Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm back! Here's the sequel to Hello, Beautiful! Enjoy Chapter 1!


Chapter 1: They Don't Much Matter, If You Ain't With Me


"Hello, beautiful."

Katherine shot up from the now-very-wet grass. "Jack?"

He was standing only ten feet away from her.

Maybe nine feet.

Katherine wanted to run to him. She wanted to hug him, to kiss him... Or, punch him? She wasn't exactly sure.

But it didn't matter what she wanted to do, because her feet weren't letting her move anyway; it was as if she was afraid that Jack wasn't really here.

So Jack did the moving for her. Through the ever-worsening rain, he slowly took little steps toward her.

For some reason, Katherine felt herself tighten up inside. She felt very nervous as Jack came to stand only a foot away from her. He leaned his face down to hers.

"I missed you." Jack whispered.

Katherine could see the goosebumps on her arms. She didn't know if they were from the cold rain or Jack. She swallowed.

"I... I... I missed you too." Katherine glanced down to see Jack slipping one of his arms around her waist. She looked back up at him, showing no specific emotion.

So Jack wrapped his other arm around her waist. He bent down to kiss her.

Katherine felt her arms stiffen. It felt so strange to kiss him again- but also amazing.

She let her arms rest on top of Jack's arms. Kissing him again reminded Katherine of how much she loved Jack. How much she had missed him while he was gone in Santa Fe.

While he was gone in Santa Fe.

Gone.

In Santa Fe.

Jack had actually gone to Santa Fe.

He had left her.

And that made Katherine upset.

She pulled out of the kiss. Jack looked confused.

"You... You love Santa Fe more than me." Katherine whispered.

"What?" Jack gasped.

"You love Santa Fe more than me." Katherine repeated, anger clear in her voice. She ripped Jack's arms from her waist and backed up several feet, almost slipping because of the wet grass. The rain was pouring down, but Katherine was so angry right now that she really didn't care. "You left me for Santa Fe. And I-I-I'm so mad at you right now! I can't believe you went! You know, sometimes you can be such-such an idiot!" Katherine exclaimed, turning around and crossing her arms like a child.

Jack's eyes widened in hurt.

He knew she was partly right... Not fully right, though. "But... But it was you's idea." he whispered.

"Well, I didn't actually want you to go... I just thought you'd be happier out in Santa Fe than with me in New York!" Katherine yelled over the pounding rain.

Jack started crying. "Look, K-Katherine... I's sorry. I's sorry that I was such an idiot. I shouldn'ta gone to S-Santa Fe. I's sorry." Jack said again, sniffling. "And... And you's got every right to-to hate me-"

"Stop it!" Katherine exclaimed, still not turning around.

Jack fell silent. Tears continued to run down his face.

After a few minutes, Katherine spoke. "You're not an idiot," she said, turning around. Tears glimmered in her eyes. "And I don't hate you... I love you. I love you so much... And I'm sorry, Jack. I'm sorry." Katherine began to sob. "You-You deserved- and do deserve- to go to Santa Fe. You should g-go be happy out there-"

"I'm stayin'."

"What?" Katherine sniffed.

"I ain't goin' back to Santa Fe, Kath. I-I need you." Jack said softly.

"Really? 'Cause I don't w-want to hold you back or anything-"

"Don't say that, Ace. I's staying 'cause I love you. I love you, Kath." Jack smiled.

"I love you too, Jack. I'm-I'm sorry. I was so mean, and-" Katherine began.

"Shh. Shhh. It's okay, Plumber. It's all right..." Jack said. He sighed. "And I's-I's sorry for goin' to Santa Fe-"

"Don't be."

"Why-Why not?"

"I'm glad you-you got to live out your dream in Santa Fe." Katherine smiled.

"It was real beautiful." Jack said fondly. He walked a little bit closer to Katherine. "But you's way more beautiful."

"I figured you might say something like that." Katherine said, a tear slipping down her cheek as she grinned. But then her grin was replaced with a frown. "Wait. What-What about Julia?"

"Oh..." Jack said. "She's still gon' stay in Santa Fe. But she promised to visit."

