(Author's Warning: Like everything else, this takes place in my series, set up by the events in my first story "More Than My Friend" where the big event is that Frankie adopts Mac. If you haven't read that story yet, I strongly suggest you do so now, or else you might get terribly confused.)

"….Should I even get her anything today?" the terribly unsure little boy wondered out loud as he stared at the large rack of cards looming in front of him.

Immediately the little girl standing at his side turned to him and jabbered, "Well, yeah, course you should! It is Mother's Day, and she's the one looking after you, so…I mean, Frankie's not your real mom, but…well, she is raising you and stuff, and…then again, maybe you….uh…but she…um….."

After thoroughly confusing herself, Goo heaved a sigh and whined in frustration, "Mac, you've asked that question, like, a billion times already, and you know what? Huh? Do ya? I still don't know what the heck the stupid answer is! All I know is that if you ask me again, my brain's probably gonna burst, not like it'll actually explode and drip out my ears, but more like it'll start to hurt because you keep making me think and think and think, but I just can't figure out what-"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Mac hastily apologized. "It's just…I don't want to make her upset if I don't get her anything…if she wants something. I mean, because what if I do get something, and it just weirds her out, because today is….but she's looks after me, so she's like…and so, maybe I should get her something to show her…but what if…"

The little boy quickly trailed off as he again started pondering the same question that they had been wrestling with for about a half-hour, with no clear answer. As Mac scratched his head and wracked his brain furiously, Goo just ruefully stomped her foot and muttered, "If only we knew what Frankie actually wanted…"

"….Should Mac actually get me something today?" Frances "Frankie" Foster mused out loud, to the annoyance of her friend who had stopped by for a quick visit.

"Jeez, gotta that's like, the fourth time you've said that, at least." Kathy griped as she lounged alongside her on the TV room couch. "For cripe's sake, why is this bothering you so much?"

Frankie grimaced before taking a sip of her soda. "I'm sorry, it's just…I dunno, it just won't stop bugging me. I mean, does he even need to get me anything? I mean, I don't want him to feel pressured or-"

"Hey, it is Mother's Day." Her friend replied as she flipped through the channels. "I got my mom a little something special, so I don't see why he-"

"But the thing is that I'm not his mom." The caretaker countered. "Yeah, I adopted him, but…I'm not exactly….yikes, if Mac's just as confused about this as I am, then I hope the poor kid isn't-"

She stopped dead in mid-sentence when her friend abruptly let out a loud snort, as if she was trying to hold back some laughter. Immediately, Frankie looked up and could do little else but stare in genuine surprise for a few moments.

"…What was that?" she demanded gently.

Not appearing the faintest bit remorseful, Kathy passed a glance her way and answered impudently, "What was what?"

"That!" Frankie snapped. "What was that about? Why'd you just-"

"Sorry, but…well…I couldn't help myself; you're such a liar." She answered plainly with a smirk. As she took a sip of her Diet Coke, Frankie continued to just gawk blankly for a second.

…"Excuse me?" the bewildered redhead inquired as she cocked her head curiously.

"Yeah…you, not a mom?" Kathy flashed a toothy grin. "Pfft! Gimme a break."

"….Wait, what?" Frankie requested after a few moments, still hopelessly unable to comprehend. "What are you talking about?"

"What's not to get?" Kathy just chortled. "Mac should probably get you something because you're so a mom, case closed."

"What? No, I'm his guardian, but-" Frankie tried to correct to absolutely no avail as Kathy started shaking her head resolutely.

"Nuh-uh, you're not fooling anyone. You are so a mom."

Obviously, the redhead wasn't exactly comfortable with having this resolved so definitively quickly, and toyed with her jacket zipper before she shot back, "Quit it, Kathy I'm-"

"Mac's adoptive mama? Yup, that's a big no-brainer there." Kathy finished, earning her yet another fierce stare.

