Chapter 2

Busters Pov

It took me all day to make sure to avoid the police, but I got back to the Wild Dogs headquarters: the junkyard. I hopped over the fence and made my way to my "office." It was really just a stable cave in the mountain of trash. I just can't believe the betrayal. He really chose to go against everything we stood for, some pampered poder puff and all those snobs who never gave us a second glance unless it was to give us a look of disdain. I was pacing the room, trying and failing to calm down, and I didn't notice Peg walk in.

"Buster, are you listening to me?!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled at her, and she flinched before composing herself. Peggy always looks nice despite our circumstances. She was a little older than us. He had long, dirty blond hair with bangs that covered one of her eyes, the blue eyeshadow popping out. Her white dress, while old, still looked nice on her. Very scandals with the leg slit and deep neck dip, but it was mostly evened out with her long faux feathered scarf. She always looked the nicest out of us, keeping all her outfits from when she was a showgirl.

"I said." She fixed her scarf and took a few more steps toward me, "What happened out there? You've been gone for hours."

"I went out to get us some more money." I grabbed the cash I was able to get out from those people out of my coat and stashed it in the money box.

"You were gone for hours, and you don't get this worked up after a job," She was standing in front of me and pulled me down by my collar so we were at eye level; "What?Happened?"

"I found Tramp."

I caught her off guard. Just like that, she's frantic but excited to hear news about our old friend. "Really?! Well, is he all right? Is he hurt? Where is he?" Some other gang members have walked in after hearing the commotion: Bull, Ruby, Francois, and Mooch.

"Hang on, wait a minute, Peg. There's more to it than that."

"Well, what is it you scaring me, Buster," I told her to sit down and offered her a cigar, knowing it would be that kind of talk. She accepts the offer, I take one out, and she lights them both. After a few puffs, I tell her about what I saw.

"You wouldn't believe it, Peg. Hell, if I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it." We were all in shock

"And you sure it's not some scam, Buster?" Mooch asked, still hopeful.

"OF COURSE, I'M SURE!" I sight before taking another puff. "You should have seen the look he shared with Moneybag, Dan. It's the same look we got when we were paper boys. The silent laugh they shared or like they stepped on more turd and were looking at it on their shoe. Heck, I bet they treat insects up there better!"

"I'm sure there has to be some explanation, Buster. Tramp has many faults, but he has always beem loyal. Something must have happened." Peg tried to reason, but I wasn't listening.

"He's a sellout; that's what happened!" She gives me a look, and I sigh, slouching in my seat, "Ok, he did mention something about a girl...and a pregnancy."

They all gasp.

"Wait a minute. Do you remember how Tramp got arrested with that Mss Park Avenue?" Francois gets our attention, and we nod. "That must be it then. He got the girl pregnant, and her folks must have made sure he married her. You know how those people are, all about appearances and whatnot."

"He didn't exactly seem like a hostage," I mumble, dragging my free hand across my face.

"Do...do you think he will sell us out?" Bull asks hesitantly.

"Not unless he wants to tell the police how he knows that information. Doesn't look like he wants his new friends two to know about where he comes from."

"So what are we going to do now?" Peg asked.

The room is now somber, with all of us at a loss. With few other options, the others exited the room, just leaving Peg and me.

"You know this was all awful timing," She says with a humorless laugh.

"I don't think there's good timing for stuff like this," I tell her.

"Yeah, but this had to happen the same day Trixie returned." I choked, "I was going to hell you when you came back, but it looked like you were going to walk a hole into the carpet, and I got worried."

"When did she get back?!"

"This morning. She's currently held up at my place with her son. Guess who the father is." She ends her sentence with a chuckle.

It was no secret, really. As far as I know, Trixie has only had one boyfriend: Tramp. They went out during their late teens for about a year, but Tramp was never one for serious relationships. Well, that changed, and they quickly got a new girlfriend. Mad, sad, and embarrassed, she skipped town. It's just our luck that she comes back with his son while he got another pregnant girl, which he is obviously staying with.

