A/N: I'M NOT DEAD! Miracle, innit? I am being stormed on, but that's mother nature's doing, not mine. So. I don't really have much to say, other than "Life happens." I can't do much about the fact that, even though it's summer, I've become busy with stuff, etc. And writer's block. I do promise I haven't forgotten about all of you! And anyone expecting a message from me for any reason - review replies, messages, etc. - I do plan on getting to them; I just need time and motivation. As for the chapter... I'm not happy with it, but it is what it is. I'm slowly getting them out of the city. Thanks goes to the fantabulous pink-strawberry-lemonade for betaing and for not giving up on me, even though I've given plenty of reasons for her to do so. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. Well, Chef Bob's might be mine. I don't know if it actually exists or not; I kind of thought of it on my own.

"So what are we doing for food, guys?" Rachel asked the group as they walked down the street. Right now, they were just walking around, looking at the different shops and boutiques, taking in the atmosphere of the city.

"I want something wholly American. Trudy's cooking is amazing, don't get me wrong, but there are some things that are just better over here," Nina said, standing close to Fabian and looking around. She spotted a pizza parlor, gave it some thought, and crinkled her nose when she decided against it.

"How about a nice, greasy cheeseburger, a side of fries, and a chocolate milkshake? I know a good place that Officer Dave and I found when we dropped you off last time," Rachel said, leading the group.

"That sounds—" Nina started to say, but Amber cut her off.

"Ew, wouldn't that be unhealthy? I mean, I like hamburgers, but that sounds like a bit much. Do they have other stuff, too? But I do want a chocolate milkshake; those are good. Oooh, you know what's even better? A strawberry smoothie! I love smoothies!"

Rachel, who looked confused for a moment, just nodded and said, "Yeah, they have other items. It's not exclusively cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes. I don't know about the smoothies, though. We could always find a Smoothie King."

Amber's eyes went wide. "There's a Smoothie King? Aiiee!"

"As long as they have vanilla milkshakes too, I'm good," Alfie spoke up from beside Amber. "I don't like the chocolate ones." He continued gazing at all the sky scrapers as he talked. "Are all buildings this tall?"

"No, Alfie. We're in a city; they're notorious for skyscrapers and such. Most buildings aren't quite as tall, though," Nina said, glancing up herself. She'd been to New York before, and to Phoenix, which had tall buildings as well, but they never really ceased to amaze her.

"Ahh. . . ," Alfie mumbled just as Jerome scoffed. "What?"

"You've been to cities before, Alf. You should've known that. And I have an inquiry—does this restaurant have chicken sandwiches?" Jerome asked, directed at Rachel.

"I believe so, yes," she answered, getting more and more amused at the interactions between the teenagers.

Mara and Patricia, standing beside Alfie and Jerome, just nodded their assent. Mara wasn't opposed to the food—even though she tried to watch her health, she liked to have small indulgences just like everyone else. And Patricia . . . well, Patricia just wanted something to eat.

"Alright! To Chef Bob's it is!" Rachel announced, changing their direction at the next block corner to head to the restaurant.

With all 8 of them seated inside, the small dining area of 'Chef Bob's' was almost filled. There were very few other seats left, and some of those were taken by the other patrons. Nina, Fabian, Amber and Rachel had been squished into a corner table, while Jerome, Mara, Alfie, and Patricia sat at the table adjacent to theirs. The way things were arranged, though, the conversation was comfortably kept going between the 8 companions.

Nina sat relishing her cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake; Fabian was tucking into a plain hamburger, fries (which he still called 'chips' at the counter, even though he was probably the most used of all the Brits to American slang), and a soda. Jerome was able to get his chicken sandwich, and had a side of actual chips; Mara and Patricia both got a hamburger with tomato, onion rings, and milkshakes. Alfie, mistakenly, had gotten a grilled chicken salad, when he had said "I'll have the same" after Amber ordered. Amber wasn't able to get her smoothie, but she did have a vanilla milkshake, fortunately for Alfie. Rachel, reasonably enough, had the same thing as Nina.

"So, what about that Smoothie King thing? That seriously sounds uh-may-zing," Amber said, picking through her salad to eat all the chicken before the greens.

"Smoothie King is what it sounds; it's a stand, or building in some cases, that sells exclusively smoothies. I like their Berry Punch smoothie. It's got strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries," Nina explained, dipping one of her fries in her milkshake before eating it.

"Oooh! I really want to go there. Can we?" Amber turned her eyes on Rachel, and practically started begging.

"Sure, sweetheart. If we can find one. I'm sure it's possible; this is NYC, after all!"

