Wishes Can Come True

Alive But Not Well

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Johnny do something! Wake her up! She can't die!" Ponyboy was is hysterics. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and they didn't stop coming. Johnny just stared at her lifeless body as tears ran down his cheeks as well.

"She's dead, Ponyboy. I can't do nothing." Johnny's voice lacked emotion. All that was there was sadness.

"Yes you can! Make her wake up!" He pleaded with him.

"Ponyboy," His voice was stern, now angry. "I said I can't do nothing. She's dead! Can't you see that!"

"NO! She's not dead! Erin's not dead!" He cried even harder. He slumped down in the seat, burying his head in his hands and bawled. Johnny's grieving was different. He just stared at her, stroked her hair, rubbed his thumb over her cold hand, and cried. Dally was in the passenger seat cursing up a storm. A few tears threatened to fall. Darry jut drove. He kept his eyes on the road and tried his best to drown out all the commotion in the vehicle and the thousands of thoughts swarming in his head.

"Darry, man, you're going to have to hurry. The kids are going to explode back there," Dally said while glancing at the backseat. Ponyboy was still the same. Johnny was crying harder and mumbling things to himself.

"Please come back, Angel," He mumbled. "Please. I don't know what I'll do without you. We need you here. Please, Erin." He wanted her to be all right. To open her eyes and give him a big smile. He wanted to hug her like she did with him at the hospital.

Darry drove a little faster. He was far beyond the speed limit, and surprisingly they didn't get pulled over. Once they made it to the hospital, Darry jumped out of the car and opened the back door. "Johnny, let me see her."

Johnny carefully handed her to him. She was light and very pale. Johnny didn't like that. No one liked the look of her. And when they rushed her into the hospital, she was immediately taken away. Doctors and nurses surround her as they wheeled her away.

Johnny sat down in the chair, tears still staining his cheeks. Dally sat down beside him. You could tell he had been crying some too. His eyes were red. "She will be all right, Johnny. She's a fighter." Dally tired his best to comfort him, but Johnny was in a different state of mind.

"How Dally? She's dead. I watched her die in my arms! And it's all my fault." Johnny had finally broken. He began to bawl like Ponyboy had. "It should be me in there. I'm the one who was supposed to die, not her. She didn't do anything to deserve that."

"Well neither do you," Dally scolded. "Don't talk like that."

"Why not? It's true! She was probably sent here for a reason, and that's not to die! She said she tried to change things, but I would rather things be back the way they were than have her die!"

"Johnny, kid, listen to me. I'm sure you would not want things back the way they were bec-"

"Dally, she's dying! I would rather anything in the world happen then her die! I would rather die! I know I haven't known her for a long time...but that week at the church changed things." Johnny looked at him with tears in his eyes. "We became closer. If she dies, it's like losing a best friend...maybe more than that."

"Look, Johnny, I know this is hard, but you have to hold on. You have to stay strong because when...if...if she wakes up, she's going to need someone. Ponyboy," Dally snapped at him, making him look up at him. He was still in the same position as he was in the car. "you listen to this too 'cause I know you will want to see her."

"Yeah. Yeah. I heard you," Ponyboy said, his voice cracking while he spoke. He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. The only person he wanted to see or talk to was Erin. Erin was his friend, and he felt bad for being mad at her instead of spending time with her. That's why she and Johnny are so close. Because I was mad, and he comforted her.

No one really talked after that. Not even when the rest of the gang showed up. They all sat quietly in the waiting room until a nurse came over saying they should leave. Everyone agreed to leave except Ponyboy and Johnny. It took a while, but Soda and Darry finally convinced Ponyboy to come home. Johnny still refused to leave. He wouldn't leave until he seen that she was okay.

He stayed most of the night in that waiting room. No one questioned him, and when he asked to see her they told him she was in too much of a critical condition. "Can you tell me anything?" He asked. He was still half asleep, his eyes had bags under them, and his hair was a mess. "Is she awake?"

"Yes. They fixed her up and are doing their best to help her. But there is not much they can do. She lost a lot of blood. We are going to have to keep a close watch on her because we don't know what could happen." She hesitated before saying, "There is a good chance she won't make it much longer."

Johnny nodded. "O-okay. Thank you." He then walked back to his seat, praying she would make it through this. She made it through the night. That's good. She just has to make it a little longer. Then she will be better. Then this will all be over. She. Will. Not. Die.

After a while of sitting in the quiet waiting room, Johnny had reached another breaking point. He got up and walked down the hall to Erin's room. He didn't care if there was no visitors allowed. He had to see her, he had to know if she was okay.

He stood at the doorway of her room. She was laying still in the bed like she was dead. The only sign of life was the heart monitor and the light rise and fall of her chest. She was really pale, not as bad as she was yesterday, but it was still pretty bad. "Erin," Johnny whispered. He got a little closer to her bed. "Erin," He said a little louder this time.

She squinted her eyes open and mumbled, "Johnny?"

A smile broke out on Johnny's face. "Yeah, Angel, it's me." He sat down at the edge of her bed. "How ya feeling?"

"Not dead." She smiled a little and her eyes were now closed.

"Yeah, I'm glad you aren't. That tore me up, what happened in the car."

"I'm sorry. Where's everyone else?" She wanted to change the conversation, but with her eyes being close, she was getting tired.

"They left. It's the middle of the night. They will come tomorrow." She nodded and hummed. "Why don't you go back to sleep," He told her as he brushed a piece of hair out of her face. Then, when she fell asleep, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. After knowing she was all right, he slowly fell asleep a chair beside her bed.