Love's Not Enough
By: Sarol
August 23, 2002

When Elaine woke up, her first thought was that she was falling. The dream had been all too vivid. She'd somehow known that it wasn't reality, but at the same time, it wasn't quite fantasy either. She was in some twisted dimension, one in which she was being helplessly torn away from Mush into an abyss, and the reason was that she'd told him her secret, thus endangering him as well as herself.
Settling back down again, Elaine sorted out her thoughts, remembering the conversation of the night before. If anything, she was safer than she'd been the past few weeks, for now she had the newsies on her side. There was something nagging at the back of her mind, though, grating at her nerves.
The other newsies had long since left the Lodging House to sell their papers, leaving her behind and all alone, Elaine realized. That's what was wrong. She knew they'd only left her meaning to protect her, figuring that whoever was after her wouldn't guess to look in the Lodging House. But Elaine knew he would, that nowhere she could go was safe.
Remembering a certain drawing in one of the bathrooms, Elaine knew he had been here before. Shivering, Elaine pulled her blanket up to her chin, somehow feeling safer under the covers, just as she'd felt the monsters couldn't find her as long as she had her baby blanket as a little girl.
There she sat, each tick of the clock unnaturally loud, each minute lasting hours, her brain twisting the creaks of the old building into terrifying scenarios, as she wished away the time before Mush would come back and everything would be alright again.
Suddenly Elaine noticed a draft. The window was open! Now who would have left the window open, just two weeks into February? The curtains flew inside, bringing a heap of snow with them. Sighing, Elaine realized that she would have to shut it. She slid the covers down to her ankles slowly, the freezing wind making her shudder.
The feeling was all too familiar. Was it just three and a half months ago, that chilly November morning when she'd run away, and passed out in front of the Lodging House, nearly freezing to death? For the hundredth time, Elaine realized just how lucky she was that Mush and Blink had found her.
Shut the window, she instructed herself, slowly swinging her feet around to the side of the bed until she was in a sitting position. She'd never really recovered from her nightmare, and she was dreading the walk to the window, being out in the open.
The icy floor beneath her bare feet startled her, the cold shooting up her legs and through the rest of her body. The hairs pricked up on her neck, and that nasty feeling of being watched flooded up and down her spine.
When she got within a few feet of the window, she heard the noises of the bustling street below, and made herself laugh. How silly she was; of course no one was waiting to get her! A fresh gust of wind blew more snow into her face, and shivering, Elaine reached out and grasped the window.
An ice-cold hand grabbed Elaine's wrist, and she was so startled she fell out onto the fire escape, landing on her hands and knees. Picking herself up as quickly as she'd fallen down, Elaine opened her mouth as if to scream, but nothing came out. Tears involuntarily filled her eyes, and she turned to face the other person, nearly fainting with relief when she saw it was Mush.
Elaine let out a deep breath, watching it turn white, float up in the air, and disintegrate. "God you scared me!" she sighed, leaning against the wall.
"Sorry," said Mush, laughing guiltily. "I noticed the open window from the street, and I didn't want you to have to get up to shut it."
Elaine laughed, too. "Oh," she sighed, leaning into Mush's arms. "I was so scared when I woke up this morning, and no one was around."
"Well, I guess I'll have to stay here with you for the rest of the day," said Mush. "We can't have you being scared anymore."
"Aw, you can't do that," said Elaine. "What about your papers?"
"Well, I don't want you to be scared, and you mean more to me than a few lousy old papes…"
Elaine smiled. Mush really was a sweetie. "How 'bout I come with you?" she asked.
Mush's smile faded. "But that guy…what if he comes after you?"
Elaine raised her eyebrows. "You'd be there. You don't think you'd be able to protect me?"
Mush laughed. "C'mon." Grabbing her arm, he began to pull her over to the rickety staircase. Elaine reached into the still-open window and grabbed her sweater she'd left by the ledge, and they ran down to the street. The fluffy snowflakes landed gently on their eyelashes, and settled in Elaine's chestnut hair and Mush's hat, and the sun shone down from the bright blue sky. Still, despite the beauty of the pretty winter morning, the bitterly cold air was hard to breathe, so after awhile they slowed down and held hands, more engrossed in their conversation than in the papers.
After a while, their conversation dwindled into silence, and they just enjoyed each other's company. Suddenly Elaine burst out laughing. "Mush, I'm still in my nightgown!"
Mush laughed, too. "I know, I've been enjoying the weird looks people have been giving you."
