A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! It means a lot! Remember, the more reviews I get, the more my inspiration rises, and that means the chapters will come out faster. Hint, hint there! Now, not much to say here unless if it's that I know that this chapter is short, but it leaves off with ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, of course! Please review and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Onward and happy reading, everyone! :D :D

Darry's POV

Sondra and I didn't bother to say another word to each other. That strange feeling from Sondra's question on other options was still eating away at the pit of my stomach, swallowing hard and only expanding more by the minute. Something was definitely not right here, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Sondra told me that it wasn't too big of a thing to think hard over, but wouldn't that mean that there was still a chunk to consider? I mean, she was keeping her voice to herself a whole lot more than usual now. I was one of her new friends and I was totally supporting and encouraging her throughout this whole pregnancy thing, but she still refused to speak another word. Though, I didn't stop her from hesitantly fixing the radio to play some Elvis music to fill the somewhat awkward silence that was honestly beginning to get on my last nerves. After listening to Mickey Mouse on the TV, Two-Bit's wisecracking jokes, Dally's negative outbursts, Soda and Steve's playful bickering as they wrestled and fooled around, and whatever else went down under my roof, I was immune to noisy people and areas. However, when there just wasn't much noise or any at all to attempt tuning out after awhile, I began to grow annoyed. Strange and pathetic, I know, but I need my childish kid brothers and the reckless gang.

Luckily, Sondra and I didn't slam into anymore traffic, so we were able to make it back to my house around 10:30. We had been gone for almost an hour and a half, but we thankfully got through all of those other cars and survived the annoying horns honking and different loud music roaring. Sondra was still refusing to say a single word; she had been keeping her voice all to herself ever since she told me that whatever this "other options" chat was about wasn't anything too big to think about. All that she was doing now was staring blankly down at her lap and nervously twirling her thumbs around. I could tell that she was maybe thinking about how she was going to have to come clean and tell the gang, especially Johnny, the truth about the triplets sooner or later. She was already a week in, and it only took about two-to-three months before a pregnant girl's stomach would start showing a baby bump.

"Sondra, are you alright?" I finally decided to break the silence and turn off the radio after I parked my truck in the driveway.

Sondra's pale blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight as she gazed over in my direction. She didn't say anything to me for about five seconds, but then she unbuckled her seatbelt and said: "I'm fine...I'm just thinking some things through. That's all."

I bit down on my bottom lip for a moment and chewed on it, but then stopped. Understandingly, I nodded my head and softly sighed to myself. How in the world was I going to be able to help Sondra if she didn't want to pull through the truth? She knows now that she's actually pregnant, but she wouldn't be if Dally hadn't taken her and Johnny to Buck's previous party when he knows by heart that I don't like anybody but him and/or Two-Bit going there to hang out. They could actually look out for themselves and they knew the score real well. As for the rest of the gang, nobody knew as much as Two-Bit and Dally. Hm...that's somethin' I never thought I'd say.

"You know that if you ever need to talk anythin' through, I'm here for you, right?" I asked with that rare plead beginning to shine in my eyes, but I tried to hide it as much as possible. I'm Superman...I help people with whatever trouble they have...I don't seem desperate for help myself and risk their faith in me to go down into the toilet and get flushed.

Sondra nodded her head and softly said: "Yeah, I know...but I'd rather think this through by myself for now. If I need advice, I'll make sure to talk to you, Darry."

A small smile had curled its way up on the fifteen-year-old tomboy's lips, but for some reason, that strange feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn't vanishing like I thought it would. Her soft words were assuring and her tiny grin was sweet, but I guess that that wasn't enough for my strong unsettled feelings to shift and fade away.

"If you don't mind me by asking," I grinned a little myself to help Sondra's own possible unsettled feelings shift. "When are you planning to tell the rest of the gang, especially Johnnycake?"

Without any hesitation, the small grin instantly was swiped away from Sondra's lips, and they went straight again as she gazed back down at her lap again. She began to fiddle around with her nails, as if she was nervous about an upcoming test or something like that. I should've just kept my mouth shut. We both already had a lot on our minds, and we just found out about the whole pregnancy thing just maybe about thirty minutes ago. Sondra was pretty much shedding tears the whole time about the triplets. I don't think she thought once about how to handle it with the rest of the gang, and honestly, I couldn't blame her.

