A/N: Hey there! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Also thank you for the reviews. I love reading them.

DICLAIMER: I don't own The Outsiders.

It was cloudy on the day of the funeral.

It was cloudy and a little windy, but there was no rain.

Jacquelyn sat on the edge of the bed with the comforter wrapped around her body. Her wet hair was wrapped in a towel so to keep the water from dripping on to the sheet. However, every few minutes or so she would feel a drop of water run down her neck and on to the comforter. Her hazel eyes trained to a spot on the wall by the closet. The spot where her black dress was hanging. She continued to gaze that the dress, checking for stains or smudges.

"Jacquelyn."

She turned her hazel eyes from the black dress and towards him. He was half-dressed. His black slacks were on but not buttoned, as was his shirt, on but not buttoned. A black tie hung around his neck. His red toothbrush was hanging from the corner of his mouth. Her hazel eyes traced over the ridges of his abdominal muscles. The way they flexed and relaxed with every breath.

"Jacquelyn," he tried again.

Her hazel eyes snapped up to his cobalt ones. "Yeah? I'm sorry," she replied. "What were you saying?"

He held up one finger and walked out of the room. When he came back a few moments later, he didn't have the red toothbrush in his mouth. He pushed the bedroom door shut with his foot and crossed his arms over his chest. "I asked if you were going to get dressed," he said again.

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, I am." She pushed the comforter off her body and reached up to rub the towel vigorously against her hair.

Darry watched as the comforter slipped off her shoulders revealing the straps of her black bra. The muscles in her back flexed as she rubbed the towel against her hair. After what seemed like forever, she stopped rubbing the towel on her head and let her brown hair fall over her back.

As she moved to pull on her dress, he buttoned his shirt and then tucked it into his pants. He looked over at her and saw that she was struggling to reach the zipper on her dress. He walked over to her and pulled the zipper up, careful to avoid her long hair. He kissed the back of her head, his lips against her still damp hair. She turned to face him and took a step back. She reached up, her slender fingers pulling at the tie and tying it with ease.

The brunette moved away from him, but he caught her wrist in his hand. "You gonna talk to me?" he questioned as her hazel eyes met his.

"I'm fine," she stressed for what felt like the thousandth time. Darry watched her for a moment. "Stop it!" she said suddenly and pulled away from him with such force that she actually stumbled backwards and fell. When Darry, offered a hand to pull her up, she shoot him a very out of character venomous look. He took a half step away from her.

"Are you-"

"Stop it!" she shouted again cutting him off. "Stop fawning over me and treating me like I'm a child! Just stop it." She hadn't realized that her voice broke or that she had pulled her knees to her chest until Darry sat down on the floor across from her.

"Jacquelyn," he said quietly. "Don't do that." She turned her head away from him, and he turned her face back to his by place his finger under her chin. She wasn't crying, not yet anyway. Her hazel eyes were wet, tears threatening to fall. But it was Jacquelyn. She wasn't going to cry. She tried to be tough. She licked her lips and then looked away from him again, this time he let her.

While they were sitting on the floor, he pulled on his black dress shoes lacing them tightly, and then handed her the shoes that she'd sat out to wear.

"Jacquelyn," he tried again. Her eyes flicked up to his. "Are you-"

"No, I am not okay," she answered before he could finish his question. "I'm not okay and you asking if I'm okay is not going to make me be okay." His eyes widened at her uncharacteristic snapping. She realized what she'd done. "Dare, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

He raised his hand and silenced her. "It's fine."

And he meant that.

As he recalled he was less than kind to her when his parents passed. As he thought back to the events, he was rather ashamed of himself. He'd snapped at her constantly when all she wanted to do was help him. He'd ignored her knocking on his door and when he did let her into the room he didn't let her in, he didn't talk to her or anything. He just sat on his bed, his head in his hands. However, he knew now that she understood what he was feeling, not that he would have ever wished that on her. She now knew how painful it was to have the person you love most asking you how they can help and there being no answer. There was nothing that he could do for her, just like there was nothing that she could have done for him.

There was a tap on the door, and Jacquelyn's eyes shot over to it as Darry said, "Come on in."

