* * *
1900
Jack inhaled the sweet smell of early spring. According to the groundhog, it was supposed to be an early spring. This early thaw seemed proof enough that spring was coming and soon. The snow had melted some overnight and the sun was shining with no clouds in the sky.
"Ain't it a fine life?" he sang out, joining in song with the other newsies.
A snowball hit him in the back of the head, and Jack grabbed a handful of snow and retaliated at Kid Blink. As it turned out, it was Crescendo who had chucked that snowball at him, and there was no time for Jack to warn Blink before the snowball hit him. Blink flew backward upon impact, and Jack shot off, laughing. He puffed as he slowed down for the breakfast wagon.
The nuns had hot coffee and cinnamon rolls waiting this morning, a welcome surprise for the newsies any day. Jack thanked the nuns sincerely and gulped down the coffee and left behind no crumbs to the cinnamon roll. He felt satisfied as he continued on to the distribution yard, feeling full and ready to tease Weasel. Weasel tried to leave the newspaper several months before, but due to his awful bedside manner, he was stuck here.
"Oh Mr. Weeeeeeaseeeeeeeel!" He chimed as he rang the overheard bell.
The front window was raised and Weasel appeared with his usual grimy scowl decorating his face. Unshaven and pale, he rubbed his nose with his hand and dropped a book onto the counter.
"Aww, rubbin' ya nose?" Jack joshed with sarcastic sympathy. "Did ya really miss me that much?"
"Shut up, Cowboy." he growled. "The usual?"
"Yeah, th' usual." he slammed five dimes on the counter. "Bring 'em on, I'll sell 'em all!"
"If you sell all of them today, I'll give you your papes for free tomorrow."
It was obvious by Weasel's tone that he didn't believe for a second that Jack could sell them all. Jack shook his head. Two years Weasel had been putting up with his nonsense and he still underestimated Jack's abilities. Jack grinned and accepted.
"I'll take that bet." he said wryly. "An' if I don't sell jus' one, then I'll gladly pay one penny for each pape I buy t'morrow."
"Deal." Weasel muttered slyly.
The assistant dropped Jack's papers on the counter. "Cowboy, you sure this is a smart move?" he wondered.
He hefted the stack of papers onto his shoulder. "Come on, it's me!"
The assistant rolled his eyes as Jack stepped off the platform and pulled out a paper to scan the headlines with. The newsies behind him ordered their papers and Race took a seat beside Jack, comparing headlines and how they should improve the better ones.
Then David and Les appeared, and Jack was ready to greet them, but they had a little surprise with them: Sarah. Jack hadn�t seen Sarah in several days, due to the fact that she had to tend to an elderly neighbor who had fallen ill. He leapt to his feet, raced to her and met her with a sound kiss. Most of the newsies began cat-calling in a good-natured way.
�That�s th� way t� go, Jack!� Snoddy hollered.
Jack separated himself from Sarah and ran a finger along her cheek. �Didja miss me, sweetie?�
�I�m your girl, Jack.� She reminded him, her voice sugary. �Why wouldn�t I miss you after six days?�
�Kiss me �gain, I ain�t convinced.�
Grinning, she did as he said, increasing the warmth of their embrace. When they parted, Race handed Jack his papers and snickered as he trotted off toward the races. Jack looped his arm around Sarah�s waist as he walked her from the courtyard.
�So didja jus� come by t�day t� lemme know how much ya missed me?�
�Of course.� She snuggled against him. �But I�m afraid I need to help Mama catch up with her crocheting. She�s fallen behind since I left.�
�Then I�ll escort ya back like a gentleman would.�
When she giggled, Jack made a sweeping bow and tipped his hat to prove his gentlemanly nature. She was charmed, and he led her home through the crunchy snow-coated streets. They parted with another kiss, and then Jack went to sell his newspapers.
�Extry, extry, little green men spotted �round t� Bermuda Triangle!�
He cackled as he sold nearly two dozen papers, the headline about seasick sailors being the cause. And as he had boasted to Weasel earlier that day, Jack sold each and every one of his newspapers, even before lunchtime.
