I'm so sorry about the delay- work has been crazy, then I got sick and just wasn't up to writing for a few days, but I finally finished this chapter!

As always, reviews are appreciated, especially as I start wrapping up this story!

(Soda's POV)

I didn't want to leave Pony's side, but I had to call my boss and tell him what was going on. I was thankful that Steve had talked to him before on my behalf, but I knew I had to talk to him myself. I was worried that he'd be upset with me basically telling him I wasn't coming into work and that my brother was my priority, but it was the truth, and I was pleasantly surprised when he completely understood. When I hung up the phone, Steve was leaning against the wall next to me, smoking a cigarette.

"All good?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," I said with a short sigh. "He said I can have a few days off, then we'll see what's goin' on and go from there."

"Well that's good, ain't it?" Two-Bit asked.

I looked at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I knew I failed. "Yeah, but what if nothing changes in the next couple days? How am I supposed to work knowin' my kid brother's still in here?"

Two-Bit looked over at Steve with a conflicted look on his face, and a moment later, my best friend clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Just give him some time, Soda. It's been what, couple days? Kid just needs some rest." When I nodded and looked at the floor, Steve gave my shoulder a squeeze. "C'mon, let's go back to the room."

Steve, Two-Bit, and I walked back to Pony's room. The entire time, I was thinking about what our lives would look like if Pony never spoke again, or if he never left the hospital. I was so distracted that I didn't hear Darry's voice until we were right next to the doorway.

"Soda will be back soon," Darry said.

I wanted to believe that Ponyboy was awake and Darry was talking to him, but I figured he was still unconscious and Darry was just talking to our sleeping brother like I did all night.

I walked into the room, trying my best to seem unbothered. I'm supposed to always be happy, even if I'm falling apart on the inside. I have to be strong for my brothers. "Did I hear my name?" I said, trying unsuccessfully making my voice sound light. Instantly, even though there was an oxygen mask in the way, I noticed that Pony's eyes were open and he was looking right at me. Is this really happening? "Pony?"

I didn't wait for a reply before I practically ran to the side of the bed. I brushed Pony's hair off of his face, then I let my hand stay on his cheek, just to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. "You really awake, Pony?" I asked, still not entirely sure I wasn't going crazy. "You really here with us?"

After several long moments, Pony quietly replied. "Yeah."

I was so happy that I couldn't contain my emotions. That's his voice. That's Pony's voice. I immediately cried and hugged my baby brother. "Glory Pony, it's so good to see you awake."

"Easy Soda," Darry said nearby.

Pony wrapped his arms around me, which told me he needed the comfort just as much as I did. Glory, my baby brother is alive, and awake, and he's really here. We sat there for a few moments, just soaking in the happiness of being together again.

"How ya feelin' Pony?" I asked when we finally pulled apart.

He stayed quiet for a minute as he looked at me, then Darry. Oh no, is that all we're gonna get out of him? Is he not gonna be able to say anything else? Finally, Ponyboy started muttering. "Sor… sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Darry said, then I saw him squeeze Pony's hand. "We're just glad you're okay."

What could he possibly be sorry for? He almost died, and it's Curly's fault! My poor brother feels guilty about being put in a hospital bed?!

Pony shook his head, making himself wince, which in turn, made my stomach turn. I couldn't handle seeing my brother hurt, and I wished I could make everything better. Then he managed to make himself speak. "No… Cur- Curly… 'm sorry."

What in the world is he sorry about?

Darry surprised me when he spoke real soft. "We know what happened. It's okay."

"Curly told us everything," I said, hoping my brother would stop feeling guilty about something that wasn't his fault. "You don't have nothin' to be sorry for. We've been worried about you, honey."

"'m fine," Ponyboy mumbled.

Darry and I couldn't help but laugh at that. Here was our kid brother, who had fought for his life and was barely able to speak, trying to convince us that he's fine.

"Justa fight," Pony continued. "-ll be fine."

This time, Darry and I looked at each other, both worried, before we looked back at our brother. Does he really think it was just a normal fight?

"Pone, it was more than just a fight," Darry said. "You almost didn't make it." Don't remind me.

Since I figured Ponyboy probably had no idea what happened, I felt the need to elaborate. "It's true, honey. You got hurt real bad. You had surgery, then after that, you had a seizure. There were a few times we weren't sure…" I couldn't finish without sobbing, so I stopped talking altogether.

Pony looked confused, then he reached towards the stitches on his head, but luckily, Darry was fast enough to stop Pony from touching them.

"Ponyboy, listen to me. You can't touch that," Darry said. "You got cut in the head during that fight. Between that and your other injuries, you lost a lot of blood." I felt like I was going to get sick just from hearing Darry explain what had happened. "Your lung collapsed from your broken ribs. You had internal bleeding, and there was some time you weren't breathing. The doctor told us you might have some lasting effects." He spoke quickly and roughly, like it was suddenly painful to speak.

Pony looked like he was lost or just somewhere else for a while, but then he said something that completely confused me.

"Mirror."

I looked at Pony, wondering why in the world he said that word. Out of all of the English words he knows, he says "mirror."

"You want a mirror?" I asked, wondering why he'd want one in the first place.

"I don't know, Ponykid. You look real rough," Two-Bit's voice appeared from the doorway. He and Steve walked towards Pony's bed, and I could tell both of them were both nervous, yet happy to see Ponyboy awake. "It's nice to see ya awake an' all, but I don't think you wanna see yourself."

Pony shook his head, then went to touch his stitches again. Luckily, Darry caught his hand again. "Pone, you can't-"

Man, Pony sure is stubborn.

