Chapter Eight

The day had gone quite well for Kat. She had sold every one of her hundred papes. She had sold them faster then Cowboy, which was saying something. Now she was sitting on an old barrel eating an apple she had bought earlier as she waited for her friends to finish selling their papes. A cool breeze swept through the busy market, lifting Kat's thick curls from her neck and caressing her face. This day was perfect. Nothing could ruin it for her.

"Heya sweetface!"

Well, maybe nothing but that. Kat sprang from her seat and spun around to face the Delancy brothers. Her apple now lay forgotten in the dirt at her feet. She glanced about for someone, anyone to come to her aid. As luck would have it, the boys were no where in sight.

Ok, she told herself, I have to stay calm and not let them know I can't beat their butts this time.

But when she brought her flashing eyes up to meet theirs, all of Kat's self-assurance trickled out of her. The smirks on their faces told her that they knew she was in no condition to fight. They knew about her illness. Given the fact that none of her friends were around gave them extra confidence.

"We was just wanting to wish youse 'happy birthday.' And give youse a little present from the both of us." Oscar grinned wickedly at Kat's now pale face.

Kat was off. She didn't want to wait around to see what their 'present' for her was. She now cursed the loose skirt that she held up to give her legs room to move. She tried to think about where she could go to find one of the boys. Her mind strained to remember something, anything that would tell her where to find one of them. Suddenly, her mind struck gold. Blink and Mush were selling down at the fish market.

Kat took a quick turn to her left down an alley that she knew led to Main Street. From there, she could cut down alleys and get to the fish market before the goons behind her caught up. She could hear yells and shrieks from people being bowled over by the brothers in their mad chase. If they caught her, they would show no mercy.

Once Kat reached Main Street, she started weaving around large groups of people hoping to loose the Delancys in all the confusion. Her lungs were burning, and her legs were getting tired. Since she still wasn't to full strength yet, that meant her stamina was gone too. Yet, she pushed on.

She climbed ladders, hopped rooftops, and even swung down to the ground on a rope as she made her way to the fish market. She was getting close, she could tell. The sounds of hawkers and the smells of the rotting fish were reaching her tired senses. Bursting out of an alley to the main part of the market, Kat franticly searched for any sign of Blink or Mush. She heard cursing behind her in the alley as the brothers tried to climb down a ladder from a rooftop that she had just come down minutes before.

In a flash, she was running down the rows of booths looking for her friends or place to hide. Her strength was starting to give out on her as she stumbled and almost fell several times, almost falling. Her sides had stitches in them from lack of oxygen, and her lungs begged for air. Finally, Kat caught sight of a small, narrow alley that was dark, cool, and looked like a good hiding spot. She quickly swerved into its shade and leaned her hot forehead against the cold brick wall, breathing in deep breaths of life-giving air.

Kat had almost caught her breath when a large, dirty hand went over her mouth and pulled her back against a male body. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a squeak. She heard Morris chuckle evilly. How had they gotten behind her? She didn't have time to think of an answer because right at that moment, she saw Blink and the rest of the group walk by. They were looking for something. They were looking for her!

Kat struggled against the grip holding her. She screamed the names of her friends against Morris' meaty hand. But all in vain as her friends started to pass on by her alley. In frustration and anger, Kat brought her foot straight down onto his toes. Her friends might have heard his muffled howls, but the only sign that anything was heard was the pause of Boots before he shook his head and hurried after the others.

Kat watched with tears gathering in her eyes as her last chance of help faded into the crowd. Her body lost all fight and went limp in Morris' arms. He pulled her deeper into the alley where it wasn't so narrow. There, Oscar waited with a sickening smile on his ugly face. Kat sent him one of her deadly glares before she went pale from Morris' groping hands. It made her want to puke from the way he was wandering over her body. Oscar watched with interest for a moment before motioning for Kat to be pressed against the wall.

"Now for youse present, sweetface." His oily voice matched his oily smile.

Kat lifted her pale face to stare at them. To the surprise of the brothers, she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at them and smirked.

