A/N: Sorry I forgot to tell you that I was going to vacation. Quick shoot outs: Thank you so much Rain and Fish who review, Miracle who gives me good ideas and is fun to talk to, Mary who proof reads my chapters, and Biz who helped me put together the scenes leading up to them getting back together.

Chapter 14

Spot probably would have laughed at her response if he hadn't been feeling so lousy. Instead he showed his appreciation by kissing her lightly on the lips, she smiled.

"You don't need to tell me," she said quietly under his gaze.

"I don't?"

"No, I forgive ya. I'd rather not know what happened dat night as long as ya promise not ta do it again."

"Promise," he said spitting on his hand before offering it to Dag.

She shook his hand after applying spit to her own. They sat content mostly just to be in each others company after being separated for almost a week. That and Spot was still terribly hung over. He moaned.

"I've heard dat a warm beer can help hangovers," Dag said deciding to break the silence.

"How'd ya know I was hungovah?" Spot asked surprised, it wasn't like he'd thrown up since coming upstairs.

"Whenevah ya have headaches yeh shoulders hunch more than normal," Dag replied calmly.

"Dey do?"

"Yep,"

Silence then engulfed them again. A peaceful silence none the less. Then there was an unpleasant knock on the door. Dag growled. It meant that they had to move. Dag loosened herself from Spot's grip and pushed him onto the bed where he kind of flooped and proceeded to feel miserable.

"Be right back," she said descending down the stairs realizing that she was still in the uncomfortable gown she had been wearing the night before.

At the door stood Mr. Morril and Jamie, Jamie immediately noticed that Dag was still in his mothers dress, but let it slide. Mr. Morrill gave her an odd look for it.

"Where's Alexandria?" Mr. Morrill asked but not in a demanding way.

"Doesn't matter," Dag replied with a yawn.

"Doesn't matter?" Mr. Morrill didn't understand and would clearly need Dag to explain things to him.

"Doesn't mattah wheah she is now, she could be anywheah in Brooklyn. It's not my job to keep track of where evahyone sells, but she'll be back heah by nightfall can guarantee you dat. She might even be back soonah."

"Well where is she when she's not here?" Mr. Morrill clearly didn't get what Dag was trying to explain to him.

"She's a newsie so she's out sellin'," Dag figured simple terms would be best.

"Yes, I understand that,"

"Do ya?" Dag replied sarcastically.

"Yes, I do, will she come back straight here when she's done selling?"

"No she'll probably go to the dock," Jamie answered for Dag.

"There ya go, ya can go wait deah for her." Dag said shutting the door in they're faces and going back upstairs to Spot.

She heard the door open again and cursed, but ignored it and hoped they'd just go away. She did not appreciate them bothering her like this. She just wanted to spend the day with her Spot.

Getting back upstairs she saw Spot out cold. She smiled and decided to let him be. After him getting that drunk over her it was the least she could do. Poor Spot, he still didn't even know the reason that she'd walked out on him but Dag figured it would come up eventually.

She walked back downstairs and saw that it was in fact not Jamie and Mr. Morrill but in fact someone else. Miracle sat on the little mattress she and Angel shared. Since Emily had left there had been a perfect amount of beds for the girls if they doubled up.

"Miracle ya mind?" Dag asked motioning towards the empty space next to her.

"Naw go ahead,"

"Why aren't ya at woik?" Dag asked sitting down.

"Got the day off," Miracle didn't seem every excited about it.

"Where's Kelsey?"

"Out sellin' with Why,"

"So....." Dag had run out of things to ask, and Miracle didn't seem much for conversation at the moment.

"Forgive Spot?" Dag was surprised by Miracle's sudden question.

"Yeah," Dag didn't seem to think a more than one word answer was necessary here.

"Ah....."

