Author's Note

.｡｡*ﾟi hope you're staying safe and being kind to yourself! .｡｡*ﾟ

Love youuu 💗

𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚

Chapter Text

MANHATTAN - JULY 1899

There was no guarantee the plan would work. Early Saturday morning, the team allocated their responsibilities for that evening. The Duane Street lodging house was to be the rendezvous point.

While a few of the other newsies babysat Henry for the day, Jack stayed behind at the lodging house with Kloppman to organize things there.

Cards, Lion, and Shakespeare arrived first, with Marquette following shortly after, looking more than exhausted.

"Amelie wouldn't sleep last night," he managed in a hoarse voice, his eyes not entirely open. "Which means I couldn't either."

"I have just the thing, love," Kloppman's wife Ellen said, disappearing into the kitchen to prepare her rather notoriously strong coffee. "You'll be running laps around this place in no time!"

"Yeah, that's why you don't have kids," Shakespeare said, rolling his eyes. "They'll ruin your life. I'm tellin' ya."

Marquette chuckled softly, sitting beside Lion on an old sofa. "I almost wish Dr. Sayers had fixed us."

"No, you don't," Cards said, shoving Shakespeare and then smacking him upside the head before joining Marquette. "You love that little baby. Don't you tell me different."

"Speaking of which, where is Grim's kid? I wanna meet him," Lion said, watching Jack open the door for Z, Crazy, River, and Fleet.

"He's out with Racetrack right now," Jack told Lion, and then paused to consider whether that was a good or bad thing. He prayed Race hadn't taken the kid to Sheepshead Bay. He should've let Dave watch him.

"Is there a likeness?" Shakespeare asked.

"Yeah, or can he read?" Lion laughed.

Z patted Jack on the arm as he walked by. "Heard about the big win against mighty Joe," he said. "If only Snyder could see you now, huh?"

"That son of a bitch got put in handcuffs, tossed in the back of a paddy wagon, and shipped to the clink," Jack muttered as the others cheered.

"Holy shit, Snyder's in the slammer? Didn't see that coming," Crazy laughed, accepting the hot coffee Ellen offered him. She panicked when she saw how many more guests had arrived and hurried back to make more.

"Hey, hey, how long you think before he gets out?" Fleet asked. "A month? Two months?"

"He'll be right back to living large on his island in no time," River added. "He's got all of them cops paid off."

"I don't know, boys," Kloppman said, coming around the desk from his back office. "That Mr. Denton's article was awful compelling. And now that the governor's involved, things might actually happen."

"Hey, this is a pretty nice place you got here, Jack," Rails said, poking his head in through the front door. "Who owns this lodging house? Vanderbilt?"

"You have my wife to thank for that," Kloppman said from the stairs. "She keeps the place spinning like a top."

Jack laughed, welcoming his friend inside. "How was your walk?"

"Long. Last time I woke up this early, I was escaping a burning building," Rails replied, wiping the sweat off his face and forehead, careful not to tear the small, gold hoop out of his nose – the one he'd always worn. Jack remembered asking him about it once, and Rails said it was something to ward off evil spirits.

Minutes later, Atlas arrived with an important part of the plan, wrapped tightly in a bundle.

"You got it?" Jack asked, smiling as Atlas handed him the goods. "And you told Sister Mary Beth you were my friend?"

"She remembered you, surprisingly," Atlas said, out of breath. "She also asked me to ask you if you've been to mass lately."

Jack offered a dismissive chuckle, to which Atlas shook his head. "What did you tell her these were for?" Jack asked, nodding to the bundle.

"I told her the truth. What, am I gonna lie to a nun?" Atlas asked, slightly offended.

"That sure would've helped," Cards shouted from the sofa.

"It's all for a good cause," River assured them, answering the door while Jack sorted out the provisions. "The good doctor himself," he said with a grin, ushering Doc in.

Doc appeared to be in the same sleep-deprived condition as Marquette. "Sorry, I'm late," Doc said, looking around and seeing the usual suspects.

"Wasn't sure if you'd make it," Jack admitted, giving Doc a cup of coffee.

"Me neither," Doc replied, happily accepting the beverage. "But Marianna's taking over for me today."

"Yeah?" Lion smirked. "Sweet Marianna. How is she?"

A small smile formed on Doc's lips as he said nothing, ducking his head.

"Oh, a question Doc can't answer?" Fleet laughed, ruffling his friend's dark hair. "Interesting."

The others snickered, shoving Doc, and giving him a hard time as he shrugged them off, ignoring them like always.

"Anyway," Doc said over their jeers. "I've got two right now from the Bowery that are so badly malnourished, I've blown most of my dough feeding 'em. Don't leave much for supplies."

"What do you need?" Jack asked.

