Disclaimer – I do not own Oliver Twist

Hello hello!

I am so sorry about the update rate on this fic so far... i'm so bad... :S
But I'm doing my best, what with GCSEs and piles of revision ETC.

So... reviews...

Bandgeekd – Thanks so much :D glad you enjoyed it, and i hope you like this chapter too!! no.. i don't think it was a pun... :P

xBangs-McCoyx – oooh yes, Oliver mixed up a murder mess... although he didn't have anything to do with it... who did? (dun dun DUN) Ahem. Yes well anyway, thanks for the review :D hope you enjoy this new chapter

swirling-embers – hello em :) thanks for the review chum, here is the ridiculously late chapter :D

Charlene Bates – heyhey :D glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you SO much for the review, you make me smile so much when you review :) really hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Red-Cherry-Flowers – Thank you so much, reviews make my day :D

Cedric Cadogan – Thank you so much for the review :) hope you enjoy this chapter!

Breeza13 – thankyou so much, hope you enjoy this chapter!!

So yes, there are all the 'thankyou's to the FANTASTIC reviewers who i love so much :D

Hope you enjoy this chapter :) xx

Chapter 3 – A plan, and a day out...

When Dodger and Emmy had finished explaining the horrible situation to Nancy, they looked at her, calmly awaiting the pearls of wisdom that were surely about to flow from her mouth... but none came. Nancy sat and stared at them, her eyebrows close together, and her hands clenched in her lap. Eventually she spoke,

"You spoke to Oliver? 'Cause you'd broken into 'is 'ouse?"

Emmy and Dodger looked at each other, then back at Nancy, and nodded,

"And now... now 'e's on trial for murder? An' you know 'e didn't do it?"

"Yeah... that's what we said Nance"

"Oh gawd..." Nancy breathed, putting one hand to her head, "You know what we can't do..."

"What?" Emmy asked,

"Tell Fagin, 'e'd never allow us anywhere near the prisons..." Nancy told them, looking at them seriously.

Emmy and Dodger nodded mutely, wondering what to say. The news had disturbed Nancy rather more than they had expected. Finally, Dodger spoke, fiddling with his top hat,

"So you'll 'elp us try to get 'im out?"

"I will"

Emmy and Dodger stood outside the Whipping Stocks on an upturned barrel. Emmy draped her arms around Dodger's neck and laid her head on his shoulder, sighing and blowing her fringe out of her face.

"'o could 'ave done it?"

"Eh?" Dodger grunted, not really having been listening. Emmy hit him lightly on the arm, and repeated herself,

"I said, 'o could 'ave done it?"

Dodger tilted his head back against the wall so that his top hat slid off his forehead,

"I ain't got a clue... 'ang on! Why ask me eh? Think I 'appen to know lots of murderers?" his eyes twinkled teasingly,

"No, just... trying to think of where the 'ell to start" Emmy replied, looking up as Nancy emerged, now dressed in her 'smart clothes', slightly less gaudy and revealing than her usual attire.

"Come on then," Nancy smiled grimly, "Let's go."

--

Brixton Gaol was a tall building of filthy, once-red, bricks. It's walls held an air of impeding doom, and Dodger felt as if his courage was withering away as he, Emmy and Nancy stepped through the gates.

"'ello there," a policeman, complete with tall hat and impressive handlebar moustache, had appeared next to them, having stepped from the shadows behind the gates, "Can I 'elp you hat all?"

Dodger glanced at Emmy, whose face had drained of colour, and whose eyes were wide. He knew how she felt. He had never been this close to a policeman, or indeed conversed with a policeman. He felt as if he had run into a snake pit... one false move...

Snapping out of his inner nightmare, he realised that the policeman and Nancy were talking,

"-So we saw the story in the paper, and seeing as we are 'is close friends, we wondered if we could come and see 'im?" Nancy finished, wringing her hands and looking imploringly at the policeman, "We wouldn't be long"

The policeman stared down at them for a minute or two, and then gave in,

"A'right, not for long mind, visitors aren't normally hallowed this time'a'day"

"Thank you" Nancy smiled at him in relief as he began to show them the way into the building.

Emmy's hand found Dodger's as they wound their way through dank corridors and barred doors, following the tall hat of the policeman. Eventually, the group stopped at a small door, once again barred.

"Knock when you're finished" the policeman, who had now introduced himself as PC Smith, grunted, shutting the heavy door behind them.

Feeling claustrophobic, Dodger turned slowly to look at the young man crouching on the edge of a hard bunk on the fair side of the tiny cell.

"What are you doing here?"

The husky voice, that pushed its way through the messy blonde locks of his old friend, shocked Dodger. Oliver sounded totally defeated. The optimistic, naïve boy that Dodger had known so long ago was obviously long gone.

"We wanted to... to 'elp..." Dodger automatically looked to Emmy for help, but it was Nancy that spoke next.

"Oliver... we're trying our best to-" she was cut off as Oliver's head jerked upwards to stare at her. The eyes that peered through the shock of blonde hair were wild with a clawing fear, and had dark shadows hanging underneath them,

"Nancy?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly, and the scared teenager that had been crouching underneath a shield of false confidence was finally revealed, "Nancy..."

Nancy quickly strode over to him, gently taking him in her arms, just as she had done when he was a mere child.

"You know, don't you?" Oliver said, his voice taking on a slightly desperate note, "You know I didn't do it?"

"Of course we know you didn't!" Dodger exclaimed, "Me 'n' Emmy were with you the 'ole time you're s'posed to 'ave been murderin' someone!"

Oliver coughed a short, bitter laugh as he made eye contact with Dodger.

"Who do you think it was then?" Oliver asked, his blue eyes wide.

And to this, Dodger could think of no answer.

--

A very quiet trio left Brixton Gaol some time later. Eventually Nancy broke the silence,

"So, 'ow are we goin' to find 'im then?"

"Eh?" Emmy mumbled

"Who?" Dodger asked,

"The one 'o actually killed the man..." Nancy said, looking at Dodger as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh righ'..." Dodger stared at her,

"Well, there's a lot of people in London..." Emmy looked doubtful

"Then we're goin' to need to start lookin' pretty sharpish" Dodger caught Emmy's eyes and a small smile crept onto her face.

"We'll both go" she said, catching his hand, "We'll find 'im..."

"An' then what?" Dodger asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, and not anywhere near his eighteen years.

"Then we'll... we'll 'ave to go back to that place" Emmy gestured to the prison behind them "and get Oliver out" She squeezed Dodger's hand, "C'mon, we'll do everythin' we can to catch the real murd'rer..."

Dodger smiled at Emmy, all his feelings for her bubbling to the surface of his troubled mind, and he pulled her into a tight hug,

"Thank you" he murmured into her black curls.

Nancy stood back and watched the pair of teenagers, her heart feeling a little warmer. Perhaps Oliver did have a chance of getting out of there after all...

Sorry that not much happened in this chapter and that it was short, but yet again, it was needed for the story to work... :D next chapter... Emmy and Dodger begin their search for the real murderer, and the story properly begins... :P

It probably won't be up for a while, because I am now about to start weeks of exams, but i will not give up on this story, so DO NOT LOSE HOPE :D

Please

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it really motivates me to write :) knowing that people are reading.

Love

Blackfishy

xx