When I came through the door after I came home from work, I was greeted by a strange, but funny, sight. Ponyboy was sitting on Darry's lap, looking angry and impatient. When I walked in, he jumped up.

"Thank God! You deal with him. He's too stubborn for me!"

"That bad, huh?" I said with a grin.

"Worse!" Pony spat out, pointing an accusing finger at Darry.

"Well you weren't so easy to deal with either. He wouldn't let me get up for an hour!"

"If I remember correctly, you weren't supposed to get up." I said.

Darry looked sheepish. "Yeah, well, I was allowed to get up a little."

"It's okay, Superman. I know how hard it is for you to stay sitting still for too long. You're worse than me sometimes." I said, giving him a quick punch on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't go that far." Darry said, cracking a grin, which is rare for him.

I sat next to him on the couch. I looked around, looking for something. When I didn't see it, I said, "Where are your crutches?"

"In the hallway. Pony threw them over there when I wouldn't sit down."

I had to laugh. I cracked up. I laughed so hard, I didn't think I'd ever stop. Darry soon joined me, and it felt good to hear him laugh again. I hadn't heard him laugh in a long time.

We sat there for a while, just watching tv. Ponyboy came out eventually. I think he was mad about Darry, but he seemed a little over it by now.

I got up to make supper. I was making fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Darry liked fried chicken the best, so I figured I'd make something special for him.

"Time to eat, guys!" I called from the kitchen.

Darry came hobbling in, with his retrieved crutches at his sides. Pony followed, having to go slower than usual because he was behind Darry.

We sat down and ate. It was pretty quiet, because none of us were talking much. The only thing said was, "Pass the salt" or something like that.

Two-Bit came barging in when we were almost done eating.

"Mm. Something smells good."

"It ain't you." Pony muttered under his breath. I had to stifle a laugh.

"What was that, kid?" Two-Bit asked.

"Nothing. I just said it must be the great food."

I couldn't hold back the laugh that time. I started laughing and everyone looked at me funny. Pony didn't, though. He was looking at his food, and his ears were turning red.

"Did I miss something?" Two-Bit asked.

"No." I said, wiping tears from my eyes.

"Okay." Two-Bit said, looking confused.

"So why are you here, anyway?" Darry asked him.

"Oh, yeah. I was here to see how Muscles was."

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Superman feels no pain!" He said in a sing-song voice.

We all cracked up. We sat there, laughing, and joking around, for several hours. It felt good to laugh. We all needed more joy in our lives.