Author's Note: Thanks for your patience everyone! My surgery went well and my hand is feeling a lot better now. Credit for the idea for this chapter goes to JennaLynnnxo, thanks so much! Be that a lesson to you guys, always feel free to throw out ideas for any of my stories. I can't promise that I'll use every idea, but if it fits with my plans for the story I'll definitely try to throw it into the mix!

Also… this story officially has over 200 reviews! That's so awesome! Thank you guys so much, you are all fantastic. :) I'm sorry that i haven't had a chance to answer reviews, but I still appreciate them a lot! Please keep it up!

And one last quick side note because I feel that it is relevant in this situation. My thoughts go out to the people of Oklahoma who were affected by the recent tornado. I started writing this chapter before that happened and I found it a little eerie that my story takes place in Oklahoma and this particular chapter involves some intense thunderstorms.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sick

Soda was quickly falling into a routine as time kept passing. He found that being able to know exactly what was going to happen put him more at ease. He got up every morning and would box with his punching bag for a while out on the porch. Then he would head inside where Darry would have breakfast on the table. After breakfast he would help Pony with the dishes before he would go get ready for work. Then Two-Bit would show up and depending on how he was feeling they would either drive or walk to work. Soda would work straight through the day and Two-Bit would keep customers away as much as he could.

After work Two-Bit would take him home and usually joined him and his brothers for dinner. After dinner was finished and cleaned up they would all usually play card games together until Soda couldn't stay awake anymore and he was always the first to head to bed. After he would go to bed he could usually hear the TV being turned on a low volume so that all he could hear was a dull murmur. He still avoided the TV as well as the radio because they were both unpredictable.

Things didn't always go perfectly smoothly though. Things still popped up to throw Soda off. One night there was a bad storm that woke him and by the time Pony and Darry realized what was happening he was cowering on the floor in the bathroom, unable to be comforted until the storm had passed. A few other nights he was woken by violent nightmares which shook him enough to keep him up the rest of the night. A few irate customers at the DX also managed to send him off the edge, and his temper was enough to scare even himself. Things were still rough, but Darry and Pony would both point out that Soda was still having more good days than he used to. He supposed that had to mean that he was improving.

Soda would use Steve's letters as lifelines. He was able to write to them pretty consistently once a week even after he was shipped overseas since he was at base the whole time and never went out into the field. He mostly complained about the bad food and the long hours they had him work, but Soda was immensely thankful that that was all he had to complain about. He had caught on quick to how the choppers worked and was able to fix them faster than his superiors. Soda got the feeling that even though he complained about the conditions he was kind of enjoying the work he was doing. Steve always liked a challenge when it came to fixing things.

The three-month mark after Steve had left had come and passed when Tulsa was having a particularly stormy week, which had Soda especially on edge. He stayed home from work two days in a row, but couldn't tolerate staying home alone after that. Two-Bit talked to their boss and had him schedule a third person to work the counter in the store so that he could help out Soda in the garage, claiming he was behind because of missing work since his replacement hadn't been as good at fixing cars as he was. Really what he was mostly trying to do was keep Soda relatively calm during the storms and Soda accepted the assistance without complaint.

It was the end of the week and Soda was feeling exhausted. Two-Bit had been driving them to and from work all week because of the weather, and as he pulled up in front of the house he reminded Soda that he had to give his little sister a ride somewhere so he wouldn't be staying. Two-Bit helped Soda up out of the car and up the porch steps before telling him he'd be back tomorrow morning and heading back to the car.

As Soda entered the house he found that it was silent. They had finally caught a lull between storms and Soda was grateful for the quiet. Darry had picked up shifts at a warehouse downtown to make up for not being able to roof all week because of the rain, so it took him longer to get home at night. Soda was surprised to find that Pony was nowhere to be found though. He was usually the first one home. He didn't think much of it though as he headed for the kitchen, figuring he might as well start on dinner.

