~*~Month 3~*~
Dally yawned and stretched his arms as he sat up and looked over at Johnny's still-sleeping form. He looked over at Aaliyah's, formerly Ally's, crib and cocked an eyebrow. Aaliyah was clever, very clever, but he didn't know that she was clever enough to get out of her crib.
"Johnny... where the... where is the baby?" Dally asked, pushing the covers off of him and getting up to take a closer look.
Johnny didn't respond, he was still asleep.
"Dammit..." Dally muttered, getting up and walking into the kitchen.
"Aaliyah, get your little bad butt out 'ere!" Dally called, looking all around the small room.
"How the hell you got out is beyond me." He said, shaking his head.
He searched around the whole house, yet still no sign of her. He was just about to give up when he noticed that the front door was open.
'Shit.' He thought, walking hurriedly over to the door.
"Damn it, Aaliyah!" He yelled as he stood in the doorway. There she was, with dirt covering her clothes and face.
Dally picked her up and held her close. "Stupid kid!" He muttered under his breath as he turned to go back inside. After closing the door behind him, he made a beeline for the bathroom, all while Johnny was being jarred from his slumber after hearing the loud slam.
"What's goin' on?" Johnny asked, walking tiredly to the closed bathroom door.
"I wake up and the kid's outside rollin' in the mud!"
"Really?"
"Yes, really!"
"How'd she get outta her crib?"
"I dunno, why don'tcha ask her?!"
Aaliyah smiled and giggled as Dally sat her down in the tub, not a care or worry in the world. Except the tub was a little on the warm side...
~*~
After the bath, Dally, Johnny, and Aaliyah were settled on the couch, watching the rodeo. Well, at least Dally and Johnny were.
Aaliyah was on the cushion on the far left side, her parents on the right as she played with a rattle. She soon got bored with the rattle, tossed it to the ground and eased herself off the couch, crawling over to the armchair and pulling herself up on her own two feet.
Johnny was the first to notice. "Dal, look! I think she's walkin' again!" He said, pointing at the small infant.
Aaliyah giggled and hiccuped, falling on her butt as soon as her father looked over.
Dally rolled his eyes at the younger Greaser. "Quit playin' around, man. She ain't doin' anything." He grumbled, turning back to the tv. He hated to admit it, but he was actually excited to see her take a few steps.
"No, Dal! I swear she was just walkin'!" Johnny said. Dally waved him off again.
Aaliyah got back up and toddled over to the television.
Dally sat up. "Whoa, she really was walkin'." He said, watching the small girl take a few wobbly steps.
Aaliyah giggled and shakily walked over to her parents. Before she could fall and hurt herself, Dally was the one to scoop her up into his protective hold, not Johnny.
Johnny looked over at him in amazement. "Wow, Dal.."
"What?" Dally asked, looking at the younger Greaser.
"I thought ya didn't like kids."
"Yeah, but she's my kid. Not any of those snot-nosed brats you see at the park."
Johnny was stunned. He didn't know what to say.
"Why ya starin' at me like that?" Dally snapped, holding Aaliyah tighter as she tried getting out of his grip.
"I didn't know you cared, Dal..." He started.
"Yeah." Dally said flatly. He felt embarrassed for showing off what he'd call his 'soft' side.
"Wanna go over to the Curtis'? The rest o' the gang ain't met 'er yet." Johnny suggested.
Dally shrugged and repositioned her in his arms.
"You wanna?" He asked.
"That's what I asked you." Johnny retorted playfully.
"Okay then, let's go." He said, fumbling for the remote to shut the tv off. Aaliyah toddled over to the tv and shut it off herself.
~*~
They made it to the Curtis'. Darry was cooking breakfast, Ponyboy and Two-Bit were getting Ally ready for nursery school, and Steve and Soda were arm-wrestling.
Johnny held the door open for Dally who was currently holding little Aaliyah upside down by her ankles, her loving every minute of it as she squealed in delight.
"'ey, Johnnycake! 'ey, Dal!" Steve said, getting distracted. Soda pinned Steve's arm down on the table, winning the arm-wrestling match, and cheered in victory as he stood up.
Dally gave him a curt nod as he laid Aaliyah down on her back on the couch before settling in next to her. Johnny also gave a nod as he grabbed a piece of bacon off the plate Darry had set out and gobbled it down in one bite, grabbing another piece and another.
"Slow down, piggy." Dally said as Aaliyah managed to turn over onto her stomach and begin crawling into her daddy's lap.
"Wait, who's that?" Soda asked, gesturing to Aaliyah. "She your niece? I didn't know ya had a sister, Dal!"
Dally shook his head. "She ain't my niece. She's my kid. She's Johnnycake's kid too." He said, rubbing her back as she draped herself across his lap.
Soda stood there for a moment, letting it sink in. "Uhh..." He scratched the back of his head. "O-Okay.."
Pony and Two-Bit walked out of the bedroom, Ally holding both their hands.
"Daddy, Momma, Aaliyah's here!" Ally shouted excitedly, giggling as she ran over to her cousin.
"Y'all knew about this and didn't tell us?" Steve piped up, walking over to Dally and peering down at the baby draped across his lap.
"We didn't know when the right time was.." Johnny confessed, munching the last of the bacon.
Aaliyah flipped herself on her back and stared up at her curly-haired uncle, cooing and reaching up at him.
Steve, without a second thought, bent down to scoop her up into his arms when Dally's rough hand hovered over her protectively. "What'ya think you're doin', huh?"
"Pickin' her up, why?" Steve asked.
Dally pulled her closer to him and somewhat stared up at the younger greaser.
"No reason." He said, a litle edge to his tone.
"Whoa, Dal's bein' protective over a baby!" Soda laughed.
"Bein' protective over his baby." Johnny said, reaching over and pulling her off of his lap and onto his. "Our baby." He smiled.
That, for some reason, made Soda laugh harder.
