A/N: I just saw Newsies on Broadway, and I LOVED it! The music was really amazing, and the story was fantastic too :) I especially loved the relationship between Jack and Crutchie. So... I wrote this little one-shot. Takes place after "Seize the Day," while Crutchie is on his way to the Refuge. Enjoy!

Crutchie was terrified. He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't. He was terrified, and he was injured. Everything hurt- his stomach, where he got the wind knocked out of him; his face, where he could feel a black eye forming; his good leg, which was probably bruised; mostly though, his bad leg, which felt like it was on fire.

These injuries meant nothing, however, compared to how scared Crutchie was feeling. He had heard Jack's stories about the Refuge, seen his drawings, and now... now he was going to see it in person. He was going to see everything Jack had talked about, all the things he still had nightmares about.

So of course Crutchie was scared. Of course he was shaking; of course he could feel tears leaking out of his eyes.

To tell the truth, Crutchie didn't know how he was going to survive. Kids didn't, he knew that from Jack, so why would he? He was a cripple, and an injured one at that. He struggled to move without his crutch on a normal day; how would he now?

Jack would try to get him out, Crutchie knew that. That's just who Jack was. But even that thought couldn't keep the doubts from creeping into Crutchie's mind. What if Jack couldn't get him out? What if he didn't even come? What if... what if Crutchie died before Jack got to him?

Shaking harder now, Crutchie frantically shut off that train out thought, turning to happy thoughts instead. He thought about the time he spent on the roof with Jack. Of the practical jokes he pulled on the other newsies with Race. Of the day Specs tried (and failed) to teach him to dance. Of meeting Dave and Les, and helping them sell their first papes. He thought of all the guys- of his family. For, Crutchie realized with a smile, that's what they were. A family.
So yeah, Crutchie was scared. And yeah, he was in pain, and he still had doubts. But now, he had hope too. He knew he had a family who cared about him, and they wouldn't let anything happen to him. Crutchie felt weak, but the mere thought of his family gave him strength. And he knew, before he even got the dreaded Refuge, that he would be okay. His family would come, and he would stay strong until they did.

A/N: Short, I know... but, um... review? please? tell me what you liked, and, more importantly, what you didn't!
and I have a few more Newsies stuff planned, so look out for those!