I'm back! Before I go any further, I just wanted to thank DramaQueen7 and Emily F.6, and a few others for your input on this chapter! Your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you for continuing to follow this story. I so appreciate all reviews large and small.

Pony felt a sharp pain in his head, hitting him between the brows. He backed away from the window, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, and somehow fell backward into the chair that was waiting there for him like someone had purposely pushed it under his backside.

The pain was fierce, and he lifted his hand up towards his face, hiding himself with it. He felt like he was panicking and breathing heavily and feeling nauseous all at the same time.

Someone was shaking him and he'd wish they'd stop. They held his face in calloused hands and crouched down in front of him.

"Pony? Come on, snap out of it!" Darry turned his little brother's face to his. "Pony!" he called out, concerned. "What happened?" he asked.

Pony shook his head, clearing the fog, and Darry's worried face came into focus.

"N - nothing," Pony said, not wanting to admit the truth. He stared at his brother for a second, then turned away as Darry tried to read him. "I just – felt something," he added, which wasn't a complete lie. "I – have a headache," he shook his head as if that would make the whole thing more believable.

Pony looked up into Soda's nervous face at his side and felt his middle brother's hand on his right shoulder. Then he looked down at Darry, who was waiting for an answer. "I - have to go to the bathroom," he said softly, trying to keep his voice calm.

Darry looked surprised like he was expecting something else. "Uh, ok," he said, and pulled his hands away, but Pony was already getting up out of the chair, almost forgetting the IV tube was still attached. He looked behind him, and thankfully Soda was already there, helping him keep his balance. "Hold on a sec, Pone, let me help you," he said.

Ponyboy turned his face to look at him, still disoriented. Soda took the opportunity to approach, "You ok?" he asked quietly.

Pony didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want everyone looking at him like that. Again.

"I'm fine. I'm okay," he rushed, "I just need to go," Pony said, as he stiffly moved forward with Soda's help. Darry was up by then, but they were already near the bathroom door.

Soda let go of him near the door. "You – want me to go in there with you?" he asked awkwardly, not sure how to phrase the question.

"No," Pony said quickly, and then gave him a funny look, "No, I'm fine, Soda. I'll be fine," he said, grabbing the IV pole, going in, and quickly shutting the door behind him. The truth was, he felt like he wanted to bawl. But he didn't want to do its in front of everyone.

"What – just happened?" Soda asked aloud.

Two-Bit shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it was too much for him."

"You think I should have gone in there?" he asked Steve and earned another funny look from his friend.

"No, Soda. He's a big boy," Steve huffed.

"Just tryin' to help," Soda muttered.

"Maybe if he doesn't come out in a few minutes, we'll knock and see if he's ok," Darry said sensibly.

Ponyboy didn't need to go to the bathroom. But he did need to sit down. His heart beat a little too fast and the memories flooded in like cold air in the bare room. He shivered. The IV pole that was rolled in with him loomed over him now like an unwanted babysitter, reminding him where he was and that there was a long road ahead.

Looking at the snow had made him remember what it had been like to feel sick and alone and when he realized all eyes were on him, he knew he needed some space.

And though he no longer blamed Darry for leaving him to go find help, no one really seemed to understand what it had been like to wake up in that car sicker than he'd ever been, falling out before he choked on his own puke, and fainting in the snow.

Pony rubbed his temple on the side of the staples to get rid of the ache. His eyes heavy, he knew he needed to get back to bed. But when he went to pick himself up off the toilet seat cover, he realized he was too exhausted to walk.

Taking some time away from everyone could help calm him. But this was embarrassing. He just hoped he wasn't worrying his brothers. He continued to wait, hoping by some miracle he would eventually work up the energy to move.

"Darry, it's been like 10 minutes," Soda said, looking at his older brother expectedly. He had already been getting jittery and pacing the room. Soda wasn't too good at waiting patiently for someone, even his little brother.

Arms crossed, Darry had a sour look on his face. "What do you want me to do, Soda - barge in there while he's doing number two?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"What if he fell or passed out or something?" Two-Bit said out of nowhere.

