Okay...TRUST ME....you are going to HATE me after the next chapter or two but i PROMISE-it will be OKAY. I can see the reviews now- "HOW COULD YOU! AHHHHH! NO NO NO! THIS IS NOT RIGHT!" TRUST ME. also once again forgive the ny accent/no accent thing w/e its in and out i know.....okay here we go (now that you're falling out of your chair...)

Chapter 12: The Day Jack Kelly Stood Down

Within the hour more staff arrived and the young, barely trained workers were sent home, Gabrielle included. Rosie was still needed, so Jack offered to take her home-if it was still there. Gabrielle told Jack to come and stay with her, along with Skittery and another newsie who she had never met-Spot Conlon. All were wounded badly but able to leave the hospital. They helped Gabrielle return safely to her aunt's house. She spoke breifly with aunt Hildur and convinced her easily to allow her friends a place to stay. They spent the next two days resting, healing, and wondering what had happened to their friends.

Gabrielle was curled up on a lounge sofa out the terrace one afternoon, blanket covering all but her head. Winds had picked up even though it was barely summer. She couldn't clear her head. Her thoughts shifted from Blink to Claire to Mush. What would happen once the war ended? She heard someone approaching where she lay-it was Spot. He sat down in the chair across from her, cup in hand. She had never met Spot until only two days before. Sure, she had heard stories from the boys at Tibby's, but she had never actually seen him. When she did, he was in a terrible state. Gash on his forehead, limp wrist, cuts and bruises that exceeded any amount she had seen thus far on one body. Yet he never outwardly showed much pain. A slight, sharp inhalation while she attempted to clean out the gash on his face, but never had he allowed himself to show any signs of physical or emotional weakness.

"I'se sorry about Blink..." he finally said.

"Me too..." she wasn't sure why he had come out, but it wasn't for nothing. Either he had something to say, or the great Spot Conlon, deep down, simply just needed someone to talk to.

"You know, the moment I saw ya, I knew you was Mush's goil..." she lifted her head slightly, unsure of what he meant,"He never stopped talkin' about you while we were stuck with our faces in the mud. He described you perfectly..."

A tear slid down her cheek, "When did you last see him?"

"The day before I met you. We all got separated during an attack..." his voice shifted tones.

"What happened?" she asked softly, resting her head back on the pillow.

"We were attacked...Skittery and I managed to find one another and get away. We were'nt sure about anyone else. I know Jack is here, and Blink is-but.....I saw one of my Brooklyn boys go down-" he stopped.

"Something in your eyes has changed Spot..." he looked at her-what was she talking about?"The past two days they have been icy and cold. Even whenI cleaned out your wounds you seemed to not want to let yourself reveal any signs of pain. What happened Spot?"

He focused his eyes on hers-a green so intense his own eyes seemed to sting, "The bullets were meant for me..." he looked down, "It was like everything stopped, and all he had to do was pull the trigger. One of my boys jumped in front of me. I went into shock I couldn't move-" he could feel it all as he almost re-lived it, "I've been in plenty of fights! I've seen men killed on the streets. But-that was pure flesh and blood. I knew the guys we were up against, it was a personal matter. This-this is different. This guy-he doesn't know me, nothing about me! Other than that I'm American...and this,this ain't my war.I never did a thing to him or any of his friends, and yet I have to represent my country and kill if necessary. Shit, we spend all our time in New York brawlin' over small territories, and people sometimes get killed for it! It all seems so small next to this..."

"But when you're there that's all you've got! That is your world and it means everything to you! You have the will power and the desire to hold onto what you have. Yes, I'm sure all this makes you feel small-it makes me feel it. But don't be so hard on yourself-everything happens for a reason."

He glanced back at her, "I can see why Mush loves you so much..."

Just then Jack and Skitter joined them, "Not that any of us ever needed to ask him about it..." Gabrielle smiled as Jack gently kissed the top of her head and sat next to Spot, "He's carrying that glove in his pocket right now, where ever he is..."

Gabrielle fingered Blink's letter in her pocket, praying Mush was okay, "You know I've always been the leader..." Jack started, "But when we got out here it was a whole new world-a comepletly different battle. For some reason Mush stepped up. None of us knew what came over him, but we also knew he wasn't just rambling. For the first time in my life, I stepped down without a fight. Something about him-he was on fire. I knew I wasn't meant to lead, not this one..."

Gabrielle hadn't known Jack that well even in Manhattan, but they didn't take long to attach to one another. He became her big brother. They all had-but Jack more so than the rest.

Just thenthey heard chaos coming from inside the house-it was Rosie. She stumbled out onto the terrace. Gabrielle and the boys stood immediatly.

Rosie tryed to speak but the words couldn't seem to make their way out, "A soldier today, at the hospital..."

"What? What happened?" Skittery was growing tense.

"He told me-" she looked at Gabrielle, eyes welling and out of breath. Her voice strained into a whisper,"I'm sorry chica..." her eyes pleaded...

Gabrielle's breathing stopped. Her hand on her stomach she gasped for air, barely holding herself up on the arm of the chair. Her hearing once again dimmed to everything but her own slow heart beat and frozen lungs. She collapsed onto her knees, lungs tightening more and more by the second. Suddnely it all came back-the pain she had forced deep down, the air she couldn't seem to grip-it all escaped as she screamed at the top of her lungs, face and clothes proceeding to become wet with tears. Jack was immediatly by her side, trying to hold her down. Spot's weight gave as he sat back into his chair, shocked. Skittery was sitting, elbows on his knees, hands run tightly through his hair.

The sounds of Gabrielle's screams made Skittery suddnely sick, causing him to run to the edge of the terrace and vomit. Rosie came to her knees in front of Gabrielle, trying keep them both. Face buried into Jack's chest, Gabrielle pounded her fist against his shoulder. He quickly grabbed her hand and tryed to calm her down. Finally, she passed out in his arms.

A/N: Okay....close you mouth....i knooww...its OKAY.....just wait alright? TRUST MEHHH.....im writing the next chapter right after I post this one....