Doc looked sheepishly at Jack. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Doc, I'm happy to help. Whatever it is. I'm sure we've got it here," Jack went on. "So, what is it? Bandages? Sheets? Cough syrup?"

"Rubbers?" Lion threw in.

"Laudanum," Doc said, keeping his eyes low. "I've run out."

Jack pressed his lips in a tight line, nodding. "So happens, I know a lady who's got laudanum," he mumbled to Doc. "She might not like it coming from me, so you'll have to tag along when I get it."

"Of course," Doc said, somewhat relieved. "Thank you."

Kloppman came back down the stairs, introducing himself to the rest of the boys and accepting all their compliments about how nice the lodging house was.

"So, is this everyone?" Kloppman asked, scanning the room, mentally counting. "I thought there was more of you."

"Nearly," Jack replied, looking at the clock behind the desk.

Barring Tide and Grim, Jack sadly ruled out Calico, as well as No Name – who was now an inmate on Ward's Island. There was no getting him out. And even if they could, Jack thought, he wouldn't survive long on the outside.

A knock on the door, and everyone went silent. Jack cautiously made his way over and opened it slowly, exhaling a sigh when he saw who it was.

Sarah and Sophie stood at the door, smiling, each holding one of Henry's hands.

"I almost died!" Henry shrieked, a big grin on his face.

Sophie shot him a look, and Sarah's smile strained as she gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. "No, he didn't," Sarah reassured Jack. "We took him from Race before he headed to the tracks. Henry and Les were playing a little too close to the street, and a trolley went by, didn't see them, but David grabbed them both before anyone got hurt," she explained quickly.

Jack was holding his breath throughout that whole story.

"Oh, Jesus, you scared me," Jack breathed, bending down to squeeze Henry's face in his hands. "Kid, you're gonna give me a heart attack before I see twenty."

"This Grim's kid?" Crazy asked as Sophie led the little boy in. "Oh my God, he looks just like him!"

"C'mere, kid, we ain't gonna bite." Lion tilted his head, ushering Henry forward. The child approached Lion, suddenly all shy around this crowd of new people.

Fiddling with the hem of his shirt, Henry looked at the others with apprehension.

"So, your Uncle Jack been taking good care of ya?" Lion asked, getting a little shrug out of the boy.

"My uncle?" Henry asked quietly, looking from Jack to Lion.

"Sure," Lion smiled, messing up the kid's hair. "We're all family. I'm your Uncle Lorenzo."

"Oh," Henry said, smiling a little back, still clutching Sophie's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"What are they teaching at that orphanage? He talks like a fuckin' society kid," Z laughed, receiving a prompt elbow to the ribs from River.

"Watch your damn language," River growled.

As Henry was introduced to all his new uncles, Jack peered out the window anxiously, as if expecting someone.

"Hey," Sarah leaned her head against his shoulder, pulling him away. "It's okay. They'll show up."

"And what if they don't?" Jack mumbled.

"I don't see how they wouldn't," Sarah smiled a little, keeping her voice quiet. "You offered them practically all of Pulitzer's stash. And he thought his printing press was the only thing he left unattended."

Jack shook his head. "I can't have anything go wrong."

Sarah chuckled, reaching out to touch a tear in the seam of Jack's sleeve. "Don't worry, Jack—"

The sound of pounding at the door startled little Henry, who ducked behind Sophie, clutching her skirt.

Kloppman craned his neck to see what all the noise was about. "Who in their right mind knocks like that?"

"Sounded more like a kick," Sophie said.

Nervously, Jack moved to the door amidst the others' silence. He took a deep breath and opened it, his feeling of uneasiness suddenly turning into a deeper and much more immediate mixture of relief and fear.

Standing in the doorway, leaning against the threshold, were two figures – one blonde, one dark-haired, both dressed in ragged clothes.

Alexei's heavy blue eyes drooped as he blew out smoke from his cigarette into Jack's face. He had a dizzy, twisted smile on his lips and a mad gleam in his eyes.

A wave of dread hit Jack when he realized Alexei had just come from a long night of opium-inhalation.

Muggs, who stood next to him, appeared to be in similar shape – as hopped up on cocaine as Jack had ever seen him.

They both wore expression that promised nothing but trouble.

Jack stepped back, opening the door open the rest of the way.

"Hey, Duane Street," Muggs said, taking a drag from the rest of Alexei's cigarette before putting it out against the door.

"You couldn't have stayed sober for one goddamn morning," Jack asked, running a hand over his eyes. "Today of all days?"

"You wanted us here, you got us here," Muggs said, nudging past Jack. "You didn't say nothin' about conditions."

"Let's just get this over with," Alexei grumbled, entering the lodging house. He nodded to the old superintendent. "Hey, Kloppman. Like what you've done with the place."