Oooh, the drama of it all. I suppose I should change it to Supernatural/Drama, eh? This whole story will probably be officially dedicated to Maruader for her support and to Clair (Julie) as well, for her support and editing...though we're planning on going back and fixing it uponce it's all done.

Anywhooo, this chapter is short, just to get a new part in Alice's life in, so it's Alice centric, with only a small appearence from Dally. Made me kinda sad, because I love him dearly, but he didn't really have much place in the chapter.

Which I'm sure someone will argue with, but really, Dally's not the best Guardian you could ask for. Remember that! He's still got an internal conflict that has to be resolved. Hopefully, you've been noticing his slight changes throughout the story. But they're small, so maybe I'm the only one who caught it.


Chapter 10: Daughter vs Mother

Alice walked into the house, trying to get the jello out of her clothes. She had made the jello wrong, so it was less jiggly and more liquid, so it stuck to her clothes. Tony's mother had seen them walking back and had picked up Tony then. She looked like she was in a hurry, so she declined an invitation for some coffee...which Alice would have made.

"Alice, what on Earth is on your clothes?"

"Jello," Alice replied simply, looking up. Her eyes widened. Sitting at the small kitchen table was a man. "Uhm...hi."

He smiled and waved before her mom sprang into action. "Alice, this is Roger Dobson. A friend of mine."

"...Friend. Yeah. Right, er, nice to meet you Roger."

"Jean," Roger said, in an almost scolding tone. "I think you should tell her. You can't keep avoiding it."

"That's okay," Alice said briskly. "I think I already know. I figured it out; but don't worry Mom, if you don't want me to know and would rather let me know some other time, that's fine by me."

Alice stormed up stairs, ignoring her mother's protests and calls and walked into her room. Dally appeared on her bed, sitting on the edge and slouching slightly.

"Did you know Christine is a guardian now? Saw her up there-" Dally paused, noticing Alice was taking deep breaths and blinking rather quickly. "What's wrong, kid?"

"She lied! That...oh!" Alice growled and picked up one her stuffed animals, whipping it at her door. "She had a boyfriend the whole time and he's sitting down there now and she still refuses to tell me! What kind of mother does that?" She demanded, turning back to Dallas. "Can I punch you?"

Dallas stared at her for a moment. "No," he said firmly. "Listen kid, how can you be sure-"

"'Hi honey, this is my friend, Roger Dobson!'" Alice began. She seemed to always impersonate people in the worst ways when she was angry. "'Jean, I think you should tell her, you can't keep avoiding it.' How could I not know? Are you sure I can't punch you?"

"Damn it, you aren't punching me!" Dally snapped. "Punch that stupid rabbit. You didn't have a problem launching him into your door."

"Well, I feel bad for that now," Alice grumbled, plopping down on the bed next to him. They sat for a minute, before Alice raised a fist and punched Dallas in the arm. She then proceeded to hit her head on his shoulder.

"...That didn't help did it?"

"No."

"Then why would you even bother?" Dally growled, rubbing his arm.

"Because you deserve it anyway," Alice said with a sigh. "This isn't fair Dally...at all! I mean, wouldn't you be mad?"

"Well, hell, I think my old man would be more upset than me if my mom brought some guy home," Dally said with a shrug, digging in his coat pocket for a cigarette and his lighter.

"You can't smoke in here."

Dallas closed his eyes and lowered his head, trying to control his temper. He sighed and left the cigarettes and lighter where they were.

"I'm serious though, wouldn't you?"

"No, Alice, I wouldn't. I'd ignore it just like I always ignore stuff myparents did.They didn't give a flyin' shit about me and I didn't give a shit about them. It was sort of a mutual agreement."

"...So...I should ignore him."

"Hell, I dunno. I ain't goodfor advice Alice. What do you think?"

Alice blinked slowly and stared at her door, her head still resting on Dally's shoulder. It was quiet in the house except for the hushed conversation downstairs. Alice squeaked when Dally suddenly disappeared and she fell sideways onto the bed.

"Thanks for the warning," Alice mumbled as her bedroom door opened. She looked up at her mother, a scowl on her face. "Oh, so you finally decided to tell me?"

"Alice...I know I should have told you sooner-"

"Yeah, that would have been ideal, now wouldn't it? I mean, most people like to know if they're gonna get a replacement Dad."

