To everyone who's been reviewing and reading, thank you so much. I reread the story and realize I have some spelling errors, but I'm sure its nothing you can't guess, but i do apologize for them.
And to the person who said Race's mom is in the movie, where is she? I've never heard that before, unless you mean Patrick's mother and Racetrack is SO NOT a Patrick.
Just a quick note to everyone: This story, its sequel and the story about the other newsie I'm doing a sugary piece of shit on are NOT insert fics. Meaning if you ask me enough I will pair you with your favorite newsie. Most of the newsies are taken by characters we've made up. I may put some people with their newsies that are free, but those newsies are going to being extremely minor characters. You'll be mentioned maybe once and no I will not devote a whole chapter of sex to you or anything of the sort as it doesn't pertain to this story. Please keep that in mind before you ask.
Also, the use of Night and Day is in reference to the Frank Sinatra song. I realize in 1894 they wouldn't have had that song, but just pretend.
Chapter Three
Husband and Wife
Fiona woke up the next morning to the sound of Kloppman banging his walking stick on the floor and flicking the lights on and off repeatedly. She stretched and looked outside, noticing the sun was just a pink spec in the sky.
The girls got ready, clanging into each other to get a bath or to wash their faces or to change into the thousands of layers and clothes the older girls seemed to wear. As they got ready, Fiona heard a buzz from the half asleep crowd discussing how annoying it was that little kids come in here and wake everyone up in the middle of the night. Fiona sighed and turned back over into Race who made an angry face and the girl who had started the discussion.
With a small smile, Race put a loving arm on her back.
"Wake up Halfie." he told her with a small smile. Her green eyes opened again and she yawned.
"Do you all hafta wake up dis early every mornin'?"
He nodded. "Yup, its da life of a newsie. Come on, you'll be my selling partner dis week. Cute as you are, we'll be rolling in dough today." Of course he didn't let on that he never had a selling partner.
She smiled shyly and dressed once he had disappeared to the other side to dress himself. As she buttoned her last button, he reappeared offering his hand to the little blond child who held fast to the doll. He grinned and offered her a hand which she readily took.
"Race, do you think I'm a baby 'cause I carry around a doll still?"
He grinned a little and shook his head. "Naw. I'll let you in on a secret," he told her pulling out a harmonica. "Dis is my most prized possession, I carry it around everywheah."
She smiled feeling a little more comfortable with him and somehow he knew. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her and walked to the DC, proud she had picked him out of all the newsies to be friends with.
As the line progressed, he swindled his way into getting 50 papers, handing one to Fiona.
"Heah, I'm gonna show you how to be a newsie. You pick out shitty, excuse me, bad headlines and improve on 'em."
Fiona looked at the paper for a moment as he shook it a little and then to his eyes. The only way she would have a free hand is if she let go of his hand, something she was not about to do, but another obstacle stood in her way, one she was embarrassed to admit.
"Race? I can't read." she admitted drawing circles in the dust with the toe of her shoe.
He smiled as if it were not a big deal. Many newsies and kids laboring didn't know how to read either so it didn't phase him in the least.
"Dat's okay. Jus' do what I tell you, aight? See dat rich lady dere? Walk up to her and ask her to by a pape from you, but cough and act real pathetic ya know and look cute."
Fiona nodded and walked up to the woman, coughing in her hand as if she was stricken with consumption and asked her to buy her last paper. The woman smiled sympathetically and handed her a penny and took the paper, most probably tossing it away later.
Smiling, Fiona swung Aine around and then scanned the crowd to find Race who had been watching from a ways away. For a panic stricken moment, she thought he'd left her in the crowed alone without knowing her way home. But her delight, he didn't. He crept up behind her and smiled.
"Great job." he congradulated her, but refused the shiny penny when she tried to give it to him. "Its yours, you sold da pape."
She grinned a little. "Are all people idiots and buy papes so easily?"
"shhh, not so loud, Halfie," he warned afraid the people around them would decide to turn them in for fraud or worse yet, decide not to buy his papers that day.
She covered her mouth. "I'm sorry."
"No big deal, Half."
She smiled and looked him in the eyes. "Its Fiona."
"I like dat bettah." he told her smiling warmly. "My real name's Anthony."
She said the name over and over again in her head. "I like it, suits you bettah dan Racetrack."
He laughed good naturedly, "Den you ain't seen me at Sheepshead. On an off day I'll take you dere sometime. It ain't really a place for nice little goils like yaself, but ya gotta experience it once."
She smiled again at his enthusiasm.
