As Rebecca and Davey returned from Brooklyn, the young woman turned to look over at her companion. "Hey, it's been a long day. I'm gonna head back home, get some sleep before the big day tomorrow," she stated as a slight yawn escaped her lips. It had truly been a long day, and after all the climbing and running around the city, she was ready for a trip into dreamland.

"Oh, okay. Should I walk you home?" Davey offered, ever the gentleman.

She shook her head. "No, you should go talk to Les, try to get him back on your side and all that. You said you needed to do that eventually. I'll see you tomorrow at the rally, okay?" When Davey nodded, they exchanged quick farewells and went their separate ways.

As Rebecca walked home, though, she made the mistake of passing by the lodging house on the way home. It was the shortest way home, so it made sense for her to go that way if she really wanted to get some sleep, but it opened the possibility for her to run into another person.

And run into another person she did. Right outside the building, she almost ran straight into Jack. She managed to stop herself right before they would have collided, but Jack hardly seemed to notice. As Rebecca quickly steadied herself, he turned to face her. "Oh, you're here. You can come with me. I'm goin' to see Joe and invite 'im to the rally. Could use a hand," he told her. In all honesty, he had already attempted to invite Katherine to join him back at Medda's, but she had told him that she had something to do.

Initially, Rebecca hesitated. After all, she had decided not to spend time with Davey in order to get some sleep. But, then again, she had seen how Jack was this morning. Maybe it was better for her to go along with him for some emotional support.

Then again, maybe it wasn't the best idea. Jack didn't know the truth about any of the girls. He didn't know who Katherine really was, or who she and her sister were. But Pulitzer did. He knew who she was, and he could recognize her if he got a good look at her. So, she just had to make sure he didn't get the chance to make the connection. "Okay, I'll come with you. But I'll meet you at The World, okay?"

"Why can't you just come with me right now?" Jack asked, a hint of confusion on his face.

"I have my reasons. I'll be there in five, ten minutes at the most. But I'll be there, okay?" Rebecca didn't give him a chance to stop her, because as soon as the last word left her lips, she hurried down the street towards her house.

As she ran, her mind was racing. She was honestly pretty worried. Since Elizabeth had been taken away the day before, she hadn't talked with her parents that much. All she did was relay the story that she was staying at Katherine's, but that wasn't going to last long. Sooner or later, her parents would start to wonder why one of their daughters wasn't around. How long could she keep up the lie? And, how would they react when they found out that one of their little girls was now residing at the Refuge?

And then there was the situation with Pulitzer. The man knew her pretty well, due to her friendship with his daughter. The twins had known Katherine since they were little girls, which meant that Pulitzer had known her at a young age too. He had seen her growing up, and he would recognize her face in an instant. So, she had to avoid looking at him directly for sure. The safest bet would be to dress as a boy to avoid the identification. If she was identified, it would lead to an interesting conversation with the newsies afterwards, and she wasn't sure she was ready to have that conversation in the first place.

So, when she arrived home, she headed straight up to her room to change out of Elizabeth's dress. As soon as she was safe inside her room, she quickly changed out of her dress and into her shirt and pants, a small smile forming on her lips the entire time. Although she was nervous, the thrill of wearing her favorite outfit helped to ease her worry. After tying her shoes, she grabbed a hat off her dresser. She had stolen it from her brother's room this time, instead of the random stranger that lived in Katherine's building. Once her hair was tied up into a bun, she rested the hat atop her head and slipped out the door.

Thankfully, her parents had retired to the drawing room to await dinner, so nobody was there to see her sneak out of the house using the front door. As soon as her feet hit the ground outside, she started running towards The World building.

She found Jack leaning against the wall near the main entrance with his eyes scanning the surroundings. It was unclear whether or not he was searching for Rebecca or just observing the people out and about. Before she had the chance to catch him and ask, he had noticed her. "So, that's why you wanted to wait? A costume change?" he asked. He was clearly a little amused by it.

"I told you I had my reasons, Kelly," was all that Rebecca replied with as she crossed her arms over her chest.

He shrugged and turned away, heading to the door. "Whatever. You comin', Hughes?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." With a barely-audible sigh, Rebecca entered the building beside Jack, as ready as she ever would be to get this meeting over with.

Well, she was ready until they reached Pulitzer's secretary's desk. As soon as the secretary, whose name was Hannah, asked who was coming in to see Mr. Pulitzer, she chickened out. Instead of volunteering her name, she told Jack she would just stand outside the door and be there if he needed her. Jack didn't like that idea at first. He was ready to question her about why she felt she needed to change for a meeting she wasn't going to attend in the first place, but when he realized that the girl wasn't going to budge, he sighed and complied.

