Newsies One-Shots

Baby in a Box in an Alleyway Cliché

I was supposed to put this note at the end of last chapter so I hope this helps: The Gackle is based on my deceased  pet by the same name. He was such a good boy, and I'm keeping his memory alive. Secondly, I imagine Virgam Sphera being played like Volleyball, but of course using magic staffs instead of hands. This makes it severely team-work based because if two people go for the ball at the same time, it won't work. But now, on with this new chapter.

Crutchie had never really had anything exciting happen to him. He may not have been able to walk normally, but he was just the same as all his other friends, and, fortunately, they thought the same.

It wasn't until one evening after he finished selling newspapers that the normality ended. He heard a baby crying, which was normal in a big city, but this crying got louder as he walked down the street, and he realized that no one was around who would have a crying baby. 

He looked around, and in an alleyway, he saw a cardboard box, this seemed to be where the crying was coming from. He went into the alleyway and hesitantly opened the box, finding a baby inside. 

"Oh my gosh," Crutchie only had one free hand because of his crutch, but he scooped the baby up and tried to calm it down. After a while, he was able to coax the baby out of crying. He didn't know what to do after that, but he knew what he always did when he didn't know what to do; go ask his brother. 

Crutchie had to be extra careful on his way back to the lodging house as it was EXTRA important that he didn't fall. 

"Jack? Jack, you need to see this!" Crutchie called once he got inside the lodging house.

"What is it, Crutchie?" Jack was sitting on the floor, working on a drawing.

"Will ya just look?" Crutchie begged.

Jack looked up and immediately sighed, "What the hell happened, Crutchie?"

"I found a baby in an alleyway," Crutchie explained.

"What?" several other newsies jumped up and gathered around Crutchie.

"It is a boy or a girl?" Race asked.

"What are we supposed to do with a baby?" Jack pointed out, "we don't have the knowledge or money,"

"You kidding?" Race scoffed, "folks are gonna be BEGGING to buy our papes when they see a baby,"

"We still don't have the smarts," Jack repeated. 

"Uh... maybe Katherine knows? She's an upper-class girl. Maybe they teach her those kinds of things," Crutchie suggested.

"I don't wanna ask Katherine," Jack shook his head.

"Why not?" Crutchie questioned.

"Well, I just think it would be awkward, since we just broke up a few weeks ago," Jack shrugged.

"You got a better idea, Jack?" Race pointed out. 

"Alright, I guess we ask Katherine," Jack gave in, "but if it gets awkward, I'm walking out," 

As it turned out, Katherine hadn't learned about childcare, but she did know a few basics and she was willing to help buying some of the things the baby would need.

"Is this baby a boy or a girl?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know," Crutchie admitted.

"I guess we'll have to find out when we give it a bath," Katherine decided.

It seemed like every newsie groaned at hearing this.

"You're the ones who wanted to care for a baby," Katherine scoffed, "you've gotta know how to do it,"