I do not own The Outsiders. All characters used from the book are borrowed with much respect to S.E. Hinton.

"Darry!" I heard Beth's voice yelling from the front door just as I was hauling mine and Pony's asses out of the tub.

It was one of the things that became a new normal. He was still in a weakened state, and I was too goddamned scared to leave him in the tub by his lonesome, so instead of my usual morning shower, I switched to jumping in the tub with him in the evenings; forgetting about adult dignity and privacy by acting as though we were both kids again. And if it was also saving me a bundle on the water bill every month well, that was just an added bonus.

"Yeah, in here!" I hollered back. "Hold on, we ain't decent yet!" I added as I grabbed the bath towel and proceeded to wrap Ponyboy with it.

"It came!" Beth's voice sounded excited from the other side of the door.

"What came? You can come in; he's covered."

The door opened as my wife peered in; feigning shock at the sight of her naked husband as he was wrapping up his little brother like a burrito in towel and setting him down to sit on the toilet seat.

"Darrel! You said you were decent!" Beth started to blush.

"Darry!" I teased. "I said he's decent. You've seen my naked ass more than my own mother. No sense gettin' uptight about it now."

Ponyboy let out a snort as his face grew beet red at my suggestion, and I reached over and tousled his wet hair before quickly grabbing for the other towel to wrap around my waist.

"Get any more modest and you'll be scaring away the neighbors." Beth laughed as she pulled me in for a quick peck on the cheek. "It came!"

"What came?" I asked; keeping a hand on my brother so he wouldn't topple over.

"The blender I ordered from the Sears catalogue. We can test it out!"

"No shit! You hear that, little buddy? Looks like you are fine dining tonight. I'm sick of that formula crap. Time to give you the good stuff!"

The permanent feeding tube coming out of Pony's stomach was always going to be a sore spot with me. It was every single failure as a brother, as a protector, and as a caregiver glaring me right in the face. I knew that Ponyboy hated it as well. I could sense his struggle between being dependent on me to help him with most day-to-day things, and not being seen as a baby. To me the blender meant that he was going to have a better life, even if he couldn't eat normally.

Ponyboy nodded solemnly at first, but then eyed Beth and I in amusement as we excitedly planned what food we were going to blend up for him in the future.

"We can make soups…hey we can even do milkshakes with this thing, kiddo!" I grinned as I hauled him up and over my shoulder so I could get him dried and changed in his room. "Any flavour you want—even banana!" I suggested, thinking back to The Frozen Cow, and how enamoured he'd been with his banana ice cream cone.

He smiled as I dumped him unceremoniously onto his bed while I turned to rifle through the dresser to find him something comfortable to wear. I tore through the t-shirts and pants, but everything looked too worn out and a little small. It'd been years since he'd had new clothes. I turned around slowly to eye Soda's old dresser and let out a sigh.

"Whadaya think, kiddo?" I asked apprehensively; not wanting to upset Pony with the prospect of taking over our dead brother's wardrobe.

Pony looked from the dresser to me and nodded slowly. I was thankful he didn't kick up a fuss even though I was pretty sure that he wouldn't. I eased the drawers open and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before heading back to the bed.

"Remember when you first came home from the hospital?" I started storytelling while unwrapping my brother from the towel—a distraction tactic that seemed to help him forget how vulnerable he was.

"Do you remember me telling you that I wasn't ever gonna give up on you? Do you remember that?"

Pony blinked.

"And even if it takes us a long time, we'd get through all of this together, right?"

A blink and a nod.

"I still mean it, little buddy. I'm never giving up on you. We're gonna figure this all out together you 'n me, 'kay?"

'Love you' his mouth moved, and I could only lean over to kiss his head before helping him put his brother's clothes on.

The clothes were a little big on him, but he seemed to snuggle right into them as if it were actually Sodapop enveloping him. I smiled tightly before leaving him for my room so I could jump into some clothes of my own.

Once we were both dressed, I was carrying him into the kitchen to where Beth was reading the manual for our new appliance.

