A/N: Hello, everybody! I had a fantastic time at Wicked yesterday…it was SO FANTASTICLY AMAZINGLY WICKEDLY GOOD! ;) I had a ton of fun with my friend Ashley, and we even got to "stage door" (wait outside the stage door for the actors to come out) and get a bunch of autographs-including some of the ensemble cast, Boq, and Elphaba! :D It inspired me to keep trying to get onstage, which includes auditioning for "Scrooge the Musical" in…three weeks, I think? ;) As well as getting this story out, because I was with my friend Ashley…who got to see Newsies on Broadway…and meet Corey Cott. #whycan'tIhaveherlife?

Anyways, this chapter is a lot of talking between the newsies…there's not really much action until the next one…so…yep…be prepared for lots of talking! It's kind of nice not to write some whumping...because it really ramps up in the next chapter. Also, just as a heads up, the next chapter starts the 7 straight chapters….just as a heads up. Also, Chapter 9 might be a little delayed coming out, because I'm moving into college on Thursday, and that's when that chapter would be posted.

DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN NEWSIES AND NEVER WILL-I JUST FOUND OUT THAT EVAN KASPERZACK (original Elmer…) IS PART OF THE TOURING CAST OF NEWSIES (so hopefully I don't accidently mention that I dragged his name through the mud in TNG…)

Responses to reviews:

Biankies: Yeah, poor Crutchie indeed…I was rushing to get to that point, and then I stopped, realizing what I was doing… Yeah, Jack nearly mauled the guy, so he probably broke multiple things. The crutch to the face should at least bruise, if not worse…No problem! Basically Hulu is a website where we can watch shows…so it's kind of like TV, but for your computer. I haven't personally used it, but I know people who have. Yikes-that's not a lot of sleep at all! I haven't tried that, but I probably should! (Although that's normally when I'm finishing up chapters, so…Yeah, the rich boys are total idiots…and popcorn is soooo much better than gloves! Hopefully this chapter is good!

FansieFace: Yeah…while I was writing him, I was thinking along the same lines of you…I couldn't kill him then, but who knows? I'm also not sure if Crutchie will be heal completely before the story enough to soak the guy…but we'll see. Yeah-there's more whumping to come, but not this chapter! Yeah, I enjoyed Wicked (as seen above… ;) ) Hopefully this update satisfies you, and you don't tie me to a chair!

S. Castro: Yeah-I didn't think anyone could be worse than them, but The League are complete and utter monsters! They'll get what's coming to them…but not yet. There's a good deal of whumping to do yet. I don't think the papers would get sold without the newsies, so them going extinct would be a major problem! Thank you-and you're welcome! You were one of the people who reviewed almost every chapter of TNG consistently….which automatically means you're one of the "Core Three/Four"!

Enjoy "A Rich Man's Newsie" Chapter 4!

"You's gonna git better, Crutchie. I promise ya."

About thirty minutes later, Jack exited the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Race and Davey stood outside the door, making sure none of the other newsies disturbed them. "How is he?" Race queried. Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, it ain't good news, I can tell's ya dat. He's got da same injuries almost as Juliet had, but dey's worse den hers." Race let out a low hiss, his anger starting to emerge again, and fill him with the desire to go track those rich boys down and murder them where they stood. Both Jack and Davey recognized what he was thinking, though, and they both placed a hand on Race's shoulders until he was able to calm himself. "He's gonna be alright, Race-we jus' have ta take good care a him, which I know we's all gonna do." Jack murmured. Race nodded, trying to relax his anger. Once he knew his lieutenant wasn't going to go and do anything stupid, Jack slowly turned to face the other newsies. Almost instantly, he was bombarded with questions like, "How is Crutchie?" and "Is he okay?" and "Is we's jus' gonna let those monsters git away with soakin' Crutchie?" Jack held up a hand, and everyone immediately quieted.

"I gotta tell ya…he ain't doin' so good." Jack sighed. "He's got almost da same injuries dat Juliet did…but his is worse." The newsies gasped in shock and horror, and immediately side conversations broke out everywhere. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Romeo and Juliet. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Juliet gasped in fear and shock, and started trembling. Romeo looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, kissing her forehead to calm her and whispering something that Jack couldn't hear, but knew was meant to calm her down. Jack made a mental note to check on them later.

