-1Disclaimer: S.E Hinton owns The Outsiders.

A/N: VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please note that I am a fourteen year old girl who doesn't plan on being pregnant any time soon, so, though I tried to make the birth as real as possible, it will have mistakes in it. Also, if some of the stuff in the story doesn't go back to the 60's, just read over it. I wrote it the only way I knew how.

Don't expect updates for awhile. School starts tomorrow. Ugh. :(

Happy reading and review please!

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The room I was in was pretty typical for a hospital. There was one bedside table, one machine that liked to beep just so that it annoyed me and plenty of other pieces of equipment that the doctor claimed would save my life if I needed it. The walls were very ugly with just a plain flowered wallpaper and there was clipboard attached to the wall, saying that my doctor was Dr. O'Connor and I was a woman, sixteen years of age and the rest of the junk that I didn't bother to know about myself, including my blood pressure and blood type. It was a pretty usual room except for one thing: the five boys surrounding my bed.

I had been sitting in this bed for about five hours now, going through pain after pain, in a hospital gown that would show my whole back if I even thought of standing up. Darry rushed here after his work had let out, finding the note on the table explaining why I wasn't home. Steve came as soon as he was let off work and Two-Bit and Pony found the note at some other time during the day. Of course, Soda had refused to leave my side since he arrived at our house, flustered and just as panicked as I was. In time though, we had made it to the hospital and I received treatment to try and delay labor, but it wasn't working so well. The contractions were coming worse and worse and I couldn't stand to have all the guys around me, though they seemed intent on staying.

Every time I had to cringed in pain, I felt weak, but they were there. I held Soda's hand through it all. Pony was on my other side, but he dare not take my other hand. I didn't know why, but he seemed a little bit sick. I really couldn't blame him though, he was sitting in a birthing room for his own sixteen year old sister. And he's only fourteen. Hopefully everybody will join him in the waiting room while I went through this alone. It was me against the kid and so far the kid was winning. Just great. I couldn't even win a fight while the kid was in something I was supposedly able to control.

"Please guys, I'm fine," I pleaded for the millionth time laying there hopelessly. I looked at all there faces and really couldn't understand why Steve was there. Probably not to be left out in the waiting room. It sure didn't seem like he was having the time of his life. "I would rather have it if ya left. I wanna do this by myself."

"Cherry," Soda began and then seemed to cut off, not really knowing what to say. That was very unusual for Soda. He always knew the right thing to say in times like this.

"Any of us will stay, Cherry," Two-Bit tried to finish off Soda's sentence and then he glanced at Pony, grinning from ear to ear as if he thought this was all one big joke. He whispered like he was only talking to me, but everybody could hear him. "Though ya might not wanta pick Pony over there. It looks like he's gonna wet himself."

I grinned and glanced back at my youngest brother. He was pale, to say the least and now the tips of his ears were red from a faint rush of blood sneaking its way up there. He glared at Two-Bit ominously, as if he wanted to take him down right then and there. Ah. What a bunch of idiots I had in this room with me.

"You're right," I pretended to whisper back, trying to prove that I was fine so that they would just leave. "I think ol' Steve is gonna go out soon too."

Two-Bit laughed. The others grinned, but it was as if only Two-Bit and I were in on the joke. That's how most things were with Two-Bit though; only one other person ever has a clue on what he's talking about. It was fun though and lightened at least me up a bit.

"Ya know what?" Two-Bit announced to the crowd as if he was just speaking for the first time. "I think that everybody hear looks like they've just seen a Soc. I suggest a quick buzz will get everybody's mind straight again. Now, would everybody please keep in line - that's right Darry, squeeze your damn muscles in there - and wait for me outside while I find a nurse to tell me where the nearest bar in this hospital is."

Nobody moved as Two-Bit went to go out the door and he waited there impatiently, tapping his foot loudly. I was grinning because of Two-Bit but I also just wished that they would leave. Darry was looking at me with a look in his ice cold eyes that told me I was just plain crazy to want everybody to leave. Soda looked worried and unsure of what to do. He had never had to go through any of this before and he shouldn't have to. And I already explained what Steve and Pony look like, so I just wished that I could kick their hides out of here.

