Author's Note: Stretch is amazing!
"If you weren't a girl, I'd soak ya." Spot said turning and glaring at Rae.
"Oh yeah" Rae said crossing her arms "If you weren't a girl, I'd soak you."
"Are you calling me a girl?" Spot asked.
"If the shoe fits." Rae said with a smirk
Spot lunged at Rae but she sidestepped him. "Snark told me how you ended up at the LH. If it hadn't been for Cap you would have ended up at the orphanage. And as soon as Cap leaves, Kloppy will probably take you there." Spot taunted. He regretted it as soon as he saw her face.
Rae tackled him and threw several punches, some of which she managed to land. Suddenly she found herself flat on her back looking up at Spot, who punched her. Just as he was about throw another punch someone pulled him away from her.
A cop had seen the two fighting and was now trying hard to hold them apart, by hanging on to the backs of their shirts. He bent down to get a closer look at Spot's face. "Aren't you Conlon's kid that ran away?"
The look on Spot's face turned from an angry one to one of terror. He kicked the cop in the shin and grabbed Rae's hand as he ran off. As the two of them ran, they heard the sound of a police whistle fill the air behind them
Race, Jack and Blink looked at each other nervously as Cap paced the front room of the LH. It was beginning to get dark and Rae and Spot had not yet made it back to the LH. Cap had a rule that the five little newsies had to be back at the LH before sun down, no matter how many papes they had left to sell.
Cap stopped pacing and turned toward the three boys sitting on the couch. Blink couldn't help but shudder as Cap's dark expression brought back some unpleasant memories.
"Where was the last time you saw them?" Cap asked harshly.
"When we got our papes this morning." Race answered.
"They left together like they always do." Jack added.
"Did they come back here for lunch?" Cap asked.
"No" Blink answered, his voice but a whisper.
"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU COME AND GET ME?" Cap yelled. This both shocked and scared the three boys
"Cap lay off will ya? They probably didn't think anything of the other two not showing up for lunch." Snark interjected. His older brother had left shortly after Blink had come to the LH and since then Snark had become second in command.
"Snark..." Cap said.
"Yeah..." Snark answered.
"Shut up," he shot back, his mind a bit too far off to come back with a decent retort.
"Aye aye Cap'n" Snark said with a salute.
Cap sent a death glare in Snark's direction before continuing to pace. Snark looked at the three boys and motioned them upstairs. They sent him a thankful look before running up the stairs. Cap sighed and dropped heavily into a chair.
Moments later the front door creaked open and two little heads poked into the opening. Cap pretended to be dozing until they got into the middle of the room. "You two know the rules."
Both Rae and Spot squeaked in surprise. "We got lost," Spot answered quickly.
"It was your fault!" Rae argued.
"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Cap said. Spot hung his head, while Rae stared at Cap. Cap stood and pulled them both into his arms, hugging them tight. As soon as he could tell they had both relaxed a bit, he grabbed Spot's ear.
"Oww..." Spot whined, trying to pull free.
"I've warned you before Spot. I can't trust you to obey my rules, so you'll have to sell with one of the older newsies..."
"But Cap..."
"If you can prove to me that you can follow the rules, then I will let you and Rae sell together again."
"We promise!"
Cap drug him toward the stairs. "Get upstairs and go to bed."
Spot scampered up the stairs.
"Spot?"
He stopped and turned to look at Cap.
"You have to stay in your bunk all day tomorrow."
Spot started to protest, but stopped when Cap sent him a look. He sighed and slowed walked up to the bunkroom. Rae continued to watch Cap, not knowing what her punishment would be. Cap hugged her close again for several minutes, before he spun her around and gave her a firm swat on the bottom. She turned to look at him, eyes wide. He had spanked her before, but it never hurt that much.
"Same thing goes for you, little miss. If you do as I say and stay in your bed all day tomorrow, I will allow you and Spot to sell together."
She nodded, heading toward her room. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Will you come tuck me in?"
He walked over, picked her up and carried her up to her room. "Don't I always?"
She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Cap."
"I know."
"We did get lost..."
"That's why I didn't give you more than the one swat. It may not have been on purpose, but it was still disobedience. Do you understand?"
