A/N: I don't necessarily consider any of these canon, they're more just for fun. I'll leave the pre and post-book canon to HappierThanMost, who writes flawlessly and deeper than I could ever hope to :)

p.s. Apologies for any medical inaccuracies

July 22, 1951

5:10 PM

Darry: 6

Sodapop: 2

Ponyboy: 0?

"Is the baby coming today Mommy?" Sodapop asked.

Margaret Curtis sighed. Ever since she had told her youngest son that he soon would no longer be the youngest, he had asked her every single day when the baby was going to be here.

"Not until September, honey. In the fall, when school starts."

Soda scowled at the mention of school before turning back to his toy blocks. Margaret sighed again, knowing these would only momentarily entertain him before he asked more questions. She loved his curiosity, but at 7 months pregnant she was counting down the minutes until her husband got home and could entertain the kids so she could lie down.

Her thoughts of relaxing were interrupted, though, by Soda deciding to throw a block at his older brother, Darry.

"Sodapop Patrick we do not—" she began to scold, though her words were cut off by a sudden gush of water between her legs.

Oh dear god I did not just wet myself she thought, before realizing that the situation in actuality was much worse.

"Are you okay Mom?" Darry asked. At only six, he didn't fully understand what was happening, but he could sense that something had shifted.

Margaret Curtis continued to stand, frozen, unsure of what to do. It was only when she heard the sound of the front door opening that she allowed herself to breathe again.

Darrel Curtis had hardly uttered a hello before his wife dropped a bomb on him. "Call Tina Matthews. The baby's coming."

"Are you sure?" he asked, not wanting to believe it. The baby wasn't supposed to be here for another two months.

"Yes I'm sure!" his wife shouted, before wincing and grabbing her stomach. Her contractions had started.

He stood in shock for a few moments before jumping into action, running toward the telephone. They had asked their good friend and neighbor, Tina Matthews, to watch the boys when the baby eventually came. He just hoped she was ready to do the job a little earlier than expected.

"Hi, Tina? It's Darrel. The baby's coming early. Can you watch the boys?" he only heard the beginning of the word 'yes' before hanging up. He then moved to help his wife into the car, relieved to see Mrs. Matthews hurrying up the street, her son Keith in tow.

"Are you alright Margaret?" Tina asked. "I thought the baby was due in September!"

"Yes," replied Margaret, pausing as she felt a contraction coming on, "we just need to get to the hospital now."

Darrel quickly ran back up to the house to grab his wallet and keys before planting a kiss on the head of each of his boys.

"Be good for Mrs. Matthews, ya hear? Mama's gonna go have the baby," he explained, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

The boys nodded, excited that their new sibling would be coming earlier than expected, unaware of the dangers the situation presented.

The Curtis' car pulled away from the curb at a speed that under normal circumstances would've been considered illegal, but at this moment was necessary. Tina Matthews said a silent prayer for Margaret and her baby as Keith ran up to the house, excited for an unexpected playdate with the Curtis brothers.

— — — — — — — — — —

"Just one more push Mrs. Curtis!" the doctor urged.

None of Margaret's previous births had been nearly as difficult, and it was taking everything in her to not give up. She was in pain, shaking, and covered in sweat. The only thing that kept her going was Darrel wiping her brow with a cloth and whispering words of encouragement in her ear.

Margaret took a deep breath and looked at her husband before making a final push. She felt extreme pressure and let out a scream as she pushed, clutching Darrel's hand and hoping it would all be over soon.

"That's it, Margaret. You did it, you have a new baby boy." The doctor said, though there was a lack of enthusiasm in his voice. A terrifying silence filled the room.

"He's not crying. All of my other babies cried, why is he not crying?" Margaret asked frantically.

Before she could receive an answer the doctor whisked her baby away along with a group of nurses. Darrel tried to follow them but was told he needed to stay with his wife. He gently rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to relieve tension, both for him and her.

"He's strong, Maggie, he'll pull through," Darrel said. But Margaret wasn't so sure.

— — — — — — — — — —

It wasn't until sometime later that they were given an update.

"Your son is stable—for now. But he is weak. His lungs are underdeveloped and his body temperature is lowered. I'm sorry, but it's likely you do not have much time. We can bring you to see him now, to say your goodbyes."

The words of the doctor weighed heavily on Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. Had he just essentially told them their brand new baby was unlikely to make it through the night? They hadn't even had time to name him, let alone say goodbye.

Mrs. Curtis let out a sob before quickly saying, "Yes, we'd like to see him. We need to see him."

