Post-strike sometime. I think you guys know what's coming. It is after On the Run, and Patches exists in this 1899 timeline. Would you look at that? She's a time traveling cat. Okay, I have some people to acknowledge in here, because there OCs may pop up in this story and I need to give these lovely people credit for their amazing characters. Musical_Theater_Nerd owns Falcon in this story. Thanks again for letting me use her!! She and Flavi are such great friends and I am sure that they will enjoy the newest addition to the Newsies crew. BeckyMerari1808 owns Katie. Thank you for letting me use her!! She is also a great character in this book. 23gatkins owns Pups. I have not gotten to write a lot for Pups, but she is absolutely adorable and I love her a lot. Thank to all of you who have submitted OCs to be a part of the cast of this book!! They are all unique and fun to see and I really love getting to work with them. If you would like your OC to be a part of this oneshot book, feel free to submit one to me!! Check out the description of this book for what I need to know about them and just submit one in the comments somewhere. I would love to include more people if you want your character to be in a book. Okay, onto the oneshot. 

Fire escapes are fantastic places to contemplate the circumstances of life. Jack Kelly holds an old photograph in the palm of his hand. A much younger version of himself stares back at him along with a woman with the kindest eyes and a loving man. The woman is holding a baby and Jack is incredibly puzzled. He vaguely remembers there ever being a baby in his home and he knows that his mother passed away shortly after this photo was taken. There are no notes about this child anywhere. The only piece of his family that he may hold onto could be gone forever. Jack has no idea what he should do. The noises of the Lodging House sound faint in comparison to his thoughts waging war against each other. What if the baby in the picture is still alive? Jack shakes his head and tosses the picture into an old box of his. Those days are over. The foul streets of New York easily steals the lives of children in the blink of an eye. There is no way that baby could still be alive. Somehow, that picture provides the tiniest bit of hope. Somewhere across the city, a girl is thrown out of the third factory that she has worked at in the past year. Her boss shoves her out onto the street and she falls into a mud puddle.

"And stay out! Ya think we want da likes o you in here? Well, think twice!"  Her boss yells and the teenage girl sits in the mud puddle for a solid minute.

"Oh yea? How would youse feel if your parents were dead?" The girl shouts back to a closed oak wood door. "I didn't think dis was how life was supposed ta be!" She shouts before standing up. Muddy brown water runs down her legs, sending shivers throughout her whole body. Why did this have to be her constant area of concern? Why could she not move on with her life? Her life never seems to move forward and if anything rides in reverse most of the time. Suddenly, she hears a voice call out,

"Psst, Elley. Come over here. Quick!" Elley picks up her feet and quickly hurries over to the window sill.

"I'se don't want ya ta get caught!" Elley hisses when she sees Clara, one of her best friends, waving her up to the window sill.

"You won't get caught. I'll make sure of it!" Clara whispers softly and Elley chuckles.

"If ya say so," She mutters softly as she adjusts her dark brown hair tied up in a bun. "I'se gonna get youse an everyone of dese goils out someday, ya know," She finishes and Clara shakes her head. When Clara shakes her head, Elley notices a large purple bruise forming on the side of her friend's cheek. Clara shifts uncomfortably when she notices that Elley has seen her bruise.

"Elley," Clara says softly and Elley shakes her head.

"Dey's gone too far! Does ya mudda know?"

"If I told my mother, she wouldn't let me work an I wouldn't be able to help out my family. Plus, da boss ain't gonna like it if dis gets around. He said it was an accident."

"Ain't evah an accident wid him. Youse in trouble." 

"I know, but I really should not push it with him."

"I'se was just fired an I'se got nothing ta lose. I'm busting youse out."  Clara shakes her head.

"I need to provide for my family somehow. I'm staying here even if it means bad things could happen to me," She says and Elley hugs her friend. The two girls hug tightly, neither one wanting to let go.

"I'se gonna miss ya," Elley says as they hug and she feels Clara's tears running onto her tight shirt. The clothes so tight that they made the girls appear well fed and taken care of when they were anything and everything otherwise. Suddenly, the door to the bunkroom of the factory bursts open and a voice begins shouting at the girls. Clara quickly closes the window and runs away while Elley hurries down the fire escape. Unfortunately, Elley is not quiet enough on her descent to the ground and her former boss pokes her head out the window.

