(Ponyboy's POV)

When I opened my eyes, I was looking at a ceiling. It was a boring ceiling, really, being since I didn't have much energy, I didn't bother looking for something more interesting. I stared at the blank canvas for a short time, but then bladder told me it was time to get up. When I made a move to sit up, a deep ache radiated through my torso, causing me to groan in pain and freeze in place somewhere between laying down and sitting in the bed.

"Jesus, what're trying to do? Get yourself killed?"

Only one person on the planet sounded like that.

"Hey Steve," I said tiredly, blinking a few times to clear my vision.

"Hey yourself, kid. Don't you think you've already tried to off yourself enough?" Steve said as he approached me. He must've been near the door or something, but he made it to the chair closest to my bed and sat down. "Don't give your brothers more reasons to worry, alright? They're both gettin' grey hair."

Someone who didn't know him would probably think Steve was being awful to me, but I knew better; that was his way of showing how worried he was.

"Sorry."

Steve rolled his eyes and sighed. "No, just… what are you tryin' to do anyway?"

"Sit up," I said plainly. I didn't have the energy to be sarcastic or anything like I normally was with Steve, so instead, I sounded like a weak child.

Steve grumbled something under his breath, but then he helped me sit up. Once I was sitting and comfortable, he looked stressed. "There, now stay put kid, alright? You can't get hurt under my watch; I don't want to deal with your brothers if you do."

"But I need to use the bathroom, and you ain't helpin' me no matter how scared you are of Darry and Soda," I said, feeling a little better since I was in a more comfortable position.

Steve looked uncomfortable and I almost laughed at him for it, until he spoke. "You don't need to get up… you got one of those tubes things…"

At first, I had no clue what Steve was trying to say, but then a word crept from the back of my mind to the front: catheter. I felt my face heat up. "No, I ain't doing that."

To his credit, Steve looked more entertained than uncomfortable once I figured it out. "Well, I ain't helpin' you get out of bed, so it's either that, or a nurse comes in and I leave."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll wait." As Steve laughed at me, I recalled something he had said: "You can't get hurt under my watch." I quickly changed the topic. "So you're babysitting me? Where are Darry and Soda?" I wasn't exactly upset that my brothers weren't there, but I did want to see them. Plus, I had loads of questions I needed to ask.

"We convinced them to go with Two-Bit to the house to eat, shower, and take care of themselves for once." Steve explained. "I doubt they'll sleep while they're there, but Two-Bit said he'd hide his keys from them in case they'd leave him there to come back too soon."

"Take care of themselves for once." That made me instantly feel guilty. They've been so worried about me, they forgot to take care of themselves. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm sixteen; I can be alone."

Steve must've noticed the change in my tone or demeanor, because he softened a little, or at least as much as Steve Randle could. "That's not what I meant, kid. You've just been through a lot and scared all of us. They haven't left your side, and they were starting to smell up this joint." He ended with a smirk, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you just say I scared you, Randle?" I asked, still smiling.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't kid yourself. I was just wonderin' when you'd be okay and we didn't have to spend so much time in this damn hospital."

If that wasn't Steve Randle telling me he was worried about me, then I don't know what it was.

"How long have I been here anyway?" I asked. "Last thing I remember is feeling lousy and throwing up."

Steve's lips were pressed in a thin line; his only tell when it came to poker. I knew he felt uneasy about the topic, but luckily, he still answered. "A few days. You were throwin' up two days ago. We all thought you would be fine after the first surgery, but I guess your kidney decided to bleed a lot so they did another surgery." He shifted in his chair a little, which told me he was starting to feel really uncomfortable. "They, uh… they said you needed some extra blood since you were bleedin' a lot, but otherwise the surgery was fine. You still have both kidneys an' everything, so unless you do something stupid, you should be fine."

I grinned. Leave it to Steve to say something like that while I'm in the hospital. "That's good," is all I could think to say.

A few seconds passed, and Steve changed the subject. "Why did you tell your brothers I showed you hot to hotwire cars? I thought we agreed to keep that a secret."

I looked at him, eyebrows raised. "What? I didn't tell them it was you! I just said I tried to hotwire the truck when…" the crash flashed through my mind, and I shuttered at the memory. "All I said was I tried to hotwire it… at least I think that's all I said." Did I accidentally tell them it was Steve who showed me? I had a lot of medications in my system at the time, so maybe I let something slip.

He studied me for a moment, then he flashed a grin. "Well, I guess they probably just assumed it was me then."

"You ain't mad? I know my brothers probably weren't thrilled about me learnin' a skill that such stand-up citizens know," I said sarcastically.

Steve shrugged. "Darry wasn't real happy, but he didn't say much other than you better not be using that skill unless it's another emergency."

I grinned and looked down at my hands. "I'm glad they ain't mad at you. And honestly, I never thought I'd need to hotwire a car when you were showin' me anyway. Apparently, I need more practice though, because it didn't work when I tried it."

We sat in silence for a few seconds, and right when I thought Steve was going to come up with an excuse to leave, he spoke almost kindly. "Darry and Soda told us what you remembered from the accident. From where I'm standing, there wasn't any saving that truck kid. You did everything you could in the time you had. In fact, you shoulda left it sooner; then maybe you wouldn't be in here."

"Steve, we don't have a truck anymore… Darry and Soda have no way to get to work now because of me." Reality was setting in, and I cursed myself for feeling tears appear. "Shit, what are we gonna do?"

"Calm down, kid. I can't have you gettin' worked up while I'm in charge," he said. "We'll figure something out."

I groaned, not only from distress about the truck thing, but getting worked up me the pain in my body increase tenfold. Still, my mind was on my brothers. "You don't understand, Steve. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken the truck that day. I've ruined everything, and now the bills-"

"Shut up kid, and let me say something," Steve said almost harshly. "I was there when Darry got the call about the accident, and when he had to tell us what happened, and at the tracks and Darry told a cop off so he could look for you, and when he practically carried you from the depths of hell where he found you, and I've been here at the hospital... I've been with your brothers the entire time during this whole thing, and you know what? Not once did they talk about the truck or how they were gonna get by. All they're worried about is you, alright? So quit feelin' so guilty and just get better, okay? That's all they care about."

I was shocked. Steve was blunt, harsh, and tough, but what he said actually did make me feel a little better. Of course my brothers would worry about me more than the truck. Shouldn't I have known this all along? Sure, I still felt bad for causing more problems, but my brothers loved me, and if I was okay, then they'd be okay. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Steve said almost bitterly. "I might not be a genius like you, but I ain't stupid."

I laughed, then groaned in pain as the laughter made my body continue aching. "Now that we got that settled, can you go get a nurse?"

"You hurtin' or something?" Steve asked as he slowly stood up.

"Yeah, but that ain't it," I said. "I still need to use the bathroom, and I ain't doing it with the tube thing, and definitely not with you in the same room."