Emerson knew the impact Jack would feel in his pockets by not selling the
morning papers causing even greater admiration for him. She wanted to find
a way to pay him for his graciousness, but knew he would never accept
payment. They walked in silence to Irving Hall, left to their thoughts,
Emerson of how to repay Jack and Jack's of how to keep her safe.
Arriving at Medda's, Jack led her up the stairs into the office of the owner. Seated behind a desk, pouring over what appeared to be financial statements, the woman raised her head in response to the knock on the door. Seeing Jack and the girl, she immediately ceased working on the books, stood, walked around the desk to greet her guests. While the girl looked vaguely familiar to her, Medda was not able to place her by sight alone.
Stepping into the office a little behind Jack, Emerson felt an instant wave of tears sting her eyes and partial nausea hit her upon seeing the woman she had known since birth. Flooded back into her mind were thoughts of her parents, remembering her mother's jealousy and her father's loyalty to her. She now knew her father saw her as the little sister he never had and her mother's insecurity unfounded. Emerson noticed the look of confusion on Medda's face springing from her new appearance. Relief filled her from this realization, if someone she had known for life did not recognize her; maybe the person looking for her would have a similar fate.
"Medda!" Leaping from the doorway to hug the woman they came to see, Emerson was happy to see her identity become known after she spoke.
Pushing her away to look into the girl's face, Medda's look of worry filled hey eyes as she spoke. "Emerson sweetie, it's so good to see you. How have you been kid?"
"I am okay, I miss Mother and Father, but I'm okay."
"Where have you been? I've stopped by the house several times."
Jack stepped up in usual fashion, seeing Emerson on the verge of able to fight her tears for not much longer. "It seems John and Anna's accident wasn't so much an accident after all."
"Emerson, tell me what he means?" Leading her over to the couch in the office, the trio sat, Emerson between the old family friend and her new confidant.
Swallowing her urge to let the tears fall, she spoke deliberately but quietly in fear of choking on them. "Medda, one of the men who worked in Mr. Blackburn's company talked to me after the funeral. Apparently, it was not an accident that had Sammy cleaning the floor. My father continuing support to that man's factory seemed unlikely due to his position on children's rights. Had they finished their tour and spoken to the worker's, Father would have been in his lawyer's office within the hour. Without his backing to the factory, Mr. Blackburn would have been forced to shut his doors." Briefly pausing, Emerson stood in need of pacing the floor. Pacing was something her father always did to help him think, it was a nervous habit really, but some of his best business ideas came through his late night pacing.
"I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe it would be better to go to the police myself instead of waiting for Mr. Phiscomb to come back."
"I think you are right to wait for the lawyer. You have no idea who might be looking for you besides who is going to look for you in the newsies lodging house. No one, except the boys knew of his connections to them. I'm sure Jack and the boys will not mind your staying with them for a few days, would you Jack?" Medda asked in a knowing manner. She noticed the way in which he looked at Emerson, the expression of care on his face.
"Uh, no, in fact, we've hid several people over the years."
Emerson did not need to ask for validation of this statement, she heard several of the boy's stories and knew that most of them had been on the run from someone or something in their pasts. Jack, needing to further his own justification, continued speaking about them, ignoring the fact she had heard most of their tales.
"In fact it's how half the boys came to the house. Take Blink, for example, he was on the run from the bulls for something he didn't do, or claimed he didn't do, when he ran into Snoddy. Snoddy brought him back till his name was cleared. He's been with us ever since. And Crutchy, his father was a terrible drunk, a couple of the guys found him in an alley passed out from a beating. So, what do you say, do you want to join me and the guys for a few days?"
"Well, since I was planning to hide out there before fully learning it was a wayward home for lost causes, I suppose this just strengthens my thoughts."
Medda let out a small chuckle before speaking again. "That's Jack, St. Jude to the newsies."
Seeing the questioning look on his face, Medda went on to explain, "St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes."
"I definitely ain't no saint."
"Well, kids, I have an act to do. Please stay if you like and enjoy the show." Standing with the help of Jack's offered hand, Medda walked over to the desk Emerson leaned against, hugging her one last time. "You come back and see me once this mess is cleared up."
Once again, a hearty thank you and group hug to all who reviewed!!!! My apologies once again for lingering on the outside of the shout out thing.maybe I'll cave to them sooner or later..in the meantime (we won't actually call these shout outs even though they closely resemble them)....to Scott and Chad who most likely won't read any further, I'll tie you both down and make you watch the movie. As for the estrogen level, yeah, you could be in for a bit of trouble here. Kaylee, I can see where Race is a charmer, but Emerson thinks Blink is the biggest, followed closely by Mush. Who could resist those dimples? Rhapsody, you want romance? Hmmmmmm...I'll see what I can do, but no promises. Hey, had to give you a little something to keep you interested. Dreamer, love the new fic and updated bio. Keep up the great work. Speaking of work.I have been let go from my temp position so I should have more time to work on the really important stuff-like updating. Drama Queen, glad you like it so far. Hope to see you around again soon. I'm working on catching up on the Whisper story and hope to be in a few days. I love those characters. And last, but not least to Reaghann, without who's help and encouragement I would not be able to go on..thanks hon.