"Thought I told ya to stay away from here!" He yells and Elley jumps to the ground.

"Youse ain't gonna get away wid what youse doin here!" Elley shouts before running off into the night. She runs down streets and up others when she hears voices. Knowing that being out on the street at night is never very safe for a young woman, Elley jumps to the lowest rungs of a nearby fire escape.  Using her strong athletic body, she starts pulling herself up rung by rung. Elley passes one landing and then another. She finally stops at one a couple floors down from the rooftop. The lights are on this apartment and she peers into see a couple of beds in the room. A teenage girl is sitting at a small vanity set and Elley notices her own reflection in the mirror. She ducks away from the window, but is too late. The girl inside the room gasps and runs to the window. Elley tries to get away and starts running up the stairs to the next landing, but the girl catches her.

"Hey! You! What are you doing looking into our apartment? There's nothing here that a thief would want to steal," The girl shouts and Elley groans. She turns around and walks back down to the landing where the girl is standing.

"I'se ain't lookin for trouble. Just a way ta get off da street," Elley says and the girl's eyes widen when she sees Elley in the light.

"You're a girl! What are you doing out on the streets this late at night?" She asks and Elley crosses her arms.

"Got thrown out of a factory," She says matter of factly, "My name's Elley, by the way."

"I'm Sarah. Sarah Jacobs. Do you need a place to stay?" She asks and Elley nods.

"Yea, dat would be nice," Elley says quietly and Sarah invites her into the bedroom.

"Sarah, Mama and I were just..." A boy enters the room and immediately stops when he sees Elley in the room. "Who is she?"

"I'se Elley. What's your name, handsome?" Elley asks with a hint of flirtatiousness in her voice.

"David Jacobs, but my friends call me Davey," Davey answers and Elley walks a little bit closer to him.

"I'se glad ya consider us as friends already. I'se considers myself ta be a very friendly person," Elley says and Davey blushes a little bit. After a moment, Davey cocks his head and looks at Elley in a different way.
"Sarah, come look at this," Davey says and Sarah walks over. The two siblings look at Elley and Sarah soon has a similar look on her face to the one that Davey has.

"She looks like she could be Jack's sister," Sarah says and Davey nods.

"I'm glad you're seeing it too. I thought I was losing my mind a little bit," Davey says and both girls laugh.

"I'se has dis picture of some people. Dey's my family, but I'se was tiny an don't remember da oldah boy in da picture," says Elley, pulling a picture out of the pocket of her knee length skirt. She hands it to Davey and Sarah. The two siblings share a look.

"That looks a lot like a younger Jack Kelly," says Sarah, "I'm going to take it to him and see."

"No," Davey interrupts.

"No?"Sarah asks and Davey nods.

"Elley should be the one to show him, but you and I can go with her," Davey explains, "This is her family that she could be finding here and not ours."

"I want to see it happen!" Sarah protests and Davey shakes his head.

"They will tell us if they are related or not, now stop bothering me about it!" Davey demands and the two siblings turn to see Elley and the picture gone.

"Where did she go?" Sarah asks. She pokes her head out the window and looks around on the fire escape. "Elley?" Both siblings begin frantically looking around the apartment for the potentially younger Kelly and cannot find her anywhere. Meanwhile, Elley stands on the street beneath the fire escape and watches the two frazzled siblings. She starts walking down the street when suddenly, a strong pair of arms grabs her. Before she can even think, Elley is pinned against the wall of a building.

"Well, Oscar. Look what I'se found!" A male voice calls out and Elley rolls her eyes and cross her arms.

"Ain't she a pretty ting?" The boy named Oscar murmurs and Elley quirks an eyebrow.

"I'se a person, not a thing," Elley says matter of factly, "Any guy who calls a girl a thing ain't worth a second look. Much less a foirst." Both of the boys raise their eyebrows and their expressions change from terrifyingly flirtatious to downright evil. 

"We'se gonna teach ya ta shut your pretty little mouth. Cause obviously, ya don't know how," Oscar says.

"She ain't gettin acquainted wid your fist, Delancey!" A new voice shouts and Elley takes the distraction to throw a punch at him. Oscar Delancey takes the punch and then gives Elley three that hurt twice as bad. Elley doubles over in pain, but Oscar continues to attack her.