It was only a short while later when Soda heard Darry's truck rumbling down the street. Soda listened carefully as Darry's truck pulled into the driveway in an attempt to keep from being startled, which happened all too easily lately. He turned and concentrated on his brother entering the house, cataloging the sounds of the car door, the front door and the sound of his footsteps. His nerves were so frayed at this point from the storms that even though he knew it was Darry he still felt like he had to concentrate to keep from being startled.

"Hey Soda," Darry said as he entered the kitchen. "How're you doin'?"

Soda sighed. "Okay," he said flatly. "Just sick of all these storms."

"Yeah, I know," Darry said sympathetically. "I checked the weather last night, it should clear up in the next day or so."

"Good," Soda said.

"Where's Pony?" Darry asked, glancing around.

"I dunno," Soda said. "He wasn't here when I got in a little bit ago."

"Huh," Darry said, confused. "He should have been. Did you check the bedroom?"

"No," Soda said. "I guess I just figured if he were here he'd have come out. I'll go check."

Soda started moving down the hall as Darry went to take his place with fixing dinner. He saw that their bedroom door was closed and he felt a bit of relief, thinking that there wouldn't be a reason for the door to be closed if no one was in there. He softly knocked on the door before nudging it open.

"Darry, he's in here," Soda called back down the hallway.

He looked back into the room and slowly the strangeness of the sight before him was dawning on him. Pony's backpack was on the floor next to the bed and Pony was sprawled out on top of the bed, fast asleep. It was an odd time for him to be sleeping though. Soda slowly limped into the room, studying his brother. He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and reached over, carefully shaking Pony's shoulder. Pony let out a weak moan as he turned away from him and then coughed dryly. Soda furrowed his brow with concern, not completely understanding what was going on.

"Pony?" he said gently, reaching over and shaking him again. "Pony, c'mon, time to get up." Pony rolled back over and blinked up at him blearily. As Soda got a good look at him he saw that he looked flushed. "What's wrong, Pony?" he asked.

"I don't feel good," Pony mumbled.

Soda reached over and placed a hand on his little brother's forehead. "Gosh, Ponyboy, you're burning up," he said with surprise. He turned toward the door. "Hey Darry!" he called. "Come in here!"

A minute later Darry appeared in the doorway. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking at the scene with concern.

"Pony's sick," Soda said. "He's burnin' up."

Darry walked into the room and crouched down next to the bed as he reached out and put his hand on Pony's forehead just as Soda had just done. "Glory, you ain't kiddin'," he said. "Hang on." He got up and walked from the room. He returned a minute later with a thermometer. Him and Soda coaxed Pony to sit up a bit and hold the thermometer under his tongue. Darry sighed when he looked at the number after it had finished. "He's got a temperature of almost 103. Looks like he's got the flu."

Soda's eyes widened. His temperature seemed awful high if he had just gotten sick that day. "How long you been feelin' bad, Pony?" he asked slowly. Pony shrugged as he allowed himself to sink back down onto the bed, but Soda recognized the look on his face. He was hiding something. "Pony?" Soda prodded. Darry was looking at his expectantly as well.

"I dunno," he mumbled, not looking at either of them. "Maybe since yesterday?"

"Why didn't you say anything yesterday?" Soda asked in surprise. He couldn't fathom why Pony wouldn't tell them he wasn't feeling well. What's more is Soda couldn't understand how he hadn't even noticed.

Pony hesitated at the question, obviously trying to figure out how to word his answer. "You were having a bad day," he finally said quietly.

Soda froze in his spot, feeling like he had been hit by a ton of bricks. Yesterday had been one of the stormiest days so far. It had stormed fiercely through the night and into the morning. Then it had cleared up for a few hours before they were hit by yet another storm in the afternoon. Soda had been jumpier than ever all day and had several panic attacks. It had definitely been his roughest day all week. But the thought that Pony had kept his mouth shut about being sick because of him hit Soda hard. If they had known Pony wasn't feeling well yesterday they could have given him medicine and made him rest and he might not be as sick as he was today.

"Soda?" Darry said carefully, looking at him unsurely, clearly trying to figure out how he was going to react to this confession.

