It's been so long! In case you've forgotten what happened, Katherine came to see Jack but he sent her away because Ike was killed. That's it.

Also, just a warning. There will be some religious ideas being mentioned. If you have a problem with that, I'm sorry, just skip parts that make you uncomfortable. I'm not trying to force a religion on you, I'm just going off of history and what will help my story.

It's not preaching, it's just mentions of someone being religious and slight ideas about death.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!

***

It was still dark out when Race woke up. He couldn't figure out what had caused it to happen, but a quick glance around the room proved that no one was up or moving more than usual, so he shrugged it off and closed his eyes again.

Then he heard a sniffle and the bunk bed creaked as Jojo, who occupied the bottom bunk, rolled over. A second later he turned over again and Race rolled his eyes.

"Can't ya just stay still?" He mumbled sleepily. Race pulled his covers over his head and tried to get back to sleep, but gave up when he heard another sniff as if someone was crying.

Race leaned over the edge of the bunk, his head hanging down by Jojo's face.

"Youse okay Jo?"

Jojo looked up at him, rubbing his eyes. "I'm as good as any of us can be."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Jojo shrugged and looked away, causing Race to sigh.

"Would ya make up your mind? My head's startin' to feel funny!" Race rubbed at his forehead, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling, his face turning red.

"Well then stop hangin' upside down," Jojo muttered.

"Ya know what? Youse right. I'm comin' down."

Race moved so his feet hung over the bed, then dropped, landing lightly on his feet. Jojo sat up and Race sat next to him, waiting for his friend to speak.

"I... I had a dream," Jojo said slowly.

"I have those too, but they ain't keepin' me up at night."

"No! It was about," Jojo's eyes darted around the room, making sure that everyone was asleep, before whispering the name. "Ike."

"What happened?"

"I was talkin' to him, just like normal. Then he started gettin' mad at me and tellin' me how it was my fault! He said that if it wasn't for me, he'd be alive!"

"Why're you lettin' this get to youse Jo?" Race asked.

"'Cause it's true!" Jojo cried quietly. "It is all my fault that Ike is dead and everyone knows it. If I'd been smart and gone with the others, Ike would still be here!"

Race remained silent as Jojo covered his face. Race reached over and rubbed his back, letting Jojo cry and have a minute to himself.

Jojo wasn't wrong. If he'd gone with the boys, this wouldn't have happened, but Jojo did stay, and now Ike was dead. Then again, it had been Ike's choice to wait, and Race said as much to his friend.

"Jo, he made the choice to wait for youse. It ain't your fault."

Jojo looked up at Race, his dark eyes wet. "If he hadn't waited for me, everything would've been okay! He shouldn't have waited for me! I don't know why he was worried, I ain't worth it."

Race wanted to yell at Jojo, his brother, who was trying to tell him that his safety wasn't important. "Of course you is Jo! Even after what just happened I would still wait back for youse!"

"I just wish he hadn't waited."

As awful as it sounded, Race was glad that Ike had waited up.

The Bronx newsies had been out and looking to kill, but they had no specific target. They were just looking for some lonely Manhattan newsie that wouldn't be able to fight back.

They were probably searching for someone when they saw Ike. Then he became their victim. If Ike had stayed with the group, the Bronx boys would have continued to wait for a different boy, and that boy would have been Jojo.

The next newsie to pass them all alone was, without a doubt, Jojo. Race loved Ike, they were family, and he'd miss him greatly, but he'd rather have it be Ike than Jojo. Race couldn't stomach the thought of his friend lying in an alley the way Ike had been.

"I know Jojo. Wese all miss him."

Yes, Race did miss Ike, but he couldn't help the overwhelming sense of relief and gratefulness that washed over him. He was sitting next to Jojo who was alive and breathing.

"Thanks Ike," Race murmured after Jojo had fallen back asleep. His eyes rested on his friend as he continued. "I really owe ya, don't I? Don't worry, I'll look after Mike for ya."

Ike was dead, but in some strange way, he had saved Jojo.

***

Jack watched from his bunk as all the boys sluggishly made their way around the room, half heartedly cleaning themselves up for the day. Crutchie stood beside him, eyes fixed on Mike who was still sitting on Ike's bed and refusing to move.

Jack let out a sharp whistle and every boy turned to face him. "You boys obviously ain't in the sellin' mood today, and I ain't either. I'd be willin' to gives us all a day off if that's what you wants."

All boys quickly agreed, until Albert spoke up. "If we don't sell, won't they think wese strikin' again? The last thing we need is for the bulls to start somethin' with us too!"