Proud of himself, Jack headed for Tibby�s and met up with Dancer and Mush along the way. They chatted about headlines until they reached the restaurant and took a table together. Several other newsies were present and waved hello to their leader.
Jack enjoyed a warm meal and many conversations before heading home to the lodging house. Kloppman was sure to have a pot of coffee brewing by this time. Jack was right, but the coffee was being brewed for company. A courier was in the lobby of the lodging house, being offered a cup before he left.
Kloppman took notice of the young man and alerted the guest. The courier set the mug of hot coffee down and took an envelope from his pocket.
�Are you Francis Sullivan?� he inquired.
Jack scowled. �Who wants t� know?�
�I have a telegram for a Francis Sullivan.�
His brow furled further. �Who�s it from? I don�t know no one who�d send me no telegram.�
�According to this envelope, it�s from the state penitentiary.�
Shrugging, Jack took the telegram and thanked the courier. He knew that this had to be news from his father. He had probably fallen ill and wanted his son to bring him some cigarettes or something like that. But if he did, why would he bother with a telegram? Weren�t convicts forbidden the right to sending telegrams?
Reaching his bunk, Jack leapt onto it and tore open the envelope. There was little typed inside, but it was enough to allow Jack to know that his life would never, ever be the same again after this message. He curled onto his side and felt several tears slide down his face.
He heard someone coming, and he sat up and dried the tears from his eyes. He would allow the newsies to know the news he had just received, but he would not let them see him cry. If he cried, they would no longer view him as the fearless leader that many believed him to be.
Jake and Itey were the newsies who had just entered. They saw the desolate expression on Jack�s face and became rather worried.
�Jack, you okay?� Itey wondered. �Ya don�t look so good.�
�I�got a telegram t�day.� He forced past the lump in his throat.
�That must mean ya learned somethin� really important, huh?� Jake said.
�Yeah, kinda. I jus� found out that�my papa��e�s a convict, an� �e passed away two weeks ago.�
�Oh.� Jake and Itey said together.
�Gee, I�m awful sorry t� hear that.� Jake responded.
�Anythin� we cin do t� help?� Itey offered.
�Jus��let th� newsies know.� One tear slid past his defenses. �An��gimme some room. I�m gonna need some for�a while.�
�No problem. We�ll give ya all th� space ya need.�
* * *
2377
�Come on, bring it! Bring it on! Let�s go! You�re not so tough! You�re not bad! You know who�s bad? You�re looking at him!� Rick Biessman roared.
�Rick, get down!� Alexander Munro, the commanding officer, ordered again.
Rick paid no attention, and Telsia Murphy was seriously worried. She knew Rick�s violent temper and his passion combined often to make a deadly blend, especially in a situation as this. These creatures with glowing red eyes, long fangs and claws, hard shells on their backs and the guns attached to their arms made them lethal opponents. How she, Rick, Alex and Chell had survived this long against so many was beyond her.
However, Rick had stepped in when everything had seemed hopeless. These creatures were swarming and attacking at an alarming rate. Telsia and Chell had taken cover behind one of the two barriers siding several canisters where hibernating creatures were contained. Rick hid behind the other while Alex stood ground by an energy terminal for his many weapons. Rick had stepped up to take out the aliens himself when he couldn�t shoot clearly.
�He�s doing it! He�s stopping them!� Chell exclaimed excitedly.
Telsia felt somewhat more relieved. Rick had killed many of these creatures with no help from the rest of the away team. But now, more and more creatures kept leaping from the upper level or from behind force fields and in greater numbers. Telsia�s fingers tightened around the trigger of her phaser compression rifle, ready to fire when Alex gave the command or Rick demanded assistance.
Apparently, Rick was targeting the creatures grouped together and didn�t notice one off to the side. That lone creature raised its left arm, the arm that shot the deadly yellow charges. It fired once at Rick, and then again. The second charge hit Rick Biessman square in the heart.
�Rick!� Telsia screamed in utter terror.
Another charge hit Rick as he was sent flying backward and the scavenger rifle flew from his hands.
�No!� Alex cried.
