“I wish she didn't have to go. I wish she could move with me.” Tracy said, leaning her head against the window and just staring blankly at the passing scenery.

“I can bet that she wants the same thing.” Lilian said as they turned into a large sprawling campus. Tracy started looking around and saw several buildings and groups of kids, all ranging from six to eighteen walking around different parts of the campus.

Editing by Djkauf and secondary editing by Stanman63

More of Tracy and family.

February 11th 1983

Tracy sat in the front seat of the car as they navigated the city streets of Fremont, she wasn't feeling up to looking out the window too much, but she did anyway. She could only think of her mother driving out of her life and each time she thought about that, she began to cry.

As she stopped crying for what felt like the twentieth time in the past half hour, Lilian reached over and gave her knee a pat. “I know it hurts now Tracy, but soon your mother will be here and everything will look up. You still have your friends and if you want to talk, I'm willing to listen,” Lilian said as they drove to Casey's school.

“I wish she didn't have to go. I wish she could move with me,” Tracy said, leaning her head against the window and just staring blankly at the passing scenery.

“I can bet that she wants the same thing,” Lilian said as they turned into a large sprawling campus. Tracy started looking around and saw several buildings and groups of kids, all ranging from six to eighteen walking around different parts of the campus.

She looked around and she saw everyone using sign language. She knew she had to learn it at some point, if she was going to be around Casey more. Lilian turned once more and then stopped at a parking lot near a building with an office sign, ”Want to come in?”

“No. I'll just get in the backseat now.” Tracy said as they pulled in to a parking spot.

“You don't have to,” Lilian said. “But if you want to, I won’t argue.”

“Casey should be up front, it's your car, she's your daughter, ”Tracy said as she opened the door and transferred her bag to the backseat. Lilian watched her for a moment, then headed for the office. About ten minutes later, Lilian came out, with Casey next to her. Casey was wearing a coat with the school colors on it and she had a backpack. Her big art book was held under her arm.

Casey opened up the door to the passenger side of the back seat and she smiled at Tracy, then climbed in, scooted over, tossed her stuff into the front passenger seat, then hugged her friend.

Casey started to sign and Tracy shook her head, “I don't understand.” She said.

Before Lilian started the car, she turned to face Casey and got her attention. A quick conversation took place before Lilian looked to Tracy, “She says she is sorry your mom is gone. She hopes you feel better.”

“Oh,” Tracy said. “Tell her thank you.”

Lilian passed on the message, then signed again and Casey nodded, “Next stop Dublin.” Lilian stated as she pulled out of the parking spot and headed out of the school.

“Um,” Tracy finally broke the silence when they reached a highway that didn't look like she remembered. Plus the signs for Berkeley and Oakland made her question where they were headed. “Where are we going?”

“Casey has a doctor's appointment, then I'll get Stacey from school and after that we'll go grab the girls and take you to your class tonight.”

“But isn't Dublin behind us? Like near Livermore?”

“It is, but Casey likes the trip up the Nimitz Freeway. So when I pick her up at school, we go home this way, unless I hear a bad traffic report.”

“The Nimitz?” Tracy asked.

“Interstate eight eighty.”

“Is that the one that goes through Livermore?” Tracy asked. She looked over and saw that Casey was watching the passenger scenery, a lot of which was blocked by some walls on the side of the highway.

“No, that's five eighty,” Lilian explained. “And we took that earlier and will be on it in a little bit. We also took six eighty too.”

Tracy thought about it for a moment, then asked, “Is there a seven eighty? Kinda weird they skipped that one.”

“It's over by Benicia and Vallejo,” Lilian said with a nod of her head. “They do exist. There's even a Two, three and four eighty and a nine eighty, but that all over the Bay Area.”

“Oh. And they all connect to interstate eighty?” Tracy asked.

Lilian didn't mind the questions, it was keeping her from crying. To her it felt weird to be holding a conversation out loud as they left Casey's school for the deaf, but she was glad to keep Tracy from thinking about Maggie.

