Title: Back for You

Author(ess): Berserker Nightwitch

Summary: Dally and Johnny are dead right? Then how is Dally coming through the front door? And who is this person who looks like Johnny?

Posted: April 12, 2004

Chapter Title: Home to a Better Life

Thank Yous:

DallysGirl4Life – I'm glad you liked it even if you didn't review for it. I'm not mad at people because they didn't review (I do it myself sometimes!), but I just liked the way that that chapter turned out (or at least my sleep-deprived muses did ^^) and it was a little upsetting that I only got five reviews for it. Thanks for reviewing this one so quickly!

Outiderslover-0408 – Short, but sweet. I liked it! Thanks for the review, and here's the last chapter for this story.

DaNNi BaBezZz – I used to share bunk beds with my brother, and when an older (or just larger) friend would come over they would constantly hit their heads. And it is possible to fall off the sides, but I'm not sure how realistic it is for someone to get caught in the sheets. I thought it would add a touch of something. Yeah, I just think it's more fitting for the pet of the gang to be the youngest of the gang. My mind just somehow doesn't fit around the older being shorter. Maybe it's because I'm now shorter than my younger brother. T_T

movielvr – Thank you for every one of your reviews! You and Tensleep are my most loyal reviewers! There are times when I think I must be writing this story solely for the two of you… I hope this chapter meets your expectations.

angel_punk_2021 – I'm glad you like my story. Yeah, I just think that Pony needs to be protected, or at least that the others do a good job protecting him. Thankees for the review!

Tensleep – I'm glad you liked the chapter! The shower curtain thing just had to be written. The muses were attacking again…

~~

Dally: We were attacking? You're still blaming everything on us…

BN: This was a compliment from one of our two best reviewers. You should be grateful I'm laying the blame on you…

Dally: Oh…

~~

I think I remember the other details now, but I'm not sure ^^! And I would never drive them completely insane… just mostly! ;D Thanks for the signature of approval on the last chapter! I wait for both you and movielvr before I make a new chapter.

shyXshortieXbabe – My johnnyness? Okee…. I'm glad you've liked the story so far! There will more than likely be a sequel with all the requests I'm getting for one!

taste of fire – Cliffhanger? Me?… *grins innocently* If you mean will I end the story with a cliffy, then no. I hate doing that to people. The sequel will be an entire story of its own, but following the same timeline as this. I like to be able to read one without the other, so except for a few references, I'm going to try and make it easy to read the next one without having read this.

Mistress of the Darkness – I'm glad. That makes me feel a lot better. I also like the chant! Fun!

Two-BitGortez – Thanks! I will! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

And now for the reason you decided to come back…

~~

It was a few weeks before everything started going back to normal. People tended to avoid both of the newest additions of the Curtis household, but that didn't bother any of the Greasers in the slightest. They almost enjoyed being left alone by the Socs. The only people who really took advantage of the situation were Buck Merrill and Curly Shepherd.

One afternoon, Johnny stayed after school to wait for Ponyboy while the younger boy had track practice. It was almost two hours before the practice was ended, and by that time, Ponyboy was so worn out that he wasn't willing to walk any faster than a slow trot. Both boys knew that any Socs they ran into wouldn't bother them, so they took their time getting home.

When Johnny opened the door he found only Darry in the living room. That was unusual, since the TV was in the living room, and there was nothing else in the house that seemed to keep the others occupied for more than twenty seconds. As they entered the house, Darry stood up and walked a little closer to them. He smiled at the confusion he saw on both of their faces.

"I asked the others to leave for a little while so I could tell you this without any distractions," he announced, serving only to make the younger boys nervous and worried.

"Tell us what?" Johnny asked suspiciously, unconsciously moving in front of Ponyboy. Darry saw his movements and smiled at the boy.

"A social worker came out here today, and wasn't overly thrilled that we have two more people living here with only one more income."

"Are they going to kick us out?" Johnny asked, masking his true feelings behind an uncaring mask. Darry shook his head rather than verbally answer the question. He began to wish he had just told them what the social worker had said when he saw Ponyboy's face suddenly pale.

"Are they planning on sending me and Soda to boy's homes?"