Soda turned to him pensively. "You think?"

"Well, I don't — it's possible I guess."

Darry let out a harsh breath, but he didn't say anything. He did look scared, though. Then he immediately pounded on the door, hard and fast. "Ponyboy!" he called out, "You ok in there?" he asked and put his ear up to the door.

No answer.

Darry tried the doorknob. It was locked.

"You think he passed out?" Soda asked his brother anxiously.

"I don't know, Soda," Darry said through gritted teeth, turning the knob hard as if the door would magically open.

"Can we break the door down?" Two-Bit asked, dead serious. "How much you think this door costs?" he asked, turning to his side and getting ready to put his full weight in it.

"Wait!" Steve bellowed, causing everyone to stop. "I can pick the lock." He pulled out a girl's hairpin from his pocket.

Soda smiled, knowing that Steve had picked locks before, but not remembering until that moment.

"Where'd you get that pin?" Darry asked.

"I get around," Steve answered with a smile, wagging his eyebrows.

"Evie ain't gonna like that." Two-Bit teased. But Steve was already twisting the hairpin inside the lock.

"Then don't tell her," he muttered before he turned the knob to show that it was unlocked. "It's open, Darry," he said but avoided opening it all the way.

"Well, you're a regular Houdini," Two-Bit commented.

"Ain't nothin' I ain't done before," Steve answered.

Darry suddenly looked tense. "I'll go in," Soda offered immediately.

"Alright, but you better let us know if something is wrong," Darry said, and Soda gave him a look.

Soda twisted the doorknob almost too quietly. He slipped inside and closed the door quickly behind him, in case Pony wasn't decent.

But he was. He was fine. Just sitting there on the toilet in his hospital gown, head drooped, face in his palm covering his eyes.

Even the IV was still intact. Soda loped in quietly until he was closer.

"Pony?"

Pony jumped. "Soda?"

Soda noticed his face was white and he looked nervous. And he was shaking like a leaf. Pony rubbed his palms over the hospital gown covering his thighs.

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you," Soda said. "Are you all right?"

Pony looked up, horrified. "Soda, what are you doing in here?"

"You've been in here for 10 minutes, Pone. We thought you passed out or something." He rubbed his brother's hair back as if to show him he was concerned but on his side.

Noanswer.

"Two-Bit wanted to send the fuzz in here to look for ya," he teased, trying to ease the tension. It didn't work.

"I'm fine," Pony said, but he looked away hurriedly. Then he sighed, "Just a little tired."

Soda noticed him wipe his eyes.

"Hey, easy," Soda said gently, crouching down in front of his brother. He cupped his right hand over his brother's knee, "You wanna tell me what's going on?"

Pony sniffed and then sighed deeply, realizing it would be easy to have everything pour out of him but still wasn't sure if he should.

"Come on, you can tell me," Soda insisted in his charming Soda way. He clasped Pony's knee a few times as if that would convince him. Somehow because it was Soda, it wasn't annoying. "I won't tell no one," he insisted, "The guys don't need to know. Darry neither,"

Pony took a deep breath but then he looked into his brother's eyes. They were bright and shone with concern.

"I don't know," he started, not sure how to say it. "I don't – I said it before – maybe — maybe I ain't ready for this –"

"Ready for what?" Soda interrupted, teasingly, "Ready to run a marathon? Take it easy, Pone. No one's tellin' you to sprint outta here. We said we're happy to help. All you gotta do is ask."

"Not that, Soda," Pony said, exasperated, "I walked already."

"Yea, you did," Soda replied, proud of him, "Then what?"

"I thought I was ready to – I can't even look at the snow without –," he sighed again, the words not coming out how they should. His voice was shaking. "Just got spooked is all."

He drew a quivering breath and quit trying to make sense, impatiently brushing a tear that threatened to fall.

Soda cupped Pony's cheek and scanned his face. "Hey, that's all right. It's all right, Pone, really." he said, "You're in your head too much. No one put you on a deadline. No one's asking you to solve your math homework right now. Hell, I can't even do that on a good day," he grinned, and Pony had to grin back.

