We pulled up in front of my house, got out of the car, and walked up onto the porch. The door flew open and Soda flew out. His arms wrapped around me and I melted into the hug. I hadn't realized just how terrified I'd been until I was in the safety of Soda's arms. Finally he set me down.

"Aw, Ponyboy, don't you ever scare me like that again!" Then I saw Darry. He was leaning in the doorway. He was still tall, broad-shouldered Darry, but his fists were jammed in his pockets and his eyes were pleading. I simply looked at him. He swallowed and said in a husky voice, "Ponyboy…"

I let go of Soda and stood there for a minute. Darry didn't like me…he had driven me away…he had hit me…Darry hollered at me all the time…he didn't give a hang about me…Suddenly I realized, horrified, that Darry was crying. He didn't make a sound, but tears were running down his cheeks. I hadn't seen him cry in years, not even when Mom and Dad had been killed. (I remembered the funeral. I had sobbed in spite of myself, Soda had broken down and bawled like a baby, and Jane had cried desperate and silently; but Darry had only stood there, his fists in his pockets, that look on his face, that same helpless, pleading look that he was wearing now.)

In that second what Soda and Dally and Two-Bit had been trying to tell me came through. Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me. When he yelled "Pony, where have you been all this time?" he meant "Pony, you've scared me to death. Please be careful because I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you." Darry looked down and turned away silently. Suddenly I broke out of my daze. "Darry!" I screamed, and the next thing I knew I had him around the waist and was squeezing the daylights out of him. "Darry," I said, "I'm sorry..." He was stroking my hair and I could hear the sobs racking him as he fought to keep back the tears. "Oh, Pony, I thought we'd lost you... like we did Mom and Dad..." That was his silent fear then- of losing another person he loved. I remembered how close he and Dad had been, and I wondered how I could ever have thought him hard and unfeeling. I listened to his heart pounding through his T-shirt and knew everything was going to be okay now. Jane smiled at us.

"Alright kiddo, go change your clothes before you get pneumonia," she told me. I suddenly realized how cold I was and ran into the house. I changed quickly and went into the living room, where Darry, Jane, Soda, and Johnny were gathered. Jane patted the cushion next her. "Come sit, and I'll explain what's going to happen now." I flopped down between her and Darry and leaned tiredly into her side.

"Okay, so the boys that attacked you are going to spend the rest of the night in a holding cell. In the morning, their parents will be allowed to come and see them. Because they were caught by an officer in the middle of attempted murder, they're probably going to be put in jail until their trial. After we finish up here, I'll go down to the station and take care of all the paperwork on my end and give my statement. In the morning, either me or another officer, probably James Hart, who Pony just met, will come and take Pony and Johnny's statements. The attackers' parents will probably hire real good lawyers, but I'll make sure that y'all get a decent judge and there's not all that much you can do when a cop catches you trying to drown a kid. If their daddies pay someone off or otherwise use money to slither their way out of justice, you have my word that I will personally make sure that every person in town will know exactly what happened and that this goes on their record. None of those boys will be getting a job on any police force, in the government, or probably as a lawyer, I can tell you that." Everyone nodded. "If they plead guilty or are found guilty, then, if they are over eighteen, they will likely be sentenced to life with parole for attempted first degree murder, as they got in the car and searched for you. The only possible defense is that they were drunk, but even if that works, they'll still serve time for underage drinking and drunk driving. That all make sense?" Everyone nodded. "Johnny, your parents will likely also be contacted. You don't need to worry. I'll take care of that." Her face tightened.

I wasn't worried, and I doubted Johnny was. Johnny's parents were terrified of Jane. The first time he'd come into our house bruised and battered after a beating, Jane had taken one look at him, taken off her badge, and stormed over to his house. Johnny and I had followed at a healthy distance. She'd kicked down their door and stormed in. Johnny's old man was still completely soused. Before he could say anything, Jane had lifted him in the air by the shirt collar and punched him so hard that he was sporting a black eye for weeks after. She'd brought his face close to hers and whispered, "That was a taste. You touch that boy again and I will pound any injury he has into your sorry hide threefold, and that's a promise. Is that clear?" At the man's nod, Jane had tossed back onto the floor and stormed back out, saw us, and told Johnny, "If he hurts you again, you come and tell me, clear?" Johnny had nodded and given her a little half smile. That incident was what made Dally go from grudging acceptance to trust and even affection for Jane.

Once she had finished, Jane sent me, Soda, and Johnny to bed. When Darry turned to go, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Hang on, Dar. We gotta talk a bit more." Suspicious, I waved Soda and Johnny on and pressed my ear to the door. I heard Jane's gentle voice first.

"Ponyboy told me what happened tonight. Darrel Henry Curtis Junior, what in tarnation were you thinking, hitting that boy?!" Darry sniffed.

"I know," he said ashamedly, "I was just so scared and I got angry. God, I'm such a terrible guardian."

"You ain't a bad guardian, kid. You are twenty years old. You're still a kid, for cryin' out loud. You haven't had the support you need in raising a teenager, and that's my fault and its going to change." I heard Jane's chair scrape closer. "Here's what's going to happen. You are going to take a parenting class that a friend of mine teaches, which I will be paying for. I am going to start helping you kids out with the bills so you don't have to work so hard."

"We don't need-"

"Now none of that! We're family, and family helps out family. I live alone on a cop's salary. I've got plenty to spare. It's going to be okay, kiddo." Darry sighed.

"I want to right by them. I love 'em both so much. I don't know how it got this way."

"Communication. Or lack of it, anyway." They shared a laugh. I heard Jane stand up.

"But Dar, no matter how much I love you, and believe me, I do, you strike that boy again and I will be suing you for custody so fast it'll make your head spin, got it?"

"Got it. I'd expect nothing else."

"Good. I don't expect I'll have to." She raised her voice. "Now get outta here and get to bed, Pony!"

"Wha-PONY!" With a grin on my face, I started running. I knew everything was going to be okay.