A/N: And here it is. :) The next chapter of my Foster's story. And you can expect some interesting developments in this one. ;) BTW, this one is a two-parter. This chapter in itself is part one. Part two will come sooner rather than later, but my attention is called elsewhere for the next couple of weeks. But I will get back to it soon. How soon, I don't know. But I will keep this one around.

Chapter 2: Matter of Faith

The next day at work was less hectic for Gabe. Now that he knew what to expect, the job became a little easier for him. Of course, Duchess, being Duchess, was as intolerable as ever. She had asked him to open her eyelids for her, gargle her mouthwash, and even brush her teeth. Fortunately, that was all she needed him to do for the day. The rest was practically a cake-walk, as far as Foster's goes.

Gabe was now sweeping the foyer's floor with the broom and dustpan. It was shocking how dirty it tended to be with everyone walking on there. Regardless, he swept up the dirt and put them in the dustpan before placing said dirt in a nearby trash can, which then slurped its lid.

"Thanks, Gabe."

"Sure thing, buddy."

It was at that moment that Frankie had come down the stairs. She was carrying an absurd amount of towels. And she was having trouble trying to balance them.

"Uh, look out, guys! I can't see where I'm going!"

Frankie was about to trip, but Gabe rushed to her rescue. He put his hands out to rest on the pile of towels, hoping he could stop the fall.

"Hang on, Frankie. I gotcha."

He stepped up and tried to catch the towels if they happened to fall, but instead, he caught her arms and helped set her up straight on her feet again. It wasn't the plan, but it worked, nonetheless. Frankie sighed in relief before she spoke around the tower of towels.

"Thanks, Gabe. It would've been messy if you weren't around."

"Good thing I'm here."

Just then, Mr. Herriman's voice rang out.

"Miss Frances! Master Gabriel! You're needed out at the main gate!"

Outside the gate, Frankie and Gabe were at a table with Mr. Herriman and Mac, handing out slips to the people and imaginary friends that were lined up. The turnout was bigger than he expected. Gabe even had to rub his eyes just to be sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Hard to believe that many people showed up just to drop them off."

Mr. Herriman turned to his employee with an enthusiastic look (well, as enthusiastic as he could look).

"Oh, far from it, Master Gabriel. There's going to be a pageant at Foster's in the coming days."

"A pageant? For what?"

Frankie was initially confused about his lack of knowledge, but she remembered how new he is to Foster's.

"Oh. Right. You were just hired two days ago. Well, here at Foster's, we hold a talent show once a year for imaginary friends to show off their talents."

Mac chimed in as he stamped on the papers next.

"Yeah. And the winner gets a big trophy."

Gabe was intrigued by the idea. The whole stage of Imaginary Friends showing off their talents was honestly a bit of a surprise for him to think about. But at the same time, it made him excited. He couldn't help but ask as Frankie stamped the paper with an approved sign.

"Huh. Sounds neat. Maybe I can help out. Make sure things go smoothly around here."

Mr. Herriman interjected as he stamped on the papers himself.

"Your gesture is appreciated, Master Gabriel. But you already are helping out. By helping us get those approval stamps stamped."

Just then, a giant roar echoed from behind the Foster's house. The noise caught the group by surprise, as well as the people lined up to stamp their papers. Frankie had a feeling what it was about.

"Oh, shnikes. I forgot to feed the Extremasaur some breakfast."

Mr. Herriman didn't look too pleased about it.

"I think we can all see that, Miss Frances."

The roar came out again before he reiterated.

"And hear it."

Gabe looked back to where the roar came from. He recalled how he barely made it out alive trying to get back the whizby. And he also remembered the red dragon that beat down the other Extremasaurs like they were nothing. It wasn't ideal for him to go back, but Gabe couldn't let it interfere with the talent show.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll take care of that for you. Can I see that key, Frankie?"

Frankie dug into her pocket and handed him the keys, holding a confused look on her face.

"Okay, but I'm surprised you'd be willing to go back there after what happened yesterday."

Gabe only gave her a reassuring smile as he replied.

"Hey, I'm still alive, aren't I? Besides, I can't let those things make everyone nervous before the talent show."

Mr. Herriman put his finger on his chin for a moment, considering the option.

"Very well. But make it quick, Master Gabriel. We have other duties to attend to. And by 'we', of course, I mean you and Miss Frances."

Frankie grumbled once again before Gabe replied.

"Don't worry. I'll be quick as a bunny."

Mr. Herriman's eyes widened at that joke before Gabe noticed and tried to take it back.

"Er, no pun intended."

Gabe rushed off to the backyard as Frankie tried to hold in her laughter. It was a clever burn on his part, even if he didn't mean it.

At the backyard, Gabe was standing in front of the door to the Extremasaurs. He could still feel the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Even so, he clutched to his steak as he shouted.

"Here's your breakfast! Hope you like it!"

Gabe tossed it through the opening. But after a while, not a sound was made.

"Uh.. are you gonna eat? Or… something…?"

Again, there was silence. Gabe was starting to get anxious. He had a bad feeling that they might not have lasted long without their breakfast.

"You, um… okay in there?"

No answer came from the cage. Gabe gulped at the thought of the Extremasaurs having died from starvation. However, he began to fear something worse. He recalled the red dragon that attacked the others. Odds are, he might not be hungry because it must've eaten them! Gabe shook his head at the very idea of it.

"T-That's ridiculous. That red dragon couldn't have eaten them. Could it…?"

Gabe had to check and make sure. But to do that would be to invite that dragon to strike him down next. He had fainted yesterday from the encounter. He'd hated to imagine what could happen this time. Still, he needed the full details to give to Mr. Herriman. So, like it or not, he had to suck it up, if only once. He put the keys in and cautiously opened the door.

When he did, the full view of the cage came in. It was just as dark and dank as he remembered. And when he stepped closer, he saw an unexpected sight. Two Extremasaurs were huddled together, still shivering like leaves. Gabe looked from them to the steak he tossed in. Gabe sighed as he picked up the steak and tried to urge them to eat it.

"What's wrong? Aren't you guys hungry?"

The beasts didn't answer him. But something else did. A low grumble came from behind him. Gabe turned around him to see the red and black dragon. It was eyeing him curiously. Gabe was easily freaked out as he leapt back and dropped the steak in the process. He closed his eyes, expecting the worst, only to lift his eyes a little peek, and saw a strange sight.

The red dragon didn't make any move except to stare at the steak that fell off his hands. The dragon went towards the steak and sniffed it. After it sniffed, it made a light sneeze. The dragon looked at Gabe with a slight glare before he scooped up the steak with his mouth and swallowed it whole. Gabe looked at it in awe as it shook its whole body in the sunlight.

"Whoa… You must be running a racket in here, huh?"

The dragon looked back to Gabe, going up to him and forcing him to back up. He was already beginning to assume the worst.

