Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except for Miss Erma and Leslie.

It was with pain that Leslie crashed back into the world. Her eyes went wide and she immediately screamed with pain, unaware of who or what was around her. Her eyes squinted and she exclaimed, "OH MY GOD!"

"Leslie!" A voice said. Leslie couldn't make out the person, for her vision was already growing dark. A hand met her cheek and she leaned into it, attempting to breathe. "Youse gotta stay with me!" Leslie whimpered in pain as she felt something going on near her stomach.

Leslie screamed once more, eyes wide and mouth ajar. She lifted up her hand, vision switching from blurry to clear. The red liquid on her palm could not lie. She was losing far too much blood. "HOLY SHIT!" She choked out.

"Lez! It's gonna be okay!" The voice cracked. She recognized it, but could not make out Racetrack's face. "Listen. Please stay wid us. Deah's a chance you..." he hesitated, "Might not make it..." Suddenly, the pain stopped and she felt the world. The pillow, the hand on her cheek, the breath of Racetrack on her neck and even the blood hardening around her skin.

Leslie whispered, "Tell... Racetrack..."

"It is me, it's Racetrack!"

"I love him... I'll see him soon... it's just a matter... of timing..." Her voice faded and she let her eyes droop shut.

Then, she was spinning. Her eyes opened and she saw darkness around her. She heard voices fading, being eaten up by silence. With a thud, she fell to the floor, hitting her head on the wood. Sitting up, she asked, "Racetrack, what just happened?" Her eyes scanned the closet she sat in, confused. She looked down and saw a familiar dress and long hair waving down to her stomach. Stomach! There was no wound? Standing up, she walked to the door and opened it, walking back out to the room. "Racetrack?" She called. She was met by a lonely bed in the center of the room and a chained up window. "It was so real..." she whispered to herself. Her eyes watered and she fell to her knees.

A knock interrupted her thoughts. "DID YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON YET? IT'S BEEN ALMOST FOUR HOURS!" Miss Erma opened the door and saw Leslie crying on the floor. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Nothin'," Leslie whispered, "Nothin' at awll."

Raising her eyebrow, Miss Erma asked, "And what's with the accent? This isn't 1903!" Accent? She had an accent?

"Sahrry, Miss Erma," Leslie replied. She stood up and walked to the door. "Am I excused yet? Oah do I has ta sit dea for anudda four owas?" Why was she sitting for four hours again? Wait, why were her cheeks wet? She didn't remember... It must have been something important though, because she was crying.

She wiped her eyes and walked to the hallway as Miss Erma shut the door. "I'm going to the tracks today in Sheepshead Bay," Miss Erma said, "Don't do anything tricky while I'm gone."

"Anythin' foah youse, Miss Erma," Leslie smirked coyly.

The woman rolled her eyes a walked away, muttering something to herself. Leslie paused, looking back at the door to the abandoned room. What had been so important in there? All she did was walk in, sit on the bed, complain, walk to the closet and fall onto the floor... Right? Shrugging, she walked back to her own room, still heavy with shock. "Shock..." Leslie whispered. Smiling to herself, she whispered, "Notta bad nickname..."

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Racetrack's world stopped as he stared at the girl on the bed. His eyes filled with tears as he whispered, "It wasn't supposed ta be you..." Every newsboy lifted their hats off their heads and kneeled down on one knee. "Please, come back..." Racetrack whispered.

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1 YEAR LATER

"LESLIE!" Miss Erma exclaimed. "YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN!"

Leslie gasped as Miss Erma grabbed her hair and dragged her up the stairs. "WHAT DA HELL DID I DO DIS TIME!?"

"YOU WERE THAT CLOSE TO GETTING ADOPTED! THAT CLOSE! AND YOU HAD TO RUIN IT WITH YOUR MANNERS AND ACCENT!?" Miss Erma threw the door open and pushed the girl inside. "There you go! Again, you can sit in there for four hours until you get it!"

Leslie cringed as the door closed. Sighing, she walked over to the window and looked through the chains at the city below. She could barely see the corners of Central Park. Sighing, she turned around. Her eyes scanned the room, suddenly landing on a door opposite her bed, adjacent to the door leading to the hallway. Standing up, curiosty led her towards the creaky, wooden door. She opened it, looking at the darkness inside.

Squinting, she attempted to find a floor or ceiling, but failed with a huff. Stepping forward, she fell into the darkness.

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Racetrack finally lifted his head, looking at her with sad eyes. A hand rested on his shoulder and he heard a voice say, "Race... I'm so sorry."

"It shoulda been me," Racetrack replied with his voice cracking. "I shoulda stepped in fronta 'er."

Suddenly, the body began to breathe. Racetrack's eyes widened and he leaned over, looking at the girl's face.

Leslie fell softly onto something extremely soft. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting familiar brown eyes and a wave of memories that crashed down onto her like a ton of bricks.

WOAH. THAT WAS AN INTENSE LAST CHAPTER. I gotta say, I sort of rushed through that because I'm brainstorming on another work that I'm so excited to begin. This has been an amazing writing experience though. I love Newsies and I always felt that Racetrack needed someone. And trust me, I wasn't about to take it away from him either! That was just a random plot twist.

So! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my story! It's been great and I hope to see you all soon!

~Gy4r4dos95