In the following week after the funeral MacKenzie spend a lot of time outside the Heeler house. Bluey and Bingo had to go to school and Bandit and Chili had their work. So most of the time he would spend with his cousins and aunt and uncle. The day after he went to the aquarium with his aunt Mabel, uncle Footrot and his cousins. He visited it years ago with school and couldn't believe how much had changed. MacKenzie was intrigued by all the varieties and colours of the fishes. It was fascinating and it made him forgot about the emotions from the day before. The many colourful fish worked hypnotic on him. At the end of the day they went out to eat as a family. Their first time together without the Heelers.
They had a succulent Chinese meal at a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane, only shortly disturbed by the sudden arrest of a guest in the restaurant who kept shouting something about a democracy manifest.

They finished the day at the arcade near the beach where MacKenzie and Rupert where in constant battle with each other at the two player machines. They had fun, but both proved to be a challenge to each other as they were both very competitive and could focus on their game very well. Especially at the air hockey table where the matches often ended in a draw and were played with full aggression. Both dogs could concentrate very well on their task. Mabel, Mary and Wal would play the easier and quieter children games, while Footrot was throwing away his money at the pokies. At the end MacKenzie earned a total of 800 tickets. He got himself a mug from his favourite superhero, Batdog, and a card game called Uno which he thought looked like fun. With the points he got left, he changed them for some loose change.

While he was waiting for the others to trade in their tickets and picking out toys or candy they wanted, he noticed a claw machine and walked towards it. He placed a coin in the claw machine out of boredom. He got five turns and tried to pick up a plush shark he saw and that looked cool. It reminded him of one of the sharks he saw at the aquarium earlier that day. He already got a toy shark from the aquarium which his uncle bought for him, but he wanted this one to.
After the first four tries which all failed as the claw barely touched the shark, he got really frustrated and gritted his teeth as he concentrated on his final attempt. For the final time he moved the hook and got it down. To his joy this time he saw that the hook grabbed a piece that looked like the tail or a fin. But when it got up he saw that he missed the shark and that it had picked a plush fruit bat. Disappointed he grabbed it and wanted to give it away to one o his cousins or a random child that was running around. He then changed his mind at the last moment and thought about giving the fruit bat to Bluey as a present for her.

The following day, Friday, MacKenzie spend a day alone with Mabel in town where she went shopping. He just found it a very boring morning. She also bought some things he could use for school and they had lunch together. When the school was over he went over to Rusty's house, accompanied by Rupert, to play with him and Jack. The four of them had a great time, although MacKenzie was a little hindered in some activities by his back pain and because he still had to be careful with his arm who was now in a sling. But Rusty and Jack managed to work things out and thought of games he could play safily. He was thankful that they thought of him and that he did not obstructed the day, something he was afraid of. Jack and Rusty even convinced MacKenzie to play army. Rupert was playing the enemy and Mackenzie just had to play that he was a hostage in panic. So no real combat for him this time or rough play. Rusty's mother invited them all for dinner and she and Jack were very interested in Rupert's stories about New-Zealand.

On Saturday, Mabel and Footrot took the kids (MacKenzie, Bluey, Bingo, Rupert, Wal and Mary) on a trip to an amusement park. It was a great and grand day for them. The kids went in all kind of attractions. MacKenzie decided to 'herd' the group to the attractions and choose to go to the extreme ones and the roller coasters first.
Bluey was happy to conclude that MacKenzie was changing a bit back to his former self. He wasn't afraid of the attractions and rides and was enthusiastic to go in everything. He was clearly the one in charge, leading everyone from attraction to attraction without taking any rest. After ten roller coasters most of the group felt like it was time to do some more quiet activities and quickly went a other way. Bluey stayed with MacKenzie and she was grateful for the oppurtunity to spend some alone time with him. She also tried to convince him to check out the other attractions aswell. They both had a great time together. At one point, Mary tried secretly to lure MacKenzie and Bluey in a tunnel of love just before the split, but MacKenzie cached up to what she tried to do and quickly distracted Bluey to go somewhere else while also trying to keep Mary away from them. Mary was disappointment that her joke failed and swore she would try a next time before leaving with Bingo to go somewhere else and leaving the two alone. Bluey eventually managed to convince MacKenzie to take it easy and sit somewhere. They shared cotton candy and laughed at the screams and reactions from other dogs in the attractions.
This day was a happy distraction from the fact that he had definitely said farewell to his parents, but it was also a distraction for him not to worry about the future. He was thinking about telling Bluey something but quickly changed his mind. He just liked spending the day with her without worries.

