I'm sorry about this super long chapter- I just didn't want to split it up since there's so much timeline overlap.

(Ponyboy's POV)

Considering how much of a hood Dally is and how much he despises being told what to do, I was surprised that he didn't have us stop at the Dingo or something on the way to my house. What was even more surprising was that as soon as we got there, he made me take a shower, take my medicine, and then he sent me straight to bed.

"I don't wanna see you outta that bed for at least a couple hours," he said in a stern, but not unkind, voice. I never heard him talk like that to anyone except Johnny, and even that was rare.

I didn't bother arguing before I went to my room and plopped onto the bed. It felt cold and empty without Soda there, and also because it had been days since anyone had slept in it. I could hear Johnny and Dally talking somewhere in the house, but my exhaustion took over and I quickly fell asleep.


As I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I heard noises coming from somewhere nearby.

"Where is it?" Dally's irritated voice asked. "Alright, give us a minute. Johnny… yeah… the safe… signatures… hold on Two-Bit…" I couldn't understand what Dally was talking about, but he sounded like he was on the phone with Two-Bit, which meant something was happening.

Is it Darry or Soda?

I must've jumped out of bed too quickly, because the room spun and I was forced to sit on the edge of my bed and wait for my vision to stabilize. I realized I was also breathing heavy, and even after a few coughs, it didn't seem like I could quite catch my breath.

"Pony?" Johnny's quiet voice asked. A few seconds later, he peeked his head around the doorway. Once he saw that I was awake, he walked into my room. "Hey man. How ya feelin'?"

"Fine," I said. Other than being tired and unable to catch my breath, I really did feel fine.

He must've not believed me because he put the back of his hand against my forehead. "You're still warm, but not too bad. You wanna try to eat something?"

The thought of food made my stomach turn. I shook my head. "No, maybe just some water. What's Dally doing?"

Johnny shrugged. "Two-Bit called. Must've said something about needing papers because Dally's going through Darry's safe to find them."

"Any news on my brothers? Is Darry awake?" I asked hopefully.

Johnny looked upset as he shook his head. "No. Sorry Pony. He only just called a minute ago, and he just needs papers. I don't even know why."

"Yeah yeah, I got it man. Your handwriting sure is messy," Dally said from the other room.

That's when I understood what Dally had to find. "Must be the papers for the custody of me and Soda," I explained. Then a wave of grief hit me. Something must've happened to Darry. Is he-

I shot up to my feet and ran to the living room, leaving Johnny behind in my room. The moment I spotted Dally holding the phone to his ear with one hand, and holding papers in the other, I started questioning him. "What's going on? Is Darry okay?"

Dally must've not heard me approaching, because he jumped from my sudden appearance. "Jesus! You can't run up on someone like that kid!" Dally shouted, his eyes still wide. Then he spoke quieter into the phone. "He just woke up, wants to know if something's goin' on." Dally waited for a few seconds before he addressed me again. "Calm down, kid. Darry's the same and Steve's keeping Soda company while he's sleeping. Two-Bit just needs these," he said, lifting the papers up a little.

My pounding heart started slowing down a little. Darry's still alive. Nothing's changed. It's okay.

"Alright, we'll be there soon," Dally said before hanging up the phone. Before I could speak, he glared at me. "Next time you spook me like that, don't be surprised if my fist meets your jaw."

It was a hollow threat. He wouldn't hurt me because then he'd have to deal with my brothers, and even the toughest hoods didn't want that.

"Fine," I said simply. "Are we goin' back to the hospital?"

Dally walked up to me and studied me for a moment, apparently considering his options. Finally, he let out a breath. "You gotta eat something first, then you can come with. But, if you start looking rough again, your ass is coming back home. Got it?"

I nodded my head and quickly moved to the kitchen. After looking at the clock, I realized I slept for over four hours. I guess I really was tired.

"Sit down, Pony. We'll make you something," Johnny said as he pulled my arm to get me to move towards a chair. I reluctantly obeyed, not wanting to feel babied, but also wanting to do anything I could to get back to my brothers as fast as I could.


