Ch. 4 Brooklyn

The next day, after selling all their newspapers successfully, Jack decided to take Aidan to Brooklyn. Les wanted to go of course, as he always did. But, neither David nor Jack would let him. Not until he was older, they said each time he pleaded. Racetrack and Boots did accompany them, however.

"Damn, I forgot how long this is bridge was," muttered Aidan. Things were pretty far when you didn't have a horse to travel on. I'm never going to complain about the trip into town again, she thought. She did quite a bit of walking out in Santa Fe, but this was quite different. The other boys chuckled at her then leaned over the rail and yelled down below, as per their usual custom.

She'd only ever been to Brooklyn once before, when she and Jack literally ran into a much younger Spot. Although younger than both Aidan and Jack, he was already commanding a small crew of Brooklyn kids. It was only thanks to Jack's fast talking, and their equally fast fists, that kept them from getting soaked. Spot would never admit it, but he did respect Jack ever since their first encounter and Jack certainly learned to respect the younger boy despite his smaller size. Ever since that day, they developed a tense relationship, working with each other only when it was favorable to themselves or their respective crews, but always aware that the next day they could be at each other's throats. But over the past year, they could finally admit that yes, they were friends.

After a while, after too long according to Aidan, the hollow sounds of shoes on the pier greeted them as they walked to the edge of the pier where the Brooklyn newsboys were cooling off. Some of them sneered at Jack and their company, because even if Spot and Jack were friends, that didn't mean everyone felt the same way. Many of them eyed Aidan carefully, while others gave her winks and catcalls she ignored.

"Yo Spot," Jack called out to the Brooklyn leader who stood atop a fixture looking out over the water. "Dere's someone I'd like ya ta meet."

"Dat so, Cowboy?" asked Spot, elbows on the ledge, hat tipped down.

"Remember little Aidan?"

"Yeah, sure."

"She ain't so little no more."

With that, Spot's eyes traveled to Aidan who met his gaze from below. She was indeed quite grown. The Brooklyn newsie pursed his lips together. Jacky boy wasn't wrong about her. The young man quickly jumped down and walked up to her, swinging his cane. She always was impressed with how well he handled it and it looked like he had learned some tricks since they last met. "Well, well, well, Aidan, huh? Last time I saw you, youse was a tiny goil."

"I told you back den not to mess wid 'er," Jack said. "I'm tellin' youse again not to even think about it."

"Hey, hey, Jacky-boy, give me some credit 'ere. Why would I want to mess wid a goil like 'er?"

"Because you're known for messin' wid everyone," Aidan replied, arms crossed over her chest.

"Dat so?" He arched an eyebrow and leaned closer.

"I gotta repeat myself?" Aidan didn't even blink.

Spot chuckled and looked at Boots, David, and Racetrack. "Am I really dat bad, boys?" The three paused for a second, weighing their choices, then shook their heads in response. "See? Now youse oughta know better dan to jus' believe everythin' ya hear."

"Riiiiight," grinned Aidan. "Ok, well, I hear you're all pretty tough. But like you said, I can't believe everything I hear. And I'm pretty sure you're right. Cause from what I see, you guys don't do much other than swim around like lazy asses and pick fights." The Manhattan Newsies instantly began to snicker. Jack didn't bother to hide it and laughed out loud. He patted Aidan's shoulder and winked.

"Youse breakin my heart, Aidan," Spot put his hand over his chest, feigning hurt. "Me and my boys is just enjoying some free time afta' a long day of woik. It's a beautiful day."

"That it is, Spot." Aidan was still smirking.

"So," Spot leaned in close, a mischievous smile on his face, "ya wanna go for a swim?" That sent the Brooklyn boys hooting. "Dat is, if ya know how to. I mean I know you been out dere in Santa Fe wid nothin' but desert an' all."

"It's not all desert, Spot if ya know where ta go," Jack pointed out.

"We can go for a swim," agreed Aidan, shrugging. The guys hooted again, but David looked at her in surprise. "How 'bout it guys?" She turned to her friends behind her. "We don't have any other plans right?"

"Sure," Jack shrugged. He knew David would be a little apprehensive and when he looked at his friend, David's blue eyes confirmed Jack's thoughts. He couldn't help but laugh at David's expense. It had been a year since they met, and while David had definitely loosened up and embraced the life of a newsboy, there were still some things he could not shake. Always da gentleman, thought Jack. "Come on, Davey," he casually put his arm over his friend's shoulder, "let's go for a swim an' cool off afta a hard day's woik, like Spot said."