"Uh, h-hey. Let's not eat the middleman here. I'll get you some more."

The dragon only stopped just in front of him, looking at him with a perplexed stare. Gabe was looking confused as well. But suddenly, the dragon leapt onto Gabe, pushing him to the ground while resting its head on his chest. Gabe was under a panic attack as he shouted.

"Oh, no! I'm dead! Dead! DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

A few seconds as his yell's echoes faded away, Gabe opened his eyes to see the dragon staring at him again. He began to frown, having realized he just made a fool of himself.

"And I just humiliated myself in front of an Extremasaur."

The dragon didn't make any move except to stare at Gabe. He was put off for a moment.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

The dragon made no answer but a light growl. But as Gabe stared at its eyes, he stared closer at his reflection in its big, bulbous eyes. In that moment, he had a mind-blowing eureka moment that made him speechless.

"Oh. My. Gosh. You've been alone all that time, haven't you?"

The dragon grumbled lightly again to answer him. The next thing Gabe knew, he was gently brushing his hand on its round, flat snout. It was rough, yet gentle to the touch. The dragon purred at the feel of it as Gabe smiled a bit.

"Well. That's new."

Just then, the dragon stuck its tongue out to lick his chin. Before Gabe knew it, the dragon began to lick at him like a playful dog. In the process, the dragon was tickling him. At the same time, Gabe was disgusted by the saliva on him.

"Oh, come on!"

The dragon got off of him when he was done as Gabe looked at himself. He was completely drenched in dragon spit. Needless to say, he was quite repulsed.

"Oh, that's gross!"

The dragon only laughed at him with a throaty gurgle. Gabe narrowed his eyes at the dragon.

"Oh. Oh, you think that's funny, huh? Well, mister, how do you like this?"

Gabe flung the saliva onto the dragon's nose, making it stick its tongue out as it gagged and tried to wipe itself off with its paws.

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

Gabe was about to leave, but then, he noticed Frankie out by the door, looking utterly surprised. Gabe looked at her puzzled for a moment before he realized. She must have come out here when he was screaming for what turned out to be no reason.

"Uh… hey, Frankie."

The dragon quickly made a frown before he shoved Gabe right out of the cage and on top of Frankie with his snout. After which, he used the tail to grab the door and slam it shut. Gabe got off of Frankie as he groaned. At that moment, he and Frankie were looking right into each other's eyes. At the same instant, they turned away with a blush on both of their faces before he rolled off of Frankie.

"Sorry. Still got some… spit on me."

Suddenly, Gabe felt a punch to his arm.

"You idiot! I thought you were being eaten!"

Gabe tried to explain himself as he rubbed his arm.

"So did I. But I admit, it was an overreaction on my part."

"Overreaction?! You got dragon spit all over you!"

"That's just it. It wasn't trying to eat me, Frankie. It was playing with me."

Frankie would find it hard to believe if she didn't see Gabe flinging the spit back at the dragon, which tried to get it off his nose. All the same, it was too stressful for her to think about him being eaten on his second day, or any day at all, for that matter. She pinched her fingers on the bride of her nose as she sighed.

"Well, I just hope it didn't scare them away from the Talent show altogether."

Frankie held her hand out for Gabe to lift him up.

"Now come on. We got some more work to do."

"Sure thing. But first, I'll need to shower."

Frankie took a sniff, smelling something quite odious. The instant it went in her nose, she gagged before covering her nose and mouth.

"Okay, I believe you."

Later on, Gabe was showering in the bathroom with his clothes having been washed and dried up. Frankie helped take care of his laundry during her task as he showered. As he showered, he was thinking about his encounter with the red dragon. The first time they met, he didn't attack Frankie or him, but only roared at them. And this time, the dragon played with Gabe until it saw Frankie, at which point it kicked him out of the cage. That put the Extremasaurs themselves into perspective for him.

What else were they capable of besides violence and destruction? What reason could they have been created by those jerky, teenage boys? And more importantly, how is one to know for sure that they were monsters? Gabe couldn't help it. He just needed to know.

"What is your deal, dragon…?"

Gabe then turned off the shower water, got out of the tub, and dried himself off with a towel. Following this, he put on his clothes and went back out of the bathroom, just in time to see Mr. Herriman talking to Wilt.

"As you know, this is an important event for Foster's. And we certainly don't want a repeat of last year's… performance."

Wilt began to laugh nervously as he replied.

"Don't you worry, Mr. Herriman. That was just a fluke. I'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so…"

Mr. Herriman hopped away as Wilt looked down dejectedly. Gabe walked over to him, seeing how worried he was.

"Hey, Wilt. You doing okay?"

Wilt took notice of Gabe and maintained his sad disposition.

"Hey, Gabe. I'm sorry, but I gotta practice these lines for the talent show, or else I'll mess it up like I did last year."

Gabe scratched his head. He got the gist that it must've been terrible, but he was curious about the extent of it.

"How exactly did you mess it up?"

"I couldn't remember a thing, and I ended up talking nonsense."

"Oh, that bad, huh?"

Wilt nodded to him sadly. But then, his grim look faded away before he spoke more confidently.

"But I'm sure this year will be different. Because this time, I'll be ready."

Wilt then walked away with a confident grin. Gabe bore a soft smile as he spoke to himself.

"Good for you, man. Now where was I?"

Just then, Frankie's voice spoke out in the hall.

"Hey, Gabe? When you're done with your shower, can you get down here real quick?"

Hearing her voice, Gabe was immediately reminded of what his assignment was.

"Oh, right. We're expecting a drop off."

Later, Frankie and Gabe were tending to a sad imaginary friend. He had the appearance of a saddened chipmunk-like being with a red jacket, a green beanie cap, and a cane with him. He was utterly heartbroken as Frankie soothed him.

"Oh, it's okay, pal. I know it's hard when you leave your kid."

"But don't worry. You'll learn to like it here."

Just then, the trio heard a hiccup from far away. It came from Bloo. He was watching the whole scene. And he looked just as concerned for the new imaginary friend who came by. Gabe and Frankie looked at him oddly before he spoke.

"Don't mind m-*hic*-e. Go on."

The two of them weren't sure about it, but they proceeded back to comforting their new arrival. As Frankie spoke to him.

"You'll see."

Bloo hiccuped again, making Frankie's face turn sour each time he did.

"Everybody's really nice…"

Hic!

"And considerate…!"

Hic!

Frankie was about to blow up at him, but Gabe intervened.

"Okay, look. Bloo. I don't know what the heck's going on with you today, but I'm warning you only this once. Stop. With. Your. Hiccups. Because if you do that one more time, I cannot —I repeat— cannot be held responsible for what happens next. Do you understand me?"

There was only a bitter silence for a moment before Bloo hiccuped again. Gabe's eye began to twitch a bit before he drew a heavy inhale. Then, he narrowed his eyes and spoke in a demonic voice.

