"I hate you!" Soda flopped side ways so he could lie down.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. I guess I should stop teasing the poor kid. He was diagnosed with the chicken pox. Sixteen and he has the chicken pox. I looked over; Soda seemed miserable.

"Stop scratching." I lifted his upper body off the couch so I could sit down next to him. "You alright little buddy?"

"I'm itchy." Soda grumbled.

"That's all part of the fun of having the chicken pox, I'll call Mrs. Matthews around seven maybe she will no how to stop it. Moms know" I began to curse my self; the last thing I needed him to be thinking about was how he didn't have a Mom right now.

I felt him stiffen. I was half was expecting him to say something about her. "I like it better when you're here." He said.

I looked down. "What do, you mean, when I'm here, I live here in case you haven't noticed."

"You're never here; you're always at work."

I sighed. "Well, I need to pay the bills, put food on the table, keep you two in school and home with me."

Soda sat up straight. "I could help out with the bills."

"Is that the fever talking?" I teased.

He shook his head. "I want too; I could get a job with Steve. You won't have to work so much."

"I think you best bet is just to stay in school and not get into trouble." I said hoping it would end the discussion.

Of course I didn't get what I want. Soda just had to add more. "But I ain't good at school. I could get a job and stay out of trouble. It's not like I'm going to go to college or anything. I hate school and I'm dumb. It's a waste of money sending me and I want to help."

"I don't know buddy, maybe you can get a part time job or something." I said.

"I don't want a part time job. I want a full time one."

I pulled him tighter and decided to just ignore it.

"Darry, if I tell you something will you promise not to get mad?" Soda asked.

I looked down at him. "Alright, I'll try." I hated conversations that started with that question.

"I got my report card a few weeks ago. I signed your name and handed it in." Soda said timidly.

"You what! Sodapop Patrick that illegal and that's lying!"

"You were so proud of Pony, my grades didn't compare. I failed everything but auto mechanics and gym." His face grew red with embarrassment.

I rubbed my temples. I didn't know he was that bad off. No wonder he wanted to drop out. "Don't you ever put my name on anything with out me knowing first!" I scolded. "I'll think about the job."

Soda collapsed on me. "Why can't I scratch?"

I rolled my eyes we had been through this a billion times. "Because if you do I'm going to cut your arms off."

"I could use my feet then." Soda replied. The scary thing was he was probably serious.

"I'll cut those off too."

"Then who will help you bring in the big bucks!"

"I'll beat the tar out of you how about that?"

"I'll take my chances and not scratch." Soda said.

I got lucky when he fell asleep. His fever wasn't too high. His grades really bothered me. His attitude toward school and how much he hated being their really ate me up too. Soda was never upset until it came time for school. I wanted to throw in the towel when it came time for him doing his homework. It was the only thing I ever had to really push him to do. I sat down and took a look at the water and electricity bills. I could use some more income that was for sure.

"Mo-" Soda stopped dead in his tracks. I immediately looked up from the bills and starred at him. I knew who he was calling for, Mom. Soda winced like someone had just hit him.

"Honey its okay." I quickly got up and walked over to him.

"I didn't forget; I just goofed." Soda sniffed.

"It's alright. You want something?"

Soda nodded. "Soup."

"Okay have a seat; I'll make you some."

I started making soup when the phone rang. "Hello"

"This is the nurse at Ponyboy's school."

Oh god. "He okay?"

"He's sick and needs to be picked up." I got the dial tone soon after.

"Soda, I have to pick Pony up. Can you finish the soup? You'll be alright alone won't you?"

"I'm sixteen." Soda said in an annoyed tone.

It normally takes about ten minutes to get to the grade school. I managed to get there in seven. If I didn't hit every red light there was I would have gotten there sooner. It didn't take long to find the nurse's office.

"Hey, kid what's going on you were fine this morning; got a math test next bell or something?"

"Actually" A plump woman with red hair appeared. "He has a fever, scratchy throat and a cold. Why would you even send him out of the house?" The school nurse snapped.

"He didn't show symptoms this morning. And he never said anything. Come on Pony, let's go home." I guided him out to the car by his shoulders.

Two sick kids are far from what I ever thought I would deal with. If I wasn't telling Soda not to scratch, I was telling Pony to keep the thermometer under his tongue and not move it. Pony is probably the worst thing to deal with when he was sick. He was grumpy as hell.

"Let me see." I took the thermometer out of Pony's mouth. "Good lord Ponyboy it's a hundred and three!"

"Not my fault." He snapped to his defense.

"Never said it was." I grabbed the ice pack. "Come on, you need to get that down." I pressed the ice pack on the back of his neck. Pony nearly jumped out his chair with shock.

"Soda!" I screamed. Pony put his hands over his ears and glared at me. "Sorry. Soda you alive?"

"Yeah." Soda said coming out of the bathroom with a towel rapped around his waist. "That stuff in the water didn't do shit."

I decided just to let the bad language slide. Pony mumbled something about it. I was starting to worry about him. First the nightmare, the kid can't use his head, our relationship is dying and now he has a fever. Pony shivered as I pressed the ice pack on his forehead.

"Hold it there." I told him. I checked on Soda. "Stop scratching!"

"They ain't itching anymore they are burning." Soda said. "I'm not scratching. I'm rubbing."

I glared at him. Soda just grinned and collapsed down on the bed. "Darry, were out of orange juice. I feel weird."

"Alright, I'll run up and get some and soup. I placed two pills in his hand. "Take em' and lay down for a while."

Soda agreed and went straight under the covers for once. I found Pony to be asleep on the couch when I got back to the living room with the ice pack on the floor. There was no use in waking him up. I picked him up so his head was resting on my shoulder.

