Borough What Gave Me Birth (Friendliest Place on Earth)
Ao3 is down, so I'm posting this here! It's a newsies (Specifically uksies!) one-shot based on an idea/joke one of the ensemble actresses had for her newsie, Splint, dying after the rally. It features all of the Brooklyn girls, but mostly Splint, Scope, and Spot.
Enjoy!!!
The rally is over, the newsies have won, and Scope is almost ready to celebrate. Almost.
She hadn't wanted to come here at all. She hadn't wanted to risk her friends. She told Spot not to come — of course, Spot overruled that decision and came anyway (a little later than expected, but still came) and saved the day like she always did. Scope supposes that Spot's gut was right, because the other kids would have been up the river before you could say "strike" without Brooklyn.
Scope came to follow orders and protect her friends. She'd do anything for Spot, even when she didn't want to. And she had to look after the other girls. There weren't many of them, but the only person who watched them just as sharply as Scope did was Spot, and Spot had business to take care of.
When all is said and done and Brooklyn reunites with the addition of Stray's Manhattan brother and the infamous Racetrack Higgins (holding Joey's hand in one of his and Spot's hand in the other), Scope notices that one person is missing: Her bunkmate, Splint.
Alarm bells sound in her head. She interrupts whatever triumphant smiley conversation the other newsies are having to inform Spot about Splint, and they all run off to look for her.
It's not like Splint is defenseless. In fact, she fights well when she's not injured. It's just that she's always injured. The only time Scope has ever seen her completely healed was when she picked a fight with a boy who looked at Pips wrong, and she won the fight but fell on her face and rebroke her arm immediately after.
Spot, Joey, and Race come with Scope, and it takes them a while to find Splint, but eventually they locate her in the back of a dark alley, and she doesn't look so good.
Stray and her brother are already there, crouched over Splint. A dog is sitting next to Splint and resting its snout on her chest. Her broken arm is elevated and resting on the dog's back, except it's twisted the wrong way and bleeding profusely. There's a gash on the side of her face, from her cheek all the way to her neck. Stray is holding Splint's good hand in her own, telling her a story. Scope rushes in and takes her spot, trying not to cry.
"What the hell happened?" Spot asks, her voice cold as steel with rage. Spot's anger is never warm like fire or wet with tears, always cold as ice — or a blade.
"I got soaked," Splint croaks, and just hearing her speak was painful. Blood dribbles out of her mouth, and Scope wipes it with her sleeve.
"Two on one… no — no chance." She says.
"Im going to rip this city down brick by brick," Scope promises. "Let's get you back home." She says, trying to lift her friend up. Splint is limp in her arms, and seems to be fading far away. Scope stifles a sob and sits down, Splint draped over her knees.
"Hildy! Lucky! Ritz! Raf! Pips!" Spot calls to the rest of Brooklyn, who stand at the mouth of the alley. They run over and Pips hides in Rafaela's side when she sees Splint, and Hildy claps a hand over her mouth.
"Splint's hurt. Bad." Is all Scope can manage to say. She doesn't say that Splint might die right here in her arms partly because she doesn't want to scare Rafaela and Pips, who are the youngest of them, and partly because the child part of her brain reasons that if she doesn't put that thought into the world, it won't come true.
"Girls?" Splint asks weakly, and Scope gives her a squeeze as Spot assures her that they're all there.
"Stay with us, Splint, please stay." Scope murmurs.
"'m gonna be fine. C'mon, let's get to the… let's go home. Scope'll fix me right up again like always." Splint says. She tries to sit up but barely makes it halfway before falling back into Scope's lap. Scope cradles her head in her arms.
"It's alright. We don't hafta go anywhere just yet. I don't think it's such a good idea."
"Whatever you say, Scopey. Your gut's always right." Splint smiles and laughs to herself. "Except that one time. Remember when you thought — ow, ah, gee it hurts to talk —"
"When I thought there was a man outside of the lodge house and it was just one of Stray's dogs? Yeah, of course I do." Scope says quietly. She'd woken up after a particularly bad nightmare from her life on the streets and got paranoid about the noises outside. It was the only time she'd ever been wrong, and the other newsies wouldn't let her live it down. Especially not Splint, who she'd woken up in the middle of the night to warn. But Splint was also the only person Scope told about the nightmare, and had comforted her the rest of the night — even letting Scope climb into her bunk.
"That gave us all a good laugh," Stray chuckles.
"Don't let her forget." Splint coughs, and more blood spills out of her mouth.
"We won't." Spot promises. She's trying to hold it together. Scope can see it on her face. She's trying so hard to be strong for her girls, but what about herself? She needs to feel, too. Then again, Scope knows Spot doesn't like to feel. She thinks feelings get in the way of her purpose. Scope knows because she feels the same. She needs to be strong for Splint. She doesn't want to be a blubbering mess in her best friend's last moments.
"Don't go. You don't have to go, do you? You said I'd — You said I'd bring you home and fix you up. Maybe…" Scope whispers, but she trails off when Splint lifts a finger to her lips.
"I know what I said. But I ain't no fool, Scope. You know that."
"Oh, Splint…" Scope watches a tear fall from her own face onto Splint's and wills herself to stop crying. She remembers a story a young woman told her while she was on the streets about a girl crying onto her dying love — her tears had been magic, and brought her love back to life. That was a child's story, though, and Splint didnt magically heal.
"Don't let Ritz take my bunk and keep you up all night with her tapping and singing."
"Splint, don't talk like that…"
"I can talk… however I like, thank you very much."
"Damn right." Lucky says, and when Scope looks up at her, she's holding onto Ritz for dear life, who's covering her face and shaking.
"I —" Splint says and reaches out with her good arm before wincing and settling back down, looking more pained than before.
"It's okay, Splint. If it hurts, you can let go." Joey murmurs, moving forward to push Splint's hair out of her eyes.
Spot nods. "Brooklyn's here." Her voice trembles as she speaks.
"Loud and clear." Everyone repeats softly.
Splint smiles. "I love you all." She closes her eyes, and they don't open again. Each newsie come up and says their goodbyes, and Scope finally lets herself cry.
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