(Darry's POV)

The doctor's comment made my anxiety spike even higher than I thought possible. Why does he want to speak in private? What's the update?

"Just tell us, doc," Dally said. He was finally sober, but as angry and potentially dangerous as ever.

Dr. Olson looked at Dally, but to his credit, the doctor didn't seem phased or even annoyed with him. Instead, Dr. Olson just looked back at me and addressed me again. "I think it's best if we talk in a private room. Your friends are welcome to come with, but only with your permission."

I looked at Soda, silently asking for his opinion. When my brother gave me a slight nod, I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was.

"They can come with," I told the doctor. "They're family too."

It was true; the guys were our extended family and they deserved to know what happened to Pony just about as much as Soda and I did. Truth be told, if we were about to hear that the unthinkable happened, I didn't think that I'd be able to utter the words out loud if I had to tell the guys myself, and I knew Soda wouldn't be able to either. The decision was a relatively easy one: the doctor will tell us all at the same time.

Dr. Olson nodded, but still kept his poker face. "Alright, let's go to a more secluded room. Follow me."

He turned and started walking towards the hallway that led away from the large waiting room. The guys waited for me to lead the way, and after I got Soda to his feet and put an arm around his shoulders, we led the rest of the gang.

Please tell me he's okay. Ponyboy has to be okay.

Dr. Olson brought us to a smaller room that had a window and a few chairs that looked more comfortable than the ones in the waiting room. I had forgotten how long we'd been waiting for news on Ponyboy, but when I glanced through the window, I could tell the sky was starting to get lighter, when meant it was almost time for the sun to rise. Pony has to be alive. It wouldn't have taken this long for them to tell us anything if he didn't make it… right? I tried to be optimistic, but as the doctor slowly shut the door behind us, I again started wondering why he didn't say anything while we were in the waiting room where others could hear and see us.

Instead of using the chairs, we all stood there, looking at the doctor. He didn't seem concerned about being outnumbered by a bunch of greasers, but depending on the news he was about to give us, he probably should've been at least a little nervous.

"What's the update?" I asked as calm and steady as possible.

Please be okay, Ponyboy. I'm begging you to be okay.

The doctor glanced at all of the guys one more time before addressing me and Soda directly. "First thing's first: your brother made it out of surgery. He's recovering right now."

I almost fainted as the relief surged through me.

While the others smiled and let out sighs of relief after receiving the news, Soda hardly reacted at all. "He's alive?" Soda asked, obviously not believing what he was hearing.

Dr. Olson nodded. "Ponyboy's alive."

Soda took a breath, and suddenly he pulled me into a tight hug, which I immediately returned. "He's alive, Darry." Soda was sobbing into my chest, but I could still understand him. "Our baby brother's alive."

I put a hand on the back of his head and squeezed him tighter. "That's right, Sodapop. Ponyboy's alive."

Thank God, Pony's alive.

The doctor gave us all a minute to rejoice in the news, but I could tell there was more that he needed to say. He still wasn't smiling. "What is it, doc?" I asked. At my words, Soda pulled away from me, wiping his tears away. All of us looked at the doctor again as we waited in silence.

"He made it out of surgery, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. Your brother sure is a fighter," Dr. Olson said.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked harshly. I was surprised that he was the first one to respond to the doctor's comment, but I didn't have time to be glad that Steve was, in fact, Pony's friend. I had more important matters to think about.

"He lost a lot of blood, and he crashed on the table twice." My heart felt like it stopped at the doctor's words, and next to me, Soda tensed up. Ponyboy crashed, as in… died?! The doctor was quick to keep talking before we freaked out even more. "We were able to bring him back both times, but in my humble opinion, there's no way we did it on our own. I'm not sure if y'all are church-going people, but Ponyboy must have a guardian angel or two. Only that, along with his own fighting spirit, got him through everything."

Soda was still crying, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him give the doctor a small grin, which given the circumstance, confused me. Why would Soda be smiling after hearing that? Did he actually hear what the doctor just said?

"Our parents," Soda said softly. Then he looked at me, still grinning. "Darry, Mom and Dad…" he trailed off, not able to finish his thought, but I knew what he was thinking.

I nodded and pulled Soda into a side hug. "You got that right, little buddy. But Pony's got some fight in him too. He didn't want to leave you."

"Or you," Soda muttered.

I hoped that was true, but I didn't completely believe it. Ponyboy and I used to be a lot closer, but when I became his legal guardian, our relationship had been strained and I constantly wondered if we'd ever get back to how it used to be between us. That's going to change. I'm going to make sure we fight less, and spend more time together.

"He's going to need that fight if he's going to recover," Dr. Olson said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What do you mean if he's gonna recover?" Dally asked accusingly. He took a step towards the doctor. "You said it yourself, the kid's alive. That means he's gonna be fine."

"I wish it was that simple," Dr. Olson said to Dally, not at all effected by our buddy's intimidating nature or harsh voice. Then he looked back at me and Soda. "He's suffering from several brutal injuries, and while he made it out of surgery, the battle isn't over yet. He still has a lot of hurdles to clear before I can breathe easy or say that he's going to be fine."

"Like what?" I asked. He's alive, but apparently it isn't that simple. "Tell me everything."

Dr. Olson took a breath before he explained. "It appears Ponyboy was stabbed with a sharp object, most likely a knife of some kind. The damage he suffered was… extensive. In addition to the soft tissue in that area, part of his intestines and pancreas were lacerated, which we fixed, but the damage to his spleen was irreparable, so it had to be removed."

