-1Wow… 160 reviews and 15,000 hits! Fweet! Don't worry, Ace will be coming home… soon… maybe… Anyways, CHAPTER

Chapter 18

The following afternoon, Jimmy, Jack, and Katie, along with Ace, all gathered into the family car and started to drive across town to return the lost dog.

"Dad, do we really have to return Ace?" Jimmy asked from the backseat, holding on to Ace, who's head was sticking out the window. "Can't we get this Link guy a new dog and we keep him?"

"Sorry Jim, but he's not ours. One day you might be able to get a dog for yourself," his father answered as he turned around briefly to give him a small smile.

"It would real swell if I get to meet Link in the flesh," Katie squealed at the thought of meeting one of her favorite dancers.

"Ew, you're still thinking about kissing him?" Jimmy teased as he started making kissing noises. She turned around and gave her little brother a mean glare before turning back around in a huff, crossing her arms around her chest.

"Why did you even consider having a son?" she asked her father. Jack just laughed and shook his head. "Where are we going first, Daddy?"

"We're going to go to that WYZT studio where that show of yours is aired first. He's probably there doing all of that ridiculous dancing…"

----

Link and Seaweed decided, and miraculously were able, to pick up Penny along the way to the Turnblad's. The four decided to go see a movie to get Link's mind off of his predicament. The sun was starting to set when they finally made it to the drive-thru. They, after 15 minutes of arguing, finally decided on "The Manchurian Candidate". Halfway through the movie, Seaweed and Penny began to make out in the back seat while Link and Tracy just cuddled in the front and tried to ignore the noises in the back and watched the movie. Link idly played with stray strains of her hair while she laid on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"You know," Link broke their silence, "we should actually watch these movie-things every once in a while instead of eating each other's faces."

"Yeah," she giggled, catching onto the joke, "they're actually quite entertaining. Since we do pay to get in all the time and not know what happened…"

"I know right!" Link chuckled as they shared a small kiss. "They do tend to be quite entertaining." They enjoyed the movie, while their friends continued their make-out session.

"Link," Tracy got up to face her boyfriend, "I know that you're still stressing about Ace, even though you're telling us that you're having a good time and you're fine."

"Why is it that you know me better than I do?" he smiled as they shared another kiss. "I'll be fine. I have faith in my three-legged mongrel. I betcha he's safe somewhere."

----

"Dad, are we there yet?" Jimmy complained as Ace rested on his lap. "We've been driving for hours. I don't think his house is that far away."

"Yeah Daddy, it's nearly dark out," Katie added.

"We're just a little lost is all," Jack replied as he stopped in front of a record shop. "We'll just ask for directions in that store and from there, we can figure out how to get here." He looked out the window and notices that the neighborhood they werein was mainly black and they were being stared at. "Erm, keep the doors lock, okay?" He got out of the car and walked into the record shop. Inside, black teens and children were all dancing to the music that was echoing throughout the place. The dancing suddenly stopped to find the white man entering the store.

"Hi," a girl around fourteen approached him, "can I help you with anything?"

"Yes you can. See we're lost and we were wondering how to get to this address," he explained as he pulled a piece of paper with Link's address on it. The girl took the paper and looked at the address.

"Hey, this is Link's house," the girl remembered. "My mama should know the directions. Hang on a second." She rushed back into the back and came back with Maybelle in tow.

"So, you're looking for the Larkins?" Maybelle asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes ma'am," he answered politely. "You see, we found his dog yesterday and so we kept him at our place until today and we've been lost for hours…."

"You guys found Ace?!" Inez jumped in excitement.

"That's great. Link's been worried sick about his dog," Maybelle added.

"And we'll be delighted to return him to his owner," Jack chuckled. "He's quite the handful, but we're thinking of getting one for our son."

"This is great news. Come on outside so I can give you the directions. It's a little noisy in here." The three of them stepped back outside and Maybelle show him how to get to Link's house while Inez and Jimmy played with Ace for a while.

"Thank you so much, ma'am."

"Not a problem. Come back anytime." With those parting words, Jack, Jimmy, and Ace got back into the car and drove off.

----

After the movie, Link dropped off Penny and Seaweed into their respective houses, leaving Tracy and him in his car in front of her house.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Tracy's big brown eyes stared into Link's blue ones.

"I will be, I promise," Link answered, holding her small hands into his large ones. "You can't be worrying about me like this, Trace. I'll be fine."

