Thanks for the awesome reviews! the faster you review, the faster I update. I'm about to finish off "Dominoes" and "Superman's tights" so I can come out with another story. Its gonna be the first one that Johnny is alive in:))))

I do not own the Outsiders.

Dally POV

Jail had, so far, lived up to (and surpassed) my wildest expectations. I think that if Tim hadn't been there, I would have died.

My first impression of Tim was that he was a tough, wild hood with no emotions. From what he told me, we used to be two of a kind, except he had always cared for people, and I hadn't.

On night we were sitting on Tim's bottom bunk, discussing my past life. I think it pained Tim to talk about this. He would grit his teeth, as though in pain, but he never refused to talk to me.

"Tim," I had asked hesitantly, after he had finished telling me about some wild adventure, of which I had no recollection. "Did you- do you..."

"Out with it kid!" Tim was not a very patient person.

"Sorry." But I didn't elaborate. My ears felt hot, and I knew I was blushing deeply. Tim sighed, but patted my shoulder.

"C'mon kid. You can tell me." I always wondered why Tim was so nice to me. I hadn't seen much of the other prisoners in the day and a half that I had been here, but Tim had told me how he usually dealt with his bunk mates.

"Do you...like me?" Realizing how awkward this sounded, I hurriedly elaborated. "I mean, do you like me better, or what I used to be."

Tim thought for a moment. I could tell when he was thinking hard, because he cocked his head to the left and ran his fingers through his long tangled hair.

"I honestly don't know Dal. Dallas and I were...real close. God, that kid hated me. I beat him up so many times, he had to wear a cup on his- well, anyway, I considered him my brother."

I nodded, trying to hold back tears. Tim doesn't like it when I cry, and I hate it when he feels obligated to comfort me.

"But," I still refused to meet his eyes, hiding my shining ones conspicuously in the darkness. "But, Dallas didn't love anyone." There was a bitterness in his tone. "I sometimes wonder if he even loved Johnny. He just wanted to die."

"I'm not dead you know. I'm right here." Tim chuckled. For the first time, he wrapped his wiry, muscled arms around my shoulders in a brotherly hug.

"No you aren't. Dallas is dead. You're Dally, and I'm glad that Dallas got a second chance."

That was when my first impression of him died. I now thought of him as an older brother of sorts, all though he couldn't replace my "real" brothers.

I missed Darry, Pony, Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit like I'd never missed anything. That's why the second day in jail was the best. For another reason, it was the worst.

The alarm blared for exercise time. I had missed this on my first day, busy being interrogated by a police officer, and I was thankful for missing it.

I was lucky again today. As Tim escorted me to the yard, more tense looking than usual, a guard caught my attention. Tim looked relieved that I wasn't going to the yard. He had been telling me all morning what to do and say during this "free for all."

"Dally?" He smiled at me. The guards here had been cold and cruel to me at first, but when they had heard my story and seen the evidence for themselves, most of them had warmed up to me. I liked this particular guard. His name was "Rudyard" and he said he was named after a poet. His parents were both well known artists and they had wanted him to do something in the arts.

"Hi Rudyard." I said, distracted with the apprehension of going out into the prison playground.

"C'mon Dallas. Your friends are here to see you. Darry, Sodapop, and Pony?" I smiled widely at him and waved goodbye to Tim, who only glared playfully at me.

I followed Rudyard, keeping up a constant chatter about unimportant things, excited and almost nervous at the prospect of seeing my brothers again.

Rudyard just laughed at me kindly. "Kid, I'm gonna let you actually see them ok? Not just through the glass with the phone crap. You can hug them or whatever, but I'll be watching you." He tried to make a joke out of it, raising one eyebrow and pointing at his eyes, then to mine. I knew he was serious though, and I nodded, a smile still playing on my face.

Pony, Darry, and Soda were sitting on comfortable chairs in a small, white walled room. Rudyard took his place by the door, and smiled at me encouragingly.

I ran to Darry first and wrapped my arms around him tightly. Soda clapped me on the back, and I was suddenly engulfed in a huge group hug. I hugged Pony separately, examining his face, asking if he was ok. Poor kid was only 14, and this experience must be traumatizing for him. His entire life was traumatizing.

When the obligatory hugs and "how are you's" were over with, I introduced them to Rudyard. He looked surprised at being addressed, as did my brothers.