"I don't think so, Oscar. Seeing as there are seven bulls behind you, and they're definitely seeing red." Her voice was confident and cool.

Oscar and Morris grimaced before turning to face a band of very angry newsies. The boys' faces were set in stone, and their eyes flamed with anger. Blink, Race, and Davvy had clubs in their hands, while Jack, Mush, Boots, and Spot were smacking their fists into their open palms in anticipation. Les and Crutchy stood off to the side, just as angry, but unable to join the fight. Crutchy saw that Kat was shaking and looking very pale. He knew that she wasn't going to last much longer.

"So, Oscar, youse and Morris tink this is the way ta treat a lady, especially on her birtday?" Jack gave a sardonic smile, "I don't tink so boys."

With that, the newsies rushed upon the two now cowering jerks. The minute that the fight got the Delancys away from Kat, Crutchy rushed to her side. He got there just in time to catch her as she fainted from fatigue, shock, and fear. He slid down the wall carefully taking her with him till he sat with his back against the wall and her lying in his arms. He tried to make her a comfortable as possible.

Crutchy became oblivious to the fight happening around him as he stared at the pale girl in his arms. He lifted a hesitant hand up to her face to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. This kind touch brought her out of the darkness she had fallen into.

"Crutchy? Take me home. Please?" Kat snuggled close to Crutchy and laid her head on his chest before falling into a faint once again.

Crutchy wished that he were strong enough to carry her in his arms all the way back to the bunkhouse. But since he wasn't, he contented himself with holding her close while watching the others beat the crap out the Delancys.

Kat woke to the sound of soft whispers and shushes coming from the hazy blackness around her. She sighed in bliss as she open her eyes to see nine pairs of eyes staring down at her. She glanced around to see that she was lying in one of the boys' bunks. Turning her eyes back to the worried faces above her, Kat cocked her head and gave a small smile.

"What happened? All I remember is falling into Crutchy's arms after telling the Delancys off." This statement brought a blush to Crutchy's cheeks.

"Well, let's see. We's gave da Delancys a beatin' they won't soon forget. And den we carried youse back here. Youse been sleepin' for 'bout an hour now.' Mush smiled at the girl in front of him.

Kat smiled and made a move to sit up. She felt several pairs of arms assist her. She was especially aware of Crutchy's soft touch keeping her head from hitting the top bunk. Once she was sitting up, she shook her head to clear the cobwebs out then stood and stretched. With her arms folded behind her head, Kat gave the still worried faces a smile.

"Guys, I'm fine. Really. Heya Race? How's 'bout a game o' poker?" Her 'New York accent' was met with grins.

Race immediately took out a deck of cards before turning to Kat with a serious look on his face, "Strip poker or regular?"

This rewarded him a face full of pillow, complements of Kat. With loud laughter, the older kids settled down on the floor for a long game of losing to Race.

"I believe, gentlemen, that I win again!" Kat's announcement was met with groans and soft curses as she laid down before their eyes the royal flush in spades. Kat eagerly pulled her winnings toward her folded legs. She couldn't help but laugh at Race's disbelieving face. He had just taught this girl how to play, and already she was beating him at his best game!

"Good thing this isn't strip poker, or you all would be down to nothing!" This comment was met with more groans and a few pillows thrown in Kat's face.

As Race dealt the cards for a final round, Kat turned her ears to listen to the soft patter of rain on the windows. Since they had started playing, the sky had gone dark with sinking sun, and a light shower had begun falling. Kat thanked God that she wasn't out in it. As she looked around the small circle of friends that she had acquired in only three months, she also sent up silent thanks for that too.

Kat picked up the cards dealt her by Race. She had to bite back a grin. Her cards were good again, really good. As the betting began, Kat had only half her attention on the game. She was listening to some noise coming from downstairs. The front door slammed as someone entered to escaped the cold rain. Kat half expected to hear young, high-pitched voices emanate up the stairs but was quite surprised to hear low, deep voices. One of the voices laughed long and loud, even distracting the other boys from the game.

