(Darry's POV)

A loud scream woke me up from my deep slumber in the middle of the night, causing me to jolt up into a sitting position as my heart pounded in my chest. Next to me, Kate had the exact same reaction.

After worrying about us while we were gone and then helping patch everyone up following the rumble, Kate looked exhausted. I asked her if she wanted to spend the night, and she easily accepted. Unfortunately, it seemed like she wouldn't be getting much sleep at our house after all.

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly as she looked at me with widened eyes.

I suddenly realized that while I had told her about Pony's nightmares and flashbacks, up until that point, Kate hadn't been around when my youngest brother would wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

"It's Pony; he's having a nightmare," I said as I moved to get out of bed. Kate started moving like she was about to get up too, but I tried to convince her otherwise. "It's alright, you can stay here. I'll try to settle him down so you can get some sleep."

Another, slightly quieter, scream echoed throughout the house, and I sprinted out of the room before Kate had the chance to respond.

Within seconds, I was kneeling next to my brothers' bed. Both of them were facing me, with Pony's back pressed against Soda's chest, but only Soda was awake. Soda had both of his arms around Pony, wrapping our kid brother in a tight bear hug while Ponyboy continued to cry and gasp in his sleep. When Pony started to fight against Soda's hold, Soda wrapped his leg around Pony's legs to prevent him from kicking.

"Wake up, honey," Soda pleaded. It looked like he was close to tears too, having to see Ponyboy in distress. "C'mon baby, wake up. It's okay."

Pony let out a strangled noise that sounded like he wanted to scream, but it was caught in his throat. Between the awful sound, the black eye on my baby brother's face, and Soda struggling to keep himself together while also trying to rouse Pony, the scene in front of me was absolutely heart-wrenching.

"You're safe, Ponyboy. You're here at home," I said as calmly as I could while I ran my fingers through his sweaty hair. "Soda and I are both here, Pone. Come on little buddy, wake up for us."

It took a couple minutes, but eventually Ponyboy opened his watery eyes. "I'm sorry," he mumbled as soon as he was aware of what happened.

"Shhh honey, it's okay," Soda said soothingly as he relaxed his hold on our brother. He kept his arms around Ponyboy and started brushing Pony's hair away from his face while the kid closed his eyes. "Ain't nothin' to be sorry about. Just keep breathing for us, nice and slow."

I grabbed Pony's hands and rubbed circles on the back of them with my thumbs. Watching him breathe steadily was something that was so simple, yet so relaxing for me to see. I won't ever take Pony being alive and healthy for granted, especially not after everything that happened in the fall.

"There you go, Pone. Just like that," I encouraged.

After a short time, Ponyboy relaxed enough to open his eyes again. There were still tears prevalent, but he seemed determined to not let them fall. "I'm okay."

"Do you know what it was about?" Soda asked softly.

Usually Pony wouldn't remember much once he woke up, but we always asked in case there was anything we could help him with.

Pony closed his eyes, and surprisingly, he nodded his head. "Yeah. Just flashes of stuff really: the fountain, the fire, the hospital, a rumble." Then he opened his eyes to look right at me. "There was something about you and Kate, too. And Johnny and Dal. Something was wrong. I thought someone got hurt or died."

I sighed and squeezed Pony's hands, hopefully comforting him. "I was worried this would happen, Pone. That's why I didn't want you to rumble with us."

There was a hurt look in Ponyboy's eyes, and I knew I couldn't let his imagination run wild with what he believed I was thinking. He's going to come up with something that isn't remotely close to being true. He needed my complete honesty, and I was going to give it to him.

"Move over kiddo and let me explain," I ordered gently.

When I moved to sit on the bed next to him, Pony and Soda both maneuvered so all of us could sit with our backs against the headboard, Pony sandwiched in the middle. Once we were settled, I slung my arm around Pony's shoulders, and he looked up at me with his big, glassy eyes.

"For one thing, I don't like seeing you boys get hurt, so that shiner you got isn't making it any easier to talk about you rumbling," I said with a small smirk, which he luckily returned while Soda snorted. "But you were sick in the last rumble, and then you got hurt real bad. That scared us something awful, and I didn't want anything like that to happen again."

"But I wasn't sick this time," Pony defended. "And I can fight real good for someone my size. You even said so yourself."

I grinned down at him. "I know, and that's all true, but I was mostly worried that all the stress and everything from another rumble would stir things up in that big brain of yours," I said, tapping my finger to the side of his head for emphasis.

