(Ponyboy's POV)

The darkness felt like a comforting blanket covering my entire body. Every time that blanket was being removed even just the slightest bit, the light started to appear, and with it, the agony materialized. I kept trying to go back to the land of unconsciousness and comfort, but eventually, the light won.

As the fogginess dissipated, my sense of touch returned. I felt something strange under my nose, but I didn't have the energy to do anything about it. It hurt to breathe, but it was a dull ache, so it was manageable. I felt like lead– heavy. I heard voices around me, so I focused on that, trying to wake up since it was clear that the light was there to stay.

I heard Tim say something about someone having to save the kid instead of fighting. Darry, he's talking about Darry. Darry had to save me. Then I heard my oldest brother's voice. Darry's here.

Next, I heard Two-Bit asking why I was targeted but the Socs, and Curly said one of them claimed to just be scaring me. Mission accomplished; I was scared. But that's not the whole story.

I spoke before I even thought about it. "They wanted to finish what Bob started."

I opened my eyes, and saw six pairs of eyes looking at me. Soda sat on the bed next to me and put a hand on my arm, apparently trying to comfort me without hurting me. "Hey Pony, how ya feelin'?"

I thought about ways to describe how I felt, but it seemed unusually difficult. "Weird. Tired. Heavy." All of those words were true, but I couldn't form sentences to explain any further.

"That's from the medication they have you on," Darry said as he gently ruffled my hair. He gave me a small smile, then it turned into a frown. "What do you mean by finishing what Bob started?"

I struggled to sit up, and only managed to do it with the help from my brothers. "That night in the park, Bob was drowning me. That's why Johnny stabbed him in the first place. Eric was there that night too. He told me he wanted to finish what Bob started."

I glanced at everyone in the room, and they all looked angry. Rage was building in their eyes, and in Two-Bit's, there was guilt mixed in too.

"Hey Ponyboy, I'm sorry 'bout letting those Socs get to you… I should've gone with you-" Two-Bit started, but I interrupted him.

"It's okay, Two-Bit. I ain't blamin' anyone except those Socs." Then I gave him a smirk. "And I ain't a kid, I can walk by myself."

"Apparently not," Steve muttered.

"Why don't we give them some privacy," Tim said in a tone that showed he wasn't merely just suggesting it.

I'd forgotten Tim was there. He was with me for both fights, which was obvious with the bruises he was sporting, and I probably owed him my life just as much as I owed Darry. Tim turned to walk out the door, with Curly, Steve, and Two-Bit following him.

"Tim, wait," I said. Tim turned around, raising his eyebrows a little. "Thanks. You too, Curly."

"Don't sweat it kid," Tim said. Curly just grinned and nodded before following his brother out of the room. The Shepards were hoods, but they were our buddies, and they had my back.

Once the other guys left, Darry addressed me in a gentle voice. "Are you in pain?"

I thought about it carefully before answering. "Yeah, but it ain't nothin' like before. Everything kinda hurts, but it's better now than before." Both of my brothers looked concerned. "What happened after you got me out of the water? I don't remember much."

"We rushed you here. The docs-" Soda was interrupted by a doctor walking into my room.

"Hello Ponyboy, it's nice to see you awake." The man was middle-aged, had grey hair, and he seemed to be genuinely happy to see me. "I'm doctor Johnson. I just want to check on you and see how you're doing."

Doctor Johnson asked my brothers to leave the room as he looked me over, but when they both refused, he didn't seem too upset. In fact, he didn't seem surprised by my brothers' refusal. As I was being poked, prodded, and questioned, I could feel my brothers watching carefully, ready to tackle the doctor if he caused me too much pain.

I found out I had busted ribs and bones in my hands, bruised kidneys, a twisted knee, concussion, and pneumonia. There were concerns about me getting real sick from being in the river, so I was being given medication through the IV that I didn't even notice I had attached to me. I was instructed to keep the cannula under my nose to make sure I got enough oxygen. Eventually, the doctor left us alone again.

"I'm a mess," I stated the moment doctor Johnson was gone. Soda gave me a sad grin, but Darry frowned. "I'm sorry for going to the library alone. I thought the Socs would leave me alone… they have been since I scared those guys off at the DX."

"I'm not mad, Pony," Darry said. He gently squeezed my shoulder. "I was scared."

Soda moved to sit right next to me, and he put an arm around me, gently pulling me closer to him. "We were both scared to death."

I looked at Darry and had a flashback of him saving me. Then I looked at Soda, and I had a flashback to opening my eyes and seeing him right in front of me. My brothers will always have my back. They'll protect me.

"Thanks again for saving me… I would've been a goner." I didn't mean to bring their worst fears to light, but my mouth was working too fast for my brain. "Sorry you had to jump in the river, Darry."

"Don't apologize, Pone. It's what brothers do, and I'd do it again if I had to," Darry said. He put his hand on the back of my neck. "We're not going to let anything happen to you. We can't lose you too."

I started tearing up, and after Soda pulled me closer, Darry wrapped his arms around both of us.

I was discharged from the hospital the next day, and on the way home, Darry told me all of the doctor's instructions, but when we arrived at the house, I looked at him in confusion. "Wait, what did the doctor say?" I wasn't even joking around with him; I really couldn't remember anything Darry said.

He looked back at me, and when he realized I actually didn't remember what he said, he sighed. "Never mind, I'll write it all down."

As soon as I limped into the living room, exhaustion took over. I laid down on the couch and fell asleep.

I woke up, and I was shocked to see Tim sitting in Darry's chair. Nobody sits in Darry's chair. "Tim?"

