Well, I'm back. Sorry for keeping you all on a string like that. LOL. But now I'm back and you can read the next chappie. And here it is. Notes!

SakiSaki: Yes, cliffhanger much. LOL. And I LOVE the scenes with Race and Jenna as well. Thanks for the last comment, I enjoyed it thoroughly. LOL. Oh, and I don't think you sound like a sap for liking the scene between Race and Jenna either. LOL. Just had to tell you that. :)

Chapter 18

Jenna fell into Crutchy's arms, tears flowing down her cheeks, holding onto Crutchy for dear life. The street was completely silent and everything was still. The police man couldn't move; he was in utter shock at what he had just done. His eyes were actually focused on Jenna. The pain in her face was too much to handle; it left him frozen.

"Jack!" Les shouted, tears now pouring down his face as he rushed in the direction of the struggling body in the street.

"No, Les!" Jenna screamed, grabbing the little boy by the scruff of his shirt and pulling him back. She pulled him into her chest as he sobbed. Crutchy just held the two in his arms as they shook with sorrow, that is until the police man came to his senses and began to approach Jack. Jenna then leapt up, leaving Crutchy to console Les, and ran to Jack's side.

"Don't you touch him!" she screamed at the man, falling to Jack's side, anger and sorrow in her eyes as she stared up at the man.

"Miss-" he started.

"Don't touch him!" she shouted. "You've done enough!"

"We need to get him to a hospital immediately," the man said, knowing she wasn't looking for an apology right now.

"We'll take him, just leave us alone!" she cried.

"You're payin' for da bill, Mister," Racetrack said suddenly.

"Of course," he replied. "I'll go there now."

"You'd better hope he lives!" Jenna shouted after him. "Oh, Jack!" She took his head in her arms and began to rock back and forth, repeating his name continuously. Mush slowly approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, gently joining her on the ground.

"I'm gonna be all right, Toothpick," Jack managed to say.

"Oh, Jack, you can't die, you just can't die," she moaned.

"It takes more than just a…bullet…to do in…Jack Kelly," he breathed, struggling as he winced in pain. His blood was splattered all over the street and continued to flow from a hole in his left arm. She closed her eyes and her lip quivered as she released more tears. She laid his head down in her lap and began to unbutton his shirt to have a look at the wound.

"Oh, Jack!" she cried, turning away and burying her head in Mush's shirt. "I, I just can't do this. Get him to the hospital, now!" Mush gently took Jack's left arm and helped him up as the rest of the newsies joined him, Racetrack coming up right next to him as a sign of friendship which Mush gladly took.

Jenna rushed off, speeding past Crutchy and Les as they looked after her curiously. Racetrack looked at her once, a strand of hair flowing out from under her hat. It was strange, her reaction. Everyone was shocked to speechlessness, except for her and Les. Les was understandable, he was young and his emotions were basically uncontrollable, but not Jenna. Sure, she was a girl and they were more emotional, but crying didn't seem like something he thought she would do, especially not in public. There was definitely something more to this than Jack or the rest of the newsies.

Come on, Jenna, get a hold of yourself, you've got to calm down so you can tell Sarah, she needs to know.

Jenna ran through the streets, head in her hand, stumbling over small rocks in the road. Finally she collapsed upon a bench and wept her heart out.

Dad died that way.

"What?" Sarah cried, staring at Jenna's tearstained face.

"We've got to go now, to the hospital!" Jenna choked, trying not to cry again, grabbing Sarah by the arm and pulling her through the doorway as Connie and Spot came to the door.

"What's goin' on?" Spot asked.

"Jack's been shot and we're goin' to da hospital," Jenna said hurriedly.

"Shot?" Connie whispered. She didn't know anything except that Jack had led the huge newspaper strike last year and Spot had mentioned him once or twice since their reunion. No matter whom he was it horrified her to learn someone had been shot.

"Jack?" Spot repeated in shock as Jenna nodded.

"You comin'?" she asked, turning back around to see Connie latch onto her brother's arm as the two followed.

"Spot?" Kid Blink questioned as the four approached the group of newsies standing outside the hospital. "I thought ya went back to Brooklyn. Is this your sister?"

"Yeah," he replied. "She missed Sarah and Toothpick so we're here for a bit."

"Jenna told us about Jack, how is he?" Sarah demanded.

"Well, we don't know," Skittery muttered. "Davey, Les, Mush, and Race are in there wid him."

"I've gotta see him," Sarah said.

"I'll take ya," Boots offered softly as she nodded and followed him into the hospital, Spot and Connie following as well.

"Aren't you coming?" Sarah asked Jenna, turning around for a split second.

"N-no," she said softly, backing away. She wasn't ready yet, not yet. Crutchy came up behind her and pulled her around to face him just as tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "Crutchy!" He wrapped his arms around her delicately and she graciously accepted his embrace.

"It'll be all right, Jenna," he assured her.

"I don't believe that, not anymore," she said. "Not unless I see it, you see, that's the way me dad died. I never talk about his death because it hurts too much." She squeezed Crutchy tighter as the rest of the newsies began to gather around to help console her. Snipeshooter wrapped his arms around her waist and Kid Blink placed an arm around her shoulders. Skittery and Specs stood close, ready to hold her.

"What happened?" Snipeshooter asked finally.

"H-he took a bullet for a man who didn't get a fair trial. He was innocent and the jury said guilty, so he ran from the police. Dad knew he was innocent. It was all an accident, just like…Jack," she breathed, shaking with sobs.