"You brought this on yourself, little blue man…"

Later, Gabe had Bloo pinned to the floor by his stubs while the new arrival held Bloo down with his cane over his chest as Frankie poured water on his face from a tea pitcher, trying to get it into his mouth. But he was making it difficult. A whole crowd of imaginary friends looked on in shock as Madame Foster arrived to see the display for herself as Frankie spoke while he laughed like a maniac.

"You gotta stop hiccuping! Just hold your breath and swallow this water!"

"Never!"

Bloo laughed crazily again before Gabe shouted at him.

"Swallow that water now, you tranch!"

Needless to say, Madame Foster had quite enough of the scene.

"Gabe, Frankie, stop that this instant!"

They looked at Madame Foster in surprise as she got out a fire hose and brought it over.

"I'll take it from here."

She laughed devilishly as Gabe blinked his eyes.

"Uh, where did you get the fire hose?"

"From the 'in case of emergencies' bin. And trust me, Gabe: this is an emergency."

Madame Foster prime's the hose and stuffed it into Bloo. The water went down his throat like a fountain, making Bloo's belly grow big. The more water he swallowed, the bigger the blob became. By the time Madame Foster was done, he was as big as the foyer itself! She pulled out the hose, causing him to make a loud burp from his mouth that shrunk him back down to normal size. Frankie took a deep breath as she spoke to herself.

"Thank goodness it's all over…"

Sadly, she was wrong.

Hic!

Bloo still had his hiccups. And he wasn't afraid to go back to laughing like a lunatic.

"Nice tr-*hic!*-y. But you *hic!* will never get r-*hic!*-id of my *hic!*cups! Never!"

Bloo then went up the stairs to celebrate, hiccuping along as Frankie grumbled. Despite Bloo's hiccups having been seemingly proven invincible, Gabe tried to reassure her.

"Maybe we'll just give it some time. It's got to go away eventually."

Frankie crossed her arms as she spoke to herself.

"Somehow, I seriously doubt that."

Gabe managed to overhear Frankie's words. He began to suspect that Bloo's odds of letting her sleep are slim to none. Especially since he seemed to enjoy the hiccups. And he couldn't just let Frankie suffer for it.

"Well, would you like to come along with me back to my place, then?"

Frankie looked at Gabe in surprise. She hadn't been offered that before. And it made Gabe quickly blush as he tried to explain it wasn't for any romantic purposes.

"Uh, just so you can get away from the hiccups and get some sleep."

Frankie began to blush herself, something Madame Foster took notice of. The old lady began to smile as Frankie responded nervously.

"Um, that's uh… really nice of you, Gabe. But Mr. Herriman expects me to—"

Suddenly, Madame Foster interjected.

"Oh, Herriman, Shmerriman. You can go with him if you want to, Frankie."

Frankie's blush grew bigger as she turned to her grandmother.

"R-really? You're actually okay with this?"

"Of course, dearie. You need some sleep after all."

Madame Foster then turned to Gabe with a suspicious glare.

"Just don't try any funny business with my granddaughter, Gabe. Got it?"

Madame Foster then clenched her right hand before Gabe swallowed nervously.

"Uh, don't worry, Madame Foster! Y-You can count on me."

Madame Foster pet Gabe's head with a smile as she replied sweetly.

"There's a good boy. I knew I hired you for a reason."

Later, Frankie and Gabe were walking out on the sidewalk, having just gone out of the gate. Frankie was still blushing at the thought of sleeping at his place. Come to think of it, she didn't know what his room was like.

"So, Gabe… what's your place like?"

Gabe began to get nervous when she asked that. He would say it's because he didn't want to admit that he like-liked her. But the truth was, his place wasn't really anything special.

"Well, I can tell you it's close to Foster's. Almost next door, actually."

Frankie twiddled with her fingers as she replied.

"Really? That... sounds great."

Gabe made a light scratch on the back of his head as he admitted the follies to it.

"Yeah, it's not really that great compared to Foster's, though. In fact, it's… not really that great compared to any house."

Frankie began to feel sorry for Gabe as she pondered about it.

"Really? How bad is it?"

Gabe began to blush again as he replied.

"Well… it's not bad, per se. It's just that, well… it's not really so much a house, as it is an apartment."

"Oh. Then, where is it?"

"Right here, actually."

Gabe pointed over to the apartment he lived in. Gabe's place appeared to be a small apartment. The outside of it looked simple enough. If anything, the only downside was that it reminded her of a strip mall, but apart from that, it looked decent.

"Oh. That doesn't look too bad."

"I'd hold that thought if I were you."

Gabe and Frankie went up to the door in front of them in a plain, white-walled hallway. His door was a black colored door with a brass, small peep hole on the top middle of it under the brass numbers '331' on it, slightly rusted. There was also a small hole full of slightly broken wires that spilled out on the right side of his door with a shiny golden like doorknob on it. And at the foot of the door was a fuzzy brown welcome doormat under it.

"Uh… it looks to leave a little to be desired, but it's still not that bad."

Gabe had his doubts as he got out his room key and tried to stick it in the knob.

"Just wait until you meet my landlord."

Just then, Gabe and Frankie heard the voice of an old man shouting at them, or more specifically, his tenant. He was more like race-walking with his tennis ball walker, but it still unnerved him.

"Hey! Rent! You owe me rent, young man!"

Gabe began to panic like nobody's business as he finally got the door unlocked and thrust himself and Frankie inside.

"Oh, speak of the devil! Time to go!"

"Whoa!"

"Get back here! I see you! Hey! Rent!"

Gabe was panting heavily at the confrontation with Frankie recovering from the push as three knocks came on the door. He was afraid to respond, but he also knew that if he didn't, there'd be worse things to worry about.

"Yeah…?"

"I didn't fight World War II to take this from you! I better see rent by Tuesday, or your mortgage here is kaput!"

"Yes, Mr. Phillips…"

Gabe looked at Frankie with a nervous smile. She could tell he was really scared of him. If anything, that must be his own Mr. Herriman.

"And don't think I didn't see your girlfriend, too."

Frankie blushed at this, but she didn't know if it was out of worry for what Phillips could do, or because of the concept of being his girlfriend altogether. Either way, Mr. Phillips must be a force to be reckoned with.

"If she's gonna stay here with you, she'll have to pay rent like everyone else. Or let me guess: you're working on it, too?"

That made Gabe agitated to no end as he spoke up.

"Look, Mr. Phillips. I just got my job a couple of days ago, but you're still not giving me a break. At the very least, I'll get my paycheck on the weekend, and you can have your rent, then. I wish I could make it different and pay you now, but I can't. I'm sorry."

Mr. Phillips wasn't quite convinced.

"Oh, yeah? Well, 'sorry' doesn't pay any rent! Otherwise, I'd be a millionaire! Now, either you pay for that rent by Tuesday, or you can kiss your privileges goodbye! And your girlfriend, too!"

