(Ponyboy's POV)

Soda had to start preparing himself to go back to work. I knew he was reluctant to leave me and Darry, and I wish he could heal a little more before going back to the DX, but we both knew we needed the money. His boss didn't want to push him, but the lure of regaining his income made Soda ignore any apprehension we had for him returning to work. I made him promise to let Steve work on the cars until it didn't hurt when he moved, and he thankfully agreed.

I was beyond thankful that Darry was no longer comatose, but a part of me kind of missed constantly having Two-Bit around. He was a great temporary guardian, and I owed him so much for everything he did for us while Darry was in a coma, but I never had the chance to tell him since he was strangely absent from the hospital until after sunset most days. I had no idea why Two-Bit's daily routine changed suddenly. He was as close to Darry as anyone, so I figured they'd enjoy talking or hanging out between Darry's therapy sessions, but Two-Bit was gone just about as much as Steve, who was working fulltime during the summer.

I asked Darry about Two-Bit's behavior once, but he just shrugged and said he had better things to do than sit in a hospital room all day. I disagreed, especially since that's exactly what he had been doing for a while, but I didn't argue.

Johnny and Dally visited the hospital every day, and they usually stayed for at least a couple hours. It was nice to have a buffer between me and Darry, not because we argued, but because he knew I felt guilty and was worried about him, and he just wanted to be the protective big brother he always was and assure me he was fine, despite still struggling to move and breathe normally.

My nightmares were plagued with images of Darry dying, but luckily, I didn't wake up screaming while I slept at the hospital; I only woke with a jump or a loud gasp, and after my brothers would talk me down, I could go back to a restless sleep. Darry and Soda said sleeping in a hospital chair wasn't good for me, and it was probably the reason I couldn't be in a deep enough sleep to get as bad of nightmares. I told them that it was a good thing then, but then Darry gave me a lecture on having a good night's sleep. He's really starting to act like himself again.

"You should go home kiddo," Darry said suddenly, drawing my attention away from my book.

I had been staring at the same page for probably ten minutes, but I wasn't really reading the words anymore. I got lost in my head again. I looked at Darry, trying to see if he was hurting or something. He always pushed people away when he was vulnerable.

"I ain't leaving you," I said instinctively. What if something happens?

"Ponyboy, I'll be here when you get back. I'm not going anywhere, I promise," Darry said so softly, it reminded me of Soda. Even so, I was too stubborn to comply with his request. When I didn't say anything, he tried a different angle. "I'm worried about you Pone."

My eyebrows shot up. "Why are you worried about me? I ain't the one still in a hospital bed after getting sh-" I couldn't force the word out of my mouth. I already felt myself starting to hyperventilate as I remembered what had happened to my big brother, and I had to focus on slowing my breathing.

Darry reached towards me and gripped my forearm. "This is what I mean, Pone. It's not good for you to be here every minute of the day. You need to take care of yourself."

Like a little kid, I had to point out the flaw in what he said. "I'm not here every minute. I go home to shower and change clothes."

"Coulda fooled me," Two-Bit said as he sauntered in, cutting into the conversation I was having with Darry. "You reek kid."

"I do not," I countered. I couldn't necessarily remember when the last time I showered was, but it couldn't have been more than two or three days. I looked at Two-Bit carefully, and behind his façade, I could see that he was tired. But from what? "Where have you been, Two-Bit?"

My buddy sat next to me and put his feet up on Darry's bed. "Where haven't I been, kid? That's the better question."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, where haven't you been?"

"Well, I haven't been to the bar, that's for sure," Two-Bit said longingly. "And I'm really startin' to miss that place. They're probably having a fit, trying to make up for the lost earnings."

His lighthearted statement made me think. "When's the last time you had a drink, Two-Bit?"

He looked at me, and for a second I thought he was going to make a joke, but for once, he spoke calmly and seriously. "I dunno, the night of the rumble maybe. What is that, a couple weeks?"

