Author's Note: I'm back! Hope you guys weren't too impatient waiting for this chapter. One small thing I want to point out to avoid confusion. Some of you know there were some technical difficulties getting the last chapter to show up on the site. Well with all my deleting and reposting it looks like the chapter numbers got a little out of whack. I fixed it now, but for a while chapter thirteen was showing up as chapter fourteen. So everything should be all straightened out now! Knock on wood, no more site glitches!

Also I didn't get a change to respond to the last couple reviews to the last chapter, so let me say a general thank you to all reviewers! I officially have over 100 reviews to this story, which blows my mind! Please keep it up all these reviews really motivate me! :)

Chapter Fourteen

Dear Agony
Just let go of me
Suffer slowly
Is this the way it's gotta be?
Dear Agony

- Breaking Benjamin (Dear Agony)

They were all a bit shaken by Soda's demonstration of his memory loss not to mention the doctor's revelation about his immune system. Even though Soda was finally getting better it seemed that this was far from over.

A nurse came and drew blood again. She had to use the vein in his wrist again and he winced and squeezed Darry's hand. They anxiously waited for the results, hoping for more improvement. Soda stayed awake a little longer, chatting a bit before dozing off. It was clear he was shaken by the news as well though. Steve showed up after work, looking worn. It had been a long week for all of them.

Finally Dr. Evans returned. Darry reached over and carefully shook Soda, wanting him to be awake to hear the news.

"Hey Soda," Darry said gently as Soda slowly blinked his eyes open, glancing around the room. "The doctor's back little buddy."

Soda's eyes wandered in the direction of the doctor and did his best to focus.

Dr. Evans smiled. "Good news, Sodapop," he started. "Your blood work is very much improved. Your kidneys appear to be working much better. We will still need to keep a close eye on it, but as of right now I don't think you'll need another round of dialysis."

Soda gave a weak smile. Darry glanced around to see that everyone looked terribly relieved. Darry reached over and gave Soda an encouraging pat on the shoulder. It was exactly the news they had been hoping for. Things finally seemed to be turning around and moving in the right direction.

"Does that mean I can go home soon?" Soda asked hopefully.

"I'd still like to see you stay at least through the week," the doctor said patiently. "We'll see how much you improve over the next few days and will be able to go from there."

Soda nodded, but looked a little disappointed. Darry knew how he felt, he was anxious to get Soda back home. He hated seeing his brother stuck in this hospital bed day and night.

"Thank you," Darry said, smiling up at the doctor.

"Not a problem," the doctor responded. "Make sure you still get plenty of rest, Sodapop." And with that he turned and left.

"You'll be out of here soon, little buddy," Darry assured him.

"Not soon enough," Soda sighed. He glanced around the room and spotted Steve for the first time. He smiled tiredly. "Hey Steve. How was work?"

"Very uneventful compared to the last time you were there," Steve said lightly with a smile.

Soda laughed softly. "Glad to hear it," he said. "I'm not there to save your ass again."

Steve laughed but suddenly his smile seemed strained and his eyes flashed with an emotion that Darry just couldn't seem to place. Soda didn't appear to notice though as he was already dozing off again. Darry sighed. He knew they couldn't put it off any longer. He didn't want to have to wake Soda back up in order to tell him that they had to leave him. The doctor kept emphasizing that he needed rest.

"Hey little buddy," Darry said gently. "We gotta get goin'."

Soda looked up at him, sleepy and confused.

"But Darry…" Pony said reluctantly.

"You got school tomorrow, Pony," Darry reminded him. "And I got work."

"We'll come visit during lunch break tomorrow," Two-Bit spoke up. "Then we'll be back after school."

"I'll be okay, Pony," Soda assured his little brother. "I'm just gonna sleep anyway. I don't want you fallin' behind in school 'cause of me."

Darry smiled, glad that Soda was being so easy about this. He hated leaving him all alone, but he knew that it was unavoidable at this point. He reached out and placed a hand on Soda's shoulder, wishing he could fully embrace his brother, but he was afraid of hurting him.