Sunday was a quiet day where the kids would play the whole day all kind of games in the garden. At night, Bandit again organised a barbeque for the whole family. After the barbeque was over, everyone went their own way. The adults were drinking and playing the UNO game that MacKenzie had won at the arcade. Wal was in bed early as he was tired and the girls decided to play a game themselves. Meanwhile MacKenzie had a heart to heart talk with his oldest cousin. They sat outside on the porch as they both talked about their own issues and interests. Rupert shared his feelings about the divorce of his parents and MacKenzie about losing his parents. But they also talked about their lives, feelings for others and how difficult life could be for pre-teen boys. The boys were drinking a sparkly lemon lemonade juice out of cans as they talked for hours like two adults reminiscing about old times. The two shared a lot of threats and interests which make talking easy. MacKenzie enjoyed the time he got to spent with Rupert. It reminded him of the times when he visited New-Zealand with his parents. He and Rupert used to play a lot as children and always got along very well. When the original conversation died out, Rupert asked MacKenzie: ''Say Mac… am I right in assuming you will be coming with us to life with us?''.

MacKenzie thought about it. Before his family arrived in Australia and after leaning what happened to his parents he always just assumed that would be the case. He was always thinking that when he was alone in his home with Bandit. He thought then that when Mabel would return home, he would go with her to New-Zealand, that she took him with her as she was now his only family and because his uncle lived in Greece which was to far. But now when he thought about it… they never talked about that since she had arrived. It was never mentioned in this past week and even he forgot about it. He was just happy to see them. The thoughts where shooting through his mind. He wanted to talk with her about it, but now it probably was too late. But was it? he thought.
''And should i even talk with her about it? It makes sense that I go with her. Calypso was wrong to assume I would return to her school. I will never go back there now that I think about it'' he was thinking.

''MacKenzie?...hello, earth to MacKenzie'' Rupert said while snipping his fingers right in his cousins face who was just starring at the sky, lost in his own mind.

MacKenzie snapped back to reality and turned to his cousin.

''Uh.. yes I think so. I mean… you are the only family that I got left now. My mum always said that if something would happen that I would find a home with aunt Mabel. So, yes… I think that tomorrow is my last day here.''

MacKenzie thought about it and then the thought clicked in his mind. He felt a light panic coming up. It would mean that he would have to pack. What about his stuff still back in his own home? What about saying goodbye to his friends at school? He never got the change to say goodbye to them. How would he do that in one day? he thought.

Rupert saw him panicking and grabbed his wrist ''Hey calm down worrier. You still have one whole day. You can pack your things tomorrow and talk with mr. Heeler about saying goodbye to everyone. Take some rest first''.

MacKenzie thanked Rupert and thought that was indeed for the best. They wished each other goodnight as Mabel called Rupert to come as they returned back to their hotel. MacKenzie went upstairs to go to bed. But first he needed to use the bathroom. When he walked towards it and was about the grab the doorknob, the door opened and Bluey just walked out of it. When she saw him she greeted and smiled at him. ''All yours'' she says.

MacKenzie thanked her and walked past her. Before he closed the door he suddenly realised that tomorrow would also be the last time he would see her probably. He was shocked by the thought of it. He returned to the hallway and saw Bluey walking towards her room.

''Blue?'' he said softly.

She turned around. ''Yes? If you need toilet paper, there is a whole new pack in the cupboard''.

''What?… no… I wanted to tell you something''.

''Oh. Yeah ofcourse. What is it?

MacKenzie walked towards her a bit nervous. He pressed his fingertips against each other.

''Uhm… well. I don't know if I ever told you but…you know that the day after tomorrow my family will leave and…just so you know… I probably will go with them''. He did not look her in the face as he find it difficult to tell her.

She looked at him surprised: ''Did… did your aunt tell you that?''

MacKenzie thought of that. His eyebrows lowered and he looked at his fingers. ''Well...uh…no. Not really. But I mean it goes without saying. Mum always told me I would life with my aunt if something would happen…and that happened. And she is my only family now.''

Bluey looked around her nervously. She remembered what Bingo told her and realised that MacKenzie didn't know it and that nobody told him he wasn't going to life with Mabel. She really didn't want to be the one telling him that he wouldn't go anywhere. Yes, she wanted to tell him how happy she was that he would stay but that would be a more happy occasion for her then for him, and right now it wasn't about her feeling but his. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

''No worries MacKenzie. I think everything will be alright'' she said. It wasn't a perfect sentence but she didn't want to say something wrong and to be fair, she was right.