"Help me teach her a lesson, Morris!" Oscar yells and the other boy joins until he is yanked away from Elley. A boy dressed like a Newsie starts punching Morris and Elley finds the strength to fight Oscar back. She is not very good at warding him off, but she distracts him long enough for her hero to start attacking Oscar too. The Newsie eventually pins the Delanceys up against the wall and punches each of them in the face before saying,

"Dat was real lousy of youse ta attack a goil like dat, ya know?" Elley nurses her fist which is very sore after the rough fight. Two of her knuckles are purple with bruises and she can already feel bruises spreading on her stomach. What did she get herself into?  Elley pushes away from the wall and walks over towards her hero, favoring her bruised hand.

"Like youse one ta talk, Myers. Youse attacks goils with kisses. Might as well be us that gives this goil her first kiss," Oscar says and Elley crosses her arms.

"I'se ain't gettin kissed by anybody. I'se don't need ta be kissed by anyone ta be happy," Elley snarls and all three boys notice her again. The boy's eyes look her over before turning back to deal with the Delanceys.

"Youse bettah scram an not touch her again before I tell Kelly what youse did," Her hero threatens and the Delanceys roll their eyes.

"Like he's gonna do anything," Morris says and his brother snickers. The boy steps forward so he is looking at the Delanceys. Two bruises are visible on the face of each boy.

"Membah last week?" The boy asks and the Delanceys scurry away. Their hands fly to the bruises on their faces as they run. The Newsie turns away from the boys and looks at Elley.

"Who are those two buffoons? One of dem looks like he lives in a trash can," Elley asks.

"Da one dat looks like he lives in a trash can is Oscar and his buffoon in crime is Morris," The boy replies and Elley starts to slip away into the night. "Manhattan ain't da safest place for a goil ta be running around by herself," He says to Elley.

"I'se will be fine," Elley says and continues down the street, but the boy chases after her.

"Just come ta da Newsboy Lodging House. Please, it's safe dere and some goils have their own room there," The boy explains and Elley gives in.

"Alright. Fine. I'll come, but ya gotta tell me your name first," Elley decides and the boy takes off his hat.

"Mush Myers at ya service," Mush says and Elley notices his strong figure for the first time.  This boy is very strong.

"Didn't know my escort was so strong?" Elley chuckles and Mush's face flushes a little red as he looks back at her.

"Dat's what happens when ya hawk headlines an get into fights," Mush says and Elley follows a little bit behind. The two walk through the dark streets of Manhattan and Elley glances around at the unfamiliar area. She has never been on this side of Manhattan before. The factories were in a slightly poorer part of town. Broken down flats were what Elley woke up to see every morning outside the window of the factory bunkroom. The buildings look as though they are a bit nicer than from where Elley used to live.

"Dis looks nicer den where I'se used to live. Da factories ain't a happy place," Elley says quietly and Mush turns to her.

"Well, dat's good. Factories ain't normally a happy place. How long have ya lived in New York?" Mush asks.

"I'se lived here for as long as I can remember. Never moved except around da city," Elley answers as the two walk through the quiet street. Finally, they arrive at the Lodging House.  A girl with long blonde hair stands on the steps to the Lodging House.

"Mush! I've been waiting for you to come back! Mother and Father think I went to Richard's again, but I wanted to see you instead. You are so different from those silly boys uptown," The girl says excitedly. She steps down to the sidewalk and gently presses a kiss to Mush's cheek. Mush kisses her cheek back and the two walk inside. Both of them completely forget about Elley. The girl never even notices Elley standing on the sidewalk next to Mush. Elley hears the door to the Lodging House slam shut and walks around to the side of the building. A fire escape ladder calls her name and she jumps to the end of it. She catches and pulls herself up. Climbing the rest of the ladder, she moves up towards the roof when she sees a boy, who looks to be a couple of years older than her, sitting there and looking at a picture.

"Hello," Elley says and the boy quickly puts the picture away.

"Oh. Hi," The boy says quickly, "was it wid all of dese random girls off da street climbing up my fire escape? I'se don't mind helpin people out, especially girls, but would it kill ya to use da front door like a normal person?"

"Says da one sittin on a fire escape," Elley says and the face of the boy turns the tiniest shade of red. "I'm just looking for another way into the Lodging House."

"Ya ain't goin in dat window. Dat's da bunk room. Besides, girls cause enough trouble in da Lodging House already.  Why's do youse need in? Girls shouldn't be lookin for trouble," The boy says and Elley snaps.