"You loved Ace as if he was your child. He'll show up. Be sure to call me on any updates, okay?"

"You always know what to say, Trace," Link smiled as they kissed. "I really want you to stay, but," he points to the window and sees Edna looking at them, "I think your mom wants you to come in before she gets suspicious."

"Ugh," Tracy rolled her eyes. "We've been dating for over six months and she still doesn't trust us alone together."

Link laughed and then said, "I don't blame her. I wouldn't want our daughter out in a car somewhere with some boy."

"But what if we had a son?"

"Eh, he'll be okay." Tracy smacked her lips and playfully whacked her dark-haired boyfriend in the chest.

"You're ridiculous," she laughed. She kissed him on the nose and said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I can't wait," he smiled as he watched her get out of the car and walk towards her doorstep. She unlocked the door, turned around and blew another kiss at him before going inside, closing the door behind her. He ran his hand through his stiff hair and cranked his car and drove off. But instead of driving in the direction of his house, he headed towards the park.

----

"Are we lost again?" Katie asked as she looks out at the unfamiliar area.

"Maybe…" Jack answered. He muttered to himself, "I should've written those directions down…"

"Okay, we're near the park that's for sure," she stated as she looked out her window.

"I'm hungry," Jimmy interrupted. "Can we go someplace and get something to eat?"

"Yeah and we should call your mother, too," Jack answered as all four of them got out of the car. Once Ace jumped out the car, he spotted a familiar face walking along the sidewalk with his head hung low. He attempted to run towards him but the leash he was on was jerked back by the small child.

"Whoa! Ace!" Jimmy yelped as he almost fell on his feet. His father grabbed the leash for him and tried to hold him down.

"He probably saw a squirrel or something." Ace started to whine as he watched his owner walk down by the lake. In one swift motion, Ace slipped out of his collar and raced towards the figure. "Oh shucks! We got to get him back, we didn't come all this way just to lose him." Then the three of them ran down to retrieve him.

Meanwhile, Link sat at the edge of the lake, throwing rocks and pebbles into it.

"It seems like yesterday, he was catching the tennis ball…" Link mumbled, sighing as he threw another rock into the lake. He heard other barks of dogs in the park and it only made him even more depressed. "Ugh, why did I even come here?" As he was turning around to get up to leave, he spotted the three-legged animal running towards him at a high rate of speed. Being extremely clumsy, Ace tripped over nothing and knocked into the teen, both of them falling into the lake with a huge splash. Once they both recovered from the impact, Link embraced the pooch.

"I can't believe you.. Where were…? How did…?!" He couldn't even finish his sentences he was so excited to see his dog again.

"Ace!" Jimmy cried out as he and his family approached the lake.

"Oh my God! Link Larkin!" Katie squealed and tried her hardest to contain her excitement. Link and Ace got out of the lake and walked up to them.

"Did you guys find my dog for me?" Link asked as he continuously wiped the water from his eyes. Ace was behind him trying to shake dry and getting him and Jimmy wet.

"My son and I found him scared in an alley," Jack explained. "We kept him in our house for the night and we've been searching all day for your house."

"You don't know how much I appreciate this, sir," Link gushed as he shook Jack's hand. "I've been worried sick about him when he disappeared a couple of nights ago." He went over to Katie, shook her hand and said, "you all have been great help."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEH!" was all she said as she jumped on him in a tight hug. Link, taken aback by the response, awkwardly returned the hug as she continued to hold onto him.

"I don't want him to go," Jimmy complained as he stroked the wet dog.

"I wish there was a way to thank you," Link scratched his soaked head. "I know," Link snapped his fingers, "how's about I treat you all to a late dinner to show you my thanks for finding my pet."

"You don't have to, son," Jack gave Link a pat on the shoulder and helped him remove his daughter.

"Let's the least I can do. Just let me get a clean and dry pair of clothes and we'll be on the way. If you can follow me to my house, we can start from there."

For the rest of the night, the Larkins and the Wilsons sat around the a dinner booth in a diner, enjoying each other's company and chatting the night away. Katie couldn't take her eyes off of Link and Jimmy was talking to Link about cars and his career. Ace sat underneath the table, eating up the scraps and Link and Jimmy "accidentally" drop to the floor.

W00t! I finally finished up that depressing mini-saga! Now it's going back to the insanity of the misadventures of Link… or something like that. So yeah, you guys know what to do :3 Thanks for reading!