Okay y'all. Here is the third, and maybe final, installment in the Bridget/Tim series. I'm very sorry if the 2nd one was disappointing, but I already had this one semi-planned out. Everything will be taken care of in this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.

Chapter 1

"Are you sure you have everything?" Charles Matthews asked his daughter as Greg was putting the last of the bags in the car.

"Yes, Dad. I'm positive. Everything is in the car," Bridget said.

"And how 'bout you baby girl? Do you have everything you need?" he asked his granddaughter.

"Yes, Bapa," Melody said.

He picked the little girl up and kissed her forehead. "You make sure you take care of your mommy."

"I will." He kissed her again and put her down. She ran over to her grandmother. "I miss you Grammy."

"I'll miss you, too." Susan bent down to kiss her on the cheek. Then Melody went over to her Uncle Travis and her Aunt Sarah. They both kissed her goodbye.

"Melly, honey, get in the car so Greg can buckle you in," Bridget told her daughter.

She ran to the car and into Greg's arms. Bridget looked at her dad, before going over to him and hugging him. "You call us as soon as you get there," he said.

"I will. Don't worry." He kissed her forehead and she moved onto Susan. Then she moved to Sarah and Travis.

"You better take care of my niece," Travis said.

"She's my daughter if you forgot, so of course I will." She hugged him and pulled away. She and Travis had started getting along shortly after Melody was born. It wasn't to the point where they were best friends, but they could at least tolerate each other now.

She went over to Bella and Maria. "I'll see you two soon."

"Yeah, you make sure you have room for us at that house."

"Of course there will be." She gave them each a hug and then went over to the car. "I'll talk to you all later," she said and then climbed in the passenger side of Greg's Mustang. Greg climbed in the driver's side and started the engine.

"Ready?" he asked.

She took a deep breath. "Yes." He shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway. She looked out the side mirror to see her family waving behind her.

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"Hey, Bridget. Bridget, wake up," Greg said, trying to shake her awake, while still keeping his eyes on the road. "Bridget, c'mon. We're there."

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up straighter. She looked around and saw the sign looming towards them.

NOW ENTERING

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

She was a little nervous. She hadn't been back to Tulsa now for almost four years. She was unsure of how things would go. Of course, she'd been keeping in touch with the whole gang, but seeing them all in person was another story. And now, she'd actually have to tell them she had a daughter.

"Bee...Bee." She looked over at her driving companion. "You gonna tell me the directions to his house or what?"

"Sorry. Um, turn left at the lights." When he had done that, she said, "Keep going straight until you reach the intersection." She looked at all of their surroundings. Everything looked just as she had remembered it. "Turn right, and it should be the third house on the right."

Greg pulled the Mustang up to a white house. It wasn't in as bad of shape as the ones around it, but it wasn't exactly like the one she'd been living in in California. She climbed out of the car and stood looking at it for a moment. Then she turned to get Melody out of her car seat.

As Greg went around to the trunk to get things, the door to the house opened. A man came out onto the porch. "Bumble Bee!" he yelled, coming down the stairs.

"Soda!" she yelled back, smiling, and ran to him. She jumped into his arms and hugged him tight. "You look great."

"Yeah right. You're the one that looks great. God, girl, you been working out?" he said, jokingly.

"Yeah, well lifting my daughter up and down is a really great work out for the arms."

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "So where is that daughter of yours?"

"Uncle Soda!" Melody called running up the front walk. She knew who he was due to the phone calls between Bridget and him, and the pictures that her mother had shown her.

"Melly!" he said, lifting the little girl in his arms. "You been takin' care of Mommy like I told you to?"

"Yup."

"Has she been a good girl?"

"Mhm, 'cept when she gets mad at Uncle Travis. Then she says bad words," she said, whispering the last part.

"Well, we're gonna have to punish her, aren't we?" Melly nodded. "Hm, we'll have to think of something." He put her down and then looked over at the car.

"Whoa. Who's car?"

"Mine," Greg said, coming up to greet him. Soda looked at Bridget, unsure of whom this was.

"Sodapop, this is Greg."

"Right, I knew that. Nice to finally meet you," Soda said, reaching out his hand. Greg took it.

"You too."

"Really nice car, man. For a second, I thought y'all were socs."

"Well, we kinda are," Bee said. "Our families aren't exactly poor."

"Steve's gonna flip when he sees that. 1967 Mustang, right?"

"Yeah. I got it my senior year of high school. Works really good. Haven't had to get anything fixed yet."

"Tuff. Mind if I take a look?"