"You took a piece of him out?" Two-Bit asked, astonished.

The doctor nodded. "That's correct. People can live without their spleen, but their immune system may be compromised, which means that they'll be at a higher risk for getting ill."

Okay, so Ponyboy might get sick a little more. That's not too bad, right?

"This generally isn't a problem, but with more serious infections or diseases, they may not fare as well as a typical person," Dr. Olson continued. "Again, we couldn't save his spleen, so we had no choice. This is just one of the long-lasting issues he may have as a result."

I took a deep breath, exhaled, then nodded. That makes sense, but still, it's not that big of a deal as long as Pony's okay. "Is there anything else that we need to know?"

Unfortunately, the doctor nodded. "It seems that not only was Ponyboy stabbed, but he has injuries consistent with a brutal fight. He has suffered from blood loss, bruising, external lacerations, and several broken bones, including the fractured rib that punctured his lung."

All of us were completely silent. I knew he was in rough shape, but besides the gaping wound in his stomach, he dealt with all of that too?

"It also looks like he also might have some head trauma. We are hoping any swelling in his brain will go down with time and medication, and the bump on the side of his head should start going down soon too," the doctor said. "After the anesthesia wares off, it may still be a while before he wakes up. His brain will need some time to heal if it has been effected."

A few seconds passed before I realized my mouth was hanging open. How did Ponyboy survive all of that? Next to me, Soda was shaking and tears were silently falling from his eyes. I pulled him closer to my side, trying to comfort him while trying to keep my own emotions steady.

Everyone was silent, but then Johnny surprised me by speaking up. "Do you think… do you think he'll be okay?" Johnny asked softly. That was the question all of us probably had in our minds, but Johnny was the only one able to ask it out loud.

The doctor thought long and hard about his answer. "He has proven to be a strong kid, so I'd say he has a decent chance. That being said, he'll have to keep fighting in order to recover, and it's not going to be easy."

"What can we do?" I asked. I was never the type of person to wait and see how things went, especially when it came to my brothers. If my kid brothers needed something, no matter what it was, I would find a way to do everything I could for them. "What can we do to help?"

"If you're the praying type, then pray," Dr. Olson said. "Besides that, when you're in the room with him, talk to him calmly. We don't want any extra excitement if we can avoid it, but it's believed that talking to patients while they're unconscious could be helpful."

I nodded, determined to help Ponyboy out as much as I could. "We'll do anything to help him."

The doctor grinned a little. "I'm happy to hear it."

"Can we see him now?" Soda asked. "We need to see our brother."

The doctor nodded. "Yes. I suggest that only one or two people visit him at a time, but as long as the environment remains calm, I'm not going to determine who's allowed to visit him or not."

"Thank you, doctor," I said.

Dr. Olson then led us through the hospital and to a room in the ICU. He said we were allowed to go in, but before all of the guys could follow me and Soda through the doorway, Johnny spoke up. "I think we should give Pony and his brothers some time to themselves."

Steve was about to say something, but Dally backed Johnny up. "Yeah, let's give 'em a few minutes. It'll give us time to figure out who the hell did this and how we're gonna deal with them."

I gave Johnny a quick nod to show my appreciation. Sure, Ponyboy was like a brother to all of the guys, but he really was Soda's and my little brother, so I was glad that we'd get a little time with him before the rest of the guys came into the room.

After Soda and I stepped into the room and closed the door behind, we both froze at the sight of our kid brother.

"Shit," Soda muttered.

Our baby brother looked like death could claim him any second. The doctor did say that it wasn't guaranteed that he'd make it. I pushed that thought aside as I took a good look at Pony. The bruises and cuts stood out against his sickly pale skin. Only his neck and face were exposed since the rest of him was covered by the hospital sheets, but the clear mask covering his mouth and nose made it hard to see most of his face. There were tubes and wires that led to all sorts of machines next to his bed, probably helping him stay alive.

He looks bad, but he's alive.

Wordlessly, Soda and I approached the bed and we sat on opposite sides of it. We both sat in chairs next to Pony's head. Since I was only a few inches away from him, I could see a black eye forming in the midst of the rest of his injuries.

"Oh honey," Soda said as he reached forward and stroked Pony's hair. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but I could tell that he was trying to sound strong for our brother's sake. "You're safe now. You're in the hospital, and Dar and I are both here."

I felt my eyes get watery again, and since it was just the three of us in the room, I let myself cry. I put a hand on Ponyboy's shoulder as gently as I could and spoke softly. "We're not going to let anyone hurt you again, Pone." My composure started to crumble, and I didn't have the desire to try and fix it. "God Pone, I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened. I- I…"

"It's not your fault, Darry." I looked at Soda, and though his eyes were red, they were determined. "It ain't your fault. Someone else hurt him. We just need to be here for him now."

I nodded, although I still felt responsible. I looked back down at Ponyboy. "You're going to be alright, Pone. Keep fighting, you hear?" I wiped my eyes as I sniffled. Real tough, Darry. If he can really hear us, he'll know that his oldest brother is acting like a crybaby. "Keep fighting, and we'll be here when you wake up."

Soda gave me a small grin, as if he appreciated my optimism. "He'll be okay, Dar. Our kid brother's a tough Curtis. They brought him back during surgery, and he's here to stay." Then he glanced down at Pony. "He just needs some sleep is all."

Glory, I sure hope you're right.