A:N: Second to last chapter, guys! Thanks for reading!:)

~Panda

The pearls of love and protection glistened with beauty, the unpolished gems a perfect gift straight from Heaven.


"I'm fine, honey. Just a little tired. That's all."

Vivian poured Samuel a cup of coffee, before taking another mug down for herself. "I have my follow-up appointment this morning."

Samuel stared at the coffee, before spooning creamer into the black liquid, making the color instantly turn lighter. "I didn't realize that was today. I would've come with you."

"It's okay. It's just a check-up to make sure things are all right. I think they are too. I'm not having any problems at all."

"Are you sure? Because I could call in and-"

"No. Don't, Samuel. I'm okay. Please go to work."

Samuel kissed Vivian's cheek, the warmth beneath his lips making him long for more in the midst of a lost connection.


"Hey, Mr. Coleman. Aren't you glad to have me back?"

Mr. Coleman smiled at Soda, seeing the grin that covered his employee's face. "Oh, yes. How are you feeling, Sodapop? You've had one heck of a week."

Soda punched in on the time clock, tapping his foot on the floor of the station as he did. "Not bad, actually. Obviously not taking anymore of that medicine. But I'm okay. Worst part for me was waking up in the hospital cause, at first, I didn't remember anything."

"Can you remember having the seizure at all?"

"No. I just remember going to Darry's room cause I felt real funny. I mean, I've felt funny a lot cause of anxiety and stuff, but this was different."

"How's your arm feeling?"

Soda lifted his right hand, rotating his wrist, as he flexed his fingers. "Kind of tingly, but pretty all right. Why?"

"Because there's a car waiting for you in the garage. Just some simple maintenance and repairs, but it's all yours."


"Sorry I ain't up to much of a date, but I still really wanted to see you."

Sandy's eyes wandered around the park, then to the creek where she sat in the grass beside Soda. "It's okay, Sodapop."

Soda drew Sandy close to him, gaze focused on the flowing stretch of water that rippled in the breeze. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek on her blond hair, the feel of her in his arms bringing a moment of consolation. "I'm sad, Sandy. But I'm so glad I have you."


"Kid, are you following me around everywhere now or what?"

Pony saw the grin on Steve's face that betrayed his mock annoyance. "Yep. If you thought I was a tag-along before, you ain't seen nothin' yet."

Steve laughed aloud, as he put his English and history notebooks in his locker. "Kid, you're freaking me out here. I ain't needing a shadow."

"Are you sure? I thought you could use one."

Steve slammed the locker door shut, still smiling. "What's up, Pony? I know you ain't talking to me just for the hell of it."

"You're going to Soda's doctor's appointment with him today, right?"

"Yeah. I am."

"I'm glad you're doing that, Steve. I want someone to be there with him. It makes me feel better too. Cause I know it must be hard."

"I'd have done it, even if he didn't ask, Kid. I know Darry really needs to work all he can today too. Well, I gotta get to the gym, Pony. I'm sure I'll see you later."

Pony put a hand on Steve's arm to stop him from walking away. "Hang on a second."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, Steve."

"For what?"

"For being Soda's best friend and for being my buddy too."


"All done, Sir!"

Mr. Coleman heard Soda's voice that told of accomplishment, along with the slam of the hood on the silver Ford pick-up. "And you really looked like you were doing just fine, Sodapop. Did you flush the radiator too?"

Soda picked up a rag and wiped at the grease that covered his hands, unable to keep from smiling. "Sure did. I was doing fine. Just had to switch hands sometimes, you know? I use my left as much as I can."

"That's good. I like seeing you back in here. If you need some time outside now, you can head out to the pumps. I don't want you to overdo anything, especially after you've had such a tough week."

Soda looked around the garage's walls and at the open door leading to the fresh air, the feeling in his gut urging him to step outside. "I actually think I do, Sir. That's where I'll be if you need me."


"We have to go back to work, Sodapop. We can't just sit around the house and wait for Pony to come home."

Soda looked down at the DX shirt he held, seeing Darry move around the kitchen, his own shirt still unbuttoned. "But what if he comes and we ain't here?"

Darry put plastic wrap around some sandwiches and filled his thermos with water. "Then, he'll know where we are, little buddy. We still need money, and honestly, I need something to focus on. So do you. Going to work's the best thing both of us can do."

"I miss him, Dar."

"I know. But I really think he's safe somewhere, Sodapop. I do. So let's both head to work. Come on and get dressed, and you can catch a ride with me."


