A/N: Hello, all! So, this story is in response to a suggestion, as well as a challenge. GraceLeah07 pm'ed me with a couple suggestions for stories. Then, biankies challenged me to write a story where no newsie gets hurt (although they can get sick), because that seems to be my modus operandi. So, I squished both together, and decided to create this! This will (hopefully) be a two-parter, and will contain lots of brother/sister feels! I haven't really ever tried writing prompts so far, so I hope this goes well, and y'all like it! (And yes, I will be putting out a new chapter of WJC and TLC soon…I just have to finish them. )

DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN NEWSIES AND NEVER WILL I JUST HAVE A HARD TIME NOT WHUMPING THEM!

Prompts:

"I think that you should write a one shot where Juliet gets injured or sick (maybe she slips on some ice during winter while selling papes, or she catches a cold and insists she is okay and keeps selling). Then, she gets confronted by her older brothers when they find out. (I just love the whole older brother/younger sister concept and I love how you express it compared to other authors on here)." (GraceLeah07)

"You write a story without hurting a Newsie? Don't make me laugh, I don't think it's possible. You have a serious problem, my friend. Although I will dare you to write one. And not just a one-shot either. I mean a story with at least two chapters where no one gets hurt." (biankies)

Please enjoy "I Ain't Sick" Chapter 1!

It was a blustery March day in Manhattan. The winds were flying up from all directions, and the rain was intermittently splattering down. This meant that the newsies were constantly ducking in and out of cover, silently cursing their predicament. However…the younger newsies were not yet of an age where splashing around in puddles wasn't fun. Jack had repeatedly told them not to, as the chilliness and wetness and just general nastiness of the day combined with the shock of puddle water could lead to them getting sick, and they needed every newsie out and selling. The three (Les, Snitch, and Juliet) would listen for all of about ten minutes…before forgetting completely and beginning to splash around again, earning death glares from Jack and Race, and exasperated sighs from Davey and Crutchie.

Finally, Juliet grew tired of splashing, and focused just on selling. She sold for at least ten minutes straight, with a small group of people passing by. Not too many people were out on the streets due to the weather, which always frustrated the newsies. If Manhattaners weren't outside, they shouldn't have to be, either! It was their job to be out, however, and so they stood out in the wind and rain, grumbling the entire time. After about ten minutes, Juliet sat down on a nearby window ledge, slowly stretching out her legs as she did so. She zoned out for a while, before noticing a shimmering gleam in the water. She looked down towards a nearby puddle to see a handful of coins resting on the sidewalk. Juliet didn't know whose they were, so she figured that it would be all right if she took them. She walked over towards the coins, but didn't watch where she was walking. She stepped right on a huge puddle of water…that also happened to be right on the curb of the sidewalk. She immediately slipped, and went down-hard.

"Juliet!"

"I didn' mean ta, Jack-I slipped! I wasn' tryin' ta do nuthin' else!"

Her older brother rolled his eyes. She knew that he didn't believe her, but it was true-she had only slipped. The problem was, however, that she was now completely and utterly soaked, and they would most likely be out selling for at least two more hours. She groaned quietly, sneezing almost immediately afterwards. "Ugh…I cain't be sick. Jack would kill me iffn' I was, an' so would da rest a da boys. Which means…I's not sick. No matter wat da boys think…I ain't sick. I cain't be sick."

That night, when they got back home, Juliet was still freezing. She was also sneezing rather frequently, and coughing whenever she thought her older brothers couldn't hear her. Of course, she wasn't as good as hiding it as she wanted to be, and they heard it every single time. Earlier, Jack had thought that she was just a bit cold from the puddle she had "fallen" in, and that she would be back to normal by now.

Now?

Now he was actually worried.

Thankfully, Crutchie seemed to read his best friend's mind, and slowly sat down next to Juliet, gently nudging her shoulder as he did so. "'Ey…you all right, Juliet?" The younger girl immediately nodded, although her response was rather ruined by the fact that immediately afterwards, she shuddered a little, and let out a harsh cough. "Yeah, I's all right…jus' a bit tired. Nuthin' a bit a sleep won' help." She tried to get up and walk away, but Crutchie placed a hand on top of hers, preventing her from rising. "Juliet, we can hear ya coughin' from a mile away, an' ya haven' stopped shiverin' since we all got back 'ere. I know ya's not alright…why don' ya jus' tell us wat's goin' on?"

"I cain't…" Juliet sighed quietly, looking around the room-anywhere but her older brother's eyes-with slightly glazed eyes. "I's alright, Crutchie. I's a bit cold, yeah, but who wouldn' be, wen dey slipped an' fell in a puddle?"

"Dat was three hours ago."

"So? I is all right, Crutch…" She cut off as another series of coughs racked her small frame. For at least a minute, Juliet sat there coughing, while Crutchie gently rubbed her shoulders. Once she finished, she groaned, holding her head in her hands. Her older brother nudged her again, but she shook her head, not responding. Crutchie looked over to his three older brothers, nodding as he met their questioning gazes.

Juliet was sick. Definitely sick.

And she was refusing to tell them.

Crap.

"'Ey, Juliet…ya need ta go git some rest, alright?" Crutchie said. "Ya's dead on ya feet, an' iffn' I didn' know better, I'd say ya is sick." Her head shot up at that remark, but she almost immediately put it back down in her hands, her head pounding at the slightest movement. All four of her older brothers had caught her reaction, and had almost identical expressions of worry and frustration on their faces. "Come on, Juliet-let's git'cha off ta sleep, alright?" Crutchie queried, standing up and holding a hand out to the younger girl, who shyly took it. Before they got too far away, Jack darted towards them. He laid a gentle hand on Juliet's shoulder, before tilting her face up to face him, inwardly wincing at the heat coming off of his younger sister. "Git some rest, alright?" he queried softly. "We don' wanna see ya git sick…we need someone ta keep Romeo from goin' nuts."

"I heard that!"

"Ah shush, you!" Race jokingly called back. Juliet finally nodded up at Jack, leaning into his touch a little. Jack smiled gently at her, before stepping back as Crutchie helped her off. As soon as they were out of earshot, Jack sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "So she's sick…an' she's definitely gonna say dat she's not…"

"And try to sell tomorrow. While she's sick. Why do people ever think that that's a good idea? She's just going to feel even worse!" Davey murmured frustratedly, pacing as if he was going to follow his siblings. Race just sighed concernedly, looking in the direction they had gone, before making eye contact with Jack, as did Davey.

"Wat're we gonna do tomorrow, Jack?" Jack took a few moments to reply, sorting through all the variables as he did so. "I think…I think we's gonna have ta let her sell for a bit. Ya know how stubborn Juliet is-iffn' she hears us sayin' ta not do sumthin', she's gonna do it jus' cause she can. She won' stay away from sellin' unless she realizes herself dat she's sick…which means we's gonna have ta let her wear herself out."

Great.

Just great.

A/N 2: Well…I hope you all enjoyed this! The second chapter should be up within the next few days…it's only a two-shot, so it shouldn't take too long. Hopefully I'll be able to put in some time on WJC and TLC as well… I've been able to lounge around today basically since 2:30pm, so… Win! I'll probably have some time tomorrow…besides studying for a philosophy quiz. Ugh… I'm also sorry that this is so short…it's kind of nice to write a shorter story (this won't be as long as my other stories, since it's just a two-parter), but it's also weird to write a chapter that's not over 2,000 words. Haha. (GraceLeah07, I hope you don't mind that this is a two-parter instead of a one-shot…I wanted to accept biankies's challenge, and she wanted it more than one chapter, so… )

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all soon!

God bless,

1monster2