Elaine playfully hit his shoulder, and then rested her head on it. Mush took her hand. "You cold?" he asked. "Your fingers are like icicles."
"A little," Elaine nodded, and then, shivering, admitted, "Okay, a lot."
Mush smiled. "Well, better get you home then, you'll freeze out here."
"Doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you," Elaine said, but stood up with Mush anyway.
"Nah," Mush said as they set off towards the Lodging House. "I've been reading the death notices in the papes, and it turns out you can die of cold. Wouldn't want you to really turn into an ice princess now."
Elaine laughed, and it echoed into the abandoned alleyway they stepped into.
"Shh," Mush whispered, suddenly serious. "We're in the rough part of town, don't want…you-know-who to find you here."
Elaine laughed again. "Oh, Mush, don't worry about it. We've got to enjoy our time together, otherwise what's the point?"
"Your safety's more important than anything else," Mush said, and Elaine rolled her eyes, but didn't laugh again.
When they got to the Lodging House, Elaine leaned forward and kissed Mush's cheek. "Bye now," she whispered, waving to his back even after he disappeared around the corner.
When Elaine went upstairs to change into warmer clothes, there was a huge pile of snow on the floor. Laughing softly, she started to walk over to it, when suddenly a large hand clapped over her mouth. "I thought you knew better than to leave the window open," a cruel voice hissed in her ear, and before Elaine could get away, a rough burlap bag was shoved over her head.
Elaine screamed, loud and long, the shrill noise eventually formulating into words, "Mush! Mush help me!"
"Oh, shut up," the voice said, somewhat mockingly. Elaine felt a thud right on the top of her head, and felt herself go weak and fall to the floor. She was hit again several times on different places on her body, with something sharp. She could feel warm blood beginning to trickle down her freezing body and well up on the floor. Elaine laid there in the darkness of the bag, barely able to breath, for what seemed like hours, feeling herself being pulled out the window and shaking as unbelievable pain exploded in her head and shot down her nerves. Then, it all stopped and she felt nothing at all.


Mush heard her screams from a few blocks over. Even before he heard Elaine screaming his name, he recognized her voice and tore down the street. Halfway there, he ran into Jack, nearly knocking him down.
"You okay?" Jack asked, laughing.
"God, Jack, didn't you hear her screaming?" Mush asked, still running towards the Lodging House, Jack following him.
"I heard some screams, but…you don't think that was Elaine, do you?" Jack replied, quickening his pace.
"Who else would be yelling my name?" Mush gasped between breaths, and he and Jack broke into a sprint. They arrived at the Lodging House a few seconds later. It was deadly quiet, and the silence and stillness of everything was uncanny.
Stopping only to exchange a glance, Mush and Jack ran up the stairs.
Jack got to the bedroom first, and inhaled a sharp breath, turning to Mush. "Maybe you shouldn't go in there," he said, standing in the doorway.
"Jack, let me through," Mush said quietly, and when Jack didn't budge, he yelled, "Jack! I said let me through!" He closed his eyes, and held them shut for a moment, then opened them and said with forced control, "Look, whatever's there, I can take it. I'm a newsie, remember? I've lived on the streets, I've seen everything."
Jack shrugged and stepped out of the way. Mush walked in, and involuntarily let out a little choking noise.
"Jeez, Mush," Jack said angrily, "I knew I shouldn't have-" He fell silent when he saw the look on Mush's face, and then turned to see the room once more.
No wonder Mush heard Elaine's screams from a few blocks away; near the open window was obviously where the struggle had taken place. There was a large pile of snow next to it, with a sickening pool of blood in it, the rich red contrasting greatly against the pure white of the snow.
The snow bank truly was a gruesome sight- the warm blood had melted some of the snow, forming rusty pink puddles of water all around. Rivers of blood and tinted water ran to the window, dripped down the wallpaper, and stained the once-white curtains that still fluttered inside the room.
Jack took a deep breath, and stepping gingerly around the blood, looked out the window. "Mush. Mush!" he yelled, pulling Mush over to the window. "There she is! Down there, see?"
He pointed down to the street, where a man was pulling a limp body into a carriage.
Without a word, Mush jumped out the window, rattling the old metal of the fire escape. Jack had to grab the back of his shirt to keep him from jumping off the staircase, too. "It's too big a fall- are you crazy?" he half-yelled. "Take the stairs!"
