- Jack -

"Whatcha writin?" Jack leaned on the doorframe of the general office, known as the floor, of the New York Sun. It was filled with desks, most of which were empty, except for hers. Katherine's forehead was wrinkled, eyes intent on whatever she was typing out. It was just past noon and Jack's stomach rolled with hunger. It had been a crazy morning and he was busting to tell Katherine about it. She looked up and it was obvious she hadn't expected to be interrupted. Once she saw him though she smiled and his stomach rolled with emotion. Damnit, just a smile and you want to kiss her, yous got it bad Kelly.

"Oh, a thing. But what are you doing here?"

Jack shrugged and walked towards her desk, touching things here and there to disguise his intention of, and his roaring curiosity to, see her "thing". He knew he'd be successful, he was good at distracting from his real intention to get what he wanted. "I talked to Davey this morning while we were waiting for the World to open the gates. He said I should take my talents with 'more seriousness, Jackie, you could make it as a cartoonist. Check out your options at least before you decide to shelf the idea.'"

Katherine stood, her chair wheeling backward from the suddenness of the action. He had her laugh at his imitation of Davey and that felt good. "Oh, Jack, that is wonderful!"

"Yeah, I don't think that I could do anything more than hawk your Father's papers. Besides, the Journal has better cartoons." He was close to her desk now. He casually placed his right hand on the desk and leaned all his weight onto it. This put their faces at the same level. "So I was thinking since I met Hearst Jr. I could see if they were willing to offer me a job at least on a trial basis. That's what Davey said to ask. But I wanted to know what a journalist thought of the idea and since we was planning on meeting for lunch..." He reached out a hand to trace her jawline. He was still going to see what she had written but being this close to her had other perks. She blushed from his touch and Jack felt his heart stutter. He'd made her that lovely shade of pink.

"So you thought you'd ask me? I don't work for the Journal."

He moved to sit on the edge of her desk, his hand moving cup the back of her neck, his fingers tangling with the hairs at the nape of her neck. "Well, you're the only journalist I really know."

She smirked and leaned into him, placing a hand on his chest. He almost hoped she couldn't feel his heart racing and almost hoped she could so she'd know what he felt when he was close to her. He looked around the office and seeing that they were alone he leaned close and kissed her gently. She hummed against his lips and he smiled against hers. He broke it off before he got so entangled he forgot where they were. He glanced at the typewriter and reaching around her grabbed the paper in there.

"Now what's this thing you were writing?"

"No, Jack, that's not for you to see…"

He scanned the page but stopped to actually read when he saw his name.

I can't explain to you how I feel about Jack. It's not that he confuses me it's just that I didn't think that after knowing a person for only a week I could feel like this...just a week Constance! and already I love him. He's nothing like any of the others. Even good ol' Martin seems dull compared to the brash, plain spoken, honest and open way he talks and looks at me. He's

"Oh ho, I do think this is for me to see. Tell me Miss Plumber. Who is this Constance you're writing to about me and more importantly who's this Martin character?" He still had a hand on her neck. He moved it to her waist when she tried to squirm away and grab the sheet of paper.

"Give me that! Constance is my sister. Martin is a gentleman I know who has expressed interest in courting me."

Jack felt his stomach clench. "A suitor?"

Katherine stopped squirming and looked at him. Even he had heard the jealousy in his voice.

Her forehead creased "Yes."

He smirked at the edge in her voice. "You said there was no other boys."

"Martin is a gentleman and is 27 so he's not a boy."

"27. Are you serious, Ace?"

"Yes. Listen, Jack, you have to understand that all of my suitors have been chosen by my Father."

Jack grinned. "Almost all."

Katherine grinned back. "Are you implying what I think you are, Mr. Kelly?"

Jack wanted to crow as she settled back into his embrace. "I think we went over this last night."

"We did, I guess."

"Besides you told your sister your in love with me. I think it's only natural that…"

Katherine shoved him and finally managed to free herself and grab the letter back. "I knew I didn't want you to see that."