"You take it easy, Pepsi-Cola," he said. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Soda nodded, he looked a little nervous but he was putting on a brave face for them. Darry stood up and moved aside to give the others room.

"Don't cause too much trouble now, you hear?" Two-Bit said lightly, reaching out and patting Soda's leg as he stood.

"We'll see you at lunchtime tomorrow," Steve reiterated, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Pony was the last to leave Soda's bedside. He stood up and placed one hand on each of Soda's shoulders and leaned over him in a hug-like gesture. Soda reached up, placing a hand on either side of Pony in an attempt to hug him back. It was a rather weak attempt and he couldn't reach around to Pony's back, but it was still a touching sight.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Pony promised.

"Thanks, Pone," Soda said with a tired smile.

"C'mon, Pony," Darry prompted.

Pony sighed but finally followed them out into the hallway. They had made it to the elevator before he spoke up again.

"I don't think we should leave him alone," he said. "I could stay here tonight and still make it to school tomorrow."

"Pony, he's just gonna sleep all night and you'd have to leave him by the time he woke up anyway," Darry said rationally. He put an arm around Pony's shoulders. "He'll be alright."

Pony sighed in defeat. "I guess," he admitted.

"Don't sweat it kid," Two-Bit said as the elevator arrived. "We'll be back soon enough."

Darry didn't feel any better than Pony did as they stepped into the elevator, the doors closing them into the small space, separating them from their brother. But the bills were going to start piling up. He couldn't miss any more work. It didn't feel right… but he knew it was something he had to do. At least Soda was in the hospital with plenty of staff to look after him. As he assured Pony, he was also assuring himself. He couldn't wait for tomorrow's work day to pass to that he could return to his brother's side.

XxXxX

After they left the hospital, Steve and Two-Bit returned to their own homes for the first time in almost a week. It was odd when it was just Darry and Pony in the house, it made the space feel particularly empty. Neither one felt like hanging around, mostly because of the exhaustion from the past week. As soon as they got home they changed and headed right to bed.

Darry tossed and turned restlessly for hours, thinking of his little brother alone in the hospital. He knew that Soda was probably sleeping – for that matter he was probably sleeping much better than the rest of them – but it still made him feel uneasy to not have anyone there with him. Finally exhaustion overcame worry and Darry managed to drift off to sleep himself.

It had been a long time since Darry had been woken up suddenly in the middle of the night, but when a scream came from across the hall at two in the morning he was up in an instant as if no time at all had passed since this had been routine, his protective instincts taking over. He rushed across the hall and threw open the door to the room his younger brothers shared. Of course tonight there was only one brother occupying the room. Ponyboy was still asleep, thrashing under his covers and screaming out as if someone where viciously attacking him.

"Pony!" Darry said urgently, grabbing Pony by the shoulders and shaking him firmly. "Ponyboy, wake up!"

Pony's eyes flew open and he gasped as if he were surfacing from being underwater for several minutes. He was drenched in a cold sweat as he looked around frantically, trying to get his bearings. Darry slowly lowered himself down to sit on the edge of the bed, keeping one hand on his shoulder.

"D-Darry?" Pony said, his voice shaking as he seemed to focus on him. Slowly he sat up.

"Yeah, I'm here, kiddo," Darry said gently. Pony was beginning to tremble and suddenly Darry wished like hell that Soda was here with them. He was always better at comforting Pony than he was. It had been a long time since Pony had made enough noise to wake Darry with his nightmares. It had happened quite frequently right after their parents had passed away, but after a visit to the doctor and after Soda began sleeping in his room with him the nightmares had become far between and much less severe. "Was it one of those nightmares you can't remember?"

Pony looked up at him with big eyes for a moment. "I… I remember water…" he said quietly. Darry gave a start at this information. This was a new development. Pony had never remembered any of his night terrors before. "And… and S-Soda. I couldn't get to him, I couldn't help him even though I tried, I tried really hard, I really did." Pony was quickly working himself into hysterics as he recalled parts of his nightmare.

