A/N this is a one-shot song fic about the first woman jack ever loved, and it explains why he wants to go to santa fe so much.
Disclaimer: i do not own newsies, or muppet treasure island (the song that i used in this) soo... yah. i only own Ana cuz i made her up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas smacked Ana the face again, harder this time. The shock shot her into the cold, wet snow bank.
"You've been seeing that Jack boy behind my back again! HAVEN'T YOU!" he shouted at her.
"No!" she lied, tears streaming down her face. "Honestly, I haven't seen him since you caught me last time!" Ana, was a pretty, Irish girl, with red hair and green eyes that shone brightly from the sun that was shining down.
Thomas raised his hand into the air again, ready to strike. "Tell me the truth! I know you're lying! I've seen you with him! I've seen you do things with him that you never do with me!"
"No! I'm sincere! I wouldn't lie to you!" cried Ana, her face tense with fear.
Tomas swore loudly and kicked the poor girl in the shins. "Now I won't tell you again! Stay away from him! If I see you with him again, I'm going to make you wish you two had never met!" He sped away, leaving Ana, crying and bruised in the snow.
Jack, a 16 year old boy, who had been on his way to see Ana, saw her sitting on the ice and ran over to her limp body. She was still crying. "Oh my lord. What happened to you?!?" he held her arm, trying to pull her up, but her shins we're bloody and weak.
"It was Thomas again. I don't think he can control it anymore. He's possessive. He doesn't want me anywhere near you." Ana sobbed.
Jack helped Ana limp into the abandoned warehouse they had planned to meet in, across the street. "We can go away from him. We don't need him. You don't need him. I'll take care of you." He smoothed back her hair and whispered in her ear.
"Jack... we have to stop this. I can't just leave. He gave me my job. I live in his house. I'm supposed to marry him." Ana whimpered.
"I know it's an arranged marriage, but if your father was still alive, may he rest in peace, do you think he would have wanted his only little girl being abused by this... this... this monster?!?!" he asked her, kissing her on the neck gently.
"No... I supposed he wouldn't." she wiped her eyes with the fringe on her dress.
"If he hadn't killed your brother, your brother would have killed him for hurting you. That's how he died, remember? I know you tried to put it out of your mind, but he's a mad man! He's hurt you and everyone you love."
"You're right. Lets run away!" Ana said, suddenly forgetting the consequences of her actions. "I want to get out of here as fast as we can! We'll go somewhere; somewhere where no one will ever find us!" She felt as though she we're in a love story and her fantasy was to run away with Jack, like some princess would, eloping with her lover.
Jack thought for a moment. "Where shall we go?" he asked.
"I've always wanted to go somewhere in the west," she said, excited, "lets go to... Santa Fe, New Mexico! I used to have a friend who grew up there when she was a little girl. She told me stories about the caves and caverns and mountains, and how the sun gets so big and so red in the morning, that it looks like its on fire..." she smiled to herself. "Lets go there."
"Alright, we'll go there" Jack grinned at her. "Ana..." Jack closed his eyes. "I love you so much. Nothing will ever part us. We will always be together." He put his arm around Ana. Their lips met passionately for only a few moments when they heard a shout from behind them.
"I KNEW IT!" it was Thomas. His face was an ugly shade of puce. "YOU'RE SEEIN THAT BOY AND I TOLD YOU THAT IF I EVER EVER CAUGHT YOU WITH HIM AGAIN, I'D MAKE YOU TWO WISH YOU'D NEVER MET!" he pulled a switch blade from his belt.
"Hey man, she doesn't love you! You've hurt everyone she's ever loved, including herself!" Jack shouted at him, backing up, hands raised in a defensive position.
"I don't care." Thomas said through gritted teeth. "She's mine and she will stay mine!" he lunged at Jack with the knife outstretched.
Quickly and without a second thought, Ana jumped in front of Jack. A sharp pain ran through her lower stomach. She heard a scream and realized it was her own. She fell to the floor, and blacked out.
...WAS I DUMB, OR WAS I BLIND, OR DID MY HEART JUST LOSE ITS MIND, WHY'D I GO, AND THROW OUR PERFECT DREAM AWAY...
When she awoke, it was dark and she was in a room. She tried to move her head, but nothing happened. She tried to move her arms, her legs, her toes, but once again, nothing happened. Suddenly, fear rushed through her.
"Jack...Jack??? Jack!?!?!" she shouted. Maybe it was too late, she thought. But Jack rushed into the room at her call and then knelt next to the bed she lay in.
