A/N: I'm so humbled and grateful for all your wonderful reviews. You folks are just so swell. :-)


"So how long do you think before Ralphie takes the new girl?" one of the Brooklyn newsies asked as he leaned against the outer wall of the tenement building the next morning.

His friend gave him a disgusted look. "She's sixteen, Blade."

"Oh come on, Fire. That never stopped him before."

Fire rolled his eyes. "Ralphie don't want her for himself. She's just another one passing through."

"Is he gonna sell her to the brothel?" asked Blade.

Fire shook his head. "Nah. He'll teach her how to work the crowds. If she's any good, he might loan her out to help with the panel games."

"Oh, we always eat good with those." Blade grinned.

Adelaide walked up the from the basement of the condemned tenement that Ralphie's gang claimed as their own.

"Heya, doll," Fire winked as she walked past. Adelaide barely glanced at him, afraid to make eye contact with anything but the ground.

She'd hardly slept the night before. The tenement basement was a far cry from the Elizabeth Home, with opium addicts and whores as its upstairs neighbors. She had woken up in the middle of the night, freezing. Ralphis had noticed and had pulled her close to him. Adelaide was so grateful for the warmth, she didn't push him away, but she cried herself back to sleep.

"Sleep well?" Blade called.

"If you didn't, you can try my bed tonight," Fire added.

Adelaide felt her cheeks burn as she rushed down the street.

"Don't let them get to you," she heard a voice next to her.

She startled and looked up to see Spot walking next to her. She hadn't even heard him approach.

"Those two are all talk," said Spot. "Ralphie won't let anything happen to you."

Adelaide didn't say anything.

"Look, Ralphie wants me to stick with you," said Spot. "To make sure you don't go runnin' off anywhere. You don't have to talk or anything, I don't care. Just don't do anything stupid, okay? Don't run off because you'll get lost and then we'll both be in trouble. Trust me – Ralphie ain't kind to the people that piss him off."

Adelaide didn't respond, just kept her eyes down.

Spot led her to the wagon where they bought their papes.

"We're gonna sell down in Brooklyn Heights," said Spot, handing his money to the man and taking his stack of papes. "It's safer. That and Park Slope is where the rich people live. You wanna stay away from Vinegar Hill…that's where the real gangs are."

"I know where to avoid," said Adelaide. "I grew up in Brooklyn."

Spot looked at her for a beat and then nodded. "Good. In any case, stick with me," said Spot, as they walked along. "Go only where I go, and if I tell you to stay away from somewhere, you do it."

"Fine."

"Look, I know you don't want to be here," he said. "Between you, me, and that lamppost, I don't think you should be here, but Ralphie seems to think he's got some claim on you. But I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, so long as you stick with me."

"Thanks," said Adelaide. There seemed to be more to Spot that she had originally given him credit for. He seemed to be the one newsie in Brooklyn with an actual conscience.

Spot shrugged. "Newsies gotta stick together, right?"

"The others boys aren't newsies?"

"A couple of them are," he said. "Some of them work down at the docks, but a lot of them work for Ralphie."

"What sort of rackets has he pulled them into?" she asked as they began walking again.

"The usual. Panel games. Pimping. Any other way they can think to make their livin' through dishonest means."

"So why don't you leave? Isn't there a lodging house around here?" she asked.

"Protection," said Spot. "Once anyone hears you're one of Ralphie's boys, they don't mess with you. Everyone knows I run with Ralphie, so all the North Brooklyn newsies do what I say, and my boys look out for each other."

Adelaide watched him. On the surface, he was nonchalant, but there was more to him than just the guy who yanked her away from Skittery on Ralphie's command.

"But you want nothin' to do with them."

Spot didn't say anything.

They approached the distribution wagon and got in line behind Snipeshooter.

Snipeshooter sighed. "I came to Brooklyn so I could get away from you."

"Well, looks like your luck has run out," said Adelaide.

Snipeshooter rolled his eyes.

"It's a big city," said Spot. "You don't gotta be around her all the time."

"I dunno why Ralphie wants her over here anyway," said Snipeshooter. "She's just gonna yell at everybody when they do something wrong."

"I doubt it," said Spot. "I ain't seen no one ever yell at Ralphie and get away with it."

Snipeshooter smirked. "Good."

Adelaide didn't react; she just kept her eyes forward, watching the man distributing the papers.

Snipeshooter reached the front of the line and bought his papers. "Yep. I think I'll sell on down to Coney and then spend my money on something nice for myself. Ain't no one gonna stop me neither!"

Snipeshooter walked away as Spot and Adelaide stepped forward to buy their papes.

"I don't have any money," Adelaide said quietly to Spot.

"I know. Ralphie made sure of that," said Spot, as he put down money for the two of them. They each took a stack of papers and walked down the street, Snipeshooter selling ahead of them.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here with that little shit," said Adelaide.

"Better here than over there bein' a bad influence on your brother, right?"

"I guess, but-wait, how did you know about that?"

"The few days Snipes was here before you, he wasted no time in tellin' all of Brooklyn what a rotten person you are, always yellin' at people for doin' things wrong, and babyin' your brother."

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "I hope that kid get what's coming to him one day."

"I think life has already dealt us all an unfair hand," said Spot. "We've already gotten our rotten lot in life...might as well make sure you've earned it, right?"

"No," said Adelaide. "That's not how life works."

Spot shrugged. "What do I know...I'm just a kid raised on the streets. Not a proper lady like you."

"I'm not a proper lady."

"Oh yeah? Rumor has it, you used to be."

"Says who?" Adelaide frowned.

"Ralphie."

Adelaide swallowed. "Yeah, well that was a long time ago."

They walked along in silence for a few steps. Spot nudged her lightly with his elbow. "And?"

Adelaide looked at him. The only other people who knew where she and Tumbler came from where Skittery and Ralphie. She didn't need anyone else giving her grief for where she had come from.

"And it's none of your business."

Spot smirked. "Yes, ma'am."