At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to work the song into the story without making it sound awkward, but then I decided just to turn it into a coversation! I added some words and dialogue to give it a more casual, smoother feel than just spoken song lyrics, and I hope I did so effectively. Please enjoy!

-Marcelle

Jack sighed again at the mention of a tiny city, and Crutchie began to hear a trace of longing in his voice as he leaned against the railing.

"They say folks is dyin' ta get here,' he pointed out, shaking his head slightly, as though all of those who sought New York City for their home were simply wasting their time. "Me? I'm dyin' ta get away."

"Where wouldja go, Jack?" Crutchie asked, genuine curiosity weaving it's way into his voice He himself had never pictured living anywhere that wasn't a bustling city, being dwarfed by towering buildings and crowded by masses of people. Clearly Jack had a better imagination than Crutchie did, or at least, more knowledge for his years.

"Ah Crutch, to a little town out west that's...that's spankin' new," The Manhattan newsie leader spoke with utter reverence, as though nothing in the world sounded better. "An' while I ain't neva been there, I can see it, clear as day." His eyes grew wider, as though he was picturing the town in his head at that very moment. He nudged the younger boy playfully after a minute, and Crutchie found himself grinning at Jack's enthusiasm. "Ya know, if ya want, I betcha you could see it, too."

"Ya think?" Crutchie played into his older friend's fantasy, not seeing any real harm it could do. If Jack wanted to dream about the Old West, so be it. At least it made him happy, something that only a select few things could accomplish. And if Jack wanted to share that dream with him, then Crutchie was more than happy to oblige.

"Sure! Just close your eyes," Jack instructed, throwing an arm around the younger boy's shoulder. "Come with me, where it's clean, and green and pretty!" He gestured out to the New York sky-or rather, beyond it- as Crutchie followed his gaze briefly before shutting his eyes, ready to picture this distant land. "And they went and made a city out of clay."

Crutchie smiled as buildings began to dot the landscape in his mind-small but sturdy buildings that looked brand-new, just as Jack had described.

His brother was laughing, truly laughing, a joyous sound that Crutchie realized he didn't hear nearly as often as he should have. Jack put on such a suave, sophisticated facade that it almost seemed as though he never took real pleasure in anything. Everything was temporary with him, only a few things were meant to last. But it seemed as though this was a dream that Jack had carried with him for a long time.

"Why, the minute thatcha get there, folks'll walk right up and say-" he sighed, as though hearing the words spoken in his mind as well. "Welcome home, son. Welcome home ta Santa Fe."

So Jack's dreamland actually had a name. Somehow, that seemed to make it more real for Crutchie as well. A nameless town somewhere out west was fine enough, but that gave it more of a surreal tint, making it out to be a place they could never reach. But Santa Fe...that was a goal. A dot on a map. Somewhere he and Jack could go that would open their lives to possibilities never dreamed of in New York. Suddenly, Crutchie started to feel the same excitement that radiated off of Jack, started to see why he was so invested in such a faraway place. He began to understand.

"What does a person do in Santa Fe?" Crutchie questioned next as he finally opened his eyes, his interested peaked. He found himself wanting to know everything about the city made out of clay, even if he could never go there.

"Nothin' you could do in New York, that's for sure," Jack scoffed, but his enthusiasm quickly took over again as he grinned broadly at his younger friend. "You'd be plantin' crops, splittin' rails, swappin' tales around the fire...Well, 'cept for Sunday, when ya lie around all day!"

"Mm, sounds nice," Crutchie sighed at the prospect of a day of relaxation, relishing in the thought of no headlines, no shouting, no pity. Just the sun shining down straight from the sky instead of hidden and filtered through a screen of fog. The image filled his mind, a sight he'd never realized he wanted to see before but now longed for.

"But that ain't all, kid, no sir!" Jack reassured him, the pride in his dream only seeming to grow as he took in Crutchie's own fascination. "Soon, your friends are more like family, and they'se beggin' you to stay!"

Something about that seemed to resonate in Crutchie's mind, it sounded all too familiar. Wasn't that exactly how the newsies treated each other-like a family? There was no doubt about it, that's what they were. Crutchie already had friends like that, and so did Jack.

But the Manhattan newsie leader was on a roll, and the crippled boy knew better than to stop him when he was on one of his rants. Besides, it was still fun to hear about Santa Fe, still fun to dream about such a place. No wonder Jack saw an appeal.

"Ain't that neat? Living sweet...in Santa Fe," Jack had leaned against the railing again and had his eyes trained on the skyline as Crutchie watched him fondly, thanking his lucky stars that the streets Jack hated so much hadn't hardened him as much as he would have people believe.

But still, there was one question that pricked in the back of Crutchie's mind, ever since Jack had mentioned his father. Where had he even heard of Santa Fe?

"Got folks there?" he asked, almost timidly, not wanting to offend Jack in any way but still curious enough to want to know. But the older boy merely grinned wanly, as though he was more sadden by the question than insulted.

"Got no folks nowhere," he reported, the matter-of-fact tone he used more than obviously an attempt to hide his true thoughts on the subject. But that was just what Jack did-he hid behind a series of mask that displayed the boy he wanted everyone else to see. It was really only Crutchie that was allowed to see him in his true nature, and the disabled boy was grateful for that.

It couldn't be healthy for Jack to live as he did, constantly holding himself to his own standards of what or who a person should be. But his friend didn't seem to want to dwell on it long, and merely changed the topic instead. "You?"

"I don't need folks. I got friends!" Crutchie answered with a laugh almost immediately, knowing nothing else he could have said would have been the truth. The very concept of parents was unfamiliar to him, because he had never known what it was like. His mother had been taken from him very early, too early for him to remember her clearly, and he couldn't even picture any type of father figure ever existing in his life. The only family he'd ever known was Jack and the boys, and frankly, that was all he needed.

"Hey, how's about you come with me?" Jack suddenly proposed, turning to look at Crutchie as though the idea was more brilliant than anyone else could think of. "Huh? No one worries about no gimp leg in Santa Fe! Yeah, you just hop a palomino, you're ridin' in style!"

He galloped atop the penthouse as though racing through a field in the country, and Crutchie gave a chuckle at the overly-dramatic sight. It was just like Jack to try to make him feel better about his limp, to try to lift his spirits with humor. That was one of the things showed how real of a person Jack could be, that he was more than the charming newspaper boy everyone one the streets took him for.

"Oh yeah, feature me, 'ridin' in style'," Crutchie played along, rolling his eyes at the elder boy's attempt at reason. But he was persistent, and looked at Crutchie again with a confident smile on his face.

"Hey, I bet a few months of clean air, you could toss that crutch for good!"

The grin was contagious, and Crutchie could feel it spreading across his features as well. Jack Kelly sure had a way of getting people to follow him, and maybe it was to Santa Fe that he wanted to lead. All Crutchie knew was that if Jack went, he wanted to go too. Because boy, did Santa Fe sound good.