She looked put out. Jack was at a loss as to why. He knew she loved him. Hell, he loved her right back. Was it love like what his parents had had? Not yet. But there was time for that. All the nights and days of forever. Katherine crumbled the page and threw it in her very full wastebasket.

"Hey, Ace, c'mon."

"No, Jackie, you know what I think I am going to work through my lunch break. I've got a deadline and all so I think you better go."

Jack frowned. "Ok, if you really wants me to."

He wasn't ready to leave. She'd been in his dreams last night and his thoughts all day. Now she stood in front of him, eyes fixed on the ground where the paper lay crumbled. Jack leaned forward but she wouldn't look up. Smart, beautiful, independant, brave Katherine Plumber refused to meet his gaze. Her shoulders heaved and she crossed her arms over her stiff white blouse.

"Yeah, I want you to leave."

Jack stood, wiped his face with the back of his hand and then crammed his hands into his pants pockets. "I'll go. I mean first I'm going to stop by the editors office to see if I can get an interview for a job here too but then I'll go. You have a nice day Miss Plumber."

He walked backwards as he talked and then turned away. He refused to turn and see if she watched him leave. She probably had. He had a way of making people look. He did indeed stop by the editors office and the lovely secretary, a young girl of 20 or so, told him to come back tomorrow first thing and he would have an appointment. He assumed his name and that of Miss Plumber helped him score in that regard. It was still early in the day. Jack grabbed something small to eat and headed out to hawk what he hoped were his last issues of the World. He tried to keep Pulitzer's lovely daughter out of his head.

"Jack! How'd it go?"

He turned to see Davey and Les walking his way. "Not so good."

Les crossed his arms petulantly. "They wouldn't give you a job?"

"Huh? What? oh, I dunno. Editor wasn't in. I have an appointment tomorrow."

Davey adjusted the strap of his bag. "Then what didn't go so good?"

"Lunch or lack thereof with Miss Katherine Plumber."

Les had run off to sell a pape. Davey just stood there frowning. "What happened? You said she was head over heels for you."

"She wrote as much to her sister."

"You read her private letter to his sister?"

"Jus' a few lines about yours truly."

Dave gave a sigh that indicated long suffering heave. "Jackie, how have you ever scored with a girl?"

Jack punched Dave in the arm. "Cause both my folks taught me well."

Dave rubbed his arm and glared at Jack. "Well, I don't profess to understand girls but I think they like to keep their private things private."

Jack smiled with pride at the wound he'd inflicted on his friend, this guy who was becoming as close to him as Crutchie. "Well, I am going to sell this last bunch over by the theatre. I's got a backdrop to paint an' then maybe I can ask Medda about Katherine. I was thinking I'll let her cool off and remember how boring life without Jack Kelly is then I'll make a stop at her place before heading in tonight."

Dave nodded. "I gotta get Les home. My Dad's looking up but my Mam doesn't like how tired Les has been looking. I'll meet you at the theatre though with food from home. Mam always makes something extra for you and Crutchie after all you've done for us."

"Good. I love your ma's cooking."

Jack took off down the streets hollering headlines, selling papers and trying not to think about Katherine. He missed her and all they had done was disagree that morning. He got to the theatre, sold his last paper to a man coming out of it and headed to the back. His Santa Fe hills were half done. When he arrived he couldn't find the will to keep going. They looked wrong, false. He sat, cap in hand and tried to conjure up the feelings he'd always felt for his dreamland in order to paint it. The idea of freedom, space, a fresh start in the fresh air. He closed his eye and thought about somewhere clean, green and pretty. Pretty like Katherine's eyes, smile, hair. No, not Katherine, Santa Fe. Belonging, being wanted...away from the deadlines and headlines. The opposite of New York. No matter how much he tried to picture the hills and the waving grass all he could see in his mind was Katherine. The way she stood. The way her blouse bunched at her elbows so she wouldn't get ink on the sleeves. He could see the the freshness of her face. He felt the want to hold her in his arms, wanted to feel her hold him back. She was such a part of this world and yet was not. She was her own person, her own world unto herself. That was the only place he wanted to belong to. He opened his eyes and smiled. Picking up his brush he got to work on the back drop. As he mixed colors and outlined and filled in spaces he got lost in the actions. The world faded. When he finished he knew he stank and was covered in paint but he was satisfied. Santa Fe lay before him, contained in a canvas and out of his head. He didn't need it anymore. He had Katherine.

