Jack stood there frozen in his spot like a child who had just had a horrible nightmare and wanted his mother. He couldn't find the strength in him to run from his father. He couldn't move, think, let alone breath he was so petrified. Jack managed some how to turn around to face his father.

            "That's right boy, I am out." His father snickered lightly and advanced forward to his son frozen like a deer in the headlights, "Didn't think I wouldn't come find my eldest child responsible for all this?"

            Jack couldn't say anything the words wouldn't form. His head was swimming and he tried to separate his thoughts. Jack glanced towards the lodging house, which was less the a hundred feet away. He couldn't call to his friends sitting in the lodging house for them to come help him, "What no hello for your dear old father?" He asked less then a foot away from Jack.

            "Whad da yah wan'?" He asked lowly.

            "Oh just to finish what I had started eleven years ago. You were the reason I was arrested. If it wasn't for you and you sister your mother would still be a live, she wouldn't have been trying to save you two from that fire and she could of saved her self. And if it wasn't for you I would of never gone to jail. Your mother and I would have been so happy together." His father raised his arm to strike Jack. All Jack could think of was how it reminded him of the past. They had never been happy. His father had been in jail for exactly this and some other things, "Now you are going to pay." His father hit him. Jack wasn't sure whether he should hit his father back or not. When he hit him again Jack wasn't going to take it any more.

            His sister and him hadn't done anything wrong. They had done everything to make their father proud of them. Soon Jack sent a right hook into his father's Jack, "You ain't nothin' but another face in dah crowd, John."  John stumbled back when Jack hit him. He was astonished that his son actually hit him.

            "You are going to be sorry you did that boy." John punched him in the stomach and Jack doubled over in pain. Then John hit him in the face causing Jack to fall to the ground. He continued to punch and kick Jack. He tried his hardest to fight back, but it his father was too strong. At one point Jack had managed to push John off of him with his feet, but he only came back.

            Jack tired to protect himself, but ended up giving up. There was nothing he could do about it. He was going to die here. Jack thought the soaking would never end; finally two men who happened to be walking by saw what was happening. They ran over and pulled John off of Jack.

            Jack lay there in the street unable to move. The only reason he knew he was a live was because he could feel the intense pain running through his body.

            "Are you alright son?" One of the men asked. Jack could only open one of his eyes the other one was swollen shut. He slowly sat up leaning back against his elbows. Every joint, every muscle, and every bone in his body ached.

            "Yeah…" He paused, "I'se fine." Jack had managed to stand up with great help from the man who walked over, "Thanks for gettin' him off of me." He swayed on his feet almost falling to the ground again.

            "Are you sure? Where do you live?" He asked concerned about Jack. He had been beaten pretty badly. He just nodded and pointed to the lodging house.  He could feel the blood trickling down the side of his head and down his neck. Jack could also taste the blood in his mouth. Jack wiped his lip and started what seemed to be the never-ending walk back to the lodging house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            It was almost curfew and Jack still wasn't back, "That's it! I am going to look for him!" Spit Fire stood up and threw her songbook down onto the chair she had been sitting in. Spot pushed his cabbie hat up from over his eyes and looked at her.

            "Jack's a big boy. He can take care of him self." He saw the look Fire was giving him, "Whad evah floats yer boat." Spot said allowing his cabbie had to slip back down over his eyes.

            "Don't any of you care?" Fire asked them astounded that they didn't care about their friend, "Forget you all." Spit Fire left them all sitting in the bunkroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Jack paused in the middle of the street, His head was spinning and he didn't even know if he was going to make it back to the lodging house. Spit Fire had just walked out and saw Jack standing there, "Oh my god…Jack." She ran over to him. She already knew what had happened, "C'mon lets get you back to the lodging house." Spit Fire put her arm around Jack's waist and allowed him to lean against her. He was heavier then she thought, but Fire wasn't going to say anything.

            "Everything hoits." Jack moaned. The two of them walked into the lodging house. They stopped in the lobby.

            "Can you make it up the stairs?" She asked him wanting to get some ice for Jack. Jack nodded and slowly started up the stairs. Spit Fire walked into the kitchen and grabbed a towel and ice. When she walked back out Jack wasn't very far up the stairs, "C'mon."

            Spot, Race, Blink, and Mush heard them coming up the stairs. Jack walked in first and Spot looked at him and sneer at Jack, "She wasn' kiddin' when she said d'at she was gonna soak yah." Spit Fire walked in right behind him.

            "Shut up Conlon." Spit Fire glared at him insensitively, and then walked towards the washroom with Jack.

            Race, Blink, and Mush sat there quietly not making any comments that they new were too easy. They defiantly didn't want to get in-between anything with Spot and Fire involved. Spot jumped up and walked over to her grabbing Fire's arm and yanking her back.

            "Hey who do yah think yer tawkin' tah?"  Spot glared at her. He wasn't going to let a girl talk to him like that. Not even if he did like her.

            "Let go of me Conlon. I am warning you." She said to him. She clenched her fists so tight that her knuckles began to turn white. Spot only tightened his grip.

            "Yer pushin' it." Spot said to Spit Fire. Jack walked over to them.

            "You aren't in Brooklyn Spot you don't have a right to touch me, even if you were in Brooklyn you wouldn't be able to touch me." Jack could tell Spit Fire was about to hit Spot and he wasn't in any condition to break up a fight between the two of them. Plus he wasn't going to watch this happen it only brought back memories of his father hurting his mother.

            "Spot eithah you can go back tah Brooklyn or yah can' follow me rule heah in me lodging house." Jack pulled Spot's hand off of his Spit Fire, "Rule numbah one don' touch Spit Fire." Jack walked into the washroom and Spot walked towards his bunk and flopped down.

            The other three snickered at Spot. He lifted his head and stare angrily at them, "Shaddup!" he muttered, "I can have any goil in New Yawk yet I choose her."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Jack what happened?" She asked handing him the ice for his eye. Fire motioned for him to sit on the sink counter. Spit Fire took a wet towel and started to clean Jack's bloody lip and other cuts.

            "He jus' came out of know wheah." Jack winced; Spit Fire's soft touch surprised him since she had such a tough exterior, "I'se though' I'se had a few more days to get my money togetah."

            Fire stopped and took the towel away from the side of his head, "What do you mean get your money together?"

            Jack knew he would have to tell every one sooner or later. Why not start with the two worse first and work his way down. He looked at her not sure how to tell her so she wouldn't hurt him more then he already was. Spot was going to be just as mad knowing him, "What do you mean?" She asked again. Jack looked at her.

            "Well…I ah…." Jack took the towel and put it back to the side of his head. Spit Fire waited for his answer.