“In one way or another. Sometimes it's just a bridge or something like that.”

“We took an interstate eighty to Wyoming a few years ago. Wonder why they named it the same,” Tracy pondered aloud.

“Simple. It's the same highway.” Lilian replied, “The west end is in San Francisco and if I remember right, the east end is in New Jersey, on the other side of the county.”

“Wow. That's got to be a long drive,” Tracy said.

“It can be. Just imagine how long that trip would have taken back one hundred years ago? It could have been months and that's from the Mississippi river to California,” Lilian stated and Tracy recalled covering the westward expansion in school. “But now I'd say it would be about a week, maybe five days from coast to coast.”

“Wow,” Tracy said.

“And that's not traveling more then say twelve hours a day. So think of how hard the big rig drivers have it.”

“Being on the road all the time must be hard.”

“It can be. My father used to do that, but he stopped a few years back. And we've traveled by car to Vermont, to see my brother and that took almost a week to get there. But then we cheated and cut through Canada at Michigan.”

“Was it fun? The trip I mean?” Tracy asked.

“It had its moments,” Lilian answered. “But I'd do it again.”

Tracy had started watching the passing scenery with Casey and holding the conversation and her worries about her mother leaving were put on hold for a little while.

~o~O~o~

Lance walked with Frank, Carl, Persephone, Maggie and Bernice out of the courthouse. The Miller's had decided to follow the others up, even if it was just for a few hours, so they could make sure that charges were filed for the assault on Andromeda and Sage. “Well that's done. You've got the temporary one and we'll have to be here for the permanent one in ten days. Keep in mind though, if the Hallmark woman has been released from mental health, she can appear and even if she isn't, she can still appear, but under guard.”

“Can you make it up here for that?”

“Yeah, I'll call the office and leave a note that I need that day for travel.”

“Thank you, Lance.”

“Yes, Thank you.” Carl replied.

“What about the girls? Will they need to be here?” Persephone asked.

“I would say yes, just in case. Sage and Andromeda at least. It couldn't hurt to get Brooke and Rachel involved too.” Lance said. “Also, I would like to bring in Bart Rogers, he's more of my criminal lawyer for our firm, I deal mostly with family law.”

“Okay.”

“And this will help in winning the case against her for attacking the girls?” Carl asked.

“It should. Plus the reports from all the witnesses won't hurt. But for now, lets see if William is off work and if he can show us these things he wants Frank and me to see.”

“Could I tag along?” Carl asked. “Old cars are kind of a hobby to me. Nothing I can get into financially, but still cool to look at.”

Lance nodded. “Sure, Persephone, you mind?”

“Go ahead.” She said, then she kissed her husband. “See you at Maggie's later.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy stayed in the backseat with Casey as they pulled into the lane where Parents picked up their children at the school in Dublin. Tracy looked around and saw a bunch of people her age and she wondered what it would be like to be in a school and treated like one of the girls.

As they neared the main part of the sidewalk, Stacey came running over, one hand on her skirt to keep it from flipping up in the afternoon wind. She looked in the car and saw Casey and Tracy in the backseat and Casey's stuff in the front seat, so she pushed her stuff over the seat and climbed into the back, making Casey move to the middle of the seat. Lilian chuckled, knowing it was bound to happen. She waited as they moved through the line till they reached the main drive.

As Lilian pulled out from school that Stacey went to, they had only gone a mile or two when she heard the quick chirp of a squad-car's siren. Tracy whipped her head back and saw a car behind them. Lilian was pulling over as quickly as she could, then she put her car into park. Tracy looked to Stacy and asked. “Is she in trouble?”

“Naw, it's Dad. He does this if he sees her, may be telling her something important.”

A moment later, Harvey walked up, wearing his uniform. He smiled at the girls and bent down at the window. “Excuse me Ma'am, you know how fast you were going back there?”

