Chapter 14 Home

It was early in the night as the last of the newsies piled back into the Lodge. With the strike being a huge success there was going to be a huge party at the Manhattan Lodging House. Some of the boys had gotten a few snacks and a few cases of colas. While the newsies of New York were having a good time in the bunk room Mush was busy helping Feister patch up her injuries from the Refuge. Let's just say there were quite a few bruises, cuts, and little scratches. Mush carefully pressed a cold washcloth onto Feister's arm, which made her wrench. "You'se ok?" he asked while lessening the pressure. Feister nodded her head and she took a deep breath. "They's soaked ya pretty bad, huh."

"It's nothin'." Mush raised an eyebrow as he looked at Feister before looking back down at what he was doing. "Mush, it's nothin'. Really, I'm fine," Feister reassured. In small truths, Feister didn't feel that great, but she also didn't want to worry Mush. Besides, it was nothing she couldn't handle. On another note, she was finally back home with her boys and not in that nightmare of a place.

"Yer sure?" Mush asked as he put the washcloth aside and then rubbed some kind of lotion on her arm. Feister nodded with a small smile. "If ya say so." he shrugged. "But, if somethin' starts ta hurt, or if ya wanna tawk then just tell me."

"Ya almost done there?" Feister asked changing the subject. She didn't want to talk about her little visit to the Refuge. Not now, and probably not ever. Mush carefully brushed some hair away from Feister's face before lightly kissing the spot on her forehead where a bruise was. He lingered there for a few moments before pulling away.

"C'mon, let's go party," Mush said while taking Feister's hand into his. She smiled and got up before quickly kissing him on the cheek. With that being done they went back into the bunk room where the others were.

"So let me get this straight. Katherine is Pulitzer's daughter, Jack was blackmailed into calling off the strike; then you'se all broke into Pulitzer's basement where there was a printing press, where Jack was locked up the night before the rally. Ya made yer own papes that helped win the strike and shut down the Refuge," Feister said to make sure she got all her facts right.

"Um, yeah, pretty much," Mush replied while putting his arm around Feister, pulling her closer. Feister smiled and laid her head down on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, taking in the moment. Though this was done many times before they got together, this time it felt different somehow. A good different.

All the newsies, plus the Jacobs brothers, Katherine, and some of the Brooklyn boys were at The Lodge celebrating their victory against the big shots. And in the nine years Feister has been a newsie she's never seen the boys this happy. "Hey Lovebirds," Kid Blink said as he wedged his way between his two best friends.

"We are not Lovebirds," Mush and Feister replied at the same time while punching Blink's guts.

"So, yer just gonna pretend that the kiss never happen?" Blink asked with a smirk as Mush and Feister's eyes went wide. "Ya can't say ya ain't Lovebirds anymore since yer datin' now."

"Old habits die hard," they both replied with a shrug before laughing.

"Hey Feisty."

"Yeah Mush brains?"

"Wanna play war?"

"Thought ya never ask," Feister replied before taking Mush's hand and followed him to his bunk, after getting to the top she took her usual place at the end of the bed, while Mush sat at the head and grabbed the deck of cards that was under the mattress corner. They were about to start the first game when something caught the small girl's eye. "Hey, are you boys gonna hog all the colas?" she asked loudly as Mush dealt the cards out.

"How many?" Specs asked.

"Two," Feister replied before turning to Mush and asked, "Did ya want one too?"

"Ha-ha yer so funny," Mush replied deadpanned throwing a card down on the deck.

"Here ya go, two colas," Specs said as he handed them each a bottle. "An' thanks for winnnin' me a bet."

"What bet?" Mush and Feister asked.

"This is why we don't tell ya stuff!" Race yelled from the other side of the room. "An' last time I's checked I's won the bet. I's had the next two weeks down in the bettin' pool."

"I's won the first kiss bet!" Specs yelled back while walking up to Race.

"Actually that was me!" Ike and Mike yelled. The Lower Manhattan newsies all started fighting over who owed money to who.

"Should we's ask what's goin' on?" Feister asked while glancing at Mush for a second before looking back at the chaos. The boys were yelling so loudly she couldn't tell who was who. And if she's being honest with herself, she missed every second of this.

"I's think we's both know what this is bout," Mush replied with a small laugh. Feister nodded in agreement and then they went back to their game of war while the boys argued. The night went on and the boys were all very loud, but it was a good kind of loud. At one point Feister met Katherine face to face for the first time. Oddly enough she got along with the redhead reporter. much to all the boys' surprise since Feister isn't the best with other girls. It also turned out Katherine knew Feister was a girl from day one. How Katherine figured it was because every time she went near Mush, Feister would give her the death glare. It didn't take very long to put two and two together.

Then Race started a poker game, which was very interesting to watch since Les joined in. While the almost ten-year-old didn't know how to play, he quickly figured it out and ended up winning the pot. Davey, of course, was worried about his little brother who now knew how to play poker.

After the poker game, the Manhattan and the Brooklyn boys went out into the back alley to shoot empty bottles with slingshots. Sure, the alley was a bit crowded, but they all managed somehow. In the final round, the last two standing was Finch and Spot.

While the boys were busy watching Finch and Spot shot bottles with their sling shots, the two girls were sitting on the steps to the Lodge talking and having a little girl time together. It was a warm starry night without a cloud in the sky, a warm breeze would blow past every now and then, while the lights from the lamps sent a warm glow to the streets.

"Hey Kath, thanks for lookin' out for the boys when I's couldn't," Feister said. Now she thought that Katherine wasn't that bad after all. She did go against her Father's wishes just to help out a bunch of street kids, and even got help from her two friends. Two boys named Bill and Darcy, very sweet, but really shy boys.

"It was nothing," Katherine replied. "I'm glad I'm not going to be the only girl a-"

"Sea full of boys," Feister cut off. When Katherine nodded she said, "You'se get used ta it. It's crazy, sure. But, you'se will never find a better bunch than these bums."

"You really care about them, don't you." it was more of a statement than a question. Either way Katherine could easily see Feister really cares about the boys, even if she's a little rough around the edges.

"They's my bruddas," Feister replied with a shrug. "They's the only family I's got." while Feister knows Will is somewhere in Bronx, she didn't think of him as a brother anymore. Now he's just a fond memory to look back on from the first four years of her life, which she doesn't remember very well.

"Looks like Kath an' Feisty are gettin' along," Jack whispered while nudging Mush. "This will be good for Feisty, ya know how she is with other goils.

"Ya don't think I's know that?" Mush asked with a small laugh. Now, Mush knew very well that Feister is literally the worst person she can possibly be when another girl is around. But this time just seemed different.

It was dark by the time the last of the boys went to bed. It was way past lights out for the newsies of Lower Manhattan. But one night past bedtime wouldn't hurt. Which is what Jack kept reminding himself when he left to go walk Katherine home. "Feisty," Mush said quietly as he lightly nudged the smaller girl.

"What?" Feister asked as she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head a bit. She looked around and saw half of the boys were in bed already. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before slowly getting up to go to her room. "Night Mush," Feister yawned.

"Night Feisty. Love you," Mush replied with a smile. Since Feister had a very long day it took awhile for her brain to process what was going on. But after a few seconds, she turned around and leaned on the bedpost support as and said. "Love you…..too…" let's just say she ended up falling asleep right then and there since she was so tired.

Mush quietly laughed to himself and shook his head. He then got up and lightly nudged Feister to see if she was awake enough so he could lead her to her room. But it turned out she was fast asleep, which didn't really surprise him since it had been a long day.

"Feisty," he quietly whispered in her ear. When she made a little sound he knew she was awake enough to at least process what he was about to say. "Put yer arms round my neck." it took a minute or two. But Feister did as he said. In one swift move Mush carefully picked Feister up into his arms so he could get her into her room since it was easier than trying to get her into the top bunk. Plus, she just came back from the Refuge, so it was best if she was in the privacy of her own room.

Mush couldn't help but smile at how peaceful Feister looked. Short pieces of hair fell perfectly on her temple. Her head laid right in the nook of his neck, and her warm breath tickled time to time. Soon enough when Mush got to Feister's room, he carefully laid her in the bed. Luckily she had taken off her boots hours ago, so all that was left to do was just pull up the blankets, he then he took her cap and put it on the nightstand.

He then brushed away her hair and place a soft and gentle kiss on her forehead, which made her stir and open her eyes a bit. "Hey, go back to sleep. You'se had a long day," Mush whispered while gently stroking her cheek. Feister only blinked slowly before closing her eyes again. "Ok," she replied quietly. "Love you'se."

"Love ya too Feisty," Mush replied. He waited until he was sure Feister had fallen asleep before leaving the side of the bed. He quietly closed the door and went to his own bunk to call it a night. As for Feister, a smile appeared on her face as she fell asleep. It was good to be back in her own bed again. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the strike was over, the Refuge closed, and well….she had her first kiss. She giggled a little bit as she remembered the warm and fuzzy feeling.

The strike was finally over, and that just goes to show that the newsies aren't just a bunch of crazy kids (while that is true) they're a family. They may not be perfect, but perfect is overrated anyways. Looks like the Newsies of New York are now the Kings of New York.

Author's note

It's the fir-second day of August, 2019. Now that's out of the way, all I have to say is...that my friends, is the end of Strike, (speaking of which, today marks 120 years since the real newsboys strike). I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'll admit combining the live movie with fanfic wasn't an easy task, it was worth it in the end. Thank you all so much for reading/reviewing! It really meant a lot, especially after what happened with the Refuge and almost first kisses...trust me, I felt the pain too. And not to worry, this isn't the end of Feister's story, I have more stuff to come. Maybe a story torwards the end of the month...Wait, what? *Nervous laughs and smiles*. Oh well...we'll just have to wait and see...hehe. I Hope you guys enjoyed the ending of Strike. Anyways thanks for reading! And I'll see you all soon!

Disneyfan10