As Night Falls- A Newsies Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Once the doctors left, Davey turned to the woman.

"Now tell us everything." he said. 

"Well," the woman started, "To start with, my name is Clara Plumber."

"Plumber?" Jack asked. "You means like Katherine's fake name?" 

"She didn't get that from her own mind. Plumber was her mother's maiden name. Rose Plumber. She was an amazing woman, but she died in a carriage accident when Katherine was six. After her death, Joseph cut all ties with Rose's family. That's why Katherine never knew her aunt." Jack and Davey were following along well.

"So, you mean to tell us that you're Katherine's aunt?" Davey asked. Clara nodded.

"Yes. Just recently, I decided that I wanted to see Katherine again, no matter what her father said. So I went to his house and asked to see her. But then he told me that he disowned her and sent her away. So I set out to find her, and sure enough, I saw you boys in an alley and followed you back to that Lodge place." Davey was stunned, but Jack's attention was back on Katherine. He stood at the door for about an hour before Davey finally convinced him to sit down. After over thirty minutes, a doctor came into the waiting room. Jack jumped up.

"Is she okay?" he asked. The doctor nodded.

"We think she'll be fine. We had to rush her into emergency surgery. She needed stitches in her arm, two different places on her leg, her head, and her side. It's a miracle that one didn't kill her already, but it appears no internal damage was done other then two cracked ribs. She also has a slight concussion and her wrist and collarbone are fractured. She's still waking up, but we think she's ready for visitors." Davey and Clara stood and followed Jack and the doctor through the door and past many hospital rooms. Jack saw a little girl and her father sitting with her dying mother in one room. Knowing what he knew now, it made him think of Katherine. She had never told him that she had been through such a loss. They arrived at Katherine's room, and Jack braced himself as the doctor opened the door. Her head raised slowly as the door opened. Jack rushed over to her and took her hand. One of her wrists was wrapped tightly in a bandage, preventing it from moving. There were more bandages tied around her arm and the back of her head. 

"Jack....?" she asked, almost too quiet to hear. 

"Yes, it's me. It's Jack. You're safe." he said, hating that tears were forming in his eyes. Davey sat on the other side of the bed, but he didn't take her hand for fear of hurting her fractured wrist. Clara sat next to Davey. Katherine's head shifted slightly.

"Davey...?" she asked. Davey nodded.

"We're here Katherine. We found you and brought you to the hospital." he said. Katherine noticed Clara.

"Who are..." she trailed off with a wince, her uninjured hand pulling out of Jack's grip and flying to her side. 

"I'm Clara Plumber." Clara said.

"Wait....what...?" Katherine asked.

"I'll explain it all when you're better." Clara said. "For now, you need to rest and heal. I suppose I'd best be on my way. I'll come back tomorrow." Clara stood up and walked to the door.

"Thank you so much for this." Davey said. "If it weren't for you, Katherine would probably be..." Davey couldn't finish that sentence, but they all knew what he meant. If she hadn't been taken to the hospital, Katherine would've died. 

"Of course. I'm just making up for all the lost time." Clara said. She turned and left the room.