"Mirror," Pony said, struggling against Darry's grip.

We were all confused, but eventually, Steve spoke up. "You mean a car mirror?"

Pony nodded, but that didn't really clear things up.

Steve looked at me and Darry. "Remember what Curly said about the Socs throwing something at them? The thing that broke the window? It was a side mirror from one of the cars Curly messed with."

Leave it to Steve to remember details like that. I looked at Steve, then at Pony. "Is that right, Pony? That's what hit you?"

Pony nodded and blinked, apparently saying yes.

"Good job, Steve," Two-Bit said. "You can speak the kid's language."

"I get plenty of practice speakin' nonsense with you around, Two-Bit," Steve replied. Steve was my buddy and I figured he was trying to make a joke, but he and Pony always had a rocky relationship and his statement made me angry. Pony has a head injury, don't make fun of him.

"Watch it, Steve," Darry snarled.

I wanted to defend our brother too, but before I could, I was shocked to hear Ponyboy laughing. What in the world? Steve just made a joke about Ponyboy not being able to talk real well, and Pony's laughing about it?

"Glory kid, you alright?" Two-Bit asked, speaking the exact thought that I was having.

Pony nodded. "Yeah."

Suddenly, Tim and Curly Shepard appeared in the doorway, and I immediately felt uneasy. Despite feeling both anxious and angry, Curly's black eye and the bruise along Tim's jawline made me grin.

"Here comes trouble," Two-Bit mumbled. You got that right.

"Didn't Darry and Soda already teach you two a lesson?" Steve said. Hell yeah, we did.

"What the hell do you two want?" Darry growled. I already knew that I wasn't the only one who had enough of Curly's antics causing issues for Pony, but Darry sounded dangerous. Still, I couldn't find it in me to feel bad for the Shepards if they got on Darry's bad side; they deserved it.

"We got another problem," Tim said.

I was transported back to only a couple days prior when Tim showed up at the house and told us we had a problem. That was when we were hoping Pony was just late, but he was getting the tar beat out of him. So much has happened since then, and Pony's still in the hospital. What other problem could we possibly have?

Nobody replied to Tim, but he didn't seem to mind since he continued talking. "My guys have seen some Socs drivin' by our neighborhood and yours," Tim said to me and Darry. "Curly said they're the same ones that went after him and your brother."

"They lookin' for another fight?" Two-Bit asked, apparently ready to fight at a moment's notice. The look on his face made me believe he wanted to pummel those Socs almost as much as Darry and I wanted to.

I'll give them a fight they won't forget.

"That, or the money Curly took from them," Steve said with a steely tone in his voice.

Darry glanced at me, then at Pony, and then back at Tim before replying. "Let's talk in the hall." Then he looked down at Pony, whose furrowed eyebrows meant he was confused. "We'll be right back, Pone. Steve and Two-Bit will kept you company." Darry's words were a silent order for the guys to keep an eye on our brother, and it also made it clear that everything started with a Shepard and Curtis, and we'd be the ones to figure out how to make it end.

I looked down at my kid brother and gave him a small smile. "It'll just be a couple minutes." Before Ponyboy could reply or anything, Darry and I followed Tim and Curly out of the room.

I leaned against the wall next to the door so I could go back into Pony's room at a moment's notice, and since Darry was right next to me, I figured he had a similar instinct. The Shepard boys leaned against the opposite wall, and Curly rested his crutches against the wall.

"So what are we gonna do about those Socs?" I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush and waste time. "Another rumble?"

"Looks like it," Tim said dryly.

"Apparently it didn't do much the last time we stomped them," Darry said.

I could sense Darry's disappointment and hesitation. Darry liked fighting alright, but he was old enough that he didn't need to be fighting kids in high school and from the other side of town anymore. He was too busy taking care of me and Ponyboy to get involved in another fight that he had no part in.

As Tim and Darry continued talking, my focus shifted from the conversation in the hallway to the conversation happening in Pony's room.

"-ou should've seen it, Pony. Soda got him right in the eye!" Two-Bit said excitedly, apparently talking about me hitting Curly. I couldn't keep the smirk off my face as I remembered punching Curly.

"Wish we would've seen Darry get Tim," I heard Steve say.

There was a pause, then I heard Steve talk again. "Don't sweat it kid. Look, Curly's walkin' a fine line around here with all of us because of everything, but you got nothin' to worry about. Nothin' about what happened is your fault."

Steve was making fun of Pony earlier, and now he's comforting him? What a strange relationship those two have.

"You just keep restin' and gettin' better, okay Ponyboy?" Two-Bit chimed in.

"So in the next few days, us three will deal with those Socs and end this," Tim said, suddenly bringing me back to the conversation I was supposed to be listening to. I turned to look at Tim, who was looking directly at Darry.

"There's four of us here, Tim," Curly said harshly.

Tim gave his brother a pointed look. "You ain't in fightin' shape, Curly. Not to mention, it's you and Ponyboy that got into this mess, and we're gettin' you outta it."

I straightened, about to take a step forward and defend Ponyboy, but once again, Darry beat me to it. He took a step towards Tim and pointed a finger at him. "Don't blame my brother for any of this." Then, Darry walked up to Curly and shoved him against the wall. He spoke in a low, threatening voice. "And if you get Ponyboy in any kind of trouble again, I won't hesitate to send you to an early grave."

Before Tim even thought about standing up to Darry, my brother released Curly and walked away, going back into Ponyboy's hospital room.

I looked at the stunned Shepard brothers for a moment before following Darry into Pony's room.