"I'm all for it," agreed Racetrack, who was already unbuttoning his shirt.

"Let's go," said Boots., who had to admit, he was more than happy for the invitation. The cool water looked refreshing in this humid heat.

Spot laughed and leaned over to Jack. "She really gonna swim huh?"

"You'd be surprised what Aidan'll do, Spot," Jack replied, now untying the bandana around his neck. "Youse gotta realize dat she grew up wid guys. She ain't no shy little goil. But don't go thinkin' she's some slut or nothin'." Jack took off his vest and cowboy hat and stripped to his long underwear.

David swallowed, watching as Boots and Racetrack stripped down and jumped into the water. He turned to Aidan who had taken off her cowboy hat and was now taking off her vest. "You're serious about this?" he asked her, leaning close, his head low.

"Yeah, why not? It's really hot, and with the humid heat here in New York, this is the best way to cool off. Besides, I came here to have fun, David. Relax." She gently patted his arm to try and reassure him, but his furrowed brow betrayed his concern.

Spot saw the exchange between David and Aidan and nudged Jack toward the curly-haired boy. Jack shook his head and smiled. He walked up to his friend and put his arm around David. "Listen Davey, I told youse dat she's used ta boys. She don't care what nobody thinks. If anything, she'd prefer the company of guys over goils. Now, don't tell me you're shy."

David gave Jack a look. "I'm not shy." Just not sure I like the idea of a girl dressed down swimming around with a bunch of guys.

"Right. Well take a cue from Aidan. Ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout." Just when the two boys turned to face the girl, she was only wearing long underwear like the boys, but hers were darker to make sure nothing shown through the thin fabric.

The boys hooted and she laughed, saying they acted as if they've never seen a girl before. But, actually, many of the boys had never seen a girl clad in so little clothing instead of the layers of dress they often wore, unless they were at the theater of course. Even the few female newsies were never so bold. And although Aidan had always bound her breasts for support and to help hide her sex, she had definitely grown and her form was quite obvious now. Jack couldn't help but smile at everyone's reaction and Aidan's nonchalance. It was always so much fun to rile people up.

"Hey, Aidan, I'll race ya to the other dock," Racetrack called out to her as he lay back in the water.

"You got it," the girl replied.

"Oh jeez, Race," Jack shouted, "don't be stupid! You never challenge dat goil to nothin'! Only I can beat 'er!"

"Oh shut up Kelly - you haven't beaten me at anything," Aidan shouted back. She dove into the water, joining Racetrack and the other boys. David sighed. He finally stripped off his clothing and jumped into the water with Jack and Spot. Once his head broke through the surface, he quickly gasped for breath, surprised by the cold water despite how hot it was. It was refreshing, for sure, but only after he stopped shivering.

"Dat goil ain't like any udder I know, Jacky-boy... I dunno if dat's a good thing or not," Spot commented as he watched Aidan pull away from Racetrack, though she only won by an arm's length.

"She's great, ain't she?" said Jack.

When Racetrack and Aidan swam back, the Brooklyn leader challenged the girl to a race to and back. Jack warned him but Spot didn't back down. And of course he was beaten, but only barely. Spot wasn't aiming to win, he just wanted to see for himself how fast she could go and he was impressed. For a girl who had been out in the desert for the past four years, she was a pretty good swimmer. But, Aidan swam every chance she got, whether it was a lake or a watering hole. Because she swore to Jack that one day that she would not only learn how to swim but be great at it. Not to mention, she found out she really loved to swim.

Eventually, everyone started swimming around, enjoying the cool water, talking and joking. Then suddenly, Aidan, having gone out further than the others, froze. When she turned to face the others, there was fear in her eyes. "Aidan?" David cried out. Everyone turned to her. She said nothing and swam around then she froze again and then disappeared underwater. "Aidan!" He started swimming toward where she disappeared but was stopped by Jack.

"She's just messin' wid ya, Dave," Jack told him, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?"

When Aidan didn't rise a good while later Jack shook his head. "No, I'm not." Shit, is she pulling a prank or did something really happen? I'm gonna kill 'er either way. He and the others swam toward where the girl disappeared but David and Jack arrived first. They looked around and dove underwater. Neither could see Aidan and rose to the surface for air. Before they could catch their breath, something grabbed them below and pulled them under. The other boys were shocked and unsure if they should dive after or swim away. Just then, Aidan surfaced, laughing. Jack and David's heads popped above the water as they coughed and gagged. After a moment of silence, the group broke into laughter and Jack glared at Aidan. "You little sneak - come 'ere!" Jack leapt for the girl and brought her under. Soon everyone was dunking everyone else.

