As she lingered out in front of the redbrick elementary school, the little girl kept finding the need to furiously try and wipe the sleep from her baggy eyes. Lying in bed, half-blinded by tears and wracked with worry was certainly no way to try and get a good night's sleep, Goo noted somberly to herself, even though her mother had tried everything possible to try and console her near-hysterical daughter. Even though she had barely slept a wink though, ironically yesterday still felt like just one massive nightmare.

If only though, she wished dearly. If only it had all been nothing more than some terrible dream, and not some unthinkably horrendous reality that had caught them all by surprise. Goo was still desperately struggling to try and comprehend it all, as much as it pained her to even think for even so much as a second that she might lose-

"Mac!" she squealed elatedly the instant she spotted him plodding down the sidewalk. Although she should've expected him to show up for school as usual, the poor panic-stricken child had worked herself into such a mess the night before, she had nearly half-convinced herself that social services would take him in the middle of the night, like some bogey monster. Breaking out into a relieved grin, Goo immediately shot off towards him.

"So what happened? What happened? You okay? Mac, are you all right?" she burst out chattering rapidly. "What happened after-"

She was only a few feet away when she realized for the first time since as far back as she could recall, Mac actually had company for his morning trek to school. The second she finally noticed the familiar redhead sauntering by the boy's side, Goo ground to such a sudden halt she almost fell flat on her face.

As the little girl instinctively backed off a few paces, Frankie involuntarily winced as she read the wariness written all over Goo's expression. She was still frightened of her; but then again, the young woman could hardly blame the child.

Fortunately, such was exactly why she had made the trek alongside her charge that brisk morning. With a deep sigh, Frankie slowly got down onto one knee, looked straight into the girl's almond-brown eyes, and struggled to try and force the words out,

"G-Goo, I…I…yesterday, I…"

Goo would've had to be both deaf and blind to not see that the stammering woman was nearly drowning in a sea of remorse. Despite what she had suffered the day before precisely because of the young woman, it simply wasn't in the child's nature to hold a grudge, especially against one so sincerely repentant, and most especially against a friend.

Tentatively, Goo took a step forward, then cautiously hesitated for a moment. As soon as Mac gave her an encouraging nod, however, she immediately tossed her arms around the caretaker in a forgiving hug. Immediately, Frankie cracked a wan grin as she quickly enveloped the little one into a tight embrace and murmured in a barely-audible whisper,

"Thank you."

Unfortunately, her joy was woefully short-lived as the unpleasant reality of their situation continued to weigh heavily upon her like a stone strung about her neck. This tiny battle was won, but their tribulations were still far from over, with neither of them having so much as a vague clue how it was all going to end. As she tried to imagine the anguish still plaguing the children, almost instantly, without even thinking, her overriding maternal instinct forced her to start sputtering uncontrollably,

"I-I'm sorry about what happened…but…but don't be scared guys…things don't look so good right know, I know…but everything's going to be okay…it's going to be all right…"

As the comforting words flowed forth like a river from the young woman's mouth, Goo immediately perked up a little, drew back from the hug and blurted out optimistically,

"Promise?"

The instant the child emitted that fateful utterance, Frankie shuddered as her heart wrenched painfully. Right now, she desperately desired nothing more in the entire world then to be able to simply assure the children, and to actually believe her own words too. But how could she be sure that she wouldn't just be lying right to their faces yet again?

Much to dismay, the few seconds she had taken to contemplate the right reply had already taken their toll. She could see it clearly in their drooping shoulders, frowns of pained disappointment, and the distinguishing glimmers of hope in their eyes.

Just as she was beset by the all-too-familiar sense of failure however, the air was rent with the shrill chime of the school bells. Hastily concluding that she was doing more harm than anything at this point, Frankie took this as her opportunity to make an undignified exit.

"You…you better get going…" she murmured as she got up and headed off back towards home. However, she had barely gotten five steps before she suddenly found herself weighed down at her hips.

Startled, the twenty-three-year-old looked down to where Mac hugged her tightly as he flashed her a weak smile. Taking her cue yet again, Goo immediately darted forward and enveloped the redhead's midriff in a warm squeeze. At first Frankie was too stunned to even think as the two wordlessly declared their faith in her. Before the dumbfounded woman could respond at all, the two promptly undid their holds, flashed her a wan grin each, and raced off towards the front entrance, lest they got in trouble for being late.

For a few moments, the stupefied caretaker just stood there on the sidewalk, able to do little but gawk incredulously at the two children scampering off to class. To think that they were still able to trust in her, after all that she had done…

Frankie hastily whirled about and headed back towards home, lest someone saw her break down on the spot under her heartbreak. What good did it do the little ones were to put all their confidence in a woman who barely had any faith in herself anymore?

