Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little short, I had to get it out tonight because I am having surgery on my hand Wednesday morning and I won't have time to post tomorrow night. I'm hoping I'll be back to typing within a week, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for an update. But just a forewarning, this story is beginning to wind down. I really hope you enjoyed where I took this story! Anyway, I tried to keep the cheese to a minimum in this chapter, hope you like it! Please review!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Healing

"Hey, Soda? Soda wake up."

Soda felt groggy and confused, unsure what was happening. "Hmm?" he groaned as he rolled over. He slowly blinked his eyes open, watching the bedroom coming into focus. Pony was standing next to the bed, looking down at him. Soda's eyes wandered to the window where he could see sun beginning to stream in. "What time is it?"

"It's 7:30," Pony said. "Two-Bit will be here in a little bit to take you to work." He paused, smiling lightly. "You slept through the night."

Soda yawned as he carefully stretched out, testing his injured leg for the stiffness that always came in the night. He realized why he felt so disoriented. It had been a while since he hadn't woken in a panic with Pony begging him to wake up. "Yeah, guess I did," he agreed.

Pony left the room to allow him to get ready. Soda made his way out of bed and slowly got himself dressed for work. His leg was still pretty sore and he was moving slower than he used to, but today he did his best not to let that bother him. He was still filled with relief after getting Steve's letter last night. It had been a shock to find out that he wasn't going to be on the front lines in Vietnam, but it was a very good shock. Soda desperately didn't want Steve to go through what he had been through. Steve was a lot more jaded than he was going into this. Being thrown into the middle of a war like that would have made Steve into an even angrier and more bitter person. That wasn't something he wanted for his best friend.

Soda limped from the room after he was finally dressed, leaning heavily on his cane. As he entered the kitchen he found that Darry had already made breakfast and his plate of scrambled eggs and grape jelly was sitting at his spot at the table.

"Mornin' Darry," Soda said as he maneuvered himself into the chair next to Pony.

Darry glanced over at him with a small smile. "Mornin', Soda," he returned. He finished setting up his own plate and brought it to the table, sitting down. "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have in a while," Soda said sincerely. It felt good to tell Darry the whole truth for once.

"Glad to hear it," Darry said, sounding relieved.

Soda's face grew serious for a moment as he pushed his eggs around his plate. He had done a lot of thinking last night before he had fallen asleep and he knew he had to get something off his chest.

"Darry… thanks for stinkin' with me through all of this," he said slowly. "I know I haven't been easy to deal with… especially the last few weeks."

Darry looked a bit taken aback by the statement. Obviously he hadn't been excepting that. "Of course, Soda," he said after a moment. "We're always gonna be there for each other, no matter what."

Soda nodded knowingly. "I just want you to know… I appreciate it. I know you could have given up on me with all my ups and downs. Sometimes my emotions don't even make sense to myself."

"I'll never give up on you," Darry said firmly.

"None of us will," Pony spoke up.

Soda smile lightly. "You know… I wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys."

Darry reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Soda, you are strong to have made it this far with everything that's been thrown at you this past year and a half. All this… it wasn't fair and you didn't deserve it. But you got through it. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Darry," Soda said.

It wasn't long before they heard Two-Bit's car pulling into the driveway. Soda took a deep breath before pushing himself up and grabbing his cane. He felt clearer than he had in a long time. Steve was going to be okay. If Steve was going to be okay then Soda was determined to be as well. He didn't want Steve to come home in a year and find that nothing had changed. He had his brothers and he had Two-Bit and for the first time in a long time he truly believed that everything was going to be okay. That everything was going to work out. And he knew he had to hold on to that feeling in order to get through this.

Soda made his way out onto the porch and waited for Two-Bit to make his way up the walk.

"Mornin' buddy," Two-Bit said with a grin. "You look well-rested this fine mornin'."

Soda gave him a half smile. "Yeah, actually got some sleep last night."

"Hm, sleep is a cure for exhaustion? Who knew?" Two-Bit laughed as he walked up onto the porch.

Soda laughed lightly. He suddenly realized that Two-Bit hadn't joked with him much over the last couple of weeks. Everyone had been so careful around him. He must have scared them something awful with how tense he had been.

Two-Bit helped Soda limp down the steps and then Soda limped on his own down the walk. As they approached Two-Bit's car though Soda stopped.

"How about we walk to work?" Soda said.

Two-Bit looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you wanna walk?" he asked.

"I want to start using my leg more," he explained. "The doctor said that I gotta build my muscles back up. If I never use them that'll never happen."

Two-Bit still looked skeptical. "Last time we walked back from work it didn't go so well," he pointed out.

"You got your blade?" Soda asked.

Two-Bit's hand went to his back pocket. "Yeah," he confirmed.

"We'll be fine," Soda said calmly. "C'mon."

