I do not own the Outsiders. They rightfully belong to S. . I only own this idea.
"Will you come back here, Bell?", asked Darry as he chased the naked and wet 2 year old around the kitchen. "Plays!", squealed Bella as she continued to run around the kitchen, her wet feet slipping around on the floor. "No, bath time.", he said as he almost reached her under the table, only to have her quickly crawl away from him. He chased her into the living room, around the couch, and then back into the kitchen where she slipped on the wet floor and landed on her butt. "Boom!", giggled the little girl as she bounced again. "Did you go 'boom'?", asked Darry as he picked her up and rested her on his hip. "Boom!", giggled Bella as she bounced slightly on his hip. "Let's get you scrubbed up then you can play.", said Darry as he carried the little girl back into the bathroom and gently placed her back into the warm water of the tub.
He gently washed off her body with a lavander scented soap and rinsed her clean, smiling when she squealed when he gave her belly a tickle. Bella slapped her tiny hands down on the water, squealing again when she found a new way to play. "Spash!", said Bella as she did it again, soaking Darry in droplets of soapy water. "Um, Darry. I think she's supposed to be getting the bath, not you.", teased Sodapop as he walked past the bathroom with a grin on his face. "Very funny, Sodapop. She's happy doing that and I'm not going to stop her.", replied the oldest Curtis as he was once again splashed by more droplets of water. "Spash!", said Bella with a huge smile on her face, her only two bottom teeth showing. "All done.", said Darry as he picked up a fluffy white towel before he picked up Bella and gently wrapped her in the towel, using his foot to slide down the notch to drain the tub.
"Hey, Dar, you're soaked. Hey Bells.", said Ponyboy as he walked past them with a book in his hands. "Hey, Pony.", replied Darry as he carried the little girl back to his room and gently layed her down on the bed so he could pick up the bag that held her clothes. "How was work, Sodapop?", asked the taller of the brothers as he gently dried her off. "Work was work. Steve got his foot ran over by a Soc's mustang. That car didn't get too far afterwards.", explained Sodapop as he kicked off his sneakers. "Kinda hard with only two tires and no spark plugs.", added in Steve as he came walking in through the front door. "Are you okay, Steve? No broken bones?", asked Darry as he dried off Bella. "I'm fine, quit your worrying.", replied Steve with an annoyed look on his face, but he was smiling as he looked back the hallway at him. A low 'thud' was heard from the kitchen soon followed by Sodapop's laugh and Ponyboy's curse.
"What just happened, Pone?", asked Darry before he blew a raspberry on Bella's bare stomach. "I slipped on the floor. Why is it wet?", asked Ponyboy as he got up off of the floor and shifted his now sore elbow. "We have an escape artist.", replied the oldest brother as he gently slid a Huggies diaper onto Bella before he dressed her in a yellow sun dress. "How many times?", asked Pony with laughter in his voice. "3. You turn around for two second and she's out of the tub and across the floor.", replied Darry with a laugh of his own as he helped her off of the bed and onto her feet, before she took off across the floor, down the hall, and into the kitchen. "Incoming!", called out Darry as he closed the bag and carried it out of his room, placing it on the couch. "We see her coming, and now Two-Bit has her. They both found Mickey.", said Sodapop as he took out the chocolate cake from the ice box. "Keep an eye on her, Two-Bit. Tristian should be here shortly to pick her up.", explained Darry as he walked into the kitchen and dried up all the water with the towel, before he hung it up in the bathroom.
"Is she going to cry again?", asked Steve with wide eyes as he glanced down at the 2 year old. "More than likely, but I hope not. We do need to talk though, guys. About something pretty serious.", said the oldest brother as he took Bella's now clean clothes out of the dryer and placed them into the bag that Tristian gave to him when he dropped her off. "What about, Darry?", asked Two-Bit with a slightly rough voice since Bella jumped down onto his lap, smiling the entire time. "Well talk after Bell gets picked up.", answered Darry as he zipped the bag closed and placed the clean sippy cups back into the pockets. "Is everything okay?", asked Ponyboy with a serious look on his face. "Everything is fine.", replied his oldest brother.
The front door opened and Tristian walked in with a smile on his face, shaking out his slightly long brown hair. "Hey, man. I got Bell all cleaned back up and ready to go.", said Darry as he watched the girl in question jump back down onto Two-Bit's lap. The teen groaned and rolled over onto his side a bit, holding his breath slightly. "Heavy.", he managed out between breaths. "Oh, she's not heavy.", said Darry as he walked over and gently picked her up, holding her against his chest. "How did she get so dirty in the first place?", asked Tristian as he picked up the girl's bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. "I took Bella to the park this afternoon and she found every single mud puddle that there was to jump in. She came back here covered in mud, from head to toe.", explained Darry as he placed a kiss to the girl's head, before handing her to the other man.
"No go.", said Bella as she reached for the oldest Curtis brother, trying to get out of Tristian's arms. "You can come back tomorrow, baby girl. I promise.", said Darry as he kissed her head again and gave her a hug, feeling her tiny arms wrap around his neck. "Was she fussy?", asked Tristian as he shifted the girl in question in his arms, settling her on his hip when she released the older man. "Nope, there was no fussing today. She was an angel.", explained Darry as he followed Tristian out to his car, holding the door open as he buckled her into the carseat. "I'll see if I can bring her back tomorrow, if not, you're coming down.", said Tristian as he poked him in the chest, before shutting the door. "I'll be there after work.", replied Darry as he stepped back so the other man could get behind the wheel and shut the door, before starting up the car. Tristian waved at him before he drove off down the road, Darry turned around and walked back into the house, meeting 4 teens with curious looks on their faces.
"You're good with her, Dar.", complimented Ponyboy as he walked over to his brother. "I had some experience with you two.", said Darry as he ruffled his little brother's hair, having his hand swatted away by him. "So, spit it out. What did you want to talk to us about?", asked Sodapop as he sat down at the table beside Two-Bit. "Is it bad?", asked Steve as he sat down beside Steve. "No, it's not bad.", replied Darry as he leaned against the wall in the doorway of the kitchen. "Then what is it?", asked Two-Bit. "Talk.", ordered Ponyboy as he playfully poked him in the side with his finger, knowing where he was ticklish. "Okay. Okay. I've been thinking about adopting Bella, making her a part of our family.", explained Darry as he glanced at each of the boys in front of him.