It took a moment for me to stop smiling and then a forceful look before they all shuffled their feet towards the door. Before closing it, Two-Bit winked at me and I mouthed a small thank you. As much as I knew that he would have wanted to stay in here as much as the others, he knew what I wanted and wouldn't deny me of it. They could come in after this baby was born. The doctor had already talked to me about what was happening. This baby was called premature and as soon as it was born, would have to be put into special care because it would be so small. Possibly only the size of my hand.

They didn't know whether or not it would live through birth or even after birth. I couldn't touch my baby at all until they were sure it was strong enough. What kind of treatment was it if a mother couldn't touch her newborn baby? All I wanted right now was for my parents and Johnny to be by me. The only thing I could hope for though was that they were watching and going to give this baby the energy it needed. And me. The energy I needed to get through this. There was just something about all this that was really getting me worked up. Why should I be worrying about this baby so much? I didn't want it even that much! I would much rather have it just disappear.

No, that wasn't true. Sure, it may have been like that a few months ago, but now - now I had an attachment to it, like I couldn't let go even if I tried. I wanted this baby to live and the idea of being a mother excited me. Sure, my social life would go down the drain, I already knew that, but I would be in charge of another human life. It excited me, I guess. There was just something that sparked an interest in me about it. I could control whether or not a kid ate candy or I could yell at her or him if they cursed. I would be in charge of the grounding instead of Darry and when it was old enough to go to school, it would brag to its best friend that they had a mom named Cherrytree and two uncles names Ponyboy and Sodapop. If she made it to school.

And what if he didn't make it? Would I really be deceived of everything I love in such a short time? I hadn't done anything to deserve this, at least not that I could remember. And it wasn't even just me who would be devastated. What about Two-Bit, who had been so cheerful about the baby that it was beginning to drive the gang nuts. He wouldn't be around as much as he had been and I would miss it. A drink would probably always be in his hand and I wouldn't even be able to look him (or any of them as a matter of fact) in the eye. It was my fault that this was happening. If I had just been sober enough to fight off all those Socs that night or if my body wasn't so weak that it needed to get rid of this baby early what would be happening now?

It was hard to say and I couldn't really honestly answer myself. Perhaps Mike would have had more of a chance and we would be coming home from a date now. I would be in school, that was a give in because being pregnant was the only reason Darry would let me drop out. I could be enjoying life perhaps and, though I would still have a big whole in my heart, I might actually be healing from Johnny. Sure, I will never ever forget or be able to get over him now, but what if I had had the chance to heal like a normal teenager? I guess I would never know. I guess nobody would ever know.

The doctor walked in with some clipboard in his hands and a small, dark haired nurse behind him. He looked worried and behind his horn-rimmed glasses there were dark blue eyes that resembled Darry's, except his showed concern and apprehensiveness. He had on an operating gown and the nurse behind him was also dressed to help out during an operation. I tensed up when I saw them, staring at me like they were expecting a bomb to explode any second. A thousand questions flooded my mind as they began to move closer and take the spots of which my friends had just inhabited. The first was: What was wrong?

"Miss Curtis," he began, but I cut him off, telling him to call me Cherry. I wanted to be completely comfortable with the full grown man who would be seeing my most private parts and having him call me 'Miss' was not going to get me there.

"Cherry," he started again. "We're goin' to have ya start pushin', okay? The baby is in position, head down, so I don't think we have much longer."

I gulped and sucked in a deep breath, knowing I wasn't ready for this. To think, in an hour or so I could have a brand new baby folded carefully in my arms.

"Do ya want me to get your brothers for ya?" the nurse asked carefully, keeping a calm voice. She didn't look to be any older than Darry and had dark brown hair that looked almost black kept in a bun at the back of her head. The wisps of hair flying to the sides said that she had had a rough day.

"Nah," I shook my head, putting on a brave face and mentally telling myself to suck it up. "I'm goin' through this alone."

The doctor gently got me into position and when the next contraction came, he told me to start pushing. I wasn't really in focus, but I registered more nurses entering the room, telling me to hold their hands (I didn't) and checking all the machines to make sure they were saying the right things. My vision was blurry and I realized I was crying, but I didn't reach up to wipe the tears away because my fists were clenched in tight balls on my side as I tried my hardest to just get the baby out of me.

