I do not own Newsies, or any of the Newsies characters. To the best of my knowledge they are owned by Disney.

I do not own the character Saiorse "Irish" Callan. She is owned by her creator Lady of Tir Na Nog, who has graciously offered the use of "Irish" as a character in this story.

I am making no money from this story. I seriously doubt the sanity of anyone who would pay money to read anything I have written.

Beta Credit goes to SakiSaki who, despite her heavy school schedule, was able to give me her assistance and advice.
Rated M for Slash, Sexual Situations, and Language.
CHAPTER 13- Friends and Family

"Mornin', Mr. and Mrs. H.," Spot called through the front door.

"Mornin', Spottie," Mr. Higgins called back. "You're just in time for breakfast."

Tony, Chris, Reggie, and Mr. Higgins were sitting at the table while Mrs. Higgins was at the stove cooking for an army.

"Good morning, Spot," Mrs. Higgins said reaching for another plate. "Sit down and have some French toast."

"No thanks, Mrs. H. I ain't hungry."

"Don't argue with me, Spot. Sit down and eat. You are much too thin. Look at Chris over there. He's had four pieces already."

"And he's gonna have a fat ass before he turns thirty," Spot replied looking at Chris and glancing at the area in question.

"You keep your eyes off his ass," Tony grumbled.

"That's enough talk about arses at the table," Mr. Higgins warned. "I'll be washin' both of your mouths out with soap if you're not careful."

"Sorry Mr. H.," Spot said with a smirk. "And don't worry, Race. He ain't my type."

"Everybody's your type," Chris scoffed as he gulped his second glass of milk.

"Oh yeah? Well, even I have limits." Spot laughed as he punched Chris in the shoulder. "And besides, who could eat with the two'a you givin' each other cow eyes at the table."

"I know just what you mean," Reggie huffed. "It was all I could do to gag down my breakfast today."

"Now, now. Don't be bitter," Tony mocked as he patted his sister on the head. "You'll understand how we feel when you meet somebody special, Sis."

"Well, that's never gonna happen with you around," Reggie spat. "You've got Itey so rattled that he kept looking over his shoulder on our date last night. He kept expecting you to jump out and holler, 'Get your hands off of my sister!' Just like you always do. And after what you pulled at the drive-in movie last week, I don't think that he'll ever try to put his arm around me again!"

"Then my work here is done," Tony laughed.

"Here, Mr. H. I almost forgot that I brought in your newspaper," Spot said. "Take a look at the front page."

Mr. Higgins unfolded the paper and let out a gasp. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "Darlin', come over here and take a look at this. It's a picture of your children and all of their friends. And get a load of this headline. 'Children's Crusade, Students Rock the Vote!' But you children didn't tell us you were going to be in the newspaper."

"We didn't know," Tony replied.

"Our teacher, Mr. Denton, took that picture outside of the school on the night of the rally," Chris said. "His brother came to the school on Election Day to cover the story. He's the editor of this paper and a really nice guy. I was talking to him for a while. He said that this was a really important story."

"Read us the article, Papa," Reggie said excitedly.

In an amazing upset, Pulitzer Academy basketball star, Jack Kelly, (pictured here with his close friends and supporters) was elected president of the student council by defeating his opponent in a two to one victory. Kelly's bid for office was dubbed the "Come Out and Vote Campaign" because Kelly and several of his supporters have "Came out of the Closet" and admitted to being homosexual. Kelly was quoted as saying, "There's a lot or us, and we ain't goin' away. We'll fight until damn doomsday if it means we'll get a fair shake."

Christopher Hunter, (pictured here front row far right) was quoted as saying, "This school and our community have officially come out of the dark ages. We're very proud of Jack and of the students who supported us. Sometimes all it takes is one voice. Then it becomes a hundred. Then a thousand. We hope that other schools will follow our lead."

"Well, well, Gabby. That's a nice little speech ya made there," Mr. Higgins grinned. "You're going to make a fine lawyer someday."

Tony took the newspaper to examine it more carefully. "What the hell!" he shouted.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked.

"What's wrong? You and Spot! That's what's wrong. What the hell are you two doing in this picture anyway? It looks like you just got caught groping each other!"

"Well, why the hell would I want to grope Spot?" Chris asked. "That's just gross!"

