Things are going to start picking up in the next few chapters. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their reviews and feedback. ~ Simona

Darry, whose face had uncharacteristically changed to lost and scared for just a moment, quickly gathered himself back together and went back to being in control.

"I'll go try to push the car," he said smoothly. It was a ridiculous idea, but Pony agreed, because Darry knew best. Besides, he didn't know what else to do. "I'll be quick," Darry told his brother pointedly, "Drink something, Pony, you ain't lookin' so good."

Pony reached down to get the water thermos he knew were there just as Darry opened the car door, sending a ferociously icy wind leaping in Pony's direction. It shrieked and hissed as it entered the car, like a rabid cat that was ready to sink its fangs into someone's neck. Pony had to hide his face in his arm, as his head spun.

Darry went outside to inspect the back of the car, even hoping he could put it himself, on his own without any help.

He couldn't. Even though those big muscles lifted bundles of roofin' every single day, there was no way he could fix this. Darry came back, opening the door on the driver's side with a heavy sigh and a sharp, angry look on his face. Pony immediately had to cover his face again. The wind was sharp and biting. Thankfully, Darry slammed the door quickly.

His irritated look quickly disappeared as he looked over at his little brother. Pony's face was white, his eyes sunken in, his lips a bit blue.

Darry's heart sank.

Unfortunately, though, he couldn't focus on the severity of his brother's condition. Not right now anyway, as much as it bothered him. There wasn't time. He needed to get the two of them out of this dire situation.

"Ponyboy -" he started and Pony could tell he was starting to sound nervous. "I hate to ask you this but - I need you to work the accelerator while I try to keep pushing. It's just not gonna happen on its own," he said.

Ponyboy nodded slowly, not wanting to admit just how bad he actually felt. They needed to get home.

"Pony?" Darry asked pointedly, looking his brother over carefully to make sure everything was alright, "Are you ok to do this?"

"I'm ok with it, Darry. I'm ok," Pony responded a little too quickly. Darry so through it but let it go.

And Pony knew that if Darry of all people was asking for his help - well, things must be bad.

"Alright then, I'm gonna go in the back. I don't want you to keep the window open because it's freezing out there. But look at me in the rearview mirror and when I give you the signal, push on the accelerator."

"Sounds easy enough," Pony mumbled. "I done it with Two-Bit's old junker plenty o' times. That piece of junk always gives up on him."

Darry went to the back of the car as Ponyboy scooted over to the driver's side. Even the minor movement winded him some, but he ignored it and he waited for Darry' to step into view, looking in the mirror with glassy, half-open eyes. When Darry waved, he pushed down on the accelerator. The wheels spun, flinging handfuls of snow, but the car wasn't moving.

Darry rocked the car a few times, as Pony tried to drive out of the snowy rut the wheels had created. But it was no use. They were stuck.

Pony was scared. And exhausted. Even pushing the accelerator a few times had seemingly knocked the wind out of his sails. He was dizzy and lightheaded and he desperately needed to lie down.

So while he waited for Darry to come back around, that's exactly what he did - right down on the long seat, face down, bundling Soda's oversize sweater around himself.

And that's how Darry found him moments later when he returned to the car. He gave a start, wondering for a moment if Pony was so sick that he had actually passed out. How bad off was he? How long had he been behind the car?

He grabbed the back of Pony's leg, shaking his calf real fast to jolt him awake.

"Pony? Hey Pony!" he called, "Pony, wake up," he was worried. "Pony?"

"Huh?" Pony lifted his head, his vision blurry. He didn't understand where he was for a moment. But then he twisted his neck around partway to look at Darry. Which of course made the throbbing pain in his forehead hurt that much more.

"Did you fall asleep?" Darry asked, inwardly sighing with relief, "I thought maybe you blacked out -"

Pony slowly pushed himself upright in the middle of the truck, no longer close to a window on either long, slow blinks like he was trying to force the sleep from his eyes, he rubbed a hand through his hair and gave Darry a partial grin. "Naw, I didn't black out, just needed to lay down for a sec." He began to shiver from the cold air that was blowing inside the truck.

