Tumbler ran the whole way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Wait up, Tumbler!" Skittery said, close on his heels.

"Hurry up!" Tumbler called to him, jumping up and down.

Skittery caught up to him as Tumbler paid the toll to cross the Bridge. Skittery did the same and they headed across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Tumbler bounced along the whole way.

"You're not excited at all, are you?" he smirked.

"It's been sixteen days since I last saw her," Tumbler said, still bouncing on his feet.

"Take it easy, we've got a mile before we get across this bridge," said Skittery.

"I can't wait to see Aide," Tumbler said. "I thought we'd never save up enough to take the afternoon off to come see her."

As soon as they walked into Brooklyn, Tumbler was off like a shot, but Skittery grabbed his shoulder.

"Not so fast," he said. "Your sister sees you runnin' around on your own, and she'll skin me alive."

"Well, well, well," said Blade, walking up to them. "I'm surprised it took you boys this long to get back here."

"Can we see her?" Skittery asked.

"We'll see." Blade whistled and a younger newsie came running. "Go tell Ralphie that Addie's friends are back." The kid nodded and took off.

Tumbler scrunched up his nose. "I bet Aide hates that name."

Blade shrugged. "Not my problem if she does."

"Aide!" Tumbler yelled, taking off.

Skittery looked up and saw Tumbler running up to Adelaide.

Adelaide ran toward them and hugged Tumbler in her arms. "Look at you! You've grown since I last saw you!"

"A whole half an inch since the last time you saw me!" he grinned proudly as he pulled back.

"And more handsome to boot," she said, grabbing his chin.

"Skittery measures my height on the wall of the lodging house every week!"

Adelaide looked up as Skittery walked up.

"Hey," Skittery grinned, taking off his hat.

Adelaide threw her arms around him and pressed her lips against his.

"Gross, Aide!" said Tumbler, but neither Adelaide nor Skittery cared. Both of them intended to relish their first moment together in over two weeks. Adelaide felt like she could melt into Skittery when he held her. Just being in his arms once again was as good as being home.

"You okay?" Skittery asked, resting his forehead against hers.

Adelaide nodded. "Yeah. I just miss you."

Skittery kissed her cheek and pulled her close once more. "I miss you too." Skittery closed his eyes, trying to cherish every moment of her in his arms.

"Aide, can we go to ice skating in Prospect Park?" Tumbler asked. "We've been savin' up for two weeks to come back and we even saved to buy you lunch!"

"You didn't have to do that!" Adelaide glanced up at Skittery who shrugged. "And of course we can go to Prospect Park. After last month's blizzard, it's still frozen over."

"So how's life in Brooklyn?" Skittery asked as they walked along.

Adelaide shrugged. "It's alright." Skittery raised an eyebrow. "You get used to it, I guess."

"Then move back home with us!" said Tumbler.

Adelaide gave him a soft smile. "I wish I could."

"They treatin' you good?" Skittery asked.

Adelaide hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah. They look out for me. I always got someone on my tail." She nodded back and Skittery turned to see Fire walking a half block behind them.

They hitched a ride on the back of a trolley headed to Prospect Park.

Adelaide gave Fire a sarcastic grin and wiggled her fingers in a wave as they rode away.

Fire just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"They gonna get mad at your for ditching?" asked Skittery.

Adelaide shook her head. "Two bits says that by the time we get there, someone will be waiting for us."

"Why do they follow you around all the time?" asked Tumbler.

Adelaide smiled and put her arm around him. "To protect me," she lied. "It's really not that bad. The boys are nicer than they let on."

"Because they know they'll catch hell from Ralphie if they're not," muttered Skittery.


"Okay," Adelaide looked at Tumbler after they hopped off the trolley at Prospect Park. "Lunch or skating first?"

"Skating!" said Tumbler.

Adelaide took his hand and the three of them walked down the path toward the sound of scraping ice and people laughing.

"Last one to the lake is a rotten egg!" yelled Tumbler, taking off.

Adelaide looked up at Skittery. "See?" she nodded behind him before she ran off to catch up with Tumbler.

Skittery glanced over his shoulder and saw Spot buy a pastry from a vendor, keeping an eye on them. Skittery took off, easily catching up to Adelaide and Tumbler.

The three of them set foot on the ice. Most of the people on the frozen lake were just slipping and sliding around with only their shoes. Only the middle class and wealthy families had skates.

Tumbler held his arms out, shaking as he tried to keep his balance.

"Ready?" Skittery asked, putting his hands on Tumbler's sides. Tumbler nodded and Skittery gave him a light push and Tumbler glided a few yards onto the lake. Tumbler grinned and he moved his feet, trying to skate, but only ended up flat on his butt.

