There were four boys in the snow in their coats, hats, and gloves waiting by a school bus stop as they made it into the next state.
"Those guys look familiar." LJ noted.
"Isn't school out?" Zofia commented as the boys were at a bus stop.
"Eh, must be different cuz it's a different state," LJ shrugged. "Either that or this is where they hang out."
The others shrugged to that until they stopped to get something to eat real quick. Sara smiled as she came to the snow and made a snowball before playfully hitting Martin with it, bringing back memories of when they first met.
Martin chuckled. "Major deja vu..."
"Couldn't help it," Sara giggled. "Oh, it's so good to play in the snow."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Martin blushed.
Sara smiled, blushing back a bit. Jenny looked over and gave a small smile to that, feeling happy for her brother. Martin smiled back at her. Akito, Estelle, and Vincent soon came out to check out the snow for themselves.
"This makes me think of Elsa and Anna." Vincent commented.
"Look, guys, I'm Olaf!" Estelle giggled as she made a snowman from hearing that.
LJ rolled his eyes. "Good grief..." he remarked.
"This snow reminds me of Balto..." Akito said before sighing softly with a small smile. "I miss him sometimes."
"I understand," LJ nodded. "But we'll never forget him."
After a while, they got back in the van to continue their travel.
"I'll get you guys to New York!" Mo told them. "I can do it!"
"We know you can," LJ replied. "We believe in you!"
"Yeah!" Everyone else cheered.
"Nothing can stop me now!" Mo beamed before laughing rather hysterically.
"Might not wanna jinx it like that." LJ suggested.
"Victory!" Mo called out.
The Fudo siblings looked bashful from their mother's behavior.
"Moms." Kimberly chuckled weakly to humor them.
"Yup..." LJ smirked, patting her.
Kimberly gave a small smile to him, laying her head on his shoulder. LJ blushed at that.
They soon came to where they needed to get some tickets to Missouri. Mo yawned and stretched a bit as she was a bit tired from driving, but she managed to stay awake. LJ eventually fell asleep near Kimberly.
"All right, Tommy, let's get that credit card number." Mo said with a small yawn.
"It's...2445673298..." Tommy replied.
"Good..." Mo smiled. "Let's get going then."
"To Minnesota!" Angelica called out.
"Missouri!" The others corrected.
"Whatever." Angelica shrugged.
And so the minivan kept right on driving. The kids were asleep again as they continued to go to Missouri and Mo let out a yawn as she was starting to get a little winded from driving for so long. Eventually, she pulled over to take a nap, but not before setting an alarm on her phone. She seemed to pull up into an Amish country, but fell asleep with the others and smiled once she got some rest.
Eventually, LJ woke up with a yawn. "Guess we pulled over to rest. Maybe there's a gas station nearby..." he pondered.
Everyone else slowly woke up, but Mo was still asleep.
"Mom?" Akito called, but he didn't get an answer back. "Oh, no... Mom's knocked out..."
"Should we wake her up?" Theo asked.
"I think we should just let her sleep." Akito suggested.
"Yeah, she HAS been driving for awhile." LJ replied.
Everyone soon came out of the van to stretch their legs.
"I miss Dora already!" Raul cried out. "Who knows if I'll ever see her again?"
"Calm your nads, bud," Martin replied. "You might see her again sooner than you think."
Raul glanced over to his cousins before looking around.
"Where are we?" Tommy asked.
"Looks like Amish Paradise," Vincent said. "Oh, well, at least Amish people are nice. We'll be fine here a while until Mom wakes up."
"And from there, we can make it to a gas station." Zofia added.
"Hey, while we're at the gas station, let's get some snacks for the road." Chrissy suggested.
"Good thinking!" LJ commended her.
Chrissy smiled to that. They soon went to the local gas station to get some food and drinks while Mo slept in the van. And they left decent payment before leaving...and LJ managed to pull the car closer to the gas station. Mo was still fast asleep.
"We are not getting separated again!" LJ told the others. "Do you hear me? DO YOU?!"
Everyone nodded simultaneously.
"Good!" LJ then smiled to that.
"You want some eggs with that ham?" Zofia teased.
"No thanks, I don't like pork." LJ replied.
