Hi guys. I just wanted to thank sodasgirl1 for being my most faithful reviewer. Keep reviewing all of you guys. Thanks.

I woke up because someone was calling my name. Can I not get one decent nap? It was Paxton yelling at me.

"Tali! Get down here!" he yelled. I got dressed and put my hair in tight braids. I jumped down the remaining stairs and ran into the kitchen. Soda was sitting/laying on the counter while Parker stitched the side of his head. His eyes were closed.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"The socs...jumped me on the...way here. I wanted to tell you...Pony's awake. I was coming...to take you to the hospital." he panted. I was combing his hair for a bump and then checked to see if his eyes were dilated.

"Okay. We can go to the hospital. I'll drive." I answered. He had a really bad black eye and a long cut on the side of his head. I helped Soda up and he went out to the truck. "I'm gonna probably spend the night at the hospital again and there's a rumble on Saturday at 7." I commented.

"Is that where you went?" Parker asked.

"A war council?" Paxton chimed in. I hate when they do this to me. Finish each other's sentences. It's creepy. I nodded.

"You could've gotten hurt. Why didn't you tell me?" Parker asked, his voice rising.

"I did Park. You were still kind of sleeping." I muttered. I could hear Paxton stifle a laugh as I walked out and got in the truck.

"Are you gonna fight in the rumble?" Soda asked suddenly. I looked at him, his eye black and his lip cut open.

"Well yeah. Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" I asked, puzzled. He wouldn't look at me.

"I just...I don't want you getting hurt...like Pony did. I don't...don't think I could handle it." he whispered. He looked at me. Fear in his dark brown eyes.

"It's a skin rumble. No one gets real hurt in those. And if I do get stuck, I'll call one of you guys to help me." I reassured him. We were at the hospital by now, just sitting in the parking lot. He didn't say anything else. We got out of the car and he walked over to my side. We quickly kissed and held hands while we walked to Pony's room.

"What happened to you? Did the happy couple get into their first argument?" Two-Bit quipped.

"Nup. Socs jumped me while I was walking to Tali's house. Parker and Paxton had to drag me up the stairs." he confessed.

"Ooh, those damn socs. Already breaking rumble rules." Steve growled. Pony was sleeping, but he woke up. Darry was at work and Johnny and Dally...I don't know where they were. We all played a couple games of poker and Pony wouldn't quit asking when he could go home.

"I don't know Pony. When Darry gets back he'll get the doc." Soda pleaded for Pony to quit talking. Darry came to the hospital right after work, bringing actual food with him. He inspected Soda's head, shaking his own.

"I'll go get the doctor." Darry spoke. He left and thirty seconds later came back with the doctor.

"Okay, Mr. Curtis, seems like you're getting sick of this place." the doctor speculated, looking at his clipboard. Pony nodded eagerly. "Well, you're healing up very nicely. The only thing I'm concerned about is your appetite. Needless to say, the food in the cafeteria is really bad. So, I'm gonna say, you can go home tomorrow, but I want you to come back in two weeks to check in." he reasoned. Pony nodded again. "No horseplay and no school for an extra week. Understand." he asked, looking at Two-Bit and Steve. They nodded, their heads down and I let out a small laugh. "We'll give you pain meds and antibiotics for now and in two weeks, we'll see where you're at." he finished.

"Thank you sir." Darry shook the doc's hand. The doctor nodded and left.

"Thank God!" Pony shouted. We all played more poker and talked about the rumble that was set for two days from now.

"It's not fair that I ain't gonna be there." Pony complained, shaking his head. Dally and Johnny joined us in the room at one point in the night.

"Aw shucks Pony. I'll stay home if you want me to." Johnny assured.

"Nope. You're a good fighter and they're gonna need you." Pony disagreed. After a couple more games of poker, everybody fell asleep. Myself included.

"Tali. Wake up. Come with me." It was Soda. I took his hand and he drug me up and we ran down the hall. We ran up the steps to the roof of the hospital.

"What are we doing up here?" I asked. The sunset was beautiful.

"I just wanted to come up here with you. Just sit with me...will ya?" he asked. I nodded. We sat down and I put my head in his lap. We sat in silence for a real long time.