MacKenzie had other thoughts in his mind. He was thinking about confession his crush on her. But he did not dare. He was afraid she would laugh at him or thought he was weird or maybe she would feel disgusted. Suddenly he remembered something. He was afraid of never seeing her again. But also his other friends. Could he say that? How would he tell her that? He wanted to say goodbye to her, but he did not know how. Then suddenly he remembered something.

''Wait here!'' he said as he walked to his room, leaving Bluey confused behind. When he got back he was holding his hands behind his back.

''What you've got over there?'' she asked.

He then revealed what he got. It was the fruit bat plush he won at the fair and wanted to give to her. ''Here. This is for you. I won it at the arcade this week. For you i have won it. It took me long and it was quite impressive that I beat the claw machine'' he said a bit boastful.

Bluey laughed as she took the bat out of MacKenzie's hands. ''Awh, he is so cute. You remembered I liked Fruit Bats!''. She hugged it and then hugged MacKenzie. ''Thank you Kenzie! I love it!'' she said.

Mackenzie was startled by the sudden hug and then quickly returned it. ''Glad you like it.'' They let go of each other. ''Just… a quick farewell gift from me. You know… so you can think of me sometimes when I'm gone.''

Bluey's expression turned into sadness.

''No worries. I will make sure to have a better farewell present tomorrow and then we can properly say goodbye.'' MacKenzie said quickly.

''No… it's not that.'' Bluey was thinking about what to say. ''I really appreciate this gift. Thank you. I'm just…sad to think about you leaving'' she lied a little. She would be really sad if she hadn't known he wouldn't leave. Then a thought popped up in her head. ''Wait, i actually got something for you to.'' she said.

Now she ran to her room and returned with something behind her back aswell. MacKenzie looked surprised as he did not expect this. Bluey then revealed what she had; a plush sheep. She gave it to MacKenzie.

''You gave me a plushie of my favourite animal, so i thought...why not return the same? Now you can think of me too'' she smiled.

MacKenzie smiled widely and gratefully accepted the sheep stuffed animal. ''Wow. Indeed my favorite animal''. He looked at her grateful and dreamy. ''I...i love it''. Bluey smiled back. ''I'm glad you like it'' she said. ''I will be forever grateful for this gift'' he thought.

MacKenzie looked in her eyes and was still smiled at her. He was wondering if he should say more to her, or be more gratefull, but at this point hhis bowels were now beginning to protest that he had been waiting too long. So he excused himself and wished her a good night and promised to talk with her tomorrow as he went to the bathroom. Bluey wished him good night and went to her bed. That night she held the fruit bat close to her..

The next Monday would be the last day for the Collies in Australia as they would fly back home the next day. Bluey and Bingo were back at school and Chili was at work. Footrot had taken Rupert, Mary and Wal to the town for some shopping like souvenirs, school supplies and toys. MacKenzie, already been into town with Mabel a couple of days earlier, did not go and stayed at the Heeler home. Mabel joined them for breakfast to spend the last day with MacKenzie.

After breakfast MacKenzie asked Bandit for a plastic bag, which Bandit gave to him and then MacKenzie excused himself and went to his room. He grabbed his books, personal belongings and some of his toys and put them in the back. The bag was filling quickly and bulged out. He looked around to see if he missed anything important and then noticed the wedding picture of his parents. He grabbed it and looked at them.
It felt weird looking at them like that he thought. Here he sees them smiling, being happy and enjoying their life. But it was the past. He missed them. He really missed them terribly. He placed his paw on the picture and held it close to him. He stood there hugging the frame for some minutes and then put it in the bag as well.

He barely got the frame in the bag as it was already full. He puffed and sighed but it was clear it would not fit. So frustrated he left the room and walked to Bandit's office. The door was open and MacKenzie saw the blue heeler sitting behind his desk, working on some kind of document for his work, probably writing an article about archaeological finds for the history magazine. Some years ago, Bandit got a second job as writer/columnist for a popular history magazine in which he could write about historic finds.
It was the reason why he could even work and stayed more at home instead of traveling and why he decided to completely abandon his plans to move somewhere else.
MacKenzie carefully knocked on the door. Bandit turned around and when he saw MacKenzie gave him a smile.

''Hey mate. What can I do for you?'' he said. Then Bandit noticed the full plastic bag. ''What you got there?'' he asked curiously.