The three of us walked into Soda's room to meet up with Steve and Two-Bit. Soda was still sleeping, so the other two were playing a card game as we walked in.

"Got your papers," Dally said bluntly as he approached Two-Bit.

Two-Bit put his cards down, card game apparently forgotten, to grab the papers from Dally. He glanced at all of them before looking back up at Dally. "Thanks man. I gotta go show these to someone, I'll be right back." With that, Two-Bit left the room before I could even ask him anything.

"How's Darry?" Johnny asked Steve.

Steve looked at all of us before answering. "I'm not sure. I've been in here with Soda the whole time." Even though Soda was his best friend, I heard something in Steve's voice that told me he wished he could see Darry. It wasn't like he was especially close with Darry, but they were still friends, so I was sure that he would want to see how my oldest brother was doing.

Dally must've sensed the same thing I did, because he was quick to make a suggestion. "Why don't you go see him? We'll stay here until Two-Bit comes back, then we'll meet you over in Darry's room."

Why does he have to wait until Two-Bit comes back to see Darry? Soda's sleeping; he won't even know anyone's here. Then I realized it wasn't because of Soda.

"I don't need a babysitter," I said without really thinking. All of them looked at me, and I knew I had to make them believe me before they could start arguing. "If you guys want to see Darry, go ahead. I'll stay with Soda and tell Two-Bit where to find you guys."

"You sure you don't want one of us to stay?" Johnny asked kindly. "We really don't mind."

I waved him off. "I'm fine."

Dally and Steve shared a glance, and after a nonverbal conversation, Steve spoke up. "Alright. We'll go see Muscles. Don't even think about leaving this room until Two-Bit comes back."

"Yeah, I know," I said tiredly as I moved to sit next to Soda. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, hoping to comfort him as he slept. I glanced over towards the door, and I realized the guys hadn't left yet. "I'm fine, really. Go see how Darry's doing."

Finally the guys left, leaving me alone with Soda, who I thought was sleeping until he started mumbling. "Hey Pony. You get some sleep?"

I looked at Soda, and he was barely keeping his eyes open. The infection is really taking a toll on him. "Yeah. Did you?"

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I've been sleeping all day. Don't worry 'bout me, alright? I'll be fine."

He would say that even if he was dying right in front of me. That thought instinctively made me wince and inhale sharply. Don't think about that.

Soda must've noticed my reaction, because he opened his eyes again and immediately looked worried. "You okay?" I didn't answer quick enough because he squeezed my hand and looked at me seriously. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Just worried about you and Darry," I said. "It's all I can think about."

Before Soda could reply, Two-Bit walked into the room, paperwork in hand. He looked grim for a moment, but when he saw Soda and me looking at him, he quickly put on a smile. "Well hello there Curtis brothers! I hope you both got some sleep." He sat in the chair next to me, then put a hand on the top of my head and forced it to tilt back slightly, apparently so he could get a good look at me. "You look a little better, kid. Still a bit pale though."

I pulled my hand away from Soda so I could brush Two-Bit's hand away. "I'm fine Two-" I was cut off by a few coughs escaping my throat.

Two-Bit quirked an eyebrow, but he didn't look entertained. Instead, he reminded me of the look Darry would give me when he knew I was lying about something stupid. Maybe it's an older brother look. "You don't sound fine. Maybe you should've stayed-"

"No," I interrupted. "I did what I was supposed to, so now I'm staying here." He looked like he wanted to argue, so I changed the focus to him. "Are you gonna tell us why you needed Dal to bring you paperwork?" I asked, motioning to the stack in his hand.

"What paperwork?" Soda asked. "What's goin' on?"

I turned to my brother, who sounded tired, but his eyes were suddenly full of life and energy, along with some concern. "Two-Bit called the house so Dally could bring the paperwork that shows he's our temporary guardian." Then I looked at our friend. "Is the state here? Are they gonna take us away?"

"Whoa whoa whoa… hold your horses, Ponyboy," Two-Bit said as he put his hands on my shoulders to steady me. My left one ached a little at the contact, but I didn't say anything about it. "I just had to show someone the official papers. That's it. Everything's fine. You ain't goin' nowhere."