Lilian grinned at her husband. “Well, I had to get you to pull me over somehow. How else would I give you my phone number.” She teased back.

“But you might be married, Ma'am. What would your husband think?”

“You're right, Officer. I am married to the most handsomest, sweetest, perfect man.” Lilian didn't lean out and kiss him. She knew if people saw that it could cause problems for the department. Instead she lightly touched his hand. “And he knows how to keep a smile on my face in every room of the house.”

“Ewwww.” Stacey said with a smile. “Yuck!”

“Says you, young lady.” Harvey said with a grin, he looked back to his wife.. “So do I need to bring anything home?”

“Well, we're having French bread pizza, so I think we're all taken care of there. I bought soda and chips, so we should be fine.”

“Okay. I'll be off at five and barring any problems, I should be home by five.” Harvey stated.

“Well Tracy has that class at five, so we'll be home after that.”

“Well, then, maybe I'll meet you there. But next time, watch that speed, or I'll have to frisk ya.”

“Promises, promises.” Lilian said with a smile.

~o~O~o~

Larry led William, Lance, Carl and Frank over to the garage where Billy's cars were. William had managed one week at work and he was surprised that he hadn't quit be cause it seemed to be open season on him at the mill. But he knew he had to hang tough till it was time to leave.

Larry stopped by one of the cars and turned to face them. “I don't want this shit on my property. I know he's an adult, so you could sue him, but honestly, he owns nothing. All the titles are in my name. All of them, including the junkers.”

Frank looked at William, Carl and his brother in law. “Guys, there's got to be at least a hundred thousand dollars here, just in cars and parts. I have an idea on how to deal with this though. Honestly, I wouldn't want to lose my chance at cars like these.”

“What's your idea?” Lance asked.

“We see if he'll sell the part cars. There's some good parts on some of these and you get a few hundred bucks here and there. That engine in the barn, well over six hundred dollars easy, if not more. But for that, he may need to put a lien on it. It's tricked out. I know people in my car club with a lot of spare cash that would jump at some of this stuff. Some of these cars are still usable, either for parts, or a couple of these frames look good enough to rebuild from the ground up. But I want the first chance at that car.” He pointed to a Seventy one Trans am “and that one over there.” He pointed to a Sixties Chevy Nova.

“Frank, Shelly will kill you if you get another car.” Lance said to his brother in law.

“It's not for me.”

“Then why get it?” Lance asked.

“I want to buy one of these, at a fair price to give to Tracy as something she can have and hold over that assholes head. Honestly, if I thought I could fix these, all of these, I'd try to get one for each girl. Be a good lesson in how to take care of a vehicle.”

“I don't know if I want my daughter having a muscle car, when she gets older that is.”

“Well William, we can always hold on to it and sell it later.” Frank said. “When it's tricked out, they can pull a pretty penny from a collector.”

“He is right.” Lance said. “Old cars are really popular right now.”

“He does have a point.” Carl stated. “While it may not be the same as an investment portfolio, a car in good condition can get you a decent sum. I heard of a guy in Livermore who restored a nineteen nineteen ford and someone offered him a hundred thousand dollars for it.”

“Damn.” William exclaimed. “That's crazy.”

“Well, let's see what he'll take, then we can see if he'd allow my car club to come take a look.” Frank said. “We could probably get Tracy a decent savings account started with what he sells here, but to be fair, if he bought this, we should think about a kickback to him on it, or at least see who paid for it.”

“Good point. No reason he should get screwed for something his kid did.” Carl said. “And as for savings for the kid, let me have a day or two and I can give you some good ideas on how to invest it and maybe get her a nice sum for college.” He looked to William. “But in the end, it is your call.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy followed Stacey into the house, dropping her backpack near a couch in the living-room. Stacey motioned for her to follow and as they went through the kitchen, she could hear a dog whining and barking and the sounds of claws on plastic.