"Jack you down here?"

Jack turned to see Dave in the doorway, brown paper bag in hand. "Dave! What didja bring? I'm starvin'."

"Mam made turkey so she put it into sandwiches for us."

"Mfuf." Jack swallowed hi bite before continuing. "You gotta thank your Ma for this. I swears this is better than anything they serve at those uptown joints." Jack then proceeded to wolf down the food.

Dave didn't reply, only went over to look at the painting. "This is good Jackie, one of your best."

"Do you even know anything about art?"

"No, do you?"

Jack smiled at the sarcasm in Dave's voice. "Har-har, I know how to do it dim-wit."

Dave chuckled at the insult. "Just take the damn compliment."

"Fine. Thank you Davey."

"You're welcome. You talk to Medda?"

Jack frowned. "Why are you so interested?"

They'd had the entirety of the former conversation with their backs to each other. David looking at the painting, Jack cleaning his brushes and eating his sandwich. They turned to face each other as the tension in the room rose.

Davey had frown lines between his eyebrows. "Jackie, I just don't see a girl like her falling for a fella like you. I've met her type and I've met your type. They don't always mix well."

Jack clenched his fist, resisting the urge to knock out Davey's teeth. "An' jus' what's wrong with a fella like me anyways?"

David turned back to the painting. Jack could see his friends shoulders tense. Davey wanted to punch him just as much as he wanted to punch Davey. "You've got no family, no real job and no home."

Jack staggered back, reeling from the comment. He wished Davey had just punched him. His voice rose as he spoke. "That was below the belt. Hell, I had a family and a home like you once. you know what happened? I lost 'em. And dammit I'll when get a better job I'll have those things again. Don't you dare belittle me, Mr. Hoity-Toity I've got a family and a house, not after the scrapes we's been in."

"What in the world is going on back here?" Medda, decked out in her green satin robe, came out from stage left. She looked from Jack, a single eyebrow raised, to Davey. "As I recall you two should still be on a victory streak. Now what are you fighting about?"

Jack had decided against getting Medda involved in his business with Katherine. She'd be more pleased than a mother hen when she found out and he wanted to do this on his own. So he kept his trap shut. Nothing was stopping Davey however so Jack wasn't surprised when the other fella spoke.

"Katherine."

Medda just hummed and nodded. "Right."

Jack wasn't sure what had prevented him from punching Davey before but hearing the other boy say her name made Jack want to deck him then and there. Medda must have seen his intention because she reached out a hand to prevent him.

"She's told me she loves me." Jack spoke, letting pride leak into his voice. "Davey here thinks I won't make good on that."

Medda shot him a severe look and turned to Davey. "Well, there you have it. Jack is certain in his attempts to win Katherine. Davey, you'll ruin your friendship with both of them if you try to get between that. That's all I am going to say. Now, scat, both of you so I can lock this place up for the night. No show tonight and I want to get to bed."

Jack walked out and heard Davey thank Medda and follow him out into the alley way. The cool air went right the Jack's head and he started to calm down. "Listen Dave…"

Dave cut him off. "Can you even trust her considering she lied to us about her Father."

Jack nodded. "I know... but she lives on her own and has little to do with her old man. 'Sides I don't think I need to defend myself to you..."

The night air had not calmed Davey down. He surprised Jack, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him into the sidewall of the theatre and looked him dead in the eye. "Dammit Jack, would you just listen for a goddamn minute. If you insist and go and see her tonight just be aware that she is not used to fellas like you.."

