Thanks for the reviews. They seriously help. And thank you minnieg123 for being a best friend and Gills inspiration.

Disclaimer: I don't own newsies, but I own stumbles and gills.

I stare at them, with fear in my eyes. What do they mean i'm sorry? Wait. The dream. What did the voices say after... it was Snyder...

"We're so so sorry," Morris whispers. A metal object slams into my stomach. I fall to the ground, clutching my middle in pain.

"Snyder said if we didn't hurt you, he'd kill one of your friends," Oscar choked. I saw tears falling from the sides of their faces. I don't care if I get seriously hurt, I never want a friend to cry.

"Its okay," I manage to cough, "Its okay, just please stop crying."

They stop for a second, and stare at me. I am absolutely disgusted at Snyder. He makes these poor boys beat up friends. I swear the first chance I get, Ill soak him, soak him for everything he's done to my friends, my family. I start to speak again, "Its okay, do what you must, but if anyone asks, Snyder did this."

"We're sorry." they choke back tears. Another blow hits me in the face. The taste of my own blood mixed with bile fills my senses. The sound of tears is all I can hear. The disgusting sound of tears. I'm hit in the side, but I am fading in and out of consciousness.

I squeak, "Please stop crying," then everything turns black.

"Has anyone seen Stumbles?" I ask nervously. "She's been gone for three hours."

"No, everyone's worried too," Jack says.

"We n-need to look for her." I say. Dammit. Why must I stutter when I'm scared. Oh wait, my best friend is missing, and she said she was going to see the Delancey's. What's there to worry about.

"Calm yourself Race, I'll come with ya to find her okay?"

"Okay," I say as I race out the door. I need to find her. She has to be okay. She just has to. I run around the streets of New York, yelling her name, but nothing replies.

"Race, did she say where she was going to meet the Delancey's?"

"The World Building, I think." Why didn't we go there first? We run all the way there, Jack has to sprint to catch up. I head straight for the alley next to it. Where else would the creeps meet her.

I speed into the alley, but stop dead in my tracks. A motionless body lay in front of me, Stumbles' motionless body.

"No," I whisper. She can't be gone. She just can't. I kneel down and hold her. I get near her face to check if she's breathing. I only hear a slow, shallow breath. Then Jack enters the alley, sees stumbles in my arms, and takes off his hat.

"Is she..."

"N-no." I swear the Delanceys are gonna get a beating. They will stop breathing by the time i'm done with them. No one is ever going to touch her again without facing me.

"It was Snyder..." She whispers painfully. This girl, even when she's horribly hurt, knows what what i'm thinking. A tear rolls down my cheek, I promised no one would ever hurt her. I've vowed that since the first day I met her. I've broken a promise.

"Its okay, just don't cry," she chokes. I stop. Why did I stop crying? My best friend is in my arms in more then just pain. She is one nutjob. She is half dead and still caring about other people. She opens her eyes for a second, and stares at me. I smile, she is so kind, even in peril. A tear drips from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"You d-don't need to b-be sorry. It's n-not your fault." I reply not even caring about my stutter. She closes her eyes, and falls asleep in my arms. I get up, I need to get her home now. She needs help. So I start running. I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. The ten minute trip from the lodging house to the world building, only lasted five. I barged in the door.

"What happened?" Kloppman asked shakily. I ignored him and ran upstairs. I sprinted into the bedroom and placed her on her bed. Ten newsies plus Kloppman swarm around her bed.

"Snyder soaked her," I said trying to control my stutter and not to cry at the same time. All of them took off their hats. Mush stared at me with a look that asked, "is she dead?" I nodded no, and a few boys that were holding their breaths exhaled. We stood around her bed for another 10 minutes.

"She just needs rest boys, and so do you," Kloppman finally broke the silence. The crowd around her slowly dispersed as they got into bed. I didn't. I could not leave. I needed sleep, but I could not force myself to leave her side. I just sat next to her all night, waiting for her to wake up. But she didn't. Not for the entire night. She didn't even wake up when it was time to sell.

"C'mon boy," Kloppman persuaded, "Its time to sell." I just shook my head. There was no way I was going to leave her ever again. This girl, I had found, was perfect. She was perfect, and abandoned, for no reason. Her parents had died when a giant steamboat sunk, but she was brought to New York, and dumped here. All of her family was in Scotland or dead. I was the closest thing to her after her parents died. But I didn't rescue her, she rescued me. When I thought the world had no beauty left, she turned up. Flawless inside and out. She had kindness even after she was abandoned here, which most people loose after events like that. She showed me true beauty. She is my savior, and I dont know why I haven't said this to her before.

"I love you," I whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she stirred after a few minutes, before falling asleep once again.