The hurt look Pony had before changed to one of understanding. Then he moved his gaze to look down at his lap. "Oh… well, I guess you were right after all."

I ducked my head to catch his eye so he'd look at me again. "Hey, it's not anything you can control, little buddy. You've been through a lot, and I just wanted to save you from having to deal with even more."

There was a brief bout of silence before Soda chimed in.

"But you're a Curtis," Soda said as he ruffled Pony's hair, obviously trying to lift our spirits a little. "Which means you're stubborn, and you'll always fight for the people you care about and for what you believe. There was no way you'd let ol' Darry here keep you from rumblin' when the whole thing was about keepin' Kate safe."

I knew Soda was right, and both of us were proud of Ponyboy for those things, along with many other reasons. Pony was grinning at Soda's words for a moment, but then his lips dropped into a frown and he paled.

"What's wrong, Pone?" I asked, suddenly on high alert.

He looked up at me with big, terrified eyes. "She's here, ain't she Darry? Kate's stayin' the night. Did I wake her up? Is she mad?"

"Whoa there, take a breath kiddo," I said, rubbing the outside of his arm to try to get him to calm down. When he seemed to settle down a bit, I spoke calmly. "Yes she's here, but I'm sure she's more worried about you than anything."

"You don't think she's… that she's gonna be angry with me? Is she gonna leave?" Pony asked, sounding almost scared or nervous to voice his worries.

Soda jumped in before I even had the chance to say anything.

"You gotta remember who you're talkin' about Pony. It's Kate," Soda stated, as if that should have been enough to ease Pony's concerns, and then he said more. "If she hasn't run away from Darry and the rest of us by now, ain't nothin' that'll cause her to jump ship."

I ignored how my brother suggested I was something to 'run away from' and decided to offer my own thoughts on the subject to soothe Pony.

"Listen to me kiddo," I gently ordered. I waited for him to look at me before continuing. "If a girl gets mad about something like this, then she's not for me anyways."

"But-"

"No 'buts' Pone," I interrupted. I gave him another squeeze and kissed the top of his head. "I love you boys so much. Nobody will come between me and my brothers."

Pony's shoulders relaxed a little, but his anxiousness was still radiating off of him. "She makes you so happy though, and I don't wanna mess it up. What if she doesn't come around here because of my nightmares?"

"I bet she understands more than you think," I said evenly. I would never tell other people what Kate has confessed to me over the course of our relationship, but I wanted my brother to feel comfortable with her around. "Besides, Kate and I have already talked about this sort of thing. She knows that you boys are my top priority, and I will drop everything when you need me, day or night, and whether or not Kate's there too."

Soda gave me a grin, but Ponyboy looked slightly surprised by my words.

"Really?" Pony asked in almost a whisper. The fact he sounded surprised by that made me feel like I wasn't doing my job as a big brother or legal guardian. Ponyboy must've seen the hurt look on my face or something, because he was quick to elaborate. "I know you love us, Darry, that's not what I meant. Did you really say all that to her?"

I let out a sigh of relief. Good, he knows I love him. He was just surprised I told Kate that she wouldn't be my biggest priority. "Yeah kiddo, I really said that to her. I needed to make sure that if she wanted to date me, she'd understand my brothers will always come first. That won't ever change."

While the three of us sat there silently, allowing my words to hang in the air, it seemed like we all drew closer together. Gradually, while we were still huddled together on the bed my brothers shared, a delicious smell wafted into the room.

"Who's making somethin' right now?" Soda asked nobody in particular. "It's the middle of the night."

"Well it ain't gonna be Dally," Pony muttered, making all of us laugh a little. Steve and Two-Bit left earlier to sleep in their own beds, but Dally had decided to take our couch for the night.

I bet I know who's in the kitchen.

Instead of telling them it was likely Kate, I looked at both of my brothers and offered them a small smile. "I'm going to check it out, but I'll be right back, okay? Try to go back to sleep."

Pony nodded silently before Soda ruffled his hair again with a grin on his face. "Go ahead, Dar. We'll be okay in here."

With that, I gave them one last smile before standing up and walking to the kitchen. There, with just one of the kitchen lights on, I found Kate at the stove, slowly stirring a pot of something with a wooden spoon. She still looked tired, but it was apparent she didn't plan on sleeping yet.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly as I walked up to her. "I said you should stay in bed. You didn't need to get up."

