The Curtis house was in an uproar. Mrs Curtis was in the kitchen trying to cook dinner while her husband was on the upstairs landing trying to restraint Darry who was about to pound both of his brothers because neither of them would stop teasing him about the fact that he had a girlfriend who was on her way over for dinner.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mr Curtis shouted, causing his younger sons to stop immediately. "Now, both of you set the table for your mom." Once they were gone he released his eldest son. "Don't listen to them. She's the first girl you've brought home and they're excited. If this girl really loves you, she'll understand. If she has brothers, she'll definitely understand." He chuckled and Darry sighed and nodded. There was a knock at the door and he raced down there, nearly falling on the way, to get there before his brothers. He opened it and smiled widely.

"Hi Rosie."

"Hey. You raced your brothers to the door, didn't you?" She asked and he nodded before standing aside so she could come in. As the door closed behind them, the rest of the Curtis family appeared.

"Um, Rosie, this is my Dad, my Mom and my brothers Sodapop and Ponyboy." Darry introduced.

"Hi. It's so nice to meet you. Darry rarely talks of anyone else." Mrs Curtis said, causing both Darry and Rosie to blush.

"I thought I should bring something, so I've baked a cake. I hope you don't mind." She said, holding up the tin in her hands.

"Not at all. Thank you so much, you didn't have to go to so much trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I felt I should contribute something since you made dinner for us all."

Lisa smiled. "Well, that's very kind of you." She said, and she took the cake from her hands and took it into the kitchen.

"I've met you before." Rosie said to Sodapop. "You were one of the kids who helped my brother with his flat tyre at the DX."

"I remember." Soda said. "Your brother's really cool."

"Thanks." Rosie smiled but she had a sad look in her eyes.

"Shall we sit down? I think your mother's just about to serve up." Mr Curtis said before Sodapop could speak, guiding Rosie to the dining table, throwing Darry a look over his shoulder.

The dinner seemed to be going well from Darry's point of view. Rosie had made Ponyboy blush at least once, cracked Sodapop up several times and made an excellent impression on his parents. He smiled as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye while she took a sip of water. "Are you okay?" She asked and he nodded.

"Just thinking how happy I am." He said and she smiled.

"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination."

"Are you saying I'm insane?" Darry asked and Rosie simply smiled. He grinned and dove in, kissing her cheek.

"Sorry to burst the little bubble we have going on here, but I've just noticed your necklace." Mrs Curtis said and Rosie ran her fingers over the rose on a silver chain that she had around her neck. "Where did you get it?"

"My brother gave it to me. Before he was shipped off to Vietnam." She answered quietly.

"Well, I'm sure he's doing a great service for his country over there." Mr Curtis said.

She smiled sadly up at him. "He was. He was a tunnel rat, meaning he would go into underground tunnels and complete a search and destroy mission. He drowned on his last mission a couple of months ago."

"Honey, I'm sorry." Mrs Curtis said, reaching across and taking her hand. Rosie shrugged.

"He knew what he was doing when he went over there. He died for his country which is what he wanted since we were kids." She smiled. "Sorry, I just brought the tone down."

"No, not at all, I asked." Lisa said. "I feel like this moment deserves cake and ice cream." She said to her youngest son's delight before getting up and heading into the kitchen to serve it up. Rosie stood and cleared all the plates, carrying them into the kitchen after her.

"Did you know about her brother?" Mr Curtis asked his eldest son, who nodded.

"I was there when she got the news. It was hard – I didn't know how to comfort her." Darry shook his head. "She likes talking about him but she doesn't let it take over her life and I think that's quite remarkable."

"It's a shame. I liked her brother. He was tuff." Soda piped up.

"You've been spending too much time with Steve again." Mr Curtis said, raising his eyebrows at his fourteen-year-old son who shrugged and Mr Curtis shook his head. Suddenly the two women reappeared with dessert and they handed it out.

"You okay?" Darry whispered as Rosie sat back down next to him and she nodded.

"I'm okay. It feels better to talk about it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they'd ask." He whispered hurriedly and Rosie laughed.

"Darry, it's okay. If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good." She said, rubbing her hand on the top of his shoulder. "Seriously. Chill, babe, chill. You're starting to get a crease in your forehead."

"Really?"

"Yep. Right there." She smiled, poking the spot just above where his nose started and Darry chuckled. "Relax. I like your family and I like spending time with them. It's all good." She looked at his bowl with wide eyes. "Now eat." She picked up her spoon and dug in. Darry copied her and Mrs Curtis smiled across at her husband.

"Thank you so much. Everything was delicious." Rosie said as they walked her to the door. It had gotten dark out and so Rosie had called for her uncle to come and pick her up.

"No, thank you for that wonderful cake." Mrs Curtis said and Rosie smiled.

"Can you make it again for my birthday?" Ponyboy asked before anyone could stop him. "It's in two weeks. I'll be twelve."

Rosie raised her eyebrows. "Practically a man. I'll see what I can do." She smiled and Ponyboy blushed all the way to his ears, making Rosie giggle. A car horn sounded outside and she looked over her shoulder before turning back to them. "Thank you again."

"It was our pleasure. Honestly." Mr Curtis smiled before giving his eldest a look.

"I'll see you out." Darry said, opening the door for her and following her through it, closing it behind him. "That went well."

"That went really well. I meant what I said. I like your family and I like spending time with them." She said and Darry smiled before slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her up to his lips. She smiled into the kiss, looping her arms around his neck. The car horn sounded again, making them both laugh.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, princess."

"Thank you for allowing me to come over Superman." She smiled, pecking his lips briefly before running down to her uncle. She waved before climbing into the car and then it disappeared. Darry watched it go before heading back inside.

"You two are so adorable." His mother said and Darry blushed. "Oh, Darry, she's wonderful. She's absolutely wonderful."

"You like her then?"

"I love her!" She said before stretching up to hug her eldest son who, embarrassedly, hugged her back.

"She's going to make my birthday cake!" Ponyboy said delightedly. "And she said I was practically a man! I like her a lot – is she going to stay Darry?"

Darry looked at his family members before grinning. "Yeah. I think she is."