Author's Note: Thank you to those who have reviewed! And just so you know, things are really going to pick up during the next chapter. Please keep reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.

Chapter Two

The Homecoming

It was twelve months, two weeks and four days after they had watched Soda leave, unsure if they'd ever see him again. It was one month and three days after Pony had spent an entire eight hours sure he had lost his brother forever. Today he stood with Darry, Steve and Two-Bit on a street corner in the middle of town with several other families, anxiously awaiting the long anticipated homecoming. Darry had lectured them all about how they had no idea what Soda had been through for over a year now and not to go too crazy when they finally saw him. They had seen many soldiers in their neighborhood come back scared of their own shadow.

Finally the bus came rumbling down the street. Ponyboy had strained up on his tiptoes, trying to see in the windows, but there was too much of a glare coming from the rising sun. They watched two other young men in military uniform descend from the bus and reunite with their families, but the Greasers hardly took notice. They were all staring intently at the door to the bus until they saw who they were looking for.

Sodapop gripped the handrail with one hand and a cane with his other as he limped down the three stairs to the street, staring straight down to watch his footing. He was wearing a brown, well pressed military uniform, at least the one that they would wear in public. His buzz cut was hidden under a military hat. He had a military pack slung over one shoulder. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, causing the person behind him to snort impatiently.

"Wait here," Darry said in a low voice as he walked forward.

As Darry approached Soda finally looked up. His face looked the same as when he had left… and yet so very different. Instead of scared, his eyes looked haunted. He looked older and weary. But when he saw Darry he finally smiled and some of his old light came back. Darry smiled widely as he took the pack off his shoulder and slung it over his own shoulder before taking his younger brother's arm and helping him limp over to where the rest of the gang stood. There was an awkward pause as it seemed like no one was sure on how to react.

"Soda," Steve said finally, grinning despite himself.

"Hey Steve," Soda said. "Still as ragged as ever, I see."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh. The world suddenly seemed whole again. Steve and Two-Bit each embraced Soda. Pony felt himself tearing up as he watched his brother, safe and mostly whole, back with them. Finally Soda turned to Ponyboy.

"Hey, little brother," Soda said, his eyes softening.

"Hey Soda," Pony said, grinning widely. Then he just couldn't help himself any longer. He threw his arms around his brother and squeezed as hard as he could. He felt Soda shift his weight to lean on him as he lifted his cane in order to embrace Pony with both arms and squeezed him back just as hard. Ponyboy stood tall, holding his brother up after all the years of it being the other way around.

Finally they pulled away from each other, both wiping away tears.

"Thank you, Ponyboy," Soda said, cupping the side of Pony's face, as if trying to make sure he was really there.

Pony was surprised. "For what?" he asked.

Soda motioned for Darry to come over and as he did Pony saw that Darry was blinking away tears as well. Soda took his pack back and placed it on the ground and dug around for a moment. Then he came up with a very thick stack of envelopes held together by two rubber bands. Pony took the stack, his eyes wide as he saw his own handwriting on the front of the first envelope. It was every single letter that Pony had sent over the past year.

"These helped me to survive," Soda said seriously. Tears began streaking down his cheeks again. "I don't think I wouldn't have been able to get through without these letters, Pony."

Pony stared for a moment. He hadn't even thought of how much his letters would help Soda while he was so far from home. He had only thought about how much he wanted to talk to his brother.

"Come on, little buddy," Darry said after a few moments of silence. He put an arm around Soda and squeezed him. "How about we go home?"

Soda wiped away his tears and smiled up at Darry. "Man, that sounds just fine to me."

XxXxX

The first thing that Soda wanted to do when they got home was change his clothes. He seemed to take longer than usual in his room and it wasn't clear whether it was because he was just enjoying being in his room again or if his injury was hindering him from the simple act of changing clothes. None of the gang would dare ask how it was he was injured, but Darry knew that he would eventually have to know at least how bad the wound was.

Soda came limping back out into the living room in his jeans, t-shirt and bare feet. If it weren't for the buzz cut and the cane that he leaned heavily on he would have almost looked as if he had never left. Almost. As Darry looked at his younger brother's face it seemed like he had aged more than just a year. There was a tiredness behind his once carefree eyes. Instead of a wild grin, he wore a contented smile. And Darry felt angry. Angry that the military had taken away is younger brother and caused him so much pain.

Darry had made a huge meal of all of Soda's favorite foods, including two large chocolate cakes. Darry noticed how Soda savored his first bite of cake. It was probably the first time he had any since the night before he had shipped out. They all ate in the living room, with Soda sitting in Darry's recliner and the rest sprawled out on the floor and the couch. Two-Bit, Steve and Pony all talked animatedly about every little thing they could think of that Soda had missed while he was gone even though he probably already knew most of it from Pony's daily letters. Soda did not complain though as he listened intently.

"Two-Bit got a job?" Soda demanded. "I think I may faint."

Two-Bit laughed good-naturedly. "Well, they said I was too old for high school," he said. "Had to fill my time with somethin'. It's not so bad at the DX."

"Yeah, because I still do all the work," Steve pointed out, elbowing Two-Bit. He looked back at Soda. "But I told boss you were comin' back. He said whenever you were ready you could have your old job back."

Soda nodded. "Thank him for me," he said.

"But there's no rush," Darry pointed out. "You take as much time as you need to, little buddy." The last thing he wanted was for Soda to go running back to work too soon.

The five Greasers talked well into the night. Finally as Soda started nodding off in the recliner they admitted that it was time to for bed. Two-Bit and Steve left, promising to visit after work the next day. Darry helped Soda up out of the chair and walked him down to his bedroom as Pony went into his own room. Soda sat heavily on his bed with a slight groan as he rubbed the thigh of his damaged leg. Darry looked at him with worry in his eyes.

"Soda…" he said slowly as he sat down next to his younger brother. "I don't need to know how you got injured… but I do need to know how bad it is. They didn't tell us in the letter."

Soda's eyes dulled and his smile slipped off his face as he looked down at his leg. He was silent for several minutes and Darry waited patiently.

"I was lucky," he said quietly, sounding like he was speaking from some faraway place. He stared down at his leg. "My knee got torn up pretty good. Shrapnel. It wasn't a direct hit. A few weeks ago I couldn't walk at all and they weren't sure if I ever would again. But the doc said if I keep moving and build my muscle back up that someday I might not need the cane."

Darry nodded. "Okay," he said. Seeing his nineteen-year-old younger brother walking with a cane had been so heartbreaking to Darry. He was glad that Soda wouldn't necessarily be crippled for life. Perhaps they could all heal from this terrible ordeal. He leaned over and pulled Soda into a hug. Soda hugged him back hard. "It's good to have you home, Pepsi-Cola."

"It's even better to be home," Soda mumbled into his shoulder.

"You holler if you need any help," Darry told him as he reluctantly pulled away.

"I will," Soda promised.

Darry left, closing the door behind him. Both his brothers were here with him and he felt whole again. He smiled as he went to bed.