Hey guys, I'm back! So I wasn't planning on writing this, but currently, I am working on a Camp NaNoWriMo project (which is a multi-chapter newsies fic, so that's coming soon... ;)) And in writing an intro for that story, I kinda came up with... this! I thought this worked better as a standalone, so I'm posting this as a one-shot to give you guys a little taste for what I'll be working on for most if not all of April!

This is set after "Jack" and after the strike ends, just some reflecting on all that happened. Plus, ya know, set up for my new story.

*Speaking of setting up, for my next story to work I had to play around with time a little bit, you break some laws of the time-space continuum and all that. So while history says the actual newsboy strike happened in 1899, I'm having it set in 1890. This is will make sense later, but my new story needs to be out for it to actually make sense. Thanks!*

Alright, enough of me. Here's just a little one-shot of after the strike! Enjoy!

He almost couldn't believe it.

"Is that it? Did we do it?" Jack asked dumbly, staring out at all the newsies around him, celebrating.

He saw Crutchie talking with Specs and Mush, a little beat up and a little bruised, but alive. Davey had Les up on his shoulders and they were jumping around with Albert, a little tired and a little worn down, but happy. He saw Race high-fiving Spot, a little tense and a little weary, but smiling. Then he saw Katherine.

Beautiful, amazing, Katherine.

A little bit tired, a little bit exhausted, but lovely. And she was there in front of him, gently holding his hand, resting her other hand on his cheek, eyes meeting.

"We did. You did, Jack." Katherine gave his hand a quick squeeze, looking Jack all over. Everyone else was around them, but Jack was the only person she had eyes for. He was a little bit roughed up, a little bit dirty, but handsome. Somehow she felt like Jack had never been so handsome before. Maybe it was because he just led and won a strike against one of the biggest tycoons, her own father. Maybe it was because he did such an amazing job leading his newsies and keeping them safe. Maybe it was because he had snuck into her theater box and made fun of her, annoying her from day one.

Maybe it was because she was in love.

And maybe, just maybe, he was too.

"No," Jack said firmly, pulling Katherine in for a hug and kissing her forehead until he rested his chin on the top of her head. "We wouldn't have been here without ya, Ace. If anybody won this, it'd be you." He pulled away and met her eyes, holding her in front of him.

"I think I heard that someone is the King of New York," Jack said with a smile, while Katherine blushed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Amscray, punk, she's the King of New York

Davey had affectionately given her the nickname after she had got the picture of all the newsies in the papes. Not only in the papes, but the front page. Anyone who saw the pape would see the newsies, front and center. Who could ignore them then?

You makes the front page and man, you is major news

Well, Jack, apparently.

Katherine led her smile drop as she remembered telling the newsies they had made the front page. She had walked into Jacobi's, a smile bright on her face, a new pencil behind her ear, a clean dress, a fresh new notepad in hand and the famed newspaper by her side. She was expecting celebration, not of her, but of what they did. What they accomplished.

Oh, would you get a load of these glum mugs

To say the newsies were less than thrilled when Katherine first saw them was an understatement. Weasel had sent his goons after all of them, then the bulls had shown up, shown up with the glitter of hope that the beat-down wouldn't be as bad. But it only got worse. Katherine only saw part of it from the back, hiding out in an alley while the slaughter happened. She winced as she saw Jack get hit once, twice, more times than she could count. Davey was smacked to the ground and struggled to get back up. Les was stuck in the middle, just a kid.

Tears came to Katherine's eyes as she saw Crutchie get hit with his own crutch, then pulled away to be locked up at the Refuge. Then she saw Jack, watching from his own place on a fire escape. Tears streaming down his face.

Jack, help!

Then everyone was gone. Jack ran off, the bulls had disappeared back into the shadows they hid out in. Once the square was clear - Katherine was mostly sure it was - she walked back out into the center. It couldn't have been that bad, right? She was ashamed to admit that she had closed her eyes a few too many times during the fight. She walked out to the middle of the square and bent down to pick up one of the thrown newspapers laying on the ground. It was crumpled and ripped, dirt rubbed all across the front, so much that it was hard to see the faces on the picture. Katherine almost held it together as she straightened out the picture as much as she could. All until she saw the blood.

Katherine dropped to her knees and cried.

But then the day changed. She put on her game face in the morning and saw the papes. That brightened her mood more than anything could. Well, almost anything. The one question she had been holding all morning slipped off her tongue as she talked with Davey in Jacobi's. Albert answered it for her, but it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.

The Delancys are spreading a story that he took it on the lam first sign of the cops

That thought scared her more than the strike itself. Jack wouldn't run away. He wouldn't. Right? Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on who you asked, she and Davey found him later, hiding out in Medda's theater. Painting away at his 'go west, young man' routine. But that wasn't what really concerned her.

You look like hell

The Jack she saw in the theater was a different Jack than she knew. Tough. Hurt. Mean. Broken?

It sure as hell wasn't the Jack she was looking at right now.