Jack entered the room after being introduced, and Rebecca sat outside the door in one of the chairs, removing her cap for a brief period of time to adjust it. As soon as Hannah was done introducing Jack, she exited the room and passed Rebecca before the hat returned to her head. Hannah's eyes widened in recognition. Katherine and the twins had visited Katherine's father frequently, so Hannah knew her too. Rebecca had completely forgotten that the staff could recognize her. Hannah opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by Rebecca giving her a quick shake of the head, her eyes pleading for the redhead to stay quiet.

"Please, Hannah, don't tell anybody I'm here," Rebecca requested as she pressed the hat back onto her head. "I'm just trying to do what's right. You know that this is wrong what they're doing to the newsies. I'm just trying to help everything become the way it should be."

Hannah let a small smile form on her lips. "You're sounding like your sister, wanting to help out the less fortunate," she pointed out.

Rebecca felt a smile tug on her lips as well, then admitted, "Yes, well, she's a good person to learn from. Still, promise not to tell?"

Hannah just nodded and returned to her seat with a smile, allowing Rebecca to just sit and wait in silence. She didn't get to do much waiting, though, because after a couple minutes, she heard an interesting conversation going on in the room, and she immediately stood up to listen. With a nervous look on her face, she moved and stood by the door, pressing her ear to the wood.

The first thing she heard was a comment given by Jack, still sounding as confident as ever. "You may run this town, Joe," he started, "but there are some of us who can't be bullied, even some reporters."

Of course, Pulitzer had a response at the ready. "Such as that young woman who made you yesterday's news. Talented girl, and beautiful as well, don't you think?"

Oh no, Rebecca thought. He wouldn't dare do this now, would he?

"I'll tell her you said so," Jack commented, completely oblivious. The poor guy had no idea what he was asking for.

"No need. She can hear for herself. Can't you, darling?" There was a pause, and then Pulitzer continued. "I trust you know my daughter, Katherine."

This was where Rebecca gave in, and pushed the door open without hesitation or invitation. She didn't know that her friend was in there, but she felt she needed to defend Katherine's intentions somehow. She strode straight into the room and over to Jack. "Jack, don't blame her, please," she begged, hoping he would listen to some reason. "She was never working for her father. I know she wasn't. She always had your best interests in mind, not hers or her family's."

Katherine nodded in agreement with Rebecca's statement. "Jack, I didn't mean to..." she started, her eyes pleading for him to believe her.

Jack's eyes were filled with hurt as he looked between the girls. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing at all. Instead, he just returned his gaze to Pulitzer, letting the hurt in his eyes transition to defiance.

Pulitzer looked over at Katherine, cutting her off. "Now, don't fill the boy with your problems, dearest." Then his gaze turned to Rebecca, and he started, "And you, don't try and reason...Rebecca?" He changed his idea mid-sentence.

"Can't say I'm pleased to see you, Mr. Pulitzer," Rebecca replied, pulling her hat off her head. "But I'm here to support my friends."

Pulitzer let a smirk form on his lips. "Your friends, hm?" he started. Katherine tried to stop him, but he ignored her words. "Do your 'friends' know who you are too? You know, I received a call earlier today from your father, Miss Hearst. He wanted to know where your sister was. I doubt he'd like to hear that you were hanging out with some newsies. If I were him, I wouldn't be very happy."

The look of disbelief and betrayal that had formed in Jack's eyes now encompassed Rebecca too. He couldn't believe that this whole time, the girls who had been so helpful in getting through this were part of the families that caused this hardship in the first place. Of course, hearing that Rebecca and Elizabeth was a Hearst did hurt him, but Katherine being a Pulitzer hurt him much more. He couldn't let on to that, though, so he still continued to remain silent.

Pulitzer flashed a sly grin towards Jack. "What? You thought I might allow my daughter to hang around with street rats? No. We normally have some standards when it comes to who we associate with. Even the children of my rival can be friends with my daughter because we're at the same social class."

He then waved off this trail of thought and continued on, looking at the two girls in the room. "But I think that's enough about that. We won't fill the boy with our problems. Mr. Kelly has a plate full of his own, wouldn't you say, Mr. Snyder?" Pulitzer asked, which cued the entrance of Warden Snyder himself. As Snyder greeted Jack, the latter tried to run away, but the Delancey brothers stopped him, turning him around to look at Pulitzer again.

"Allow me to offer you an alternate scenario, Jack. You attend the rally and speak against this hopeless strike, and I'll see your criminal record expunged and fill your pockets with enough cash to carry you on a first class train departing from New York to New Mexico and beyond." Pulitzer stood proud and tall, clearly believing he had won. In that situation, it sure seemed like he had the upper hand. "Mark my words, boy: defy me, and I'll have you and each and every one of your friends locked up in the Refuge. I know you're Mr. Tough Guy, but it's not right to condemn that little crippled boy to conditions like that, even though it allows that little nurse wannabe to have some patients to practice on." That was when Katherine and Rebecca shared a look. Snyder didn't know who Elizabeth was. She was just a random girl to him, so nobody knew.