Kat's eyes got big and round. Her face went pale and flushed at different intervals. The cards clutched in her grasp started to shake. She knew that laugh! By now the shaking cards and silent girl had caught the attention of her comrades. Blink waved a hand in front of Kat's unseeing gaze, quickly bringing her back to reality.

She jerked her head up to look at the boys staring at her. A slow grin formed at the right side of her mouth before spreading to the rest of her face. Kat scrambled from her lotus position, spilling Jimmy and her winnings uncaringly on the wood floor. Before she ran out of the room, she threw her cards down.

"I win again!" In a swirl of blue/violet skirt and white petticoats, she was gone. Kat nearly tripped and fell headfirst down the stairs in her hurry. But she was able to catch herself on the banister. She stood there, grinning like a fool at five figures standing in the foray dripping rainwater and mud on the floor. Her lips spoke silent words that her constricted throat couldn't utter. Then she was flying down the stairs, eyes shining with tears. She fell into wet waiting arms, as she finally was able to force the words past her tear-tighten throat.

"Jesse!"

Kat felt the arms about her tighten in a bone-crushing hug, before they lifted her and swung her about. Kat's laughter, bubbling up from deep inside, joined that of the person she had missed so much. Kat didn't let go or look into her brother's face till he set her feet firmly on the floor. When she lifted her gaze to his, there were tears of joy streaming down his cheeks as well.

Kat was torn from her embrace with Jesse by a powerful arm snaking around her waist. She turned to hug and sob happy tears on Frank's shoulder. She had missed them so much. She didn't realize how much until she saw them face to face. Kat squeezed the life out of Frank and Jesse once more before turning to her three cousins.

Bob, the tallest, lifted Kat off the floor to bring her eye to eye with him. His soft brown eyes smiled brightly at her.

"How 'bout givin' your cousin Bob a kiss hello, huh, Katty?" Kat let out a musical laugh and planted a kiss on his lips.

"There how's that, Bob?" Her eyes danced with happiness and laughter as he paused to think about it a second.

"I guess that it was pretty darn good! It's better then kissing a horse anyway." Kat smacked him on the head then was passed onto Cole.

Cole's hug was so tight that he pushed the air right out of her lungs. Even though she couldn't breath, she smiled all the bigger. She couldn't believe that they were here. The day of her birthday, and they had come!

Her time with Jim was a bit longer then with the other Younger brothers. She and Jim had grown up side by side. Getting into the same kind of scrapes and getting each other out of them too. Kat nearly started crying again when Jim held her against his shoulder. He quietly soothed away her tears and crooned words of love in her ear. Oh, she was glad to see him!

As Kat pulled away from Jim's embrace, he winked at her and with mock seriousness searched the room for something.

"Miss Katty, where's my name sake?"

This brought several suppressed guffaws from the top of the stairs. At the top stood a great crowd of newsies. Her friends were right in the front. Their faces shone with pride about something. Her eyes flew between her friends and family. They all avoided her gaze, finding something very interesting in the woodwork or the walls at the moment. Then realization hit Kat like a ton of bricks. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at her friends, now cowering in fear of her anger.

"Y'all knew? Y'all knew they were comin', and ya didn't tell me?" Her voice hit a high note at the end that made them all wince. There was a gust of air as she flew up the stairs and threw her arms around a very surprised Blink, Spot, and Davvy.

"Thank ya so much! I love to be pleasantly surprised!" She whispered with a voice rough with emotion. Those of her pals that she wasn't hugging got looks that spoke volumes.

Suddenly, she grabbed her kitten from Crutchy and herded the nine down the stairs till they stood in front of her kin while the rest of the house lost interest and returned to their regular activities. Kat stood between her brothers and proclaimed with her eyes glowing with pride,

"Boys, these are my newsies! Newsies, these are my boys!"

The two groups stood quietly sizing each other up for a few minutes before Jack stepped toward Jim.

"Name's Jack Kelly. What do dey calls youse?" Jack spat in his hand before holding it out toward Jim.

Jim didn't even hesitate as he spat in his own hand and met Jack's, "Jimmy Younger is what mah mother called me, but y'all can call me Jim."

