"I'm glad you're well, Hannah," she said. "You stay out of the cold, and for goodness' sakes don't go to the sanatorium to see Mr. O'Reilly. In your weakened state you could get tuberculosis very easily."
"Yes, ma'am," I replied quietly, looking down at the floor. I very much wanted to see Mr. O'Reilly again, but since I couldn't, I had been writing him letters, unbeknownst to the nuns. Skittery would sneak into the hospital every night to see me and give me messages from his father.
"Ready ta go home, Hannah?"
I looked up to see Skittery standing there, grinning. I hugged him tightly. "Yes."
Despite the way Sister Martha had treated me part of the time I was at the hospital, I hugged her and thanked her. Then, it was out of that hospital room forever.
Skittery helped me down the stairs, for although I could walk, I had great difficulty in climbing and descending the staircases at the hospital. "Here," he said, wrapping his thick scarf around my neck, "ya need this more than I do. 'Tis very cold out, an' ya have to keep warm while we walk."
We walked together for several blocks before Skittery stopped me in front of a carriage. "Denton, a friend of us newsies, is here in town. He offered ta drive us back to th' lodging house."
"Really?" I asked, surprised.
Skittery grinned at me. "Really. Here, let me help ya get in."
He supported me as I climbed up into the carraige. A man wearing a bowler hat turned and shook hands with Skittery. He then turned to me.
"Hi, Hannah. I'm Brian Denton."
"Hello," I smiled. "Thank you kindly for this favor."
He smiled. "You're very welcome, Hannah."
The ride wasn't much longer, and finally we stopped in front of the lodge. Denton jumped out of the carriage and he and Skittery helped me down. Several of the newsies were waiting to greet me at the door; among those were Monkey, Twiggy, Ribbons, Racetrack, Mush, Cheater, and Coaldust. I noticed that Coal had his arms around Gem, but I didn't ask any questions.
"Hey Hannah," Coal said.
I looked up at him and smiled. "Hello."
"Ya feelin' betta?"
I nodded and he motioned to Gem. "This is my goil right heah. I believe ya know 'er?"
"Yes, Gem and I have...met, I believe," I said, eyeing her.
She averted her eyes to the ground. "Hey Hannah," she mumbled.
The other newsies that were present surrounded me and immediately began asking questions such as, "How ya feelin'?" and, "Do ya need anyt'ing?"
It surprised me that they were so caring. Before, I had been under the impression that most of them didn't like me. Maybe most of it was my imagination, I thought to myself. True, Gem and several of the other girls disliked me; that much I was sure of. But, now, for some reason, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but my friends...Skit.
He interrupted my thougts at that moment. "C'mon, let's get ya upstairs."
Slowly, we descended the stairs leading to the bunkroom. Skittery stopped with me at the door. "I'm glad yer home, Hannah."
He kissed my forehead. "Get some good rest. I'll see ya in th' mornin'."
"Good night, Skittery," I whispered, grinning at him.
I turned and entered the bunkroom, lying down on my bunk. Soon, sleep found me and I rested better than I had in a long time.