"Frankie, is something wrong?" Mac asked, tugging gently on the young woman's hand as they walked down Fifth Avenue and away from the Empire State. "You seem really upset..."

"Huh?" she blinked. "No, Mac, I'm fine, why would you say that?"

"You were all grumpy and angry..."

"Oh, Mac, it's okay," Frankie smiled as she ruffled his hair. "I was just upset about how long and multiple the line was, that's all..."

"Well," the small boy said, "Okay."

"So, anyway, Times Square..." Kathy said suddenly. "You know the big ball they drop on New Year's, Mac?"

"No, Mom doesn't let me stay up that late," he huffed.

"Um, oh," Kathy blushed. "Anyway, that's how they celebrate it here, dropping a big ol' ball down a flagpole."

"Why would they do that?" Mac asked. "Seems kinda... weird."

"Just tradition," the woman replied. "It was originally to commemorate the opening of the New York Times, which is why it's named 'Times Square.' They long since moved to their own skyscraper, but the name stuck."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense..." Mac shrugged. Frankie frowned, putting a hand on her stomach.

"Hey, Kath, I'm getting kinda hungry," she said to her friend.

"Yeah, me too," Mac nodded. "I just didn't wanna say anything..."

"I swear, Mac, you are the sweetest," Kathy grinned as she checked her watch. "Oh, wow, it is getting late. We should grab something for an early lunch before we reach Times Square."

"Okay, sure, where to?" Frankie shrugged. "I heard there's so many restaurants here, the whole population could go out to dinner at the same time."

"Oh, I know just the place," Kathy smiled as she looked down a street. "We'll get lunch, all right. New York style."

"Go ahead, hon, tell him what you want..."

"Uh, hi," Mac mumbled shyly. "Can I get, uh, a hot dog and a bottle of water, please?"

"'Water?'" the street vendor asked. "Mountain Dew here as well..."

"No, just water's fine," he replied. The man nodded and gave Mac his food. "Thank you," he said.

"Welcome. Three dollars," the man said, holding out his hand. Frankie fumbled with her Coke and two jumbo dogs for her wallet, only to see Kathy paying instead. The redhead frowned.

"I could have paid for him, Kathy," Frankie said.

"It's okay," she smiled as she took a bite from her pretzel. "Now, let's find somewhere to sit..." she added, looking around. "How about the bus stop? We'd be out before someone would complain about loitering."

"Okay, sounds fair," Frankie replied as the three walked over and sat down. They began to eat their street vendor fair.

"So, Mac," Kathy asked while swallowing, "what do you think so far?"

"It's loud, it's noisy, it's kinda dirty, the people are weird, and I feel kinda overwhelmed," he said as he cast a glance upward at the man made cliffs above. He paused, then smiled. "It's awesome."

"I told you," Kathy smirked. "Now, I was thinking for later, when we're done for the day... I treat you guys to one of my favorite dishes for dinner."

"What, that lasagna of yours?" Frankie asked while chewing.

"Yeah. I remember you liked when you came over for the weekends at Brooklyn," Kathy replied. "Is Mac a vegetarian? 'Cause, the hamburg and pepperoni..."

"No, I'm fine," Mac smiled.

"Just don't let Mac have any sugar," Frankie said.

"And don't let Frankie have any cookies..." Mac added.

"Don't play with me, MacIntyre," the redhead replied as she mockingly shot the boy a glare.

"Why's that?"

"'Cause I get all crazy, and Frankie loses self control and gets fat."

"I do NOT get fat!" the young woman said defensively. "I... spent too much of that night puking to get fat."

"At least you weren't naked," Mac huffed.

"...let's go to Times Square now..." Kathy said as she got up, blinking.

"Ah, here we are... Times Square."

"Wow..." Mac gaped as his large head craned upwards to drink in the sight around him. For several blocks around, huge glittering skyscrapers lined the fabled intersection, adorned with some of the most influential names in the world. Wachovia, Reuters, Ernst & Young, Prudential, Kodiak, Paramount Pictures... all of them had either a gigantic billboard or a skyscraper all their own. All around him were billboards, flashing lights, neon tubes, and a gigantic TV broadcasting news reports next to a several stories high Dow Jones ticker. For someone who'd spent all his life in a small town, it was almost too much to fathom.

"I figured you'd say that," Kathy smiled. "Now then, Toys 'R Us, or Virgin, which one do we go for first..."

"Ooh, ooh, can we go to Virgin?" Frankie asked, almost clapping her hands together. "I so wanna see their punk rock stuff!"

"Well, this is Mac's trip, Frankie, so let's ask him..." she replied as she looked down at the boy. "So, what would you like to do, Mac?"

"I wouldn't mind riding the ferris wheel if that's okay with Frankie," Mac confessed with a shrug.

"Sure, why not," Frankie smiled. With that, Kathy led them into the gargantuan toy store.

"It's so big!" Mac gasped as he looked up. He rubbed his neck; it was starting to feel stiff from all the looking up he was doing.

"Tell me about it," Kathy smiled. "I just wanted a darn teddy bear for my little cousin, and it took me at least ten minutes to find where they were in the store! Which reminds me... my nephew's birthday is coming up, I should get him something..."

"That's okay, Kathy," Frankie said dismissively. "I'll take Mac to get on the ferris wheel, and then we'll come and find you, okay?"

