"Oh! Jacquelyn!" Gina exclaimed over the dull roar of conversation in the living room. From her perch on the arm of Darry's armchair, the brunette bride arched her eyebrow letting Gina know that she was acknowledged. "I have something for you."

"Oh?" Jacquelyn questioned her tone somewhere between curious and not really wanting to know what it was. She watched as Gina rummaged around in her purse until she produced something small.

"Catch."

Jacquelyn opened her hand, removing it from the neck of the beer she was nursing and caught Gina's underhand pass. It was a small rectangular object with a pin on the back: a nametag? She flipped it over in her hand to read the front. Jacquelyn Curtis, Assistant Manager. "I don't... Oh. Oh!" she laughed, closing her hand around the nametag.

"What?" Soda asked, appearing beside her snatching the beer from her hand.

"It's a nametag," Jacquelyn laughed. "With my new name on it."

"I wanna see!" Soda demanded, prying his sister-in-law's fingers open. Jacquelyn relaxed her fingers, it was just easier that way. "Is this the first thing with your new name on it?"

"Aside from the certificate," she answered as she reached for her beer. Soda evaded her and almost sent her tumbling off the arm of the sofa. Darry, who was playing a game of poker with Steve and Two-Bit, caught the belt of her dress and pulled her back. Holding her palm open for her nametag, she looked down at Darry's hand. "Oh," she exhaled, lowering her eyebrows.

"Hush," was her response.

"I think-"

"Hush." Jacquelyn pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and looking much like a small child. He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, with the first two buttons of his shirt undone and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. The corners of Darry's lips turned up as he watched her from the corner of his eye. "I'll raise you three," Darry said. Jacquelyn frowned and turned to Soda, who had passed her nametag off to Ponyboy.

"Fold," Steve said as he placed his cards on the table.

"Ponyboy, can I?" she asked holding her hand open for the nametag. "If I leave it with the two of you I'll never see it again."

"Can you?" he echoed.

Jacquelyn rolled her eyes, but left her hand out for the item, and looked back at the poker game to see that Darry was collecting the pot, while Two-Bit looked highly upset. "How? You had an awful hand!" she exclaimed.

Two-Bit mumbled something under his breath about cheating and then spoke clearly. "He never bluffs like that." The boy then looked at Jacquelyn pointedly, throwing a handful of cards at her. "You've been a terrible influence on him, young lady!"

Her hazel eyes watched the cards flutter to the ground before responding. "I hope you plan on picking those up."

"Don't be a sore loser, Two-Bit," Darry added as he leaned back in the chair.

Soda appeared at her side again, placing her nametag in her hand, and handing her a beer, which Darry took. "That's fine, Darry. I didn't want that beer anyway."

"You let two get warm already, not gonna let you waste another one," he told her before taking a long drink from the bottle. He then held it out for her. However, she had removed herself from her perch on the arm of the chair and started off down the hall. "Where are you going?" he called after her.

"To get my own beer," she shouted back.

First, she went to the bedroom to put the new nametag on the dresser next to her old one, Jacquelyn Ross and Jacquelyn Curtis, and then headed to the kitchen. She reached into the icebox and took out another beer. Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to open it on her own, she trudged back into the living room and handed it off to Darry. With an amused gleam in his eye, he leaned forward and popped the top off the bottle and handed it back to her.

Before she could sit down, Soda had wrapped his arms around her torso, squeezing her. Her grip tightened on the neck of the beer and she tried to take an inhale but failed. "So'," she managed. "So', I can't breathe, kid. I'm literally suffocating."

His grip on her torso loosened, just slightly and he placed his chin on her shoulder. "We finally have a sister."

How could she be upset with him, playfully or not, after he said that? His tone was excited with a bit of relief in it. As if he didn't expect to have one. As if he didn't expect Darry to marry anyone, yet along her. Jacquelyn turned her head a bit to look at him, resting his chin on her shoulder with that charming smile on his lips.