"Hey kid," Tim said flatly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, being careful with my tone. Even though he likely saved my life, he was still Tim Shepard, and I didn't want to make him mad.

He shrugged. "Just hangin' around… makin' sure you stay outta trouble."

As I sat up, I noticed the list on the small table next to Tim, and I could only guess it was the doctor's instructions that Darry wrote down. After a moment, I realized the house was quiet. "Where is everyone?"

Tim smirked. "They'll be back soon."

That didn't answer my question.

I slowly got up and went to use the bathroom. As I washed my hands, I heard Tim talking to someone. When I walked back into the living room, the whole gang and Curly were there. Everyone was talking quietly. Curly, Steve, and Two-Bit had several cuts and bruises already forming, but my brothers barely had a scratch. Other than bloody and bruised knuckles and Soda's split lip, my brothers looked fairly untouched.

"What happened?" I asked. It was a dumb question, it was obvious they were all in a fight, but I needed details.

The guys glanced at me, surprised, then they shared looks with each other.

"We found the Socs that jumped you," Curly said.

As much as I didn't like fighting, and it didn't really solve much, I couldn't help but smile. The vengeful part of me was glad the Socs got a taste of their own medicine.

"You should've seen your brothers, Ponyboy. Shoot, they didn't even need us there! The two of them could've dealt with all of them Socs," Two-Bit said.

I wasn't surprised– my brothers never lost a fight, and since they were fighting on my behalf, I could only imagine how intimidating they'd be. Soda playfully punched Darry's arm, and Darry returned the grin Soda gave him.

"So why'd you tag along then?" I asked Two-Bit jokingly.

"We wanted a piece of them too," Steve said. I wasn't sure if Steve truly felt like he needed to fight for what the Socs did to me, or if he just wanted to fight. "Your brothers can't have all of the fun."

"Alright Curly, let's go home," Tim said.

Curly nodded and followed Tim, but he turned around before he reached the door. "Glad you're back, Pony."

After I gave him a nod in reply, the Shepards left, and Darry followed them outside. I assumed he was either going to talk about me or the Socs. Maybe even both.

I looked at Soda. "I can't believe you had Tim Shepard babysitting me while you fought the Socs."

He looked slightly guilty. "We needed someone here, and he already fought with them twice… the rest of us needed some time with our west side friends."

"Yeah, nobody's comin' in here to mess with ya if Shepard's here," Two-Bit said.

At that moment, Darry walked back into the house. "I don't think those Socs will bother you anymore, Pone." He sounded real proud. "If they do, you let me know. Savy?"

I nodded. "How bad did you hurt them?"

Steve laughed. "They'll need a doctor, but they'll live."

"One guy will need new pants," Two-Bit said before howling with laughter.

We all laughed with him, but then my head started pounding and my ribs ached. Darry must've noticed I was in pain, because he stopped laughing and immediately addressed me.

"Why don't you go get some rest. We'll keep it down," he said.

I nodded, but I couldn't resist one last remark. "With Two-Bit here? I doubt that."

I left to go to my room, listening to the laughter as I walked away.

When I woke up, I felt myself moving slightly, and I groaned in pain.

"Sorry honey," Soda whispered.

I opened my eyes and saw his apologetic face. He was apparently trying to climb into bed without waking me up, but it didn't work. "It's fine. The pain meds must've worn off or somethin'," I said.

"I can sleep in my old room if you want," Soda offered.

I shook my head. "No, don't. I'm fine." Truth was, even before the incident at the bridge, I was still having nightmares, and I was sure they'd get worse after being thrown into the river.

Soda seemed to understand, and he carefully laid next to me. I could tell he was keeping his distance to avoid hurting me, but I leaned into him, suddenly needing comfort from my brother. He carefully wrapped his arms around me.

"I got you baby. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you again," Soda said. "They'll have to go through me and Darry."

I started drifting off, calmed by Soda's presence. After a while, I heard the door to our room open.

"He asleep?" Darry quietly asked.

"Just about," Soda whispered back.

I felt Darry sit on the edge of the bed, and he placed his hand on the top of my head. "He really had me worried, Soda. For a minute, I thought…" Darry trailed off. Instead of speaking, he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I know. I felt the same way," Soda said. "But he's here Darry. We still have him, and those Socs aren't gonna mess with him anymore if they know what's good for them, especially that Eric kid. You almost snapped his arm in half.

I couldn't hide my smile, and apparently it didn't go unnoticed.

"Pone, are you awake little buddy?" Darry asked.

"No," I said with a smile. Then I chuckled until my ribs protested. I opened my eyes and looked at Darry. "You came to check on me?"

"Of course I did, kiddo," Darry said, ruffling my hair.

I grinned. "Did you really break Eric's arm?"

Darry shrugged, but he couldn't hide his smile either. "Yeah, among other things."

"You should've seen him, Pony. Darry had him practically running with his tail between his legs," Soda said.

I laughed a little, but I closed my eyes as I felt sleep start to claim me again.

"Go to sleep, Pone." Darry said quietly. Just by listening to him, I could tell that he got off the bed and he was on the floor. "I'm going to stay in here tonight, so let me know if you need anything."

"You ain't gonna sleep in your bed?" I asked with my eyes still closed.

"No, I'm going to keep an eye on you for a bit," Darry replied.

Usually, I'd get irritated by having my brothers, especially Darry, watching over me so much, but this time, I appreciated it. I felt safe.

"Thanks guys… for everything," I said.

They replied, but I didn't know what either of them said. I was already falling asleep.

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