She yawned as he set her on her bed and pulled the quilt up around her shoulders. "I think so..." she whispered sleepily.
He kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, little imp."
She burrowed deeper under the quilt. "Night..."
Rae walked into the main room where Cap was reading the newspaper and crawled into his lap. "Cap?" she asked softly.
"Yes, Imp?" he replied.
"Can me and the boys go to Brooklyn to sell tomorrow?"
"Is there some special reason that you want to go to Brooklyn?"
She started to shake her head, but nodded instead.
"What is it, Imp?"
"Well...we was readin' the paper.and there is this play at the Brooklyn Theatre...and it's 'bout a kid...and we wanted to go see...we heard some rich kids talkin' 'bout it too."
"What's the name of this play?"
"Peck's Bad Boy."
He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I read about that play.well.I guess it wouldn't hurt anything." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollars and tucked them into her pocket. "Have fun, Imp."
She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks Cap!"
He laughed and kissed her forehead. "Now go tell those boys that you convinced me to let you go."
Permission granted, having just gotten over punishment, and a few pennies for treats during the show, all five sat in the back of the house, leaning comfortably and watching the play progress. As scene gave way to scene, each newsie found himself, or, in Rae's case, herself, lost in the plot and the characters. Of course, it helped that they could relate to the boy on stage and the lines he spouted off.
"I can still lick any kid in town!" the boy on the stage yelled, causing the group to chuckle. Yep, they definitely could relate. However the problem with relating at the age of eight happened to also be a blurred line between reality and fiction. They weren't seeing an actor on stage, but a challenger.
Rae snickered at the boy's perceived challenge. "I'd like to see him try," she whispered to Spot.
"I bet he's a big scab," he whispered back.
"Rae could take him," Jack said, leaning over Rae's shoulder.
"I don't know. He's bigger than she is," Blink replied.
Race dug into his pockets. "I got...two bits that says she can."
"Save your money for papers, Race," Blink said wisely.
"What's his name?" Spot asked.
Rae glanced at the program that she had swiped. "George M. Cohen."
"I still think Rae can lick Georgie Boy," Jack said. "Let's give it a shot."
Rae's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Race ya," she said, running for the door, the others quickly following.
Once at the backstage door, Spot pulled Rae aside. He yanked off her cap. "Tuck your hair in your cap."
"Why?"
"So he'll think you're a boy," he replied.
She tucked her hair in the hat and walked over to the door and knocked.
A moment later a man come to the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"We'd like to see George M. Cohen," Rae said. Once the man went inside, Rae danced from one foot to the other, waiting impatiently for the boy to come outside. As soon as he stepped outside she threw a punch, knocking the boy down the stairs.
"I can't believe that you would do something so stupid!" Cap fumed, looking at the five children in front of him. "Not only is that Cohen boy hurt, but you hurt that other little boy as well. I just hope that the doctor can fix his arm."
Rae thought about the little boy in the other room. She hadn't meant for him to get hurt. None of them knew who he was, but he had stepped in and tried to break up the fight. When then cop passed by and saw them fighting, he had assumed that the boy was one of Cap's little newsies.
"Lewis..." Cap said, looking at Blink. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"
"Rae started it," he answered, not looking at Rae.
Rae kicked his foot. Cap grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "Go on..."
"That boy said that he could like any kid...and Rae thought she could beat him..."
Cap glared down at Rae and she gulped. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later."
"But..." she protested.
"GO!"
She made a face, but went to her room.
He turned to looked at Spot. "You broke my trust once, Spot, and I gave you another chance. But you broke it again." Spot looked down. "I can't allow you to stay if you aren't going to follow the rules..."
The little boy looked up, his eyes wide. "Don't send me back to Da..."
"I wouldn't do that to you. Tomorrow morning you are going to Brooklyn."
"Brooklyn!"
Cap knelt down, looking Spot straight in the eyes, causing the small newsboy to shift uncomfortably. "You have what it takes to be a leader, Spot, but not with the way you've been acting. You don't take responsability and you need discipline. I love you kid, I do, but if it takes sending you to Brooklyn for a while to turn you around, then so be it."