...LOOKING BACK, I'LL NEVER KNOW, HOW I EVER LET YOU GO, BUT DESTINY COULD SEE WE DESERVED TO HAVE ANOTHER DAY...
"Whether you know if or not, you just did something noble, that most people wouldn't even think of doing. I'm not sure if it was brave, or stupid." He laughed, but Ana didn't. "Maybe its not time to make jokes." He straightened himself up.
...LOVE LED US HERE, RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE BELONG, WE FOLLOWED A STAR, AND HERE WE ARE, NOW HEAVEN SEEM SO NEAR, LOVE LED US HERE...
"What happened?" she asked him
Jack sighed. "When Thomas went to stab me, you jumped in front of me, saving my life, but ruining yours." He sighed again and closed his eyes. "The doctor's say that you'll be paralyzed from your neck down for the rest of your life."
... I CONFESS, ITS SAD BUT TRUE, I LOST MYSELF WHEN I LOST YOU, BUT I HELD YOUR MEMORY THROUGH EACH LONELY NIGHT...
Ana just gaped at Jack. "You mean, I'll never be able to dance again, or walk again, or run again?" she asked, teary eyed.
...LETS FORGET WHAT'S GONE BEFORE, NOW WE BOTH KNOW SO MUCH MORE, AND WE'VE BEEN GIVEN ANOTHER CHANCE, TO MAKE IT WORK OUT RIGHT...
"No. The knife hit one of the central nerves in your something or other system. I forgot exactly what the doctor said. Not that I understood much of it."
Ana was trying to be cool and make the best of it. "Well... at least I'm still here with you." She smiled at Jack. Jack didn't smile back at her.
"Ana... you're not going to live much longer. You only have less than an hour. Your lungs can't keep breathing by themselves." Jack closed his eyes and let one, slow tear out of one of his eyes. He didn't bother to wipe it away.
...LOVE LED US HERE, RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE BELONG, WE'VE FOLLOWED A STAR, AND HERE WE ARE, NOW HEAVEN SEEM SO NEAR, LOVE LED US HERE...
Ana began to cry. She couldn't move her hands to her eyes to wipe the tears away, so Jack did it for her. "Shhhhh baby don't cry." Jack said stroking her hair. "It'll be ok. I still love you, no matter what. And I'll be here."
"Don't leave me Jack! I don't want to be alone. Not now and not ever. I want you to always be here!" Ana sobbed.
...NOW I KNOW THAT LIFE CAN TAKE YOU BUY SURPRISE, AND SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR FEET...
"I'm not going to leave you. I'm here. You're going to be ok. You're going to be ok. We'll be together forever." But even though Jack wanted to believe the words he was saying, he knew they we're false. She was dying. His one and only love, was dying before him, and he could do nothing but wish it was him instead.
"Jack..." Ana gasped. "its getting harder to breath..." beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.
...DID THIS HAPPEN TO US, OR ARE WE JUST DREAMING...
Jack picked her hand up and patted it softly while humming a song his mother had once sung to him when he was a small child. He smiled to himself. "Do you know what this song is called that I'm humming?" he asked her.
"No..." she gasped again.
...WE FOLLOWED A STAR, AND HERE WE ARE, NOW HEAVEN SEEMS SO NEAR, LOVE LED US HERE...
"Its called 'Santa Fe'. Someday, I'll teach it to you. And we can sing it when we're in New Mexico." He wanted to, but he knew he never would.
...SO TAKE MY HAND...
"Jack... I don't want to die... I don't want to die..." her eyes watered again. She was screaming it now. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Jack began to cry also. "You won't die! We'll be together forever!" he bit his lip to keep from crying anymore. But Ana's voice grew hoarse until it was but a dull whisper.
"Jack..."
...AND HAVE NO FEAR...
"What is it baby?" he said holding back his tears with all of his strength.
"Take my bandana. Wear it always around your neck. Then I'll always be with you." She took a very slow deep breath.
...WE'LL BE ALRIGHT...
Jack lost control of his tears. They began to stream down his face. "We'll be together forever anyways! Won't we? Won't we!" But Ana's eyes closed and her hand became cold.
...LOVE LED US...
Jack slowly put her hand down onto the bed and felt her lips with his fingertips. They were cold and icy. He kissed them one last time. He undid her bandana, and put it around his neck. He would keep it there always. And someday, he vowed to go to Santa Fe, to live the dream he once shared with his first love.
...HERE...