Sodapop sat quietly in his room, his head resting back against the wall as his thoughts overwhelmed his brain. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have thought that he could convince Cherry Valance to let him see her cousin, mostly after everything that had happened?

It was no use anymore. He wouldn't see Cindy ever again. He would never get to see her beautiful smile, hear her adorable laugh, or even listen to her talk of things that he could care less about. Sighing slightly in despair, Soda was hardly aware of the sound of his friend calling him from the other room. He didn't care to leave the confines of his dark room, which was perfectly equipped to complete his mood.

Hearing the door open, however, Soda's hand rose to shield his eyes from the incoming light. Blinking a few times, he sighed, recognizing Steve's outline against the bright light.

"Get on out here, Pony's gettin' worried."

"Tell him I'm fine."

"You can't sit in here poutin'."

Soda picked up the pillow that rested by him before hurling it towards his friend.

Catching the pillow, Steve laughed slightly getting the hint before he backed out of the room. Turning around, he looked at the other three members who were waiting for him to tell them what had happened. Simply shaking his head, Steve returned to the couch, sitting back on it as he watched the show that played across the television screen.

Unable to get into the movie, though, he sighed, his eyes flashing towards the clock. Cherry needed to hurry and show up, he wasn't sure how well Soda would handle the rest of the day, mostly with Christmas coming up.

Cherry looked at the clock that rested on the wall opposite of her cousin's bed. It was only a little past two in the afternoon and still she was waiting for the doctors to come on their usual rounds. Sighing, she glanced toward Cindy who was watching the television with a look of boredom on her face; she had been confined in the same area for so long and now she was slowly becoming bored of the place in which she found herself.

"Why do you keep glancing at the clock, Sherri?" Cindy asked quietly as a commercial break came on.

Turning her eyes toward her cousin, Cherry tried to hide the look of surprise on her face as she shrugged some. "They're just late."

"They'll be here…"

"I know, but I wish they'd hurry up."

Cindy giggled softly, sitting up a bit more in the bed. "What's wrong? Got a big date tonight with your boyfriendddd," she cooed, watching as Cherry's face reddened a bit.

"No, I don't. You know I don't have a boyfriend," she replied hastily, forcing her mind away from Two-Bit, the one guy she had been thinking a lot about lately.

Cindy merely continued to laugh to herself, her attention slowly drifting towards the door that had just opened. Watching as the doctor and the nurse walked into the room, Cindy glanced toward her cousin as if to say 'I told you so'.

Rolling her eyes, Cherry sat back in her usual chair, watching as the doctor completed his usual inspection. As time ticked past slowly, Cherry found her eyes glancing occasionally towards the clock again, feeling herself get a bit more antsy.

It was now almost three o'clock. She had to leave and get Sodapop before the hospital doors were locked.

"Sherri…Sherri!"

Looking over at her cousin in surprise, Cherry smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I was thinking. What's up?"

Cindy looked at her cousin, laughing before she nodded toward the departing doctor and nurse. "Did you hear what they said?" she questioned, smiling brightly.

Cherry simply shook her head slowly.

"They said I could leave today…right now!" Cindy exclaimed, beside herself with excitement.

A look of surprise appeared on Cherry's face and this time she was unable to prevent it. Leave? Her cousin was released? What was she going to do now!

Remembering that Cindy was still waiting for a response, Cherry smiled as she started to pack all the things she had brought her cousin into the suitcase. "Well what are we waiting for, let's get going!"

Cindy smiled as she got out of the bed, her eyes closing some as she winced in pain. Recalling what the doctor said, she sighed softly, looking at her cousin. "Just, don't let me do anything crazy for awhile. The doctor said I need to take things easy. No excitement or anything," Cindy explained, helping her cousin finish packing.

Nodding, Cherry simply smiled before pulling the heavy suitcase from the bed and heading towards the door. As they walked out of the hospital, Cherry began to wonder just how much excitement her cousin could handle.

Steve's eyes flashed toward the clock for the twentieth time that hour. How much longer are they going to be? he wondered, forcing his face back towards the television screen again.

It felt like another hour before he heard the sound of footsteps moving around him and the sound of Two-Bit's voice ringing out through the house. "Hey, there's a car headin' this way. A soc car," he called out, causing Steve to jump up as if he had been electrocuted.

