Chapter 15

After a lengthy argument the two girls decided to head back to the lodging house. Nichole had insisted on finding Kid Blink and making up right that moment, but Mary declined. In no way, shape or form was she ready to confront Blink yet. She knew from experience that he didn't take the subject of offending his friends lightly and thought it would be best to let him have some time to himself to think. If she was lucky, the news of Race and Nichole finally being together would soften him up.

Mary was still skeptical about the news. She wouldn't truly believe it until she saw it with her own eyes. The idea of Nichole being with someone (especially intimate) was just an absurd thought to her and would be for quite sometime, if in fact they were together. Mary took a sidelong glance at Nichole, who sat on the stoop of the lodging house, her chin resting in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The afternoon was a clear one, but the heat of the sun was scalding and Mary stared at Nichole unpatiently as she puffed at the cigarette slowly.

"Will you hurry up and finish that thing so we can go inside? I'm baking here." Mary complained, fanning her face with her hand.

Nichole flicked some ash to the ground, and grinned not making any attempts to hurry her actions. "If you were selling with Blink would you be bitching to him about the heat or am I just lucky?" When Mary simply glared at her, Nichole laughed, snubbed her half-smoked cigarette and stood. "It isn't that hot out here. It's probably hotter inside then it is out here."

Mary rolled her eyes and pushed Nichole up the rest of the steps and into the lobby of the lodging house. Much to Nichole's suprise, the lobby was somewhat cooler than outside. Not by much, but it was definitely more comfortable then sitting under the blazing sun. Dodging Mary's probing hand in her back, Nichole fell back in a chair with a sigh. Wiggling in discomfort, Nichole lifted her hands to her shirt and undid the buttons, revealing her white undershirt. Turning to look at Mary who sat beside her, she asked.

"What are we supposed to do until the others get back?" It was a stupid question. She knew that Mary would just want to sit and stare into space until the racket of the boys returning broke her out of her trance.

Mary shrugged indifferently. "You got a deck of cards? Maybe you could try and teach me how to play poker again."

Nichole snorted at the suggestion. "I've been trying to teach you how to play poker since we were twelve and you still can't play. What thinks you can learn now?" She turned in her chair and eyed her friend suspiciously. "Why do you want to learn anyway?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess I'm just getting bored of sitting on the side while you guys play."

"You look pretty content to me sitting there in Blink's lap, whispering in his ear the whole game."

Mary swatted at her laughing friend and sighed in a sad manner. "Could we not talk about Blink right now? I just want the whole afternoon Blink free so l can think of the best way to talk with him."

Nichole looked over at her friend as if she were crazy. "What do you mean the best way to talk with him? Just go up to him tell him you need to talk with him and say you're sorry for whatever it is you did." She replied waving her hand as if were nothing. "If that doesn't work then I'll lock you two in a room until you make up."

Mary placed her head in her hands with a groan. "Don't even try it. I'll know exactly what you're trying to do"

The tone of her voice told Nichole to drop the subject and not push it. Standing, Nichole walked across the lobby and hopped up on the front desk. Her hands began to fiddle with the various objects and papers strewed over the desk. "So, what are we doing for the next few hours?"

"I'll tell you one thing you are going to do. You are going to get your butt off my desk, girly."

Nichole turned and grinned at the older man, before jumping to the floor. "Nice to see you too Kloppy." she replied sarcastically. Leaning her elbows on the desk she continued to play with the objects.

Kloppman grinned at the nickname Nichole gave him; small wrinkles forming under his eyes. "What are you two doing here, shouldn't you be out with the boys selling papers?" He asked grabbing the pencil that Nichole began tapping against the desk from her hands. She yelled in protest and Mary laughed from her place across the room.

"How do you keep yourself occupied all day, Kloppman?" Mary stood, and walked over to stand next to Nichole. "You got anything we can do?"

"I sit back there in my office and organize my papers." He replied straightening the desk. "You know, it ain't easy keeping track of all these boys."

"I could imagine." Mary mumbled. "So, you got anything for us to do? Paperwork, chores, want us to clean anything?"

Nichole glared at her friend, and held up her hands in protest. "Whoa, when did I ever agree I would clean anything. Paperwork is one thing, but cleaning? That is one thing I don't do."

Mary omitted her friend's complaint and gave Kloppman a questioning glance. He sighed and thought for a moment; while Nichole watched on nervously, knowing any decision he made, even if it was to clean, Mary would force her to do the task.

"The boy's bunkroom is getting alittle too dirty for my liking, so if you don't mind perhaps you can clean up there. That should keep you two occupied for a while." Without waiting for a response from the two girls, Kloppman turned and shuffled back into his office, quietly closing the door.

"Well, thank you for offering my maid services for the day. " Nichole said mockingly, glaring at her friend. "I'll be sure to thank you later."

"You're welcome." Mary replied cheerfully. Pushing off the desk, she headed up the stairs with Nichole following slowly behind her, whining a long string of complains, which Mary paid no mind too. Both stopped on the landing to survey the room. Neither noticed it before (or perhaps they were too tired to) but what Kloppman had said was true. The bunkroom was a mess. Beds were unmade, clothes and towels were thrown throughout the room, and parts of left over food lay hidden under the bunks.

Nichole kicked at a rotting apple core that lay at her feet, and stuck her tongue out in disgust. "So, Mary, you still want to help old Kloppy and clean the bunkroom?"

Mary held a face much similar to her friend's, and for once, she regretted her kindness towards others. "Uhhh, lets just suck it up and start cleaning." Walking into the room, Mary kicked a few shirts and other objects into a pile in the middle of the room. Nichole looked on for a few minutes, before sighing and following Mary's example and picking up various things from the floor.

"Is this clean or dirty?" Mary held up a vest between her thumb and forefinger as if it would bite her. Nichole shrugged. "Why are you asking me? Just put it in the pile with all the other dirty clothes."

"Well, it's your boyfriends vest. I thought you might know if it's clean or dirty." Mary answered flinging the piece of clothing to the huge pile in the center of the room. "What exactly are we going to do with all these clothes?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can convince the guys to clean them. I sure as hell ain't going to do it. They can stay dirty for all I care." She kicked at some clothes that fell from the top of the pile and headed towards the bathroom. She stopped short, her eyes scanning the dirty room. She knew they forgot to clean something. "Umm, Mary, we forgot the bathroom."

Pulling the blanket over the bed, Mary stood and smiled satisfied with her work on the bed. It was the last and she was more then glad to be done. Nichole's voice snapped her from her thoughts. "Whoa, what do you mean we forgot the bathroom? I thought you were going to clean it." She walked around the pile on the floor and stood next to Nichole. Nichole's eyes widened at the presumption.

"Me? I thought you were going to do it. I was picking up all the crap so you can actually see the floor."

Mary crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Her eyes wandered over the spacious area of the bathroom. "Yup, and I made all the bunks, which there was really no point in doing seeing as the guys should be home soon and will just sleep in them anyway and I'm tired so I ain't doing it either."

Nichole waved a dismissing hand and flopped down on Race's bunk. "They aren't going to notice anyway. Tomorrow everything will look like it did before we cleaned it up." Snuggling into the pillow, she sighed happily. Race's smell surrounded her, which consisted of a mixture of cigar smoke and soap. It was a heavenly smell and something she would never get sick of. Lifting her head, she rested her chin on her folded hands, and glanced at Mary who now sat next to her.

"You can't wait to see Race, can you?" Mary smiled knowingly. If possible the silly grin that was plastered on her face the moment her body hit the bed, grew larger. Feeling if she opened her mouth, she would only release a giggle, she simply nodded.

"He drives me nuts with his trips to the SheepShed races, but I just have this really incredible urge to be near him. Have him hold me and never let go." She replied in a dream state.

Mary smiled, and Nichole sighed with pleasure and snuggled back into the pillow. Mary heart broke silently as she watched her friend. She was happy for her friend, in fact she never seen Nichole so content with her life, but she couldn't seem to rip her thoughts from the fight she had with Blink only a few hours ago. Nichole's advice did little to calm her nerves, eventhough she knew she was right. Still there was that small doubt in the back of her mind that things between Blink and her would never be the same.

"Mary, you okay." Nichole eyebrows lowered in concern at the girl who stood in front of her in a trance like state. She only shook her head as if to clear it from her thoughts and rested her cheek on the middle of Nichole's back. NIchole frowned. She knew what was wrong and wanted so badly to comfort her friend, but she didn't make any move to disturb Mary's resting-place.

"Mary, don't worry about Blink. You guys were bound to get in an argument one way or another, but you will make up. You both were made for each other, and if he can't see that, then he doesn't deserve to be with you."

Her encouraging words were said in such soft tones, that Mary had to strain to hear them. Nichole continued in a stronger voice. "You know this is the whole reason why I avoided getting involved with boys. The only thing they know how to do is break your heart."

"Then why are you with Race?"

Nichole paused, and thought for a minute to two. Then she realized she had no idea how to answer. She replied with the first words that came from her mind, hoping she didn't sound too much of an idiot. "It just feels like the right thing. It's hard to explain, everything just fell into place and it happened." Nichole felt Mary nodded against her.

"You know, Nick, I never thought you ever get with a guy, but I'm happy for you."

"Well, thanks Mary, I'm glad you approve." Mary grinned and sat up when Nichole pulled herself into a sitting position.

"No, really, Nick. Race is good for you. I don't think I have ever seen you so happy."

"I'm always happy."

Mary shook her head. "You know what I'm talking about. I mean now you have a reason to want to live. Before we came here there really wasn't one. We could disappear from the planet and nobody would care. It's like we're starting a whole new life."

Nichole's eyes clouded over and her face turned hard. She wasn't upset, but the truth of Mary's sentence was too depressing. Both could have hung themselves or even been murdered and they wouldn't be missed. But, now the situation had changed. They now had a house full of boys that would protect them against anything with their lives, they now had a reason for living.

Mary's concern stare faded as a smile grew on Nichole's lips. She shook her head and laughed. "God, Mar, do you know how much our lives changed in the last few months? It's just so weird to think about."

Laughing at her friend's wide-eyed expression, Mary stood. "Yup, we definitely are living the fine life, aren't we?" Mary bent over to straighten the sheets. Nichole kicked her hands away with a laugh. "Mary, I don't think Race is going to care if his sheets are alittle ruffled, leave it alone."

"Nope, I ain't going to care, especially when you're sitting on my bed."

Nichole swung her feet from the bed and bent her head around Mary's body to grin at the small Italian boy. "You know, Race, you kinda are trying to pretend that we aren't together."

His face scrunched up in recognition of the mistake he just made. Race tired to think of something to say and Nichole laughed at the sorry attempt. "Race, calm down." She said soothingly wrapping her arms around his waist. "Mary already knows."

Race's face scrunched up again, this time in confusion His eyes darted from Nichole then to Mary, who now sat on the bed trying hard to control her laughter. "Wait, how did Mary find out? I thought you weren't going to tell her for a while."

Nichole shrugged, and released her grip on his waist. "Her and Blink got in a fight and I had to tell her." When Race shot her another confused glance, she said. "It was a fight over us. Blink thought that she was putting you down and I thought it would be best if I told her the truth about you and me."

Race finally realized what was going on. "Did you guys make up yet?" He asked directing his question towards Mary, who by now had stopped her laughter. She shook her head solemnly.

"We fought, then he just walked away. I haven't seem him all day."

Race slide his arms around Nichole's waist, bring her body back against his. "He should be back soon. He was just going into Tibby's when I was leaving."

"What!" Mary's eyes flickered to the door in fear. "He can't come back yet, I have no idea what to say to him!"

Nichole rolled her eyed and disentangled her arms from Race. Placing a comforting hand on Mary's shoulder, she gently pushed her down on the bed. "Calm down. Remember what I told you? Just walk up to him, say you want to talk with him and when you are alone tell him you're sorry. It isn't that hard."

"It isn't that hard?" Mary asked quietly in disbelieve. "What if he doesn't want to talk to me or see me anymore. What if he doesn't want to be with be me anymore?"

Nichole grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hoping she would gain some sense from it. "That is not going to happen. You guys are always all over each other. I don't know how you two ever stay apart."

"And if he doesn't then I'll talk with him." Race added sitting on Mary's other side. "He's one of my best friends, he has to listen to what I say."

"See, even if he doesn't want to talk you got a back up plan." Nichole glanced up and smiled admirably at Race. "And if that doesn't work then I'll beat some sense in him for you."

Mary released a choked laughed and wrapped her arm loosely around her friend. Embracing her in a tight hug, she whispered into her shoulder. "Thank you, Nichole. I don't know what I do without you."

