The Outsiders one shots (cause why not)

One shot

<AU starting right after they get taken to the hospital.>

3rd person POV:

The gang entered Johnny's hospital room to see him sound asleep, wires running in and out of him. 

"Don't worry." Said the nurse. "Comas don't usually last long. You'll know as soon as he wakes up." 

"What?!" All six boys exclaimed in unison.

"He has very little brain activity at the moment. Then there's the paralysis. But he's stable." The nurse tells them as she left.

Dally lurched forward and grasped Johnny's hand. "Can you hear me Johnnycakes?" He murmured.

"I read somewhere that people in comas can comprehend what's going on around them. They just can't see or respond." Pony said in shock. 

They talked to Johnny and waited until almost midnight to leave that day, and every day for the next several weeks. Then the visits slowly got shorter and more scattered. They didn't all go in a group anymore. They waited years, but Johnny still wouldn't wake up. He wasn't even getting better. But he wasn't getting worse. He was practically a human vegetable. Even Cherry eventually went to see him and talk to him. 

Years and years passed by and Johnny wasn't close to waking up.

35 years after Joynny had gone into the coma, the doctors told the rest of the gang that there wasn't any chance of him waking up. He hadn't had much brain activity in 35 years. Sure he hadn't gotten worse, but he wasn't even close to getting better. 

The six men stood around Johnny's bed for the final time to say their goodbyes.

There was a lot of tears and hugging. They spoke to the unresponsive boy, who hadn't aged much. He only looked a couple years older than he had been before he was knocked out. Dally kissed him on the forehead, and the rest decided to do the same. 

Then, as the life support machines were unplugged, they all joined hands in silence, respecting the last few seconds of Johnny's life. They couldn't bear to look. 

They heard a small coo-like sound. A monitor beeped. They all looked. 

Johnny's hand twitched. Not certain if it was just their eyes playing tricks on them, they kept watching in silence. 

Their prayers were all answered as Johnny's eyeballs moved under his eyelids. With a flutter of eyelashes, his eyes were slowly opened. Dark irises focused on each shocked person in the room individually. He licked his lips to make sure they still worked. "W-what happened?" He asked shakily, so quiet a mouse could barely hear. 

Tears formed in everyone's eyes. 

"Johnnycakes!" Pony exclaimed lurching forward and grabbing his friend's hand. "How're you feeling."

"I'm fine, sir." 

"No. Don't call me sir. It's me. Ponyboy."

Puzzled, Johnny narrowed his eyes at everyone. Trying to figure out who was who. "What's going on?" 

"You were in a coma for 35 years." Dally answered, sitting close to Johnny.

"Explains why I'm so rested." Johnny mumbled. 

Suddenly, the nurse butted in and took Johnny's temperature. "What's the last thing you remember?" She asked, shining a light into his eye. 

Johnny reached to the back of his mind to the last thing he remembered before waking up. "The fire." He said. "Pony and I went in the church to save those kids. Something fell on my back. Then I blacked out."

The doctors hovered over him for the rest of the day, curious about his miraculous recovery. 

A week later, he was able to leave and go with the gang. Good as new.