They sit there deep in thought. Realizing there was not much that they could do, they called it a night and retired for the evening.

Tramps Pov:

After a long day working, I made it home and picked up some things Lady craved. My confrontation with Buster is still at the front of my mind; I know I should have handled that better, but I panicked and couldn't let Dan realize we knew each other. Lady and I have built a life together for our family with the help of her parents and out, a better life than I ever thought I could have.

My kids will never go hungry, their clothes will always fit, and when they're sick, they'll have the best care, go to the best school, and have the very best opportunities in life. It hurts that I won't be able to go back to my old life. Still, I love Lady too much to scandalize her reputation like that, and when she told me she was pregnant, nothing was more important.

I push those thoughts down as I open the door and enter the house. Lady has been very stressed with the pregnancy, only six months along, and it looks like she's due any day now. I locked the door behind me and made my way up the stairs. I can hear humming and follow it to the nursery for the baby and see a lady sitting on the rocking chair humming the same lullaby her mother sang to her and her brother while knitting a baby blanket. I stand at the doorway admi, ring her love, kindness, beauty, everything about her.

Eventually, she senses my presence and looks up at me with a smile that lights up her eyes. I walk over to her and lean down to give her a quick kiss, "Hello, love."

"Welcome home, Tramp." I stared at her big brown doe eyes, and though I thought it was impossible, I just fell even more in love with her. "Something smells good." She tells me excitedly with a twinkle in her eye.

"I picked up some spaghetti from Tony's." Her eyes light up even more. We had our first date in Tony's, and the Italian food is always delicious."

"Delicious; help me up, please." I help her up and down the stairs to the dining room, where we eat our dinner peacefully and get excited when we feel the baby kick.

"Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" She asks me as we feel her stomach.

"As long as they are healthy, I don't care. You know that, Pidge."

"I know, but you must be curious. I know I am."

"Well, a little girl with your beautiful curls and brown eyes would be nice."

"You such a charmer."

"Only for you." I kiss her hand, and it's true. Even though I had many girlfriends in the past, something Lady is fully aware of, they were nothing serious; they were always just for fun. With Lady, though, it's different; I just want to make her happy by devoting my life to her.

After cleaning up, they decided to head up to the bed and relax, which was quite easy, considering their queen-sized mattress felt like it was made of clouds. Lady was reading maternity books while I was reading a newspaper when something caught my eye: Wild dogs are still terrorizing the city of New Haven, and my thoughts went back to my talk with Buster. Lady must have sensed something was off because she turned around to ask me what was wrong.

"I...I ran into Buster today," she gasped. Lady knows all about my past; we promised each other no more secrets, so she knows all about my relationship with him and my form or gang.

"Tramp, why didn't you tell me?!" she asks, a little upset and disappointed, "You said you were done keeping things from me."

"I know, but we both had such a long day today. I thought it could wait for tomorrow. Besides, it didn't seem important." I try to reassure her, stoking her cheek. She placed her hand in mine and leaned into the touch.

"It seems to really bother you, though. If you want to, you should talk about it."

"I don't want to burden you."

"You're my husband. You never could.

I sighed, leaning back against my pillow, deep in thought, trying to find the right words to explain my feelings.

"I just worry that my past is going to catch up to me and hurt our kids; I know that we're doing what we can to keep it buried, but… I've never done this dad thing before; I'm new at it. And just worried."

"Thomas Jones Brown," she tells me assertively while holding my face between her hands. "You will be a fantastic father. We all have things in our past that we aren't proud of, but you are so much more than your past. You are kind, loving, loyal, understanding. Plus, Jr loves you."

"The kid's about 7 months, and he loves everything, even cats." I chuckle, and she playfully swats my ar. "All right, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. And I get what you're trying to say. Thank you." With one more kiss, goodnight, and go to sleep, excited for our future.