AN: I finally got to my favorite song! I'm so happy! =D I changed a few things to fit Leah's character and some of the things that she's had to deal with before she was brought into this story. Don't worry; all will become clear in time. I hope you enjoy!

On another note, I've completely finished writing this story! All of the documents are now uploaded onto my account, and I'm still planning to update weekly and work on other stories in the meantime. I'll be tweaking a few chapters here and there, but other than that it's completely finished =D

Disclaimer: I do not work for Disney (unfortunately), and I'm not getting paid by writing this story in any way whatsoever. Only three characters in this story are mine.

Chapter Four: Santa Fe

Time: Mid-June, 1889

"What's going on there? Out! Out! Out!"

We turned to see a woman wearing a pink dress walking down the wooden stairs, using a feathery fan to try to shoo us out. She was wearing a skimpy, lavender dress, heavy makeup, and she also had curly red hair tied into a bun.

Jack didn't look worried, and so he just walked right up to her with a "You wouldn't kick me out without a kiss goodbye, wouldja Medda?"

The woman, Medda, smiled as her frown vanished almost instantly. "Oh Kelly." She said. "Where ya been, kid? Oh, I miss seeing you up in the balcony."

Jack held both of her hands in his and kissed them close to the knuckles. "Hanging on your every word." He seemed to remember his audience, and so he turned to us.

"So Medda," he said, pointing to each of us as he said our names. "This is David, Leah, Ginger, Chuck, and Les. And this is the greatest star of the vaudeville stage today, Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish Meadowlark."

Medda, the smile not leaving her face, curtsied deeply. "Welcome, gentlemen, ladies." She said in a Swedish accent. It was at that point that Medda noticed Les and started fawning over him. "Oh, what do we have here? Oh, aren't you the cutest little thing that ever was? Yes you are."

I wasn't sure if Les liked the attention he was getting, but then he started coughing again as he held up one of our unsold newspapers. "Buy me last pape, lady?" I had to hand it to him, this bit was even better than his demonstration to Jack earlier. Medda seemed to think so, too.

"Oh, you are good. Oh yes, this kid is really good. Speaking as one professional to another, I'd say you have a great future."

Les smiled at her compliment. Charlie hid his face in my stomach again, beginning to shiver. Medda looked a little guilty.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, I didn't mean to say anything to-"

"Don't worry about it, Miss Larkson." I said apologetically. "Ginny and Charlie just aren't really used to people they aren't well acquainted with. That, and we had a little trouble with the refuge warden on the way here."

Jack saved the family then with his request. "So, is it alright if we stay here for a little while, Medda? Just until a little problem outside goes away."

"Sure, stay as long as you like. Toby, just give my guests whatever they want." She added to a passing clown, who had more sweets than I knew existed in the 21st century.

Neither of my cousins really liked clowns that much, so we joined them by Jack and David, who had gone by the ropes so that they could watch the performance. Les, on the other hand, filled his arms with at least three meals worth of sweets before he joined us.

Charlie and Ginny did get used to Medda after a while, and even thanked her themselves for her hospitality and promised to visit again. Even I couldn't help but smile; Medda was very nice, and from what Jack had said she always allowed the other newsies to have parties at Irving Hall-which was the name of the theater we had been at. While we were backstage, I had spent the time marveling at the mechanisms. I had been involved with backstage productions in my high school, and I missed it dearly. I actually considered the idea of asking Medda if I could work backstage for her performances, but I never got the chance. As we left the way we came, I made a mental note to do so tomorrow night.

"So, you like that?" Jack asked David. I bit back a laugh; any time Medda went farther downstage, David actually followed so that he could still see her. And when she moved upstage, he moved upstage as well.

"Oh, I loved that." David admitted, grinning rather widely. "I loved it. It was great. She is beautiful."

"She is a very nice woman." I agreed. "How do you know her, Jack?"

"She was a friend of me fadder's." Jack answered vaguely, sitting at a bench. The kids joined Jack by the bench, looking pretty bushed. David took his pocket watch out to look at the time.

"Oh, it's getting late." He groaned. "My parents are going to be worried. What about yours?"