"No, it's okay, I got it!"

Frankie had barely emerged from the tiny utility closet when the gangly red figment materialized from nowhere to snatch the mop and bucket out of her hands with one fluid movement.

"Hey!" the startled redhead yelped. "What-"

"No, really, it's okay, I got it!" Wilt just reassured with a grin. "You were going to go mop the third floor hall, right?"

"Well…yeah, I-"

"It's okay, I can handle it from here! Really, no problem! You just take a nice break for a bit, okay?"

The dazed young woman didn't have the chance to reply before he ruffled her hair gently, flashed another smile, and was off in a heartbeat before she could realize what was happening. It had been quick, simple, but undeniably ingenious as she soon realized; she and he both knew very well she probably would've stubbornly refused any assistance had he just asked politely first.

Not that any of that had being unnecessary, for as usual he had just been looking out for her. Wilt had a point; she had once again been working herself ragged, as she was apt to do when upset, driving herself to the limits of her mental and emotional endurance. With stress now weighing upon her like a five-ton boulder, she managed to comprehend she did need a break, and soon.

Minutes later, she was following the scarlet thought's advice, and crossing the foyer towards the large ornate office doors surrounded by a multitude of ticking clocks of all sorts, where she knocked before inquiring softly,

"Excuse me? Mr. Herriman?"

As usual, Foster's Head of Business Affairs was tending to the usual mound of paperwork lying heaped upon his desk. Normally, he would've immediately rebuked her for the interruption without even glancing up from whatever he was tending to. Today however, as soon as he heard her, the silvery-gray thought looked up and answered gently,

"Yes, Miss Frances? Is everything all right?"

"I…" she stammered. "I was just wondering if I could…take a break and maybe go out for…a walk, or maybe…a jog or…"

As he read the obvious signs of stress displayed prominently in her features and body language, the imaginary rabbit smiled weakly and replied,

"I doubt that will be much of a problem. Take as long as you need, and inform me when you return. All right?"

Touched, she tried to plant on a semblance of a grin as she quietly exited with a respectful nod.

"Th-thank you…"

Attired in a slightly worn blue shirt, purple running shorts and her trademark jacket to keep away the slight chill in the air, Frankie jogged down the sidewalk at a steady pace that befitted her liking. As a few beads of sweat trickled down her forehead while she huffed along, the young woman allowed herself the tiniest of smiles as the endorphins went to work.

Maybe tomorrow she could try and take Bloo along with her for a shorter jog, or at least a good, long walk. This definitely helped someone, and a little bit of exercise certainly wouldn't hurt him, at least. It would also give the poor little creature something else to do other that mope around the house all day like-

Just like that, her thoughts were scattered and what little gain she had made were obliterated out the instant she rounded a corner and spotted a sea of tombstones. Immediately the young woman ground to a clumsy halt as within less than a moment she was reminded of the entire ordeal she was trapped in the midst of, and instantly she could feel her heart grow heavy with grief.

After all, how could she keep her mind off the fact it was painfully possible she was close to losing custody of a certain little boy when his mother and brother lay buried only right across the street?

As she became re-swamped with stress, Frankie cursed herself bitterly for being the only one to blame here. Since she had picked up it up a month or two ago, she had designed all her jogging routes to take her by here due to her habit of "reporting" to Mac's mother and Terrence. Bizarre as it sounded, Frankie enjoyed stopping by here every now and then, as she liked to think that the two departed souls could hear her as she related to how well Mac was faring.

Now though, even by glimpsing in the general area to where their grave markers were, Frankie could already sense the sharp pangs of guilt, stabbing her like razor sharp swords. She couldn't care less how absolutely bizarre it was to admit that she cared about what a deceased woman and her eldest son thought about her dilemma; she was so helplessly bound by force of habit, the young woman felt that it was almost her obligation for them to know what was happening. Living with the fact that she had deceived Mac was unbearable enough; there was no way she wanted make the mistake of trying again to hide the truth from those she felt deserved to know the most.

With a sigh, she waited patiently for the road to be clear of traffic, and then trotted across the street, through the heavy iron gates and into the expansive graveyard. After worming her way through the thick maze of tombstones, following a path she basically knew by heart at this point, she finally halted in front of two near-identical stone markers.

At first, Frankie wordlessly nibbled on her lip as she read over the familiar names chiseled into the stone slabs that marked the final resting place of Mac's original family. Finally she opened her mouth, but not even so much as a single sound came out.

What could she possibly say? How could she possibly break to them the unthinkable that after all she had done to try and provide Mac with the family he needed, all she had to show was failure?