"Albert's got a point, Jack," Specs observed.

"There's plenty of other boys that'll sell papes. Besides, it's only one day. And if the bulls have a problem with us not sellin, maybe theyse should stop the guys from killin' us!" Jack argued.

That seemed to convince the boys, all of them sinking back onto their beds in silence. Crutchie limped over to Mike, sitting down next to him. He didn't speak, only sat there resting his arm on Mike's shoulder as the boy buried his face in his brother's pillow.

***

"Where is everybody?" Les asked as he scanned Newsies Square.

"I don't know Les," Davey said for the fourth time.

"Do you think that they're okay?" Les asked nervously.

"I'm sure that they're fine Les." Davey pulled his coat tighter around himself to shield himself from the rain.

"Then why aren't they here? They wouldn't skip selling unless something was wrong!"

"Les! I don't know where they are! I'm sure that everyone's okay, they can take care of themselves. Maybe they're running late."

Davey was trying to calm Les, but he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. Les was right. The boys needed money, they wouldn't skip selling unless something terrible had happened.

Les remained unsatisfied. He crossed his arms and stared at the gate that the boys should've been gathered around. No one was there.

"After we sell we'll go to the lodge, okay?"

Les reluctantly nodded. "Okay."

"Great," Davey sighed, relieved. "Lets go get our papes."

***

Spot stood in the entrance to the boys room at the Lower Manhattan Lodging House, staring at all the boys who were still there.

It was nearly four o'clock and none of them seemed to have moved since they had gotten up. A few of them were sleeping, buried under blankets. The others stared silently at the ceiling or whispered to each other. A couple of the boys were playing cards, though none seemed to be paying attention, and Spot was surprised to see that Race wasn't with them.

"What's goin' on in here?" Spot asked, annoyed.

Jack looked up at him. "When did youse get here?"

"Just now," Spot glared. "A little birdie told me that none of youse was sellin'. I thought I'd stop by and see what was goin' on."

"Wese takin' a break," Crutchie said.

"I can tell," Spot said rolling his eyes. "Wasn't the strike enough of a break for youse?"

"Somethin' happened last night Conlon, and I decided that wese needed a break," Jack said firmly.

"What's so important that youse all skipped your jobs for it?"

"Ike got killed," Elmer said bluntly.

Everyone's eyes shot to Mike, watching him flinch. He'd stopped crying a while ago, but it looked as if he was going to start again.

"Nice going idiot!" Henry hissed, shoving Elmer off of his bed.

"Ike's dead?" Spot spoke softly, not believing that the boy he'd seen only days before could be dead.

"Yeah, murdered," Race spat.

Crutchie wrapped an arm around Mike, who was shaking, while frowning at the boy.

"So Ike was killed," Spot ignored the glares from the boys and continued. "And because of that, you're all sittin' around doin' nothin'?"

"Uhh... yeah?" Albert glanced at his friends as he responded unsurely.

Spot watched in disgust as they all nodded. "You can't quit somethin' just because you're upset. That's pathetic."

"Spot, this ain't your borough, you don't control these boys. I said they could take today off, your opinion don't matter," Jack argued.

"Well don't waste your day sittin' around." Spot leaned against the wall, watching as all of the boys thought about what he'd said.

"What are we s'posed to do? It's too late to sell."

"Could we do somethin' for Ike?" Jojo asked, glancing around the room.

"Like what? He ain't here," Albert said bitterly.

"What were you thinking Jojo?" Jack was interested, he'd be more than open to do something for Ike.

"I don't know, just go and remember 'im? Never mind, it was a bad idea."

"No! Youse onto somethin'!" Romeo exclaimed, jumping up from his bed. "It'd be like a funeral! It's a great idea!"

"What do you boys think?" Jack asked.

"I think it's a good idea," Finch said. "Ike deserves it."

"I say we go right now!" Buttons agreed.

"I'd like to do it," Specs added.

Jack turned to Mike, speaking gently. "What do you think Mike?"

"I think Ike would like that," Mike said softly.

"Then I guess we're going," Jack announced. All the boys began getting ready to go out, putting on their nicest clothes, combing their hair, and even washing their faces. "You coming Spot?"

"Sure," Spot shrugged. "I liked Ike, I'll go."

"Thanks," Jack whispered.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch that Kelly. What did you say?" Spot mocked.

Jack shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have said that."

***

It was still raining as the boys made their way to the place where they'd found Ike's body. It wasn't there any more.

"Where do we stand?" Sniper asked from somewhere in the crowd of newsies.