Jack pushed Davey off of him and straightened his shirt. "Yeah, I know that. I ain't stupid."

"I never said you were. You're a good friend Jackie, like a I said before, this could go south fast. And I ain't going to wipe your sorry ass off the ground."

They stood there, tense, for a half moment.

"You're going to go see aren't you?"

Jack nodded.

Davey sighed. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Thank you Ma for the sandwich."

"Goodnight Jackie."

"Goodnight Dave."

Jack took off through the streets of New York and made his way the Mrs. Temple's boarding house. He climbed the fire escape. The sash was drawn and the window closed at Katherine's room. If he was going to make it a habit to visit her, and he was, they would have to do something about the closed window. His brain was thinking again about what Dave had said and about how Katherine had acted earlier. She wasn't in her rooms when he arrived but came in seconds after, a black silhouette thanks to the curtain, and sat at what he assumed was her desk from the click-clack of keys that came through the thin glass of the window. He sat and pulled out his pocket pad and pencil to sketch the scene and stop his brain from thinking. He hummed while he worked, habit picked up from working backstage at a theatre.

"What the hell are you doing out here? You scared me half to death."

Jack looked up. Katherine was leaning on her window sill, her hair was pulled away from her face, hanging in a long braid down her shoulder. She was lovely in the light spilling from her room. He smirked. "That's quite a mouth you've got Ace. Do your folks know you talk like that?"

Her frown grew more severe. "Go away Jack."

Jack had been leaning against the back railing, legs sprawled in front of him. The way the escape was connected to the wall he'd have to step down to get into her apartments. Jack, put his drawing supplies in his pocket and slid around so he was lying flat on his stomach. Now their faces were level and inches away from each other. The color rose in Katherine's face.

"Give me one good reason why I should." Jack whispered, his breath moving the stray hairs that framed her face.

Katherine bit her lip. "Because I want you to."

Jack laughed lightly. "That's quite a mouth you've got Ace."

She went from pink to rose colored. Jack smirked.

"Go away."

"Why?"

"Because I want you too." This time she said it with less conviction.

"No, you don't."

Katherine sat back from the window and folded her arms across her chest. "I am still mad at you."

Jack stood and leaned against the doorframe. He was looking down at her from his full height and she had to strain her neck to look up at him. "Why are you mad?"

"You read the letter. That was a violation of my privacy."

Jack sighed and stepped away from the window. "Sweet peacock, it didn't say anything I didn't already know."

Katherine snorted, it was unfeminine but endearing. "Did you just say sweet peacock?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. It didn't say anything you didn't already know but I said it wasn't for you to see."

Jack could hear Davey's warnings in his head. "So then you need to keep things from me. Maybe because you already have a suitor? or suitors? I am sure those gentlemen have a better shot at getting you than I do. Hell, maybe you're engaged to one already. So, yeah, I think I better go."

Jack started to climb down when Katherine's hand on his elbow stopped him. "What are you on about? Of course I'm not engaged."

Jack looked up from his place on the ladder. "You've lied to me before."

Katherine narrowed her eyes. "Not about something like this. Not telling you my name was an attempt to keep my Father out of my life. Jack…" It was like she'd run out of words. She let go of his shoulder and stepped back onto the fire escape platform. He noticed her feet were bare. She'd had to of moved quickly to get out the window and stop him from leaving.

"Do you want me to go or not?"

Katherine bit her lip again and twisted her fingers. "Not."

He climbed the ladder slowly. They stood a few steps apart. "You aren't dressed to be outdoors."

"It's warm tonight."

Jack nodded. "Katherine, I love you an' I want to know if I have more than a chance with you." Her eyes got wide and her arms hung limp at her sides. Jack stepped closer and took her face in his hands. "I am serious. If I had my way we'd be married by the year's end. You said wherever I go you'll be said so an' I know you meant it. Something must've scared you or you'd be fine with me knowing you love me and that there is some competition out there."