Darry saw that and immediately climbed up. "Shoot, we gotta close the door." He slammed the door shut. "You're still feelin' pretty bad, ain't ya kiddo?"

Pony sighed and leaned back against the seat. He didn't want to admit it, but he was .

Immediately, Darry leaned in, putting his cold hand on Pony's hot forehead.

"Ah, Darry, watch it!" Pony jumped back, "Your hands are like ice."

Darry winced and it wasn't from the comment. "Pony, you're still so hot." Pony could see that his eyes were lined with worry. Darry looked down at the floor, put his hands behind his head, thinking hard.

"Things are bad, aren't they?" Pony asked.

Darry looked up, "Well, they ain't good."

"What are we going to do?" Pony asked, sounding scared. Darry thought maybe he heard him whimper. The truth was that he was starting to get nervous himself with the situation they were in. But he had a sick child on his hands and it wasn't like him to panic. He knew he had to keep levelheaded ...because he knew Ponyboy depended on it.

Darry rubbed the back of Pony's head. "YOU are sick," he said. "YOU are not going to do anything. Ok? Let me take care of it," Darry took the ski jacket that had fallen on the floor of the truck and smoothed it overy Pony's frame.

Pony nodded weakly, slumping against the car seat, while he clutched at the coat.

"Why don't you try to go to sleep for a bit, while I figure things out?" Darry said. "It might help."

"I don't know if I could sleep now," Pony said, but he was already closing his eyes.

"Ok then, just rest," Darry said, hoping he would at least do that.

The idea that they were in danger stunned Darry, but he couldn't tell that to Ponyboy. Especially not in his condition. He needed to think.

He decided he would leave the car running so the headlights and the heater would stay on. Then he began to look around desperately trying to figure out where they were.

Was there a payphone or a house in sight? Some kind of shelter?

The snow was still falling and it looked wild and angry and wind shrieked like a violent child having a tantrum. It hurled big clumps of white ice towards the car.

For the first time in a long time, Darry was at a loss. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. He knew he had to find a way home, but he had no idea how they were going to do that. How long could he keep a sick kid in the car anyway? He looked over at his brother, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully, although his face was flushed.

Darry turned to him, sighed heavily, and said, "I'm sorry, Pony."

Pony was shocked at Darry's unfamiliar rush of emotion. It took some energy, but he lifted a hand and dropped it on Darry's knee. "Darry, it ain't your fault."

Darry gave a start, then chuckled. "Thought you were asleep, kiddo." He scooted closer and put his arm around him. Pony melted into his warmth.

The car was silent for a short while. And then Pony's eyes fluttered. "Darry? What happens if the heater stops working?"

Good ol' Pony. Always thinking the worst. Darry mulled over the idea for a moment. "Well, I guess we'll have to stay close together, for body heat," he replied, "Kind of like we're doing now."

"Can you freeze to death overnight?" Pony asked innocently.

"Oh Pony," Darry rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide his worry.

"It's already getting colder," Pony mumbled.

Darry sat up, once again realizing there was no time for emotion."I'm going to use the horn. Maybe it will attract some attention," Darry said. "If any houses are around here, maybe someone will hear us."

And he did. Pony knew it was the right thing to do but the sound was worse than he had pierced his brain and made his head throb.

"Daaaaarrrrrrry," Pony said, gritting his teeth."They're gonna arrest you for disturbing the peace."

Darry smiled. "Jail would be warmer than this car," he said matter-of-factly, "They have coffee in jail."

There was a long pause. A hot drink would be good right about now, Pony thought. He couldn't stop his own shivering, even though the car wasn't that cold. His head wouldn't stop throbbing either. He had to figure out a way to stop thinking about it, or he would start bawling. So he decided he would change the subject.

"Darry? Have you ever been in love?"

Darry jerked back in surprise. "Pone? What kind of question is that to ask right now."

Pony admitted to himself that he wouldn't talk to Darry about things like this in normal circumstances. But then, these weren't normal circumstances.