Nichole patted her back a few times and pulled away. "Don't get all mushy on me here. I get enough mushiness from Mr. Sensitive over there." She laughed pointing towards Race.

Race yelled a protest and reached behind Mary to grab Nichole's shoulder. Pulling her back on his bed, he began to tickle her despite her screams of objection. Mary jumped up to dodge their bodies. Laughing silently to herself at the site of the two, she hopped up on the top bunk. Hopefully, if everything went well with her and Blink she be laying in his arms by tonight.

The pounding of feet on the steps indicated the return of the others. Mary sighed and turned away, not wanting to see Blink at the moment. Still, with Nichole's encouraging words, she had doubts. She needed more time to think.

A wave of voices flowed into the bunkroom, many of the boys heading to their bunks ignoring the two that lay on Race's bunk still laughing. Blink heavily sighed, and followed the others. The day had been hell and the only thing he wanted was to lay down go to sleep, and forget the events of the day. He paused his movement when his eyes focused on a figure sitting on his bunk. He knew who it was and she was the last person he wanted to see that night. Deep inside the only thing he wanted was to do was to apologize and hold her close to him. He didn't know how to say it though. There fight was over something so stupid, so insignificant he didn't know how to even start to apologize. Looking at her once more, he shook his head and walked to the girl's room closing the door behind him.

Nichole nudged Race and pointed to Blink, who disappeared down the hallway. "Why didn't he come over here and talk to Mary, and where the hell is he going? He ain't sleeping in my bed."

Race rested on his elbows. "Mary is on his bed, and I'm guessing he doesn't want to see her right now so, yup that's probably where he is going."

Standing, Nichole placed her hands on her hips in a determine stance. She was going to return the favor Mary had done for her and get those two back together if it killed her. Turning she glanced up a Mary with concern. "You okay, Mary?"

"Fine." Was the mumbled response. Jumping from the bed, Mary looked at Nichole with hopeful eyes. "Was that Blink that just walked in?"

Nichole's eyes shifted to Race before answering. He simply nodded for her to tell that truth. "Yea, it was. He went back to our room. I guess he doesn't want to talk either."

Mary closed her eyes tightly and swallowed her tears. She expected him to atleast say something to her, even if it was negative. Wrapping her friend in a hug, she gave Race a "help me" look over her shoulder. Race stood and placed a hand on Mary's shoulder.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow when we going selling. Like I said he'll listen to me. He loves you, Mary and he wouldn't give up on you after a little fight."

Breaking the embrace Nichole ran her hands up and down Mary's arms. "Everything is going to be all right. If he does anything else to upset you though, he is going to have to answer to me." Mary giggled. "Now, come on I need to get something to eat I'm starving."

A tap on her shoulder, paused Nichole's actions. She groaned when she turned and was met by a pair of icy blue eyes. "What do you want, Spot."

His bluish gray eyes flickered with anger. "You know what I want. I want to talk with you about you hitting me for no good reason." He replied coolly, his finger pointing to the bruise on his cheek.

"You got your information all wrong, Spotty." His jaw tightened noticeably at the nickname, producing a smile from Nichole. "I had a reason for hitting you. You were pissing me off that's why I hit you."

She tried to walk around him, but he grabbed her by the wrist roughly. Race, shot up form his place on the bed, and was by Nichole's side in the speed of light. "Let go of her."

Nichole refused to let her anger get the best of her. Placing a hand on Race's chest, she gently pushed him, creating somewhat of a distance between himself and Spot. "Race, don't get into this. This is between me and Spot. You don't need to be getting in fights and getting roughed up because of me."

Satisfied that he wasn't going to jump Spot, she turned ripped her wrist from Spot's grip. "Look, Spot, I don't want to fight. Just get over the fact that I hit you and you deserved it."

If it was possible, his eyes narrowed even more. "I ain't going to get over it. Nobody hits me and gets away with it."

"Well, then I guess I'm nobody." She growled. Gripping Mary's hand in hers, she slipped by Spot, and out of the bunkroom. She mumbled quietly to herself as she walked.

"Damn, I hate that boy."

Chapter 16

Race's eyes clouded over with anger as he watched his girlfriend stalk out of the bunkroom with Mary close at her heels. Turning towards Spot his eyes became even darker. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Tapping his cane against the floor a few times in thought, he tucked it safely in his belt loop. "I didn't do anything, I just had to set a few things straight." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, someone needs to show that girl she don't run this place."

"Yea, well I care about that girl a lot." Race all but growled, his fist clenching at his side trying to distill some of the anger from his body. "And if you do anything to hurt her, I will personally hunt you down and kill you."

Spot smirked, despite the glare he received from Race. "Relax Race, like I said I just wanted to show her who runs things around here."

Race shrugged off the arm Spot placed around his shoulder. "Well, you picked one hell of a moment to do that. Mary is upset because her and Blink got into a fight, and Nick is upset, because Mary I upset, and everything is a huge mess." Forgetting his anger for the moment, Race sat down on his bunk and placed his head in his hands. "And I feel so damn selfish because I'm worried about is y relationship with Nichole, when I should be worried about Blink."

Spot gave Race a puzzled look. "You and Nick have a relationship?" His voice sounding more shocked then he contemplated it to be. "As in she is now your girl?"

Race had to smirk at the confused boy. It wasn't everyday you got the leader of Brooklyn tongue-tied. "Yup, we worked everything out and things are fine now."

"And when exactly did this happen?"

"Last night after Blink and Mary locked us in a room together."

"Is that what they were doing, I thought they were just fooling around." Spot said eyebrows raised.

"Yea, fooling around with our emotions."

"But it worked, didn't it?" Spot pointed out.

Race nodded his head up and down slowly. "Yea, It did, and I'm very happy, but I still think we could have gotten together on our own without any help."

Spot's eyebrows wrinkled in doubt. "No, you couldn't. You two would have killed each other if you had the chance." He snorted.

"Fine, fine." Race held his hands up in defeat. "I admit it we would have killed each other, but everything is fine so there is no point in talking about that."

Race stood, and patted Spot on the back. "Now, that we got that out of the way, I need you to do me a favor, Spot."

The glint in his eye, caused Spot to raise an eyebrow questionably. "And what would that favor be?"

"Go down stairs and talk with Nichole. She is really upset, and you butting into this whole thing didn't help the situation."

Spot thought it over in his mind, then nodded his head solemnly. "Fair enough, I'll go down stairs and talk with her." His face lost all kindness and turned to stone again. Drawing his cane from his pants, he pointed it threateningly at Race. "But, I ain't saying sorry for something I didn't do."

Race raised his hands defensively, but smiled inwardly at Spot's attempt to be intimidating. "I never said you had to say sorry, just talk to her. You two seemed to be close...well, before she hit you."

"Yea, yea, but don't expect any miracles, all right?" With that said, Spot left and Race exhaled the breath he was holding.

Spot trudged down the steps with an angry stance. Why did he just agree to talk with Nick? There was nothing to talk about. What did Race expect him to do? Go down there, talk with her and say sorry for something he didn't even do? There was no point whatsoever in doing this.

His foot hit the bottom step and the aroma of hot soup touched his nose. The scent brought him to the kitchen, where Kloppman stood in front of a boiling pot. Spot turned up his nose and sniffed the air. "Hey, Kloppman, what are you cooking? It smells good."

Kloppman turned and smiled at the teenage boy. Removing his hat, he placed it on the nearest chair, then he turned his attention back to the soup. "Just some soup. Nichoel destroyed the kitchen looking for something to eat, so I thought it would be easier if I just made her something. I owe her for the cleaning the bunkroom."

Spot turned and looked up the stairwell, a confused look on his face. "She cleaned the bunkroom? It didn't look any different to me."

Kloppman shrugged, his back still turned towards Spot. "That's because you don't have to look at it everyday. The girls must have done something they were up there for quite sometime."

Spot nodded and began to leave, but instead he turned back around. Before he could say anything, though, Kloppman poked his thumb in the direction of the sitting area. "If you're looking for the girls, they're in there."

Thanking Kloppman, he headed in the way he directed. Sure enough, the closer he got the clearer the two voices he heard became. Stopping, he listened to the conversation.

"If you hate Spot so much, why didn't you just hit him?" Mary asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Nichole sighed, and rubbed her eye roughly. "Because, if I hit him it would have only led to more conflict, and there is already enough of that going around."

Spot took this time to step out of the shadows and speak up. "If you kept your mouth shut for more then five minutes, then maybe all this conflict wouldn't be going on."

Nichole, who had her back turned towards Spot, turned around and glared at him. "Damit, Spot, why the hell are you listening in on our conversation." Standing she began to push him backwards out of the room. "Why don't you take your ass back to Brooklyn?"

Spot grabbed her by the wrist and brought his face inches from hers. "Will you clam down. I came here to talk with you, not to fight."

Her eyes darkened and searched his with confusion. "Talk about what?"

Spot returned her glare, not knowing how to answer her question. He still didn't know what Race wanted him to talk to her about. He covered up his ignorance quickly, though. "I came down here to talk about everything that has been going on."

Glaring into his dark eyes, NIchole crossed her arms and smiled knowingly. "Race sent you down here, didn't he?" She asked, her smile growing as Spot's eyes flickered with recognition. He cleared his throat, and turned away.

"Nobody tells Spot Conlon what to do. I do what I want, when I want, and if I want to talk to you then I will."

Even Mary had to raise her eyebrows at his poor excuse for lying. Standing, Mary gave Nichole a pat on the back. "You guys can figure this out yourself, I'm going upstairs and going to bed."

"Mary don't you think you should eat something? You haven't eaten all day."

Mary shrugged off Nichole's concerned. "I don't really feel like eating, my stomach is kinda doing flip-flops right now. I'll see you tomorrow."

After Mary left Nichole turned and gave Spot a murderous glare. "What's the hell is the matter with you! You upset her even more then she already was!" She screamed, balling her fist ready to give him another black eye. "She already had enough things to worry about without you starting even more crap!"

Any protest Spot tired to yell was interrupted by Kloppman's entrance into the kitchen. "Will, you keep you voice down girl!" Placing the two bowels he held on the table, he glanced at the two, sensing the tension between them. "What's going on here? You two aren't starting any trouble are ya?"

Both Spot and Nichole shook their heads.

Kloppman gave them a leery glance. "Good, now sit down and eat, and when you're finished washed them bowels out, I got enough things to worry about in the morning to be washing dishes."

Spot and Nichole both complied to Kloppman's command, and sat down, neither talking until Kloppman's grumbles faded into the distance.

"So, Spot talk." Nichole said bluntly shoving a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

Spot picked up his own spoon. "What is there to talk about." He sighed at her expression. "Okay, fine, you were right. Race did send me down here to talk with you."

Nichole raised an eyebrow. Was Spot getting soft on her? "Wow, the great leader of Brooklyn actually admitted he let someone else make a decision for him. Bravo."

Spot knew she was only trying to get a rise from him, so he ignored her comment. Sitting back in his chair, he asked. "So, you and Race are together now?"

Nichole looked up at him. "How the hell did you hear about that?" She asked the surprised tone in her voice quite evident.

"I'm Spot Conlon I know everything that goes on here."

Nichole finished her last spoonful of soup before answering. "You know, if you weren't so damn aggronant we might be able to have a decent conversation." Picking up her empty bowel, she stood and walked into the kitchen. Spot followed close behind her.

"You still didn't answer my question." Spot pushed leaning on the counter trying to get a look at her face. She gave him a sidelong glance and placed her clean bowel into the sink.

"Yes, me and Race are together." She glanced at the bowel Spot held out to her as if it were a piece of garbage. "What do I look like, you maid? Clean your own damn bowel."

Shrugging, Spot cleaned his bowel, then followed Nichole back to the sitting area. "You're lucky, Race cares about you very much."

Now she was positive of it. Spot had gone soft on her. Sitting in her previous spot, she grinned. "I know, and I care about him too."

"Don't go breaking his heart."

"I don't plan on doing that anytime soon." Yawning, she stood and stretched. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see ya tomorrow, Spot."

Spot simply nodded his head, and she left jumping up the stairs two by two. Reaching the bunkroom she checked down the hallway, and sure enough the door was still closed and she was positive, Blink was on the on the other side. Heading straight for Race's bunk, she gave him a kiss and sat down and removed her shoes and socks.

"Mary, you okay?"

Poking her head over the edge of Blink's bunk where she lay, Mary nodded. "Yea, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know." Nichole shrugged. "I thought maybe something Spot said may have upset you."