I stared at Two-Bit, trying to figure out if he was lying or not, but he was a hard person to read sometimes. He's usually joking around and happy-go-lucky, so when he was being serious, it threw me for a loop.

After a short bout of silence, Soda spoke up. "I wanna know how it happened."

I was as confused as Two-Bit when he retracted his hands and looked at Soda. "Huh? How what happened?"

"How did Darry make you next in line for being our guardian?" Soda explained. "He never told us anything about it."

Two-Bit grinned somberly. "He never wanted you to find out." He shifted in his chair, put the papers on the side table next to Soda's bed, then he let out a long sigh. "But since the cat's outta the bag, I don't see any harm in tellin' you how it went down."


(Two-Bit's POV)

As soon as I left Soda's room, I walked towards the state lady, Linda, who was down the hall and using the phone. As soon as she saw me, she said something into the receiver and hung up, then she turned to face me.

Since the Curtis brothers ended up in the hospital, I had to deal with doctors, the police, the people from the state, and even both Darry and Soda's bosses. Everyone had been understanding of the situation, except for the people from the state. This was the third time I had seen the same lady since the Curtises landed in the hospital. She had originally accepted that I was Soda and Pony's guardian, but she was suddenly demanding to see the official documents that listed me as their guardian. I had a feeling the visit we had from the police probably had something to do with it.

When Linda found me the first time, I told her she wasn't allowed in Darry or Soda's rooms so nobody else would know there was any trouble. I also made sure the medical staff knew not to let her near the guys, and they seemed all too happy about complying with my request. Then when Linda found me in Darry's room after I sent Ponyboy home with Dally and Johnny, she said she wasn't leaving the hospital until she saw the paperwork for herself. I told her it would be a while since I wasn't leaving the hospital, but she was true to her word– she stayed and waited to see the paperwork.

"Here," I said impatiently as I handed her the papers Dally brought for me. "It's everything you asked for. It all says that if something happened to Darry, I'm in charge of his brothers."

Truthfully, I hadn't read through the papers completely, but I got the gist of all of them. If I knew anything about Darrel Curtis, it was that he was thorough, stubborn, and a hard worker, so I knew he wouldn't miss anything when it came to taking care of his brothers.

Linda glanced through all of the papers, studying some of them more closely than others, then she eventually gave them back to me. "It seems you were right, Mr. Mathews. You have been granted temporary custody of Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis."

I let out an irritated breath. "That's what I've been tellin' ya the whole time."

She ignored me as she continued. "However, this temporary assignment of custody can be appealed by either a family member or the state should you be deemed unable to care for them."

I glared at her, daring her to say what she wanted to say while trying to keep my cool. Don't freak out. If you end up in jail, they'll be taken away for sure.

"And if Darrel tragically passes away-" don't freak out– "then you would have to apply for permanent custody, and that's a whole other process. Just because you have temporary custody doesn't mean you'd gain permanent custody."

This lady sure has some balls to be saying all this to me. I was barely holding it together as I tried to keep my poker face, but I was glad none of the guys were with me – if they were, someone would end up in jail for sure.

"I'll be in touch, Mr. Mathews," Linda said before she turned to walk away from me.

That's it? All of that just so she could look at some papers? Even after she saw them, she's still threatening to take Soda and Pony away. Glory, I'm feeling like Darry more and more by the day.

I took a deep breath and bit my tongue to keep myself from screaming curses towards the state lady, who had reached the end of the hall. Once I was calm enough, I started walking back to Soda's room.

As soon as I walked in, I realized the room had a lot less greasers than I expected. Still, it was good to see Soda and Pony both awake and looking relatively okay. "Well hello there Curtis brothers! I hope you both got some sleep," I said, trying to forget about my interaction with the lady from the state. I sat in the chair next to Pony and moved his head so I could look at him closely. He was still obviously sick and tired, but the small amount of sleep he got did seem to help him a little. "You look a little better, kid. Still a bit pale though."

