Katherine was in her apartment when it happened. The boys had informed her of the plan, but she didn't know when they would break him out. She heard the aftermath of it though. Sirens echoed throughout the city. Loud screams and knocking on doors signaled the cops in the street. They did it! She thought. They got him out!

It was the middle of night, but Katherine got dressed and exited her building through the back door so she wouldn't run into any cops. She stole through the streets, keeping to dark street corners and alleys. She arrived outside the lodging house at the same time as Specs.

"Did you get him?" Katherine asked, quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

Specs nodded though he looked slightly confused. "How d'ya hear?" he asked. "I haven't even told the boys yet."

"Who else would those sirens be for?" Katherine asked as another wailed echoed, sounding closer than any of the others.

"We brought him to Miss Medda's," Specs responded, looking at the ground. "Race 'n' Spot are still over there. They sent me back so I could tell the boys, but they want everyone to stay here for now."

Katherine nodded, disappointed, but followed Specs into the building. When they entered, they were immediately greeted by the worried faces of all the newsies.

"Are Elmer and Romeo back yet?" Specs asked and he received his answer when Romeo pushed through the crowd of newsies, panting.

"Did ya get 'im?" Romeo asked, and Specs slowly nodded.

"Yeah, we got 'im, but—," His statement was interrupted by cheering, but they quickly quieted down once they saw the look on Specs' face. "M-Medda says she don't know if he'll make it through the night." There were tears in his eyes, and in the eyes of everyone in the room. Some of the boys seemed to shut down while others turned to their friends, hugging and desperate for any type of contact.

"R-Race'll come back in the morning. Let's get some sleep," he said, though how he expected anyone to sleep after the news he had just dropped was beyond Katherine. She didn't return home, but instead went over to where Crutchie was sitting.

"Hey, Crutchie," she said, sitting down next to him.

"Hey, K-Kath," he said, his voice broken with sobs. "Heard ya wrote a great article."

"He's going to be okay, you know," Katherine replied, ignoring Crutchie's previous statement. "I haven't know Jack for very long, but he is one of the toughest people I've ever met."

Crutchie nodded and eventually, his own injuries and exhaustion caused him to fall asleep. Katherine smiled as soft snores filled the room. She stood up and looked around the room. Besides Crutchie and a couple of the littles, everyone was awake. Romeo was leaning against Specs, obviously tired, and Elmer was laying across Albert's lap.

"Is he gonna be okay, Specs?" She heard Romeo ask.

There was a long pause then: "Do ya know how many times Jack's been to the Refuge?"

Romeo shook his head and looked up at Specs. "He went twice while I'se been here not countin' this time."

"Do ya remember when he broke out? When he said that he rode out on the governa's carriage?" Romeo nodded, and Katherine leaned forward, intrigued by the story. Specs continued. "Do ya remember him being hurt at all?"

Romeo shook his head. "Nah. I just remember him tellin' all of us he broke out. He probably wouldn't've been able to if he was hurt."

"Afta' you all went to bed that night, I heard 'im cryin'. He said that Snyder hadn't fed him for a week and he was bleedin' pretty badly from a cut he had tried ta' banadge himself. He was dealing with injuries that would've made a grown man cry, but he was still strong enough to escape. It might take longer for 'im to get better this time, but nothing can break Jack Kelly. You'll see. Jack is just too damn stubborn." Romeo nodded and smiled. He drifted off to sleep soon so he missed what Specs whispered next. "That stubbornness might just get 'im killed."

Race took an agonizingly long time to arrive. Katherine imagined a clock, each prolonged tick of the second hand echoing through her brain and made minutes seem like hours. Then, finally, the door of the lodging house slowly opened. Race stood in the doorway. His usual joyful smile was absent and even his cigar that she had become so accustomed to was missing. His vest and hat were in his hand and his sleeves were stained red with blood. As soon as he entered, all the boys jumped up, staring at him intently, waiting for news.

"He's alive," was all the boy had to offer, but it completely changed the atmosphere of the room. Hearts were lifted and the building seemed to swell with hope. It can only go up from here, right? "Medda said that we can't all go over at once, but we can take shifts," Race continued, and all the boys rushed forward, wanting to go see their fearless leader. Race pushed past them and walked over to Katherine.