"You're being a real chick right now," she told him with a teasing laugh, even though the look of her face was soft. To that, he kicked her behind her knee. "Ow!" She rolled her eyes and once again struggled to free herself from his grasp. "Lemme go."

Soda laughed and pulled her closer to him. "What time do you want us to split?" he questioned into her ear.

"What?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her and winked. In response, her face went completely red.

"What's wrong with your face, Ross?" Steve asked, looking away from Evie. He had made it perfectly clear that he was not going to stop calling her Ross, no matter what her actual last name was.

Her face grew even redder once she was called out on it.

"Soon?" Soda continued.

Redder.

"Soda, what are you saying to her?" Darry asked.

He shrugged and she took the opportunity to break free of his hold on her. She stumbled forward towards Darry's chair and ducked her head, pressing the beer to her face to cool it. When she looked up, her face was a light pink and not a vicious red.

"I hate you."

"Eight, good?" he continued, unashamed.

"Eight?" Darry echoed. Jacquelyn covered his mouth with her hand, before leaning over to tell him what Soda was talking about. His laugh erupted from behind her hand and she rolled her eyes completely irritated with the two eldest Curtis boys. "That's fine."

Jacquelyn's face was red as she perched back on the arm of the chair.

"Ponyboy," Jacquelyn said as she stepped onto the porch barefoot, but still in her white dress. He looked over his shoulder at her from his place on the stairs.

"Yeah?" he responded with a smoldering cigarette between his lips. She leaned on the railing, hazel eyes looking over the street. Steve was leaning on the door of Evie's car, tie undone and hanging around his neck. Evie was standing next to him, the corners of her lips turned down in a frown, but her green eyes dancing, letting it be known that was a playful frown. Steve rolled his eyes and moved off the door, opening it for her. "So," Ponyboy said.

"So," she echoed, looking down at him with a half-smile on her lips. "You're not gonna get all wussy on me too, are you?"

Ponyboy looked as if he wanted to hit her, but refrained. "No."

He took another drag on his cigarette and then held it up to her. Jacquelyn shook her head, watching him as he brought it back to his lips and took another drag.

"I'm glad Darry's happy," he told her quietly. His tone reluctant, as if he didn't quite want to tell her that. "And you know, er, I'm happy you're here." He looked away from her, focusing on the ground at the base of the porch.

Jacquelyn laughed, kneeling to hug him around the neck, and he froze. "I'll never tell your secret," she told him before standing and ruffling his hair a bit.

He scowled at her and shooed her away with the hand holding the cigarette and then tried to brush his hair back into place. "Cool it with that."

She moved by him, walking down the stairs to Steve, who was coming up the driveway from saying good-bye to Evie, she picked up the late shift so that she could have the day off. Steve's hands were deep in his pockets as he walked. Jacquelyn stepped carefully on the gravel, but quickly as she made her way to him.

"Steve."

"Ross."

She draped her arm around his shoulder and smiled. "Would your girl be jealous?" she questioned playfully, pressing her side to his.

"No," he told her. She looked offended, bringing her hand to her chest. "Not that you're not, you know good looking," he rubbed the back of his neck in a manner that showed he was uncomfortable talking about her like that, "but you know, as well as we do, you only have eyes for Superman. You're no threat to her, or anyone else, especially at this point." He gestured to the ring on her finger.

"Thank you?" she said with her eyebrow arched. "I think."

"You're welcome, Ross."

"Just one time," she told him.

"Huh?" She looked up at him, batting her eyelashes and he groaned loudly. "Curtis," he mumbled under his breath. Jacquelyn noted a faint blush on his cheeks.

She smiled. "Doesn't it fit?"

"Ross fits better."

She shrugged. "Whatever. I don't mind it's up to you, kiddo."

"Don't call me a kid."

