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


Chapter 60: A Second Date

"Jack, you have to try this," Katherine insisted, eagerly pushing her plate across the table. "I know it doesn't look like much, but the combination of flavors is good."

Jack gamely reached over and scooped up a forkful of the fruit-and-cheese medley she was offering him. "This supposed to be a salad?" he asked, putting the melange into his mouth.

"Apples, walnuts, and cheese with a creamy dressing," Katherine confirmed. "It's one of their specialties."

"It's real good," Jack said, a little surprised. "Wouldn't have thought somethin' that looked so unappetizin' could be so tasty." He helped himself to another forkful.

"Eat more," Katherine urged. "I can have this anytime."

"Don't haf'ta tell me twice," Jack grinned, tucking into the rest of the salad. "How'd ya find out about this place, anyway? Could've passed right by and never known it was here."

"Darcy introduced me," Katherine answered. "His office is at The Trib, so we come here for lunch sometimes when our schedules line up."

Suddenly, the dessert-like salad didn't taste as sweet anymore.

"You hang out with that bummer pretty often?" Jack asked, scraping the plate clean.

"Once or twice a week," Katherine answered. "At least, we did before things got so busy with the strike. He's an old friend. We grew up together because our fathers were both newspaper owners and often attended the same social functions."

Jack didn't answer, chewing on a piece of apple.

"Speaking of the papers," Katherine said, "I was wondering if you'd thought any more about my father's offer."

Jack took a sip of water, deliberately buying himself some time. Honestly, he hadn't. His head had been full of the newspaper owner's daughter, not his business proposition.

"Seems like a big responsibility," he hedged. "Workin' for your father and all."

"You already work for my father," Katherine reminded him, smiling over her cappuccino.

"Right." Jack scratched his head. "Guess it could be a step up from hawkin' headlines." He wouldn't have admitted it to her, but the prospect of being tied down to a regular job - an office job - a job with deadlines and expectations and reporting relationships - made him uneasy. It wasn't just the idea of working a little more closely with Pulitzer - though he certainly didn't relish that thought. It was knowing that he'd have to force his artistic output into a routine, to find a way to make the inspiration come on a regimented basis. Painting for Miss Medda was different; it was a job in that she paid him to do it, but the monetary exchange was initiated out of the goodness of her heart rather than out of a desire to harness his natural aptitude. He painted for the theater owner because she'd always been kind to him and because she'd always given him the chance to walk away whenever he wanted. But with Pulitzer, Jack knew that would not be the case.

Still, he thought to himself reluctantly, an unexpected windfall could be timely. It would be nice to have some extra spending money so that he could take Katherine out and actually pay for their dates and maybe even buy her gifts every once in a while, just because. He had some savings hidden away at the lodging house, but that wouldn't be enough in the long run.

The reminder (no matter how innocently intended) of Darcy's presence in Katherine's life had also added some extra motivation; Jack knew he couldn't hope to compete with the upper-cruster where expendable income was concerned, but having a regular job in addition to his work as a newsie would at least make him a little more respectable.

"If you're not sure about it, you could always counter-offer," Katherine suggested, setting down her cup. "Maybe you could agree to a trial period of a few months or so, just to see how you like it, and if it doesn't suit you, then you can decline extending your employment."

"That don't sound too bad," Jack agreed. It was hard to say "no" when she was looking at him so expectantly. "Guess I could give it a try." The approving look she gave him was enough to make the uneasy feelings diminish, and he managed a grin. "I'll talk to him soon about it."

"I'll have Hannah make you an appointment," Katherine said, finishing the last of her cappuccino. Turning slightly, she motioned for the waiter to bring the check as she took out her handbag.

Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to ease away some of the tension he'd been feeling. It didn't seem right letting Katherine pay for the meal, especially when he'd eaten most of it, but it was foolish to make a show of protesting when they both knew he couldn't afford to foot the bill.

Katherine received the check from the waiter and pulled several coins from a dainty-looking pouch, counting out the money carefully before adding a generous tip.

How much money did she have? Jack found himself wondering. He certainly hadn't been attracted to Katherine for her wealth, and if anything, finding out that she was a heiress had been an unwelcome revelation, but now he wondered how much of Joseph Pulitzer's resources were at her disposal and what that could mean for...whatever the future held.

"Did you have enough to eat, Jack?" Katherine asked, having finished with the business of settling the bill.

"More than enough," Jack answered. He could have eaten more, but he was used to eating less, and the food had been rich and tasty, so he was satisfied. "Thanks for lunch, Kath," he said, giving her a half-smile. "I'll get the next one."

"You don't have to do that, Jack."

"What, you don't think I got enough money to take my girl out every once in a while?" he retorted, sounding a little more defensive than he intended to. "I know I ain't blue-blooded like you are, but fella's got his pride, after all." He'd meant it as a joke, but to his surprise, Katherine looked at him soberly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Am I really 'your girl,' Jack?" The question was straightforward and clear, but there was a weightiness to it, and it came out of the blue.

"Well, I - " He was caught off guard. "...ain't ya?"

Katherine traced the rim of her empty coffee cup with her finger. "I don't think we've ever really talked about it," came her answer.

Jack was still trying to wrap his mind around the unexpected question. Wasn't the answer obvious? They'd kissed! Multiple times! She'd said that she'd be willing to leave New York behind to follow him to Santa Fe, and he, in turn, would have willingly given up Santa Fe to be with her had the occasion called for it!

Did she really expect him to say it?

"Guess I never actually asked if that was what you wanted," he muttered.

"I didn't say that, Jack," she replied. "I said we hadn't talked about it."

"All right," Jack settled back into his chair, trying to appear relaxed. "You wanna talk about it? Let's talk about it. What're your concerns?"

"I just want to know where you think this might be going," Katherine hedged. "I know this was something that we both got caught up in, and I wouldn't have had it any other way...but now I'm just wondering what you think the future might look like for us - if you think we even have a future. I'm not saying I need things to change now, or that I'm looking for a commitment that you're not ready to make; I just want to know where you stand."

Two weeks, he thought. The strike had been settled for two weeks. They'd known each other for about a month. And she was already talking about the future!

Love is a big responsibility, Jack, came Davey's voice inside his head. And you should never approach anything like that without a plan.

"Shaddup," Jack muttered.

"What?"

"Sorry." Jack gave Katherine a guilty look. "Didn't mean you." His conversation with Davey on their way back from Brooklyn had taken place several weeks ago, and Jack hadn't thought much about it since then, but clearly the other newsie's lecture had stayed in his head and had chosen to reassert itself at an opportune moment.

"I'm not trying to force you into something, Jack," Katherine clarified. "I just want to know your thoughts so that we can be on the same page."

Despite her assurances, Jack felt his agitation growing. It was that confining feeling of commitment, the burden of responsibility, weighing on him like stones in a knapsack, and even though he knew that Katherine wasn't trying to tie him down, he didn't want to have to face the implications of her question. He liked their relationship the way it was - passionate, spontaneous, and free of expectations.

Was that wrong of him?

"I can give you some time to think about it," Katherine suggested. "You don't have to answer now."

Jack could tell that she was disappointed, but he didn't have a response for her at the moment (at least not one that would have satisfied her), so he silently accepted her offer to table the matter for a future time.

"Well, I need to get back to The Sun," Katherine said, gathering her handbag and rising from the table. "Will you be heading to the distribution center?"

Jack nodded. "Afternoon edition should be comin' out soon." He followed Katherine out of the cafe to the street. "You still wanna meet up Friday night after you's done with work?" he asked as they prepared to part ways.

Katherine nodded. "I'll be off at five o'clock," she said. "Dinner at Fraunce's?"

"Sure," Jack agreed. He'd occasionally sold near the Pearl Street establishment but had never been inside. "It's a date."

Their goodbye was a bit stiff - most of their recent trysts had ended with a passionate kiss and a reluctant parting, but this time they simply nodded to each other then headed off in opposite directions. It was probably for the best anyway, Jack consoled himself as he caught sight of a familiar face not a hundred yards away.

"Hey, Jacky!" Mush raised his hand in greeting as he drew near. "You headin' over for the afternoon edition?"

Jack nodded, the other newsie's cheerful demeanor lifting his mood considerably. "How'd the papes move for you today, Mush?" he asked.

"Can't complain," the other boy replied. "Headline didn't completely stink."

Jack grunted in agreement. He hoped the afternoon one would be better.

"So, you and Katherine gettin' pretty close?" Mush asked, grinning. Apparently he'd caught sight of them leaving the cafe.

If it had been almost any other newsie asking the question, Jack would have brushed it off or diverted the conversation to something else, but instead he found himself considering the possibility of answering seriously and even asking Mush for some advice. Romeo may have been the self-proclaimed flirt of the lodging house, and Jack may have had enough experience going with a girl for a week or two, but Mush was the only one he knew who had actually had a sweetheart for longer than a few months, and though in the end it hadn't worked out, both parties were still on speaking terms, so Mush must have done something right.

He generally avoided asking his boys for advice, but maybe this time an exception would be warranted.

"Guess you could say we's gettin' close," Jack said, responding to the other newsie's question. "Havin' some trouble tryin' to figure things out, though."

Mush gave him a sympathetic look. "Gets a little harder after the sparks die down, huh?"

"I just didn't think she'd be wantin' to talk about future plans so soon," Jack admitted. "And that everythin' needed to be spelled out between us. I thought we understood each other well enough without all that."

"Well, if you's at the point where she's comfortable enough to tell ya what's on her mind, it's probably a good thing," Mush observed. "Better to talk about things now than have 'em blow up later, right?"

Jack grunted.

Mush chuckled sympathetically. "Hey, don't look so down, all right?" He clapped Jack on the shoulder. "I'm sure Katherine'll come around."

"Yeah...sure hope so," Jack replied. He sounded unconvincing, even to his own ears. "You think I oughta start plannin' and thinkin' seriously - about the future, and all that?" he asked Mush. "Seems a little soon to me."

The other newsie thought for a moment before answering. "Does seem a little soon," he agreed. "She ain't...wantin' you to marry her right now or anything like that...right?"

"Nah," Jack clarified. "She's just wantin' to know where I see us goin'."

Mush laughed, sounding a little relieved. "Oh, all right. Well, that ain't so bad." He gave Jack a curious look. "Where do you see it goin'?"

"Guess that's the problem," Jack sighed. "Never really thought about it. Figured there was nothin' wrong with just enjoyin' the moment."

Mush made a sympathetic sound. "You's right, ain't nothin' wrong with it...but if gettin' things settled is important to Katherine, then you's gonna have to figure out how to meet her halfway. Seems like she's pretty serious about you - she's probably just wantin' to know if you's serious about her too."

"Ain't it obvious?" Jack exclaimed, allowing a little bit of frustration to leak into his voice. "We was kissin' in front of all you bummers right after the strike was settled, wasn't we?"

Mush chuckled. "You sure was, and that's great and all…but Katherine said flat-out that she was goin' to follow you to the ends of the earth if you left town. That's a real promise right there. A kiss probably don't feel like quite as much of a guarantee."

Jack frowned.

"I ain't tellin' you what you's feelin' is wrong," Mush said mildly, "and if you don't wanna think about it yet, you should probably just be honest with Katherine and tell her so. But if you think she's somethin' really special, maybe takin' some time to think more about it might be good. We ain't gonna be young forever, ya know? Eventually we's gonna have to grow up and settle down."

Jack knew that well enough - the weight of responsibility had lain heavy on his shoulders for years, always gnawing at the back of his mind. But he'd never applied that world-weary outlook to his love life. In fact, he'd taken pains not to let that kind of thinking intrude whenever he found himself fancying a girl. He liked having an escape from reality, a part of his existence that wasn't touched by care and fraught with the dread of the unknown. It was the only part of his life that was free and unhindered, the only part of his life where he could enjoy the adventure without having to think about the consequences.

If Mush was right, however, that kind of thinking wasn't going to get him very far anymore. At least not where Katherine was concerned.

"Hey, don't worry - you'll figure it out," Mush said cheerfully, breaking the silence as he once again clapped Jack on the back. "You's the best of Manhattan's best, and that ain't only in reference to sellin' papes."

Jack laughed, the sincere compliment boosting his morale a little. "Guess that's true," he agreed.

"You know it." The other newsie grinned. They arrived at the distribution center and got in line behind the rest of the boys who had assembled to purchase their papers. Mush began chatting with Elmer, who was in front of him in the queue, and Jack idly perused the blackboard mounted above the circulation gate that displayed the afternoon's headlines.

He heard the sound of boisterous laughter, and turned to see Albert and Race riling each other up as always, the gambler's cigar in Albert's hand and the ginger-haired newsie's cap atop Race's own. Several of the other boys were watching them in amusement, shouting out encouragement to one or the other as the two scuffled, trying to regain their stolen property. Eventually, Race triumphantly snatched his cigar back to the cheers of the onlookers, and the defeated Albert groused good-naturedly until the gambler finally returned his cap.

The sound of the circulation bell cut through the chatter, and Albert and Race made their way back into line. Race caught Jack's eye for just a moment as he sauntered into place behind Crutchie, but before Jack could raise his hand or nod in acknowledgement, the gambler pointedly looked away.

Still sore, then, Jack thought to himself. Race had been noticeably aloof after their conversation about Delancey Day over a week ago, and it hadn't taken long for Jack to realize that the residual tension that had lingered after the strike was nowhere near dissipating. It irked him a bit; Race had fallen back into his subordinate role and didn't challenge Jack outright, but he quietly engaged in small acts of noncompliance, arriving late for lodging house meetings, shrugging in response to the important questions leveled at him, and leaving his towel hanging half-out of the washroom hamper (a habit he knew Jack hated), almost as though he was determined to be as irresponsible as he could to make up for the two weeks he'd been forced to play leader.

The immaturity of it all was starting to wear on Jack. He hadn't realized how much he'd depended on Race, not necessarily for the logistical tasks he oversaw (for the gambler continued to be dependable enough at fulfilling them), but for his buoyant demeanor that helped offset Jack's own heavy sense of responsibility and lessened the weight of that burden in no small way. Race had always been a snarker at heart, but there was something about his quick wit and ready laughter that had made Jack feel more sure of himself and more confident that things at the lodging house were going well, even when things were a little tough. Not being on the same page as Race had proven to be more unsettling than he'd thought.

Jack might have felt the loss less acutely if his other lieutenants had been in a place to fill the void, but Davey had been persistent in his choice to step away from his previous role as leader, redirecting the newsies to Jack or Race or Crutchie whenever an important question came up, and noticeably holding back from giving his opinion outright in their group meetings despite the fact that he clearly wanted to speak up. The transition back to "regular newsie" hadn't been an easy one - Jack could tell that Davey was struggling to fit in now that he didn't have a clearly defined purpose - but the older Jacobs boy was nothing if not stubborn when it came to his convictions, and Jack, knowing that the reasons behind the decision were sound ones, could respect that, though he wished that Davey didn't have to be such a stickler sometimes.

Crutchie was another story altogether. He was just as cheerfully optimistic as he'd been before his two week stay at The Refuge, but there was a hollowness to his laughter sometimes, and every once in a while Jack would catch an almost-distraught look crossing the other newsie's face when he thought no one else was looking. Seeing it made the invisible weight on Jack's shoulders increase tenfold, and every time he glimpsed that look, it was as if he was instantaneously back on the rooftop that warm, muggy night in July, his fists clenched in anguish as they clung to Crutchie's ragged blanket, silently sobbing as he replayed the memory of his best friend's capture over and over again.

He hadn't told Crutchie yet about what had happened during the strike. They'd talked around the matter - Crutchie had even made a few oblique remarks, casually expressing his curiosity, but Jack hadn't been ready to confess the depths of his failure to the one person he knew loved him like a brother, the one person who had always staunchly believed the best of him and had refused to see the worst. Crutchie's friendship was too dear to Jack, and the thought of losing his esteem - after Jack had nearly already lost so much - was unbearable. So he'd given only vaguely-worded answers, Crutchie hadn't questioned him, and the newsies, it seemed, had all agreed to remain closed-mouthed about the matter, so the truth had remained undisclosed.

But the weight of it sat heavy on Jack's shoulders.

He watched, still brooding, as the newsies in front of him took turns paying for their papers. They'd been doing well lately where money was concerned; the new buy-back policy had worked both to their advantage and to the advantage of The World, and more copies were being sold now than ever before. This meant a small surplus of pocket change and the resulting high spirits where the newsies were concerned, and by all appearances, their brief moment of making history had ended happily and well.

But, as Jack was coming to realize, that was only one side of the story.


A/N: I promise, I did not sit down to write this with the goal of dashing the trademark Disney happy ending of Newsies...I just thought that, realistically-speaking, working things out after the strike might have been a little more complicated than the finale scene leads us to believe. I can guarantee you that this story is not going to devolve into a drama-fest - these characters, for all their flaws, are committed to each other, and they're going to work it out eventually. :) And I can promise that the next few chapters will be significantly more light-hearted.

Thanks for reading! :) I'd love to hear what you thought of this installment.