A/N: Hey guys! I wanted to apologize for the long wait, I was busy all last week since I'm president of my school's drama club and I had to organize signups and meetings and auditions and all that kind of stuff and I was sick all weekend! I took the time to write two chapters yesterday so chapter five should be up really soon (a day or two). :)

I'm posting this chapter from school because I'm a rebel, and I have my laptop with me, so haha! Hope you enjoy, please leave a review letting me know what you think! Stay gold.

XxX

*Soda's POV*

Going to work today was really a pain. Usually, I didn't mind. I actually loved it, since I got to spend the day fixing cars in the garage and when I wasn't doing that, I would flirt with the hot chicks who came by the station to see Steve and I. But today, my mind was elsewhere. I kept thinking of Ponyboy, how he had frightened me this morning. I remember my heart jumping into my throat when I saw him sitting up in bed, coughing uncontrollably. I may be no expert, but I didn't need a college degree to know that coughing to the point of getting sick wasn't good. I was more and more certain that Ponyboy didn't have the flu, and that was the scary part. Some skank I knew from grade school dropped by with her friends, and some of them were real lookers, but I was too distracted to make any flirty comments.

Today was a slow day, so Boss decided to let Steve and I leave early, saying he'd take care of closing up. There was a drag race just outside of town tonight, but Steve didn't ask me if I wanted to go. He knew me well enough to know I wanted to be home with my brother. The DX was only a few blocks away from home, so Steve and I walked together. We were lucky enough not to meet any Socs on our way back.

We both walked into the house (being careful not to slam the door in case Pony was asleep) and we heard Darry getting dinner ready in the kitchen.

"Hey, Dar," I greeted as Steve walked past me and grabbed a beer in the ice box and sat down at the table to drink it. "How's Pony?"

"A little better than this morning," Darry answered. "He slept most of the day, and I got him to eat a little around lunchtime, but he's still coughing like crazy."

His last statement was emphasized by a series of loud coughs coming from Ponyboy's bedroom.

"His temperature's not going down, though," Darry added, biting his lip nervously.

"When's the doctor gonna be here?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning, around nine," my older brother answered. "It's supposed to rain in the early morning so I only work tomorrow afternoon. D'you think you could take the day off?"

"I don't think boss would mind, I've barely missed a day," I said.

"Steve, you eating here?" Darry asked over his shoulder, glancing at my best friend sitting at the table, all anger from this morning forgotten.

"Might as well, old man kicked me out this morning and I ain't itchin' to get my ass kicked," Steve answered, shrugging and taking another swig of his beer. I heard more coughing from Ponyboy's room and winced at how painful they sounded.

"Someone better check on the kid," Steve pointed out.

"Soda, can you?" asked Darry. "I gotta finish up here."

"Sure, Dar," I answered.

I left the room as Steve and Darry launched into a conversation about God-knows-what and quietly slipped into Pony and I's bedroom.

Ponyboy looked utterly miserable. He was wheezing and gasping for air, and he coughed every thirty seconds or so. He was still covered in a cold sweat, his hair grease-free, which was all over the place. He was pale but his cheeks were bright pink.

"Soda?" he croaked out when he saw me. I winced at the sound of his voice. He sounded like a mix between someone who smoked four packs of cigarettes and someone who's been screaming. A lot.

"Yeah it's me, baby," I said gently, sitting down next to him and running my fingers through his hair. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I ain't feeling too hot, to be honest," he answered, his statement followed by a coughing fit.

"Yeah, I know," I said, resting a hand on his forehead, which was still fairly warm. "Did Darry tell you he called the doctor?"

"Yeah," Ponyboy answered. "He didn't need to, though."

"Don't be ridiculous, Pone. Doctor Miller is just gonna check on you to make sure you're gonna be alright. He's gonna make you feel better faster than we ever could, savvy?"

Pony nodded.

"If he sticks me with a needle, I swear to God…" he said.

I laughed lightly. Pony was secretly afraid of needles since he was a little kid. I remember when I was seven, Mom took both him and me to get a shot at the doctor's and he threw a fit so bad that he spent a good twenty minutes in there until the Doctor Miller was finally able to give him his shot. He's not as bad now, but I remember when he was twelve and he had fell off his bike. Dad took him to the hospital and when he was told he had to get stitches on his scraped knee, he started bawling right there in the room. He kept his secret well hidden from the gang, but Darry and I were both well aware of that fact.

"You're gonna be fine, Pone," I said. "I'll go help Darry with dinner and we'll bring you a plate later, okay?"

"Don't bother, I'm not hungry," Pony shrugged.

"Pony, you have to eat. Just try, okay?" I insisted.

He sighed and nodded.

"Holler if you need anything, alright?" I added as I got to the door.

He nodded again and with that, I left the room, leaving him to rest.

XxX

I woke up with a start. It was well into the night. I had spent the rest of the evening playing cards with Steve, Two-Bit (who joined us later) and Darry. Steve ended up crashing on the couch and I slipped into bed next to Pony that night, careful not to wake him up.

I was starting to wonder what had woken me up, but I only had to look to my right and I had my answer. Ponyboy was drenched in sweat, trashing around in bed, his features crisp, whimpering occasionally, his breathing heavy and fast. He was having a nightmare.

"Pony, wake up," I said, instantly wide awake. I only had to touch his shoulder gently and he reacted violently.

His eyes shot open and he started screaming bloody murder and struggling to get away from me, as though my hand was a threat. I was scared he would fall off the bed or that he would make himself worse so I forced him into my chest, arms wrapped firmly around him as he kept struggling. He didn't seem to recognize me.

"Shh, baby it's me. It's Soda, little buddy," I whispered in his ear.

Something in Ponyboy's mind must've clicked, because he immediately stopped screaming and struggling. His screams were quickly replaced by quiet sobs as I kept holding him. Darry erupted into the room at that precise moment, eyes bewildered. Steve was at the doorway too, but when he saw what had happened, he left us alone, going back to the couch in the living room.

"Soda," Pony started, his voice muffled against my chest.

"Shhh… it's okay, calm down, now," I said, stroking his hair. I was only starting to relax myself. I was starting to believe I would never get used to him waking up from nightmares like that.

"Soda, I'm freezing," Pony added.

Only then did I realize just how abnormally hot Pony was. He was shaking, but immense heat radiated from his entire body, making me feel too hot myself. I exchanged one look with Darry and he looked as worried as I felt.

"Pony, lemme take your temperature," Darry ordered, grabbing the thermometer from Ponyboy's nightstand.

I helped Ponyboy turn around and let him lie on my chest as Darry inserted the thermometer into his mouth.

"102.8," Darry announced. "Your fever went up, Pone."

Pony only coughed and groaned in response.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Darry said, getting up. "Lie back down."

Darry left the room and I helped Ponyboy settle back into his pillows, tucking him in to try to relieve some of his shaking.

"Do you wanna talk about your dream?" I asked, settling down next to him.

He shook his head.

"Don't remember," he mumbled.

Darry came back into the room with an ice cap bag and gently set it on Pony's head.

"Go back to sleep, alright?" Darry answered. "The doctor will be here in the morning."

Pony nodded, eyes already drooping from sleep. I scooted closer and draped an arm over his body, knowing this would comfort him enough to go back to sleep after his nightmare. I fell back asleep after a while too, thinking that a visit from Dr. Miller would be very welcome.