"Youse think I am lookin for trouble, well, youse got another thing coming," Elley growls and she sends a swift punch to the boy's nose. It knocks him back onto his can. A picture flies out of the boy's pocket and Elley picks it up. "What's this?" She asks and the boy grabs at it.

"Give dat back!" He yells and takes it from her. Suddenly, a window on the side of the building opens and Davey pokes his head out.

"Elley! Thank goodness we found you. You ran off and left us with," Davey calls out and he holds up the photo that Elley had shown the Jacobs earlier. Elley races down the steps of the fire escape and takes it from Davey.

"Thanks," She says, holding onto the picture tightly. Davey calls out to the boy,

"Hey, Jack!" Jack, who is rubbing his nose, addresses Davey briefly,

"Hey, Davey." Elley tries to enter the bunk room, but Davey shoves her out of the window.

"Davey," Elley protest, but Davey keeps his hands on her shoulders.

"Go show that picture to Jack. And then come find me because I really want to know if you two are actually siblings or not," Davey says excitedly. Elley looks slightly overwhelmed but climbs back up the fire escape.

"I think we'se started on da wrong foot," Elley says and Jack turns to face her.

"Yeah, just a bit," Jack says sarcastically. Elley gives him the picture.

"I'se noticed that we have da same picture," Elley says and Jack holds the two next to each other.

"Who are youse? Are youse somebody who likes playing in people's misery??" Jack asks angrily and Elley shakes her head.

"No, I just came looking for some answers. Dat's all. I'se was just curious if youse were my family or not," Elley responds.

"I lost my family a long time ago. My mother was in a carriage accident and my father is in jail. I had a sister, but someone took her," Jack recalls and Elley feels bad for him.

"I'm sorry, Jack. That's really hard," Elley says, finally understanding why the boy was so upset. Jack examines the pictures again and looks at Elley. A memory of him and his baby sister at the beach flashes through his mind. Her hair and face so similar to Elley's. There was no way that the girl talking to him now wasn't his sister.

"I think youse are my sister," Jack says and he looks at her again. That face is definitely familiar, why didn't he recognize it before? He had his Elley back. Jack thought he had lost her for good all of those years ago, only to find her again years later. Elley hugs him tightly and the two siblings begin to cry. They hold each other tight as the tears run down their faces. After their tears dry, Jack takes her in through the front door. Davey is telling all of the Newsies what could potentially be happening when Jack and Elley open the door. The Newsies all stare at the two.

"So..." Racetrack asks. Every Newsie knows the situation and is anticipating an answer.

"We'se siblings," Jack says and the whole room erupts into cheers. Elley is bombarded with hugs from Flavi, Falcon, Katie, and Pups.

"I can't believe Jack has a sister!" Falcon says excitedly.

"None of us saw this coming," Flavi admits and Elley laughs.

"It's nice to meet you," Katie says, shaking Elley's hand.

"We are so happy you are here," Pups says to Elley and she laughs. Davey comes over and gives her a huge hug.

"I am so happy for you, Elley!" Davey shouts and he lifts her off the ground. Elley laughs as Davey twirls her around and sets her down. She introduces herself to the other boys and Mush comes up to her. Despite the fact that his girlfriend is in the room, Mush gives her a hug.

"Welcome to da Newsies, Elley," He says quietly and from that day forward, Elley's life changed forever.

AN:/ Yay!! Here is another oneshot. Who do you guys ship Elley with the most? I am not being super clear about who she is going to be with, so I want to hear your thoughts. And what do you think of Elley? Is she worthy of being a Kelly sibling? Feel free to tell me your thoughts. This one was not as happy as some of my other ones are, but I was hoping to make it sort of angsty. Family reunions are not always sunshine and rainbows.  I am hoping to continue with these. Might do some 1950's AU ones so you can get an idea for how that story is going to be written. If you guys want to see any AUs or time periods or any storylines, I am happy to do them. I am also still taking imagines if you would like one. I hope you enjoyed this oneshot and that you like Elley. She is mine, but the inspiration for her comes from a story on Fanfiction.net called You Can't Stay Kids Forever. I am trying to write her differently than Jack's sister in that story was written. Thank you for reading, commenting, voting, and doing whatever it is you do. I love reading comments, so feel free to comment as you read. I really hope you liked this one and stay tuned for more! See you around, friends!