"Nah, they're out west looking for a place to live, like this." Jack said, pulling out a brochure for Santa Fe and showing it to us. "See, that's Santa Fe, New Mexico. As soon as they find the right ranch, they're gonna send for me."

"Then you'll be a real cowboy." Charlie remarked.

"What about you, Leah?" David asked. "Would your parents be worried at all?"

Before I could answer, we heard loud crashes and shouting. We ran to the corner of the street to see a riot breaking out. A trolley was on fire, and not far from where we were a group of men were beating up another man. Charlie whimpered before hugging me again, shivering.

"Momentai, Charlie." I think. "It'll be okay, don't worry."

"Guys! Why don't we go to my place and divi up. You can meet my folks." David shouted.

Jack appeared not to have heard him. "It's the trolley strike. These couple of dumb-asses must not have joined or something." He remarked.

"Jack Kelly, watch your language around my cousins!" I snapped at him.

David noticed Charlie and looked worried. "Let's get out of here."

Again, Jack didn't seem to notice us. "So, maybe we'll get a good headline tomorrow, Dave. Look at this, he slept the whole way through it."

He chuckled at the sight of Les sleeping on the ground, pulling him to his feet and carrying him over his shoulder. That was when we made for David's place.

It took a while, but we finally made it to David's apartment. It was a meager place; it looked like a kitchen with a few beds and rocking chairs. A woman with light blond hair was at the stove when she looked at the sight of us. We must have been a sore sight, because the worry in her face seemed to escalate.

"My Gosh. What happened?" She asked.

"Nothing, mama." David reassured her. "He's just sleeping."

"We've been waiting dinner for you." David's father remarked. "Where have you been?"

Mr. Jacobs looked younger than Weasel, but he looked like a very kind man. He had a gray mustache, and one of his arms was in a cloth sling.

Instead of answering, David put a pile of coins on the table; the entire collection of our earnings put together.

His father looked at him, amazed. "You made all this selling newspapers?"

"Well, some of it belongs to Jack and Leah." David answered, starting to introduce us. "These are our selling partners, and our friends. Jack Kelly, Leah Brinks and her cousins Ginny and Charlie Rudabaker, my parents. And that's my sister, Sarah."

I remembered bits and pieces of Sarah. She was sitting in one of the rocking chairs, sewing lace. Sarah was a homely girl; she wore her hair down, but part of it was in a bun. Her blouse and long skirt were simple, but becoming for her. She looked up, smiled in greeting, and went back to work. It didn't escape my attention that Jack's eyes didn't leave her until David's father spoke up.

"Esther, maybe David's partners would like to join us for dinner. Why don't you add a little more water to the soup?" He added, kissing her cheek in a flirtatious way.

We were still talking after we finished the soup, while Sarah cleared the table. Les was fast asleep in one of the beds and out cold; a tornado would not shake him in the slightest. Ginny and Charlie were far too out of it to eat, so when Mrs. Jacobs offered for them to sleep for a while, they thanked her profusely before practically collapsing next to Les on his bed.

"So, from what I saw today, your boys are a couple of born newsies. Can I have some more?" He added to Sarah.

"Yes," Sarah said, taking his bowl.

So with their hard work and my experience," Jack continued, "I figure we can peddle a thousand papes a week and not even break a sweat."

"That many?" Mr. Jacobs asked, surprised.

"More when the headline's good." Jack said.

"So what makes the headline good?" Sarah asked, sitting down in her seat.

"Oh, you know. Catchy words like maniac, or corpse, umm…love nest, or nude."

It was quite clear that all of his attention was on her, and vice versa. They started laughing awkwardly, so I had to clear my throat rather loudly to get Jack's attention. I simply glared and motioned to Les and my cousins, reminding him that all three of them were under thirteen years old.

"Excuse me." Jack apologized. "Maybe I'm talkin' too much."

Mr. Jacobs was smiling kindly as he spoke to his daughter. "Sarah? Go get the cake your mother's hiding in the cabinet."