“Duke!” Stacey called out as they entered the back room. Tracy looked in a large kennel and saw a large puppy, with some black on its face but the rest was brown. “Wanna go outside?” Stacey asked and the dog wagged its tail, and the back of its body, too.

“Come on,” Stacey grabbed a leash from a nearby hook, then she grabbed a scoop with a plastic bag on it. “Here, hold this for a moment.”

Tracy took the scoop, wondering what it was for as Stacey opened up the door to the cage like kennel and the ball of fur exploded out. It ran in a tight circle around the two girls, then stopped and sniffed at Tracy's bare ankles, then licked at them, making her jump and back away. The puppy then spun in another circle and finally Stacey caught it and put the collar on. She took the item from Tracy and gestured to the back door. “Wanna walk him with me?”

“Sure. Never been near a lot of dogs.”

“We'll take him down the street,” Stacey asked as they headed out into the backyard, past a large shed and around to a gate. They went to the road and walked down the sidewalk.

The little puppy darted back and forth along the sidewalk, sniffing at anything and everything and Tracy had to laugh as it looked like the tiny dog was pulling Stacey off balance. “What is he?”

“German Shepherd. Dad got him for us for Christmas. Says he'll be a big guard dog.” Stacey replied. “Duke's Mom is actually a police dog.”

“Neat. Do you have to take him someplace special?” Tracy asked, but Stacey could hear she wasn't too excited.

Stacey shook her head. “No, but we do have to pick up the poop, which is gross, but Dad says if we want him, we have to do it.”

As the puppy stopped to mark a bit of the sidewalk, Stacey looked to Tracy, then she hugged her.

“What was that for?” Tracy asked.

“You looked sad,” Stacey replied. “Missing your folks?”

“Yeah. I didn't want Mom to leave. But she says she'll be back soon.”

“She will.” Stacey said. “Two weeks.”

Tracy shrugged and shook her head as they started walking again. “What if she doesn't? What if she realizes I was more trouble then I'm worth?”

“She will be back,” Stacey said. “I know she will.”

“What if she thinks she can do better? What if all this is too much for her?”

“Tracy,” Stacey turned to face her and the puppy did its best to try and pull her along. “Your mom will be back. I know she will.”

~o~O~o~

“You know you don't have to buy me dinner,” Lance said as Maggie and William guided him towards a family restaurant in town. Behind them was Frank, Vance and both sets of Grandparents.

“We can get our own, too,” Carl said. “We didn't have to stay, we could have taken off. I'm sure our kids are driving Lilian and Lynn up the wall by now.”

“Lance, you did take time to drive up here to work for us, so making sure you get a good meal before you leave only seems fair. It's better then fast food on the way home,” Maggie said. “And Carl, you and Persephone were nice to my daughter in December, we can extend that hospitality to you as well.”

“Lance, Carl, they won't take no for an answer,” Frank added.

Maggie smiled at him, “Thank you for helping today, Lance. And thank you for watching her next week.”

“Next week?” William asked.

“Frank and Shelly will be out of town for their wedding anniversary. They're going to Reno from Monday to Thursday, for the cheaper rates. So Tracy is staying with Lance and Lynn and Rachel,” Maggie stated.

“Yeah, Rachel is looking forward to it. Not sure if the others will be over, but Rachel already has a ton of plans.”

“So, what of that Larry guy? Will he go for the idea of doing a sale to the car club?” Frank asked.

“He's open to the idea. Not too wild about that many people on his property, but if it gets the cars off of it, he'll do it,” William replied. “And I asked him about a possible cut and he said it wasn't necessary.”

“Good, but you should still think about it,” Lance said with a nod of his head.

“Yeah, I am. He may have to pay a little to get the lien on the engine, so we can chip in for that.”

“I can let the club know when I get home today. I'll have to let Shelly know my plans for those two cars, too.”

