In this chapter: Kate patches up the guys after a rumble.

I sat at the table, unmoving, waiting for the timer to go off. With the entire gang at the rumble, I had to do something to keep myself from worrying about all of them, so I decided to make a chocolate cake. The problem was, with the cake in the oven, I ran out of things to do. The house was already clean, laundry had been done, and I already changed the burnt-out lightbulb in the bathroom. So I just sat there, waiting.

The second the timer went off, I jumped to my feet, excited to have a task, even if it was a small one. In the minute it took me to take the cake out and turn the oven off, my mind was temporarily not wondering who was going to need to be patched up.

All the guys are tough, but in different ways. Pony's kind of tough was different than Dally's, which was different than Darry's. Even though they were all so different, I knew the guys could all handle themselves just fine, but even so, I hated seeing any of them hurt at all. Rumbles were always rough, and it was easy for any of them to get seriously injured. Steve was laid up for a week after the last rumble due to busted ribs.

Suddenly, I heard voices outside, and I hoped it was the gang returning, completely unharmed. Unfortunately, I didn't get my wish.

"Kate!" I heard Soda yell from outside. The tone in his voice told me all I needed to know.

I went to the freezer, grabbed a couple bags of frozen vegetables, and put them on the table. Then as I rushed to the bathroom to get the first aid kit, I heard the door slam open.

"Who's hurt?" I asked loudly as I grabbed the kit.

From what I understood, it was usually Darry that patched everyone up after a rumble. That is, until I came along. I've always liked taking care of people, and I don't get queasy or grossed out by much, so it was natural for me to be the gang's nurse after their "triumphs" left them battered and bruised. Plus, it was my way to still feel like I was a part of the rumble without actually having to fight. As if Darry would ever let me attend a rumble.

"Two-Bit."

"Johnny."

"Darry."

I rushed out of the bathroom, first aid kit in hand, and went to the living room: the designated area to go to after a rumble. I immediately felt a little overwhelmed by the scene in front of me.

Steve guided Two-Bit, who had a hand pressed to the side of his bleeding face, to a spot on the floor. Just from the brief moment I saw him walking, I could tell Two-Bit was disorientated, but I didn't know if that was from a knock to the head, or if he got drunk before the rumble. Pony and Dallas were helping Johnny limp to the couch since the poor kid wasn't putting any weight on his right leg. Then I saw Soda help ease Darry into his recliner. My boyfriend was holding his bent left arm against his torso, and I saw that he grimaced as he sat down.

What kind of mess did they get into? Typically none of the guys got seriously hurt at a rumble, but once in a while, one of them would get a longer-lasting injury. I hadn't seen them roughed up so bad before. "What the hell happened?" I asked all of them.

"Chains and pipes," Dally said. I knew the anger wasn't towards me, but even so, I could see the fury in his eyes as he and Pony got Johnny to lay down on the couch.

"It was supposed to be skin only," Soda said. It looked like he felt the same way I did: surprised, upset, and concerned.

"Yeah, but 'e still won," Two-Bit slurred with a grin plastered on his face. I still couldn't tell if he was drunk or concussed. "This ain't nothin'… 'ou should see 'em Socs."

"Shut up, Two-Bit," Steve spat. He was watching Two-Bit carefully, like he thought the jokester would tip over or something, and I got even more worried about how hard he got hit in the head.

"Whoever needs ice, there's bags of frozen vegetables on the kitchen table," I said in an authoritative voice. "As for the rest of you, who's hurt the worse? I'll start with them and get to the rest of you as soon as I can."

The guys looked at each other, and after a brief discussion, it was determined that I'd take care of Two-Bit's gash first, then help Johnny, and then I'd take a look at Darry, despite his insistence that he was fine.

I knelt on the floor next to Two-Bit and started cleaning the gash on the side of his face, which stretched from his temple, down his cheek, and towards the corner of his mouth. He flinched and swore as I pressed the rubbing alcohol-soaked gauze to his face, but he did his best to stay still. Once the wound was clean, I started stitching him up. It was obviously painful for him, but I did my best to be gentle and make the neatest stiches I could.

"So how'd you get this little cut?" I asked sarcastically, trying to distract Two-Bit from feeling everything I was doing.

"Guy swung a chain. He didn't miss," Two-Bit explained briefly with a grin.