Heading towards Soda's room, he pushed open the door. This was it. This was all he could do to get his friend to be a little happier. Now all Cherry had to do was hold up to her end of the bargain. Sighing, he ignored Soda's complaints as he pulled the Greaser from the bed and into the living room.

"What the hell, Steve!" Soda yelled, straightening out his clothes as his friend finally let go of him.

Steve merely shook his head as he pointed toward the window, the red car having come to a stop in front of the Curtis house.

A look of confusion appeared on Soda's face as he headed toward the door, pulling it open and watching the movement outside through the screen door. He was unaware of the other gang members coming up behind him as he focused his attention on movement in the car. Listening to the sound of the door slam, he looked at Cherry, who was heading towards them in her usual self-confident manner.

Smiling some, she stopped before Sodapop, who had now entered onto the porch with the others.

"Um…I hadn't expected you all to be here…"

"It's our house," Soda pointed out, his eyes focused on her dully. There was no real reason for him to behave civilly towards her, she was the one that had pushed him away from her cousin countless times.

Noticing the sound of his voice, Cherry's smile faded as she took a step back. Her eyes glanced imploringly at Steve, who was looking at her impatiently. "Um…well, I've come to talk with you. I know that I haven't been the nicest to you and even last night I was pretty harsh. But, well, Steve came over and talked some sense into me and…well…." – Cherry stopped, looking nervously at the others before glancing over her shoulder – "I wanted to make it up to you."

"How?" Soda asked, his eyebrows rising slowly in question.

"Well…I…" Cherry began before she was cut off.

"Sherri, what's taking so long?"

A look of surprise passed over Soda's face before he looked over his shoulder, looking at his best friend questioningly. Steve, however, merely shrugged as he glanced toward Cherry in confusion.

Cherry smiled some, glancing over her shoulder before stepping aside and nodding towards the car she had abandoned a few minutes ago.

As he looked in the direction that Cherry had nodded, Soda felt himself freeze. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was stare as his dark eyes fell onto the one girl he had fallen in love with so long ago – Cindy.

"Soda….?"

"Cindy!"

Before he knew it, Soda had jumped off the porch and had wrapped his arms around Cindy, unwilling to let her go. He felt her arms sliding around him, her head falling to rest on his chest. It was as if everything was perfect. Everything was back to normal.

The other gang members stood quietly where they were with Cherry, all of them simply watching the scene that unfolded before them. None of them, however, could bring themselves to break the two apart.

"Let's go inside," Steve muttered, backing towards the door. Nodding slowly, the gang filed into the house one-by-one. Turning to look over his shoulder, Steve smirked slightly, "Nothing's going to happen, Cherry, come on."

Nodding slowly, Cherry cast one last look at her cousin and the Greaser before entering into the house with the rest of them.

Cindy sat quietly on the porch, her head resting against Sodapop as she felt his arm tighten a bit around her. Smiling to herself, she glanced up at him, finding her gaze locking with his. Unable to prevent herself, a small laugh escaped from her lips as she watched him turn away.

"Something wrong?" she questioned quietly.

Sodapop shook his head slowly, his eyes focusing on the area in front of him still.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, everything's perfect," he replied quietly, smiling as he turned back to look at her. It was the first real smile he had given since she was hurt and he hoped that it wouldn't be the last. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her again.

Cindy nodded slowly, taking his word for it as she rested against him once more. She was finally perfectly happy. She felt as if every missing piece in her life was back together. And yet, she had the feeling that he was hiding something from her.

After a few more minutes of sitting together silently, Cindy felt Soda pulling away from her. Looking up at him, she watched as he rose to his feet and offered her his hand. "Walk with me?"

"Sure," Cindy replied, smiling as she got up and took his hand.

Soda yelled over his shoulder to his brother that they were going for a walk before he led the young Soc down the steps and then along the street. His mind kept drifting from topic to topic until he finally decided on one that he wanted to talk to her about.

"Cindy…."

"Yeah?" she asked, stopping as she turned to look up at him.

Looking down into her eyes, he smiled, noticing the uncertain look on her face. If only she knew.

"I dunno how to say this…"

"What?"

Taking a deep breath, Soda reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring that Cherry had given to him. Holding it in his clinched fist, he looked into her eyes once more. "I gotta talk to you 'bout somethin' important."

