(Darry's POV)

The rumble was over so quick that I felt like I barely got to pummel any Socs. The guys that bothered Cassie and hurt Pony brought their friends, but they were no match for the combination of our gang and Tim's guys. We whopped those Socs, and I knew Dylan felt the brunt of our rage, specifically from Two-Bit, Soda, and myself; I knew that because he needed to be dragged away from the rumble by his Soc friends.

When the rumble was over, we all headed to the hospital. Even though I knew Cassie was with him, I was concerned about Ponyboy. We didn't tell him about the rumble, and Soda and I had always been there to visit him after work, so I was worried Ponyboy would think that we forgot about him or something. Still, I knew Cassie being there was the best way for all of us to be at the rumble, and I also knew she was capable of keeping him company.

Almost all of us were sporting some type of injury from the rumble, so as we walked through the hallways of the hospital, several nurses and doctors asked if we were alright. We assured them that we were just fine, and even though they all looked skeptical, they left us alone. All of us were energized from the fight, but even as the guys all were excitedly talking, I could hear voices from Pony's room before we reached the doorway.

"I'm real sorry, Pony," I heard Cassie say. I wish it was me instead of y-"

"Stop Cassie," Pony said. He's awake. "I'm not mad. I'm glad it was me… not you."

That hurt to hear; I never wanted my kid brother to get hurt, let alone say he was glad about it. Still, I was glad the two of them were able to talk. Before Soda led all of us into Pony's room, I put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.

He turned back to look at me with a confused and a little irritated expression. "What gives?" Soda asked.

Besides a cut under his eye and a red mark on his jaw that was sure to bruise, he left the rumble unharmed, which I was more than grateful for. The last thing I want is for both of my brothers to be hurt. "Give him some time to talk with Cassie. Let them catch up." Then I glanced at Two-Bit. "I'm sure they have some things to talk about."

Two-Bit nodded seriously at me, then when he spoke to the rest of the guys, his features quickly changed so he looked happy-go-lucky like he typical does. "Yeah, let's let the kids talk for a minute. Then we can tell them how we sent those Socs running!"

The guys didn't seem to think anything of it, so they talked in the hallway amongst themselves while I leaned against the wall and pretended to listen to them. Instead, I was listening to Pony and Cassie.

"Why? You like getting pummeled or somethin'?" Cassie joked. That's a good question.

I heard Pony laugh, and it was like music to my ears. "No, just didn't want you hurt."

There was a pause, and I briefly thought about walking into the room, but just before I did, Cassie spoke again, forcing me to remain in the hallway. "The guys said something about you saying that didn't need to win the fight. What did you mean by that?" I'm glad Cassie's asking all of these questions, because I'm not sure I could force those words out of my mouth.

"I didn't need to… just needed you to be safe." Glory Pone, you sure are brave… but maybe look after yourself for once.

Soda stood in front of me. "What are you doin'?"

"Letting them talk," I said quietly as I nodded my head towards Pony's room.

Soda squinted his eyes like he always did when he tried to figure something out, but then he stood next to me and copied my stance, only he couldn't keep his hands and feet from moving. Still, he was trying to be patient, and he was probably also trying to listen like I was.

"I appreciate your concern," Cassie continued. "But you really freaked all of us out, especially your brothers. I'm not sure they'd agree that it was better that you got hurt instead of me."

Soda tensed up and looked towards the doorway. I knew neither of us wanted Cassie hurt, and we surely didn't want to trade her safety for Pony's.

"They'd prefer neither of us got hurt," Pony replied. You tell her Pony. "But they'd do the same thing I did."

Soda glanced at me with a smile, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. You're damn right we would.

"So it's a Curtis thing then?" Cassie asked, which brought Soda's attention back to the room. "Taking care of others before yourself?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Ponyboy said. Too bad he only takes care of others, and he's not the best at looking out for himself.

"Well, thanks for lookin' out for me," Cassie said. "Next time, I ain't listenin' to you. I'm stickin' around for the fight."

"You're welcome," I heard Pony say genuinely. "And we'll see 'bout that."