He continued on as if nothing mattered. "And what about your pal...Davey, and his baby brother, ripped from their loving family and tossed to the rats. Will they ever be able to thank you enough?" After pausing briefly to give Jack a glare, he gestured to the Delanceys. "Boys, escort our guest down to the cellar where he may reflect in solitude. I want to talk to my daughter and her friend, alone." Pulitzer ordered.

"Jack, we're sorry," Rebecca tried to plead, but Jack refused to look at the girls. He let himself be led away, his expression a mixture of anger and hurt. He felt betrayed, so he blocked out the apologies that were being thrown at him as he was taken down to the cellar. Nothing they would say, he believed, would help at that point.

Katherine tried to follow them, but Pulitzer made sure that his assistants stopped him from leaving the office. When Jack was gone, she turned to her father to question him. "Don't you understand that what you're doing is wrong?" she asked rather harshly.

Pulitzer just rolled his eyes like an annoyed child. "I need to sell more papers. They can survive a pay cut."

Rebecca's eyes widened at this. "Mr. Pulitzer," she started, "do you have any idea what their lives are like? They need that money!"

"And don't you think your father needs money to keep you living the life you're used to?" Pulitzer retorted as he sat down at his desk. The girls shared a look of disgust, but apparently Pulitzer didn't even notice it. "Either way, you girls really shouldn't be hanging out with these...oh, what's the word? Well, you get what I'm trying to say." He shrugged it off and looked at the two of them. "Speaking of you girls, where is Elizabeth? I assume you know where she is."

Rebecca stood up straighter, a defiant look brewing in her eyes. "We're not telling you where she is," she started.

Katherine was going to say the same thing, but Rebecca beat her to it. So, she chose to add a little bit of her own. "Well, we'll tell you, if you promise to give in to what the newsies want."

Pulitzer looked between the two of them, trying to see if the two of them were serious. When he realized they actually were, he shook his head. "We'll find her soon enough. She must be safe if you two know where she is. I'm not going to give in just yet." He leaned back in his seat and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "You can leave now."

The girls walked to the door, feeling the same mixture of emotions as Jack had before. They felt upset that Jack had learned their secret like that, but also angry at Pulitzer for his actions. As soon as Rebecca's fingers touched the wood, she turned around and glared at Katherine's father. No words left her lips. Instead, she just turned and ran.

She exited the building as fast as her legs could carry her. First Katherine, then Hannah had tried to call to her, see if there was anything they could do, but Rebecca ignored both of them entirely. For most of her time as a part of the strike, she hadn't been sure if she was ready to tell the boys who she was. She didn't think she really wanted to, to be perfectly honest. But, she knew that it wasn't a matter of wanting to anymore. She had to. If Jack knew who they were, she had to let the others know. They were bound to find out eventually. But if the other newsies were to learn that she was a Hearst, she would tell them herself, and let her own words spread through the ranks instead of somebody else's idea of who she was.

For the first time since she was a part of the strike, she was happy to run into somebody on the street, if one could consider this to be "happy". Race and Specs were passing by on their way back from Harlem. Of course, they had no idea what was going on inside the building itself. They were surprised to see Rebecca come out. "Beck? What you doin' 'ere?" Race inquired when she reached them.

"I came with Jack to talk to Pulitzer and try to get him to come to the rally. He's still inside," Rebecca explained, skirting around where Jack really was. "But there's something I need to tell you." When she received a nod from both boys, prompting her to continue, she explained, "I...I'm not Rebecca Hughes. My legal name is Rebecca Josephine Hearst...as in William Randolph Hearst's daughter."

The two were shocked at this revelation. Race offered some impolite exclamations and Specs questioned her, both looking at her with the same look of betrayal that she had seen only minutes before in Jack. But, Rebecca pushed through her explanation. "And Katherine, she's Pulitzer's daughter. But please don't shut us out. We joined this cause because we believed in it. Katherine, Eliza, and I weren't spies for our fathers, or secretly trying to sabotage anything. We believe in you and what you're trying to do. So, please don't hold this against us. I hope we can all still be friends." Again, the same round of reactions came from the boys. She shook it off and finally said, "I'm sorry. Tell the others what I said, please, but I have to go. I'll see you at the rally."

And with that, she turned and walked away towards her home, ignoring the calls after her from Race and Specs. She wished she could head to the lodging house, because that had started to become more like home than her own house in Manhattan. But, after what had happened, she didn't feel she could go back there. Though she desperately it wasn't true, she knew it wasn't where she belonged. She wasn't a newsie. She didn't belong there. She never did, and she never would.