(Ponyboy's POV)

"We got another problem," Tim said to my brothers. "My guys have seen some Socs drivin' by our neighborhood and yours. Curly said they're the same ones that went after him and your brother."

Great, this isn't over.

"They lookin' for another fight?" Two-Bit asked.

"That, or the money Curly took from them," Steve said.

That took me by complete surprise. What money? What the hell are they talking about? As far as I knew, Curly was just out for revenge and wanted to damage some cars; I didn't think he was going to steel anything!

Darry glanced at Soda and me before looking back at Tim. "Let's talk in the hall." Then he looked at me again and tried to hide any sort of worry or anger. Instead, he looked caring and kind. "We'll be right back, Pone. Steve and Two-Bit will kept you company."

Soda gave me a smile. "It'll just be a couple minutes."

Once my brothers were out of the room, my mind immediately started spinning. What's going on? What am I missing?

"What's troubling you, Ponyboy? You seem confused," Two-Bit said with a hint of humor.

I shot him a look, trying to show him that I was confused and it wasn't funny. There were so many pieces to the puzzle I was missing, and that "puzzle" was real life and I didn't want to be out of the loop. "Happen to… Tim 'n Curly?"

"Your brothers happened, kid," Steve said with a smirk. "They got those Shepards real good."

I raised my eyebrows at that. Apart from Dally, none of our gang really liked messing with the Shepards on purpose; it was dangerous to get on their bad side. Plus, we were actually sort of friends with them.

"Steve's right. Darry got Tim and Soda went after Curly. You should've seen it, Pony. Soda got him right in the eye!" Two-Bit said with a huge smile on his face. Even though we didn't tend to fight with the Shepards, I could understand his excitement.

"Wish we would've seen Darry get Tim," Steve said with a smirk.

That remark made my stomach turn. Will this start a greaser-verses-greaser rumble? "Tim's gonna be mad… my fault… Curly… brothers…" Glory, words are difficult.

Steve waved off my concern. "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's trying to make me feel better? Have pigs started flying yet?

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

I nodded, which just made my headache get worse, making me flinch. Before the guys said anything about it, I asked about something that was bothering me. "Curly… money?"

Steve and Two-Bit shared a look before Steve replied sourly. "Yeah, turns out he did more than mess with the Soc's cars. He took whatever money he saw and hid it while you two were getting pummeled."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I didn't want any part of this. I just wanted to walk home from the movie. Two-Bit opened his mouth to say something, but a deep voice erupted from the hallway, causing the three of us to fall silent and look towards the door.

"Don't blame my brother for any of this," I heard Darry say angrily. Then I heard a noise, followed by some rumbling that I knew had to be Darry's voice, but I couldn't make out the words he said. Still, I recognized the tone, and I almost felt bad for whoever was on the receiving end of it.

Within seconds, Darry and Soda walked back into my hospital room, and the Shepards didn't follow. Steve and Two-Bit moved so my brothers could sit right next to me.

Always the nosey one, Two-Bit raised his eyebrows and smiled at my brothers. "Everything alright out there?"

"Everything's fine," Darry said dryly.

There was a beat of silence, then I voiced my concern. "Are you trouble… Tim?"

Darry and Soda shared a confused look, then Darry looked back at me. "What Pone?" I could tell he was really worried about me and my speaking issue, even though he was trying to hide it.

"I think he's asking if you're in trouble with Tim," Steve said. I looked at him, still confused how he was able to understand me when my brothers couldn't. He glanced down at me, and after I nodded, he looked back at Darry. "We told him how you guys got into it with Tim and Curly and he was worried about it."

"That true, Pony?" Soda asked softly, brushing back some of my hair just like Mom used to, which made me suddenly feel very nostalgic and sleepy.

I nodded again and blinked slowly, started to want to drift off. "We rumble… Shepards?"

"Not if they know what's good for them," Soda said with a smirk.

"Tim knows the score. We have an understanding," Darry said confidently. "We're not going to rumble with them, Pone, so don't worry about it."

I nodded again, and my eyelids continued to feel heavier

I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder, and even though my eyes wouldn't open, I knew it was Darry. "Get some rest, kiddo."

Within seconds, I was out like a light.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was something was wrapped around my hand. I blinked the fog out of my eyes and turned my head to see that Soda had fallen asleep leaning forward in a chair, head on the bed, and holding my hand. I appreciated the fact he wanted to be close to be, but I felt a pang a guilt since I knew he'd wake up with a knot or two in his neck for falling asleep like that.