"He's gonna git better, right?" Albert queried. Jack grinned (if it was a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes, no one said anything), and nodded. "Yeah, he's gonna git better, but we's gotta take good care a him-which I know all a ya'll do, right?" Every single newsie nodded vigorously. Jack then turned towards the two youngest newsies (besides Les and Snitch). "Juliet-can ya come here for a second? I jus' wanna ask ya somethin'." he asked kindly. It took a few seconds (and a gentle squeeze from Romeo), but their younger sister slowly got up and shyly made her way over to Jack. As soon as she made it, Jack crouched down to her eye level.

"Juliet-ya an' Snitch recognized Anton from somewhere, right?" Juliet nodded. Jack grinned at her. "I was jus' wonderin'…how do ya two know him?" Juliet smiled sadly, and nodded.

"We was playmates back in da day. When I still lived with my parents, dey an' da Mersons was good friends. Dey would often git tagether for parties an' stuff, and Anton, Snitch, an' I was left ta amuse ourselves. We was frequently playin' tagether, even though he is eight years oldar den myself, an' ten years oldar den Snitch. We was around each other a lot."

"And it carried on after you got left, too." Snitch said from near the front. "Even after you got stuck under the bridge, Mother and Father still hung out with the Mersons a great deal, and Anton and I were stuck spending time together. Whenever I would see him on the streets, though, he was always with one of his League friends."

"Da people wat beat Crutchie up?" Specs queried from across the room. Snitch nodded, his scowl showing what he thought of Anton. "Yes. He talked about it a lot, about how it was the "next great world order" and that the twelve men in it were going to change the world and make it a better place…for people like them. I asked him about people who were socially lower than they were, like us, and he just laughed, and then looked at me and said, 'What good are those people, James, but to serve at our every whim? Our progress will move the world forward, but we need labor to do the jobs we would never dream of doing.' Whenever he tried to talk to me about it after that, I just tuned him out."

"Did he eva try ta recruit ya for it?" Buttons asked curiously. Snitch thought about it for a second, and then nodded. "Not exactly, but yeah-he told me that there was a spot open for me whenever I decided to take my 'true place' as a 'gentleman of wealth and power'." The other newsies swore under their breath. "Dat man's a bastard…even was when we was kids." Juliet added. Suddenly, Snitch turned to his sister. "Juliet…didn't you have a….a thing…or something with Anton, when we were younger?" Juliet blushed bright red, and then muttered, "Dat was when we was kids, Snitch-an' it was never gonna work out anyway, even if our parents wanted ta marry me off ta him." Everyone looked at her, shocked, and she growled, rolling her eyes. "It's wat rich people do, ya know-assign deir children deir marriage partners before dey can even talk, so dat dey can keep all da wealth an' power dey have in deir family-an' git even more." She shuddered. "I may of had a 'thing', but it didn' last very long, an' I was freakin' SIX at da time, so…I was a kid!" Jack chuckled warmly, resting a hand on Juliet's shoulder as he did so. "Don' worry kid-we all goes through dose phases-especially Romeo, but he goes through ten every day!" The other newsies laughed, and Juliet was able to stop her blushing a little and laugh along. Romeo simply shrugged-he couldn't deny the truth.

A few seconds later, a rather hurried knock sounded at the door. The newsies looked confusedly at each other-they weren't expecting anyone that day. When the knock came again, Henry-at Jack's nod-headed over and opened it. When they all realized that their mysterious guest was only Katherine, they visibly and audibly sighed in relief.

"Jack-I heard about Crutchie-is he all right?" Katherine asked. She was extremely worried for the younger newsie, who was always so kind and gentle to her, and had been from the start, even though she was Pulitzer's daughter. Jack nodded. "He's beat up pretty bad, but he's gonna be fine, so long as we looks afta him." Katherine visibly relaxed-but then tensed up again. "That's good news…but I'm afraid that's not the only reason for my visit."

