We were still sitting together in the chair, watching TV, when Soda and Pony came back from what appeared to be a trip to the grocery store, since they came in carrying about four bags each, both of them on the verge of dropping at least two.

"How much?" Darry asked as Soda passed by.

"Don't ask," Soda replied.

"Yeah, well, let's try to make it last longer than a day or two then, okay? You two are eating your way right through our budget."

"Yeah, yeah… We are growing boys, you know," Pony said, dumping the bags on the counter and not bothering to turn around.

"You're gonna to be growing out, instead of up if you keep up with all the junk you two buy." Darry usually tried not to eat anything bad for him - between that and all the exercise he got roofing, he was pretty much in perpetually good shape.

Soda came to the living room doorway and looked at us sitting in the chair.

"I take it everything's okay with you two?"

I looked over at Darry and he grinned a rare Darry grin.

"Oh yeah… we're good as gold," he said, "right, baby?"

"Right."

"So, Soda, after lunch me and Scout are gonna go over her coach's house for an hour or so… you two got your stuff ready for the big room-switch later?" This was the day we were all supposed to be switching rooms, according to Darry's plan to help us all sleep better, which I knew really was a plan to try to help me sleep better. For the most part it was just a matter of switching furniture into different rooms, but it did involve some degree of organization and cleaning, especially in our respectively chaotic closets.

"Uh… almost." Soda said, glancing back at Ponyboy, which clearly meant: No, in fact, we forgot all about it.

"I'm gonna work on that right now," Pony announced, quickly putting away the last of the groceries and slinking away down the hallway to their bedroom.

I'd been staring at Darry, shocked. He'd told me I could forget about babysitting.

"But... I thought…"

"Another mistake," he said, standing up and easing me off his lap. "You went out of your way to look out for someone else… calling you irresponsible was pretty ridiculous, because you're not." I fought back a smile.

"What kind of sandwiches you two want? turkey or ham?" Soda called. "I'm making, so at least you'll get the right condiments."

"Oh, you're hilarious, Soda," Pony's voice called out from the bedroom.

"I am, aren't I?" I heard Soda say quietly to himself, and both Darry and I giggled at him.

"Turkey for me," Darry answered.

"Me too," Pony and I said at the same time.

"So… are you all ready to switch?" Darry asked me, his hand resting on my shoulder as he led me into the kitchen.

"Pretty much," I answered. "Are you?"

"Yeah. But I don't hoard crap like the rest of you do," he said, squeezing my shoulder as he left me at the table, heading over to help Soda, who was clearly struggling with the sandwiches, having only one good hand.

"Soda, why don't you ever ask for help when you need it?" Darry asked. He was so much more practical than the rest of us, and he had no idea how much we tried to keep him from doing any chores he didn't have to… he already did more than enough for us. That was why Soda didn't ask, and neither Pony nor I would have, either.

"I'm okay, Dar," he said, as Darry grabbed the knife out of his hand and started putting the condiments on the bread. He had our preferences down pat. Once he became our guardian, it was like he had made it his business to memorize everything important: our birthdays, bloodtypes, schedules, and even our condiments. It was funny that Pony, arguably the brainiest of all of us, was the one who always forgot who liked what.

I sat at the table as Darry and Soda made sandwiches, Soda eventually giving in and leaving the knife work to Darry and grabbing the potato chips from beside the refrigerator and the pickles from within. He sat down with me at the table, eating pickles out of the jar with his fingers.

"Ever hear of a fork, Soda?" Darry scolded.

"You two okay, really?" Soda mouthed the words at me.

I nodded and he smiled.

"Told you so," he said, too loud, unintentionally getting Darry's attention.

"Told her so what?" Darry set sandwiches in front of each of us. "Pony, get in here and eat."

"Told her that you weren't gonna hit her."

Darry froze, looking shocked. I guess Soda hadn't told him that I really had been worried about him hitting me … Darry opening up to me about it had just been coincidence, apparently.

"You knew, then?" Darry asked me. "You could tell, that I was in... that place. Shit, I must have scared the hell out of you to think that about me. Jesus."

"No, Dar. I'd just never seen you so mad at me before. I just… I didn't know what you were gonna do. I wasn't really that scared, or anything."

He shook his head and sighed.

"It's okay. I understand."

"It isn't okay. I can't let myself get that way. God, if I ever actually hit one of you again… I mean, after that one time, I never saw Dad get that way again… I can't be getting mad at you guys like that, especially when I don't even know the whole story."

"You thought about hitting her?" Pony was horrified.

