PONYBOY'S POV

I woke up screaming. Then I started bawling my eyes out.

"DADDY!!!" I yelled in between sobs. I was really calling out for Darry, but he and Soda hadn't finished teaching me my R's yet. Besides, Darry and Daddy looked a lot alike anyways.

Darry came running in, dressed in his black tank top and faded dark blue jeans, and turned the lights on. He looked tired by the way his brown hair was messed up and his eyes were underlined with circles. It looked pretty dark outside, but I wasn't able to tell if it was morning or nighttime.

"Oh, baby, my poor poor baby brother…" Darry said gently. He reached into my crib and picked me up. Once he had me on his hip I wrapped my arms around his neck and started to cry even more. It was a scary dream. By that time, Soda was in the room too, only wearing his jeans, stroking my hair.

I stopped crying after Darry had taken me out to the front to eat a midnight snack, but I was still shaking. Darry handed me to Soda and I wrapped my arms around his neck, even tighter than I did with Darry. I lay my head down on his shoulder and watched the surroundings change as Soda changed the directions in which he was walking.

"Are you okay Pony?" Soda whispered in my ear, kissing me on the side of the head. I didn't answer, partly because I was tired, but mostly because not answering someone's question tells them that I was saying 'no'. "Hmmm? Is my sweet little baby bro okay?" I decided to answer the question, since I was feeling better.

"uh.." I said softly. I couldn't really talk that well yet (what 1-year-old baby can?) but when I did, I always had one answer for 'yes', and both Darry and Soda knew that.

"Oh, that's good…" Soda said in relief, sitting me on top of his lap. I watched as Darry came in with a bottle of warm milk, shaking it vigorously. He sat down and held his hands out, telling me in baby sign language to come here. I crawled to him and sat down in his lap. He held me as if I were still two-months-old and put the bottle in my mouth. The milk felt real good going down my throat and I felt my eyelids getting heavier, until all I could see was the color black. I was still drinking and I could hear Darry and Soda talking.

"Man, Darry, did Mom give you private lessons on how to do this baby type stuff or are you just that smart?" Soda joked around.

"Naw… I just remember watching her do this with him every day when he got cranky or tired." Darry said softly. I could detect a hint of worry in his voice.

I almost started crying again, but then I shifted in Darry's arms and I was okay again. I couldn't hear the rest of what they talked about, but I was pretty sure it was about me. I didn't remember if Darry had put me back to bed, but who cares? I was warm and comfortable, sleeping peacefully in my brother's arms.