Mrs. Jacobs swat at him with a dish towel. "That's for your birthday tomorrow!" She protested.

"Well, I've had enough birthdays. This is a celebration." Mr. Jacobs shrugged, still smiling.

"I'll get the knife." David said, standing up.

"I got the plates." Sarah piped from the cabinets.

"This is only the beginning, papa." David told his father. "The longer I work, the more money I'll make."

"You'll only work until I go back to the factory, and then you are going back to school, like you promised." Mr. Jacobs told his son. David's face looked fallen for a moment, but he brushed it aside and forced a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday, papa." Sarah said, kissing her father's cheek.

"This is going to heal, and they'll give me my job back." Mr. Jacobs looked up towards the three members of his family. "We'll make them."

None of the Jacobs said anything, but they did serve the cake to us. The memory of the family together like that around Mr. Jacobs stayed in my mind as I started taking a few bites of the chocolate cake. It had been a while since my family had been as close knit as this one…

We were interrupted by Les singing in his sleep.

Come back my lovey dovey baby
And coochie-coo with me!

I couldn't help it; I joined the boys as they started laughing at Les singing Medda's song.

After the cake, David, Jack and I went out onto the fire escape to talk some more.

"So, how'd your pop get hurt?" Jack asked him.

"At the factory." David answered, a weak smile on his face. "It was an accident. He's no good to them anymore, so they just fired him. He's got no union to protect him."

We were interrupted by Mr. Jacobs appearing at the window.

"David, it's time to come in now." He said, nodding to Jack and me before going back inside.

"Alright. Guys, why don't you stay here tonight?" He asked us.

"Are you sure you guys have room for all four of us?" I asked. "I don't want to impose."

"We can work something out." David said.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've got a place." I had to lie then; I felt bad for what I was already asking of him. "But listen, could you mind Ginny and Charlie for me? I don't think they can make the journey home tonight; they're both a little exhausted."

"Sure, but what about you? It's not safe for a girl to be walking around at night."

I shrugged. "Momentai, David. I know the basics on how to fight, I'll survive."

That bit was actually true; I was involved in a martial arts club not that long ago. I wasn't able to continue with it, but I did learn the basics of fighting.

"I'll take her home, I got a place of my own." Jack said. "But you're family's real nice, like mine."

"See you tomorrow." David said. "Carrying the banner."

"Carrying the banner." Jack and I repeated as David vanished back into his apartment.

"You really got a place, Clover?" Jack asked me as he watched the family through the window. Okay, how did he just do that?

I shrugged. "Momentai, Jack. I figure I'll be living out on the streets anyway, so might as well start now. Ginny and Charlie aren't used to that kind of circumstances though, so that's why I asked David to look after them."

"We got a spare room for girls in the boardin' house." Jack said. "And this ain't no charity, neither. It ain't safe for a girl to be out on the streets alone at night, so I ain't takin' no for an answer. I'll walk you there."

"…well, alright. Thank you for the offer."

We climbed down the fire escape and walked through the streets together.

"Momentai?" Jack repeated.

"Good memory." I shrugged again. "It's a Chinese word that I learned from a friend of a friend. It means 'Take it easy' and 'don't worry'."

There was a moment of silence as Jack took in what I told him.

"So what's a doll face like yerself an' the kids doin' out on the streets?" He asked after a while.

I pinched my nose bridge at the pet name. "I only just got to New York." I answered honestly. I hadn't yet figured out what story I was going to say to explain my coming to New York-in the late 1800's no less-so I decided to improvise for now. "I contemplated the idea of running away from home, but I didn't think I'd make it this far, and I certainly didn't think that Ginny and Charlie would be with me."

"So where are ya really from, Clover?"

"Why do you call me Clover, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, today's been a good business day." Jack said. "And I just happened to get real lucky to sell so many papes with a bad headline, outrun Snyder as fast as I did, and get a decent meal and a promise for a good headline tomorrow. I figure your sudden appearance in town had somethin' to do with it, and since every newsie needs a nickname I'm callin' ya Clover from now on."

I wasn't sure of whether to be flattered or insulted, so I decided the best thing to do was to change the subject. "Michigan. Grand Rapids, to be precise."