Mary's head disappeared as she rolled onto her back. "Nothing Spot said upset me, I told you my stomach was bothering me."

"From what?"

"I don't know. It's probably this thing with Blink, I'm just worried I guess."

"Yea, well laying there smelling his pillow isn't going to get you two back together." Nichole replied frowning. "You have to get up and go in that room and talk with him."

Eventhough this was one of the worst days of her life, Mary had to grin at Nichole's logic. "I wouldn't be talking, weren't you the one laying on Race's bunk smelling his pillow."

Race, who had been laying behind Nichole listening to there whole conversation, took the liberty of cutting in. "Is that what you did here all day by yourself?" He asked, his arms wrapping around her waist. "Sit here and sniff my pillow, wishing I was here?"

"You smell good." Nichole shrugged. Turning she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the embrace. "Besides, I missed you."

Mary rolled her eyes, knowing the two were kissing below her. "You wouldn't be kissing her if you knew what she said about you earlier, Race."

Race finally broke away from the heated kiss, licking his lips and grinning slyly at Nichole. "Oh, and what would that be?"

Mary smirked. "She said you didn't qualify as a man."

Nichole grinned and Race stared at her with mock anger. "Ohh, I don't, do I?"

Nichole burst out laughing as he lie down, pulling her on top of him. "Well, maybe you can help me become a man."

Raising her eyebrows she kissed him softly, and gingerly rested her forehead against his. "I don't think so, not yet anyway."

Rolling to Race's side, Nichole jolted the top bunk, with the bottom of her foot. "Hey, Mary. Blink qualifies as a man now, doesn't he?"

There was the small ruffle of blankets then a groaning reply. "Shut up, and go to sleep, Nick."

The morning came too quickly for the newsies, but it couldn't come quick enough for Nichole. Today was the day Race was going to talk to Blink and she could wait to see him and Mary happily together again. Even after their cheerful conversation last night, she knew Mary wasn't as happy as she was on the outside. Something was bothering her and it went way beyond her and Blink's argument. But, she wasn't going to let Mary's bad mood, put her in too. It would only bring the fact that she knew something was wrong to Mary's attention.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Nichole turned and grinned at Race, who slept peacefully beside her. Removing his arm that was draped across her waist, she slide from the bed. Her eyes scanned the room of sleeping boys before her glance returned to Race. Grinning like a wild man she overturned the mattress, sending Race's body stretched across the floor.

"Time to get up, Race."

Jumping over the bare bed, she stood over Race and pulled the blanket from his head. When she didn't receive a reply, she placed a knee on either side of his waist and sat down on his stomach, obtaining a groan from Race.

"What are you doing, Nick? It's to early to get up."

"No, actually it's time to get up." Nichole said reaching for his pocket watch, shoving it in his face. "See, it's almost five-thirty, the time you always get up."

Settling back on his stomach, she bent down, covering his lips with her own, biting down softly on his bottom lip. Giving him a sleepy grin, she stood. "Come on, get up. You have to be ready when Blink comes out of that room."

Sighing, Race threw the blanket off his body, and stood. "I'm up, I'm up." He groaned. "Don't make this a morning ritual, except maybe the kiss, that would be okay."

Nichole punched him lightly in the shoulder and followed him into the washroom; the other newsies stirring quietly behind them.

"Five years of doing this and I still ain't use to waking up." Race mumbled, leaning over the sink, splashing a handful of water over his face. Nichole pulled herself up on the sink to the left of Race.

"Stop complaining and wash up."

"I don't see how you are so awake this early. That is not normal." Race replied wiping the water from his face.

"Well, today is the day that Blink and Mary could possibly get together, and everything will be fine. So, I have something to be happy about."

The familiar wake up call of Kloppman filled the room, and then the groans of sleep deprived newsies. Nichole grinned and threw Race his comb. "Looks like the others will be up soon."

A gasp escaped her lips when Race grabbed her waist, dragging her into a stall with him. Grinning, he pinned her body between his and the wall. "I thought that maybe we could get some time alone." He whispered cupping her face in her hands, and placing his lips over hers in a feathery light kiss. Snaking her arms around his neck, she locked her hands behind his head, and deepened the contact, pulling him closer to her.

A sound soon interrupted their intimate moment. Sighing in frustration, Race leaned his head on Nichole's shoulder trying to regain his breath. "We are never going to get anytime alone."

Nichole gave him a look, before turning and reaching up trying to lift her body to see over the wall that divided the stall. Race stood behind her, hands outstretched ready to catch her if she fell.

"Nick, why don't you just walk out and knock on the stall door?"

"Because that's the easy way." Nichole huffed, finally succeeded in pull her body up just enough to peek over the edge to the next stall. She almost fell back to the floor when she saw Mary below, crouched in the corner. Her face scrunched up in concern. "Mary, you okay?"

Startled, Mary's head shot up in the direction the voice came from. Stumbling to her feet, she quickly swiped her hands over her cheeks, drying her tears. "I...I'm fine I...I just need sometime alone." Mary choked through the unshed tears that clouded her eyes. She barely finished her sentence before she shot out of the stall and back to the bunkroom, shoving past numerous half-asleep newsies.

Race tugged on her shirt, getting her to jump back to the floor. "What's the matter with Mary?" he asked, doing very poorly in hiding the urgency in his voice.

Sighing, Nichole walked out of the stall, ignoring the stares she received from the occupants of the washroom. Race followed, waiting anxiously for her answer. Falling onto Race's bunk, Nichole sat, shaking her head.

"I knew there was something bothering her other then her fight with Blink." She rubbed a hand vigorously across her forehead, her anger evident in her harsh movements. "Why didn't I just ask what was wrong last night? Then maybe she would be so upset."

Race rubbed her back soothingly. "It isn't your fault. You did everything a friend could do. Besides, she was fine last night, you could have never known anything was bothering her."

"That's just it!" Nichole exclaimed, rubbing her eyes, refusing to show any emotions physically. "She was upset last night, she just covered it up so I didn't push anything. I should have though, I should have sat her down and forced her to tell me…"

"Nichole, will you shut up and relax." Race interrupted her ramblings. "Just relax and don't worry about it. Mary and Blink will work everything they need to and if something is bothering Mary I'm sure she will tell you in time."

Curling up beside Race, Nichole sighed heavily. "Be lucky I love ya so much or I would have beat the crap out of you for telling me to shut up." She mumbled against his shirt, causing him to chuckle.

Mary wrung her hands together nervously, her eyes twitching from the door in front of her to the descending stairs only a few feet away from her. She knew she could back down now, that would only be running from her problem and she was tired of running. She had to face reality and deal with her problem at hand.

Ohh God, I wish Nichole was here to give me another one of her pep talks.

She inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath. Raising her hand she gave the door three hard taps, hoping the shaking in her hand didn't reflect in her knock. She stood back patiently, resisting the incredible urge to run away and hide. The door seemed to open in slow motion and it seemed like hours passed before Blink appeared before her.

Mary breath caught in her throat at just the site of his disheveled look, that, if possible made him even more good looking to her. Snapping from her daze, she cleared her throat, and straightened her stance.

"Uhh, Blink I need to talk with you. It's very important."

Giving her a look over he seemed to think about it. Running a hand through his mused hair he nodded and opened the door wider. Mary cautiously squeezed through the space, her back against the door frame, avoiding any close contact with Blink's body.

The door closed quietly, leaving the noise of the bunkroom behind the two.

Chapter 17

"Extre, extre! Mayor caught in office with group of prostitutes! Read all about it! Huge scandal!" Waving a paper through the air like a flag, Nichole raised her voice to be heard over the roars of the crowds. "Mayor caught in office with group of prostitutes!"

She gave a short nod to a buyer and pocketed the change. With a heavy sigh, she shook her empty hands out and sat down on an unoccupied bench. Feeling the beginning of a headache, she groaned and scanned the crowds for Race. Today was not one of her better days and spending the day at the crowded races made it worst. She wasn't much of a people person and she only wanted to out of there and to a quiet calm place. It was a change of scenery and Nichole was thankful for that. She needed to get away.

She still had no idea what the problem was with Mary, or where she was for that matter. Nichole hadn't seen her since she found her this morning in the stall. In fact she and Blink disappeared and she nor Race had seen then all day. However, that was probably due to the fact Race insisted on selling at the Sheepshed Races, far from anywhere Mary or Blink would be.

Nichole knew he was only looking out for her. He tried so hard to give her break from all the consiversy surrounding her, but as much as the truth might hurt her, she wanted and needed to know.

Raising her chin from her palm, she searched the crowd once again for Race. Finding him at the very bottom of the stadium, closest to the racetracks, she stood and carefully made her way through the rowdy crowd. Hopping over the flimsy bench, Nichole leaned on his shoulder. He glanced at her briefly, then stared back at the racing horses.

"Aren't you supposed to be selling your papers?"

Race glanced back at her and grinned. "I finished selling a while ago. I think I deserve to relax and bet alittle of the money I worked so hard for." His gaze floated back the tracks. "You sell all your papes?"

Nichole nodded against his shoulder. Her eyes closed shortly, blocking out he gust of dirt created by the stampede of horses. "Yea, just finished."

Her eyes shot up to his before she asked her next question. "Race, do you think we could get out of here soon?"

"Yea, sure. Let me just see if I won this race first."

Nichole, satisfied with his answer, got comfortable on his shoulder and waited patiently for the race to end. Not to her surprise the race ended and Race entered with the same amount of money he entered with. Nichole couldn't resist the urge to make fun of him on their way to Tibby's.

"You should have seen your face when the horse you bet on came in last." Nichole barely choked out, her hands clutching her side with laughter. "It was priceless, completely priceless!"

Race shook his head and continued walking. Nichole followed, leaning against buildings, to keep from falling, struggling to keep in tow.

"I mean who knew the horse that won the last three races would come in last?"

Opening the door to Tibby's, he rolled her eyes as Nichole walked by. "You know for someone who was worried about her friend a little while ago, you seem kinda happy."

Sitting in an empty booth, Nichole frowned. "Why did you have to bring that up? I completely forgot about that whole thing."

Race's face dropped. "Sorry, I didn't think it would bother you so much to bring it up again. Besides, I was only joking." He said meekly.

Nichole nodded. Turning away, she stared out the window, leaving Race in an uncomfortable silence. He mentally kicked himself for bring the subject of Mary back up again.

"Nick, you know what you need?" He finally said fingering his hat. "You need to get out and just forget everything for one night."

Nichole turned her head. An eyebrow raised skeptically at the mischievous glint in his eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"That I take you out tonight." Race grinned, knowing he caught her attention. "Just you and me, alone for the night. What do you say?" He asked, his eyes wide with hope.

"I don't know." Nichole sighed. "I don't want you spending none of your money on me. I mean we can both hardly afford to buy lunch. I would just be as happy staying at the lodging house with you."

"The whole point is to get out of the lodging house." Race informed. "We don't have to do anything that cost money, we could sit on the Brooklyn bridge, just as long as I'm with you."

Nichole's eyes shifted down to her hand that was now entwined with Race's. The sincerity in his voice was so truthful and the love for her in his eyes was so evident that she nodded her head without a second thought. "Fine, I give in. I don't want you spending any money on me though."

Race nodded in agreement. "I'll sell the afternoon edition and you can go back to the lodging house, just meet me at the Brooklyn bridge at six-thirty."

"Ohh, so we are going to sit on the Brooklyn bridge all night are we?"

"Well, since you're so concerned about me spending my money on you, then yes, we are." Race replied sliding an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. "Besides, that's the best spot in New York to see the sun set."

Nichole poked his stomach, and nodded. She wasn't about to pass on a chance to spend time alone with Race. "I'll be there."

After a short lunch, Nichole went her own way to leave Race to sell the afternoon edition. The walk back to the lodging house was longer than usual, for she spent the entire time lost in her own cloud of thoughts.

She was ecstatic that she and Race would get to spend some quality time together, but she couldn't help but let her mind wonder back to Mary. Were her and Blink back together? Did they break up? Nichole knew she would find the answers to these questions eventually, and should try to forget about it and relax. But her mind wouldn't let her. She wasn't a patient person and she needed to know the truth of the situation instead of guessing from Mary and Blink's actions.

With a sigh, Nichole weaved through the people in the streets and into the lodging house. Finding the lobby empty, Nichole guessed Kloppman was keep himself busy in his office. Heading upstairs she was startled to find Mush in the bunkroom. Feeling someone staring at him, he glanced up from his book, and smiled when he saw Nichole standing across the room.

"Nichole, what are you doing here? I thought you went with Race to sell."

