I do not own Dirty Dancing.

Chapter Forty Five

POV Lisa

Baby Grown Up

I fought to keep the devious smirk off my face as I heard Baby clamber through the window, careful not to wake me. Little did she know, I was already up. Across the room, I hear her change into her nightgown. I knew what I was about to do was cruel, but I was going to find out once and for all where she was going.

And then, in barely a second, Baby froze, realizing that something wasn't quite right. I felt her eyes land on me, and I knew she had realized that I'd been awake the whole time. Feeling rather smug, I sat up, and in an equally smug tone, say, "And where have you been?"

"Lisa. You're up early," She responded, a stark look upon her face. There was a nervous fear in her eyes as she sought ways to get out of this, fidgeting nervously.

I scowl, using one of my hidden talents; acting. "Last night, I went to Robbie's cabin. I knocked on the door, and went in. He was in the middle of having sex with Vivian Pressman. So, disgusted, I turned around to come back here. I wanted to tell you that you were right about him. As usual. Only you weren't here."

"Lisa..."

"I found your bed empty and your window open. You snuck out, for once. I'd figured that maybe you needed some air, or you went for a late night walk. I waited up for an hour, and you hadn't come back. It was then I figured out that you weren't going to." I look to her, gaze soft, lying through my teeth. "The one time that I needed you... and you weren't there. Where were you, Baby? Who were you with?" At these last few words, I let my voice break, and my eyes fill with tears. It had hurt to find Robbie with another woman. But I really didn't care about him that much. Of course, for Baby to tell me what I wanted to know, she needed to believe otherwise.

Baby walked over and sat down next to me, enveloping me in her arms. She was eating out of my hand. "It's okay, Lisa. It's okay."

I keep up the act praying she won't discover what I was doing. "No, it's not. I really liked him. He wasn't just a game for me, like all the others. And he never even cared about me. He stuck around because he thought I would sleep with him. And if I hadn't caught him and Vivian, I would've. You were right, Baby. You always are. You said not to go to him, and I didn't listen. Is there something wrong with me?" I wailed.

"Oh, No, Lisa. It's Robbie, not you." Baby shook her head, eyebrows pinching together sympathetically. "He's horrible. Besides, if you hadn't gone last night, but still stayed with him, you would've found out eventually. And it only would've hurt more when you did. You can't blame yourself for being fooled by him. Even Dad was," My little Sister reassured me.

"Who were you with last night, Baby? Was it Neil? Please tell me," I didn't believe it was Neil, not after the way she'd been attempting to avoid him. But I was impatient. Comparing Neil to her lover would be Baby's final straw, since I knew for a fact that she couldn't stand him, even though he seemed intent on annoying her in the hopes that she would like him back.

Baby pursed he lips. I knew she'd cracked. Satisfaction ran through me. "Swear you won't tell Mom and Dad. Especially Dad. They would never understand," Baby shook her head, folding her hands in her lap.

"I swear," I answer, containing my excitement. I was finally going to know who she, little miss perfect, the good one, was sneaking out to see. "So it wasn't Neil, then?"

"No!" She immediately answered, "Lisa, I can't stand Neil. I don't even like him as a person, much less a boyfriend," Baby finished, making her voice steady so there would be no question that it was not Neil she was sneaking out for trysts with.

"So who was it?" I ask excitedly. I hadn't really thought it was him, but it was good bait. "I promise I will not tell our Parents,"

"Johnny Castle. The Dance Teacher,"

"What?!" I ask in disbelief. Of all the men at Kellerman's... of all the boys she could've had, the Dance Instructor was literally the last person I wouldn't expect her to go for. But then... he was handsome as handsome could be, I recall, from when he'd given me simple instructions for the steps I'd be doing while I sang in the show. I know immediately that there must've been something really special about him for her to come out of her shell like that.

"Shh!" Baby hissed, urgent to make sure her secret stayed just that: a secret.

"How long have you been..."

"Since last week Thursday. Bingo night,"

"That was more than a week ago!" I exclaimed. "Robbie and I were seeing each other longer than that, and we still haven't slept together!"