Soda shook himself out of his thoughts, focusing back down at Pony. "Pony, don't you ever do that again," he said, a hint of pleading in his voice. "Just because I'm having a rough day doesn't mean you have to keep quiet about not feeling well."

Pony coughed hard. "Sorry, Soda," he croaked.

"It's okay, kiddo," Soda said gently, reaching up and running a hand affectionately through Pony's hair.

"Get some rest, Pony," Darry said. "I'll get you some medicine."

Darry stood and motioned for Soda to follow. Reluctantly Soda pulled himself to his feet and limped after Darry, closing the bedroom door gently behind him. Darry walked into the bathroom and began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Soda stood in the doorway and just watched him for a minute.

"I can't believe Pony wouldn't tell us he was sick," Soda said suddenly. He was still having a hard time getting his head around it.

Darry glanced over at him briefly, looking weary. "He probably just didn't want to upset you," he said. "You've already been having a rough week."

"I'm not that fragile," Soda said stubbornly, feeling annoyed. "I'm not gonna lose it just 'cause Pony's sick."

Darry sighed as he turned and leaned up against the sink, looking at Soda carefully. "You've got your routine," he said slowly. "You seem to fair really well when everything goes according to plan, you know? It's when something unexpected happens that you start to… struggle. Even when little things go wrong, we can start to see you fall off balance."

Soda felt his expression fall. "I thought I was getting better," he said quietly, disappointment in his voice.

"You are," Darry said quickly. "You are getting a lot better. I didn't mean it like that. It's just… it's gonna take time Soda. I'm so glad your workin' so hard at this, but it's still gonna take time."

Soda sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I'm just tired of struggling with this. I just want to be better."

"I know that, little buddy," Darry said sympathetically. "And you're doin' great with everything. We just gotta be patient."

"Well it still shouldn't be an excuse for Pony not to tell us that he's sick," Soda said.

"I agree with you there," Darry said. "Pony shouldn't have tried to hide something like that from us, no matter the reason. I'll talk to him once he's feelin' better." Soda nodded, feeling distracted. Darry turned back to the medicine cabinet, finding what he was looking for. "You wanna sleep in your own room tonight?" he asked.

Soda looked at him. Then he slowly shook his head. "I'll stay with Pony," he said.

Darry nodded easily. "Okay," he agreed.

Darry took the flu medicine in to Pony. Soda could hear Pony's distant coughing. He wondered vaguely when the last time Pony had a cigarette was. One of the problems with Pony getting sick was always that if he couldn't smoke he would also start going through withdrawal on top of his other symptoms. Darry reemerged a few minutes later and they both returned to the kitchen. With just the two of them it was a quiet dinner. Darry made Pony some soup and took it in to him after they were finished. By the time all that was done it was getting pretty late and Soda decided to head to bed.

Soda limped into the room and left the light off in an attempt to not disturb Pony as he got changed for bed. It seemed he wasn't completely successful though.

"Soda?" Pony mumbled sleepily.

"Sorry, kiddo, didn't mean to wake you," Soda said. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmm," Pony moaned.

"How are you feelin'?" Soda asked as he made his way over to the bed.

"Awful," Pony said.

"Scoot over," Soda said. Pony shifted a bit as Soda lay down next to him. After Soda had settled himself Pony moved closer again, curling into him. Soda wound an arm protectively around his little brother as he coughed. "Pony?"

"Hm?" Pony hummed.

"Promise me you won't do that again," he said, still feeling shook up by the whole situation. He couldn't help but feel that it was his fault Pony had gotten this sick. "You can't keep this kind of thing from me and Darry."

"I'm sorry," Pony said. "I guess… I've just been so worried about you." He coughed hard and Soda sighed.

"It can't be all about me all the time," Soda said gently. "What I really need is to feel at least kinda normal. Which means you gotta let me be your big brother. I appreciate how much you've helped me Ponyboy, but I still want you to come to me with things like this. Okay?"

"Okay," Pony murmured, obviously already falling asleep.

Soda gave Pony a light squeeze. "Night, Pony," he said softly.

"Night Soda," Pony returned lightly.

Soda kept a protective arm around Pony as they both slowly drifted off to sleep.