I debated waking Soda up, knowing he needed sleep, but also knowing that it needed to be quality sleep. Before I could do anything, Darry walked into the room with a cup of what I assumed was coffee in his hand.

Darry looked exhausted, and even though the room was dimly lit, I could see the bags under his eyes.

Think, then speak.

"Darry?" I tried, happy to hear that my voice sounded a little stronger than before and that my mouth formed the correct word on command.

My oldest brother was a little startled, but he quickly grinned and sat down next to me, putting his cup down and immediately forgetting about it. "Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?"

Think about the words, then say them. "Tired. Have a headache."

Darry kept his grin and nodded. "Yeah, I bet. The doctor said you might feel like that for a while." I groaned and gave Darry a face, which made him laugh quietly. "I know little buddy, but you'll be better in no time, you'll see."

I sighed a nodded, hoping that he was right. I shifted in my bed a little, which caused Soda to shift some in his sleep too. I looked at him, then back at Darry. "Should we wake him?"

"Do you want me to? Is he in your way?" Darry asked. He was already standing up, as if he was expecting me to say Soda was hurting me in some way.

I shook my head, making the pain in my skull spike. "No, just… just thought he'd…" think, then say the words. "Be uncomfortable."

Darry looked over me and at Soda, then smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right. And I'm sure he'd want to see you now that you're awake."

He walked around my bed and looked at Soda's hand wrapped around mine, and he gave me another grin, but this one was grim. "You kept groaning in your sleep and reaching towards your head, so he refused to let go. Guess that didn't stop when he fell asleep too." I felt guilty for making Soda worry about me even in his sleep, but I tried to hide my feelings since Darry suddenly seemed to be watching me closely.

After a moment of staring at me, he put a hand on Soda's shoulder and shook it. "Hey Soda, wake up." Soda grumbled something inaudible, making Darry chuckle. "Don't you want to see Ponyboy? He's awake."

At the mention of my name, Soda's head shot up almost comically. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, then stared right at me. He must have realized he was my hand because he gave it a squeeze, then patted it. "Hey honey, how ya feeling?"

"Better," I said simply. Then I quirked an eyebrow, trying to look like Two-Bit. "How's your neck?"

His eyebrows raised and he looked at me like I was losing my mind. "My neck? Pony, I ain't the one in the hospital bed, I'm fine-"

"I think he means because how you were sleeping, Soda," Darry said. Soda turned to look up at Darry, but he immediately winced, and I knew he neck was sore from how he fell asleep. Instinctively, Darry rubbed Soda's shoulders and neck and he started chuckling. "You were right, Pone."

"He's a smart kid," Soda said as he gave me a grin. He closed his eyes as Darry rubbed the soreness away, but then immediately opened one of them. "You really doing better?"

I thought about it for a moment, really trying to figure out the truth. Sure, I was sore and felt lousy with the headache and the pain my whole body was in, but the connection between my brain and mouth seemed at least a little better. Or maybe I was just focusing more. Either way, things seemed to be going in the right direction.

"I think so," I said honestly.

"Good," Soda said before closing his eye.

We sat there quietly for a couple minutes, but I felt like I had something to get off my chest; something that couldn't wait, and something I didn't want to talk about in front of the guys. No, it was something just between me and my brothers.

Think, breathe, then speak.

"I'm sorry."

Darry stopped and rested his hands on Soda's shoulders, while Soda's eyes shot open. Both of them looked at me like I was some sort of alien; like they didn't recognize me or something.

"Why do you keep sayin' that?" Soda asked at the same time Darry said, "you don't have anything to be sorry for."

Think of the words you want to say, then say them.

"I wanted to go home," I said, immensely proud of myself for forming a difficult sentence. "After the movie… I wanted to go home." My brothers looked at me expectedly, but patiently. They seemed to understand that it took time and effort for me to make my thoughts into words, and I was thankful they were allowing me to figure it out. "Curly saw me… I didn't want to."

Darry silently pulled a chair up next to Soda and sat close to my bed. Then he gently put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a small smile. "We believe you, kiddo. We know it was Curly's idea."

It meant the world to me to hear my brother say they both knew I wouldn't get mixed up in Curly's delinquent actions on purpose, especially not after what happened the year before and with the State keeping an eye on us.