"No kiddin'? How'd you get all the way here?"

I shrugged again. "Got lucky, I guess."

I was pretty sure that Jack was aware of my not being completely honest, but he let it slide for the moment. After a while, we came across a piano just sitting outside an old saloon. When Jack saw it, he turned to me.

"We got some time to kill before goin' back to the lodgin' house, you know any songs?"

"A handful." I said, suddenly quite happy. My favorite song in the whole movie…and I was part of it!

We went over to the piano, and I took a deep breath before playing the familiar tune. I added a nice soft touch to it, making it sound like a faraway dream or idea.

Jack: So that's what they call a family
Mudder, daughter, fadder, son
Guess everything you heard about it's true.
So you ain't got any family
Well, who said you needed one?
Ain'tcha glad nobody's waiting up for you?

Leah: When I dream on my own
I'm alone, but I ain't lonely
For a dreamer, night's the only time of day
When the city's finally sleeping
When my thoughts begin to stray
Both: And I'm on the train that bound for Santa Fe

And I'm free
Like the wind
Like I'm gonna live forever.
It's a feeling time can never take away
All I need's a few more dollars
And I'm outta here to stay
Dreams come true
Yes they do
In Santa Fe

Jack: Where does it say you've gotta live and die here?
Where does it say a guy can't catch a break?
Why should you only take what you're given?
Why should you spend your whole life livin'

Leah: Trapped where there ain't no future
Even at dead eighteen
Breaking your heart for someone else's sake

Jack: If the life don't seem to suit ya
How bout a change of scene?
Far from the lousy headlines
And the deadlines in between

Suddenly, I was no longer some girl that people either had too much pity for or too much respect for. I wasn't Leah Brinks, living only as an ornament of the family or friends at church. I was just plain Leah, who dreamed of living a life filled with adventure, suspense, and excitement, just as I had been when I was only a child. This was the feeling I got every time I sang the song, played it on the piano, or listened to it on my iPod.

I wasn't playing on the piano anymore; Jack had swung me around in a circle while we were singing before setting me down and doing a lasso dance. I was amazed by his talent with the lasso; it was better than using a hula hoop. I swear at one point, he actually jumped right through it while still swinging the handle and just kept swinging it around and around without losing the tempo. We ran through the town, me just watching him dancing with the lasso or performing other cowboy stunts. After a while, he jumped onto a horse he had taken from a circus and grabbed my arm so that I could join him on the horse. As we rode through town, I got a taste of the freedom that I had wanted for so long; freedom to be whoever I wanted to be and to go wherever I wanted. No responsibilities, no lies of love to be tangled in, nothing at all. I was free.

It suddenly occurred to me that I could stay in New York or go to Santa Fe, if I truly wanted to be away from Grand Rapids. No one would ever make a pet of me or be annoyingly sympathetic to me for no reason ever again.

Both: Santa Fe
Are you there?
Do you swear you won't forget me?
If I found you would you let me come and stay?
I ain't getting any younger
And before my dying day I want space
Not just air
Let 'em laugh in my face, I don't care
Save a place
I'll be there

We were close to the lodging house when Jack got off of the horse. I felt a pang of sadness; the freedom had only been temporary.

Jack: So that's what they call a family…

Leah: Ain'tcha glad you ain't that way?

Both: Ain'tcha glad you got a dream called Santa Fe?

No words were exchanged as we finished the walk to the lodging house. I think the song that we sang together spoke for itself. We were just walking to the door when we were joined by Racetrack, who was also going in.

"Heya Race." Jack said.

"Hey Jack, Clover."

I pinched my nose bridge again. Obviously, Jack must've found some way to get it across to the other newsies that my new name was Clover.

"How was your day at the track?" Jack asked his newsie friend.

"Remember that hot tip I told you about? Nobody told the horse."

AN: Wow, this chapter got longer than I had intended it for it to be. However, I do think that it was worth it; I like how this chapter turned out, and Santa Fe is probably my favorite of the 'Newsies' songs. Reviews are nice!