"Excuse me?" Spot huffed. "You're not exactly my idea of a dream date either! If I had to look at you and those teeth grinning at me all the time I'd go nuts. Nobody should smile that much. It ain't natural."

"That's enough," Mrs. Higgins warned. "And Anthony, you should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting such a thing."

"But, Mama. Look at the picture."

"I said that's enough, Anthony."

"Gee, Race. You're so cute when you're jealous," Spot chuckled.

"Bite me!" Tony replied.

"No thanks. That's Blink's job, not mine."

Chris and Tony looked at each other and started to snicker. Then Tony whispered something into Chris's ear, and Chris turned bright red.

"That's enough, you two," Mr. Higgins warned. "I'll have none of that at the breakfast table."

"Okay," Tony smirked. "We'd better get going if we're gonna help set up for the party. Jack says that this is gonna be the biggest, loudest, noisiest blowout this town has ever seen. Are you coming with us, Spot?"

"Nah. I want to have a talk with your pop."

"There will be no talking until you eat at least one piece of toast, and drink a glass of milk," Mrs. Higgins ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Spot grumbled.

Tony and Chris had to fight back their laughter as they went out the door. Spot Conlon was one of the toughest kids they knew. The sight of him being ordered around by Tony's five foot tall mother was priceless.

Both Spot and Mr. Higgins had become quite fond of the time they spent together during their talks.

Spot was an angry child when he first came to live with Jack and his mother. He hated the world and himself. From the start, Mr. Higgins could see that there was more to Spot than a smart mouth and a king-sized attitude. It wasn't long before Mr. Higgins' patience and humor broke through the wall that Spot had built to protect himself. Eventually, Spot told Mr. Higgins about his mother, about her death, and about the many horrors both he and his mother had endured at the hands of his father.

The hardest thing for Spot was admitting that he was bisexual. His father had made him feel ashamed and subhuman.

In time, Mr. Higgins convinced Spot that being bisexual didn't make him evil or less of a person. Through their talks, Spot learned to be proud of who and what he was.

Spot idolized Mr. Higgins. He was the first positive male role model in Spot's life.

"So what's on your mind, Spottie-boy?"

"Well, I kinda wanted to run somethin' by ya, Mr. H. But it's kinda personal, ya know? 'Cause there's this guy. And we've been kinda seein' each other, ya know? He's kinda special. . . . Ya know what I mean, Mr. H.?"

"Good heavens, boy," Mr. Higgins laughed. "Spit it out! We've been having these talks since you were ten years old. You should know by now that there isn't anything you can't say ta me."

"Yeah. Okay, Mr. H. Well, I've been seein' this guy, and he's special. I mean really special. He's not like anybody I've seen before."

"Spot, are you by any chance talking about Mush Meyers?"

"Yeah. How'd ya know?"

"Well, I've noticed that you two spend an awful lot of time together. I've also noticed that you go outside for a cigarette a lot more often when he's around. Mush always seems to go with you even though he doesn't smoke. Then you come back about a half'n hour later and you are both giggling and smiling from ear to ear. So either the two of you have been smoking something that's illegal, or there's a little Hanky-panky goin' on between ya."

"Damn," Spot mumbled as his face turned red. "I didn't think that anybody noticed."

"Well, Spot. It's not only that. The fact is that you get that same cow-eyed look that Tony and Gabby have whenever you and Mush are around each other."

"Oh God! Please don't tell me that I'm that disgusting! I'll have ta go up onto the roof and throw myself off."

"Well, it's not disgusting. It's nice. Everybody should have someone special in their lives. So tell me - do you love him, Spottie-boy?"

"Yeah. I do, Mr. H."

"Well, do ya love him for the Hanky-panky, or do ya love him for the person he is?"

"I love him for the person, Mr. H. I loved him before any of the Hanky-panky took place. I think I kinda loved him before I even thought about the Hanky-panky. I told him that I love him, and he said that he loves me too."

"Then what's the problem, boy? It sounds pretty good to me."

"Well, ya know how I don't like people knowin' my business? Well, this time I think that I wouldn't mind if people knew. I kinda want everybody to know."

"That's love all right." Mr. Higgins smiled. "It makes ya do things that ya wouldn't normally do. And ya want everyone to know how wonderful ya feel. It makes ya want to shout it out to the world."

"That's it, Mr. H! That's it exactly! Sometimes I feel like if I don't tell everybody then I'm gonna explode!"