"Dad." Pony mumbled into my neck, he was still asleep.

"No, Darry." I said softly. "Just Darry." That was the second time today. I stood there for minute holding Pony. I wasn't Dad and I wasn't Mom what was I doing taking care of these two. I wondered what they were thinking as I placed Pony next to Soda.

I peeled out of the driveway. There was hardly anybody on the streets. I knew where the fuzz was stationed and where they weren't. I drove ten miles past the store and stopped at a familiar place. My parent's graves. I took the small hike to the end of the grave yards and stopped. I squatted down in front of their graves and trace the engravings.

"Hi, so you need to do something Dad, and come back. I wake up everyday asking myself why I'm up so early and then I remember and I hope it's a joke. Until I walk past their bedroom and see Soda with his arm around Pony. I need you guys. Soda has this girl friend now, he's real serious about her, and I don't know what they are doing. He's failing school. I'm going to let him drop out. Now he has the chicken pox. Pony he's so angry and gets these nightmares and they scare me because I don't know what to do to make them stop. His fear it's like I can touch it but I can't reach it. I can't stop it." I felt something fall across my face. I reached up surprised by my own tears.

"See, he's angry at me all the time and we fight like cats and dogs. I'm scared that one day someone is going to kill him or hurt him. He's a little runt right now Johnny is bigger than him. They are sick and they ask for you two. I'm not you two they know what I'm doing. I'm scared Mom. I'm scared of a little kid and a teenager. Can you believe that? I'm finally scared of something. Help me please, they don't need me they need you. I don't. I don't know what to do anymore. They think I got all the answers. I don't have them." The wind picked up and I decided to get the juice and go home.

I put the orange juice in the refrigerator and grabbed the thermometer.

"Hey, little buddy."

Soda groaned and sat up. "I feel like hell." He said and I slipped the thermometer under his tongue. His temperature hadn't changed.

"Ponyboy?" I shook him lightly. Pony didn't even move. "Hey kiddo just for a minute sit up." He didn't answer. I felt his forehead. He was too warming just way too warm. I sat him up and stuck the thermometer in his mouth. It came out a hundred and four.

"Oh god kid, we got to get that down. We got to get that down right now." I scooped him up and ran into the bathroom. I turned the water on cold and stuck him in the bath tub.

"Co-old" Pony chattered.

"I know its cold baby. Your temperature it needs to come down."

"No-o" He squirmed. I ran the rag across his back, neck and face.

"Hold still Pony." I said softly. When his chattering got fast, I figured that was all the stress his body could take. I grabbed towel; wrapped it around him and carried him into he kitchen. I tried to dry his hair the best I could. Mom always warned us about being sick or getting sick when we had a wet head. He was sitting in the counter so he was around my height now. I got the ice pack back out and pressed it against his forehead.

"Ponyboy, talk to me." I heard about people when their fevers get too high and them going unconscious.

I grabbed the phone and called the Doctors. I explained everything and everything I had done.

"Take his temperature again." The voice on the phone ordered.

"Hundred and three"

"That's still high, if it gets higher take him to the hospital. You did everything right so far. Remain calm."

This is calm? I thought to myself. "Thanks Doc." I hung up the phone.

I pulled my chair into their room and watched over them like a hawk. I finally rested my eyes around 6.

I groaned feeling something cold and wet on my face. Water ran down my face to my neck and soaked my shirt. I heard a good ordeal of laughing. I pulled the wash rag off my face and glared at my brothers.

"You did it to us." Soda grinned.

He ducked as I threw the rag at him.

"You two okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, breakfast is ready." He darted out of the room.

I rubbed my eyes trying to get them to adjust to the light. I blinked a few times and found lines going up Soda's body. "Soda?" I grabbed his arm and starred. "What the heck?"

"I connected the dots!" Soda explained. "Look I have a smiley face." He turned and showed me."

I shook my head. "Lunatic."

"Pony." I shook the empty aspirin bottle.

"We don't have anymore." Pony answered.

"Come on, let's go get some."

The drug store normally wasn't that busy of a place on the weekends because see all the kids for some weird reason hung out there. I felt something tap my shoulder.

"Darry Curtis?"

I turned around and came face to face with a girl name Kelly. I went to school she was head cheer leader and I was captain of the football team. We also sort of dated for a long while.

"Lord, it's been awhile. Hi Soda." She smiled.

I put my hands on Pony's shoulders. He shrugged me off but was beaming that he was mistaken for Soda. "It's Ponyboy."

"Oh, I'm sorry, wow you've gotten big. How's college Darry still playing football?" She pushed her blonde hair away from her blue eyes.

I stiffened suddenly everything had been turned inside out. I felt Pony fall into me a little. "No, my parents died a little while ago. I take care of these two and work."

"I'm sorry." Kelly began. "You were great. I didn't know."

I didn't even bother getting the aspirin. I just wanted to leave. I pulled Pony out of there to a bitterly silent car ride. I got ready for work wanting to go in early. I hated thinking about college; I hated thinking about football and playing in college.

"You're not going!" Soda threw himself on my bed. "Stay here Darry."

He had a bad night before. "Honey, we've been over this. I need to work rather you have the chicken pox or not. The gangs here."

"What's the matter with you?" He asked.

"Nothing. Get out of my way." He was standing in the door way.

"Tell me what's going on first."

"Sodapop, I don't have time. I need to get the laundry out and put a shirt on."

"Tell me."

I picked Soda up over my shoulder and went to get the laundry. I dumped Soda off on the couch with the usual superman, muscles and even a Hercules joke. Now Steve, he had to be an ass.

"All brawns no brains, eh Darry?" He smirked.

I pulled my hand back and cracked him in the jaw so hard that he stumbled back and fell on the floor.