It was a couple of days after the incident when Spot got word from Richmond about the Bronx's next attack on Brooklyn. Hay had told him all about Hook's plan to head into the borough and take over the next Friday evening.

"How'd you get 'im to tell you all of this?" Spot asked, suspicion lacing his words.

"I told him we'd help out," Hay admitted. "Said we'd meet 'im here."

"What time will they get here?" Race piped up.

Hay shrugged. "'Bout eleven. They want to make sure the bulls ain't out. Hook knows that you'll put up a fight, so he's prepared. I heard that theyse bringin' weapons. It'll be bad," he said, shoving some hair out of his eyes.

"I better let Kelly know," Spot said. "We'll see you then."

Spot and Hay shook hands and Race gave Richmond's leader a small nod. With that, Hay left, leaving Spot and Race to themselves outside of the Brooklyn lodge.

"What are you thinkin' about?" Race asked cautiously. Spot had kept mostly to himself, ignoring even Race, since that night at the docks.

He hadn't even directly told his friend what happened, but Race had his suspicions.

"It ain't important."

"You gotta talk to me eventually," Race said calmly.

"I don't got to do anything." Spot's face was dark, eyes stormy. He didn't want to tell Race what had happened. He didn't want his closest friend to think less of him because of it.

Race groaned, "Fine, be that way. Don't tell me nothin'. It ain't like we're brothers or anything." Race moved as if heading into the lodge.

"I hurt a boy. Real bad."

Race stopped, looking at Spot. "I figured."

"You don't understand!" Spot exclaimed, his hands shaking. "I killed him! He's dead Race!"

"I know," Race repeated, patting Spot's shoulder.

"Why are you actin' like this ain't a big deal? I killed someone Higgins!"

"Why?" Race asked.

Spot glared up at Race, brows furrowed. "You know why!"

"No! Tell me," Race insisted.

"They kid was drownin' Sniper and they were gonna kill me too! Then it would've been Tommy Boy. I couldn't let that... I just..."

"Then I don't think you did anythin' wrong. You was protecting people. There's nothin' wrong with that."

"You don't hate me?" Spot mumbled in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"Why would I hate you? You saved Sniper and Tommy! If anything, I like youse a little more now!"

"Really?"

"Of course!" Race reassured, wrapping an arm around Spot's shoulders. "Now come one! You've gotta tell the boys about the Bronx! We need to start preparing."

"That's right. Let's go," Spot said, returning to his normal tough demeanor.

"After you Spotty Boy," Race smirked.

Spot rolled his eyes as he pushed open the door. "I don't know why I keep youse around."

***

"Dimples, c'mon. Let me in," Spot pleaded for the fourth time.

"No!" Came the small, teary response.

"I just wanna talk to you!"

"Go away!"

Spot fiddled with the doorknob, but the door didn't budge. "What in Sam Hill did you do to this door?" Spot muttered, giving the door another ineffective shove.

After hearing another sniffle Spot sighed and gave up, instead he leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes.

"What's wrong Dimples? Talk to me."

Spot was met by a stretch of silence. "I ain't goin' anywhere until you tell me what's wrong."

"Youse gonna fight again," Dimples cried softly.

"I've got no choice," Spot responded. "If Hook takes over, he'll hurt people. You know how mean he is."

"I don't want you to go!" Dimples exclaimed.

"Dimples, listen to me, I-"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Dimples shouted. "I'm not gonna listen to you! Go away!"

"I'm not gonna leave. You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm gonna stay right here."

"No you ain't! You're leavin'!"

"I might be leavin' but I'm not leavin' you. Not ever," Spot said firmly. He could still hear Dimples crying on the other side of the door.

"I want Will! I want him back!"

"I know you do," Spot whispered, biting his lip. "I'd bring 'im back if I could."

"That's not good enough!" Dimples sobbed.

Spot winced. "I know it's not."

***

As soon as Jack heard that he had only a week before they had to face Hook, he knew that he wanted to spend every minute he could with Katherine and his brothers.

It was easy enough to find time to be around with the other boys, Katherine on the other hand was much harder to get time with.

She was still busy, but she could always count on Jack stopping by to take her out for lunch or just a walk. He wouldn't tell her what was wrong, but Katherine let it go, choosing not to push Jack on this. He'd tell her when he was ready.

