Alright, here's the end. I warn you now: I've never been good with endings, so this will more than likely sound disgustingly sappy. Sigh. I just wanted them to have a really happy ending, since they never get any luck.

Anyway, read on.

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope." Elsie called from the driver's seat.

"Where's there?"

Heather laughed. "You'll see!"

Soda groaned. "Ugh! I hate surprises!"

"Unless you're in on them!" Darry added. I smiled.

It was October now, a little over a year since the accident. Elsie showed up the day after Heather woke up. She dug okay; I don't think I've ever met an adult who understood us greasers more than she did. She and I ended up getting to know each other very well, since neither of us wanted to leave Heather. She felt really bad about having to take Heather away, but she did sign those papers, and once Heather was out of the hospital, they left for Virginia. They came to visit a lot, though, so her absence was a little more bearable.

This time, though, I had no idea where we were going. Heather had come bounding into the house with three blindfolds, tied them around my mine and my brother's heads, and shoved us into her aunt's car. All I knew was it was decently far away, and she'd made us pack a lot of clothes.

"How about now?"

"Be patient!"

I groaned.

"Don't worry," Heather whispered in my ear, and I could hear the smile in her voice, "You'll love it!"

"I just wish I knew what it was I'm supposed to love."

Two-Bit and Steve had been begging to go with us to…wherever. I felt bad for leaving them, but "This is a surprise for the Curtis brothers," as Elsie said, "So you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

I wondered why anyone would want to take this trip again so soon. Then again, it probably just felt long because I had no idea where we were going.

The car turned left, and the road got much bumpier. "We're not anywhere in town, are we?" Darry asked.

"Shh! You'll spoil it!"

"How much further?" Soda whined.

"Not far."

"That's what you said five minutes ago!"

"Well then, we're five minutes closer."

My had twitched, and immediately I felt Heather's around it. I didn't care where we were going, so long as she got to stay with me.

"Are we there yet?" Soda asked.

"No." Elsie sighed.

"How 'bout now?"

"Nope."

"Now?"

"NO!"

"Gosh, no need to shout." he muttered. "…Now?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No."

"GOD!"

Darry laughed. "I'm sorry, Elsie. He's always been impatient."

"Don't gimme that crap, Darrel Curtis Junior." Soda grumbled, "You wanna see it too."

"Well, good." The engine gurgled to a halt. "We're here."

"Whee!" I heard a door pop open, slam shut. Then a muffled, "Get this thing off me! I can't see!"

I fumbled at my door, searching for the handle, then almost fell out of the car when it swung open. The ground under me was rough, the air crisp and sweet. "We're so not in the city," I said.

I felt Heather's hands behind me, untying the blindfold. "Far from it."

The black cloth fell away, and I gasped.

We were standing on a red dirt road, winding away from us until it connected with a nearly invisible highway. All around us was a wide, grassy prairie, framed perfectly by a thick, orange and yellow wood. An enormous log cabin towered over us, fitting in perfectly with the scene. It had two stories, a thick chimney, and tons of windows. It was beautiful.

"Heather and I decided that Virginia was a little too far away." Elsie explained, "So we saved up for this lovely house. There's plenty of room for you all, even for the other boys if they wanted to visit, and it's not all that far from town, so you can still get to your jobs and all that."

I looked at my brothers. Darry was gaping at the cabin, utterly speechless. Soda had the biggest, goofiest grin on his face, spinning around so he could take everything in at once.

"I told you you'd love it." Heather said, smiling.

I turned and swept her into my arms, swinging her around and around. "It's perfect!"

I set her down, looking down into her endless green-gold eyes. I must've been grinning like an idiot, because she laughed.

Then she gave a little excited gasp and, eyes twinkling, ran to her aunt. "Let's show them the rest!"

I was stunned. There was more?

Elsie beamed. "We'll start with Sodapop's present." She started toward the back of the house. "C'mon!"

Before Soda could turn the corner, though, Heather jumped on his back and clapped her hands over his eyes. "Hey! What is it with you and surprises?"

I ran over and took my brother's hands, leading him toward the back. "I'll try not to run you into a wall."

"Oh, don't you dare, boy."

Behind the house the near endless grass seemed to stretch wider. Nearby was a smaller cabin, its door wide open to reveal bales of hay and a saddle.

I dropped Soda's hands, stunned.

"What? What is it?" excitement shook his voice.

Heather dropped from his back. "Surprise!"