Aidan finally wrestled her way out of Jack's grip, coughing. She started laughing again, but coughed, spitting salt water out of her mouth. "That's what you get," muttered Jack. "Pulling a stupid trick like that."

Aidan licked her lips trying to get the saltwater taste out of her mouth, but to no avail. She had forgotten what it was like to swim in the sea. And for a moment she thought she might be sick from the abundance of salt. "Yeah, yeah. You're just mad cause the great Jack Kelly fell for the oldest trick in the book!" He swatted water at her and she gagged again as she laughed, splashing at Jack in return.

"Hey, at least I didn't scare as easily as Davey here," Jack argued.

"Hey," David didn't appreciate being picked on, again. Though he knew it was his own fault most of the time. For someone as smart as he was, he was pretty gullible. "Fine, fine, yes it was very funny. Ha ha," he muttered. "But you know Jack, she's right. You of all people should have seen that one coming. She really pulled one over you. The great Jack Kelly isn't lookin' so great anymore." David grinned at his friend who glared at him.

"You-aghggll!" Instead of opening his mouth to speak, Jack found himself swallowing a mouthful of water as someone pushed him under. As he moved to fill his lungs with air, he knew immediately who would dare do such a thing. And of course, even before his head broke through the water's surface, he could hear the laughter aimed at him. He hated being the butt of joke. Who didn't? But he had to say he earned it and in the end, he didn't mind. After all, it only meant that she was back. And he would be the butt of every joke if it meant nothing would change again. "You think you're so funny, huh? Well let's see how funny it is when youse under dere," Jack lunged and splashed at Aidan who turned away and dove behind David.

"Hey!" David squeezed his eyes shut as a large splash of water rushed into his face. Spitting out what landed in his open mouth, he let out a sigh. He turned his head to Aidan who hugged him from behind.

"Sorry David, but you were the closest," she smiled at him. She giggled a little at his countenance. He tried to stay serious, but David couldn't hide a smile, their faces so close. Aidan tightened her grip around his shoulders. Jack didn't miss the exchange between the two and smirked. He would definitely hold onto this for later.

Eventually, the three of them made peace, at least for now, and Jack tried to convince Aidan to let him throw her over his head. Suspicious that this was rigged somehow, Aidan didn't agree right away. But, Jack had one of the smaller boys act as an example. He had them step on his hand under water and they rushed up together and Jack flipped the other boy over his head and back into the water. There were chers and applause and finally she gave in. Soon they all took turns diving and flipping off the pier and off each other, trying to look more impressive than the last.

With all the laughter and hullabaloo at the docks, no one would ever think any of the kids there had a care in the world. But it was quite the opposite. It was exactly because they were constantly fighting for the mere chance of survival that made them even more raucous, even more appreciative of these small opportunities.

An hour later, the boys were all sitting on the docks, drying off under the hot sun. "Scared the hell out me earlier," David sighed, dark curls still matted to his forehead.

"She pulled a good one on ya, Jacky-boy," Spot grinned.

"Shut up. She'll get 'ers," muttered Jack. He was still a little upset that he had been fooled. But it wasn't as if he was surprised. He had been expecting a prank from Aidan. They pulled jokes on each other all the time. It was one of their ways to make each other feel better. But too many things had happened in the past that made Jack worry about the girl's safety more than he would admit.

The boys continued to talk about Aidan when she looked down from her perch high on a scaffold-like precipice above them. "You know, guys, I am still here. Jus' cause I'm up here don't mean I can't hear ya."

"What's with you and heights?" asked David, shielding his eyes to look up at her.

"I like the view. You got a problem with that Dave?" Aidan jumped down, landing with only a light thud. The boys looked at her with impressed looks.

"Jeez goil, what you tryin' ta do? Give Jack and Davey here another heart attack?" Racetrack asked her. They all snickered.

"Where'd ya learn how ta do dat?" Spot asked.

"The Indians by my ranch have been trying to teach me about silence, stealth, and speed," said Aidan. She recalled a few of the hunting trips they had taken and how she nearly screwed up the first few. Everyone turned and looked at her carefully. "Yeah, so Indians got a bad name. But this here was their land and we took it over. They're a whole lot more civilized than half of the 'civilized' nation. Don't let me catch any of you talkin' any dirt on 'em ya hear?" Her glare was enough to elicit nods, but her tone of voice was not one to ignore.

"Jeez, youse a scary kid," someone muttered.