They were both at a complete loss of words. They had nothing to say to each other at all. Dag sat uncomfortable in the silence. She had never liked silence much. Liked to be around people, correction she loved to be around people. Claimed to like to be alone and not like to do the social thing. That was about as far from the truth as possible. Spot was one of the few people who realized this. She especially liked to be around him.

Then she realized something that should have been obvious to her from the beginning. Miracle liked Spot. Usually she noticed these things. Like the fact the Jamie liked her was so obvious that she didn't have to figure it out, and that Mark liked Miracle was almost as obvious as anything. Then again she hadn't figured that Spot liked her till he had made his move. Maybe these things weren't as obvious to her as she had thought.

This was not good. If Miracle liked Spot then Dag feared that their friendship would die. More thought pursued and Dag realized that it pretty much had. This had to be fixed.

"Ya like Spot huh?" Dag asked for confirmation.

"He's my friend," Miracle half lied.

"No I mean ya want to be his goil."

"No," Miracle lied with a little bit of fear in her eyes.

"Chill Miracle yeh me friend I wouldn't be mad at ya," well that was mostly true anyway for Dag. If Dag had found out by Miracle making a move on him then she would be mad but Miracle wasn't doing anything of the sort.

"I saw Jamie and some Man leaving just before I got here." Miracle said changing the subject.

"Why's pop,"

"Really?"

"Yeah came lookin' for her."

"She going to go with him?"

"She don't know he's heah yet and when she does it's up ta heh."

"Ah,"

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

Why was selling with Flame, Hour, and Kelsey, who had the day off. The four of them would split up cover the entire street then meet back together covering a lot of ground. It helped that the headlines weren't good and little improvising was necessary. They finished quickly and had had a lot of papers to sell between the four of them.

Flame felt bad that Spot was hung over back at the ware house when the selling was so good. Well that's what Spot got for getting himself so drunk. The walk back to the dock seemed to go more quickly with three other people with him instead of just Hour. Hour doesn't say much but when he does it's worth listening too, the boy was incredibly clever and funny.

Back at the dock Flame noticed Jamie and another man standing there clearly waiting for them. Flame motioned for the others to stay where they were while he approached the intruders as he saw them.

"Jamie," Flame said making his existence known.

"Flame," Jamie replied almost in greeting. "This is Mr. Morrill, he's here for his daughter."

"Who's his daughter," Flame asked hoping in all honestly that he wasn't face to face with Dag's dad.

"Alexandra," Mr. Morrill said turning to face Flame.

"I don't know no Alexandra," Flame replied after thinking for a moment.

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

"I wonder who the other man is," Kelsey said.

Why didn't say anything for the first time in her life. He looked so familiar that she just wished he'd turn around so he could see his face. Flame and Jamie said something to each other, then the man said something and turned around.

Why gasped as her father's kind face was right there so close. She ran forward to him forgetting that Flame had told her to stay where she was.

"Pa!" she exclaimed as he noticed her.

He scooped her into his arms. She had missed him so much.

"Alexandra, so that's yeh real name," Flame said after a few moment.

"Yep, Flame this is my pa, Pa this is Flame. He's really nice and the only reason his name is Flame is 'cause he has flaming red hair." She informed him.

"Oh really," Pa replied keeping his hug tight.

"Yep, he's Spot's best friend and if anything happened to Spot then Flame would take over leadership, at least that's what Dag says."

"Hmm, well nice to meet you Flame." Pa said offering his hand to Flame.

"Yeah, nice ta meet ya too," Flame said his strong grip meeting Pa's.

"So who's this Dag?" Pa asked.

"She's my friend. Saved me from the burning building, and let me be her selling partner till she ran off 'cause she was mad at Spot, then I was Spot's selling partner I'm the only person besides Dag he's ever let be his selling partner." Why finished proudly.

"Wow," Pa said smiling.

"I is gonna check on Spot," Flame said moving towards the warehouse.

"What's wrong with Spot?" Pa asked Why.

"Got himself too drunk over Dag leaving," Why informed him.