Seeing Gabe get ragged on like that was more than Frankie could take. It reminded her all too well about Mr. Herriman. It didn't feel right for Gabe to suffer at all. Frankie walked up to the door and spoke through it.

"First off, I'm not his girlfriend. Second, I'm not staying here."

"Oh, yeah? Then what are you doing here? You here to make a one-night stand or something?"

Frankie grumbled to herself for a moment before she took a deep breath and tried to make up something.

"No, sir. Gabe was just… telling me about how dirty his room was. And he said he needed some help with cleaning it. Especially since it could take all night. Didn't you, Gabe?"

Frankie turned to Gabe with a wink and a smile. That was when he understood. She was making it easier for him to talk to his landlord.

"Oh, yeah. That's right, sir. My room was that dirty."

Mr. Phillips scoffed, but he seemed to accept the story.

"Oy, I believe it… Okay, she can help you clean your room. And in return, she can spend one night with you free of charge, but that's all. Just don't try any funny business in there. You hear me, ma'am?"

Frankie and Gabe blushed simultaneously as they responded in unison.

"Yes, Mr. Phillips."

"Good. Now you better get to cleaning. It's a real pig-stye in there."

As Mr. Phillips walked away with a laugh to himself, As Mr. Phillips walked away with a laugh to himself, Frankie looked around and looked around and couldn't believe what she saw. It was a room with a hardwood floor with a few colorful carpets laying about on the floor. It had. It had beige colored walls with a few posters and picture frames of his family and friends, a long, dusty, soggy-looking yellow couch facing the door, and a brass lamp next to it. On . On the right side of the couch is a small turntable with a few clothes strewn over it, as well as a small room to the left with a white tiled floor (which she presumed was the bathroom. It had (which she presumed was the bathroom. It had a small toilet with a fuzzy purple seat cover, a small white bathtub with a brass shower rod and and a transparent shower curtain on it, and a and a small sink. And on the right of the complex that led to the bathroom was of the complex that led to the bathroom was a wide closet with a sliding door and a wide closet with a sliding door and a small, brown door closet. No wonder he needed a job! Frankie looked to Gabe, seeing his glum expression.

"Yeah, that's what I mean by it being not so great. I wasn't counting on bringing anyone home today, so…"

Looking back at the mess, Frankie didn't see much to worry about. With her experience at Foster's, it was pretty tame compared to the messes Bloo normally leaves behind. Besides, she told Mr. Phillips that she came here to help him clean up. She might as well follow through.

"You kidding? I take care of messes like this for breakfast. Sometimes, it's more true than I wish it was. But for once, it's going to pay off."

Frankie picked up one of the shirts strewn on the turntable and tossed it to Gabe, who caught it as she spoke to him.

"Buck up, soldier. We've got work to do."

With that, Frankie and Gabe began cleaning the room together. Frankie took care of the carpets, laying them in front of the bathroom door and near the entry door while Gabe hung his shirts back up in the wide closet. After that, Gabe got to work on dusting the couch (more specifically beating the dust out of it) while Frankie scrubbed the showerhead. It took a lot of effort, especially with the couch's soggy spots, but eventually they were able to clean it all up. Frankie felt especially proud of that as she wiped her forehead with her sleeve.

"There. We managed to clean up everything in the room."

Gabe looked at his room in complete amazement. It looked just like it was when he first moved in. Not one thing was out of place, and even the couch looked better than it did before. Though, Gabe knew better than to say that.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'everything.'"

Frankie looked at him with a puzzled expression. Gabe opened the closet door, and the instant he did, a bed fell straight out of it. It was a fold-out bed with a messy green blanket and a small white pillow on it.

"After we fix up the bed, then it'll be everything. But don't worry, Frankie. You can leave that to me."

With that, Gabe went to work on the bed. He was moving the blanket up near the pillow and smoothing out the creases while tucking the hanging parts underneath it.

"There we go. Now, that's everything."

Frankie looked around the whole room. It was definitely improved from how she saw it a few moments ago. Now, it looked more like a hotel room.

"Wow… it looks so much nicer now."

Gabe stopped to look around at the room himself. And he was quite impressed with it himself.

"Yeah. It really does."

After a moment of silence, Gabe turned to Frankie.

"Hey, Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for sticking up for me with my landlord. I know you didn't come here to work, but still…"

Frankie gave him a gentle nudge.

"Hey, it's the least I can do. You did offer to help me get some sleep from Bloo's hiccuping."

Gabe cracked a smile on his face as he replied.

"Yeah. Odds are, he's still hiccuping the night away."

Frankie began to laugh at the idea.

"Good thing I'm here, then."

Frankie and Gabe laid down flat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. For a short while, they never said anything until Frankie broke the silence.

"Hey, Gabe?"

"Yeah, Frankie?"

"Not that I mind, but… what made you come to Foster's?"

For Gabe, he saw it plainly. It was to look for any job that would take him. And it was quite a hassle of itself. He took a short breath before he answered.

"Well, I'll be honest with you, Frankie. It wasn't really my first choice. I tried to get an office job. Then, I tried to be a delivery guy, a grocery store clerk, even a mailman. But every time, I got the boot. And every time that happened, I tried to be better for my next job. I was at my wit's end, too. But then… I saw your ad on TV."

Frankie had an idea where he was getting at.

"Oh. You mean where I was the one narrating?"

"Yeah. It really felt like the kind of place that could take in a loser like me. Er, not that anybody is a loser. Like, just me."

Frankie bore a sad look on her face as she turned to her co-worker.

"Gabe, you're not a loser."

Gabe had reason to doubt as he contradicted her.

"Frankie, I couldn't even get five stinking jobs before Foster's. My dad already got his job the first time. Of course, I'm a loser."

Frankie held onto his arm, making him look over to her as she repeated herself.

"No. You're not. You helped Eduardo face his fears and get that whizby back. You stood face-to-face with an Extremasaur, twice. And that was all on your first day here. After doing all those things, how can you call yourself a loser?"

Gabe smiled softly from her words of encouragement. It felt as though he hadn't heard them in a long time.

"Thanks, Frankie. It really means a lot."

The two of them gave each other a gentle hug for a moment. And when it was over, Gabe got to thinking about the Extremasaur that played with him this morning. The first time he saw it, it just roared at him and closed the door. The second time, it played with him, whether he wanted it to or not. That made him think more about the Extremasaur in particular.

"Speaking of Extremasaur… what do you think that thing's deal is?"

Frankie had a hunch about who he was talking about.

"You mean that red and black-spotted dragon?"

"Yeah. It was playing with me that morning until it saw you. What do you think it's about?"

Frankie tried to think of a reason for it, but she couldn't. There was so much even she didn't know about it, let alone the Extremasaurs in general.

