A/N: As I worked on "Unending Trust" - in Plays since I have fewer there - I developed an idea where the girls could just be silly like in the snow scenes in "Do You Want To Build A Snowman," which is just after the musical but I put in Movies for connections to the '82 movie via a nightmare (plus mentioning the '82 Grace and how July likes the name Kate because of the former house mother), and I lay out my timeline there. I wrote more of that scene over time. Among the silliness is seeing how the typical stoic butler, Drake, could be made to laugh out loud.

A few questions are answered, too, here. Like Bundles' relationship with Miss Hannigan – did he ever take Miss Hannigan up on that date, what did he think about the heavy load (if anything), etc.? How did Oliver find out about the sweatshop (He says they won't have to work anymore) and what resulted? There's some about how much they played, danced, etc., too

If this is the first of my Annie stories you've read, see my profile for others, some are in Movies, some Plays, one a Crossover. I'm not the first to have Oliver and Grace marry or adopting Molly (I mean, in "Annie, Tanner Style" I show how you could imply it in a musical with where you place her at the end, looks, etc.; and I saw a couple on Youtube in looking at how to write it with Molly standing with Annie, Oliver, and Grace for a moment, much simpler than in mine.)

It will move to Plays, but given missing bits of "Do You want To Build A Snowman" it's here for now.

Like a Kid Again

Chapter 1 – Awakenings

Molly – soon to be Warbucks - six, tossed and turned. She woke with a start, glanced over, and smiled as she saw her soon-to-be sister Annie.

"Phew," Molly whispered excitedly. "It worked."

She didn't want to wake Annie, but she wanted to tell someone the good news. Luckily, she heard footsteps. She wasn't sure whose they were, but she knew she was at the Warbucks mansion and therefore was free from Miss Hannigan's scary orphanage. So, she dashed out of her and Annie's room saying, "Guess what?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. She'd turned thirteen a few days earlier, and her soon-to-be adoptive parents and she had come back that Friday night so she could have a sleepover with her friends. "Why aren't you telling Annie about that bad dream?" the bossy former orphan demanded.

"You're awake now."

"Of course. Because I have to go to the bathroom. I thought you wouldn't have that bad dream about your parents and the ferry boat anymore now that Mr. Warbucks and Miss Grace are adopting you," Pepper griped. It had only been three weeks since they'd learned that the Mudges weren't Annie's official parents, but impostors, and then Oliver Warbucks had said he would adopt Molly along with Annie. The couple had gotten engaged on New Year's Eve.

"I don't. Now it's another bad dream I didn't have."

"One you-." Pepper looked confused for a split second. "If you didn't have a bad dream, why are you telling people about it?"

"I thought you'd be happy."

July, thirteen, reminded herself she didn't have to intervene like she would at the orphanage, when she had been a mother figure for everyone. Back then, Pepper's bossiness crept over the line to bullying at times. She still recalled Miss Kathy's "graduation speech" of sorts soon before the former house mother left for good in August of '31: "I've taught you for eleven years how to be a loving caregiver. I've trained you and seen you grow into a fabulous young lady. Pick your battles wisely, as I know you will, so Miss Hannigan gives you duties as a mother figure. But don't let anything she says make you feel down. Because you know, and I've told her, you've more than earned the right to be a mother figure for these girls."

Their phone call to her the Saturday after getting out of the orphanage had proven Miss Kathy was proud – so much so July considered going by Katherine when older. Still, despite not needing to do so, July got up. "What's going on?" she wanted to know.

"Molly didn't have a bad dream. And she's telling me all about it," Pepper scoffed.

"Wait… you mean you were able to solve something without it being scary?" July asked.

"Right. Hi, Annie," Molly said happily.

"I thought I heard you get up. Is everything okay?" Annie asked.

"No, she- well, yeah it is, because-" Pepper threw up her hands.

