I am…disappointed in most of you right now. I guess you can call this karma. I guess it's only fair. I don't update for a month = limited number of reviews….

But I have some (hopefully) good news! THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! At least, doesn't HAVE to be. More on that down at the bottom.

Please enjoy.

The entire gang stayed up that night.

Mostly they just talked, all avoiding the subject of the past two months and instead talking about the latest girl that Two-Bit had asked out or the new renovations that Buck was installing at his bar. Ponyboy didn't say much, just sat between his two brothers, tensed. Both Darry and Soda avoided touching him, too afraid of his reaction ever since that first moment when he woke up in the hospital. Eventually, at around two in the morning, Ponyboy fell asleep, his body leaning against Soda. Soda didn't move him, didn't touch him. His little brother hadn't slept much during his weeks in the hospital and he didn't want to risk waking him. Darry glanced at Ponyboy and smiled slightly. Ponyboy seemed almost peaceful, asleep like he was.

"So," Two-Bit began, almost whispering as his gaze flickered to the sleeping member. "What are you guys planning to do?"

Steve shot him a glare. "Seriously, Two-Bit? Is now really the time to bring that up? I mean, we just got back."

Two-Bit looked apologetically at Soda and Darry. "Sorry."

Darry shook his head. "No, you're right. I've been thinking about it."

"And?" Soda whispered over the top of his kid brother's head.

"Well, Dr. Mink suggested Ponyboy needs a therapist and…as much as I hate the idea of my brother being seen as crazy…" Darry stopped and swallowed thickly, his eyes darting to the brother in question.

Soda would have nodded, but he was afraid that it would wake up his brother. "If he needs it, then we'll find a way to get him one."

Darry sighed heavily. "Hey, um, Soda?"

Soda looked at him expectantly.

"Would you mind pulling more shifts?" Darry hated to ask that of his brother, hating that he knew he was taking away from his brother's social life. But Soda just smiled easily.

"I was already planning on it, Superman. No sweat."

Ponyboy stirred slightly, and gang froze. But he didn't wake up and after a minute or two, everyone relaxed again.

"Darry," Steve said, sharing a glance with Two-Bit as they both leaned forward, elbows propped on their knees. "If it's money you need—"

"No," Darry said, quietly but fiercely. "You guys are not pulling more shifts…or getting a job," he added with a pointed look at Two-Bit. "You've done more than enough."

Two-Bit and Steve both rolled their eyes, dropping the subject for now. Darry looked at his youngest brother and reached his hand out to brush the hair out of his eyes before thinking twice about it and pulling his hand back.

"Okay, why do you two keep doing that?" Two-Bit asked, managing to keep his voice down without dwindling his frustration.

Soda sighed and looked sadly at Ponyboy, wishing fiercely that he could wrap his brother in a hug. "When he first woke up, when you guys were still asleep, I tried to get his hair out of his face and…" Soda stopped, and breathed out slowly. Ponyboy flinching away from him had hurt Soda more than he was willing to admit.

Darry looked sadly at his middle brother. "Ponyboy doesn't….take well to physical contact unless he administers it first. Dr. Mink said that it should pass with time."

Soda yawned widely and Darry smiled. "You two ought to go to bed, little buddy."

"Yeah, but he hasn't been getting much sleep," Soda said, and everyone knew that he meant Ponyboy. "I don't want to run the chance of waking him up."

Two-Bit leaned forward and poked Pony's leg. Darry glared at him, but Soda just smiled. Two-Bit smiled at Darry too. "He's still asleep."

Darry figured that arguing with Two-Bit at 2:15 in the morning wasn't worth it, so he just shook his head.

"He'll sleep better in an actual bed, Dar," Two-Bit pointed out seriously.

Darry thought for a minute before nodding. "Alright."

