with the Wind, but eventually he gives up and just cushions his jacket beneath Pony's head. Too bad Dally didn't let them bring pillows.
Pony wishes he could say the church wasn't a bad hideout. After all, they have the basic necessities: running water, a decent food supply, and, well, shelter. Although, it's not much of a warm, effective shelter when there are holes in the ceiling and you have a fever that makes it feel like you never even dried off the fountain water. Not to mention the fact that Pony only has an oversized jacket to keep him warm, and poor Johnny only has a jean jacket that he grew out of a month ago (that he lends to Pony a good amount of the time, anyway). Johnny tried to get him to sit out in the sun whenever it was nice enough out, but some days the autumn chill really seeped in or it was too overcast and it would probably be worse than just staying inside. Plus, Pony's usually content with just lying by Johnny's side, which is what they were doing now.
"Pony? You okay?" Johnny asked, voice quiet and a bit rough from all the reading he was doing. Ponyboy felt him lay his hand on his scratchy, bleached hair, and brush it away from his forehead.
"Mhm," Pony mumbled, his eyes staying shut as he fought back a cough. He tried to take a few deep breaths through his nose, and dug his head deeper into Johnny's shoulder.
"When Dally said he'd stop by when it's safe, I was hoping it wouldn't take this long," Johnny mutteres, shutting the book and dropping it to his side. He grimaced when he saw the cloud of dust it made when it hit the floor, and quickly swatted it away in hopes to not make Ponyboy fall into another coughing fit.
"Not his fault," Pony croaked, bringing his knees up to his chest. He let out a weak cough into his elbow, before taking a wheezy breath and shutting his eyes again.
"Yeah," Johnny agreed, his voice quiet and slightly discouraged. He wrung his arm around Pony's shoulder and fell silent, allowing the only sound to be Ponyboy's wheezy breaths.
Pony tried to doze off again, but he found it hard with the way he was sitting. His chest felt suffocating and heavy, and everything was just too stuffy. He wished it was a nice day out; but it was drizzling and windy, not a good combination for someone with a nasty cough. Usually he loved the smell and feeling of water in the air, but his lungs got enough of that for a lifetime. He doesn't exactly think they'll be thanking him if he decides to sit outside in it, even if it is just a little drizzle. Plus, it was night time. There'd be no vitamin D to save him now, raining or not.
Ponyboy unlatched his arms from around his knees, letting them slip to the dusty, wooden floor. He shoved his clammy hands in the pockets of the old, musty sweater he was given at Bucks and tried to ignore the cold sweat forming along his forehead.
"We gotta get this fever under control, man." Pony heard Johnny mutter under his breath, as he pulled Pony in a little closer. "Your cough is pretty bad, huh?
After a second, Pony nodded, not wanting to stress Johnny out with his affirmation but figuring it wouldn't exactly be a good idea to act like he was fine and dandy.
"I'm sorry I got you into this mess... I don't know what I was thinking. I should've just brought you home right when you came to me, or took you to Two-Bit's or something," Johnny muttered, almost under his breath like he wasn't sure if he wanted Ponyboy to hear it. But he did, and Pony perked up pretty quick.
"It's not your fault, I didn't want to go home." Pony said, trying to force his voice above a meek croak, but it only made his throat feel like it was on fire. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you,"
"Yeah, well, those assholes still tried to drown you anyway, and now look where we are." Johnny said, words morbid and his voice rising. Ponyboy stayed silent, staring at his feet as he felt Johnny shake next to him. Pony took a wheezy breath as his words sunk in: was he gonna die here? Were they gonna die here?
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you worked up. It's been too long; if Dally doesn't come to get us tomorrow, I'm getting us outta here." Johnny said, his hands shaking as he pulled at the strings along the hem of his shirt.
"What about the cops?" Ponyboy stressed. Going out there now would be a death sentence! What if Johnny gets caught by them and he isn't able to get them to come back here to pick him up, and he just dies here, suffocating on dry land?
"Screw the cops," Johnny finalized, squeezing Pony's shoulder reassuringly, but it didn't stop his racing heart. He wants to go home.
"Just get some sleep, alright? I'll figure it out. Don't worry."
----------
Ponyboy didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep, but one restless nap later and he was waking up to two voices speaking and sun was streaming through the boarded windows.
Wait, two voices?
Ponyboy shot up at this; what if the cops had found them? Or robbers? Cops and robbers? He wouldn't be surprised; with everything going on Pony's been trying his best to prepare for the absolute worst.
