The ride to the hospital was mercifully short. When the ambulance pulled up in front of the emergency room, the paramedics hopped out and whisked Pony in to see a doctor, leaving Darry and Soda to deal with all of the paperwork. Soda watched in frustration as Pony disappeared and hovered by Darry's elbow, silently urging him to hurry up so they could get some news. The minute Darry signed his name on the bottom of the last page, he tossed the clipboard on the desk and said, "We need to know where our brother is."

The nurse looked up at the two boys standing before her, both of them bruised and battered, and she raised an eyebrow as she pointed toward the doors where Pony had been taken.

"He's in there. If you'll take a seat out here, I'm sure the doctor will be with you as soon as he knows anything."

Darry scowled at her, his worry over Pony making his temper even shorter, but he managed a thank you as he and Soda moved back to the seats where they had already spent too much time.

They were only sitting there for a few minutes, staring straight ahead in silence, when Soda let out a huge sigh, and Darry turned to look at him.

"You doin' ok, Soda?" he asked gently. He was suddenly aware that neither of them had said anything to each other since they'd left the lot… since they'd left… he swallowed hard, realizing now why Soda looked so … wrecked. This was the first time he'd had to think, and there was just way too much to think about. He reached over and tousled Soda's hair gently, knowing that his brother was fighting back tears with all his might. He could see it in the way he was biting his lip and breathing in short gasps.

After a minute, Soda turned slightly to look at Darry's t-shirt. He wouldn't look into his eyes, but he managed to choke out the one question Darry just couldn't answer.

"Dar… we … we can't lose Pony too, can we?"

There was a lump in Darry's throat now too, and he shook his head, hoping Soda would catch the movement out of the corner of his eye. He was afraid of what might happen if he started to speak, and Soda, glancing up quickly into his face, saw that Darry was having the same problem he was. He leaned against his shoulder, and they were still sitting there in silence when a doctor approached them.

Forgetting everything else for the moment, they jumped to their feet, anxious for any news.

"Darrel Curtis?" the doctor asked, looking at Darry questioningly, and he nodded.

"I'm Darrel. How's Ponyboy? Can we take him home now?"

The doctor shook his head in surprise. "Oh no. We're going to need to keep him overnight for observation. He's suffering from exhaustion and a minor concussion. He's also running a low fever. You didn't… you didn't notice that he was ill?"

He had kept his voice calm, but Darry could hear the accusation, and while he wilted inside, he managed to stand up even straighter and say, "Sir, two friends of ours died tonight. There was a lot going on, and Pony never said a word."

The doctor's face softened slightly. "Well, I'll let you in to say goodbye to him, but visiting hours are over. I'd suggest you boys go home and come back in the morning. You need to get some sleep yourselves. You won't be any good to your brother looking the way you do now."

Soda and Darry glanced at each other, suddenly aware that neither of them had even had time to clean up very much before Dally's panicked call. They nodded, subdued, and followed the doctor into Pony's room.

The first sight of someone in a hospital bed is always the hardest, and Soda let out a muffled noise that could have been a sob. The doctor glanced at him in surprise and then, with more compassion than either of them would have given him credit for, said, "I'll leave you here for a minute."

Soda was already standing by Pony's head, and Darry was on his other side. The minute the door closed behind the doctor, Soda said in a quavering voice, "Pony, you need to get better. We need you to get better. Please," he said and his voice broke. "Please get better."

He lowered his head, but Darry could see tears falling onto the sheet, and he felt his own resolve start to waver.

"Yeah, baby, we're both here," he said softly. "We need you to wake up soon, so you can come home with us. We … we need you at home with us." The truth of that statement hit him and Soda at the same time, and they looked at each other across Pony's bed. Another tear slid down Soda's cheek, and he wiped it away quickly because just at that moment, a nurse walked in.

"Ok, you two," she said briskly. "He'll still be here in the morning. Time for you to get some sleep of your own."

Soda reached over and smoothed Pony's hair back, and Darry touched his youngest brother's arm and then walked over to Soda. He knew he wouldn't go anywhere unless he moved him himself, so he put his arm around him and led him out of the room. Soda kept his head down, and Darry knew it was because there were just too many people around, and he was afraid to be seen crying in such a public place. He couldn't wait until they were both back home. He just couldn't believe that this time… they had to leave Pony behind.