Pony brushed my hand away and looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at me. "I'm fine Two-" he started coughing, which just proved to everyone that he wasn't fine. He was still sick.

"You don't sound fine," I said, trying to get Ponyboy to realize pneumonia wasn't something to mess around with, especially with everything else going on. "Maybe you should've stayed-"

"No," he said sternly. "I did what I was supposed to, so now I'm staying here." I knew Ponyboy should've been at home and resting, but if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't want to leave Darry or Soda either. Before I could even reply, he spoke again. "Are you gonna tell us why you needed Dal to bring you paperwork?"

"What paperwork?" Soda suddenly asked. I almost forgot he was awake, but one look at him was enough to know he was invested in the conversation. "What's goin' on?"

Pony again spoke before I could. "Two-Bit called the house so Dally could bring the paperwork that shows he's our temporary guardian." Then the kid looked at me. "Is the state here? Are they gonna take us away?"

He can't know. "Whoa whoa whoa… hold your horses, Ponyboy," I started, putting my hands on his shoulders as gently as I could. Don't let them find out. "I just had to show someone the official papers. That's it. Everything's fine. You ain't goin' nowhere." Just keep that poker face, Two-Bit.

Ponyboy and I stared at each other, and I was nervous that he could see through my lie, but before he said anything, Soda spoke up. "I wanna know how it happened."

I took my hands from Pony's shoulders as I looked at Soda. "Huh? How what happened?"

"How did Darry make you next in line for being our guardian?" Soda asked. "He never told us anything about it."

Oh, that.

I grinned a little, knowing Darry couldn't prevent me from telling his brothers anything. If something like this happened, they'd find out anyway.

"He never wanted you to find out." Because that would mean something bad happened to him. I set the papers down on the table next to the bed, then I let out a breath before I could start. "But since the cat's outta the bag, I don't see any harm in tellin' you how it went down."


I walked into the Curtis house, letting the door slam behind me. "Honey, I'm home!"

Nobody answered.

I looked around, expecting to find greasers sprawled around the living room, but the room seemed strangely empty. Even before the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, the house was almost never empty, but ever since they died just a few weeks before, the guys and I made sure to never leave the Curtis brothers alone for too long. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis always welcomed us into their house with open arms, which made their house feel like the gang's house, and we planned on keeping their memory alive by continuing to visit and keeping an eye on their sons.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I shouted into the house.

It wasn't too weird for one of us to hang out at the Curtis house without any of the Curtises being there, but considering I knew it was Darry's well-deserved day off, I thought at least the oldest Curtis would be there. Especially since he called me, asking if I could come over.

I went towards the kitchen, prepared to swipe a beer from the fridge and wait for Darry to show up, but instead, I found him sitting at the table with papers spread across the wooden surface. His head was resting in his hands, and for a second, I wondered if he fell asleep like that.

"Hey Darry. What're you doing?" I asked.

"Hey Keith," him mumbled.

I flinched at the use of my real name, but it was obvious that something was going on with Darry, so I didn't mention anything about it. "What's goin' on?" I asked as I sat down across the table from him. I looked down at one of the papers, and I realized it was a bill. Specifically, it was a bill for funeral expenses. I gritted my teeth. "Takin' care of bills?"

Darry groaned, then he let his hands fall, which let me see his tired, blood-shot eyes. "I'm trying to." Then he pointed to a few papers off to the side. "And I have to take care of those too."

I picked one of the papers up, and besides words like "guardianship" or "custody" I couldn't really understand most of it. "This about your brothers?"

"Yeah," Darry said as he wrote a check and paperclipped it to a bill, then moved it to the side. "I wanted to take care of it when they were out of the house. I don't need them seeing all of this and getting worried."

Darry might not be known for his kindness or caring nature, but he always showed that he cared by his actions more than his words, and this was no exception. He had dropped everything he had worked hard for so he could take care of his brothers, and he was making sure they didn't know about anything serious like bills or custody paperwork. He really was the best of us.