I winced at Two-Bit's explanation, and since no response came to mind, I kept stitching as quickly as I could, which meant I stopped trying to talk as I worked. The moment I was done fixing up Two-Bit, I asked Steve to get one of the vegetable bags for him so he could ice his face.

"Think I'm still the handsomest greaser with all these stitches, Kate?" Two-Bit asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Apparently, he was already feeling better without the needle being in his skin. "Or the toughest? You know what, I'm both, aren't I hon?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his antics. Leave it to Two-Bit to be in pain and still make jokes.

"You better watch it, man," Dally warned from his spot on the couch. "Her boyfriend is right here."

Two-Bit took the frozen peas from Steve's outstretched hand, put it on his face, then he smirked back at Dally. "Yeah, but he's too old and hurt to do anything."

"Shut it, Two-Bit," Darry muttered from his recliner. I glanced over at my boyfriend, and I could see the pain and discomfort written all over his face. His eyes were closed and head tilted back, and I noticed he still kept his left arm close to his body. I wondered if I should check on him before Johnny, but I had a feeling he'd be irritated if I did that. I better wait until he's the last one to check on; then there won't be a reason to argue with me.

I moved on to look at Johnny's right leg.

"What happened, Johnny?" I asked with what I hope was a calm, soothing voice.

He was gritting his teeth, and even though his arm covered his eyes, I knew he was squeezing them shut. "Pipe… shin," was all he got out.

"Damn Soc threw that pipe down on his leg like he was splittin' wood with an axe or something," Dally muttered. "I taught that coward a lesson, though. Took that pipe of his and got him in the head… knocked him out cold."

I grimaced as I pictured what it must've looked and sounded like to connect a pipe with bone. Not only did Johnny's injury sound awful, but the Soc who dealt with an angry Dallas Winston was going to have one hell of a headache, if not worse.

I pressed my fingers into Johnny's leg, palpating certain spots. I moved his ankle around, regretting that I was causing him more pain by doing so. After I was done with my amateur examination, I straightened up. "Sorry Johnny, I think you broke your leg."

Johnny groaned, Dally looked furious, and Pony looked shocked.

"We have crutches from when I tore that ligament a while back," Soda said. "They're in my old room. I'll grab 'em." Then he left the room, apparently getting the crutches.

As Pony and Johnny started talking quietly, I glanced at the rest of the guys. Everyone had a few nicks and angry red marks on their skin, but they were taking care of them by themselves with stuff from the first aid kit and frozen vegetables. Darry was the last one with presumably a major injury that I had to take care of, so he was going to have to accept my help.

I turned to look at Darry, whose face was still contorted in pain. The rest of the guys were still talking amongst themselves, so when I reached my boyfriend, I bent down and spoke quietly to keep everyone else from hearing us. "Alright Darry, your turn. I need to know what hurts, and be honest."

Darry opened his eyes, and even though I could see the pain in his icy blue orbs, I immediately knew he was going to lie to me. "I'm fin-"

"Darry," I said sternly, cutting into his lie. "Tell me."

I could see him clench his jaw, and after a few seconds, he broke our eye contact and looked to the floor. "Don't worry about me, sweetheart. I'll be alright."

I narrowed my eyes. "Darry, I know you're hurting. Let me help you." He usually didn't put up too much of a fight with me, so I knew he was going to keep trying to hide something, and that worried me. Darry was stubborn, but so was I, and I always got him to crack. "Come with me to the bathroom. The lighting is better in there." And nobody else will be there to see you in pain.

He looked back up at me, and after he let out a sigh, he started standing up slowly. Once he was on his feet, we started walking to the bathroom. At first, I didn't think anyone noticed us, but I caught glimpses of Soda and Pony looking at their big brother, concern written all over their faces. I tried to smile at them, letting them know I'd take care of Darry, and it seemed like I only eased some of their concern.

The second we walked into the bathroom, I turned Darry so he was facing me, albeit he had to look down a little to meet my eyes. "Alright Darry, what is it? What hurts?"

He still looked hesitant to answer, but he eventually did. "Just my arm," he said, motioning towards his left arm that was still held against him. "It's mostly my shoulder and elbow."

I nodded, and decided to start with his elbow. I guided his right hand out of the way, and I immediately noticed how swollen and strange his elbow looked. It didn't take a genius to know something was wrong, but when I gently touched the joint, I knew it wasn't aligned the way it was supposed to. The bone that's usually the pointed part of the joint was in a weird spot. "I think it's dislocated, Dar."

