Disclaimer: I don't anything from The Outsiders. If I did, I wouldn't be here.

Darry's eyes and fists were clenched tight. He knew Soda was mad at him for not letting him come, but the decision had been made. Darry rarely ever said "no" to Soda, but this was one thing he knew he'd regret if he given in to Soda.

"Are you ready?"

Darry opened his eyes. He looked to his left at the two policemen, and then straight in front of him at the medical examiner, separated from him only by the metal stretched covered with a white sheet.

He nodded slightly. The medical examiner reached to the top of the sheet and pulled it down a bit.

Darry took a deep breath and then looked down. The haunted face of his youngest brother looked up at him. His eyes were closed, and there were a few scratches on his cheeks and chin that Darry knew were fresh, but Darry knew this was his brother. Ponyboy's hair was laying over his forehead, dangling onto his face, the hair greased washed from his hair. Darry reached forward and brushed the hair out of Ponyboy's face.

"Ponyboy hates when he gets his hair over his eyes," Darry said, not taking his eyes off of his brother.

He ran his finger over Ponyboy's cheek. The same cheek that just a night ago, he had struck. His heart gave a tremendous leap of distress, and he pulled his hand back quickly.

"Yes," Darry said, as the medical examiner pulled the sheet back over his brothers face, "Yes, that is Ponyboy."

"We're very sorry for you loss," one of the police officers said, "We need to ask you a few questions…"

"Can't they wait?" Darry said. He couldn't let himself cry in front of a total stranger, a police officer at that.

"No," said the other officer, gently, putting his hand on Darry's shoulder, "I'm really sorry son, but they can't wait."

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

He was sitting in one of the interrogation rooms, fondling the paper cup of coffee they had given him between his hands. He had the feeling that if it was a Soc that had died, someone rich and powerful's son, then he would be in a much nicer place to answer questions. He felt like a prisoner here.

"We'll try to make this quick so you can go home and be with your family."

Darry looked at the first officer, who took a seat across from him. He was tall, about as tall as Darry himself. He had curly brown hair, and a trace of five o'clock shadow. Detective Sisto.

"What was Ponyboy doing in the park last night?"

The second cop was leaning against the wall. He was about half a head shorter than Detective Sisto, but just as in shape. His name was Detective Abraham, and he had his arms crossed, looking not at Darry, but at the floor.

Darry let out a small cough before he started. Then he told the detectives about how Ponyboy hadn't come home until two in the morning, and the fight they had had. Tears pushed at the back of his eyes as he talked about how he hadn't gone after Ponyboy, thinking he just needed to run around the block to cool off, and then he would come back home.

"What had Ponyboy done earlier that day?" Detective Abraham asked.

"It wasn't a school night. He went out with two of his buddies. I'm not sure what they did during the day, but they went and saw a movie at the Nightly Double at some point."

"Until two in the morning?" Detective Abraham asked suspiciously.

"He said that he and his friend went into this empty lot by our place and fell asleep while they were talking. I told you that," Darry said. He was beginning to not like Detective Abraham anymore.

"Are you sure he wasn't out drinking or getting high?"

Darry stood up fast, clenched fists in his pockets, "Ponyboy is a good kid. He gets good grades in school and doesn't get into trouble. He would never go out boozing or anything like that."

"Darrel, please sit down. We do have to ask these questions, they're routine," Detective Sisto said gently.

Darry felt the urge to blurt out "Would you ask these questions if the kid was a Soc?" but refrained. He slowly sat back down, now only looking at Detective Sisto.

"What are the names of the friends?"

"What?"

"The friends Ponyboy was out with yesterday. What are their names?"

Darry hesitated. He knew as soon as he dropped the name "Dallas Winston" that the infamous greaser would get drug in the station by the back of his neck and thrown in jail. And Johnny. Johnny barely talked to the gang, how was he going to handle two grown police officers shooting rapid fire questions at him?

"We just want to talk to them," Detective Sisto assured.

Darry looked at the table in front of him. Should he say he didn't know? Would they believe that he could be that irresponsible? They didn't know him, he was sure he could make it work.

"It'll help us find out what happened to your brother. It will help us find out who did that to your brother."

Darry looked Detective Sisto straight in the eye. He thought about Ponyboy lying on the cracked pavement by the fountain in the cold. He thought about scared Ponyboy must have been and how much he must have screamed for Darry, for anybody.

"Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston."