Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. Anything recognizable from Newsies belongs to Disney and not to me.


Chapter 24: Persuasion II

Jack's response to Davey's entreaty was prevented by the rather noisy arrival of Les and Katherine.

"See? I told you we'd find him here!" Les declared as he and Katherine made their way across the same catwalk Davey that had used to access the stage.

"For cryin' out loud, Davey," Jack grumbled under his breath. "Didja have to bring the whole posse with ya?"

"There's no escaping my brother," Davey deadpanned. "He's inevitable."

That earned a hint of a smile.

"So, what do you say, Jack?" Les asked brightly as he and Katherine drew near. "Is the rally a good idea...or is it a good idea?"

"Hold on, Les," Davey broke in quickly. "I haven't told him about it, yet."

Les' mouth fell open. "You mean you've been palavering this whole time, and you haven't even asked him about the rally?"

"We had...other things to talk about," Davey answered vaguely.

"Well, let's get on with it!" Les declared. "I've gotta let Sally know we've got a date!"

"Sally? Les, I told you, you're not - " Davey stopped himself. They were getting off track. "Never mind. We'll talk about this later," he said firmly.

"Jack," he said, turning to the newsie leader, "we want to hold a rally for the newsboys - not just those in Manhattan, but for all the newsies of New York. It'll be a chance for them to learn about the strike, to ask questions and raise concerns, and hopefully commit to the cause, since we'll need their help to win this thing. If Miss Medda is open to it, we'd like to host the rally here at Irving Hall. It's big enough for a large crowd, it'll keep us out of the way of the police - oh, and," Davey smiled, particularly pleased at this last logistical detail, "we'll hold the event in the evening after working hours, so no one has to lose a day's pay." He glanced at Jack, trying to gauge the other newsie's reaction. "What do you think?"

Jack's expression was unreadable. "Sounds a little crazy to me," he hedged. "You sure the rest of the newsies is gonna want to come traipsin' all the way over to Manhattan?"

"Spot promised he'd be with us for the next event," Davey reminded him. "And if Brooklyn shows up, the rest will follow." He said it a bit more confidently than he felt, but he reasoned that it wasn't really too much of a stretch, assuming that Spot would keep his word.

If only he could get Jack on board...

"I don't think it's nearly as crazy as it might sound, Jack," Katherine said, breaking into the conversation for the first time. She walked up to Jack, stopping just in front of him. "Davey's right - we need to get the rest of the city's newsies on our side. This rally might be what we need to convince them to join us."

Jack looked at her, holding her gaze for a moment, and Davey watched in fascination as the doubt seemed to roll off of Jack's shoulders almost immediately as something unspoken passed between him and the reporter.

"You may have a point, Plumber," the newsie leader murmured, his voice suddenly softer and more agreeable.

Davey fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, one word from Katherine was all that it took for Jack to give in. Never mind all the mental gymnastics that Davey had been putting himself through for the past half hour, or all of the logical arguments that he'd so painstakingly set forth. Why hadn't he just stayed behind with Les at the deli and sent Katherine ahead to do the persuading?

Well, this was no time to be petty. The important thing was that Jack was back, and that was all that they needed.

"Okay, great," Davey said briskly, trying his best to keep things rolling. Jack and Katherine were clearly still lost in their own world, and he suddenly felt like an intruder, but like it or not, they had a rally to plan. "Jack, will you ask Miss Medda if we can use the theater? Ideally, we'd like to hold the rally as soon as possible, but of course if she has shows booked, we'll work around her schedule."

"Sure thing, Dave," Jack murmured, still gazing at Katherine. "I'll ask her and let'cha know."

"Once we have a date set for the rally, Race and the boys will take care of making sure the word gets out to the rest of the city's newsies," Davey continued, not sure of exactly whom he was speaking to at this point but needing to clear his head of the details. "I'll take care of planning the logistics for the night itself, and Katherine - "

"Yes?" the reporter asked politely, tearing her eyes away from Jack to momentarily give Davey her attention.

"Can you use your connections at The Sun to find out if there's anything going on in the newspaper world regarding the strike?" Davey asked. "If Pulitzer and Hearst or any of the others are planning to make a move, it would be helpful to know as much as we can about it ahead of time. Anything - even if it's only a rumor at this point - would be helpful information."

"I'll see what I can do," Katherine promised.

Davey nodded. "All right, it's settled then," he concluded, satisfied with their progress. Things were finally coming together. "We've got a plan."

"And I've got a date!" Les interjected loudly, clearly relieved to have reached the end of the discussion.

Davey sighed, taking his little brother by the shoulders. "Les, please focus," he implored. "Now is not the time to be thinking about girls, all right?"

Les smacked Davey forcefully on the arm with his hat. "Just because you're a stick-in-the-mud doesn't mean the rest of us can't have any fun, David! Maybe you couldn't focus on the strike and a girl at the same time, but there are some of us who can do both." Les settled his bowler back on his head, then walked off imperiously, and Davey was left to hurry after him, vaguely unsettled by the pointed assessment.

As they hastily left the stage, Davey glanced over his shoulder at Katherine and Jack, giving them an apologetic shrug and waving a quick goodbye. The reporter looked slightly amused, and Jack went so far as to call out the word "inevitable" after Davey, who rolled his eyes in response.

Sometimes, he reflected as he turned to follow Les, being an older brother really was a pain.


As soon as the Jacobs brothers had disappeared, Katherine's attention returned to Jack. "You look terrible," she said, concerned. There was a haunted look on his face and a weariness in his posture that she hadn't seen before.

Jack scoffed, but there was no derision in it. "Yeah…I uh...I ain't been sleepin' much," he admitted before attempting a grin. "But you? Lookin' like a million bucks as always."

Katherine shook her head. He really was an irrepressible flirt. "I'm glad to see that your knack for flattery is still intact," she said drolly.

"Yeah, well, I guess no one's been able to knock that outta me yet," Jack grinned a little wider this time. He wiped his hands on a rag, then began cleaning up his painting supplies. "So...how come you ain't at the office today?" he asked curiously. "Ain't you reporters always chasin' a story or somethin'?"

"A reporter could tell you," Katherine responded ironically. Jack stared at her, uncomprehending, until she added, "Pulitzer's blacklisted me from every newspaper in town, which means…" The words caught unexpectedly in her throat before she forced herself to continue, "...which means that I won't be chasing any more stories for a while."

The newsie leader looked stunned. "Katherine…"

"It's fine, Jack," she said quickly. "We've all had to give things up for the strike." The last thing that he needed was another burden on his conscience.

"But...your job…" He was at a loss for words.

"I'm not the only one who put themselves on the line," Katherine repeated firmly. "Your boys are the real heroes. They've stood their ground, and people are finally listening. I think that victory may be closer than we think." She paused, then looked him in the eye, adding, "I'm glad you're going to re-join them, Jack. They need you."

"Yeah, well…" he shrugged, "sayin' 'yes' was the only way to get Davey to finally shut up, and someone's gotta make sure Racer doesn't let the lodgin' house burn down." The words were deprecating, but Katherine didn't miss the fondness behind them.

"You need them too, don't you?" she asked, giving him a knowing look. "The newsies. They're your home...your family...your heart."

Jack scoffed at the sentimentality in her words, but he didn't deny it. "They's my brothers," he said simply, shaking his head a little. "And I still ain't sure why I left 'em...or why I'm so scared to go back." The guilt was still clearly weighing on him as he added, "Davey's right - this hidin' out business ain't doin' nobody any good, 'specially not Crutchie." He laughed humorlessly. "I almost knocked him out for sayin' so, though."

Katherine's eyes widened. "You almost punched Davey?"

"Was this close to sockin' him in the jaw," Jack admitted, sounding a little ashamed. "Poor guy's head would be spinnin' right now if I hadn't stopped myself."

"Well, it's a good thing you did!" Katherine replied, vaguely troubled. "He's only trying to help you, Jack, and he and Race have kept things running all this time. You owe them your gratitude."

"I know, I know," Jack conceded. "I'll make it up to 'em somehow." He sighed.

"So you're not planning to go anywhere, then?" Katherine pressed after he'd been silent for a moment. "You'll stay around?" She was asking for the newsies' sake, of course, but she involuntarily held her breath as she waited for his answer.

Jack gave her an odd look. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Davey told me that Race mentioned you might have had thoughts about running off to Santa Fe," Katherine said bluntly, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Jack scratched his head, looking a little irked. "Racer's a bigmouth," he muttered. "And Dave should know better than to repeat things he ain't got on good authority."

"So you weren't thinking of skipping town?" Katherine reiterated. "They completely misjudged you?"

