I'm there, right by your side

6 - An Unexpected Encounter

(20th August 1899)

A few weeks had gone by and Katherine and Jack were closer than ever. He was still out working away and Katherine sat nervously at home. He finally had the time to come to her place and it scared her. Her place wasn't anywhere near as fancy as her family home, but it was still a lot more than what he had. She was also excited though. It was the first time they'd be together, out of the public streets of New York and away from the lodge. It was the first time they'd be truly alone, together. At 4 she headed down into newsies square to meet him. He sat waiting for her twiddling his fingers nervously. She sat beside him. "Hey." She said softly. He turned and hugged her tightly.

"Ace!" He smiled. "I'm so glad to see you."

"You saw me this morning Jack?" She said softly with a chuckle, running her fingers though his hair.

"I know. I just have had a rough day." He said as he let go and looked down.

"I'm sorry J. Let's head to mine and we can talk about it. If you want. I have a surprise for you there." She said rubbing his back. He gave a nod. "You'll be okay Jack. Remember. I'm here. Right by your side." She said as they stood up.

"For Sure?" He looked down slightly into her eyes.

"For sure." She smiled and kissed him softly. "Let's get going." She held his hand in hers and walked him to her place. She could see the pain in his eyes and squeezed his hand a little tighter. The walk was only about 10 minutes and soon she was unlocking her apartment door. "Here we are." She still held his hand as they went in. "This is the main room with a small kitchen area, a couch by the fire, and my desk where I write all my articles. And though here is my bedroom and the bathroom is off to the side." There was a queen size bed, a dresser and closet and a bookshelf.

"That's my drawing?" Jack said walking over to the shelf.

"Sure is Jack. My three most treasured items. The two front page articles, and the first drawing you did of me at Miss Meddas show." She said smiling at him.

"I could draw you another picture that's much better."

"I'd love that for my desk. A drawing of the pair of us so I have you with me. But this one will always be the most special because that evening was when I started to see something in you. Jack Kelly." She looked up at him and saw a blush in his cheeks. "Are you hungry Jack? Do you want anything to eat?"

"No I'm good. I can't take food from you knowing the others are struggling back at the lodge. I promised myself I wouldn't take advantage of you, and using you for food seems like I'm taking advantage of your position." Jack said quickly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."

"Jack, it's fine. I understand. Now. Let's sit and talk. What happened today?" She asked softly, being as respectful as she could.

"Well, Ace. I never really told you much about my family. And that's because it hurts to talk about them. My mother. She died when I was young trying to give birth to my baby brother. Neither of them made it. Her death caused my father to become an alcoholic, which meant he was always drunk and spent all our money on alcohol and not on food to feed me. He did some pretty bad stuff and was thrown in jail, on my 9th birthday. That's when I first moved to the lodge." He took a deep breath. That had been the easier side to it. He rested his head on Katherine's shoulder and she rubbed her hand over his back. "I saw him today. He's been released. And I didn't know how to react. So I ran away from him. Back to the lodge and didn't sell any more papes. I handed them to Davey for him to sell with the agreement that the money made from them was to buy food for everyone to share. I ran up to the roof and just cried. I didn't know why. Probably because of my dad. But I just cried. I then got ready to see you and then waited in newsies square. But I'm scared Katherine."

"It's okay. I'm here to help you though this Jack." She said softly. He had called her Katherine, which showed how scared and serious he was. He never called her that anymore. The last few weeks he had only ever called her Ace or Kath. She loved that the boys had all begun calling her Kath, it made them seem more like real friends, which they where. It sounded less formal as she'd always been Katherine to her parents, family and other important people, such as her boss or fellow employees. Katherine stood up and pulled him up too. She put her arms around him and held him close. "I've got you. Don't worry. I'm here. If you need to cry, cry. I'm here to comfort you love." She said softly. The moment she said that Jack began to cry softly into her shoulder. She just stood there, comforting him, whispering reassuring words to him.