Mush shook Jack's hand off, but ran down the staircase. When he got to the bottom, the carriage was already halfway down the street. Jack and Mush might have caught up, but the driver glanced back, and when he saw them, he cracked the reins, and drove away faster.
"I'm sorry, Mush," Blink, who had just appeared behind them, said. "I saw the whole thing from down the street, but I couldn't get here in time."
Mush turned on Jack. "Why did you hold me back?" he yelled.
Jack shrugged. "Sorry, I just didn't think breaking your neck would be the most practical solution."
Mush sighed with exasperation. "Don't you know I don't care anymore? About anything? Elaine's alone now, without nobody there, and if I'd have jumped, maybe I could've stopped the guy, and then maybe she'd be okay."
"C'mon, Mush, you know that ain't true," said Kid Blink. "Don't tear yourself up over this. We'll find her, and everything'll be fine. Okay?"
It took Mush a moment, but finally he nodded. "Okay. Now let's go find her."
The three guys got the rest of the newsies together, and they split up all over New York City, asking around to see if anyone had seen the man take her away. No one had.


Elaine opened her eyes. She was in so much pain, she quickly shut them again, trying to block everything out and return to dark numbness. No such luck. Elaine tried to bury her face in her hands, but found out that her wrists had been tied down, as well as her ankles, and even her neck. Frustrated, she tried to keep the hot tears from spilling out. The effort gave her a headache, though, so she gave up and cried.
A little bit later she stopped. As she was unable to loosen the grip of the rope on her wrists, she couldn't dry her eyes, and that feeling of helplessness made her angry enough to start crying all over again.
"Ah, stop your sniveling!" a boy's voice yelled. Elaine was so surprised, she immediately did, and for the first time, took a look around. She was in a dark, cold room, tied to what appeared to be a stone floor. The ceiling was low-Elaine could tell that even if she was untied, she wouldn't be able to stand.
The only light came from a barred slit of a window at the top of the room, but as much snow came in as light, since there was no glass. The walls were covered with grimy white paint that was peeling off the concrete behind it. Elaine recognized this as someone's basement. Now why was someone else in there with her?
"Hello?" Elaine called.
"Yes, hello, I'm over here," the voice responded. "I'm Spot Conlon- but I'm sure you already knew that."
"No, actually," Elaine said, and then lowered her voice, as it hurt her lungs to talk above a whisper. "I've never seen you before in my life. I've heard of you, though, some of the guys were talking about you."
"Well, what were they saying?" Spot asked, as if that was important at a time like this.
"I don't know, something about Brooklyn," Elaine responded impatiently, closing her eyes. It hurt too much to try to think. "Don't you even want to know who I am?"
"Bet I could guess," Spot said. "I bet Jacky-boy or one of his newsies picked you up."
"Yes, actually," said Elaine, not liking the sound of her voice. It was quiet and raspy, and it reflected the pain that burned in every one of her nerves. She twisted her head around to get a better look at him. "I'm Elaine Botsford. I must admit, it's nice to have company at a time like this, but I'm a bit confused as to why you're here."
"Ha, so that's the gratitude I get!" Spot said.
"What?" gasped Elaine, "Why would I be grateful to you?"
"Well, I got in here, didn't I?" Spot responded. "Now I can break you out."
Elaine tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a wheezing cough. "You mean you let that man knock you out, just so you could help me get out from the inside?"
"No!" said Spot defensively. "What makes you think I got knocked out?"
"That bump on your forehead," Elaine whispered.
Spot smiled. "I saw him kidnapping you, so I ran over to help, and I meant to let him hit me there, so it would look natural."
Elaine smiled, but the pain was getting worse. "Spot?" she whispered, the effort almost too much for her. "Do you know a guy named Mush?"
"Yeah," said Spot. "Why?"
Elaine took a deep, labored breath. "Well, him and me were kind of a thing, and there was something I always meant to tell him, but I never got the chance, and now I'm not sure I'll ever get to."
"Yeah, spit it out," said Spot.
Things were starting to get darker, and Elaine closed her eyes. "I love him," she mumbled, and fell out of consciousness.


"You know there's only one thing to do, right?" said David that evening when they were all gathered at Tibby's for dinner, after all the newsies finished telling him what had happened.
"What?" asked Mush.
"Go to Elaine's parents!" David said, as if it were obvious.
"That don't make sense," said Race. "Elaine would kill us- you know that if we went to her parents they'd find her and make her come home."
"Would you rather have her dead?" asked David. "Listen, Elaine's parents knew she was caught up in this murder case. Now, when the bulls came to Elaine's house looking for her, they obviously gave her parents the name of the guy she killed. We find out who that is, and then his brother will have the same last name. We'll look him up, and then us newsies will pay him a little visit."
Jack nodded. "That's a good idea, but how are we going to get that out of her parents without telling them who we are, and giving Elaine away?"
  "We don't, that's the problem," said David. "We just have to decide what our priorities are, and I definitely think her life should be higher on the list than having her be with the newsies. I say we go and tell her parents everything, right now. They deserve to know. Think of how worried they must be."
"Dave, I think you've been spending too much time with your parents, you're starting to talk like them," said Race.
"Well, what else can we do?" asked David.
"I'll tell you what," said Blink. "We gotta start thinking like newsies. We find out what we want to know without turning Elaine in."
"And how do we do that?" asked Skittery.
"Well, Elaine has a brother, right Mush?" asked Blink. When Mush nodded, Blink smiled and went on. "Okay, then, I'll tell you how on the way. Specs, Bumlets, why don't you two go look up Elaine's address. Dave, we're gonna need Sarah's help for this."


"No," Sarah laughed about a half hour later, after the newsies finished telling her the plan. "Absolutely not. You want me to…no! I'm not going to pretend to be in love with Elaine's brother just to get into her house! Jack, you're okay with this?" she asked, glancing at her boyfriend.
Jack shrugged. "We gotta help Elaine, and this might be the only way." On an afterthought, he added, "Just as long as you don't…you know, kiss him or anything."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't get it, though, why do I need to pretend to be in love with him, just to find out about who his sister killed?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Race. "You get him in a romantic situation, and then when things get kind of steamy…" he stopped when he noticed the glares Jack and David were giving him.
Mush stepped forward. "Just try," he said. "Please?"
There was silence for a moment while all the guys gave Sarah puppy-dog eyes. Finally she sighed, and said, "Fine, but if he just tries to touch me, I'll be out of there so fast…"
Everyone laughed, and they dragged Sarah back to Tibby's, where Specs and Bumlets were waiting with the address. "Let's go!" said Mush, and he, Jack, David, and Sarah all set off to the Botsford house.
The plan was for them to wait out in the bushes by her house, while Sarah went up to the door to work her charm.
Sending back a look that said 'I can't believe I'm doing this,' Sarah marched up to the door and knocked. A tall boy, with curly chestnut hair the same color as Elaine's answered. "Hi," Sarah said, stepping closer and running her hand through his hair. "I've been seeing you around, and I really wanted to get to know you better."
"Oh," said the boy, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "Well, nice to meet you too."
Sarah smiled sweetly. "Mind if I come in?"
"Um, sure," said the boy, and they disappeared inside.
Mush started laughing, and he elbowed Jack. "What do you think they're doing in there?"
"Shut up!" said Jack, and he and David glared at Mush, just like they did at Race.
About a half hour later, just when Jack was getting ready to storm in there and find out what was going on, Sarah came out. "Henry Wallace," she said, laughing, and started walking back to Tibby's.
Jack and David exchanged glances, and had to run a few paces to catch up with her, Mush following them. "Sarah?" said David. "What did you have to do in there?"
Sarah laughed harder, and said mischievously, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Mush laughed, too, while David got a weird look on his face and Jack looked murderous.
Everyone was waiting in Tibby's when they got back. "So?" asked Blink, meeting them at the door.
"His name was Henry Wallace," said David.
Race laughed. "So, what exactly went on in there, Sarah?"
Sarah smiled. "Would you believe I walked in and asked him, and he told me?"
"Nope," said Skittery, and Sarah laughed again.
"Fine," she said. "We started kissing, and after a few minutes, I said, 'This is shameful, really, I know nothing about you,' and he said, 'What would you like to know?' and tried to kiss me again, so-"
"I'll soak that bum!" Jack interrupted, standing up. Race hit him on the shoulder, and he sat back down, glaring at everyone.
"So I pushed him away," Sarah said, emphasizing the last few words, "And said, 'What about your family?' and he told about how Elaine had run away, and when I asked why, he said he couldn't tell me, so I got up to walk away, saying if he couldn't trust me, then we'd better stop kissing. He said, 'Wait! It was pretty complicated, but in a nutshell, she killed some guy, and ran away because she didn't want to get married to change her name.' He tried to kiss me again, but I said, 'Who'd she kill?' and he said, 'Henry Wallace,' and he tried to kiss me some more. I pushed him away, kissed him on the cheek, and said, 'See you around,' and that's when I came back outside."
"And that's all?" asked Jack.
Sarah smiled. "That's all."
"Well, good," said Jack, but he still didn't look too happy about the whole situation. "I guess we'd better go look up a Henry Wallace.



"Found him," said Mush when he and a few of the other newsies returned to Tibby's a few hours later. "We had a heck of a time sorting through all the Henry Wallace's in the city, but we finally narrowed it down. The information was kept pretty secret, but we managed to find the address of a Henry Wallace who was killed not long ago."
"But who's to say his brother's living there?" asked David. "Anyone could have moved in by now."
"We looked up the address, and the name listed was G. Wallace," said Blink. "We're assuming G. Wallace was related to Henry, but for all we know it could be anyone from his wife to his great uncle. We'll have to go check it out."
After talking to a neighbor, they found out that G. Wallace was in fact the late Henry's brother. Mush walked up to the door and knocked on it, unsure of what he was going to say or do, while a few of the guys waited in the bushes.


"You must have gotten hurt pretty bad," said Spot when Elaine opened her eyes.
"Naw," whispered Elaine, although they both knew the truth. "I'll be alright. It's just-"
"Sh!" Spot cut her off, and Elaine obeyed when she heard two men arguing above them. It was hard to hear, but they could make out some phrases.
"…in the basement, like I told you!"
"…two of them…"
"Yeah, so? …kill them both…"
"…fire, they'll never suspect us…"
"Shh!" there was a loud rap on the door, heavy footsteps, and then silence.
"God," whispered Elaine after a moment. "What are we going to do?"
Spot shrugged. "I've been in worse trouble. You're not gonna start crying or nothing, are you?"
"No!" said Elaine, holding back the tears that were a mixture of worry and pain that still hadn't lessened.
Suddenly the light was blocked from the room, and a figure appeared in front of the window. Catching her breath, Elaine peered over, and tried to make it out. "Mush?" she whispered, barely hoping it was him.
"Elaine!" Mush said, reaching through the bars. "Come here, I'll get you out!"
"I can't," whispered Elaine. She tried to speak louder, but found that she couldn't. "I'm tied down. So's Spot."
"Spot's in there?" asked Mush, waving the other newsies over.
"Yeah," said Spot, "I'm in here. But only so I can help get her out," he added defensively.
"How did you find us?" asked Elaine.
Jack, who'd shown up at the window by then, shrugged. "It's a long story. We tried knocking on the door, but no one answered."
"So it was you guys who knocked on the door!" said Elaine. Speaking quietly but quickly, she added, "You interrupted their conversation, but we did hear some of it. Listen, because we'll need your help. They're planning to-,"
"Damn it!" Elaine was interrupted by the sound of an angry man and a slamming door. "Get off my property, before I-,"
"Better go, bye," was all Mush managed before he and the other newsies ran off down the street.
After awhile, little trap door in the corner of the room opened, and the man came down, wearing a mask. "You'd better tell your friends to stay away from here," he growled, "or you may not like the consequences."
He threw something at Elaine, something cold and hard. It hit her above her right eye, and after a moment of blinding pain, she lost consciousness.
A few hours later, she woke up with a throbbing headache. She tried to sit up without thinking about it, but was promptly pulled backward by the ropes that were still tying her to the concrete. Her cuts and bruises that were once bloody were now sticky and scabbed over, and very sensitive to pressure. She was stiff and sore all over.
Craning her head to the left, Elaine was surprised to find that Spot's place was empty, the rope that had bound him coiled neatly in his place.
"Morning, sunshine."
Elaine glanced over to where the voice had come from. Sure enough, there was Spot, sitting perched on a box by the window.
"What the-," Elaine whispered. "Spot! How'd you get up there?"
Spot gestured at the box. "Climbed."
"No!" said Elaine. "I mean, how?"
"Oh, you mean the ropes?" Spot asked, playing dumb. "I got bored. You slept all day. It's almost nighttime."
Elaine shrugged, or tried to at least. "Spot, do you smell that?"
He shook his head.
Elaine was silent for a moment, and then tried to shrug of the feeling that something was wrong.
"Wait! Do you mean…" Spot was quiet for a moment. "God, Elaine, I think it's smoke!"
The conversation she'd heard earlier that day suddenly came rushing back to her. Elaine squirmed, trying desperately to get out of the ropes. "Spot, help!"
"Say please," said Spot, but he slid off the box and walked quickly over to her, crouching beneath the low ceiling.
"Please," Elaine breathed. She could feel the heat increasing in the room, and the air was getting heavy with smoke.
Spot finished with the rope around her neck, and moved on to her hands.
With a loud bang, a flaming beam fell from the ceiling, sending up clouds of dust and smoke. "Hurry!" Elaine half-coughed, half-screamed. "The house is going to collapse on us!"
Spot swore. "Elaine, I can't-,"
"Hurry!" Elaine begged, coughing.
Spot began to choke on the smoke, too. He finally finished with her hands, and said, "Here, now untie one of your ankles while I do the other."
Elaine could hardly sit up, but she forced herself to, and untied one of the knots on her feet. Just as she was finishing, another beam fell from the ceiling, narrowly missing where she and Spot were sitting. The fiery ashes from it flew into her face and onto her clothes, burning her skin and singing the fabric.
Spot had been hit worse, and for a moment had to beat out the fire that was starting on his sleeve. Elaine was finally free, though, and she got to her knees. "How do we get out of here?" she coughed out, and then remembered the trapdoor the man had come through earlier.
She and Spot rushed over to it, but soon found that it had been chained up and locked. The holes made by the beams that had fallen from the ceiling were small and surrounded by fire- impossible to get up through.
"We're trapped!" said Spot.
Another beam fell, and then another, until they were stuck in a corner of the room.
"Psst!" There was rustling, and a tap at the window. "Elaine! Spot! Come here!" Elaine recognized the voice. It was Jack, and if she squinted, she could see that there were a few other newsies with him.
"I can't!" Elaine choked out. "The window's on the other side of the room!" She frantically looked at the beams laying at different angles all over the room, each one on fire and impossible to get around.
"Sure you can!" Mush was saying. "Look, you have to try."
"I'll go first," said Spot, "Then you can follow me." Elaine shrugged indifferently, and he carefully picked his way around the beams and the fire, until he was crouching by the window. "Now you come!"
Sucking in her breath, Elaine picked around the beams as Spot had. She was halfway there. Ten more feet…nine…eight…BAM! A beam swung down and knocked into her, starting her dress on fire and knocking her out cold on the cement.
Spot swore. "Mush, you need to get yourself a girlfriend who doesn't get knocked out so much."
At the same time, Mush was saying frantically, "Get the beam off her!" and Blink and Jack were saying, "Hurry!"
It took a few tugs, but finally Spot had Elaine pulled out from beneath the beams. Meanwhile, Jack worked off the bars on the window with a crowbar, and when they were both done, Spot pushed Elaine up through the window. Mush caught her, and put her in a nearby snow bank, the fire on her dress sizzling and then going out. Spot climbed up easily, and then for a moment, everything was silent.
Then Mush said the same words he remembered saying the day he and Blink found Elaine last November. "You think she's okay?"
No one spoke for a minute, and then they wordlessly dragged Elaine back to the Lodging House.


She didn't wake up that night, or the next day. More than one doctor had come and gone, all saying it was hopeless. Her body was badly bruised in various places, especially her face. She had cuts and scrapes all over, too, and rope burns on her wrists, neck, and ankles from being tied up. There were burn marks on her too from the beam, but one doctor said it was either the force of the beam hitting her or all the smoke she'd inhaled that hurt her worst.
"I'd take her to a hospital," that doctor told Mush before he left. "She can get the best care there. It's the only chance she has left."
Mush nodded halfheartedly, and the doctor left. Finally turning to Jack, he yelled, "It's not fair! Why is all this happening?"
Jack shook his head. "Life's not fair Mush."
"You just gotta keep trying and hope for the best," Blink added.
"But it's hopeless!" Mush said. "You heard all the doctors! They said she's not going to make it. Even that last one didn't look like he meant it when he said she had a chance." Lowering his voice, Mush whispered, "Why won't she just wake up?"
"Don't do this!" said Racetrack. "Don't you give up, too! Look at Elaine. Do you want her to wake up?"
Mush nodded. "Yeah!"
"Then stop acting like this and take her to the hospital like the doctor said!"
The four of them took Elaine to the hospital. She was given a room, and the doctors insisted that her family be notified. When Mush gave them Elaine's name and address, one of them called Elaine's parents, who promptly showed up.
All of them sat uncomfortably silent in the waiting room for hour upon hour, until that morning, just as the sun was appearing over the horizon, a doctor came into the room. Taking off his hat, he said sadly, "I'm afraid we're losing her. If there's anything else you'd like to say to her…she's not awake, but she may be able to hear you."
Mush immediately stood up, and so did Elaine's parents and the rest of the newsies. A nurse held the newsies back, saying "Family only."
"We're her brothers," said Jack, looking at Elaine's parents, who studied his face, then nodded.
The nurse shrugged, and let them through.
The room was oddly quiet, except for Mrs. Botsford's quiet sobs. She and her husband stood in one side of Elaine's bed, arms around each other, looking at their daughter.
Mush and the other newsies stood at the other side of her bed. Finally Mush spoke. "Elaine, you gotta make it. You gotta try. You gotta open your eyes. Wake up. Please. I love you." It was the first time he'd said he loved her, and now he wasn't even sure she heard him. "But I guess love's not enough to bring you back," he whispered, taking her hand. Then he noticed something. Ever so slightly, her finger was starting to twitch. Finally, she turned her hand and held his, and after a moment, opened her eyes.
Elaine smiled weakly at Mush, and then her parents started to fuss over her and despite the newsies' protests, they were rushed away by a mean nurse, telling them to give her some space.
Most of the newsies left that morning to sell their papers, but Mush stayed in the waiting room. Even Elaine's parents left after a while. That afternoon, a man walked into the hospital. Mush did a double take; he couldn't believe who it was. Standing in the room was G. Wallace, Henry's brother, the man who'd chased him and the other newsies away from his house when Elaine was tied up in the basement, the man who was responsible for everything that had happened!
Mush clenched his fists, but decided not to make a scene. The man walked over to the front desk, and asked which room Elaine was in, saying he was her fiancé.
"Don't let him!" Mush yelled, standing up. "Don't let him in!"
The receptionist looked startled, but gave the man Elaine's room number, and asked Mush to leave.
"No!" He shouted. "Stop that man!"
"Young man," said the receptionist more firmly. "This is a hospital. Now please leave before I have to call for help."
"No!" Mush said again, and took off running across the room.
The receptionist called over a few men, who grabbed Mush and tossed him outside.


"George?" Elaine whispered when she saw him enter the room. "What are you doing here?"
"A fine welcome for your fiancé," he said. Elaine didn't like the look in his eyes. They were cold, and there was something in them that was oddly familiar.
"Listen," Elaine said, "I can't marry you anymore, I hope you understand…"
"It doesn't matter," George said.
"It doesn't?" Elaine was a little hurt. Sure she didn't love George, and didn't want to marry him, but she'd thought she at least meant a little more than that to him.
"No," said George. "I wasn't going to marry you anyway. You see, you killed my brother."
Elaine inhaled a sharp breath. Those eyes, that's why they were familiar! They were the same cold eyes that were behind that mask. And now here she was, face to face with him, and there was no one around. "Help!" Elaine started to cry, but George quickly bolted across the room and covered her mouth.
"Shut up!" he said. "You're going to hear me out. My brother had never been what you might call a nice guy. He was jealous that I was in love and that I was going to marry you, so when he found out about that meeting in the park, he showed up, to do God-knows-what, I guess kill you or something. I suspected he'd do something like that, so I hurried to the park to try to help you, but it was too late. You'd already killed him. That wasn't very nice. What do you have to say for yourself?"
He let go of Elaine's mouth for a second, but she was too shocked to take the opportunity to scream. Like she always did when she remembered that night, she started to cry, and mumbled, "I didn't know you had a brother…I, I didn't know…I'm sorry,"
"That's because I didn't tell you!" George snapped. "I never told anyone about Henry, he was a little psychotic and I didn't want it to reflect on the family. He was still my brother, though, and you killed him, you little-," He made a lunge for Elaine. She screamed, but it was cut short when he clapped his hand over her mouth again.
"I didn't want to believe it was you at first, even though all the evidence pointed to you. Then, when you were sent to live with your aunt, and your father told me you killed someone, I couldn't deny it any longer. You had to die," George said the words casually, as if talking about some book or play. "I was going to kill you the day you ran away. Ironic, really, that you chose that day to leave. You made it very difficult for me. Luckily, I paid some people to tell me where you were. One of your friends, I'd imagine, he worked with newspapers." He let go of Elaine for a second, enjoying the look of pain and disbelief in her eyes.
"Not one of the newsies," she breathed out.
"Yes, actually," said George, looking amused. "Someone named…Mush."
"No!" Elaine yelled, and George covered her mouth again.
"Kidding," he laughed. "Two brothers, actually. Worked for the paper distribution, I don't exactly remember their names…"
The Delaney's, Elaine realized.
George shrugged. "Anyway, I had to scare you, first. It just wouldn't be fun otherwise. That's why I went through all those pictures and notes." He laughed. "It was fun capturing you, too. And the fire just might have worked if it weren't for all your friends!"
He let go of Elaine's mouth once more. "You're insane," Elaine whispered. "You said your brother was psychotic, but he couldn't be any worse than you."
George laughed. "Interesting connection, and true, perhaps. But we can't let anyone else think that, now can we? Not if I want to keep my reputation as a nice young boy." He extended his hands around her throat. "Pity, these are so cold. It's freezing outside and I had to walk all the way here." He tightened her hands, and Elaine found she couldn't breathe. Panicked, she began to squirm. "Easy," George said, "You'll find this will be a whole lot easier for the both of us if you just calm down."
Elaine did, but not because of what George said. She couldn't move; she was too weak. Elaine glared into his eyes, not giving him the satisfaction that she was in any kind of pain, even though her lungs felt like they were being pierced with knives.
Just then Mush and Jack burst into the room. "Let her go!" Mush yelled.
Startled, George let go of Elaine's throat, and she breathed in gasps of air.
George turned around, and was about to hit Mush, but Mush was faster. Jack tossed him the same crowbar he'd used to pry off the bars in the window, and Mush, thinking about how George had hurt Elaine, brought the crowbar down on George's head with all his might. George fell down in a crumpled pile on the floor.
"Are you okay?" he asked Elaine, walking over to her side.
She grasped his hand and nodded her head, but they both knew she wasn't. From the look in her eyes, they both knew something was wrong.
Elaine closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she said to Mush, "Don't call a doctor. There's nothing they can do, and I want to say something to you without anyone around." She smiled at Jack, saying to him, "Thanks for all you've done for me, Jack, you're one of the best guys I know."
Jack nodded and left the room.
"Elaine, I know what you're going to say," said Mush, "But save it. You're not going to die. Don't give George the satisfaction of having killed you, that's what he wants. Don't let him win."
Elaine smiled. She was calm, so calm it scared Mush. She went on, "I think we won. Look at how you got him. If he ever wakes up, he's looking at a long time in jail. But let's not talk about him. Let's not spoil our time together."
Mush closed his eyes. "Please make it. Like last time, you woke up!"
Elaine's smile grew. "I woke up for you. I needed to talk to you once more. I needed to tell you I loved you, too."
"Then don't go now," whispered Mush.
"I have to," said Elaine. "But don't be sad. You'll meet someone else. You're a great guy, and you'll fall in love again. I'm just sorry for all the trouble I caused you."
"No," whispered Mush. "You weren't any trouble, I love you so much, and-,"
Elaine reached up and put a finger to Mush's lips. "Shh," she whispered. "Don't speak. Let's just be together.
Mush nodded, and sank to the floor next to her, holding her hand. They sat like that for nearly half an hour, watching the sunset through the window, the snow sparkling.
A bird began to sing. "Mush, do you hear the bird?" Elaine asked. "That means it's almost spring! I wish I could see the pretty flowers one more time."
"You're prettier than a flower," said Mush.
Elaine smiled sadly. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered, and by the time the sun had disappeared, her eyes had closed.


Elaine's death was classified as internal injuries. The doctors said that her ribs were broken, and when she struggled against George they'd pierced one of her lungs and a major artery, causing her to bleed internally. Mush blamed himself for listening to Elaine instead of calling the doctors like his instincts told him to, even though the doctors said they wouldn't have been able to help her.
George woke up in a jail cell, and was sentenced to death. However, he managed to escape before his execution. His body was found in the East River a few months later, and although the cause of his death was unknown, and it didn't bring Elaine back, those who were close to her were still glad he wasn't loose.
A few weeks later, it was officially the first day of spring. Remembering his last conversation with Elaine, Mush brought her a bouquet of the first wildflowers he could find. Laying them gently on her grave, he whispered, like he had the day she'd been lying unconscious in the hospital, "I love you. But I guess love's not enough to bring you back." This time, however, Elaine didn't wake up.
A cool breeze blew, and Mush walked home.



The End