Katherine nodded. "Good."

"I love you, Katherine." Jack said, wrapping his arms around her waist again.

"I love you too, Jack." Now Katherine's face was very wet, both from her tears and the downpour. She wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and cried gently for a minute.

Then she whispered, "Do-do you mind if I kiss you?"

"Absolutely not."

Katherine pulled his face down to hers. Both of them were still crying as they held on to each other. The rain was pounding down on them, and they were soaking wet; but they didn't even care. The two of them were out there for a long time, kissing each other passionately and clinging to each other as if they might never let go.

Eventually, Jack gently pulled away. "Wanna go inside? I's c-cold." he whispered with a laugh.

"Yes."

Katherine and Jack grasped hands and walked through the grass slowly to avoid slipping. On the back porch, they rung out their hair and clothes as best they could so as not to get the house soaking wet. Then Katherine opened the back door to see Jack's stuff already in the kitchen. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"The front door was unlocked." Jack shrugged. Then he went into the bathroom to grab some towels from the closet. He came into the living room where Katherine was. He draped a towel over her shoulders. She smiled. "Thank you."

He smiled back. "You's welcome," he said, putting a towel around his own shoulders. Then Jack plunked down onto the couch. Katherine settled herself in his lap with another smile. Jack kissed her damp cheek before she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me about Santa Fe."

Jack was quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "It was big. And-And green. There was lots of cows and horses and stuff. It had real tall mountains. Friendly people. Amazing sunsets."

"It sounds beautiful."

"Yeah. I guess it was."

Katherine swallowed, then asked, "Are you sure that you don't want to just stay here for a few days and then go back to Santa Fe?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah. I's sure."

"... Okay."

After a few quiet minutes, Katherine asked, "Jack?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"Would you- could you do my hair?"

Jack smiled. "'Course I will."

Katherine smiled too. "I'll be right back." She stood up, threw her towel onto a chair, and ran upstairs to grab her stuff.

Jack sighed contentedly and took off his damp towel, tossing it onto the same chair. He and Katherine were dry enough by now.

Suddenly, Jack started crying again. Happy tears, this time. He was so thrilled to be back with his Katherine. He just loved her so much.

And he hoped that she knew that.

"Jack?"

He quickly glanced up.

"Are you all right?"

"Uh, yeah." he swiped at his eyes. "It's... It's just, I's so happy to be wit' you again."

"Me too." Katherine smiled down at Jack.

Then he noticed that Katherine had two hairbrushes in her hand. He raised an eyebrow and gestured to them.

"Oh, right." Katherine laughed. "I'm not the only one whose hair got messed up by the rain." she yanked Jack's Newsie cap off his head and tugged at his hair with his hairbrush. Jack laughed as she then combed his hair with her fingers to make it look the way she wanted it to. After a little bit of meticulous toying, Katherine declared, "All right. Done." She put his cap back on.

Jack laughed. "Thanks." Then he settled Katherine on his knees so that he could do her hair. "Braids?" he asked.

"Just one, please." Katherine handed a hair elastic to Jack, as well as her hairbrush.

Jack held Katherine's hair in one hand, and her brush in the other. He gently brushed, pulled, and twisted her hair. Katherine felt so relaxed when he did her hair with his big, calloused hands. She closed her eyes and smiled; then she remembered something.

"Jack, I was going to go see the boys before you came back. And, I was wondering, should we go and surprise them? They'll be so happy to see you!"

"Oh, yeah! We's can do that!" Jack said excitedly. He continued to braid Katherine's hair as he spoke. "I missed 'em!"

"I'm sure you did!"

Several minutes later, Jack said, "Okay. I's finished." He held on to the braid for a few seconds, running his fingers over the bumps.

"Thank you." Katherine smiled, kissing Jack's cheek. She stood up. "We should probably get ready to go now."

"Wait!" Jack jumped up suddenly and spun around to stand in front of Katherine. She looked startled for a second, then smiled when she felt Jack's arms wrap around her waist. He stared at her for a minute. Katherine assumed that since he wasn't kissing her already, Jack must have something to tell her.