"No, I don't think… I don't know. I don't know, okay? I was worried, and I wasn't thinking, I guess."

"What are you talking about, with Dad? He hit you?" Now it was Soda that was wide-eyed.

"No. But I scared him once, like Scout scared me last night. He almost did."

"Darry, it's okay. I told you, I'm not mad. Just let it go, okay?" I didn't want this to become a family issue; it seemed to me that it was between Darry and me.

He didn't answer; in fact, nobody said anything for a minute or two. I guess the boys were surprised to hear Darry actually admit that he had almost lost it, again.

"Is it okay if I go out with Sandy tonight, after we move everything?" Soda attempted to end the awkward silence.

"That's fine, as long as everything gets moved before you go." Darry was trying to sound normal, but it was clear he was dwelling on things that had been said.

"Well, me and Pony can move the dressers and stuff while you and Scout are gone."

"Soda, you're not moving anything with a broken arm. And Pony, you're not moving stuff by yourself either, you'll give yourself a hernia trying to show off to Soda how strong you are. We'll only be gone an hour or so, you can wait. It'll take that long just for you to clear the crap out of your closet, anyway, I don't think the floor in there's seen the light of day since Soda moved in."

"Fine… we'll wait. Soda and Pony both got up and headed off to tackle said closet.

I got up and took our empty plates to the sink, starting to wash them until Darry got up and come over, turning off the water on me.

"I told your coach I'd bring you over around one, so we should go. We can get these later. You ready to go?" he still sounded fairly upset.

"Yeah." I wanted to say something more but didn't know what else there was to say. I had already told him that I loved him, regardless, and forgave him.

"Okay, well, I'll be in the truck." He turned and left.

"Okay." I stood in front of the sink for a minute, then walked down to Pony and Soda's – soon to me my own – room, and stuck my head in. They were throwing heaps of things out of the closet onto the bed.

"Hey… you guys?" They both looked over their shoulders at me.

"He didn't even come close… to hitting me. He's being too hard on himself. I never even should have said that last night, Soda. I wasn't really scared of him, I just felt bad for making him so upset."

They just stared.

"Just… don't bring it up again, okay? He feels bad. I get it – I mean… he was worried, and we're fine, so… just let it go, please? Okay?"

"Okay," they agreed.

"Thanks," I said, and turned to leave.

"Scout?" Soda called me back, and I turned again.

"Yeah?"

"You do know how much he loves you, right?"

"I know," I said softly. "I love him, too. So, just… don't make him feel bad. He's tough enough on himself already."

"We won't."

"And don't move any furniture before he gets back… what he really wants is to show us how strong he is," I said as I headed through the living room to the front door. I could hear them laughing as I stepped out the door and ran over to the truck. Darry was sitting behind the wheel in a funk waiting for me. I slid over until I was right next to him and made him look at me.

"Forget about it, Darry. Please. You didn't do anything. I don't want you to feel bad."

"I would never forgive myself if I'd hit you." He looked heartbroken. I wrapped my arms around him and put my head on his shoulder, kissing him on the cheek.

"You didn't. And I know you won't, ever. You're every bit as strong as Dad was, Dar. You remind me of him all the time, and you're beating yourself up over something you didn't even do. It doesn't matter what you thought – I don't care. You didn't hit me, you stopped and took a step back, and once you calmed down, you listened to me. I wouldn't have expected anything different or better from Daddy."

"You're too easy on me," Darry said as he put the truck into gear and started out of the driveway, one hand on my shoulder and one on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, well, I could say the same about you."

…………………………….

He seemed to cheer up by the time we got to Coach K's house. It was on the other side of town – not the ritziest part of town but definitely a lot nicer than our neighborhood. The houses were modest, but neat, with fresh paint jobs and nicely landscaped yards. Coach was outside watering the front bushes when we pulled in, and he walked over to turn off the faucet, coming over to us as Darry stepped out of the truck.

"Darry." He reached out to shake his hand. "Nice to see you again. Thanks for letting us borrow Scout for the summer."

"Well, it's just a loan… we want her back," Darry joked, and Coach laughed, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Well, we'll give her back… until basketball season, at least." He turned to me. "How's your summer going so far, Scout?"

"Okay," I responded. I didn't feel the need to elaborate on the drama that had already occurred in our household, only a couple days into the season.

"Well, come on in, you can meet Laura and my wife and she'll show you the ropes. She's the boss around here," he laughed. "Darry, you and I can talk a little sports while the ladies chat. Can I get you two anything? A Soda?"

