Days had passed. Kloppmann had decided that it wasn't proper to let young ladies fend for themselves on the streets, especially after the ordeal they'd gone through, and deemed it necessary that they stay in the lodging house until they'd sorted everything out.

Bruises were fading, cuts were healing, and the girls were up and walking around. They were friendly with Skittery and Crutchy, even sold with them a couple times, but were still closed-off and skeptical of the other newsies. Despite the new friendship, Skittery still had no idea what was going on with these Irish beauties, where they came from, who they were afraid of, why they were hurt.

Well, he didn't know until that night.

It was dark in the dormitory, but it was not quiet. Put a bunch of teenage boys in one room and it is never quiet. Not even while they're sleeping. There was soft breathing, heavy breathing, snoring, sleep-talking, bodies turning over on mattresses. Skittery heard footsteps, assumed it was someone going to the lavatory.

Anna's warm, soft body crawled into bed beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder and laid a hand on his chest. Instinctively, Skittery wrapped an arm around her small, delicate form and smiled secretly to himself. He liked her.

Adjusting the oversized shirt one of the boys had given her to sleep in, she sighed heavily. "Do you want to know?"

They sat across from each other downstairs, a fire glowing behind Anna's messy head of hair. He looked at her, waiting, never to rush her. He'd learned, over the years, not to push people into telling their stories.

"My parents... they live in Ireland. I say 'live' loosely... I'm not sure anymore whether they're alive or not. My papa, he was in trouble, bad trouble. He'd fooled around with the wrong people, racked up a lot of debts and finally couldn't pay them back. Our family was threatened every day. Some days it'd be threats against Papa's life, some days it'd be threats against me, my mama, the rest of my family. I'd been grabbed off the streets a couple times." She dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

Skittery walked over and sat beside her, taking her hand. She smiled weakly at him, and continued. "Eventually, he sent me and my mama to live with my uncle and Elise in Dublin, figured we'd be safe there. Boy, he was wrong..." Anna choked down what seemed to be a cross between a sob and a quite humorless laugh. "These people, they found us. They were a group of thugs, they were big... they broke into the house when my uncle was workin'. Said me papa was a coward..." Her accent grew thicker through her tears, and Skittery found that to be quite possibly the most attractive thing in the world. "Said he was a coward for hidin' us and runnin' away. The leader, boss, whatever you call him... he's got these two sons. Told them to take us... I don't remember where he said. Me and Elise, we were scared and screamin' and cryin'... they hit us with somethin'. Knocked us out. Last thing I remember, was my mama screaming for help." She sighed and held her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees for support. Tears fell from her eyes to the floor, making their own tiny oases in the dust. Skittery's heart broke. He rubbed her back and she shrugged him off.

"I woke up on a boat. Not just a boat, I guess. One of those... you know. Immigrant ships. Elise was with me. Those boys, the sons, they were there. Just sitting there, watching us. Said we were going to New York..." She broke off, sobbing loudly into her hands.

Skittery pulled her close, drew her head into his chest. She was weak, tired, hurt in so many ways. He wished he knew how to comfort her. "Shh," he said, stroking her hair. "Lean on me, cry on me, it'll be okay." He rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back, whispering softly in her ear.

Minutes went by like hours. It seemed years before she stopped crying and looked up at him. "I have terrible luck, Skittery. Those boys... they're who did all this. Me and Elise became like their slaves. We cooked, cleaned, did everything for them. We were as kind and gracious as we could be. But they still raped us, beat us, every single day. We ran away that night... that night you and Crutchy found us. They caught up to us, did what they always did... but worse. They left us to die, Skittery. You saved me, you made the nightmare end... you'd think I'd consider myself lucky at that. But the nightmare didn't end, it comes back every night. Terrible, terrible luck."

Skittery pulled a penny out of his pocket, held it to her hair in the firelight. "Just what I thought," he said with a smile.

"What?"

"Your hair. It's the exact same color as a brand-new penny. Pennies are lucky, Anna, you know that. And that's exactly what you are. A lucky penny."

"Penny" stuck. Anna hated nicknames most of the time... but this one was special. Later on, it was explained to her that she was a true newsie, and all newsies needed nicknames. Eventually, the girl known as Anna O'Malley had disappeared, and Penny hung around.

A/N: Do your teeth hurt from the dialogue yet? I found it syrupy-sweet and corny, but I don't mind it at all. :) I think this chapter could have been stronger, but I needed to develop the relationship between Skittery and Anna/Penny (and yes, she is, in fact, an extension of myself.)... next, expect some Crutchy action! He just doesn't get enough love. Now, see that pretty little purple button down there? It's magical. Good things will happen to you if you click it. -Layne