Autumn was fast approaching and the air was finally starting to cool. It was finally tolerable to stand outside for a few minutes, just to catch your breath and appreciate your surroundings.
This was precisely what Elise and Penny were doing as they took their lunch break on a particularly lovely afternoon. They stood in the alleyway behind Tibby's, breathing in fresh air that didn't smell of onions or sweaty, dirty man. The air was sweet and clean, with that slightly burnt smell that always accompanies the transition from summer to fall. The leaves were just beginning to change, and it made a lovely contrast to the dirty brick of the buildings.
"New York isn't so bad," Penny mused, taking a long drink from the glass of water in her hand.
"It doesn't hold a candle to home," sighed Elise, placing a hand absently on her massively protruding stomach. She wore the baggiest clothes she could scrounge up, mostly hand-me-downs from Tibby, but at seven months, it was nearly impossible to hide her predicament. "It isn't nearly as hot in Dublin as it is here."
"Truer words have never been said." The redhead laughed, and handed Elise half an apple. "But I rather like it here."
Elise shrugged and bit into the fruit that would serve as her lunch. "I suppose I do, too."
"You hear that, Frankie?" A rough voice with a thick Irish accent interrupted the girls as two young men stepped into the alleyway. "Our little darlings like their new home."
The taller of the two positioned himself in front of Elise, looking her over with beady black eyes. "Looks to me like someone's gotten herself in a wee bit o' trouble, Kenny." He placed a large, dirty hand on her belly, grinning a slightly rotten smile. "This couldn't possibly be my doing, could it?"
Elise backed up a couple steps until her back hit the brick wall behind her. She crossed her arms over her stomach, trying to make herself as small as she could and failing rather miserably in her current state.
"Frankie, I don't think they're taking too kindly to us." The shorter boy stepped up to Penny, rubbing a grimy, calloused hand over her cheek. "Haven't you missed me?" He pressed dry lips to hers, his scruffy facial hair scratching her face. "I've missed you." As Penny struggled to push him away from her, he just laughed and grabbed onto her skirt, pulling it up. "And I've missed this."
Frankie smirked. "You two... or is it three?" He winked at Elise, still smiling with those decaying teeth showing. "You've done a good job of hidin' from us. But we've got to take you back where you belong now. We've struck a deal with a man who runs an... establishment, so the pair of you will be goin' to work for him." He cleared his throat. "'Course, you won't be of much use to 'im for a while, bein' in that family way as you are, but I imagine you'll fetch a pretty penny soon as you pop."
As the younger boy was still fighting with Penny to hitch her skirt up higher, his brother just laughed. "Come on, darlin'," Kenny said with a malicious grin. "Don't fight it, this is what you were made for."
"Girls, I believe I told you that you had thirty minutes for your lunch break and you've been gone nearlyforty-five..." The back door to the restaurant opened, and Tibby stepped out, red-faced as usualand carrying a frying pan. "Hey!" She yelled, raising the pan up. "What is goin' on out here?" Before Kenny could even turn around, the frying pan came in hard contact with the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.
"Oi, lady!" The young Irishman growled as hestaggered to his feet, fire burning in his eyes and his cheeks. "This is none of your business."
"Oh, I beg to differ." She shook the frying pan at the two boys, stalking them down the alley. "This is my restaurant, and these are my girls, and that makes this my business." As she swung the pan at Frankie's shoulder, she snarled. "I don't want to be seein' your faces around here again, are we clear?"
The boys ran off, and Tibby turned to Penny and Elise. "What in the hell was that allabout?" As the two girls just stared back at her in horror and relief, she shook her head. "Jack and the boys are inside havin' a meal. I'll have them take the two o' you home, and you can rest."
"I'm startin' to think you two are more trouble than you're worth." Jack paced back and forthin the dormitory back at the lodging house, fuming. "You got me worryin' about whether me boys is decent when they get up in the mornin', I gotta watch out for you when you're workin, and that's cuttin' into my own work..." He sighed and shook his head. "And what're we gonna do when that baby of yours comes, Elise? Nobody here knows how to take care of a baby."
"Jack, we got time to figger this out," Skittery offered, sitting down on a bunk and examining Penny and Elise.
"Yeah, but in the meantime, what're we gonna do? What about these Frankie and Kenny characters? What're we gonna do if and when we run into them?"
"I think Tibby scared 'em off pretty good," Crutchy jumped in, hoping his two cents would be worth something. "I don't think we'll be seein' much of them for a while."
"That's the thing, Crutchy. What if we do?" Jack pulled his hat off, running a hand through his messy hair. "They're puttin' my newsies in danger, and I don't know if I can stand by and let that happen."
A/N: I'm baaaack! Sorry it took so long. I've been working on graduating high school and moving on to college and whatnot so my life has been busybusybusy and hectic! But here I am, alive and well, and with a brand spanking new chapter! And perhaps, if you're lucky, I'll turn out another one soon. I do have another fic I've forgotten, though, which I do have to work on and you must must MUST check out! Oh, and much love to my faithful reviewer, who sent me a long PM telling me how important it was for me to come back. Thank you, dahling. Anyway, please R&R and enjoy! -Layne