Over the next few days Sunshine got steadily worse and worse. She
agreed to stay in bed to get better. She was having trouble breathing
sometimes, and her cough was getting worse. After about 2 weeks of
her being sick and not getting any better, Jack decided to telegraph
Spot. He told one of his employees to watch everything while he was
gone and hopped the next train. Within three days he was there, but
Sunshine had only gotten worse. When he got there he dumped his bags
on the downstairs landing and had taken the stairs two at a time. He
knelt by her bunk and took her hand. She woke up and emitted a loud
series of coughs.
"Daddy." She said weakly, "Why are you here? I'm gonna be fine" He smiled at her show of bravado and kissed her hand
"I know, Princess. I just missed you and had to some see you." She smiled at this.
"I missed you, too. Go to Medda's tonight. You don't want to miss the show" she looked at him very seriously and interrupted him when he tried to say he would stay with her, "No. You really need to go. She got a new girl that's very good, but flashy. She's got all these jewels that reflect the light so she looks like the sun." He nodded in understanding. No one understood why he'd WANT to go see a flashy Vaudeville actress, but let it pass without comment.
"I'll go" he said simply. For the next few hours all he did was sit by her bed and talk to her. Jack had never seen Spot sp worried. He covered it up pretty well, but Jack hadn't known him for the past 20 years for nothing. The others didn't know that he was THE Spot Colon. Even if Ryan had told them, they wouldn't have believed him. This man was kind, with a certain authoritative air about him. They expected Spot to be nice, but not friendly or kind, and strict, maybe even a little overbearing. This man just sat and told his daughter stories about Ancient Egypt and other faraway places. Soon Sunshine was sleeping peacefully, holding Spot's hand. Mouth had steadily spiraled downward in morale with every day that Sunshine didn't get better. He blamed himself and would do anything to make it right. Spot had heard the story from Jack, who had heard the story from Ryan. Spot wasn't mad at Mouth- he himself had stormed off a few nights. Despite what Jack ad the newsies said to him, he refused to stop beating himself up over it. Later that night he brought a bottle of gin to the lodging house, hoping to get so drunk that he'd kill himself. Ryan told the newsies to stay clear of him for a while, but Spot knew he had to do something. He didn't know his daughter's reasons for not telling anyone her last name, but he decided to respect it until he could talk to her about it. But that didn't stop him from using his "Colon Charms" as Jack had once put it to set this kid straight. He went up the stairs and into the nearly empty bunkroom. He crossed the room swiftly and climbed onto the roof. He had shed his traveling clothes and was wearing a black shirt, brown pants, and a brown newsie hat sat backwards on his golden hair. He had gotten bigger since he was 15, and now was a man. He worked out everyday using some of his own weights, so he was not only tall but well built. His overcoat had hidden that fact, but now that he was wearing the short sleeved shirt the it was obvious. He looked impressive and a look had some over his features that wasn't remotely like the one they had seen when he was talking to Sunshine. He looked like he meant business, a look which he had perfected when he was the leader of Brooklyn an had served him well after he stopped being a newsie and gotten different jobs. He now owned a small newspaper that was beginning to be very popular. He straightened himself out after coming on the roof and looked around. Mouth was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge. A crate propped him up. Silently as a cat Spot walked over to him and with a swift kick sent the crate flying. Mouth landed on his back and had a look of pure shock on his face. He dropped the gin bottle and stood up. He faced Spot, with his sholders back, willing to take the punishment he was sure was coming.
"I see you found out why Sunshine's sick. I'm sorry. I didn't think she would do something like that." Spot picked up the gin bottle and took a swig. A disgusted look crossed his face and he lobbed the near full bottle over the edge of the building. The sound of braking glass floated up from the twilight, along with a 'hey!' from a man below.
"You wanted to drink yourself to death and you didn't even get decent gin" he frowned, "and I already knew before I got here why Linda was sick. And, no, I'm not here to soak ya'". A hint of his old Brooklyn accent assailed Moths ears. He looked visibly more relaxed now that he knew he wasn't going to be beaten to within an inch of his life.
