Early 1948

"Darry, can you come in here a second, please?" Darrell Curtis called to his son.

Darry warily emerged out of his room; usually if his dad called him, he was in trouble. Still, Darry wasn't about to disobey his father.

"Come and have a seat, son." Darrell said, patting the space next to him.

Darry walked over to his father and did as he was told. He looked at his mother, who was currently lying down on the other sofa with her hands over her belly.

"Your mother and I have some great news, Darry." Darrell smiled, ruffling Darry's hair. Darry's eyes swivelled back to his father again, and he grinned up at his dad.

"Darry, you're going to have a little brother or sister." Shannon announced. Darry's eyes widened; he was both shocked and excited. Some kids in his preschool had older brothers and sisters, while others had really little brothers and sisters. Darry felt a little jealous of the kids; it seemed that they really enjoyed having siblings.

But now, he was going to have one. And Darry was happy, yet scared; what if his parents forgot about him?

"Will you still love me?" the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Shannon and Darrell glanced at each other before smiling at their son.

"Of course, baby, and we will always love you, no matter what." Shannon stated, pulling Darry over to her and kissing him.

"I'm not a baby." Darry frowned. He had recently turned four, and did not want to be known as a baby anymore.

"You'll always be our baby." Darrell grinned, pulling Darry away from his wife to mess up his hair.

Darry squeaked, however he had to admit: he was enjoying the attention.

"When are you going to have the baby, mommy?" Darry asked once Darrell had stopped trying to mess up his hair and was now cuddling Darry on the sofa.

"Oh don't worry, honey; it won't be for at least seven months. It turns out I've been pregnant for over six weeks, isn't that wonderful?" Shannon exclaimed.

Darry nodded; he wanted to show his parents that he was a big boy and he could understand what they were talking about, however in reality he didn't even know what the word 'pregnant' meant.

"It is wonderful, dear." Darrell said, and then looked at Darry. "Hmm, it's 4 pm, little man. Would you like to go to sleep for a little bit?" he asked, picking Darry up under his arms.

Darry shook his head and cuddled into his dad's chest.

"I'm a big boy so I don't need to go to bed." Darry stated, though he couldn't help but yawn a little; preschool was tiring!

Darrell and Shannon both chuckled, making Darry shake a little in his father's arms.

"Me and your mom still have to go to bed, and we're grown-ups." Darrell laughed, bouncing Darry lightly in his arms.

Darry sighed but couldn't help but feel extremely tired.

"Okay, fine." He yawned, and snuggled down in his dad's arms.

Darrell decided to just let his son sleep in his arms; after all, his son always preferred sleeping in his dad's arms over his own bed.

XXX

October 1948

"Baby boy, we're almost at the hospital, okay?" Thelma Curtis said to Darry as her son, Lloyd, drove the car.

Darry just mumbled a reply, too tired to answer. He had been in the middle of having a nap at his grandmother's house, since he was staying for the weekend, and was interrupted by a phone call from his father.

Shannon had gone into labor three days earlier than her due date, which wasn't a problem except for the fact that Darry was at his grandmother's house which was three hours away from Tulsa.

Bernard and Thelma had decided that they didn't want to be with each other anymore, however they didn't divorce because it seemed too complicated for them. Instead, Bernard moved forty minutes away from their home, but Thelma was still Thelma Curtis.

Since Thelma couldn't drive, Lloyd had to drive them instead, which was okay since Lloyd, Vera and Lloyd's wife, who was called Emily, were living with Thelma after Bernard had moved out. Gloria moved out six weeks after she had given birth to her little boy, Gerald, and they lived with Gloria's husband. They only lived four blocks away from Thelma's house.

Thelma had to get Darry out of bed, which was quite a problem since the little boy was very grouchy.

"Come on, sweetheart; your mommy's had the baby." Thelma whispered, but Darry wouldn't budge.

Lloyd eventually wandered into the bedroom, wondering why his mother and Darry weren't outside yet. He sighed and picked Darry up easily and headed outside with Thelma following.

Once Darry was strapped into the car seat, Thelma and Lloyd got into the car and Lloyd started driving.

It was 2 am in the morning, however Thelma wanted to ensure that Darry saw his new baby sibling as soon as possible. Vera and Emily were still asleep, however Thelma had left a note on the refrigerator for Emily that she would call after 9.

The three hour car ride to Tulsa was quiet. Darry slept through the whole journey, Thelma listened to the music on the radio, and Lloyd kept all of his concentration on the road.

When the trio arrived at the hospital, Lloyd was tired, Thelma was stiff, and Darry was fast asleep. Thelma and Lloyd sat there for a few moments before deciding to get out of the car.

It was now 5:10 am, so hardly anybody was parked in the parking lot of the hospital. Lloyd got out while Thelma shook Darry awake. Darry groaned, however he wasn't as tired as he was before.

Thelma took Darry's hand, and all three walked into the hospital together.

"We're looking for Shannon Curtis." Thelma announced, and a small nurse smiled at her.

"Just through those hallways." She directed, pointing down to the hallways. "She's in room 34."

"Thank you." Thelma replied, and made her way through the hallways. They eventually found the room, after getting lost nearly five times.

Shannon was sitting on the small white bed in her hospital room, holding a baby in her arms. Darry asked himself if he was that small when he was born.

"Darry, would you like to meet your baby brother?" Shannon asked weakly, holding up the bundle. Darry nodded and slowly made his way over to his mother. Darrell, who was sitting down, smiled at Darry and patted his back.

Darry stopped in front of his mother and sat on the bed, then held his arms out. Shannon grinned faintly and passed Darry the baby.

Once the baby was in Darry's arms, the baby began to cry, however Darry rocked him back and forth and he soon calmed down.

Shannon smiled at Darrell who smiled back; they were glad that Darry was warming up to the baby.

The baby quickly fell asleep in Darry's arms, and Darry smiled before passing the baby back to his mother.

"What's he called?" Thelma asked.

"Sodapop Patrick." Shannon replied with a cheery voice.

Thelma and Lloyd exchanged glances, obviously shocked; what kind of a name was Sodapop?

"We wanted to be original. I thought of Soda, and Shannon laughed and said that she felt like a soda pop. It's original, isn't it?" Darrell grinned, and Thelma raised her eyebrows.

"Definitely original." She muttered.

"Sodapop." Darry chuckled, liking the sound of the name. He also liked his new brother, but he didn't know how much he loved him; he was only little after all.

AN: Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated this story for a few days; I've just been really busy! I would've updated earlier today, only for the fact that some boys were kicking a soccer ball around outside my school, and I ended up getting hit in the head with it and got very dizzy. I'm okay now though, and I'll be updating soon!