"No, thanks," I said. "I'm okay." Darry echoed my refusal, and Coach ushered us into his living room. A redheaded little girl stared up at Darry, wide-eyed. He had that effect on little kids – his sheer size was fascinating to them.

An adult copy of the child was sitting on the couch. She stood up when we came into the room.

"Scout, I think you've met my wife, Barbara, at a game or two.... Barbara, you remember Scout. And this is her brother Darrel."

"Hi, Mrs. Karis," I said.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Darry said and offered his hand. She took it, laughing.

"Come on, you two… I'm not that old. You can both call me Barbara. And I'm sure you figured out… this," she reached down and picked up the little girl, still staring at Darry, "is Laura."

"She sure does look like her Mom," Darry commented.

"I swear, she's mine too," Coach joked. "She just took after my better half."

"Hi, Laura," I said, and she shifted her gaze to me. She stared for a second, then held out her arms to me.

"I guess she likes you," Barbara said, "Want to hold her?"

"Sure," I said, though I hadn't held a baby in at least a year. I figured I'd better get used to it, though, if I was going to be spending four hours a day with her for a couple of months.

She passed Laura to me and I was happy that she didn't start crying. In fact, she just started babbling and seemed quite content.

"Well, follow me," she said as she turned and headed down the hallway. "I'll show you the lay of the land while the men amuse themselves." I followed, Laura tugging at my braids.

She led me around the house, showing me where to find anything that either Laura or I might need. It felt a little strange to be in my coach's house, but not necessarily in a bad way… as we passed through the living room, he and Darry were watching baseball on the TV and talking and laughing, and I was really glad that they seemed to get along so easily. I thought back to when they first met, when I was in the hospital, and how nice it had been to hear Darry talking with another guy close to his age. He was stuck around us kids all the time; it was nice to see him hanging out with another guy, one to whom he wasn't related and for whom he was in no way responsible. I smiled at him as we walked by, Laura toddling along next to me, having demanded to be put down to walk. He winked back at me.

Barbara went over some notes she had written down for me – Laura's schedule, what she liked for snacks, translations of some of her baby babble, where things were in the kitchen, and what numbers to call if there was ever a problem. She was funny, and we got along well, chatting about school and basketball and life in general while Laura banged pots and pans on the floor. Finally, the conversation died down, and I saw her glance at the clock.

"Oh, my goodness, here I am chatting away with you like you have nothing else to do, taking up you and your brother's whole Sunday. Do you have any questions for me, before you go?"

"No, I think you pretty much covered everything… and I have all the phone numbers, so… I think I'm okay."

"Well, I think you're going to be great, Scout. Laura really seems to like you, and I know Mike completely trusts you, and so do I." Laura had stood up and was tugging at my knees, wanting to be picked up again.

"No, honey," her Mom said to her, scooping her up, "Scout's got to go home now. She'll see you tomorrow, though, okay? Say bye-bye."

Laura did as she was told. She was awful cute.

Darry and my coach both stood up when we came back into the living room. Such gentlemen; they cracked me up.

"You ladies all set?" Coach came over toward us and put his arm around his wife's waist, and for a second it made me miss my parents, and the way they had been so open in their affection for each other. Darry came over and stood behind me, his hands on my shoulders.

"We are," Barbara said, "are you?"

"Well, I think we could have discussed sports all afternoon, but I'm sure Darry has a few other things to do on his day off," Coach joked.

"Yeah, he has some furniture to move at home," I said.

"So… you can see how I'm real eager to get back," Darry kidded, and we all laughed.

"Alright, Scout, well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow at eight then."

"I'll drop her off," Darry said.

"Well, we appreciate that, Darry, but any time it's a problem, just give us a call and one of us will come get her." Darry was working on their side of town anyway – dropping me off would be on his way.

"I'll do that," Darry said, shaking his hand again as we headed back out to the truck.

"Thanks again, Scout," Barbara called out to me, "and you, too, Darry, for bringing her over. See you tomorrow!" Laura was waving at us in her arms.

"Bye!" Darry and I both called back, as the truck roared to life.

"They're really nice," I said, as we pulled out of the driveway.

"I agree."

"I hope Laura gets to keep them… I mean, I hope they don't die until she's really old." Darry looked at me and he clearly knew that I was wishing our parents were still alive.

"I hope so, too," he said, taking my hand and squeezing it. I squeezed back, and he replaced his hand on the steering wheel.

"Thanks, Dar… for driving me."

"You're welcome," he answered, smiling over at me. "Now let's go see what kind of mess your brothers have created."

...........................

A/N: Just a little more of taking the story from here to there. Thanks for reading. Comments welcome, as always. :-)