The night was cold as silvery ribbons of icy rain fell. The gas streetlamps flickered, even in their glass enclosures. Spark clutched Mush's arm and drew closer to him.

"Will yous be ok walkin' back to Manhattan in all a' this?" she asked, gesturing to the rain.

"Ah, don't worry about us," Mush smirked. "We's tough guys, you know." But his teeth still chattered.

"Well maybe yous should stay at our Lodgin' house for a little while, just so yous can dry off by the fire."

"What for? Doesn't look like this rain is plannin' on stoppin' anytime soon. We're just gonna get soaked again."

Spark nodded. He was probably right. "J-Just make s-sure yous call when y-yous get back." She said.

"Alright,"

The wind was relentless. It howled down the mostly-deserted Brooklyn streets as the newsies forged ahead. Mush and Spark were at the front of the group. The others lagged at different intervals.

"Yous doin' ok?" Spark called over her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah," one of the newsgirls coughed an answer. It might have been Chase but Spark wasn't entirely sure, even though the speaker was only a few feet behind them.

"Next time you should stay in Manhattan," she heard one of the boys say. It sounded like it was David. "There's plenty of room between the lodging house and Medda's."

"Medda is out a' town," One of the girls reminded him.

"I forgot about that… But Les and I could have just stayed at the lodging house and you girls coulda spent the night at my family's place. It's kinda cramped but we could make it work for one night."

"W-why didn't you bring th-that up earlier, Dave?" Spot said through gritted teeth, whether it was from the cold or anger, Spark couldn't tell.

"Oh, hush," this time it was definitely Chase. None of the other girls would have talked to the King of Brooklyn like that.

Spark glanced back at the group to confirm her guess. Like Spark, Chase held Spot's arm tightly as they pushed through the heavy curtain of rain. David and Story walked on either side of the couple, supporting them. Spot's gunshot wound from New Year's Eve had not healed yet; he was still heavily dependent on his crutch to get around, which he resented. Both he and Story linked arms and locked his crutch between the two of them, carefully placing it on the ground with each step. David held Chase's right elbow and the four of them tentatively made their way down the street, trying to avoid icy patches in the road as they went.

"We-we're almost there." Mush announced.

"Good." Spot said.

One more block and they would be safe inside the girls' lodging house. Spark thought she would make Mush and the boys stay for a little while anyway. Spark had mentioned casually that Ms. Casella had baked a cake for the girls. Spark figured there was probably enough to tempt the newsies to stay. It was doubtful, but maybe Chase could convince Spot to let the Manhattan boys spend the night at his lodging house, considering how bad the weather was.

Spark turned back to the road. A dark figure staggered in the middle of the road. Spark blanched. She tried to banish some terrifying flashbacks from a month before when she and Chase were kidnapped. But the police had caught all of the Shadows, right?

"M-Mush, you see that?"

"See what?" He stopped.

"Look ahead,"

Mush squinted hard at the slow-moving lump in the road. "It's probably just a dyin' raccoon or somethin'," He whispered. Even so, he tightened his grip on Spark's arm.

"…Ok…" Spark said. She didn't sound convinced.

"Or maybe someone's house cat got loose in the storm."

They watched it drag a few more steps and then stop.

And then they heard the crying.

"That ain't no house cat,"

Without another beat the couple bolted toward the figure.

"What are yous idiots doin?" Spot called ahead, but they just ignored him.

Spark gasped loudly. The figure was a young woman. She was pale and shivering. In the dark Spark could tell that her lips were blue. Her long brown hair threatened to come undone from its braid in the wind. She sobbed as she dragged herself forward. Spark's breath caught in her throat. The woman's dress and shawl hung loosely on her thin form, but Spark could see that her belly was round. She was with child.

She let go of Mush and knelt down by the woman. "Ma'am," she said. "Can I help you?"

The woman paused, she was exhausted. But her eyes were wide as she answered. "Are you an angel?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Is this heaven?"

Spark attempted a warm smile through the rain. "No, I'm just a newsie and this is Brooklyn, Ma'am." She put the woman's arm around her shoulders and started to lift her up. "What's your name?"

"M-M-Me- Megara." She answered. "Meg for sh-short."

"Nice to meet you, Meg." Said Spark. Mush had reached them. He took Meg's other arm and the two got her shakily to her feet.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

"I d-don't have a h-home," Meg said. "I was tr-tryin' to get to a doctor. My water broke but the baby's two months early." She continued to sob.

"Alright, what's goin' on over he-" Spot and his group had just reached them. They all froze.

"What's the holdup?" Skittery called as he and Helena, followed by Snoddy and Prima also approached the group.

David dropped Chase's arm and switched places with Spark, supporting Meg.

"Fellas, we gotta get her inside! Skittery, you run ahead to the girls' lodging house. Now."

Skittery obeyed (a very unusual occurrence) sprinting toward the light at the end of the street, dragging a dumbfounded Helena behind him.

Mush and David continued forward with Meg slowly as the others followed behind. A moment later a man ran out of the girls' lodging house door. Mr. Casella.

"I've got her," he said to the boys. And he picked her up in one swoop.

Ms. Casella held open the lodging house door and ushered them all inside.

"Take her to our room, darling," she said. "And boys, you sit down." The boys obeyed.

"Chase, get her a clean dress and warm stockings. But be quiet, the little ones are asleep."

Chase nodded as she helped Spot to the couch. She scampered up the steps into the girls' room.

"Evie!" Mr. Casella called from the bedroom. "The baby's comin'!"

They all jumped as they heard Meg scream.

"Oh, dear," Ms. Casella said as she crossed herself. "Spark, put the kettle on for some hot water. Prima and Story, I need clean towels and a cup of tea for, what is her name, again?"

"M-Meg," Spark was still in shock. "She's g-gonna have her baby tonight."

"Right," Ms. Casella tied her long red hair up with a ribbon and rolled up her sleeves. "I am coming, darling."