Marble pushed Pips through the crowded smoke filled room. She grabbed Frick by the door and dragged her outside, "What's goin' on? I tol' dis kid ta stay wit Blink."

"Don't worry he's sleeping, and this is just too good to miss, trust me." Marble lead them down to the dock and behind a stack of crates where they couldn't be seen from the house.

She pushed Pips against the boxes, "Do you remember us?"

Pips replied hesitantly, "Yea, Margaret O'Reilly and Mara Farley, I remember you."

Frick stared at Pips in shock for a minute then laughed, dropping her accent, "Oh my God! Sophie Quinn, how the hell are you?"

"Not so good." He/she gave Marble a wary look but she grinned, "I'm not mad at ya, don't worry. Whacha doin' here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You could, but not until you answer me."

"I ran away."

"Obviously, your daddy wouldn't let you go tripping about New York alone, dressed like a boy unless he lost the rest of his mind. Why're you here?"

Pips shook her head, "Not until you tell me what's going on. I distinctly remember both of you being English tutors."

Marble laughed and jumped up onto one of the crates, "Frick, you tell 'er."

Frick absently rubbed her injured arm as she spoke, "Well, if you can't tell I'm the only one of us that's really from England. Marble is what you would call a con artist."

Marble took a bow from her seat, "Con artist, pickpocket, cat burglar, escaped criminal, and anything else you can think of."

She smirked and Frick went on, "Over the summer we got bored and left. Marble heard about a rich guy in Jersey who was looking for someone to keep his daughter company so we checked it out. Marble forged us some papers,"

"I do that too."

" and we got the jobs, as you know. When August rolled around she said she had to be here for Spot's birthday,"

"It's tradition."

"So we collected our pay,"

"And then some."

Frick ignored Marble's comments, "and hopped a train to get here. Which, by the way, is easier said then done." She tapped her arm.

"So, the two of you lied to me and my family and pretended to be my friends just to get our money?"

"Hey! We never lied about likin' you, just, well, everything else. We needed money and you don't honestly think your daddy would've let two newsies babysit his daughter, do ya?"

Pips was shocked that the only two people who had ever liked her for her and not her father's money had been con artists. But she did see their point. After being in the streets for almost a month she knew how hard money was to come by and any way of getting it was fair game to them.

"I can't believe this," Suddenly, for the first time in months her sense of humor kicked in and she laughed, "I would love to see the look on my father's face if he found out, that would almost be worth going back." A thought struck her, "You're not going to send me back are you?"

"Naw."

"What kind of friends would we be if we sent you back to your madman father and abusive fiancee?"

Pips sighed, "Husband now."

'Yea, um Frick she's kinda pregnant."

"Oh that's not good. How long?"

"Almost two months."

"Then it won't show for a while yet. We have some time to figure out what to tell the guys."

"You can't tell them!" Frick and Marble gave her a startled look, "If they knew they'd treat me differently and I'm not like you two, I can't take care of myself around them. It's safer for them to go on thinking that I'm a boy. And they'd think had been lying to them."

"You were lying to them."

"No, I never said I was a boy, Racetrack just assumed that I was."

Frick looked at her for a second and started laughing, "Don't worry Pips we won't say anything you don't want us to, but how are we going to explain the stomach?"

"We'll worry 'bout that when it happens. Right now we need to take care of a few other things." Frick and Pips looked at Marble, confused, "Bathing is the main thing, kinda a dead give away if ya ask me. You could get up early like me but we'd havta tell Dutchy 'cause he's up then too. Don't worry, he can keep a secret. Then there's clothes, what you have is too ripped up to last long. We can talk to Angela and see if her brother's old things might work,"

Pips was getting worried about telling people she didn't know but Marble reassured her, "Angela's a sweet girl, she won't say anything. She's goin' with Dutchy so they'd be the only two who knew besides me an' Frick. That's another thing, no using our real names here, people would notice something like that and start asking questions."

Pips was trying to keep calm and let the two newsies help her but she was starting to look a little panicked.

Marble suddenly laughed, "Poor kid, this must be tough. Lets go talk to Angela now then you can go to bed, alright?"

"Yea, thanks."

"No prob', Frick could you go tell Spot that I had to take care of some thing?"

"Sure." Frick headed back towards the building and Marble called, "Give my best to Blink."

Frick waved a finger and went inside, leaving Marble laughing. They headed back to Manhattan.

* * *

Pips felt worlds better. Even being awake this early didn't dampen her mood. She was clean, fed and dressed warmly. Angela's younger brother had had a trunk full of old clothes to choose from and most of them fit. It was amazing what a bath, even a cold one, and food could do to someone's attitude. She, Marble and Dutchy were on the way to the Distribution Center. It was a cold morning but it was November so it didn't bother them. Marble had told Dutchy about Pips while they were waiting for her to get ready and he had taken it rather well. He had just stared at her for a minute then started snickering. He knew how funny it would be when the others found out and he couldn't wait but he promised that he wasn't going to try to hurry the event.