"I think he was over there," Elmer pointed to a spot in the middle of the empty square.

"Then I say we stand over there."

All of the boys gathered around the spot where Ike had been killed, like Jack had suggested.

"What do we do now?" Tommy Boy wondered.

"Are ya stupid or what?" Race asked. "We're s'posed to remember him."

"Oh, right," Tommy Boy nodded, closing his eyes tightly.

The others joined in, staring solemnly at the ground as they thought about Ike. It was completely silent, and several boys grew bored. They glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes, trying to convey their boredom.

Even though some of the newsies grew restless, they all remained quiet out of respect for their friend. They spent several minutes like that, before someone finally spoke up.

"Shouldn't we say somethin'?" Romeo asked quietly, wincing as his voice broke the silence. "Ain't that what ya does at a funeral?"

"I don't know, Ise never been to one," Finch said.

"I think that's what they does. Even if they don't, we should," Specs added.

The boys looked around each other to see who would be the brave one to go speak. Crutchie turned to Jack, nudging him forward. Jack gulped, but stepped in front of the other boys.

"Ike," he began, looking at the ground. "You was a-"

"Jack!" Jojo hissed. "You can't look at the ground, he ain't there no more."

"Well where do you suggest I look then?"

Jojo motioned towards the sky and Jack stared at him for a minute before slowly nodding and glancing toward the sky.

"Ike, last night you was real brave. We're all proud of you. You was a great brother to all of us, always lookin' out for us. We all love ya so much, and it hurts us to have to let ya go, but we need to. That don't mean that we'll forget you though, so don't worry 'bout that."

Jack paused, glancing at the spot where his brother had laid the night before, then turned his attention back to the sky. "What I'm tryin' to say is, we'll miss ya, Ike."

A strangled sob came from Mike, and Buttons immediately pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's gonna be okay, Mike. We're all gonna be okay," Crutchie whispered, patting his back gently.

Specs and Finch both spoke as well, drawing more tears from the boys.
Albert had even stepped up, completely shocking the newsies with his extremely heartfelt speech about his friend.

Jojo was the last to volunteer to speak. Some of the boys were surprised by how well he'd done, it seemed as though he'd practiced. Race, remembering their conversation from last night, knew that Jojo probably had been practicing and planning what he'd say if given the chance.

None of the boys made it through the speech with a dry eye. Jojo himself had finished with a teary 'thanks' to Ike, whom he'd felt had saved his life.

Afterwards the boys fell back into silence. None of them wanted to leave, but they knew they'd have to eventually.

"It don't feel right, leavin' yet," Henry voiced his feelings and glanced around at his friends. "Does anybody know a prayer or something?"

A few boys pushed Elmer forward, but he shook his head.

"I don't listen to the service, I just wait until the sisters give me food!"

Race boy his lip as the boys tried to find someone who could pray for Ike. Spot nudged him with his elbow.

"What?"

"Go up there."

"No, you go up!" Race argued.

"I might've liked Ike, but I didn't know 'im that well. You did. Now get up there."

Race hesitated, hands clenching his vest. "I don't know Spot," he mumbled, face paling. "I'm not even sure if I remember all of it anymore."

"You still remember it Higgins. I ain't forgotten, so there's no way you have."

"Spot, I ain't said that prayer since my, she," Race stopped, unable to finish.

"I know, but this is your friend," Spot reminded. Race remained unconvinced.

He looked at the others, who were growing disappointed as no one could come up with a prayer. As his eyes landed on Mike, Race knew that he had to go up.

"I have to, don't I?"

"You really should," Spot advised.

"Spot, I-I don't know if I can," Race mumbled, looking away from Spot.

Spot scanned Race's face and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, look at me."

Race ignored him, preferring to continue staring at the ground.

"Hey! Antonio!"

Race froze, eyes hesitantly darting up to meet Spot's.

"You need to do this. If you get stuck, I'll help youse, okay?"

Race nodded. Spot squeezed his shoulder, giving him a small smile. Race took a breath and pushed his way to the front of the group.

"I don't think anyone's gonna know anything. We're just gonna have to head back," Romeo said softly.

"I might know something," Race spoke up.

"You know a prayer?" Albert asked, shocked.

"It's, uh, it's been awhile so it won't be too good, but-"

"Just say it!" Jojo exclaimed excitedly.

Race, for the first time in a long time, was nervous. It was obvious in the way he brushed off his vest with shaky hands  as he cleared his throat to speak.
"Padre nostro che sei nei cieli, si-"

"In English!"

