The next morning Soda put his DX uniform on. It was an odd feeling, but it did feel more in place. It was easier to put it on than Soda thought it would be. Some weight actually lifted from his shoulders. Standing in the bathroom, Soda looked at his reflection, ready to begin the day.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Steve asked leaning against the doorway, also in is DX shirt.

"Well no, I don't really know how I feel. I want to though. I need to," Soda replied.

Steve nodded, "Well, Mr. Huffman is going to make sure I at least work shifts with you to help out, so that should be helpful."

Soda turned towards Steve, "It will help. I just think going back to work will be a good distraction. I just need to get out of here."

"How do you think it will be when we drive back here?" Steve asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know," Soda looked down, "I haven't came back home since it all happened. I haven't left the house yet. But it's something I'm going to have to face. I'll have to do it over and over again before it gets any better."

"I'm glad to hear that you're willing to try though."

The two boys walked downstairs and went into the kitchen, where Darry sat at the kitchen table looking at some paperwork. Soda knew what it was, but wasn't going to ask or look at it. "Well, we're going to head out," Soda said.

"Okay," Darry said, "If you need me to come get you, just call me, alright?"

"Are you going to be okay here alone?" Soda asked.

"Yes little buddy. I know it's hard for you to just sit here and think about everything, but I have plenty of distraction here so, I'll be fine," Darry looked up at his little brother, "You try to have a good day."

"I will. I love you Dar," Soda said, trying to keep the tears back as he said it. The idea of never knowing when it could be the last time he sees his last family member around hurt him, and it made him want to express his love for his older brother as much as he can.

"Love you too buddy."

Darry stayed in the kitchen while going over things. He'd get up to refill his coffee, but immediately got back to filling papers out. Just like after his parent's died, he wasn't willing to let things get piled up and push at him. He knew that'd just cause more depression and anxiety with everything. The sooner he could get it done with, the sooner he could handle a healthier grieving process. It was getting close to the middle of the day when the front door opened.

"Hello?" a voice called out.

"In here," Darry yelled back. Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Darry," Two-Bit greeted.

"How are the ribs feeling?" Dally asked.

"They feel fine," Darry said, "I've had worse."

"Where's Soda and Steve?" Dally asked.

"Work."

"Soda went back to work already?" Two-Bit asked.

"Yeah. I don't blame him. He can't just sit around and think about things. He needs the out-of-house distraction while I deal with paperwork and other things distraction," Darry said as he stood up from the table.

"What are you working on?" Two-Bit asked.

Darry sighed, "Planning...the funeral." Darry put a hand over his mouth as he walked over to the fridge. He had no plan in mind on what he was going to look for, but it was going to push back any emotions towards what words just came out of his mouth.

"You have to do that already?" Johnny asked taking a seat at the table. He couldn't help but glance at the papers, but he tried his hardest not to read any of the words upon it.

"Yeah," Darry said recomposing himself as he closed the fridge, "I mean, there isn't much to plan honestly. I've just been calling other family to get them into town."

"When is it?" Two-Bit asked.

"Four days," Darry replied, "This could sound shitty, but I just want to get it over with."

"That's not shitty," Dally said sitting next to Johnny.

"Absolutely not," Two-Bit said taking the last chair, "Now what do you need help with?"

"You guys don't have to..."

"Shut up," Dally interrupted, "Steve tried to push us away for help. You aren't getting away with it too." Darry looked at the three greasers around his table. He was already amazed and relieved at all Steve did to help his little brother, but now he was feeling overwhelmed at the rest of the support right in front of him. The gang he had grown to become close to and love were truly a supportive unit. They were one family. Looking at each of them, he could see and feel the sincerity from each of them.

"So what do you need help with?" Two-Bit repeated the question.

The one thing that made the DX a great place to escape wasn't just the distraction of work, but there wasn't a lot of things to remind Soda of Ponyboy. He would get thrown images of Pony every corner of the house. He loved the DX though. He loved being there and was able to get away and have other memories flood his mind. The fridges full of Pepsi bottles were really the only reminder, but it was easy for Soda to avoid those, for now.

Steve entered the store, covered in dirt and grease. He had beads of sweat at his hairline. He walked to the fridge and grabbed two waters, bringing them to the counter and handing one to Soda.

"It's hot outside, huh?" Soda asked.

"Being trapped in a garage doesn't help," Steve said, "But I'll live."

"I don't know man, you seem pretty out of breath and your face is beat red."

Steve cleared his throat as he opened the beverage, feeling the cold liquid rush through his mouth and down his throat. He didn't like hearing Soda say he was out of breath and looking overheated. He was already not taking his pills, and hearing any physical showings made him a little nervous. He was feeling the anxiety begin to come back, like it had months ago when the disorder first appeared. Working in the hot air outside was making Steve feel on edge and irritable too, but he pushed it down to not let it show towards Soda.