"Yay! Nina, your Gran is just as nice as you had said she is," Amber clapped in happiness before going back to her meal.

"She sure is!" Nina smiled at Rachel, who smiled back and shook her head, but didn't really say anything.

They continued eating in silence for a few minutes longer, until Fabian spoke up. "Nina, do you always dip your chi—fries in your milkshake?" he asked, having observed that Nina did that with every fry she ate.

Nina looked down at her plate, and back up to Fabian. "Uhm. Yes? I don't really notice that I do," she laughed. "I've always done that."

"It's quite interesting," Fabian joined in on the small laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that before."

Nina smiled, plucked a fry from her plate, swirled it around in her milkshake, and popped in her mouth in response.

Meanwhile, Mara and Jerome were sat, side by side, talking about New York. Jerome, of course, had never been (he'd hardly ever been allowed to stray from the school, but he wasn't going to readily admit that. At least, not when Mara wouldn't be the only one to hear), but Mara had come a few times with her parents, when they made trips to the States for business or other means. She was telling Jerome of all the things she'd done.

"And one time, when I was small, we came and went to the American Girl store. I liked it; it's a doll shop. I got one that looked like me. You know the dark brown hair, brown eyes. I even got her a pretty little pink dress that had a hat; and I got a matching outfit for me! Oh, this is girl talk, though. I'm sorry. Now I feel. . . I dunno stupid or something for bringing it up." Mara blushed, her embarrassment catching up to her.

Jerome just stared at her, a slightly amused look on his face. He started snickering, and that soon turned into full on laughter. While he laughed, Mara got more and more confused. She couldn't tell if he was laughing at her, or at what she had said. He eventually was able to stop, and he composed himself.

"I'm sorry, Mara," he said. "But that was hilarious. I have no clue why you decided to tell me about a doll shop, but I assure you I found it rather funny." He smiled at her.

"Oh, well," Mara stuttered, not really sure what to say. "I was just recounting things I'd done in the city before."

Before Jerome got the chance to reply, though, Amber interrupted, as was her way. "I'm done eating. Can we go shopping now? Can we, can we, can we, can we?" She turned her pleading eyes on anyone she thought it would affect.

Rachel sighed and looked around. "Are we all done eating?"

Jerome and Alfie both shoved the last of their meals in their mouths—they couldn't waste food, no—and then nodded along with the rest.

"Alright; we can do some shopping. But we can't be too long—we need to be in New Jersey for the night. It's just across the bay, but New York traffic isn't known for being friendly."

Everyone got up, disposed of their food and trays, and filed out of the small diner onto the sidewalk. They walked around a bit, and Amber dragged them into any designer store they past. It wasn't long after that she had two armfuls of bags, and everyone else was wilting with jetlag. It was then that Rachel gently suggested that they head back to the cars, and begin to make their way to the hotel in New Jersey.

"Don't we have to go under the water to get there?" Mara asked thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure the Lincoln Tunnel is under water."

Nina nodded. "Yeah, it is. But you can't see anything, so it's not like you're able to tell."

After that, the conversation stalled, everyone tired and weary, ready to get some rest. They made it to the cars, and Amber piled most of her bags in the trunk of Nina's car; the rest had to go in Rachel's because it wouldn't all fit.

"Nina, here's the directions to the hotel," Rachel said, handing Nina a slip of paper. "Call me when you get there, and we'll meet up to get our rooms."

"Okay," Nina said, reading over the directions. She knew where to go—and she had a really good sense of direction, so she wasn't too worried.

"Be careful, dear. Love you." Rachel gave Nina a quick hug, sorrowful to have to let go of her so soon, even if for just a brief car ride.

"Love you too, Gran," Nina said, hugging her back, and then fishing in her pocket for her keys.

"Alright, guys. Let's go."

"Where are we sitting?" Fabian asked.

"Ride in the car your bags are in, and just pick a seat," Nina suggested, not wanting to bother with it.

Fabian shrugged, and got in on the passenger side of Nina's car. Amber and Alfie clambered in the back, while Patricia, Jerome, and Mara worked out seat arrangements in Rachel's car.

Not long after, they were on their way, all ready for a night of sleep, and for what the rest of the summer would bring them.

A/N: I really need to go rewatch the series... maybe that will give me more inspiration to write. Right now, it seems I'm wholly stuck on drarry fanfiction. It's because of the upcoming HP movie! Sorry this one is short; I did the best I could. Reviews make me happy! :]

P.S. - to anyone who has discovered the awesomeness that is tumblr... I have one! Follow me? I'll follow back if you write in my ask! thelimegreencrayon . tumblr . com (tip: remove the spaces) :D