Sodapop entered the room with a very poorly tied black tie around his neck. He was wearing the same thing that Darry was: black slacks and a white shirt. He had his black jacket tossed over his shoulder. He looked between them and took a step towards Jacquelyn.

"Can you..?" he gestured to the tie around his neck with one hand and rubbing the back of his neck with the other, like he as embarrassed to ask for her help.

Jacquelyn laughed softly and nodded. She reached her hand up and Sodapop assisted her. As she started to tie the tie around his neck, Ponyboy appeared in the doorway, in the same state as Soda.

"Jac?" he said as she walked in shuffling his feet and rubbing back of his neck as well.

Ponyboy had picked up on calling her Jac, just as Soda did. She liked it. It made her feel like they were getting closer. She liked the familiarity that the nickname held.

When she finished with Soda, she gestured for Ponyboy to come to her. Darry watched. He couldn't believe how easily Ponyboy had gained a fondness for Jacquelyn. Well, that wasn't true. Jacquelyn had an uncanny ability to make friends with anyone she met and make them like her. Even Tim Shepard and Buck had a sort of soft spot for the bubbly brunette. It was just her talent. However, Ponyboy had the uncanny ability to talk to people but never gain any sort of fondness. He had more acquaintances than friends. But Jacquelyn had broken through that. It was like she was part of the family. Like she was a sister that they never had.

"Are you ready?" he heard Soda asking her. He saw her nod as she finished tying his youngest brother's tie. Soda lay a hand on her shoulder and she half smiled, laying on his shoulder.

After a moment, she took a step away from Soda and Ponyboy. She turned her back to them and walked to the closest. When she came back, she was holding Darry's black jacket. The oldest Curtis pushed himself off the floor and took the jacket from her. The front door opened and closed loudly. Soda and Ponyboy ducked out of the room to go see who was there.

Darry shrugged on his jacket and before he could say anything, Jacquelyn had buried her face in his white shirt. His arms fell loosely around her waist as he rested his chin on the top of her still damp hair. He was quiet to see if she was crying, but she wasn't. She just stood there, her face pressed to his chest taking deep breaths.

"Okay," she said as she back away from him. "Okay, let's go."

"We meet here today to honor and pay tribute to the life of Mickey Ross, and to express our love and admiration for him. And also to try to bring some comfort to those of his family and friends who are here and have been deeply hurt by his sudden death."

The words spoken were nice. However, it was then that Jacquelyn stopped listening. She knew that the person speaking, a pastor or something that her mother had found, did not know her father or anything about him. If he did, she wasn't sure if that would have been the way he started his eulogy. Instead of hearing the words the pastor was saying, she only say his lips moving. This was clearly a staple eulogy.

Her hazel eyes travel the small group that had gathered for the funeral of Mickey Ross. Her mother stood next to her on her right, wearing a black dress and hat. Her lips were red with lipstick. Jacquelyn found that odd. She wore lipstick to a funeral. Maybe it wasn't odd though. It was Sadie Ross after all. She had to look her best at all times. To her left was Darry, dressed in his black pants and black jacket, with his hand firmly grasping her left hand. On the other side of Darry was the ever beautiful Gina Fields, dressed in all black. She knew that Soda and Steve were directly behind her, because Soda was holding her right hand. Not too tightly, but just enough so that it would be comforting. Next to Steve was Evie. She and Evie weren't particularly close. They'd only really spoke a handful of times, however Steve said that he didn't even have to ask her if she wanted to come to the funeral. She was dressed and ready before he was. Ponyboy was next to Soda. She could see him in her peripheral. Two-Bit was next to Evie. She could hear him shuffling around, uncomfortable with standing still for so long. There were a few men, older, that probably knew Mickey Ross, but she didn't know them.

The corners of her lips turned down, an action that did not escape Darry's gaze. These people weren't here for Mickey Ross. They didn't even really know him. They were here for her. They were here because they cared about her. Every single one of them. The exception being the two men standing at the back of the group.

That realization hit Jacquelyn like a ton of bricks.

They weren't just her friends. They were her family. Soda, Ponyboy, Steve, and Two-Bit were like the brother's that she never had. Gina was the sister that she never had. And Darry, of course, was her everything. How had she not seen that before?

She had a family.