He traced her features with his thumb and listened to her breathing. Katherine placed her palms on his chest and sighed. When she spoke there were tears in her voice but not on her face.

"Jack, I am scared. As much as you say guys like you don't get girls like me it's really the other way around. Girls like me don't get love. We get a successful husband, a fancy home and a small family. Or we get a career, a nice set of apartments, a bunch of spinster friends, and some niece to bestow our worthless fortune on. Last night and this morning and every moment really since we kissed that first time I have been scared. Scared that I am fooling myself."

Jack's brain had stopped thinking. He breathed, surprised that he'd held his breath since she'd said she was scared. "You really are an angel."

"I am not. I am incredibly human and very selfish to demand to have you."

Jack grinned. He pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Thank my stars you do."

They stood in each others arms for a moment. With each breath she took Jack allowed her words to sink into him. Her world was as foreign to him as Europe. But from the sounds of it it was not a world he wanted a part of. Sure, his folks had been dirt floor poor. He'd lost both an older brother and younger sister and a Mother to disease when he was barely nine. At the age of only 13, Jack had watched his Father, a man in his early forties, waste away like a man in his nineties. When he thought back, however, he remembered love. His parents had been crazy about each other. They'd been neighbors growing up from Irish and Belgian immigrant families. They'd gotten married young and started work younger. They were each others whole world. Jack had seen the city eat them alive but they had never faltered in their love. They'd fought but only because things were stressful. They'd always made up. Jack had seen kisses, hugs, and touches exchanged on a daily basis. Obviously, Katherine had not.

"Does this all overwhelm you?" She whispered into his shirt.

Jack shook his head against her forehead. "It feels as natural as second skin."

"Will you teach me?"

Jack stepped back. "What do you mean?"

Katherine was pink again and and she was gnawing her lip. He reached with his thumb coax it out of her mouth before she drew blood and then bent to kiss it lightly. He heard her breath hitch and then paused. They were a breath apart when he spoke. "Does this overwhelm you?"

Katherine eyes were like a cat in the headlights of a motor car. Jack breathed in and smelt her soap, her hair, her very essence. He closed his own eyes and when he opened them he kissed her. It was more intense than anything they had done up to that point. He leaned in so she was trapped between his and the wall. He moved her hands to link behind his head and then placed hand behind her head and another on her hip holding her still. He used his tongue to trace her lips and then fought her teeth to get in. He tasted her and coaxed her to taste him. The logic was faulty but he hoped that if he proved to her that overwhelming wasn't bad but very good then maybe he could chase away her fears. Her presence soothed his own fears. He feared he would disappear without a trace. That no one would know him and that he would never belong. He feared being dirtied by the city and eaten alive like his family. But Katherine believed in him and gave him something to believe in so he would not disappear, he would live and love and belong.

He sensed that she couldn't breathe anymore so he broke apart from her. He pressed his forehead to hers. He would not be able to do that again and still walk home comfortably.

Her eyes were dark, and bleary like she was waking from a dream. "God, Jack…"

"Being overwhelmed is fine." His voice was rough. She drew her hands down so they rested between them. Jack guessed she was trying to create space but that was not in his plan. She quivered against him and he felt it through every layer of her clothes. "Are you afraid?"

Katherine whimpered. "Hell yes."

Jack laughed, the rumble shaking them both. "Do I need to clean out that mouth?"

Katherine looked scared but curious. "Would you really…"

"Right now? Kiss you french style again? No."

She looked disappointed. Jack laughed again and she frowned up at him.

"Dear, sweet Ace, I would love to, truly, but I think I would ruin you."

Katherine's forehead wrinkled. She brought her fingers up to touch his lips. "Ruin?"

Jack moaned as she touched him lightly on the lips and resisted the temptation to lick her fingertips. "Yes, ruin. You really do need to learn about all this don't you."

"It sounds like you are belittling me." Her sharp tone didn't match the fascination on her face as she traced his features.

