A/N: Read and review please!!! I was severy disappointed at the lack of reviews for the last chapter…
What sunshine is to flowers, reviews are to authors. (That's my very own quote!)
AnUndercovernewsie: I'm glad that the sn worked out for you. I always thought that was a fun song to sing… Thanks for the review you're wonderful.
Racetrack and Jack sat on the top step. Race had decided to wait with him for Molly, and walk with Bliss to Tibby's. He figured it was the gentlemanly thing to do.
"I'm glad Bliss is here to keep me straight, I can't believe I was ready to walk out of here with Molly wearin' my shirt, and no shoes!" Jack said, shaking his head.
"Once you get used to the idea, I'm sure you'll take to carin' for her." Race reassured.
Molly quietly opened the bunkroom door and slipped out. With a run and a flying leap, she jumped on Jack's back and scrambled up to sit on his shoulders. "Where we goin again, Jack?"
"You scared the livin daylights outta me! Let me know when you're gonna do that, ok? We's going to the Jacob's place." He said as he started going down the stairs. "Bye Race." He called back to him.
"See ya later Jack. Molly, be good." Race told her.
She just grinned and waved at him. "Who are the Jacobs?" Molly asked Jack.
"They's good friends of mine. Mr and Mrs. Jacobs, that's Mayer and Esther. They are David, Les, and Sarah's parents. David and Les have been Newsies for a year now. An' Sarah's my girl."
"Ohhh!" she replied in a singsong voice.
"Hey, none of that now, ya hear!" he warned.
"OK kid, on your feet." Jack said as he pulled her from her perch on his shoulders and set her on the ground. She skipped ahead and pushed the door open and looked outside. They walked hand in hand down the street until Molly spied a flock of pigeons eating crumbs from someone's dropped piece of bread. She took off running and screeched with delight as they scattered.
Jack smiled. Being a newsie was hard work, and he vowed to himself that she wouldn't completely lose her childhood, like so many kids on the street.
Molly stood in front of Jack as he knocked on the door. David pulled the door open wide with a smile.
"Hello Jack, how's it going?" Suddenly, he noticed Molly standing there. "Who's this?" David asked as he motioned them in.
"It turns out that I have a sister…" he started.
The whole family looked at him, astounded.
"Yeah, you think you're surprised… I just found out earlier today!" Jack said, shaking his head.
Sarah walked over and gave Jack a quick hug before asking, "How did you find her?" she asked, motioning to Molly, who was being given the grand tour by Les.
"Actually, Race ran into her. Really, he almost knocked her over, and asked her if she was lost." He explained.
Jack explained the rest of the story over dinner, then they all kicked back and watched Les and Molly run around and play.
"What all did she have with her when she found you?" asked Esther.
"I guess a change of clothes or two, and the Bible, not much." Said Jack.
Upon hearing this, Esther stood and walked across the room, where she kneeled down and opened up a trunk that was set against the wall. She started rummaging through it, pulling out a few articles.
"Molly, come here dear." Esther beckoned.
Molly skipped over and stood next to her. Esther started holding up clothes against her to see if they would fit. In a few minutes she had put together a whole wardrobe for the little girl with some of Sarah's old things, and even more practical for the rough and tumble child, some of Les and David's things. She bundled it all together in an extra blanket for her to sleep with.
It wasn't too long after that when, right in the middle of playing a game Molly and Les invented, Molly just fell over, asleep.
"I guess that means that I better get her back to the lodging house." Stated Jack
"Why don't you guys stay here tonight?" invited Mayor.
"Thanks, but I gotta get back, I bet Bliss is pacing, waiting for me to get back." Chuckled Jack as he stood up and stretched. Patting his stomach, he said to Esther and Sarah, "Thanks again for another great meal."
Jack gently picked Molly up, and she groggily opened her eyes and looked at him before throwing her arms around his neck and snuggling into his shoulder. He waved another goodbye, and Sarah kissed him on the cheek and handed him the bundle of clothes for Molly.
As he walked towards the lodging house, he smiled the whole time. It was a weird feeling. For the first time in his life, Jack was responsible for someone. Not like all the other boys at the lodging house that he watched out for. They all had the rest of the newsies looking out for them. This was different. The little hands hugging his neck had his blood running through the veins.