All this time, she though that her family was falling apart and crashing and burning right before her eyes. Granted, that might have been true. But it wasn't until now that only part of her family was doing that. Her mom and dad crashed and burned. That part of her life was very dysfunctional. However, the part waited for her in Tulsa was perfectly fine.

"When you leave here shortly I hope that, like me, you will do so with a real sense of having shared in something special, for a very special man."

Jacquelyn side eyed her mother to see if she had shed a tear. She had. It wasn't until, Darry reached over and wiped her face that she realized that she too had been crying. However, it might not have been for the reason that it should have been.

Then they began to lower the casket into the ground. She and her mother had picked a dark wooden casket. Nothing to special, but it was something. Jacquelyn felt Soda's grip on her right hand tighten, but she then realized that it was because she had squeezed his hand first. Darry's grip on her hand tightened as well. Her hazel eyes watched as Mickey Ross' casket was lowered into a hole in the ground.

It hit her hard then.

This was happening.

This was really happening.

There was no coming back from this.

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her knees soften. Darry released her hand as she turned to bury her face in his white shirt again. Before she managed to press her face to his shirt, he'd caught a glimpse of her expression. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were pressed together firmly. Then he felt the front of his shirt start to grow moist.

"Mrs. Ross."

Jacquelyn heard her mother's footsteps move and she turned her head to look at him, still resting her head on Darry's shirt. Her mother took the shovel from the man's hand and shoveled some dirt into the hole. There was a soft thud as the dirt landed on casket. Her mother then turned and held the shovel out to her. Darry dropped his hand from her waist and allowed Jacquelyn to move forward.

She took small steps towards her mother and took the shovel gently, as if it was going to shatter in her hand. She them dug the tip into a pile of dirt and scooped up some of the dirt. Slowly, she turned to the grave. It sure looked deep and dark. The small amount of dirt that her mother had tossed in had already started to roll of the side of the wood.

This was really happening.

Jacquelyn blinked several times.

He was really dead.

The brunette then turned the shovel upside down, watching as the dirt fell to the dark wood of the casket. There was that soft thud again.

Mickey Ross was really dead.

She placed the shovel back into the pile of dirt and then made her way back to the small group that had gathered. The two men that she didn't know, moved to talk with her mother very briefly. They were probably just offering their condolences, because as soon as they reached Sadie Ross they started to leave. Before Jacquelyn could even say anything, Gina had her wrapped in a tight hug.

Jacquelyn Ross broke then.

Tears fell from her hazel eyes, staining Gina's black dress as the blond whispered comforting things into her ear. Jacquelyn was shaking her head as Gina spoke. She felt Gina's grasp loosen on her as she spoke quietly. She couldn't really focus on what she was saying. She just knew that Gina's voice, the pitch and the tone, was very soothing.

"Jac."

Gina has switched places with Soda, who had taken to stroking her dark hair. It was odd. She remembered doing this to him at his parent's funeral. She'd pulled him into a tight hug and just said whatever she thought might bring him some comfort. She knew that nothing was working, but she kept trying and stroking his hair because what else could she do? It seemed that they had switched places.

A ragged sob broke through her lips. Up until that point, she'd been crying quietly. Her shaking shoulders being the only thing that gave her away. Soda then stop whispering to her and said something to someone else. Again, she couldn't process what he had said.

"Jacquelyn."

Darry.

Her knees gave, and Darry managed to guide her softly to the ground so that she didn't hurt herself. His fingers found their way to her dark hair. He couldn't think of anything to say to her. There was because there was nothing to say to her. There was nothing that he could say to her to make it better. He couldn't make the hurt go away.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. His fingers were tangled in her dark hair and she was crying into the front of his shirt. He struggled to find something comforting to say to her. After a while, he settled on telling her that it was going to be okay. Because eventually it was going to be okay...

"Jacquelyn."

That wasn't Darry.

She turned her red-rimmed hazel eyes upwards in the direction of the voice. Her mother. The brunette moved to stand, Darry moved and pulled her up.

"Mother?" she responded, her voice soft.

"I'm going to head back home," the older woman said.

"Okay," Jacquelyn replied. "Did you want me to come?" Jacquelyn rubbed her hand over her face, making her cheeks redder than they were already. She hadn't actually stopped crying, she'd only managed to reign it in.