"I am not. I am stating a fact. You are very independant and grown up for a 17 minus 54 days heiress. But there are some things that you need to have told you."

Katherine fingers had left his jaw line and were twirling into his hair. "Well, you can tell me right?"

Jack laughed then, full body but very embarrassed. "Maybe, but not tonight. Tonight, I need to sleep and so do you."

"Do you really have an interview at the Sun tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"I am happy."

Jack smiled down at her and made to move but she literally had him by the short hairs and refused to let him move. "One more kiss. Like that other one."

Jack gave her a look. "That is not a good idea."

Katherine tightened her grip. "I can handle it."

There is was. The fierce side of her. The one that threatened to punch him only to kiss him full on the mouth. Jack growled and kissed her. She was the one who plunged her tongue into his mouth. Jack wanted better access to her mouth so he slipped his hands under her legs and hoisted her up onto his waist. He balanced his forearms against the brick wall on either side of her face. Despite her cumbersome skirts Katherine managed to get her legs around his waist. She was lighter that he expected. Her back was flush against the wall and her arms gripped his shoulders almost painfully. He let his mind quiet and let instinct take over. He didn't know how long they kissed but soon the passion began to ease. Katherine was new to this and began to shy. Jack brought her feet back to earth. He gently bit her lip before easing back. She looked tousled and dumbfounded. He felt himself growl yet again and then smirked.

"You can't handle this Ace. In the future you'd best listen."

Katherine bit her lip. "How…"

Jack smirked even more. "Practice and observation. Mostly observation. Now I have to leave or I'll end up ruining you. Good night my lovely angel, try to sleep."

Katherine nodded and Jack took off. He took a long way back to the newsies lodgings. It was past

11 pm. He climbed to his penthouse and wasn't surprised to see Crutchie waiting for him.

"Jack, you look pleased."

"That girl will be the end of me."

Crutchie laughed. "Hey, I heard you were going to go that artist job."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. What do you think?"

Crutchie laughed. "You know what I think."

Jack nodded.

"So no Santa Fe."

Jack had been waiting for that question since Crutchie had gotten back. It effectively killed the buzz he had from being with Katherine. Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"We've got family here now."

"You just don't want to leave Katherine."

Jack frowned. "She'd go with me if I asked but she belongs here. I guess I do to now."

Crutchie just looked at him. "Well, I better go get some sleep. See you around Jack."

And he was gone. Jack's brain wasn't thinking, it was spinning.. He collapsed on the pile of sack he had in the corner and looked up at the black sky. He should sleep. He should be tired. But there was Davey and his analytical warnings. Crutchie and his disappointment. Katherine and her naivete and perfect lips. He's thought things would go back to normal after the strike. He'd never been more wrong.

The sun would rise on a city that had been awake all night and a young man who had been awake just as long. Jack was pretty sure he had dozed briefly. But he was up and alert and thinking most of the night. Now he had a plan. He set off for the New York Sun and by the mid-morning he had the promise that they'd buy a weekly cartoon from him for the Sunday paper.

"I truly look forward to working together, Mr. Kelly."

Jack stood and shook Thomas Glendale's hand across the wide oak desk and gave him his best grin. "The feeling is mutual."

"We have one cartoonist already, Mr. Arthur Daniels. He does a daily cartoon for the morning paper. He can get you adjusted to office life. It's different from street life."

Jack chose to not take offense at the implication. This was business and Thomas Glendale was the boss. "Office life pays better."

tilted his head and looked at Jack over his round spectacles. He was a thin man in his forties, with greying black hair that was expertly styled and wearing a finely-tailored suit.

Jack smirked for a moment and then continued. "It pays better than street life and even shop life. however my first job is still on the streets. I plan on starting on the docks tomorrow."

Glendale quirked an eyebrow. "I have a feeling I just signed on more than I expected."

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. "But you won't be disappointed."