"It's just an expression..." Zofia said. "Oh, well. I think these snacks should last us for the rest of the trip."
"If we're lucky." Dib added.
They soon came back to the van. Mo soon woke up and yawned and stretched, feeling much better once she got some sleep.
"Morning, Auntie Mo!" LJ waved.
"Hey, kids," Mo smiled. "I feel so much better now."
"Good," LJ replied. "We can get gas and cover some serious miles!"
"Okay, I'll pump up the gas real quick," Mo said. "I don't remember driving up here, but then again, I was a little hazy earlier."
"I pulled us here!" LJ replied.
"Oh, well, thank you, LJ, so helpful," Mo smiled and patted his head. "This'll only take a minute."
LJ grinned. "Oh-kay!" he replied.
Mo smiled and soon began to pump some gas. The others then relaxed with their snacks since they were back on track.
"Don't worry, Susie, we're gonna make it," Estelle smiled. "I just know it."
"I sure hope so." Susie sighed softly.
"Yeah, so calm down!" LJ replied. "We're more likely to cover more miles!"
"All right... I guess you guys have a point." Susie said to them.
"Sure we do!" Zofia smiled.
"Not like we've been wrong about these things before!" LJ added.
Susie gave a small smile to them as she ate her potato chips.
"Well, we got a good deal of time until we get to New York." Martin replied.
"I just don't wanna miss my chance," Susie frowned. "This is a big dream for me."
Angelica rolled her eyes a bit with the attention that Susie was getting.
"Hey, I get that," LJ replied. "We all wanna help you get there, and we will."
Susie gave a small smile to that. Mo soon came back into the van and they went back to riding down the road.
And Lil was still bouncing her soccer ball. "10,463... 10,464..." she continued.
Phil just rolled his eyes slightly to his twin sister.
"I wonder what our moms are doing right now?" Tommy sighed as he looked out to the road.
"Probably trying to get the RV's engine fixed..." Theo replied.
The others began to miss their own mothers.
"I bet if my mom was here, she'd have something to eat..." Lil said. "They always has something to eat when we're hungry."
"Or a sweatshirt if you're cold." Kimi added in.
"It's the verses," Phil stated. "Moms are like pack mules of love."
"You guys ever catch your mom sneaking in your room at night just to watch you sleep?" Dil frowned.
"Aw, kids..." Mo frowned softly to them.
"Ironic, huh?" Gaz asked. "A day ago you guys were griping about how you couldn't stand your moms coddling you, and now, you actually miss them..."
"I guess that's what they call development." Raul replied.
Gaz rolled her eyes slightly to that.
"You guys ever think what'd it be like not having a mom?" Lil commented.
"Been there... Done that..." Chuckie said softly.
"True." LJ nodded.
"I'm sorry, guys, this mess is all my fault," Tommy could only blame himself. "I wanted to prove something and now we'll never get to the Gracy's Day Parade in time. It couldn't get any worse."
Suddenly, from that, Mo's van seemed to break down and it now started to rain.
Tommy soon began to tear up as he couldn't take it anymore. "I... Want... My... MOMMY!"
"I haven't seen him cry like that in 11 years..." LJ sighed. "But I can't blame him."
"Oh, LJ!" Zofia cried before hugging him emotionally. "I miss Mother!"
"Hey, I miss Mom and Dad too, sis," LJ replied as he patted her on the back. "Why'dja think I've been trying to keep us from getting separated this whole trip?"
"I may speak a second language, but you're the smarter one." Zofia sighed softly.
"Hey, you're not dumb, Zo," LJ replied. "If anything, I been bottling up my emotions for most of the journey cuz I know I gotta look out for you and the others. But you know what they say, it's always darkest before the dawn!"
"Yes... That is true..." Zofia admitted.
"Kids, I'm so sorry!" Mo cried to them. "I tried so hard!"
"We know you did, Aunt Mo!" LJ sniffed, trying to keep from crying. "And we never lost faith in you, even if the universe decided to act like a tool!"
Mo soon hugged Akito, Estelle, and Vincent with a small sniffle.
"Oh, you preteens are pathetic!" Angelica scoffed before she then broke down and cried with them. "I want my mommy's credit card!"
Kimi soon came beside Angelica and hugged the blonde girl.