"Hey, take it easy, man. You'll be fine in there. She's just wanting to check on you."

Soda parked his car in the lot of the community mental health center, Steve in the passenger seat next to him. He tapped his fingers on the gear shift, then on the steering wheel. "I had a real good day, Stevie, and I don't want to mess it up."

Steve saw Soda's eyes close, noticing his breathing was getting uneven. "You won't. No matter what you talk about, nothing messes that up. We can do anything you want after this too."

Soda opened his eyes, feeling Steve's hand on his shoulder, as he took the DX cap off his head and set it in his lap. "I ain't sure what I'm so nervous about. I mean, I've been here now, and Dr. Morgan is real nice."

"Well, it ain't like you're just here to talk about any old thing, buddy. It's all heavy stuff, so cut yourself a break. I bet you can even tell her how nervous you're feeling, and that'll help."

"Yeah. Maybe I should do that." Soda started to grin, as he looked over at Steve. "When we get out of here, remind me to tell you about how Darry's got a girlfriend."


"You swiped what, TwoBit? Not like that's anything you'd need."

TwoBit shrugged off Pony's remark, as he took a beer out of the refrigerator. "It ain't about need. Just for kicks."

Pony grinned, as he put his backpack down beside the couch. "Yeah. Somebody's going to kick you, all right, if you get caught."

"Aw, you know the rule, Pony. Nobody's supposed to get caught."

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Hey, Soda's still okay, right?"

"Yeah. He is. No more seizures or anything."

"How about you and Darry?"

"It scared Darry to death. Just the way he looks at Soda, anybody could see that."

"Yeah. I bet that did scare the hell out of him. Just hearing about it scared me."

"Soda has his doctor's appointment right after work. I don't know if she'll give him another medication, but it doesn't seem like the best idea. He doesn't ever seem to do too well with it."

"You ain't kiddin'."

"I don't think he really needs it anyway. I mean, I'm no doctor, but I know my brother, and he just needs to talk everything out. It ain't like you can medicate feelings. A pill's not going to make it go away, and for him, it could make things worse."


"Hey, TwoBit. What's up?"

TwoBit let the DX station's door close behind him, as he walked up to Soda, who stood near the cash register. "Not much. Just watching my back walking around here. Socs have gone apeshit."

Soda picked up a box and moved from behind the counter, before opening it. He busied himself with restocking the candy and chips on the shelf beside the magazines. "I can't take it much longer, TwoBit. Pony can't just stay gone like that."

"I know you hate to hear it, man. But the way things are, him and Johnny both are better off being away. If Dal's got them hidden away somewhere, they're safer than they would be around here right now."

"The gang would keep them safe. I would keep them both safe in our house."

"I know. But I'm just sayin'. Maybe it's best they're laying low until this shit has a little time to calm down."


"I'm real nervous about being here today, but I ain't sure why."

Dr. Morgan drew the blind open, before taking her seat across from Soda at the round table. "I think that's normal, Sodapop. This is still new for you."

Soda's fingers fidgeted with the undone buttons on his DX uniform, only his white T-shirt covering him. "You heard about the seizure I had?"

"Yes. I did. I'm so sorry that happened."

"I woke up in the hospital and thought I'd done something to myself to be there. But my brothers were with me and told me what happened. Last thing I really remember before the seizure is going to Darry's room and waking him up cause I didn't feel right."

"What exactly were you experiencing?"

"My ears were ringing, and I felt weak. My chest was tight too, and I had these tingles all over. The memory's pretty fuzzy, but I do remember that much."

"It sounds like you had side effects, even apart from the seizure then."

"Yeah. I felt really weird, and I knew it was something different. After they moved me out of the emergency room at the hospital, I went to sleep again, and when I woke up, no one was there, and I started panicking. That was the worst part of all of it for me. My nurse gave me a shot of Valium cause I couldn't calm down. Steve showed up right then, and that helped too."

"I'm hesitant to try you on anymore medication, not just because of the side effects themselves, but also the additional trauma you seem to have experienced as a result."

"I'd be afraid to take anything else. I don't have to, do I?"

"No. Not necessarily. Not everyone who's experiencing the struggles with mental health that you are has to take medication to be stable. Everyone's different."

"So what do we talk about today?"

"Well, besides the issues with the medicine, how have you been since you were here last? I know it's only been a little bit of time, but I think every single day counts."