"So then what's the problem, Spot?"

"It's Mushie. He don't wanna say anything. Till now, he's only been with girls. I'm the first guy he ever had feelin's for. I think that he's afraid of what people are gonna think about him. Like maybe the kids at school are gonna start givin' him a hard time. It sure didn't help any when Blink's mom came over here the other night and went nuts. The way that bitch was carryin' on scared the crap out'a him."

"Spottie, you've gotta understand that not everyone is as strong as you are. You went through more before you were ten than most people go through in an entire lifetime. Not everyone is as brave as you either. And don't forget that even you felt guilty about your sexuality when you first came to live here."

"That was different Mr. H. It was that bastard old man of mine who made me feel that way."

"It doesn't matter what the reason's are, Spot. The fact of the matter is that Mush isn't ready to let the world know about you and him. He is still getting used to the idea of being bisexual. If you rush him, you'll run the risk of losing him. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I understand. But it sure doesn't make it any easier."

"Well, whatever gave ya the idea that love was supposed ta be easy!" Mr. Higgins laughed. "So if you love Mush, then you'll give him time he needs to come to terms with this. And if he loves you, then the two of you can work this out together. But you've got to give it time, Spottie."

Spot sat for a moment digesting Mister Higgins' advice.

"Thanks, Mr. H.," Spot said as he stood and held out his hand.

"You're more than welcome," Mr. Higgins replied returning Spot's handshake.

Out of nowhere, Spot pulled Mr. Higgins in for a hug and said, "I love ya like ya was my own father." Then without looking at Mr. Higgins, Spot ran up the stairs and out the front door.

Mr. Higgins was both stunned and elated by Spot's admission.

"What was that all about?" Mrs. Higgins asked as she finished doing the breakfast dishes.

Mr. Higgins slid his arms around his wife's waist and gave her a kiss on the neck. "That my Darlin' was about the thing that makes the world go 'round . . . Amore! But there was a little surprise just now. Spot told me he loves me like I was his own father."

Mrs. Higgins took her husband's face into her soap-covered hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're a good man, Michael Higgins. Who could keep from loving you?"

"Ya know Darlin'," Mr. Higgins whispered into his wife's ear. "All of the children are out of the house, and I don't have to be at work until four this afternoon."

"So?" Mrs. Higgins said coyly.

"So . . . Why don't you and I go upstairs, and I'll show ya just how good a man I really can be?"

"Michael Higgins! You're shameful!" she giggled.

"That I am, Darlin'," he laughed. "And you love every bit of it!"

-o-o-o-o-

Jack's party was in full swing by mid afternoon.

Reggie had already punched her brother twice for getting between Itey and herself. After the second time she grabbed him by the hair and warned, "If you don't knock it off, I'm going to tell Mama what I caught you and Blink doing on her good couch the other night!"

"Fair play to you, Reggie!" Irish shouted. "I was wonderin' how long you were going to put up with his shite!"

Spot was the life of the party as he told everyone what he'd seen at the night of the rally. He was having a good time, but he was worried about Mush. Spot hadn't seen him since the rally. They had spoken on the telephone earlier in the day, but Mush didn't sound like himself. Spot kept looking around waiting for him to arrive.

When he finally saw Mush, Spot's face lit up. "Where ya been, Mushie-boy? I've been waitin' for ya all day."

"I'll bet," Mush said caustically. "I heard you telling that story about what happened at the rally the other night. So, did you enjoy the show? I'm glad that you thought it was so funny!"

"Whadda you so pissed about, Mushie?"

Before Mush could answer, Skittery came barreling into the driveway honking the horn of his beat up old convertible.

When he saw his brother, Skittery shouted for Itey to come over.

"Where's Race?" Skittery asked breathlessly.

"He's inside somewhere with Blink and Dutchy. Why?"

"Go get him, Itey. Now!"

"What's the problem?" Itey asked.

"I don't have time to explain. Mama sent me to get Race, Reggie, and Spot and bring them to the hospital. It's Mr. Higgins. Now come on, Itey. Go!"

Itey flew across the lawn and into the house.

Skittery saw Spot and Mush standing by the side of the house. He started hitting the horn and yelling frantically for Spot to come over.

Itey and the others emerged from the house and ran to the car. Spot was close behind.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tony asked.

"Just get in the car and I'll explain on the way."

"You'll explain now!" Tony demanded.