My jaw hit the floor. For someone who loves drinking as much as Two-Bit does, quitting cold turkey isn't an easy feat. Plus with all the stress we've all been dealing with, I thought he'd actually be drinking more. Even I had increased my already-severe smoking habit until Dally cuffed me in the back of the head one day and said I'd go through all of Tulsa's cigarettes before Darry had the chance to go home.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I missed all of the signs of Two-Bit going through withdrawal. He was tired and stressed all the time, but all of us were. He could get irritated, didn't he really have a short fuse or temper, and compared to Dally, nobody did. Sure, he was fidgety, but Two-Bit always was, kind of like Soda. How could I have not realized I hadn't seen him with a drink in weeks?

"Why you lookin' at me like that?" Two-Bit asked me. His joking tone had returned, but only a little, just enough to ease the severity of his words. "I had to make sure the state knew you were with a responsible guardian. I couldn't keep an eye on you Curtises if I was halfway through a six-pack, now could I?"

Darry and I exchanged looks. While he looked slightly surprised, I was sure I looked downright shocked. I never thought I'd see the day Two-Bit was sober.

"I appreciate it, Two-Bit," Darry said for both of us. We really did appreciate the effort he's put in to take care of everything, and I planned on telling him that, but before I could, Darry spoke again. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, Superman," Two-Bit said, still giving me a curious sideways look, like he was waiting for me to explode or something.

"Can you bring Ponyboy home?" Darry asked.

I immediately started to protest. "C'mon Dar-"

"Ponyboy, you need to eat and shower, and most importantly, you need to sleep," Darry said firmly. "You haven't had a decent night of sleep in weeks, and it shows. It might be the summer and you're not in school, but I still don't want you to turn into a vampire."

I wanted to argue, but I knew there was no use. Darry was just as stubborn as I was, and in a room with Darry and Two-Bit, I was outnumbered and had the least amount of authority. Plus, I didn't want to upset Darry while he was lying in a hospital bed in my place. That's if I would've survived-

"Alright, come on Ponykid," Two-Bit said, suddenly standing next to me and pulling me up to my feet. "Let's give your big brother some peace and quiet. He looks like he needs some rest. Maybe it'll help with those lines on his face or the grey in his hair."

Darry gave Two-Bit a look that told him to knock it off, but it only made Two-Bit laugh.

"But what if-" I started, but Two-Bit interrupted me.

"No 'ifs,' 'ands,' or 'buts' Ponyboy. We're gonna let him sleep before his next workout starts," Two-Bit said as he slowly guided me away from Darry's bed. "What's it today, Muscles? Wiggling your toes?"

A pillow suddenly went flying through the room, and it hit Two-Bit square in the face. "Well, at least we know his aim is still good," Two-Bit said with a laugh as he retrieved the pillow from the floor. "Damn Darry, you still got an arm on you."

"Yeah, you're lucky you were too far for me to grab you and skin ya," Darry said with a jokingly-serious tone.

Two-Bit grinned and tossed the pillow back to Darry. "Dal and Johnny should be showin' up soon, so get some sleep while you can."

Darry nodded, then he looked right at me. "It's alright Pony. You can come back when Two-Bit thinks you look better."

"And smell better," Two-Bit added, to which I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Fine," I grumbled.

I looked at Darry carefully, and even though I didn't want to leave him, I knew I'd have to at some point; I couldn't be attached to his hip forever. It didn't mean I had to be happy about it though. Before I could leave, I moved away from Two-Bit and went back to Darry's bed.

"Pony-"

I cut him off when I leaned over and wrapped him in a hug. He seemed surprised at first since he stiffened, but a moment later, his arms wrapped around me.

"You really gonna be okay, Dar?" I whispered.

"I'll be alright, Pone. Knowing that you're okay, I'll be just fine," he whispered back.

I nodded, and after a moment, I said, "Love you Darry. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Love you too kiddo," he said. We stayed like that for a few seconds, then he spoke a little louder. "You really do smell, Ponyboy."

I pulled away from him to give him a glare, and I saw the smirk on his face. "Alright already, I'll take a shower!"

"You ain't gonna be gone that long, Pony," Two-Bit said as he steered his car onto the street. "Just a few hours to rest and everything. Darry will probably be sleeping most of the time anyway."

I shrugged. I knew Two-Bit was trying to make me feel better about leaving Darry, but it still felt wrong. I felt responsible for Darry's situation, and I didn't want him to go through everything alone. He was the reason I was alive, and it earned him a long stay in a hospital after barely managing to survive.