Part one of the plan was finished. The next bit would be harder. He had to walk onto the newsroom floor and over to Arthur Daniels, introduce himself and not distract Katherine so very much. He was certain she had not slept last night anymore than he had. He knew she'd be bursting with questions but he wasn't going to answer them. That didn't fit the plan. He'd washed up that morning and worn his best set of clothes. They weren't fine like Glendale's but then again he was a poor artist and a former newsie. He'd combed his hair and had taken his hat off when he'd come in. He wasn't wearing a tie but those things were like nooses. He winked at the secretary as he made his way to the newsroom. Her name was Caroline and was cute but definitely older than he was. He pushed open the doors and no one looked up so he breathed comfortably. He noted the drawing board to the left of the room by a window and the short fellow crouched over it. He approached and cleared his throat.

"You Arthur Daniels?"

He had to be in his thirties, a scrawny guy, a head shorter than Jack with ink all over his hands and a depth in his eyes that was surprising. "Who's asking?"

"Name's Jack Kelly."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "The Newsie union leader?"

Jack smirked. "The sunday cartoonist for the New York Sun."

They took a moment to size each up before Arthur shook Jack's hand. "Pull up a chair and show me what you can do."

Jack obliged. He sketched Arthur bending over his drawing board with the caption "hard at work" and handed to his new deskmate. The older man grinned like a schoolboy.

"You're good, kid, but that doesn't mean you're cut out for office life."

Jack gave the same reply he'd given to Glendale. "I ain't but this is just a side job. I'm planning to work the docks. 'Sides this pay better."

Arthur smiled. "And the view's better."

Jack turned to see where Arthur was looking. Katherine sat at her desk, chewing a pencil and decidely not looking their direction.

"Has she looked this way?"

Arthur grinned. "The entire time you sketched. You know her?"

"All too well."

Arthur nodded. Everyone knew Katherine had covered the strike and even helped them win. Jack made sure his tone made it clear that wasn't why he knew her. Arthur seemed to understand.

"You gots a place to stay?"

Jack broke his gaze from Katherine. "I'm still staying at the Lodgings but I'll find another place soon enough.."

Arthur was sketching again. "You got plans?"

Jack sat down and started fiddling with the pencils. "Too many of them."

Arthur looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Take a moment and write them down or you'll forget them."

Jack looked at Arthur. Maybe it was because they were both artists. Maybe he saw that Arthur was originally a street fella not an office fella. Maybe he had already thought of writing his plan down but dismissed only to have it said out loud to him. Whatever it was, Jack grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down his plans. As he did a commotion on the floor drew his attention. A messenger boy gave in carrying a bouquet of red roses in a simple glass vase. The delivery was made to none other than Miss Katherine Plumber. Katherine's color drained from her face as she pulled out the card and read it. Everyone hooted for a bit but then they went back to their business. Katherine was reading the small card, chewing her lip and twisting the ends of her hair.

"Does Miss Plumber generally receive flowers?"

Arthur gave Jack a significant look. "Yes."

Katherine looked up and met Jack's gaze across the. She looked petrified. Jack quirked an eyebrow and sauntered over to see what was wrong.

Katherine held out the card for him to see. "They're a gift from Martin congratulating me on getting a regular column."

Jack looked from her to the small card in her hands to the flowers. He shrugged. "That's nice."

"Are you really going to work here?" Katherine put the card in her trash bin.

Jack nodded. "Part time. I'll also be working the docks."

Katherine looked up at him, confused. "Really?"

Jack nodded. "They can only pay me for a weekly cartoon and that's not enough to live on. I ain't hawking papers anymore."

Katherine nodded. "Alright."

Jack smiled. "Keep the flowers. They brighten this place up."

Katherine started to chew her lip again and Jack crammed his hands into his pockets to fight the urge to touch her face. "If you really think so."

"I do. Now I gotta go. See you around Plumber." He started to walk away.

"Jack!" Her voice drew everyone's attention.

He turned, but kept walking backwards, out of the office. "I'm due somewhere else."

