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Someone was yelling.

It was the first thought that I was aware of as I swam back to consciousness.

"If you think for one moment that I'm going to let you sit on your hands after that family kidnapped my brother and crammed him into a trunk, you've got another thing coming'!"

I blinked slowly and the sterile white walls came into focus. There was a monitor beside my bed and I watched as lines skittered across the screen, not knowing what any of them meant. An IV was taped to the back of my hand and I grimaced at the thought of the needle pressing into my skin.

I brought my other hand up to my face and tried to remember how I got here. My head felt heavy and it was hard to focus at first but it all came back.

The Donovans trying to put me back into the trunk. Darry and Soda. The gun shot. Landing on that stick, then the blood.

I ached, especially my back but it seemed dull compared to the burning pain that I last remembered. Soda's soft but desperate voice echoed in my mind.

Hold on Pony, they're coming. Hold on.

He had sounded scared. I could see his face silhouetted by the sun, pale with his brows drawn. His eyes wide with panic. I needed to find him.

I blearily searched for my brothers. They had to be here somewhere. The cops couldn't have arrested them…could they?

Soda was standing in the open doorway with his back to me. He had his arms crossed but I could see the agitation in him by how his fingers drummed against his arm.

It was like I zeroed in on him and all the grogginess and aching fell away.

The yelling carried into my hospital room, some confrontation that Soda was watching intently.

"That fine upstanding family as you so called them, kidnapped my baby brother. The doctors and nurses here can attest to the marks on his ankles and wrists so I frankly don't care what you want, you're going to march your ass back there and start pressing charges!"

I pushed myself up onto my elbows gritting my teeth and ignoring the ache in my back. I knew that voice, I'd been on the receiving end of that unique brand of hollering too many times.

"Who's Darry yelling at?" I asked, my voice rougher and thinner than I expected.

Soda whipped around so fast he almost lost his balance. His eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open. "Pony?"

I smiled, so relieved to see him.

"Hey Soda."

Soda's face transformed into pure joy and bolted towards me. He knocked me back into the pillow as his arms encircled me. I bit back a yelp. I brought my arms up and held him tight, ignoring how what had only ached before flared sharply. None of that mattered. He was okay. Not shot. Not bleeding. He was here and that's all I needed right now.

He pulled back and searched my face. He took me in like he thought that I was gonna disappear, which I guess I had.

"Oh Ponyboy." He swallowed thickly. "I thought we'd lost you." He tugged me back into his arms and I felt a shudder run through him. I held on just as tightly, needing him close as much as he needed me. Slowly I felt the tension leave his body.

He sat back and smiled wryly as he swiped quickly at his eyes.

"Are you okay? How do you feel kiddo?" He asked, brushing my hair back from my face.

I paused and took stock of myself. I was aching pretty good now and I felt like I could fallback to sleep any moment but I felt okay in general. I didn't really know what was wrong with me so it was hard to tell.

"I'm fine, I think. What happened?"

Soda sat on the edge of my bed, one leg bent at the knee and the other swinging over the side. "We're not exactly sure how it happened but you were bleeding from your back. They rushed you here and sent you straight to surgery. Darry and I were going crazy, it took forever before they told us anything…." He trailed off, getting lost in the memory. There were crinkles of stress around his eyes and dark circles beneath. It had been tough on my brothers.

"It was the stick."

Soda's brow furrowed, "what was?"

"I landed on a stick when you were shot. That's why I was bleeding." I said sheepishly, it sounded ridiculous out loud.

Soda just blinked at me for a long moment. "Golly Pone," he breathed. "You just can't catch a break can yah? Even the trees are out to get you." He smiled widely at me and I couldn't help but grin back.

All of the sudden, the door was pushed open so forcefully that it banged against the backstop. Darry stalked into the room, shooting the door a guilty look. His face was stormy but came up short when he saw Soda and me.

"Ponyboy." He said then strode up to the bed. He softened and he reached out to cup my cheek. His clear eyes danced over my face and I just watched him, taking him in. The last time I'd seen him he was being arrested, his body pressed into the dirt.

He leaned forward and pulled me gently into his arms. I burrowed my face into his chest and my hands fisted into his shirt. Soda placed his hand on my shoulder.

It had just occurred to me that I was with my brothers again. There had been times this past week that I'd thought I'd never see them again but here they were. Somehow they had found me. After all the fear and despair we were exactly where we had always been meant to be, together.

I felt my eyes start to burn and I pushed my face further into Darry.

He held onto me for a long moment then pulled back, both of them helping me sit up against the pillows.