"Yes?" Katherine raised an eyebrow, wrapping her arms around Jack's neck.

"Oh... Uh... I... I was just gonna ask you... What'dya think I missed most when I was gone?" Jack asked, leaning really close to Katherine.

"Kissing me?" she whispered, her eyes shining.

"Well, uh...Yeah..." Jack reddened with a laugh. "But that ain't what I was gonna say; I was gonna say that I missed your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Your eyes." Jack smiled. "The way they sparkle when you's happy, or excited. The way they shine when I say somethin' sweet to ya. Or the way you look at me with those bright eyes of yours when ya want to kiss me."

"Oh... Wow." Katherine hadn't known that Jack had such a thing for her eyes. She smiled. "I missed your mischievous eyes too."

Jack smiled and saw that Katherine's eyes had that look in them; the look that meant she wanted to kiss him.

And, sure enough, Katherine rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. Jack felt her smiling as she did so. He squeezed her really hard, smiling himself. After a minute he gently let her go.

"We's can go get ready now." Jack laughed.

Half an hour later, Katherine was leading thirty or more Newsies to Central Park, as well as Davey, Les, and Crutchie. Jack was coming too, but he took a different path so that the boys wouldn't see him.

The Newsies immediately ran onto the slides, monkey bars, and rock-climbing walls. They fanned out across the playground, calling to each other and starting wild games of chase.

Katherine leaned against the wooden leg of the swing set, smiling and watching the boys. She did this for a while, almost forgetting about her husband; until she felt his arms slip around her waist. Katherine abruptly spun around.

"Jack Kelly!" she shouted in a whisper. "What do you think you're doing? This is not how you're supposed to surprise the boys!"

Jack grinned. "They don't seem to be noticin' me." he motioned to all of the crazy Newsies with his head.

"True." Katherine agreed. Then she gave up and leaned back on Jack with a little sigh. They both closed their eyes for a bit, feeling at peace in each other's arms. That is, until-

"Jack?"

Katherine and Jack snapped their eyes open.

Crutchie was standing a few feet in front of the two. His eyes were filled with tears. "Jack?"

Katherine smiled at Crutchie as Jack's head dropped onto her shoulder as he began to sob. Katherine took one of her hands and used it to gently lift Jack's head up. She turned around. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Jack nodded, his eyes shut as he cried. "I-I missed you, C-Crutchie." he sobbed.

"I missed you too, Jack." Crutchie smiled, a few tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Do you want to give Crutchie a hug?" Katherine whispered to Jack. That made him open his eyes.

"Yeah." he sniffed.

Katherine gently squeezed his shoulder. "Go on," she whispered.

Jack slowly walked over to Crutchie and grabbed him into a hug.

"I-I missed you, Cr-Crutchie." Jack said again.

"I missed you too-too, Jack." Crutchie answered.

After Jack and Crutchie had hugged for a minute, they heard thirty-plus voices shouting, "JACK!"

Jack laughed as all of the boys came running to surround him in a hug.

"I missed you, Jackie!"

"You's back!"

"Are ya stayin'?"

"Where's Julia?"

"I can't believe you's here!"

Jack didn't care that he was sobbing in front of his Newsies, even though they might think he was weird. He smiled through his tears, because he loved them all so much.

"I missed-missed you's all..." Jack said, hugging each Newsies individually. "And, yes, I's s-stayin'."

"Yes!" everyone exclaimed. They jumped up and down.

Finally, Davey, Les, and Race burst through the crowd of Newsies. "Jack!"

Jack began to cry again when he saw them. "Hey, Dave! Hey, Les! Hey, Race!" he squeezed the three of them in a hug.

"Hey, Jack!" Race said happily.

"Hi, Jack!" Les hugged him tightly.

"It's good to have you back!" Davey smiled.

While Jack played and talked with the boys, Katherine settled into a swing and watched them all. She smiled and leaned her head on one of the chains holding up the swing. She gently rocked back and forth for a long time, seeing the happiness in all of the Newsies' faces and feeling tears of joy spring into her eyes.

Katherine didn't even notice when Jack came up behind her.

