I had this idea last September. I, after lots of thought, decided not to write it. Nearly a year later, the idea continues to bother me and I realized that the only way to sate my muse was by putting the pen to paper, so to speak. So I have. Here it is. You all are going to hate me so much. Enjoy.
WARNING: Not graphic, but a bit disturbing. I felt that the event in this was important to incorporate which will be explained in end A/N if anyone's interested.
***

The boys teased Davey constantly and with time he'd grown used to it. None of the others complained about the teasing; there was no malice behind it. Besides, the boys were very careful and precise when it came to poking at each other. They knew where every other boy drew the line.

The others would dance around it and push it as far as they could, but they would never cross it. To the best of their abilities they would avoid anything that would make each other too uncomfortable or upset.

Davey supposed that was one of the downsides to he and Les not living in the lodge. They didn't know Davey as well, nor did he open up quite enough. Because of this, every once in awhile they'd hit a nerve.

Davey usually didn't mind the ragging about his overprotectiveness with Les; they were the same with each other. However, other days they'd make a comment about how close he kept the younger boy and it would sting.

Davey didn't blame them; they didn't know. And how could they if he never told them? He didn't plan on ever telling anyone--not even Les--so he put up with it.

Even if days like today hurt.

The boys were heading to Brooklyn; it was a hot day and they'd been invited by Spot to go swimming at the docks.

As it was a journey of a couple miles, and with it being as hot as it was, Jack had suggested that the boys splurge and spend a nickel or so to take the trolley. Specs had uncomfortably declined and Romeo had quickly decided to go with him. Several others agreed to walk as well--it'd only be an extra half hour and many didn't think the streetcar was worth extra budgeting for the rest of the month.

This left Davey and Les with only a few of the others as they waited for the trolley to arrive. Les and Sniper were entertaining themselves by chasing each other around while the other boys talked quietly.

"Les, stop moving so much! You need to stay here," Davey warned.

"He's a kid," Jack laughed. "Let him be!"

"Yeah," Race agreed. "They're just having fun."

Davey pressed his lips together and kept his eyes glued to his brother as he and the other boy kept jumping back and forth across the tracks.

"Les," he hissed. "You really shouldn't do that!"

Race rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Dave! What's gonna happen that you're so worried about?"

"I don't know, he could get hurt. Trolleys can be dangerous!"

"They ain't that bad! We let Snipe take streetcars by himself all the time. He's always been fine," Albert crossed his arms.

"Kids get killed by trolleys every year," Davey insisted.

"But that doesn't happen a lot," Crutchie said, trying to put Davey's mind at ease. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Davey didn't look convinced. "It's not safe."

"He can't play, he has to stay close to you," Race scoffed. "Do you want him to hold your hand too?"

Davey's face reddened and he looked down.

"You do!" Albert exclaimed.

"No!" Davey quickly objected. "But it wouldn't hurt to help him up onto the car. If he fell he could get run over!"

Jack tried to hide a grin, but Albert and Race made no attempt to stifle their laughter.

"You'll make a great mother someday, Dave," Race chuckled.

The teasing went on and Davey's mood dropped. He knew they didn't mean to hurt him, but what they were saying was reminding him of something he'd spent years trying to forget.

***
November 1892
Town of Lake, Chicago

"Davey! Wait for me!"

"Leave me alone, Sarah!" Davey scowled.

His sister had just embarrassed him in front of some of the other neighborhood boys and he was less than thrilled. She always followed him around and insisted on doing everything he did. It chased off any friends he did happen to make--and that was few to start off with.

"Why aren't you walking with me Davey?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Why?" The girl pouted and tried to catch up.

"How am I supposed to make any friends with you around?"

"I'm your friend!" Sarah protested.

Davey scoffed. "No, you're my sister."

"Same thing," Sarah replied and stuck her tongue out at him, even though he couldn't see it.

Davey refused to respond. He was ignoring her and she'd tried to trick him, but he was smart. He caught on and it wasn't going to work; he wasn't going to talk to her for the rest of the day.

Davey pushed open the door to their tenement and ran up the dirty stairwell. He ignored Sarah's cries as he opened the door to their room.

"I'm back, Ma," he said and dropped his books onto the table.

"How was school?" She asked every day and his answer was never any different, but he appreciated the attention.

"It was fine. Tommy Richards got hit though," Davey shrugged. "He was being noisy again. We keep telling him to be quieter."

"Where's your sister?" Ma Jacobs leaned over and used her apron to clean Les's face--the toddler had managed to make a mess, though with what she wasn't sure.

"She'll be here soon."

"Davey," Ma said, shooting him and disappointed glance. "You can't keep leaving her behind."

"Ma! She never leaves me alone! All of the guys make fun of me even more than they normally do when she shows up!"

Ma purses her lips. "She's younger than you; you need to be patient with her. She only does that because your her brother. She looks up to you."

Davey knew she was right, but it didn't make him feel better. The kids at school already made fun of him for reading all of the time and called him some awful names. But when Sarah came by things only got worse and speaking to his younger sister apparently made him a 'sissy'--not exactly the thing a ten year old boy wanted to be called.

"Now go wash up and do your chores before supper."

Davey did so and with some thought he began feeling guilty. He even helped Sarah finish her chores, although he hated cleaning. He was trying to make amends. He knew it wasn't her fault; he would do better.

