Disclaimer: Newsies and all characters from the movie are properties of Disney.

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Connecting

"So what happened to her?"

Kloppman drew several breaths before answering. His voice was heavy when he spoke. "I never saw her again."

Skittery was perplexed. "That's - that's it? She just up and disappeared?"

Kloppman nodded shakily. "I never saw her after we parted ways that evening. When I think about it now, about our time together, however brief it was, it was magical. We were on our own, together, wrapped in that fierce blizzard. It was like she said about the snow – we really were in a different world," Kloppman said, chuckling.

"Klopps… I never knew…"

"No one knew, son, not until now. I never told anyone about Natalie."

Skittery nodded slowly. A silence fell between them.

Kloppman looked out the window again. The snow wasn't falling as fiercely as it had been falling before.

"I never saw her again, Skittery. But she's someone I'll never forget. I hear her sometimes, you know?" He shook his head sorrowfully. "At a couple of points during that day, I swore she was an angel. I still wonder about that even today. Sounds crazy, don't it? But every year, just around Christmas, I hear that beautiful violin and I'm reminded of what I learned from her. And I hope you've learned something tonight, too."

Skittery slowly nodded. "Yeah," he said, giving Kloppman a look of appreciation.

Kloppman could tell, though, that there was still something bothering the newsboy.

"Sometimes," the older man offered, "we just need to know that there's a person out there looking out for us. Thinking about us. Because if no one looks out for us, if no one cares about us, what's the point? We have it in us to love, but we also need to feel we're worth someone else's love. To connect with a person is our connection to this world, as human beings." He laughed softly. "Natalie was right, you know? She said that Christmas is that one special time when we feel, truly, that love and that connection." He looked at Skittery directly in the eyes. "Before Natalie, I didn't feel that. And right now, you're not feeling it either."

Kloppman's words made something inside Skittery click into place: his mind and heart finally came to an understanding. And here was Kloppman, someone who understood him, who had once felt the same emptiness and disappointment that Skittery felt now.

Kloppman's eyes narrowed – he spotted from the window a shadowed figure quickly approaching the Lodging House. When the figure neared and stepped into the light provided by the lamppost, a trace of a smile played upon his lips. The older man placed an encouraging hand over Skittery's fist.

"You're not feeling it right now, Skittery," he began, "but there will always be someone there for you. Maybe you just need to open your eyes and your heart."

Skittery recognized Natalie's words and was quiet, occupied with his own thoughts. Maybe he was just being childish. He realized now that he wasn't alone. He had friends – Race, Specs, Dutchy, all the others – who struggled and celebrated alongside him. And Peg, as exasperating as she was at times with all her naiveté, was someone that he had come to rely on. He had no idea how or when that happened. And he finally admitted to himself - as much as it bothered him to admit it - that it hurt when she distributed gifts to all their companions, and neglected to give him anything. Dammit all, he would have even settled for that stupid neckerchief.

Skittery exhaled a heavy sigh and looked up at the older man gratefully. He knew it must have taken a lot for Kloppman to reveal and share such a personal story with him. Kloppman's mysterious smile caught his attention then. He raised his brows questioningly, to which Kloppman tilted his head towards the window.

Right at that moment, there came a knocking against the window glass. Skittery, surprised by the thuds that sounded close to his head, turned his head abruptly towards the window.

Peg stood outside. She gave Skittery a small wave and, upon noticing Kloppman, gave the Lodging House manager a cheerful, albeit muffled through the window, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Kloppman!"

Kloppman inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Merry Christmas to you, too, Miss Ellie."

Skittery faced Kloppman. "I'll be right back," he said, grabbing his cap and pulling it over his hair.

"All right, then," said Kloppman, sitting up. "I'll have to check on the dinner in the dining hall. Got to make sure no one's burnt anything this year."

Skittery sent him a lazy grin before heading out the doors.

He became more somber once his feet touched upon the snow-covered ground. Peg was waiting ahead of him, her arms crossed across her chest. Her cheeks were rosy from exposure to the cold. A mix of concern and puzzlement was on her face.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You ran off in a hurry. Everyone was worried."

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good," she sighed. "I'm glad."

"Yeah, I, uh…" His pride was going to take a beating now, but he made up his mind. Skittery was going to be forward. "I was a little surprised when you – when you said you forgot." His pride was writhing now.

But thankfully, he didn't need to explain any further. Peg immediately knew to what he was referring; her head bobbed up and down slowly in a manner that conveyed her understanding. She took a step towards him, her brown eyes gazing at him intently.

"Was that why you stormed off?" she asked.

Skittery gave a sheepish half-grin, looking at the ground and scratching the back of his head in slight discomfort. He thought he'd hear a reprimand any moment now. When his eyes flicked up to her face in an apologetic glance, he was surprised to see an amused smile lingering there. The corners of her lips twitched – she was trying to hold back laughter.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said nonchalantly. Then, as quickly as she had given her answer, she hit his arm with something sturdy.

