"I even told Katie that I'm adopted, Daddy!"

Samuel set a bowl of Life cereal in front of Emily, as he sat down next to her to put on his shoes. "Oh, yeah? What did she think about that?"

Emily scooped some cereal onto her spoon, tasting the little bit of sugar her Samuel had added to her breakfast. "She thought it was great too. She said I look like Uncle Soda and Aunt Penny."

"You do, sweetie. She's right about that."

"I asked Katie if she's going to marry Uncle Steve. She told me she doesn't know, but they do like to kiss."

"So you liked playing with her, huh?"

"I sure did! She even liked Mac a lot too."

"Well, of course. Most people do like kittens." Samuel kissed Emily's forehead, as he started to go. "You be good for Mommy, okay? Be sure you listen to her all the time."

"Okay. I will. Do you like Katie, Daddy?"

"Sure I do. But what's really important is that your Uncle Steve likes since they're the ones dating each other. It's also important that we can all get along, but what the rest of us think is really just icing on the cake."

"Yum! I want cake! Where is it?"

"It's just an expression. It means it's great if we all like Katie too, but what matters the most is that Steve likes being with her. So the best thing we can do is make sure we support him."

"Soda, what's going on, man? Do I need to call Mr. McCoy for you?"

Soda felt his stomach shake with nausea, Steve's hand on his back, as he tried to breathe over the nerves that had only built up overnight. "No. Don't do that. I just need some water."

Steve got a glass and filled it up, handing it to his friend, as he sat down with him. He watched Soda drink the water, a hand reaching out to rub his shoulder at the same time. "Is that any better?"

Soda set the glass down, nodding, even as he didn't feel any calmer on the inside. "Yeah. I guess so. I just didn't sleep all that well last night. It ain't a big deal. You can go on and finish gettin' ready for work. There's no reason for you to be late."

"I'm just about ready anyhow, buddy. I'll probably stop by and spend lunch with you again, okay? I really like doing that because it reminds me of old times."

"Are you comin' with me to Darry's tonight?"

"Yep. Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

"Are you bringin' Katie along?"

"No. She said she doesn't want to. I'm starting to get the idea that she doesn't like spending much time in groups, which I can respect."

"Yeah. I can too." Soda watched, as Steve grabbed his wallet, putting it in his pocket, as he reached for his keys. "Are you happy, Stevie? I mean, with Katie."

"Yeah. I think so. It feels like I am."

"Okay then." Soda gave Steve his biggest grin, despite what he'd begun to see. "That's all I need to know."

"Look at the caterpillar, Mommy! It's so cute!"

Vivian followed Emily's pointing finger to the tiny creature that was crawling along the outside of her playhouse window. "Yes, I see. It may be looking for a place to build a cocoon."

Emily moved closer to the caterpillar, seeing its many legs, as it crawled near the roof of the playhouse. "What's a cocoon?"

"It's kind of like a house, but it's made of silk that the caterpillar makes. Then, it goes inside for a long time and comes back out when it's done."

"Done with what?"

"Changing. When the caterpillar is inside the cocoon, it does a lot to get ready. That way, when it comes out, it's a beautiful butterfly."

"When I first started school, I used to think about going into the medical field. But after the things I saw inside hospitals, it probably wouldn't have been the wisest idea."

"I can understand what you mean, Ponyboy. My experiences with Luke made me want to become a nurse, but if that had turned out differently for him, I doubt I could've taken the same path."

"I don't even know what path I'm taking now though. Sure, I'll have a degree in a year, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet."

"You'll figure it out. The point is to earn what you've been working for, so you'll open up plenty of possibilities."

"You're really starting to worry me here, man."

Soda picked at the turkey and cheese sub he was splitting with Steve, as the two men were sitting outside behind the TSC. "I'm just not really hungry. It ain't a big deal."

Steve's eyes remained on Soda, as he ate, not missing the way his best friend's gaze kept looking away from him. "I may as well ask this directly. Do you think you're starting to struggle because of you and Penny breaking up?"

"That's probably what it is. It's been days now, so maybe it feels more final."

"Of course. Since we've both said it's grief, that sure would be part of the process. Especially after you two were together for so long."

"Yeah. It's real tough, so maybe it's hittin' me now that we really ain't together anymore."

"Just let me know what you need, all right, buddy? As much as we've been through together, I feel like this is a new one, you know? Neither of us has really been through a break-up that's this much of a big deal. You had Sandy, but that was different. It was a short relationship, and her feelings weren't like yours from the start. As for me, Evie and I never got anywhere near thinking we'd have a future together."

"Yeah. I hadn't thought about it like that, but you're right."

"Plus, you and Penny sure were together through a ton of ups and downs, so you still have something that's deep and special. Even though you're broken up, it's forever. I actually hope I have that kind of bond with a woman one day."

"I know that's somethin' you wish for. I want it for you too."

"Hey, maybe I've already found just the woman, huh? It's nice to think so."

"Yeah. Sure is."

"But, anyway, back to you, man. I'm here for whatever you need, even though I know you already know that."

"Right. I do. I'll be okay."

"You definitely will. All the feelings and grief you have just need to run their course."

