I looked at the clock. Damn, I thought to myself before looking at the taxes. I guess I had been sitting here all day. I rubbed my eyes trying to force them to adjust to the idea of looking into light. I bit down on my lip. Soda should have been home with Pony a little while ago. I stood up cracking my back, then neck and then my knuckles. Stepping out on the porch, it was a beautiful night. I tried to scan the area a little. Usually you could see them coming from the lot. If you couldn't see them, you could hear them. Everything was still, something wasn't right. My stomach rolled over inside of me and then it caught my eyes. Four of them on the ground and Soda were holding Johnny. I checked down the street. No lights were coming from the Cade's house but Two-Bit and Dally were approaching the lot. I took off running at full speed; I figured his father had given him a beating again. God I hated that man; if I ever had the chance to kill him with out thinking there could be a possibility of getting my brothers taken away I'd jump on the chance.

I slid on the dirt attempting to stop. The damage done to Johnny was like nothing I had ever seen. He was bleeding from a gash on the side of his head. Everything else was black and blue or bloody. I couldn't even tell where he was bleeding. He was shaking but it was hurting him. He was crying. I watched as Soda tried to get him to relax and comforted him.

"What happened bud?" Dally asked falling to his knee with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Who did this?"

"They jumped me. I didn't do anything, I was just going to work on some throws and kicks and bring the football back to the Curtis house and then they pulled up in a blue mustang. There were too many, one guy had rings."

"It's okay Johnny. The ain't going to hurt you no more." Soda coaxed.

My eyes wondered to the thirteen-year-old kid on the side of Soda. I wished I could take me hands out of my pockets and cover his eyes or pulled him close to me. God it could have been him or Soda, I had let him walk alone to the DX today too. What if he would have taken the short cut? I would have never forgiven myself.

"Darry, can you take him back to your house. I'm going to go visit someone just wash his cuts down. I'll be back in ten minutes." Dally said. He took off toward a car that I was sure he didn't own and jumped in speeding down the road.

I placed one hand under Johnny's neck and another under his legs and gently lifted him. I carried him back home and attempted to clean him up.

"MOVE!" It was Dally's voice.

I glanced back. I hadn't realized that the gang was watching.

"Soda, Pony I want both of you in bed now and no objections. I mean it!" I said with full authority. I didn't want them seeing this. It was bad enough what they saw. I kicked the door shut.

"His ribs are broken Dal." I pulled out a wrap. "Lift him up."

Dally complied; I wrapped the bandage around him as fast as a could.

"Johnny, take these." Dally said. He gave him a sip of water and slipped four pills in his mouth.

"Hold him still." I did. I watched as Dally stitched up Johnny.

"You didn't give him a sleeping pill did you? Because he probably has head, injuries and needs to be waken every three hours. He could slip into a coma."

"I have sleeping pills but I gave him prescription pain killers." Dally said.

I wasn't even going to ask where or how he got his hands on those. I nearly puked at what he did next. He took out a needle, thread, and made homemade stitches.

Dally stitched out with a cigarette on the floor. "Go to sleep, I'll wake him up in a few hours." He said.

I ran my finger through my hair. That could have been Ponyboy; just thinking about it caused me to shiver. I went into my brother's room. I found myself doing this a lot especially when I got into fights with them. They'd go to bed and I'd watch them sleep. It was sort of like a sign that they were okay, nothing could hurt them now or take them away from me and for the next eight hours, there were completely safe.

I pulled the covers up to their chins smoothing away hair. I pushed Pony's out of his eyes waking him up. I ended up staying there that night waking up with my arm around Pony.

"What, did you do this?" I asked Soda who was grinning.

He shook his head. "I guess he feels safer with superman over me."

I could help but laugh. I shook Pony. "Hey, baby, get up."

Pony opened his eyes and starred at me. "Where's Johnny? Is he okay?" He sprang to his feet.

"Shh, Johnny's resting."

I sent both of them off to school and work but not before threatening to annihilate Two-Bit if Pony didn't come home with him. I wasn't about to have my brother looking like Johnny. I wished I could move far away; if I ever got the opportunity. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone touching Soda and Pony because everyone knew that if they ever did I would beat them to a pulp.

Johnny physically healed but he was left with a scar in his cheek; mentally he was never the same. He always was a small shy kid but not he just scared as if someone was going to jump out of the closet and yell BOO. I sat there watching him and Pony play cards. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. Dally was passed out on the couch with Two-Bit in the chair next to him. They reeked of hard liquor; I hoped to god those influences wouldn't reflect on Pony.

Pony ran into the kitchen. I stuck my hand out to stop it wrapping my arm around him and attempting to pull him down.

"Darry, you're hurting me!" He yelped.

"Sorry." I really was, I guess sometimes I didn't know my own strength. Pony was rubbing him rib cage on the left side. He was starting to put a little height on finally but he wasn't getting any thicker. I laid my hand on his rib. It was scary; I could barely remember what it was like to be thirteen and being in my awkward stages. I couldn't think of him as a teenager just my baby brother but it wouldn't matter in he was thirteen or thirty he was always going to be my baby brother.

"Hey." I tried to say it softly but nothing I ever said to him came out right anymore.

"What?" He replied sharply.

"I got to leave for work, don't go play outside or to the movies. I don't want you in a car with those two they are probably still drunk or walking in the rain getting pneumonia. You need to stay here. Got it?"

Pony nodded. "Soda's out all night with Steve and the girls. What time are you coming home?"

"Around eight thirty okay, we'll go get a late dinner or something."

I stood up towering over Pony. I knocked him on top on his head. "Shorty."

"Darry you okay?" Mark asked me. Mark was five years older than me but in a similar situation. His Dad died a while back and he helped his Mom take care of his little brothers and sisters.

"I have to talk to Pony. You know the talk"

Mark laughed. "Yeah; I just gave Peter that talk."

"What the hell do I say?" I shoved another box on the shelf.

Mark started laughing. "I took Peter on a long drive in the country; then told him everything about the birds and the bees."

I wasn't going to be able to take Pony on a long drive that would be humiliating for the poor kid. I didn't want to do it how my Dad did it.

"Can't I just wait until the kid has to shave?"

Mark laughed. "By that time; he'll learn all about it from his friends. You know how guys talk."