Darry stood there, the weight of disbelief and gratitude settling on him as he stared at the bold red letters that spelled "PAID." Joy tried to break through but he quickly suppressed it, familiar with life's unpredictable twists and turns. The world has its way of smacking us around, he thought. Could this really be true?

Snuffing out the spark of excitement, he knew he had to face the harsh reality of his everyday life. It's nice and all, but not time to celebrate yet. Time to figure out what's what. Skepticism lingered, casting a shadow over potential joy as he tightened his grip on the bill and made his way cautiously into the house.

Pony had collapsed into the couch, the heaviness of fatigue weighing him down like an anchor. Darry barreled in through the door in the next moment, his eyes bright.

"Pony!" he called out, waving the paper in front of his brother, "You know anything about this?!" he asked in a measured tone, concealing the grin that threatened to appear. Ponyboy was worn out, but he scanned the paper, eyes narrowing at the stamp. .

"Paid? But how…Darry, how'd you make that happen?" He asked, looking up in wonder.

"I had nothing to do with it. I was hoping you'd know," he said, looking down at his little brother and crossing his arms. His first thought was that Pony did have a way with words and he was so — innocent. Maybe he had talked to someone in the hospital. Convinced them they were a worthy cause. Pony was always worrying about their money no matter how many times Darry had told him to stick to his schoolwork.

"You think it was Two-Bit or Steve?" Pony asked.

"I don't think they have that kind of money, kiddo – even if Two-Bit did get a job," Darry chuckled. Then he was serious again, "Did someone come to your hospital room at some point, maybe say something to you?"

Not that the Curtises were ever inclined to take charity – in fact Darry hated those fancy charitable funds that went around looking for low-income families to try to give them handouts and feel high and mighty about it."

Pony scrunched his face in thought, his mind still a bit hazy, "

"No, I don't think so," he said, "Not that I remember…"

Darry was confused, but grateful, even though he still figured the whole thing was a mistake he'd need to straighten out sooner or later. "Well, ain't luck on our side," he said, his smile getting bigger, "Maybe we won the lottery."

He sat down next to Pony and swung an arm around his shoulder. Pony could actually see Darry was actually more thrilled than usual.

"Who do you think did this?" Pony asked.

"I have no idea, kiddo," Darry replied, "But I'll probably call the hospital and find out."

"Why?"

"Well, maybe it was a mistake," Darry answered.

"It's one of those good kinda mistakes," Pony said, emphasizing the word. "Maybe we should just keep the money and forget about it," he smiled broadly, processing it all, "Maybe someone up there's lookin' out for us. Hey, it's almost Christmas after all," he said.

"Sure is one less thing to worry about," Darry replied.

When he saw Pony was ready to drop, Darry told him to go on to bed. He knew his little brother still needed the rest. He'd wake him up for dinner.

Later, Pony was jolted awake when Steve and Soda brought the tree in. He didn't know if it was the wisecracks and clowning or the wrestling and knocking over lamps that did it, but he heard Darry yelling at both of them and trying to keep quiet at the same time. It was funny.

Pony only came out after Steve had left and stared in awe at the evergreen conifer in the living room. It was bigger than he'd expected. Soda told him they'd been planning to cut one down in the nearby forest but then Steve had had a customer whose brother was trying to get rid of the trees in his tree lot. It was the end of the selling season after all. Steve had done such a great job on the guy's carburetor, he'd been willing to ask his brother to give them one for free, instead of low cost. It was perfect.

Soda got another good look at Pony's now staple-free incision. He asked about the appointment with Ron and Darry said things seemed good – and that he had invited Ron for Christmas.

Soda grinned at that. "The more the merrier," he said, "he'll bring his guitar and we'll stand around the tree singing 'Deck the Halls.'"

"Soda," Darry said, giving him a look, "He's not a hippie."

"Who said anything about being a hippie?" Soda quipped, "Pony and I just want to see if he could actually make you sing." Soda joked and winked at his brother from across the room. When he heard Pony laugh loudly, he knew he had done his job.

Pony wanted to start decorating that night, but he found himself drained after what was for him a more exhausting day than he'd had in a while. His brothers weren't offended – they told him they still had a few days left. Before he went back to bed, Darry pushed Pony to eat dinner with them at the table. Even though he picked at his chicken and rice casserole, he still ate a nice chunk of it.