"You think I'd even consider leavin' when I still got unfinished business here?" Jack responded, his saucy smile leaving no doubt in her mind that he wasn't talking about the strike. He winked, adding, "I ain't even gotten a chance to ask you on a proper date, yet."

The words came off smoothly, but Katherine could see the uneasiness in his eyes that even his charismatic charm couldn't hide.

"Just answer the question, Jack," she said frankly. As much as she enjoyed his fascination with her, she wasn't going to engage with any of his coquetry until she'd gotten a straightforward response. Jack may have been magnetic and easy to fall for, but Katherine wasn't gullible, and if she was going to commit herself to throwing in her lot with this impossible boy, she wanted to do it with her eyes wide open.

Jack was silent for a moment, and Katherine watched as a mix of emotions crossed his face. "I ain't…" he paused. "I ain't plannin' on goin' anywhere right now," he muttered finally, turning slightly away from her as though it had cost him something to admit that he was still unsure about staying.

Katherine's heart went out to him. Jack may have been many things - cocky, erratic, and occasionally even a little frightening - but underneath his brash exterior was a courageous and passionate heart that somehow hadn't become hardened - not even by his impoverished life and the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She hoped that whatever inner turmoil he was fighting wouldn't succeed in overcoming him. She would do her best to make sure that it didn't. Jack's answer might not have been exactly what she'd wanted to hear, but it had been honest...and that was enough for her.

"Well," she said brightly, giving him a cheerful smile, "that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Whaddaya mean?" he asked warily.

"Being honest," she answered simply. "Telling the truth without hiding."

"I dunno," Jack admitted, scratching his head and smiling hesitantly at her. "It's easier with you than with the boys, somehow…I ain't sure why." He thought for a moment, then added, "I guess it's 'cause I don't feel like I haf'ta to prove nothin' to you...like you's already in my corner or somethin.'" He gestured to the copy of The Sun that Davey had left on the table. "Like you believe in me, somehow, even though you ain't got one good reason in the world to - "

"Stop, Jack," Katherine said firmly. She may have employed some strategic hyperbole in her article, but she'd meant and believed every word that she'd written. "I do have good reason to believe in you. You're the one who started this strike. You're the leader of the movement and the face of the union." She placed a hand gently on his arm. "The boys wouldn't be where they are without you."

He didn't say anything at first in response to her declaration, but she could see his countenance soften at her words and at her sympathetic touch.

"You sure is a forgivin' one, Plumber," he muttered ruefully, shaking his head. "I appreciate it, but I'm pretty sure the boys ain't gonna take me back so easily...'specially not Racer. "

"They're all just worried about you, Jack," Katherine admonished lightly. "It may take some time, but they'll eventually come around." She patted his arm. "Don't be so hard on them."

"Hey, why're you always defendin' those bummers?" Jack asked jokingly, a bit of playfulness back in his voice. "Ain't you reporters supposed to be non-partisan?"

Katherine gave him a look. "Not a reporter anymore, Jack, remember?" she reminded him.

"Oh...right." He looked a little embarrassed at having forgotten, but even still, a grin began to spread across his face.

"Well, Miss Plumber," he said, straightening his cap a little and giving her a cocky smile, "since you ain't busy chasin' stories right now, what do ya say to goin' on a little date with me, huh? We could catch a show sometime, since I know you probably miss reviewin' 'em so much." He winked.

Katherine found herself smiling in response. Jack really was quite charming when he wanted to be, and his invitation intrigued her. Why not see where it went? There were certainly worse ways she could be spending her time, and he was right about one thing - she wasn't busy chasing stories at the moment. The World and its avaricious owner had stung her, wounding her career prospects and leaving her future uncertain. But in the strangest way, The World had also brought her to Jack, who had believed in her enough to trust her with proclaiming the newsboys' cause. In doing so, he'd given Katherine the story that she'd been waiting her whole life to write, and she would always be grateful to him for that, no matter what happened between them in the days and weeks to come.

So the former reporter found herself declaring congenially, "I think I can clear my schedule to accommodate you, Mr. Kelly."

"How 'bout a Saturday matinee, then?" Jack suggested with a twinkle in his eye.

Katherine nodded, her smile mirroring his own. "Perfect," she agreed. "It's a date."


A/N: Can't have a proper Davey story without including "poor guy's head is spinning," even if it ended up being completely re-contextualized :) Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you thought of my interpretation of this scene.