"Katie? What are you doing here?"

Katie entered the counseling facility, finding Steve at the back desk. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Steve slid a pair of folders back into the slot of the filing cabinet. "Sure I am. I'm just working, so I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I haven't seen you since yesterday, so I wanted to stop by."

Steve was about to reply when the phone began to ring. He picked up the receiver, greeting the person on the other end of the line. "You've reached Parkview Counseling Center. Steve speaking. How may I help you today?"

Katie stood by, her gaze sweeping the place, where she knew her boyfriend had been working for the last six months. She saw the offices with their closed doors and the hallway that extended to a locked residential area, the facility quiet, in spite of the treatment that was practiced within.

"She's actually with a client right now, so can I take down your name and number?"

Katie watched Steve with a pen and notepad, as he wrote out the caller's information.

"Ms. Larson will get back to you as soon as possible. Have a nice day, ma'am." Steve hung up the phone, placing the note near Ms. Larson's workspace.

"You like working here, don't you?"

"Are you kidding? I love it. I don't really get to do much as far as directly helping the people who come here, but at least I do get to be involved in their care."

"Yes. Like a cog in a machine. I want to have my own practice someday. With just me and a handful of clients."

"That works too. It's how my counselor's office was. Her name was Laura Avery. I'm sure I wouldn't even think about doing this myself if not for her. She really encouraged me, even when I had doubts."

"You draw a lot of inspiration from the people in your life."

"Yeah. It definitely helps." Steve spotted Ms. Larson coming out of one of the rooms, escorting a client back to the residential wing. "I think that's part of the point of having people in your life in the first place."

"I couldn't imagine staying here. Or anywhere else like it."

"Um, yeah, that can be kind of a big deal. Well, I actually have to get back to work. There's some scheduling I need to do for Dr. Branson and one of the counselors."

"Oh. Okay. Are you still planning to go to Darry's tonight?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I changed my mind. I've decided I really would like to come."

"Sodapop? I wasn't expecting you just yet, little buddy. Come on in."

Soda followed Darry inside, both brothers heading to the kitchen. "I know I'm early, but I wanted to talk to you alone. I swear I feel like I'm losin' my mind, and I've got to tell somebody about what happened. I can't tell Steve cause it'd hurt him so bad, but I really need to talk."

Darry led Soda over to the table, a hand on his brother's shoulder, as he sat down along with him. "Okay. Pony's out with a couple of old friends, and Maryanne's working second shift. So it's only me and you. What's going on?"

"I'm not too sure, but I think Katie might've made a pass at me yesterday at the cookout."

"How could you not be sure about something like that? What exactly happened?"

"She came in the house when I was the only one inside, and we talked a little bit about Emily's cat. I said Mac is her best friend, and Katie started sayin' that I know all about bein' best friends. Next thing I knew, her hand was on top of mine, and she was touching my waist. I pulled away from her, then she put her hand on my back and was talkin' about how she knows I'm Emily's father."

"So what? What's that have to do with her hitting on you? That's not a 'might,' Sodapop. It sounds like making a pass is exactly what she was doing."

"I know it does. I just don't get it cause I could've sworn she wanted to get rid of me when we were all outside. I know she doesn't like me in that way either. I ain't even sure she likes me at all because of how she talked. It almost sounded like she was threatening me."

"With what?"

"I don't know. It was just the way her voice sounded. Especially when she talked about Emily. Cause I said that the adoption really ain't a secret, and she said me and Steve have a lot of secrets. It was just creepy. I don't know how else to put it."

"How has it been going between her and Steve?"

"Worse than he makes it sound. I think so anyway. She ain't treatin' him right, Dar. But he just wants this so bad that he glosses over stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Like how he told me that he thinks she worries he won't have time for her, and she doesn't like hangin' out with groups. It sounds like she's wantin' him all to herself. Then, he told her about how he was abused, and she wasn't so great about it. From what Steve told me, she was thinkin' more about herself than about him. Even worse than that is how she told him he needs to stop focusin' on the past cause he's not a kid anymore. He just takes it as Katie havin' a different view on things, but I don't think she even has a right to that when we're talkin' about his recovery. It ain't right for her to make it sound like he needs to change."

"Damn. Even without all that though, the fact that she was hitting on her boyfriend's best friend is a huge red flag to me. You've got to tell him, little buddy. It's not going to get any easier if you wait."

"I know. But I don't want to be the one to hurt him. He really likes Katie, and it'll break his heart. Or he might even be upset with me. I've been worried sick, and he knows somethin' is wrong, but my and Penny's break-up is a convenient cover for that."

"Why would he be upset with you? From what you told me, you didn't do anything wrong. Only Katie did."

"Yeah, I know. I walked away from her too. But I guess I'm just afraid he'll think I did somethin' to make her like that or he won't even believe me."

"Soda, listen to me. You two have been friends almost all your lives. You both trust each other. He'll be hurt, but he needs to know about this before their relationship starts getting serious. I don't see him as being one to get so blinded by romance that he makes what happened your fault or thinks it's a lie. The other things you told me may be easy to brush off or overlook, but he needs you to show him the rest of what you know because he can't see it for himself."