"You betta believe it," laughed Jack. He put his hand on Aidan's shoulder. "Hey, boys! Boys! I got an announcement for youse! Aidan 'ere is a born performa! Next week she's gonna sing 'er heart out to youse at Medda's! So come by and show 'er your love!" Aidan shrank a little and fought to hide a blush, but she could already feel her face grow warm. Leave it to Jack to blow things out of proportion. Jack turned to Spot. "So, Spot, youse gonna come?"

"I just might, Jacky-boy. I just might," nodded the young man. He grinned widely at Aidan and winked. The two newsie leaders spit and shook hands then Aidan spit and shook Spot's hand. The Brooklyn newsie grinned with approval.

While the Lodging house was fast asleep, one newsie could not stop squirming in his sleep, rolling right and left, his heart racing. Jack was not one to talk in his sleep, otherwise they would have heard his panicked cries.

"Aidan!" Jack cried as he ran to her, watching as she tried to get away from the rough hands that held her down. "Get offa her!" Little Jack Kelly, back when he was still little Frankie Sullivan, leapt onto the brute, shoving him off Aidan.

"Why you little punk! Stop interfering!"

"Ngh!" The mans's fist connected with Jack's jaw with a hard sna and he landed in a heap, stunned from the blow. The man wasn't through yet. He grabbed Jack's collar and hefted the boy to his feet. He pulled back his fist, but Aidan grabbed it with her little hands, just as he was about to strike.

"Stop it!" Aidan screamed.

"You brat!" He shoved her away and she let out a short scream which was followed by a loud splash.

"Aidan!" shouted Jack. "She can't swim you asshole!" He kicked at his captor, his legs just long enough to catch the man in the jaw. He let Jack go with a grunt. "Aidan, hang on," he shouted at her as she struggled to keep her head above water. Before he could get far, Jack was elbowed in the gut. He fell to his hands and knees coughing, trying to catch his lost breath and make everything stop spinning. His attacker moved to hit him again, but Jack was too fast and dove out of the way. He would have lashed out at the man, but instead he jumped into the water just as Aidan's head slipped beneath the murky surface.

"Good riddance to you both!" shouted the man.

Jack could barely see through the dark waters. But he felt a hand and grabbed it, trying to swim back to the surface. But the hand grabbed him tightly and began to pull him down. "Mghmgh!" Jack tried to free himself from the tight grasp, to no avail. He pulled his head upward trying to get air, but when he turned back down he saw Aidan's lifeless bloated face staring back at him, as she pulled him further into the depths. "Noooooo!"

Jack let out a gasp as he sat up in his bed. For a moment he felt lost, confused, and looked around at the dorm as the shadows played tricks on his eyes. Only after blinking a few times did he remember where he was and that he had only had a dream. His breathing still ragged, he pulled up his knees and propped his elbows up. He turned to Aidan who slept peacefully in the bunk next to him. He had not thought of that day in a long time.

Just a bad dream, he thought. Get it together Kelly. You pulled 'er out and even cracked a joke about what a drowned street rat she looked. Jack smiled despite himself. They were both shivering as they lay out on the dock, Aidan still trying to cough out all the saltwater she swallowed. And right there and then Aidan Lyons decided she was going to learn how to swim once and for all.

Jack licked his lips. He hadn't thought about him in a long time. And this dream seemed so real, in part because it stemmed from a vivid memory. He's gone. Even if he ain't in jail, he ain't gonna hoit us no more. Never again.

Gotta have a chapter for Spot right? Wish he had more scenes in the movie…

Ok the thing with Aiden's undergarments… yeah I don't know. I did some research and it wasn't very helpful in terms of being historically accurate so, I just tried to get as close as possible. Believe me when I say that I actually made an improvement over the original. I don't know what I was thinking, lol. I apparently took the "Alternate Universe" thing pretty far.

I also know that technically the term should be Native American, but I'm pretty sure they hadn't thought about being politically correct back then. Also, I might add it in later, but I figured that part of Aidan's interest in them is her natural curiosity, but also because she kind of relates to them. She knows what it's like to be pushed around, beaten, and forced to do things you shouldn't have to do. So she can empathize with their plight and knows that their culture holds a lot of value. I feel like Jack, if ever he went out west, might be antagonistic toward them at first, basing his actions on the stories he's heard. But I feel like he would eventually come to see that there was more to them than meets the eye and he would also develop a respect for them. He tends to have a soft spot for the underdog so I think he'd respect and defend them, at least the tribes that he got along with. Can't imagine either Aidan or Jack making friends with everyone.