Sadie looked over her daughters shoulder at the man behind her. He had pushed his hands into his pockets and was watching the two Ross women intently. Or maybe he was just watch the younger one. Briefly, his blue eyes met Sadie's before he looked away and towards his brother. However, he never really let Jacquelyn leave his line of site. He was always watching her. She'd seen how easily he'd caught her and kept her from falling. It was like he knew what was going to happen before it happened.

"He loves me."

Jacquelyn's statement from the day before echoed in her head. She'd also seen how she turned to him. How she'd cried with him. Jacquelyn was not much of a crier. She never liked to look weak. True, she had let herself cry in the arms of that blond girl and the handsome boy, but not like she did when Darry got his hands on her.

"I love him."

Sadie looked over at Darry once more. Her eyes catching his again. This time he did not look away. There was no threatening side to his gaze. There wasn't anything there. He was just watching her. He was cautious around her. Or maybe he was just worried about Jacquelyn. "You know," her mother started slowly. "You don't have to come with me."

Jacquelyn's red eyes widened in surprise. She had never done that before. She had never just let her go. "Are you sure…? I can come with you." She rubbed her hand over her eyes again, making them redder.

Sadie nodded. "I am."

"Do you, uh, want me to come by in the morning? You know before you leave?" Jacquelyn went to rub the back of her hand over her nose, but Sadie handed her a handkerchief, not wanting her to rub her hand over her nose. The young Ross took it and wiped her nose with it.

"That would be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Sadie moved to hug her daughter and Jacquelyn hugged her back. Very out of the ordinary.

The brunette moved away from her mother and then turned away from her mother. Something had changed. Maybe her mother had finally heard what she had been trying to tell her.

Jacquelyn sat on the bed with her legs crosses and the door closed. Outside in the living room, she could hear the tv playing what sounded like Mickey Mouse. She could also hear the sounds of soft conversation. Probably about her. Instead of sitting out with her friends, her family, she had chosen to remain alone in the bedroom. For the longest, she had just paced back and forth in the room watching her feet. Then she laid of her back on the floor as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Then she started to pace again. And now, she was sitting with her legs crossed, playing with a loose string on her quilt.

The door creaked on its hinges and she looked up quickly.

"Hey," she said quietly, as she brought her eyes back down to the loose string on her quilt.

"Hey."

Darry closed the door behind him and leaned on the door with his arms crossed.

"I'm not gonna bite your head off," she told him.

She had snapped at him a fair amount of times that day. She would snap and then she would apologize. Then she'd snap and apologize, and he took it. He never complained her never said anything to her about it, she had just accepted her apology and moved on, waiting for her to snap again. When she did, the process started over again.

Darry moved across the room and sat on the bed next to her. When he opened her mouth, the brunette shook her head. He looked at her oddly, but decided not to say anything on the topic. She clearly figured that she knew what he was going to say, and granted she probably did know what he was going to say. He'd been saying the same thing all day. Are you okay? She wasn't but what else was he supposed to do? Especially after she'd broken down like that at the funeral. He hadn't seen her cry like that, well, ever. She was normally a pretty tame crier, but not then. That broke him. He was literally useless with this.

She leaned against him, not taking her eyes off the string she was pulling on the quilt.

"If you keep at it you'll unravel the quilt," he told her as he watched her fingers.

"I'll just sew it back," she responded.

"I'm gonna ask you," Darry warned her.

"Don't do it."

"Are you okay?" he questioned before she stop him.

The small brunette groaned in frustration, before falling face forward on to the quilt and groaning again. "Stop asking me that," she mumbled into the quilt.

"I won't," he said lightly.

She groaned again. Louder this time. "I'm gonna be fine, Darry. Okay? Eventually, I'll be fine, just not right now. Okay?"

He wasn't going to push the topic anymore. Not right now anyway.

After a moment, Jacquelyn sat up and leaned against the pillows. Her fingers were still working at the loose thread on the quilt. "How long?" she questioned quietly without looking up at him.

He knew exactly what she meant. How long does it hurt? How long was she going to think about it? How long was it going to be on her mind? She wanted to say something comforting to her. Something like it'll feel better soon. Or some finite number of days so that she could countdown. But he couldn't. "Always," was his reply.