"Ow, what was that for?" he exclaimed, even though he knew he may have deserved it.

"You're really difficult sometimes, you know that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"How was I supposed to know you'd take me seriously?" She paused to look him in the eyes. "Did you really think I would forget to get you something for Christmas?" she asked delicately.

He was at a loss for words for a moment. "Then why did you say you did?"

"It was going to be a surprise," she said, thinking the answer was obvious. "You told me the boys had planned to leave for the banquet together after Tibby's. Well, I was going to make you drop by the girl's home with me so I could pick up your present and give it you when no one was around."

He thought about her explanation. "Why did you want to give me something when no one was around?" he asked.

She shrugged and looked heavenward, clearly exasperated with herself for thinking any sort of situation with Skittery would be easy. "Who knows? I don't know what I was thinking," she said resignedly. Then she put forward her hand, offering the object that she hit him with. "Merry Christmas, Skittery."

He looked down at her extended hand. She was holding a small rectangular manila package, held together by red ribbons. Skittery almost hit himself on the head for actually believing Peg had forgotten about him. She wasn't even a good liar and he had let his emotions cloud his senses. Skittery took the package tentatively. He placed a forefinger and thumb on the ribbons and looked at Peg for permission. She answered with an indifferent nod.

He picked at the bow and eventually succeeded in untying the ribbons. Skittery's fingers moved over to unfold the manila wrapping. He gazed at the gift in his hands.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

"It's a book," Peg answered dryly.

"I know it's a book," he said, fully knowing that he had asked a stupid question. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," Skittery read aloud.

She gave him an uncertain, faltering smile. "It's by Mark Twain. I didn't know what to get you at first. And then I remembered that silly stick you're always carrying around like it's some sword or scepter. And that you and Bumlets used to have those duels." She pointed at the book in Skittery's hands. "The main character gets sent back to medieval England, to King Arthur's court, where there are Knights, and swords, and… things like that," she said, shrugging a little, unsure of whether Skittery liked the present.

"You're perfect."

"Thanks," Peg said absently. Then, snapping her head back to him: "—what?"

"I said, it's perfect."

"Oh," she said, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "That's what I thought." She signaled towards the Lodging House. "You should go back inside. Isn't the banquet starting soon?"

"I think so," he replied.

"I should get going, too." Peg gave him another small wave goodbye and turned to leave.

She had only taken several steps when he called her name. When she spun around, he had advanced up to her and, before she knew what he was doing, he enveloped her into an embrace. With a stunned "oh!" she froze on the spot, blinking rapidly in surprised confusion. Only rarely did Skittery ever show his emotions to her so candidly, and she therefore assumed that something was wrong.

"Are you sure you're okay? Fever?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," she heard him say. After several moments, he spoke again. "Thanks, Ellie."

Peg thought he was thanking her for the gift, but he was in fact grateful for what she had confirmed for him. Kloppman had said that everyone needed some sort of connection to this world and that Christmas was a magical time for people to reveal those connections in their purity. Peg was a lot like Skittery in that neither liked to reveal their emotions to others, but tonight, she didn't need to say a word. She had showed him that he was in her thoughts.

Skittery released her gradually, just before Kloppman poked his head out the door of the Newsboys Lodging House.

"You kids going to stay out in the cold all night?" he questioned.

Peg's face flushed and she, in effect, could not meet anyone's eyes directly. She shook her head in response to Kloppman's inquiry, and the manager kindly invited her into the lobby for a cup of hot chocolate before the newsboys' dinner.

At the mention of hot chocolate, however, Peg beamed. "I'd love that, thank you."

"It'll be ready in a minute, dear," he said, and his head disappeared from view.

The pair stood around a bit awkwardly before starting towards the Lodging House.

"Aren't you cold?" Skittery asked suddenly, noticing then that her hair was damp from the snow.

"Not really," Peg answered. "It's nice out," she said, referring to the thick blanket of snow that covered the city. "I kind of forgot about the cold."

"Well, here," he said, removing his cap and placing it atop her head. "Your hair's frozen for god's sake."

He let her into the warm Lodging House interiors first. As soon as he was about to enter the threshold, though, he stopped short. Skittery knitted his brows in bewilderment, then strained his ears. Could it be? he wondered. He rotated, looking out onto the darkened city streets, searching. It was when he determined, after several instants, that he had just imagined the sounds when they came again.

Somewhere in the distance, Skittery thought he heard the quivering, melodic notes of a violin.

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Author's Note: The end! I got a late start for this holiday fluff fic, and finished later than I hoped, but I'm glad I saw it through anyway. I want to thank anyone who has been following along and hope that you have enjoyed reading.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!