"You got a real nice smile." he told her, not knowing what was overcoming him. He didn't like girls yet, did he? "You kinda look like what I imagine an angel would look like, anyone evah tell you dat?"
She smiled again, blushing deeply, feeling her entire small body on fire.
"One man did..."
"He had eyes." Race told her grinning. "I'm gonna call you angel from now on, aight? It'll be like ya secret nickname. Do you mind?"
She shook her head. "I kinda like it."
He smiled and put his hat back on and finished selling his papers, aided by her. He found selling was so much easier when he was with a girl for some reason. After selling his last one, he took the little girl to Tibby's and realized he hadn't let go of her hand the entire morning. And he liked it.
After ordering her a hotdog and a rootbeer and milk for Aine, he sat the doll in the middle of the table and grinned, setting his harmonica in front of her.
'I'm too old to pretend I'm married to Race and Aine is our baby, right?' Fiona asked herself.
As they waited for the food, Race contemplated for a bit, looking from Aine to Fiona.
"Its kinda like we're married huh?"
Fiona grinned and nodded. "Dat's just what I was thinking."
She looked at the doll for a moment. The doll had been a gift from her mother for her fifth birthday. She never knew how her mother saved up enough money for a doll as pretty as Aine, put she had. And she had loved Aine from the moment she laid eyes on her.
Race watched the child's face become sullen and knew she was thinking about her mother, so he started making silly faces at her, faces that made her laugh out loud.
"Dere, I like you smiling better."
She turned red from head to toe once more.
"Fiona? I got an idea. If we're single when we're 20, we're getting married."
She smiled and nodded. "Dat sounds good. Why don't we swear somehow....heah."
She pulled a safety pin off of her petticoat that held a rip together and punctured her little finger, passing it to Race who did the same and they then rubbed their fingers together.
"Dere. Its official. Can't toin back now." he said, pinning the safety pin to his pants.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a while. It wasn't until the other newsies came in that Fiona became upset once more. When she looked over there, she saw the newsies laughing and pointing at the pair.
"Dey's laughing at me because I screamed last night." she told him, looking at her plate which was almost empty by now.
"Naw, its 'cause you'se cute and you're sitting with me."
Fiona smiled, knowing full well it was just a way to make her feel better. But before either of them could think twice, Dutchy who had hit his growth spurt picked up the doll and held it above Race's head.
"Heya wop. You want your little baby?"
Race grit his teeth. "Give it back to me."
"Oooh, da daddy is upset." he said laughing, having heard the whole marriage proposal.
"Just give it back." Race said, staying painfully calm.
Dutchy laughed and tossed it to Skittery who started dancing it on the table.
"Bastards!" Race yelled jumping on top of Dutchy, trying to take his glasses.
In the mean time, Fiona had disappeared to the bathroom, crying. Of course this would happen, she reasoned. 'No one likes me or ever will. Just like Michael always told me'.
Noticing her absensce, Race abandoned his fight and knocked on the bathroom door, opening it with his eyes closed.
"Fiona? You in heah?"
She almost laughed and wiped her tears.
"Yeah, I'm heah. You can open your eyes. Look, I'm gonna leave 'cause no one heah likes me."
"Bull shit!" he exclaimed. "I do. Dey's just joiks 'cause dey can't sell and none of 'em like me and you do."
She scrunched up her nose, she couldn't fathom why anyone wouldn't like him...he was sweet and kind...and awfully cute.
Nodding slowly, she took his hand. "I just want Aine and I wanna go home."
He nodded and started out the door and lead her to the boys, seeing Aine held captive on their table.
"May I have her, please?" Fiona asked in a small voice.
"What's da magic woid?" Dutchy asked.
"I already said please." Fiona told him, her tears coming again.
Pie Eater sighed and looked around, handing the pathetic looking child the doll.
"Heah, take it. Dis ain't fun no more." he said, hoping everyone else would agree.
They just shrugged and kept eating, not really caring one way or another about Fiona, they just knew making fun of her got Race's goat.
"Come on, Half, let's get outta heah. Smells like Dutchy wet his pants again." Race told her, tugging at her hand.
She looked down at the ground the whole way home. When they reached the stairs, she yawned a little.
"Come on, let's get you two into bed to take a nap."
Fiona smiled as he tucked her into her bunk.
"Thanks, Race. She's real tired." she told him settling in next to her.
He grinned and kissed the doll's forehead. "Lemme sing to her. It'll get her to sleep easiah. Dis is my favorite song, but its kinda a secret song, just like me calling you angel. My dad sang it to my mom, dat's what da nuns told me."
