Good evening! Thank you so much to ChibiDawn23, Lizbet2008, Cheryl, Hawk, 2NYwLove and SmackedCaskett for your reviews :D Hawk, I agree that Flack can be a kid himself; and Cheryl, yes, Holly has indeed got Mac's number as you'll also see in this story :D

'So, which store are we going to first, baby?' Mac asked Holly as they left the subway station into the sparkling cold air.

'Hmm…' Holly tapped her finger against her lips. 'Schwarz!'

'We're buying a gift for mommy this time, not for you, baby,' Mac reminded her gently.

'I know that daddy,' she said with great patience. 'But I want to get mommy's gift from there. Something very special, because mommy is very special.'

'She certainly is.' Mac smiled down at his daughter.

'And so are you, daddy.' Taking him by surprise, Holly grabbed him in a tight hug, sending a rush of love through him.

'You're pretty special as well,' he said swinging her into his arms.

'I know.' Holly smooched his cheek and Mac laughed, hoisting her up onto his shoulders.

'So what do you want to buy mommy from Schwarz?' he asked after Holly ordered him towards the Rockefeller centre.

'A bear,' Holly told him from above patting his shoulders.

Mac craned his head to look at her. 'A bear? We need to go to the zoo for that.'

'No, daddy…' Holly gave a long-suffering sigh. 'Not a real bear, a plushy bear, like Ed and Bear.'

'I see.' Mac grinned. 'Why do you want to get mommy a plushy bear?'

'Because me and you have bears, but mommy only has Mr Brown that I borrowed to her.'

'That's a very thoughtful idea, baby.' Mac smiled up at her. 'And it was very kind of you to lend Mr Brown to mommy.'

'She's only lended him, daddy,' Holly said. 'He's still mine really.'

'Mommy understands that. Don't worry,' Mac reassured her. 'OK then, I guess we'd better get to Schwarz before all the teddy bears are sold.'

Squawking in alarm, Holly urged him on and would have had him running along the sidewalk with her on his shoulders had he not stood firm.

No more jokes about teddy bear shortages, he told himself.

Inside the famous store it was clear there was no teddy bear shortage. The store overflowed with them. Holly gazed around open-mouthed, awed at the sheer amount of plush. It brought memories back to Mac of visiting when Holly was only a few months' old, and how he'd joked with Stella about a toy fund. Thinking back to how prescient that had been, Mac winced slightly. How much he and Stella had spent in the store since then he didn't want to think about.

Crouching by Holly, he asked, 'What kind of bear for mommy? An actual bear, or another plush animal?'

'A bear,' Holly said decisively and marched over to a stand of caramel-coloured creatures. They didn't pass muster, so she moved on.

'What about these?' Mac asked, picking up a small vanilla-coloured bear from another shelf. Grimacing, Holly shook her head.

'Too small.'

A basket of floppy-looking bears caught Holly's eye. 'What about one of these, daddy?'

Mac came over and took the bear that Holly held out to him. Carefully, he studied its face, noting its embroidered smile and eyes. 'It's a good bear.' He passed it back to Holly. 'Do you think mommy will like it?'

Frowning in concentration, Holly inspected the bear, squeezing its belly and turning it upside down, before stroking its fur and patting its paws. 'Yes, she will.'

'Great. Let's go buy him.'

But Holly hesitated, looking back longingly at the basket. 'Um, daddy… mommy's bear might be lonely on his own.'

Mac's eyebrows rose. 'Might he now?'

'Uh huh, he will be daddy if he has to leave all his friends…' Clutching the bear for Stella, she gazed up at him with big round eyes.

'What do you suggest we do about that?' Mac asked her, straight-faced.

'We could get one for me and then they can be friends together,' Holly said brightly, as if it was simplest explanation in the world.

Mac sighed.

And a little later, they left the store with a heavy carrier bag, lighter wallets, and a slightly shrunken toy fund.

Thank you very much for reading! Please do leave me a review here, I've a 6 hour drive tomorrow so they'll help me on my journey :D Lily x