Nichole hesitantly moved farther into the room and sat next to Mush. Six months staying here and she hadn't gotten to get to know much about Mush. She felt like an idiot, not knowing how to act, or what to say around him. "Uhh, well, he's selling the afternoon edition. I'm waiting here until six, then I'm going to meet him at the Brooklyn bridge."

Mush smiled, and Nichole's body relaxed a bit. "You guys going to spend alittle time alone, huh?"

Nodding, Nichole picked up the book in Mush's lap, her fingers lightly trailing over the embossed title. "Romo and Juliet? I didn't think guys read this kinda stuff." She joked, hoping it would change the subject matter.

"I like it." Mush shrugged. Giving her a side glance, he cleared his throat nervously. "Umm, Nick, can I ask you something?"

"I guess, go ahead." She answered, scanning her eyes over the words of the book. She looked up at him weirdly when he shifted, and changed positions to get more comfortable. He grasped his hands together firmly, before he began.

"I was just wondering what was going on with Blink and Mary?"

"You know what's going on with them. They're fighting."

"Umm, not that." Mush ran a hand threw his curls. "I mean this morning. They walk out of the room like everything was fine after you left. Like nothing happened."

All her attention was turned to Mush now and the book was thrown aside. "Really? Do you know where they are now?"

Mush shook his head, prompting and frustrated groan from Nichole. Everything was becoming more complicated with every passing day. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Nichole reached across Mush and grabbed a stack of cards discarded on a table. There was no point in dwelling over anything, she would find out the truth soon enough. She hoped anyway.

"You wanna play some cards to pass the time?" She asked shuffling the stack. Mush agreed and Nichole threw out cards starting a game of poker. Nichole was the first to break the silence of the room.

"So, Mush why are you here. Aren't you supposed to be out selling?"

Breaking his gaze from his cards, he smiled at her and shrugged. "I wasn't really feeling all that well when I woke up. Kloppman told me to stay home and rest for the day."

Nichole threw down her cards. "You win. This game is more exciting with more people." Her eyes idly scanned the room, looking for something to occupy herself. "Don't you guys do anything other than play cards and read?"

Mush gave a short laugh and gathered the cards into a neat stack. "We go down to Medda's sometimes, but she don't start her shows until the evening." He scratched his head in thought. "We could go up on the roof and watch the clouds. I like to do that whenever I can. It's really relaxing."

Nichole grinned. She only hung out with him for a few minutes and she already wished she had gotten to know him earlier. "Sounds good. I need to relax anyway."

Not waiting for an answer she grabbed Mush's hand, and head for the roof.

"Hey, look at that one. It looks like a wagon."

Nichole snorted at Mush's poor observation. "It does not. It looks like a rabbit." She stated, lifting a hand to point at the specific cloud. "See there goes the ears, the nose, feet, tail…"

"I really don't see where you're getting a rabbit from." With an amused shake of his head, Mush lifted his body into a sitting position. Nichole grinned and followed his lead.

The day seemed like a typical summer day, but to Nichole everything that clouded her mind seemed clearer. Talking with Mush was like starting with a clear slate. Everything she was worried about had vanished from her thoughts. Mush, with his easy going attitude, was easy to open up to and she told him everything that was bothering her. To her and Race, to the problem with Mary and Blink. He listened intently to every word she said, his friendly brown eyes and babyface telling her everything would be all right in time.

The bright orange sun began to noticeably fall into the horizon, behind the monstrous buildings of New York. Nichole knew it had to be near six, and began to stand. The familiar sounds of the returning newies told her she was right.

"Well, Mush, it's been fun, but I think I'm going to start heading to Brooklyn." She offered him a hand, which he quickly accepted. "Thanks for listening to all my problems. You didn't have too, you know."

Mush scratched his curls and smiled shyly. He lifted his hands, but hesitated and dropped them again. Setting a determine look on his face, he tried again and this time he enveloped Nichole into a tight embrace, much to her surprise. She didn't react right away, but before he could pull away she returned the hug, and quickly pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Thanks again." Pulling back, Nichole grinned, seeing Mush's flushed face. She hugged him to her again, just for the sake of seeing him blush. Breaking the contact, she thanked him again, and descended the fire escape, past the window of the bunkroom, and down to the streets below.

The crowds of people began to slowly thin out, as Nichole neared Brooklyn. The bridge soon came insight, and she felt her feet move faster over the copplestone street quickening the arrival to her destination.

The bridge appeared deserted in exception for a few middle class couples returning to their homes for the evening. Nichole lowered her head as she passed them, counting how many paces she took until she reached the midpoint of the bridge. Fifty-seven paces.

She waited patiently for a few minutes, but soon became restless. Digging into her pocket, she fished around her money until she found her last cigarette. It was her last and she wondered if she should smoke it or not. With a shrug of her shoulders, she found a match and lit the end, taking a puff.

"You know you shouldn't be smoking. Mary don't like it when you do that."

Pouting her lips, she allowed the smoke to rise into the air. Leaning her back against the cold steel of the bridge she grinned at the short boy, clad in black pants and a checkered vest, a half-smoked cigar balanced between his fingers.

"You know it ain't nice to sneak up on people. Especially in Brooklyn." Nichole commented, taking another puff of her cigarette.

Race sighed, laughter bubbling in his throat. "Specially, someone who could turn around and soak me real good." With a short laugh, Nichole swung an arm around him, engulfing him into a hug.

"So, what took ya so long." She mumbled into the crook of his neck. Breaking the hug, Race gave her a quizzical look.

"I ain't late you're early." With his arm draped across her shoulder, they stood, waiting for the sun to set. "You need to get yourself a pocket watch"

Placing her hand around Race's waist, she found a comfortable spot on his shoulder for her head. Silence followed, as the sun finally set into the orange and red streaked sky, sinking slowly below the buildings of the city.

Nichole silently giggled at her own thoughts, and Race looked at her questionably. She shook her head slowly. "Nothing, I just never imagined myself, standing in the middle of the Brooklyn bridge, watching the sun set, with my boyfriend." She giggled again. "Particularly the boyfriend part."

He trailed a few kisses down her exposed neck. "You better believe it now, cause it's true." He whispered. Tightening his grip on her shoulder, he kissed along her neck, up her jawline, until his lips met hers.

The kiss wasn't as heated as their first, but it was still full of lust. Race's lips worked slowly, yet strongly against Nichole's, building the passion of the contact. When they finally pulled away from each other, both stood serious, staring at the other, fire in their eyes.

They hastily closed the short distance between them, and their lips met again. They kissed with hunger and the need to be closer to each other. Breaking away for air, Race cupped her cheek. "You want to go back to the lodging house?" He asked quietly in between shallow breaths.

Nichole let her gaze drop from Race's to the ground in hesitation. She knew this could be one of the last times they got to spend any time alone, but what Race was suggesting could change everything between them, and she didn't know if she was ready for anything this intimate yet. She vaguely remembered her conversation with Mush on the roof. He told her many things in the little time they were up there, but one thing she clearly recalled was his advice to follow what her heart told her.

Nichole exhaled, making a decision. "Yea, lets go back." She murmured pulling him closer for another kiss.

Weaving his fingers with hers, Race led her back to the lodging house, and into the room that she and Mary slept in. With kisses and sweet nothings exchanged, they both let themselves fall silently back onto the bed.

The sun rose slowly, spilling light over the dark streets again. Nichole groggily opened an eye, and threw the blanket that was wrapped around her body to the side. Out of pure reflexes, she sat up and stretched. With a yawn, she gathered her clothes that were thrown carelessly onto the floor last night.

A brown eye cracked open, feeling the sudden weight on the side of the bed. Rolling to his side, Race began to murmur a good morning, but abruptly stopped when he saw Nichole's bare back. Gingerly reaching out a hand, he gently traced on of the scars that covered her backside.

"Nick, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your back?" He asked in a low voice. She threw her shirt over her head and lied back on the bed.

"Nothing, it happened along time ago, while I was still in the orphanage." Nichole whispered. Skimming her fingers over his bare chest, she rested her head on his shoulder. Race looked down at her with a concerned face.

"You okay? I'm sorry if I brought back any memories-"

Nichole cut him off "No, no, I was just thinking." She answered truthfully. Slapping his chest lightly, she moved off the bed. "Now get up. It's time to sell papes."

He groaned loudly and covered his head with the blanket. With a laugh, Nichole picked up Race's clothes from the floor and threw them ontop of the bed. "Race, get up. You got to sell."

"Can't we just stay here? In bed, nice and warm?" Was the mumbled reply.

Crawling next to Race, she pulled the blanket off him, exposing his head. "I don't know. Why don't you go ask Kloppman?"

Race's eyes widened in shock. "If he found out that we…we…" He looked up at Nichole shyly.

"Slept together? Made love?" She offered.

He nodded quickly. "Yea, if Kloppman found out, he would personally mane me" He glanced at her as she chuckled lightly.

"I was just kidding when I said to ask Kloppman. I know, for a fact that he wouldn't be too happy if he found out about us." Ruffling his already mused hair, she rolled ontop of him, kissed his lips slowly, and rolled off the bed.

"Get up."

Leaving a groaning Race in the room, she headed through the peaceful bunkroom (the newsies were still sound asleep.) and into the washroom. She would generally rush through washing up, wanting to get out of the boys way, but this morning she took her time. She just finished going to the bathroom and washing her face to see Race literally drag himself into the room.

"Good morning." Race sneered at her cheerful greeting. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I am so tired." He moaned. Nuzzling her neck, he leaned against her, almost knocking her down. "Can't we go back to bed until Kloppman comes to wake the others up?"

Regaining her balance, Nichole pushed him away lightly. "Go ahead if you want. But I don't think you are going to get much sleep. Kloppman should be up here soon."

"No, I mean you and me go back to bed together. I don't want to sell papes today. I want to go back to bed and hold you."

He sound like a whiny two year old and Nichole tried to hold back her laughter, but didn't succeed. However, her face turned serious again, when Race pulled her towards him, crashing his lips upon hers. Nichole involuntary moaned as he deepened the kiss, digging his fingers into her scalp.

Across the room, someone cleared their throat, causing the couple to break apart. Nichole licked her lips and eyed the person curiously.

"Mary? What the hell are you doing up?"

Mary cleared her throat again, and ignored the question. "Umm, Nick, I have to talk with you." She looked at Race leerily. "Alone."

Nichole turned to him with apologetic eyes. Getting the hint, he leaned in and kissed Nichole briefly on the lips and left the washroom, leaving the two alone. Hopping onto a sink, Nichole looked at Mary warily.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" She asked bluntly. Mary paced in front of her, wringing her hands together, nervously.

She drew in a shaky breath before she began. "I have some good news and some bad news. Well, not really bad news for me, but it might be fore you."

"Okay…" Nichole's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She nodded her head for Mary to continue. She continued to pace.

"The good news is that me and Blink are back together." She paused her actions and glanced up and Nichole for a reaction. "Well?"

Nichole shrugged. "Well, what? I knew you two would get back together eventually. I'm happy for ya. So, what's the bad news?"

"Well, it's not really all that bad for me." Mary stalled. "This isn't really easy for me to tell you, because I know how you hate huge surprises…"

"Mary." Nichole interrupted. "If it's so hard for you to tell me, why don't you just spit it out and get it over with?" She stated calmly.

Mary breathed in, preparing herself for the reaction Nichole would have, hearing the news. Whether it be good or bad.

"Nichole, I'm pregnant."

Chapter 18

Nichole's mind abruptly stopped at Mary's news. She turned to look at Mary, confident the whole thing was some kind of twist joke her and Blink put together. The look on her face told her differently. Nichole's hands gripped the side of the sink firmly, turning her knuckles white. She breathed in and out trying to control the anger that was growing inside her rapidly, but it helped very little.

"What the hell is that matter with you?"She asked, her voice louder than she attended. Nichole jumped to the floor and stared at her friend with fire in her eyes. "Didn't you use any protection?"

Lowering her head, Mary slowly shook it side to side. Than replied in a voice almost inaudible. "I didn't think I could get pregnant the first time."

"Well, that's obviously not true."

Mary rubbed her eyes roughly. She knew Nichole wouldn't take this well and was prepared. She just wished in her heart that Nichole could accept the choices she made in her life.

"It isn't that big of a deal." Mary shrugged, knowing in the back of her mind how big of a deal it really was. The moment she saw Nichole's enraged face, Mary wished she swallow her words.