There was another short pause, but like before, Cassie spoke before I moved to go into the room. She really is like Two-Bit; she doesn't seem to like silence. "You know, I ain't ever seen you mad before, but you were that day."

Soda's head twitched a bit, and I figured he was as surprised as I was. Pony was a gentle and kind kid, and even though I thought I'd seen all parts of his personality, I guess I was wrong. I've seen Ponyboy irritated and upset, usually at me, but I don't think I've seen him mad, and I doubt Soda has either.

"I just… I was surprised is all," Cassie continued. "You're always so nice, but when those guys hit me, you were angry. You protected me, and I'm sure those Socs won't forget it… I know I won't. I was scared, but not of you or nothin'… you protected me." I was so proud of Ponyboy, I could barely keep myself from going into his room and hugging him as I admitted to eavesdropping.

"Of course I did," Pony said nonchalantly. "I wasn't gonna let them hurt you."

"Thank you, Ponyboy," Cassie said.

"What are you guys doin'?" Steve asked. I looked at him, only to realize that Dally, Johnny, and Steve were all looking at me like I was crazy. Meanwhile, Two-Bit was standing across the hall form me and Soda, messing around with his switchblade.

"Lettin' them talk," Soda said with a shrug.

"The kid's awake?" Dally asked. Then he took a step towards the door. "What are we waitin' for? Let's go see him."

I straightened and took a step forward, putting myself between Dally and the door. "We'll go in a minute," I said with some finality. "Cassie hasn't gotten to speak with him since he's been here. Give them some time."

It was true; Cassie had visited Ponyboy several times, but he was never awake when she was there, and even though she'd never say it, I knew she was disappointed about not seeing him awake.

I knew Dally wasn't thrilled about waiting, but he backed off and listened. While he muttered something to Steve, I ignored him and focused on listening to the conversation in the room.

"They, uh… they had to take care of something," Cassie said in a strange, almost nervous voice.

Even though she knew we were at the rumble, she must've wanted one of us to tell him when we got back. We didn't tell her what to say if Pony asked about our whereabouts, and retrospectively, we probably should have.

"Like what?" Ponyboy asked, obviously worried.

A couple seconds passed, then I heard Cassie's voice get a little louder and more anxious. "Ponyboy? You okay?"

That was all I need to hear; if something was going on with Pony, I wasn't going to stand outside his door and ignore it, I had to be there for him. I immediately started walking into the room, and I knew at least Soda had followed me.

"Sorry, I-" Ponyboy was trying to reply to Cassie, but I interrupted him.

"Hey kiddo," I said. "How are y-"

"The champions have arrived!" Two-Bit shouted from behind me.

I glared at Two-Bit. I'm trying to see if he's alright, you don't need to be obnoxious.

Then I heard Soda. "You alright Pony?"

I turned to look back at Pony. "I'm fine," he said.

Soda sat down next to our brother, who was eyeing him suspiciously. "You fight Two-Bit?"

I smirked at that. Given all the information that Pony had, which was none, and the fact that Two-Bit and Soda had some scrapes and blood, it made since that he drew that conclusion.

"Nope, even though sometimes I wish I would-" Soda said before Two-Bit got him in a headlock.

"If we ever fought, I'd knock your ass on the ground in five seconds flat!" Two-Bit said as Soda struggled to get out of his hold. I bit my tongue and didn't say anything. Even though both of them were good fighters and Two-Bit was older, I'd probably put my money on Soda if they ever got into it. Hopefully that never happens.

"Oh yeah?" Soda stood up from his chair, which tipped over. Then he quickly got an arm wrapped around Two-Bit's neck. "Holler uncle."

"No way," Two-Bit said.

Like I thought, Soda would probably win.

I let them wrestle and stayed out of it as I took the chair and sat between the hooligans and Ponyboy. At least if they knocked into someone it would be me and not my injured kid brother. I heard the rest of the gang walk into the room, but I ignored them and addressed Pony. "You okay, Pone?"

"What's going on?" he asked immediately, completely ignoring my question. For once worry about yourself. Our gang all looked at each other, apparently none of us sure how we wanted to explain it to Pony. "You guys rumbled?" Well, I guess there isn't much to explain.