Rick wasn�t moving, and Telsia�s temper and sniping skills were fully charged. Rising and rushing toward a group of creatures, she fired full power at one and vaporized it. Alex went to fire from another angle, while Chell remained sheltered and fired a few rounds at the creatures. But Telsia was raging. She vaporized the creature that had shot Rick and savored the pleasure.
She vaporized another creature, and then another. Five. Seven. And they kept coming. Her rifle�s energy was draining quickly. She cast a quick glance back at Rick, and he hadn�t moved at all. She felt numb inside. Was he�dead?
A harvester, a hellish spider-like creature, scrambled quickly toward Rick�s body. Telsia took aim and vaporized it. She checked her rifle�s energy levels for how many shots she had left. She had enough to fire four regular charges or to vaporize one more. Maybe, as the Klingons would say, this was a good day to die.
As she took aim at another harvester she heard a door off to the side opening. Fear had no place, but she felt that this was the end if more of these creatures were coming. Instead, it was the second away team!
Led by Lt. Commander Tuvok, the away team came out firing at the creatures, ending the onslaught. Since Telsia had no energy left in her rifle, she rushed to Rick�s side, knelt and grasped his wrist, praying for any sign of a pulse. His skin was cold and paling, and she felt no movement of blood.
Her heart began hammering as she pressed her fingers to Rick�s neck in futile hope that there would be the faintest glimmer of life there. But there was nothing. Telsia became frantic.
�Juliet!� she cried.
Juliet Jurot, the Hazard Team medic, set her rifle aside and rushed to Telsia. Drawing her medical tricorder from her transporter buffer, she scanned Rick for any life signs. The shrill, incessant beep from the device was proof enough: Rick was gone.
�Isn�t there anything you can do for him?� Telsia demanded, unprepared to give up.
Juliet gazed at her, shaking her head, her eyes wet as she rose. �Oh, Telsia.�
Telsia knew by Juliet�s empathic ability to read thoughts and her soft heart that she knew exactly what was on Telsia�s heart right now. Telsia had been in love with Rick since their days with the Maquis. Why had she waited so long without telling him?
She could feel the tears, but she suppressed them in the way she suppressed her fear. She couldn�t cry here, Tuvok would never approve. Everyone else here would understand her feelings, but Tuvok being the supervising officer of the Hazard Team, he would be disappointed at her lack of control. She swallowed back her tears the way any Vulcan would and hated herself for it.
All of the creatures in this adjunct were eliminated, and Telsia heard Alex behind her, thanking Tuvok was in his intervention. Telsia swallowed hard, disintegrating the lump in her throat.
�Munro�he�s dead.� She murmured, lacking any emotion whatsoever.
�Dead?�No, he can�t be!� Chell denied.
�He saved us all�� she had to stop speaking to stay in control.
Tuvok began to speak about his opinion of Rick to pay his respect, but Telsia couldn�t hear. All she could hear was her heart asking her head why she couldn�t have told Rick sooner. And the next thing she knew, Rick�s body was beamed away back to Voyager.
She felt stiff and couldn�t move. Feeling Alex�s hand on her shoulder as he listened to Tuvok�s orders, she touched it, but made no other movement. He drew his hand away.
�Right.� He muttered, confirming Tuvok�s orders. �Chang, Jurot, you�re with me, then.�
Juliet offered Telsia a sympathetic glance as she turned to follow Alex. It was times like this that Telsia wished she was telepathic as well so she could communicate mentally with other telepaths. But no, she was human, and had no powers that the Betazoid had. All she could do was accept Juliet�s gesture without knowing anything more.
Tuvok�s orders for her were to join him and Commander Chakotay locating the generator in the Forge, then to wait for Alex�s away team with an escape shuttlecraft when they were located. She could be alone while she waited. At least then she would have time to nurse her grievances.
She tried to stand but couldn�t. Chell noticed her inability and came to her side, offering support. She thanked him as she steadied herself. Chell was always the one to lend the hand that was needed.
�Telsia, are you okay?� Chell wondered.
His Bolian sweetness had always touched her. She could lie, but that would do nothing for her feelings. She shook her head.
�No.� was all that could be forced past the large lump forming in her throat.
* * *