"They threatened it at first," Darry started. He hugged his youngest brother when the boy drew in a sharp breath. "But then I told them about my new job, and the better hours and pay I'm getting on the first one, they reconsidered."

"I could get an afterschool job to help out," Johnny offered.

"I told them you would probably say that. They agreed on those terms, especially when Soda came home with an announcement."

"What announcement?" Ponyboy wanted to know.

"I'm not allowed to tell you. Soda said he would get Steve, Two-Bit, and Dally to help him beat the tar out of me if I didn't let him tell you two."

"Was there anything else? I don't think you would kick everyone out to say that the social workers weren't going to split us up."

"Quit being so smart, Pony," Darry joked. Then he turned serious, and looked Pony in the eye. "You're right. When they heard about the money solutions, they said it wasn't right for five teenage boys to share only three rooms. When I wouldn't agree to opening up the master bedroom, they said that we would have to find a bigger house."

"A… bigger house?" Pony breathed, sounding more than a little overwhelmed.

"Yeah. We would have to move."

"But how could we pay for it? The only reason we have enough money for everything now is because Mom and Dad had the house paid off before they died."

"We still have some of the money from their life insurance, even though I was hoping to save that for your college tuition. When I told them that, they said they would pay for three fourths of the house, leaving us with only one fourth to pay. That way we could have it paid off pretty quickly."

"But… how are we going to find a house?"

"I went looking after they left, and I think I may have found a nice place."

"But we can't move!"

"Why not?"

"This is our house! We can't just leave it!"

"Pony, this place will seem to insignificant in comparison."

"No! I won't leave!"

"Pony!" But Ponyboy just shook his head and left the room. Johnny shared a look with Darry, silently promising to find out what was bothering the youngest Curtis. Just as he was disappearing into Ponyboy's room, the front door opened and the four missing Greasers walked in.

"So," Steve drawled slowly, "how'd it go when you told the kid?"

"Worse than I thought it would. Why would you think he wouldn't want to move?" Darry asked Soda.

"Darry, he was born in this house. I tried telling you that earlier, but you wouldn't listen. I know we all grew up here, but if you remember correctly, Mom couldn't make it to the hospital in time for Pony. He was born in the master bedroom. Every memory he has of our family is somehow connected to this house. He's not going to be willing to give that up very easily."

"But when he sees the other house- "

"He'll realize it has no memories of Mom and Dad whatsoever," Soda interrupted quietly. Darry dropped back onto his chair, and put his head in his hands. Soda stared at him sympathetically for a moment before grabbing Steve's shirtsleeve and dragging him into the kitchen. "You can help me cook dinner tonight," he 'offered' his friend. Steve shrugged helplessly and got out a few pans.

~

"Darry?" The man in question groaned as the whispered voice woke him from his light sleep.

"Wha…?"

"Are you awake?"

"Hn… Yeah, Pony. What is it?" he asked, sitting up in bed and motioning Ponyboy to enter the room. The boy sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at his eldest brother for a moment.

"Do you really think we need to move?"

"I don't want to any more than you do, Baby, but we have to if we're gonna stay together."

"Can I see the house first?"

"Sure. I was gonna ask if you wanted to see it ion Saturday."

"I thought you had to work on Saturdays."

"My boss gave me the day off."

"Oh."

"Was there anything else?"

"No…"

"Then get some sleep, okay? We'll talk about everything else tomorrow when you guys get home from school." Ponyboy nodded and started to get to his feet. Darry caught his arm before he could turn away. "You could sleep in here tonight if you want."

The boy smiled and nodded, crawling into bed beside his brother. Both were thinking that it wouldn't be wise to wake Soda up if they could help it. Once the middle child was woken up, he almost never got back to sleep. No one, not even their parents, were able to understand why.

~

Two days later, the five Greasers living in the Curtis house were in the car Dally had bought a few weeks prior heading to the new house. No one was willing to break the silence that had descended on the car until Ponyboy remembered something from a few days earlier.

"Hey Soda!" he yelled, trying to be heard above the wind rushing through the open windows.

"Yeah?"