Apparently they had gotten out slower than usual because just as they came in sight of the center the rest of the newsies caught up with them.

Race hit into Pips at a dead run and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I's can't believe it da kid's got blond hair. Honestly Pips, last nite I t'ought it was black. Hell witout all da doit yous almost as pale as Marble."

"Yeah, well a bath will do that to you Race, you should try it sometime."

He laughed, "Oh, like a knife ta me heart. So whos ya sellin' wit taday?"

Marble cut in before she could answer, "Oh no Race, you're not taking him to the track first thing in the morning. First he has to learn to sell and he needs the best ta teach 'im so he's coming with me. Then you can see if he'll pick horses and let you take the credit for winning."

"Yous know me too well goil. Foine teach 'im in da mornin' but I's bettah see da both a ya at da track dis aftahnoon."

"Yes Master." sarcasm oozed from Marble's voice as she got in line to buy papers.

Pips felt out of place surrounded by everybody cheerfully joking around, until Race put an arm around her and asked if she had heard much about the strike. Suddenly dozens of boys started telling about it all at once. She just smiled and tried to listen to all of them as the same time.

Marble watched Pips get drawn into the group and grinned, she would be alright for now. When she got to the window her smile turned dangerous, "Heya Morris." Her eyes never left him as she paid and took her papers. He was sweating when the next newsie came to the window.

Pips didn't have any problems getting her twenty papes from the shaky boy, "What was that all about?"

"Me an' the Delancys had a little 'disagreement' that they kinda regret now. Come on, lets get started. There are a few things you need to know to sell papes." The two girls walked off to start their day.

* * *

It was cold and dusty but Pips was enjoying herself. She had plenty of experience with horses but she had never seen them race like this. She finally understood the reason so many people were fascinated with the track. The speed, the excitement, seeing those powerful beasts flying past, it was addictive. Pips was hooked and Race was overjoyed. She had and eye for horses better than Marble's. He didn't know that it was from experience raising and training the animals, not just luck but it didn't matter. They were making a killing.

"Pips you an' me is sellin' partnahs now." He stopped Marble when she tried to protest, "Anythin' else da guy hasta loin I's can teach 'im. Asides yous still gotta partnah, Blink's sick an' I ain't got nobody ta keep me company 'till 'e gits bettah. By da time 'es back da kid'll be able ta sell on 'is own or pick who ta go with, so don't worry. He ain't gonna die witout yous watchin' 'im all day an' yous always heah in da aftanoon ta see me anyways."

"Fine Race, just don't get him hooked on gambling, one on you is enough."

Race just laughed and pointed to where Pips, who was at the rail screaming the horses on again, "I's t'ink it's too late." Race joined her cheering her when his horse won. "'sides, da kid's good."

Marble grinned, "Better in' me?"

"Dontcha know it." She smacked him in the head, to avoid damaging anything important.

"Can we collect your money and call it a day?"

Race sighed but it was getting late so he gave in, "Yea, yea, shoa, shoa. I's kinda hungry anyway."

"You get the cash, I'll get Pips."

"'K, see ya."

Race walked off and Marble went to pry Pips away from the horses, "Hungry?" It worked.

"Yea, I'm starved. Are we going now?"

"Yup, we just havta wait for Race then we can go to Tibby's."

"That's time to watch one more right?"

"Nope, let's start walking, he can catch up." They escaped the crowded track and headed down an almost empty back street.

"Hey, um, Marble, how'd you know about the baby?"

"Magic."

"No really, how could you tell after only a few hours?"

"Well I recognized you on the way to Brooklyn and remembered that you would probably be married by now. We all know what married couples do so I was curious. Just by watching you I could tell that you were being a little extra careful so I guessed and I was right. You learn to look a little harder at things when you have to run from the cops if you miss something

"Yea, that's amazing. I can't believe you figured it out."

"You can't believe a lota things."

"One of them being how easily you got me to ditch Race back there."

"Oh he won't mind," She snickered, "So, do you think he's cute?"

"Who? Racetrack?"

"Yea Race. You got the hots for him dontcha?"

"No." Pips blushed at the suggestion of her liking Race.

"Yea, right, sure. Pips and Racetrack sittin' in a tree K.I.S.S.I."

"SHUT UP!"

Marble grinned, "Getting a bit defensive ain't we?"

"No!" Pips sounded so embarrassed when she said it that Marble couldn't help making fun of her all the way to Tibby's.