"Makes sense," I said simply. I'm an older brother too, so I knew a thing or two about keeping things from younger siblings. "Is that why you called me? To help you fill out papers and take care of bills before Soda and Pony get back? Because you know I don't have much money to help pay any of it."

"I'd never ask you for money, Two-Bit," Darry said more seriously than I expected. He didn't mean anything by it expect that he was too proud to ever ask anyone for money. "I called you to talk about something more important than money."

To some people, I'm sure that wouldn't make sense, but I immediately knew Darry's main concern wasn't money; it was his brothers.

"What do you need from me?" I asked seriously, dropping any hint of humor from my voice. This was a serious matter that was not only important to Darry, but to all of us. The whole gang wanted to make sure Soda and Pony were taken care of. They were practically our brothers too.

He took a breath and gathered the papers he had previously moved to the side. He looked at me, still looking as serious as ever. "These are papers to appoint someone else as Soda and Pony's legal guardian if something happens to me."

My stomach dropped. It was bad enough their parents had died, but thinking about Darry dying too was too much. "Are you sick?" I asked, trying to keep my composure.

A confused look crossed his face for a second, then he was quick to explain. "No, I'm not sick. Everything's fine. I just… I can't let the state get them. If something happens and I'm not around, they could be sent to an awful home, or maybe even split up… I- I can't let that happen."

I nodded, understanding exactly how he felt. Soda and Pony were closer than anyone I'd ever seen, and after their parents died, their bond seemed to get even stronger. There was a reason Soda was the only one that could calm Ponyboy down after his nightmares, which only got worse after their parents died. If the two of them got split up, it would destroy them both, and Darry too. Hell, it would destroy all of us.

"I get that, but what do you need from me?" I asked again.

Darry set the papers down in front of me and looked right into my eyes. "If something happens to me, I want you as their guardian."

I stared at him for a while, sure that I must've heard him wrong. His expression was unwavering, and once the shock wore off, I was able to speak. "What? Why me?"

"You're the oldest in the gang, so you'll be the only legal adult for a while," Darry started. I couldn't argue with that, and I was willing to accept that it was the only requirement Darry needed, but he kept on going. "But that's not it. You're my best friend, and you've grown up with us practically our whole lives. You probably know Soda and Pony better than anyone. You also have a kid sister, so I know you know how it is being the oldest sibling… it's hard sometimes, but glory, I love my brothers, and I need to make sure they're taken care of."

It took a moment for his words to sink in, and once they did, my response spilled out of my mouth without a second of hesitation. "Where do I sign?" Darry gave me an appreciative smile.

We spent the next half an hour going through the paperwork. I had to sign a bunch of stuff that said I would take care of Soda and Pony and that I had a place of residence– which was my mom's house. When it came to the part where I needed to list my job, it was already filled out.

"What's this?" I asked Darry, pointing to the place of employment. Everyone knew I didn't have a job.

Darry grinned. "That's my job information. I already talked to my boss about all of this; he said if something happens, he'll go on the record and say that you work for him. He even said if I was out of work for a while or not coming back, he'd be willing to have you fill in for me to make it more legit and have money still coming in for my brothers. There's no pressure though, he just wanted to make sure my brothers and I are taken care of."

I was stunned. Darry had thought of everything, and he even had someone willing to lie for him in order to keep his brothers together.

When we finished the paperwork, Darry put it in a folder and set it to the side. Then he looked at me, still wearing an all-business expression. "Now I want to talk about what to do if something happens to me."

"Glory Darry, ain't that what we were just doing?" I asked. I felt drained, especially since I just spend over 30 minutes filling out stuff in the event my buddy died.

Darry shook his head. "That's just for custody of my brothers. I'm talking about the smaller stuff."

I rubbed a hand down my face and nodded. "Alright, what is it?"

He put his elbows on the table and started talking like he was reading from a list. "First, I'd need you to call my boss and let him know what's going on. His number is on the fridge and also on a piece of paper in my wallet." I nodded along as he kept going. "If it's during the school year, you'd need to call the school and get things sorted out. The numbers for the bank, insurance, electric, and water companies are in a small notebook in the safe I keep in my closet – that's also where I'm going to put copies of the custody paperwork. Everything you'll need should be in there. The four-digit combination is your birthday."