"But, Cap..." Spot started, somewhere between upset and angry.
"No 'but's, Spot. Go upstairs, pack up, and we'll head over there first thing tomorrow."
"But..."
Go!" Cap shouted. Spot kicked the stairs before storming up them, leaving Cap to take care of the three remaining boys staring wide-eyed up at him.
"Cap," Jack started, figuring he should say something, anything, to prevent or postpone the inevitable.
"Stop. Don't apologize. What you five did is inexcusable, and as sorry as you may be, right now I don't have the patience to hear it. You hurt that boy for no reason other than to get rid of boredom, and you hurt another little boy in the process. From now on, none of you are selling together, and that doesn't change until I decide. Understand?" he scolded, his eyes boring a hole in each one of them.
All three boys nodded.
"And when you aren't selling, you can help Kloppman clean the house from top to bottom. When you aren't selling or cleaning, you are upstairs reading, or learning to read, or staring at the ceiling. All three of you are under restriction, and that means no racetracks, gambling, or hanging out outside the girl's orphanage. Didn't think I knew about that, did you?" he finished, arching an eyebrow at the boys before him. Without waiting for further protest, he continued, "Get upstairs."
He walked into the kitchen where the doctor had just set the little boy's arm. "Can you tell me what happened?"
He nodded as the doctor wrapped his arm. "I saw them all fighting that boy...so I decided to help him. I don't remember a whole lot after that..."
"What happened before then?" he asked, sitting gingerly beside the boy.
"I remember the girl...Rae?...hitting that boy and him falling down the stairs. She said something about winning two bits and then the kid she hit stood up and they started fighting. It didn't seem like a fair fight, you know, five against one, so I tried to stop them. That's when one of them pushed me into the crates. Don't know who though," he shrugged, then winced at the pressure it put on the arm currently being bandaged.
"You dirty snitch!" they heard Rae yell from the top of the stairs, Cap nearly growling.
"I said I'd deal with you later, Miss Rae," he called up to her before turning back to the boy before him. "You got a name?" he asked, a great deal more gently.
"Colin...Colin Meyers. Some people call me Mush, though..." he trailed off shyly.
"I'll soak ya so good your face will turn into mush!" Rae yelled down, irate that this stranger was digging her in deeper. She could do that just fine on her own, thank you! The last thing she needed was some pacifistic punk doing it for her.
"Rae! Now!" Cap shouted, at which point Rae stomped away.
"You sure she's a girl?" Mush asked, looking downright confused. "Girls don't act like that where I come from..."
"Where do you come from?" Cap asked, though unable to keep a slight smirk from his face.
"Nowhere, sir," he replied quietly, averting his eyes a bit.
Cap sighed. "Well...you can stay here until your arm heals. Longer if you wish."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now...I have to go deal with that little brat upstairs," he said, heading up the stairs. Rae was leaning against the wall in her room with her arms crossed, trying to look defiant. Cap knew better though, since she wouldn't look him in the eye. "An attitude like that will only get you in more trouble, young lady." He sighed and sat down in the old rocking chair. Looking down, Rae kept silent as she kicked at some imaginery rocks around her feet, trying not to listen as he continued. "I never would have thought you'd do such a thing. Does it mean anything to you that, not only did you pick a fight with someone for a bet, but that boy downstairs broke his arm trying to break you kids apart? I've never been ashamed of you Rae, and hope I never will be, but I've come closer than I ever would have liked today. Do you understand?"
"Not really."
Sighing, Cap tried to keep calm when his patience was on a losing battle with his nerves. "Rae, how many times have I told you not to fight?"
Shrugging, she fidgeted, finding it harder to drown out what he was saying and the upset tone in his voice.
"Rae, answer me, young lady. How many times have I told you not to fight?"
"A couple?"
"And, you still choose to disobey me? This time, you did it without any more than a bet to win two bits for beating up a kid you've never even met. On top of that, Mush now has a broken arm trying to do the right thing, something you should have been trying to do, something I have been trying to teach you. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I...I...I don't know..."
