"Momma!" Sam said, yanking on Rae's sleeve as she attempted to scrub the stairs.

She sighed and glanced at him. "What is it honey?"

"Jame cryin'."

With a nod, she set her scrub brush aside. "Thank you Sam." And then she went to go attend to James.

Sam followed her. "I hungry."

"Is it lunchtime already?"

Sam nodded as his tummy growled.

"Well, I'll get you something to eat after I see what James wants."

He nodded and toddled along behind her.

"Would you go get Andy. I'm sure he'll want some lunch too."

"Yes Momma," he said, running from the room as fast as his little legs would take him.

"Andy!" he yelled. "AAAANNNNDDYYYYY!" He opened the door to Andy's room to find it empty. "Andy?" He scampered in. "Andy?"

He saw the paper on Andy's pillow and picked it up, staring at the writing.

"Hmmm...." He toddled from the room. "Momma. Here." He handed her the paper.

She quickly scanned the paper. "Where did you get this Sammy?"

"On Andy's pilla."

She crumpled the paper in her hand.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Andy ran away," she whispered.

"What's that?"

"He went away."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Cause he's mad at me."

"How come?"

"I don't know, Sammy."

"-I- love you, Momma," he said, hugging her leg.

She held him close. "I love you too, baby."

He clambered onto her lap next to James. "I want Daddy," he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"He'll be back soon," she whispered.

"Gonna get Andy?"

"I don't know... I don't know how long he's been gone..."

Sam made a face.

She kissed his forehead. "Do you think we should try anyway?"

He shrugged. "It's cold outside."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Don't know."

She hugged him close. James began to fuss. "Oh baby," she murmured, kissing his smooth little forehead.

~*~

Late that night, Spot, Chris, Ginny and Ann walked into the house. "Dadddy!!" Sam squealed, running to meet them.

"Hello little man," he said wearily, ruffling his hair.

Spot scooped him up into his arms. "Where is everybody?" he asked.

"Momma cleanin'...Jame' sleepin'...Andy runned 'way."

"... Andy what!?"

"runned 'way."

"When did he do that?"

"This mornin..."

He ran down the hall and entered his and Rae's bedroom. "Rae?"

"In the library," she yelled.

He headed into the library. "Did you get Sippi's message? And what's this about Andy running away??"

"What message?"

"I had Sippi send you a contact... Duchess said her men kidnapped our children... but she sent them back because she hadn't planned it. Apparently they were supposed to have already been here..."

Her eyes widened in panic. "They haven't been here...No one has been here..."

"I KNEW something was wrong..." He slammed his fist into his hand.

"Didn't you come back here to find out about Andy?" Chris asked from the doorway.

"Yes... but Duch's goons haven't stopped by either..."

"Where is Andy?" Ann asked, poking her head around Chris.

Rae sighed. "He ran away. To the city."

"WHY?" All three demanded at once.

"I don't know!"

"Did he leave a note? Anything?"

"Yes..." She handed the note to Spot.

He turned to Rae. "What does he mean...'you don't care about him anymore'...?" he asked, glaring at her.

"I don't know!" She slumped tearfully into a chair.

"What do you know?" he demanded.

"What are you talking about? I just said I don't know..."

"Our son ran away because he thinks that you don't care about him anymore. You had to have done something to make him do this!"

"I don't know!" She burst into tears. "We had an argument!" she sobbed.

"About what?"

"I had asked him to get b-breakfast for Sam and he used the stove and burned his hands. I didn't know, Spot!"

"I'm going for a walk," he muttered, leaving the room and slamming the front door.

Rae buried her face into her hands, hysterical with tears. "I'm a failure!" she sobbed. As a mother, as a wife... she felt as if she failed it all.

Ann leaned against Chris. "I want Andy," she said.

He ruffled her hair lightly. "I know, short stuff. I know."

Ginny put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come on Annie. We need to unpack."

"Okay..." She followed her down the hall to the girls' room.

Chris leaned against the doorframe. "Need any help?" he asked Rae.

She shook her head, sniffling hard.

He took James in one arm and scooped Sam up in the other. "I'm hungry. Come help me get something to eat, Sammy."

"Kay," he said simply.

Rae buried her face in the throw pillow on the couch and sobbed violently. How could this have happened? Where did she go wrong? Everyone was mad and leaving her!

~*~

Spot slammed his fists into the wall of the barn. He should have known better than to trust Duchess. That meant he had to go BACK to Brooklyn. He growled in frustration.

As if that weren't bad enough. He also had to figure out where Andy had run off to. This was outrageous!

Growling in anger, he turned and slammed his fist into the wall again. He sighed. Maybe, on his return to Brooklyn, he could check for Andy there. He leaned against the wall and sank to the ground.

Ever since they had moved to Pleasant Valley, they'd had one bit of bad luck after another. He was half tempted to pack up the whole family and move somewhere...anywhere but here. But then again, he couldn't do that because three of his children were missing.

Frustrated, he pushed his hands into his hair and gripped it firmly. Who was he supposed to find first? Andy or Robert and Lizzy?

"I don't know," he moaned. WHY did Andy have to run away now? He didn't believe that the boy would run away just because of an argument. Rae must have done or said something to upset him. She had driven off Molly too, he remembered. He was so mad at her that he didn't want to see or speak to her right now. How could she have let all this happen?!

Sighing, he stood and walked back into the house. "I'm headed back to Brooklyn," he told Chris as he stopped in the kitchen.