"I've been okay, I guess. I was pretty wiped out after I left here that day. I was supposed to go back to work, but I went home and went to sleep."

"You had a very emotional session."

"It's okay I cried like I did, right? Steve and Darry both told me you probably learned stuff about me that's important cause of everything I was saying."

"Yes, it's okay. And I did, Sodapop. By listening to you, I learned about where we might need to start. But first, I have some other questions I need to ask."


Could you have a career in counseling?

Steve rolled his eyes at the ad on the bulletin board in the center's waiting room. Yeah, he thought, as he searched the shelf of magazines. Like I could ever do anything like that.


"Man, am I glad ya'll showed up when you did."

Soda walked behind TwoBit, going in the direction of the Curtis' house. "Yeah. Me too. They're just jumping us even more for the hell of it now."

Steve followed along with TwoBit and Soda. "I know you ain't the kid or anything, man. But no more walking alone."

Soda shoved his hands in his pockets, as he walked, heart dropping all over again at the mention of Pony. "That goes for you too, Stevie. We can't have any of us getting hurt just cause damn Socs are coming over on our turf."

TwoBit touched the pocket, where he usually kept his black-handled switch. "I bet if I'd had my blade, they would've thought twice about outnumbering me like that."

Steve moved along the sidewalk, putting himself right at Soda's side. "I don't know, man. After what happened with Johnny, that might've spurred them on, you savvy?"

Soda stared down at the concrete, glancing up to see Steve's eyes watching him. "Yeah. That's right. It's better if we just stick together all the time, so they don't even get a chance."


"The thoughts haven't been as bad, I don't think. I mean, the worst was probably looking at the antidepressant bottle and thinking about taking too much."

Dr. Morgan scribbled down a note, before she looked back up at Soda. "What did you do in response to this thought?"

Soda tensed up, just remembering the fleeting line of thought that had made him run out the door. "I asked Darry to hang onto the medicine for me. So he did. I knew he would. He was glad I told him too."

"That was a good idea. I don't know if your brother mentioned it, but that's something I was concerned about too, given your thoughts about overdosing."

"He did tell me. Steve was the one who said I should ask Darry to do that. At first, I just ran out of the kitchen after seeing the bottle."

"It's a good sign that you're so aware of your thoughts, Sodapop. And it seems like you're willing to confront them head-on."

"Well, I wasn't always. Right after the shooting, I wasn't very honest about anything. I tried to shove it all down. But Darry and Steve both wouldn't have it because they could see what I was doing. I'm a horrible liar."

"Sometimes, it can take time and encouragement to be transparent. It can also be a very natural human reaction to use denial as a coping mechanism."

"Yeah. I sure ain't doing that anymore though. Once I started talking, I never stopped."

"Speaking of talking, I'd like to go back to what you were saying to both Darry and myself when you were here on Wednesday."

"Oh. What part of it?"

"Since you're so young now and were even younger when your parents died, I think it's important to revisit that time in your life."

"Okay. I guess- I guess I can do that. I mean, I've been thinking about them a lot already anyway. Well, not really as much about them as about their deaths and right after."

"Can you tell me what happened, Sodapop? How did your parents die?"

Soda felt a lump growing in his throat, the urge to flee trying to close in on him. "I- I'm sorry. I've talked about that lots of times, but..."

"I know it's painful. Please don't apologize. How about this? Can you tell me what you were doing when you learned they had passed away? I know you were telling your brother that you didn't get to say goodbye."

"I didn't. I didn't get to see them one last time. The police came to our house, while I was standing out front with one of my buddies. They didn't tell me, but they went inside and told Darry."

"So your brother was the one to tell you your parents had died?"

"Yeah. At first, I didn't even know what he was saying, then even when I did, I didn't believe it could be true. I couldn't believe they were gone."

"That's common when someone has just learned of a loss, especially one that was so sudden."

"It was a car accident. They were on the way back from my aunt's house. I had just talked to my dad the day before."

"So you didn't get to say goodbye because they were away when the accident took place?"

"Yeah, but when I said that, I meant that I wasn't home when they left for the trip. I was at school."

"Oh. I think I understand now."

"I had to stay after and retake this math test I failed. I wasn't good at school. I hated it all even more after this. Especially since I still failed the test again anyway."

"So you and your younger brother were just sixteen and thirteen, right? How did your older brother arrive at the decision to take custody of you?"