I raised my eyebrows. "Damn Darry, you really thought of everything."

He groaned again. "I'm probably forgetting something, but that's all I can think of for now. I'll try to put everything important in the safe. I'm sorry if I forget anything."

"Darry," I said, reaching across the table and slapping a hand on his shoulder. "You're talking like something really is gonna happen to you, but that ain't happening. Superman's invincible, isn't he?"

Darry looked at me with a hint of a grin. "What about kryptonite?"

I smirked back at him. "Shoot, you're Darry Curtis… you're probably immune to kryptonite."

He smirked back, then he resumed his stressed-out position, with his head being held in his hands. "I wish I was Superman… at least he could probably figure all of this stuff out."

I gave his shoulder a squeeze and a shake, hoping to provide some sense of comfort. "Hey, you're doing great, Darry. Your brothers are good kids, and they're being taken care of. That's better than most of the kids on our side of town." He pulled his head out of his hands to look at me with teary eyes. "Nobody was prepared for this, but you're doin' a good job. We're all here for you, man. You just gotta keep asking for help when you need it, alright?"

He sighed and nodded his head. "Thanks, Two-Bit. For everything."

I smiled at him. "Of course."

With that, I stood up, went to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and brought them back to the table, setting one down right in front of Darry. He looked at me with a confused face, and I simply said, "You look like you need it."

To my surprise, Darry opened the bottle and took a big sip, then he let out a sigh. "You were right." I grinned as I took my seat, leaned back in the chair, and took a swig of my own beer.

We sat there in comfortable silence for a minute, both of us drinking our beer, when one last thought popped into my mind. "Hey Darry?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I'd take care of your brothers and all, but let's hope that all of that paperwork isn't ever needed, okay?" I suggested. I tried to sound casual, but I was really being serious. I didn't ever want to need to take custody of Soda and Pony, because that would mean something happened to Darry, and I wasn't sure I could handle losing another Curtis.

"Right," Darry agreed before taking another sip of his beer. "Don't worry Two-Bit, I'm not going anywhere."

After we finished our beer, I threw the empty bottles away as Darry took care of the rest of the bills and paperwork. As soon as he was finished, he gathered the papers and brought them into his room, out of sight from everyone else. As he walked out of his room, I heard several voices outside the house, which meant Soda and Pony were probably back from wherever they went.

"I don't want them to know," Darry said quietly. "No sense in worrying them for nothing."

I remembered how Darry told me that he purposely waited until his brothers were gone to take care of the paperwork we just did, and I wasn't about to fight him on it. "You got it, Superman."


When I finished telling Soda and Pony about that day, the two of them looked like they were in shock. I knew Darry wouldn't ever tell them about that day, except maybe when they were all adults, but now they knew everything. Their big brother only ever had their best interests in mind, and he made sure he did everything he could for them.

"He did all of that?" Soda finally asked. "Right after Mom and Dad… with all the bills and everything… he was worried about us?"

"Course he was," I said. "That's all he's ever worried about."

There was some more silence, but right before it became awkward, Ponyboy spoke softly. "Thanks, Two-Bit."

I knew what he was talking about, but I quirked an eyebrow at him, hoping he wouldn't be so serious or somber about everything. "For what? Your brother did all the hard work, I just signed some stuff."

He didn't seem to think it was funny since he just stared at me intensely. "Yeah, but that meant Soda and I can stay together, with you and the guys. Being a legal guardian is a lot to deal with, and you could've said no."

"That's where you're wrong, Ponykid," I said, suddenly completely serious. He has to understand. "Ain't no way in hell I was gonna say no."

Pony gave me a sheepish smile, but before either he or Soda could reply, someone came running through the door. All three of us turned to look at Johnny, who was panting in the doorway. His eyes were wide, and it made me nervous. What could make Johnny look like that? Unless…

I shot to my feet. "What's goin' on, Johnny?"

Johnny nodded his head before talking breathlessly. "It's Darry. We think he's waking up."