NO!" Ponyboy sat straight up in bed, breathing hard, his heart thumping in his chest. He felt hands on his shoulders and nearly shrugged them off before he saw who they belonged to. His eyes grew wide for just a moment, then he saw the concern in his brother's eyes. "Soda." He breathed. Sodapop sat on the bed next to his younger brother, Darry watching from across the room. They were still in the hospital, Pony having fallen asleep in Soda's hospital bed, his brothers both watching him intently.

"Lay back Pony. Relax." Soda gently pushed Ponyboy back so he was settled back against the pillows. "You're okay now. Whatever you were dreaming about is over. It's okay."

"No, Soda. You don't understand." Pony was shaking, still half in the dream, half in the present.

"Baby, we want to understand." After Pony had told Soda that he was in his nightmares and that he remembered them, he hadn't wanted to say anything more. Instead, he had curled up next to Soda in the rough blankets of the hospital bed, wanting to be close to his brother again. His mind fought with itself, reassuring him that Sodapop would never do anything to hurt him and finding it somewhat hard to find comfort with the one person who seemed to haunt him. Ponyboy wasn't stupid, he knew it was a dream, knew it wasn't real, but somewhere in his mind, there was pain from it. It began creeping up on him, overtaking him even in his waking hours.

Now, sitting in the hospital bed, surrounded by his brothers, he felt his panic starting to subside. "It was so real." His voice was barely audible. He was still shaking, and allowed Soda to wrap his arms around him. "I dreamt about the fire."

"Oh, honey, I'm okay." Soda reassured him.

"No, the one in Windrixville." Pony's voice was muffled in Soda's shirt. Soda pulled back from him and glanced at Darry. "But it was different. You were there too." Pony paused, taking a quivering breath. "You and Johnny—" He felt his chest get tight. "You and Johnny were there together and you were happy. He said that you started the fire. But he was okay, he wasn't even there in the church. It was like you wanted me to be hurt, you wanted me to be the one who died, not Johnny." Tears escaped his eyes once more.

"Golly, Pony." Soda looked hurt, and Darry came to sit on the other side of him. "Baby, you know that would never happen, right? I would never hurt you. Ever." He lifted Pony's chin so that he was looking him in the eye. "You've got to know that, Pone." Soda's eyes were pleading.

"Pony, you know that's just a dream, don't you?" Darry asked, laying a hand on Pony's shoulder. "Soda loves you. We both do."

Pony nodded. He knew that, of course he did, but why did he have the same dream over and over again? Did Soda's accident at the DX cause him to put him in the dream? If so, why would he want to hurt Pony?

"Are you okay?" Soda asked. "Do you want to try going back to sleep?" Pony shook his head. He definitely didn't want to go back to sleep. "You know I can leave tomorrow? The doctor said I'm healing up nicely. I don't have much pain anymore and I can get around just fine. I'll have a few scars maybe but nothing major. Even the glass that hit my face won't scar too badly." Soda smiled genuinely at Ponyboy. So many things had happened to their world in the past few years, yet they still had one another.

Ponyboy nodded. He was happy his brother would be going home soon. He wanted Soda to be okay and he especially wanted to be home. This hospital brought back too many memories, none of them pleasant. Darry spoke after a moment. "Pony, I know this has been a tough week. I know things have been hard ever since Johnny and Dally died, and of course, our parents. Maybe once we are back home, Soda too, it'll get better. I think all of this is really getting to you." Darry hated that no matter how they tried to get along, something kept happening; their parents dying in a car accident, Johnny and the Soc, the fire, then Dally getting killed by the same people who had called him a hero. Now the thing with Soda. Darry thought maybe it was time Pony saw a doctor again, tried to figure out if anything could be done. Clearly getting older, sharing a bed with Soda, and keeping busy wasn't going to be enough for Pony and as they sat together in the hospital bed, the nightmare surrounding them all like a dark cloud, Darry wondered if anything would be enough. Maybe this time, the darkness was here to stay.