By then it was nearly 10pm. Darry told Pony to go off to bed, and asked Soda if he could help work out some of his pulled muscles. That night, without meaning to, Pony overheard them talking in Darry's room as Soda worked on the tension in Darry's shoulders with his thumbs.

"What'd you do, carry three bundles today?" Soda asked, rubbing harder, "I thought Pony said you could only carry one."

"Tried not to break my neck on a roof," Darry answered smoothly, "Not so easy when there's still snow everywhere," He took a deep breath, "Soda, I need to show you something,"

He took the folded up bill of his jeans. Soda stopped, immediately knowing what it was. "You got the hospital bill today?" he asked, taking the paper out of Darry's hand.

"Yeah, but look…" Darry told him, and waited for Soda to look over the bill.

Pony strained to hear the conversation. He could imagine Soda's eyes going big as he studied the bill.

"Paid?! It's…paid?! Well, that's fantastic!" Without a second thought, he lunged at his older brother from behind, locking him in a bear hug around his neck.

"But, how did you…."

Darry pulled his arms off him. "I didn't….The bill just showed up like that."

"What do you mean?" Soda asked.

"I don't know. I don't know anything about it. Pony doesn't know. I was hoping you'd know. Have Steve or Two-Bit said anything?"

Soda shook his head, "Nothin'."

"Then, there must be some mistake," Darry said.

"A mistake? No way! Darry, just take it. Don't look into it. Just let it go. Maybe someone decided to help us out. What's the big deal?" Pony could picture Soda's eyes widening as he started to get excited again, "I don't care how it happened, but this is amazing! It's like a Christmas miracle!"

"It's just one bill, Sodapop," Darry emphasized.

"One bill we don't have to worry about anymore!" Pony could hear him galloping around the room like a wild horse.

He was tired enough to be asleep already, but for some reason he wasn't when Sodapop jumped into bed later. Pony shifted restlessly beneath the covers, then turned over and looked at his brother. Soda looked like some Greek god come to earth.

A Greek god who could sense his little brother was still awake.

"Heyyy, you're not sleeping yet?" Soda murmured.

Pony sighed, his eyes wide open despite the exhaustion written all over his face, "Just having trouble sleeping," he admitted.

"Turn over, kiddo," Soda urged softly, as Pony flopped onto his stomach and turned away from his brother. He didn't want to put pressure on the incision on the left side of his head. A minute later, he felt Soda's gentle palm gliding over his back, tracing comforting circles in the best way he knew how.

"Darry tell you about the hospital bill that came in the mail?" Pony spoke up.

"Yeah, ain't it somethin'?" Soda said with a grin, "Sure does help. I don't know where it came from – but it's the best Christmas gift we could have hoped for."

"I just…" Pony hesitated. He was usually so good with words on paper, but now he was struggling to say them out loud, "I just don't want to end up as someone's charity case, you know?" he confessed.

Soda stopped and threw a comforting arm around his brother, holding him tight. "Aww kiddo," he replied, his voice laced with tenderness, "It's not like that. Man, we're finally catching a break is all."

Pony sighed. Soda took his hand away as Pony turned onto his back, staring up at the ceiling all dream-like. "I want to think it came from up there," he mumbled, grinning as he looked at Soda.

Soda furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

He paused. "Mom and dad. Looking out for us," he whispered.

Soda caught his gaze and his eyes softened as he threw his arm over his brother's chest and nuzzled in closer.

"Yeah, honey, they are."

Soda burst through the front door, the gust of cold wind trailing behind him like smoke. "Hey Pony! Ready to decorate the tree?" He tossed his jacket in the closet and scanned the room.

"Hey Two-Bit," Soda added in a hurry. Two-Bit was sprawled out in the armchair near the door, looking as lazy as ever. Meanwhile, Ponyboy, already bundled in a blanket, shivered on the couch. The morning had left its mark, a back ache lingering all day despite his attempts to find comfort.

But he hadn't told anyone about that.