“Good.” William said. “But for now, let's get something to eat. I'm starved.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy felt very nervous. First of all, her friends were now in Jaio and Lok's school, there to watch her. Secondly, she was new here and knew no one. She was in her uniform from her old school, but it didn't have the name of the school on it. She just noticed that all the students were in green. She walked over to Jaio and bowed, “Shifu?

“Tracy?”

“Do I need a new uniform for the next class?”

“We can work on getting you one. Your old school had a different system, so I will allow it for now, but we can get you one ordered tonight, after class.”

“But I don't have money to buy it.”

Jaio nodded slowly, “We will take that out of the work you're doing for us around our house, okay?”

“Okay.” Tracy replied, having recalled the deal she made with Lok and Jaio about helping clean around their house and the school, in turn they would give her parents a discounted rate for her instruction and teach her Chinese and teach her to cook in a Chinese style.

“Now, relax and go find a spot. We shall start soon.”

Tracy turned and saw all of the class was now paying attention to her. She fought the fear to just run for the door. Instead she went to a part of the mat where no one was, but she wasn't alone for long. A girl walked up to her and began speaking, in Chinese, and Tracy just stood there, confused till the girl stopped.

“Um....what?” Tracy asked.

When the the girl, who looked to be a bit younger then her, spoke. It was in very choppy English, “You do not speak Mandarin?”

“No. I only speak English.”

“Oh. You know class is in Mandarin?”

“Yeah, but Shifu Jaio said she'll teach in both, for me, til Brooke can teach me.”

“Oh. That is good. Have you studied long?”

“Almost four years when I was seven, almost eight.”

“I am Min, My brother Ronald is in Shifu Lok's Wing Chan class.”

“Ronald?” Tracy asked, confused as to why the boy had a normal American name, but she thought about it and Brooke seemed like a normal American name as well. But the other girl seemed to know what she was thinking.

“He is my adopted brother. His parents adopted me as a young girl and now I live here.”

“Oh, cool.”

“Yes it is cool.” Min said. At that point, Jaio got everyone's attention and the girls stopped talking.

~o~O~o~

Tracy gave a bow as she walked off the mat and went to her friends. “That was so cool,” Stacey said.

“No wonder Clark couldn't handle you in a fight,” Rachel said.

“Honestly, I didn't want to fight Clark,” Tracy said. “I just wanted him to leave. I didn't want to fight anyone.”

“And that is a good thing,” Lok said as he walked over to them. “Those who can, but show restraint are usually rare. No good ever comes from fighting.”

“He has a point,” Harvey said.

Tracy was shocked to see him there, she had never seen him come in.

“Fights always end up with a sore loser. Like with Bruce,” he said to Tracy. “But sometimes you don't get a chance to walk away. I've had to arrest too many people who were too emotionally involved in something and anger led them to a pointless fight.”

“Very true.”

“Shifu Lok, Shifu Jaio said I need to discuss a new uniform.”

“Well, you are her student. But we can always talk with her in a few minutes, when the class leaves.”

~o~O~o~

Sage couldn't help but giggle as she led Tracy to the bathroom that Stacey shared with her sister. Dinner was over and Tracy had taken a shower earlier in the evening, after getting there from her tai chi class. She was very confused with Sage cleared the girls out of her room and handed Tracy a robe with the simple instructions to put it on.

Sage led the way into the bathroom and began pulling a couple of things out of the cupboard under the sink then she went to the tub. Sage looked to Tracy, who was just in a borrowed robe and smiled.

“I just took a shower.” Tracy said as Sage began working the water.

“You ever take a bath?”

“Not since I was a little kid.” Tracy replied. “All we had was a shower.”

“You've been all tensed up for the past few days. Plus that class, you haven't worked out like that in a while. Baths always help me relax.” Sage said as she opened up a bottle that Stacey told her about and held it under Tracy's nose. “Like it?”

Tracy sniffed in and she could smell the strong scent of flowers. “Yeah.”

“The water too hot?” Sage asked.

