Omigosh. Forty two reviews. "Somebody STOP me!" You are all so wonderful! I'm driving everyone in my house nuts because every time one of you sends a review I begin shouting and carrying on! Seriously, my family gets three or four review counts a day.



Some of you seemed to like the little newsies convo at the beginning of the last chapter so I thought you might like to know what they're saying tonight...



Racetrack: (muttering to Spot) I tought she was writin' 'bout us. What's all dis reviews crap?



Spot: (shrugs and waves hands in the air) I don know, Race. Dese women! Ya can't live wid 'em and ya soitonly can't live WID OUT 'em!



Racetrack: Why can'tcha?



Spot: Because dat ain't da way things woik.



Racetrack: Yous make no sense.



Spots: (tries to explain) It's loike tryin' to swim in da bay wid no wattah. And deys so cute when dey lay dere head on ya shoulda and gets all sweet and fussy ovah yous.



Racetrack: (shaking his head slowly) Ya scaring me, Spot.



Boots: (looking up from examining his new corduroy suit to see the computer screen) Look at all dem woids dere! Dey all about US?



Racetrack: Nah, the goil's too busy tellin' bout how many lousy reviews she got. As if ANYBODY really ca-



Spot: (clamps hand over Race's mouth) Quiet, oah I'll soak ya! Don'tcha know nuttin' 'bout bein' senstivve? Ya don't evah TELL a goil ya don't caeah! Ya gots to pretend to caeah!



Racetrack: (pulls away, growling) I ain't gonna play house wid no goil!



Legs: (smiling to self) That's what YOU think, Racetrack...





Shout ins:



Imaginelet: Priscilla couldn't sing due to the fact the author tied her up and locked her in the pantry. I mean...we don't need a stupid girl mucking everything up! Had to get her out of the way. I wanted to do more with her in that chapter but didn't get to it. Oh well...Thank you! I'm glad you liked the chapter. :)



Kate Lawrence: I wish I'd known sooner so I could have "officially" said "break a leg." Yeah, I understand the stage adrenaline thing. Great nervous energy. We had the opening day of the production I'm in and it was just...well, you know. I love it. That's so cool! A murder mystery! Those are awesome! Lucky! (Pouts) (gives up and hugs Kate instead) Spot is kinda paranoid. That's what makes him so...funny and dangerous at the same time. You have no idea how relieved I am to know that I'm writing Kate right. I would tell you what Spot's ultimate romantic fate is but at present, he is standing over me, cane in hand. I think he wants to keep you in suspense. Baaaaaaad Spot! Lol. Thanks.



Angelic One: Awww, I think I may have read some of your story before! Hmmmm...Thank you so MUCH for the great reviews! I love them. Yeah, Race is...wow. Lol. Yeah, I don't know why but like the majority of fics have Race's real name as Anthony! It totally suits him! Thank you for saying this story "totally rocks." I have been wishing someone would say that since I started writing on fanfiction. You're the first EVER! (sniff) You get one of Shorty's brownies. MMMMMM...Hope you like this chapter!



Bella: Thank you! Groovalicious...lol. I love how "Hidden"'s coming. Update as soon as you can! Yeah, Spot's a riot...or in the middle of one, anyway. Heheh.



Raven: Yeah, that line wasn't mine. It was Snipeshooter's, actually. The kid's a scholar...who would have thought? YUM! CHOCOLATE COVERED NEWSIES! I've never had one of THOSE! Oooooh...HEY! (Racetrack and Spot steal chocolate covered newsies)

Racetrack: (cradles newsies and glares darkly at Legs) Cannibal.

Legs: But...but...

Spot: Shaddup and write da next chaptah! Wheah's my name, anyway?

Legs: (sighs and continues the saga)

Racetrack: What's a saga?

Spot: The thing you put on ya foot, ya know...

Jack: (rolls eyes) That's a SOCK, bonehead!



snipah higgins: Hey, that idea about Katherine fixing the two up...I might do something like that. We'll see. The chapters come on a whim. I'll give you full credit if I do! :D Thanks! I'm glad you like this so far.



Anne K. Letoile: What an excellent review! Thank you for complimenting Tanya! She's my baby :D Yeah, my parents think I'm weird for being so obsessed with time warps. This isn't the first story I've written with time getting twisted. I have an original fiction on www.fictionpress.net under the pen name "Genevieve Riley." It's harder to write because I was more serious about it in the beginning. And I have no help from cute newsies writing that one! :D Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I hope you like this update! Do let me know if you have any suggestions.



Ember: Thank you! I'm so excited that you like it! Spot says hello. (Racetrack's soaking in the nonexistent hot tub and Jack's raiding the fridge-seriously, these fellas are gonna eat me out of house and abode)



Shorty Carter: K K K! More, I promise! I'm flattered that you like it. Oh, THANK YOU so much for the brownies! A truckload...wow. Don't worry, everybody, I'll share...(mutters under breath) maybe.



PsYcHoJo: Thank you so much! Happy you like it. Hey, welcome to the shout ins!

Spot: Psycho means crazy, don't it?

Snipeshooter: A psychotic individual is one characterized by "a major mental disorder in which the personality is very seriously disorganized and contact with reality is usually impaired."

Racetrack: (mouth full of Shorty's brownies) Yeah, like yous, Spot.

Spot: (takes Webster's New World Dictionary away from Snipeshooter) Stop readin' dis gahbage. It'll mess wid yoah mind.



Bella: Thank you for giving Racetrack a sweet spot in your story. He's so adorable...:: sigh:: I can't believe I've gotten this many reviews! I hope everyone likes this installment.



