Darry Curtis walked through the door of his house on an extremely windy fall evening. He shivered slighly, wrapping his coat tighter around him. His brothers were in the kitchen. 

"Hey, Darry!" Pony said. "Can I go out with the gang tonight? It's not a school night!" 

"I suppose you can" Darry said. "Is everyone going?" 

"Everyone except Two Bit." Soda answered. "He has a date." 

Darry nodded. "Have fun."

Soda looked at him. "Do you want to go? You never go anywhere anymore." 

Darry shook his head. "I'm kind of tired." 

When Pony and Soda left, Darry trudged to his room, to put on the warmest flannel shirt he owned. He pulled his quilt off of the bed and dragged it to the couch. Then he laid down, coughing miserably. He wasn't just tired. He was ill. He was glad his brothers hadn't noticed. He hated worrying them. He should get up, he thought. Should get up and check his temperature, or take some medicine, or eat something. But he was so tired. And unbearably lonely. This was the first time he had been sick since his parents died. He longed for his mother's gentle touch, or his father's reassuring voice. He turned on the tv, just to combat the quiet. Then he fell into a fitful sleep. 

He woke to a concerned voice calling his name. "Darry? You okay? You're not looking real good." He blinked his eyes open to see a worried looking Two Bit. 

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?" He croaked. "I thought you were on a date."

"She cancelled last minute" Two Bit said. "So I thought you might like some company." He reached out, suddenly, to lay a hand on Darry's forehead. "You're not fine."

He left the room and Darry could hear him rummaging around in the medicine cabinet, and then the sound of running water. He returned, carrying the thermometer, a bottle of fever reducer, and a glass of water. "Here, Darry," he said, handing over the thermometer. 

Darry took his temperature. "101.5"

"Should I be worried?" Two Bit asked. Darry shook his head wearily, and reached out for the medicine bottle. 

After he took the medicine, he flopped back down on the couch. 

"Have you eaten?" Two Bit asked. Darry shook his head. 

Two Bit grinned. "I'll make soup!" 

"Please don't set my kitchen on fire" Darry groaned. 

"I know how to make a can of soup!" Two Bit said, heading into the kitchen. 

After a lot of banging and clanking noises, Two Bit returned with two bowls of soup. 

Darry ate his slowly. He wasn't hungry at all. When he'd eaten as much as he could,  he laid the bowl on the coffee table. "Thanks Two Bit."

Two Bit looked at him. "It's just soup."

"No it's not" Darry said. "Thank you for staying. And for everything, these past few months." 

"It's what friends are for" Two Bit said. 

Darry yawned. 

"Why don't you go to bed?" Two Bit suggested. 

Darry shook his head. "I don't want to go to bed until they're home safe". 

"Take a nap here, then" Two Bit said. "I'll keep watch."

Darry watched the random western that was on the television, and after a few minutes, he fell asleep.

Two Bit went to clean up the mess he'd made in the kitchen, and then settled into the armchair to wait. 

When he heard Pony and Soda talking loudly to each other as they came up the porch steps, a couple of hours later, he went out to intercept them. "Shh… Darry's sick and he's asleep on the couch." 

Soda and Pony looked at each other. "Sick?" Pony echoed. 

Two Bit nodded. "Yes. He's got a fever, and I think his throat's bothering him, and he seems real tired. Don't let him go to work tomorrow." 

"I'll try" Soda sighed. 

"I'm going to head home now" Two Bit said. 

Soda smiled. "Okay, Two Bit." 

"I'll stop by tomorrow to see how he is". 

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Two Bit."