Katherine made a frustrated sound. "Fine."

"See you around Plumber."

"Good-bye Jack Kelly."

Jack stopped by Arthur's desk where he'd left his plan. Jack knew his new friend had read the sheet of paper. Arthur's look told him that the plan was good. So Jack decided to put it into motion.

July had become August during the strike. With summer ending and his 18th birthday approaching Jack thought back to the original piece Katherine had written about the strike.

"Watching those boys storm the gates of the World was a moment to capture, a moment when boys became men..."

He didn't think he'd end up different when he'd told Davey they should become a union. But he was. He was a working man, no longer a newsie but a stevedore, loading and unloading freighters that docked on the East River.

Often in the early hours of the morning, as he lugged crates on and off ships that dock along the East River, Jack let his brain think about the night he'd spent in Pulitzer's cellar. Decide - cowboy or convict. Santa Fe, freedom, space and air. The Refuge, imprisonment, suffocation and chains. Either way, it was abject surrender of the one cause that made him feel like he was more than a small life in a big town. He chosen neither. He'd been defiant and obnoxious and demanding. He'd lost Santa Fe in the process but he'd been rewarded with Katherine.

"Where do you go Kelly?"

Jack slung a sack of flour over his shoulder and turned to face the speaker. "Whatcha mean, Donoghue?"

Owen Donoghue had befriended Jack from the first. He was as tall as Jack but a deal broader, with black hair and blue-grey eyes. A native Irishman, trying to save up to send for his wife. The other Irishmen called him Selkie. He had a mouth and liked a joke. He was a fella to be close to though because even the Germans who worked the dock didn't mind talking to Owen.

Donoghue grabbed a sack like Jack fell into step with him. "You go inta your head an' stay there the entire time we work. Some of the guys say you think yer better than us because yer a union leader an all."

Jack smirked. "Naw, I jus' got a lot on my mind."

Owen nodded. "I respect that and that's why I told them to shut their traps or we'd do it for 'em."

Jack laughed out loud. "You sure know how to make friends."

"I certainly hope I do. Why do you think I talk so much? I don't love the sound of my voice that much but I know if I don't talk no one will. And then hows things supposed to get better."

Jack set down his load and started back for another. "You read the Sun."

Owen nodded. "I am startin' to really like those Sunday cartoons."

Jack winked. "75 cents a sketch. That's how I am able to afford that room across from yours."

Owen smirked. "And I am glad you do. I am thinking of starting to rent that parlor out front."

Jack frowned as he bent to grab another sack. "Why?"

"I want to start having meeting there."

Jack froze and looked Owen dead in the eye. "You want to start a union."

Owen stood his ground and look Jack square in the eyes. "Me, you and Dave."

There was no room for arguing in Owen's voice. Jack pulled a hand through his hair. The newsboys union was getting itself organized and Jack figured that by winter he would be able to be only marginally involved as an advisor and friend to the boys. Dave's dad had gotten better and returned to work which allowed Dave and Les to return to school. Les still hawked afternoon papers but Davey had his sights set on Law School which Jack thought was brilliant.

Owen placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We won't do anything that doesn't need to be done. I might be Irish but I'm not a socialist. I just want there to be a space to talk out our differences so's we're guaranteed a united voice if we ever need it."

Jack nodded. He didn't understand how he got pulled into situations like this but he did. "A place we can make sure we stand united if it ever comes to needing to strike."

Owen squeezed his shoulder. "A way to take care of our own."

That sounded like something Jack wanted in on. "Alright then. Come to dinner at the Jacobs with me and us three will talk in out."

And so it began. Owen, Jack and a second generation German stevedore by the name of Alois Feldt, pooled their money and got the title to the common parlor that linked their separate rooms. This gave them the right to hold private parties and meeting there to talk with their fellow workers. Dave began to study the books to make sure everything was done legally. Owen brought in the Irish, Alois the Germans and Jack united them as New Yorkers.