Dutchy walked out from around the corner and quickly caught up with him.
"Hiya Jack! Is this the sister I've been hearing so much about?" he asked as he took the bundle of clothes out of Jack's hand to carry for him.
"Hey, thanks. Yeah, dis is Molly. What all have you been hearing?" inquired Jack.
"Myself and everyone else received a death threat if we ever let her get hurt."
"What? Oh, Bliss, right?"
"You got it Jackie-Boy"
"Bliss sure is something, you know." Jack said, shaking his head.
With a sigh, Dutchy commented, "She sure is."
Raising his eyebrows, Jack looked over at Dutchy. "What, are you sweet on her or somethin'?" You got dat… puppy dog look in your eyes.
With a quick grin, Dutchy answered, "let's just say that every time I see her, it brightens my day, even when it's the middle of the night. Just don't tell anyone, you won't will you Jack?" pleaded Dutchy.
"Of course I won't tell anyone." Jack said as they reached the door to the lodging house.
Dutchy pulled the door open and held it for Jack to walk through. They walked up to Kloppman's desk
"Evenin' Kloppman" Jack said quietly as Dutchy signed himself in.
As Jack shifted Molly to one arm so he could sign in, Molly woke up and sat up straight, looking around.
"Molly, do you want to sign yourself in, or do you want me to do it?" Jack asked her.
She leaned forward and grabbed the pen from Jack's hand. With her tongue between her teeth in concentration, she carefully wrote her name on the line.
"Night, Kloppman." Dutchy and Jack said in unison.
"G'night Mr. Man." Molly waved to Kloppman as they turned to walk upstairs.
"Sweet dreams girl." He answered back.
"Who are you?" Molly asked Dutchy.
"Molly, this is Dutchy." Jack answered for him. Just about everyone else should be upstairs already, so you'll get to meet them tonight too." Jack said as they reached the last step.
"Molly squirmed herself to the floor and opened the door to the bunkroom. She poked her head in and looked around at the frenzy of activity inside. Spying Bliss across the room, she pushed the door open and skipped over to where Bliss was sitting, talking to Bumlets and Mush."
"Hiya Bliss." She said as she settled herself next to her on the bed. "How's yer eye Bumlets?"
As soon as Molly had come all the way through the doorway, all movement and talking stopped, and all eyes were on her. She yawned and leaned on Bliss, who in turn, put her arm around her and pulled her close.
"I'm alright." Bumlets answered, tenderly touching the swollen spot under his eye.
Her reply of "That's good." Was cut short by a huge yawn.
Dutchy and Jack, now holding the bundle of clothes, followed Molly's example and found a seat on one of the bunks.
"What's that you got there Jack? " Bliss asked, pointing to the bundle.
"Oh, the Jacobs sent us home with some things for Molly."
"Good!" Bliss exclaimed. "I was wondering how I was going to get away with keeping on my regular clothes washing schedule if she only had 3 outfits altogether "
"I gots some boy clothes too!" Molly informed Bliss
"Hey Jackie-Boy, why don't you introduce us to your new guest there." Snitch called out from across the room.
Standing up with a grin, Jack clapped Dutchy on the shoulder and announced, "Dis is my pal Dutchy…" he was cut off by half a dozen or so hats thrown at his head. He ducked, but one still hit him. "It turns out that I have a sister. This is Molly." The he turned around to tell Molly who everyone was, only to find that she had fallen back asleep.
"I guess she aint up to any introductions tonight." He told everyone as he bent down to pick her up to put her in her own bed.
Jack was just about to pull the blankets over her when Bliss called out "Shoes!"
Sheepishly, Jack answered "Oh yeah." before unlacing her shoes and pulling them off.
Kloppman leaned in the doorway and ordered, "Lights out, get in bed everyone." He waited until the scurrying around had stopped before turning the light switch off.