"Need a push?"

She jerked her head around. Jack was smiling. "I am quite literally an adult. I don't need help to be pushed on the swing." But Katherine didn't protest as Jack gently pushed her with his big, rough hands.

It wasn't long before Katherine was soaring on her swing. She laughed at the feeling of the wind in her braid, on her cheeks. She smiled as she fell back down, then felt Jack's hands push her up again. Soon, Katherine was flying higher than the actual structure of the swing set. Jack gave Katherine one last big push, then ran around to stand several feet away from the swing. "Jump!" he called.

Katherine smiled as the swing fell down again. When it rose high into the air, she leaped from the swing. Jack reached out for Katherine, grabbing her by her waist and spinning her around. She laughed, her eyes sparkling with happiness. Jack loved when her eyes sparkled. He laughed too, because he just loved her so much and she made him so happy.

Jack put Katherine down. He smiled at her.

"Not so bad to be pushed on the swing after all, huh?" Jack teased.

"I guess not." Katherine smiled. She pulled Jack by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.

"I see nothin' much has changed 'tween you two." Albert called from a few feet away.

Jack pulled away from Katherine gently. "That's true!" he said with a laugh.

Eventually, Jack and Katherine said goodbye to their friends. They promised to visit them at least six times a week, if not more. But for now, they had another friend to visit: Miss Medda.

Katherine emerged on the balcony overlooking the stage of Medda's theater. Jack hid behind some rigging, because he wanted to surprise Medda.

Medda was currently onstage, wearing a sparkly purple dress, finishing up a song for her practice. Jack knew that she must have a late afternoon show, because it was a Friday.

When Medda sang the last note of the song, Katherine called, "Hello, Medda!"

The star of the Bowry spun around. "Hello, Katherine!"

Katherine smiled. "I thought I'd stop by for a visit."

Medda smiled back. "You're welcome to stay for the show; it's starting in half an hour."

Katherine said, "We'd love to."

Miss Medda raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"You have more than one visitor." Katherine winked.

Suddenly, Jack strolled up casually and stood beside Katherine. "Hi, Miss Medda." he smacked a piece of chewing gum which Katherine suspected he had just popped in his mouth.

"Jack!" Medda exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And why aren't you giving me a hug?"

Jack laughed, running down to the stage to hug Medda. His eyes misted. He let tears run down his face. "I missed you, Miss M-Medda."

"I missed you too, Jack." Medda said, crying as well.

Katherine smiled at the scene below her. Her vision blurred as tears came into her eyes. Seeing Jack, how he cared about everyone so much- it just made her feel so happy, so inspired.

Medda had noticed Katherine on the balcony and called, "Get down here, Katherine!"

She ran down the stairs and joined Medda and her husband in their hug. When they all had cried and hugged for a few minutes, Medda asked, "Jack- are you- staying?"

Jack looked at Katherine. "For sure."

Medda smiled. "And your mother?"

"She's stayin' in Santa Fe. But she promised to visit us."

"That's good." Medda smiled again. Just then, Charlie, the theater announcer, called, "Show's starting in ten minutes!"

Medda turned to Jack and Katherine. "So, you would like to stay?"

"Definitely!" they both said.

Medda nodded. "All right! Have a seat."

The show was great. Medda grinned at her favorite kids several times while she was singing and moving swiftly across the big stage.

When the show ended, Jack and Katherine hugged Medda again, thanked her for the beautiful performances, and then left.

Jack strolled along with Katherine, holding her hand, reminded of their nightly walks they had always taken last year. He was sort of lost in thought, thinking about his beautiful Katherine, when he realized that the direction they were going wasn't in the same direction as their home.

"We goin' to your parents' house, Kath?"

She glanced at him, sighing. "Yes. I'm sorry, Jack. I usually have dinner with my family weekly now. And I didn't want to bail on them. I'm sorry-"

"No, no! It's fine." Jack smiled. "It'll be nice to see your folks 'gain."

"Oh. Okay... Thanks for understanding." Katherine smiled.