"I honestly never thought about how I was going to tell the truth to Johnny, the gang, my mini 'gang', or even Kenny just yet. I mean, this isn't going to be something that Johnny, Kitten, Ponyboy, or even Dally will expect from me. No one from the gang will expect me to say that I'm pregnant, I bet." Sondra took in a deep breath, as if she was about to say some more words, but instead of saying anything, she puffed her golden blonde bangs out from dangling in front of her eyes. I could tell that she picked that up from Kitten.

"I can't argue with that," I was trying my best to hide a pout from spreading across my face. "But I already told you at the hospital that a woman's stomach starts to show in the first two-to-three months, but considering that you're having triplets...you might possibly start to show earlier. You got to tell the gang sooner or later, Sonny. If you don't, what are you goin' to do in nine months when you're in the hospital?"

Sondra rested her eyes shut, and the color of her face began to go to a light shade of red all over again. Dang, I never knew that such mood swings in a pregnancy could haunt and overrule a girl in just the first week. If this is the first week, what's she going to be like by the first month? Or what about the second and third for that matter? Fourth, fifth? What 'bout the sixth and seventh, too? Man, the eighth was probably going to be a torture chamber, but when the ninth struck and she was delivering...God, help us all.

Sondra pinched the bridge of her nose and started to snarl like a junkyard dog to herself. "I'd probably be screaming for the pain to come to an end, obviously. Meanwhile in my head, I'd be cursing Johnny out for gettin' me pregnant and casing me to go through such a painful process."

"It's not Johnny's fault, Sonny. It's not your fault either. I must admit that I might've not believed you when you said at the hospital that you and Johnny didn't mean to have it, but now that I have the full story, I understand that you were both drunk and vulnerable to each other." I spoke, but with every word I said about Sondra and Johnny having intercourse, the fifteen-year-old tomboy only seemed to be getting taken over more by her massive mood swings by the minute.

"Darry, if you say one more word 'bout Jonathan and I being drunk, I will have no choice but to feel the need to punch the glass clear out of your windshield!" Sondra hissed at me, as if she was some vicious snake that was getting ready to strike at me, her so-called pray in this little "argument."

"Sondra Allison Prescott!" I pulled the full name card and formed my stern facial expression with my narrowed eyes, slightly grinding teeth, and pulled back lips. I could already see the redness beginning to drain away from Sondra's face, and a frown was starting to tug at the edges of her mouth. Just staring at her and knowing how she couldn't help her mood swings made me feel bad for raising my voice like that, but I couldn't allow her to think that she could step all over someone, especially me, just because of her mixed emotions.

Sondra took in a deep, soft breath and held it in for probably five seconds.

"I'm sorry, Darry. I don't mean to get all angry out of nowhere, but I can't help my mood swings." The tone of her voice was now full of complete innocence, and I could tell by that puppy dog look that was now on her face that she meant every word.

I finally cracked, allowing my frown to be exposed. Even Superman couldn't be happy all of the time. I was more stressed out than anything with keeping the gang together, paying off the bills, going grocery shopping, roofing houses, making sure I made time for Ponyboy's track meets and whatnot, and now there was Sondra's pregnancy. I had a lot on my plate, but I wasn't ever going to bother picking any of it off and tossing it away. Everything on my plate was important.

"You don't need to apologize, Sonny. I know that you didn't mean to snap at me, but I think that you should know that I believe that most of these mood swings are coming from your stress towards how Johnny and everyone else will react towards this. You know what's going to happen if you get too worked up, so I'm not going to bring it up again. You're only in the first week though, and no offence, but you're moody as heck." I lectured, but to my surprise, Sondra nodded after I finished talking.

"I know that I'm moody, but I can't help it. They just overpower me and come out whichever way they'd like to come out."

"Because you're so stressed out," I pointed out with a shrug. "The faster you tell everyone, the faster you'll get the hang of your mood swings and these months will fly by."

Sondra sighed softly to herself and shrugged. "Look," She turned her attention back over to me. "If you promise not to tell anybody, then I'll make a plan on how to tell them myself, but I want to make sure that Johnny is the first I tell."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I think that sounds like a good plan, Sonny. Tell me when you think you're ready, because I'll be there to help you out if needed. Meanwhile, I'll be moving everything out from our guest room and taking it all up into the attic. The faster I get started on the nursery, the better. I can simply just start when nobody else is around. I mean, nobody even bothers to open the guest room's door."

Sondra raised her eyebrow at me. "But we don't even know what the genders of the triplets are."

I shrugged. "But by the third month, we will. The specific male and female parts develop by then, so you can get another ultrasound then to determine the genders later on. I'll just set up all of the baby toys and maybe build some shelves and many even a cabinet to place their baby bottles in. I'll get started on the cribs and changing tables probably next month since those are going to take up the most time."