"Not that big of a deal? NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL!" Nichole seethed. "It is a big deal! I never intended to spend the rest of my life in this lodging house! But it looks like I have too, because you had to go and get knocked up by Blink." Folding her arms across her chest, Nichole turned, feeling the urge to slap her friend if she looked at her another minute. "Is it even Blink's?"

"Of course!" Mary exclaimed, her voice rasing slightly. "What do you think I am? Some kind of slut?"

Nichole shrugged, absently playing with the numerous things scattered on the sink. "I really don't know what to think anymore."

In the other room, Kloppman could be heard trying to rouse the boys, but he was ignored.

"Do you know how selfish you're being about this?" Mary questioned, biting down on her lip to keep it from trembling. She refused to let Nichole take pleasure in seeing her cry. "Did you ever think for one second that maybe that I wanted this? That I want the baby and I want to stay here with Blink? Did you ever stop to think about what I want?"

Nichole flinched back at the harshness of her words, but didn't drop the stare she held on Mary. "Did YOU ever think about the situation we're in? Remember the money we owe! I mean we could walk outside tomorrow and be killed!" Nichole slammed her fist into the wall to show her point. "DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT!"

"Oh for christsake, Nick. It's been over six months!" Mary cried. "They're gone! they probably forgot about the whole thing by now!" She ran a hand through her hair in an angry matter. "You know, I am so sick of you. It's your fault they are after us, and you are the one that dragged me into the whole thing!" Mary shot Nichole an icy glare. Tears glistened in her eyes, but the anger was still there. "I wish I could take back the day I met you in the orphanage, because right now I wish I never met you."

NIchole returned her glare to Mary, slowly, her mouth agape. Those words were like a blow to her stomach. Her friend, the only friend she ever knew told her (in not so many words) that she ment absolutely nothing to her. Nichole quickly composed herself, setting her face to stone, masking her true emotions.

Nichole shrugged indifferently. "Fine, you wish you never knew me? Poof, it's done. I'll leave, you never have to see me again."

She turned her back to Mary ready to leave, but she jumped back finding forty sets of eyes piercing through her. Sighing in annoyance, she shoved her way through the boys, ignoring their probing stares. The sounds of the boys arguing followed her down the stairs, and a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Race, leave me alone. I need to get the hell out of here for a while." Nichole growled, not bothering to stop. Race, however grabbed her before she could reach the door.

He wrapped her in a hug, restraining her from leaving Mary and him. "Nichole you can't run away from your problems and fights." Race consoled, his eyes pleading with hers. "Please don't leave."

Relaxing against his chest, Nichole sighed and locked her arms around his waist. "I ain't leaving. I just need to get out of here and think things out." She breathed into his shirt. She could feel his lips form into a smile against her neck.

"You're going to come back?"

Nichole rubbed her hands down his back comfortingly. "Yea, I'm coming back. Where else am I going to go?" She planted a kiss on his chin. "I just need to be alone for a little bit, I'll be probably be fine tomorrow."

"Whoa, Nick, you know it ain't safe to be walking the streets at night." Race protested. Nichole kissed him firmly to stop his lecture.

"Race, I know how to take care of myself. I lived on the streets before remember? I ain't some defenseless little girl."

Race rolled his eyes, knowing there was no point in arguing. Nichole would somehow get her way. "Okay, but if you ain't back by tomorrow afternoon I'm sending every newsie in this house out looking for you." Race reluctantly released her from his grip. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Kissing him lightly, she gave him one last squeeze before removing his arms from Race's waist. "Race, do me a favor and don't go yelling at Mary and Blink the moment I leave. It isn't their fault, it isn't anyone's fault, but my own." Nichole smiled weakly. Mary's words had sunk into her head, and she realized how selfish she really was being.

Nodding in agreement, Race planted a kiss on her forehead. He silently watched her leave, reassuring himself that she would keep her word and return tomorrow.

"So, that's it? You are just going to let her leave and run away from her problems?"

Race set an even stare on Kid Blink. Nichole's words replayed through his mind, that being the only thing keeping him from blowing up at his friend. "She isn't running away from her problems. She needs sometime to herself. She said she'd be back tomorrow." Race replied calmly.

"Great, just great." Blink moaned. "Do you know where she went? I got to talk to her."

Shrugging, Race placed his cigar in his mouth, lit the end and inhaled deeply. "She just left, if you hurry you could probably catch her, but god knows where she is planning on going."

Blink groaned again. "Look could you go upstairs and see if Mary's okay? She was crying her eyes out when I left her." Blink's eyes pleaded with Race's. "I'm going to go get my papes, and see if I can find Nick."

Race nodded in agreement and gave Blink an encouraging pat on the back. "Yea, sure. Good luck."

Shaking his head, Race kept his word and ran up the stairs, avoiding the stampede of his friends, who were oblivious to the problem. The bunkroom seemed to be empty, but the soft muffled cries told Race differently.

"Mary?" Walking down the short hallway he knocked lightly on the door. "Mary, you okay?"

Race heard a muffled sniffle and light footsteps, than the door opened. He expected Mary to be upset, but he didn't expect her to do what she did. With one last sniffle, she threw herself into Race's arms and began to bawl. Taken back by the outburst, Race stumbled back. Regaining his balance, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

Many minutes passed until Mary finally teared herself away from Race. Mumbling an apology Race didn't understand, she wiped her damp face. "Did she leave?"

The question was so inaudible that Race had to strain to hear. "No, she just had to get out of here for a while. She said she would be back sometime tomorrow."

:Mary laughed poignantly. "You think she actually meant what she said? She's probably across the bridge and gone already."

Race secured her in another hug. "No, she's not. She said she would come back, she was telling the truth. I could see it in her eyes." He tightened his grip on her when he felt her sigh against his chest.

Pushing away from Race, Mary took a few deep breaths to compose herself. "This is all my fault, you know that." She glanced at Race, than continued to ramble. "Why did I have to go and say that I wish I never met her? I am so stupid, and now she's gone and probably not going to come back." Turning back into her room, she sat on her bed. Sighing inwardly, Race followed.

"Mary, I just told you Nick said she would be back." Race assured, swing a friendly arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, she wouldn't lie to me."

Mary groaned. "And I just told you that she lied. she's probably outta Manhattan by now."

She sniffed and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I shouldn't have told her I was pregnant, I should have waited. I mean she would find out eventually, but I would be better if I waited."

Race began to comment, but shut his mouth, shocked by the information he just heard. "You're pre...pregnant?" He stuttered. Race knew Nichole would need an extravagant reason to blow up, and this was as good as any. "Is it Blink's?"

A smile touched Mary's lips as she nodded. "Yea, he was kinda shocked at first, but I think he's glad he's going to be a father." She answered in a lowered voice.

"Are you scared?"

"I guess, yea." Mary answered pausing a moment. "I didn't plan on coming to New York and getting pregnant at fifteen. I always wanted a family and I love Blink. I couldn't really imagine having it any other way."

"Well, congratulations."

A short silence followed. Mary made a side way glance at Race, a small smirk hanging from the corner of her mouth. "So, you and Nick, you got together last night?"

At the mention of the words 'Nick' and 'last night' made a blush creep up to Race's face. Mary noticed this and giggled making him shift uncomfortably on the bed. "Ohh stop being so shy. It's sweet that Nick finally found somebody." Standing she patted his leg. "Come on, lets go sell some papes."

"Do you think that's such a good idea in you condition?" Race asked, running a hand through his greased back hair.

Mary turned and looked at his as if he were crazy. "Condition? What condition? I just found out I was pregnant, I don't have any condition, besides alittle morning sickness."

Rolling his eyes playfully, Race followed the rambling girl out of the room.

Blink tapped his foot impatiently. The headlines were weak today and he still had most of his papers to sell. Improving the truth could only do so much. His eyes glanced at the clock in the square, and he sighed. He had been out here selling up and down the street for almost two hours and he still found no sign of Nichole.

He didn't know how good her word was and was beginning to fear the possibility that she may have left Manhattan. He knew he wouldn't particularly care about her absence, but it would kill Mary, and not to mention Race.

Seeing no potential customers, he gathered his stack of papers and headed to Tibby's. Today wasn't a good day for him at all, and he hoped with the little money he had he could buy some coffee and relax. Crossing the street to the restaurant, he retraced his steps and did a double take through one of the windows. There was Nichole, sitting in one of the booths as if nothing happened, while he ran around looking for her like a chicken with his head cut off. Throwing open the door, he marched over to Nichole, slamming his hand on the table.

Knowing who was standing next to her, Nichole didn't bother to look up from her coffee. "Don't start with me Blink. You're the last person that I want to see right now." She said solemnly, annoyed at the fact he found her.

"I don't care if you want to see me or not." Blink replied angrily, sliding across from her in the booth. "Mary is at the lodging house crying because she thinks you are not coming back."

"She's crying!? I should be the one that's crying!" Nichole interjected loudly. "She just comes up and tells me she's pregnant and expects me to be fine with it, than she tells me she wishes she never met me."

"You should be happy for her." Blink replied tolerantly, controlling his anger.

"Happy that she got knocked up at fifteen?" She retorted. "That ain't something to be happy about." Finishing her coffee, she threw a coin on the table. "Now, why don't you go back to selling you papers and I'll go back to wondering around with nothing to do." She stood to leave, but Blink gripped her arm firmly.

"Will you just sit down and talk with me? Mary is upset and I don't know what to say to her to cheer her up." He sighed when he saw her face. "Just sit down and talk with me." He pulled a reluctant Nichole back in the booth.

She glared at him skeptically. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Why are you so upset about this whole thing? If me and Mary are happy shouldn't you be happy for us?" Blink question. "I mean It's not like I slept with her and than dumped her. I love Mary, Nick. You have to understand that."

"I understand that, and I'm happy she found you, Blink." Nichole sighed. "You just don't understand...things that happened in the past." She struggled to put what she was thinking in words. "There are just some unfinished things that are still haunting us."

"What kind of things?" Blink's eyebrows knitted together in curiosity.

Nichole rubbed her face, angry with herself for even bring the subject of her past up. It was her past and Mary wasn't any part of it, but she just had to drag her in. "Nothing." Nichole answered swiftly. "Look, it's really something I rather not talk about. Just tell Mary that I'm not upset at her and that I will be back sometime tomorrow." Standing, she left before Blink could even react.

He ordered a coffee and sat, pondering over the information Nichole just told him.

The early evening sun faded quickly as Nichole briskly walked across the Brooklyn bridge. After leaving Tibby's she ended up in central park, back up into the tree that she climbed back when she got into a fight with Spot. Out of curiosity and hopes of a place to stay the night, she made an impulsive decision to go see Spot. She knew he wouldn't be able to do much in comforting her, but it would be better than the streets and the hauntings of her own thoughts.

Reaching the midpoint of the bridge, a smile played on her lips, the events of the previous night replaying in her mind. Stepping off the bridge and into Brooklyn, those thoughts quickly diminished, and she set her mind to finding the boys lodging house. She knew little about Brooklyn and had no clue where she was going.

After many twists and turns out of alleys, she finally found it. A large brick building much similar to the Manhattan boys lodging house. Quickly noting the location in the back of her mind, she hesitantly stepped inside. Nothing seemed new to her, it all looked exactly like Manhattan. A lobby with a desk and a set of steps that most likely led up to the bunkroom for the boys.

However, the middle aged man that sat behind the desk, reading a book, didn't look the least bit friendly. Feeling Nichole's presence, he glanced up and sneered, throwing his book aside.

"What do ya want, girl?"

Clearing her throat, she moved from the door way to the desk. "I'm here to talk with Spot."

A look of acknowledgment washed over his face. Looking her up and down he smirked knowingly. "You another one of Spot's girls, huh?" Nichole sneered at the comment and the man continued. "Wait here. I'll get someone to get him for you."

With a blatant yell a muscular boy around Spot's age, charged down the stairs. "Yea, what do you want Mr. Smith?"

Resuming his reading, Mr. Smith pointed a finger at Nichole, and simply replied. "She's here to see Spot." The boy also smiled knowingly. Grabbing her hand, he attempted to kiss her knuckles, but Nichole swiftly yanked her hand away. Spitting in her hand, she extended her hand to the surprised boy, who glanced back at Mr. Smith before returning the guesture. He nodded his head towards the stairs for her to follow.

"I'm Brooks. You one of Spot's girls....?"

"Nick. " Nichole answered briefly. "And I ain't one of Spot's girls. I'm just here to talk with him."

Nodding, Brooks jumped up the last few steps, Nichole following close behind. Reaching the landing at the top of the stairs, they walked past the room that was used to bunk the boys. Passing by a few comments and whistles swelled through the room. Rolling her eyes, Nichole followed Brooks down a short hallway to a door. Brooks knocked, and Spot's angry voice yelled a loud. "WHAT!"