"Alice, don't be like that. So I made a mistake, but I was afraid that you would react like this. Paul-"

"Paul isn't here!" Alice shouted, sitting up. "Paul's in a jungle somewhere risking his life for some stupid reason that doesn't even matter! So don't use him as an example, because I doubt you told him! He doesn't hide things from me, he never did, so he would have told me if he had known!"

"I never told him, but he would have handled this much better than you are."

"Dad died less than three years ago, my brother is in vietnam, and you waltz in with a boyfriend? Yeah, I suppose I could have handled it much better."

Alice watched as her mother pursed her lips. "Yes, I think you could have."

Alice's jaw dropped slightly. "Are you kidding me? Let's take a look at this from my point of view, hm? A sixteen year old girl who lost her father when she was thirteen, who now feels guilty because she really wasn't a good enough daughter to him, finds out her brother is being sent to Vietnam. Now, to her, her family is falling apart. A while after her brother leaves, she sees one of her best friends get shot in the head and die right in front her.

"Now, her mother waltzes in as if nothing is wrong, with a boyfriend, who was hidden from her. Not only that, but her mother still hid him from her when he was sitting right in front of her! To her, her mother is a greedy liar who didn't want to take into consideration her children's feelings about this new boyfriend so she hid it from them so she could be happy," Alice crossed her arms and glared at her mother.

"Not lookin' too good now is it? I would venture to say that if you were on trial for this, you would lose."

"Alice, you're being unreasonable. You haven't even given him a chance."

"Oh, well, that's because I didn't know I had to. I thought he was just a friend, I didn't think there was a chance he could be a replacement Dad," Alice said with a laugh. "Maybe you'll think to tell me next time, after all I am your daughter," she said as she opened her bedroom door. "That should be important, shouldn't it? What your daughter wants?"

Alice didn't wait for her mother's answer and walked out of her bedroom. She bounced down stairs and stopped at the small table next to the couch where they put mail. There was a letter for her. Alice picked it up, grabbed her school jacket and walked out the front door, ignoring Roger's questioning, but sympathetic look.

She could sense Dally close by, but he didn't show himself, which suited her just fine. She was too frustrated at the moment and Dally usually wasn't one to help with frustration. Sighing Alice fingered the letter in her hands carefully. Looking up she saw a bench up ahead and after checking to make sure it wasn't someone's temporary home, she sat down.

"You better have something good," Alice muttered to the letter as she ripped the envelope open. Carefully unfolding the letter, in case something was inside that could fall out, Alice held her breath. It was Sodapop's handwriting.

xxxx

Dear Alice,

It took me forever to get up the courage to write this. I was afraid of admitting it, but...I can't think of any other way you could have gotten a hold of Dally's picture...

I guess I believe you. I mean, it's good to know that he's doing okay. I wonder if he's seen Johnny up there. He still goes up there, right?

Anyway I have some good news that I heard. Your brother is going to be able to come home soon. I'm kind of sad to see a new buddy leave, but I'm more happy that he's not gonna be stuck here no more and can see his friends and family in Chicago again. You take care of yourself City Girl. Tell Dally he better not slip up and get you killed and that things really aren't the same without him and Johnny around anymore. Pony's been miserable and I know he would kill me if he found out I told, but Steve cried like a baby when they died.

-Sodapop P. Curtis

P.S. Paul was too anxious to write a letter. He can't concentrate, but he can't wait to get back home.

xxxx

Alice stared at the letter for what seemed like forever, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. 'He's coming home! He's finally coming home!'

Alice's shocked face morphed as a wide smile appeared on her face as she held the letter close. "And I'm the first to know...he's coming home!"

Thanksgiving was coming soon too. Alice wasn't sure if he would make it back before then, but if he did, that'd be amazing. For the moment, any thoughts of her mother and Roger were gone. All Alice could think of was her brother and Soda.

Her smile faltered a bit. Soda wouldn't be coming back for awhile, he just got there...but she'd keep sending him letters. It was the least she could do. Just because Paul was coming home soon didn't mean she'd have to stop, hell it gave her more of a reason than anything.

Alice stood, armed with her letter, and walked back home. She'd face this new boyfriend head on, for Paul's sake. He wouldn't want to come home to a fighting family.


A P.S. from me to you: I'm planning on this story ending soon. Once it's done, there'll be an epilouge and then...Fin. Officially. I had fun with this story while it lasted of course. I'm sad that it has to end.