"Stop it!" Frankie snapped. "I don't even know if a count as a-"

"You might as well tell me that the sky is maroon with blue polka-dots." Her friend retorted with a snigger.

"I said knock it off!" Frankie groaned. "Don't-"

"Chill out, will you?" Kathy requested calmly as she took another sip. "All I'm saying is-"

"I know what you're saying, but –"

"Like it or not, you my friend are a mom in everything but name, no doubt about it whatsoever." Kathy confidently proclaimed yet again as the caretaker stubbornly tried to argue.

"But I don't think I'm-"

"Such a mom."

"No-"

"Such a mom."

"I'm-"

"Such a mom."

"I-"

Such a mom."

"Kathy-"

"Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, Frances Bridgett Foster, you're soooo a mom!" Kathy chanted gleefully in a singsong manner, irritating the already annoyed redhead even further.

"Knock it off!" she growled. "Seriously, why are you-"

"Why are you making such a fuss?" her friend pried. "I'm only saying-"

"But it's just…look, I…I just…." Frankie attempted to explain with a grimace. "Look, it's not that I don't think about this at all…I do, it's just…I dunno, I….I mean, just look at me. Just look at some of the messes I still get into; how the heck can I be called a-"

"Frankie, I'm a social worker; I know a parent when I see one, and you my friend are a total-"

"Mac's guardian, and…well, supposed to his big sister, and-"

"Liar!" Kathy snickered, amused by her friend's persistence. "Such a liar! Nuh-uh, you're waaaay more than just that!"

"Well… I guess it's a little more," Frankie conceded cautiously. "Look, maybe I'm just-"

"Maybe? Maybe nothing!" Kathy argued. "What you call yourself and how you act around the kid aren't anything alike! You-"

"Look, just because I'm looking after him doesn't mean I-"

"A lot of people can make sure a kid's got a roof over his head and three meals a day. You on the other hand do all of that, and grin like a moron every time you two just hug-"

"Oh, and heaven forbid I'm not cold and distant towards him." The caretaker grumbled sarcastically. "There's no rule that says I can't-"

"I don't think big sisters can get as affectionate as you can….and they definitely don't get half as protective as you do." Kathy countered with a smile.

"I'm supposed to look after him." Frankie reminded with an exasperated groan. "I'm his guardi-"

"'Look after him?' Nuh-uh, you don't 'look after him,' Frankie; you willingly beat the living snot out of anyone dumb enough to even think about thinking about harming him." Kathy answered, as the other woman winced and argued doggedly.

"C'mon, I'm not that bad-"

"Really? For your information, if I had a choice of drop-kicking a baby grizzly in front of its mother or doing the exact same to Mac in front of you, I'd pick the bear cub, and you know why?" Kathy asked rhetorically. "Because at least with the mama grizzly, I'd have some chance of surviving, whereas with you I'd have no chance of surviving."

"I'm not a maniac!" Frankie snapped. "I don't tear people limb from limb at the drop of a hat because-"

"Joking, only joking!" Kathy laughed. "But you get the point, do you? You're-"

"I still don't think I count as a…and I'm not really comfortable with suddenly calling myself a-"

"But you so are!" Kathy argued. "Everything you do just screams it. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, I'm only saying-"

"Just because I-"

"Frankie, give it a rest! You're so a mom, all right? You've always been like that!"

"But I…" the redhead whined. "I…"

"Oh yes you have!" Kathy laughed. "Remember Amanda Crainsworth? Seventh grade? She always gave me a hard time, especially after my bike accident and I had to get those stitches on my forehead. As soon as you heard that she was calling me 'Bride of Frankenstein' though, literally, like the next day she showed up at my locker, told me that she was sorry, and you know what else?"

"What?" Frankie grumbled with a scowl.

"She handed me ten bucks!" her friend laughed. "She didn't even take any lunch money from me! Yet she forked it right over and stayed clear of me from then on, all because of you! Frankie, you're such a mom! You always have to look after and take care of everyone else, and take no prisoners if anyone tries to say otherwise, it's just who you are!"

