Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.

Sorry it took so long for me to update. I've been enjoying being lazy this winter break, and I think it's made my writing skills rusty, because I could not get this chapter good enough to make me happy. I do hope y'all like it, though.

"There are some days you never forget." That piece of rather obvious wisdom came from my dad, not Benny.

"I know," I whispered, because the look he was giving me demanded a response.

He glared harder at me. "Bet you think you know everything, don't you?"

The day had taken a sour turn after that, but I thought about it sometimes, and I thought about all the other days I never ever forget. There was the day my mom left, the day I met Marty, the day Benny died, the day Johnny was born, and then year I had a new day to add to my list.

The day Dallas Winston moves to town it's like a tornado has hit Tulsa unawares. He found the Curtis brothers, Johnny, and the two extras pretty quickly and earned their respect by doing something illegal, but I never get the full details on that. What I do know is that he ends up getting hauled into the police station, and Johnny begs me to go down to the station and pretend to be his mom.

I ought to say no. I don't know this newcomer, he's not my kid, and he sounds like a bad influence to boot, but Johnny's giving me his best puppy dog eyes, and I can never say no when he does that. I think he's starting to do it on purpose now, the rascal.

"Fine," I mutter. "I'll be out the door in a second."

When Johnny leaves to go inform his gang of friends, I grab a few dollars from the hole in the wall where I keep the tin that contains my escape money. It's not enough for bail if this Dallas character needs it, but it might make Tulsa's finest easier to persuade in letting the kid come with me. I do this quickly, because I haven't told Johnny about me squirreling away money yet. I don't wanna scare him. He might think I mean to leave him, and even if he doesn't, he doesn't need the burden of the knowledge that I mean to leave his father.

"We would've gotten my mom," says Darry who intends to tag along with Johnny and me. "Just she's not home from work yet."

"I'm perfectly capable," I tell him, perhaps harsher than is necessary.

He looks away, but I catch the slight sneer on his face. My guess is he's been listening to his mother talk about me. I wonder if his father and brothers agree with Linda too. Then I decide I don't care. They're a bunch of ignorant assholes whose only virtue is helping my boy when he needs it. Okay, maybe that's harsh, but I'm getting fed up with them. Honestly, the only one I can stand to look at is the middle one, the one with the neatest name, and the one who's the most sincere in his false politeness.

Anyway, my irritation makes me say, "Go home, Darry, and take Johnny with you. I'll meet you at your house."

Johnny and Darry protest, both wanting to tag along, but I'm not keen to take them to the station even if they both loved me to death. I board the bus alone, and I feel easier, enough to make a plan at least. I won't pretend to be Dallas's mom. I didn't wanna say anything, but that wouldn't have worked, not when I've paid a few visits there, and everyone knows I only have one son who is too shy to get arrested. I'll just say I won't leave without the boy and see what they do, which is not much of a plan, but it's the best I can do.

XXX

The police station hasn't changed much. I went once or twice with my dad the few times he was sober and sentimental enough to go fetch Benny. Benny never looked more ashamed than when I was there to see him treated like a common criminal. He even talked about it once right after I got married.

He said, "I'm close to believing that even the toughest hood is embarrassed about being hauled in, if for no other reason than they got caught, and if they have a little sister it's worse, because the hero worship goes away."

I took that to mean he was embarrassed, and I was the reason he straightened up and stopped doing illegal things. My stomach sunk when I process that, because he obviously wanted better for me, worked to make better things possible, and I let him down. He read my face as always and pulled me in a hug.

"Don't matter, though. Big brothers never look down on their sisters. No matter what."

I shake myself from my memories and tell the guy at the front desk, "I'm here for Dallas Winston."

They give me a bit of a hassle, but hand then a few bills and I tell them I won't leave without the boy, the trouble making kid I've never laid eyes on, and eventually they drag him out by the scruff of his neck. I feel sick when I spot him, because it might be that blond hair makes him look younger than he is, but he can't be more than thirteen, maybe fourteen if he's small for his age, and he's talking loud like it'll convince anyone he's not scared. I force back the pity, though, because if I remember correctly, boys like him hate sympathy.

"Who'er you?" he asks in a funny accent and a biting tone once he notices me.

I shrug. "Guardian angel?"

He sizes me up, spits on the floor, much to the dismay of the officer holding him, and says, "You're late."

I almost smile, but I'm kinda annoyed at having to come retrieve him, and neither of us speak as I lead him to the bus stop. On the way home I wonder what kind of friend Johnny sees in this guy. He's nothing but a future corpse in the street, and I'll be damned if he drags my boy with him. Then the kid smirks, having sensed me evaluating him.

"I suppose Johnny ain't allowed to play with me anymore?" His tone is much more mocking and mean now.

I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out this brat, and I spot something like acceptance in his guarded expression. He expects me to go on a tirade and forbid my son from being his buddy. He's also embarrassed, and that's what makes me not do exactly what he thinks I will.

Instead I say, "Don't let him end up like you."

He blinks and remains silent. I can feel him trying to figure me out too. His thinking is interrupted by how the other boys greet us as soon as the bus lets us off. He plays it cool, saying how it was nothing and he was bored more than anything else. Johnny looks at him with awe, and I'm torn between feeling jealous, nauseous, or downright heartbroken.