A scream in the darkness, a scared whisper of "Pony," and two pairs of legs running as fast as physically possible into their little brothers room. That's how it started.

It was the first time in years that Ponyboy hadn't slept with his big brother next to him, something a doctor had suggested. Darry had cursed him out, amongst more swear words than you could imagine, saying that it was a stupid idea, that it would make the nightmares worse, but the youngest boy's therapist insisted that it happen.

Darry, heartbroken, stares at his baby brother, who's awake now, sobbing into his hands. He and Soda refuse to move, as to not scare the crying boy.

"Pony," Darry whispers after a moment. The youngest brother looks up, tears dripping down his face. Embarrassed, he wipes them away, but on the inside, just the sound of his big brother's voice comforts him to the point where he could stop crying.

"G-go away," He whispers to the older men. Soda and Darry look at each other, and suddenly Sodapop is sitting on the bed, engulfing Pony in his arms.

"Uh-uh. We're not going anywhere," He says. Darry, knowing that Soda has always been better at comforting, just sits on his brothers other side, and takes his hand. Ponyboy picks his head up from where it was, buried in Soda's chest, and looks at Darry in surprise.

"You okay, little buddy?" Darry asks. Ponyboy just nods, as if to say yes, but the older brothers know him well enough to tell that he's lying.

"You remember what it was about?" Darry asks him. He shrugs, and Soda sends him a glare from the other side of the bed. Darry is always more concerned with what the dreams could be about than comforting him, like Soda does.

"You don't have to tell us," Soda says quickly. Ponyboy looks back and forth between his older brothers, trying to decide whether or not to say anything.

"I... I..." And then the tears start falling again, and suddenly, Darry steals his baby brother from Soda's arms. Although embarrassed because nobody cries in front of Darry, Ponyboy continues to sob into his arms.

"Please don't leave me," He says, and although barely audible, Darry hears it perfectly.

"I would never," Darry replies, rubbing circles in the youngest boys back.

"Me neither, baby," Soda whispers. Wiping his tears, a tiny smile appears on Ponyboy's face.

"Promise?" He asks. Both of his brothers immediately nod, and he pulls them both close, and snuggles in between them.

"Good. That's what my dream was. The two of you..." He says. The both of his brothers listen intently, not saying a word, even when Pony stops.

"Both of you guys left. Mom and dad died, and then so did Johnny and Dally, and then Steve and Two-Bit both moved away or somethin', and then just as I thought you guys were all I had left... Darry, you left for college, and sent Soda and I to a boys home. You said we were too much to handle. You said you were done with me, but maybe you'd come visit Soda sometime.... And then Soda... He said to separate us, he said he didn't want to be with me anymore, but then said just to get me into the best place possible, because they wouldn't want someone like him, just me...." Ponyboy's lower lip starts trembling again, but he takes a deep breath to keep the tears in.

"But I knew what he meant. He meant that he was tired of me, and that he didn't want me anymore... You both left... And so did everyone else. I don't want that to happen," He says. Darry stares, wide eyed.

"That would never happen, baby. When I gave up college, I did it because I love you and Sodapop. Why would I change my mind now?" He asks, his voice quiet and calming.

Soda, unknowing as to how to respond to what his younger brother had just said, whispers a quiet, "I love you, buddy," and let's it go. Slowly, Ponyboy's head falls onto Soda's lap. He strokes his brothers hair.

"We're never gonna leave. Right, Soda?" Darry asks. Soda shakes his head.

"Not on your life," He says, grinning. After that, it's quiet for a moment. 

"Pony, you still awake?" Darry asks a minute or two later.

"Yeah... I usually can't get back to sleep after this kind of thing," He admits. Soda shoots a look of pain down to his baby brother, still stroking his hair. Darry on the other hand, hides his concern behind his ice cold look in his blue eyes, not saying anything about this new information.

"Is this a bad nightmare for you?" Darry asks Ponyboy. Pony thinks for a moment, trying to figure out what would classify as "bad".

"I mean... A lot of 'em are bad... The worst ones are when I see mom and dad's accident, that's usually what makes me scream so loud... This one, I can't even remember why I screamed... God, I don't even know what was so bad about this one..." He said, mumbling to himself toward the end. Darry squeezes his hand a little tighter, as if to tell him that it's alright.

"We understand... But Pony, you should try to get a little more sleep. It's almost 3 in the morning," Soda says, sensing how tired his brother is, and looking at the clock.

"I... I don't want to," He says quietly, still worried about the nightmares.

"You gotta, honey, you have school tomorrow," Soda says. Ponyboy frowns.

"But I'm scared." His voice is barely a whisper, but it's still enough to make his loving older brothers want to break down in tears.

"What if I stay in here with you tonight?" Soda asks, laying down, and pulling Pony up next to him.

"Sure... I guess that's okay," Pony responds. Soda smiles, giving his brother a hug and putting a comforting arm around him.

"If you get scared, I'll be right here," Soda whispers in his ear.

"And Ponyboy, I'll be in the next room if you need anything, okay?" Darry asks, getting off the bed.

"Okay," Ponyboy mumbles in response, drifting slowly into his slumber. Darry stands over him, bending to kiss his forehead.

"Nigh, little buddy," He whispers, walking out. Suddenly, Pony shoots back up.

"Darry, wait," He says. The eldest boy turns around.

"Yeah?" He asks, his voice filled with concern.

"W-will you stay in here tonight?" He asks, scooting closer to Soda to make room for him.

"Sure, little buddy," He says, crawling in next to them. Soda doesn't let go of Pony, but he still manages to cuddle into Darry, and rest his head next to his shoulder.

"I hate sleeping alone," Ponyboy whispers.

"Yeah, we're never doing that again. Not for a while, anyways," Darry responds.

"Darry?" Ponyboy asks. 

"Yeah?" Darry responds.

"Thank you," Pony says. Darry smiles, grateful.

"For what?" Darry asks.

"Nothing... Everything... I don't know... I love you," Pony whispers. Darry laughs, hugging his brother closely.

"You're tired, buddy. Go to sleep," He says, kissing Pony's forehead.

Soon, he starts to drift off, but not before hearing Darry whisper a quiet, "I love you too."

Three brothers laying in bed together, snuggled up against each other, protecting each other, the two younger dead asleep while the eldest smiles at them, glad that everything is finally okay. That's how it ended.