/

May 23, 1967; 12:28pm

Soda returned to work the next day. I tried to tell Darry it was alright if he went back too - it's not like I was going anywhere exactly. He simply looked at me like I had a screw loose and laughed. Apparently he didn't trust me to be alone, even stuck in bed.

Needless to say I was moody. I couldn't pinpoint exactly where it came from - Darry's helicopter parent attitude or that I had recently had a limb removed. Both were fair guesses.

Across the room, Darry crunched a few styrofoam coffee cups in his fist and threw them in the trash. Turning to me, he said, "Soda called from work. Him and Steve are picking Two-Bit up and driving up here."

"Steve agreed to that?" I asked, smiling slyly.

"Apparently," Darry grunted. Suddenly he looked thoughtful. "Are you ok with that? Them coming here?"

I was more taken aback by Darry's earnest concern than I was by the gang visiting. Shrugging, I said, "It's fine. Might as well get it over with."

Darry crossed the room and pressed his hand against my forehead. "How do you feel?"

"I'm pretty sure I don't have a fever Dar," I said exasperatedly, swatting him away.

Darry's arm fell back by his side and he just stared at me, head cocked, looking hopeless. "I know. I just worry."

My stomach churned as I once again felt doomed.

Luckily I didn't have long to dwell on it - the door swung open, revealing Two-Bit and Steve in the hallway. "Howdy!" Two-Bit's eyes fell on me and he grinned. "Hows it hangin kidlet?"

Darry sighed deeply and stepped away from my bed. "Please Two-Bit. I swear, if a noise complaint get's called on this room-"

"That just means we're having fun," Two-Bit reasoned, stepping inside, followed by Steve. I noticed he looked extremely uncomfortable - probably because Soda wasn't there. I guess in the grand scheme of things losing a limb didn't really count for anything. It was oddly comforting.

"Not too much fun though," Steve mumbled as Two-Bit knocked over a can of tongue depressors with his elbow.

Two-Bit flashed a grin. "You didn't think you could keep us out forever did you?"

Darry pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I can't say I didn't try." He seemed to suddenly notice the missing member of their party. "Where's Soda?"

"He went out for food," said Steve. He met my eyes and quickly looked away. "This IS our lunch break." he reminded us. How classy of him.

"You can go find him Darry," I suggested immediately. I didn't bother to hide that my true intention was to get Darry out of my hair. It would be nice to have someone fresh around. That, and I'm sure he was hungry.

However, Darry looked mutinous. "I'm sure he can find his way back on his own. I need to keep an eye on you." I didn't miss his furtive glare."

"I feel fine. Honestly." Just to prove it, I lifted my good arm above my head. Darry hesitated, looking torn.

Two-Bit noticed and scoffed. "Please Darry, I'm offended. You don't trust me around the kid?"

Steve and I both snorted at that. Briefly, we made eye contact, and looked away just as fast. Darry watched this all with a raised brow. "No, it's not that…" he trailed.

This was getting ridiculous. "Just GO Darry." I insisted, fed up. Just to throw in a kicker I added, "I'm not gonna forget who you are while you're gone."

Steve guffawed loudly despite himself - I was speaking his language, evidently. Darry looked downright murderous. Suddenly I felt lucky to be stuck in bed. "That's not even funny," he said, gritting his teeth.

I shrugged, feigning carelessness. "Sorry."

"Alright. I'll be back." Darry clapped his hands together with finalty, finally caving. Two-Bit pumped his fist in victory. Darry eyed him wearily. "Don't get him riled."

Two-Bit grinned at him. "Never."

Finally Darry left the room, looking severely harassed. Two-Bit and Steve assembled themselves into the same chairs that had previously been occupied by him and Soda.

"So," Two-Bit said before awkwardness could settle. I was thankful - Steve didn't exactly look apt to create conversation. "Were you awake when they cut it off or not?"

"No!" I sputtered at the same time Steve hissed, "Jesus Christ, Two-Bit."

If Two-Bit was fazed by being accosted he didn't show it. "Don't take the Lord's name in vain, Steve," he said easily. "And I was just kidding. No need to pounce." He looked between us. "You both look like someone died."

"This isn't exactly my most shining moment," I pointed out.

Two-Bit grinned mischeviously. "But it was, right? You won."

Nodding slowly, I said, "Yeah. I guess." The fuzzy memories of the track meet were starting to return.

"You were pretty goddamn fast," Steve input, though he sounded slightly indifferent. Coming from him though, he might as well have shaken my hand and asked for an autograph.

I grinned at him. "Yeah. I bet your car couldn't keep up."

"Glory kid, you should see Darry," Two-Bit gushed. "I think every nurse here knows about that race."

"Really?" Somehow it was hard to picture Darry going around bragging about me. Imagine that.

"Oh yeah. Big time." Steve said. "He won't shut up about it."

"Speaking of nurses…" Two-Bit trailed, reaching into his back jeans pocket. He dug out a gum wrapper. Leaning closer, I saw that there was a phone number on it. He grinned wickedly. "The ones that work here have pretty decent taste."

"Two-Bit," I groaned, but truthfully I didn't expect anything else.

Steve threw his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I told him he was a pig."

"Yeah Steve, you have a lot of room to call other people pigs," I panned. Reaching over, I grabbed a half-empty coffee cup off the bedside table and took a sip.

Two-Bit shoved the wrapper back into his pocket and cleared his throat. "Ok kidlet, we've been patient enough. Let us see the stump."

Shocked, I choked on the coffee in my mouth. Steve thumped me on the back. Beside me, Two-Bit laughed wildly. It was almost like we were all at home, sitting around watching TV.

Maybe I wasn't as doomed as I thought.

/

AN: Thanks SO MUCH for all the reviews on the first chapter, they really inspired me to write! Please leave more!

Sorry for the short chapter - I wanted to get one out before Christmas. Next chapter will be extra long, so get excited