A/N - I don't own Faith she is owned by HogwartsNewsie92. I also don't own Siren or Miles, they are owned by missfervent. I don't own Fish Bishop he is owned by Elyse. Thanks for reading and reviewing guys! - A/N

I waited for Declan outside on the sidewalk later that night, wrapping my shawl closely around me because of the cold. Tapping my boot into a pile of slush and swirling it around, I was half-aware of my surroundings as my mind processed what had happened earlier that day.

An arm sliding around my shoulders had me yelping and leaping a foot into the air. Declan laughed down at me, his cobalt eyes dancing with amusement as he kissed my cheek.

"You're freezing, you could have waited for me inside, lass." I shrugged and nodded my hand pressed to my belly willing the little Conlon to settle down.

"I know but I needed the air." Declan looked at me knowingly and it made me feel sad suddenly. In another time and place, he would have been perfect for me.

"I thought we would go to Medda's tonight. Entertainment will help us relax and forget some of the things we have on our minds." He looked meaningfully at me and I flushed slightly, knowing that he was talking about me in his case.

"Entertainment, right. I'm sure none of the pretty showgirls have anything to do with it either?" I joked, elbowing him gently in the ribs. Declan laughed and just tucked my arm into the crook of his elbow and led me down the street.

Snow began to fall, snowflakes swirling down from the night sky to coat our heads and the street. We reached Medda's and ran inside, laughing and squirming from the flakes that had managed to sneak down the backs of our necks.

We grabbed a table a ways off from some boisterous newsies who were in attendance and Declan helped me out of my coat. Once we sat, silence reigned and I was thoroughly embarrassed as Declan's eyes looked me over in a slow perusal.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Declan smiled ruefully and apologized. A serving girl came by and he ordered a pint while I asked for soda. No more beer for me.

I clasped my hands in front of me and took a deep breath. The lights dimmed just as I was about to ask him some inane question and I rolled my eyes skyward and said a swift prayer.

It wasn't that I didn't want to be there with Declan. I enjoyed Declan's company and liked him as a person. But I knew he wanted more than I was willing to give and it made me uncomfortable.

Two girls came out onto stage and I smiled. I hadn't seen either in a little while. Siren wore her fine brown hair down and the stage lights complimented her fair skin. Pink lips and soulful hazel eyes drew the male audience in as she gave a sultry smile that belied her youthful 15 years. Siren spoke mostly French so I wasn't surprised when she began to sing in that language.

The girl next to her was a little shorter with golden brown skin and hair that fell in ringlets to her waist. She had eyes that were both blue and golden brown and were exotically almond shaped. Faith was half-Japanese, half-French and spoke both languages fluently. I had met her a year ago and it had been a good two months since I had seen her.

She had come into Brooklyn and had gotten into a fight with one of Spot's newsies who had reported back on her 'strange' style of fighting which I recognized as being martial arts. Spot had immediately found her and challenged her and she had trounced him thoroughly. He had demanded lessons and Faith had obliged. Spot was much better at bare knuckle boxing then Faith's style of fighting however.

A group of rich young men crowded the stage, yelling out crude comments and causing a ruckus. Siren's eyes sharpened for an instant and I knew she had found her marks for that evening. She never stopped singing, just sauntered over and had them drooling and falling over themselves within minutes.

I glanced over and saw her friend Miles tucked away in a corner next to the stage. His odd rust colored eyes were zeroed in on the group of 'gentlemen' and he had his arms crossed, a frown on his normally wildly expressive face. He caught me looking and a grin bloomed for a fraction of an instant before he scrubbed a hand through his short black hair and resumed watching Siren like a hawk.

Turning back, I caught Declan watching me with a wistful look on his face and I flushed. He glanced away, his face reddening with embarrassment. The waitress came and placed bowls of thick stew in front of us and my stomach yowled reminding me of how hungry I was.

We forgot our awkwardness to eat and I had to restrain myself from licking the bowl. I didn't do it. Just barely. Then it was back to the weird silence that lay heavy between us. Both of us spoke at once, and we laughed breaking the tension.

"I'm sorry what were you going to say," I said with a half-smile on my face. Declan took off his bowler hat and scratched his reddish-brown hair. When he gave me a rueful smile I saw the dimple deep on the left side of his face almost near his chin.