"Medda thinks ya should go see 'im first," he said, surprising her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Shouldn't you let the boys go see him first?"

"I'll bring a couple of the others with us. I don't want to the littles to see 'im right now." That statement alone made her realize the severity of the injuries. The boys had seen things she couldn't even imagine, and he wanted them to stay away. "Meet me outside," he said before pushing past her, and she waited outside. Moments later, Race joined her, along with Specs, Albert, and Elmer. Katherine was well aware of the route to the theater, and often had to remind herself not to run. Finally, after an excruciatingly long walk, they arrived at the theater. Race hesitated, but eventually opened the door to let Katherine and the boys through. Katherine entered first, and almost immediately collapsed on the ground, crying.

Because in front of her lay the man she had, though she wouldn't admit it, fallen in love with. His shirt was missing and his torso and wrists were wrapped in blood-stained bandages. Bruises covered his pale skin and dried blood marked gruesome cuts across his face. She could his ribs sticking through anywhere the bandages weren't covering, and old scars adorned his exposed skin. His left leg was covered in blood and swollen. It jutted out at an unnatural angle right below his knee and dangled uselessly off the old cot.

Behind her, she could hear the boys crying out for their leader, but she was barely listening. Elmer raced past her, and stopped only when Specs grabbed his shirt. Tears were streaming down his dirty face, leaving tracks.

"Jack," he whispered as Specs pulled him into a hug. Then, Katherine felt arms wrap around her. She looked up and saw Medda there, hugging her.

"He's gonna be okay," the older woman said though anyone could see the worried etched into her face and the tears in her eyes. And so they sat, close enough to touch, desperate for any reassurance that it would work out. But nothing changed even as day bled into night. Finally, Medda stood up and approached the boy.

"Katherine, will ya help me change his bandages?" she asked, and Katherine nodded. Medda retrieved a wet cloth and began to unwrap the bandages while Katherine held Jack up in a sitting position. Medda made sure that only his back was facing Katherine, and, at the time, she didn't think that much about it. The last of the bandages disappeared, and Katherine saw his true injuries for the first time. She refused to let herself react, and stood stone-still as Medda used the wet cloth to clean his chest then she handed it off to Katherine.

Katherine rubbed the cloth across his back until all the dried blood had been scrubbed away. The cuts were red and irritated, and Katherine could only hope that this prevented infection. As soon as she was done, Medda quickly rewrapped his torso, starting at his waist and working her way back up. Then Katherine slowly laid Jack back down and they moved on to his wrists and ankles. That took them about 20 minutes compared to the hour and 15 minutes they had spent on his chest and back.

Jack didn't react throughout any of it.

Katherine didn't even notice two days had passed before Medda finally made her go back home. She collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She wanted to cry, but her eyes remained stubbornly dry. Jack still hadn't woken up.

Katherine tried to go over everyday as long as she didn't have to work too late. Medda had stopped returning home and instead slept at the theater. She had shut down shows for the foreseeable future, angering many of her actors and singers.

A week after they rescued him, Katherine heard Medda get into a fight with her stage manager.

"This is because of that street rat, isn't it? You've had a soft spot for him and his disgusting friends ever since he stumbled in here all those years ago."

"Let me remind you who owns this joint. I'm usin' this place as I see fit and right now it's gonna be used as a safe haven for that 'street rat'," Medda growled back at the man. "If you'se have a problem with that, then leave. Plenty of others would gladly accept your job."

"Miss Larkin," the man pleaded, "think about what you is doin'. He's homeless, a ruffian. He'll turn his back on ya the minute he finds it profitable."

Katherine heard a long sigh, then Medda continued to talk. "Follow me," was all she had to say. In a couple of seconds, Medda entered the room with a short man in tow. Medda pointed at Jack. "It's been a week, and he hasn't even opened his eyes. This happened because he was protecting his brother, not because he waitin' on the most lucrative moment." The man was just staring past her, eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. There were no more arguments after that.

A/N: We've officially reached 50 reviews! That means so much to me. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. Keep it up!