Earlier that day, Two-Bit had burst in with a six-pack before the clock struck 9. Darry was still hesitating to leave Ponyboy home alone after his hospital stint, but winter break had given Steve and Two-Bit time off from school. Darry and Soda were both working half-days and Soda would have to work another 5 hours on Saturday. But after today's shift, Darry wouldn't have to go back to work until after Christmas.

Spotting Pony's discomfort, Soda raised his eyebrow. "Pony, you ok?" Pony managed a weak smile, but then a frown replaced it.

"Just a bit cold," he said, "And…" he hesitated, but decided to say something, "my back's acting up again."

"You sure you're not just trying to avoid doing the dishes," Two-Bit quipped absent-mindedly from the chair.

Soda rolled his eyes. He sat down next to his brother and threw an arm around him. "Pony, you're freezing! Why didn't you say something?"

"And you're wet," Pony groveled, shaking his brother off him like he was a lumbering wet dog.

"Kid, you should've asked for some of that Christmas cheer I brought this morning," Two-Bit added and Pony rolled his eyes.

Ignoring Two-Bit, Soda rushed to the closet and returned with another blanket, wrapping it around Ponyboy so he looked like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Two-Bit laughed about it, but nobody paid him any mind.

"There you go, little brother. You should sit by the fireplace, we can get a fire going."

"We don't got any wood," Pony remarked.

"Two-Bit can get some from the back," Soda smirked, giving his buddy a look. If he was going to make fun of Pony, he might as well put him to work. He was well aware that Two-Bit would come up with every reason in the book not to do any sort of physical activity but he'd just have to make him.

"I want to decorate," Pony said, looking longingly at the closed up cardboard boxes next to the tree. Darry and Soda had pulled them out the night before.

"We'll get to it," Soda said. Pony nodded gratefully, appreciating the warmth, but Soda wasn't satisfied. "I've got a better idea," he said, hurrying into the kitchen, his mind racing.

Pony's mind drifted back to the morning, recalling how Darry had found him hunched over the kitchen table, head down and sprawled across his own arms.. He couldn't even remember falling asleep. It was barely even 6am when Pony had crawled out of bed this morning, stumbling around in hopes of finding some aspirin for his back. He couldn't find it and he didn't want to wake anyone up on account of his muscle pains, so he figured he could try to walk it off.

Darry found him at the table about an hour later. When he shook Ponyboy awake, his little brother assured him he'd just woken up earlier because of a strange sleep schedule. He had been doing too much oversleeping.

He didn't mention the back ache, of course.

Within minutes, the irresistible aroma of hot chocolate wafted through the air. Soda emerged carrying a tray with three steaming mugs.

"Ta-da! Mom's world-class hot chocolate to the rescue!" he sing-songed.

"Oh boy oh boy!" Two-Bit shouted, shooting up out of the armchair like a little boy and almost knocking Soda over as he grabbed a cup.

Soda walked over to Ponyboy, who's eyes lit up as he accepted a mug, grateful for his brother.

"Thanks, Sodapop. This is perfect."

Soda placed the tray on the table and reached for his own cup, settling down next to his brother.

They took small sips as Two-Bit lugged some wood into the house, surprising Ponyboy with his lack of complaints.

"There," he said, "You got your wood. Just expect me to start cooking, too. These arms can only do so much," Two-Bit joked. He stacked the wood near the fireplace. "I'm a man of action."

"Sure," Soda replied as Pony grinned slyly, "Is that why you've been sittin' around all day?"

"I beg to differ," Two-Bit answered smoothly, "I got up to make a sandwich. I put the beer in the fridge. I got up to go to the bathroom…"

"Yep, sounds about right," Pony added and the two brothers laughed.

Two-Bit left soon after with some excuse about how he had to watch his sister until his mom came home.

When Darry got home about 20 minutes later, Pony and Sodapop were sitting on the floor by the tree, rummaging through the boxes. They had already pulled out tinsel, garland, stickers, yarn, ornaments in the shape of snowflakes and more.

They were laughing and goofing around. Soda was nipping at Ponyboy's face with a figurine in the shape of a dog. Darry noticed that Pony was a little pale and wondered if it was the illness or the fact that they were going through their parents' things. No one needed reminding that this was their first Christmas without Mom and Dad – without Johnny and Dallas. Things sure were different.

