I'm so sorry for the wait! My laptop broke and I was behind. Well thanks for returning. Enjoy!

I sat on one of the bunks. Race and I were getting ready.

"We almost ready?" Faith asked.

Faith was standing by the door.

"I'm pretty much done, I'm waiting on him." I gestured towards Race with my head. I was lacing up my right shoe and had no free hands. He was combing his hair. He did it in delicate strokes as if he feared a fast stroke might take off his head.

"So, be patient!" He hissed.

I rolled my eyes as I tied the finishing bow on my shoe.

"Done." I announced.

"One down, one more to go." Faith muttered.

"Hey, I'm almost done!" Racetrack barked.

"Then hurry it up will you, we ain't got all day." Faith said.

"God Faith, don't rush me. He's probably sleeping anyway." Race murmured.

"Does it really matter if he's awake or not? It's respectful to-" I started.

"We don't got to have manners anymore. We don't have our pockets filled with money." Race snapped.

"Just pick up the pace." I groaned.

"Then give me some time!"

Faith let out a whine of displeasure. She sat next tome on the bunk.

"How long is this going to take?" Faith asked.

"One more minute!"He shouted.

"All of New York can hear you pipe down!" Faith moaned.

"Will the both of you shut up?" I hissed.

The room when silent.

"We have to go to Brooklyn. Race your hair looks fine. Now lets go." I said.

Hesitantly Racetrack placed the comb down on the sink. He glared at Faith then me.

"Lets go!" Faith yelled.

Race, Faith and I walked out the boarding house, through the crowded streets, across the Brooklyn Bridge and to the Brooklyn Boarding house.

"Spot is probably sleep-" Faith started.

"Told you so." Race hissed.

I gave him a shove.

"Thank you for that Porcelain." Faith said.

"Not a problem." I said.

Race's eyebrows drew closer together.

"What's with the bad mood?" I whispered in his ear.

He shrugged.

"Guess I just don't like seeing people die."

I looked over at Faith to make sure she didn't hear. It seemed she hadn't. Thank god she didn't hear, because if she did she would have lost her mind. I had no more questions for him. We walked into the boarding house. It was similar to ours just a bit different, when it came to wallpapers and things. We walked upstairs. Now upstairs was quiet different from the Manhattan boarding house. Instead of just one separate room there were several rooms. Several boys were crowded into an area with bunks. More newsies in Brooklyn then Manhattan that's for sure.

"Hey you guys," Faith said, she obviously knows them far better then I do. "where is he?"

"His room." One answers.

"Is he... He okay?" Her voice cracks.

The boy shrugs, "I ain't no doctor."

"Well thanks for that small scrap of information." She murmured.

Faith turned to us.

"Let's go you guys."

We started walking down a hallway. Boring white chipping paint covered the walls (well most of them technically). I was studying the chipping walls, scuffed wooden floors and everything in between when Faith and Race abruptly stopped.

"I'll go and talk to him and... I guess you can stay out here and I'll tell you if he wants to see you." Faith proposed.

She seemed nervous. No she didn't seem it everything about her screamed it. Minuscule goosebumps dotted her arms, with her left hand she was rubbing her index and pointer finger pointer finger against her thumb and swaying lightly. After a short pause Faith opened a door and walked through. I leaned on a wall and heard a noticeable crunch. I looked down and saw paint chips around my feet. This lodging house seemed to be falling apart.

"You think he's okay?" Race said.

"I'd tell you if I saw him."

"I know that you don't know him that well, but he's a good guy. Well good when he isn't in a bad mood." He smirked.

"That's the way he seemed when I met him."

I'd only met him once but he seemed to have this legacy. An icon to the other newsies, a great leader. Another moment of silence. The door opened to reveal a distracted Faith. She turned to me.

"He wants you." She said.

"Me?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I paused.

"Why me?"

Faith shrugged, "I don't know. He just said he wanted to talk to you."

Race snarled.

"And you next Race. Patience is a virtue." Faith said to answer his snarl.

He leaned against the door and rolled his eyes.

"Race don't be such a bitch." Faith muttered.

Race gave her an intense irate glare. I took in a sharp breath.

"Better be heading in then." I murmured.

Quickly I turned opened the door and walked inside. Inside Spot lay in a small bed, in what looked like the fetal position covered by cotton vanilla sheets piled on top of each other to mimic a quilt. He was completely turned away from me.

"Hey." He said in a weak and horse voice.

Maybe that was where Faith learned to simply know another presence was in the room... Or maybe he just heard the loud creek of the door when I came in. Probably the ladder. I walked over to the other side of the bed. He looked up at me and his eyes squinted as if they were unable to focus.

"Hi." I whispered.

I was kind of shocked by his appearance. His skin was pasty white like milk or snow, the blue eyes that had caught me off guard were now more like a gray fog then a sea blue.

"Sit." He pointed at a small wooden chair in the corner.

His hand quivered as he pointed. I took the chair brought it closer to his bed and sat.

"You must be cold huh?" I asked as I examined the cotton sheets that were stacked on top of him.

He laughed a little and then coughed a little. At least he wasn't hacking up his lungs.

"Well it looks that way, doesn't it?" He paused. "What are they saying about me?"

"Faith didn't tell you?"

"She's close, she wouldn't want to hurt me. But it's not like it would hurt me anyway."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I've been through worse. Go on you can tell me."

I swallowed hard.

"Well... They say you're dying, sometimes you can't breath, you faint and you can't walk."

He smirked.

"Really? Don't believe everything you hear. Most of that is..." He searched for the word. "unrealistic."

"That's good to hear."

"That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about though. I want you to keep an eye on Faith... If anything happens I want her be okay. She likes you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She likes having another girl 'round."

We left in another hour and I was left with one burning question. Did Spot know he might die?