MacKenzie smiled back. ''Hi!. Oh just my stuff. Well almost everything of it. Sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask if I you got a bigger bag then this one. Or a second one will do to.''

Bandit: ''Yeah, of course. We got plenty of bags in the storage cabinet in the kitchen. You can take as many as you like. But if you want to throw away that stuff, you could better use a garbage bag''.

MacKenzie frowned. ''I'm not throwing these items away. I'm just packing''.

Now Bandit frowned. ''Packing? For what?''

''Well…to take with me of course'' MacKenzie said.

''To take where exactly?'' Bandit asked worried.

''To… aunt Mabel?''.

Bandit and MacKenzie stared awkwardly at each other for a brief moment as MacKenzie's words were shooting through Bandit's mind. He instantly knew what MacKenzie meant by it but was now puzzling how to tell him that he wouldn't need to pack anything.

Bandit stood up from his yoga ball, closed the laptop and sighed. He walked up to MacKenzie and took him by the hand. ''I think your aunt Mabel has to explain you something'' he said as they walked through the hallway and downstairs. Mabel was sitting in the covered part of the veranda next to the living room and was reading a magazine.

''Mabel. I think you still need to tell MacKenzie something and make somerthing clear to him'' Bandit said as he walked into the room, followed by MacKenzie.

Mabel looked up from her magazine and saw Bandit standing in the doorway pointing at the bag with items MacKenzie is holding.

''What is the matter?'' she asked as she didn't understand what was going on.

''MacKenzie has packed his belongings'' Bandit says before he gets interrupted by MacKenzie; ''I couldn't find a suitcase so this will do..right?''

Mabel frowned her eyebrows. ''Why did you pack your belongings dear?'' she asks slowly.

MacKenzie tilted his head slightly ''uh.. because I want to bring these with me...''

''Where to?''

''to yours of course!''.

Mabel's facial expression changed from questioning to frightened as she understood what he was thinking.

''Oh.'' She said as she stood up from her chair. She walked towards MacKenzie and took him inside to the living room where they sat on the couch. Bandit walked behind them and sat in his chair.

''Honey. I think you jumped to conclusions too quickly''. She said carefully.

''What do you mean?'' MacKenzie said confused.

Mabel closed her eyes and decided not to beat around the bush but to be clear straight away. She sighed through her nose; ''You are staying here dear. You won't come with me tomorrow.

MacKenzie looked surprised at his aunt. ''What do you mean?''

''You will stay here with the Heelers. For a while.''

''For a while? Does that mean that you pick me up later?'' he asked confused.

Mabel shook her head. ''No. You won't be living with me. Or your uncle.''

MacKenzie was shocked when he heard this. He grabbed the bag and held it tightly against his chest.

''But…but.. I thought I had to go with you. To life with you and Rupert, Wal and Mary. Mum always said that. Rupert also thought so he said it yesterday. You are my only family, where else am I supposed to go to?'' he was struggling not to tear up and was fighting against it.

Mabel wrapped her arm around his shoulder and held him close to her as she tried to comfort him.

''Yes of course we are family. That won't change. But…. *deep sigh*…at the moment you can't life with me. It's not that I don't want you. I would have loved it if you came with us to life with us… but at this moment I can't give you the life you need.
I have moved to a smaller house and things are really difficult right now in my life and I just can't afford it to give you the life you need and deserve. Besides, isn't it nice to know that you can stay here?''

MacKenzie didn't say anything. He just rested his head on her shoulder as he hugged the plastic bag. He lost from his sadness and a tear fell down. Mabel wiped it away and stroke his head.

''I love you MacKenzie. And I want the best for you. And I know your parents wanted that too. So I think it's the best for you to stay here. And think about it. You can stay at the same school with all your friends, and you will be here with people you know and trust. Isn't that comfortable to know?''

MacKenzie slowly nodded yes but still did not say a word. He was processing the words of his aunt in his head. Yeah sure it was nice to stay here in a town and country he knew and to be with his friends. But he wouldn't have a family now. He had mentally prepared himself to life with his family and just when he was starting to accept that new reality, it was shattered. Now… they decided that he should stay where he was and they would leave without them. Were they… abandoning him? His only family? he thought.

After a minute of silence he wanted to ask the question that was burning inside of his mind. ''where am I going to life… Who wants me?''

''Maccie. Who doesn't want you?'' Mabel said as she hugged him and still wiping away his tears. ''You are one of the most loyal, friendliest and funniest kid I know.''.