Kat quickly introduced the rest of the newsies to her boys and vise versa. Soon, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Kat was sitting on Bob's lap with her hands around his neck after he had pulled her to him under protest. Her blushing face was the answer to his plea for another kiss. This brought many chuckles from her pals, who thought that she looked pretty sitting there in the soft lamplight with her eyes shining with love and happiness.

After about half an hour, Frank cleared his voice as he stood to get the room's attention. He looked straight at Kat as he began his speech.

"Katlin, darlin', we can't stay much longer." He watched as her smile drooped at the edges and slowly faded from her eyes. He saw that her friends were scowling at him for hurting Kat. He held up a silent hand to keep anyone from protesting. "Now, before ya say a word, let me explain. We can't stay long because we have a shindig planned for tomorrow to celebrate a certain girl's birthday. And if she and her newsie friends are wanting to attend that party, we must be off in about another half an hour."

Frank paused for effect as glanced around the room. At the announcement of the shindig, Kat's eyes grew wide and started glowing again, while her friends stared at Frank with confused looks on their faces.

"Now, I would recommend that any of ya New York newsies wanting to go out to the Younger ranch with us better hightail it up stairs to pack your bags."

This statement was met with a stampede of ten pairs of feet that rushed up the stairs or toward their homes to throw their few things in a bag and be ready when they called. Kat rushed around her room trying to gather her things all at one time, throwing them on her bed next to her bags. She was paused mid step by the sound of someone clearing his throat at her open door. Her friends, minus Davvy, Les, and Spot, who had hurried home to pack, stood in the doorway asking with their nervous eyes to come in.

Kat raised an eyebrow at the fact that they all held their hands nervously behind their backs, but she smiled them inside to sit on her bed or where ever they found room. The room was silent as the boys fidgeted nervously with what ever they were hiding from her gaze. Then Jack kicked Mush on the shin to urge him into talking.

Mush glared at Jack while rubbing his head before turning to the waiting girl before him, "W-well, we's was tinken that with youse bein' our friend and all, that we's wanted to get youse sometin special for youse birtday. We's each got's youse sometin." Mush ended by turning a bright shade of red and gazing at his feet. "'Twas Crutchy's ider."

Kat only could stare in wonder at the boys before her. When her silence met the ears of the downward gazing troop, they lifted their gazes to her face. She was smiling at them with such warmth, it made their insides melt. While each boy stood and handed her the gift that they had bought with their hard-earned money, Crutchy hung back till after the others had left.

Kat turned to place her newspaper-wrapped gifts on her desk, not even realizing that Crutchy was still there. The sound of his wooden crutch on the floor as he moved toward her caused Kat to turn back around to face him. Crutchy nervously fiddled with a small box that he hadn't wrapped. He had never given a gift to a girl before, especially one who made his heart jump into his throat. Kat was something special, so he had gotten her a special gift.

"Um, Kat, I just wanted to tank youse for bein' such a good friend to me and de udders. I gots this for youse. Could youse open it now?" The last phrase was given in almost a whisper. Crutchy watched through his thick dark eyelashes as she carefully took it from his outstretched hand.

Kat opened the box to see a bright silver locket lying inside. It was so beautiful and unexpected, that she let out a gasp. She could tell by the way Crutchy shuffled back a bit that he thought she didn't like it. Kat's hand reached out to grasp his hand. This caused him to look up at her with surprise. Her smile turned his disappointed frown into a big, crooked grin.

"I love it, Crutchy! It's so beautiful! Thank ya! Would ya mind helping me put it on?"

Crutchy nodded dumbly as he grasped the tiny clasp in his shaking fingers. Darn the man who ever made the clasp so small. Finally, he got it open and carefully draped it on Kat's ivory throat. The minute he put the clasp back together, Kat spun around and planted a soft kiss on his surprised lips. Then she pulled him close in a hug.

"Thank you, Crutchy. Now, get outa here an' go pack!"

Crutchy nodded in a daze of bliss. He turned and slowly made his way out of Kat's room. At the door, he glanced back at her to see her smiling at him with something new shining in her eyes. He didn't know what it was, but he'd be darned if he didn't like it!