"You know that dream where the kidnappers took you and we had to rescue you, Annie? Pepper gave me problems then in the dream when I tried to warn you before. But, this time I got around her. She stayed back and watched us while we left-"

"This is the me of her dream, of course. Because while everyone was awake Mr. Warbucks found out they were impostors before they could take Annie," Pepper hastened to add as she inched away while dancing a little, since she really had to go now. Drake, the butler, observed the group. He kept his distance at one end of the hall. He didn't know if someone wanted to get up or not, though it was dreadfully early, in his mind.

"Pepper, why can't you just be happy she didn't have a bad dream," Annie insisted.

"Yeah, and she didn't wake you up this time," July reminded her.

Pepper fretted. "I still have to go to the bathroom!"

The commotion had caused the other orphans and Oliver Warbucks to awaken and arrive. "Who called this meeting?" Oliver asked, somewhat joking.

"Molly did, so she could tell me she didn't have a bad dream." Pepper stomped away.

"But, it's four o'clock in the morning," Tessie whined as Pepper entered the bathroom.

Pepper was about to slam the door. She couldn't help but chuckle, though, after Tessie's comment. She'd put the mansion down when she first saw it, not wanting to think of how great it was compared to the orphanage. She loved it now, though. "Yeah. At least we're not scrubbing the floor." She closed it more gently than she'd planned, her attitude brightening a little.

"It is so nice to be away from all that," Duffy said. "Thanks again for finding us homes."

Grace, Oliver's private secretary, wasn't yet sleeping in the same room as him since they were only engaged. So, she came from a separate room. "What's going on?"

Drake spoke. "It appears that Miss Molly is happy because she was able to overcome a possibly scary incident which had previously led to a scary dream. For some reason, she chose to celebrate by telling Miss Pepper about it."

"So, where's Pepper?"

Drake tried to remain stoic and explain delicately while being the ultimate, proper butler. "It would seem that Miss Pepper was, at the time, preparing to engage in an activity which involves disposing of…" They all heard the toilet flush. The girls all broke out in laughs, but Drake merely grinned. "Thank you, Miss Pepper."

Meredith Jackson and her husband stepped out their door. They would be Pepper's official adoptive parents in the coming months. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"We heard a lot talking and wanted to make sure Pepper wasn't feeling down," Meredith said.

"I wanted to tell Pepper I didn't have a nightmare. I didn't think all of you would wake up," Molly explained as Pepper came out of the bathroom.

"How many warm milks shall I ask them to prepare?" Drake took a count, and promised to return with them. He left smiling, glad to be able to help all these young people.

Molly felt happy, too. "It's nice to be up talking."

"It's even nicer to be sleeping," Pepper quipped.

"I heard this is the city that never sleeps," Kate said. She'd been named Kate when she came, so July used July, not the name Miss Kathy had given her, though she pondered using Katherine someday. The two were being adopted as sisters.

"That doesn't mean people in it don't need sleep," Pepper argued.

"But now we don't have to be scared," Molly maintained.

"Molly, please stay on the subject," Pepper requested impatiently.

"Okay. We don't have to be scared when we sleep," Molly said.

"I think what she means is, we don't have to worry about Miss Hannigan," Tessie said. Miss Hannigan hadn't hurt them physically, but, boy, did she scare them a lot. Molly never knew what her days being numbered meant – would Miss Hannigan really make her chase birds for food like she'd said? - unless she stuck close to Annie and July.

As the others spoke, Pepper worked a little on feeling safe doing this, just like she'd gone out perhaps an hour after the others to play and have fun in the snow the day after they'd gotten out. Her mind had been on what-ifs more than others had realized. She'd long looked for ways to escape the drudgery. This was why she'd been the lead writer of their comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, which had begun as her making fun of Annie sneaking out to find her parents.

"It is nice," Pepper said as one of the maids came upstairs to investigate. She considered how she'd been protective of Molly in her own way, but also been a bit jealous of Molly just as she had been of Annie in how Annie refused to let herself feel trapped. Oh, Duffy had also refused to feel trapped, but she wasn't as brash as Annie about it, though she did step on Miss Hannigan's foot "by accident" at times. "Is Molly still playing in the laundry?" Pepper asked the maid.

"Molly loves that; she's such a delight. She makes all of us laugh," the maid said.