A couple of minutes later, the two of them arrived on the Pulitzers' front porch. Katherine rang the shiny doorbell. She squeezed Jack's hand. He smiled down at her.

Katherine's mother opened the door. "Hello, Katherine, how are you, dear-" she stopped suddenly, noticing Jack.

"Hello, Mrs. Pulitzer." Jack smiled. "I's sorry I didn't get to say 'bye to you 'fore I left to Santa Fe... But I's back now. To stay."

Kate's eyes were very wide. "Why... Hello, Jack! It's wonderful to see you! Come in, you two!"

Jack and Katherine stepped inside. Kate shut the front door, then wrapped Jack in a kind hug. He hugged her back.

"Hello, Jack!"

The three heads turned to see Constance, Lucille, Edith, and Ralph emerge from the hall.

"Hi, everybody!" Jack said enthusiastically.

"How is Santa Fe?" Constance asked.

"It's real great." Jack said. "But, actually, I's back to stay; I missed my Katherine and everybody else too much to go back."

Constance nodded.

"Well, come along to the dining room! Joe is upstairs doing something, but I'm sure he will be down soon." Kate said.

"All right."

The seven entered the dining room and sat down at the table, Katherine lacing her fingers into Jack's. He smiled at her.

Kate, Constance, Lucille, Ralph, Edith, Katherine, and Jack began to talk. They were having such a great time conversing and laughing that they didn't even notice when Joe came to stand in the doorway of the dining room. That is, until they heard him say-

"Jack Kelly?"

His head shot up. "H-Hello, Joe." Jack stood up, then crossed the room to shake his hand.

"Hello, Jack... What are you doing back here?" Joe asked.

"I's come home to stay. I missed everybody a lot." Jack answered.

"Well, it is nice to have you back." Joe smiled.

Then, for some reason, though Jack had no clue why he did it, he threw his arms around Joe and hugged him.

Mr. Pulitzer's eyes grew to an unimaginable size. He glanced over at his kids and his wife. Their eyes were just as big; especially Katherine's. Jack hugging Joe was the last thing they thought would happen.

But Jack didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon, so Pulitzer gingerly hugged him back.

And then something even more unexpected happened; Jack started crying.

On Pulitzer's shoulder.

Katherine instantly shot up from her chair and ran over to Jack. She gently pulled him away from her father. "Hey, hey..." she said, taking him in her own arms. "Come with me."

Katherine mouthed, ''We'll be back," to her family, then led Jack into the bathroom and shut the door.

Jack swiped at his eyes with a fist. "I's sorry, Kath... I-I don't know what's wrong wit' me-"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you. Don't you say that." Katherine scolded him gently. She slipped her arms around him and gave him a much-needed hug. Jack sobbed and hugged her back, pressing her tightly to himself.

Katherine could hear his heart pounding in his chest. She wanted to know what was upsetting Jack; but she didn't want to be pushy.

So she just said softly, "If you need to talk, I'm all ears, Jack."

He sniffled. "Th-Thanks... Thanks for always havin' my's back."

"It's never a problem," she whispered, reaching with one of her hands to cup Jack's cheek. She ran her thumb back and forth across it soothingly. Jack smiled and bent down to kiss her, his heartbeat slowing as he calmed down. He pulled away from his wife and said, "I... I thinks I hugged your father 'cause he-he smiled at me. A real, nice smile."

"Oh..." Katherine whispered. She felt something like happiness suddenly spring into her chest. Her father had smiled, and it made Jack hug him? That was unusual, but in a good way. A very good way.

Jack continued with a sniffle. "And then I-I started crying 'cause he hugged me back. Me. A boy from off the streets. The boy who came into his life and fell in love wit' his beautiful, smart daughter." he chuckled, then shrugged. "And, I don't know- it-it sort of 'minded me of the way you hug me. Prob'ly 'cause you's family; except, you know, ya love me way more, so ya give real hugs."

Katherine rolled her eyes with a blush.

Then Jack said, "It also 'minded me o' how much I'd missed you. How much I love you."

Katherine smiled. "Aww, Jack." She pulled him in for another kiss before saying, "Do you want to go home?"