After wracking her mind to the point that it started to ache, the despondent woman finally concluded that there was nothing left to her say but one think.

"I-I'm…I'm s-sorry…"

Immediately the broken-spirited young woman threw her hand over her face as she burst into tears, causing the entire cemetery to echo with the sounds of her weeping as it all became too much for her to bear. She had failed everyone.

As she cried shamelessly, hopelessly overcome by grief and despair, Frankie began to imagine what it would be like if the two deceased souls were really there to learn bout the horror the dismal girl had involuntarily set into motion. She could see Terrence, standing with jaw dangling agape in a state of shock no language could do justice in describing, as he struggled to comprehend the fact that his sacrifice was entirely in vain; Mac was living on only to suffer more.

As much as it wrenched her heart to shreds, that image was no much for the anguish Frankie experienced as she pictured what Mac's mother would by like. She could see the horrified woman now, wearing an expression completely identical to the one her youngest son carried just yesterday, bearing the rage that could be felt only after one has suffered a most grave betrayal. With tears of fury streaking down her cheeks, Frankie could see her clearly, pointing a perceptively quivering arm, pointing accusingly at the caretaker, with infernos of fury raging in her dark brown eyes as she cried,

"Frankie! Frankieeeeeeee! Frankie! Frankie!"

For a few terrifying moments, the tremendously startled redhead thought that the images conjured up by her grief-stricken mind had come to life, thus causing her to almost leap clean out of her skin with a shriek. After almost suffering a minor heart attack however, she quickly managed to understand that the burst of frantic yelling wasn't from a certain mother freshly resurrected form the dead, but actually from a fair distance directly behind her. Bewildered, Frankie jerked her head around to see such an unbelievable sight, for a moment she thought her senses were playing a trick on her.

Racing like mad across the cemetery, clad in a slightly wrinkled grey skirt and jacket, came an extremely familiar young woman, waving her arms and yelling excitedly like a maniac freshly freed from the loony bin.

"…K-Kathy?" the thunderstruck caretaker murmured in utter disbelief, as her friend continued to sprint towards her as fast as she could, all the while shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Frankie! Fra-WAUGH!"

Wailing in dismay, Kathy tripped over a gravestone, sending her flying into a belly-first sprawl. In an instant, the dumbfounded redhead was at her side, hefting her back to her feet.

"Frankie!" Kathy gasped, taking a few moments to gulp in some air before she babbled frantically, "Oh God, no wonder I couldn't reach you on your cell phone! What the hell are you doing standing around here in the middle of the cemetery?"

The painfully befuddled caretaker just stared back blankly, unable to think as she just replied stupidly,

"…W-what the hell are you doing h-here in the middle of the cemetery?"

"I spotted you from the road while passing by in my car." her friend breathlessly answered. "Now, will you please tell me why you're hanging around in-"

"…You…you saw me?" Frankie replied dully.

"You're a six foot tall redhead in a bright green sweater among three-foot tall grave markers; not like you're that hard to spot!" Kathy explained snappily as her chest continued to heave up and down. "I almost passed right by before…" she paused to take a quick gasp. "See, I was just heading over towards Foster's-"

"Wait…over to…Foster's?" the flummoxed twenty-three-year-old murmured.

"Yes!" Kathy gasped. "I left as soon as I heard at the office! You're getting your first home-visit today!"

Instantaneously, her heart skipped a beat, and Frankie went as pale as a freshly fallen snow while unspeakable terror started coursing through her.

"…T-today?" she barely managed to stammer hoarsely. "You mean…y-you mean they're...wait, today? Now?"

"Yes, Frankie! You need to be back home now!" Kathy cried exasperatedly. "C'mon, we gotta get you-"

Immediately Frankie was off in a flash, bounding over and dodging around gravestones with all the speed and agility she could muster, exiting the cemetery like a bat out of hell with her out of breath companion huffing close behind.

"Yeah, that's it! C'mon, let's get there as soon as….as….whoa, whoa, Frankie, wait! Wait! My car is right there! It's parked over there! You don't need to run all the way back! The car is right here! Right here! For cripes sake, you just ran by it! FRANKIE!"

As the little sedan cruised down the street, the driver struggled to properly divide her attention between the road and her passenger, whose breath came in such alarmingly shallow and rapid gasps, it sounded like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"C'mon, easy now…deep breaths," Kathy murmured reassuringly. "It's okay, just try some deep, easy-"

Rather than attempt to calm herself, the redhead started shaking her head so wildly for a few moments she had little more than a crimson blur atop her neck as she started to frantically mumble,

"I-I…I'm not ready for this …"

"Yes, you are ready for this." Kathy encouraged defiantly as she gave her friend a quick pat on the shoulder. "You're going to all right-"

"No, no I'm not." Frankie only shot back pessimistically as her heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to burst clear through her ribcage. "I…I'm gonna blow this for sure, I know it. I'm going to flip out at the drop of a hat, and…oh God, I'm just not ready, I'm not ready for this at-OW!"