"A girl named Nick is here to see you. Says she wants to talk with you."

The door immediately and Spot shifted his gaze from Brooks to Nichole. "What are you doing here, Nick? Did something happen with you and Race?" Spot asked, concern evident in his voice.

Shaking her head, Nichole glanced at Brooks, who took the hint and returned to the bunkroom. "Nothing happened with Me and Race. I just needed to get out of the lodging house for a while."

Leading her into his room, he sat her down on his bed. "What happened to make you want to get out of the lodging house? Boys over there driving you nuts?" His trademark smirk covered his face, when Nichole's solemn face broke into a light laugh.

"No." She turned towards him serious again. "Look, I don't think Mary wants everyone to know what's going on, so I'm just going to say that we got into an argument..."

"But you guys got into a fight before and made up right away." Spot interrupted.

Nichole sighed, running her hand over her face. "This is completely different. It's bigger, and not so much of a fight." Nichole paused, searching for the right thing to say. "It's just that I don't agree with her on this one thing."

"And that thing would be...?"

"I just told you I don't think I should tell you." Nichole sighed annoyed. "Just pretend that this thing could change yourself and your life."

Spot looked at her weirdly. "What are you talking about, Nick? You ain't making no sense. Stop trying to get around it and just tell me straight out what it is."

Nichole sighed, aggravated. Why had she come here? She should have stayed out on the streets with her own damn thoughts. Making a decision, she turned to face Spot, who stared at her, confusion in his eyes. "Mary just told me this morning that she was pregnant." She answered quickly.

Spot's face relaxed, and he shrugged nonchalantly. "She's pregnant? Whoo, go Blink." This earned him a punch to the shoulder. "What? Ohh I'm just joking, you should be happy for them."

"I wish everyone would stop telling me that." Nichole murmured, covering her face with her hands.

"What's the big deal? Why can't you just put everything aside and be happy for them?" Spot raised an eyebrow. "I thought that's what you wanted, for Mary to be happy. She's happily together with Blink, you're together with Race. What's the problem?"

Their conversation once again came to a road block. Just like her talk with Blink, the subject of her past came up and it wasn't something she was in the mood for talking about.

"Look just forget I brought up the whole thing." Nichole snapped, leaving Spot more confused than ever. Standing, she darted from the room slamming the door behind her. Spot stood, in protest to her leaving, but sat back down, seeing she was already gone.

Chapter 19

By the time Nichole stepped off the Brooklyn bridge the sun had disappeared completely and darkness engulfed her. Out of both nervouness and instinct Nichole kept glancing over her shoulder, every block or so. She thought Spot would have followed her, or atleast send one of his newsies to watch her. But the streets were deserted, save a few men who appeared to be working late.

Passing by them, she quickened her pace and sighed in relief she was back in Manhattan. She wasn't completely sure where she was headed. The lodging house was only blocks away and in the general direction she was heading, but wasn't sure she would return that night. The reality of what occurred today repeated itself through her mind, and she couldn't bring herself up to face it.

Everything in her life seemed to be caving in around her, and there was no way of stopping it from completely destroying her. Race was the only person holding her up and she had to be stupid enough to walk away from him. Mary could reassure her many time in her mothering voice and Blink could talk to her as many time as he wanted, but only Race could ease her worries now.

Why had she reacted so stupid when Mary had confronted her this morning? Why couldn't she just pretend she was okay with the pregnancy instead of being so selfish? Now everything was screwed up because of her stupidity.

Stopping at a corner, she inhaled and took a rest, not realizing the fast pace she had been walking at. However, she regretted her actions when she was grabbed from behind. Her first reaction was to scream, but that was silenced when an ink cover hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She struggled and took one last glance at the lodging house that sat peacefully across the street as she was effortlessly dragged into an alley.

Nichole assailant flung her cruelly against the brick wall. She groaned out in pain, and gritted her teeth as she was pinned to the wall, and her head hit the brick with a sickening thud.

"I told you, you'd get what was coming to you, ya little whore."

Nichole closed her eyes, placing a face with the voice. She knew who it was the moment he grabbed her. She maneuvered her head, wincing when the wound on her head scraped against the brick. "Nice to see you again too, Morris."

"Shut up, and open your eyes, bitch!"

Nichole flinched against the volume of his voice and did as he said. She opened one eye and than the other. Footsteps sounded to her right. She tried to see who it was, but discontinued her effort as more weight was pressed into her back. With a small cry of pain, she clamped her eyes shut again.

"I told you to open your eyes."

Morris shifted behind her and she obeyed his command. She flinched back as something was held in front of face.

"Remember this?"

Squinting into the darkness Nichole could make out a round metal object that hung from a chain. "My necklace," She uttered.

Morris laughed and shoved the necklace into pocket. "Yea it is, but that's not the point of this little get together. I bumped into your little friend Mario, and we had an interesting talk. It seems that he's here to take care of a little business."

Pressing harder against her back, he wrapped a hand around her neck and began to trail kisses down her jawline. Whimpering, she closed her eyes and let a single tear slip down her cheek. She knew she was trapped, and had no where to go.

"Now, me and Oscar, we said we would take care of his business for him, but than I thought, why would I kill you before I had a little fun with you? So, here we are now. My brother and I are going to have our fun, than leave the rest up to Mario," Removing his body weight from her back, he flung Nichole into Oscar's awaiting arms. "Of course, by the time Mario finds you, you may dead," He sneered.

Tears now flowed freely down her face, as she helplessly hung in Oscar's arms as Morris advanced towards her, painstakingly slow. Knowing any attempt of fighting would be useless she sighed in defeat and waited for the worst.

Race shifted impatiently and lifted his eyes from the cards he shuffled to the door. He sighed and went back to shuffling, finding the doorway empty. He knew Nichole didn't specify what time she would return, he was still apprehensive. It was nearly noon and none of the guys even been back to acknowledge that they seen her. New York was a huge city and it would be very unlikely to find the one person you were looking for, but there were newseis all over the city. One of them must have caught a glimpse of her.

Standing, he began to pace the lobby waiting for someone, anyone to show up with some news. Another half-hour passed by slowly and the lobby still remained empty. With a frustrated grunt, he walked briskly out the door and to Tibby's where the others would surely be.

Upon entering Tibby's, Race received a variety of "Heys" and "How's it rolling?" Giving a short mumble to the greetings, he plopped down in the first vacant seat next to Jack. Giving a small smile, he glanced across the table where Blink and Mary sat talking quietly, oblivious to the others around them.

Jack nudged his arm and whispered in a low tone. "They've been like that all day. Haven't talk to nobody but each other, so don't even bother trying."

Pushing Jack away, Race ignored his advice and cleared his throat loudly. "Mary, did Nick say anything to you about what time she would be back today," He paused, but than continued when Mary turned towards him questionably. "Because, she isn't back yet, and I'm starting to worry."

"What the hell do you mean she's not back yet," Mary exclaimed, leaning over the table. "I thought she told you that she would be back today!"

Race shrunk back, surprised by her reaction. "She did…She just didn't say when, and I kinda expected her to back by now," Race uttered, shifting uncomfortably.

Falling back against the seat, she closed her eyes. "I told you she wasn't coming back," Mary whispered, turning back towards Blink.

"Nick is coming back," Jack reassured glancing out the window. "She wouldn't just get up and leave ya, Mary. You guys are to good of friends. Besides, where would she go," He added as an after thought.

Mary pulled herself out of Blink's arms. "Well, obviously you don't know Nick like I do. She had a good reason for leaving so I'm not really mad with her," She wiped her eyes and added quietly. "I just wish she would have told me she was leaving instead of lying to me."

All the boys stared at her blankly. Race was the first to muster up enough courage and ask, "And what exactly would the reason for leaving be?"

Mary's head snapped back towards Race, realizing her slip up. "Well…I really don't feel like discussing that," She stuttered, standing. "Why don't we go out and look for Nick. Maybe she didn't leave. Maybe she's just thinking somewhere."

Jack, Blink, and Race knew Mary was only trying to cover up the real problem of the situation, but stood and reluctantly followed her. The foursome wandered through the streets, none of them positive where they were going.

The boys just followed silently behind Mary, not knowing what else to do. It seemed like an eternity before Race stopped and sighed, catching the others attention. "Where the hell are we going? I want to find Nick as much as you do Mary, but this is ridiculous. We're in New York, and we don't even know where she is! She could be anywhere," He gave another loud sigh. Placing a cigar between his teeth, he lit the end and inhaled deeply, ignoring the stares her received from people in the street.

Mary turned and glared at him angrily. "How could you stand there and call yourself her boyfriend? Nick is gone and you don't even want to look for her," She sneered, her eyes narrowing.

Race flicked the ash off the end his cigar and raised an eyebrow in surprised. He never thought sweet little Mary could get so defensive and snide. "Mary, you know I want to look Nick and find her as soon as possible, but what we are doing is pointless."

"Race is right," Jack jumped in. "we don't even know if she's in Manhattan. We should just finish selling out papes, go back to the lodging house and wait for her to come back on her own." Jack stated knowingly. Blink nodded, hoping it would emphasize Jack's point.

"Well, that's just stupid," Mary hissed. "What if she's hurt or in trouble somewhere and we're sitting in the lodging house waiting for her? I don't think so. I'm not going to sit around and jeopardize my best friends life."

Race scoffed. "How can you sit there and call yourself her best friend when you didn't even have enough faith in her yesterday to believe that she would come back. You ask me what kind of boyfriend I am, but what kind of friend does that make you?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed her mouth realizing she didn't know how to react or what to say. Her mind drew a total blank. Dropping her defensive stance, she dropped her head and let her shoulders sag. "I don't know," She whispered. Turning in the other direction, she ran.

Briskly running his tongue over his lips, Blink rubbed his forehead and turned giving his friends an apologetic look before run off after Mary.

Exhaling the last of his cigar, Race threw the snub to the ground. "Great, now things are even more screwed up than they were to begin with."

Jack threw an arm around his shoulders. "Things will work themselves out in time. Just got to be patient," He reassured.

The lodging house was umcomfortably calm that evening. Mary returned with Blink soon after the sun set, and now sat in a corner discussing things among themselves.

Throwing his cards down, Race growled and rubbed his tired eyes. His mind was too jumbled with thoughts to even try to concentrate on poker and he had just proven that to himself by losing every one of the six hands played.

Standing, he excused himself from the table despite the protest of his friends and threw himself on his bed. Despite Jack's knowledgeable advice, and his own faith that Nichole would return, he was really beginning to worry. It was already late into the evening and still, nothing. No sitings from the others, no Nichole.

Maybe Mary had been right this whole time. Perhaps she wasn't going to come back. Maybe she was already somewhere else planning a new life for herself. Rolling onto his side, he glanced across the room to where Blink and Mary sat in each others arms.

Groaning quietly to himself, he clamped his eyes shut and rolled onto his back, hoping every horrible event would somehow just be a night of bad dreams. Unfortunately reality came crashing back down upon him, as he opened his as and everything was as it was.

His friends spread out around the bunkroom enjoying their evening, Blink and May cuddling in a corner, and no site to Nichole anywhere.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught glimpse of Snipeshooter dash into the room and straight to Jack. Race turned he gaze back to the top bunk and didn't pay no attention to the two until they made a quick side glance at him. Catching the concerned look on Jack's face, he pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at them curiously.

Chapter 20

Race's hand flew up to his mouth in both shock and horror. Minutes after Snipeshooter ran into the bunkroom, Spot entered the room cradling a bruised a battered Nichole in his arms. His dark emotionless eyes danced over the room and every sound lowered to a quiet whisper. For a brief moment his eyes locked with Race's, but the grief that filled his friends eyes was too much to handle and the contact was quickly broken, and Spot swiftly walked into one of unoccupied bedrooms.

Even after Spot disappeared nobody moved. Nobody seemed to want to realize the seriousness of the situation. Gaining some sense to what was going on around him, Race stumbled from his bed, falling to the floor in his hurry. Ignoring the concerned stares her received, he picked himself off the floor and charged into the room Spot had brought Nichole into.

Race quickly surveyed the room, before silently falling to the bedside Nichole laid in. In the far corner, Blink held Mary to his chest, rubbing her back soothingly. His one good eye, now dull and impressionless, moved over the room rapidly taking in the scene before him. Spot, who sat on the opposite bed, remained in a hunched position, his eyes studying the wood of the worn floor. He refused to meet Race's eyes again. They ripped through him. Every emotion Race felt coursed through his body, causing him more pain and grief that he could ever imagine.