"No, no! We's should stay... I's sorry if I ruined your family dinner, Kath." Jack hung his head.

"Jackie, stop that. You didn't ruin anything." Katherine said, gently swiping his tears away. "In fact, everything just got better, now that you're with me again. I love you, Jack."

He smiled. "I love you too, Ace."

"Ace. I missed all of your nicknames for me." Katherine grinned.

"And I missed callin' you them." Jack took her hand. "Should we-should we go back out there?"

Katherine squeezed his hand. "Sure."

She and Jack returned to the dining room and sat back in their chairs. Jack could feel the eyes of his wife's family practically burning into him.

Katherine didn't want Jack to feel bad, so she mouthed to her family, "Please don't say anything to him". They all nodded subtly.

The night was peaceful, with pleasant conversation. Everyone smiled and even laughed together over dinner. Katherine's family was sure not to say anything about Jack's emotional meltdown, or Santa Fe, which Katherine was grateful for.

At the end of the night, as Katherine's family was walking Jack and her out, Pulitzer quietly cleared his throat and took his daughter's arm, letting the others go on ahead.

Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"What... What happened earlier?" Joseph asked in a low voice.

Katherine glanced behind herself to make sure Jack couldn't hear them. "Jack hugged you because you smiled at him... And then he cried because you hugged him back."

Joe stared at Katherine. "Oh." He straightened his bowtie and glanced at the floor. "Well... He-He's not all that bad, your Jack is."

Katherine was shocked to see a real, real smile suddenly appear on her father's face. She smiled too. "He isn't, is he?"

As soon as Jack and Katherine got home, she yawned. "I'm... Tired."

"Me too."

"You must be!" she exclaimed. "You've had a long week of traveling, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I's did." Jack and Katherine ascended the stairs to their room.

"By the way, I love your painting." Katherine said, pointing to the depiction of their engagement Jack had created.

"Oh, thanks," Jack said, realizing that Katherine was wearing her diamond engagement ring. He gestured to it. "My paintin' inspire you to wear that?"

"Maybe..." Katherine blushed, going into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she came back out, she still had her braid in.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You ain't gon' take that out?"

"Of course not!" Katherine said. "Why would I?"

He shrugged. "Might be uncomfortable?"

"No, not really... Plus, you did it for me, so I don't want to take it out just yet."

"Oh. Okay." Jack smiled. He slipped into bed and felt his eyelids instantly start to droop.

Katherine pulled off her diamond ring (she usually liked to wear it in the daytime), put it in its box, dropped the box into her nightstand drawer, and then settled down. "Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, Kath." Jack gently kissed her. "I love you."

She took his hand, lacing her fingers into his. "I love you too."

The next morning, Katherine inhaled sleepily, then felt her eyes open. She almost didn't realize that Jack was right next to her at first.

But when she glanced down and saw their clasped hands, she remembered; Jack had come home to be with her. He loved her. He had missed her. She loved him and had missed him too, so much.

Katherine smiled at her husband for a second, then, as gently as she could, let go of his hand. She quietly got out of bed, took her clothes from the dresser drawer, and then crept into the bathroom to get ready.

When she came out, Jack was still asleep. Katherine was about to attempt to leave the room when she realized that she had taken off her diamond ring last night; and she wanted to wear it.

So she softly walked over to her nightstand, crouched down, opened one of the drawers, and searched (a bit loudly) for the box that held her ring.

This searching had awoken Jack. But Katherine didn't hear him as he got out of bed and slipped into his usual apparel.

Jack didn't know where he was. He glanced around. This place seemed familiar. Then he saw his painting on the wall. Then he saw-

"Katherine!"

She stood up and spun around, having just found her ring and put it on. "Yes?"

Jack hadn't been asking a question, though; he was just excited to see his Katherine. He ran over to her, picked her up, and whirled her around in the air. She laughed. "Good morning to you, too!"

Jack set her down. He smiled. "We's in New York, ain't we, Ace?"

She grinned. "Mmmhmm."

"Good. 'Cause I didn't 'member where I's was for a minute there." Jack said. "I thought somethin' seemed familiar. Then I saw my's paintin'. Then I saw you."