"I don't know. But from now on, maybe you should just leave them to me, just to be safe."

Gabe couldn't argue, even if he wanted to. Frankie did have the most experience when it came to Foster's. And she always seemed to handle herself, if his first day was any indication.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'm in the mood to shower because of that dragon spit again."

Frankie made a light laugh at his words before she laid down on the bed.

"Good night, Gabe."

"Good night, Frankie."

Gabe laid down beside her as he pulled the blanket over them. With that, the two of them shut their eyes and let themselves drift into sleep. But after a moment, Gabe tossed his arm over Frankie and held her close to him. She blushed for a bit, but as she felt the warmth of his body, Frankie let herself fall back to sleep under his arm as she moaned softly at his touch with a smile as she held onto him.

The next morning, Gabe and Frankie were on their way back to Foster's. By then, it was five minutes before the talent show entries. And there was already a long line forming beside them.

"I don't know about you, Gabe, but it's the best I've ever slept. I feel like I could take on this talent show and the next."

Gabe was happy to hear that Frankie slept okay in a room that was previously messy.

"I'm happy to hear that. Let's just hope Mr. Herriman isn't too upset about—"

To their surprise, Mr. Herriman and Mac were sitting with a new face at the table. She had a dark brown suit with a pink collared shirt inside it. She also had the same hair color as Mac, only it was at shoulder length. Gabe was unbelievably surprised to see a new face with them, but Frankie seemed to know her as she spoke up.

"Oh, Ms. Kazoo! I wasn't expecting you to be here. I thought you had work."

She held her hand out to the mother, who gladly shook it as she replied.

"I have a day off today, actually. You'd be surprised how I managed to get one."

She then took notice of Gabe beside Frankie. She became interested right away.

"Oh, who's that, Frankie?"

"This is Gabe. He got hired here a couple of days ago."

Gabe walked over to Mac's mother and held his hand out to her.

"Hey. Nice to meet you."

She reached her hand out to shake his.

"Same to you."

Gabe then turned over to look at Mac. He noticed that he had a downtrodden look on him. Neither Gabe nor Frankie could bear to see him so sad, so he got around the table, knelt down and tried to get to the bottom of Mac's misery.

"Hey. You doing okay, Mac?"

"Yeah. You didn't look that sad the last time we saw you yesterday."

Mac only turned his head away as he replied in a deadpan tone.

"Oh, it's nothing."

For a look that sad, it's safe to say it wasn't nothing. Frankie and Gabe turned over to his mother before the former inquired her

"Do you know what's wrong?"

"Mac's having a hard time dealing with Richie and his imaginary friend's constant bragging. So, he thought he could ask Bloo for help to put him in his place, but, as you can see…"

In the front yard, Bloo was hopping all about, still enjoying the hiccups to no end. Frankie crossed her arms. Of course, he'd still be hiccuping. It was a good thing Gabe offered to let her sleep at his place, but she had a feeling the others weren't so lucky. And this was her opportunity to make up for it.

"Okay. I think Bloo and I need to have a talk."

Frankie was about to take charge, but Mac's mother spoke up.

"No. Thanks, Frankie, but I can take it from here."

She looked at Bloo first, and then back to Mac's mother. Frankie sighed before she nodded. With that, Mac's mother got up from the chair before she made a courteous bow to Mr. Herriman.

"It may be for a while, Mr. Herriman."

"Oh, not to worry, Madame Kazoo. Take all the time you need."

As Mac's mother walked over to Bloo, Mr. Herriman spoke to himself.

"Such wonderful manners…"

Frankie and Gabe then took up the seats between Mr. Herriman and Mac. Gabe couldn't help but look over at the scene between Bloo and Mac's mother. He seemed more intent on listening to her, despite the occasional hiccups now and then. He tried to listen in, but Herriman or Frankie would remind him to focus on the contestants and approve their entry. By the time it was done, Bloo gave her a sincere hug as he went over to Mac and the others. Bloo then tried to speak up to Mac with an apologetic tone in his voice.

"Mac?"

Mac didn't sound too happy as he replied in a bitter tone.

"What?"

"There's something I need to say to you."

Mac's eyes widened at this. He began to get the idea that he's going to say what he expected him to say.

"Really?"

Bloo gave him a smile before he hiccuped, perplexing him. He then began to brag about his hiccups as Madame Foster arrived with a bitter look on her face towards him.

"My hiccups are invi-*hic!*-incible! Oh, they tried to destroy my hiccups, but the-*hic!*-ey failed!"

Madame Foster then walked away before Bloo spoke to him again, his apologetic tone returning.

"But seriously. I am so-*hic!*-sorry. And maybe I'll he-*hic!*-help you with the talent show thing."

Mac began to smile at the blue blob before he got down from the chair and hugged him.

"Thanks, Bloo. You have no idea how much it means to me."

Gabe and Frankie couldn't help but smile at the scene before the former looked at Mac's mother, who had a smile of her own as she came over to them.

"How did you do that? Bloo wouldn't even listen to me or Frankie yesterday. But then you talked to him, and he just… apologized."

Frankie had a good guess as to what that is as she replied.

"Well, he can be spontaneous, like you've seen. But even that's no match for a mother's love."

Just then, the group heard a roar from behind again. It wasn't quite as unnerving as last time, but Frankie knew it well.

"Oh, right. The Extremasaurs. I can take care of it from here. Can you hold down the fort until I get back?"

Gabe didn't see any need to be worried as opposed to coming face-to-face with an Extremasaur again. Granted, it wasn't as dangerous last time, but he's not willing to take any chances for the moment.

"Sure thing. Just be careful back there, too."

"Don't worry, Gabe. I can handle myself."

With that, Frankie walked over to the backyard before Gabe got the stamp ready as he spoke.

"Okay, who's next?"

As if to answer, he heard a snotty voice reply back.

"That would be me."

Gabe looked up ahead to see a little boy with blond hair that was slicked-back, accompanied by a giant anthropomorphic tiger in a powdered wig with alien antennae, and a superhero suit with a star belt. Mac knew him all too well as he frowned.

"Hello, Richie."

"You remember Blake Superior? Of course you do."

Mac's mother looked at the two of them, and while she was impressed by Blake Superior's figure, she didn't like Richie's attitude in the slightest. She leaned close to her son in a whisper.

"I can see why you need Bloo's help."

And speaking of Bloo...

"Oh, and isn't that your Imaginary Friend over there?"

Bloo crosses his arms as he replied with a stern face, even with his hiccups.

"Yeah-huh. That's me. Wha-*hic!*-at of it?"

Richie didn't take kindly to his hiccups, either.

"How charming."

Being new to this exchange, Gabe interjected and reminded Richie of his entry.

"Uh, is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm just here to sign up this year's soon-to-be pageant winner, Blake Superior."

Blake Superior nodded as Richie mentioned him before he leaned closer to Mac.