"Yes, but Johnny and I have known each other almost this whole trip," Baby responded, looking thoughtful, and a little reminiscent. "I was always kind of attracted to him. It just... the more I got to know him, the more I liked him. I wanted to spend more time with him. And the more time I spent with him, the stronger my feelings got. One day I realized that I was falling in love with him, and It just got worse. By the time we got together... we both had really strong feelings for the other. Being a couple only made them stronger,"

Her words strike my curiosity. I feel a hunger for details, to know how this Dancer had swept my little Sister off her feet. I want to know how they met, when they decided to get together. How it all happened. She'd said she realized she'd been falling for him. "Do you love him?" I ask.

"I'm not sure yet. I think I do. It's sort of like..." Baby paused, as if she didn't know what to say. She collected her thoughts. "You know how with you and Robbie, it was an 'I'm bored, I wish I were with him,' or a 'Neither of us are doing anything at this time, let's meet up,'?" I nodded, curious as to where she was going with this. "With me and Johnny, it's not like that. It's a physical need to be with each other. It's me missing him right now, even though he's not even that far away. It's hurting when he's away. I'm not talking about being horny, it's just wanting him around. Not his body. With Johnny, every moment feels precious, every kiss, or glance, or touch. Every word, breath, and heartbeat. It's like without him, a piece of me is missing."

That sure sounded like love to me. She didn't know she was in love with him. Baby loved Johnny. I didn't need to know the particulars of their relationship to know that. And if I had to guess, he loved her too. I know, immediately, that one day I want to feel what she feels for this man, for her Johnny. But that would have to wait for now. "Can you tell me how you two met? What happened?"

Baby released a sigh. I know just on that breath, that she won't tell me yet. "Maybe one day, Lisa. One day. I still need to shower,"

I nod at my Sister, who stood up and left the room. My little Sister, who everyone called Baby, was in love. Head over heels in love.

Baby had grown up.

"You know how you feel when you see a patient, and... well, you think he's all right. Then you look at the X-rays, and it's nothing like you thought?"

"What happened, Max?" My Father asks.

"It's exactly what it's like when you find out one of your staff's a thief," Max answered. I look over in mild interest. Up until now, I had been contemplating Baby's relationship with Johnny Castle, the Dance Instructor at Kellerman's.

Neil's voice came from further down the table. "Moe Pressman's wallet was stolen when he was playing Pinochle last night. It was in his jacket, hanging on the back of his chair. He had it at 1:30, and when he checked again at quarter to 4:00, it was missing," Neil finished dramatically, twitching his eyebrows. I shrug at the new information. This was the most exciting thing to happen since we came to Kellerman's, except for Baby's affair with Johnny.

Max spoke again, in a solemn voice. "Vivian thinks she remembers this dance kid, Johnny, walking by." I don't need to look at Baby to know she tensed at his words. I could hear it. I knew the cause for her stress better than anyone at this table. It was impossible for Johnny to have taken the wallet, because he had been with Baby all night. But why would Vivian accuse Johnny? Silently, I watch Baby, who was growing more nervous by the second. She could end this now. "So, we ask him," Mr. Kellerman says. "'Do you have an alibi for last night?' He says he was alone in his room, reading,"

Leave it to Mr. Kellerman to be completely blind in these matters. Never mind that Vivian wouldn't have been able to accuse Johnny, because she was with Robbie last night. They believed her anyway. And because Baby was with Johnny, he couldn't give Max a real alibi.

A cold, cruel laugh escaped Neil's throat. "There are no books in Johnny's room," He assured me, as if it was completely ridiculous for Johnny to be reading.

Baby jumped, desperate to save her lover. "Look, there's been a mistake. I know that Johnny didn't do it," She pleaded, no one but me aware of just how true Baby's words were. There was no way he could have done this.

But Neil would have none of it. "There've been similar thefts at the Sheldrake, and it's happened here before. Three other wallets,"

"Well, I know he didn't do it," Baby insisted, voice desperate.

"Stay out of it, Baby," Neil advised, a tone that told her that Johnny getting fired, regardless of his innocence, was none of her business. His voice told Baby she was a little girl who didn't know what she was doing.