"Yeah, what'd ya expect?" Dally asked a little harsh. I gave him a look, but I was sure he either didn't notice or he was purposefully ignoring me. We still weren't on the best of terms after I punched him for telling Ponyboy he died, and I'm sure getting between him and the doorway when we were in the hall didn't exactly help with that. "Tim and his guys even showed up. No greaser in town is gonna let the Socs get away with what they did to ya."

"You better have won," Cassie said. Her priorities are just like Two-Bit too.

"Course we did," Two-Bit said as he got up from the floor.

Johnny walked over to stand next to Cassie as he looked at Ponyboy. His face was bruised, and I was sure his ribs were aching, but he still did pretty well in the rumble. It also didn't hurt that Dally was keeping an eye on him the whole time. "We probably could've won even if it was just your brothers there Pony."

"I'd say we still helped," Two-Bit immediately added. "We all got a few good swings in, but Johnny's right… your brothers flexed their muscles on those Socs alright. They ran for it not long after it started."

Soda and I shared a glance and a grin. We were both proud of our fighting skills, but since the Socs attacked and almost killed Ponyboy, we were furious with them and we certainly made them pain for what they did. If they ever hurt Ponyboy, or even Cassie for that matter, we'd be sure to send at least one of them to the hospital.

"Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Steve asked. Since Pony had been at the hospital, he had been particularly interested in Pony's wellbeing, but true to his nature, Steve pretended not to care about my kid brother. Steve glanced at Ponyboy and Cassie. "Or did the kid sleep all day like usual?"

Cassie grinned. "If you were so worried about Pony, maybe you should've stayed here and I should've gone to the rumble."

Steve rolled his eyes, Two-Bit looked surprised, and the rest of us laughed. Cassie knows the score.

"Cass, I told ya I don't want you gettin' into fights," Two-Bit said. His comment surprised me. I always knew he was a good older brother and looked out for Cassie, but it was different to hear Two-Bit talk like that.

"Yeah, whatever," Cassie said.

"We handled them just fine without ya kid," Steve said. "We probably didn't even need your brother there."

"You say that like I didn't pull that one guy off ya," Two-Bit replied.

Almost everyone started talking all at once. The guys told stories about what happened at the rumble, and once in a while I jumped in, but I mostly let the rest of them talk. We dealt with the Socs, and hopefully they learned a lesson. That's all I cared about, even though getting to flex my muscles was fun and all.

Dr. Olson walked into the room, and he didn't even seem surprised to see a gang of bruised and bloodied greasers was in the room. "Sorry everyone, party's over. Unless your last name is Curtis, you have to leave. Visiting hours are over for the day."

The guys kept talking, but I heard Cassie say goodbye to Pony. She also muttered something else to him that I didn't catch.

"Thanks, and no you don't. We're good," Ponyboy said.

I grinned, but again I pretended not to hear the conversation. Instead, I watched the guys start to file out of the room.

"Let's go kiddo," Two-Bit said to Cassie, then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks for keepin' an eye on this one, Ponyboy," he said to my brother. Keeping an eye on her? Wasn't it the other way around? She was the one that was with him while we were at the rumble.

Cassie looked at him, borderline angry. "What is that supposed to mean? I don't need babysitting."

Two-Bit laughed, but when he looked back at Ponyboy, he gave him a nod that apparently signaled something because Pony returned the gesture.

Soda was talking with Steve and even left the room with him. Where's he going? He was so intent on seeing Ponyboy as soon as possible, and now he's going to leave?

"Everyone alright?" Ponyboy asked immediately, drawing my attention back to him.

I couldn't fight the grin forming on my face. Worry about yourself, because you're still not fine. "Everyone's fine, Pone." I laughed a little. "Well, everyone except one of Tim's guys and all those Socs."

Ponyboy smirked. "How bad ya hurt 'em?"

I shrugged. "Enough. They'll think twice before bothering you or Cassie again." If they're stupid enough to bother you again, there will be hell to pay.

Pony smiled then laid his head down and closed his eyes. "Good."