"You're from Brooklyn" Mouth said, picking up on his accent.
"Dat's right.," Spot said, allowing his accent to come out in full now. He had carefully cultivated his accent to be of no specific origin, "I used to be a Newsie, too".
"Didja know Spot Colon?"
"You could say dat" Spot answered, smirking to himself, enjoying the fact that his name still carried clout around New York.
"What' he like?" Mouth asked.
"Listen, I didn't come up here to talk about Spot. I wanted to talk to you about Sunshine," a thought suddenly occurred to him, "why is she called Sunshine?"
"Dat's the name we gave for getting' a shiner from the Twins while she kicked the crap outavum'. Ya see, the Twins are the biggest bullies in New York City" he answered. Spot started to laugh. He could imagine his "baby girl" beating up a street thug. He grabbed a couple of crates and motioned for Mouth to sit down on one. He sat on the other.
"Look. I know you feel real bad for what's happening to Linda, and I know you feel responsible. You aren't. She woulda gone even if she knew that she'd get sick from it. Dat's just the way she is. She's just happy knowing you're okay." The two talked for a while, Mouth glad to be getting all his guilt off of his chest. Mouth had expected Sunshine's dad to be furious when he got there. He was glad he wasn't. Eventually they finished talking and Mouth was going to go down to get some food. He had gotten to the trap door and was about to go down it when Spot called out.
"Hey, Mouth"
"yeah?"
"Next time you gotta problem, don't bring a bottle a' booze up here and try to get drunk. Talk to someone. I'm always here to listen, and if I'm not here Jack or Ryan'll be happy to." Mouth smiled and nodded and disappeared down the stairs. Spot turned his mind from Mouth to more important problems. He had to get ring from the show girl at Medda's, but how? And, aside from getting it, he needed to know which girl it was. A thought suddenly occurred to him. What if they didn't get the ring back? What if they never went back to Chicago? Linda had friends here, and she could go to school. She'd never had many friends in Chicago, so maybe she would want to stay here. And they'd never find out.
(A/N: Thanks all you reviewers! I hope you like this chap. I know that it's been kinda slow up till now, but I promise it will get more fast paced. BTW, a BIG newsie reunion is coming up!)
"Daddy." She said weakly, "Why are you here? I'm gonna be fine" He smiled at her show of bravado and kissed her hand
"I know, Princess. I just missed you and had to some see you." She smiled at this.
"I missed you, too. Go to Medda's tonight. You don't want to miss the show" she looked at him very seriously and interrupted him when he tried to say he would stay with her, "No. You really need to go. She got a new girl that's very good, but flashy. She's got all these jewels that reflect the light so she looks like the sun." He nodded in understanding. No one understood why he'd WANT to go see a flashy Vaudeville actress, but let it pass without comment.
