"Darry…" Two-Bit started as he shook his lover awake.
Darry stirred in bed for a bit.
"Darry!" Two-Bit snapped, slapping his arm. Darry shot up and glared at him.
"What is it, Two?"
Two-Bit peeled back the duvet along with the sheets. Darry looked down to see a small puddle of blood just underneath Two-Bit's bum and the side of his pajamas.
Darry started getting out of bed as did Two-Bit.
By the time Two-Bit got in the car, the contractions began.
He threw his head back and moaned in pain as Darry put his suitcase in the backseat.
"Hurry, Dar." Two-Bit rasped.
They pulled up to the nearest hospital-a half hour away. The contractions were closer together and a lot stronger than before.
Two-Bit came in slowly behind Darry who was rushing to the front desk. "Yeah, uh, we're havin' a baby, but there's a bit of an issue, we're only six months along…"
Two-Bit finally made it and put his head down on the countertop, taking a deep breath. Darry reached over and rubbed his back. "S'okay, babe."
Nurses came with a wheelchair and slowly, Two-Bit eased into it. He rubbed his small, round bump as Darry pushed him along.
"One last big, big push!" The doctor encouraged Two-Bit, who complied to his orders.
Two-Bit was panting, his hair matted down against his face. Darry was holding his hand.
They looked up at the doctor, who had the baby over on a small table. The nurses started to wheel him off quickly.
"W-What happened? Why ain't he cryin'?" Two-Bit demanded. "Where are you takin' 'im?! Lemme see my baby!" He started to pull himself up, though Darry tried to push him back down.
Two-Bit laid back in bed, frustrated tears rolling down his cheeks. Darry sat next to him on the stiff bed and pulled him into a hug, kissing the crown of his head.
Two-Bit looked up at him.
"Where'd they take 'im?" He asked weakly.
"He's got quite some problems, Two. I ain't gonna lie t'ya. The doctors said he's a pound and five ounces. He's so tiny, Two. 'bout half the size o' my hand… he's in the NICU."
"Can I see 'im?" Two-Bit asked, his voice faint due to his exhaustion.
Soda and Pony were the first to come in. They said only immediate family members are allowed back there.
Dally cursed and sat in the waiting room next to Johnny and Steve.
Soda smiled at Two-Bit as he walked into their room. "Hey. How you two doin'?" He asked.
Darry stroked Two-Bit's damp hair. "Been better days, Soda."
"Why, what happened?" Pony asked, sitting down in the chair beside the bed.
"The baby's real small, Pony. They've got 'im hooked to a machine. He's got a breathin' tube since he can't do it on his own…" Two-Bit choked out.
"Can we go see the lil' guy?" Soda asked sympathetically.
"Yeah, ya can." Darry said. Two-Bit stayed in bed-he was too scared to see him yet.
Soda began to walk out of the room along with Darry. "C'mon, Pony." Pony walked out with them to the NICU.
It didn't take long for the three Curtis brothers to reach the NICU, where they found little Andrew lying in an incubator, hooked up to tubes and wires and many other machines.
"You weren't kiddin' when ya said he was tiny." Pony said, his face practically pressed into the glass.
Sodapop was the one to smack him in the back of his head because if Darry did, his face would go through the glass.
"Can I go get Two-Bit?" Pony asked, turning to Darry.
Darry shook his head. "He's too weak from givin' birth. Let 'im rest a while." But by the time he said that, he felt something bump the back of his leg.
He turned and saw Two-Bit, sitting in the wheelchair.
'Two-Bit, I thought I told ya to stay in bed." Darry scolded softly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Two-Bit said dismissively, wheeling himself past Darry. He pressed his hand softly to the glass and peered inside at his little boy.
"Oh, Andy." He cooed. "I'm sorry I didn't keep ya in long enough."
Just as he said that, Johnny appeared in the doorway and took his usual spot next to Ponyboy, Steve with Sodapop. Dally was leaning in the doorway, eyes on the incubator like everyone else's.
"Wow… I ain't never seen a baby this tiny before.." Steve whispered in awe. Soda hit him in the chest.
Two-Bit was too fixated on Andrew to notice Darry staring at him with worry. His eyes, blurred with tears, then focused on the glass which showed his lover's reflection.
"Calm down."
Two-Bit nodded and tried calming down as best he could.
Dally craned his neck to get a better view of the baby. Johnny gestured for Dallas to come into the room, but Dally shook his head.
Dally had never seen something so small before. He was a little nervous-he didn't know how to act around kids, babies especially, so he just kept his mouth shut.
Darry rested his chin on Two-Bit's shoulder, keeping a close eye on their son as he placed kisses on his lover's neck.
"Not in front o' the boys." Two-Bit whispered.
Darry pulled away. The room was silent. Everyone was looking at the little fighter in the incubator, his heartbeat steady as the beeps blared out of the monitor.
Darry woke up next to the incubator, his back hurting like hell. He looked into it and noticed that Andrew wasn't in it.
Darry made a beeline for Two-Bit's room. "Two, the baby-!"
Lying next to the bed was Andrew, swaddled in blankets with a portable breathing tube, in a small basinet.
Darry breathed a sigh of relief and kneeled down next to his son. Two-Bit smiled at them, as did the rest of the gang.
Little Andy gave out a little whimper.
Two-Bit looked down at his tiny baby, worry evident on his face.
"Should we get a nur-?"
Dally was already hollering out the door for one.
A nurse soon entered the room. "Would ya quit all yer yellin' an' hollerin'? I ain't deaf! Now what do y'all want?"
"A nurse that isn't a bitch." Dally snapped. "Get outta here, will ya?"
Darry shot the 17-year-old hood a glare. "He just whimpered. Is there somethin' wrong? Is he in pain or somethin'?"
The nurse looked over at him. "No, sweetie. He's perfectly fine." She smiled.
"Then why'd he make that noise?" Two-Bit asked.
"Babies cry a little, it's only natural." She said.
Two-Bit looked over at Darry, then back to the nurse. "When can we take 'im home?"
"Right now as soon as we get your papers filled out. Doctor's gotta talk a few things over with ya, though."
Darry and Two-Bit nodded, determined to get the papers filled out so they could take their new son home.