I immediately pushed his hair back, like I had done so many times since my baby brother was in the hospital. It was second nature now; in addition to checking that he was breathing, I always needed to be physically close to Ponyboy. It was a way for me to know that he was, in fact, still alive. "You still doing alright kiddo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Can't wait to go home."

I let out a sigh. Soda and I had asked the doctor many times when Ponyboy would be able to go home, but his answer was always the same, so I told Pony the truth. "As soon as the doctor thinks you're okay, we'll bring you home, but you still have a lot of healing to do." Ponyboy grunted, but he stayed otherwise quiet. "I know, little buddy. It must be hard, but they want your wound to heal and your head to get a little better first."

"Yeah, I know," he muttered.

"Hey Pony," I Soda said as he strolled back into the room. He sat in the chair on the other side of Pony's bed. "How's it goin'?"

Ponyboy slowly opened his eyes. "Alright. You okay?"

"Don't worry 'bout me, I'm fine," Soda said with confidence. Then he spoke softer, like he used to speak around the horse he loved as a kid. "You and Cassie get a chance to talk? I know she's been feeling bad about what happened."

"Yeah, we're good," Ponyboy said. "Told her it ain't her fault."

Soda and I both grinned. "That's what we told her, but I'm sure she just needed to hear it from you."

"I hope she believes me," Ponyboy mumbled.

Soda looked troubled by that statement. He reached forward and squeezed Ponyboy's shoulder. "She will. It might take some time, but she will."

"She was worried 'bout you too… both of you," Ponyboy continued. "Thought you'd rather her hurt than me."

Soda and I both tensed up, and after a moment to regain my composure, I spoke. "We knew she thought we'd be mad at her, but we assured her that we aren't." I put my hand on the back of Pony's neck. "We're upset with those Socs, nobody else." Please believe me.

Ponyboy smiled a little. "Good." Then he closed his eyes and let out a yawn, making it obvious how exhausted he was, even though he spent the majority of the day sleeping.

"Okay honey, why don't you get some rest?" Soda suggested.

"Not tired," Ponyboy muttered, barely able to get the words out.

Soda and I both laughed a little, then I ruffled Ponyboy's hair– another thing that became a natural instinct since Pony was put in the hospital. "Get some sleep, Pone."

Within a minute, Ponyboy was sleeping. Once his breathing evened out, I retracted my hand and looked at Soda. "What were you and Steve talking about?"

"I pointed out that he really does care about Pony, and he denied it. I know he's lying though," Soda said with a grin. "He's gonna spend the night at our house. He only needs to be in one fight today."

I winced at that comment. The fact that Steve didn't want to go home to spare more bruises really bothered me, but I was glad that our house was always a safe spot for him. "Do you need a ride home?" I asked.

Soda shook his head. "Nah, Steve's there to watch the house. I'll stay here tonight."

It was his turn to go home and get a decent night's sleep, but he was passing it up to spend another night in the hospital. I looked at him for several seconds before replying. "You sure?"

"Yeah," he answered simply before looking back down at our kid brother. He seemed determined to stay with Ponyboy, and I wasn't going to force him away, especially because I would do the exact same thing.

A silence fell in the room, with only the beeping from the machines connected to my brother making any noise at all. In the stillness, Soda's whisper almost seemed loud. "You think he'll ever be the same?"

I looked at Soda, and even though it was dark and his eyes remained trained on Ponyboy, I could see his tears. What does he mean by that? "He's still Ponyboy, Soda."

He shook his head, but he kept looking at Pony. "That's not what I meant." He fidgeted in his chair, but still kept his eyes away from me. "The head injury is makin' it hard for him to think an' talk. He's still not the same as before. Do you think everything will go back to like it was before?"

Again, Soda was asking the questions that I dared not to speak out loud. I took a breath before I responded, trying to demonstrate confidence. "He's getting better, Soda. The doctor says he's making progress. Pony's tough… he'll be okay."

Finally, Soda looked at me. "But will he be the same?"

At that moment, I finally understood what Soda was getting at. I sighed and I felt my shoulders sag. "I don't know, little buddy. I don't know if any of us will be the same after everything that's happened."