"What's goin' through that big brain of yours?" Two-Bit asked, suddenly sounding genuinely curious and concerned.

I sighed. "I just feel like it's all my fault."

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"It's my fault that Darry's in the hospital, Two-Bit," I said. Suddenly, the floodgates opened, and I was crying yet again. I blamed it on the stress and exhaustion, but really, I knew I was just emotional. Who wouldn't be at a time like this? "It shoulda been me, but it wasn't. It was Darry. And now I just left him-"

"Whoa there Ponyboy, now I know I didn't just hear you say that," Two-Bit said loudly, cutting me off. I looked at him, and even though he was supposed to be looking at the road, his wide eyes were trained on me. Then his eyes narrowed. "Alright, we need to talk."

"Two-Bit-"

"Nope, I don't wanna hear it," he said as he pulled into the nearest parking lot and parked as far away from the other cars as possible. I was pretty sure we were in front of a grocery store, but I stared down at my hands. I didn't want to risk seeing the look on Two-Bit's face as I trying to quietly stop crying.

"Alright kid, listen up," he said in a stern, but almost-loving way, sort of like Darry or Soda when they lecture me about something. It reminded me that he really was an older brother, and not just the metaphorical kind; he had a younger sibling at home and everything. "Don't think for one second that it shoulda been you that got shot, alright? It shouldn't have been anybody, but it happened, and your big brother's gonna pull through just fine. He just needs to work on getting his super muscles back."

I opened my mouth to reply, but he just got louder, preventing me from interrupting him.

"Darry wouldn't want you blamin' yourself either, and if I know Sodapop as good as I think I do, then I know he already knows how you feel. That man is a mind reader. And if Soda knows, Darry does too. Am I right?"

I nodded my head, but kept my eyes down. "Yeah, they know. I told them too."

"So this ain't the first time you're hearing this," Two-Bit assumed. I nodded. "When are you gonna start believing people then?"

I shrugged again. "I just… I don't think you guys know how it feels to have someone risk themselves for you and it almost costing their life." My sobs got louder, and even though it bothered me, I couldn't stop crying. My thoughts and emotions spilled out for the hundredth time since the rumble, but I was too tired to care. "The gun was pointed at me, and Darry almost died! If he doesn't get better, I'll never forgive myself, and I'm never going to be able to repay him." The words burned as they left my mouth, but it was the truth, and I had to accept it. It's a debt I'll never be able to repay.

Two-Bit was quiet for a moment, and I thought I had managed to stun him into silence, but if there's one thing I know about Two-Bit, it was that he always had something to say. It's how he got his nickname, after all.

"The cool thing about older brothers is you don't have to repay them," Two-Bit said in a soft voice that sounded much older than him. I looked at him, and his tired eyes were genuine. "Older brothers protect their family because they love them. It's what we do. We don't expect or want anything in return."

His words eased the ache in my heart slightly, but it didn't magically fix everything.

"I still don't like it," I muttered after contemplating for a while. I went back to looking at my hands, which was apparently what I did when I was either thinking hard or was uncomfortable. "I thought I was going to die, and then Darry almost did. I wouldn't want to make that trade, not ever. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"I get that Pony. Nobody wanted to see Darry hurt, Soda neither, but that don't mean we'd want to see you hurt instead," he said immediately. Then he sighed, and his voice contained even more emotion than before. "Sometimes shit happens. It don't mean it was your fault or your choice, it just happens," Two-Bit said. He sounded like the stereotypical wise man from books or movies, and it was strangely comforting coming from him. Then I felt the pressure of his hand resting on my shoulder. "We're just glad y'all are okay now. I don't think the gang could've lost any of you Curtises. Hell, the gang isn't the gang if we lose anyone."

I looked back at my friend, and all I saw was honesty written all over his features. He was being truthful, and even though my brothers had already told me most of the same things Two-Bit did, it sounded different coming from him. Maybe it was because I figured Darry and Soda had an obligation to say things like that, but Two-Bit didn't. He was saying those things because he meant them and thought I needed to hear them.

