Time Truly Divides || Newsies Time Travel AU

Chapter 15

Davey looked at his feet as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Silence fell between the two and Race wanted to fill it with talk of something, anything, but knew deep down that it was the wrong thing to do.

"We kissed," Davey said suddenly after a few minutes of silence.

"Who?"

"Jack and I." Race nodded, realising why Davey had been texting him so much, trying to find out if Jack was okay. "He ran away and I wanted to know he was okay and then I found him all bloody and bet up."

"Come with me," Race said suddenly. "Come see him."

"No, he won't want to see me."

"He will. Jack's been miserable and he needs you Davey. He really like you. Really likes you."

"I'll have to ask," Davey said slowly. He wanted to see Jack but a part of him was scared. What if Jack didn't feel the way he did? Or what if Jack hated him and he was back to square one with no friends again? "But I'll try."

~~~

Jack's grip on Medda's hand was loose as he slept. The few minutes he'd woken up for were both so relieving and painful. Jack was awake, that was something. He was awake and okay but he was in pain and struggling to express his pain.

"Hi." Race's quiet voice brought Medda and Crutchie's attention away from Jack. "How is he?"

"In pain last time he woke up," Crutchie offered, pulling a chair to beside him and nodding for Race to sit there.

Race nodded and stepped into the room, revealing Spot.

"Spot, I didn't realise you were here," Medda said, glancing between the two boys.

"I just wanted to make sure Race got here safe. I'm going now. Foster parents want me home in thirty minutes."

"Alright, if you ever have any trouble with them, you come straight to me. You hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Medda smiled as Spot left the small room, waving goodbye to Race as he did so.

"You and Spot seem to be getting on very well," she commented, looking back at Race.

"Oh, yeah. We're getting on good." Race looked at Crutchie and almost barely shook his head. That was another day's conversation to have.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that." Medda wasn't going to push Race to tell her, she respected his privacy and would let him do it at his own pace.

They went back to looking at Jack, Medda gently stroking Jack's eyebrow. As his eyebrows started to scrunch up, Medda stopped and placed her hand instead of Jack's shoulder.

"Jesus Christ," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut after opening them for just a moment. "I'm gonna kill the sun."

"You can do that once you're better," Medda promised, patting Jack's arm.

"Okay."

Race smiled and took Jack's other hand. "How are you feeling, Jack?"

Jack turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Race. "Like I got beat into the dirt."

"Yeah. That was a stupid question."

"Is Maria going to be here soon?" Jack asked, "to talk to me about where the injuries came from."

Crutchie and Race glanced at Medda who nodded slightly to them. "Who's Maria, honey?"

"My social worker. You should know her if you're fostering me, Medda." Jack went silent for a moment. "She didn't place me with you. Another social worker did. Did I get reassigned to a different social worker?"

"Jack, darling, slow down for a minute. When were you born?"

"2006."

"The doctors said they wanted to talk to you once you woke up. Are you okay to talk to them?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Jack answered. "I can talk to them."

"Alright, honey. I'll go get the doctor and let you boys chat."

Jack turned his head to Race and Crutchie. "Why wasn't Race here earlier but you were?"

"Funny story," Crutchie started. "They said they were going to call my social worker so I skipped and came here."

"I get that. I've ran away from my social worker a few times."

A knocking came in the door and Race didn't get the chance to think about Jack's statement.

"Hi, um, can I come in?"

"We'll leave you two alone," Race said, tapping Crutchie on the shoulder and raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah. We'll let you talk."

The pair left the room, trying to look like they weren't rushing to leave the tension that had built between Jack and Davey at his appearance.

"We need to talk," Davey stated, stepping in slightly from the doorway.

~~~
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