"Not at all." Soda went over to look under its hood. Greg moved closer to Bridget. "Is he always like that?"

"Afraid so. He fixes cars for a living. Loves everything about them." She turned to her daughter. "Honey, sit on the steps while we get everything out of the car. Don't move."

"O'tay Mommy," Melody said and did as she was told.

Greg and Bridget went over to the trunk and took out some of their things. "Soda, babe, come over and help please," she said.

Soda just smiled his happy-go-lucky smile. "Oh yeah." He closed the hood and went around to the back.

They each grabbed enough bags to only make one trip and then headed inside. "C'mon hun." Melody followed.

"Where do you want us to put this stuff?" Greg asked.

"Your room is the third one on the right and the girls' is the last one at the end of the hall." Soda had gotten his own place about a year ago, so there was plenty of room for his visitors.

They each went their separate ways to put things away. Soda followed Bridget and Melody to their room and sat down on the bed with Melly. "Where's Bella and Maria? I thought they were comin' with you," Soda said.

"Yeah, they were, but Bella's gotta finish up her finals and Maria got suckered into working one more week. They'll probably be here sometime next week."

They all fell silent and Bridget went back to unpacking. "Pony's real excited to see you," Soda said.

"I can't wait to see him either. I missed them all so much."

"They all missed you, too. When you plannin' to make an appearance over there?"

"I don't know. I really wanna go visit my mom and Two-Bit before dealing with the rest of the gang."

"When you tellin' Tim?"

She looked at him, smiling uneasily. "Bee, you gotta tell him."

"I know, it's just that I'm afraid of how he'll react. How would you react if your ex-girlfriend showed up with a kid four years later, yours nonetheless?"

"I'd freak out."

"Soda!" she whined. He smiled sheepishly.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Melody chimed in.

"Okay, we'll go get some food. Soda?"

"To the Dingo," he said.

She laughed. "Let's go."

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All four of them walked into the diner and sat down in one of the red booths. Bridget looked around. "I can't believe this place hasn't changed a bit."

"You got that right. Even the management and waitresses are the same," Soda said pointing to a blond waitress coming over.

"No shit," she said.

"Mommy!" Melody said horrified. The two men laughed.

"Sorry, honey. No way."

"Can I take your order?" Sylvia said, popping her gum.

Bridget looked up. "Bridget, you're back," she said bitterly.

"Yeah, I am. Hi Sylvia. How you doin'? I heard you and Dal broke up for good this time."

"We're not over until I saw we are."

"Oh, well, does he know that, because last time I talked to him, he seemed pretty happy seeing some other girl."

"What? Who?"

"I don't know. I just know there was someone."

Soda glared at Bee, telling her to stop. She rolled her eyes and gave in. "Um, could we have a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke. Then I need a kid's meal chicken nugget," she said.

Soda and Greg ordered the same as Bee.

"So you got a kid now, huh?" Sylvia said.

"Yeah," Bee said suspiciously.

"Looks nothing like ya. Thank god." Bridget glared at her. "I'll be right back with those drinks."

"Great," Bee said sarcastically when she was gone.

"What?" Greg asked.

"Everyone's gonna know I'm back with a kid."

"Sylvia ain't exactly one for secrets," Soda continued.

"Tim's gonna know before I even get a chance to talk to him."

"Don't worry. Everything'll work out," Soda said reassuringly.

She smiled weakly at him.

In a bit, Sylvia brought back their food and drinks and they ate. When they were done, they left her a very small tip.

They walked back to the house, and Greg carried a sleeping Melody up to the bedroom. He followed suit and disappeared into his room, tired from all the driving, after saying goodnight to Soda and Bridget.

Both changed into their pajamas and met back in the living room. Soda sat on one side of the couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table, with Bridget next to him, leaning against his body with his arm around her shoulders.

"So ya datin' him?" Soda asked.

"Who? Greg?" Soda nodded. "Nah, we're just friends. I did try dating this one guy, Dean, for a couple weeks. But it didn't work out."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't get Tim off my mind," she said quietly. He kissed the top of her head.

"You still love him?"

"Mhm. It's part of the reason I came back. I really want him back. I haven't been able to stop thinking about him."

"It'll all work out for you two. Might take a little longer than you expected, but it'll all work itself out in time. You two were made for one another."

She smiled and moved closer to him. He pulled her tighter. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"Any time, Bumble Bee. Any time."

After awhile, he could hear her slow, steady breathing and he knew she had fallen asleep. He reached over, shut the lamp, and closed his eyes until morning.