"Told me he'd bring me home… didn't say nothin' 'bout Socs... 'til he drove away," I added, needing them to understand completely. I really thought Curly was going to be a buddy and drive me home, but he wanted me to help him before he was willing to drive me home, and I needed them to know that. I'm trying to stay out of trouble, I promise. Soda reached forward and wiped a tear off my face, and that's when I realized that I was crying, which made me frustrated. Some tough greaser I am. I didn't have a reason to cry, but the more I thought about it, the more upset I got. "I wanted to go home," I repeated.

Soda's emotions were written all over his face. He was upset that I was upset, he was angry that Curly tricked me, and he was furious that I was laid up in the hospital because of Curly and some Socs. Still, he was gentle when he kept whipping my face. "We know, honey. We know you wouldn't go with Curly to Soc territory just for the hell of it."

Darry moved his hand to the back of my neck, just like our father used to do. His facial expression was more stoic, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he felt troubled and uneasy about everything that had happened. "We knew something must've happened when we didn't hear from you, Pone. We were real worried, then when Tim came and told us… glory, Curly's lucky we're still letting him walk."

I smiled. "Don't he have crutches?"

Both of my brothers laughed at that.

"Hey, do I hear some Curtis laughter?" Two-Bit said obnoxiously as he walked into the room? His eyes met mine, and his smile got bigger. "Well good morning, Ponyboy!"

I winced at the volume of his voice, and Darry must have either noticed or also been annoyed by it since he spoke up. "Pipe down, Two-Bit," my brother said as he got up and walked around the bed to where his cup was still steaming. "It's too early to be yelling so loud, and Ponyboy's got a head injury."

Two-Bit pretended to be appalled. "Ain't you the early riser of the family, Superman?"

Darry took a sip from his cup, then glared at our friend. "Usually yes, but I don't work and I haven't finished my coffee yet. And again, Pony has a head injury, so unless you want one, keep your voice down."

Soda snickered next to me, and Two-Bit seemed equally entertained.

"Alright alright, don't get so worked up," Two-Bit said in a voice slightly quieter than before as he plopped down next to Soda. He looked at me then gave me a big grin. "Okay kid, you got us three … what do you wanna do all day?"

Turns out my attention span wasn't long enough to finish a full game of poker, but I could play a couple hands here and there. After a while I'd either get a headache or start nodding off. My brothers encouraged me to sleep whenever I got tired, but I always felt like a little kid whose bedtime was hours before everyone else's. Once in a while, a doctor or nurse stopped in to check on me, but after I answered questions and they looked at some machines, they'd leave and tell me to keep taking it easy.

Steve didn't show up during the day, which wouldn't have been noteworthy just a year before when we didn't get along well, but it was surprising now. When I mentioned Steve, Two-Bit same something about him working all day. I thought about asking Darry and Soda when they had to go back to work, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer. If it was up to me, my brothers would stay with me every day while I was in the hospital, (which would be exactly zero days in the first place but I knew the doctors and my brothers would never allow that,) but I wasn't naïve; I knew my brothers had to go back to work, especially since I was once again adding to the bills that they'd have to pay. So I let myself be happy that I got a whole day to hang out with my brothers and Two-Bit while I was stuck in the hospital.

After it got dark and I was served my dinner, I was given my pain medication and I started feeling sleepy, but I was fighting against it, not waiting to sleep even more than I already had.

"Get some rest, Pony," Soda said with a small grin, standing up from his chair and ruffling my hair. "We'll be here when you wake up."

I didn't want to, but my eyes closed without my permission. A few minutes passed, and I heard movement in the room.

"I think he's asleep." I heard Darry say quietly. "You ready, Soda?"

"Yeah, let's go," Soda replied in a tone that seemed oddly determined if they were just going to the cafeteria or to our house.

"Thanks for staying, Two-Bit," Darry said. "We won't be gone too long. Hopefully he won't notice we even left."

"Ain't nothin'. I'd hang out with him even if he weren't stuck in a hospital," Two-Bit said in an oddly genuine, yet joking, tone. Two-Bit's a real good buddy. "Wish I could go with ya, but I'll keep an eye on him."

I wanted to know where my brothers were going, but nobody was giving any clues and I was on the verge of sleep. Still, I knew my brothers were up to something. It wasn't like them to both leave me in the hospital by choice, especially at night when I knew neither of them were going to work. It wasn't like I was a baby or anything, but my brothers were protective, and they wanted to be near me at all times whenever I was sick or hurt.

I had a feeling whatever was going on, it was something to do with me since both Darry and Soda were going and Two-Bit was left behind to watch me. Do they have to talk to the doctor? Or the police? What's so important that they both have to leave?

Before I could figure anything out, the pain medication pulled me under.