Darry reached out and carefully wrapped his arms around Pony, pulling him in close. "Sh," he soothed gently. "It's okay, Pony. It's okay."

"I don't want to lose Soda too," Pony sobbed suddenly, burying his face into Darry's t-shirt.

"Hey, we're not gonna lose Soda," Darry assured him, surprised by the statement, as he rubbed his back comfortingly. "Soda's gonna be just fine, he's getting better, remember?"

Pony pulled away from Darry slightly in order to look up at him, tears in his eyes. "We could have," he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "We could have lost him."

Darry knew this all too well. One bullet was all it would have taken for their lives to be violently torn apart… yet again. If Soda had simply been hit in a different place – his heart, his head, any number of vital organs – he wouldn't have had a chance, he could have been dead in an instant before Steve even had a chance to consider calling for help. It could have all been over that quick. Just the thought caused a sick feeling to rise in Darry's stomach. Life was so fragile. They all knew this better than most. And that wasn't fair.

"But we didn't," Darry finally said firmly. "You gotta focus on that, Pony. Soda's gonna be fine. This time next week he'll be laying in this bed with you just like always. Everything's gonna be okay this time."

"Unless something else goes wrong," Pony said sullenly.

Darry was taken aback for a moment, he had never known Pony to be so pessimistic. Apparently all the tragedy in their lives was taking more of a toll on his youngest brother's innocence than he had realized. "You can't think like that Pony," he said slowly.

"Why not?" Pony said. "It's not like our track record is the best for catchin' a break, you know."

Darry sighed. "I know," he admitted. "But Soda's condition could have been so much worse. Maybe it's finally time that we do catch a break. He's still with us, isn't he?" He paused. "Look Pony, I know you have been through a lot over the past year. We all have. And I know you're scared. And that's okay, because it shows how much you love your brother. But I know Soda is gonna be fine. He's strong and he's gonna fight through this, just like he has been doin'."

"I just hate that we had to leave him there," Pony said quietly.

"I know kiddo," Darry said, giving him a squeeze. "I hate it too. But the hospital staff will take real good care of him until we get back. I noticed he was getting some looks from some of the younger nurses. I'm sure they'll pay special attention to him." He smiled down at Pony and Pony managed to crack a smile back.

"Darry…" Pony said slowly after a pause, serious once more. "How are we gonna pay for all this?"

Darry didn't need Pony to elaborate. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed heavily. He wasn't looking forward to getting the mail tomorrow. He hadn't had any time to put any real thought into their finances all week. "We'll figure something out," he said vaguely.

Pony nodded absently. "Sorry for waking you," he said.

"It's okay Pony," Darry said. Now that the adrenalin had worn off his eye lids were getting heavy again. He knew it was going to be a struggle to get up for work in a few hours. He currently felt like he could sleep for a week straight. "You feelin' better now?" Pony nodded, but he still looked a little shaken. "Try and get some sleep, alright kiddo?" He gave him a pat on the back and then stood up and turned to leave.

"Darry?" Pony said softly.

Darry turned and looked down at his younger brother. "Yeah Pony?"

"Could you… do you think you could stay?" he asked, looking up at Darry a bit unsurely.

Darry was startled a bit by the request. Him and Pony had never had the kind of relationship that Pony and Soda had, even before their parents had passed. They had been getting along better during these past few months, but there still seemed to be some kind of gap between them. But Darry found that he was glad that Pony wanted his company.

Darry smiled lightly at Pony as he walked back over to the bed. "Scoot over," he said simply. Pony immediately moved over to the far side of the bed. Darry pulled back the covers and climbed in. There wasn't a whole lot of room in the bed, Soda was a lot more lean than he was, but Pony didn't seem to mind. He lay back down and leaned his head into Darry's shoulder. Darry reached over with his other hand and brushed the hair off this youngest brother's forehead as he started falling back asleep. At least he still had one brother he could comfort tonight.