"What was your announcement? Darry said you had something to tell us, but you never said anything!"

"Oh. I got a major raise in pay. Me and Steve both did. The owner's expanding, and he made Steve some kind of manager, and Steve promoted me to his right-hand person. Because of that we both got better pay. Steve said that all his extra would go to helping us with whatever we need, too, since we give him a place to stay whenever his dad's being a jerk."

"You didn't tell me that part," Darry told his younger brother.

"He just told me."

"Whenever you two are done, we're here," Darry called from farther up the driveway. Darry and Soda looked up and saw that, not only had all three gotten out and shut the doors, but they were standing halfway up the driveway to the house. The two brothers exchanged sheepish looks and got out of the car.

"Are you going to give us the grand tour?" Johnny asked, poking Darry in the ribs as he did so.

"No, I'll leave that to Soda. He watches enough TV to know how it's done."

"Okay then. If you'll go to your right you'll see the living room. It's spacious and can hold all of our furniture twice over," Soda began in his best 'tour guide voice'. "Going through the living room, you can see the doorway leading to the dining room, which will probably only be used to hold a bunch of junk. Up next is a kitchen that can hold two of ours and still have room to move around. Back the other way, to the left of the door is a hallway. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom down that hall.

"In case you hadn't noticed yet, across the room from the door are stairs. If you'll follow me?" he requested, now thoroughly enjoying his role as tour guide. He led his brothers and their two housemates up the stairs and into a small loft area with three doors. If you turn to your left, you will find a master bedroom that could hold our entire house, and the master bedroom's own bathroom. To the right and straight ahead are two more bedrooms. They are connected in that corner by a joint bathroom. Thank you for using the Sodapop Curtis Tour Company, we hope you have a good day."

Johnny and Ponyboy clapped, but all four of the 'tourists' were laughing loudly. The house was certainly big, and they knew that there were no problems with paying for it, but the question was whether it was right for them or not. Darry was unwilling to buy it if he didn't get Ponyboy's approval.

"So what did you think of the house, Pony?" Dally asked, seeming to read Darry's mind.

"It's… big. Are you going to sleep in the master bedroom, Darry?"

"Only if you and Soda want separate rooms."

"If Soda doesn't mind sharing, I'd rather not have my own room." Soda grinned at the statement and slung an hour around his younger brother's shoulders.

"I don't think I'd be able to stand having my own room anymore. It would be too… lonely or something. I've gotten used to sharing. Besides, if we have separate rooms, what would happen if you had another one of your nightmares?"

"True. So… what were you planning on doing with the master if you weren't going to use it?" Pony asked his brother. Darry smirked.

"I was thinking we could set it up like Mom and Dad have their room set up right now. We could treat that room the same way as we treat the master bedroom at the house we have now. We could set it up real nice, and it'll almost be like they're here with us."

"Really?"

"Of course. Do you mind if I buy it?"

"When would we move in?"

"A few days after it's bought."

"By next week?"

"Sure."

"Buy it!"

~

"What about this? Do we really need a newspaper saying that a man gave birth to a kitten?"

"Toss it!"

"And this?" a different voice called from the next room.

"What is it?"

"A ceramic teacup. Oh! Complete with four others and a teapot!"

"We're keeping that! Mom made and painted that entire set."

"Really? I didn't know that was that artistic! Where's she find the time?"

"When Pony started school, she had all day to herself for the first time in over twelve years."

"Twelve years? Why twelve?"

"That's how old I was by the time Pony started school. She had a kid of some age in the house from the time I was born to the time Pony was five and could start Kindergarten."

Darry had bought the house the day after they had inspected it. Two days had passed, and the Greasers who didn't have a prior commitment had been sorting through the house since that morning. Darry got off even earlier than usual that day, so he was able to help out more. By the end of the day, all seven Greasers were running through the house, throwing some things away, and packing others in boxes.

They planned to be moved in by Friday at the latest, so all small things were being moved as quickly as possible. On Thursday they planned to relocate the beds and dressers, so they were going to sleep in sleeping bags that night. Everything else would have already been moved. Even the refrigerator would go before the beds. The bunk beds were being sold, and two doubles were bought in their place. Soda and Pony would share a king, and Darry had a queen.