And anyway, he could always use the excuse that he wasn't thinking straight.

"I want to know," he replied softly.

Darry raised his eyebrows. "Right this second?"

"Do you have anything better to do?" Darry watches Pony scowl, rubbing his temple.

"Is your head hurting Pone?"

Pony shrugged, acknowledging Darry was right.

"Don't change the subject," he quipped, cracking a grin. "Answer the question, Darry."

"Have YOU ever been in love, Pony?" Darry responds.

"Darry. I'm only 14," Pony replied in mock innocence. He paused,then thought for a moment. "I don't know, think I might have,"

Darry's eyes went wide. "Really? Who's the lucky girl, Pone?"

"Knock it off, Darry," Pony said, his cheeks now burning from more than just the fever.

"I want to know," Darry insisted.

"Just this girl in my English class. Julie Gordon," Pony said, his ears getting hot. Darry thought he saw him slinking down in the seat a little.

"Uh huh. Well...have you told her how you feel?" Darry asked lightly, a smile playing on his lips.

"No," Pony hesitated, "She's a Soc."

Ahh, young love. Darry was certainly getting a kick out of this.

"But she's very pretty," Pony added quickly. "And she's nice. She's the kind of girl I would want…" Pony's voice trailed off. "Hey!" he shot back, This isn't about me! I asked you a question, Darry."

Darry chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Yea, Pony. Yeah, I think I've been in love," he said slowly. "There was this girl, Jenny. I knew her when I was a senior. She was a cheerleader. We went out a few times between games."

"I don't remember her…" Pony said, and he wondered if he really didn't or his brain was just fuzzy. If it had been any other day he would be listening intently. When Darry talks, you listen. But he was having trouble thinking straight...

He remembered that Darry was the popular quarterback of the football team at Will Rogers High and that everyone at school knew him or knew of him. Their parents went to every game, and sometimes Soda and Pony too. Pony was only 11 at the time, and the games were loud and rowdy and he didn't love being there. But he loved cheering along next to Soda and his dad. And he wanted to show Darry he was proud of him.

The rest of the gang would usually come along, too. Those games were really something. It was fun being rowdy with Soda and Two-Bit and sometimes Steve. Soda and Two-Bit would always throw popcorn at the pretty girls in front of them, who came to see their brothers or boyfriends. Pony's mom would scold them, but the anger never reached her eyes.

Johnny was there and he was always quiet, even quieter than Pony sometimes...but you could tell he enjoyed it. He knew he was lucky he got to tag along - he would never be able to afford it on his own but someone somehow always found a way to pay his way. Nobody ever told him who it was - they never made a big dea, but Pony knew his parents most likely, or sometimes Two-Bit and Dally when they had extra cash. If Johnny was going, Dally would show up too - he would act bored and play it cool and pretend touchdowns weren't all that interesting, but you knew he was having a good time witht the boys.

Pony remembered those moments fondly. But he never remembered a girl on Darry's arm when he went to say hello to them after the game.

"Yeah you were too young to remember her," Darry insisted. "Soda knew. Two-Bit met her once or twice. She and I went out a lot with the other players after the games. She loved being on my arm when I was scoring touchdowns," Darry said, his voice suddenly cold, "I thought she really liked me…" he stopped.

Pony, who had been shifting around trying to get comfortable and pulling the coat tighter around himself, stopped too. He was confused.

"She didn't?"

"Well, she did. I think. We had a lot in common," Darry said.

"That's what made you fall in love?" Pony asked, looking up at his brother innocently. Darry put his arm around him again and then absent mindedly rubbed his hair with a faraway look in his eyes.

"We liked the same movies," he said, "We liked the same music. She was the only one who could understand why I liked Johnny Cash, when everyone liked Bobby Darin. She was one of the only people who listened to me when I talked about trying to keep up my grades during football season. How I wanted to get a scholarship…" he trailed off wistfully.

And then his words were coated with irritation. "What she really loved was that I was the best player on the team. She loved being on the arm of the star. When she found out where we lived, where we came from - when I overheard her saying things about Mom and Dad to her friends...well that was the end of that," Darry's eyes were stormy.