"I suppose you won't be entering."

Mac's mother looked down at Richie, clearly not liking him one bit.

"And what makes you think he isn't, young man?"

"Well, with an imaginary friend like that thing—"

Bloo immediately took offense to that.

"Hey!"

"It's for the best, really. He wouldn't stand a chance of beating Blake Superior, or anyone, for that matter."

Blake Superior then began to chime in with a mocking tone.

"Certainly not with those ridiculous hiccups."

Richie and Blake laughed haughtily together, making Bloo very angry.

"Excuse-*hic!*-me?"

Blake was about to repeat himself, but Bloo went on top of him and pulled him by his beard.

"I—"

"I-I-*hic!*-I heard you the first ti-*hic!*-ime, Blake. Say what you want-*hic!*-about me, say what you wa-*hic!*-ant about Mac, but-*hic!*-say something about my *hic!*cups…"

Bloo quickly ran over to a note pad and brought it over before signing himself into it.

"It's *hic!* on!"

Richie and Blake leaned closer to Bloo and Mac as the former of the first pair spoke to Bloo.

"We'll see you at the talent show pageant."

"And we'll see yo-*hic!*-you at the talent show pageant! *hic!*"

Mac spoke up next to him with a determined look on his face before Gabe spoke up.

"Yeah!"

"Hold on. Nobody's seeing anyone at the talent show pageant until you finish the paperwork and pay for the entry fee."

Richie got out his pen as he took care of it.

"Oh. Why, of course."

Richie then wrote into the paper with his signature before he tugged in Blake's cape. Blake then wrote in his own signature as Richie placed a twenty-dollar bill on the paperwork.

"Here you go."

"Thank you very much."

Gabe tucked the paperwork away before the four of them resumed their glares with Richie speaking to them.

"See you at the pageant."

Richie and Blake then walked away from the group as Gabe saw the tension in the atmosphere between them. It was so thick, one can cut it with a knife.

"Well, this oughta be interesting."

Just then, Gabe heard Frankie shouting to him.

"Uh, Gabe? Can I get your help with this?"

Gabe had to wonder what she got herself into, especially with her experience. Perhaps the red dragon was giving her a hard time. All the same, he replied back with a shout of his own.

"Sure thing, Frankie! I'll be right there!"

In no time at all, Gabe took off to the backyard, hoping she wasn't hurt too bad. At that moment, Mac spoke to Bloo about what to do to prepare for the talent show.

"There's just one thing I'm gonna need you to do."

At the backyard, Gabe arrived at the cage.

"Okay, Frankie, what's going on over—"

To his surprise, the red dragon was laying on top of her, just like he did to her before. Frankie had a hard time trying to get out, especially with it's huge head on top of her. At the very least, it limited her options of escape without agitating it.

"Can you get this thing off me? Every time I try to, it just does this."

Frankie tried to put her hands on its nose, only to earn a growl. She tried again, only to earn the same response.

"See? How did you manage to get it off you in the first place?"

Gabe went over to the two as he tried to think back on how he managed it. Of course, he didn't do anything. All it did was lick at him. He wasn't trying much to escape after he humiliated himself. Then, he had an idea.

"Okay, Frankie. I got two ideas. We'll try the least embarrassing one first."

"What exactly is the embarrassing option?"

Gabe leaned closer to Frankie and whispered it to her. Her eyes widened at the idea of doing that, so she had to go along with the alternative.

"Yeah, I don't know if screaming that loud would work."

"Okay. Then, just look at its eyes. Try to connect with it."

"What? Connect with it?"

"Trust me, Frankie. You'll see what I mean."

Frankie had a hard time believing it as she stared at the dragon, who had a deadpan look. But Gabe was able to come out of it alive, albeit in dragon spit. Might as well at least try it.

"Okay. If you're sure…"

Frankie looked at the red dragon, who still gave her a deadpan look. It was making it difficult for her to make good eye contact. And it was getting to her. But she knew better than to freak on something that could eat her whole in a matter of seconds. At the same time, however, she needed to get her point across.

"What, do you want me to apologize or something?"

The red dragon snorted at her in reply. Unless she missed her guess, Frankie took it as a yes. But the trouble was, what could she need to apologize for? It was an Extremasaur like the others inside the cage. Or was it?

Frankie looked around the cage, seeing the two frightened Extremasaurs still traumatized by its attack a couple nights ago. And next to their tails… was a broken egg. It had two shells, one for the top, and the other from the bottom. What's more, the shells were in the same red and black spotted pattern as the dragon itself. Frankie was able to put two and two together as she came to a conclusion.

"You… you were trapped here your whole life, weren't you? Those guys were pushing you around back then. So you had to be meaner…"

The red dragon grumbled with a frown. Gabe was utterly dumbstruck. The last time he was in the cage, he didn't see the egg shells. Possibly, it was because he didn't stay there long, but he digressed.

"Wow. That, I didn't know."

Frankie stared into its eyes with a look of regret. If she knew there was an egg inside it, she would've gone back for it. And maybe she would've helped it live a better life than it did. She can't even blame Mr. Herriman for that, as much as she wanted to; it was on her.

"Me neither. I had no idea you had to spend your life here alone. If I just knew that you'd be in here, I… I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

The red dragon purred gently for an answer, it's eyes going wide again. This time, Frankie looked into its eyes in full. As she stared into the eyes, Frankie found herself feeling… happy. Perhaps it was because the dragon was finally listening to her. Or maybe it's because it turned out not to be so bad. Either way, Frankie instinctively found herself gently stroking its snout, earning a purr from the dragon as she smiled softly.

"Thanks."

Suddenly, the dragon's tongue shot out of its mouth for a moment, touching her chin before licking at her whole body. Frankie found herself giggling for a moment as she felt herself being tickled. When the licking was over, Frankie was drenched in dragon spit. She began to get disgusted immediately.

"Aw, come on!"

The dragon made a throaty laugh as Gabe joined in the laugh himself. Frankie looked at him with a smirk before she flung the spit at him.

"Oh, what the—?"

With that, Frankie hopped on Gabe pushing him to the floor before they rolled around, laughing as the red dragon watched. When the two of them were finished playing, Frankie was on top of Gabe, having pinned him down. Their laughter had died down for a moment before they blushed, realizing the position they were in. Frankie quickly got up as she held out her hand to lift Gabe up. When Gabe took it, he felt the sliminess from Frankie's hand. Frankie made a nervous laugh as she replied.

"I should, uh… go take a shower, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah. Maybe."

Frankie looked a bit to the right before suddenly, she felt a small peck on the cheek. Her eyes widened at the feel of it before Gabe spoke, having just wiped the dragon spit from his mouth.

"But… it was really fun."

Frankie laughed a bit to herself for a bit before she went off to take a shower, almost fumbling as she went away.