As the day drew nearer the boys all grew more fidgety and nervous. They didn't stray far from each other, all fully understood the possible consequences of this fight.

By the night before, the lodging house seemed solemn and gloomy. To Henry, the mood was stifling. The worry he had caused by the upcoming battle was bad enough without the extra stress added by the palpable fear from the other boys.

He couldn't stay there another night. Besides, if this were to be his final night alive, he wanted to spend it with his family.

It was with this thought that Henry began the long walk to Harlem. It was eight o'clock when he finally arrived at the small apartment.

He knew it would be a good evening as soon as he opened the door. The room was crowded and cramped, but it was full of his family. The room was warm and smelled like his mother's cooking, the best welcome for a night like that one.

As soon as Henry entered the apartment he was surrounded by three little girls, all jumping and squealing and throwing their arms around him.

"Henry! You're back!"

"We've missed you Henry!"

Henry laughed as he hugged the small girls. "I've missed you too!"

The oldest of his younger sisters, Georgia at just past thirteen, stepped back and looked him over, her lips slipping into a worried frown. "Ain't you been eating?"

"Here and there," he shrugged. At her gasp he chuckled again. "Of course I've been eatin' Georgia!" His attention turned to another one of his sisters who was watching their interaction with a jealous pout.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you Stella! Boy! Ain't you grown up! You look like a princess!" Henry exclaimed. "And Clara! You still readin'?"

"Yes! And I can count to a hundred!"

"I always tell the boys how smart you is!" Henry stated proudly.

A tug at his shirt turned his gaze from the younger girls who were still fawning and fretting over him and to the little boy, his only brother.

"Hey there Frank! You been takin' care of the family while I was gone?"

The six year old nodded, then opened his mouth and pointed to where he was now missing a tooth.

"That's great buddy!" Henry grinned, ruffling his hair. "Now can any of you tell me where Mama is?"

"I'm right here."

Henry spun around and watched his mother's eyes light up as she saw her oldest child. "Mama!"

He rushed over to her, giving her a hug, making sure not to crush the little girl she had balanced on her hip.

"How are you Henry? You've been well, haven't you?"

"I've been great Mama. How've you and the kids been?"

His mother let out an exasperated sigh. "You know how they can be! But we've been fine."

"And what about you?" Henry asked, turning to the little girl in his mother's arms. "Have you been mindin' Mama?"

The girl nodded, brown eyes wide.

"Ain't you gonna say hi to me Jennie?"

His sister appeared to think about it for a minute, then shook her head, keeping her thumb in her mouth.

"Then I'll just have to tickle you," Henry said, reaching out and tickling the toddler's stomach.

Jennie squealed, pushing his hands away as she laughed.

"I'll stop, you just have to say hello!"

The girl refused to cooperate, but after a few more seconds, she gave in. "Hi Henry!" She exclaimed, gasping for air.

"Hi!" Henry picked her up out of his mother's arms and swung her around the room.

"Henry! Put her down! You're getting the children riled up again! I've just calmed them down!" Henry's mother chided.

"Sorry Mama!" Henry apologized, setting his youngest sibling on the floor.

"Kids, it's time for bed!"

All of the kids whined and complained about going to bed, all of them wanted to stay up and talk to Henry.

"No, listen to Mama," Henry said. Reluctantly the five children said goodnight and headed into the small bedroom where they all shared a bed.

"Why are you here Henry?" His mother asked, as soon as all of the children were in their room.

"What? I can't visit my family?" Henry asked.

"You haven't been here in three months Henry!" His mother sighed.

"I'm sorry! Ise been busy. I'll try to visit more!"

"I understand. I'm just wondering why you've shown up now of all times."

At his mother's comforting gaze, he revealed the story to her, the whole story.

"So you're goin' tomorrow?"

Henry paused, looking cautiously at his mother. "I planned on it. Theyse my brothers now, I want to help them."

"I figured as much," she sighed.

"If you don't want me to, I won't," Henry said hurriedly.

"Of course I don't want you to go! As your mother, I don't want you doin' nothin' that could get you hurt!" She was quiet for a second, eyes trained on her son's face.