Race tenderly grasped Nichole's limp hand. He fought to catch his breath as he took his first abundant look at her. She had obviously been handled very roughly by the bruising that began to spread and form along her neck and arms. His eyes traveled down her body. He was oblivious to it before, but the shirt she wore was not hers. Glancing up he noticed Spot sat shirtless.

Mary pulled herself away from Blink long enough to see Race do this. Her eyes immediately shot towards Spot. She swallowed a few times to regain her voice before asking. "She wasn't raped was she?" Her chin quivered, the answer to her question already clear in her mind.

Spot didn't bother to look up. He already knew all eyes in the room were on him. Slowly, he nodded his head solemnly, allowing the tears that he kept locked inside himself for years to spill down his cheeks. His body soon shook silently with tears of despair.

"I didn't know what to do. She was just lying there in the alley. Her clothes were ripped to shreds and I covered her with my shirt the best I could. I just didn't know what to do." He cried, gasping out the words with difficulty through his tears. "I didn't know what to do."

A momentary silence washed over the room, everyone taken back by Spot's outburst. Spot would have been the one everyone would have though to bear through a situation like this. But this close too close to home. The silence was broken and heads turned towards the door as it was ripped open. Jack glanced around the room with solemn eyes, before ushering the doctor, who stood behind him, into the room.

The doctor looked Nichole over quickly. He shook his head slowly to side to side. "I'm sorry, but everyone is going to have to leave the room. I'm going to have to examine her," he replied in a business tone. Placing his bag on the floor, he eyed everyone expectantly. Jack nodded his head towards the door, motioning everyone out of the room. Everyone followed, in the exception of Race.

"I ain't leaving her! What if she wakes up!" Race's eyes widened, and he gripped Nichole's hand tighter.

Jack sighed. He hated to seeing his friend this way. He knew dragging him out would only make everything worse, but it was doctor's orders. "Come on, Race. You will be the first to see her when she wakes up." He grabbed his arm and calmly escorted him out into the bunkroom with the others.

Removing Jack's arm from his wrist, Race sunk to the floor of the hallway, covering his eyes with his quivering hands. Jack didn't fight him. He only shook his head and sank to the floor next him, hoping his presence would help comfort him. Across the room, Blink laid in his bunk silently comforting Mary.

"Mary, please stop crying. Nichole is strong, and will pull through this." Blink stroked her hair, trying to assure Mary as well as himself. He could hardly look at Nichole in that room. The gashes and bruises that covered her body were to much. He only stayed for the sake of Mary.

Breathing in deeply, Mary sat up and wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "I know she'll be fine in time, but I was just thinking how this whole thing is my fault. If I didn't tell her about the pregnancy she wouldn't have ran out and everything would be perfectly fine." She sighed and snuggled into the crook of Blink's neck. "Why did I have to be so stupid. I knew she was going be upset when I told her, why couldn't I wait for a better time?"

"It's not your fault." Blink insisted sharply. "We all knew that she would get upset over the pregnancy and there was no right or wrong time to tell her. She would have probably ran out anytime you told her. None of us had any idea that this would happen." Pulling her closer to him, he rubbed her back, and relaxed back on the bed.

"I hope Race will be okay."

Blink inhaled sharply and glanced across the room. Race sat against the wall staring intently at his hands, ignoring the comforting hand Jack placed around his shoulders. He was a complete wreck. Seeing the look in his eyes as he burst into the room was frightening, and something Blink didn't want to experience again.Oh God, please be okay Nichole. For Race's sake be okay..."

He forced a small smile for Mary. "Race will be fine. He was just shaken up seeing Nichole like that. You'll see, Nichole will rest for a few days and everything will be fine and go back to normal."

"Lets hope." Mary breathed quietly against his neck. "Let's hope."

Race banged his head soundly against the wall. Everything seemed to move in slow motion after the doctor closed the door about fifteen minutes ago. Everyone went back to their regular activities, all but forgetting the horrid scene that happened not long ago. Another five minutes past and Race groaned quiet loudly, catching the attention of a few of the boys, who looked him over, than turned back to what they were doing. He groaned, again, this time more quietly. He needed to be in that room with Nichole to comfort her if she woke up, not out here in the hallway sulking. Jack left his side long ago to lay down in his bunk, leaving him with a few words of comfort.

'Words of comfort.' He scoffed silently to himself. No words could comfort him in anyway now, no matter who they came from. He just wanted Nichole to wake up and be okay so they could move on with their lives. If that was possible.

The door creaked and Race stood speedily. The doctor gave a silent nod, allowing Race into the room. Taking his place by the bed once again, Race gently placed his hand over Nichole's, and glanced up at the doctor questionably.

"She's been assaulted pretty badly," the doctor said, looking up from his bag. Race looked up at him perplexed. "She was raped very brutally, and received many cuts and bruises," he explained, snapping his bag shut. "But she should be fine. She just needs to rest. Just be very weary when she wakes up. She was raped, and waking up and finding a man sitting next to her might terrify her. Just a fare warning."

Nodding his thanks, Race turned his attention back towards the motionless girl on the bed. It wasn't until the door closed softly behind him that he allowed himself to let everything go. Gripping her hand tighter, he rested his forehead against the ratty mattress, allowing his tears to seep through the thin blanket. How could this have happened to Nichole? His Nichole? Everything seemed surreal to him.

Lifting his head, he wiped his nose against his sleeve, and let his eyes wander over her limp body for the second time that night. Her wounds and bruises were now well cover, preventing any infections from occurring. Her curls that were once matted to her face now were pushed back, giving a clear look of her face, and a thin blanket was pulled up to her waist, covering her bare legs. Walking into the room one would have thought she just gotten into a small fight, but from the deranged look that her face held told a different story.

Inhaling a shaky breath, Race shuffled over to the opposite bed, the doctor's words echoing through his head. He wanted to be here when she woke up, but he didn't want to cause anymore damage to Nichole. "I just hope she isn't to traumatized."

A gentle knock sounded on the door. Rolling to his side with a groan, Race snuggled closer to the thin pillow. "Come in," he said softly, almost choking on his own words. The door opened leisurely and Mary's concerned face appeared.

"You okay, Race?" She moved into the room closing the door, her eyebrows knitted together in solicitude. Receiving only a grunt in reply, she cautiously moved across the room. Mary glanced at Nichole before her gaze returned to Race. "What did the doctor say?" She asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

With another grunt, Race rolled to his other side to face Mary. "I see you detached yourself from Blink." He smirked slightly, breaking the thick tension of the room. Mary giggled lightly, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yea, I wanted to come see how Nick was doing by myself. Besides, Blink said he needed sometime to think," She answered, her eyes turning back to their solemn state. "So, what did the doctor say?"

The hopeful tone of her voice, caused Race to lift his eyebrow in surprise. She already knew what the doctor said, she just want to be positive. "The doctor said that she was beat up pretty badly, but should be fine with rest. He did warn me that she might be frightened by me and the other guys when she wakes up because she was...raped."

Mary nodded slowly, understanding fully. "Well, maybe you should leave until she wakes up and I'll stay here with her." She suggested. Her hand shot up in defense at the glare Race shot her. "Okay, fine. It was just a suggestion. I though it might be better for Nick if she woke up to me instead of one of you guys."

Race growled. "I ain't leaving this room until she wakes up, and you or none of the guys are going to change my mind." Muttering a few unintelligible words to himself, he rolled over to face the wall. Mary sighed.

"Fine, you can stay in the room, but let me atleast be in the room when she does wake up," She pleaded.

"Just leave, Mary. I really don't feel like talking about this now," Race whispered, hiding his face in the depth of the pillow.

Mary opened her mouth to reason with him, but decided against it. It was already getting late, and the last thing they needed was for Nichole to wake up to her boyfriend and friend arguing with one another. With a sigh of defeat, Mary looked Nichole over one last time and promptly exited the room.

Nichole groaned. She struggled to move, but her body restricted it. Opening one eye gradually, she took in her surroundings that seemed familiar enough to her. Prying open her other eye she blink slowly clearing her vision. Than she tried to sit up. Nichole only lifted her head, the excruciating pain that shot through her body too much to grip with. Groggily, she examined her body, the events of last night foggy in her mind. 'Not to damaged.' She thought.

She quickly cursed those words. She muffled a scream as she attempted to sit up again, a pain shooting through her back, down to her legs. Falling back onto the bed, she took a deep breath calming her laborious breathing and relaxed into the mattress. Bringing her hand up to her neck, her eyebrows frowned when she found something there. Grasping the object, she lifted it to her face, only to gasp in return. It was her necklace. Everything from the night before, the Delancys, the alley, the threats, all came swarming back to her mind.

Sitting up hastily, she grunted and groaned. Gritting her teeth she fought through the pain, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She didn't care if she died trying to get out of bed, she need to talk to Mary now. She paused her agonizing struggle when her eyes landed on the opposite bed. Race laid there obviously in a restless sleep. Nichole's face softened as her eyes lovingly traveled over his sleeping form, soaking every detail she could. Shaking her head, to clear her thoughts, she set her mind back to the task she had to accomplish.

If sitting up in bed was this difficult she didn't even want to try walking. Breathing deeply, she pushed her body from the bed into a standing position, keeping one hand firmly planted on the bed for balance. Another wave of pain ran through her body, and she fell back onto the bed, her attempt failed. She repeated this three more times, but they were all met in vain. She released a loud cry, forgetting she wasn't alone in the room.

Race stirred in his sleep. Rolling onto his back, he stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He jumped from the bed immediately when he turned to check on Nichole. He eyed Nichole cautiously, and she returned the glare, her wide eyes filled with unmistakable fear.

"You okay, Nick? You want me to leave?" He asked slowly. Nichole rolled her eyes, at his attempt to be gentle with her. She didn't have time for this.

"No, I don't want you to leave. I want you to go get Mary, or atleast bring me to her," Nichole stated impatiently, trying to stand from the bed again. Race placed a hand on her shoulder gently pushing her back on the bed.

"You're not going anywhere. You need to rest."

Race pushed her head back onto the pillow, and Nichole fought weakly against him. She grabbed him by the wrist, removing his restricting hands from her shoulders. "I don't need rest, I need to talk to Mary. It's really important," Nichole interjected strongly.

"It can wait." Race assured. "You need to rest. You can talk to Mary later tonight."

"No, I need to talk to her now! I may be too late tonight!"

Race sat back confused. "What do you mean it might be to late tonight?"

Nichole again tried to sit up, but found herself pinned to the bed by Race. "Look, I can't talk about this with you just yet. Let me talk to Mary."

Race was hurt that she wanted to talk to Mary and not himself. Brushing back a few strands of her hair, he shunned away from her as she violently jerked away from him. Giving a sad sigh, he slowly moved away from her. With his hand on the doorknob, he turned and looked at her once more, making sure she wasn't going to move from the bed, and than quickly left the room, closing the door silently behind him.

Leaning against the closed door, he closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. Rubbing his forehead, he moved through the bunkroom and than into the washroom. He didn't notice that anyone else was up until, someone nearly pounced ontop of him.

"Jesus, Mary! What the hell are you are you doing?" Race questioned, trying to regain his footing. He glared at the girl that stood next to him with wide curious eyes. Mary mumbled a brief apology.

"So, did she wake up yet?" She asked speedily. Race looked her over with a bored look, and turned to wash his face.

"Don't you think you should give her some breathing room, before you go in there to ask her what happened?"

Mary growled, confounded. "Are you going to tell me if she's awake or do I have to go in there and see for myself." She felt as if she was going to strangle the boy as she watched him leisurely dry his face.

"She's awake."

Mary turned to leave, but she was too slow. Race grabbed a chunk of her shirt, pulling her back.

"Mary, please wait to see her. She did want to talk to you about something important, but she needs her rest. She doesn't need anymore strain on herself."

Ripping her arm from Race's grasp, she glared at him. "If she said it was important than maybe I should go talk to her. I mean maybe it could help us find out who did this to her."

Race nodded in agreement. "Yea, it could. But we don't need to go in there right after she wakes up asking her questions. She needs to rest."

"I know she needs to rest. I just want to see her and make sure she's all right."

Race began to protest, but the sound of the others waking up filled the room. He knew he would probably regret this later. Growling, he nodded his head swiftly. "Fine, fine. Just don't let anyone else in the room."

Mary threw him a small grin and than ran out of the washroom, dodging a half-dozen drowsy boys.