Molly said one thing escaped her – and Annie. "Except Drake. I want to make him laugh hard."

Grace said that would be hard with any butler. "Even as wild as the last few weeks have been, he's trained to always keep his composure," she told the girls.

Mr. Jackson looked Pepper in the eye. "The last few weeks have been crazy, haven't they? I know they feel like the craziest three weeks ever to us." He still recalled how his wife – a midwife – had been one of those recommended by a local medical association.

"Honey," Meredith had said as he walked into the living room while the woman in her upper forties gently put the phone down. "Remember when the midwives' association asked if they could give our names – along with others from other medical groups – to possibly adopt?"

He had liked the idea – in theory, anyway. They'd lost a child as an infant, and their daughter had recently married and moved out. A son was out west. But, there were so many questions.

"Well… that was Oliver Warbucks." Meredith grinned at his shock. "Yes, the billionaire. We just got done talking for maybe half an hour, he and his assistant Grace and I. He said think of money as no object. He asked if we'd take a girl of 12, almost 13, named Pepper. He thinks we'd be perfect. All the recommendations, our conversations… honey this girl has no physical scars, but some pretty rough mental ones. She's the toughest of all they got from that orphanage."

"I know that look. Almost like an expectant mother. We need to at least go meet her, don't we?" She said yes, and that they'd have a trust fund, like for all the girls.

He considered the adventure they'd begun then as Oliver continued to speak. "I was okay with a girl – I knew Grace was trustworthy and had to have had a good reason to choose Annie, even at first. I've found so much joy since."

"The New York City Board of Orphans might have directed me there, but no-one could have imagined what was going on; or how much fun the last few weeks would be," Grace said as they continued to talk while someone in the kitchen heated the milk as Drake had requested.


Annie had heard a huge sigh of relief around a month earlier, her first morning at the Warbucks mansion. She grinned. She thought she knew what Mrs. Greer had worried about. Relaxing beneath mounds of bubbles, she said, "You heard about Miss Hannigan drinking, too, I bet."

"That woman drinks, too? How much? I was worried just now about how she might treat you after you said how she makes you girls sew so much." Mrs. Greer tried hard to maintain her composure that morning, but this second revelation made the first harder.

"A lot sometimes, but she's not violent. We can scare her easy with dead mice and things," Annie said.

Mrs. Greer frowned. "You've heard the same thing about violent drunks as what has me worried about the sweatshop." She pulled up a stool. "I'm glad I didn't see any bruises or red marks or anything, but what does Miss Hannigan do if you don't listen? Or if you don't do your job well," she asked solemnly.

"She yells a lot. She locks us in the cellar, or she just sends us to bed and makes us stay there. Plus, she says stuff she'll do but never does. We watch out for each other," Annie explained.

"What about the younger ones? How young does she start you sewing?"

"It depends. Miss Kathy worked there till a couple years ago when she started teaching full time and moved. Miss Hannigan asked her if we could start sewing when we were two or three. She got Miss Hannigan to be reasonable, though. Kate sits with July and helps her, and Molly sits on my lap. We sing songs we made up, sometimes it's to teach letters and words and math and stuff, sometimes just for fun," Annie said with a clear sense of tiredness in her voice. Mrs. Greer could tell she was sick of all that work, but enjoyed the singing.

"It sounds really dull." Annie nodded. "How old is Molly?' Annie said she was six. "Is she the youngest? Who's helping Molly now, do you think?"

Annie really stunned her with the next answer. "She's used to it. I've snuck out before and got locked in the cellar for it. Either she sits with Duffy, or sometimes Miss Hannigan makes Tessie keep her occupied. Tessie's still not as fast as me or the older three. Of course, she might expect the older ones to do a lot more then. Molly's the youngest, so they find something to do."

"Do you get any free time?" Mrs. Greer asked.

