Chapter Twenty-One – When Discord Doesn't Desist

The next morning things seemed to be back to normal…well, as normal as things ever could be in an attic full of pint-sized pickpockets with Fagin at their head. He and Bill didn't speak a word to each other, but the rest of the gang spoke enough to warrant them not joining in. They were noisier and rowdier than normal, as if trying to pretend nothing had happened, as if trying to pretend they hadn't been scared; Morris most of all, his laughter uncomfortably fake.

Breakfast over with; Fagin dismissed the gang as normal before scuttling back to his quarters for a well deserved kip. He didn't notice, therefore, that Nancy and Morris were engaged in a heated discussion, their voices lost amongst the chatter of the others.

Bill took no heed of the pair either, focused as always on his bottle of gin, absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the table in a bored manner.

"You saw wot 'e did last night with yer own eyes, or are you blind?"

The other boys fell quiet as Morris' voice got louder; Norman and Frankie exchanged confused looks, having not been concentrating on the earlier part of the conversation. Ezra bobbed behind Archie, stuffed owl tucked under his arm, looking scared.

"I ain't blind Morris; it's you that's blind!" Nancy snapped back, small hands curled into fists. "All you see is a villain, a monster! But he ain't that! 'E's got a heart, y'know, 'e's got feelin's, just like any of us!"

"Oh really?" said Morris, raising one eyebrow, much more confident when faced with Nancy than with Bill or Fagin. She was little, she was a girl…what could she do to him? "An' wot d'you know about 'is feelin's then, eh Nancy? 'Ow do you know 'e ain't as tough as 'e makes out 'e is?"

Nancy flushed, her eyes blazing, her knuckles turning white.

"Why d'you insist on treatin' 'im so badly?" she snapped back, but not as quickly or with as much defiance as she would have wanted to. "Wot's 'e ever done to you, eh?"

Morris' own hands curled into fists, as he recalled all the times Bill had taunted him, railed at him, punched him, kicked him, conveniently forgetting that it had been he who had sparked their initial hatred of each other. Nancy noticed this and it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Wot?" growled Morris, seeing her expression.

"It's funny seein' you tryin' to look tough Morris. Least 'e can look tough an' actually mean it!"

Norman and Frankie chuckled at this, and even a furious glare from Morris couldn't shut them up. Even Ezra risked a giggle, hiding his face behind the owl's dilapidated wing.

"You won't be laughin' so much in a minute," snarled Morris, attempting to adopt a menacing tone but in vain, merely sounding as if he had something lodged in his throat. Nancy let out a splutter of laughter, only to find herself reeling backwards seconds later, her cheek stinging from where Morris had struck her.

"Why you little-"

Nancy leapt at the offending party, knocking him to the ground. Morris gave a yell of surprise and fright and tried to escape, but Nancy was having none of it. First he insulted Bill, and then he smacked her around the head for trying to defend him! Where was the justice?

Norman and Frankie, of course, were egging Nancy on; Frankie even going so far as to act as a commentator, relishing the fact that Morris was getting beaten hollow. Ezra and Archie backed hurriedly away as the fight grew wilder, Archie with his hands over his eyes, quaking in fear. First Bill and Fagin, now Nancy and Morris…it seemed the discord in the household would never desist.

Bill chose this moment to intervene. Slamming his bottle down on the table he started towards the struggling pair. It was harder to pull Nancy off of Morris than he would've imagined; she was still kicking and squirming even as he dragged her away, still spitting furious curses at the felled boy.

Morris would have attempted to get back onto his feet again but with Bill looming over him (not to mention the housebreaker's heavy boot on his chest to prevent his escape) he realized that any attempts to do so would be futile.

"For gawd's sake!"

The curtain to Fagin's alcove was whipped furiously aside as the old man stuck his head out to survey the scene.

"Some of us are trying to sl-"

He paused, taking everything in. Nancy, breathing hard, red in the face, fists still clenched, glowering at Morris, Morris prostrate on the ground, whimpering, Bill trapping the latter on the floor with his boot, Norman and Frankie looking scared, their quiet counterparts even more so.

Fagin sighed.

"Never mind."

The curtain swished shut once again; clearly Fagin didn't want to get involved.

After a short while, Bill removed his foot from Morris' chest, instead bending down and grabbing him by the neck, holding him aloft as he had done to Fagin on the previous night. Morris squealed and whimpered, his face contorted in an expression of pure terror.

The others waited with bated breath; what would Bill do next? What would he say?

"It ain't right to 'it a lady Morris," Bill said with finality, dropping the startled boy on the ground as suddenly as he had lifted him from it. "Learn some manners."

There was an awkward pause. Morris at last got to his feet, staggering a little as he tried to regain his balance. Norman and Frankie looked to be on the brink of laughter at Morris' humiliation but quickly decided against it, seeing the look on Bill's face. Dragging Morris, Ezra and Archie with them, they made a hurried exit; the door slammed shut behind them, making Nancy jump.

What had come over her? She wasn't violent, was she? Had she really just attacked Morris? He'd insulted Bill, hadn't he, her Bill, her friend? But she'd hit him…she'd never actually hit anyone before…

Bill shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. He was, once again, impressed. Nancy could really pack a punch! He was pleased he hadn't stepped in sooner; the look on Morris' usually smug face had been priceless.

"Wot wos tha' all about then, eh Nance?" he said good-humouredly, returning to his gin.

"Uh…" said Nancy, not sure whether or not to tell Bill what she and Morris had been fighting about. He probably wouldn't like it.

Bill laughed, downing the rest of the bottle and getting to his feet once again, donning his hat as he did so.

"Where you goin'?" asked Nancy curiously, glad for an opportunity to change the subject.

"On the job," Bill said, still smiling. "Wiv you. Tha' alright?"

Nancy grinned and nodded. That was more than alright in her book.

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A/N: Major thanks to my dearest Virtual Nancy Buddy, without whom this chapter couldn't have been written. :3 Here's hoping you liked it!

Please R&R!