A/N: Hello again! Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the rest. I had such a hard time writing the boys. Who knew writing in an accent could be so exhausting! Anyway, I hope you like it! I promise Katherine will make appearances next chapter, along with Spot and Race :)
P.S. This story is also on Ao3 if that suits you better. Comments and constructive criticism welcome!
-o-
The clamour in the lodging house was louder than usual. Normally some of the newsies would be in their bunks or outside, but with the temperature dropping, most of them stayed near the fireplace in the common room. It was a small but comfortable space; a couch, some chairs, and a healthy amount of blankets imported from the upstairs beds for fort provisions. With its warm glow, 'homey' was the word most people would use. If they could look past the clutter that inevitably came with a herd of newsboys.
A game of Joker had been going on for an hour or so, starting with eight boys and then shrinking down to just Albert and Specs. At least half of the newsies were "observing"- each one going back and forth, checking the cards and not caring at all about the notion of a poker face. How the game held its integrity? It was anyone's guess.
Aside from the rowdy crowd surrounding the card game, the room was littered with boys finding ways to unwind and relax after a hard day's work. Davey was at the table along with Crutchie and a group of younger newsies when Jack pulled up a chair to join.
"Gett'n better?" He asked. A month prior Davey realized that most of the little kids didn't know how to read, since school wasn't an option and they hadn't been around long enough to pick up words from the papers. So, he immediately started to teach them. With the help of Katherine's stories and Jack's illustrations, the boys were beginning to receive a basic education; something not everyone was lucky enough to have. Crutchie would help out too, sounding out words and providing overall moral support.
"Yep! Georgie and Stars can now read Katherine's masterpiece, 'The Adventures of the Manhattan News Puppies." Davey said, pride radiating in his tone.
Jack smiled and patted the kids on the shoulder. "Great job boys. Maybe you two could start a pape someday eh?"
The children smiled brightly and went back to work.
"Imagine?" Crutchie laughed. "Papes written by the newsies, for the newsies?"
"Well, for the readers too." Davet added.
"Ok so, 'Newsies Banner'!" Crutchie animated with his hands, "Written by the newsies, for the newsies… for the readers?"
"Add a weather column by you and we'se golden." Jack pulled out a notepad. After scanning the room, he stood up on his chair and whistled to get everyone's attention (it took a couple tries but eventually they quieted down).
"Hey! It's that time of evening, roll-call!" Jack shouted. "I got everyone except Smalls-"
A hand shot up. "I'm here!"
"Alright, Smalls is here, Elmer?"
"In the bathroom!" A chorus of voices yelled.
"Fine," Jack scribbled his name down to check on later, then looked up. "Last one, Race?"
The newsies were murmuring quietly until Finch raised his voice. "Oh c'mon! We all knows that he's with Conlon."
Another series of giggles and whispers went around. Jack rolled his eyes and shoved the notepad back in his pocket. "Nobody's seen 'im?"
Buttons smirked. "I mean, he spends more time in Brooklyn anyway." He winked. "Sometimes spent the night if you know what I mean."
Hollers and jeers spread and Crutchie covered the ears of the little ones. Jack flicked the cap off of Buttons' head.
"Would ya keep your pants on? I just wanna know who's here, 'steada out there in the cold freezing." He stepped off the chair and raised his hands. "Fine, get back to whatever you were doing and carry on! And make sure Race comes to me when he gets back!"
The boys did as they were told, and the loud raucous continued. Davey sighed and sat next to Jack.
"You know, I never expected for those two to ever get together."
Jack ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah well I don't got a problem with them, just that Race ain't back when I warned him to. Again."
"Hey, at least our relationship with Brooklyn got better?"
"Pfft, the strike took care of that."
"Look, I'm sure he's just fine."
Jack huffed and started to scribble some lines in his sketchbook. The illustrating job at The World was a completely different experience than Jack was used to. He spent four days a week sitting at a desk until noon, sketching political cartoons or just related scenes in general. He enjoyed it, being a part of a place he could focus on himself. Heck, he got paid twice as much than before in only half a day. But Jack still found himself hawking headlines until dark. He was still a newsie after all, and with the new pay from his drawings, he could support his brothers even more. Just as Jack finished a brief outline (that looked like Katherine from the back if you squinted), there was a knock on the door. He turned around and Davey smiled.