Discarding his towel, Race weaved his way through his friends, disregarding the worried looks he received. Falling onto his bed, he kicked his shoes off and pulled his covers up to his chin.

"You're not selling today?"

Race's eyes moved towards the owner of the voice. Spot stood before him, looking physically and emotionally drained. His usually neat attire was untucked, and his pink suspenders hung loosely at his side. Moving deeper into the warmth of the bed, Race shook his head.

"No, I'm not."

Moving to the bunk next to Race's, Spot sat down and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "I'm not either. I've got to many things on my mind. It wouldn't do me any good to go out there anyway, I probably wouldn't sell much." Leaning forward, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Is she all right? I mean did she wake up yet, or is she still sleeping?"

"No, she's awake," Race sighed.

"Is she okay? She wasn't afraid of you or anything?"

"She was raped, Spot!" Race exclaimed, his voice raising slightly. The anger that he held within himself for whoever did this to Nichole now showed. "Of course she was afraid of me. She didn't scream or anything, but she wouldn't let me touch her much." Race blink furiously, holding back the tears that formed in his eyes again. "I tried to smooth back her hair from her face like I always do, and she flinched away from me. The look in her eyes was pure fear. I'm…I'm afraid that things aren't ever going to be the same between us." Race babbled in a choked up voice.

Spot turned his head, unable to meet his friend's eyes. "Don't worry, Race. Whoever did this will get what's coming to them."

The door creaked open and Mary's head appeared. With caution she opened the door wider and moved her body into the room. Leaning back against the door, she closed it quietly. However, the sound was loud enough to rouse Nichole. With a start, she jumped and curled into a ball. The pain she felt was too poignant to do much more.

Cursing lightly under her breath, Mary moved across the room, kneeling at the side of the bed. "Hey, Nick. It's me, Mary. Are you okay?"

Uncurling herself, Nichole cracked her eyes open at the familiar voice. With a small sigh, she stretched her body out on the bed with care. "God, Mar. I thought you were, Race. I just can't look at him right now, or any of the other guys for that matter."

"It's okay, Nick. None of the guys have to come in here unless you want them too." Mary sat down on the edge of the bed. "Can you sit up?"

"Yea, with lots of pain involved." Nichole replied. "So, I'm not even going to try again."

Mary nodded, than glanced down at her hands, somewhat ashamed. "Do you know who did this to you? Who raped you?" She asked sheepishly

"That's not important right now-"

"What do you mean it's not important?" Mary cried incredulously, standing from the bed. "Some guy raped you and left you in alley to die, and finding out who he is isn't important?"

With some effort, Nichole propped her body up. "Will you sit down and shut up for a minute? I need to talk with you."

"No, I'm not! I want to find out who did this to you so they guys can go out and beat the shit out of him ten time worst than he did to you!"

Frustrated with her friend, Nichole balanced on her elbow, and grabbed her friend, pulling her back onto the bed. "Shut up, and listen for a minute. Mario is here in New York looking for me," Nichole whispered, pulling Mary's face inches from hers.

Mary's mouth hung agape, as she pulled away from Nichole. Gaining back her senses, she shook her head. "You're lying. Why the hell would he come all the way here looking for you? It's been what, two, three years?"

Yanking the chain from her neck, Nichole shoved it in front of Mary's face. "If I'm lying than where did I get this? Huh?"

"I don't know? You found it!" Mary shook her head, not waiting to believe what Nichole was telling her. "You could have gotten that anywhere."

"Morris Delancy found it, and when him and his brother attacked me last night they must have left it with me," Nichole stated truthfully, turning her head away from Mary's intense stare.

Mary sighed impatiently. "And what does this have to do with Mario? Where does he come into this whole thing?"

"Morris said he talked with Mario, so he is obviously somewhere in New York. He asked them to find me, hurt me enough so I couldn't just get up and walk away, and leave me in the alley so he could deal with me."

"And why didn't he?"

Nichole took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "He didn't get to me. Spot found me before he could."

"Okay," Mary answered, allowing everything just said to her to soak into her brain. "Let's just say, hypothetically, that Mario is here, in New York. What are we going to do about it?"

Nichole relaxed back onto the bed, wincing when she moved too fast. "We aren't going to do anything. I'm going to try and figure out something to do."

"What could you possibly do?" Mary asked, her voice raising again. "You can't possibly get the money you owe him. He'll kill you if he finds you and you don't have it."

Nichole rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I know that? If I don't do nothing though, he will eventually find me and kill me anyway."

Pausing, Nichole stared up at the ceiling, searching her mind for some kind of solution. Either way she played it she was screwed. There was no possible way to gather the amount of money she owed, and staying here would put Mary, the baby, and newsies in danger. Only one solution stood out in her mind, and it wasn't the easiest one, or the one she wanted to take. Breathing in deeply, Nichole prayed silently prayed for the strength to stay with her decision.

Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat Nichole asked, "Mario just wants me right? I'm the one that owes him money." Mary nodded slowly, an eyebrow raising in suspicion, unsure where Nichole was going with this. "Well, what if I left, just long enough to get him out of New York."

Mary stood, shaking her head, vigorously. "No, no, are you nuts! He will come after you and kill you! The guy is fuckin' crazy!"

"And if I do stay here he will come after me and everyone else in the lodging house." Nichole sighed sadly. Why did Mary have to make this harder than it was? "This is the only way. I don't want a mistake that I made to ruin everyone's lives." Turning her head, she tried to hide the tears that began to cloud her eyes from Mary. "I especially don't want to ruin your future, Mary. You have Blink, you're pregnant, and I'm sure you two will get married someday. It's everything you wanted in life."

Mary whimpered a small protest through her tears. "I won't have you, and that's the only thing that matters."

"No." Grabbing Mary's hand, Nichole managed to it sit up. "Kid Blink and the baby are what matter. Besides, I'm not going to be gone forever. I'll come back when I can…"

"But what if he kills you?"

Nichole sighed, and adverted her eyes towards the bed. After an uncomfortable silence she answered, "If he kills me, than I'll die knowing that I saved my friend, and that she'll have a good life."

Neither of the girls tried to hold back their tears any longer. Embracing each other, they shed every possible tear they held in their bodies. All their motions were thrown out into the open. Breaking the embrace, Nichole picked up the necklace that she disregarded on the bed, and placed it in Mary's hand, folding her fingers over it.

Mary eyebrows raised in surprise. Pushing the hand that held the necklace to Mary's chest, Nichole grinned. "Keep it. I want you to have it."

Nodding, Mary hung the chain from her neck. "So, what are you going to tell Race? I really don't think he's just going to let you leave." She whispered, drying the tears from her face. "And how are you going to leave if you can't even get out of bed?"

Nichole shrugged. "I'm going to wait until I can get out of bed, but I have to go as soon as possible. I should be fine in a few days. And I'm not going to tell Race. I don't think I would be able to leave if I did."

"So, what are you going to do? Just get up and leave?"

"It's the easiest way. I don't think I could go through telling everyone that I'm leaving. It's just way too much to handle. Do me a favor though." Nichole asked grabbing, Mary's hand. Mary nodded, and Nichole continued. "After I leave tell Race everything, and assure him I'll come back--"

"But you may not--" Mary winced slightly as Nichole squeezed her hand tighter.

"Just tell him that I'm coming back." Nichole's eyes pleaded. Mary ripped her eyes from Nichole pleading ones, and slowly nodded her head. She was taken back when Nichole threw her arms around her. Her forehead wrinkled in concern as she felt Nichole jerk in pain. Slowly pulling back, Mary pushed Nichole down on the bed.

"Rest. You're going to need it if you want to get out of here in the next few days." Mary sniffed, close to tears again. Clutching the ring that hung around her neck, Mary stood and turned her back to Nichole. She began to advance towards the door, but Nichole's voice stopped her.

"Yea?"

Nichole gave an infectious grin. "Talk to ya tomorrow?"

Mary managed to return the smile and nodded. Turning, she left the room, restraining the tears she so desperately wanted to release.

The next few days passed slowly. Nichole and Mary talked sporadically, keeping their secret to themselves. Nichole strayed from the guys only saying a few words to them if they came into her room. Nobody found this suspicious, until Mary usher Race into the room, with no explanation.

"Mary, what the hell are you doing? I was just going to start a poker game," Race complained, ripping his arm from Mary's grasp. As he did this, he noticed he stood in front of Nichole's room. He glanced at Mary, questionably. "Does she want to talk to me."

Mary sensed the relieve in his voice, and turned her eyes away from his. She almost wasn't able to answer, but she managed a small nod. Before Race could ask any more questions, Mary returned to the bunkroom, leaving Race on his own.

Knocking on the door, he entered not waiting for an answer. He stopped short when he saw Nichole sitting on the edge of the bed, staring solemnly at the wall. Race cleared his throat and walked to the bed.

"Nichole, you wanted to talk to me?" Race sat down on the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she inhaled quickly. Opening her eyes again she turned towards him.

"Yea, but I really don't know where to start." Clearing her throat, she glanced down at her folded hands. She tensed as Race tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Just relax and take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Nichole closed her eyes again, realizing how difficult this was going to be. She exhaled gustily, choosing her words, slowly. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything I put you through, and that I love you." Releasing a shaky breath, she wiped away her tears before Race had a chance too.

He eyed her curiously, searching her face for an explanation. Find none, he reached up and wiped a stray tear form her face, grinning when she didn't flinch away. "I love you too, and you don't need to apologize. I'm just glad that you're okay."

Nichole nodded, and without thinking, she threw her arms around Race, embracing him tightly. Race was surprised at first, but he recovered and wrapped his arms protectively around her.

Nichle's head swarmed with emotions, it was all she could do from breaking down. Pulling back, she slide an arm around his neck and kissed him firmly. Pushing him away, she turned her clouded eyes away from his. Ignoring his intense stare, she whispered, "Good-bye, Race."

Again, Race glanced at her curiously. He wanted so badly to just grab her by the shoulders, and ask her what was bothering her, but he knew not to badger her. Complying too her wish, he stood, leaving Nichole as he found her, staring solemnly at the wall.

Grabbing the hat, from her bedpost, she fingered it gingerly. She sighed, remembering the day Race bought it for her, to keep her from stealing his. Placing the hat on her head, she laid down on the bed, lost in her own thoughts.

The light of the moon shined brightly on the lodging house, as a lone figure silently slipped out a window. The figure slide down the fire escape, and into the illuminated streets of the city. A block from the lodging house, the figure froze and turned catching on last glance at the old worn down building. Than in the blink of an eye the small figure was gone, enveloped in the darkness of the night.

Epilogue

The night was a clear one, as clear as a night could get in the city of New York. Even though it was dark the stars and moon lighted the streets and buildings, creating an illuminated look.

The distress cry of a baby broke through the silence of the night.

"Nick, it's okay baby. I'm right here." Mary balanced the tiny baby boy on her hip, and gently cooed to him. Switching him to her other side, she carefully lowered herself to the ground and glanced up at the sky.

She smiled at her son, who now sat in her lap. After Nichole left nothing drastically changed. Of course, everyone was upset, but they soon got over it, understanding the reason why she left. You could say that some of them even respected her for it. Race took it the hardest, throwing a fit and destroying the bunkroom. He didn't want to believe what he was being told at first, but he soon accepted it.

"You would have like Nichole, Nick," She whispered to the gurgling baby. "Maybe you can still meet her. I know she's out there somewhere, looking at the same stars we are." Her hand automatically lifted to the ring that hadn't left her neck since the night Nichole gave it to her.

"Hey, what are you two doing up here?"

Mary grinned brightly when she saw Kid Blink behind her. Waving him over, she pulled him down next to her, bouncing Nick lightly on her knee. "Nothing, we're just looking at the stars."

Blink raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay? I know you and Nichole use to come up her all the time--"

She shook her head, and interjected," No, no, I'm fine. I need to reminisce sometimes. It helps."

Blink nodded and lifted the baby from Mary's arms, tickling his stomach lightly. "You think she's going come back? It's been a year."

"I know she's coming back." Mary stated strongly. "I mean she got me out of the orphanage and her alive. Nick's strong, and I know she is still out there somewhere."

Ripping his eyes away from the sky, he glanced over at Mary. He admired her for holding her own in this mixed up situation, believing the impracticable. Standing he dusted himself off and help Mary to his feet.

"We should go inside. Nick needs to take his nap."

Mary nodded and told him to go on without her. "I'll be right there," She said.

Straining her neck, she glanced up at the sky, her eyes searching the clusters of stars. A faint smile dangled from the edge of her lips as fingered Nichole's ring.

"The stars will guide you…"