"How are you doing in here?" Steve asked between gulps of water.

"Good," Soda looked down at the cash register.

"Are you sure? It seemed kind of slow in here. It was plenty busy at the gas pump. I know you came to work today for a distraction, so it must not be helping that people aren't really coming in here."

"I think I prefer that actually," Soda looked back up, "Someone walked in and told me how sorry they were about...it. It made me realize I hadn't even thought about it getting around town, and other people knowing about it. I forgot it wasn't going to just be us knowing about everything. And I just don't want to hear about it all day long. People walking in and reminding me."

Steve nodded, "I guess I hadn't thought about it either. Maybe that's why people aren't coming in much from the gas pump. They don't know what to say to you."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm okay though. The majority of the day has still gone okay."

"Good. I should get back out there," Steve said with a sigh, not feeling any better with it not being much cooler inside the DX store, "I just wanted to check on you."

"Thanks Steve."

After a long day of work, Soda and Steve returned home to a full house. Soda felt somewhat relieved to see all of his friends there. He was worried if it would become too much for him though. He figured he could escape to his room if he needed to. They'd all understand.

"Hey buddy," Darry greeted as he hung up the phone from the kitchen, "How was work?"

Soda nodded, "Good. I did need it. It's nice to see everyone together here too." Soda tossed his shoes off and took a seat on the floor next to Dally, glancing at the television.

"Yeah it is," Steve said as he took a seat on the couch with Johnny. He still wasn't feeling great, even as the temperature slowly began cooling down. He tried to relax himself, not wanting to feel the need to take his pills until he could get into the doctor. "Who's ready to start drinking?"

"Way ahead of you," Two-Bit grinned from his place in the armchair, holding up a bottle.

"Well now go get me one," Steve said placing his feet on the coffee table.

Two-Bit smirked, "You got two legs that aren't broken."

"I've been on my feet all day!" Steve barked.

"Steve, get your shoes off the table and I'll get you a beer," Darry said.

"Deal," Steve said quietly as he sat up and removed his shoes, tossing them towards the door.

Darry walked back into the living room, handing Steve a beer. "Soda, come in the kitchen for a second."

Soda stood up from the floor and walked to the kitchen, leaning against the doorway, "What is it?"

Darry picked up a notepad he had sitting on the counter, "Um...the funeral is going to be in four days."

Soda gulped, "Okay."

"I want you to think about this before giving me an answer, because when I asked you this for mom and dad's funeral, you jumped an answer and regretted it later."

Soda knew what Darry was hinting at immediately. "The speech."

Darry nodded, "Yeah. I know you thought it was a good idea at the time, but then you got up there and you...you just lost it too much. It took you awhile to recover and everything."

"I know that Darry," Soda said quietly.

"So, don't worry about making one. You don't have to. If you want to, okay. If you don't, that's okay too. Just take your time to think about it, alright?"

Soda nodded, "Yeah fine. Do you need me to do anything else besides think?"

"Actually no. I think we got a lot taken care of."

"We?" Soda's eyebrows furrowed with the question.

"The gang was helping me today while you were at work. We got a lot done."

"Oh," Soda took a breath.

"I forget how much of a family they are to us," Darry said looking towards the living room, "I can't explain how grateful I am for all of them."

"Me too. I think I'm going to shoot some hoops."

"Alright," Darry watched Soda go out the backdoor. He looked back over towards the living room as Steve walked in.

"Is he okay?"

"I think so. I told him to think about if he wants to make a speech at the funeral or not."

"Oh," Steve looked down, "What did he say?"

"Nothing. I didn't want an answer anyway. He needs to really think about it first."

"Yeah," Steve walked further into the kitchen and placed his beer on the counter, "I'll be right back. I need some fresh air."

In the living room, Two-Bit watched as Steve walked out the front door in a hurry. He set his beer on the side table, and got up to follow him. Outside, he watched Steve head down the driveway towards the street. He didn't get in his car, just turned to continue down the road.

"Hey Steve," Two-Bit quickly made his way to the street to catch up, "Where are you going?"

"Just need a walk is all," Steve pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He wanted to get the uneasiness off his heavy chest.

"Want some company?"

"You won't give me a choice."

Two-Bit smiled, "Nope. So how did work go today?"

Steve placed the cigarette between his lips, "Soda seemed to do okay."

"What about you?" Two-Bit asked following Steve's walking path.

"Work was work."

"How have you been feeling since the park?" Two-Bit asked.

"I don't know. I haven't been able to get it out of my head honestly. I wasn't feeling too good today either," Steve took a deep inhale of his cigarette, "I'm really on edge right now. I hate the idea of talking about it, but I feel like I'm going to explode man."