"You look so much like your father. Act like him too, 'cept youse better behaved. He was stubborn as a mule! Always thinkin' he knew what was best!" She laughed. "But he woulda done anything to protect those boys he grew up with! He would've been so proud of you," Henry's mother said, smiling fondly at him. "Go. Help your friends. Just promise you'll be careful."

"I'll be here for dinner next week," Henry said firmly.

"I'll be lookin' forward to it."

***

The next morning Henry's mother woke up before any of her children. She looked into their room, smiling when she saw them all sleeping peacefully. She made her way into the main room where Henry had slept on the floor, however he  was no longer there.

"Henry?" She called. "Henry? Are you still here?"

It was obvious that he'd left, and when she picked up the blanket that he'd been using, the coldness told her that he'd been gone for a while.

She folded the blanket slowly. She'd hoped that he'd wait for her to to wake up and say goodbye.

On her way to put the blankets in the children's room she passed the table. A sparkle on the table caught her eye and, upon a closer look, she dropped the blanket onto the floor.

On the table Henry had left her a dollar fifty in coins.

***

Jack smiled as Katherine opened the door to her home. He'd decided that he had to visit her one more time before the fight. This could be his last chance to talk to her, to tell her that he loved her.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" Katherine exclaimed as she stepped aside to let him in.

"I just needed to see you."

Katherine blinked in surprise. "What's gotten into you lately? You've been by every day this week!"

"Do you not want me to visit?" He asked self-consciously.

"No! It's fine. It's just... different. But I like it!" She hurriedly added when he seemed to remain unconvinced.

"I've just missed you Ace, youse my favorite girl and I've been so busy with those pests from the Bronx that I ain't been able to see you too much."

"How's that going? You haven't mentioned it lately. Is it solved? Hook's gone?"

Jack hesitated. "Not exactly."

"Should I be worried about that?" Katherine asked, cocking a brow.

"No, not at all. Wese takin' care of it. Besides, I wouldn't let nothin' hurt you."

Katherine crossed her arms and Jack hurried to add to statement.

"Not that you need my protection or anythin'. Youse got a great right hook!"

Katherine smiled proudly. "Thank you Jack."

Jack loved talking to Katherine. He wanted nothing more than to sit there with her all day, but he knew he couldn't. He kept an eye on the clock, and at six he reluctantly got up to leave.

"I have to go now. The boys'll be expectin' me back soon. But I've got somethin' for ya before I go."

Katherine watched as he pulled out a small piece of paper that seemed to have been folded over and over again. He placed it in her hands and she immediately began to open it, but he stopped her.

"Not yet! You gotta wait until eleven!"

"Eleven? That's pretty late."

"I know, but you have to. I don't want you to open it until then."

"Okay," Katherine agreed. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you!" Jack grinned. "That'd take all the fun out of it!"

He sobered up when the clock chimed quarter after six. "I'll be back tomorrow if I'm able to. If I don't come back, I'm sorry."

"Wait, what?" Katherine asked, grabbing his arm.

"Just promise me that you won't follow me."

"Jack, I-"

"Promise me Kath!"

"I promise," Katherine said, biting her lip.

"Thank you," Jack sighed, relieved. "I love you," he mumbled, giving her a quick kiss.

"I love you too," she whispered as he left.

Before he closed the door he tipped his hat and sent her a wink.

Katherine watched him disappear down the street, then sat down at the table, staring at the gift and ready to begin the long five hour wait.

***

The boys were quiet as they got around to leave. Mush had insisted on coming along, and Jack had reluctantly agreed. They needed every guy they could get.

Mush, however, was no longer feeling so confident. As the night grew later he could feel a knot forming in his stomach.

Finch, being ever observant, pulled him to the side to talk to him. "You okay Mush?"

"I'm okay," he responded quietly.

"No you ain't. What's wrong?"

"Ise just a little nervous, that's it."

"That's okay! Wese all nervous!"

"You remember what I told you... after Ike?" Finch nodded and Mush glanced around before continuing.

"What if this is it? What if I die tonight?"

"You're not going to die Mush!" Finch exclaimed.

"Somethin' bad is gonna happen. I can feel it!" Mush insisted.

"And that may be, but you are gonna be-"

"Do ya think it hurts to die?"