"Yea, I know."

"You take as much time as you need, kiddo," Soda said seriously. "Darry and I, we're here for you. Two-Bit and Steve, too. You're coming back from somethin' serious. No one thinks you're gonna read a thousand-page book by tonight," he laughed, "Maybe by next week!" He grinned again, then got stoic, "No seriously, you won't even go back to school until you're better."

"Let's see when that'll happen," Pony answered, feeling pretty negative.

"Just take some time. Rest. And don't worry about anything," Soda knew he would have to fake the confidence for his brother, even if he didn't always feel it.

"You are getting better," he said firmly, "You think too much," he grinned. Somehow it didn't sound so mean coming from him, "Just worry about improvin'."

Soda scanned Pony's face again. Unfortunately, he was getting used to the staples on the side of Pony's shaved head. And the faulty memory. The black and blue on the left eye were fading into a nice pink.

"We just got worried when you didn't come out," he added, "and you didn't answer."

The fact that Pony hadn't heard them knocking on the door because he was daydreaming – Soda still wasn't sure if that was the new Pony or the old one.

"I didn't hear anything," Pony replied innocently, "I didn't realize I was in here for that long."

Soda didn't want to think about it too much either. "Come on, kiddo, you should get some rest. You'll have a chance to see the snow again. I don't think it's going away anytime soon." He smiled, wanting to make it some sort of a joke, but Pony frowned and Soda couldn't understand why.

He stood up. "Well, I think you've had enough time sittin' here all by your lonesome. How 'bout we get you back to bed, Ponyboy?"

Pony looked up at his brother worriedly. He fumbled for the words. "Soda – I can't – I mean – I'm too tired." he finally admitted, his shoulders sinking with dejection. "I can't get up."

Realizing that those words had probably been hard for Pony to say, Soda kept the worry out of his voice. "That's ok," he said mildly, rubbing the back of Pony's head softly. "We'll get Darry in here to help."

Before Pony had time to object, Soda had already called out to his oldest brother. "Darry!" Not even a second had passed before Darry's frame filled the room.

"Hey Pone," he said, looking down at the toilet seat cover and giving his brother a once over, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Pony muttered. It was like he had read Darry's mind, "I didn't fall or nothin'."

"Pony here's just a little tired," Soda explained without going into detail, "He wants to go back to bed. Can you help us out, Dar?"

"Sure thing," Darry answered.

Soda's hands went under Pony's armpits to help lift him off the seat. Sadly, he really did feel like a sack of potatoes – like all the air had gone out of his tires and he couldn't make his body move the way he wanted to. But Soda didn't want to make his brother feel bad – after all, it wasn't his fault – so he didn't say anything, even when Pony leaned against him heavily. Pony did try to make himself walk. Soda kept one hand on his waist and moved forward slowly, and Darry kept one supportive hand on his back and one on the IV pole.

"Hey Pone," Two-Bit said smoothly when he saw his buddy, "Fancy meetin' you here."

It wasn't exactly the right time for a joke, but Pony cracked a grin, "Haha very funny," he said.

Darry had to practically lift him into the bed when they got there. Soda maneuvered the top part of the bed so it would be comfortable for Pony to sleep and not sit up.

Even before Pony had laid down all the way, it was Two-Bit, not Soda that ended up sitting on the edge of the bed. He faced the door and slung an arm across the kid's shoulders, surprising everyone.

"Whaddya say I take you out to see the snow later after they move you to your new room?" he asked Pony as if it was a secret just between the two of them. "And I'll get you a snow cone and some ear muffs and we'll throw snowballs at Steve – "

"Two-Bit!" Darry's voice bellowed in the background, "Leave 'im alone! Pony needs to get some sleep."

Pony sighed like he was unhappy but then he cracked a grin and pushed Two-Bit away with a weak right hand. "Get off my bed, you big goon."