Pony's face was white. "What kind of things?" Darry was tight lipped. "You mean about where we lived? Darry, I don't remember any of that…" and he felt bad. He barely remembered the girl and he didn't remember Darry ever being outwardly angry.

"You don't remember me coming home and locking myself in my room?" Darry asked.

"I don't remember," Pony said.

He remembered Darry ruffling his hair and teaching him how to throw a pass. He remembered Darry smiling at him and once in a while picking him up for school. Those were the best days. He wished they would go back to those days…

Life wasn't fair. Darry could have been a Soc if not for the gang - if not for their parents' financial standing. Life wasn't fair.

Pony's brain was foggy.

"You were too young, kiddo," Darry said.

No, Pony didn't remember Darry's silent brooding. He didn't remember Darry's harsh outbursts or the way he talked to their parents about it after dinner. He didn't remember Darry knocking over his mom's vase of freshly cut lilies. Maybe he didn't want to remember.

Pony squeezed his arm.

"It's fine," Darry said dejectedly, more to himself than even to his brother. "It happened so long ago. So much has happened since then," he said, brushing it off. But he didn't look mad. Only resigned.

He was right, Pony noted. Three years had passed. With everything that had changed - three years felt like a lifetime.

Darry, with a faraway look, absentmindedly rubbed the back of Pony's head softly, putting him to sleep. Pony closed his eyes and floated away for a minute, very much wanting to dream of green meadows and the countryside, sitting under a tree, wrapped in a light breeze that wasn't wailing or biting at him like the wind outside…

But then the nausea slowly began winding its way through his body like a snake. He felt it cautiously slither its way through his intestines and up his stomach until it stuck itself in his chest like a piece of black tar.

Pony felt a piercing pain in his head and opened his eyes with a start.

"Honey? What's the matter?" Darry asked and he watched as Pony began to tremble. The space around him suddenly felt very cold - colder than it had just moments ago. He shivered almost violently.

"D-Darry?"he said out loud, looking at his brother in a daze, as if he wasn't sure exactly where he was,"I-I-Why is it s-so cold in here?" Pony asked. He looked around confused, "Is the heat on? I don't think the heat's on...I can't feel it coming out of the vents..."

Darry put his hand on Pony's shoulder, almost as if he was willing him to stop shaking. Then he held his other bare hand to one vent, then to the other. He fiddled with the control and tested the vents again.

"You're right," he finally said. "It isn't working. Well - it has been on ever since we left the doctor's office. Maybe it just...gave up," Pony noticed that he looked bewildered.

Darry sat forward and suddenly rammed his hand on the horn, making Ponyboy practically jump out of his seat and his head hurt worse. The sound blasted through the gray outside.

Pony wanted to curl himself up into the fetal position. He turned away and covered his ears. He wondered if this was going to be his end…

Darry stopped, looking stoic. Then he opened his window a crack and began yelling outside, "HELP! H-E-E-LP!" Then more honking and Pony thought he might lose his mind. He held his head and then grabbed Darry's arm with his left hand, holding on to it with a death grip.

"Daaa-rryyy!" he cried, "D-arrry! Stop!" he said and his neck hurt from jutting forward. He felt like crying. "Who do you think is going to answer us? The trees?"

Darry gave him a look, "Ahh you're suddenly the smart one here, Ponyboy," he said.

Pony ignored the comment, his lip trembling. "My head…"

Ponyboy clutched the side of his head with his right hand. Darry put his own hand over it. "Ponyboy, are you alright?" he asked. Pony moaned.

Darry looked at him for a minute and then frowned. "I think I'll try to move the car again."

Pony kept his grip on Darry's arm, his knuckles turning white. "No...are you sure that's a good idea? You'll let the cold air in."

"I don't know," Darry said, and his eyes shifted, as he took his hand off Pony's head. Suddenly the same hand smacked his own forehead hard, in shock.

"We're - out of gas," Darry said.