''But you don't want me. Uncle Footrot neither'' he said softly.

''No dear. Please don't. We do what we think is the best for you. If we could, we would have taken you with us. But it's not the best option for you right now. We leave you behind in good hands don't we? You are staying with mr. Heeler and his family and they will find someone who is going to take care of you and give you a good home''.

Bandit listened to it with mixed emotions. He knew that Mabel wasn't telling everything, but he knew why. But he also thought she wasn't handling it very good. He felt bad for MacKenzie and he knew that for the second time in a short period the border pup's heart was being broken in small parts by the news he got. Bandit did not intervene or said anything. It was up to Mabel as family to do this.

After a while MacKenzie let go of his aunt and stood up. He looked at her with a sad face, then to Bandit and then walked away without saying anything. He was holding the plastic bag still close to him. He walked up the stairs to his room, closed the door and lay on his bed.
He took the framed picture of his parents out of the bag, tossed the bag in a corner of the room and embraced the picture and the plushie sheep he got the night before from Bluey as he started to cry and howl softly.

The rest of the afternoon he did not leave his room. Mabel and Bandit tried talking to him but he didn't answer or opened it. Bandit left his lunch in front of the door but MacKenzie never touched it. Mabel was in distress. She was pacing around in the garden worried and feeling guilty.

Bandit left her alone, but after a while walked up to her to ask if everything was fine. When he approached her, he heard her talking to herself:

''It's my fault. I'm a terrible person. Ed was right to leave me'' she was telling herself he heard.

''Mabel. Everything alright?'' he asked carefully.

Mabel turned around, her face clearly in distress and tears in her eyes.

''No. No…nothing is alright. Not only am I a failure of a wife and mother, I am a failure as a aunt and sister!'' she sobbed as he sat down on the bench around the tree.

''No…no don't beat yourself so hard again. That's not true. We already told you that.'' said Bandit to her as he sat next to her. ''

''But it is…it is true'' she sobbed.

''Listen Mabel. Whatever your ex-husband said or what you think, forget it. He left. He made the mistakes. Not you. You are the hero and better parent for still loving and taking care of your children. You are the better person''. Bandit said it to her in a friendly and convincing voice.

''Who is working hard to provide the best life for her kid? You are! Who is taking care of them and making sure they are well provided? You are!'' he said louder while point at her. She stopped sobbing and was starring at the grass under her feet.

''You are not a failure of a spouse, he was. You are not a failure of a mother. Look at your kids and see that for yourself. And. You. Are. NOT a failure of a aunt or sister. You made the right decision for MacKenzie and Charlotte would have been proud and happy to know that you choose his interest before yours''.

Mabel looked at Bandit and gave him a small smile.

''Do…do you really think that?'' she said softly.

''No. I don't think that. I know that!'' he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

''She smiled and wiped her tears away. ''Thank you Bandit. I..i think I needed that''.

She stood up, dried her eyes and cleaned her face with her bandana. She then walked away inside the house, up the stairs and knocked on MacKenzie's door. She walked in, not waiting for his approval to enter, and closed the door.

''MacKenzie'... i know you are not happy right now with the situation. But please know that i can't provide what's right for you and i truly believe this is the best option for you.'' she said convincing and self-confident.

MacKenzie looked at her and then sat up right. ''I know Aunt Mabel...it..it..it's just that i i did not expected this. I feel like i'm all alone''.

Mabel pulled him in and held him against her. ''No. You are not alone. It doesn't matter if m in New-Zealand, or your uncle in Greece... we are always there for you. We will always be family. Call us anytime you want. Visit us anytime you want, and we will keep visiting you whenever we can. I promise to continue to personally commit myself and concern myself with your future. Even when I'm not in Australia. I''ll be there for you''.

MacKenzie gave her a small smile back. ''Thank you auntie'' he said as he hugged her back.

That evening the Collies and the Heelers all went out for dinner. Rupert was extremely disappointed when he learned that MacKenzie would not come with them. Mary was sad that she had to say goodbye to Bingo. The next day MacKenzie, Chili and Bandit bought them back to the airport where MacKenzie said goodbye to his family.

It did not feel as a farewell, and he knew that they would be back and they would stay in touch. The talk with his aunt felt good and sincere. But still... to see them go and for him to stay behind here without a family and a uncertain future did not sit right with him. He knew his aunt was right. He wasn't alone. Ofcourse he wasn't. He had plenty of people around him who loved him and cared for him. But still he felt terribly alone in the world.