~

Thursday rolled around after a long week of packing and moving. Randy – who had become friends with Pony and Johnny – came over to help, and even Cherry and Marcia helped the boys pack smaller things. All the glassware and ceramics were packed by the two girls, who had chastised the boys for not being 'gentle' enough with the fragile objects.

That night the seven Greasers all slept in the living room in sleeping bags and folded blankets. Everything seemed to be all right until about two in the morning. The silence was broken by an ear-piercing shriek. Soda and Darry were immediately at Pony's side, struggling to wake him from his nightmare. The others took a little longer to realize what exactly was happening.

It only took a few moments for Ponyboy to wake up and realize what was happening. He almost started crying as he apologized for waking everyone else up. He hadn't meant to have a nightmare, but he never did. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but at least it wasn't one of the nightmares that had plagued him since their parents' death. He could remember that one.

"It was like we were all walking away while Mom and Dad just stood there, calling for us. None of us would do anything to help them. They needed us but we were just walking away. And then when they were gone, we just sold all of their stuff and tried to act like we had never existed."

"It's okay, Pony," Steve said. As the weeks had progressed, he had become more and more understanding of Pony, sticking up for the younger boy even when Two-Bit or Dally wouldn't. "You're probably just upset about moving. It's okay to be nervous."

"Thanks, Steve." Within a few minutes, everyone was asleep again.

~

A week and a half later, everyone had settled into the new house. Darry and Dally had taken the downstairs rooms, claiming that it was easier on everyone on the house that way. Darry woke up too early in the morning to be making so much noise going up and down the stairs, and Dally came home too late at night, using the same reasoning. Soda and Pony shared the room across from the master bedroom, and the one down the hall from the stairs belonged to Johnny. All three of them got home at the right time, and slept in long enough, that it wasn't a bother to anyone.

The master bedroom had been set up as if the Curtis parents still lived there, but were just on vacation. If anyone in the group saw something that reminded them of either parent and they had enough money, they would buy it and add it to the collection of things in the room.

If Steve or Two-Bit spent the night, they could sleep in the living room without too much of a hassle. There were two couches, so they could sleep easily and comfortably even if they were both there at once. They were all still Greasers and admitted to it, to they were definitely going up in life. And the social workers were happy, making their lives all the better.

~~

A/N: I know, the ending could have used a little work, but it's getting late for a school night. Yes, my spring break has just ended, and now I'm back in school. T_T I hope all of you liked this chapter, and come back for the sequel, which, by the way, is still dependent on the amount of reviews I get for this chapter. I'll forego the argument with the muses for this chapter and give you the idea for the sequel instead. Or I'll give in to Dally and give you both. We'll find out in the next few minutes.

Sequel: Now that Johnny and Dally are back, life seems to be going well for the Greasers. Then something happens that takes ten years off of the ages of the Curtis brothers. How will Two-Bit, Dally, Steve, and Johnny take care of an eleven-year-old Darry, a six-year-old Soda, and a four-year-old Pony? Can they do it? Can they stay sane?

I'm still trying to think of ways to make them get younger without making it seem too sci-fi ish, so I'm up for any suggestions emailed to yoru_magi@yahoo.com. If you just add them in your review, however, I will not even consider them. That way everyone has a fair chance of coming up with something original. I think I'll probably take either the most ingenious or the most popular. Thanks for your help!

BN: Guess what?

Dally: What?

BN: I've got another song stuck in my head!

Darry: What is it this time? *cringes*

BN: Don't worry, it's not too annoying.

Steve: Why don't you let us be the judges of that?

BN: The stars will always shine for America's team! Wherever there is thirst there's always the real thing!

Johnny: Is she singing a commercial?

Ponyboy: Yep.

BN: Coca-Cola Classic is always the one! Wherever there is thirst there's always Coca-Cola.

Two-Bit & BN: Doo doo doo doo do-doot, there's always Coca-Cola…

Darry: Are you done now?

BN: Yes. ^^

Dally: Good. Please review and let her know how you liked her story.

Johnny: And don't forget the de-aging ideas!