Darry saw some Christmas ornaments and tinsel already on the tree, but not too much yet. "Hey, looks like you're decorating already," he said, trying to keep his tone light as he stepped over after putting away his tool belt.

"We just started now," Pony answered,

Darry was afraid if he looked into Pony's eyes, he'd start bawlin' too. So instead he went to get a beer from the kitchen. When he came back, he found Pony and Sodapop sorting through the boxes, talking about the Christmases of the past.

"Remember that time when Dad tried to put up lights outside and ended up tangling himself in them?" Soda chuckled, pulling out a string of tangled Christmas lights from one of the boxes.

Pony grinned as the memory came back to him, "Yeah, and then he fell off the ladder and landed in a pile of snow! Mom pretended to be mad, but we couldn't stop laughing,"

Darry smiled, the image of his father covered in snow still clear in his mind. "I remember," he said, standing over them, holding his beer, "We spent the rest of the day thawing him out by the fire."

Soda's laughter filled the room. "And then Mom made us all hot cocoa with extra marshmallows!" he paused, slapping his knee, "Hey, that's what I forgot to put in your hot chocolate, Pone. The marshmallows!"

"It's ok," Pony replied, "It was good." When he saw Darry giving him a puzzled look, he said, "Soda made me hot chocolate. I was cold," he added, but regretted it when he saw Darry's concerned look, "It was good."

"You ok now?" Darry asked, scanning the room and wishing he could pay for heat. The electricity bill was high enough as it is. He still worried about his little brother as much as he tried not to coddle him.

"Yeah," Pony answered, "Sodapop makes the best hot chocolate." Sodapop beamed with the compliment.

Darry nodded, noticing the firewood that had been brought in, "We'll get a fire going soon." He crouched down to dig through the boxes with his brothers.

Pony picked up a delicate ornament, a tiny angel with faded wings. His fingers traced the delicate contours of the angel ornament, a heavy stillness settling over the room. Then his voice broke through the silence, "Remember when Mom used to hang this on the tree?" he spoke up softly, turning it over in his hands.

Soda nodded, a wistful smile on his lips, "Yeah, she loved that one."

Darry's gaze lingered on the ornament in Pony's hands, memories of Christmas past in his mind. "She sure did," he agreed, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. It wasn't easy, especially looking at his brothers' faces. But he knew they all needed this – especially Pony.

Ponyboy's fingers brushed against another ornament, a small porcelain glass dove with chipped edges. He stopped what he was doing and stared at it for so long that Soda felt like he had to say something. "What's that?" he asked.

"Johnny's dove," he said quietly, his voice catching slightly, "Mom bought it a long time ago…for him. Wanted him to have his own ornament on the tree. It was – it was his favorite," His expression was somber and he looked ready to cry.

Neither of his brothers could miss the water that filled his eyes, like an overflowing levee that threatened to spill over. But Pony worked hard not to let his emotions get the best of him, even when Soda slid over and put his arm around his little brother.

Pony shifted uncomfortably, eyes still glistening with unshed tears. He looked at Darry, "It's not the same without them, is it?" he whispered, his voice barely audible as Soda rubbed his shoulder with his thumb.

Darry's heart clenched at the rawness of Pony's words. "No, it's not," he admitted, his voice filled with a quiet sadness, "But you're still here, Ponyboy. WE'RE still here," he emphasized, "As long as we're together, we'll be ok."

Pony turned his head and buried his face in Soda's neck. Soda's grip tightened instinctively, feeling Pony's tears soak his shirt. He glanced up and motioned to Darry to join them.

Pony felt Darry's strong hand wrap around his back – it hurt a little, but still offered comfort. Darry's other arm was around Soda. They sat huddled like that for a short while, like they had the night Soda had run out, upset about his brothers fighting.

Pony eventually pulled away and Darry wondered if they were done decorating for the night. Soda reached out, his hand resting gently on Pony's shoulder, "We'll make new memories, Pone," he said, his voice soft but determined, "For Mom, for Dad…for Johnny and Dallas."

Darry picked up his beer bottle and raised it in a toast.

Pony nodded, his eyes filled with purpose, "Yeah," he agreed, his voice stronger now, "We'll make sure this Christmas means something – for them."

I wanted to write more to this scene and this chapter, but this also seemed like a good place to end it. Thoughts? - SK