Sondra stared at me for a moment before she shrugged at me. "Then...I guess that...it's a plan?"

Approvingly, I grinned a little and nodded my head a few soft times as I said: "Yes, it's a plan, Sondra. Now come on; let's get inside the house instead of just sitting in here for God knows how much longer."

Nodding a few times, Sondra opened up the passenger's door and hopped out, balancing herself before letting go of the door's handle since my truck was higher than it seemed off of the ground. That, and Sondra was a little bit smaller for her age. I then climbed out of my truck myself, slamming the driver's door shut behind me and making sure that every door was locked before I followed Sondra up the front porch.

Like always, the door was unlocked, and when I opened it up for Sondra to walk in first, we were both greeted with the sound of Mickey Mouse's theme song on the TV. Confusion swiped across my face, and I concernedly raised an eyebrow. I could tell that by the look on Sondra's face that she was just as confused. Was Two-Bit chilling back at the house again after deciding to ditch the rest of the school day? That wouldn't surprise me, but he could've atleast told me before he left that he was probably going to ditch.

Sondra and I exchanged our facial expressions, keeping quiet and taking in the Mickey Mouse noises for a couple of more seconds, right before I slightly jerked my head a few gentle times towards the open doorway and motioned for Sondra to walk in. When she nodded and did as I said, I headed in myself, allowing the door to slam shut like it always did whenever somebody other than the Cade's entered.

Nonetheless, I was proven wrong about Two-Bit when both mine and Sondra's eyes met the sight of Kendra kicking back on the couch with her bare feet on the coffee table, and in her hands, she was holding a plate with a piece of chocolate cake on it. Her emerald eyes were glued to the singing and dancing mouse that was on the TV, and the creamy chocolate icing was decorating her lips. Crumbs were at the side of her mouth, and my the looks of the small stain that was on the sleeve of one of her new shirts that Dally "bought" for her, I could see that she wasn't using a napkin to clean her face up. Atleast seeing Kenny looking like that got a few soft chuckles out of Sondra, along with a tiny grin.

Sondra lifted her arm and slightly waved. "Hey, Kenny."

Kendra's emerald green eyes unlocked from the screen, and she instantly snapped her attention over to me and Sondra as we continued standing there by the doorway with little smiles plastered on our faces.

"Sondra, what are you doin' here?" Kenny made sure that she swallowed what was in her mouth first before speaking.

"I'm playing hooky today," Sondra shrugged her shoulders, but then she pointed to her slightly grinning lips as she said: "You got a little something..."

"Darry," Kenny said as she used the exact same sleeve of her hot pink T-shirt to wipe away the remaining crumbs and chocolate icing from her mouth. "I hope you don't mind that I spared myself a piece of chocolate cake. I just came in 'bout thirty minutes ago and I was hungry, so I offered myself a piece of cake."

"Nah, it's fine, Kenny," I shook my head at her, but then examined the rest of the living room to see if Dally was kicking back in the recliner or resting on the floor, but he wasn't anywhere. Usually Kenny would be hanging out with him like she's been doing ever since he allowed her to stay with him in his room at Buck's place.

I raised my eyebrows with concern and gazed back at Kendra. "Hey, where's Dal at? I figured that you would be hangin' out with him right about now..."

Kenny's lips curled up into one of her precious smiles, and she shrugged as she removed her feet from the coffee table. After that, she rested her piece of cake down and turned the TV down so the volume possibly wouldn't have any neighbors filing complaints. That already happen once with Two-Bit, but we were lucky to just get a warning that time. We couldn't risk having it happen again.

"Yeah, Dally decided that he had 'nough of me for these passed few days, so he told me that I better go away so he could have some time to himself." Kenny explained, and she took in a deep breath, beginning to go on with more words as she released it. "So, I decided to come back here and hang out while Dally left to...I think he said the Dingo or somethin' like that."

That did sound exactly like Dally...although knowing him, he "probably" used more dirty and cruel language towards Kendra when he told her to leave him alone. But how in the world was Kenny so cheerful and full of life like Soda, and not to mention one heck of a joker like Two-Bit if Dally says all of this stuff to her? She doesn't even frown when he calls her a name, and over these passed couple of days, I can promise anyone if they asked me that Dally probably called Kenny every word in the book and insulted her in every way. She didn't seem affected one bit though.