"Yeah. It really was fun…"

The red dragon saw the interaction between the two and looked in interest before Gabe turned to it.

"What are you looking at?"

The red dragon shook a bit as it looked back to where Frankie took off.

Later, Frankie got out of the bathroom, having taken her shower. She still had a big smile on her face as she walked out.

"That was really… something."

Frankie felt very happy. For the first time in her life, she was happy. The only thing that could possibly ruin that is—

"Miss Frances! Your presence is requested in the foyer!"

That. Mr. Herriman sounded as though he had something that needed to be urgently taken care of. Then again, it always did. However, it didn't completely ruin her mood.

"On my way, Mr. Herriman!"

Frankie quickly took off for the foyer. And it was indeed quick. She ran past the hallways like a marathon. So swiftly, in fact, that she ended up at the foyer in the span of 30 seconds. When she arrived, Frankie was feeling more energetic than before.

"What is it, Mr. Herriman?"

The rabbit looked quite surprised, though not entirely. If anything, he was impressed. He held out a stack of paperwork from the entrants as he spoke to her.

"Ah, there you are. Quite the record time. Anyway, it's time for the last minute preparations for the talent show. As such, I'll have to ask you to make sure that all of the entries' paperwork is filed alphabetically and ready for Madame Foster to catalogue them."

Frankie raised her hand to her forehead as she responded quickly.

"You got it, sir!"

Frankie quickly took the stack and made a dash across the foyer to the office room. Herriman only looked on in surprise before he admitted something.

"Rather enthusiastic today, aren't we?"

In Herriman's office, Frankie was sorting out the paperwork alphabetically to the last letter. She was going at such a speed that she appeared as though she had a sugar rush. It was right when Frankie had finished the paperwork that Madame Foster came into the room.

"Hello, dearie."

It was also the moment she saw the pile of paperwork neatly stacked and ready to be catalogued.

"Oh, my. You've got these done fast, haven't you? Something made your heart skip a beat?"

Frankie turned back to her grandmother in eagerness as she responded.

"Yeah, grandma. I don't know why, but ever since this morning, I've been feeling more alive than I've ever been."

Madame Foster was quite puzzled to hear that. She became interested immediately.

"Oh, really? What happened this morning?"

Frankie held her hands together as she tried to explain it.

"Well… this morning, I was on my way to feed the Extremasaurs. Then, this red and black-spotted dragon pinned me down with his massive snout. And then, I asked for Gabe to come help me out, and he was able to help me out of it."

Madame Foster seemed to know where it was going as she smiled.

"Go on…"

"It turned out that Extremasaur wasn't as big and bad as the others. And it played with me and Gabe for a while, and then we started playing with each other, and then he—"

Frankie then made a loud gasp, realizing where she got the sudden burst of energy from.

"Gabe kissed me…"

The instant Frankie realized it, Madame Foster shouted in utter elation.

"Oh, yeah, baby! Frankie's got a new boyfriend!"

As she made a dance of joy, Frankie tried to clear up the situation.

"But grandma, I didn't kiss him back."

"So?"

"So… he's not my boyfriend."

This made Madame Foster stop her dance for a moment as she turned back to her granddaughter, and then had a dark theory.

"Wait. Did he do a one-night fling with you? I warned him not to try any funny business!"

Frankie grew confused for a moment before she tried to reassure her.

"What? No! It's not like that at all, Grandma! I just didn't kiss him back, that's all."

"Well, why not?"

"I was covered in dragon spit at the time. I didn't want it to be gross… And besides, I've gone over it a lot of times by now. Like last time with Dylan."

Madame Foster made a frown from hearing that.

"He was quite the character, wasn't he?"

"That's just it. How do I know if he's really the one for me and not someone just trying to take advantage of me? I'm just now trying to process how I feel about it, and I don't even know if it's any good. And I'm worried that… that I might not like the answer."

That was where Madame Foster put her foot down. She leaned close to her granddaughter and spoke to her gently.

"Frankie, if he's really the one for you, you'll know it."

"Yeah, but how would I know?"

After a few seconds of silence, Madame Foster made a carefree face as she took the stacks of paperwork.

"Beats me. But hey, at least he didn't try any funny business."

She then laughed to herself as she walked out of the office, leaving Frankie more confused than ever.

"Well… thanks for the advice, Grandma."

As she walked away, however, Madame Foster recalled Frankie's story.

"And to think it all started with a red and black-spotted Extremasaur."

Once she heard herself out loud, her eyes widened.

"Wait. A red and black-spotted Extremasaur?!"

Madame Foster put her finger to her chin as she looked left and right.

"Hmm…"

Later, Gabe was now scrubbing the floors in the hallway. He had just as much energy from that morning, too. He had a lot of fun with Frankie in that brief time span. And he had a great time with her last night, too. She was all he could ever think about. Especially with that kiss on her cheek.

Frankie seemed to fumble a bit after that. But was it because she was caught off-guard? Or did she secretly like him? Either way, she was at the center of his mind. And he can't help but feel happy just thinking about being with her. Just then, he heard footsteps coming near him.

It was Wilt, once again reading over his prepared script for the presentation. Sadly, he wasn't as confident as he was before. Gabe took notice of that and looked up.

"Hey, Wilt. What's wrong?"

"Oh, hey Gabe. I'm sorry, but every time I think I got it, I just don't."

"What makes you say that?"

"Everyone's always telling me to go practice more. Especially because of last year."

Gabe didn't like it. No, not one bit. He never thought it a good idea for them to put so much pressure on him.

"Well, why don't you try it out on me?"

Gabe set his sponge aside and sat up in front of him.

"Let's see if you can remember."

Wilt looked down on Gabe with a bit of hesitation as he spoke.

"Really? Okay, um… Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to… to… Oh! I'm sorry, Gabe, but I can't do this."

Gabe tried to encourage Wilt to go on, but as he did, he didn't notice that Frankie was walking up the stairs just in time to see Gabe helping Wilt out.

"It's okay, Wilt. You can take your time if you need to."

Frankie hung back a bit near the stairs to watch.

"Okay. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Annual County Imaginary Friend Talent Show Pageant. Sponsored once again by Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends."

Wilt looked at Gabe, seeing a reassuring nod on his face as he paused for a moment to swallow something before he went on slowly.

"Uh, today's contestants… will compete in the following categories."

Gabe gave Wilt his cue as he gestured to him with his hand.

"Which are…?"

Wilt spoke slowly at first, but as he went on, his confidence was building back up.

"Personality… poise…"

"Remember to breathe."

"Swimsuit, and of course, talent."

Gabe gave Wilt a pat on his long hand.

"See? There you go, Wilt. What do you have to worry about?"

Frankie couldn't help but smile at the confidence Gabe was giving Wilt.

"Hey, you're right. I can do this! Thanks, Gabe. You're the best thing that's ever happened to Foster's."

Gabe began to laugh lightly before he spoke to him.