The youngest Curtis curled up drowsily against his own hand and Soda threw a blanket over his shoulders as he mumbled, "Thanks." Darry was surprised when Pony asked for him sleepily and he sat down in front of his little brother who was lying on his right side. Feeling a little safer, he curled his fist in Darry's hand and promptly fell asleep.

When his breathing was light and regular and Darry knew for a fact that Pony was asleep, he let go of Pony's limp hand and took Soda over to the other side of the room. Steve and Two-Bit were there, too. They spoke in whispers.

"What happened?" he asked his brother.

"I don't really know. He's worried he's not gonna be able to do the things he did before. But that ain't new," he sighed, still confused by the whole thing, "It's like looking at the snow – it set him off."

Darry frowned, wracked with guilt, and thinking about how the whole thing was his fault. He got them stranded in the truck during a blizzard. Darry was too proud to mention it again. Soda knew what he was thinking, but he didn't mention it either.

Instead, he said something else. "He's just having a hard time dealing with things. Getting back to normal and all."

"He'll figure it out," Two-Bit chimed in, talking more confident than he felt. "You know Pony. He's tough."

"He'll be fine," Steve said casually, with a wave of his hand. Darry just looked at the two of them, feeling frustrated. "What?" Steve responded, "Hey, I was here when the kid tried to break out. He got back up and went back to bed. He's gonna be fine. You dig?"

At first, Darry wanted to say something back, but then he just sighed like an old man. "I guess the best thing to do for now is just let him sleep it off as much as he can, '' he said sensibly, "No interruptions." He looked pointedly at Two-Bit and Steve like he wanted to make sure they were quiet.

Steve got the hint. "You want us to go, man?" Darry stared. "No sweat. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," Darry repeated, "They're moving him to a different room. Out of Intensive Care. So you'll need to find out what room it is," he said, then turned back to look at his sleeping brother, "I don't think they're going to move him tonight. And if they do, I'll tell 'em not to. He needs to rest."

"Aye, aye captain," Two-Bit said, doing a mock salute. Darry rolled his eyes.

"Soda, we work tomorrow," Steve told his friend.

"Yeah, I know," Soda answered, still feeling annoyed about it.

"You work tomorrow, Darry?" Two-Bit asked.

"Yeah," Darry said, feeling guilty and scratching the back of his neck, "I picked up a half day."

"Ok," Two-Bit nodded. "I can stay," he said, knowing Darry wanted someone to be here.

Darry gave a rare grin, "Thanks Two-Bit. Hey, can you guys go and check on the house?" he asked, "You can stay over if you want." he added.

"No problem," Steve said, and with handshakes and pats on the back, the two greasers left.

Darry went to sit down in a chair next to Pony's bed, the same one where he had held Pony's hand earlier.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me to go home, too," Darry looked up and Soda was standing at the foot of the bed, arms crossed.

"Yeah well," Darry sighed deeply. "I don't think I could have convinced you. Pull up a chair, Sodapop."

Soda did but he decided to stay near the foot of the bed, where he could splay his legs out in front of him and still watch over his brother. He crossed his arms again, trying to get comfortable on the terrible plastic chair, and closed his eyes.

Surprisingly, Darry moved over to him instead. "I want to know what happened," he told Soda quietly, not wanting his voice to carry, "What did Pony tell you in the bathroom?"

Soda's eyes popped open, and he frowned. "I told Pony I wouldn't talk about it," he said tiredly, leaving out the part where he had mentioned Darry specifically.

Darry closed his mouth with a noise that sounded like a humph. "So it was bad," he tried again after a pause.

Soda didn't say anything at first. After a minute, he said, "It wasn't BAD," he said, emphasizing the word. Then he sighed, "He's scared, Dar. The illness is taking a lot out of him. He doesn't remember everything that happened."

Darry chewed on his bottom lip, trying to decide if he wanted to say what was on his mind next.

"He's not the only one," he replied thickly. "I was –," he wanted to say scared, but Darry was afraid to admit that word. "Getting stranded. Not being able to push out the car. You know we almost got into an accident before we stopped on the side of the road?" he continued, "Seeing him hooked up to all those machines. Mom and Dad never woulda let that happen."