"What do you mean?" Davey questioned. Katherine sighed, reaching into her bag and pulling out a paper. "This is the front page of 'The Journal' for tomorrow. I was over there today, and when they let me see what the headline was, I knew I had to show you all." She handed it to Jack, who quickly read it, his eyes darkening as he did so. Once he finished, he let Race take a look (who very audibly cursed under his breath), before handing it over to Davey, telling him to read it to everyone. Davey skimmed through it, unconsciously clenching his hands on the paper while he read, before taking a deep breath, and reading it out loud.

"In the borough of Manhattan, or Flushing, or the Bronx, or any of the others, there is one common sight throughout each one-the newsie. These young boys and girls stand on almost every street corner, bellowing out the headlines for that day's paper, and urging pedestrians to purchase one for only fifty cents. They often work long hours, and whatever little pay they get must immediately go towards buying the next day's papers. Most New Yorkers don't ever realize the immense burden that is placed upon these often orphaned children. However, twelve esteemed members of society are attempting to change that.

The 'League of Gentlemen' is comprised of twelve members-Anton Merson, Nixon Warden, Lukas Rowlin, Oscar Morrison, Rito Revoltan, Jaden Coldfrost, Mitchell Renard Smith, William Tailen, Lucius Mannon, Delon Underbridge, Jordan Harris, and Conrad Birden. They took notice of the newsies' plight during their strike five months ago, and then again in December when there was a lawsuit filed against them.

'It's just horrible that these poor children are forced to work all hours of the day for little pay, food, and shelter,' said William Tailen, 23. 'They do an important job in our fair city, and without them the distribution of papers would not happen. They deserve better.'

As all New Yorkers know, talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. The League of Gentlemen also knows this, and has made great strides to help the newsies, starting in the borough of Manhattan.

'We wanted to find a way to help, and we figured, what better way to help the newsies then to take some of that burden off of them?' said Rito Revoltan, 24. 'We decided to take some of the papers and give them away to people, since we can afford to without having to worry about buying them the next morning. In this small way, we feel that we are not only serving the newsie community, but are enriching their lives, and making the world a brighter place for them.'

According to the League, their efforts have been met with gratitude and thanks by the newsie community. 'Every newsie we passed or saw on the streets today," explained Jordan Harris, 21, 'thanked us for assisting them, and had nothing but good things to say to us. If this is what doing something small leads to, imagine what something even greater could lead to? Perhaps the newsies would no longer be penniless orphans living on the street, but would able to climb higher in the social echelon of Manhattan.'

Depending on the success of their venture in Manhattan, the League plans to expand into other boroughs, beginning with Brooklyn. None of the newsies could be reached to comment on this story, but this reporter is willing to bet that they are just as happy as the League members say they are to shed some of their heavy burden, and to-one day-have the possibility to climb higher in the social order of life."

Utter silence reigned supreme in the Living Room for at least thirty seconds, broken only by the crackling sound of the paper as Davey slowly mashed it into a ball and then crushed it even further. Finally, Race spoke up. "So, dey ain't even gonna try ta talk ta us, but are jus' gonna believe anathin' dat comes out of dem rich boys' mouths? Lotta hogswash, dat is." The other newsies nodded, grumbling amongst themselves that the public (or at least, those who read 'The Journal') would believe that The League was doing them a great favor, and that the newsies were grateful for it, without ever hearing the newsies' side of things. Jack was trying to control his anger, and to not punch a hole through the nearby wall, but it was a very near thing. "Dey is…wat dey is…dey's a pack'a liars, dat's wat dey is." Everyone else nodded, Katherine among them. "I tried to get them not to publish the story until they had talked with any of you, but they said that they sent people to the Lodging House around two o' clock in the afternoon, and since none of you were here, they were going to go ahead and publish it anyways." She sighed, clearly ashamed that another reporter would do their job so poorly that they wouldn't even wait until the newsies could actually talk to them before printing the story. "I only hope they don't get wind of Crutchie being hurt-they would have a field day with that, and he doesn't need that kind of stress right now." That was something, she could tell, every single newsie agreed with her on.