I let out a long breath, imaging my stress and worries escaped my body as the oxygen flowed out. When I inhaled, I tried to feel calm and relaxed. I was only mildly successful. "Thanks, Two-Bit."

He gave me a small grin. "Any time, Pony." Then his wild smirk appeared. "Now if I hear you talkin' nonsense again, I'm gonna have to deal with it like Dally or Steve would and knock some sense into that head of yours."

I grinned back at him. "Yeah right. Even hurt, my brothers would pummel you for doin' that."

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Oh yeah? Not after I tell them why I'd smack you in the first place."

He might've had a point there.

Then he reached over and ruffled my hair. "So, did ol' Two-Bit teach you somethin'? Are you gonna stop beating yourself up?"

I shrugged, then smirked at him. "Maybe."

Two-Bit gave me a good-natured punch in the arm. "The smartass kid is back." I laughed, which made him smile. Then Two-Bit put his car into gear so we could leave the parking lot.

As the car moved onto the road, I glanced over at Two-Bit. He looked completely like his typical self on the outside, but I couldn't help but see him a little differently after our conversation and everything that led up to it. He had been there for us ever since those bullets hit Darry, and I couldn't help but mentally replay what he said: 'Older brothers protect their family because they love them. It's what we do. We don't expect or want anything in return.' He was an older brother, even to me and Soda without being related by blood, and just like Darry, he didn't expect anything in return for what he's done.

He might not have expected anything, but I had been wanting to thank him, and it seemed like I had the perfect opportunity for it. "Thanks Two-Bit," I said sincerely.

He looked over at me and quirked an eyebrow. "Shoot kid, you already thanked me, although I don't know what for. I didn't tell you nothin' that anyone else couldn't."

"Not just that," I explained. "For everything. For taking care of things at the hospital and with cops, for lookin' out for me and Soda… everything. You've helped us a lot. We really appreciate it, and I know Darry's real grateful too. He picked the right guy for the job."

He turned his head to face me, and for the first time that I could remember, it looked like Two-Bit was in danger of crying. I wouldn't have said anything about it if he did; God knows I've been a bawl baby my whole life, and the last couple weeks were the epitome of that annoying trait.

"Thanks Ponyboy, that means a lot," he said softly, his voice breaking a little. Then he put his hand on the back of my neck, not unlike Dad or Darry did when they were happy or proud. "You know I wouldn't let nothin' happen to you guys, right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know."

With a grin, Two-Bit squeezed the back of my neck gently, then withdrew his hand.

When his eyes returned to the road, something that had been in the back of my mind for a while moved straight to the front, and I had to ask Two-Bit about it. "Have you had to deal with the state? Is that where you keep disappearing to?"

His face went steely, reminding me of how it looked when he faced Socs right before a fight broke out. I was worried I had said something wrong or forbidden, but Two-Bit's tone told me he wasn't upset, just maybe caught off-guard. "Don't worry about the state, Pony. It's all taken care of."

I studied him, realizing that he was avoiding answering my question directly. "So the state has been around," I stated.

Two-Bit let out a breath. "Yeah, they have, but there's nothing to worry about. Your big brother and I have everything taken care of. They ain't takin' you and Soda anywhere"

"If that's the case, then where do you go every day?" I challenged.

Is he lying, and he's really fighting with the state all the time on our behalf? Is he at the police station, trying to get that Soc charged with hurting my brothers? Is he setting up another rumble for revenge?

He glanced at me, then surprisingly, he gave me a wild grin. "I'll tell you someday, but not today."

"But-"

"We're here!" Two-Bit shouted joyfully as he threw his car into park and jumped out.

I looked out the window and realized we had made it home. Even though we reached our destination, I wasn't going to let Two-But off the hook for answering me. "Why aren't you tellin' us where you go every day?" I asked, following Two-Bit through the yard.

He looked over his shoulder and gave me another crazy smirk. "It's more fun to watch your imagination run wild."

"Two-Bit!"

"Now go take a shower greaser, then straight to bed!"

It might seem a little out of character for Two-Bit to be serious like this, but I really feel like if the situation calls for it, he's capable to act like this. With that being said, his typical personality will return, I promise.