queen 4 Hey everybody, hope that you haven't forgotten about me. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get this next part out. I had a brain freeze. I promise the next one's will be out asap! Oh and of course I don't own the newsies. But hey you all know that.

Recognition

Spot

The river seemed so calm, a vicious contrast from what I was feeling inside. Riona's comment had infuriated me so much, but for the life of me I couldn't understand why. So there I was sitting on the docks for hours, combing through my thoughts. Sometime after sunset I finally came to a conclusion. For the first time in my life I was actually jealous.

"Spot! You commin in or not?" one of my newsies called from the lodging house window as they all prepared for bed.

"Yeah," I responded in a voice just above a whisper, more to myself than to him.

As I walked into the Brooklyn lodging house lobby, Jack rose and extended his hand to me. "Heya Spot."

I shook his hand, blankly staring at him. "What's goin on Jacky-boy?"

"Well ya see Sarah had this idea…"

"Why does that make me noivous?"

He smirked a little, then continued. "Anyways, she thinks that we should have a dance for all the boys from all over New York! What do ya think?"

I thought it over for a moment. Granted, I didn't exactly feel like dancing at that moment, but I knew my boys would enjoy it. So being the good leader that I am I agreed for their sakes. "Count us in."

Jack nodded and headed for the door. "We'll see ya next weekend boys!" He called to the crowded room as he exited.

They all turned to me expectantly, so I quickly explained about the dance. Mentally worn as much as I could handle, I then headed up to bed, knowing full well that the majority of the night would be spent once again staring at the cracks in the ceiling.


Riona

I had just stepped out of the bathtub when I heard something rare for the lodging house. Complete silence. With that many boys living under one roof, silence was not an option. Curious, I dressed and headed for the stairwell. From there, I took in the scene in the lobby.

Whesley was standing before all the boys, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, discomfort all to evident on his face.

"Who are ya anyways?" Race asked coldly.

"I'm looking for Riona," he replied, receiving such a blank look from the other boys, it almost made me laugh out loud. "I believe you call her Queeny."

"What do you want to see her for?" Blink asked protectively, almost like a big brother. I cringed for letting my thoughts drift back to that once again.

Before the conversation could get out of control, I revealed myself. "Hello Whesley. What can I do for you?"

He pulled me out of earshot from everyone in the room. "I want you to spend the afternoon with me tomorrow. Meet me at Marion Hall 2:00." I nodded. "Now I have to go. Curfew." Without another word he brushed passed Race and Blink, who were still shooting him cold looks.


The newt afternoon, I paced impatiently in from of Marion Hall. Whesley seemed to be perpetually late.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke up from behind me, startling me from my thoughts. I turned to see a young man with magnificently green eyes standing behind me. "Are you looking for someone?"

I couldn't reply. Something about him seemed awfully familiar. Then I realized that his question still hung in the air unanswered. "Um… Whesley Wade."

He smiled. "Why does that not surprise me? Anyway, he was right behind me, be out any minute. I'm his roommate-"

Then something finally clicked in my head. Those eyes… That Voice… "Donavan?"

His mouth gaped for a long moment, "How did you…" His eyes narrowed at me and a flash of recognition washed over his face, but was quickly shadowed over by a shadow of doubt. "It couldn't be… could it?" he asked more to himself than anything else. He stepped closer yet. "Riona? Is that really you?"

Tears instantly welled up in my eyes as I nodded and he pulled me into a strong embrace.

"O'Farrell, what do you think you're doing?" An angry voice called from the doorway behind us. We parted to see a very elated Whesley storming in our direction.

"Whesley, this is—"

"My girl, so get your hands off her."

Donavan waited patiently while his friend ranted. "Perhaps… but she's also my little sister. I've got a right to hug her."

It was now Whesley's turn to fall silent.

Although I really did want to spend time with Whesley, all I could think about at that moment was catching up with my family. "Do you mind if I-"

Whesley smiled and nodded. "Go ahead."

Donavan and I were not far when he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and once again pulled me into a hug. "I can't believe that it's really you." We stood there for a few minutes before he released me and we started walking again. "Come on, there's someone that you've gotta see."

A few blocks later, he stopped in front of an old brick building. I looked up and read the sign that was swaying slightly in the warm autumn breeze. "Miss Romano's Finishing School."

As I stood there, slightly confused, a young woman walked out onto the sidewalk stalking up to Donavan. She wore a simple yet elegant school dress, her shiny strawberry blond hair pulled back into a proper braid. This time the recognition was instantaneous.

"Donavan O'Farrell, what an earth are you doing here? You should be at school!"

My brother simply gave a sheepish grin and stepped aside so she could get a better look at me. "Riona?"

"Hey little sis," was all I could choke out before we fell into a teary hug.

We finally parted, and I took that moment as an opportunity to study my siblings. When I'd last seen Donavan, he was pale and scrawny, his body struggling awkwardly to catch up to his newfound height. The city seemed to have returned color and an almost childlike vitality to his appearance.

Erin on the other hand had seemed so childish a year ago and now seemed to be quite the contrary. The freckles that had once adorned her face had long since faded. The only childish quality that she still possessed was a small dimple that appeared in her left cheek when she flashed a smile, but even that had changed.

Analyzing the differences in both of them, an eerie thought crept into my mind. Had I changed so much myself? Before I could let the idea sink in, Donavan was once again taking charge. "Why don't we head home?"