Darrel wheeled Margaret through the hospital and to the NICU where their son lay in an incubator. They couldn't help but smile with pride when they saw him. Despite the countless tubes and wires surrounding him, their son appeared to have a slight smile on his face.

Margaret reached her hand into the incubator to softly stroke her son's hair. It was thick and a reddish-brown color, a perfect mix of her and Darrel's.

"Hi baby, it's your mama and daddy," she said softly, holding back tears.

Darrel reached his hand through the incubator as well, carefully placing his finger under his son's tiny hand. To his surprise, his son gripped his finger tightly.

"Woah, that's quite a grip you've got there, huh?" Darrel remarked. He laughed and turned to his wife. "Why, he's as strong as a horse."

She chuckled at her husband's comment. "Yes, but he's not quite as big as a horse. More like a pony."

"Like a…Ponyboy? That's got a nice ring to it." Darrel said, smirking.

"Nope, you said we'd name the next one a normal name," Margaret said. But the more she looked at her son, the more she knew his name was perfect.

"C'mon Maggie, it's perfect and you know it," urged Darrel.

"Mmm alright. Ponyboy it is. But his middle name needs to be more common, like a family name. Maybe Michael, after my brother?" Margaret suggested.

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis. You're a little early to the party but we're happy to have you anyway," said Darrel

Eventually, it was time to say goodbye to their son, possibly forever. Darrel watched as his wife sobbed what could be the last words to their son, tears sliding down his face.

"I love you, baby. We all love you and we'll always love you." She kissed the side of the incubator and was slowly wheeled away by a nurse.

Darrel then got down on his son's level, staring at him intently.

"Now, I know these doctors are giving you all these bullshit timelines, telling you what you can and can't do. But you're strong. I know you're strong. And because of that I know I'll see you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. And you'll get to meet your brothers and see how excited your family is to have you. Love you, Little Buddy," Darrel said, praying these wouldn't be the last words to his son.

— — — — — — — — — —

Darrel woke the next morning in a hard, plastic chair next to his wife's hospital bed expecting terrible news. Margaret was expecting the same, having stayed up all night worried the doctor would come and tell her that their son was gone. No doctor came, though, not until the morning. And he was smiling.

"I'm pleased to announce that," he paused to read the chart, "Ponyboy made it through the night. He's not out of the woods entirely, but he's a fighter, I'll give him that."

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis couldn't have been more thrilled at the news. Darrel rushed to the phone to call home and tell Mrs. Matthews he was coming to pick up the boys and bring them to meet their new brother. It would certainly be a happier call than the one he had made last night. He knew Ponyboy wasn't completely in the clear yet, but he wanted to give him a chance to meet his brothers.

Darrel could hardly drive fast enough when traveling back home, eager to tell his other sons they had a new brother. He hadn't wanted to wake them up last night to talk and had advised Mrs. Matthews to not tell them their brother had been born, just in case.

He burst through the front door and was greeted with a chorus of, "Daddy!" as he embraced his sons in his arms.

"Get your shoes on boys, we're goin to the hospital to meet your new brother!" Darrel exclaimed.

"It's a boy?" they both asked, shocked. Margaret had insisted she felt like this one was a girl but had clearly been mistaken.

"Yep, and he told me he's ready to meet you two so let's go!" Darrel said.

"Dad, you know he can't talk, right?" Darry said, with an accompanying eye roll.

Darrel couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, son, I know he can't talk, but I could tell he wanted to say it."

It wasn't long before Darrel was leading two small boys by their hands to meet their new baby brother.

"Now boys, he's very small so you have to be careful. He's in a special box to help him and if you want to hold his hand or touch him you need to be very gentle. Got it?"

Both boys nodded their head sincerely and Darrel led them to their new brother.

"Darry, Sodapop, meet Ponyboy. The newest member of the Curtis family."

"Why's he so small, Dad? I don't remember Sodapop being that small," Darry asked.

"It's because he came a little earlier than expected, but he's stronger than he looks. Go on, let him hold your finger," Darrel answered.

Darry tentatively reached into the incubator and was surpised at how tight Ponyboy's grip was.

"I like his name, it's cool like mine," Sodapop said.

The boys continued to talk to their new brother and hold his hand until eventually, it was time to go home.

Ponyboy, of course, would need to remain in the hospital for quite a long time, but everyone knew he would be home when he was ready. Weeks later, when the time finally came, Ponyboy finally came home. Margaret found herself thinking as she rocked him to sleep one night.

"I know I doubted you in the beginning, but now I know how strong you are. You proved all those doctors wrong and you proved me wrong. I can't wait to see who you become, Ponyboy."