Early the next morning, the whole room was awakened by a loud, bloodcurdling scream. A few of the guys sat up and looked around to make sure everything was all right. When Jack looked around, he saw Molly screaming like a banshee, and flailing her whole body with a look of terror on her face. Jack jumped across the room on a couple of bunks, stepping on a couple of people, and hopped down to kneel next to Bliss, who was already trying to sooth Molly's nightmare away. Jack picked her up from the bed, getting punched in the chin before he could pull her arms to her sides. Her eyes fluttered open, and she finally stopped screaming.
"Are you alright now?" Jack asked Molly, as he sat down on her bunk, still holding her in his lap.
"Dey tried to take me from Momma before she got dead. They wanted to sell me in a store with other kids."
"Who tried?" asked Jack.
"The men from the 'storphanage'. They said I would sell for a lot of money 'cuz I'm cute."
"I promise you that no one will take you from me. We're a family now, got that?" Jack vowed.
"Are they family too?" Molly asked Jack, pointing all around the room to everyone staring at them.
"Bein' a newsie means you're part of the newsie family, so you and me, we gots two families"
Just then, the door burst open, and Kloppman came in asking, "What's the screaming about, is someone hurt?"
Boots looked up at him and announced, "That girl's certainly got some lungs, she was havin' a nightmare."
"Well, at least she's got great timing. I was just about to come wake you guys up, but there's no need for that now." He said before turning around and walking backout the door and down the stairs.
Jack stood up and poked Pie-Eater, whose bunk was right above Molly's "Wake up Pie-Eater! You can fall back asleep faster than anyone else I have ever seen!"
"Waddaya want Cowboy?" Pie-Eater asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Can I switch you bunks? I wanna be closer to Molly in case she has any more nightmares, and since she likes Bliss so much, I figured it'd be easier to move me than move the both of them."
"Sure, as long as I get to lay here for another five minutes." Pie-Eater answered before turning over and rolling up into a ball to sleep for a few more minutes.
With a grin, Bliss walked over to the sink and grabbed a facecloth and soaked it with icy cold water. Then she stood on the side of Molly's bunk and rang out some of the water onto Pie-Eater's back.
With a yelp of surprise, he flailed his arms and kicked his legs until he fell off of his bunk. He landed on Mush, who unluckily was walking by at the time.
"Sorry Mush" Bliss called out as she tossed the rag into a sink and went to help them up.
The rest of the morning went quite uneventful, with the exception of Jake tripping and almost falling down the stairs. Blink caught him though.
While they were all waiting around for the gates to open at the distribution center, a newsie came jogging up to Jack. He was probably about 16 or 17, and he had a scowl on his face that looked like it would curdle milk. He was a Harlem Newsie that got his name when one too many people sarcastically commented to him, "You are just one big ray of sunshine, aren't you?" and received a "yes" in response. He wasn't intentionally rude, he just never smiled. Sunshine was intimidating to most, but after you got over the initial shock of never being smiled at, he was actually pleasant.
Jack broke out into a grin, "Hiya Sunshine!" he said enthusiastically as he spit into his hand and held it out to him.
The corners of Sunshine's mouth turned up just enough that he didn't look like he was furious, and he spit into his own palm and shook Jack's hand.
Sunshine stated, "There's trouble up in Harkem, the Bronx newsies are on the prowl. Nerve sent me for reinforcements, he wanted you especially."
"But I, uh…" he stammered, pointing at Molly, unsure of what to do.
"I'll watch her close, and you know it." Bliss told him. "Just go, they need a good fighter. And take Snitch and Jake with you if they wanna go." She suggested.
"All right, all right. Molly, stay with Bliss." He said as she started unknotting the red bandanna from around his neck. He kneeled down and tied it around Molly's neck. "Last time I soaked a Bronx newsie, he tried to strangle me with this." He explained before taking his hat off and putting it on her head, and taking the change from his pocket and slipping it into hers. "So you can buy your papers and your lunch, in case I'm not back."
"Alright. Soak a dirty, rotten sucker for me" Molly spat out with a nod.
Grinning, Jack nodded in agreement before turning with a wave and following an ansy Sunshine back through the crowd to find Snitch and Jake.
"Are you gonna teach me how to sell today?" Molly asked Bliss just as the gates opened up to let the newsies in.
"Sure, if you want me to."
"Yeah!" Molly piped with a grin.