When Kate looked at me, her expression made it seem like she thought I said something surprising or dumb. "I know that's what you said, but I couldn't just lay there and do nothing, so I got up. I went to check on Johnny, but Dally was already in his room and I heard them talking, so I knew they'd be fine. Then I decided to make some of this to help get everyone back to sleep when they're ready."

What did I do to deserve this woman?

I gave her a small smile before wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her cheek. "You didn't need to do that, sweetheart."

She shrugged and continued to stir the contents in the pot with a smile on her face. "I wanted to. It always helps me fall asleep, so I figured it might help the boys too."

"Thank you," I said before giving her a kiss on her neck. I could feel her shudder with pleasure in my arms, and it took a moment for me to wipe the smirk off my face before I spoke again. "So what is it, exactly?" I asked, peering over her shoulder. The pot had a white liquid in it, sprinkled with some flecks of something I couldn't identify.

"Warm milk with honey and cinnamon," she said softly.

I hummed and closed my eyes as I rested my chin on her shoulder. "No wonder it smells so good."

She giggled lightly. "See? It's already working."

I felt her move a little, but my eyes remained closed. Between the smell and having my girlfriend wrapped in my arms, I was in danger of falling into a peaceful sleep while standing up.

"Hey, don't fall sleep just yet Darry," she quietly scolded me. "Keep those eyes open until you're laying down again, alright? We don't need you falling over and cracking your skull on the floor."

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and straightened, but I kept my arms around my girlfriend. I noticed that she had turned the stove off and taken the pot off the hot burner to cool.

Suddenly, a small, quiet voice sounded from the direction of the hallway. "Kate?"

Kate and I both turned to find Ponyboy standing there, looking both tired and scared, which matched the tone of his voice perfectly. His black eye was more prominent in the light, and I had to keep myself from flinching at the sight. Soda stood at Pony's side with his arm slung across Pony's shoulders in support.

"Hey Ponyboy," Kate said warmly. She took a step away from me and towards Pony. "How are you?"

Pony's head dropped and he looked at the floor. "I'm fine. Sorry for wakin' you up."

Kate shook her head slightly and gave him a soft smile, despite the fact he wasn't looking at her. "It's okay, Ponyboy. You don't need to worry about it one bit."

Pony's eyes moved up to give Kate a confused and skeptical look, like he was waiting for something that wasn't happening.

A moment passed before Soda broke the silence. "We had to come see what was smellin' so good."

Kate smiled and motioned towards the cooling pot. "I just finished making some warm milk. I was going to see if anyone wanted some once it cooled off more, but seeing as you're already here…" she trailed off as she walked towards the cabinet. I helped her grab several mugs and set them on the counter so she could start pouring the liquid into them. After six mugs were filled, she offered two of them to Soda and Pony. "Would you boys like some?"

"It doesn't smell like just milk. What else is in here?" Soda asked curiously, even though he was already reaching his hands out for the mugs.

"Honey and cinnamon," Kate replied. Soda grinned and nodded, thanking her for himself and Ponyboy. Then the two of them moved to sit at the table.

Soda immediately brought the mug to his lips, and after taking a sip, his eyes got big and he stared at Kate in amazement. "This is amazing!"

At the same time, I took a sip from my mug, and I agreed with Soda; it really was amazing. It was a warm, sweet, and soothing liquid, and I could understand how it would get someone to fall asleep quickly.

"Shhh," Pony whispered harshly. "It's the middle of the night, Soda. I don't want to wake anyone else up."

Soda turned to look towards the living room before looking back at Pony. "Sorry to tell ya Pony, but it looks like Dally's already up."

Pony groaned and put his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table.

"Soda, why don't you bring a couple mugs to Johnny's room and see if either of them wants some warm milk?" I suggested.

Soda grinned and stood up. "Sure thing. As long as nobody drinks mine while I'm gone."

As soon as Soda left the room, I sat in the chair next to Pony and rubbed small circles on his back. "Come on, Pone. Drink some milk, then we'll get you back into bed. You'll fall asleep in no time."

Ponyboy took his hands away from his face and obediently drank some of the milk. I noticed his eyebrows rise and his eyes widen as he took his first sip, and I knew he liked the drink too. As I coaxed him to drink some more, Kate moved to sit across from us with her own mug. While the three of us sat in silence, I noticed Ponyboy kept glancing up at Kate, and apparently, my girlfriend noticed too.

"Ponyboy, I promise I'm not upset," Kate suddenly said to my brother. She set her mug down on the table and gave him a warm, soft smile. "You don't need to be worried about it, okay?"