"Lily you've got to know by now how I feel about you. I would marry you in a heartbeat if you would just say yes. I've loved you since the day you stood in front of me in Rooster's Alley and demanded that I give your shillelagh back to you. Just this mere slip of a girl with fire in her eyes. Christ I won't forget it. Then to learn that you love that pup Conlon...He doesn't even know what a treasure he has right in front of him. You say you want freedom, I'll give it to you in spades. Please come back to Ireland with me."

I closed my eyes against the pleading in his voice and his eyes. I couldn't string him along but a part of me didn't want to let him go. That selfish little part of me that clung to the knowledge that Spot was shacking up with Pixie in Brooklyn. 'Was that so wrong?' I asked myself. Feeling tears gathering at the corners of my eyes, I let out a shuddering breath.

"Here now, sure and I didn't mean to make you cry." Declan came around to my side of the booth we were sitting in and put his arm around me, pulling my head down to rest on his shoulder while I cried quietly into his rough homespun shirt. He made soothing noises and ran his fingers through my hair gently, kissing the top of my head, my eyes, then my lips.

I felt him press his mouth against mine hesitantly and then settle more firmly as his hand slid around to cup the back of my neck and pull me closer.

"Please," he whispered against my mouth, "Give me this one kiss." His tongue probed my lips seeking entrance and with a quiet sigh I opened my mouth and let him kiss me properly.

Declan made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded satisfied but I couldn't stop thinking of Spot. Declan was a great kisser but he wasn't Spot. Breaking the kiss, I hung my head and began crying again.

Declan pulled me into a tight embrace and rocked me back and forth and just let me cry. For that, I would love him as a dear friend eternally. I wished at that moment with all my heart that I didn't love Spot and that I could make Declan happy because he deserved it.

"I'm so sorry," I said in a clogged voice, taking a deep breath. Declan tucked hair behind my ears and gave me a sad smile.

"Ah lass, none of this is your fault. 'Tis mine for not grabbing you sooner. I'm kicking my own arse for not getting to you before Conlon did." I rested in Declan's arms taking deep breaths, getting my self composed once more. Once I felt better, I moved away and wiped my face on my sleeves.

"Gah everything is such a mess!" I irritably threw up my hands and huffed out a breath. Declan drew back and gave me a suddenly serious look. I took a sip of my drink and raised an eyebrow.

"Let me take care of you." I reached out a hand and touched his arm, my eyes sad.

"Declan, really that's kind of you but..."

"No I have an idea. I have the feeling that you won't come with me to Ireland, but what if I stay here in New York City? You need a man and I know you love Conlon but he isn't stepping up right now. You need me and I want you. I won't ask anything of you, just your company and time and in return you'll get my protection and support. With time, maybe it could become something more between us but I won't push it."

I sat in silence, digesting Declan's offer. It was very, very tempting. I pulled myself out of his lap and regarded him intently. He looked at me back, his eyes never wavering his serious expression still fixed on his own face.

"I need to talk to Spot first Declan. I can't just accept without letting him know about it. I just have a bad feeling about doing it like that." Declan inclined his head but a smile flickered across his lips and through his eyes.

"So ye'll consider it then?"

"Yes I'll consider it."

We stopped talking about it then because Faith came up with an arm wrapped around Skittery, a tall newsie with brown hair and brown eyes. I introduced Declan, and I noticed Faith's eyes narrow when she saw I wasn't with Spot.

I tried to tell her with my eyes that I would explain later, but I wasn't sure she understood until she stopped bristling slightly and relaxed. Faith was a hard girl. She only barely cracked to give some of herself to those in need of love.

We all chatted briefly before Faith and Skittery moved on and Faith looked at me threateningly. I gave her a slightly meek smile and nodded

When it was time for Medda's to close, I gave Declan a kiss on the cheek and told him I would walk back with the girls. He gave me a worried look and protested but I refused his offer to accompany me home.

"Thank you but I'll be fine Declan," I firmly stated as he slowly put on his stout pea coat and bowler hat. Searching my eyes with his own, he finally leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss.

"Come see me soon with yer answer yeah?" was all he said before winking at me with a twist of his mouth up into a slight grin and then leaving. I leaned against the doorjamb and sighed gustily. I wrapped my arms around myself and snugged my shawl around my shoulders. I had no idea what to do.

