Katherine feels elated. Jack's back and he's going to make sure they win. Davey and Les both walk out to find Medda to see if they can have the theatre. Jack smiles at her.

"Thanks," He says gently.

"For what?" Katherine asks even though she's pretty sure she knows his next words.

"For not givin up on me and coming back for me when I left." Jack finishes. He leans down and his lips gently brush her cheek.

"You're welcome. Anytime." She stands on her tip toes and gently kisses his cheek back. As they walk out together, she mentally kicks herself. It wasn't a real kiss, but she was getting closer to it. Much closer. Davey and Les meet them at the door and confirm that they can use the theatre for the rally. Medda smiles and says that she will have the place in tip top shape for the rally. Katherine feels comfortable around Jack and is almost willing to admit this to her father. However, she already knows what his reaction will be. She walks out of the theatre and is about to go home when Jack offers

"Need someone to walk ya home?"

"I'm fine. Thanks though. Go talk to the boys about the rally and spread the news to the other newsies. I'm going to rest up for tonight." Katherine replies.

"Alright. See ya later, Plumber." Jack calls as he walks away. Katherine turns and quickly starts walking towards her home. She knows that if she doesn't hurry she won't have time to try and explain everything to her father. Katherine is about to take one of the biggest risks that she's ever taken and she is not the least bit afraid of the consequence. After all, she is the King of New York. To the Newsies, she is invincible and no one can touch her. With the exception of Jack. She just hopes she isn't making a huge mistake doing this, because helping or rather falling in love with him could put a lot on the line. She is not even the least bit concerned about her relationship with her father, but more concerned about what will happen to Jack. Rushing into her house, Katherine calls for her father immediately. He doesn't answer and she finds him in his office with the exact people she doesn't want to see. Her father looks up as she enters the office. Pulitzer's face changes from one of mild disappointment to a devious grin. Katherine starts to run for the door, but she runs into someone.

"Sorry, sweetface," Oscar Delancey's disgustingly flirtatious voice rings out, "Fraid you're stuck." Katherine turns away from Oscar and back to her father.

"Why are they here?" She demands angrily. Pulitzer casually smirks and leans back in his chair. The men around him are all snickering at something that Katherine obviously doesn't know.

"Isn't it obvious, darling? You have some work to be doing right about now, don't you?" Her father says pretending to blow off the situation as if he does this every day. "Perhaps I should answer that for you. No, you don't. You've been fired."

"Fired?!" Katherine shrieks angrily, "How could you do this to me? I worked so hard to get that job. As hard as you worked to create the New York World. How could you just take that away from me?" Pulitzer sighs and shakes his head in a disappointed manner. The Delanceys are snickering at her obvious predicament and the unknown man behind her father is laughing as well. Mr. Wiesel or Weasel as the boys call him is standing next to him.

"You were showing so much potential, Katherine, so much. How dare you go and disappoint me like this? I raised you to be a bright and enterprising young lady. Not someone who just takes her life and ruins it. I suppose the better question is, how could you do this to me?" Pulitzer challenges his daughter. Katherine sighs aloud. Feeling defeated, she sits down in a chair and opens up the paper with her article in it that is currently sitting on her father's desk. She was never one to give up and she has no plans to start now. Katherine knows that she needs to think on her feet. She can trick her father and win the strike with Jack by her side and Crutchy by his. They would all be happy some day and she was sure of it. There was no way that Katherine Plumber/Pulitzer was going to let her father win. Not now, not ever. When her father begins to discuss plans with the man standing behind him, she hears the man say,

"Once he gets in here, make sure he can't get out. He'll be happiest in jail with his little friend, the gimp. I guarantee it." Katherine stands up abruptly at the mention of one of Jack's best friend and the mention of Jack going to jail. She puts a hand over her mouth worriedly as she finally grasps the whole situation.

"You're the jail warden!" Katherine cries angrily.

"Mr. Snyder or Warden Snyder, at your service miss," the jail warden says. Her angry gaze then turns to her father. "Why are you doing this to him and the boys? Each one is going to suffer greatly because of you," She cries angrily at Pulitzer. Her father stands up and walks over to her. Katherine runs for the door and tries to leave, the Delanceys out of her path. Her father grabs her hand and yanks her back towards her chair. Katherine sits in her chair and reads the newspaper knowing that there is absolutely nothing she can do in her power at this moment. She over hears the continued conversation between Pulitzer and Snyder,

"Now, tell me, more about this boy, Jack Kelly," Her father says to continue what they had been talking about earlier.

"Which one is he?" Another man who Katherine guesses to be the Mayor inquires. Snyder points to the picture.