She still saw the bruises, fresh and deep on his face, his forearms, whatever skin she could see. And she knew there were more bruises than what she could see, but at this rate, she didn't care about those. All she saw were his bright green eyes, staring back down at her like she was the only girl in the world. She felt his hands, tight around hers. This was the Jack who never gave up, never stopped until it was right and fair, and who never fought and fought and fought until the fight was over.

And now it was. The fight was over, and they won. It wasn't everything they had fought for, but it was enough. Enough to end the fighting, to go back to regular life. Jack was going back to hawking papes, taking care of his newsies. He had looked at the illustrator spot and was interested. For a moment Katherine thought he was going to take it. But he turned it down, just for now. He still had another year in the lodging house, he wanted to stay with his boys as long as possible. And while he loved Katherine, working extra for her father wasn't something he wanted to jump at right away.

Katherine understood. And her life would go back to normal. But she wasn't sure she wanted to go back to normal. She didn't want to be stuck writing reviews for plays or flower shows. She wanted hard news. Everyone knew she could handle it, she single-handedly wrote the article that brought the newsies their fame. Jack's pictures really sold the story, but she was the reporter. All she wanted was a real chance.

"I'm proud of ya, Your Majesty," Jack cracked, bending over in a dramatic bow in front of her. Katherine could help but giggle, frantically covering her mouth to hide the offending noise. That just made him smile wider. Katherine responded the only way she knew how, bumping his side with her own, this time in lieu of a punch to the shoulder. But instead of the playful grin, Jack let out a painful grunt. Small and quiet, but she caught it.

"Jack? You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I's fine, Ace." He dodged her question too easily. Way too easily.

"Jack." Katherine crossed her arms and stepped in front of him so he couldn't walk away. She watched a frown settle on his face, and his hand unconsciously move toward his hip. It was then both of them noticed red on the side of Jack's vest. Katherine's mouth dropped open, staring up at her boyfriend-not-boyfriend in shock. She knew being a newsie was not the safest job and most of them had more bruises and scars than she could count. She also knew that Jack had a cut down the side of his face after the first time she saw him, but she never questioned it.

"It's fine, Kath. I's just had a little run-in with Snyda, nothin' big," Jack said sheepishly, moving his hand to rub the back of his neck. "It must'a started bleedin' again, it's fine." Right then Race had decided to walk towards the happy couple, bright eyes and congratulations written on his face. Well, all up until he heard Jack say 'bleedin'.

"Jackie, you's bleeding again? Do I need to call Doc?" Jack groaned as Race immediately started fussing, only increasing Katherine's concern.

"You needed a doctor? What happened?" Katherine all but shouted, but no one else heard over the roar of cheering and celebrating. Jack groaned as words tumbled out of Race's mouth, about how he had run into Synder with David and Les and got into a fight. Jack glared at Race but the younger boy smiled and ignored him. Katherine listened with excruciating detail and Jack could only pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Jack, when did this happen?" Race continued to talk, but now he veered off topic so Katherine turned back to the topic she was concerned about. Jack sighed heavily, not wanting to go into him so publicly.

"A few nights before the show. You's was out walking, Romeo tried to sell ya a pape, then me." Jack closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "You's turned us both down. When you left, I was helping Davey and Les. Then Synda came chasing after us. I distracted him so they's could getaway, but he got me good."

Suddenly, Race decided it was a good time to rejoin the conversation. "You wanna see it? Doc stitched him up real good, but knowing Jackie…" Race started reaching for Jack, who slapped him away annoyed.

"Get off'a me," Jack huffed, half annoyed and half laughing, turning Race around and pushing him back towards another newise. He looked back at Katherine with the half-laughing smile still on his face, only to be met with her still looking concerned.

"C'mon, Kath…" Katherine shook her head.

"Jack." With a dejected sigh, Jack gave in. He gently tugged at the shirts tucked into his pants, pulling them out with a slight wince. Jack pulled up his undershirt slightly so Katherine could see the bandage sticking to his side. She saw the top of the gash peeking out just the top of the just-too-small bandages, a few stitches holding skin together. The rest of the wound was covered by the bandage, which traveled down his hip, covered by his pants. The red that stained the bandage showed that something did start to bleed again, sometime during the strike. Katherine slowly reached her hand out but Jack jerked backward, tucking his shirts back in and stepping away slightly.

"Sorry," he said gruffly, finding the ground suddenly very interesting.

"No, no, it's ok Jack. Are you ok?" Jack smiled again, grabbing Katherine around the waist and pulling her close again, so close their noses were almost touching.

"You know me, Ace. I'm fine," Jack said with a smile, and next thing Katherine knew they were kissing. It was soft at first, but then Jack's hand reached up in her hair and her hands grabbed his face and then they were kissing like it was the end of the world. It almost was. It was the end of the world they used to know. Now they were faced with a whole new world, but they knew they had each other's back.

More than that, they had everyone's back. When Jack and Katherine finally broke apart they were bombarded by cheering newsies, smashing everyone together in a huge group hug. But Jack had the biggest smile on his face. This was his family. Who needed Santa Fe when he had all of his family right here? They were all he needed.

For sure?

For sure.