He groaned. "Great, just what I need."

Before I dealt with his elbow, I wanted to look at Darry's shoulder. I moved his right hand to hold his arm in a more comfortable position as I carefully moved his shirt over his head, then pulled it off, throwing it on the floor. The front of his shoulder didn't look bad, but when I turned him to face away from, a gasp escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

There was a large, dark red mark on his back that stretched across his left shoulder blade. Some other colors were already starting to appear, which ought to be a record for bruising after getting hit. I reached out to touch the area with my fingers, and it was warm and swollen. "What happened?"

"It was a baseball bat," Darry said softly. I inhaled sharply at the information, but I didn't take my eyes off the injury as he explained. "I saw the Soc holding it, and he was going towards my brothers… I couldn't let him get to them." He left it at that, but I needed to know a little more.

"So much for being fine," I said sarcastically. "Did he get you anywhere else? Any other injuries you aren't telling me about?" Even I heard the anger in my voice.

"No. I took care of him pretty quick," he said proudly.

I grinned a little at that. "I bet you did." Darry never loses a fight, especially if his brothers' safety was at risk.

I suddenly realized I was tracing Darry's back with my fingers, and I blinked a few times to make me return to the present and focus on the task at hand. I felt Darry's back and shoulder, then asked him to move it a couple times. After a few minutes, I felt like someone was watching me, so I stopped. I glanced at the mirror, and I caught the reflection of Darry's eyes looking at me. There was a soft smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, not knowing what could make him smile when I must've been causing him to be in a world of pain.

"You get a look on your face when you're taking care of someone," he replied matter-of-factly.

I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What kind of face?"

He chuckled a little bit. "I don't know… determined, worried, focused… nurturing. It's attractive."

I saw my face start to turn red, so I turned my head away and looked at Darry's back again. I could tell he was still looking at me, but I refused to meet his eyes again until I was done.

"I don't think anything's broken, but you'll be sore for sure," I said as soon as I was done checking on my boyfriend's injury. "It's going to swollen too. You'll want to ice it."

"Hey, how's- glory! What happened?" Soda asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Darry and I both turned to look at the middle Curtis. "It's nothing, little buddy," Darry said.

I rolled my eyes. Getting hit with a bat isn't nothing, but if Darry wants to keep the truth from Soda, then I guess I will too. I could tell Soda wasn't happy about the lack of information, but since he was there, I was going to have him help me. "Hey Soda, I need you to do something for me."

Soda's eyes went from his brother to me. He still looked upset, but he kept his composure. "What do you need?"

I showed Soda Darry's injured elbow, which caused him to do a double-take. Darry and I both ignored Soda's reaction, and I showed him where I needed his hands to grip his brother's arm. "And on 'three,' you're going to pull," I said, ending my brief explanation.

He looked at me like I was crazy, but Soda must've trusted me because he simply nodded. "Okay."

We got into position: my hands gripping Darry's upper arm and Soda's holding Darry's forearm. I looked at Darry to make sure he was ready, and once he gave me a nod, I looked at Soda. Then I counted out loud. "One. Two. Three." We both pulled and applied the pressure we needed to, and then there was a sudden POP, followed by Darry hissing out a loud breath and Soda instantly retracting from him.

"That was disgusting," Soda said, looking a little green. He glanced at his brother. "You okay, Dar?"

Darry nodded, but he still held his arm close to his torso. Even though he was protectively holding his arm, it seemed like he wasn't in as much pain as before. "I'm alright, thanks little buddy."

Soda looked like he wanted to argue, but he must've changed his mind, because he looked at me. "Thanks for all the help, nurse Kate," he said with a wink.

I smiled back at him. I had always thought about nursing school, but I had a few things I had to figure out before I thought about college. "No need to thank me. Would you mind keeping an eye on the guys for me? I have enough to deal with just from this one," I said, pointing a thumb at Darry.

"You got that right," Soda said with a smirk. "I'll go back to the guys. I'm sure they're wondering what's goin' on with Darry, and if they heard that gross sound, they might be worried."

As soon as Soda was gone, I turned to look at my boyfriend. "Sorry, I know that didn't feel good, but that's the only way I know how to get it to pop back in."

Darry grinned at me. "It's okay… nothing I can't handle."

He slowly straightened his arm, but before he straightened it all the way, I grabbed his arm to stop him. "You shouldn't try straightening it too much for the next few days. You don't want it to pop back out, do you?"

