I apologize that it took so long for me to post an update, but here it is! I'm already working on the next chapter, so fingers crossed it won't be as long of a wait for the next one.

(Darry's POV)

By the time I finished filling out the papers, Johnny was sitting across from Soda and me. He was apparently able to talk to Two-Bit and Dally, but Steve didn't answer the phone at his house, and Johnny didn't want to risk calling again in case Steve's old man answered instead. I didn't blame him; not only was Steve's dad an angry man that frequently hit his own kid, but he wouldn't hesitate to yell at Johnny over the phone, and Johnny already had to deal with adults yelling at him at home.

The three of us sat silently as we waited for an update about Ponyboy. The silence allowed my mind to wander and create terrifying ideas, so I knew I had to distract myself before I broke. Luckily for me, Soda must've had the same thought.

"What were Two-Bit and Dally up to, Johnny?" Soda asked suddenly, making both Johnny and me flinch. I guessed that he wanted to distract himself from worrying about Pony, and even though I knew that nothing could completely take his mind off of our kid brother, I was glad that he was trying to act like everything was fine.

"Dal was at Buck's. There must be some big party there because I could barely hear him, but I think he said he'll be here soon," Johnny said. "Two-Bit was home. I swear he picked up the phone before it finished the first ring."

"He's not at Buck's party?" I asked, genuinely curious. Two-Bit wasn't one to pass up a party.

"No. He said he was waitin' for his sister to get home since their mom's workin' and all," Johnny said. "He said he'd leave a note. He's on his way."

I nodded. Two-Bit's mom worked overnights at the bar about as many hours as I worked on roofs, which meant she was almost always out of the house at night, so unless Two-Bit stayed home, Cassie would be alone all night. I didn't necessarily like the idea of Two-Bit's kid sister being alone so much, but I had to worry about my own kid brothers, so I let Two-Bit worry about his kid sister.

Unlike Two-Bit, Cassie didn't drink a lot and she actually cared about doing well in school, but just like her older brother, she had a talent for getting people to laugh with her quick wit. Even though Cassie wasn't one of our gang, she was basically the kid sister of all of us. Ponyboy was only one year older than Cassie, so it wasn't surprising that he talked with her more than the rest of us. It probably didn't hurt that my kid brother also liked school and he wasn't as intimidating as the rest of the guys either.

Suddenly, the doors that led outside burst open, and Dally stormed in. His eyes looked wild, and it seemed like he was breathing really heavy. He glanced around the room, but he didn't walk towards us. Instead, he strode over to the lady sitting behind the front desk and slammed his hands down on the counter.

"Ponyboy Curtis. Where is he? What happened?" Dally demanded.

"I'm sorry, sir, but-" the receptionist started, but Dally cut her off.

"Don't say sorry to me!" Dally shouted. He was visibly shaking, and I was starting to wonder what he was going to do next. "'Sorry' means something happened-"

"Over here Dal," Johnny spoke up just loud enough to get Dally's attention. It always surprised me that out of everyone in the gang, Johnny felt most comfortable speaking to the two extremes of the group: Ponyboy and Dallas.

Dally stopped yelling at the receptionist as he whipped his head around to look in our direction. Ignoring the lady that he was just shouting at, he rushed over to us. "Where's Ponyboy? How is he?" I could tell by his eyes and stance that he wasn't entirely sober, and while I wasn't happy that he drove in his condition, I couldn't find it in me to worry about him at the moment. Dally caught a glimpse of the blood covering Soda's shirt and hands, and his eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Nothin', I'm fine," Soda spat. Then he looked at the ground and muttered, "I tried to help Pony."

"Pony came home late," Johnny said when Soda failed to finish explaining. "We-"

Before Dally got more of the story, the doors leading outside flew open again, and Two-Bit suddenly appeared. He immediately spotted us and ran over. He looked more than worried, but unlike Dally, Two-Bit was surprisingly sober. "What happened?"

"I've been waitin' for an explanation too," Dally slurred. Two-Bit glanced at Dally, then quickly looked back at Soda. "Soda, you-"

"It ain't my blood," Soda murmured as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in the chair. He refused to look up from the floor, but I could still see the water in his eyes.

Two-Bit raised his eyebrows and looked at me. Not able to say the words out loud, I gave him a single nod, which I knew he'd understand: it's not Soda's blood, he's not hurt… it's Pony's blood. Pony's hurt real bad. We've known each other for so long that besides Soda, Two-Bit knew me better than anyone. He could practically read my thoughts just by looking at my facial expressions.

After a short bit of silence, Johnny started explaining again. "Pony came home late. We were worried an' all. Then we heard something outside, and Soda and I thought Pony would walk right in, but he didn't. When we opened the door, he was lyin' real still and bleedin' a lot."

Even though I saw it and lived it, hearing the story again made me start shaking. My brother's still fighting for his life, and all I can do is sit here.

"Who the hell went after him?" Two-Bit asked, starting to sound angry. "There's no way he started anything with anyone."

I shook my head, not understanding any of it either. "I don't know. There's no way to know until…" I trailed off. Until he wakes up. If he wakes up.

Dally swore loudly, while the normally obnoxious member of our group remained quiet as his eyes were trained on either me or Sodapop.