"I pr-promise we're all gonna b-be okay..." LJ vowed. "Kimberly...Chrissy...I'm s-sorry for all this..."
"Dang it, guys, stop crying!" Gaz said to them as she tried not to cry herself, but couldn't hold it in. "Oh, Dib!"
"Come here, Gaz, it's okay." Dib said, hugging his sister.
Everyone soon began to cry until they heard a familiar horn.
"That horn..." LJ blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Could it be...?"
Everyone soon looked over and saw a familiar RV coming down the road for them. The others then looked to her and saw that she was right as the RV was pulling up right next to them. Everyone then ran over and reunited with their mothers. This seemed to make the gray clouds break away and the sun glowed down on them as they were all happy now. Mo soon smiled tearfully with Akito, Estelle, and Vincent upon seeing that.
"See? What'd I tell you guys?" LJ asked with a shaky smile. "Always darkest before the dawn!"
Zofia gave LJ another hug. "I hug him first, girls!" she then giggled to Kimberly and Chrissy.
"Oh, Mom, I missed you!" Susie cried as she hugged her mother before kissing her cheek.
"Tommy, I'm so PROUD of you!" Didi beamed as she hugged Dil. "Look how far you came!"
"Ah, it was no big D." Tommy smirked before looking to his mother and hugging her right away.
Gaz stood nearby awkwardly, not sure if she should get involved or not.
"You okay, chica?" Raul asked Gaz.
"Sure," Gaz replied. "I just dunno if I should get involved. I don't even HAVE a mom of my own, anyway."
"Do what makes you feel comfortable." Zofia suggested.
Gaz shrugged to that as she looked away.
"Could we maybe get a lift?" Mo asked Betty. "My old van just broke down."
"Of course you can! We're all friends and family around here. Okay, guys, we've still got four states to cover if we're gonna get Susie to the parade in time!" Betty called.
Dib nodded at Gaz, who joined the hug after a brief moment of hesitation.
"Ah, the I Am Crud," Phil smiled. "No smell like home."
"Hold on, everybody!" Betty called out. "We're on Betty Time now!"
Everyone strapped in, and this time there was much less complaining.
"Nothing can possibly go wrong now." Akito smiled.
"What did I tell you about jinxing it?" LJ asked. "Everytime somebody says nothing can go wrong or it can't get any worse, or what could go wrong, the universe just LOVES to answer your question by making something horrible happen! Haven't you watched cartoons, man?"
"Try telling that to our dad," Vincent replied. "Your mom says our dad used to do that all the time."
A certain dog soon appeared to be in front of them.
"Pumpkin! Look out for Pumpkin!" Kimi cried out.
Betty yelped and swerved out of the way and accidentally crashed against a telephone pole. Luckily, no one was hurt. Unluckily however...
"They can't get anyone out here tonight," Betty said after she called for help. "What with being the day before Thanksgiving. It just doesn't look like we'll make it in time."
"Aaaaand JINXED," LJ groused. "Just when things were looking up, too."
"Hey, you don't know, something might happen positively." Akito shrugged.
"Like what?!" Chrissy glared slightly.
"Please don't fight..." Theo frowned.
A big black stretch limo soon drove off before coming up right beside them before stopping and the window rolled down to show an adult couple which were a redheaded woman and a brown-haired man.
"We need a ride to New York and you gonna get us there!" Angelica demanded.
"New York?" The redheaded woman smiled. "We're on our way there now!"
"Ooh, coinky-dinks!" LJ hugged Kimberly and Chrissy. "We're SAVED!"
"Thank you... Uh..." Kimberly said.
"Natalie! Gregory!" Vincent gasped once he saw the couple.
"Oh, Vincent, my boy, so good to see you." The man smiled to him.
"Vince, you know these people?" Theo asked.
Akito and Estelle soon saw who it was and recognized them too.
"These are Jenny's parents!" Vincent smiled.
"Jenny? That's the girl you talked so highly of, right?" LJ asked.
"Uh... Yeah... That's her." Vincent replied while blushing.
"Somebody's getting sweaty." Zofia teased.
They soon all got in the limo and drove off to New York City at long last and came to stay at one of the best hotels in the whole city.