Dally's Baby Sister//Ponyboy Curtis

Six//The Hospital

DARREL

STEVE, SODA, TWO-BIT, and I all sat in the waiting room for two hours, waiting on news about Pony, Amelia, or Dallas. I bit my nails nervously, praying that Amelia was alright. We were told that Pony had an unusally high fever. I worried about him a whole lot in that moment. Was it a virus? Cancer? What in God's name was it?

Amelia was the head of Two-Bit's worries. She was the only one who went down when she got shot, and we never really could tell where the bullet hit her. So, to say the least, she was one of our biggest worries.

A nurse came to us and said that Amelia was ready for us. Soda was the first to run to her room after getting directions. Steve and Two-Bit ran after him and I just walked a little quickly. She was in a bed, looking quite tired as she read a book. It looked like Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I couldn't really tell for sure. She looked up as soon as we knocked on her door frame and she waved for us to come on in gently, due to the fact that her arm was just operated on.

"Thank God you're okay," Soda said with a sigh of relief. He walked over to her and hugged her. I had to make sure that he didn't crush her, considering she just went through surgery. We all got to hug her and her happy face turned into a worried one.

"Where's Dally? Is he okay? How many times did he get shot? Is Ponyboy okay? Oh, I'm so sorry for running out like that. I've probably scared you to death!" She rambled on, asking about and for Dally or Ponyboy, apologizing for running out like she did, asking if we were okay, and all of that stuff that a lot of people would be saying as soon as they wake up from some serious and suddenly event that occurred right before they went to sleep.

Her breathing was fast and shallow and I had to tell her to calm down.

"Amelia, Dally and Pony are okay. Dally had surgery and Pony is sick. They're both okay, there is no need to worry about them, darlin'," I reassured her. My hand was on her back as she looked at me with tired, painfully worried eyes. She didn't look the same as she did before. Her happy, giddy smile was now one of stress, pain, and sorrow.

Her eyes started to fill with tears. Sobs escaped from her mouth and she hid her face in her hands. My heart broke. Never again after this will she be the same Amelia. She'll be all grown up, with people to see and stress to be handled. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I want Pony and Bunny," she sobbed. Bunny is another name she uses for Dally. When she was just a baby, she started to learn how to talk. She was nine months old by the time she could form sentences. Dally wanted to be called Bubby, but she would always pronounce it as Bunny, so she would call Dally, Bunny. She never really used it anymore, so when she used it this time, it brought tears to my eyes. I remember when Pony and Soda would call me names like that. They don't anymore. It breaks my heart.

"Dally's comin' soon, kid. You have to wait a minute. You can see him probably tomorrow," Two-Bit said, holding her hand. I looked at the clock. It was two fourty-five in the morning. I stood up from my seat.

"Boys, let's go home. Steve, you can sleep on the sofa tonight. Two-Bit, you can sleep on the chair in the living room," I said. They all nodded and we all kissed Amelia's forehead, saying our goodbyes. Soda lingered just for a bit, but nobody but me noticed it.

DALLAS

I WOKE UP and immediately demanded for my sister. I yelled and cursed at the doctor in my room at the moment. I knew he knew where my sister was. I am not going to stay in here while my baby sister is suffering in another room.