Arriving at Medda's, Jack led her up the stairs into the office of the owner. Seated behind a desk, pouring over what appeared to be financial statements, the woman raised her head in response to the knock on the door. Seeing Jack and the girl, she immediately ceased working on the books, stood, walked around the desk to greet her guests. While the girl looked vaguely familiar to her, Medda was not able to place her by sight alone.
Stepping into the office a little behind Jack, Emerson felt an instant wave of tears sting her eyes and partial nausea hit her upon seeing the woman she had known since birth. Flooded back into her mind were thoughts of her parents, remembering her mother's jealousy and her father's loyalty to her. She now knew her father saw her as the little sister he never had and her mother's insecurity unfounded. Emerson noticed the look of confusion on Medda's face springing from her new appearance. Relief filled her from this realization, if someone she had known for life did not recognize her; maybe the person looking for her would have a similar fate.
"Medda!" Leaping from the doorway to hug the woman they came to see, Emerson was happy to see her identity become known after she spoke.
Pushing her away to look into the girl's face, Medda's look of worry filled hey eyes as she spoke. "Emerson sweetie, it's so good to see you. How have you been kid?"
"I am okay, I miss Mother and Father, but I'm okay."
"Where have you been? I've stopped by the house several times."
Jack stepped up in usual fashion, seeing Emerson on the verge of able to fight her tears for not much longer. "It seems John and Anna's accident wasn't so much an accident after all."
"Emerson, tell me what he means?" Leading her over to the couch in the office, the trio sat, Emerson between the old family friend and her new confidant.
Swallowing her urge to let the tears fall, she spoke deliberately but quietly in fear of choking on them. "Medda, one of the men who worked in Mr. Blackburn's company talked to me after the funeral. Apparently, it was not an accident that had Sammy cleaning the floor. My father continuing support to that man's factory seemed unlikely due to his position on children's rights. Had they finished their tour and spoken to the worker's, Father would have been in his lawyer's office within the hour. Without his backing to the factory, Mr. Blackburn would have been forced to shut his doors." Briefly pausing, Emerson stood in need of pacing the floor. Pacing was something her father always did to help him think, it was a nervous habit really, but some of his best business ideas came through his late night pacing.
"I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe it would be better to go to the police myself instead of waiting for Mr. Phiscomb to come back."
"I think you are right to wait for the lawyer. You have no idea who might be looking for you besides who is going to look for you in the newsies lodging house. No one, except the boys knew of his connections to them. I'm sure Jack and the boys will not mind your staying with them for a few days, would you Jack?" Medda asked in a knowing manner. She noticed the way in which he looked at Emerson, the expression of care on his face.
"Uh, no, in fact, we've hid several people over the years."
Emerson did not need to ask for validation of this statement, she heard several of the boy's stories and knew that most of them had been on the run from someone or something in their pasts. Jack, needing to further his own justification, continued speaking about them, ignoring the fact she had heard most of their tales.
"In fact it's how half the boys came to the house. Take Blink, for example, he was on the run from the bulls for something he didn't do, or claimed he didn't do, when he ran into Snoddy. Snoddy brought him back till his name was cleared. He's been with us ever since. And Crutchy, his father was a terrible drunk, a couple of the guys found him in an alley passed out from a beating. So, what do you say, do you want to join me and the guys for a few days?"
"Well, since I was planning to hide out there before fully learning it was a wayward home for lost causes, I suppose this just strengthens my thoughts."
Medda let out a small chuckle before speaking again. "That's Jack, St. Jude to the newsies."
Seeing the questioning look on his face, Medda went on to explain, "St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes."
"I definitely ain't no saint."
"Well, kids, I have an act to do. Please stay if you like and enjoy the show." Standing with the help of Jack's offered hand, Medda walked over to the desk Emerson leaned against, hugging her one last time. "You come back and see me once this mess is cleared up."
Once again, a hearty thank you and group hug to all who reviewed!!!! My apologies once again for lingering on the outside of the shout out thing.maybe I'll cave to them sooner or later..in the meantime (we won't actually call these shout outs even though they closely resemble them)....to Scott and Chad who most likely won't read any further, I'll tie you both down and make you watch the movie. As for the estrogen level, yeah, you could be in for a bit of trouble here. Kaylee, I can see where Race is a charmer, but Emerson thinks Blink is the biggest, followed closely by Mush. Who could resist those dimples? Rhapsody, you want romance? Hmmmmmm...I'll see what I can do, but no promises. Hey, had to give you a little something to keep you interested. Dreamer, love the new fic and updated bio. Keep up the great work. Speaking of work.I have been let go from my temp position so I should have more time to work on the really important stuff-like updating. Drama Queen, glad you like it so far. Hope to see you around again soon. I'm working on catching up on the Whisper story and hope to be in a few days. I love those characters. And last, but not least to Reaghann, without who's help and encouragement I would not be able to go on..thanks hon.