Author's Note:

Hehehe, sorry to keep you guys waiting. I would offer you something longer, but I was typing fast and I wanted to give you something. Its hasn't been edited at all, so I apologies ahead of time for my terrible grammer and spelling. I'll write you more, and then come back and edit it all.

For now, I hope this is enough to satisfy you 48 hours or so.

Now, I'm never one to toot my own horn, but I had to admit I was pretty damn smart to think of what to do in a situation like this.

FLASHBACK

"Remind me again why Nick didn't have his lazy ass over here helping us?" Pony grumbled for the third time as he rubbed the shoulder he had been lugging the sack of grain on. He shot a glare at me. "If I broke something I am so suing your ass."

I laughed and ruffled his hair like I did with Nick when he was in one of those moods. "Would have gotten the guy to help us, but he had done all the morning chores for me so I owed him. Besides, I thought you wanted to get out of the house."

Pony let out a huff and batted away my hand. "So I turn from prisoner to slave in the blink of a eye?" He cocked one eyebrow, and I had to laugh again because he was so funny when he did that. "What's next."

"Horse crap cleaner." I said in a mock stern voice and we both started laughing.

We were coming close to the town now, and I could almost the cold beer in my mouth. One of our customers lived pretty far out of town, but I knew, no matter how much Ponyboy complained, he did want to get out, so I hadn't taken the truck but had walked with him.

As we rounded the familiar path and the first few buildings sprang, I felt something was wrong, out of place. I felt it before I even saw the car. It was a really nice, realy expensive car, and I knew no one for miles around here had something like that.

I opened my mouth to ask Ponyboy about it, but stopped in my tracks. He was no longer next to me. I whipped around to see him collapsed on the ground, his hands on his head, his eyes shut tight.

I tore over to him and slid on my knees next to him. I could tell he was having another episode, and I would bet anything that it was because of that car.

I carefully gathered him up and rested his head on my lap. "Ponyboy." I whispered cautiously, but didn't get any answer.

He was muttering to himself now, sometimes shaking his head back and forth, but otherwise laying still. I leaned closer to him, trying to make out the words. "Socs…don't hurt me…Socs…mustangs…no,no,NO!"

I quickly withdrew my head as he screamed the last part, knowing I had lost hearing. Socs, that didn't sound good. I glanced over my shoulder at the mustang. Socs were in town, and from the few facts I had I could guess they were the ones that hurt Ponyboy.

I quickly gathered him up in my arms and raced toward the house. I had to get him away from danger, NOW, and then had to track down Nick. My heart did a flip flop at the thought of Nick facing those thugs, but I knew if the boy had free time he would be at the bar, and there were friendly faces to back him up there. So, Pony first, then Nick.

But Pony was in no shape to run for it. What the hell could I do? As I reached the farm I slowed, my head darting back and forth. As my eyes landed on the barn for a second time, a idea flickered to life in my mind.

I tore the doors open the best I could and raced into the semi darkness of the building. I was somehow able to climb the ladder to the hey loft with Pony slung over my shoulder, and once I was there I dumped him into the hey. I covered him up the best I could, and then went back outside, locking the door behind me.

END FLASHBACK

So, Pony was safe inside the barn, as long as these two never found out.

I sized them both up quickly. I found myself in the rare occasion thinking that I had found someone who could be my equal in a fight. The guy was as tall and as ripped as me, but it was the look in his ice blue eyes that was causing a twitch of fear. He looked ready to kill.

The other one was no whimp, but in a fight I could snap him in half. He looked half ready to fight half ready to scream, and being in between those two feelings was ripping him apart.

"What do you mean run?" Nick spoke up, breaking the silence.

I looked over at him, and our eyes met, and I begged that somehow we had a strong enough brotherly connection for Nick to understand me. He didn't need to get the whole picture, just had to let me handle things.

For a long, long minute we stood there, and I began to worry I was just asking to much. But then, something clicked in his eyes, and he walked over to me and stood by my side, facing the other two. At that moment, I knew Nick would follow my lead.