"This one is Jack Kelly. I arrested this boy years ago for stealing food and clothes for some of the other boys, a couple years ago, he escaped, and I have yet to catch him again," Snyder snarls. His face, contorting with anger as he mentions the sneaky newsboy. Katherine cringes, thinking of what will happen to Jack if he is caught by this nasty jail warden again. Her father begins to yell about how he wants an example made of Jack and he does not think that the mayor should take him quietly. Suddenly Hannah, Pulitzer's secretary, marches in.

"Mr. Pulitzer, the boy, Jack Kelly, he's here to see you," She stutters. Katherine immediately stands again dropping her newspaper. Her father walks back over to her and puts a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Sit," he commands. Katherine sits in the chair and her father spins it around, so it's facing away from the main part of the office. Warden Snyder hides behind Pulitzer's chair, waiting to catch his enemy. Seconds later, Jack comes bustling in,

"Afternoon, Joe!" Her father replies with a scoff of an introduction,

"Is this Jack Kelly, the infamous strike leader or the escaped criminal?" Katherine puts a hand on her cheek and she can feel gentle tears spilling out of her eyes. This is not going to end well for anyone and she can tell. She wipes her eyes and remembers what these boys have called her. She's their King of New York and she will get them out of this somehow. Katherine smiles a little bit when she hears Jack make a joke about him and Pulitzer having things in common. However, she nearly cries when she hears Jack mention the rally.

"Some of ya employees are gettin togetha to discuss some recent disagreements about some certain circumstances that have just come up. And we figured we'd invite you too." Jack says casually, "So ya could say your reasons." Pulitzer nods and shakes his head. He begins to tell Jack his war stories and how much of an achievement that the war was for him. Pulitzer then insults Jack by shaming his manners. Katherine shivers at his offensive words in her seat. She knows Jack has so much to offer. Why can't her father see it or accept it? The next words sting and she knows her and Jack's fates are sealed when her father says them.

"Rally til the cows come home, but not a paper is going to print a single article about the rally. Not one," Pulitzer snarls, "You should give up while you still have the chance, Mr. Kelly. Remember, if the papers didn't talk about it, it never happened."(Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies) Katherine hopes that Jack will fight back. He has to. There's just no other way around it.

"You may be the King of New York, Joe, but there are some of us honest hardworking people who will not be bullied or take the bullying from you," Jack pauses and Katherine is surprised at his next words, "Even some reporters." (Dialogue in Newsies by Harvey Fierstein)

"You mean the wonderful reporter that wrote the articles about the strike news for the New York Sun?" Pulitzer inquires, "She's got lots of talent. Beautiful too. Am I right?"(Dialogue in Newsies by Harvey Fierstein) Jack laughs, but Katherine can hear the fear. He's skeptical and he wants out. She can tell.

"I'll tell her ya said so."(Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies) He says and Katherine can hear the smirk. She smiles confidently.

"No need. She can hear you for herself. Can't you, darling?" (Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies) Katherine has never felt so upset to hear her father's voice in her entire life. Nonetheless, she stands and Jack's pained expression breaks her heart in two. "You've met my daughter, Katherine," Pulitzer introduces. Katherine wants to cry and there is so much she wants to help him with right now. "You're probably wondering why the fake name and why doesn't she work for me? Good questions. I offered Katherine a life of luxury and wealth, but she chose to pursue a career. She was doing so well until this recent lapse," Her father explains with a smirk on his face.(Dialogue from Newsies by Harvey Fierstein)

"Jack," she starts, but Jack sticks his hand out and shakes his head. (Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies)

"No," she thinks, "don't let him do this to you! Don't let him win, Jack, please! I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry."

"He doesn't need your problems. Jack has a plateful of his own." Pulitzer once again pauses for dramatic effect, "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Snyder?" At that name, Jack goes into a panic and bolts for the door. The Delanceys grab him and hold his arms. Katherine feels so upset seeing Jack trapped like this. (Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies)

"Hello, Jack!" Mr. Snyder says, too cheerfully for either Jack or Katherine's liking. Katherine hopes that her father will play fair for her sake and Jack's. (Dialogue in Newsies by Harvey Fierstein)

"I have a deal for you, boy," Pulitzer begins and Katherine has the sinking feeling that it has to do with stopping the rally. "Stop the rally this evening and discourage those boys from carrying out any more plans against me, and you shall be free with enough money to go to Santa Fe. Your criminal record forgotten. That's where you said he wanted to go right, Katherine?" He continues in a diabolical manner.

