Author's Note: Alright, just a quick announcement for those that don't follow my other story: You may or may not have noticed but last week I starting posting a little sneak peaks of in progress chapters for my stories on my bio page. Since my updates haven't been as quick as they used to be, I was thinking a might do that from time to time while working on my chapters. The sneak peaks could be anything from chapter titles/songs, current word counts so you can see how each story is progressing, or maybe even snippets from my drafts. So while you wait for updates from me feel free to poke around my bio page and look for those sneak peaks if you are so inclined! :)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Thursday, December 1st

Pony shifted in his sleep. His neck had an awful crick in it. He must have fallen asleep at an odd angle. As he drifted back toward consciousness he tried to find a more comfortable position, but somehow that seemed impossible. Where was he? It was becoming increasingly obvious that he wasn't in his bed. He was sitting instead of lying down, slumped over strangely. Perhaps he had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch in the living room while he had been watching TV again?

He blinked and was confused when his tired eyes were assaulted by bright, fluorescent lights. He was suddenly getting the feeling that this wasn't home. Where was he? He looked around wearily and as the hospital waiting room came into focus he felt his stomach sinking. The events of the past couple hours came rushing back to him, crushing him. He could hardly believe he had fallen asleep with everything that was happening.

Pony immediately looked to his side but was surprised to find the seat next to him was vacant. He felt a vague sense of panic as he looked around, searching desperately for a familiar face. Where had everyone gone? Was he here alone? That couldn't be… could it?

"The kid's up."

Pony looked over at the sound of Steve's familiar voice, instantly feeling relief that he wasn't alone. Him and Two-Bit were making their way over from across the room. Pony took in the distressed looks on both of their faces, trying not to read too much into them. He took a deep breath, trying to settle his thoughts.

"Where'd Darry go?" Pony asked carefully, figuring that would be a safe question.

As Steve and Two-Bit exchanged looks Pony suddenly realized that it wasn't a safe question at all. He swallowed, suddenly feeling a sick sensation sinking into the pit of stomach.

"The doctor came and got him," Two-Bit finally said.

"Why?" Pony asked slowly.

Two-Bit shrugged dismally. "We don't know. He just came out here and told Darry to come with him."

Pony felt cold as the color drained from his face with this new development. He could suddenly vividly remember the day they had lost their parents. All three of them had rushed to the hospital after being told by police that their parents had been in a terrible car accident. They had all sat in the hospital waiting room for an hour before a doctor had come and taken Darry into a separate room to break the news to him. Then Darry had been left with the responsibility of informing his younger siblings. This was far too reminiscent of that night.

Two-Bit must have been able to see the distress on his face, because he quickly came over and took the empty seat next to Pony. "Hey, don't panic yet. We don't know anythin' yet."

"How long ago did they leave?" Pony asked, ignoring Two-Bit's attempt at reassurance.

Two-Bit checked his watch. "Maybe twenty minutes."

"If they were just gonna give him bad news he woulda been back by now," Steve spoke up determinedly. "Somethin' else has to be goin' on."

Pony nodded numbly but he didn't feel any better. Something definitely didn't feel right about the situation. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and itched at the brace that was on his wrist. When would this nightmare finally end? And who would be left to help pick up the pieces?

Pony looked up very suddenly almost as if he had been able to sense him coming. Sure enough just as he did Darry emerged through a set of double doors on the other side of the waiting room. Pony was on his feet in an instant, Two-Bit right on his heels. Steve had frozen in place. Pony immediately studied Darry's face as he approached, looking for signs of devastation. He looked exhausted and worn out, but not as crushed as Pony would have expected if he was here to tell them the worst.

"Well?" Pony asked immediately, unable to stand the suspense a moment longer.

Darry gave him a tired smile and Pony felt his heart lift in his chest so suddenly it was almost painful. "He's okay," he said, the immense relief of these words clear in his voice and his features. Pony himself felt like he just might collapse with the amount of relief he felt. "Surgery was rough, but he pulled through. He's in recovery now and he's stabilizing."

"So he's gonna be okay?" Pony asked, a smile playing on his lips as hope threatened to take over.

Darry gave him a more sincere smile. "Yeah. He's gonna be okay."

Pony couldn't help himself. He threw his arms around his big brother and hugged him close, feeling how Darry pulled him in for comfort. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest and he was practically shaking with relief. He could hardly believe it. Everything was really going to be okay.

As Pony pulled away he noticed that Steve had fallen into his vacated chair, looking beyond relieved at this news. Despite his tough talk it was now clear that he had been scared for his friend.

Two-Bit was grinning widely. "Can we see him?"

"He's not really stable yet so they don't want too many people in the room until he recovers more so he can rest," Darry told him. He glanced over at Pony. "I was thinkin' I would take Ponyboy back now, and then you guys can see him after that."

Two-Bit and Steve both agreed to this logic. After promising to give Soda their well wishes, Darry led Pony out of the room, heading toward Soda's recovery room.

"So Soda's really okay?" Pony asked as they walked, still hardly able to wrap his mind around the fact that their luck had finally turned around.

Darry glanced over at him. "He's still kinda in rough shape," he said a bit unsteadily. "And I guess he had a rough time with the surgery. But yes, he's okay now and he's gonna get better. He just needs lots of rest."

There was something in the way that Darry spoke that took the edge off of Pony's happiness. It was like he wasn't quite telling him the whole story. Pony briefly considered pursuing the subject. But when he took in the look on Darry's face he decided not to. He knew that Darry wouldn't lie to him about Soda's recovery. If he really was keeping something from him Pony had to trust that he had a good reason to do so. Throughout all of this he had learned one thing that was now crystal clear in his mind: to trust his brothers without question. He certainly had trusted them before, but now he had a whole new level of trust because of everything they had all gone through in order to be together again.