"All I tell you and everything I do for you is to keep you safe and happy, and you still choose to disobey me. Why?" he asked, figuring he was getting closer to breaking her.
"I wasn't thinking..."
"You never think, Rae. You need to learn to listen to me."
"I...I'm sorry, Cap."
"You're still gonna get spanked."
"But Cap..." she whined, lip trembling, nearly breaking his heart. Nearly.
"Rae, you broke the rules and, furthermore, you hurt a few innocent boys, boys you don't even know, in the process. Come here," he ordered, giving her a look that plainly stated he wasn't going to let her get away with it.
Moving slowly over to him, her eyes welled up in an attempt to get her off the hook as much as actual regret. "I'm really really sorry," she tried once more, hoping against hope it would work.
"I know you are, but I'm not changing my mind. Come here."
She whimpered as she took the last few steps toward him, sniffling a bit as he turned her over his knee and spanked her. A few swats here and there was all she had ever gotten from Cap, and all she had expected, really. However, as her sniffling turned into wailing, it became clear just how deeply she had disappointed him, and just how hard he was planning on driving the point home. Cap set her on her feet and stared at her for a moment before taking her into his arms and holding her close. She tried to squirm out of his arms, but he held her tight. "It's alright, Imp. Shhh," he told her soothingly, in an attempt to calm her enough so he could speak and be heard once more. She kept wiggling despite his words, but finally stopped and sobbed against his chest. Cap stroked her hair and rubbed her back until her sobs became sniffles and hiccups.
"Rae..."
"Hmm?" she sniffled.
"I love you, baby girl..."
She sniffled again. "I love you too."
He kissed her forehead.
"That spanking really hurt..."
"I know, but you really went too far this time, little one. I can't have you keep disobeying me. I love you and want to keep you safe, but that can't happen if you don't listen. Alright?"
She nodded, snuggling closer to him.
He stroked her hair. "Baby, I know this is going to upset you, but..."
"But what?" she sniffled.
He paused until she looked up at him. "I'm taking Spot to Brooklyn tomorrow."
"For how long?" she asked, confused as to why he felt the need to mention this to her, or what significance it had to warrant the saddened look on his face.
"A long time. It's up to him, really," he explained gently.
"Why!" she asked, nearly sobbing, bouncing on his lap as if that would extract some sort of clear answer, perhaps even undo what he had said.
"It's what's best for him, sweetheart. You two need to be separated for a little while, and he needs to learn to be more responsible. He's not going to learn that here, kiddo, and Brooklyn is his best bet. I promise he's going to be taken care of, and you two can visit after your restriction is over, but you two need to spend some time apart."
"But he's my bestest friend..."
"I know, honey. And he always will be. But this is what's best for both of you right now."
"I'm sorry, Cap! I'll be a good girl, I promise! You won't have to send him away, I'll be good! I won't fight no more and I'll even wear dresses...well...I'll be good, anyway! Please!" she finished, tears flowing once more, breaking Cap's heart.
"I'm sorry, Baby. Have I ever done anything to hurt you?"
"You spank me..." she cried into his chest.
"Have I ever done anything to not trust me?" he amended, figuring a difference between hurting deeply and punishing would have to wait until she was more rational.
"No..." she sniffled.
"Then, sweetheart, trust me now, alright? I know this is hard, and I'm sorry, but you need it. Both of you do."
"I'm sorry," she sobbed once more, her hot tears soaking through his shirt, her body shaking as Cap's own eyes started to well.
"I love you more than anything, Little Imp. You know that? Huh?" he asked, trying to reassure her.
"I know..." she whimpered after a while, nuzzling into him as she continued to cry softly.
She buried her face in his chest and sobbed, her little heart breaking. When she relaxed in his arms, he glanced down to find her asleep. He kissed her forehead and continued to rock her, needing to hold her for a little longer.
Spot slipped into Rae's room that night after everyone had gone to bed. "You awake?" he whispered.
"Yeah," she answered.
"Was Cap real mad?"
"Yeah."
"Did he spank you again?"
She sighed. "Yes. He said I shouldn't have started that fight with that Cohen kid."
Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Rae and Spot looked up to see Cap standing in the door. "Bed!"