"Just because I didn't let you get picked on doesn't mean-" Frankie tried to complain.

"Oh give it a rest, will you?" Kathy chuckled and shook her head in disbelief. "All signs point to Frankie Foster, Grade-A Mommy. I mean, think about this; you moan about the rabbit, you'll whine about your job, and gripe about Bloo until the cows come home. But do you ever gripe about Mac?"

"I-"

"Nuh-uh! But do you brag about him?" she grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, you better bet your life, you do! Every time we chat, you always find a way to bring up how well he's doing in school or you'll...well, remember when they handed out those achievement ribbons at the end of the school year? You pinned all the ones Mac got to your jacket for at least a week-"

"I…I just….hey, there's nothing wrong with that!" Frankie snapped defensively as the blood rushed to her face. "I…I only…oh c'mon, why can't I-"

"How many pictures do you have in your wallet?" Kathy suddenly asked, much to the redhead's bafflement.

"…Huh?"

"What, am I speaking Vietnamese here? How many pictures of Mac do you have in your wallet?" Kathy repeated.

For a couple moments, Frankie went as silent as a stone, and gazed back with an utterly blank expression before finally replying, "…Um...one."

Unfortunately, her performance was hardly convincing. Barely had she lied through her teeth when her friend wordlessly placed her soda aside, rolled up her sleeves, then promptly thrust her hands into the pockets of the redhead's jacket.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Frankie involuntarily yelped as she tried to squirm away. "Hey, what are you-"

"Ah-ha! Jackpot!" Kathy whooped triumphantly as she scooted back to the far end of the couch, with a small purple wallet gripped tightly in her clutches. "Now, let's just see-"

"Hey, give that back!" Frankie cried as she lunged after her, grabbing wildly. "Give it! Give it!"

"Why?" Kathy just giggled as she managed to hold it out of the frantic redhead's reach. "You told me the truth, didn't you? It's not like you have anything to freak out about or-"

"I….I just want my wallet back, okay?" the caretaker sputtered lamely. "Seriously, this isn't cool! You can't just take someone's-"

"Yes! Yes! YES!" Kathy squealed jubilantly as she reaped the fruits of her efforts, while Frankie's eyes bugged to the size of oranges in dismay.

"No!" she yelped hoarsely. "No, it's not what you-"

"I knew it! I knew it!" Kathy only continued to celebrate, and beamed from ear to ear as she waved a handful of pictures in front of the mortified redhead's face. "What do you call these, huh?"

"Nothing!" Frankie snapped as she unsuccessfully tried to grab them back. "It's-"

"Not one, not two, not three, but four! That's right, four photos of Mac, located where? Right smack in your wallet!" the other woman sniggered gleefully.

"S-so?" the caretaker shot back defensively. "That…that doesn't mean anything!"

"Doesn't mean anything?" Kathy replied skeptically. "My mom never kept that many photos with me on her at all times! I don't think your grandma keeps that many pictures of you with her! And if they're definitely moms, where can that only leave you?"

"Others are in the pictures too!" Frankie protested as her blush only glowed brighter. "One has Wilt, and at least two of them have Bl-"

"But every single one has not just you and Mac, ad you're hugging. In every one!" Kathy cackled in delight. "I don't know anyone who carries that many photos around of any younger sibling in their-"

"Uh….Frankie?" someone timidly interrupted the two women, promptly bringing the argument to a screeching halt.

As Kathy's attention was momentarily diverted to the two children who had just entered the room, Frankie meanwhile used the opportunity to seize back both the photos and her wallet from her friend's grasp. Hastily she stuffed them into her sweater pocket as she greeted, "Oh, hey pal! Hey, Goo! What are-"

"What were you guys doing?" Goo suddenly blurted out curiously as she and Mac plodded over. "I mean, we came inside, and immediately we heard a lotta lotta yelling and shouting and stuff, so we followed it hear, and we saw it was you doing all the yelling and shouting and stuff. So what was that all about? Huh?"

