All I Want For Christmas

"Dallas, you fucking idiot," she seethed as she crossed the white tile floor. She cringed while passing the nurses pushing their gurneys of bodies.

Five years ago, she was the one on the gurney and was lucky. Not everyone here would wake up in the morning, or walk into the family's open arms, or say their final goodbye.

Shut up Hannah, Dal is gonna be fine. He's lived through worse.

"I'm lookin' for a Dallas Winston? You brought him in like, fifteen minutes ago. In a car accident?"

The old nurse's eyes swept over Hannah lazily. Instead of answering her question, she dropped her eyes to the small book on her desk and sighed. "Listen, honey, I'm responsible for keeping track of one hundred and fifty patients. So this Dallas character isn't gonna be the top name on anyone's list. Besides, if it was a car wreck, he's probably jotted down as a John Doe."

Hannah bit her tongue to stop the crude comeback before it passed her lips. "Listen, honey, this isn't how I wanna spend my Christmas Eve, so if you point me in the direction of the last John Doe you brought in, I'll be on my merry way."

The nurse glared at her impatiently and Hannah glared straight back. Finally, the nurse caved and flipped through her binder. "We brought in a John Doe fifteen minutes ago, I'll let you know when he's able to have visitors. Now please find a seat."

Hannah cursed under her breath as she stormed off to the waiting room. Thirty minutes ago, Buck sent Dallas to the convenience store for some candy canes while he and Hannah helped decorate the bar for the holidays. Fifteen minutes ago, Curly Shepard ran into the bar saying Dallas got into an accident after trying to hit Bryon Douglas.

Leaning her head towards the fluorescent lights, she wondered if she should call Buck. Curly had been nice enough to give her a ride to the hospital and even offered to stay with her, but she refused. They were both nineteen now, but the friendship they grew in their youth was as strong as ever.

Curly was a greaser through and through, just like he had always been. But sometimes, his cold exterior cracked, and Hannah caught glimpses of the young man beneath the mask. The one who yearned for something better, but knew he didn't deserve it.

Hannah couldn't argue, she felt the same way.

"I'll see you later, alright? Maybe you could come to the house, and we could have our own Christmas celebration..."

Curly's hand trailed up her leg and paused at her thigh. He pulled away however when Hannah flinched. He cleared his throat as they pulled into the parking lot. "Sorry," he quickly apologized.

"You didn't do anything Curls," she assured him. "I'm just...I'm just a little-"

"Worried?"

Hannah reached forward and plucked the cigarette Curly wore behind his ear before tucking it behind her own. "Dallas is the only thing I got left." Her voice dropped to a soft mutter. "I don't know what I'm gonna do if he isn't okay."

Curly chuckled lightly. "Dal's gonna be fine. If I were you, I'd be more worried about Bryon. I mean, once Dal's outta the hospital, Bryon's good as dead. Tim and I might go mess with his car tonight if you wanna join."

Hannah shook her head softly as she stepped out of the car. "You're my best friend, Curly Shepard."

The engine roared as Curly drove out of the parking lot, his voice echoing out into the night. "An' I better be the best guy you've ever slept with!"

Hannah cleared her mind of the daydream as she reached for the cigarette behind her ear and made her way out of the hospital. They had never bothered her before, but that was when she was the one nearly dying, not the only person she had left.

Get your shit together, girl. You don't think straight when you're freaking out.

The brisk air felt warm as it mixed with the burning tobacco of her cigarette and put her mind at ease. With the exception of a few clouds overhead, the night was clear. From her spot on the pavement, Hannah could make out Orion's belt glowing against the ink-black night.

Her peaceful midnight smoke was disturbed by a red truck barreling into the parking lot, and a disoriented teenager fell out. Normally, Hannah wouldn't bat an eye. But that was before she heard his voice.

"Buck told me I'd find you here."

"You'd really rather spend your Christmas eve with me, in the hospital parking lot, instead of with your brothers?"

Ponyboy shrugged tiredly as he passed Hannah a cup of coffee and took his seat next to her in his truck. "Darry and Soda don't even know I came home for the holidays, they think I'm too busy with my internship."

The windows were rolled down slightly, which gave Hannah an excuse as to why her cheeks were so pink. "I thought you were busy, too. It's not like you called or anything."

Ponyboy looked sheepish as he took a sip of his coffee. "Well, I have been busy. My internship pays me at the end of the week...And I needed to save up for Christmas presents."

Hannah chuckled and took a drag of her cigarette, letting the smoke curl out through the small opening in the window beside her. "Of course you did."