***

It happened the following Friday when the Jacobs siblings were coming home from school. They walked home with a huge group of kids from their neighborhood; it was safer and far more fun that way.

Because it was Friday, Davey and Sarah weren't needed at home until later and many of the kids were playing games in the street and taking their sweet time on the walk home. It was getting to be early evening and the sun was sinking in the sky, leaving the city dim and objects became harder to see.

Davey, still feeling bad about his behavior the previous week, was carrying Sarah's books for her while she ran ahead with some of the other smaller children.

The group of children seemed to knit closer together as they reached the Union Stock Yards. They knew the rail yards could be dangerous, but it was the quickest way home unless they wanted to try crossing Bubbly Creek and none of them wanted to do that.

"David!" One of the boys was trying to get his attention and Davey took his attention off of Sarah who was playing tag with a few of the girls.

Things were going fine; the older kids were a bit behind the younger ones. They preferred to talk a bit, rather than run around and make messes.

The younger kids were getting farther ahead, nearing the tracks, and Davey didn't notice. He was too absorbed in a conversation with the other kids. No, he didn't pay any attention until he heard the whistle.

Sarah knew that she wasn't supposed to cross the tracks on her own. The idea that she'd try didn't even cross his mind, but on instinct he looked over to find her.

She was running straight for the tracks with a friend chasing after her.

"Stop!" One of the older girls screeched. "There's a train!"

It seemed that the girls didn't hear and they kept going. Davey dropped his books and started sprinting for his sister.

"Sarah! Stop!"

The other children started running towards the train, screaming and waving their arms as they tried to get the conductor's attention. Two of the other boys joined him in chasing down the girls, the three of them desperately trying to catch them.

The other girl seemed to have realized what was happening and stopped--her face was white and she tried to grab Sarah, but the Jacobs girl was already too far ahead.

"Sarah!" Davey yelled again.

His sister slowed down and looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Stop!"

It seemed that the conductor had been unable to clearly see the children in the dark, but with all the commotion he'd noticed something was wrong. Davey covered his ears as metal screeched and the train slowed down.

That seemed to grab Sarah's attention and she tried to stop, but her shoes slipped and caught on her skirts. She screamed as she fell and rolled head over heels onto the tracks.

Davey's breath caught and he froze for just a second before pushing himself to run even faster. Sarah tried to push herself up but with her ankle twisted from the fall and the train's approach causing the tracks to shake, she was unsuccessful.

Davey was twenty feet away--almost there, but he knew he was too late. The train was too close and if he kept going he'd wind up on the tracks himself, and then they'd both be gone. He had no choice but to stop and watch Sarah's horror-filled face as tears dripped down his own.

His hands flew up to cover his ears and he dropped to his knees with his eyes squeezed shut as the train made contact.

The girls around him had pulled younger kids to them, burying the children's faces in their skirts. The boys who'd tried to help catch Sarah stood gasping for air with their eyes wide and faces white.

Davey might have gotten sick; he couldn't quite remember. All he knew was that his sister was under that train and that if he'd watched her it wouldn't have happened.

This was his fault.

***

The tragedy had destroyed the Jacobs family. Their mother never slept, their father threw himself into his work. Davey studied even more than ever--it was the only thing that distracted him from the incident.

Even little Les had noticed. A few times he'd asked about Sarah and where she was. It sent their mother into hysterics.

The Jacobs knew that they couldn't stay in Chicago much longer; not after what had happened.

Luckily, Mr. Jacobs had a brother living in New York. He'd offered to let the family live with he and his family until they found a place of their own. He even said he could get his brother a job as a trolley worker, which was far more appealing than his current job in a meat packing factory. How could they turn that down?

They saved up enough money to get themselves to New York and then they were gone. They were starting their new lives where there was no Sarah.

The only remnant of the little girl who'd once been a part of the family was a single photograph that Mrs. Jacobs kept on the mantle.

Davey got to start over too. He now knew that he hadn't been properly doing his job as an older brother; if he had been Sarah would've been alive.

He realized that he had a second chance with Les, and he was sure going to do it right this time.

***
First of all; no I didn't kill Sarah because I 'hate' her. I say that sometimes, but I don't actually hate her. It's not the character's fault that she has no real qualities, she was just written that way. What I hate is what could've been that didn't happen.

I hate that there was a chance for a character, and the writer's didn't take it. They gave us this girl who has not one redeeming quality. I hate that they could have created something great, but settled for a two dimensional character like the Sarah we know.

Now, Jack and Sarah's relationship? That I hate, but I don't hate Sarah. I'm just indifferent.

As to having her get killed by a train; I figured that it was an interesting background to Davey's extreme caution especially with Les. Also, when we were learning about the 1890s in history this year we learned about 'The Jungle', Bubbly Creek, and the terrible conditions people lived in.

The video we watched said that kids would play in Bubbly Creek, which was full of animal blood and entrails and factory waste, and that they'd play on and cross the railroad tracks. It also mentioned that lots of them got hit.

My own research showed that in lots of these big cities up to a hundred or more people would die in similar train accidents every year; many of them children during the darker months.

I thought that this was something that needed attention. Even though it's in the past, many people don't know much about that and that just adds to the awful circumstances that these people were forced to endure.