Lil Rain Angel: Llamas are cool! Yeah, Katherine has some issues. I kinda have a soft spot in my heart for her, though. She'll get deeper, I think. I'll try to get to your story as soon as I can. :D Thanks for your awesome reviews! Happy Memorial Day!



Sureshot Higgins: Thank you! Heheh. Don't worry. You'll find out soon who the "dark haired young man" is. (Not this chapter though)



Disclaimer: Disney owns "Newsies."

The actors own their hearts, minds, and personal lives.

I own Tanya and Katherine.

Kate belongs to Kate Lawrence.

Kristen is the property of Sureshot Higgins.

Raven/Michelle is exclusively Raven's.

"Danny Boy" is by Frederick E. Weatherly (and wasn't actually written till 1913) (winces) Yeah, very historically incorrect. :(

"My Wild Irish Rose" is by Chauncey Olcott and WAS written in 1899. :D

On we go...



Life was quickly becoming a routine and there were moments when Tanya ceased to remember she had ever lived anyplace other than the year 1900. But then there were those overwhelming moments when she remembered her mother, her friends, her dreams of Broadway, and the ever-present absence of a McDonald's.

Tanya opened her eyes to see the other girls filling their baskets with discarded clothing. "What are we doing?"

Kate sighed, "It's this thing we do once a week when our clothes get dirty. It's called, 'laundry.'"

Kristen giggled, holding up a purple dress with the most ridiculous orange fringe, "Guess who THIS belongs to!"

"Isn't that Priscilla's?"

"It's her 'sensational' costume from Paris," Kate smothered a short, mirthless laugh.

"Sensationally hideous," Tanya said with disgust.

"Agreed." Kate continued throwing stockings into Katherine's basket.

"Where do we take all this?"

"There's a laundry on 42nd." Katherine handed Tanya a faded hat.

The cool morning air made the girls shiver as they trudged in the city's shadows. Tanya wished they could walk in the sunlight but it hadn't reached above the buildings yet.

Kate seemed more cheerful than usual and the faint lines of a smile gave her face such lovely new angles. Faintly she began to hum something. Tanya didn't recognize it at first. But then Kristen, who had been listening intently, opened her mouth to sing...



O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.

The summer's gone and all the roses falling;

It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.



Kate joined her...



But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,

Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.

I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow;

Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so!



Tanya looked over at Katherine, thinking she must feel left out. The girls brown hair was pushed back behind her and her soft blue eyes glistened with moisture as she faced the sun, now pouring into the street. One tear escaped and fell silently on the cobblestones she walked. Hugging the laundry basket tighter to her chest, she began to sing the third verse...

But when ye come, and all the flow'rs are dying,

If I am dead, as I may well be.

Ye'll come and find the place- her voice broke...

The other pretended not to see the tears streaming across their friend's face and sang louder, as if to drown her cries...



Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,

And kneel and say and Ave for me.



And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me;

And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,

For you will bend and tell me that you love me;

And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!



Katherine's eyes stared straight in front of her, past the dirty streets, the cold buildings, past the Brooklyn Bridge in the horizon...to something she had once been a part of.

The girls left their laundry in the care of a washerwoman and turned back to walk home.

Tanya was following when a voice made her turn. There was Racetrack, a paper raised high and his voice carrying through the streets, "Strange noise hoid from top a Woild Building! Da story of Pulitzah's likely insanity right heah!"

Tanya bit back a giggle. Assuming the patronizing look of a wealthy do-gooder, she stepped up behind him and tapped his shoulder lightly. The newsie jumped and spun around. Before he could greet her, Tanya began, "Oh, you poor thing! Having to resort to selling newspapers to survive! Here. Have a penny and a prayer of goodwill!" She reached up slightly and patted his head.

The boy stared at her in wonder. But when she pinched his cheek and began to coo, he grinned and removed his cap, respectfully, "Good mownin."

"Hi."

"Uh, how ah you?"

"I'm doing fine. And you?"

"Fine? What's dat mean?"

"It means I'm...fine."

Racetrack seemed unconvinced, "So...how long have you been in New Yawk?"

"All my life."

"Really? How come I never saw you on da stage befoah?"

Tanya thought fast, "Well, when I lived with my parents, I wasn't allowed to be on the stage. My mother thought it was...wicked." There. That sounded good.

Race smirked "It IS. It's very wicked." He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed, "I's is 'shamed to know ya."

"Oh, yeah, right, Mr. I-Give-Up-Supper-To-See-The-Wicked-Show-Every-Night!"

"How did YOUS know I go to da theater every night?" He raised his eyebrows.

Tanya blushed, "I just happened to notice you."

"Why? Was ya lookin' foah me?" Racetrack replaced the cigar in his mouth, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Of course not!" the girl replied a little too quickly.

"Shoa, lady. Whatevah ya say." The newsie raised the newspaper high again and started walking. He threw a funny grin over his shoulder and called, "If ya evah need me, I's live in da lodging house on the conah!"





The crowded theater seemed to bulge that evening as the girls took their places. Kristen whispered something worriedly to Kate who shrugged. The music began and Tanya found herself on stage with the others. There were high-pitched shouts from the back of the room. Katherine muttered something about "drunks" and the song began...

If you listen, I'll sing you a sweet little song

of a flower that's now drooped and dead

yet dearer to me, yes, than all its mates

tho each holds aloft its proud head

'twas given to me by a girl that I know

since we've met I've...



There was a loud roar from the back of the theater. The music ended abruptly as the crowd began to seethe and move.

"Fire!" someone screamed.





A/N: what do you think? Tee hee. Don't you just love the suspense? Review and yell if you like. Love you all, Legs



Legs comments on love:

It hurts sometimes. Sometimes it hurts a lot. (Winces) Ouch.