Pain. That was all I was in. I had never gone through this much pain before and it made me want to just scream out loud with agony. This pain was worse than when I broke all of the fingers in my hand when I was six. I had been playing football with Darry, Pony and Soda and Darry forgot that I was just a girl whose bones were still growing. He didn't tackle me, but when I fell down onto the ground once, he ran past, too focused on the ball than anything else, and crushed my hand with his cleats (which he had insisted on wearing). I was crying for hours on end and Mom and Dad had to come rescue me from the lot, scolding Darry, who was trailing behind us, constantly going on with a different way to apologize. In fact, I think Darry falling from a forty foot building and crushing my skeleton would be more soothing than what was happening right now.

"Just one more, Cherry," Dr. O'Connor said, his head beyond my sight. And I did just one more push, full blast, holding my breath and clenching my teeth. Tiny beads of sweat dripped and swerved over my forehead. My face contorted into one that clearly showed just how much it hurt and then, just like that, it was over. The pain ceased and nothing else existed except for the tiny, muffled sound of a crying baby. I wanted to see it badly, but my body was too fatigued to even get up and look. I sat there, breathing hard, expecting my baby to be brought to me in a bundle of joys. Instead, I saw a nurse quickly rush my child out of the room.

"What is she doin'?" I cried, almost springing from the bed, but the doctor pushed me back down. They weren't taking away my baby from me. No, they couldn't. I needed that baby. I wrestled to get up, but I wasn't allowed to and soon, three other nurses were holding me down. I didn't care about the scene I was making and loud noises that emitted from my mouth. All I cared about was my baby and that I had it in my arms. I itched for the touch of a soft and chubby baby hand. My body thrashed this way and that, surely giving the nurses and the doctor bruises. I was in pain too, but I didn't care. My baby.

"It's a girl. What's the name goin' to be?" the doctor tried to distract me, but I barely heard him at all. I was too focused on the door of which they had just taken my daughter out of. It wasn't theirs. It was mine and at that moment, I think I was the greediest person in the world. All I wanted was that baby for myself. I didn't want anybody else to touch her except me. But my body was too tired and I couldn't keep swinging my arms and legs. Even when I settled down and lay there with my chest heaving up and down, the nurses still didn't let me go. The doctor was now holding a paper with a pen in his hand.

"Cherry, we need a name," he said. "Your brothers are comin'. I promise, she's safe and you can see her soon."

"But why can't I see her now?" I asked, taking deep breaths between each word and glaring at the doctor with the meanest look I could muster. "Why couldn't I just look at her?"

"She was premature, Cherry, surely you know that she's gonna have to be under careful medical watch or else - ," O'Connor explained, cutting off the last part. "The nurse took her to the room which you will see her later. But now, we need a name."

My baby was okay. That was the only thing that registered in my mind. I knew a name to give, but I needed to see my brothers first. The doctor said they were coming, but how long would that take? I needed them now. I pressed deeper into my pillow and stared at the ceiling and the doctor, who realized he wasn't going to get an answer from me, gently put down the paper and left the room, leaving the nurses to care for me. I was offered water, tea, you name it, but I didn't take any of it. I just wanted her. That was it.

At that moment, the door to the room opened and closed for the billionth time that day and in came Darry, Soda and Pony, who all looked like they were about to pass out. Darry wasn't strutting, showing off his muscles like he usually did. Soda was just about hopping like a kangaroo over to the bed and Pony took in the room before doing anything. He seemed to look anywhere but at me until all three of them reached the bed. Then he took in the sight of me and I realized that he was probably still afraid of hospitals. The last time he had been conscious in one, his best friend had died.

"Where is she?" Soda asked. Apparently the doctor had told them it was a girl.

"Are ya okay?" Darry asked at the same time, looking my up and down. I bet I looked like I had just run one of Pony's track meets. Pony didn't say anything and just stared at me. He didn't talk much anyway.