Fiona nodded and watched his face as he sang Night and Day to her. She and Aine were asleep within minutes.
And to the person who said Race's mom is in the movie, where is she? I've never heard that before, unless you mean Patrick's mother and Racetrack is SO NOT a Patrick.
Just a quick note to everyone: This story, its sequel and the story about the other newsie I'm doing a sugary piece of shit on are NOT insert fics. Meaning if you ask me enough I will pair you with your favorite newsie. Most of the newsies are taken by characters we've made up. I may put some people with their newsies that are free, but those newsies are going to being extremely minor characters. You'll be mentioned maybe once and no I will not devote a whole chapter of sex to you or anything of the sort as it doesn't pertain to this story. Please keep that in mind before you ask.
Also, the use of Night and Day is in reference to the Frank Sinatra song. I realize in 1894 they wouldn't have had that song, but just pretend.
Chapter Three
Husband and Wife
Fiona woke up the next morning to the sound of Kloppman banging his walking stick on the floor and flicking the lights on and off repeatedly. She stretched and looked outside, noticing the sun was just a pink spec in the sky.
The girls got ready, clanging into each other to get a bath or to wash their faces or to change into the thousands of layers and clothes the older girls seemed to wear. As they got ready, Fiona heard a buzz from the half asleep crowd discussing how annoying it was that little kids come in here and wake everyone up in the middle of the night. Fiona sighed and turned back over into Race who made an angry face and the girl who had started the discussion.
With a small smile, Race put a loving arm on her back.
"Wake up Halfie." he told her with a small smile. Her green eyes opened again and she yawned.
"Do you all hafta wake up dis early every mornin'?"
He nodded. "Yup, its da life of a newsie. Come on, you'll be my selling partner dis week. Cute as you are, we'll be rolling in dough today." Of course he didn't let on that he never had a selling partner.
She smiled shyly and dressed once he had disappeared to the other side to dress himself. As she buttoned her last button, he reappeared offering his hand to the little blond child who held fast to the doll. He grinned and offered her a hand which she readily took.
"Race, do you think I'm a baby 'cause I carry around a doll still?"
He grinned a little and shook his head. "Naw. I'll let you in on a secret," he told her pulling out a harmonica. "Dis is my most prized possession, I carry it around everywheah."
She smiled feeling a little more comfortable with him and somehow he knew. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her and walked to the DC, proud she had picked him out of all the newsies to be friends with.
As the line progressed, he swindled his way into getting 50 papers, handing one to Fiona.
"Heah, I'm gonna show you how to be a newsie. You pick out shitty, excuse me, bad headlines and improve on 'em."
Fiona looked at the paper for a moment as he shook it a little and then to his eyes. The only way she would have a free hand is if she let go of his hand, something she was not about to do, but another obstacle stood in her way, one she was embarrassed to admit.
"Race? I can't read." she admitted drawing circles in the dust with the toe of her shoe.
He smiled as if it were not a big deal. Many newsies and kids laboring didn't know how to read either so it didn't phase him in the least.
"Dat's okay. Jus' do what I tell you, aight? See dat rich lady dere? Walk up to her and ask her to by a pape from you, but cough and act real pathetic ya know and look cute."
Fiona nodded and walked up to the woman, coughing in her hand as if she was stricken with consumption and asked her to buy her last paper. The woman smiled sympathetically and handed her a penny and took the paper, most probably tossing it away later.
Smiling, Fiona swung Aine around and then scanned the crowd to find Race who had been watching from a ways away. For a panic stricken moment, she thought he'd left her in the crowed alone without knowing her way home. But her delight, he didn't. He crept up behind her and smiled.
"Great job." he congradulated her, but refused the shiny penny when she tried to give it to him. "Its yours, you sold da pape."
She grinned a little. "Are all people idiots and buy papes so easily?"
"shhh, not so loud, Halfie," he warned afraid the people around them would decide to turn them in for fraud or worse yet, decide not to buy his papers that day.
She covered her mouth. "I'm sorry."
"No big deal, Half."
She smiled and looked him in the eyes. "Its Fiona."
"I like dat bettah." he told her smiling warmly. "My real name's Anthony."
She said the name over and over again in her head. "I like it, suits you bettah dan Racetrack."
He laughed good naturedly, "Den you ain't seen me at Sheepshead. On an off day I'll take you dere sometime. It ain't really a place for nice little goils like yaself, but ya gotta experience it once."
She smiled again at his enthusiasm.
"You got a real nice smile." he told her, not knowing what was overcoming him. He didn't like girls yet, did he? "You kinda look like what I imagine an angel would look like, anyone evah tell you dat?"