She pulled her arm off his shoulder and stepped onto the porch, moving around Ponyboy and stuck her tongue out at Steve, safe behind Ponyboy. "No problem," she took a step back and into the house, "kiddo." Laughing as Steve, shouted her name from outside.

Her dark hair fanned out over the pillow, her own version of a halo. Rolling over onto her side, her halo disappearing and morphing into a waterfall over her back as she propped herself up on her elbow holding the bed sheet to her chest. Hazel eyes falling on his form, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

"Hmm?" the question was formed somewhere deep in his chest. When he didn't get a response, his azure eyes opened focusing on her, all dark hair and hazel eyes and pink lips. He rolled onto his side as well, arm behind his head. "Yes?"

"Nothing."

Jacquelyn with a slight pink tone to her skin and a vicious red mark on the tender skin of her neck. His Jacquelyn.

"Nothing?"

His fingers brushed against the side of her throat as he pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Nothing." she agreed.

Darry with his muscles and broad shoulders. Darry Curtis with his deep azure eyes. Darry with his short, ungreased hair.

He caught the hand holding the sheet in his and pulled her towards him. Her bare skin meeting his and sending a familiar and pleasant sensation through his body. And to think, a few months ago, the feeling of her body against his kept him up at night.

Darry, who always smelled like tar. Darry, whose heartbeat hers was always in sync with. Darry with his tough exterior. Her Darry.

His fingers found their way between hers, thumb tracing over her wedding band.

"Are we allowed to be this happy?" Darry questioned.

"Huh?"

"Are we allowed to be this happy with everything that's going on."

Jacquelyn laughed, turning her gaze up to him. "With everything that's going on, I think that we can be this happy for a day. Besides, I think Soda was happier that either of us combined." Darry looked as if he were about to disagree. "Don't you go getting all sappy on me too," she teased. "You can't say anything along the lines of 'I don't think that anyone could be happier than me today'."

He laughed, the feeling vibrating in her chest. "I won't then." He was quiet. "But, that doesn't make it any less true."

"Am I the only one keeping up my tuff greaser nature?" she said with a playfully exasperated groan.

He laughed again. "You never had one."

"I'm tuff!" His laughter intensified as he wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. "I am!" she insisted. "Dally said I was."

"That must mean it's true, you know how much Dally liked to tell the truth," he teased.

"Dally said I was a pretty tuff broad," she quoted.

"I'm sure. Dally also tried to fight every guy that looked at you for too long," Darry revealed.

"I'm tuff enough," she mumbled into his chest, pouting.

"Yes, you are," he said in an effort to placate her.

Jacquelyn decided to let it go, there was no point in arguing with him when he was right. She knew that the guys all treated her like a sister, for the most part. Soda had proven it by grabbing Russ' collar when he saw her changing and Steve had as well; after Soda told him he was ready to fight. Two-Bit had his own ways of showing it; she might have been the only woman in Tulsa whose skirt he hadn't flipped up in an effort to find out the color of her underwear, but that didn't stop him from playfully asking. Ponyboy was more subtle about it. Last week, her lunch had been packed and when she questioned the usual suspect, Darry, he knew nothing about it. Soda was too absent-minded to pack his own lunch and that only left Ponyboy, who when questioned turned a vicious shade of pink while mumbling something about not wanting her to have to rush and pack in the morning before running out of the door to go to work. Even Tim treated her as if had a soft spot for her.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"Go ahead and tell me."

Darry exhaled through his nose in a soft huff. "I am very happy," he said, straying away from the words she'd demanded that he not use. "And it's hard to say that there is anyone in Tulsa that could be happier than I am."

Jacquelyn laughed. "I am the best thing that could have happened to you," she told him playfully.

"Don't get carried away," he told her.

Although if they were being completely honest, she was. She was the best person to have with him as he went to face this situation of losing a brother to the draft. She was the best person to have with him in general, Soda's draft aside. She was the best thing that ever happened to him.

A/N: Hi there! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know if you did.

~ Nikki