Always and Forever... Maybe *Spot Conlon*

Chapter 33: Paid for it Again

I gasp. Somebody grabs my arm, holding me steady back on the roof.

"Jesus, Danny, what were you thinkin' standin' so close to the edge of the roof?" Jack asks, his voice frantic. If only he knew what I was about to do.

I step away from his grasp. "I'm fine."

Jack sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "They's lettin' Spot have visitors now."

My heart skips. "He made it?"

Jack nods. "Yeah, he did. The doctor says he should be fine, but he'll have to stay here for a few days before he can back on his feet."

How long had I been on the roof? And oh my, I almost just killed myself for no reason. Spot's fine. I didn't do anything wrong. It all worked out. For now, at least.

"You wanna see him?" Jack asks.

I nod. "Yes."

I basically run down the steps. A nurse leads me into Spot's room. They're only allowing him one visitor at the time. I don't ask where Tie went. I walk into the room. Spot's lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to a bunch of beeping machines. His shirt is off, his stomach bandaged. His eyes are closed.

I walk slowly over to the side of the bed, running my hand down the sheet. His hands lay limp by his sides. I pick one up, running my fingers over his knuckles. A tear slides down my cheek, but I brush it away.

He's alive. He's going to make it. I didn't do anything wrong. We'll get our time together.

I walk out of Spot's room ten minutes later. I know the boys are still here, and so is Denton. They're talking to a doctor.

"What's goin' on?" I ask. Everyone turns towards me.

"We's discussin' how much this is gonna cost," Jack says. I pause. I forgot about how expensive hospital bills are, especially for kids like us who have no money.

"Oh," I say quietly.

"I know you kids can't afford much, but I can only give you so much of a discount. We still have to make profits, you understand that. If I could make it free, I could. I'll give you a discount, but the rest you're going to have to come up with," the doctor says.

Mush's face brightens, as if this is good news. Or if he had an idea. He leans down and whispers something to Chet, who I'm just noticing. Chet nods, and then leaves the hosptial. It's still dark out. 

"Where are you sendin' him?" I ask Mush. "It's still dangerous out there."

Mush shakes his head. "He knows where he's goin' and that's all that mattas. The rest will work out."

Denton turns to us. "I'll help with part of the bill. I'll go to the lodging house, let all the boys know."

"I'll go too. We'll find any money we can, so we can at least know where we stand," Jack says. He turns to me. "You'll be alright?"

I nod.

"I'll stay here with her," Mush says. Denton and Jack leave, and Mush and I sit in chairs. Tie walks in a few minutes later. Mush stands and tells him everything.

"I'll go to Brooklyn, get what money we can," Tie says.

"You wanna go see him?" I ask.

Tie shakes his head. "Not right now. I can't."

I nod. Tie leaves the hospital and Mush and I sit down again. The next person who walks in is not at all who I'm expecting.

"Jeremiah?"

Jeremiah smiles. "Hey Danny."

I stand up. "Jeremiah, what are you doing here?" 

"I was told to come here by a boy. He said that Mush needed me."

I glance at Mush. "What?"

Mush shrugs. "I figured there was somethin' he could do."

"What could Jeremiah do? Spot's been stabbed by the Bronx."

"Wait Spot got stabbed by the Bronx?" Jeremiah asks. 

Mush nods. "Yeah. I figured we could do somethin', like call the police now."

"The police ain't gonna stop the Bronx. We gotta get money for Spot's bills right now."

"I'll pay them," Jeremiah says.

I turn to him. "No, you won't. I can't let you do that."

Jeremiah shakes his head. "It's fine, Danny. I'm not letting you guys starve yourselves."

"No please, Jeremiah. It's too much to ask. You already paid the Bronx to save me, I'm not lettin' you pay Spot's bills. I haven't been the greatest person to you, but you continue to do nice things for me. It's not right."

Jeremiah shrugs. "I'm not doing it for just you. I'm doing it for the newsies. And Spot."

"It's still not right!"

Jeremiah sighs. "Fine. I'll let you guys come up with what you can without starving yourselves, and then I'll pay for the rest. Deal?"

"C'mon, Danny, just let him do it," Mush says.

"Fine."

Once Brooklyn and Manhattan show up with all their money, we set some aside for food and other necessities. Kloppman gave us some of his money, as did Denton. With the doctor's discount, we reach half of the bill. Jeremiah covers the rest, even though I felt like it was still too much. The Brooklyn newsies went in to see Spot, and so did Jack and Mush. They eventually leave.

The nurse says Spot can now have two visitors in the room so Tie and I decide to stay. The sky's lighting up already and most of us have gotten no sleep.

"Maybe I should just stay in the waitin' room. Just in case," Mush protests as Jack tries to drag him out of the hospital with the rest of the newsies.

"We'll be fine, Mush," I say. "Go back to the lodgin' house and get some good rest."

"Yeah. We got a busy day tomorrow," Tie says. "We gotta get a plan for how we's gonna stop the Bronx."

*A/N: that silly Jeremiah, he's so nice. Anyway, there's this new kid in our school and he's only a grade above me and I have two classes with him. He's hot, so naturally, I have a tiny crush on him. He was playing basketball with my friends and I today and I shot the ball, but it bounced off the rim and hit him right in the back of the head. That's always fun. A lot of other girls have a crush on him too and he's already rejected at least two other girls. There's this other new kid who I thought was hot too, but he's a senior so he's wayyyy out of my league but I saw him shirtless, and it was scarring (he has abs). Sorry, you guys probably don't care that much, I just wanted someone to talk to, all my friends are tired of hearing about my boy drama, lol. Anyway, thanks for 600 reads, I appreciate all of you!*