"Well, the stuff at the park isn't going to be an easy thing to forgive yourself for."

"I know, I know," Steve said stopping in his tracks, placing the heel of his hand on his forehead. He knew Two-Bit wasn't understanding that he was on edge, because of his medicine. He wasn't willing to outright say it either.

"What is it?" Two-Bit asked coming side by side with Steve, "Talk to me."

"I don't know how to get past all of this," Steve said, deciding to go on talking about his own mental war with Pony's death, "I'm trying so hard to push it away, because Soda needs me. Darry needs me. I was able to push other shit away when Soda needed me, while Darry was in the hospital. Why can't I push this away right now? Why can't I push things away just a little longer?"

Soda dribbled the ball around the backyard, taking shots towards the hoop, not making any of them. The idea of making a speech at his little brother's funeral terrified him. It felt right that he should, especially if Darry did one, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to go through with it. He was confident giving a speech at his parent's, until he actually got up there. This time, there was no confidence to even attempt.

Soda eventually heard the door open and close. Turning around, he saw Johnny walk down the porch steps.

"Hey Johnnycake," Soda tossed the basketball towards the young greaser.

Johnny caught it and dribbled it around, "Hey."

Soda watched as he played around with the ball. There hadn't been much interaction between the two of them through all of this. It made Soda feel bad as his mind became flooded with memories of his little brother and his best friend. They were similar to memories he had with himself and Steve. "I haven't asked you how you were holding up with everything. You know we haven't talked much throughout all of this. I'm sorry about that."

"I wouldn't expect you to. You were going through a lot."

Soda walked closer to Johnny, "So were you."

"Steve you can't push things away anymore. You have to accept that," Two-Bit placed a hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve took a quick inhale of his cigarette, begging his heart to slow down, "I don't know what to do next. Darry asked me to stay with them longer and help them out. How am I suppose to worry about me when he clearly needs me?"

"Darry doesn't need you to take care of him and Soda completely. I think you know that too. He just needs you to be around. You know just you being in that house is going to do a lot for Soda."

"I can't vent my problems to Soda or Darry though. They don't need that. Soda can't handle that," Steve said with a shaky voice.

"Vent to me hard ass," Two-Bit playfully shoved Steve, "Be there,and just take care of yourself too."

"How?" Steve looked at Two-Bit, feeling a lump in his throat like he could vomit right there in the street.

Two-Bit looked up and down at Steve, "You could start by taking your medication again."

"Dally's been there for me though," Johnny took a shot, watching the ball fall through the hoop.

"I know. I'm glad he has been. I'm happy you had someone. We can go through this together too though. I mean, you were so close to him. I know he meant a lot to you."

Johnny felt the tears in his eyes as he looked at Soda, "I've just been taken it day by day, you know? Because I have no idea what my next step is to get through this."

Soda reached out and pulled Johnny into a hug. He felt the small boy begin shaking, as he cried into Soda's chest. Soda couldn't bother fighting as the tears fell down his cheeks too. "Hell, I don't know mine either. Let's just be clueless together."

Johnny let a small laugh escape his lips, "Deal."

"That's not what this is about," Steve argued.

"I know you've gotten some sleep, better than usual," Two-Bit sighed, "But I'm not stupid Steve. I know it can be dangerous for anyone to just stop medicines or treatments or whatever."

Steve began walking down the street, tossing his cigarette to the side, "My dad's making me a doctor's appointment."

"For what?"

"I want to stop taking them."

"What on Earth for?" Two-Bit asked, frustration rising.

"Because Two-Bit, I can't look at them the same ever again. It's too painful!"

"Okay, Steve, I get that. I have the visual in my head too."

"But they weren't your damn pills!"

"Steve stop!" Two-Bit took quick steps to get around Steve, standing in front of him, "Just stop for a second. Do you see how angry you're getting right now? I know you have your temper moments, but fucking look at what you're doing. Your face hasn't stopped being red since you got home, you're sweaty, you're shaking, you look like you need to runaway from something."

Steve's hands flew to his face, slowly running down, "I haven't felt like this in awhile."

Two-Bit grabbed Steve's hands, and held them tight, "Listen, it's fine if you want to go to the doctor. It's fine if you want to talk about it. Hell maybe there are other options for you, that'd be great! But right now, your body can't take it. It's going through...something, maybe withdrawals or something, because you were so off on them throughout this whole thing. You didn't take some, then you did, now you aren't again. Until you go to the doctors and get answers, you have to get back on track."

Steve looked up at his friend. Two-Bit could see true worry in Steve's eyes. He could tell even Steve was confused about what his body was going through.

"Promise me Steve? You will take them again. I bet you'll feel better. Promise me?"