"Learn anything?" I teased as I tucked Ponyboy into the wheelchair Two-Bit had swiped for him up in Canada that managed to follow us home.

The wheelchair sat at the kitchen table when we weren't using it to take Ponyboy out. It offered a bit more security than the kitchen chairs, and I didn't have to worry about him sliding off or out. I tried not to think too hard about what it meant to have my brother need the wheelchair. Even when we'd first brought Pony home from the hospital, he'd managed to land on his feet again, but it'd been years of us being separated and things hadn't been easy for any of us. I wasn't sure there'd be a time when Pony didn't need the wheelchair which made things difficult in more ways than one; Ponyboy hated it.

"Yeah! There's some real fancy recipes in here."

"Well that should come in handy for all those fancy parties we always throw."

I heard Beth laugh before feeling the manual hit the back of my head, and I huffed out my own laugh when Pony snorted.

"Well, what's for supper babe?" Beth turned to the stovetop where I'd had a pot of chilli warming up along with potatoes. "Chilli?" She sounded apprehensive.

"Yeah, I wanted something that looked better comin' out than it does goin' in." I commented dryly, not really paying any mind to what I was saying.

"Darry!" Beth admonished. "That's disgusting!"

Ponyboy's head thrust backwards as his voice rasped out in laughter, and I chuckled as I couldn't help but rub the back of his head. It was the one sound that never made me cringe. The odd time Pony's voice would rasp out like it was on razor blades I couldn't help but scold him, but his laugh…

"What'd I say?" I shrugged while giving my brother a playful wink.

I'd stand on my head to get him to laugh again. I'd do anything to hear that sound.

"Boys," Beth shook her head as she dished out a small portion of supper into the blender.

Within a few seconds, the blender whirled to life and I winced at the volume. I slowly stood up from being crouched down beside my brother, and reached into the cupboard to grab bowls for the three of us.

I snickered as Beth gave a face to the emulsified supper, and she patted my chest as we switched places. She took over dishing out our meals while I proceeded to get Pony's; stirring it to cool it down so I could put it in the syringe.

"So, how was work today?" Beth asked once we were both seated at the table along with my brother.

"Slow, not a lot of business. Saw Mr. Garver today. I was thinkin' about gettin' back on with him. I can still do the store part time."

It was true. I was thinking a lot about getting back to roofing now that I was off the cane and managing pretty well on my own two feet.

"Are you sure that's best? If you're working more hours, who's home with Pony?" Beth eyed me carefully.

As it was, we were struggling with our schedules to make sure that one of us were always home with him.

"I thought you could maybe pull back at the hospital. You don't need to work so much if I'm back at roofin'. I make decent money."

"Darry, it's my job. What if I don't want to pull back my hours?"

"Whadaya mean?" I asked confused.

It was my job to take care of my family. The job with Mr. Garver paid a lot more than the hardware store, plus it would help me get back into the physical condition that I was used to. I was just starting to feel good now that Ponyboy was home. I was ready to move on with life.

"Listen buster, if you're about to get all chauvinistic on me, and tell me my place is barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, we're gonna have some issues." Beth growled, and I'd never seen her that angry before.

"What? What are you talkin' about? Wait…are you pregnant?" I asked, a little excited by the idea.

That is until she looked at me with a look that was anything but impressed.

"Look, it's really romantic in a seriously old fashioned and outdated way that you want to be the strong Neanderthal and run the show, but it's not necessary." I could tell by the way she clenched her fists; she was struggling to keep her composure.

"I honestly didn't mean it like that, doll. I just wanna take care of you two like you both deserve." I spoke under my breath, nervous and a little ashamed I'd upset her so badly.

"And work yourself to death like before? Ponyboy needs you, Darry—he wants you. I need you! And don't you think you should be talking to Bradley about this before getting yourself back 00up on a ladder so you can break your neck?"

I opened my mouth to argue when I looked over at Pony and noticed him licking chilli from his finger. I looked back at Beth and nodded towards my brother to alert her, and all the fuel to our disagreement burned out in a flash.

