Love Who You Love

Chapter 20|| He Had To

~Previously~

As she made her way to Darry, the boy stood. "How is he?" He questioned. Darry had only 1 thought through his mind as she spoke.

'Why us? Out of all people, why us?'

~Now~

     Darry could hear the nurse talking to him, though it was muffled and distanced he could still make out what he needed to hear.

"I'm Cathleen, Dallas Winston's nurse." As he faded out of his thoughts, her words become clearer. Darry listened despite what he really wanted to do. What he really wanted to do was cry and cry and cry in Dally's arms. He wanted to be told everything would be alright while Dally ran a hand through his hair, something Dally always did to calm his lover. He just wanted Dally. He wanted him safe at home asleep in bed beside him before work.

     "The car accident shattered his femur and caused internal bleeding. There's bruising on his chest where he had hit the steering wheel and seemed to break about 3 ribs in the process, he's been in surgery to correct the bleeding and he'll be in another surgery to realign his femur after his body has had a small amount of time to recover.

He'll have a scar running down his right eye from the windshield shattering, we aren't sure if he'll be able to see out of it once it's healed but there isn't anything we can do if he doesn't. All we can do now is hope and pray." She explained.

As she did so, Darry could feel his eyes glossing. It seemed his whole world was crashing down on him. First, he discovers he's pregnant so soon after having the twins. He works himself up because he doesn't know how Dally will react to the news. He convinced himself it would be alright and nothing would happen. He paced around the room worrying himself near sickness about where his lover was and if he was safe. He sat in a waiting room for almost 3 hours and worried himself to the brink of a panic attack about the state his lover may be in. And now he's being told all he can do is hope and pray. Hope and pray?!

"May I ask how you're related to him?" She said, her tone was softer than before. Only now tending to the hurt people feel in that dreaded room. That one room where one person feels heartbreak and misery while another feels joy that changes their entire world instantly. The irony of that dreaded room weighed down on every soul in that room. Darry looked down at her slightly, considering she was tall for a woman. His eyes flooded with tears but he refused to let them fall. He couldn't cry.

     He didn't let them fall because Greasers can't cry. Greasers don't cry. Greasers are tough and tuff. Greasers wear the leather jackets and hair grease and drive old cars around. Greasers carry switchblades because of the Socs and get into fights and drag races. Greasers fight to live on the streets. Greasers live in smaller, beat up houses in not the best neighborhood. Greasers work job after job for the money they so desperately need. Greasers are the tough and tuff ones who are strong enough to live the hard lives unlike the Socs and all of their money. Greasers have to be the strongest of them all. Greasers are the strong ones in society. Greasers are supposed to stand out from everyone else.

"I'm his fiancé." He said softly, his voice cracking slightly at the end. Darry could feel the tears begging to fall, a silent plea of passage. At last, he had to raise his hand and wipe away that single tear off his cheek. That single tear, just that one tear, it always seemed to escape his eye no matter what he wanted.

The nurse looked up at him, her soft grey eyes looking into the boy's hard and broken teal orbs. "I can take you to his room after surgery, if you'd like." She said.

Darry nodded his head, silently pleading his voice wouldn't crack the next time he spoke to her. As Darry opened his mouth, Cathleen's pager began going off like a firework. He shut his mouth and watched her looked down to read it before she quickly looked up at him. A sympathetic looked saturated her eyes as she did so. Yet her unintentionally showed a grim expression, making Darry's stomach swirl.

"I have to get back. But I'll come and lead you to his room as soon as the surgery is over." She stated, determination never leaving her voice while her eyes stayed soft and filled with sympathy.

"Thank you, Cathleen." He said. His voice was hoarse as he begged his anxiety to calm itself. Cathleen smiled softly at him before she turned around and began to speed walk back down the hallway, her footsteps getting lighter the farther she got from the boy standing there.

     Darry sat back down in the uncomfortable padded chair and ran a hand through his hair. He left for the hospital in such a rush and asked his brothers to watch the twins without any consideration about their lives, he was starting to feel bad about keeping them up during the night after a long day of work.

The boy stood back up and walked towards the phones to call home. He may not feel relief at the hospital but at least he could know if the twins were alright with their uncles. He put in the change needed to call and waited to see if someone would answer. As the phone rang, Darry fiddled and stared down at his ring. A habit of his ever since Dally proposed.

He never regretted saying yes. Darry just wondered if now was a good time to get married with everything going on. 'Maybe we should postpone...' Darry thought.

     "Hello?" Ponyboy said, yawning loud and long. There wasn't any other background noise besides his youngest brother's yawn which made Darry think the twins were asleep.

"Hey Pony. I was just calling to ask if you guys and the twins were alright." Darry stated. He continued to stare down at his ring and fiddle with it as he talked to his youngest brother.

     "Oh we're alright, so'er the twins. That reminds me, when you leave the hospital grab diapers 'cause you're runnin' low." Pony said. His voice sounded tired. Darry knew school started in mid-January when Christmas vacation ended meaning Pony was trying to get as much sleep as he could. He couldn't blame his younger brother since Darry did the same thing when he was younger.

     "Will do, Pony, will do." Darry said. "I'll talk to ya when I get home."

     "Alright. Bye, Darry."

     "Bye." Darry hung up first and once again ran a hand through his hair as he made his way to his chair in the waiting room, he tried to calm himself the best he could in this situation but he didn't know how long he'd last. The boy sat and waited anxiously for Cathleen. Darry wouldn't leave until he saw Dally and knew his lover was alright even if he waited hours upon hours.

************

Cathleen walked back around the corner 1 and a half hours later, a tired look in her eyes. She walked up to Darry only to discover he had fallen asleep, his head rested on this hand as his elbow rested on his knee. She smiled sadly before she placed her slender hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him.

Darry opened his teal eyes to meet Cathleen's brown ones. He sat up straighter and almost instantly awake from his short nap.

"The surgery is over. Would you like to see him?" She spoke, stepping back to allow Darry to stand on his own feet.

"Yes, please." Eagerness and desperation could he hear from his voice. He had to see Dally...he had to.