Tracy stuck a hand in and shook her head. “No, it's good. Maybe a bit cold. Are you sure this is okay?”

“Okay, we'll make it warmer, that way you're not freezing in five minutes.” Sage fiddled with the knobs and then added the bubble bath. “Yeah, I asked Stacey and she agreed. You're gonna love this.”

“I am?”

“Oh yeah. I love to relax in the bath.” Sage said as the bathtub filled.

“Sage?” Tracy asked as her friend opened up the door to leave. “Could....could we talk a little?”

“Sure. Anything wrong?”

“Well, not really, I just haven't had the chance to talk to you much, and you know what I'm going through the best.”

“True. We're usually with the others” Sage agreed.

“It's been so hard on me.” Tracy said as she looked over to her friend and once she was sure that Sage wasn't watching her, she slipped out of her robe and quickly stepped a foot in the water. Sage leaned over and turned the dimmer switch down, leaving the room only partly lit.

“I can only bet.”

“You know, sometimes it feels like the whole world is against me.” Tracy stated as she began to drop into the water, moving slowly so she didn't burn herself. “I had people wanting me to be Troy and I'm not happy about that, then I wanted to be Tracy and the whole town hated that. Sometimes I felt like two people. Like it was two of me against the world.”

“But now you're Tracy all the time. You even got the Doctors to agree with you.”

“But now it's just me and no parents against the world.” Tracy sat all the way down and forced herself not to yelp out from the heat of the water. Sage cast quick glance over and when she was sure Tracy was covered, she sat on a stool with her back against the wall.

“But you're not alone. You have me, and Sage. Plus Brooke, Stacey and Casey and our parents. Your Aunt Shelly and Uncle Frank love you too.” Tracy moved some of the bubbles to cover her chest.

“But I don't have my mom. Is it stupid? I've been away from her for a total of what, two, maybe three days and I just wanna crawl into bed and bawl my.....” Tracy began to cry and Sage got off her stool and moved it closer. When she sat down again, she put an arm over Tracy’s.

“First time away from your parents? I mean for an extended time, other than Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Tracy replied. “Christmas was the first time.”

“You never went to a summer camp or anything like that?” Sage asked.

“No. Never went to a camp,” Tracy stated. “And at Christmas you all kept me busy.”

Sage nodded as she finally understood. “And it was only a few days, this is weeks, isn't it?”

“Who knows,” Tracy replied. “She said two weeks, but...what if she decides that I was too much hassle? What if they just wanted me out of their life?” Tracy began to cry harder. “I ruined everything.”

“You didn't ruin anything,” Sage said. “Your mother will come back. I'm sure of that. Your dad misses you too, I'd bet.”

“But what if they don't come back?” Tracy asked.

“Tracy, don't think like that. I know she'll come back. Your mom is just that great of a person. Did she want to leave you today?”

“Well...” Tracy thought about it and shook her head. “No. She kept watching over her shoulder as my Grandma drove the car.”

“See, then that should be proof. She didn't want to let you go either. I bet she'll find a way to see you before the two weeks is up.”

I think she said she'll be at the doctor's for my check up and at Doctor Ivan's for that meeting on the twenty first too.”

Sage smiled at her, “See, and I bet she'll be there, waiting to walk in with you, like always.”

~o~O~o~

After her very relaxing bath, and the shower to get the soap off, Tracy had pulled on her night clothes and then she followed Sage to the living-room, where the others were watching MTV. At first she couldn't get into the videos, then after a few songs, she was bouncing along with the rest of them.

“Tracy? Could I talk to you for a moment?” Harvey asked as he stepped out of the kitchen.

“Um, sure,” Tracy got up and followed him back into the kitchen. She wanted to stay and watch the rest of the Billy Joel video that was playing, but she didn't want to make Harvey mad. She was a little worried to see both Harvey and Lilian in the kitchen, standing there looking at her and her mind began to think of a thousand things they could tell her. She began to worry that they would tell her that her mother either didn't want her, or had died on the trip home.

