Hey guys! Sorry for the wait...I've literally had no free time. College tours, audition stuffs, show choir concert rehearsals, Speech and Debate competitions...Life's crazy! But totally awesome;) But, no, don't worry, I'm not leaving Fan-fiction, updates will just be very slow and spread out. I'm sorry, but what can ya do?

Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not Disney, not Ortega, not Menken, not Bale. Just a Newsie fan-girl. One of many.

~Rosey

Cowboy Break Out

Francis...No, Jack Kelly now...was breaking out.

No, not out of the refuge, my dear readers. Not yet. Slow down.

Out of the hospital.

They had told him he would need to stay for at least four nights under observation, for both his physical injuries and his emotional scars from losing his brother. But Jack needed out. And he needed out right then.

And so, one night around eleven thirty, Jack Kelly put on his old clothes that they had given him from the few objects saved from the fire, tied the bandanna firmly around his neck, slipped his cowboy hat on (which almost fit him now) and stepped quietly into the hospital's dimly lit hallway.

Now, reader, you may think that Jack Kelly's first escape was a fantastic, history-making one full of bed-sheet ropes and future president's carriages. But you're too eager. Jack's room in the hospital was on the first floor and nobody was in the halls. Jack literally snuck down an empty hallway and went out through the back door of the hospital. I'm sorry, you think this is going too fast? You think I'm leaving out details just to get this written? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're wrong. If you had been there, you wouldn't have described it any differently. There were no footsteps down another hall, there was no turning back for "one final look" from Jack, there was no solo song and dance number about Santa Fe before he left this perpetual prison. Jack Kelly simply took a deep breath, said a little prayer for the first time in a long time, opened the door, and stepped out into the chilly Manhattan night air.

It was pitch dark outside, and if it wasn't for a few flickering street lights, Jack couldn't have seen anything. He tilted his hat down a little further over his eyes and slowly made his way down the streets away from the hospital, really too tired and broken over his brother to care where he was headed, so long as he was going somewhere. That's a strange thing about people who are sad or scared about something...They always have to be going Somewhere, and it doesn't matter where Somewhere is as long as they get there.

As he walked, Jack's mind wandered to Spot. Where was he? Would Jack ever see him again? He hoped he would...Even though they didn't alway get along perfectly, Spot was undeniably his closest friend, and Jack missed him.

A rumble in Jack's stomach woke him from these thoughts and he winced, trying to think of where he could possibly get food. For half a second, he thought he had to get Andy some food too. Then he remembered and he shoved the thought of his brother's passing out of his mind and focused on finding a meal somewhere. He was starving, though he didn't want to admit it to himself. Before the fire, he hadn't gotten to eat properly, because he was just a kid and with his mom gone he didn't know how to get any sort of food. And then in the hospital, he hadn't been able to eat anything...Everything tasted horrible to him. But now he was starving, and he knew he needed food soon or Jack Kelly would come to an end just as quickly as he came to be.

Sleep was drawing on his eyes and he yawned, blinking heavily. He saw that he was approaching the Horace Greeley statue that he loved so much due to it's quote engraved on the bottom. "Go West, Young Man."

Go West, Cowboy Jack.

Even more tired than he was hungry, Jack Kelly climbed up on to the statue and laid down in the bronze man's arms, closing his eyes. And he fell asleep wondering just how one goes about stealing food.

Phew! All that for this one little chapter? Though I think it may be one of the longer chappys actually...Hahahaha

Anywho, as you can piece together, LOTS of things are about to start happening, so keep an eye out for more updates and carry the banner!

~Rosey