Finch grabbed Mush's shoulders and gave him a small shake. "You ain't gonna die! I promise!"

"You can't promise that," Mush said, though he seemed to have relaxed just a bit.

"Yes I can. I'll make sure of it myself, even if it's the last thing I ever do."

***

Romeo pulled on the socks he'd chosen for that night, a blue one and a grey one. He'd heard somewhere that mismatched socks brought luck, and they'd need all the luck they could get.

Buttons was next to him, lacing up his boots. Both were trying to discreetly listen in on the conversation between Albert and Sniper.

"Sniper, you better listen and listen good, 'cause I ain't repeatin' myself."

Sniper looked at the redhead in confusion, but listened all the same.

"I'm sorry 'bout all the things Ise been sayin' to you. Those comments was... uh, uncalled for. I guess I just wanted to say that I s'pose you ain't completely terrible. I mean, for a kid, you ain't half bad."

Sniper's face lit up, and Albert ruffled his hair quickly before turning and heading down the stairs.

***

Spot had to admit that he was a little worried that Jack wouldn't show up. Once again he and his boys had arrived before Jack, and the whole thing felt a bit too familiar for him to be comfortable.

Luckily, it seemed he had nothing to be nervous about other than Hook. Jack and his boys showed up ten minutes after Spot, and Richmond was a couple of minutes behind them.

Spot observed his boys. They all shuffled nervously. It was obvious that they were remembering their last meeting with the Bronx boys. It hadn't gone so well last time.

Several boys had died. Will had died. Spot needed his boys to make it out okay this time. He especially needed to live. He normally wouldn't have been so selfish or worried about himself, but Dimples' earlier words came back to him.

They were getting ready to leave, all of the boys were talking quietly amongst themselves. Spot had found himself in a hushed conversation with Race, but something was bothering him.

His neck was burning, as if someone was watching him. A quick glance around revealed no one, and Spot tried to ignore it. Race seemed to pick up on his discomfort and looked at him questioningly.

"Eyes?" Spot asked.

Race took his own look around before giving a subtle nod toward the stairs. Dimples was sat about halfway up, his chin resting in his hand and his elbows balanced on his bony knees.

"I'm gonna go over and-"

"Go ahead. You don't have to explain it, I get it," Race said easily, walking over to the other boys.

When Dimples saw that Spot was coming towards him, he stood up and rushed up the stairs, but Spot caught him. Spot crouched down in front of him, watching him closely.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want you to leave!" Dimples whined, his lower lip trembling as his eyes welled with tears.

"I have to!"

"No you don't! You can stay here!"

"I really can't. Why are you so upset? C'mon, you can tell me."

"I don't want you to die like Will did!" Dimples admitted as the dam broke. Tears streamed down his face and he tried to scrub his face with his palms. "I can't lose my other brother too!"

Spot froze for a second. He hadn't even considered that Dimples would be so worried about him. It was only a second of shock before Spot pulled the boy in for a hug.

"I ain't gonna die! I couldn't leave ya just like that!" Spot soothed. "I'm never gonna leave you Charlie. You can count on that."

"Spot!"

Spot was pulled out of his thoughts by Cards, who was looking a little green.

"What is it Cards?"

"The guys are gettin' scared. Maybe you should give 'em a speech or somethin'."

Spot nodded and whistled loudly, effectively gaining the attention of his boys.

"Boys, I know that youse a little nervous, but this is Bronx we're talking about. The last fight wasn't exactly fair, but now it's even and there ain't no way we're gonna lose! We're Brooklyn! We don't lose to no one!"

This gained some mumbles of agreement from his boys, they all listened with rapt attention.

"Wese gonna fight just as hard as we possibly can! And then wese gonna fight a whole lot harder! We're gonna stomp 'em into the pavement!"

A few more sentences meant to get the boys' blood boiling, and Spot began listing his expectations. Luckily, with Spot there were only a few expectations, and most of them were along the lines of fighting people and looking tough. This one was a little different though, but it was also his most important.

"I don't wanna see no cryin'! We ain't babies, we're Brooklyn! If you go down, go down fightin'!"

This seemed to strike a chord with his boys, it drew nods and noises of agreement from all of them.

Twenty feet away, it seemed as though Jack was doing the same thing with his boys.