"I'll go" he said simply. For the next few hours all he did was sit by her bed and talk to her. Jack had never seen Spot sp worried. He covered it up pretty well, but Jack hadn't known him for the past 20 years for nothing. The others didn't know that he was THE Spot Colon. Even if Ryan had told them, they wouldn't have believed him. This man was kind, with a certain authoritative air about him. They expected Spot to be nice, but not friendly or kind, and strict, maybe even a little overbearing. This man just sat and told his daughter stories about Ancient Egypt and other faraway places. Soon Sunshine was sleeping peacefully, holding Spot's hand. Mouth had steadily spiraled downward in morale with every day that Sunshine didn't get better. He blamed himself and would do anything to make it right. Spot had heard the story from Jack, who had heard the story from Ryan. Spot wasn't mad at Mouth- he himself had stormed off a few nights. Despite what Jack ad the newsies said to him, he refused to stop beating himself up over it. Later that night he brought a bottle of gin to the lodging house, hoping to get so drunk that he'd kill himself. Ryan told the newsies to stay clear of him for a while, but Spot knew he had to do something. He didn't know his daughter's reasons for not telling anyone her last name, but he decided to respect it until he could talk to her about it. But that didn't stop him from using his "Colon Charms" as Jack had once put it to set this kid straight. He went up the stairs and into the nearly empty bunkroom. He crossed the room swiftly and climbed onto the roof. He had shed his traveling clothes and was wearing a black shirt, brown pants, and a brown newsie hat sat backwards on his golden hair. He had gotten bigger since he was 15, and now was a man. He worked out everyday using some of his own weights, so he was not only tall but well built. His overcoat had hidden that fact, but now that he was wearing the short sleeved shirt the it was obvious. He looked impressive and a look had some over his features that wasn't remotely like the one they had seen when he was talking to Sunshine. He looked like he meant business, a look which he had perfected when he was the leader of Brooklyn an had served him well after he stopped being a newsie and gotten different jobs. He now owned a small newspaper that was beginning to be very popular. He straightened himself out after coming on the roof and looked around. Mouth was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge. A crate propped him up. Silently as a cat Spot walked over to him and with a swift kick sent the crate flying. Mouth landed on his back and had a look of pure shock on his face. He dropped the gin bottle and stood up. He faced Spot, with his sholders back, willing to take the punishment he was sure was coming.
"I see you found out why Sunshine's sick. I'm sorry. I didn't think she would do something like that." Spot picked up the gin bottle and took a swig. A disgusted look crossed his face and he lobbed the near full bottle over the edge of the building. The sound of braking glass floated up from the twilight, along with a 'hey!' from a man below.
"You wanted to drink yourself to death and you didn't even get decent gin" he frowned, "and I already knew before I got here why Linda was sick. And, no, I'm not here to soak ya'". A hint of his old Brooklyn accent assailed Moths ears. He looked visibly more relaxed now that he knew he wasn't going to be beaten to within an inch of his life.
"You're from Brooklyn" Mouth said, picking up on his accent.
"Dat's right.," Spot said, allowing his accent to come out in full now. He had carefully cultivated his accent to be of no specific origin, "I used to be a Newsie, too".
"Didja know Spot Colon?"
"You could say dat" Spot answered, smirking to himself, enjoying the fact that his name still carried clout around New York.
"What' he like?" Mouth asked.
"Listen, I didn't come up here to talk about Spot. I wanted to talk to you about Sunshine," a thought suddenly occurred to him, "why is she called Sunshine?"
"Dat's the name we gave for getting' a shiner from the Twins while she kicked the crap outavum'. Ya see, the Twins are the biggest bullies in New York City" he answered. Spot started to laugh. He could imagine his "baby girl" beating up a street thug. He grabbed a couple of crates and motioned for Mouth to sit down on one. He sat on the other.
"Look. I know you feel real bad for what's happening to Linda, and I know you feel responsible. You aren't. She woulda gone even if she knew that she'd get sick from it. Dat's just the way she is. She's just happy knowing you're okay." The two talked for a while, Mouth glad to be getting all his guilt off of his chest. Mouth had expected Sunshine's dad to be furious when he got there. He was glad he wasn't. Eventually they finished talking and Mouth was going to go down to get some food. He had gotten to the trap door and was about to go down it when Spot called out.
"Hey, Mouth"
"yeah?"
"Next time you gotta problem, don't bring a bottle a' booze up here and try to get drunk. Talk to someone. I'm always here to listen, and if I'm not here Jack or Ryan'll be happy to." Mouth smiled and nodded and disappeared down the stairs. Spot turned his mind from Mouth to more important problems. He had to get ring from the show girl at Medda's, but how? And, aside from getting it, he needed to know which girl it was. A thought suddenly occurred to him. What if they didn't get the ring back? What if they never went back to Chicago? Linda had friends here, and she could go to school. She'd never had many friends in Chicago, so maybe she would want to stay here. And they'd never find out.
(A/N: Thanks all you reviewers! I hope you like this chap. I know that it's been kinda slow up till now, but I promise it will get more fast paced. BTW, a BIG newsie reunion is coming up!)