"Are you going to tell Rae?"

"No."

He frowned a little. "Why not?"

"I'm not in the mood to talk to her right now."

"Um... okay..."

"She's the reason Molly left....and she ran Andy off too. So now, on top of looking for Robert and Lizzy, I now have to worry about finding him as well."

"I can look for Andy for you."

Spot shook his head. "I need someone here to make sure she doesn't run anyone else off."

"All right, I suppose," he said with a sigh.

"You can be more help to me by staying here."

"All right, all right."

"I don't know when I'll be back."

He nodded. "All right, I guess..."

Spot grabbed his bag and left the house again.

Chris shook his head and watched him cross the yard. This wacky family was falling apart.

~*~

Andy left the train station and looked around. It didn't look the same as the last time he was here. He swallowed hard, uncertain where to go. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all. He wandered around for a little while. None of this looked right. It was all too different. He clutched his arms to his chest. Oh no! He was lost!

"Are you lost kid?" a voice asked.

He looked at the strange boy behind him with wide eyes. "I... er... I..."

"What's your name?"

"A-A-Andy. Andy C-Conlon."

The older boy folded his arms across his chest. "Conlon, eh?"

He shrank back. Could this be one of that Duchess lady's cronies? "Y... yes..."

"Do you know Spot Conlon?"

"He's... my dad."

"How old are you kid?"

"E-e-eighttt"

"Then you ain't Spot's kid. Spot's only been married for four years."

"Me and Ann... that's my sister. He adopted us. He and Momma, I mean."

"I don't believe you."

Andy gave him a curious look. "Why not?"

"I just don't."

"Well I'm tellin' the truth." He glanced around. "Am I in Brooklyn?"

"No. You're in my territory. Lower Manhattan."

"That's why I didn't remember it."

The older boy grabbed his arm. "Come on kid."

"Wh-where are you taking me!?"

"To my lodging house."

"Can I be a newsie there?"

"As long as you quit telling people that you're Spot's kid."

"But... I am."

"Do you wanna be a newsie?"

"Y-yes..."

"Then don't tell anyone that you're Spot's kid. You do...and I'll boot you right back out on the streets...only I'll leave you in the worst part of town..."

"Y-yes sir," Andy said quickly.

"Do you have any money?"

He dug around his pocket and finally pulled out a handful of change.

"Give it to me."

He stepped back. "Why?"

"Because there are people here who take money out of other people's pockets. If you want to keep it, give it to me."

He looked at the boy suspiciously but slowly dumped the money in his hand.

The older boy pocketed the change. "Now. You need a new name."

"New name?"

"Yes. I already told you...you can't go around claiming to be Spot's kid...so you need a new name."

He scratached his head. "What kind of new name?"

"A nickname will work."

"I don't know any nicknames except Andy..."

"Let's see..." the older boy said thoughtfully. "We'll just have to give you one then...How about Pup?"

"Pup?..." He shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

The older boy nodded. "From now on, your name is Pup."

"Um, okay." He looked at him curiously. "What's your name then?"

"My name is Snipes. Come on, kid. We have just enough time to get to the lodging house before Kloppman locks the doors."

He ran after Snipes.

After a few moments they came to a rundown building. Andy made a face. "This is the

lodging house?"

"Got a problem with it?" he said, shoving Andy in. Snipes dropped some coins in a jar on the counter near the door. He scribbled something on a book on the desk and handed the pen to Andy. "Sign in, kid."

"What do I write?" Andy asked. "My name.... or my nickname.. or what?"

"Just your nickname!"

"Okay! You don't hafta yell!"

"You don't have to ask so many stupid questions."

"No question is stupid, don't you know anything?"

"You've had schoolin' ain't ya?"

"Yes."

Snipes rolled his eyes. "Jus' sign your name."

With a sigh, he took the pen from Snipes and scribbled down his name.

An older man appeared behind the desk and startled him. "You found some new meat, eh Snipes?" he asked.

Snipes smirked. "Yep. Wandering lost by the trains."

"It's about time for lights out. Give him the bunk Spot used when he decided to drop by. It's the only one empty."

"Will do. C'mon Pup, follow me."

Andy scampered along after him. The older man looked down at the book. "Pup Conlon, huh?" he asked himself.

"Is it hard bein' a newsie?" Andy asked.

"Just got to get used to not eating...and freezing in the winter and sweating in the summer....and hauling around stacks of heavy papers..."

Slowly, he nodded. That seemed a lot more difficult than he thought it would be...

"Do you know anything about selling papers?" Snipes asked as he led Andy into the bunkroom.

"No..."

"Then I'll let you sell with Les for a few days, then you'll be on your own..." he bent down to Andy's level. "and don't tell him who you are."

"Um... okay. Who's Les?"

"You'll meet him in the morning. There is your bunk. Lights out in five minutes."

"'Kay..." And he crawled into bed.

Minutes later the light went out and the room was pitch black, except for the moonlight coming in through the filthy window. Andy looked out that window, thinking. He hoped no one was too worried. Suddenly he missed Annie. He almost wished that he had waited and taken her with him. Then again, he didn't want her to have to do any of the things Snipes had mentioned. Being a newsie just wasn't a great as they thought it would be.

But still.. he missed her terribly.

Sighing deeply he rolled over and buried his head in the dingy pillow. Maybe things would look better in the morning.