"Take a deep breath, nice and easy," Dr. Skelton soothed as he threaded the needle. Morris tried to hide how much he was trembling, closing his eyes and trying to take the doctor's advice and take deep breaths. Dr. Skelton had, unfortunately, no pain killers for when he stitched Morris up, or for when he began to clean the wound. Morris whimpered softly as the doctor picked up a damp cloth and turned to him, a regretful look on his face.

"This is going to hurt, son, but I need to do it. If the wound gets infected after I stitch it, there's a high chance you won't survive. Remember, if it hurts too much, bite down on this," Dr. Skelton said, and he picked up a wooden spoon from the table and gently put it in Morris' mouth. Morris nodded and braced himself for the doctor's treatments. He was surprised to find that as the doctor cleaned his stab wounds, it only stung a little, and didn't really hurt. When Dr. Skelton finished, he placed the bloody cloth back in its bowl. Now came the real pain.

Morris' blood ran cold as Dr. Skelton picked the needle back up and studied each wound individually; there were four of them all together, all of them deep, but thankfully not piercing any vital organs (according to the doctor, anyways). The dried blood that had coated his stomach was mostly cleaned off from the doctor's earlier treatment. Morris closed his eyes as the doctor bent down over the bunk, needle poised.

* * *

A muffled scream pierced the air and Oscar nearly jumped out of his skin, his head snapping over to look at the door. His brother lay on the other side, in pain, screaming, dying... Oscar shot to his feet and stormed towards the door, only to feel two strong arms wrap around his waist and drag him back.

"Let me go! I want ta see him! He needs me!" Oscar shouted, kicking at the newsies holding him tightly like a five year old having a tantrum. Racetrack grunted in slight pain as Oscar landed a particularly hard jab to his ribs, but he forced Oscar back into his seat and looked him firmly in the eye. Oscar glared back and the two teens had a silent face off, neither of their gazes wavering. Jack, Crutchie, and Specs watched with discomfort while the other newsies turned over in their bunks, either trying to fall back asleep or ignore what was going on.

"I still hate ya. Y'know that, right?" Race grumbled, and Oscar's mouth twitched slightly in a smile. "Morris is gonna be fine. He's hurtin', but that's normal. He'll be fine," Race found himself murmuring, and Oscar's smile slowly faded. "You don't know that, Race. Nobody knows that," Jack muttered behind them. Race turned to glare at Jack for a moment before turning back to Oscar.

"Ignore 'im, he's bein' dumb," Race said, hoping he could make Oscar smile again. But the stubborn, surprisingly sensitive Delancey brother continued his silent, mental battle that was going on his head. "Oh, come on, don't turn into a girl on me, Delancey," Race said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Oscar smiled slightly again and Race mentally patted himself on the back. So far, his distractions were working. Not for long, though, because another muffled scream leaked its way into the room. Oscar tensed and stared at the door again, debating on whether or not he should make a run for it.

"Hey, look at me, Oscar. Just focus on me, a'ight?" Race said firmly, grabbing Oscar by the shoulder and making him face him. The other teen nodded and looked into his eyes fearfully, his gaze still twitching from Race's face to the door. For the first time in a while, Race was at a loss for words. His self-appointed job among the newsies was to be the 'snarky older brother'. He used his gift of sarcasm to cheer up his brothers, but never his enemies. He had no idea what to do.

"Is 'e really goin' to be alright?" Oscar asked weakly, his eyes searching Race for an answer. Race blinked, taken aback at the question, but he smiled. "Yeah! Yeah, he's gonna be fine! I bet it'll be just a day before the two of you's is back in The World givin' us all a hard time," Race replied, and Oscar smiled again. Racetrack, feeling very accomplished, punched Oscar playfully and plopped down onto the bunk closest to him, giving him the biggest smile he could muster.

"Morris is gonna be good as new before you know it, Oscar. Just you watch."