I turned my face away, looking over at a blank wall blinking rapidly. It was one thing to cry in front of Soda but I didn't want Darry to see that I was about to bawl.

Darry moved his hand to grasp the back of my neck. "Easy Pony. Everything's gonna be okay. We're here now." He said so gently that the tears welled up and trickled down my cheek. Soda leaned forward and rested his forehead against the side of my head, his hand curling around my shoulder.

The three of us sat like that as I tried to fight back the tears, just soaking in each other's presence. This was home.

I wasn't sure how long it was before my brothers pulled away. Darry moved to sit in a chair by my side, but Soda just clambered up to sit beside me. I gritted my teeth as he jostled me. The ache in my back was getting harder to ignore.

"Careful Soda," Darry said sternly. "He's still recovering from surgery."

Soda winced and looked guilty. I elbowed him in the side and he chuckled, gently bumping his shoulder against mine. Soda bounced back like a ping pong ball.

"Why'd I need surgery anyway?" I asked, knowing that Darry would be on us if we started a shoving match while I was in a hospital bed."It was only a stick."

Darry's eyebrows shot up but Soda quickly shook his head and after a moment Darry continued. "Well this….stick almost took you out, kiddo. It nicked one of your kidneys and you had lost a lot of blood by the time they got you here."

I frowned, that couldn't be right. I felt alright, I guess. Sure I was aching and maybe a bit lightheaded but I didn't feel bad enough for it to have been so serious.

"But I don't hurt too bad."

"That's the pain meds working their magic. The nurse was in here not too long ago to top you up." Soda said, sending me his most reassuring grin.

Still my mind whirled. How much blood had I lost? From the stress on Soda's face before I'd say it was a lot. What did nicking my kidney mean? Was it gone and I was just supposed to walk around kidneyless?

My thoughts must have been all over my face because Soda draped his arm over my shoulder and squeezed. "Don't worry your head Pone, the docs fixed you up real good. Gave you a transfusion and everything ."

"But my kidney..." I said, looking between the two of them.

Darry patted my knee. "Your kidney is fine. They stitched up the damage and so far it seems that everything is working well. The doctor wants to keep monitoring you to make sure that it will heal properly but he's very hopeful."

I bit my lip and Soda gave my shoulder a squeeze. I leaned into him and soaked up his familiar warmth. I was surprised when I let out a yawn.

Soda pulled up the sheet to cover more of me. "Get some sleep Pony, you must be tired." His fingers drew patterns on my shoulder.

I frowned. "I ain't tired." I let out another larger yawn. I had so many questions that I needed answered but my eyes were starting to feel real heavy.

Darry chuckled lightly. "It's the pain meds they got you on. Plus you've had a long couple of days." He straightened the blanket over my legs and then leaned back in his chair.

"But who were you yelling at just now? What happened with the Donovans."

"Shhh, you don't have to worry about them no more. Rest now. We can talk when you wake up." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and closed his eyes. I realized that he had dark circles like Soda and as much as I wanted to dig my heels in for answers they needed to rest. I bet they'd been up this whole time just watching over me.

"How long was I out?" I blinked slowly, my eyelids heavier each time.

"Hmm? About 8 hours since they took you out of surgery. Said that your body needed rest after everything." Darry answered without opening his eyes.

Soda's breath was already deepening and his head that was rested against mine grew heavy. His arm still curled around me.

"Darry?" I called quietly, not wanting to wake Soda. Darry cracked an eye open.

"Yeah kiddo?"

I twisted the blankets around my fingers then looked up to meet his eyes. "I missed you both so much."

Darry swallowed thickly. Then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto my forehead near my hairline. It reminded me so much of dad that I felt the sting of tears again. "We never would have stopped looking for you Ponyboy." His voice was soft but earnest. "I don't think I could survive losing you."

As his blue green eyes stared into mine and I saw the truth there. The three of us needed each other. Sure we argued and drove each other crazy but in the end we were family and we were made to be together.

I reached for his hand and held it tight. He smiled like he understood.

Soda snored softly.

Darry let out a laugh and sat back into his chair. "Get some sleep now kiddo. Sooner or later Two-Bit and Steve will wander back and then no one will be getting any rest."

I grinned back at him and cuddled into Soda's side. "You'll wake me up when the doctor comes back?"

"Sure thing, now hush up." He said without any heat.

I closed my eyes and listened to Soda's soft snores. Here, surrounded by my brothers I was safe. I felt the panic and stress of the past week bleed away.

"I love you both." I mumbled, as sleep pulled me into it's warm embrace. Soda's gentle breaths pulling me deeper like waves reaching the shore.

The last thing I heard was the soft reply.

"I love you too kiddo."