"We are not letting a bunch of Socs get a hold of Ponyboy." I said coldly as I turned back to face the two.

I seemed to hit a nerve. The big one let out a noise that sounded like a guard dog growling and the other one's eyes got huge. "We arn't Socs." He cried out indignatly. "Where the hell did you get that idea?"

"Saw you mustang parked on the edge of town." I said curtly. To be truthful, it had been Pony's episode that made me believe these guys were Socs, but I wouldn't tell them that now. I wanted to keep anything I could a secret.

"We stole that from some Socs." The bigger one said, and I could tell from his voice that he wanted to stop talking now and start swinging. I knew the feeling. But he was holding himself back, and I was guessing he knew he would never be able to find Ponyboy without our help.

I didn't believe that stealing shit and it must have shown on my face because he let out another low growl and said. "Look, I'm Darry and this is Soda. Were his brothers, for god sake, and have been looking for him ever sense he got jumped."

That made my eyebrows raise. This was a turn of events. Saying they were family was the last thing I had expected. I didn't see why they would go that far, unless they actually were his brother's. But how could I know for sure?

"Why should I believe that?" I replied stiffly.

Nick nodded his head in agreement and folded his arms over his chest. "Prove it." He said firmly.

Soda looked lost at what to do. He opened his mouth to say something, and then it weakly clossed again. But Darry, on the other hand, seemed to change. He turned his head away and slowly reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. From the inside he pulled out a slighlty warn out piece of paper, which after a moment I realized was a picture.

"Here." He said, as he clossed the distance between us and held it up so I could see it easily. It was a picture of three boys. The smallest one was obvioulsly Ponyboy, though with no gash on his head and a light in his eyes that was barely there now. The one's flanking, I finally decided after a good, hard look, were Darry and Soda.

"That's taken in front of our house when Ponyboy was ten." Darry's voice startled me, because it had changed suddenly. It was no longer cold and hard, but full of emotion. If I had to guess, I would have said he was holding back tears. I looked up at him as he kept on talking. "The kid may not use his head, but he has something no greaser has ever had. He loves books, can never get his head out of them, and forgets to do his chores because he is busy watching the sunsets." He paused for a moment, and then whispered. "If I had done something that day I could have stopped this from happening. And now I will do anything to get him back."

It came as a understanding. Two men, burden with a load someone there age shouldn't know. Both were brother's, desperate to keep there small family together. And when that understanding came the doubt fled my mind, and I knew they were telling the truth.

"He didn't run." I said, the anger and coldness leaving my voice. I pointed with a thumb over my shoulder. "He's in the barn, up in the hey loft."

For a moment my words didn't rejisture. Then, very slowly, I saw hope spring up, warming the ice blue eyes. Soda caught on even quicker, because he started off toward the barn, but I quickly threw out an arm.

"There's some stuff you got to know." I said quickly when I saw the kid's eyes flash at being stopped from seeing his brother. "Give me to seconds to explain," I added. "Its really important if you don't want to cause even more shit for Ponyboy."

Soda nodded his head, and both brother's looked expectantly at me. "Pony has no memory, nothing but when he woke up on the side of the road. He has been regaining some memmories, though I don't know what sense he hasn't been that talkitive about them, but its hell the way he gets them. He sees something that triggers a episode, and that's blinding pain in his head that lead to him being knocked out." I looked at them both firmly. "I have no clue what's going to happen when he sees you, but be prepared for the worst."

Soda had paled at the information, but he nodded his head firmly and began to run toward the barn, Nick close on his heels. Darry nodded as well, but he stopped to take the time to put the picture in its rightful place in his wallet.

"Carry that everywhere?" I asked, like we were disscussing the weather.

He nodded once, fingeringering the edge of the picture that stuck out of the slot he put it in. "Thinking of having one taken again if..." His voice trailed off and I watched as he tried to square his shoulders.

"You should have another one taken when you're all together again." I said firmly.

Darry looked up at me, and then nodded his head again, and together we started off toward the barn.