"See?" Approaching the door, he turned the knob. "Jack was so not worried about- Oh, hello."
Jack craned his neck to see who it was. "Darcy?"
On the steps of the lodging house was Darcy, dressed in a tailored suit and leather shoes. He held a briefcase, and his hat was darkened by it's dampness.
"Sorry! I thought you were someone else. Please," Davey gestured inside. "Come in."
"Hey! It's the Trib guy!" Buttons shouted. The other newsies followed while Jack held out his hand (making sure not to spit). Darcy shook firmly.
"Good to see you again." He said. "I'm sorry but I have to ask, the 'Trib guy'?"
Davey shook his head. "Yeah, because your father owns the Tribune. They have a tendency to make very… colorful nicknames."
"I see."
"You're lucky it's not anything worse!" JoJo shouted, high-fiving with Albert.
Jack waved them off, turning back to Darcy. "What brings you here?" He wasn't sure why but he felt uneasy. He didn't have the greatest track record with change, and Darcy visiting them was definitely not normal.
"Well, I just came to see if Katherine stopped by here by any chance?"
"No, I haven't seen her since yesterday." Jack replied. "Did you try her apartment?"
Darcy knit his brows. "Yes, actually that was the first place I checked."
"Why are you looking for her?" Davey asked.
"You see, I went to Mr. Pulitzer's office today for an appointment, and I saw Katherine there. She said her father called her in to meet, and she was very visibly upset."
"Wait. Kath met up with her father?" Jack said. "Why would she ever do that?" In the six months he'd known her, Katherine only complained about two things. The way she was treated in her career, and her father. Surprisingly, the latter was a more pressing issue as far as she was concerned.
"I don't know. But I saw her again after she came out, and she didn't look very good."
"What do you mean?"
"She was close to crying, and when I asked her what was wrong she just said she needed to go. I couldn't check up on her then, because my appointment was next, but I wanted to see if she was alright."
"That doesn't sound like her." Davey said in confusion. Jack only nodded. His eyes were downcast, obviously in deep thought.
"I know." Darcy sighed. "I wasn't too worried until after my meeting with Mr. Pulitzer, when he gave me these and told me to return it to Katherine."
He took his briefcase and opened it. "She left her coat and her purse."
Jack's head snapped up. "You mean to tell me she was out there alone, in the snow without a coat?"
"Yes." Darcy said grimly. "Had I known I would've stopped her, or at least called her a cab, but at the time I… I didn't know."
Davey held his shoulder and looked at Jack. "We'll find her."
The trio didn't notice that the room had suddenly quieted down.
"Plums is missin'?" Elmer asked. The newsies were fidgeting in their seats, and the crackling of the fire could be heard.
"She ain't missing yet." Crutchie called out. "We still have lots of places to check. Right?"
Jack's mouth made a thin line as he thought. "Did you check the offices at the Sun?"
"Yes, they said she hadn't been back since she left for her meeting."
"Her neighbors?"
"Yes."
"Any sibling's house?"
"Well, her oldest brother is on a trip to France, and she doesn't have anyone else to go to that I know of."
After a moment of deliberation, Jack went to get his jacket. "I'm going out to look for her."
Davey held him back. "You're not going to find her alone. I'm coming."
Darcy stood up straight. "As am I."
"Fine, I'll take the streets around The World, Dave take The Sun, and Darcy?"
"Yes sir?"
Jack was taken aback by the formal title but wasted no time getting back on track. "Can you take the parts around her apartment?"
"Gladly."
"Yeah! Us too!"
As the three turned around, the quiet newsboys behind them were now suddenly dressed to go out. Hats on, scarves too if they had any.
"No way. It's cold out there, not to mention dark. I'm taking Davey and Darcy and that's final." He ordered. Jack tried to shout over the chorus of disapproval that erupted when a blast of cold air filled the room. Race ran in with Spot in tow, holding a big bundle in his arms.
"Guys! It's Plums!"