"Yeah, okay," Two-Bit finally allowed, shoving his keys back in his pocket. "Let's go. What could possibly go wrong!" he said cheerily.

Soda rolled his eyes. They started walking toward the DX, going at a slow pace. Soda knew that there was a very delicate balance between making his muscles stronger and overdoing it and just making it worse. It was often difficult to figure out exactly where that line was.

They made it to work without any events, which Soda was grateful for. He wasn't afraid of the Socs, he had proven that he could still hold his own even with his injury, but it did make it easier when they didn't turn up. As they arrived at the DX Soda immediately headed for the garage while Two-Bit headed for the store.

The boss had never hired a replacement for Steve so during the day it tended to be just Soda and Two-Bit working. Soda actually preferred it that way though. He wasn't as sociable as he had been before he left. He felt closer than ever with his brothers and Steve and Two-Bit, but he'd rather not deal with other people most of the time because he still wasn't completely comfortable with himself and how he had changed. He liked having the garage to himself all day with minimal contact with customers. It was something that tended to ease his nerves and make him feel useful, like he still had a purpose. Every so often though when they would get backed up the boss would schedule a third person for the day shift, and they were all good guys so Soda didn't mind too much when it did happen.

Soda managed to keep himself busy all morning. He was getting better at figuring out how to get around the garage with his handicap. Two-Bit came into the garage for his lunch break, but Soda never liked to stop for a break, preferring to just snack while he worked. He liked to keep busy and keep moving. Two-Bit seemed to be in a better mood as he chatted during break, and Soda realized that Steve's news didn't just effect him but their whole gang. It was a relief for everyone that Steve wasn't going to be in harm's way.

It was well into the afternoon before anyone else showed up in the garage. When Soda heard someone approaching he felt the familiar dread he felt before dealing with a customer. But as he glanced over he was surprised to see Pony making his way into the garage, obviously having just come from school.

"Hey Pony," Soda said from where he was working under the hood of a car. "What are you doin' here?"

"Hey Soda," Pony returned as he approached. "I just thought I'd stop by. Like old times."

Soda smiled at him. Old times. That was something he definitely wanted back. "Go get yourself a Pepsi from Two-Bit," he said, jerking his head back toward the store. "Be warned though, you come back out here, I just might put you to work."

Pony laughed. "You know I don't know nothin' about cars," he said.

"Well you're sixteen now, it's about time you learn," Soda said.

Pony headed out of the garage and toward the store. Soda watched him go. It was so good to feel like things were okay now. He turned and began poking around the engine he had been working on again. Pony must have been talking to Two-Bit for a while because by the time he returned Soda was completely absorbed in the task in front of him and didn't even notice him approaching.

"Soda?"

Soda jumped and whipped around, looking at his little brother with surprise.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Pony said slowly, looking at him a bit unsurely. "I said your name a few times…"

Soda took in a steadying breath. "It's okay, Pony," he said. "Guess I was distracted." He paused, trying to push away the familiar feeling of anxiousness after being surprised. "Can you grab me a wrench from over there?" he said, trying to sound casual as he deliberately changed the subject.

Pony moved over to the work bench and grabbed a wrench and brought it back over to Soda. He still looked unsure as he handed the tool over to him, and Soda realized that there would be no magic switch with his recovery. His relief at hearing Steve's news had triggered a determination in him to get better, but that didn't mean he was instantly going to get better. It was still going to take time and work on his part.

Pony hung around the garage with him and Soda was glad for his company. Pony hung over his shoulder as he pointed out different parts of the engine that he was working on. It was quite a flip for Soda to be explaining something to Ponyboy. Even though Pony was younger he had always been better at school.

"You seem like you're feelin' better," Pony said carefully.

Soda didn't look up from the engine. "Yeah," he agreed. He paused as he finished up what he was doing before looking up at Pony. "Was I really that bad?" he asked.

Pony hesitated. "We were just… worried," he finally said, not really answering the question. But the way he avoided the question gave Soda his answer anyway.

Soda sighed. "It's gonna get better, Pony," he said. "I'm gonna get better."

Pony smiled at him. "We all knew that you'd get through this," he said.

"Yeah," Soda said. "While I was over there I just wanted so badly to just go home. And then when I finally got here things weren't as easy as I hoped they'd be. This whole thing has taken so much longer than I thought it would. But I'm gonna do my best to get better now."

"And we'll be here to help," Pony said definitively.

Soda gave him a half smile. He knew that as hard as the last few months had been, it would have been so much harder without his friends and family there supporting him every single day. He would have fallen apart long ago if he didn't have Pony, Darry, Two-Bit and Steve. He knew very well that he would have given up if it weren't for them. But he had a reason to keep going and a reason to get better. Now that he knew that Steve wasn't going to be in danger his head felt clearer. And he had a new determination to make this work.