"Uhhhh…whadaya think you're doin'?" I tried to keep a serious expression on my face when I turned to scold my brother, but I couldn't.

Ponyboy shrugged; not even the slightest bit concerned that I'd caught him doing exactly what he wasn't supposed to be doing. He just stuffed his finger in the bowl again.

"Pony…" I frowned as I grabbed his wrist to keep him from having another taste when Beth stopped me.

"Wait, babe. Let's let him try."

"Let him? But Greg said…" I was worried over not following Greg's suggestions and how concerned he'd been over Pony choking

"Yes, I know honey, but that was with solids. Hold on!" Beth got up from the table and started rifling around the drawer for a spoon.

She came back to the table, and instead of sitting down in her seat, she sat on the other side of my brother.

"You wanna try a few sips of this, pumpkin? We have to go slow, and I mean it now. Slow as molasses, and if you start to cough, we're stopping, okay?"

Ponyboy blinked quickly, but then looked over to me to see what my reaction would be. It occurred to me then that my wife was right to be angry at me. To suggest she just cut back on her hours or just not work at all because I wanted to take care of her was ludicrous. She was special, and the work she dedicated herself to was too important. I thought of all the kids she must've helped besides my brother, and I knew I was in the wrong even though I thought my motives were chivalrous.

Beth looked at me expectantly, and I nodded my approval and couldn't help but grin when Pony smiled. It was a sense of normalcy for him, and I could've kicked myself for almost denying him that.

"Slow, Pony." Beth warned as she half-filled a teaspoon of pulverized chilli and potato and brought it up to his mouth.

It took more than thirty minutes, and our supper had long since turned cold, but it was a huge victory. Pony polished off his entire portion, albeit slowly with no sign of choking.

After, there was an aura of contentment that seemed to surround him. It was like something huge that he'd accomplished and overcame on his own, and I was so proud. Once again, my brother defied all the odds that were set against him.

"It ain't a big deal, I just thought you might wanna get outta the house for a bit while I work out the kinks."

I found myself babbling a lot when I was alone with Pony, mostly to fill in the silence. He'd been home for over a month, and that gave us a lot of time together, and in that time, it was hard to always gauge where his head was at. I guess maybe part of the discomfort I had was because Sodapop wasn't there to be the buffer between us that we were always used to. We were closer than we'd ever been before, but I still felt as though I didn't know him as much, or he didn't trust me as much as he did our brother. Our relationship would always be different than the one they'd had together.

Despite Beth's concerns about me returning to my job with Mr. Garver, I still wanted to get back into shape. I was finally able to get around without the cane, but still felt weak in my left leg by every days' end. I decided to meet up with Bradley at the East Community Center to get his input, and I wanted him to meet my brother.

He laughed cheerfully when he saw me coming in through the corridor, pushing Pony in the wheelchair towards him. It'd been awhile since I'd seen him, and I wondered if he'd notice the progress I'd made.

"Lookin' good, Curtis! Lookin' good!" He commended me with a pat on the back. "Man, you look great!"

"Thanks, Bradley. Listen, I want you to meet my brother. This is Ponyboy. I thought he could hang out with us while you set me up with a routine I can use to build my strength back up."

"So, this is him?" Bradley's attention shifted to my brother. "I finally get to meet you, Ponyboy. I've heard a lot of great things about you."

He held out his hand, and I noticed my brother's face pale as he took a long look at it, and then at me. I noticed the tremble at first before his eyes started to well up, and he shook his head before rocking back and forth, successfully moving the wheelchair back into me.

"Hey, buddy. It's alright." Bradley tried, but it just set Ponyboy off even more.

"Pony, what's wrong?" I asked as I moved from behind the chair to crouch down in front. "It's okay, Pony. Bradley's my friend. He helped me walk again."

"Your leg?" His voice croaked and I winced.

"Yeah, Pony. It was busted up real good. I was stuck in bed for a long while and couldn't walk on it. Bradley helped me get strong again so I could find you and bring you home."

Pony reached out and touched the side of my left thigh and I nodded.