"That works for me," Kathy nodded. "You kids have fun now." With that, the woman waved goodbye and melted into the crowds. Now on her own with Mac, Frankie looked around for where to board the ride.

"I think it's up there, Mac..." she said, pointing while leading him towards a staircase. "Yeah, I can see people getting on and off up here..."

"This is gonna be fun," Mac grinned in anticipation as they climbed up the stairs and began to walk towards the line. Gradually, the line shrank until it was his turn, but Mac was noting the expression on the employee's face.

"Sorry, kid. You're too short," she said simply.

"Aw," Mac moaned, slumping slightly. Frankie frowned at seeing Mac so sad, then looked at the woman.

"Oh, c'mon. He'll be fine."

"He's too small. If someone were to go with him, I could allow it..."

"Fine, I will," Frankie replied. The worker looked her up and down.

"Yeah, all right, you're pretty scrawny. Go ahead."

"Scrawny!" the young woman spat. "Oh, I'll show you scrawny, y--"

"Frankie... she said we could get on," Mac pleaded tugging on her hoodie.

"Oh, right, yeah," she replied. She crawled into a car behind Mac, and soon the wheel was spinning around.

"Wow, this store's so big..." Mac said. Everywhere he looked, he saw something interesting. Giant LEGO models of New York landmarks... a gigantic, roaring T-Rex model... multiple workers demonstrating the latest toys... entire selections of action figures alone that put the entire toy store back home to shame. As they dipped past the first floor, Frankie nudged Mac to point out that Kathy was waving to them over the rail, and they waved back. After several revolutions, the ride was stopped, and gradually the riders disembarked. By the time it was their turn, Kathy was waiting for them.

"Have fun?" she asked.

"Except for that operator... she wasn't gonna let Mac on," Frankie said.

"Nice lady," Kathy snarked. "Anyway, I'm all set... I'm gonna give Steve this," she continued, holding up an RC car. "He'll love it."

"Swank," Frankie smiled. "So, Mac, what do you want to do now?"

"We can go to Virgin if you want..." the boy suggested.

"Oh, Mac, no, this is your trip..." Frankie answered. "Where do you wanna go, Mac? Really?"

"I kinda want you to have fun, though, since you're so miserable at the Home and everything," Mac shyly replied. Frankie's cheeks burned bright red.

"Well, gee, Mac, I dunno what to say..." she stammered.

"It's okay, Frankie. We can go to Virgin if you want... really!" he urged.

"Well..." Frankie hemmed.

"Listen to the kid, Frankie," Kathy winked. Frankie grinned.

"Okay, what the heck! Let's go to Virgin!"

"Actually... could I just look at the video game stuff and RC stuff first?" he asked hurriedly, pointing to the upper floor.

"I don't see why not," Kathy said. "How about you, Frankie?"

"As long as I get my punk rock fix, I don't care where he wants to go."

"Well... I guess I could also go to the action figures... and maybe the games area... and while I'm here, I might as well check out the LEGOs, they look cool..."

"Me and my giving mouth," Frankie sighed mockingly to herself.

"Okay, now I'm ready," Mac smiled as he played with the buttons on his new RC police car, making the sirens light up and wail. Mac looked up from it as they walked out of the store. "Okay, Frankie, we can go to Virgin now if you still want... Frankie? Where'd she go?"

"There," Kathy smiled as they watched Frankie streak happily like a kid in a candy store into the massive multimedia store. "She doesn't get to have much fun on her own, does she?"

"Not really..." Mac said as they walked calmly. "She has to do all the lousy, demeaning, hard stuff without any help, 'cause either they can't or won't take care of themselves."

"You have an imaginary friend there, Mac?" Kathy asked.

"Yeah. His name's Bloo... but he's kinda a jerk these days," he huffed.

"I'm sure it's just a phase, hon," the woman replied, placing a hand on his shoulder gently. "If you love him enough to make sure he has a good home and people that will take care of him..."

"But, I don't wanna let go of Bloo... at least not yet," Mac sighed.

"It's okay, Mac," Kathy countered. "I know you don't wanna let him go just yet, and nothing is really saying you have to. When you're both ready, it'll be natural. I'm sure he'll go to another little boy or girl as sweet as you after that."

"You really think so?" Mac asked as they entered the store.

"Oh, I know so. Even though some parts of it bite, there are some good things about growing old. Experience, privileges, insight, and all sorts of other things. Yeah, you'll have to get a job... but, hey, you can work for what you want when you're out of school."

"Yeah, I know. Now, we should probably find Frankie..." Mac said, looking around the store. "Gee, where is she?"

"I have an idea," Kathy smiled, walking up to a worker. "Excuse me, sir, where's the punk rock section?"

"It's over there," the man pointed. "But, I'd be careful if I were you. There's some kinda weird young woman in a green sweatshirt getting all twitchy there."

"That's her," Kathy chuckled. "Thanks." With that, the two walked over to find Frankie, earphones clamped over her heads, hugging CDs to her chest. She looked up at them, eyes glazed in joy.

"...I have achieved Nirvana..." she said with an awed whisper.

"That's good, Frankie. Now, make a choice and let's go," Kathy groaned, rolling her eyes. Mac looked at her with concern, and locked eyes with the redhead. She shook her head and came out of it.

"Uh, right, 'Pistols' anthology," she replied, putting the others back. "So, after I pay for this, where to next?"

"Has Mac ever ice skated?" Kathy asked. "I think they might be opening the rink at Rockefeller Center today..."