Katherine gave him a squeeze. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kath."

"So, what should we have for breakfast today?" Katherine asked, not taking her eyes from Jack. "Something sweet?"

"I was thinkin' somethin' just the opposite," Jack joked with a smile, knowing that his wife had quite the sweet tooth. "How 'bout French toast?"

"You know how to make that?"

"No; but we's could probably figure it out."

Katherine chuckled. "Correction. You could figure it out." She began to walk out of the room, then turned around with a playful grin. "Oh, wait, it seems like I forgot something, didn't I?"

Jack grinned back. "You sure did."

So Katherine ran back over to Jack and kissed him. "Now we're good," she smiled.

Jack did prove very successful indeed at making French toast. It was amazing. Katherine had asked him, "Is there any food you can't cook?" Jack had laughed and said, "Soon, there won't be!"

After the two had eaten breakfast, Jack and Katherine settled on the couch.

A minute of silence lapsed. "My jobs was given to somebody else, right, Ace?"

She bit her lip. "Not the drawing job; there haven't been cartoons in The World since you resigned. But, yeah, a few Newsies were hired to take your place," Katherine admitted.

"Take my-take my place!" Jack shouted. "That ain't happ'nin'. We need to go get my jobs back right now!"

"Calm down, Jack. Calm down... I want you to stay home for a few days. Before you take up your jobs again." Katherine said softly. "I missed you."

Jack looked at her. "All right." He gave her a half-smile.

"And I um... I thought that today, I-I could teach you how to read." Katherine whispered.

Jack shot up from the couch and turned to stare down at his wife. "I's can read!" he said, but he didn't seem certain.

Katherine stood up too. "Well, I know you can read some; but sometimes I-I've noticed you struggling a bit. And that's all right... I just want to help you, Jack. I didn't mean to offend you... We don't have to-"

"No." Jack interrupted. "I-I wanna read... I just needs some help; I need your help, Kath."

Katherine's face took on a smile. "I'll go grab a few books."

Jack plunked back down onto the couch. He fidgeted nervously with his fingers. Why was he nervous? His wife was just teaching him how to read.

Just teaching me how to read, Jack thought. It might be harder than it seems.

Katherine reentered the living room with two books in her hands. She placed one on the couch, then handed the other to Jack. He raised his eyebrows. The book was pretty thick. It had big, swirly letters on the front; Jack wasn't exactly sure what they read, but it seemed fancy.

Jack glanced at Katherine. "What's it say?"

Katherine smiled and pointed to the first letter. "What is that letter?"

He studied it. "D."

"Good... This one?" Katherine asked.

"I."

"Mmmhmm. Next one?"

"C..."

"Right. Next?"

"T."

"Yes. Next?"

Jack and Katherine continued in this manner until Jack had named each letter of the word, which was Dictionary; Now Katherine tried to help him pronounce it.

"So, it's a D, then an i..." she said.

"Di..."

It only took a minute or two for Jack to figure out the word. "Dic-tion-ary. Dictionary!" he said proudly.

"That's it!" Katherine smiled.

"Why do I gotta read a dictionary?"

Katherine shrugged. "It has tons of words in it. So I figured I could choose some, help you learn them, and then later you can read a real book."

"Oh... Okay." Jack said hesitantly. "But, Ace- what if the words is too hard for me?" he whispered.

Katherine gently cupped his cheeks with her hands. "Then I'll read it for you." she assured her husband with a smile.

"Thanks," Jack smiled back.

"Okay, so what word should we do first?" Katherine dropped her hands down to the book in Jack's hands. She took it from him and flipped through several pages. Eventually she chose the word contentious.

"All right. Are you ready?"

Jack nodded.

"What is this letter?"

"C."

"Yes."

He smiled and leaned on Katherine's shoulder as he slowly but surely learned various words from the dictionary. Katherine even helped Jack read the definitions so that he could understand what each word meant.

She was so thoughtful that way.

Jack knew that he had made the right choice in coming home to be with his beautiful Katherine.


A/N: I hope you liked Chapter 1! Reviews and kind constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!