All of a sudden, Mr. Kellerman stood up. "Wait, don't put those tables together! Come on," He complained, rushing over to another table.

These people. For a while I had been just as bad as them. Now I had the chance to change. They would never believe Baby, never believe that there was a chance Johnny might be innocent. Not without a whole lot of proof she couldn't give. They had no idea what it would cost her to give Johnny an alibi.

Baby slipped into the empty seat Max left. She turned to our Father. "Daddy I need your help," She begged. My Father turned to her. He has ignored her for so long, but he listens now. Only he won't believe the truth anymore than Max or Neil will. "I know Johnny didn't take Moe's wallet. I know," She insisted.

"Oh, how do you know?"

Baby freezes, mouth open, like she can't get the words out. Like they are painful to utter. "I can't tell you," Our Father looks away. I know Baby has lost, but she doesn't give up yet. "But just please, trust me, Daddy!" And then my Father said words I never thought I would hear him say.

"I'm sorry, Baby, I can't."

Mr. Kellerman appears behind Baby and my Father, back from socializing with the other guests, and for some reason holding a pastry. "This danish is pure protein," He says.

Baby turned to look at him. I feel pity for her, my sister, this girl who could do nothing to stop the train wreck heading towards the man she loved. Nothing except send it reeling towards herself. "Oh, Mr. Kellerman, look," She says. The desperation in her voice has never been more clear. "Maybe it was...um..." I don't think she'll be able to go anywhere with this, but a dawning expression appeared on her face, and she answered. "You- you know, it could've been that- that little old couple, the Schumacher's. I saw her with a couple of wallets,"

The Schumachers? Really? I don't know how guilty they are, but I believe Baby's words. If she saw it, she saw it. But whether the wallets were stolen it unsure. "Sylvia and Sydney?" Max asked, not believing her.

Dad shouted at Baby, "Baby, you don't go around accusing innocent people!" Of course, that was what they had done. Johnny was innocent. No one at this table knew that but us. I could say that I was with him, to protect my Sister. I could. They would believe me. They wouldn't understand why, because I'd had Robbie, but they would believe it.

But I see the look on her face. She loved Johnny, and she needed to do this for herself. I remember the rift that was between my Father and her. Another lie would not solve it, and would bring problems further down the road. Selfishly, I think that it would also make my Father mad at me.

Baby tried to assure them in a high pitched, terrified voice. "Yeah, but I saw them! I even saw them at the Sheldrake!" She looked to Neil for help. "Didn't you say something was stolen at the Sheldrake?"

"Mhmm," Neil answered dryly and without much thought. But it didn't matter, because Mr. Kellerman had already made his decision.

"I've got an eye witness, and the kid has no alibi," He stated satisfactorily. "Come on, Neil. You'll learn what it's like to fire an employee,"

I can see the moment when she gives up hope, resigning herself to the fact that there was only one way to save Johnny. When she speaks, it is not desperate. There are no words for this emotion. The only one I know she feels is pain, which she pushed through, "No! Mr.- Mr. Kellerman, wait a minute. I know Johnny didn't take the wallet. I know he didn't take it, because he was in his room all night," She said, pausing before giving up. "And the reason I know... is because I was with him,"

Baby looked at Dad. By the look on his face, I could tell, this was something he did believe. He looked down to his plate. This was nothing you lie about. Everyone stared at her, horrified. My gaze is sympathetic. They had no idea what that just cost her.

Max is the first to speak, still not recovered from such a shock. "Is this true, Baby?"

My little Sister nodded. She is so bold as to say more, "We were in his room all night long. He didn't leave my side for a second. Ask him," She says. Our Dad stood up, having heard enough. I feared the rift was irreparable, now. He left the room while Max spoke.

"Well," He began starkly, "It appears I have an apology to make," Max left the room. No one said anything, no one ate. Mom wouldn't look at Baby, all Neil could do was look at her.

And then finally, Baby spoke, standing up from her chair. "Excuse me. I need to find Dad," Baby left, the remaining people at the table sitting in stony silence.

What had she done?