"It's your pop. They think it's his heart. Your mom wants you, Reggie, and Spot to come to the hospital right away."

"I want Blink to come with us," Tony said.

"Fine! Just everyone get in the fucking car already!"

Tony, Chris, and Spot all jumped into the back seat.

Itey slid into the front seat so that Reggie could sit on his lap.

Nobody noticed that it was the first time Tony didn't tell Itey to get his hands off Reggie.

"So what happened, Skittery?"

"I don't know, Race. My mom just told me to find you guys and get you to the hospital right away. All I know is that they think he's had a heart attack. I don't know anything else."

When they arrived at the hospital, Mrs. Higgins and Itey's mother were waiting inside.

"Everything is all right," Mrs. Higgins said reassuringly. "Your Papa has had a heart attack, but he's doing okay. You can go in to see him in a few minutes."

"What happened, Mama?" Tony asked trying to remain calm.

"Itey's father was helping your papa to change a flat tire when Papa felt a pain in his chest and fell over. Mr. Callo told me to call for an ambulance while he gave Papa CPR. Itey's father saved Papa's life."

Reggie threw her arms around Itey, buried her face in his neck and started to cry.

The nurse came out and told Mrs. Higgins that she and the children could go in and see her husband, but only for a few minutes.

Tony and Reggie went inside, and Mrs. Higgins called for Spot and Chris to come along. "He will want to see the two of you as well," she said.

Reggie put her arms around her father and started to cry.

"It's okay, Darlin'," Mr. Higgins said as he kissed Reggie on the head. "I'm feeling much better. Please don't cry."

"I love you, Papa," Reggie whimpered.

"I love you too, Carina. I love you very much. I am the luckiest father in the world to have you as my little girl. Don't you remember the song I used to sing to you when you were little, Carina?"

"Yes, Papa. I remember. You used to sing You are my Sunshine."

"That's right," he said as he began to tickle Reggie. "You were my sunshine then, and you are still my sunshine, Darlin'."

Reggie's high pitched giggle could be heard outside of the room where Itey was waiting. He breathed a sigh of relief at hearing his girlfriend's laughter.

"Now, I need you to do me a favor," Mr. Higgins told Reggie. "I want you to go over and sit with your mama while I talk to the boys. Mama is a little upset right now, and I'm sure that having you with her would be a comfort. Will you do that for me, Darlin'?"

Reluctantly, Reggie did as he requested.

"I want to talk to you for a minute, Gabby," he said to Chris.

Chris went over to the bed and Mr. Higgins took him by the hand. "I want you to know that I am very happy that you and Tony are together. You are a good boy, and you are good for my son. He is happier than he has ever been."

"Thanks, Mr. Higgins," Chris grinned. "Tony can be a stubborn son of a B., but somebody's gotta love him, so I figured it might as well be me."

Mr. Higgins patted Chris on the hand and winked. "Christopher, do me a favor and take Reggie outside to Itey. This will be a good chance for them to get in a kiss or two without that boyfriend of yours interfering."

"Sure thing, Mr. H.," Chris said as he squeezed Tony's father's hand. Then he took Reggie outside to Itey.

Tony went over and took his father's hand. Mr. Higgins held out his other hand to Spot.

"Spot. I want you to think back to our first talk. You weren't feeling very good about yourself back then, but I told you that you were special and I could prove it. Do you remember?"

"Sure I do, Mr. H. You said that the name Sean means Gift from God, and anyone with a name that special was destined to do great things in this life . . . But there's no reason to be talkin' about this stuff now, Mr. H. They said that you're gonna be just fine."

"I know, Spottie. But I had a little scare, and it made me think about the things that I've put off saying. I just want you to remember that you are a special person and a good person. And I want you to know that I couldn't love you more if you were my very own son."

Spot's breath caught in his chest. He wanted to speak but he couldn't. All he could do was to squeeze Mr. Higgins' hand. Mr. Higgins smiled and nodded to let Spot know that he understood.

Then Mr. Higgins looked at his son. Tony's eyes were welling up and he was trying desperately to look calm for his father's sake.

"Tony, you are the absolute proof that the best thing that your mama and I ever did was to get married and have a family. You have your mama's strength and my sense of humor. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not reminded of how very proud I am to be your papa. I love you, son. And I want you to know that it makes me happy to see you and Chris together. I have a special feeling about the two of you. I'm glad that you found each other."