Race blinked and apologized before repeating himself and continuing the prayer in English. The boys listened intently, a few eyes still damp.

"And forgive us our trespasses," Race's voice shook as he spoke. His eyes were closed as he tried to recite the prayer, but that only brought him to a different time.
"As we f-forgive those who-who trespass against us..." Race trailed off, still shaking, face white.

"You okay Race?" Jack asked, sending his friend a worried look.

"Yeah," Race said, blinking and shaking his head. "I just... I don't remember the rest."

"Make something up," Albert suggested, rolling his eyes.

"It don't work that way, stupid! Don't you want Ike to be safe for 'ternity?" Tommy Boy asked him. "C'mon Race, at least try it."

The blond nodded, taking a shaky breath. "Where was I?"

"People that've been tresspassin'."

"Right, thanks Buttons. And lead us n-not into temptation, but, but deliver us f-from evil-" Race was still struggling, even more than before. The memories were getting to him and Spot could tell that it'd be a challenge for Race to finish the last verse.

"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen."

All the eyes in the alley shot to Spot who stared back.

"What're you guys lookin' at?"

"N-nothin'," Elmer stuttered, turning away from Spot, all the boys quickly following suit.

"Good. Now I think it's just about time that we all head back, it's gettin' late and there's nothin' left to say," Spot said. He stepped out of the crowd and disappeared around the corner of the building.

The boys watched him go, slowly following behind him. Jack waved Crutchie ahead as he hung back near Race. When the boys had all left he turned to his friend, confused and slightly worried.

"Race, you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Race walked past Jack, completely ignoring him as he tried to get his attention.

"Race! C'mon! What's wrong?"

Race kept walking.

***

Jack had followed Race all the way back to the lodge, and he'd been ignored the whole time. When they reached the lodge Race didn't immediately head inside, instead he made his way to the fire escape.

Jack followed him and Race did nothing to stop him. When Race finally stopped he leaned against the railing and lit a match, quickly pulling out his cigar.

"What's goin' on Race? Youse actin' funny," Jack asked softly, joining him at the rail.

"I already told ya Jack, I'm doin' fine."

"Why don't I believe that?"

"I don't know, but ya should."

"Race, I know I ain't got brains like Davey, but that don't mean Ise stupid. What's wrong?"

"Nothin' Jack! What'll it take to get you to leave me alone?"

"I'll leave youse alone soon as you start answerin' my questions!"

"I have been," Race groaned.

"Okay, then how about you tell me what happened back there! How did you know that prayer, cause ever since Ise known you, youse never set foot inside of a church."

Race paused, considering the question. Deciding it was harmless, he answered. "I used to. Then I stopped."

"Why? Cause you found out that you ain't s'posed to gamble?" Jack asked, trying to lighten his friend's mood.

"No. I stopped goin' long before I knew how to gamble."

"So before you was ten?"

Race gave a small smile as he nodded. "Before I was ten. I used to go with my mother. She took me every Sunday."

"Why'd you stop goin'?" Jack asked carefully, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

Race just shrugged. "Didn't see no reason no more."

"She just let you stop goin'?"

"'Course not! If she knew I'd stopped goin' she'd have licked me for sure. She's probably rollin' in her grave right now."

"So she's-"

"Yeah," Race said softly. "That's when I stopped goin'. I was only eight when she, y'know, and me father sure as hell never showed up for Mass."

Jack just nodded, gaze sweeping across the city. He waited patiently for Race to continue, though patience wasn't a trait he usually exhibited.

Race continued to smoke, the tendrils curling through the air around him. Jack wanted to reach over and take the cigar from his friend, but held back when he noticed how the boy's hands had stopped shaking.

"My mother, she was a devout Catholic, you know the type. She uh, she came over here from Italy when she was my age. Met my father and married 'im real quick. She had me within the next year, named me herself. My father wasn't even there."

"You're father wasn't around much?" Race shook his head. "I'm sor-"

"Don't be. I'm glad he stayed away. He was awful. You know what he used to do Jack?"

Jack shook his head, watching Race shake his head in disgust.

"He used to call me Anthony."

"Isn't that your name?" Jack asked, dark eyes crinkled with confusion.

"No, my mom named me Antonio. He hated it, said it sounded too foreign!" Race scoffed. "I don't know why he was complaining. I look just like the bastard! I hated him..." Race muttered.

"Back when we first met you said your name was Anthony. Why would you lie about it? Didn't it make you think 'bout him?"

Race shot him a confused look. "When has any one of you called me Anthony"

"That's true," Jack agreed.

"Besides, it's better than thinkin' of my mom," Race added.

"Didn't you get along with your mother?"

"Better than anyone else. She was always there for me. My father, he was rarely around, but when he was he would shout at us and push us around. He was always drunk, never treated my mother how he should've."

Race spoke bitterly, then he brought the cigar back to his lips. He watched the sky, ignoring Jack's eyes on his face.

"What happened to her?" Jack asked softly, rubbing Race's shoulder.

"She got sick, they both did. I prayed every day for her to get better. She didn't." Race gripped the rail tightly, his eyes glazed over as his mind slipped back to his earlier life.

"My old man did. He was fine. I tried workin', tried to get money for a doctor for my mother. I hid it in cracks in the walls." Race let out a bitter chuckle, as he remembered his futile attempts at saving his mother.

"He always found it. Always bought beer with it, just ignoring the fact that his wife was dying in the room next to him!" Race let a few tears slide down his cheeks, before furiously scrubbing them away with his palm.

"That's when I stopped goin' to church. When my mother died. I couldn't sit in there knowin' that he let my father live, but took my mother from me! How could anyone leave a little kid with a guy like that?" Race was taking deep breaths through his quiet sobs, his shoulders shaking.

"Race, I'm real sorry," Jack didn't know what to say to comfort his friend. He had never seen the boy cry before, Race was one to keep his feelings inside and cover them with sarcasm.

"It ain't your fault Jack. 'Sides, some of the boys here had it ten times worse than I did. He mighta knocked me around, but at least I never left the house lookin' like Buttons used to. My old man never beat me that bad, he saved that for my mother."

"What was your mother like?" Race seemed to be happier when he talked about his mom, and Jack hoped that the change of subject would cheer him up. Crutchie was so much better at this than he was.

"She was beautiful and was always singin'," Race said, a small smile crossing his face. "I used to figure she'd fit right in when she got to Heaven. She used to talk to me in Italian. My father hated it, said she needed to be normal, but she did it anyway. I remember she was real stubborn," Race laughed,  before growing serious again. "I remember that she loved me, even though I looked like him. She should've lived."

"I know Race, it ain't fair. All the good people always have it the hardest. Just look at my father, he worked his ass off for this lousy city, and what'd it get him? I'll tell you what. Nothin'. It didn't get him nothin'."

The two boys stood in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Race's cigar had gone out, but he didn't notice. Eventually Race broke the silence.

"What's it all for?" Race questioned, looking over at Jack.

"What do you mean, Race?"

"What's the point? We come here, break our backs for years tryin' to scrounge up enough to survive, then we die. Why do we make ourselves go through this? It would be so much easier to just end it, y'know?"

Jack froze in shock, then grabbed Race's shoulder, pulling him until they were face to face.

"I don't know where that came from Race, but I better never hear youse say that again!" Jack was shaking, his fingers digging into Race's shoulders. "You're here for a reason, and all of us care about you, so don't you say it ain't worth it!"

"I wasn't gonna do nothin' Jack!" Race exclaimed.

"Well I'm sorry. It's kinda hard to believe that when you're standin' on a fire escape," Jack said angrily.

Race sighed, "I'm not going to do anything. I couldn't do that to the boys. I was just thinkin'."

"Well don't, it don't suit ya," Jack said, reaching up and holding Race'a chin. "We all need you here, got it?" Race nodded.
"Good." Jack patted Race's cheek quickly before drawing his hand back. "Are you ready to go inside?"

"Yeah," Race replied, after taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

Race started down the ladder, then stopped, looking up at his dark haired friend. "Thanks Jack."

"Anytime, Race."

***

I can't believe it's been fifteen days since I've updated a real chapter! I feel awful, but my family and I have been dealing with some stuff. My 'grandmother' passed away a few days ago, her funeral was yesterday. But I've been feeling better, and writing helped, so I got started.

I hope the religious parts didn't offend anyone...

I spent almost seven hours on this on my drive from Florida back to Michigan, and I'm super tired. Like, I didn't really even reread it and I'm probably going to regret posting it later on, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Also, I'm going to point out that I feel like my story has tons of physical affection between the newsies compared to most stories that I've read. Because of the society we now live in, the amounts of physical affection that I portray between the newsies might seem weird, but for 1890, it's not.

Based on my research (because I actually do tons of research for this, no joke) guys in this time period were extremely affectionate with their friends. Like, that was normal. And because I want this to be somewhat historically accurate, and because I love seeing the newsies as super close brothers, I REALLY wanted to include that.

I really hope that you guys are enjoying this!

Thanks for reading!
-Anna