Darry picked Ponyboy up carefully, going perfectly still when his brother's even breathing stuttered a little. But it went back to an even tone and Darry breathed a sigh of relief. Soda stood up and followed as Darry carried his brother down the hall and into the bedroom. He laid Ponyboy down on the bed gently, untying his shoes so that they slid off with minimum resistance. He looked at Soda.

"Sleep well, Soda."

Soda smiled reassuringly at his older brother. "You too, Dar."

Soda silently took off his own shoes and pulled his shirt off before crawling in bed. Darry hesitated a moment longer before leaving the room and closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. He met Steve and Two-Bit back in the living room. "Are you two staying tonight?"

Two-Bit shook his head. "I outta go home. Ma's gonna flip, and to be honest, so is my sister. See ya, guys."

"See ya." Darry looked like he wanted to say more but didn't. Instead, he turned his attention to the remaining gang member. "Steve?"

"I think I'll stay here. My Pa's gonna be hacked off that I disappeared for two months and didn't say anything. I can deal with him, just not at 2AM..right after we got back."

Darry understood. "The couch is yours."

Steve nodded and Darry left to go to his room, get his thoughts together. He didn't know exactly how much sleep he thought he was going to get. Though, he figured not much…until he crawled in bed and was out like a light.

V^V^V^V^V

Soda shot awake the second he heard Ponyboy's gasp. It hadn't been real loud or anything, but Soda always seemed to know when his brother was in distress. Soda assumed it was a family thing. Ponyboy was sweating, panting heavily. He was trembling something fierce. "Don't." His voice sounded pleading, and as much as Soda wanted to deny it to himself, he was pretty sure he knew what Ponyboy was dreaming of. And it broke Soda's heart.

"Ponyboy?" Soda asked hesitantly.

"Please, no! S-stop…"

"Ponyboy," Soda repeated, firmer and a little bit louder this time.

"Please, don't!"

Soda touched his arm, knowing that sometimes he could come out of a nightmare fast. Soda waited.

Other times it took a little bit more.

"Darry!" Soda called as he grabbed his brother's shoulder and shook him. Ponyboy bolted upright with a gasp, immeadiately backing up against the headboard. His eyes looked a bit wild as he pulled his knees up to his chest, still panting. His eyes darted around the room. He was still shaking like a leaf.

"Ssshhh. It's alright Pone. It was just a dream. I promise. You're safe. It's okay," Soda slowly made his way over to his brother as he repeated these things. He heard the door open, knowing it was either Darry or Steve. Ponyboy was sobbing now.

Soda wrapped his brother in a hug, ignoring the flinch that came with it. Ponyboy was rigid against Soda, like he was expecting Soda to turn around and punch him in the face. Soda did his best to ignore it, rocking his brother back and forth as the sobs racked him. The older brother felt a shift in the weight on the bed and glanced up to see Darry.

Darry had managed to put the pieces together rather quickly. His youngest brother had a nightmare. But one look at Pony and both Soda and Darry knew that this had been far worse than any of them before. Soda offered Darry a sad smile, still rocking his baby brother back and forth in an attempt to calm him down.

"SSsssshhhh. You're okay, Lil Colt. No one's going to hurt you. It's okay."

The sobs slowly came to a stop, but he was still shaking like a leaf. His breathing was coming in quivering gasps. After several minutes, Darry finally spoke up.

"Do you wanna talk about it, Pone? Can you remember?" he asked as gently as he could.

Ponyboy looked at both of his brothers before speaking. "I remember." A sob escaped him and Soda's arms tightened protectively around his brother. Ponyboy continued. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Don't bottle this up, Pone. It doesn't work," Darry urged.

Soda nodded his agreement with Darry. "You can't bury this, Pony."

Ponyboy looked at Soda with so much pain and sadness that it broke both of the older Curtis brothers' hearts. "I can try, can't I?"

PLEASE READ: A few more chapters are on the way. THIS IS NOT THE LAST ONE! This past week I was reading fanfics and I found one that is similar (NOT THE SAME) as mine and it just sparked my inspiration. :D

PLEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE REVIEW!