Kathy just snickered, earning her a light shove from Frankie who replied, "Well…Kathy stopped by for a bit, and…um, we were just….just….uh….goofing around, y'know. It was nothing, really." She hastily dropped the subject and hoped the little ones wouldn't care. "So what were you guys up to? It's well past three o'clock. Why'd you two take so long to get back from-"

The redhead quickly received her answer when without warning, Mac took off his backpack, reached inside, and after a moment's pause, dug out a small wrapped package. As he held it up to her, he said sheepishly, "We went downtown to…well, I just thought that maybe you should get a…y'see…"

After fumbling over his words, he just wordlessly placed it into his surprised guardian's lap, and for a couple moments, she just stared at the token of appreciation, unsure of what to say. However, her silence proved to be short lived when she suddenly broke out into a weak smile and chuckled softly.

"Mac," she laughed as she began unwrapping it. "You didn't have to get me anything. Really, its….uh…."

She abruptly trailed off in mid-sentence once she tore off the wrapping, opened up the small box, and found two curious-looking purple things inside. Unable to recognize what they were at first, she just gawked confusedly at the gift until Mac, afraid that he had gotten her the wrong thing, began to hurriedly explain. "See, they're plastic on the outside for protection, but padded on the inside so they're not uncomfortable, so….but, if you don't like them, then that's okay, I guess…it's just that you always tell me how sore your knees get after scrubbing the floors, so I just thought that-"

"Oh, kneepads!" Frankie chortled once realization finally dawned. Swiftly, a fat grin graced her face as she leaned over to give her charge a warm hug. "Pal, that's so thoughtful! Thank-"

The heartwarming moment was abruptly killed when Kathy suddenly burst out squealing with laughter, to the confusion of the children and to the lanky redhead's ire.

"What? What's so funny?" Goo squeaked as she cocked her head curiously.

As Mac just shrugged wordlessly at his equally befuddled friend, Kathy continued giggling like a madwoman as she starting whooping triumphantly, "Yes! Yes! I win! I win! Hahaha! I win! I win!"

"What is it now?" Frankie groaned as she gave her a nasty glower.

"He got you something! He actually got you something for Mother's Day!" she sniggered merrily as she basked in what felt like an absolute victory. "That does it! Total, undeniable proof! Can't say anything now, Miss Smartypants, this proves it! Face it, Frankie Foster, for you are a Mom! M-O-M, and that's the truth! What do you have to say to that?"

Convinced that complete and total victory was hers, Kathy cackled victoriously, while Goo just gawked dumbly at the spectacle and Mac just became flat-out crestfallen as he asked worriedly, "Did I…did I do something wrong?"

Rather than be overwhelmed by embarrassment, Frankie just thoughtfully looked at her gift for a few moments before surprisingly, she actually broke out into a wicked smile and patted the boy reassuringly. "It's okay pal…trust me, you did just right."

"Well?" Kathy chortled on with a fat smirk as she leaned over and started prodding her crimson-haired friend repeatedly in the side. "I said, what do you have to say to that, Mama Foster? Eh? What do you have to say to that, Mommy Dearest? What do you have to say to th -"

Not saying a word, Frankie quietly slipped one of the kneepads onto her hands, like it was a poor man's brass knuckles. Then, without a word of warning, she turned and lashed out at her unbearably boastful friend. As soon as her thigh was struck several times with the force of a sledgehammer, the smile vanished from her face, and Kathy automatically tumbled off the couch with a yelp.

Smarting from the dead-leg of a lifetime, Kathy lay where she fell on the floor, nursing her aching muscles for a few moments. After she looked up at the smirking redhead, it didn't take her long to concede softly, "…P-point taken."

The End