"The younger ones, Molly and Kate, get a bit more since they're slower. You asked about since I'm not there. Usually she has them clean stuff, but sometimes she lets them work on lessons if they're not playing. I told you I don't have toys. Miss Hannigan wants people to think she's teaching us. But she isn't. It's all July, and Duffy, and sometimes me or Pepper or Tessie. 'Cause we don't always sew, just when orders come in. If Molly wants to write or read, she'll ask one of us to spell words or ask what they are while we sew. Miss Hannigan knows not to put her on a machine by herself." Maybe that's what "Your days are numbered" means. Though Molly's scared it means Miss Hannigan will do something really mean – like making her chase birds.

"And, you're sure you're not afraid for any of them? Because if you are, I can tell Mr. Warbucks and he can make sure they're safe," Mrs. Greer promised. She didn't know how, but she knew her employer was very kind-hearted. He just didn't always realize there was a problem because he got too focused on his own life. Once he found out about one, he tried hard to help.

"I'm sure. We got others who watch out for us. Like Bundles, who brings the laundry. I guess Miss Kathy had a talk with a few people before she left."

Mrs. Greer was happy to hear Annie was relaxed, even if Miss Hannigan's meanness bothered her. She could tell Annie was really frustrated by everything, and perhaps holding some things back. She could tell that being locked in a cellar sounded pretty bad. And, the fear that would come from threats – whatever they were – had to gnaw at her, too. But, she also seemed like the kind of girl who would tell right away if there was a problem.

"I'm going to tell Mr. Warbucks so he understands. Is there anything else you want him to know about that place? Because I mean it, if someone's being hurt we need to know." She reminded herself that she was starting to sound agitated. "I'm sorry. I believe you if you say they're safe. It's just…" She shook her head.

"No, nothing else. And it's okay. Tessie gets that way about lots of things," Annie said.

I'm getting like this because this isn't normal, and you might not understand how wrong it is to make orphans work like that. "All right, I'll tell him. If there's anything else you want him to know, you can tell him later." Mrs. Greer asked one of the other maids to wait on Annie while she went down to Oliver's office.

"So, Barney, we've got the paperwork done for the most part. Thanks for coming early today. I think this sounds quite good," Oliver said as he and his friend Barney looked over a sheet of paper. "I'll have my assistant Grace type it up for the President." He saw Mrs. Greer at the door to his office and stood before walking toward her, not really grasping the concern on her face. "Mrs. Greer, how's Annie? She was exhausted after last night, but I'm sure she's ready to go today again. I have some big plans; I think she's old enough to understand if I take her to the stock market. She seems quite sharp for her age."

He didn't see my worried look, but he still cares. "I think so, but there's something else."

"What, where does she want to go instead?"

"It's not that… Mr. Warbucks, let me start with the good news."

"No, I always say, start with the bad news so I have time to figure out how to handle things. Like knowing I was an orphan but that I could still make millions."

"All right. That orphanage is hiding an illegal sweatshop where the orphans are forced to work."

Oliver was, as expected, upset. "Oh, for-" he blurted. "How are the girls treated there?"

"That's the good news. There are no signs Annie has been physically mistreated, and she says the others aren't, either," Mrs. Greer said.

"What a relief. So, how did you find out?"

"Annie mentioned how relaxing it felt here, and how if she bathed it was usually really fast and she didn't always get even a weekly bath with all the cleaning and sewing she did. When I asked she said how much they sewed. It was about then I was able to see there were no bruises or anything. Believe me, I was as relieved as you look to be now," Mrs. Greer finished.

"Well, of course. There's a reason the place I lived growing up is called Hell's Kitchen. The way some people acted was awful. Just in talking with Annie yesterday, she has the same kind of determination I had to get out of there for good, even when I became an orphan," Oliver ranted.

"I can imagine. She said she's snuck out a few times, in fact." Mrs. Greer shared some of the other information Annie had told her – that Miss Hannigan was mean, cruel, and scheming, but at least not violent.

Oliver pursed his lips. "Well, she's intelligent, she's learning from someone there." Mrs. Greer said it was the oldest orphans, and that a house mother who was a teacher had been there till a couple years ago. "Good. She wanted to write to her friends there, let her do that while I finish my meeting, and then I'll talk with her about it before we leave. Thank you."