"Are you okay?" Adelaide chuckled, sliding over.

"Yeah," said Tumbler, trying to get up, but only succeeding in slipping and falling again.

Skittery slid over and picked Tumbler up and put him back on his feet. Adelaide took Tumbler's hand and Skittery took her other hand, and the three of them skated around the lake.

Spot watched them from his spot on the shore. The more he watched them, happy and having fun, the more he hated Ralphie for taking her away from her friends – from her family.


Later that afternoon, after a lunch of hot coffee and hot soup, Skittery and Adelaide sat on a bench in the park, watching Tumbler play in the snow with some kids.

Skittery sat with his arm around Adelaide, holding her close. She leaned against him.

"Tell me the truth," he said softly.

Adelaide looked down at the snow and chewed on her lip. "It's fine."

"Aide. I know when you're lying."

Adelaide put her head on his shoulder. "He's got me practicing pickpocketing."

Skittery sighed. He knew how Adelaide felt about stealing. Even when she and Tumbler were starving when papes weren't moving well, they only took food that had already been discarded. One day when Snipeshooter had convinced Tumbler to steal an apple, Adelaide had given Snipeshooter such a dressing down that Skittery found Snipeshooter crying in the bunkroom later.

He looked down at her, sensing there was more she wasn't telling him.

"What else?"

Adelaide swallowed. She didn't want to worry Skittery with the truth. "Nothin'."

"What's the story with you two?"

Adelaide sighed. It was time he knew the truth. He already knew that she grew up well-to-do and her family lost all their money in the Panic of 1893. He knew about her father finding work on a merchant ship and sending money home every month. He knew that when the money stopped coming her mother had to go find work in the world's oldest profession.

"After Mama didn't come home, Ralphie was the reason Tumbler and I weren't kicked to the streets - at least not right away. After we were, he always made sure we were taken care of. He had us pickpocketing for him for about two years before I ran away to Manhattan."

"Why'd you run away?"

Adelaide looked down at her hands.

"He tried to sell me to a brothel when I was thirteen."

Skittery's eyes widened slightly. "Aide…"

"I threw such a tantrum, Ralphie couldn't have paid them to take me. He was softer back then, so he just took us back to our hole in the wall and yelled at me."

"I wish I could stay here with you," he said. "Just to make sure you stayed safe."

"It's okay. I have Spot." Adelaide saw the doubt cross Skittery's face. "He's not like the others."

"Spot, huh?"

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "He's just a friend."

"You sure?" Skittery smirked. "You don't get all dreamy when you look into those baby blues?"

Adelaide looked up at him. "I like brown eyes." She winked.

"Atta girl." He leaned down and gave her a slow, soft kiss.

"Time to go," said Spot, walking up behind them.

Skittery sighed and looked up at Spot. "Really?" he asked.

Spot shrugged. "Not my fault you can't time things better."


Later that night, Adelaide sat at her usual dinner table in Flannigan's with Ralphie.

"I heard you had a good day," he said after he'd ordered for both of them.

Adelaide couldn't help but grin, her day with her boys still fresh in her mind. "Yeah, I did."

Ralphie grinned. "I'm so glad. It's nice they finally made it over. I know you've been missing them."

Adelaide nodded.

"The first time it took them a week to come visit. What was it this time? Two weeks?"

Adelaide's grin faded. "Sixteen days," she said softly.

Ralphie nodded.

"But they had to save up because they missed an afternoon of selling, and we went out and had the best lunch we've ever had…"

"And they're the only ones, huh?" asked Ralphie. "Not this Specs or Itey I've heard about. Not Jack. Not even Racetrack, who's always walking through Brooklyn to get to the track." Ralphie shook his head. "Such a shame."

Adelaide stared at a single spot on the table, willing the tears that had come to her eyes not to fall.

They sat in silence until their food came.

Ralphie dug in, but Adelaide took slow, small bites.

"What can I do to get you to let me go home?" she asked softly.

Ralphie looked up at her. "You're not enjoying yourself here?"

"You really need to ask?"

"Well, clearly your friends don't miss you."

"You've got a guard on the bridge. No wonder they're not makin' it over here."

Ralphie gave her a hard look. "You'll stay here until your usefulness runs out." He took another bite. "And should you get any wise ideas about becoming useless, don't think I'm as soft as I used to me. Don't think I'll just turn you out into the cold. I can put you into places in this city where no one will hear from you again and men will do unspeakable things to you day in and day out. Understood?"

Adelaide glanced up at him, but lowered her eyes when she saw his intense glare. She nodded and took another bite of her dinner.