"We brought him here as quick as we could, and the doctor's took him, but nobody's told us nothin' yet," Johnny said.

Dally sat next to Johnny and glared at the doors the doctors brought Pony through. "These doctors better know what they're doin', or there'll be hell to pay."

Two-Bit slowly and quietly sat next to me. Soda had that distant look again, and when Dally and Johnny were talking loud enough to not hear us, so Two-Bit whispered to me. "How'd he look, Darry?"

I looked sideways at him before quickly looking back at the doors that enveloped my kid brother. If I didn't look at Two-Bit, I thought that I could keep my composure. "Real bad, Two-Bit. He looked real bad."

He clasped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "He'll make it." I kept looking at the doors, not wanting to move in case it would make the tears in my eyes fall. How can he be so optimistic? Reading my mind, Two-Bit continued. "He's a strong, tough kid. He's a Curtis, after all."

I grinned a little, blinked the tears away, and dared to look at him. He looked sure and determined, like my baby brother would survive just because he believed it would happen. "Thanks, Two-Bit."

The five of us waited for an update that didn't seem to be coming anytime soon. I told Soda it might be a good idea to wash his hands or find something to change into, but he refused to move from his chair. He said he needed to be there for Pony, and once I knew logic and reasoning wasn't going to get him to clean up a bit, I gave up on the notion.

About twenty minutes passed before another familiar face burst through the hospital doors. He was panting, and with his eyes wide and a fresh bruise starting to appear on his jaw, Steve looked like a wounded, wild animal. Within seconds, he saw us and ran to join the rest of our gang. His eyes swept over all of us before they stopped on Soda.

"Soda, you alright?" Steve asked immediately. Soda nodded and didn't say anything as he looked down at his hands, but that wasn't good enough for his best friend. Steve grabbed Soda's chin and tilted it up so Soda was forced to look at him. "If you're alright, then why do you have blood all over you?"

"Not mine," Soda said once again, but this time he didn't seem irritated by the question. This time, his voice cracked a little with emotion.

Steve's eyebrows furrowed then shot upwards. He let go of Soda's chin and turned to look at all of us again. I saw the realization sweep across Steve's face, but still, he had to ask. "Where's the kid?"

The question was directed at me, and I forced myself to say it. "The doctors rushed him back there," I said, pointed towards the doors that kept my brother hidden from me. "He was on the porch with blood pouring out of him… he got stabbed with something, I'm sure of it." He got stabbed, and he might not survive.

Steve swore under his breath and sat next to Soda. "I knew something happened, but really, the kid?" He was gritting his teeth, and he looked vicious. "Whoever did this is gonna pay."

And he always said he didn't like Pony.

"I called your house, but you didn't answer," Johnny said suddenly and quietly, as if talking softly would keep Steve from exploding. "How'd you know to come here?"

Steve looked at Johnny, and for a second I thought he was going to snarl something back at him, but after a paused, he replied. "My ol' man's on a bender again. It took one hit for me to decide to get outta there," he said, motioning to the bruise on his jaw. "I went to Buck's for a beer or two before callin' it a night, but when I got there, Buck said Dally ran outta there like a bat outta hell. Since Two-Bit wasn't there neither, I went to the house." Steve's face suddenly got dark, and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "When I walked up the steps, I saw the blood on the porch. The trail led to where the truck usually is, and I put the pieces together and figured someone was brought here. I just didn't expect it to be the kid."

An eerie silence fell on the entire gang. None of us had anything to say, and really, there was nothing to say. Ponyboy was hurt badly and we had no control over whether he made it or not. He's going to make it, Darry. Like everyone has been saying, he's a tough kid.

Hours passed, and unfortunately the time allowed my mind to wander. I thought about what would happen if Ponyboy… if he didn't survive. Soda and I would be devastated, and I would never forgive myself for not deciding to find him earlier. Why didn't I go find him as soon as we realized he was late? He'd never leave Johnny waiting that long unless something happened. I should've known he was in trouble. On the inside, I was a complete mess, but I tried to remain strong for Soda and the rest of the guys by looking calm on the outside.

Soda remained silent, but tears kept falling on his cheeks. None of the guys said anything about Soda crying, and if they did, they'd instantly get beat by me. Soda has every right to be emotional, if anyone dares to say something, I'll make them regret it. Once in a while, one of the guys would go outside for a quick walk and a smoke, but otherwise, we all stayed in our seats.

Once, when Soda got really shaky, Steve and Two-Bit took him outside for a smoke. I was surprised that not only Soda got up from the chair, but he took the cigarette that Steve offered him. The three of them were gone for a while, but when they returned, the blood on Soda's hands were gone. I nodded to Steve and Two-Bit and mouthed the words "thank you" to them, and both of them gave me a nod in return.

The longer we sat there, the more worried I became, which I didn't think was possible. Who attacked Ponyboy? Why did my brother get stabbed? There was a lot of blood on the porch… how much can a person lose before it's too late?

"Darrel?" The voice startled me. I looked up, and I was surprised to see Dr. Olson standing next to me. His expression was unreadable, and I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. "I have an update for you. Would you and your brother like to speak in private?"