"Well, I don't know about the best thing… I'm just looking for a job. I'm just lucky Madame Foster hired me when she did."

Wilt had a different take on the matter.

"I'm sorry, Gabe, but that's not luck. Madame Foster happens to be a great judge of character. She can tell how a person is by just looking at them. She can even tell an imaginary friend from a regular person. The fact that you're here actually proves her point, man. And I stand by what I'm saying."

As Wilt professed about Madame Foster, Frankie began to feel less and less worried about Gabe. She wouldn't have taken Gabe under her wing if anything was off about him. He was certainly a better option than Dylan. Yet, Gabe wasn't completely uplifted.

"Yeah, but what exactly did she see in me?"

Wilt only shrugged his shoulders before he answered.

"Don't know, man. But whatever she saw, I know it's good in my book."

Wilt then walked away from the young man, left feeling confused as he looked at himself. Then, he heard Frankie's voice from far away.

"Wilt's not wrong, you know."

Gabe looked up to see Frankie waving to him. He was a bit surprised to see her standing over by the stairs. He even started to blush.

"Frankie! Oh, I, uh, wasn't expecting to see you up here so fast."

Frankie walked over to him with a gentle smile.

"I got a bit of a speed boost this morning. Anyway… about that kiss you gave me…"

Gabe began to assume the worst as he tried to apologize.

"Oh. Right, I'm sorry. I honestly don't know what came over me. I just—"

"Oh, no. No. It's okay. Y-You don't have to apologize. I just… well, I don't know how, but it made me really happy today."

Gabe looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"It did?"

"Yeah. That's how I was able to work so well. I wanted to thank you for that."

Gabe began to blush at this as he stammered.

"So, y-you don't mind? T-The kiss, that is?"

Frankie shook her head with a smile as she answered, albeit with a brief pause and a blush of her own.

"Of course not. I just wanted to come up here so that… so I can pay you back."

Frankie leaned close to Gabe's cheek and planted a kiss of her own on his cheek.

"Thanks."

Frankie then left the hall as he rubbed the kiss on his cheek. It felt really warm. He began to smile fondly, speaking to himself.

"I guess Frankie must've seen it, too…"

Later that night, Gabe was on his way out of the door as Frankie and Madame Foster was seeing him off. Hours prior to that, Gabe heard of Bloo's new talent. He assumed the hiccups had something to do with it. And when he saw the demonstration, to his surprise, Bloo used those hiccups to great effect. He must be a shoo-in at this rate. Even Mr. Herriman liked it, and he's not the type to like anything that wasn't proper.

"Well, see you guys tomorrow. I can't wait to see what everyone will do at the talent show."

"See you later, Gabe."

Frankie and Gabe gave each other a hug before he walked on out the door. As he did, Madame Foster saw the look in Frankie's face. It was reminiscent of that of a lovesick girl. Madame Foster saw it before. And she knew what it meant.

"So, it looks like you've found your answer, huh?"

Frankie kept her smile as she answered.

"Yeah. He's definitely the one…"

Outside, Gabe was walking back home to his apartment. The last time he walked back, he was with Frankie, not feeling so sure about how she'd like it. But this time, he actually felt proud walking back.

Maybe he didn't have the best of luck at jobs before, but Madame Foster was willing to give him a chance where nobody else could. And he has made good on that since. He had to wonder if Madame Foster was only testing him yesterday when it came to his offer for Frankie to sleep at his place. Whatever the case, he passed. And it's going to be a lot easier for him to be comfortable at his new job now.

Once he arrived at his apartment, however, that happiness went away quickly. He saw his landlord, Mr. Phillips, waiting outside for him. That's when he remembered he's still waiting for his rent pay. In hindsight, he should've asked Mr. Herriman about when to expect his paycheck, but he was too lovestruck to have remembered it. In that case, he's lucky the due date was next Tuesday. But it didn't make his landlord any happier.

"There you are. You got that rent money yet?"

Gabe looked right at him, not too happy that he keeps bringing up the fact that he's tardy. But it was the truth.

"I think you know the answer by now."

Gabe only walked past him, not waiting for him to respond. As he did, Mr. Phillips made a light frown, as though he felt guilty. Before Gabe could get to his room, Mr. Phillips spoke up.

"Hey, Gabe."

Gabe stopped his hand just out of reach from the doorknob and turned to his landlord.

"Yeah?"

Mr. Phillips walked up to him with an apologetic look on him.

"I, uh… I wanted to tell you something. I've been really crummy this past week. And I'm sorry."

Gabe was not expecting to hear that from him. He assumed he'd just as soon take those words to his grave. And yet, here he is, saying sorry to him.

"Wow, Mr. Phillips. I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't gotta say nothing, kid. Just pay me the rent when you can."

Gabe formed a small smile as he nodded to him before he tried to go for the doorknob again. Just as he opened it, Mr. Phillips spoke up.

"Oh. And your girlfriend? I like her. She's a real trooper."

If Frankie heard that, he's sure that she'd be grateful for it. Even if he had been a jerk in the past to Gabe.

"I'll be sure to let her know that. And, just for the record, she's not my girlfriend."

Gabe then closed the door after walking in. Mr. Phillips only made a light smirk as he spoke his disbelief.

"Yeah. Sure she isn't."

In his room, Gabe looked around at the clean room he and Frankie had made together. He saw how his shirts hung in his closet, how the bathroom looked more decent than before, and even how the couch wasn't so dirty. The two of them were almost certainly a team, and after two days at work, too. Gabe walked over to his bed and laid down on it with his back, staring at the ceiling. He began to feel as though something was missing.

He could've sworn last night that he hadn't felt that way. That was when he figured it out. He was missing Frankie. She had her own room in Foster's, and it was a better comparison than this room of all things. He really shouldn't be surprised that Frankie wasn't here. All the same, he already began to eagerly await the next morning, just so he could see her again.

"See you tomorrow, Frankie…"

Back at Foster's, Frankie was laying down on her bed, just as eager to see Gabe again.

"See you tomorrow, Gabe."

Frankie then turned away from the ceiling and let herself drift to sleep. But as she did, she didn't notice that her grandmother was walking out to the Extremasaur cage.

Madame Foster held a cane in her hand, walking slowly towards it. When she got to the cage, she noticed that the lock was in place. She dug into her pocket and got out a silver key.

"Good thing I always keep a spare."

Madame Foster put in the key and turned it, opening it before she opened up the door as well. As a result, she saw the red dragon's eyes open wide before it went over to her with a light growl. Madame Foster only kept a steady look as she spoke to it.

"You and I have quite a lot to talk about."

With that, Madame Foster closed the door with herself in the same cage as the red dragon.

A/N: And that concludes part one! I hope you're excited to see where part two leads. :) Also, Gabe's landlord is portrayed by Chazz Palminteri. I really like his voice, myself.