"There ain't a person in dis room who doesn't know dat you stink," Jack growls at Pulitzer.(Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies) Pulitzer simply laughs in reply and says,

"They also know me well enough to know that I don't care."(Dialogue by Harvey Fierstein in Newsies) Jack looks hurt and frustrated. "Defy me and I will have you and every single of one of your rabble rousers locked up in the Refuge. Think of poor David and his baby brother. Torn from their family and thrown into jail. And it would be you who put them there. What about the gimp boy, Crutchy? You would crush any hopes he had of getting out of the Refuge," Pulitzer says a little too happily for Katherine's liking. Her father continues to haggle Jack into making a decision, but the determined look on his face says that he is only going to do what is best for everyone. "Remember, I win either way. So for my sake, please make a decision," Pulitzer pushes in a rude manner. Katherine wants it all to stop. No one deserves to get hurt, not even her father. Especially not Jack or any of the other Newsies. Not even her and yet here she is suffering, not nearly as greatly as Jack and the Newsies, but suffering right alongside them. This is all her fault. She remembers it all too well, cracking from the pressures from her father. Shortly after she had met the boys and written her first article. It had all started as an innocent normal conversation.

"Ah, Katherine, what a pleasure to see you, dear. How was your day?" Her father had started, as if nothing was wrong. That had raised a red flag in Katherine's mind. Pulitzer never even pretended to care this much about his daughter. That fact that he had seemed genuinely caring was news to her. So, she answered,

"It was a great day. Thank you for asking. I'm following a great story right now and it is working out really well for me." Her father had quirked an eyebrow.

"The Newsboys strike against me. I saw your article. You make me seem as if I am an absolute monster. How on earth could you do that to your poor old innocent father?" Pulitzer had probed, "Am I really that terrible to people? I was simply trying to be enterprising and make more money." He had chuckled as if it were a joke that only he could understand. Then his mood had suddenly darkened severely.

"Tell me everything you know about this boy or I will have him thrown in the Refuge." He had threatened. Katherine had frowned at her father and shaken her head. "Fine, then I guess I will speak to Warden Snyder. I'm sure he knows a thing or two about this ridiculous boy," Pulitzer had continued on threatening. Katherine had broken down into tears which had surprised her father.

"Alright, you win. I'll tell you what you want to know. Just, don't throw him into the Refuge. Please?" Katherine had begged while sobbing. Her father had simply smiled and pulled her into his office, closing the door behind them.

Katherine shivers at the memory as her father says,

"Take our guest to the cellar, so he can think about his decision." Several of her father's office men follow the Delanceys as the take Jack away. Her father shoots a smirk her way and Katherine runs for the door. Warden Snyder who is about to leave, blocks Katherine's way preventing her from leaving. Pulitzer strolls forward and opens the door a bit wider, takes out a key and says to his daughter,

"You will stay here until I come for you again. Try to get out and Jack will be seeing windows with bars on them for the rest of his life." Pulitzer slams the door and locks it, leaving his daughter in shock. How could he do such a nasty thing to his own daughter? How is she supposed to help Jack when she is just as trapped as she is? Katherine sinks to the floor, tears slipping out of her eyes. There is no way out. She feels weak and defeated. Her whole world crashing in on top of her. The Newsies may suffer much more than they already have. Suddenly, she remembers something. Her father's office window opens. Katherine stands up with a start and quietly sneaks over to the window. Her nimble fingers work gently to unlock the latch. It clicks softly in response to her actions. She gently pushes the large pane open, smiling that it is large enough for her to walk through and that the fire escape is right below. Putting a hand on each side of the window, she steps down onto the fire escape. Reaching back up to the window, Katherine carefully closes it making sure that it latches back on the inside. She sighs in relief when it does. Slowly, she makes her descent toward the street. The stairs on the fire escape creak and moan under her weight as she carefully tries to go down them. Katherine lets out a small gasp as she sees the parlor lights turn on and her father, Snyder and a few other men sit down to discuss what to do about the rally. Thankfully, she is just above the parlor windows; however, they could still spot her from their places around the room. She is heartbroken. Her only chance of escape may ruin itself if she gets caught. Katherine wants so badly to get to the rally. She needs to warn the boys of what is going to happen next. Looking at the stairs, Katherine's hear sinks. The stairs go right in front of the parlor window. Her father will surely see her and that will be the end. She looks down and realizes that she is not that far away from the ground. Thinking through this, she decides that she will have a much smaller chance of being seen if she jumps to the ground. Katherine looks down hesitantly. "Maybe this isn't the best idea," she thinks to herself, then she shakes her head, "I'm the King of New York to these boys. I have to be there for them and for Jack." With that thought in her mind, Katherine climbs over the railing and jumps to the ground.

AN:/ Ooo, Katherine's sneaking out. I love how she does stuff like that. She is such a brave individual. Will Katherine make it to the rally and what will happen in between her and her father? Did you like any of the scenes that I have written in? I hope they were good and made sense. The last two chapters were not as interesting, but I hope this one brought something new to the table. Please, tell me what you think! I love feedback. Also if you have not seen my latest story, There's A Life That's Worth the Living, you should check it out. It's a totally different take on Newsies. I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think! Enjoy the read! See you next week, friends!