Pony was hardly able to catch a glimpse of who the two were before he was doubled over in a terrible coughing fit that rattled his bones and made it feel like his chest was about to explode. Immediately, Ponyboy knew he got way worse overnight.
"Pony? Shit, man," A voice said from above him, and Ponyboy recognized the voice but couldn't place it over all his coughing. A gentle hand rubbed his back, and Pony was relieved right away; he didn't know a single cop who had a warm enough soul to do that. Or a robber, for that matter.
"Sorry," Pony wheezed in between shallow breaths that weren't very effective in bringing in air. It took another few moments to compose himself , but finally he was able to lift his head to see who the two people were.
The first person he noticed was Johnny; obviously he'd still be here. He gave him a soft smile, his hand still lightly patting his back. Slightly to the other side of him, towering over the two, was Dally, an uncharacteristically distraught look on his face, his shaggy hair shading his face as he looked over them. Ponyboy let out another sigh/cough/choke of relief and he planted his palms onto the ground, trying to catch his breath as efficiently as possible.
"You okay now?" Johnny asked, his hands off Pony's back, but still crouching down. His eyebrows were furrowed (which Ponyboy actually got to see now, thanks to the crap haircuts they gave each other a few days ago), and his eyes were big and worried.
"Yeah, sorry," Ponyboy said finally, once he had enough air in his lungs to speak. he wishes he could just go back to sleep; this fit had really tired him out this time, and his eyelids were practically drooping shut as he looked up at Johnny and Dally.
"It's alright kid," Dally spoke up, his hands on his hips as he looked down at him. Suddenly, his face grew into a smile. "Man, look at our little blondie over here,"
At his teasing, Pony could practically feel his face and ears go red. He rubbed his hands over his burning face (from both fever and embarrassment) and self-consciously smoothed his hair back from his forehead, as if the strands were still long and healthy enough to actually stay there.
"He's sick, Dal. Can't it wait?" Johnny said in defense of him, but he was smiling now, too.
"Yeah, I guess," Dallas sighed, the smile falling from his face as he crouched down. He pressed the back of his hand to Pony's forehead and Ponyboy let him. Normally, he'd be embarrassed to let somebody like Dally be so worried about him, but he felt too shitty to care. Plus, Dally's seriousness worried him, and he knew that if he tried to play it off like he was fine, Dally would slap him silly and still proceed to check for a fever like a mother hen.
"Damn, you're like a furnace," Dally confessed, his eyes wide. Pony just looked away, and rested his back against the cool, wooden wall. His breaths came in short, raspy gasps, and he shut his eyes, trying to calm his churning stomach down.
"I told you, he's not fine, this isn't some cold. Something's wrong," He heard Johnny insist, whilst keeping his tone of voice steady and quiet. Dally didn't say anything for a second.
"Look, maybe I can try and get a doctor up here or something, but-" Dally started, but Johnny cut him off quickly.
"You're not gonna find any doctor that will be willing to do that, unless you find them in a back alley. He needs a hospital, he can hardly breathe! I can't take care of him by myself, he needs more than me." Johnny said, his voice desperate. If Pony wasn't too busy focusing on how light headed he felt, he'd probably be impressed with how much Johnny said in under thirty seconds.
"Johnny, the cops are still out there looking for you two!" Dally exclaimed, his voice rising, and Pony wished he would stop it, because his head was really starting to pound.
"I don't care!" Johnny stated, his voice raising as well. Pony heard Dally sigh heavily, and he could imagine his running his hands through his hair right about now, something he usually did when he got worked up.
"Look," Dallas said after a second,keeping his voice down a bit more but clearly annoyed now, "I'll take ya'll home. Okay? But don't blame me if they take you in, got it?"
"Yes." Johnny agreed, his voice firmer than Pony's ever heard it before. In the midst of his drowsy state of staring at the ground and trying not to pass out, Ponyboy felt his heart swell, because he's never heard Johnny stick up for anyone like that, nevermind speak to that like the Dallas Winston. What he said to him a few nights ago was nothing compared to what just went down!
After another second, Ponyboy heard some bustling about the small room. He saw Dally picking up the few things they had with them, like their book, a few leftover packets of food, and gathered some of the stray cigarettes and playing cards. Johnny then appeared in front of him, a hand holding out to Pony.
"We're gonna get you home, alright?" He told Pony, his voice a ton softer than how he'd been speaking to Dally just a few moments ago.
Pony simply nodded, and although he wanted to actually say something, he couldn't find the words or the power. That coughing fit he had right when he woke up really sucked the very last drops of any energy Ponyboy had.