"Yeah, babe. That one."

"Hurts. Walk funny." It wasn't a question; it was what he'd noticed, and I couldn't hide it from him or lie to him about it.

"Shhh…Pony your voice." I worried. "But yeah, it hurts some. It's a bit stiff, so I'm hoping to make it better by exercising more. Maybe you can help?"

Pony was quiet as he looked deep in thought. Bradley stood by, and I wondered what was going on in his head as he watched my brother. It was a few minutes before Pony seemed to make a decision, and he looked over to Bradley and offered him a smile.

'Thank you for my brother,' he mouthed and offered his right hand.

"You're most welcome, Pony. Your brother's one lucky sonofagun to have someone like you lookin' out for him." Bradley beamed as he took Ponyboy's hand to shake.

"Me." Ponyboy's voice raked out. "Lucky. I am."

"Easy Ponyboy," I ruffled my fingers through his hair. "Why don't we give your voice a rest, huh little buddy?"

Pony blinked with a nod and I grinned as I stood up slowly to push him forward in the chair.

"Where we headed?" I asked and let Bradley lead us around to the back of the gym.

"Go get changed and we'll start you off with some stretches. I don't wanna push it too much too soon."

"Fair enough," I nodded as I wheeled Ponyboy with me to the locker room while Bradley pulled out a couple of mats and threw them on the floor.

I shuffled into an old pair of sweats with the legs cut off and an old t-shirt, noticing Ponyboy as he stared at the long scar on my left leg. I wondered if it caused him any distress or fear, but he just looked interested in it.

"Does it freak you out?" I asked; trying to gauge his expression.

Pony rubbed the scars on his head while he shook his head.

"You okay?" I asked as I tossed my clothes into an empty locker and grabbed for my sneakers.

Pony didn't answer per se, he just made a grabbing gesture towards me like that was supposed to make sense.

"Whadaya want? Wanna go?"

Pony shook his head.

"You wanna touch it again? C'mon kiddo, you're makin' me feel like a sideshow freak." I tried to tease, but Pony wasn't having any of it.

'You touch mine!' he looked annoyed as he silently scolded me, and I could only grin at him.

"Okay, okay, okay. Don't get your pants in a knot; I'm just givin' you a hard time."

I moved closer towards my brother so he could reach out with his good hand and explore the scar on my leg a little more. He seemed entranced by it and I wondered why.

"Gimme hard time all the time," his voice scraped out before we both smiled at each other.

"That's 'cause I'm the oldest. It's my job—my right!" I teased, and he just rolled his eyes at me. "Okay, let's get back out there to Bradley."

Pony stopped tracing patterns across my scar tissue and nodded his head. "Scare me."

"You want me to scare you?" I looked on at him confused.

Ponyboy shook his head vehemently. "You did."

"I scared you?" I eyed him carefully while I locked my worthless belongings inside the locker and turned towards him. "What happened? What did I do, little buddy?"

"Was bad." He traced his hand over my leg a last time. "Superman. Not s'poseta hurt. Don't wanna lose you."

And just like that it felt like my legs were kicked out from underneath me as well as the ground. I used Pony's chair as support as I slowly kneeled in front of him. I looked at him carefully and he held my gaze head on, and it dawned on me that we'd suddenly reached another understanding together.

I let my hands wrap around his lithe arms. "I've lost count of the times I've let you down, and how many times I swore to God that I'd make it up to you."

"Darry," Pony shook his head. "Don't."

"Shhhh…just lemme talk, okay?"

Pony nodded.

"Truth is, I don't function so well without you and your brother. Losing you was like losing a part of myself. Losing him..."

Ponyboy nodded sadly, knowing where our heart-to-heart was headed. I reached for Soda's dog tags and looked at them fondly.

"Feels like everyone I love gets stollen away." I huffed out a pained laugh while I pushed back the urge to bawl like Soda used to do with his heart on his sleeve.

'Still here with you.' Pony's hand covered mine and we both held onto our brother's name.

I couldn't help but be comforted by his strength. "I'm still here with you too, little buddy."