Like Soda, I expected him to argue, but I guess he thought better of it. "Alright nurse Kate, what should I do?"

"Oh cut it out, I'm not a nurse," I said as I rolled my eyes. "I just don't like to see any of you hurt, so I do what I can to fix you up." Then I wondered what I could do to help Darry's arm heal, and once I spotted his shirt on the floor, I knew what I was going to do. I grabbed his shirt, looped it around his neck and arm in a way that resembled a sling, and after I tied it, I stepped back to inspect my work. "That should keep your arm stable while it heals. You'll probably want to ice your elbow as much as you'll be icing the back of your shoulder."

Darry smiled, the nodded obediently. "You got it." A second later, his wrapped his arm around my waist, pulled me close, and looked down at me, lovingly. "You really would make a great nurse."

"You think so?"

The smile stayed on his face as he replied. "Yeah, I do. Your stitches are even better than mine. I bet Two-Bit will barely have a scar on his face."

I beamed. Maybe I could go to nursing school. "You guys do give me plenty of practice."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. He pulled me in for a kiss, then he hugged me with his one free arm. "Thanks again, Kate."

I hugged him back as gently as I could. "Of course."

We stood there for a while, wrapped in an embrace, before I gathered the courage to tell him what was on my mind. "I always get worried when you all go to a rumble or get jumped. I don't like seeing any of you hurt."

I felt him rest his chin on my head. "I know, I'm sorry. Just the cost of being a greaser I guess."

I let out a sigh. "I guess."

"Guys, there's cake!" I heard Soda yell from the kitchen, making me laugh.

"You made a cake?" Darry asked, pulling me away so we stood an arm's length apart.

I shrugged. "I was worried, so I had to do something."

After the cake was distributed and eaten by the whole gang in the living room, stories about the rumble were shared, and I felt like I could get glimpses of what it's like to be in one. It sounded just as violent as I imagined, but things sounded really bad when weapons were involved, which is why Darry never would've let Pony go if he knew they would be pipes, bats, and chains. I noticed that Darry never said anything about the guy with the bat going after his brothers, which meant he was never going to tell them about him protecting them. Classic Darry.

While everyone was talking, Two-Bit offered Johnny some beer, saying it'd help with the pain. Johnny managed to take two sips before Dally took the bottle and chugged the rest, saying that he wasn't going to "let one of the kids drink themselves stupid like Two-Bit."

Once it got late, the gang started to disperse. Steve and Two-Bit went home, Johnny stayed on the couch since Darry told him to stay the night, and Dally got comfortable on the chair closest to Johnny because we all knew he wanted to keep an eye on his buddy. After Soda and Pony cleaned the dishes and made sure Darry was okay, they went to bed.

"Are you staying the night?" Darry asked as I packed up the first aid kit and grabbed the bags of vegetables to put back in the freezer. I turned to look at him. He was standing by his bedroom door, and even though he kept telling me throughout the night that he was okay, I could tell he was tired and probably in some pain.

"No, I think I'm going to go home," I said as I walked past him. After the vegetables were back in the freezer, I glanced at my boyfriend again. He looked disappointed, so I felt the need to elaborate. "Darry, you're hurt. Your arm's in a sling. You should get your whole bed to yourself. What if I bumped into your arm or something?"

He scoffed. "You're not going to hurt me."

I walked up to him, and looked into his pleading eyes. "Babe, you need to rest and relax."

"How am I supposed to do that if you're not here?" he countered.

I raised my eyebrows and smirked. "You managed just fine before I showed up."

He leaned closer to me and spoke in his deep, rumbling voice. "But now I can't imagine not having you with me."

"Christ, will you two shut up?" Dally's irritated voice said from the living room. "Some of us are tryin' to sleep."

"Sorry Dal," I said to the hood, but I couldn't fight the smile on my face. I looked at Darry, then sighed in defeat. "I'll stay the night, but I'm not staying in your room. I'll take Soda's old room. Then you'll have the bed all to yourself."

Darry didn't seem completely satisfied with my compromise, but he nodded. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning then."

The two of us went into different rooms to fall asleep in different beds.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt the weight and presence of someone next to me on Soda's old bed. I turned to find Darry sleeping peacefully, his uninjured arm intertwined with my left arm. I smiled at the fact Darry looked like he was actually resting comfortably, despite not having an entire bed to himself.