Pony reached out a shaky and clammy hand to grab onto Johnny, and although it was tougher than Pony'd like to admit, he was able to stand after a few seconds and Johnny quickly rang his arm around Pony to support him.
Unfortunately, this had only made the pounding in Ponyboy's head worse, and the lightheadedness he was suffering from on the ground turned into full on stars. His lungs felt so impossibly heavy and uncomfortable, he could hardly breathe at all now.
He had only gotten a few steps before his stomach turned to ice and he blacked out before he hit the floor.
------
"C'mon, Pony," Ponyboy heard a voice speak softly as he slowly crept back into consciousness again.
The first thing he noticed was the bed he was laid on- it was so nice in contrast to the hard, dirty, wooden floor of the old church that the realization alone almost made him fall back asleep. And he could finally take comfortable, deep(ish) breaths in. But there was a hand running through his hair that he just couldn't ignore and there was this odd smell of cleaning product.
Wanting to know where he was, Pony tried to force his eyes open, but they felt so heavy and he was just so comfortable it made the task almost impossible. Sure, the bed wasn't his one at home, but it was better than nothing.
However, he fought the sleep pulling him under and cracked his eyes open, squinting against the bright florescent light that immediately made itself known on the white, stark ceiling.
"That's it," The person spoke, and it took a second for Pony to realize that the voice wasn't a figment of his imagination.
He turned his eyes over to the figure sitting in a chair next to him and realized it was Sodapop. He could've sobbed with relief as he gave Pony one of his winning smiles, and gathered him in his arms into a bear hug. It pulled at some of the wires sticking into his skin and at the too big hospital gown, but it was so good to be hugged by someone in clean clothes!
"Oh, Pony, what'd you get yourself into this time, huh?" Soda asked, with tears in his eyes, and Ponyboy had to really hold back from sobbing this time. He just simply buried his head into his brother's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," He cried, his voice muffled against Soda's shoulder. He was probably getting tears on Soda's flannel, but he didn't seem to care as he hugged Ponyboy back even tighter.
"It's okay, Pony," He assured, before breaking the hug and laying Ponyboy back down onto the hospital bed.
"Look at me, got me cryin' and shit," Sodapop laughed as he ran the back of his hand over his eyes. Ponyboy smiled before glancing around the room.
"What happened?" He asked, realizing that he doesn't remember getting to the hospital at all. Wasn't he just at Windrixville two seconds ago?
"Johnny said you passed out when Dally went to get you guys. Doc says you got pneumonia or whatever it's called. Some sort of lung infection from the fountain water or something." Soda said, rubbing Pony's arm as he did so. Ponyboy stayed silent for a second, taking all of this information in.
Pneumonia. That makes sense. Jeez, poor Johnny, needing to take care of a kid with pneumonia all by himself-
Wait.
"Soda, where's Johnny?!" Ponyboy asked suddenly, shooting up from where he'd just gotten comfortably propped on the bed. Soda's hands grabbed his shoulders before gently pushing him back down.
"He's taking questions from the police," Soda told him. Ponyboy opened his mouth to say something, eyes going wide with regret- why would he let him take him home?- but Sodapop held up a hand before he could say anything more. "He's not getting arrested, not yet anyway. They just took him in for questioning. He's alright." This settled Pony down a bit, but that doesn't mean he didn't stop worrying.
"Wait," Pony said after a second, "Where's Darry?"
"He's talking with the insurance people right now. Don't worry, he's here," Soda said, who had gone back to stroking Pony's hair.
Ponyboy felt his eyes flutter, sleep closing in again as his head sunk back into the pillow. He nodded, but he wished Darry were here now. He didn't care about the stupid slap anymore. He just wanted to see his brother after his week of hell.
"When will he be back?" Pony asked, trying to fight the drowsiness, but whatever medicine the doctor gave him must be working.
"Soon," Sodapop assured with a smile. "Go back to sleep now, okay, honey? You look beat."
He didn't need to tell Pony twice- he was out like a light in seconds.
------
The next time Ponyboy woke up couldn't have been that much later. He didn't open his eyes this time though, he was much too tired and he didn't feel like trying when there was nobody willing him to.
However, he knew he wasn't alone with the way a calloused hand held his and how their thumb brushed over his knuckles. How they stroke his hair, although pulling on a strand or two here and there unlike Sodapop.
He knew without even needing to open his eyes that it was Darry, and that comforted him back to sleep pretty quick.