#PUTTING IN MY THEATRE TAG SO ITS EASILY FOUND TO BE REREAD.

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So Far From Home Part 11 (Newsies/Tuck Everlasting Crossover)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

The odd trio made up of Winnie, Miles, and Crutchie slowly made their way along the street, catching a few strange looks from passerby.

“Miles, do you have any idea where Jesse would go?” Winnie asked after a moment.

“He’d go looking for you,” Miles answered without a hint of hesitation in his voice. “Where are you staying?”

“With Katherine at the Pulitzer mansion,” Winnie replied. “I think I would have noticed if Jesse was hanging around there, though.”

“He can keep a low profile when he wants to,” Miles said, then turned to Crutchie. “Can you get us to the Pulitzer mansion from here?”

Crutchie nodded, still looking slightly flustered from all of this new information but trying his best to take it in stride. “Yeah, it’s only a few blocks from here. Shouldn’t take long ta walk there. Follow me.”

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Crutchie was correct in his assessment of how long it would take to get to Katherine’s home, they arrived there in a matter of minutes. Winnie immediately walked up to the front door, but Miles grabbed her arm before she could open it. “What are you doing?” he hissed.

“Going inside,” Winnie answered. “To ask the butler if he’s noticed anyone who looks like Jesse around here. He notices things like that.”

“Oh. Okay,” Miles said, letting go of her arm. “Me and Crutchie will wait out here.”

Winnie shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

After Winnie disappeared inside Crutchie and Miles stood next to each other on the sidewalk, the awkward silence enveloping them. After what seemed like hours, Crutchie finally spoke up. “How’d you meet Winnie?”

“She and Jesse met in the woods one day. We brought her home with us. We were scared she’d tell people about our secret.”

“Did she?”

“Apart from you, no.”

Crutchie nodded in understanding. Miles glanced at him, then smiled softly. “You said earlier I look like your mother?”

Crutchie nodded. “Uh, yeah. A little. You’se got the same eyes and the same hair.”

Miles considered this. “Did she ever talk about Thomas?”

“My grandpa? Yeah, a little. She told me that he taught her stuff himself, instead of sending her to school. And she said he liked to go fishin’.” Crutchie smiled as he recalled what his mother had told him.

Miles opened his mouth to say something more, but suddenly Winnie exited the mansion and hurried over to them. “Well, I spoke to the butler. He said he saw someone matching Jesse’s description about a week ago, across the street. He said he remembers him because he stared at the house for about an hour, then left.”

Miles nodded. “Well, at least we know he was here. Did the butler see where he went?”

Winnie nodded. “He said Jesse walked down the street, then turned right and disappeared.”

“There’s a boarding house just a few blocks West of here,” Crutchie interjected. “Maybe he’s hidin’ out there.”

Winnie grinned. “Good idea. Let’s head over there, maybe someone else has seen him.”

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

“That was a waste of time,” Winnie remarked. They had successfully located the boarding house, but the landlady told them in heavily accented English that she had never seen Jesse before, and he most certainly hadn’t stayed there.

“Well, now we know where he’s not,” Crutchie said, attempting to lighten the mood with a touch of his usual optimism.

“We still don’t know where he is, though,” Miles pointed out, and the three fell silent once again.

After a little while, Miles sighed. “I think we should call it a day. It’s getting late, and I have a few things to take care of.”

“Okay,” Winnie said. “See you tomorrow?”

Miles nodded, smiling slightly at both Winnie and Crutchie. “See you tomorrow.”

After Miles had disappeared down a nearby side street, Crutchie turned to Winnie. “Want me ta walk you back home?”

Winnie grinned. “Well, aren’t you a gentleman?”

Crutchie chuckled, offering Winnie his arm which she took with a little giggle. They strolled through the streets, enjoying the nice evening weather and each other’s company. When they were only about a block from the Pulitzer mansion, however, three men suddenly stepped from the shadows and blocked their path. “Aw, don’t you two just make an adorable couple?”

“Can we help you, sir?” Winnie asked, her voice only carrying the slightest hint of anger but her eyes blazing with fury.

“I think you can, little lady,” the man sneered. He nodded to one of the other men, who suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Winnie, pinning her arms behind her back.

“Hey!” Winnie cried, desperately trying to get free. The man held her fast, though, so she was forced to watch as the other two men stepped toward Crutchie, cornering him.

“Hey, you don’t gotta do this,” Crutchie said nervously, tightening his grip on his crutch protectively.

The man chuckled coldly. “You’re right, we don’t gotta. But we’re sure as hell gonna.”

With that the man swiftly punched Crutchie in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. The other man kicked his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground.

“Crutchie!” Winnie screamed, and the man who held her clamped his hand over her mouth.

“Shut up, if you know what’s good for ya,” he hissed in her ear. Winnie obeyed, closing her eyes tightly and praying that someone would come and find them. Soon.

Winnie could hear punches being thrown, but to her surprise, she no longer heard Crutchie’s cries. Cautiously opening her eyes, she saw that another man had appeared seemingly out of thin air and was now valiantly defending Crutchie, who was curled up in a ball on the ground.

Seeing the other man easily beating the thugs gave Winnie a surge of hope, and an idea suddenly came to her. She bit down as hard as she could on the hand covering her mouth, causing the man who held her to howl in pain and loosen his grip. She then elbowed him in the ribs and he let go of her, so she ran over to where Crutchie was.

Winnie could see that Crutchie was shaking in fear and pain, and he was muttering something about someone named Snyder. She carefully pulled him into her arms and began whispering soothing things into his ear. “Shhh… it’s alright, you’re safe. I promise. We’re all safe.”

By the time Winnie had calmed Crutchie down the man who had saved them had managed to fight off all of the thugs. He stood with his back to them, breathing hard.

“Thank you, sir,” Winnie said after a moment’s silence. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I did, Winnie,” a familiar voice replied. Winnie’s chest tightened, and the man slowly turned around.

It was dark, the only light emanating from a nearby street lamp, and the man’s face was covered with cuts and bruises. But Winnie knew, this time without a doubt, that it was him.

“Hello, Jesse.”

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