"Come on, Darry!" Soda said angrily, "You can't blame yourself for that! No one knew it was this bad."

"I should have seen the signs."

"You did! That's why you went to the doctor," Soda replied, "And see, you met Ron. He's good. And even he didn't know it was bad until he got the test results back."

As Soda leaned forward towards him, Darry moved back, sighed again, and then ran a hand through his hair. "I…" he trailed off, "I'm just worried," he said. He couldn't hold back anymore. "Pony's been here, what, 5 days? He's probably going to be here at least 5 more…it's not that I don't want him to get the best care – but those hospital bills are kickin' us when we're already down Soda. And the groceries – the bills for the house – I hate going back to work and leavin' him here, maybe even more than you do, but where else are we gonna get the money?"

"We'll get help…"

Darry shook his head. "It ain't that simple." Soda knew nothing about hospital bills and how they could financially ruin you for life. He put his hands on his face. "From who?!" Soda just didn't get it. He meant well and his intentions were good but Darry knew the score.

Soda pulled the chair up closer to Darry (as quietly as he could) and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's gonna get better, right?" Darry asked, uncharacteristically shaken, then shook his head, "We don't even know when that'll be," he let out a long sigh and it was as if there were tears in his voice. "I just wish Mom was here. She knows how to take care of a sick kid. I don't –"

"It's gonna be ok, Darry," Soda said, but Darry could see the worry in his eyes, "We'll make it work. We'll make a plan. We'll take out loans if we have to – "

"I better go find the billing office in this place and see what I can do about getting a discount…"

Soda turned his head around to see what had made Darry stop and saw that a nurse had entered the room, which neither of them had noticed until then. It was the sweet nurse from the other day, the one that had helped Pony with new bed sheets and a new gown after his fever had broken and he had soaked through his sheets.

Darry quickly regained his composure.

"Oh, don't mind me, boys," she said aloud, realizing she had come in the midst of their conversation, "I just came to take vitals and give Pony his daily antibiotics. Apologies for the interruption," she said warmly.

"That's ok," Darry said, and he gave her a tight smile, because how could he fault her after how great she had been with Pony when he could barely sit up or walk.

"By the way," he said, as the nurse went over to the IV bag, "I just wanted to thank you for helping us the other day – when Pony's fever broke. We certainly appreciate it. I know Pony did, even though he didn't say it." Soda smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Oh honey," she said with a sweet smile and a wave of her hand, "No bother at all. It's my job! My, my, didn't your parents raise you boys right." Then her face faltered as she realized what she had said. She had looked at Pony's file after all.

"Anyway," she replied with a sad smile, quickly changing the subject, "Guess the fever breaking was a good sign. He's doing so much better. I hear he's even leaving this unit. Isn't that wonderful?" she said, genuinely happy for her patient and his brothers.

"Yeah, they said they're going to move him today or tomorrow," Darry answered.

"Wonderful, wonderful news," she echoed, always filled with joy when her patients beat the odds.

"How are the nurses on the other side?" Soda asked jokingly and then cried out as Darry elbowed him. "I didn't mean it like that," he muttered through gritted teeth.

The nurse grinned. "Not so bad," she teased. "But they don't have the chocolate pudding that we do."

"You'll have to sneak us some," Soda said, grinning so crazily the nurse had to grin too.

"I will. Just make sure Ponyboy eats it – and doesn't end up back here," she replied pointedly, referring to the ICU.

"No ma'am," Darry responded, and his face was drawn and serious. "We won't be back."

The nurse finished up and told the boys to let her know if Pony needs any pain medication later on. Thankfully, he was still sleeping when she left.

"Darry don't worry about the bills," Soda said when the nurse was out of earshot, "We'll work it out. And Pony will be fine," he said.

"How can you be so sure?" Darry asked.

"Remember what you told me that time when I couldn't breathe? When I panicked? You said kid's got more lives than a cat."