After Annie finished her letter – which Mrs. Greer saw was rather good, though with a few spelling errors and some penmanship problems – she skipped into Mr. Warbucks' office. "Hi, I'm Annie," she said to who she guessed was his business partner. She extended her hand, and he shook it.

"Oh, yes, Barney, this is Annie, the orphan I was telling you about. Listen, why don't we all grab an early lunch and then go to the stock exchange together. Annie, do you know what the stock exchange is?"

Annie looked at Oliver and spoke confidently. "Well, I'm sure they exchange stocks, Sirs. Whatever those are," she said more quietly, but still with confidence.

"Oh, don't feel bad, Annie. Just saying 'sure they exchange stocks, Sirs' quickly like you did is a feat," Barney quipped.

Oliver laughed. "That's the spirit, Barney. Annie instills confidence in me. I see our younger generation able to do great things. Now, if you'll excuse us for a moment before we leave."

Oliver sat with Annie in his office while Barney left to get his coat.

"Annie, Mrs. Greer told me about how much Miss Hannigan forces you girls to work. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I'm afraid she'll just hide any evidence or lie about it if we step in too fast. She might have phony employee records, for all we know."

Annie looked downcast. "It's okay, Sir. You're not the first person who's said there has to be stuff like black eyes or bad bruises or something. Thankfully there's never any of that!"

"Oh, so someone else knows about the sweatshop?"

"No, Sir. Just about her drinking." Annie was only thinking of present people in the area. Miss Kathy had promised never to reveal it as long as Miss Hannigan was never physically abusive.

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Annie… I imagine you may not have even realized making children your age work that many hours a day at an adult job is illegal. But… look, it seems like enough people are watching out for your friends in the more obvious areas. Is it okay if they wait a week or two longer, till I can figure something out?"

She spoke wearily but confidently. "They'll be fine. I wish you could stop to it, though."

"I know. Look, as long as they're safe, I'm going to proceed slowly so we can be sure we can shut it down. You're sure there's nobody there who's in danger if you're gone? I mean, I don't know," he said as he stood and started prancing a bit. "For all I know, with your attitude, Annie, you might be the one holding things together. Annie, I just wasn't prepared for this; but I promise I'll think of something."

Annie had gone through a few different emotions as he spoke. Finally, she stood, walked beside him, and smiled. "It's okay, Sir. The others keep things under control. Duffy likes to get us singing together and even dancing like we're the Boylan Sisters. The youngest girl, Molly, really looks up to me. But, they'll be okay for now. July will just have to help her and Kate.""

Oliver turned abruptly toward her. The idea that she had no last name had been a bit surprising, but not nearly as shocking as this. "July is a month. Does she not have a first or last name?"

"No, Sir. She didn't even come with a first name. Miss Hannigan named her after the month she came. Miss Kathy gave her Kate 'cause it was like hers. But then we got another Kate. So, she went back to July; though she might go with Katherine later," Annie explained.

"Oh, boy. Well, I promise we will help them. Somehow." Oliver felt overwhelmed. A person wouldn't run a secret sweatshop without a plan. It sounded like her bragging about what they learned was part of that – if she was doing that, he could imagine phony records, orders that were simply by telephone, and so on. Still, he wouldn't give up trying to think of a way.


A couple days later, soon before supper Friday, Bundles McCloskey got ready for a date. Miss Hannigan was about to take him to Chinatown for Christmas.

As if Bundles' confusion over what to do with that lady wasn't bad enough, he finally had time to look at the last few days of newspapers. He whistled his favorite Christmas song, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," as his children, his sister, and her children trimmed a small tree they'd gotten the previous day. Sure, he mixed up lines and verses, but he loved how it reminded him of the light and life Jesus brought – he knew Him, so he'd see his wife again someday – and the salvation that let him be reconciled with God by grace through faith, so important in this world filled with crazy things and questions, like how to deal with someone like Miss Hannigan.

He smiled as he saw the photo op picture of Oliver Warbucks and Annie, along with the caption. "How about that. That's nice." Then, he glanced at the date of the paper and looked up with a very confused look on his face. Was that the same day-? What's going on, anyway?