Cindy nodded slowly, "Okay, what is it?"

"Alright. Don't laugh."

"I won't," she promised, smiling.

Soda nodded slowly before taking her hand in his free hand. "I love you Cindy. I don't wanna think 'bout losin' you again and I…I wanna marry you…" he began, watching as her eyes widened. "I asked you this before and I ain't got no problem askin' you again so that you remember…but I…I wanna get married now. I don't wanna wait 'til you're outta school. I wanna marry you now."

"Soda….I…."

He looked at her, noticing the speechlessness which he had placed upon her. Sighing some, he nodded, looking towards the ground. "I understand…it's sudden and rushed."

Looking up at him as she heard the sadness and pain in his voice, Cindy shook her head quickly. "No, Soda! I want to marry you. Here and now if I could," she whispered, stepping closer to him.

"Really?"

She smiled, nodding. "Really."

Soda looked in her eyes, questioningly. "We…could, you know?"

"Could what?"

"Get married right now."

"We could?"

Sodapop nodded slowly, pointing down the street in the direction of the East side. "The courthouse is down that way."

Cindy giggled softly. "Elope?"

"Yeah, why not?"

She shrugged, laughing softly as she took his hand again. "Let's go then," she replied.

Smiling to himself, Sodapop led her toward the courthouse, feeling as if he was walking on air.

In what felt like minutes, Sodapop pulled open the door to the courthouse, letting Cindy into the brightly lit room. Entering in behind her, he looked around, watching as she headed toward the counter.

"Excuse me, where do we go to get married?" she questioned, looking at the man behind the counter.

The man looked down at Cindy and Sodapop, eyeing them closely before pointing down the hallway. Taking his advice, Cindy headed along the hall, her hand squeezing Soda's hand as they entered into the room. Spotting a judge sitting behind his desk, Cindy approached the desk, giving him her request to marry Sodapop.

Deciding he wasn't going to ask questions, the judge rose from his seat, and took his spot near the young couple.

In her state of mind, Cindy was unaware of anything that was going on. All she could think about was how happy she was. She was marrying Sodapop Curtis, the most handsome guy around. The guy she had fallen in love with long ago and the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. All she was aware of was saying "I do" and hearing him say the same words beside her.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

These words brought Cindy crashing back into reality as she felt Soda's lips pressing lovingly and gently against her own. Smiling in ecstasy, she walked out of the room with Sodapop, her eyes looking down toward the ring that she wore on her left hand.

"It's beautiful…"

Soda nodded, kissing the top of her head gently before he pulled off the chain he wore around his neck. "Here, where it on this," he said quietly, watching as Cindy removed the wedding ring from her hand and placing it on the chain. They had agreed before the ceremony they would be married secretly until she had graduated from school so until then…

"We better get back," Sodapop said quietly as he watched her place the chain around her neck. Nodding in agreement, Cindy kissed him gently before heading towards the door.

"Wonder where they are…" Cherry said nervously, looking at the clock then at Two-Bit, who sat beside her.

Two-Bit shrugged indifferently, watching the show on television. "They'll be back."

"I hope so."

"Don't worry, Cherry, they'll be back."

Cherry nodded slowly yet it didn't prevent her from jumping up as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Swinging aside the screen door, she sighed in relief seeing Cindy walking up the steps with Sodapop.

"Where have you two been?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Just on a walk," Cindy replied, smiling as she glanced toward Sodapop.

Sodapop nodded slowly, ignoring the questioning glance that Steve shot in his direction. Noticing that Cherry had drug Cindy away from his grasp, he looked toward the Soc in confusion.

"We need to get home. See you guys soon," Cherry stated, leaving no room for argument.

Cindy smiled at Sodapop, "I'll see you tomorrow. Merry Christmas Eve, Sodapop…" she said, giggling before she headed toward the car with her cousin.

Listening to the engine come to life, Soda sighed, thinking over what had happened. Shaking his head, he watched as Cherry drove over taking Cindy with her.

"Well? How was it?" Steve asked as they entered into the house again.

Soda shrugged as he fell onto the couch, "What can I say? I'm in love…" he said, smirking as he turned toward the television. And to be honest, he never wanted to be without his wife again.

A/N: And that is the end. I'm thinking of a sequel. Let me know your thoughts on if you think a sequel would be good. Hope you enjoyed it!