"Yeah, they gave me a prescription for pain killers and they said I could go. Soda just signed my release forms." Violet nodded and hugged him again, thankful to be back in his strong arms.

A few months passed by and nothing really occurred. Violet was thankful that during the more important months of her pregnancy that Kessler hadn't been around. She was now nine and a half months, waiting to pop. She and Darry decided to leave the gender a surprise, and painted half of Hailey's room a light green color. It was decorated with a few race cars and a few teddy bears. Hailey was really excited to be a big sister, as far as her parents could tell. She hadn't been doing much talking, mostly babbling. Violet was worrying in the back of her mind that Hailey was lagging behind a bit, but her doctor assured her that it was normal for some children to take longer to form actual words.

Darry went to work earlier in the morning to hand in a report that was due within the next few days. He was going to stay at work for some of the day to talk the report over with his boss, make any suggestions and help his boss develop a better executed safety plan. She was home alone with Hailey and Pony was at school while Soda was at work for the day. It had been on her mind to try and casually ask Darry if they would be able to look for a bigger house, maybe further into the country. However since he was still in a cast and they were struggling to make the payments to pay for Darry's visit to the hospital. Valentine's Day was Friday and unfortunately because of her third term in the pregnancy and Darry's cast, they weren't able to do much. At the end of an almost half hour long debate as to what they should do, the couple just settled on staying at home and watching whatever was on TV.

Violet was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her daughter squeal from her highchair. She smiled and watched as Hailey worked her way through eating chocolate flavored cheerios. Violet herself worked on eating eggs and bacon that she made for herself, but for some reason she just wasn't that hungry. She heard a car pull up and looked out the living room window to see a sleek black car sitting in the driveway. She saw a lady get out holding what looked like a folder, in a pants suit. She swallowed hard and went to get Hailey, not quite sure who would be visiting at this hour.

There was a knock on the door and Violet walked over holding Hailey's hand. She opened it and saw the lady standing there.

"Hello, I'm Kathy Miller. I'm the boys' usual social worker." She said and Violet nodded,

"Hi, the boys aren't home however. Ponyboy is at school, and Sodapop is at work this morning."

"I'm actually here to speak with you. And then do the regular safety check." Violet nodded and let the lady in.

"Alright Violet, since you're permanently living here, I must speak with you as if you're the boys actual guardian." Violet nodded again, running her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Now, I must ask you a few questions regarding your past." Violet swallowed hard,

"Fine… Fine. What did you want to know?"

"It says on record that you haven't been able to finish paying your bills from when your daughter was born. Is that correct?" Violet nodded. She had been meaning to start paying it again but it slipped her mind so often.

"Now, I would like to know more about the people you were involved with while you lived in California."

"Well… Gabriel King was my boyfriend at the time."

"And Mr. King was part of a gun and drug cartel. Were you aware of that?" She asked, her tone becoming more accusing.

"No ma'am, I didn't know. Gabe often went out at night and sometimes on trips that were a few days long, but he always claimed it were road trips with some of his brothers." Violet said shakily. She truthfully didn't know anything about Gabe's involvement with any gang.

"Alright. And this baby is indeed Darrel's?" Violet nodded, and continued to answer questions about herself and about the gang. Darry never told her the questions they were asked regularly and the answers that they gave her. Kathy stood and asked to do the safety check. She began walking through the house and rooms silently. She went through drawers and closets, looked under the beds and under the pillows. She came back out holding a knife and a gun; both belonged to her and Darry for protection.

"Who do these belong to?" She asked, and Violet felt herself flush. She knew that if she said they belonged to Darry, Darry would lose custody of Ponyboy, since Sodapop was eighteen.

"Me… They're mine. They belong to me… I keep them with me for protection." She said quickly, and the lady put them on the table, keeping a calm expression.

"And just who do you need protection from?" She asked, and Violet struggled to find an answer.

"I… From… From some of the guys that are around the area where I work. Some guys aren't very kind to a single girl… And… I'm afraid they'll follow me home." The lady was quiet for a few moments as she wrote a few notes down. She looked at Violet and noticed some bruises on her neck, and looked around. She noticed it was unusually clean, as when she usually came the house was dirty. She looked at Violet,

"I'll be here around six. I expect the boys to all be home." She said and she walked out, closing the door behind her; Violet sighed and sat back into the couch and fell asleep holding Hailey to her chest. She didn't wake up until she heard the door open and she looked around groggily to see Darry standing there.

"Violet? Are you alright? Why is the gun and the blade out here baby?" He asked, coming over to her and sitting on the side of the couch.

"Darry… The lady from social services came today and she wanted to talk to me… And she asked about Gabe and did a house search and found them…" Darry looked at her for a few moments,

"Shit." He said and Violet felt herself feel guilty. When Pony came home, Darry told him what had happened.

They were just sitting down for a nice chicken and potato dinner with salad when there was a knock on the door. Darry went to open the door and let Kathy in.

"Ponyboy, Sodapop, come out here." Darry called quietly. They walked into the living room and sat down. Violet continued to try and feed Hailey, listening quietly.

"Unfortunately, with the last few checks I've done here, there are too many breaches of conduct. I spoke with my boss, and until you can make the changes and have a safe environment, Ponyboy will be taken into custody."

"W... What?!" Violet heard Darry's voice boom.

Little bit of a cliff hanger, but I hope you guys enjoy! I want to thank everyone for their views, but i strongly encourage you guys to leave me a review with some suggestions!