"Oh please, like you haven't gotten anyone a Christams present."

"Whatever, I got Dal a box of condoms, and Buck a ticket to a Hank Williams concert in March."

Pony chuckled before raisng his eyebrows at her. "Condoms, really?"

"That's what he got me for my birthday," she snapped defensevly. He put his hands up in surrender, a grin pulling at his lips.

"I wanted to find you so I could give you your present."

Ponyboy reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box.

No Ponyboy, don't do this.

"It's just a placeholder until I can get you the real thing."

He pulled the box open and a small silver band gleamed in the December moonlight. Hannah's heart jumped to her throat as Pony took her hand and delicately slipped the ring over her finger. "Ever heard of a promise ring?"

The little sense Hannah still had come back to her at that moment and she jerked her hand away. "Pony, I can't take this. I-I...I didn't wait for you, okay?"

A small smile tugged at his lips. At that moment, he was grateful for the dark. "Oh? Do tell."

"Don't look at me like that, dumbass. But if you wanna know, I broke up with Bryon Douglas three days ago."

And I may have been hooking up with Curly the past few months.

Pony furrowed his eyebrows and reached for his coffee. "Bryon, really? What happened?"

Hannah chewed at her lip bitterly as she remembered the last conversation they had. In the dark of the truck, Pony couldn't see the purple bruise on her cheek.

"Bryon's a real smooth talker, an' he likes getting girls to do what he wants. He wanted to have sex, I told 'im I wasn't in the mood."

Ponyboy's breath hitched beside her and he watched her cautiously, ready to comfort her.

Or knock Bryon's teeth outta his skull, he hadn't decided yet.

"Then he said 'a whore like me is always in the mood.' Then I said if he ever talked to me like him again, I'd fuck his dad instead."

Pony gasped and nearly choked on his coffee. His green eyes glowed with amusement as they locked with Hannah's. "Babe, his dad is dead."

"That's what I said! Yeah, then he hit me, I yelled at 'im and left, and Dal just tried to hit him with Buck's car."

Pony chuckled uneasily as he rested his hand over Hannah's again. "At least you broke up with him. Sounds to me like you're single."

His hand slid up her arm and shoulder until it cupped the side of her face. Hannah smiled slyly as she leaned into him. "I guess I am."

She kissed him first, her fingers weavng their way through his hair. She tried her hardest to remember every last detail of the kiss, the way his hands moved to her waist and pulled her into him, to the way his colonge mixed with their coffee and cigarette smoke. She  tilted her head back as Pony's lips pulled from her own before moving to her cheek and finally her neck.

"I better get inside, Dal's probably waking up by now," Hannah muttered while she slid out of the truck. Pony nodded and turned the key in the ignition, forcing the engine to life. He leaned out the passenger window to get a final look at her, blonde hair glowing under the streetlights.

"I love you, Hannah Winston."

"I love you, Ponyboy Curtis."

"Jesus, what took you so long? I've been awake for twenty minutes!"

Dallas may have fractured swerved into a lightpost, fractured three of his fingers, given himself a black eye and broken nose, but he attitute was perfectly in tact.

"Outside, you dumb whore," Hannah snarled as she sunk into a chair beside his bed. "Ponyboy's back in town. He stopped by the bar and Buck told him we were here. He's droppin' off presents."

Dallas scratched his chin thoughtfully, his eyes moving from the bruise on her cheek to the one under her ear. "An' his present to you was a hickey?"

Hannah gasped and slapped her brother's leg. "Shut the fuck up, you're the reason I gotta spend my Christmas eve in the hospital."

"Well what was I supposed to do, let Bryon walk away? I-"

"Yes!"

"I'm the only guy allowed to hit you," Dallas yelled, annoyed.  "An' I wasn't gonna let him get away with it. If he'd just let the car hit him and not runa away like a little bitch, we wouldn't be here."

"Yeah, we could spend our holiday in a holding cell instead."

Dallas's lips pulled into a smile as his eyes drooped closed. "Meryy Christmas, Hannah."

"Merry Christmas, Dallas."

Her eyes landed on the small window directly above her brother's head. The moon was fullas it shine down on both of them. For a moment in time, she was ten years old again, sitting by the window and watching the people and cars that passed. That was her first Christmas without Dallas, her first Christmas with no one but her mother.

"An' Merry Christmas Verna, you selfish bitch."

Thank you @Spyhacer for requesting a Christmas idea, sorry it took me so long to finish.

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think. Love ya! <3