She smiled again, blushing deeply, feeling her entire small body on fire.
"One man did..."
"He had eyes." Race told her grinning. "I'm gonna call you angel from now on, aight? It'll be like ya secret nickname. Do you mind?"
She shook her head. "I kinda like it."
He smiled and put his hat back on and finished selling his papers, aided by her. He found selling was so much easier when he was with a girl for some reason. After selling his last one, he took the little girl to Tibby's and realized he hadn't let go of her hand the entire morning. And he liked it.
After ordering her a hotdog and a rootbeer and milk for Aine, he sat the doll in the middle of the table and grinned, setting his harmonica in front of her.
'I'm too old to pretend I'm married to Race and Aine is our baby, right?' Fiona asked herself.
As they waited for the food, Race contemplated for a bit, looking from Aine to Fiona.
"Its kinda like we're married huh?"
Fiona grinned and nodded. "Dat's just what I was thinking."
She looked at the doll for a moment. The doll had been a gift from her mother for her fifth birthday. She never knew how her mother saved up enough money for a doll as pretty as Aine, put she had. And she had loved Aine from the moment she laid eyes on her.
Race watched the child's face become sullen and knew she was thinking about her mother, so he started making silly faces at her, faces that made her laugh out loud.
"Dere, I like you smiling better."
She turned red from head to toe once more.
"Fiona? I got an idea. If we're single when we're 20, we're getting married."
She smiled and nodded. "Dat sounds good. Why don't we swear somehow....heah."
She pulled a safety pin off of her petticoat that held a rip together and punctured her little finger, passing it to Race who did the same and they then rubbed their fingers together.
"Dere. Its official. Can't toin back now." he said, pinning the safety pin to his pants.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a while. It wasn't until the other newsies came in that Fiona became upset once more. When she looked over there, she saw the newsies laughing and pointing at the pair.
"Dey's laughing at me because I screamed last night." she told him, looking at her plate which was almost empty by now.
"Naw, its 'cause you'se cute and you're sitting with me."
Fiona smiled, knowing full well it was just a way to make her feel better. But before either of them could think twice, Dutchy who had hit his growth spurt picked up the doll and held it above Race's head.
"Heya wop. You want your little baby?"
Race grit his teeth. "Give it back to me."
"Oooh, da daddy is upset." he said laughing, having heard the whole marriage proposal.
"Just give it back." Race said, staying painfully calm.
Dutchy laughed and tossed it to Skittery who started dancing it on the table.
"Bastards!" Race yelled jumping on top of Dutchy, trying to take his glasses.
In the mean time, Fiona had disappeared to the bathroom, crying. Of course this would happen, she reasoned. 'No one likes me or ever will. Just like Michael always told me'.
Noticing her absensce, Race abandoned his fight and knocked on the bathroom door, opening it with his eyes closed.
"Fiona? You in heah?"
She almost laughed and wiped her tears.
"Yeah, I'm heah. You can open your eyes. Look, I'm gonna leave 'cause no one heah likes me."
"Bull shit!" he exclaimed. "I do. Dey's just joiks 'cause dey can't sell and none of 'em like me and you do."
She scrunched up her nose, she couldn't fathom why anyone wouldn't like him...he was sweet and kind...and awfully cute.
Nodding slowly, she took his hand. "I just want Aine and I wanna go home."
He nodded and started out the door and lead her to the boys, seeing Aine held captive on their table.
"May I have her, please?" Fiona asked in a small voice.
"What's da magic woid?" Dutchy asked.
"I already said please." Fiona told him, her tears coming again.
Pie Eater sighed and looked around, handing the pathetic looking child the doll.
"Heah, take it. Dis ain't fun no more." he said, hoping everyone else would agree.
They just shrugged and kept eating, not really caring one way or another about Fiona, they just knew making fun of her got Race's goat.
"Come on, Half, let's get outta heah. Smells like Dutchy wet his pants again." Race told her, tugging at her hand.
She looked down at the ground the whole way home. When they reached the stairs, she yawned a little.
"Come on, let's get you two into bed to take a nap."
Fiona smiled as he tucked her into her bunk.
"Thanks, Race. She's real tired." she told him settling in next to her.
He grinned and kissed the doll's forehead. "Lemme sing to her. It'll get her to sleep easiah. Dis is my favorite song, but its kinda a secret song, just like me calling you angel. My dad sang it to my mom, dat's what da nuns told me."
Fiona nodded and watched his face as he sang Night and Day to her. She and Aine were asleep within minutes.