"Well he was a fine piece of man," a voice stated baldly near my ear. I leapt a foot into the air and came back down again to whirl and glower at Faith who stood with a laughing Skittery. Faith just smiled, flicked a golden-brown ringlet over her shoulder and said nothing.

"But..." I started for her. She kissed Skittery on the cheek and shooed him away and I knew that he would be walking behind us with Miles for now Siren joined us, bundled up against the cold as well.

"But he wasn't Spot," Faith finished as we began walking down the street. I began to tell them my story. Siren didn't say anything, she seemed to be content to walk quietly but every once in awhile she would mutter in French under her breath and Faith would either reply or nod her head.

Faith on the other hand, was very angry about the whole Pixie thing and was determined to fix it this very instant. It warmed my heart to see how concerned she was for me but I also didn't want her charging off to Brooklyn on her own and told her so.

"There will be a time to take care of Pixie, I'm sure. If that includes her getting roughed up well...She more than asked for it." Faith seemed reassured by my answer and we continued on, mulling over my situation.

Neither of the girls could help me come up with an answer. Siren was up for me leaving Spot because there was an easier mark waiting for me, while Faith told me to wait a while more and see what happened. It was so hard to know what to do when I agreed with both of them.

We parted ways before I reached the lodging house, and I scurried on my way finally seeing the lights. It was right before I reached the front stoop, in an alley to my right that I saw the man. He was a little older than Spot, maybe in his early twenties and dressed to the nines in a nice suit, nice boots, a good hat. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. They were almost black in the darkness and they pierced right through me as I caught his gaze for an instant and my steps faltered.

The young man smiled at me, but it held no mirth. It was full of malice and I felt like a fish seeing a shark as it opened it's jaws to eat them. Hurrying I reached the lodging house and ran inside, my heart pounding. Looking out the window into the night, I couldn't see anybody, nor could I the many times after that I checked the window in my room. Suffice to say I hardly slept that night.

In the morning I went straight to Brooklyn. I did not pass Go, or collect two hundred dollars, I went straight to the source and I did not care if he would be happy or angry to see me. There was a score of sullen newsies sitting on the front stoop and I wondered why they weren't out selling. Most of them were armed as well. They glared at me as I made my way past. I just gave them hard looks back.

Upstairs I barely knocked on the door before wrenching it open. Spot shot up out of bed, bare-chested to the waist, a pair of underwear that sagged a little on his hipbones the only thing he wore. I mentally licked my lips but then zeroed in on the harlot who was holding the blanket around herself with an irritated expression on her narrow face.

"Go on, get out of here," I said to her pointing towards the door. Pixie looked at Spot, and opened her mouth to protest, but Spot cut her off, staring at me with glinting blue eyes.

"Leave Pixie," he said coldly. The girl walked out with her held high but not before I caught the flash of hurt on her face. I didn't care. Not anymore. I was tired of this shit and it was going to end, today.

"I'm coming home," I said stoutly to him. Spot crossed his arms, then with a raised eyebrow pulled on a pair of pants and hooked the suspenders over his chest. He had more definition somehow in his abs and shoulders and arms. I wondered if he was boxing on the side with Fish Bishop.

"So now you want to come home." When Spot's eyes finally met my own and were full of sadness I felt my stomach drop and almost threw up right then and there. He lit a cigarette and I could see his hands were shaking.

"Well Riot," he said in a gravelly voice tinged with emotion, "you can't come home anymore."

SHOUT OUTS

HogwartsNewsie92 - Here is your update. Hope I got your character right. Let me know if I didn't! Thanks for reading! :)

Cloakedauthor21 - Thanks for the cookies! *noms* Yeah Spot is being a douche, and he does have a hand but hey it's Spot, and we love him for being weak and being a douche, right? Thanks for reading! :)

Scout-Britt - Sorry I took so long with an update. But I'm back. Thanks for reading though!

missfervent - Oh yes Declan still carries a huge torch for Riot. I had to bring him back, I just had to. Yeah Spot has a huge mess to clean up and Riot is facing a serious issue with her not being in the future and giving birth. Hurray! Issues! I love 'em! Thanks for reading! :D