Without a word of warning, Kathy promptly gave the redhead a quick tug on her ponytail in an attempt to snap her out of her panic.

"Oh right, just like when you weren't ready at all when Mac was first orphaned, and we all remember how you never stepped up to the plate for that challenge." she sarcastically added for good measure.

As harsh as her methods were, surprisingly it seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, and Frankie's breathing quickly eased noticeably as she flashed a weak smile, to which Kathy grinned wanly in turn.

"See? Don't worry, you'll be all right." She reassured warmly, to which Frankie started to murmur in reply,

"Kathy, I….…I-I don't know what to say, I…I just can't believe you're actually here…oh my God, I'm…I'm sorry about-"

"You couldn't help yourself; don't worry, it was just the stress getting to you." Kathy quickly tried to brush the matter aside.

"B-but-"

"Look, you've been threatened repeatedly that you might lose custody for almost a week; I sincerely doubt anyone can keep their cool with that hovering over their heads." She countered flatly, making it quite plain she wasn't going to let the redhead blame herself one for anything.

Frankie attempted another excuse for a grin, but found to her dismay that panic was quickly getting the best of her again, and quickly she resumed trying to hold herself together. The two lapsed into awkward silence for a few moments, with some tension hanging thickly in the air before Kathy grimaced guiltily and took a deep breath.

"I'm………I-I'm sorry about leaving you to deal with this alone…" she murmured remorsefully as she anxiously drummed a few fingers on the steering wheel. "I…I'm sorry, I…I-I seriously thought you'd be okay if…cripes, why I actually believed that load of crap, I-"

"No, but I told you that-" Frankie tried to argue, to which Kathy countered incredulously,

"Whoa, whoa! Are you serious? Nuh-uh, don't even try it!"

"But I-" the redhead tried to counter before her friend shot back,

"You've been watching my back since we were kids, but one of the few times you need my help, I went and -"

"C'mon, I haven't-" Frankie argued.

"Yes, you have, don't deny it! You're always looked out for me, always, without question! But one of the few times I can actually help you out, I had to throw a hissy-fit and storm off, thinking everything was going to be dandy! For God's sake, I told you there was nothing to worry about, when it was so obvious I was wrong a deranged circus monkey could've figured it out!" Kathy groaned. "What the hell was I thinking when I told you everything was going to be fine if I just watched from the sidelines? You're my friend! You think I would've offered to help somewhat, but no, even though the agency was breathing down your neck-"

"But you only-"

"I was only an idiot about this, that's what!" she tore into herself mercilessly, much to the redhead's bewilderment. "You've bailed me out more times then I can remember, and how do I return the favor when you get in a real fix? By climbing up on my high horse, that's how! Frankie, I'm sorry, if I only pulled my head out of my own...damn, I never thought the department could much such a call like this-"

"But you didn't help before because I went off on you like a maniac." Frankie argued doggedly.

"I was no better! I wouldn't get off the defensive, and didn't let the thought cross my mind for a second you were actually right about...I mean, seriously, someone practically needed to hit me with a shovel for me snap out of-"

"But I-"

It was about then that Kathy fortunately managed to realize another argument was really the last thing that they needed at this point.

"Okay, okay, so we both feel bad! Enough of the 'Who's Guiltier' game, okay?" she declared firmly while she parked next to the curb outside of Foster's. "It's done, all right? Now we-"

The car had barely braked to a halt when Frankie nearly tore off the car door in soaring anxiety that had already tied her stomach into a knot the size of a cannonball.

"How long do I have before my caseworker arrives?" she demanded breathlessly as she clambered out and started rushing for the front gate. However, only after a few steps she realized that she was making the mad dash all alone. Bewildered, she skidded to a halt and glanced back at the car, where her friend was still sitting in the driver's seat.

"Huh? What, what;d you say?" she answered distractedly, while wrestling with something at her side.

"The home visit!" Frankie repeated frantically. "When is-"

"Oh! Oh, right! It'll officially start in...just a few minutes...I hope..." she replied.

"A few minutes?" the redhead repeated the vague estimate confusedly. Kathy looked up and grimaced apologetically before taking her friend completely off guard.

"Yeah, I'll get it started in hopefully just a minute...or two….I dunno, it depends how jammed my seat belt is…"