"I apologize for Dally and his certain ways of dealing with others. He's seriously too stubborn and selfish for his own good once in awhile." I informed, but I could tell by the way that Sondra rolled her eyes there that she wasn't fooled at all by my words. Okay, so Dally was too stubborn and selfish for his own good a whole lot more than "once in awhile..." but I'm just trying to help Kendra keep him in a good light...even though that's pretty impossible after anybody gets to know him. But surprisingly, I had no trouble there with keeping Dally in a good light in Kenny's everlasting green eyes at all, because she was actually still giving me and Sondra that grin of hers. She seriously reminded me greatly of Pepsi-Cola.

"I don't really mind Dally and his "polite" behavior, to be honest. I'm pretty used to being dissed and whatnot, considering I have an abusive ex-boyfriend and I lived in New York for that matter." Kenny shared, and I honestly didn't know what to say to all of that, so I just kept my mouth shut instead of risking saying something that was totally ridiculous.

"Hey, Darry," Sondra softly spoke up. Kendra and I both turned our undivided attention towards her as she said, her eyes glued on my face: "I'm going to sit on the front porch to get some air. I'll be back in in awhile."

Understandingly, I nodded my head a single time and watched her as she exited through the front door, but she held onto it so she could softly shut it behind her. Without a doubt, I could tell that she was going out there to think some more about the triplets, and she probably didn't want to be in the same room as her cousin too soon.

Kendra concernedly raised an eyebrow at me, and she placed her hand on her hip as she asked: "Where were you two?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and reminded myself of two things. One, my promise to Sondra, and two, I was Superman in the gang's eyes. Kendra could tell that something was up, but I could tell that she had no idea how to put her finger on it and directly figure it out.

"I just took her out someplace that we very much needed to visit is all. I didn't want to leave her here all by herself, so I took her along." I explained.

Kendra didn't seem satisfied in my response though. She studied me, tapping her chin as she gazed from the top of my head, to the bottom of my boots. Back up, back down, back up, back down. Her eyes were just flooding up with more and more confusion by the minute. I knew that I had to drag her away from this topic, because I couldn't risk her finding out about the triplets just yet. I had absolutely no clue on how a New Yorker like Kendra would handle her younger cousin having it and getting pregnant after she recently turned fifteen.

I raised my eyebrows back at Kendra. "Can I help you with somethin', Kenny?"

She hesitated, but then shrugged as she simply shook her head and said a straight up, "No."

Suddenly, the phone rang, and a wide smile spread across Kendra's face again as she clapped her hands and said in an awfully cheery voice, as if she was never concerned, "That must be Dally!"

"Dally?" I instantly looked confused. "Why would Dally be calling?"

"Because I made him swear to call me atleast one time, or else I'll slash Tim Shepard's tires and blame it on him!"

I honestly didn't know how I could string some words back after such a gleeful person like Kendra said something rebellious like that. So, I decided to keep my mouth shut, leaving Kendra to skip off to the kitchen and pick up the phone.

Kendra's POV

Something wasn't right with Sondra. I knew my little cousin, and I knew that wherever Darry took her must be very important if they were hiding it from me and possibly the whole gang. Though, all I could think about right then was answering the phone. I scampered, as if I was some Soc in a spring meadow, and I picked up the Curtis' kitchen phone. With the most gleeful tone I could pull, I answered to expect Dally's harsh greetings or negative tone, but instead, I was greeted by somebody named Dr. Bender.

Confusion swarmed my eyes as I listened to this male doctor speak to me, as if I knew a word that he was talking about. Why was he speaking about my Sondra? My little cousin?

"Um, may I ask who you are?...You're a doctor from Tulsa's Emergency Care Hospital?...What do you mean, you're callin' 'bout Sondra?...I'm her cousin, Kendra Archer...I'm eighteen years old...wait, what do you mean by that means I have the right to know what all is happening?...Sondra missed her time of the month? So what? A lot of girls her age do...cramps, you say?...And cravings, too?...Um, I believe those are just signs of Mother Nature approaching...huh?...An ultra-what?...Listen, why are you calling?...To just inform Sondra that her due date is in July?...What do you mean by that? Is this a sick joke?...An ultrasound? And you saw...three hearts?..."

Wait a minute...huge cramps...no period...massive cravings and extreme morning sickness...a whole tired more often and odd change in sleeping patterns...all of that and a due date could only mean...holy crap...

A/N: Like I said, CLIFFHANGER! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll attempt updating! Please review and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Thanks, everyone! :D :D :D :D