(Author's Note: Wow, this one ended up being really long and rambly, the longest I've ever written actually, so there's a change. The writing style is a little different in this one, so let me know if you like it. Also, this is the last sad one for a while! You have my word! Also, y'all better appreciate these quick updates! Thank goodness for winter break...

Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing but my own imagination.)

"Dear Katherine,

I miss you. I ain't ever been too good with words and writing letters like you are, but I don't know how often I'll be able to write you, so I figure I better take the chance while I have it.

It's cold here. I'm not too bad, but I've had a lot more experience being cold than some of the boys and they ain't doing so well with it. It's rough out here, I ain't gonna lie. Don't you worry about me though, I'll be okay. I can't say I'll be home soon, but I'll be okay.

But I miss you Ace. I miss your smile and your laugh and the sound of your voice. Hell, I even miss your damn typewriter. I'll never complain about that thing again, I promise. I love you so much Katherine. I'd give anything to be at home with you right now. I hate thinking of you there by yourself. Have the boys been over to help you out? How are they? I hope everything's alright there. I miss you so much. I hate not being with you. That's the worst part really. I miss you. And I'm sorry I had to go. I am so sorry. I love you. I love you more than anything Ace, there is nothing in this world that could make me stop loving you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're my angel.

Please take care of yourself while I'm away, okay Ace? The boys is supposed to be watching out for you, and I made them promise to write me if you aren't alright. You sometimes tend to forget to eat or sleep when you're working, and you never work harder than when you're upset or unhappy. I know this is upsetting for you, so please get food and rest, even if I'm not there to make you get food and rest. Okay? I love you too much to let you forget that just because I'm gone. Be careful. I love you, and I miss you.

Your husband,
Jack"

It was stained with tears, that letter, the only letter she ever got while he was gone. She cried silently over that letter countless times, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, reading his words over and over, even though she could already recite the entire thing from memory. The paper had started to tear along the creases from being folded and unfolded so many cold, unfeeling nights in the dim light of their apartment. The ink had begun to fade where her tears had streaked the page, each drop that fell from her cheek inevitably landing on the paper, as if drawn to it by some unseen force. The letter was worn, and tired.

Katherine was worn and tired. Her skin was pale with worry, and she was thinner now, her shoulder blades, collarbone and spine protruding from under her skin a little more than they should have. Her eyes were dark and sullen, though she tried hard to hide that they were so. He'd asked her to take care of herself, no doubt he'd made the boys promise to check up on her, so she did the best she could to seem okay, for their sake as much as her own.

Because this wasn't easy on them either. They were used to not having him around quite as much, but just knowing that the fearless Jack Kelly was absent from New York put all of them on edge. One or two of them would stop by each week, and each one in turn had confessed to her just how much they missed him. Even Race, who had taken it upon himself to fill in for Jack as ringleader, and always tended to have a little bit of a rougher edge, broke down at her kitchen table one afternoon, and started going off about how much it was killing him to not have Jack around. It broke her heart to see those boys suffering like that. She would have taken it all on herself if she could have, just so that they didn't have to.

Katherine tried so hard to be strong, at work and with the boys, but she missed him too. She missed him so much. She missed his laugh, and his boyish charm, and the way he could turn any day around and make her feel better just by being there. She loved him more than anything, and it was devastating to have him gone so long, and to have that tiny thought in the back of her mind that he may never come back. Katherine knew she could never love anyone the way she loves him. But there was nothing she could do but wait, so during the day, with her friends and family, she was strong. She was the positive force.

At night though, when she was alone, that's when it got bad. And it was getting worse, the nightly insomnia. Katherine knew it would. She knew that Jack being away would be nothing but fuel to the fire. Most nights she stared blankly at the ceiling for hours, wishing she could just fall asleep, but it wasn't that easy. Somehow, no matter how tired she was, she just couldn't sleep, and if she did, she never slept easily. Most times though, sleep wasn't even an option.

After a while she'd simply give up trying, choosing instead to type, sometimes an article for work, other times a draft of a letter to Jack, which would usually leave her with tear stains on her cheeks and a letter she'd never mail. Or she would spend her evenings looking through Jack's drawings, marveling over how detailed they were, and just how many times he'd drawn her without her knowledge. That often ended in tears too.

Because damnit, she missed him. It was just downright strange to go about her day without him by her side. His newsboy cap, which had been Jack's constant companion, now hung vigilantly on the bed post, and Katherine couldn't decide whether it made her feel better or worse. But those nights, when sleep seemed to be the farthest thing from her mind, it was a comfort to her. It still smelled like his paints (which were locked in a trunk under the bed with the rest of his art supplies, waiting patiently for his return), and if she closed her eyes, Katherine could almost make herself believe he was home. She spent many long nights, curled up, shivering under a thick blanket, clutching the worn, grey cap, wishing Jack would come home to her.

This night in particular was especially bad. Katherine sat in the armchair in the living room, her knees drawn up to her chest, just looking at that letter. She wanted it to be over; she wanted him to come home, and she wanted to be able to sleep again. She closed her eyes and waited, but it was no use. The clock read 1:57, which is why she let out a tiny gasp and jumped out of the chair, nearly tipping it over, when there was a soft knock on the door. For a brief moment, she entertained the thought that it could be Jack, but she knew deep down that wasn't the case. She hesitated to open the door, but then a small, meek voice sounded from the other side,

"Uh, Katherine? Can I come in?" Crutchie. She unlocked the door immediately and ushered him inside.

"Crutchie Morris, what on earth are you doing out so late?" She asked, feeling a little like a mother duck looking after a lost duckling.

"Well, I couldn't sleep," he explained, leaning a little heavier on his crutch. "And uh, Jack said you probably wouldn't be sleeping too good either, so I figured as long as I was up, I'd come make sure you was doing okay." Katherine smiled, and immediately wrapped him in a hug.

"Crutchie, you're the best friend anybody ever had." After quickly making a pot of tea, the two insomniacs sat in the living room for a good part of the night, him on the couch, resting his bad leg, her curled back in the armchair, both very glad to not be alone for once.

After an hour or so, there was a soft silence that fell between the two of them. Neither one said anything, just drank their-now cold-tea, until Crutchie mumbled almost inaudibly,

"I miss him, Kat." One small tear dripped from his face and landed in his cup, making tiny ripples in his tea. "He's my best friend..." He sniffled, rubbing his nose on his sleeve, looking very much like a little boy again.

"I know Crutchie, I know." Katherine moved to sit on the edge of the couch by him, "But he'll be back, I can promise you that."

"But what if-" Crutchie started, but Katherine cut him off, echoing the same thing Jack told her the day he left,

"He'll be home soon. I promise." A lopsided smile formed on Crutchie's face.

"How come when you say it, I believe you?"

"Because you know I'm always right," Katherine laughed, "Now you need to get some sleep, and before you say anything, you are not limping all the way back to the lodging house, Jack would never let you do that, and you know it." She tossed an extra quilt at him, hitting him square in the face.

"Thanks Kat," he chuckled, yanking the blanket off his head and curling up on the couch.

When Katherine was back in her own bed, she realized that saying those words out loud, and getting Crutchie to believe them, it made her believe them too. Jack promised he'd come home to her, and Jack was not one to break promises. He'd do whatever it took to come home. For once, Katherine fell asleep easily.

(Like I said, last sad one! And, if you haven't already, please go check out my other one shot, Saying Goodbye, where Jack talks to the Newsies right before he ships out for the army. Shameless self promotion over now, thanks a bunch! Reviews would be great!

Much love,
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)