He stood stock still, then his whole face shattered with a huge grin by even his own standards when he saw what I saw.

There was a buckskin horse grazing just outside the stable.

"MICKEY MOUSE!" Soda screamed.

The horse looked up, and if I didn't know better, he smiled right back. He threw his head back in a loud whinny, then galloped toward us. Soda, laughing, took off to meet him.

I couldn't believe it. Mickey Mouse had been sold four, five years ago now? "How…"

"Wasn't easy." Heather was at my side again. "Elsie and I had to track him down."

"But how did you know?"

"I remembered what you said about that horse, and I just…" she shrugged. "I guess I felt like he probably missed Soda just as much as he missed him."

I nodded. "You're right."

You know how I told you how Soda's movie-star handsome? Well he was so happy right then he was shining. I mean it. It looked like one of the gods had come to earth just to ride his favorite horse. He swung himself up on Mickey Mouse's back, and they galloped along side the trees, a flash of gold flying through the prairie.

Darry and Elsie were talking about something. He still had that disbelieving expression as they turned to go inside. Heather and I followed them up the back steps into the house.

The inside was just as stunning. Most of the furniture was dark finish wood, and red curtains hung from the windows, pulled aside to let in the sun. Toward the front, a wide staircase swept up into a balcony like second floor.

We followed Elsie and Darry to the kitchen, where a manila envelope sat on the table. "Go ahead," Elsie said. "It's yours."

Darry's brows furrowed like they always did when he was confused, but he took the envelope and peeled it open as carefully as he could. Then his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Oh, Elsie, I… I couldn't--"

"Darrel, I've never met anyone who deserved it more."

"What is it?" I took a step forward.

"Tuition money." Darry said. "Pony, she's sending me to college!"

I grinned, barreling into him and squeezing the daylights out of him. "She's right, you know. You do deserve it."

-0-0-0-

Since it was Friday, we decided we'd spend the night, then go back for Two-Bit and Steve. Boy, would they love it here. Elsie claimed it was a little too cold to eat dinner outside, so we had our steak (steak! That didn't last long) by the fireplace. We'd had to practically drag Soda back inside, and even though we were all having a great time playing poker afterward, he kept glancing out the window, longing in his eyes. I convinced Darry to let him go back outside for a little while longer to say goodnight to Mickey Mouse.

But anyway, we passed the night playing card games and telling stories until, eventually, everyone got too tired and we all headed up to bed.

"I hope you don't mind," Heather told me as we walked down a hall upstairs, "I gave you and Soda the same room."

"No, that's fine." I told her. "I doubt I could get to sleep without him there."

She smiled, swinging open a door.

The room was easily twice the size of my old one. An enormous bed sat in the corner, complete with the perfect pillow fighting pillows. There was also a desk, two dressers, and a bookshelf.

But the best part was the window. It was open, making the white curtains dance in the cool breeze.

Heather took a step in front of me, pulling back the curtains. There was a ledge of the roof just outside, and she stepped out of the window and turned back to me. "C'mon," she said, "This is your surprise."

I smiled in spite of myself, but followed her out onto the roof. The night was really cold, but I didn't mind.

Heather took my hand and guided me further up the roof. The moonlight made her hair shine with streaks of silver. We sat down when we got as high as we could, and I put my arms around her.

"Look up," she whispered.

I did, and breathed out slowly, awed.

Above me were more stars than I thought humanly possible. So many I could only just find familiar constellations. It was like it should have been a full moon, but it had shattered in tiny, gleaming silver pieces, leaving behind a bright waxing crescent.

Looking up at them, with Heather at my side, I felt… whole. Like the emptiness from Johnny's and Dally's and my parent's losses were filled with silver stars. And for the first time in almost two years, I felt really happy.

"It's perfect," I told her.

I kissed her then, softly but passionately, and I felt myself lift off the roof, soaring high into the night sky, holding my Heather close to me as we stood among the stars.

The end. Most sappy, I know. Crap. Anyway, I hope you liked it and aren't too disappointed with how I ended it. If you'd like, I can post an alternate ending in which Heather dies...

I'll be posting more Outsiders fanfics in the near future, but I am starting school this week and won't be able to update as often. BTW: I don't plan on doing many Ocs. I'll probably just use characters from Hinton's book that aren't very clearly introduced….

I should stop babbling now. Again, I hope you enjoyed it and PLEASE review! Criticism it deeply encouraged!

--thelastOpenDoor