Wherever You Go

Chapter 10

AN: For my first update in a while, I decided to leave you with a cliff hanger type thing. You're welcome.

After a while, it seemed very obvious that giving each other side hugs wasn't nearly enough to satisfy Jack and Katherine, but with the baby it was hard to do anything more. So, eventually, Clara took Anna from her father's arms and quietly took her downstairs and outside, forgetting all about a certain Oscar Delancey. Unfortunately, you couldn't say the same thing for Oscar, who had been waiting impatiently.

"What did you do with Katherine?" He got right to the point.

"Oh, um, she's still in there, and the baby needed some fresh air so I offered to bring her out here." She wasn't really lying... not technically. Oscar raised his eyebrows.

"And what, might I ask, is Katherine doing in there that's taking up so much time?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but she's still talking to the boys." Clara's voice sounded a lot more confident than she felt.

"Uh huh, now, that is interesting. Because I saw two newsboys run past a few minutes ago, so those two obviously aren't in there. And it seems much quieter than normal."

"Uh, that's because... because..." Because what? She was trying to cover for her friends but she was running out of ideas. "That's because only the quiet boys are there right now." Clara wanted to slap herself. Oscar and his brother had been distributing papers to the boys for years. He knew better than most people that none of those boys were ever quiet.

"You mean the quiet boys that don't exist?"

"Um..." Clara knew that he had figured it out, so she stepped in front of the door in an attempt to stop him.

"She's up there with Kelly, isn't she?" Oscar growled, pulling her roughly away from the doorway, and she held Anna close to her as he did. He didn't give her a chance to reply before storming into the Lodging House.

oOo

Jack and Katherine were holding each other on the roof (let's face it, they were making out on the roof) when they heard a set of heavy footsteps climbing up the stairs. They pulled away and Katherine quickly backed away from him. Those footsteps obviously didn't belong to Clara. This was confirmed when Oscar Delancey appeared. Jack stiffened.

"Katherine. Go downstairs." He ordered Katherine, but she shook her head.

"I can't leave you." Jack gritted his teeth. Now was not the time for her to be stubborn.

"Go, Ace. I'll be fine."

"You'd better listen to him, Katherine. You're not gonna want to see this." Oscar cut in. Katherine's gaze drifted between the two of them for a moment, before she sighed. What was about to happen was inevitable, whether she stayed or not. And, Oscar was right, she didn't want to see it. So, she gave Jack an apologetic look before taking off back down the stairs.

"Now, Jack Kelly." Oscar spat out his name like it was garbage. "Let's have some fun."

oOo

After about half an hour of Katherine pacing outside the lodging house and vocalizing all of the problems in her life, and no sign of either Oscar or Jack, Clara managed to convince Katherine to just go home and relax. Of course, she had to be assured that Anna would be fine and that Clara would check on Jack as soon as Oscar was done with him. After another half hour of standing outside the building and holding the baby with no sign of Oscar, Clara started to get worried about Jack. What could possibly be going on in there that take an hour? Fifteen minutes later, the door flew open and Oscar Delancey stormed out. He paused.

"Where's Katherine?" He asked, looking around.

"Um, she's in her apartment." Clara replied, taken aback.

"You let her leave?"

"If I didn't, she would've worried herself to death."

"Fine." Oscar sighed and stalked off without another word. As soon as he was gone, Clara hurried into the Lodging House to find Jack, but she stopped short in the doorway when she saw him.

"Oh my god."