“Tracy,” Harvey dropped to one knee and he pulled the girl in for a hug. “I know things are hard for you, but until your mother is down here, I want you to treat this like your house too.”

“That goes for both of us,” Lilian said. “We know things are going to be rough, till Maggie gets here, so we're here for you. We know it's not the same, but we're still here..”

“Now I know you're feeling blue and you know what picks up my girls when they're down?” Harvey asked, Tracy shook her head.

“Root-beer floats. Would you like one?”

She shrugged, then nodded.

“Good. I like a decisive person,” Harvey joked. “I'll make you one. “Lil, could you bring the girls in?”

“Sure thing.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy woke up on on Saturday morning aware that someone held her in their arms. In from of her was the unmistakable mop of red hair that belonged to Sage. She leaned into who ever it was and just lay there. The person who held her held a bit tighter and she could feel them moving slightly. Finally she heard Rachel whisper, “Feeling better?”

Tracy nodded. Then she gently turned, taking her time so she wouldn't wake Sage, who was mostly awake anyway, “Did I have a bad dream?”

“You were crying in the night. So we decided to move closer and I undid your sleeping bag. You were out of it at the time.”

“Everyone still asleep?” Tracy asked.

“No. Stacey got up and took Duke out a few minutes ago. Casey and Brooke are still asleep, though. I think Sage is almost awake,” Tracy couldn't see it, but Sage nodded and opened up her eyes.

The back door opened and Tracy could hear the sounds of Stacey coming in and the sounds of paws on the tiled floor of the backroom.

The ball of fluff came running into the living-room and he darted for Brooke who was the closest to the kitchen. “Gah!” Brooke exclaimed as he started licking her face, she managed to push him away and the dog changed targets and went racing for Sage, who ducked down into her sleeping bag.

“Duke!” Rachel called out. “Here boy!”

Tracy wasn't sure where the dog was, till there was a nose next to her ear and he began to lick her cheek. “Duke!” Stacey said as she came into the living-room. “Come here boy.”

Tracy rolled back over and watched as Stacey tried to pull the dog back to the kitchen, “Is he always like that?”

“Well...” Rachel said with a chuckle. “We are on the floor, that puts us in his level.”

“Dad never let us have a dog,” Tracy said. “Wonder if he would, well, when we get a place here.”

“Who knows.” Rachel replied as they got up.

“So, um, what are we doing today?”

“Mall,” Rachel said with a grin. “And this time, there should be no sudden surprises to scare you.”

“Cool.”

~o~O~o~

The mall was busy, but not as busy as it had been the week before Christmas. Tracy walked along with her friends and Lilian, while the girls moved from clothing store to clothing store. She didn't look much, just at a few things here and there.

As they girls went into a store, Rachel led Tracy over to a rack of earrings, “Hey, you should see about getting some earrings. All the girls our age have them.”

“Mom said she was thinking about it,” Tracy replied. “I mean she has a few sets that belonged to her Grandma and I get them, but I have to wait for something, I don't remember what though.”

“Well, you can always ask when she moves down here,” Rachel pulled her a bit closer. “Hey, what do you want to do this week? Anything fun?”

“Well, I got my class on Tuesday and Friday. Plus I got my appointments on Friday too. Other than that, I don't know,” Tracy answered. “I thought your mom works?”

“She does, so for some of the time, you'll be with Brooke's grandma. She said she wanted to teach you some stuff, so it works out, but you're staying at our house till Aunt Shelly and Uncle Frank get home.”

“Cool,” Tracy said, mustering the best smile she could.

“Come on, let’s go check out the music store. Maybe that will cheer you up.” Rachel said, hooking her arm around Tracy's to lead her to the door of the shop.

And there you go. The meaning behind two against the world. One child being forced to be two people and pitting against all the jerks of the world. Of course, this may not be it at all :)

Up next Valentine's day, 1983