"Your friend is my favorite er...prisoner. I mean to say, he's a nice kid." I grinned at him goofily.

"Thanks for the good report Rudyard." Darry looked Rudyard carefully in the eye, analyzing him. His face broke into a pained smile.

"Please keep an eye on him." It looked to me as though Darry and Rudyard had a private conversation with their eyes. Rudyard nodded seriously, a sad expression on his face.

Then Soda turned to me. "Dally, are you ok? No ones hurt you right?" His eyes looked like they were on the verge of becoming angry. I knew that Soda was over-protective, and if someone even looked at me the wrong way, hardened criminal or not, it would mean blood.

I shook my head happily. "I'm with a really nice bunk mate. We were friends before...Anyway, his name's Tim Shepard."

Darry looked slightly worried, and I frowned at him. "What? Tims a really good guy! If it were anyone else, they might make fun of me, or even hit me!" I shuddered at the thought. I hated it when people shouted "greaser!" at me, or tripped me as I walked down the street.

Darry and Soda looked especially pained at this (probably because they don't want kids to tease me.) I decided. Pony was better at hiding his emotions.

"Well, I'm glad you made some friends Dal." I smiled down at him, and slung an arm over his shoulders, happier than I could ever remember being. Probably happier than I ever had been.

I walked out of the room, the grin still plastered to my face. Rudyard walked beside me, but I felt he was more of a friend than a guard.

"Is free time over yet?" I asked, hoping it was. He shook his head, and seemed to read my thoughts.

"But you don't need to go out just yet." I was relieved, but only for a second.

"But I'm gonna have to tomorrow. And the day after that. and 11 days after that. An hour outside with the toughest criminals. And if Tim tried to protect me, it's gonna just make people target him and me. Tim told me how it is."

Rudyard nodded. "You know, even before all this amnesia crap we were friends. I would sneak you a cigarette sometimes. You didn't want to do the things you have to do in jail to get a cigarette. And I didn't want you to. For gods sake, the first time you came here, you were ten. Sassy ten year old also, but I saw you cryin' in your bed once, and then I decided that no matter how tough you were, I was gonna look after you."

"Thanks Rudyard. But I'm not tough. Not anymore I ain't. Sometimes I wish I could be, but I don't want to not love anyone, and that's what being tough it." Rudyard was silent for a minute, choosing his words carefully.

"Darry's tough, and he loves. What I'm saying is, you need an on an off switch. before your accident, you were more like a broken motion sensor- only some people registered on your love radar. A very broken motion sensor."

This didn't make much sense to me, but then again, I wasn't very smart, even though Pony would beg to differ. "Do I have to go to break?"

Rudyard nodded. "Yeah. Sorry kid, but it's the law. I could lose my job. I'll keep a very close eye on you." he made the 'I'm watching you' motion again, and I tried to force a laugh as I walked into the slightly crisp tulsa sunlight.

The prison yard wasn't very well kempt. The balls the prisoners were attempting to kill each other with, were too soft to do any real damage.

A ball was thrown at me, and I caught it, reflexively. I looked around for it's owner, before a body came flying at me. I yelped, and dropped the ball. I realized that it was only Tim, then I wondered why he pushed me down.

Then I realized. Running towards us were squadrons of prisoners, all with a manic glint in their eye. Tim's breath was quick, but I still didn't piece together why he was lying on me, until the first blow hit him.

The prisoner had undoubtedly been aiming for me, but he caught Tim in the ribs. Time groaned, and I gasped, comprehension washing through me.

I tried to push Tim off of me, but he was too heavy and too strong. He winced as he caught a punch directed at my head.

Rudyard pushed his way through the crowd as the yelling became louder and the blows hit Tim harder and faster. Rudyard pulled me out from under Tim.

The minute I wasn't underneath Tim, the punches stopped raining on him. Instead the hits were aimed at me, but Rudyard ran, practically dragging me along with him.

"Medic!" A man dressed in white ran to Tim. I saw blood run over me eye, and I shuddered. It must be Tim's blood.

"C'mon kid." Rudyard said gruffly. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Rudyard escorted me to the showers, then went to get me a towel and clothes. It wasn't shower time, so technically I was breaking the rules, but the water was warm (a luxury) and I found myself lulled by the sound of the water hitting the shower floor.

I was broken out of my peaceful state by men's low voices and loud, thumping footsteps. I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise.