The twins sat there talking for what felt like hours, filling each other in on what was happening on either side of the window between them. The conversation started with a recap about Katherine's article. Rebecca watched as her sister lit up at the mention of their friend's success, and she couldn't help but smile. Throughout the conversation, Elizabeth's reaction was one of many signs that she was okay in the Refuge, at least as okay as someone there could be. This certainly impressed Rebecca. People never really thought of Elizabeth as strong, but now her sister knew otherwise. She had to be strong. How else would she still be sitting here, relatively unharmed and smiling, if she wasn't strong?

According to Elizabeth, many of the other children in the building were beaten pretty badly. As she described some of the injuries, Rebecca couldn't help cringing, especially when it came to the young boy with the twisted foot. How could people allow these things to happen? At least they've got Eliza there to take care of them, Rebecca thought, which managed to keep her relatively calm.

Then came the topic of the strike's progress. Rebecca knew she had to tell her about the new plan Davey had come up with. Though she wasn't completely sure that everything had worked out, since she had left early, she was pretty sure that Davey would be able to convince Jack to participate in the end. He was very convincing that way. If anybody could do it, Davey could. She was sure of it. "So, we know that the strike didn't exactly go as we had hoped, what with you and Crutchie ending up here in the end instead of everything working out and the strike getting settled. But, Davey came up with a brilliant idea," she explained, as a smile formed on her lips all over again. "We're holding a rally at Irving Hall, that theater where Katherine did her review a few days ago. Newsies from all around the city are going to come and talk about what they want."

Elizabeth grinned at her sister. "You're right," she stated. "It is brilliant."

"See, Jack said it was going to get us in a padded room at first. At least you're supportive almost immediately," Rebecca commented, earning a laugh from Elizabeth.

"You know me. I'm always supportive, even if the idea is honestly the worst that I've ever heard," Elizabeth reminded her sister, which caused Rebecca to laugh this time. "I'm not lying, you know that. But that's not the point, anyway. When are you having the rally? Today? Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow night. I probably should go start spreading the word about it, but I'd rather sit and talk with you for a while," Rebecca admitted with a grin.

Elizabeth smiled and touched the pane of glass as she replied, "I'd rather sit and talk with you too." They honestly hated being separated. They had hardly spent much time apart since they were babies. In all honesty, it was probably for the sake of their parents wanting to show off their adorable twin daughters, but it still had affected them. It just felt very wrong to be away from each other like this. Yes, someday they would get married and live apart, but they hadn't been prepared to think about that now, especially with the conditions that one of them was living in.

If they could have been there for hours, the two of them would have sat there like that, just talking and catching up. But, time got in the way. The young boy from before, whom Elizabeth addressed as Patrick, came over and tapped her on the shoulder, informing her that she needed to come back and do something, but Rebecca couldn't hear it clear enough to make a guess. This, of course, disappointed the teen, but she knew she had to go. "Come and visit soon, Becky, will you?" she asked as she got up and started heading back into the Refuge.

Before Rebecca could respond cohesively, her sister was gone. Rebecca let out a sigh and got up, quietly making her way down the fire escape and back into the alley. By the time she had made it back out to the main street, she had made herself look presentable, with no tears on her cheeks and no problems with her wardrobe. She knew it would have been a good idea to wear the pants today, but it was too late now.

As she walked down the street, she came up with an idea. Now that the rally was official, or so she believed, they needed to get the word out and fast. She knew that most of the Manhattan newsies, once they found out, would have their places to go. Maybe some of them would go to the same places as last time, when they first announced the strike. But, that left a borough unclaimed: Brooklyn. So, that's where she was going to go. She started down the street towards the bridge, hoping that this time she could sway Spot Conlon into joining the cause. He had been a little stubborn last time, but this time she was ready.

All over again, though, she was caught by well-meaning friends. Three times in one day. It had to be some kind of record. This time, it was Les again, with Davey at his side. Davey's eyes filled with relief as soon as he spotted her. He and Les were going to go talk about the rally with other newsies, but in the process, he was going to try and search for Rebecca. Her disappearance had been a little odd, so he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

However, Rebecca was getting tired of being found by people everywhere she went. First Darcy, then Les and Katherine, and now Les and Davey. It was getting a little annoying. Of all the street corners in all of Manhattan, in all of New York, they walked onto hers...

She pasted a smile on her face as the Jacobses came over to her, pretending she hadn't been doing anything at all. "Oh, hi, you two. Good to see you again."

"Where did you go? Katherine said you went to talk to Miss Medda, and then you just disappeared," Davey inquired in response, cutting straight to the point.

Rebecca sighed and tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. "Well, when Jack said he visited Crutchie using the back fire escape of the Refuge, I thought I'd try it with Elizabeth. I've been there since I left the theater."

Davey nodded in understanding. "Alright," he began, "but we were still worried."

Les nodded quickly in agreement. "You should have seen 'im. Davey was real nervous when he saw you were gone," he declared. This caused his older brother to blush slightly and take a step backwards, his eyes wide in surprise.

Davey's nervousness, however, went right over Rebecca's head. She had too much on her mind to notice it. "Sorry about that, you two. I didn't mean to make you nervous," she apologized, then quickly changed the subject. "Oh, how did your conversation with Jack go? Is he back in completely, or are we just going to have to do this on our own?"

Les grinned at the thought of this, and he stood up proud and tall. "David made a really convincing speech once you left, and he was back on our side," he replied. "Plus he talked about snakes."

"Snakes?" Rebecca asked in confusion.

"Yeah, he talked all about rattlesnakes, and he compared Pulitzer to a rattlesnake," Les elaborated.

Davey shook his head, though he allowed a small smile to form on his lips nonetheless. By now, the blush had faded from his cheeks, apparently having recovered from the nearly-embarrassing moment. "It doesn't matter what was said. Jack's back, and we're going to win," he declared confidently, bringing a smile to Les and Rebecca's faces as well. Then, it was her turn to change the subject. "Hey, now that we've found you, maybe you can help us."

Rebecca shrugged at the thought and mumbled, "Well, it would depend on what I would need to help with."

Les grinned up at her. "We're going around to the neighborhoods and telling the newsies about the rally. You should come with us!"

Rebecca's eyes lit up. "Actually," she started, "that's what I was already about to do. Come with me."

Davey looked at her in curiosity. "You were?" he asked. "Where were you going?"

"Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn?" Davey asked. "What's your fascination with that place anyway? You wanted to come with us pretty badly when we started, and now you're volunteering to go back. Why?"

She simply shrugged at that, letting a smile form on her face. "What can I say? Brooklyn is different from Manhattan, and I like to explore new places, especially when my parents wouldn't approve of it," she explained. "So, are you coming?"

Les opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by his big brother. "I am. Les is gonna go home, or to the lodging house to find one of the other boys," he stated.

The young boy crossed his arms over his chest, looking up at his much taller brother. "David! I went to Brooklyn last time! Why can't I come?"

Davey crouched down to his little brother's level to talk to him more easily, then said, "Because, I think you'd be much better off working here on this side with Specs or Finch, or even Race." He paused for a second, then changed his tune. "Okay, maybe not Race. That might not be the best idea. He might give you a cigar or something, and you shouldn't have one of those. Anyway, you and Specs sounds like a good idea. Why don't you find him and go to Midtown or something?"

Les started to protest, but when Davey gave him a look, he sighed. "Okay, fine. You know, I'll go and find Sally, then. She'll want to spend time with me," he declared. With a defiant, yet hurt look in his eyes, he pulled his hat straighter onto his head before he dashed off.

"Wait, Les!" Davey called when he saw his little brother start to run, then sighed. "Great. I'm going to have to make it up to him later tonight," he mumbled as he stood up straight and turned to face Rebecca.

"Do you want to go after him now? Our trip to Brooklyn can wait," Rebecca offered, wanting to be accommodating. After all, Brooklyn was her suggestion, and family came first.

Davey shook his head, adjusting his cap on the top of his head. "No, it's fine. I'll talk to him at dinner tonight, before the rally. He can't stay mad at me forever. It'll blow over...hopefully. If not, I'll figure something out," he admitted, shrugging just slightly. "Let's go to Brooklyn, then..." he finished, and without another word, they were off to the bridge for an impromptu meeting with the borough next door.

*****

They didn't expect to find Spot Conlon, the King of Brooklyn himself, standing on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, as if he was waiting for the two of them. But, there he was. He stood there with his arms crossed, watching the two of them and waiting to speak until they were in earshot. When they were close by, he called out, hardly moving from his position. "Shoulda expected to see yous back here sometime," he commented.

Davey and Rebecca picked up their pace, heading over to the other newsie. When they were in front of him, Rebecca crossed her arms in a matching pose to the shorter guy. "You said that the Manhattan newsies had to prove that they weren't going to fold when the police got there. I think yesterday's events more than proved it," she declared confidently.

Spot looked between the two of them, thinking about the point that Rebecca was making. Yes, they had done a lot to prove that they had made it all work. But had it been enough? "I heard a bit about what yous did when the bulls came, but I dunno what's real and what ain't. So, tell me, what happened that makes you think that Brooklyn should be with you?"

Davey and Rebecca shared a look, and she motioned for him to talk. Yes, she was probably more confident, but Davey was better with words. It would be so much better if he took charge on making a speech. So, Davey did just that. "When the bulls came to break up the strike, did any of us run? No. We didn't run. We stayed and fought until we couldn't anymore, and then we fought a little more. Yes, they may have won the battle, but we're going to win the war."

Rebecca cut in at this point. After giving a quick nod in agreement to everything Davey had said, she commented, "But, as we said last time, we need Brooklyn. We need all of the newsies of New York on our side, but Brooklyn, Brooklyn's the key. You're the key."

Spot listened, taking in every word. But, one thing made him curious. "Where's Kelly? He not think comin' ta Brooklyn was important enough to give his time to?" he asked.

It was a valid question, especially from his side of the discussion. But, thankfully, Rebecca and Davey were ready. On the way there, they had discussed some of the potential questions that Spot might have asked, and this was one of them. Considering Jack was supposed to be the leader, it did look bad that he wasn't there, but they knew what they would need to say. "Jack is doing some preparations for something that you'll probably find to be very important," Rebecca explained.

"Yeah? What's that?"

Davey stood up straighter and explained, "We're holdin' a rally tomorrow night, a city-wide meeting, where every newsie gets a say and a vote." Then, he tried to add a little bit more to twist Spot into agreeing. "And, at this meeting, you can get a chance to stand up in front of all the newsies of New York, or as many that will fit into the theater, and show how nobody needs to mess with the King of Brooklyn. You get to stand up for the rights of all your newsies, and you get to show New York why you're the one who everyone fears and respects, and rightfully so."

Spot didn't say anything at first, looking between the two of them. He wasn't going to let them get an answer one way or the other, because whether or not he was swayed, he had to let them think that they didn't have any power over him. After all, nobody had power over the King of Brooklyn. That wasn't how it worked. So, instead of giving them a straight answer, he just looked at them and said, "So where's this rally, then? Not sayin' I's comin', just wanna know."

Rebecca and Davey shared another look, knowing they had succeeded after all. With a smile on their face, Davey informed him, "Irving Hall. Where Medda Larkin performs in Manhattan."

He nodded, taking the information in and making a mental note of it. "Then go on, get outta here. I gots work to do here," Spot ordered.

The two nodded and turned to leave. Before they left, though, Rebecca quickly added, "Hope to see you tomorrow at the rally, Spot." Then, with that, they started walking back across the bridge, fairly confident that they had succeeded. But, they wouldn't know until that night. They just had to wait.