"Soda, that was Steve…I told you to breathe."

"Yeah, sometimes I forget to do that, too."

Her shift was blessedly almost over and she couldn't wait to get home and put her feet in a nice tub of ice. As Nurse Linda finished up her rounds in the ICU, she couldn't help but sigh and think about those poor Curtis boys and their troubles.

She pattered her way back to the nurses' station.

Surprisingly – or not surprisingly in the slightest – Dr. Ron Reed from Pediatrics was standing there flipping through the medical file of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis.

"It's not time to move Ponyboy yet, is it?" she asked, hoping the answer was no. It's not that she didn't want to help the patient with next steps, but he seemed to be sleeping peacefully and that was important. Also, her shift was over soon, and she was aching to go home and get some extra sleep. Most of the doctors and nurses had been working overtime since the blizzard had first begun and staying over at the hospital was not very comfortable.

"No, I still need his brother to fill out some paperwork," Dr. Reed responded, closing the file. "Better to do the move first thing in the morning so the patient can get a full night's sleep."

"Don't worry, Linda, you're off the hook," Ron added with a wink and an easy smile, and the nurse remembered why she liked him so much. All the nurses did.

"Ah good," she replied. "He needs his rest. But he does seem ready to get out of ICU. They all do,"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

For some reason, Linda felt like she needed to lower her voice even though no one was around. She leaned forward, "I overheard the two boys whispering about expenses. Hospital bills. Understandably, they're worried about how they're going to pay it. Especially that older one." she sighed.

Ron nodded, "Yes, I've spoken to Darry. He takes a lot of responsibility for his family. Decided to forgo college and everything to keep them together," he explained, knowing that Linda would be one of the few that wouldn't judge. "The other one is also working full time."

"The middle one? He's not in school?" she looked disappointed, but not in a condemnatory way.

Ron's mouth formed a tight line. "It helps the family make ends meet," he said.

She looked sad, "It seems it's still hard," she said regretfully, "What a predicament. Boys that age should be worrying about studying and sports, not hospital bills and feeding the family."

Ron grinned wistfully, thinking of what Darry had told him in the hospital cafeteria, "I'm not sure you could convince them of that at this point."

"Darrel did say he was going to go to the billing office to see about a discount," Linda said, "I hope they help him."

For Ron, the entire situation was annoyingly frustrating. It was something he had thought about since he was younger – since he had first decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a doctor. Why did good people have to suffer? Why did families like the Curtises – good men with worthy characters – get all the rough breaks? It wasn't fair. Sodapop dropping out of school so he could get a job and keep Ponyboy focused on his education.Darry, older and wiser than his years, thrown into circumstances where he had to be the parental figure – trying to run a household and hold down two jobs.

And now Ponyboy was in a hospital bed, fighting off a life-threatening illness that could potentially keep him in the hospital for days, even weeks.

And now Darry would have to worry about whether medical debt would put his family into financial ruin.

Ron suddenly had an idea.

"Linda, do you think the billing office is still open?" he asked the nurse. She looked up at a wall clock that was hanging in the general area.

"It's not 5 yet," she replied, though only half certain, "I think so." She paused, thinking if that was actually the case. You know what? Not too long ago I heard Cheryl telling Martha she had run into Max in the cafeteria about an hour ago. I'm guessing he's probably still here."

Most people didn't know the employees who were part of the medical billing office, but they knew Max. Max was the director and the general go-to for doctors and nurses would speak to him on behalf of their patients. Cheryl, an ICU nurse, happened to be dating him.

"But why do you need him?" she asked, thinking he was probably going to go down to ask Max if it was possible to give the Curtises an even deeper discount. Doctors sometimes fought for perks like that on behalf of patients who were in financial trouble. Ron, being the genuine and caring guy that he was, was just the kind of person who would do something like that. And he seemed to really want to help those brothers.

Still, his answer left her gaping in his wake.

"I'm going to ask him about Ponyboy's hospital bill," Ron told Linda, "I'm going to see if I can help pay it off."

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