"How ya holding up?" I finally asked. Soda shook his head.

"I'm trying you know, but this is hard. That's my baby brother in there and I'm supposed to be the one to protect him. Ya dig?" he confided. I nodded and sat up. I started to rub his back.

"It's not your fault and even so, he's coming home today." I responded. He gasped and we stood up.

"It's today today!" he hollered. He took my hand and we flew back down the stairs and went into Pony's room. He was still sleeping.

"I got to go sign the release papers." Darry whispered. He left and Pony woke up.

"Hey how ya feelin?" I asked.

"I've felt better." he chuckled. I nodded.

"You ready to get out of here?" Soda asked.

"You better believe it!" he shouted happily. Darry came back into the room.

"Let's go little buddy." Darry smiled. Wow. He never calls anyone but Soda little buddy. Darry hardly ever smiles. Interesting. I observed. I went out into the waiting room, waiting for the three brothers to come out. The rest of the gang came out and waited with me. A nurse wheeled in a wheelchair. I can see that going over real well with Pony. I was right with my thinking.

"Darry, don't make me. I can walk out just fine." I could hear Pony protest.

"It's just hospital policy. Just sit down Pony. I'll wheel you out." Darry pleaded. They came out and Pony looked real mad. Soda was smirking behind them. Me and Two-Bit grabbed a wheelchair. Soda laughed. Soda pushed me down the hallway and Steve pushed Two-Bit. I could hear Pony laugh somewhere behind me. As we neared the corner, Steve and Two-Bit turned too early. They crashed into the wall and I could hear Steve cursing.

"Hang on! We're gonna win!" Soda yelled. We rushed through the door and fell down the steps. I landed on top of Soda.

"Are you okay?" I laughed, running my fingers through his dark and greasy hair. He nodded and we kissed. We were soon interrupted.

"Whoo-hoo that was fun! Wait a second...what do we have here?" Two-Bit chuckled. I got up and helped Soda.

"We crashed." I said simply. We walked over to him and Steve while we waited for the rest of the gang.

"Yeah. And did Soda have a boo-boo on his lip?" Steve quipped. Soda smiled, showing his busted lip from when he got jumped yesterday. I hit Steve in the back of the head and he let out an oomph sound. Pony and the rest of the guys came out soon thereafter. Pony looked at me.

"That was about one of the best things I've ever seen." he tried to laugh, but his ribs were still hurting so it turned into a cough.

"Meet you back at the house, Curtises and Adders." Two-Bit yelled as he, Steve, Johnny and Dally piled into Steve's truck. Me and Soda stayed with Pony while Darry went to go get the truck.

"You okay?" I asked Pony. He looked up at me.

"Yeah, my ribs just hurt and I'm really tired. It's funny. I was asleep for almost two days." he contemplated.

"You weren't asleep. You were unconscious." Soda piped up.

"The doctor said that your sleep schedule was gonna be messed up for a few days." I informed him. He nodded. Darry pulled up with the truck then. He got out and him and Soda helped Pony in. Soda sat in back with Pony and I sat in front with Darry. We got back to the house and Steve's truck wasn't there. They probably went to the Dingo.

"Let's go guys. We're home." Darry said. When nobody moved we both turned around. Both brothers were sound asleep. Darry looked at me. "I'm not gonna lift Pony. I don't want to risk hurting him and Soda's too heavy." he whispered.

"You help Pony, I help Soda?" I offered. He nodded. We got out of the car. Darry had an easier time with Pony seeing that he actually woke up. Soda kind of woke up.

"Soda. Hey. Come on. I gotta get you to the bedroom." I whined. He really is heavy. He kind of complied. He got out of the truck and I put my arm around his shoulders and helped him up the stairs. Once we got inside I threw him on the couch. Darry took Pony to Darry's room and came back out.

"Why don't you go get some sleep in Soda's room?" Darry asked. I was really tired, but I shook my head.

"No. I insist. Go. I'll call your brothers to keep me company." he ordered. I nodded, giving in. I got up and walked down the hallway and got into Soda and Pony's bed. I thought about all of the recent events and fell asleep real quick.