"So watta we do now?" Finch asked. Jack sighed, trying to organize his thoughts before he spoke, and hoping his voice didn't crack. "First, we's gonna git ta bed early tonight, an' try ta git ta da distribution center before dose idiots do. Den, someone is gonna stay here an' look out for Crutchie while de rest a us go sell. Iffn' anyone asks us 'bout de 'Journal' article, we's gonna tell dem wat we really think. An' hopefully," here he turned his eyes to Katherine, "we can git an article out 'bout how we really feels 'bout this League of Idiots." His girlfriend smiled, and nodded. "It would be my honor to stab them in the heart…with a pen." she declared.

Now that they had a plan, the newsies felt a bit better, and after making sure for the last time that Crutchie was truly all right, they started to spread out into little groups, either to talk or play cards or what have you until they went to bed. Before Romeo could head off, Jack beckoned him over to where he was standing with Race, Davey, and Juliet.

"I wanna thank ya two for comin' an' getting' me an' da boys." Jack said seriously, looking the two younger newsies in the eyes. "Iffn' ya hadn', Crutchie could've bin hurt a lot worse…or could be gone. He's safe thanks ta ya."

"But he almost wasn'!" Juliet protested. "Iffn' we hadn' made de rich boys mad, dey wouldn' have gone afta him, an' he would be perfectly fine!" Jack looked at Romeo, whose eyes showed that he was going through the same dilemma in his head. Jack sighed. "Look, kid, ya may be right, but we's all knew dat dere was gonna be some sort a fight sometime before dis was all over, an' it jus' happened ta happen ta Crutchie. It ain't your fault dat you was trying ta stand up ta dem, an' it ain' your fault dat Crutchie had ta hit him with his crutch ta protect you two. It happened, an' it's bad...but ya did good. Both of ya. Ya hear me?" After a few seconds, both younger newsies nodded. Jack looked up at Davey. "Dey alright, Davey?"

"Yes-they said that nothing happened to them, that Crutchie took the brunt of it for them." Race let out a low hiss. "Dey's got no morals at all, if dey's comin' afta you three." When Romeo and Juliet looked at him, confused, he grinned (although it looked rather strange, because he still had a cigar sticking out of his mouth). "Dey probably said something 'bout ya bein' da weakest of us, an' dat we don' care 'bout ya, right?" At the two nods, he continued, "Well, wat dey didn' realize was dat it's da complete opposite. Sure, we all cares 'bout everybody, but we 'specially care for you three-an' Les an' Snitch. Y'all keep us old fogies from gettin' too down in da dumps, an' keep life…interestin'. Plus, y'all is our baby siblings-an' ain't nuthin' gonna happen ta our baby siblings on our watch." Romeo and Juliet beamed at Race's words (and nearly laughed at Jack's, "Old fogies, is it? I'll show you who's an old fogie!"). Jack ruffled both of their hair, before standing back up. "Come on, kiddos…let's go see how many times we's can beat Elmer at Go Fish. He ain't won in two months!" The younger newsies chuckled, and ran off, leading their three older brothers.

If there was one thing Jack knew for certain, it was this.

No one would hurt a member of his family and get away with it.

No one.

A/N 2: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it was mostly talking, but I needed this chapter to set up other things down the road. I also hope Race's explanation made sense…I was trying to show how the newsies were protective of all of their family members-but especially Crutchie and their "baby" siblings-Les, Snitch, Romeo, and Juliet. I also apologize for this chapter getting out so late…I woke up at 10 something, after getting home from Wicked at 11:40pm, and then watched the newest episode of Power Rangers Dino Charge at noon, and then immediately went to pick my dad up at the airport, and then was packing up for college. I passed by my computer, and was like, "Okay, I don't want to write this chapter right now…but I gotta, or else I won't get it out for like two days or something…" and then I just got sucked back in. These stories tend to do that…

The next chapter should be out sometime tomorrow…and there is also a ginormous WHUMPAGE WARNING for it! I'll try not to give too much away, but I'll say this-Crutchie is about to get some roommates very soon. I'll let you guys try to figure out who it/they is/are until the chapter is up tomorrow!

See you all soon!

God bless,

1monster2

"Jack! JACK!" At Juliet's shout, Jack quickly turned around.

"Wat is it, kid?" he murmured, taking in Juliet's tearstained face. It took her a while to respond, but she finally was able to choke out, "Dem rich boys…dey did it again…and dis time…it's bad. It's really bad."