Pony set his mug down and hunched his shoulders forward in a gesture that was either protective or defensive. When he spoke, his raspy voice wavered. "I don't want to be the reason y- you leave."

The bold statement took me by surprise, and I froze. It was one thing for Ponyboy to confess his concerns to Soda and me, but I was shocked that he said it to Kate herself.

Kate's expression softened to the point where she almost looked pained, then she slowly reached forward to hold Pony's hands. Surprisingly, he let her grab them without a fight.

"Ponyboy, I'm not going to leave because you have nightmares," Kate said in a soft, but firm voice.

Pony sniffled and he kept his eyes down. I could tell he was still doubting her, but he stayed quiet.

Kate studied him for a moment, then she spoke again. "You know what? I'm twenty years old, and I still get them too."

Finally, Pony met Kate's eyes. That got his attention.

Seeing that Ponyboy was intrigued by her statement, Kate smirked a little and nodded. "Yeah, I'm an adult and I still get nightmares. They're no fun, are they?"

Pony shook his head slightly before muttering a response. "I bet you don't scream and wake up half the neighborhood, though."

Kate let out a short chuckle, and somehow, it got Ponyboy to grin.

"No, I usually don't holler or anything like that," Kate admitted. "But I understand how awful it is to have your worst memories show up in your sleep, or maybe even things that never happened, which means I'd never hold it against you or anyone else."

I suddenly remembered waking Kate up from her nightmare after the incident at the diner and how awful it must've been for her. Then I started thinking about all of the other things that likely plagued Kate's mind and haunted her dreams. There's no doubt that Victor appears in her nightmares, but what else? I bet the two other men who joined Victor in Kate's bedroom her last night at her house probably show up too. Maybe she sees her dad dying in front of her and she can't do anything about it, just like how I see my parents or my brothers die in my nightmares.

I suddenly felt nauseous.

"Darry?" Soda's concerned voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I spotted him standing in front of the doorway, staring at me. "You alright?"

Kate and Pony were standing on the other side of the table, and they were both looking at me with expressions that were similar to Soda. Pony's eyes were glassy, but the loss of tension in his shoulders told me he was no longer worried about how Kate would react to being woken up from him screaming.

I realized all of the mugs had disappeared from the table, which meant they were probably either in the sink or on the counter for us to wash in the morning. Who cleaned up? How long was my mind drifting before Soda spoke up?

"You look half asleep already. Are you planning on sleepin' at the table, or are you goin' back to bed?" Soda asked me as he approached. His tone was joking, but the look in his eyes told me he was still a little worried about me.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him before standing up. "Don't get smart with me Pepsi," I said without any heat. "Did Dal and Johnny have any warm milk?"

He nodded with a grin reappearing on his face. "Yeah, just about knocked 'em both out." Then he looked at my girlfriend. "We're gonna need that recipe, Kate."

Kate smiled at my brother. "Sure thing, Soda. I'm glad you boys liked it."

As I walked up to my brothers, I looked them over once more. Soda was trying not to seem tired, but I figured he would likely fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Ponyboy's eyelids were drooping, so I had hope that he'd get some sleep too. Looks like Kate's warm milk recipe really did the trick.

"Alright you two, let's get you back to bed," I said with finality as I ushered them towards their shared room.

Almost as soon as my brothers were under the covers of their bed, they were both fast asleep. They looked so young and peaceful, I couldn't help but ruffle their hair and kiss the top of their heads before I walked out of their room. Before shutting the door, I whispered "goodnight" to them.

Two quiet voices replied "good night, Darry" back to me, and I chuckled as I shut the door behind me. So much for them already being asleep, I guess.

When I returned to my own bed and settled next to Kate, it suddenly felt like my exhaustion landed on me like a heavy blanket. Before sleep could claim me, I had to say one more thing.

"Thank you, Kate," I said softly as I put my arm across her and pulled her close. "I love you, baby."

She turned around in my arms so she was facing me, our noses almost touching. With her eyes glistening in the moonlight, she looked like a goddess. "It was my pleasure, Darry. I love you too, and those boys."

I smiled at her before leaning in to press my lips against hers. She reciprocated immediately, then she put her hand on the side of my face and deepened the kiss. By the time we broke apart, I realized she had wrapped her leg around both of mine, pulling me impossibly close to her and practically intertwining our bodies. Neither of us seemed to mind the proximity.

Then she grinned at me. "You know, I think it's my turn to make pancakes in the morning."