"They took her ta another room," I said, still feeling my cheeks tickle from tears. "I wanna see her." I couldn't explain why she was there because I hadn't paid attention to the doctor, but I did know I needed to get up now. Darry instantly turned and went to find the doctor. While he was gone, we didn't talk and the only sound that was heard was the tick-tock of the clock on the wall. Even Soda couldn't get out the right words to say. My thoughts turned quickly to Steve and Two-Bit and knew that at least the latter was probably jumping off the walls in excitement. The former was probably worried, but not saying anything about it. Steve believed deeply in the Greaser "stay cool" theory.

"Ya have ta change first and then ya have ta be wheel-chaired over there," Darry said, coming back into the room and then ushering Pony and Soda out so I could get dressed in the only pair of clothes I had there, the ones I had come in in. It felt good to feel my stomach back to almost normal size again. I had some fat hanging on that hadn't been there five months ago, but I didn't care. The blimp was gone. And then, I rushed to the door, where Soda, Pony, Darry and now Two-Bit and Steve were waiting for me. There was a wheelchair and a nurse out there too and I quickly sat down, too eager to see my baby girl to care that I should have argued to walk by myself.

It seemed like I was taking a trip to Florida and walking the whole way there. It took too long and we stopped too many times. Too many corners were went around and too many people were watching the large group walk down the hall. I wondered if any watchers were wondering whether all of the five boys behind me all thought they were the father. They sure did look like an intimidating bunch though, so nobody dared to question us. Two-Bit was right behind the nurse, cracking all sorts of jokes that she was so slow. I laughed at all of them only absently. The prize was too near. I could feel it and that's all I wanted.

We reached a room with a big glass window in the front that visitors could peep in at. I didn't look in though because the door was already being opened and closed and soon I was the one being peeped at. Everybody except for Sodapop had stayed outside to look in at us. I wondered if they had planned that beforehand or something, but Soda reached down and took my hand supportively as we kind of just stood there for a second. I took in the room and, let me tell you, it wasn't anything like I expected it to be.

There was baby rattle wallpaper aligning the wall and the carpet was a pale blue, like you were walking on water. But that was the only thing really normal about the room. Plastic boxes were spaced out about six feet apart, leaving room for only about ten in the room. Rocking chairs were placed in each 'station' with a small blanket draped over the back of each one. But what really interested me the most was the boxes. Tubes and wires were hooked up to them and some of the junk seemed to actually be going inside of it. Four holes were placed on the longer sides that were like little doors. There was a latch that you could unhook if you wanted to place your hands in. But the most fascinating that was that there were actually babies inside of those things. My baby was inside one of those things.

The nurse wheeled me over to one box on the far side of the room, placed in the corner and then helped me up so I could look in myself. What I saw almost made me turn away.

My daughter was so small. She was probably only the size of Darry's hand. Her skin was red and a small diaper was placed around her lower half, but except for that, she was completely bare. She was on top of just a plain white sheet, no other blankets were around to keep her warm. The worst part was that there were a million and one tubes and wires hooked up to her. They came out of her nose and were attached to her chest. It was horrible. And then she opened her eyes to look up at me for the first time. I will never forget that look coming from exact replicas of my own eyes. They sent a signal for me to help her, but I couldn't. What was I supposed to do?

Soda had his arms wrapped around my and the side of my head was against his chest, but I couldn't take my eyes off of my daughter. She was so small and fragile. How could something like this even be allowed into the world? Why was I constantly thrown the bad hand? Hadn't my parents been listening to me last month in the cemetery? Soda gently rubbed my back as he, too, stared at the tiny bundle that I had carried with me for five short months.

"Cherry?" the nurse was asking calmly and I wondered how many of these babies she saw in a day. The whole room was filled with them and for the first time, I realized that other parents were around, looking in at their child. I only slightly looked at the nurse before she continued. "Do ya have a name?"

I swallowed briefly. "Olivia - Olivia Curtis," I got out loud enough for her to hear me.

"Middle name?" the nurse asked again. I carefully looked at my baby again, stepped forward a little bit and placed my hand on top of the incubator. Soda was there steadying me, making sure nothing would happen.

"Jonathan," I gathered myself to say. "Olivia Jonathan Curtis."

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And if that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.