Finally they came to a room where Darry slowed down. He motioned for Pony to go in and then followed behind him. Pony felt like he couldn't get to Soda's bedside fast enough, eager to see for himself that he was okay. His brother was still hooked up to all kinds of machines, but as Pony approached his side he turned his head toward him and looked up at him. Just this was enough to cause Pony to grin as he fell into a chair at his bedside.

"Hey, Soda," he said.

"Hey, Pony," Soda rasped. His voice was quiet under his oxygen mask and sounded a little rough, but it was still his voice. He was awake and he was responding which automatically made the situation better than the one with Darry a few months ago.

Pony gave a sigh of relief as he took Soda's hand. "Glory, Soda, you scared us somethin' awful," he told him lightly. "Don't do that again, okay?"

Soda gave a small laugh that was also a cough as he squeezed Pony's hand. "I'll try not to, kiddo." Darry came up behind Soda, placing a hand on Pony's shoulder as he smiled down at the two. But as Soda looked up at Darry he suddenly looked upset. "I'm sorry, Dar."

Darry get a start at this. He crouched down next to Pony so that he was more on their level. "What're you talkin' about, Pepsi Cola?" he asked, concerned.

"We can't afford for me to be here," Soda mumbled, his words slurring together a bit. "Not with you only havin' temporary custody of us."

It was Pony's turn to give a start. "Temporary custody?" he asked, sending a questioning look at Darry.

Darry shot Pony an uncomfortable glance before he focused back on Soda. "Don't you worry about that, okay Soda? We'll figure it out. I promise I'm not gonna lose you two again."

But Pony wouldn't let this slide by him. "What does he mean, temporary custody?" he persisted.

Darry sighed. He stood up and then pulled up a chair so that he could sit beside Pony, seeming too tired to keep himself upright on his own any longer with this discussion. He clasped his hands in front of him, staring straight ahead and not looking at either of his brothers. "I only managed to get temporary custody of you guys because of the debt that I'm still in from when I was in the hospital. According to social services I have three months to pay it off and if not… I will lose my custody."

Pony felt sick to his stomach at this. "Were you gonna tell me that?" he demanded. He suddenly felt a bit betrayed for not having this information, especially considering Soda obviously had been told at some point.

"I didn't want to upset you," Darry said sympathetically.

Pony buried his head in his hands, overcome by emotion. He could suddenly vividly picture social services coming back to take him and Soda away again. He could imagine being separated from Darry and then being separated from Soda, thrown back into a broken system and shifted from foster home to foster home. He imagined being thrown back into the hell of living with strangers again. He couldn't think of much that would be worse than that.

"Ponyboy," Darry said, putting a comforting hand on Pony's shoulder. But Pony shrugged it off as he looked over at him.

"I'm gonna get a job," Pony said determinedly, his tone daring Darry to deny him this.

"Pony, let's talk about this later," Darry said firmly, sending a meaningful glance over at Soda who was watching the two anxiously. Pony immediately felt guilty, remembering that Soda was still recovering and that they weren't supposed to be getting him worked up. He glanced around at the machines that Soda was still hooked up to. Was it Pony's imagination or had the heart monitor's steady beeping sped up?

But Soda wasn't about to let the subject change so easily. "I'm gonna get back to work soon too," he spoke up. "Help pay for everythin'." He let out a light cough and winced slightly.

"You are not going back to work until you've completely healed," Darry said evenly.

"But—" Soda started.

"No, we're not even gonna discuss this while you're lying in a hospital bed," Darry said decisively. That was enough to shut both of the younger Curtis brothers up. Darry sighed as he looked back and forth between the two. "Listen, I don't what you guys to be scared about bein' taken away again. I'm gonna do everythin' I possibly can to make sure that never happens ever again. Got it?" Both Soda and Pony nodded solumnly at this. "Good," Darry said, sounding relieved. He sat back in his chair as he rubbed his temple. There was the briefest flash of pain that crossed his features.

Pony looked at him worriedly. "Are you feelin' okay?" he asked. He remembered seeing Darry when one of his migraines hit. He was so tired of seeing his brothers in pain. They all needed a break from these trials in their lives.

Darry gave him a strained smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Pony looked back at Soda to find that he was drifting off. He figured that was a good thing, Soda still needed to fight the infection in his system. He knew that Soda had been restless the night before and hadn't gotten much sleep. This wasn't over just yet. But hopefully this was a significant step toward all of their healing.

They watched Soda slowly fall asleep, his hand still firmly holding on to Pony's like a lifeline. Once Pony was sure that he was asleep he turned back to Darry. "Are we really gonna be okay?" he asked softly. The fact that Darry only had temporary custody of them had really hit him hard. He suddenly felt much less stable, like at any moment social services could come bursting in and take them away again.

"Yeah, Pony, we really are gonna be okay," Darry tried to assure him. "We have three months to figure all this out before they reassess my guardianship. We will figure it out. I don't care what it takes, I'm not gonna lose either of you again."

Pony smiled lightly. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have his big brother watching over them. He had to believe that now that they were all back together again they would be able to conquer anything. They had always been afraid of being separated and always worked hard to keep it from happening, but now they knew exactly how horrific it really could be to be separated. He looked down at Soda, finding the fact that he was so broken because of all of this disturbing on a very deep level. He glanced down at the brace on his own wrist. He hadn't exactly come through this ordeal unscarred. Neither had Darry, he reminded himself as Darry tried to subtly rub his temple again, his head clearly bothering him. They would all work that much harder to keep this from ever happening again. All they could do now was hope that working together would be enough.