"I love you too," Tony said in a weak and shaky voice. Then he took a deep breath and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "But I'm the one that's proud. I love you Papa," he whispered as he gave his father a hug.

"Now, I want both of you to promise me something," Mr. Higgins said. "I want you to promise that you will always be there for each other and that you will both take care of Reggie and Mama if anything happens to me."

"I promise, Papa," Tony said.

"Me too, Mr. H. I promise," Spot said.

"Now, take yourselves outside, so I can be alone with my sweetheart for a while."

Mrs. Higgins nudged the boys toward the door, then turned back to her husband.

"Hey, Darlin'," Mr. Higgins said to his wife. "Give us a kiss," he smiled.

Both Tony and Spot stopped at the door and watched as Mrs. Higgins kissed her husband.

"Ti ammo, Darlin'," he said. "I love you too, il mia caro" she answered.

Reggie jumped when she heard the bell ring and saw the red light go on outside her father's room.

Several nurses and the doctor rushed into the room, then one of the nurses pushed the boys out.

They all stood waiting and staring at the door. It seemed like an eternity until Mrs. Higgins came out of the room.

Tony reached for Chris' hand and held his breath waiting for his mother to speak.

"Papa's gone," was all she said.

"Mr. Higgins was a great man," Itey said

"He sure was," David agreed. "I remember when my father got his job at the plant, and we moved here from the city. Sarah and I were the first Jewish kids enrolled at Pulitzer. My dad told me that a couple of men organized a protest for the first day of school. Pop said that they planned to scare the 'Hebe Kids' from ever wanting to come back to school again. Mr. Higgins tried talking to them, but it didn't do any good. Apparently the men had their minds set, so Mr. Higgins went about un-setting them with his fists. Nobody ever gave us trouble after that."

Spot stood up and raised his beer. "Here's to Mr. H.," he said. "The greatest man I ever met!"

Tony could feel a lump forming in his throat as he watched his friends raise their drinks in memory of his father.

Dutchy could see that Tony was beginning to choke up, so decided that it was time to change the subject. "Okay, guys. That's enough serious talk for one night," he announced. "I want to hear about what Racetrack did to Itey and Reggie that night at the drive-in movie."

"It was beautiful!" Jack laughed.

"Beautiful my ass," Itey grumbled.

"It was hysterical," Jack continued. "When Race found out that Itey was planning to take his precious little sister to the drive in he decided to teach them both a lesson. Instead of us all piling into one or two cars the way we usually did, Race had us split up into four cars. We all waited until Itey parked. Blink and Race pulled in behind them, and the rest of us parked on either side of Race. Then every time Itey tried to put his arm around Reggie, Blink would honk his horn and the rest of us would join in. Each time Itey made a move toward Reggie he'd hear the horns and jump out of his skin. Finally, Itey got out and looked around. When he recognized the cars, he immediately went after Race. Blink had to drive out of the lot to keep Itey from taking his mother's car apart while he was trying to get at Race. It was just beautiful!"

"I'm glad you're all enjoying this," Itey grumbled. "And you!" he said as he pointed at Tony. "You know damn well that I would never do anything to hurt Reggie. But you, my friend were a psychopath! Just because you and Blink went at it like a couple of deranged rabbits didn't mean that the rest of the world had no control!"

"He's right, Race," Jack smirked. "I heard that Old Man Johnson from the drugstore was able to retire on the money he made from selling condoms to you alone!"

"That's disgusting," David chuckled.

"It may be disgusting," Spot laughed. "But it sure as hell is true!"

"I guess that I made you miss out on a lot of good times," Dutchy whispered to Specs. "You were always busy watching out for me when you should have been enjoying that last year of high school."

"I was exactly where I wanted to be," Specs assured him. "My place was and always will be with you."

End Chapter 13

A/N: When I decided to puta few words of Italian in this chapter, I didn't know how difficult a task it would become.

I searched several Italian to English dictionaries and spoke with numerous people who have family members who speak Italian (one person is at the head of her class in Italian and who's father was Italian born). The only thing that they could all agree on is that nobody can agree on whether carina and il mia caro should be capitalized or not.

I apologize to the entire Italian speaking world if the final choices were incorrect.

ALSO: A special thanks to Lady TNN for talking me off the ledged of the Brooklyn Bridge when this chapter became overwhelming.