It was well into the night before Penny and the caretaker's wifefinally emerged from the spare room in the girls' lodging house. Jack, Crutchy, Skittery, and Spot were all on the edge of their seats, fatigue hiding behind the concern in their eyes. The four of them jumped up when Penny came into the room, looking at her expectantly. The rest of the newsies in the room, restless with anticipation, sat up to pay attention.
"Elise is doing fine." Crutchy fell back into his seat with relief, slumping with a sigh.
"What... what about the baby?" Jack grabbed Spot's flask of whiskey, taking a large, loud gulp and staring at Penny.
"The baby is small, but Mrs. Brown says he'll live." Penny walked across the room to envelop herself in Skittery's waiting arms. She leaned her head on his shoulder, exhaustion finally taking over, and looked out at the three other boys.
"It's a boy?" Crutchy asked, finally finding the strength to sit back up again.
"It's a boy," Penny replied with a small smile.
"A boy!" Whim grinned from her bunk, setting down the cards she was playing with Sketch. "I bet he's awful cute."
"Way to go, Jack," Sketch said, tossing a pillow at Jack, which knocked his hat off. "You got ya'self a son!"
Jack exhaled sharply, forcing a smile. He replaced his hat on his head, then looked back at Penny. "Can I-- can we go in and see 'em?"
Penny nodded, then laughed lightly as they all stepped toward the door. "One at a time. They're both exhausted, they don't need a big crowd of people in there. You go in first, Jack."
A few minutes later, as Jack came out and hurriedly left to head back to Manhattan, Crutchy walked in. He took in the sight before him: Elise lay on the bed, her hair still plastered to her forehead with sweat and her clothes rumpled, holding a tiny bundle and smiling. She managed to take his breath away in the weirdest situations.
"Hey," was all he could muster as he made his way to the chair next to the bed. Elise looked up at him and grinned.
"Hi," she returned. "You look exhausted."
"You're one to talk," he grinned, looking her over. "At least you look happy. I ain't seen you smile like that in a while."
"I am happy," she sighed, looking down at the tiny child, wrapped in a familiar blue blanket. "I didn't think I'd even be able to look at him. But now I can't stop." Elise laughed a little, shaking her head. "Even with what he came from, he's so beautiful, so perfect." She wiped her eyes, sniffling. "He doesn't even look like... um, well, he looks like me."
Crutchy leaned over. "Yeah, he does." He grinned, raising his eyes to Elise's. "You've got yourself one good-lookin' little boy, there."
"Would you like to hold him?"
He stopped and stared a minute, pondering the baby. He was so small, looked so fragile. "I might break him or somethin'."
"Trust me, Crutchy, you won't."
She handed the tiny bundle to him, and he sat back, cradling it awkwardly in his arms. "He's so... little."
"Well, he's a baby," Elise said with a giggle. "And he's a wee bit early."
Crutchy nodded. "You, uh... you pick out a name for 'im yet?"
"I was thinking Killian. It suits him."
"Killian," Crutchy repeated, staring at the child's face. "That's a good, strong name. He's gonna need a name like that, livin' in a world like this."
Elise nodded sleepily, leaning back against the pillows. "I think you're right. Now, if you don't mind holding him for a little while, I thinkI'm going to rest my eyes, justfor a little bit..." And before Crutchy could evenrespond, she was fast asleep.
He looked down at the baby, whose bright blue eyes were open, staring up at him in wonder. "Hey there, Killian.Myname'sCrutchy." Killian stretched in his arms, looking around the room and starting to fuss. "Shh," Crutchy whispered, bouncing him a little. "You're okay here. You're safe with me. I'll protect you, I promise."
Killian seemed to understand, as he turned in Crutchy's arms and closed his eyes to sleep. Crutchy looked from the baby to Elise, and back to the baby again. This should be my family, he thought, rocking the tiny, sleeping baby. This should be my son.
On the other side of the city, another small family sat, staring outthe window of the Refuge. Stripped of all their belongings but for the clothes on their backs, the McKennon brothers were miserable and plotting their escape. As they exchanged whispered conversation on this topic, a curly-haired blond boy wandered up to them.
"Hey, I'm Ten-Pin," he said, extending a hand.
"I don't care," Francis McKennon growled back, watching a couple of working girls stroll past the building. Oh, if only he could get out of there...
"What're you fellas in for?"
Man, this kid couldn't take a hint! "Fightin'," Kenny replied. "Now shove off, wouldja?"
"Fightin' who?"
"Dammit!" Frankie turned to him,aggravationburning inhis face. "We got caught fightin' a couple o' bloody newsboys. You happy?"
"Oh! You'se the guys that fought with Skittery and Crutchy! Man, word is that they got you pretty good an' left you holdin' the towel!" The young boy looked them over. "And from the looks of ya, I'd say that's true. Man, Jack Kelly's gonna want to get a hold of you when you get out!"
"Oh, bugger off, you little twit!" Frankie's face was turning red now.
"You guys talk funny."
Kenny balled his fist and was raising it to the little boy, just as the warden walked in to rap him on the back of the head with his cane.
A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a baby! I chose the name Killian because it means "conflict." Suiting, no? Anyway. I'm really, REALLY proud of this chapter. We get to see a little raw emotion from Crutchy, a little implied romance, and a little comic justice for the McKennon brothers. Enjoy that while it lasts, though. Well, I think that's enough to say here, I'll just bask in the glory that is this chapter. :) I hope you all enjoyed it, please R&R, and have a FANTASTIC day! -Layne