"I don't think it was even much of a decision for him, really. Just a minute after he told me our parents died, he said we were staying with him. I was scared of what would happen to me and Pony and asked him about it, and he told me right then we weren't going anywhere."

"It sounds like he didn't hesitate for even a moment. I know I didn't see a lot in our last session, but I saw enough to gather his devotion to you."

"Yeah. We're real close. Pretty much always have been. Even when Darry became my guardian, that didn't stop. I get scared of losing him though, and I don't know why."

"I remember you saying you didn't want him to leave you. I think that sort of fear makes sense in the context of grief. You were only sixteen, and you lost what many take for granted. You lost your parents, and that accident took not only their lives, but also your sense of unconditional security."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of it that way before. After they died, I wanted more than anything to hang onto my brothers. I still do."

"I can see why you would, especially under those circumstances. Did Darry have any issues gaining custody of the two of you?"

"Not really. Cause he made sure he did everything right for the social worker and all. We didn't get in any trouble or give them any reason to take us away. The worst thing for Darry was making sure we had enough money. It got tight for a while there. He was working two jobs, and then, I started working full-time too. I dropped out of school behind his back so I could help."

"Did he approve?"

"No. He was pretty upset at first, but it was my decision, you know? I didn't want to lose my brothers cause of money, and I didn't want to watch Darry struggle either. Only thing he ever did then was work. He wanted to make me go back to school, but I wouldn't. I was failing all my classes anyway."

"Does it ever bother you that you dropped out of school?"

"Yeah, but I don't regret doing it. I mean, I just wish I could've done better and that school didn't make me feel so bad about myself. Pony is great at school. Darry always was too. My best friend, Steve, another one of our buddies, and my girlfriend are all graduating in June. I'm real proud of them, especially Steve. But part of me wishes I could graduate too."

"Do you like your job at the DX?"

"Yeah. I do. Always have. I'm good at it too. School always made me feel dumb, but work doesn't. I mean, it got hard after I got shot. But it's getting better."

"It got hard because of the flashbacks you mentioned before?"

"Yeah. Cause of that. It's like everything's been different since that night. Something else happened to me when I got shot. Like going through all that fear did something to my spirit, and I'm over here still trying to understand it."


"Don't sweat it, man. I can drive."

Soda handed Steve the keys to the Chevy, then opened the passenger door. "Thanks, Stevie."

Steve got into the driver's seat, as Soda slid in beside him. He hesitated in starting the car, feeling the quietness descend on them, its presence almost a tangible one.

Soda, still caught in silence, reached over and grasped the sleeve of Steve's shirt.

"I'm right here, buddy. Anything happen back there?"

Soda shook his head, tears pricking his eyes.

"You do a lot of talking?"

Soda fought the tears, willing them away. "Yeah. Mom and Dad. And right after. School."

"That's good, man."

"The shooting too. A little bit."

"You got this, buddy. It's okay."

"So much left, Stevie."

"But you gotta take it slow. Small steps. You can't go through all of this at once."

"I didn't even cry in there. Don't know why I am now."

"Cause you're overwhelmed. That's all." Steve squeezed Soda's hand that had yet to let go of his sleeve. "Hey, what did you say about Darry having a girlfriend?"

Soda started to chuckle, even as a tear fell down his face.

Steve smiled, his hand still holding onto Soda's. "Come on, tell me all about that."

"Maryanne. The nurse I had yesterday. Darry asked her out."

"Oh yeah? She was real nice. Seemed to care how you were a whole lot too."

"Yeah. And Darry was totally checking her out."

Steve laughed, as he released Soda's hand that had let go of his shirt. "Damn, I can't wait to see Superman with her."

"I had to convince him to ask her out. He didn't even realize what was happening."

Steve put the key in the ignition and started the car. "Clueless, huh? That must've been fun to watch."

"Oh, it was. I told him I wasn't leaving until he asked her on a date. Once he got done staring at me to make sure I wasn't about to have another seizure, he did it, and she, of course, said yes. I knew she would."

Steve drove the Chevy out of the parking lot, turning in the direction of the Curtis' house. "I know Darry's been off the field for a while, but any woman would be lucky to have him."

"Yeah. Sure would. Maryanne was sweet too. I really liked her."

"I know I only saw her for a minute, but I did too. Superman deserves to be with someone like that."

"He does. And I'm going to have a real good time teasing him tomorrow night before he goes on his date."


The broken spirit started to mend itself, healing beginning to seem like it might not be quite so far away.