"Guys! We're here tonight to protect our home and our brothers! It don't matter that this ain't bein' reported, it's just as important as the strike! We are gonna fight tonight, and we're gonna win! If we don't, I don't want to be around to see what happens here."

"What if people get hurt?" Buttons asked nervously.

"That's a possibility," Jack agreed. "If this is my last chance to talk to you, then there's something I gotta say!"

All the boys went dead silent as they waited for Jack's words.

"I don't care that Ise been in the papes or that Ise shook the hand of the governor. The biggest honor that I've ever been given was bein' able to call myself your brother!"

***

"Looks like 'Hattan showed up this time!" Hook drawled as he smirked at all of the boys from the other end of the square. His smirk disappeared when he realized that all the Richmond boys were lined up next to Spot and Jack.

"Hay! Get over here!"

Hay shook his head nervously. "I'm with them."

"You backstabbin' little-"

"You have no room to talk!" Hay shouted. "You killed one of my boys!"

"I'm gonna enjoy watchin' you die," Hook hissed.

Romeo gulped nervously and Specs squeezed his shoulder as Hook and his boys moved toward them. Race began muttering frantically in Italian, seeming to be reciting something from his place next to Spot.

"Might as well get this started," Hook spat. "I'd like to be back in the Bronx before two."

***

Katherine rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her eyes were slowly closing, the exhaustion was taking over.

The chiming from the ornate grandfather clock woke her up. Her eyes flew to the clock's face. It was eleven.

Katherine's fingers fumbled with the small square of paper as tried to unfold it. It felt as though something was enclosed in it, but her search for the object was halted when more unfolded paper revealed that this was actually a drawing.

A second later and she realized that it was a drawing of her.

It was similar to the first one Jack had drawn for her, but in this one she was smiling brightly while she tucked a curl behind her ear.

There was something on her hand though, something that wasn't there in reality. She peered closer and realized that it was a ring that adorned her fourth finger.

"What?" She whispered in shock. She quickly began unfolding the rest of the paper and when it was completely open, something fell onto the table in front of her.

She dropped the paper in favor of the small object Jack had hidden in the drawing. Sure enough, it was a ring.

It wasn't the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen, it was old and a bit dirty. There was no diamond either, but Katherine didn't care. It was from Jack.

Some small scribbles at the bottom of the drawing caught her eye.

Will you forever be mine?

He had written, the letters sloppy and unpracticed. The spelling was good too, leading her to believe that he'd gotten some help from Davey.

Katherine's smile grew and she slid the ring onto her finger, before leaping to her feet and rushing to the door. She was halfway down the stairs before she remembered that it was eleven.

It wouldn't be proper for her to be out at this time, besides, Jack had asked her to wait until he came and saw her in the morning.

Should she wait for him?

Katherine hesitated before reluctantly heading back into the house. Jack had been insistent, so it must've been important. She'd respect his wishes.

She sat down in the same chair that she'd spent the past five hours in, settling in for a long, restless night. She wasn't planning on moving until Jack showed up.

His earlier words about him coming back if he was able flashed into her mind and her heart stopped.

She glanced down at the band on her finger as she tried to calm her breathing.

"What have you gotten into, you idiot?" She whispered, voice laced with fondness, but full of worry.

"You had better be here tomorrow," she added quietly. "Then you can propose the right way."

***

The Bronx was here. That meant that it was around eleven. Katherine must've opened the gift by now.

Jack really hoped that she would like it, that she wanted to marry him just as badly as he wanted to marry her.

Katherine was the last thing he thought about before the first punch was thrown.

***

Well, there ya go!

Was it alright?

Honestly, I'm waiting for some of the comments from the hardcore Jackerine shippers(oh, who am I kidding? Like, every fansie loves them!) Don't let me down! 😉

Aaaannyway, there's only two chapters left!!!! I planned on finishing this on the 27th of this month so it could be an EXACTLY 5 month endeavor, but then I'll have to wait two weeks to finish it, and I'm not sure if I can do that!

Then again, I'm pretty busy these next few weeks, so we'll see. Maybe I'll start planning my next project while I make you guys wait.

Love
-Anna

Was that weird? I don't care... You're all great. It's okay....

-Anna