(Micky puts his hand to his now-muted throat and tries to draw back, but his motions are sluggish. He grabs for Shelia's wrist, trying to keep it from his chest, but he's slow from being muddled.)

Shelia: *swats his hand away easily* There's no sense in trying to fight it, Savage. Now, let's see what's in that lovely soul of yours. *smirks*

(Micky gulps and tries to pull away.)

Shelia: *pins him to the wall; grins* This won't hurt. Much. *opens his shirt enough to place her hand on his heart* >:)

(Micky glares at her and squirms under her grip.)

Shelia: Oh, stop that. *kneads her fingers into his skin* Interesting... *smirks* You haven't changed much. ;) :P

(Micky glares at her and tries to squirm again.)

Shelia: Stop it or I'll take away more than your voice. :P *pauses* You're very worried about the little Lord of the Manor.

(Micky nods.)

Shelia: You're trying to figure out what my plan is this time, and why it involves him.

(Micky nods and narrows his eyes at her, squirming once more.)

Shelia: *raises one hand to his head and rubs one side* You fight just as much as the White Knight does. :P

(Micky slumps, though he still glares at her. He nods with a firm expression at the mention of Mike's Guardian name.)

Shelia: You're wondering why, if I'm after the Lord of the Manor, I've come to you. That should be obvious. You're his best friend, are you not? He'll HAVE to willingly help me...assuming he doesn't want anything to happen to YOU. ;) >:)

(Micky's eyes widen...then narrow again. He opens his mouth to curse Shelia out, then remembers he can't and closes it.)

Shelia: *smirks* I'm glad I cut your voice off right away. You're still the loud one. *pauses* I bet your wife would vouch for that. ;)

(Micky makes a face. ;) :p)

Shelia: Did I hit a nerve? ;) >:) Let’s see. You're worried about your little band. You don't like what's been going on between the White Knight and the Lord of the Manor.

(Micky shakes his head, worried.)

Shelia: You're even starting to believe the Lord of the Manor is seriously thinking about leaving your group.

(Micky closes his eyes and just barely nods.)

Shelia: Seems you and your friends have hit a stumbling block. Such a shame. *smirks again* Now, in the meantime, what to do with you? :-/

(Micky tries to squirm around her again. His hand slowly gropes for something on the table he can hit her with or stun her with long enough to get past her and to the others.)

Shelia: *reaches out and grabs his wrist* I wouldn't do that, Savage. I'd hate to have to hurt you too badly. I DO still wish to keep you as a collector. It'd be a bit hard to be a collector if you're more than slightly damaged. >:) ;) :P

(Micky tries to pull his wrist away from her.)

Shelia: *glares* Or maybe you DO want to be slightly damaged. :P

(Micky's eyes widen. He shakes his head, squirming fearfully.)

Shelia: Then knock it off and let me think of somewhere to put you.

(Micky gulps and tries to move back again, but Shelia firmly takes hold of his shoulders.)

Shelia: I'll have to immobilize you. You squirm too much. *grins* I've got an excellent idea. The tea room would be the perfect place. Mrs. Badderly HAS been thinking of getting a bird for her office... >:)

(Micky's eyes widen. He once again tries to squirm past her.)

Shelia: *glares* Enough already.

*Shelia concentrates on him. Micky disappears in a black light. A bird cage appears dangling from Shelia's fingers. She looks inside the cage, and finds a multi-color parrot with feathers that have a resemblance to curly fur. Shelia smirks.*

(The bird's brown eyes glare at her. He tries to squawk, but he's still muted.)

Shelia: Did I forget to mention you're a parrot with laryngitis? *smirks again* No matter. Mrs. Badderly will like the silence better than your constant jabbering and general loudness. :P ;)

(Micky flaps his wings and tries to squawk again. He scratches at the cage's door, but to no avail.)

Shelia: Now, since I've gotten what I wanted, you're going to the tea room. I'll see you later, Savage. *makes the cage disappear in a black light; grins* So much for THAT little birdie. ;) :P

*Shelia walks calmly toward the stairs and leaves the small area, acting as though nothing's happened.*

*We cut back to the rest of the group, still on tour of the backstage area. Almost everyone's at least somewhat enthralled...*

(Gary leads them around the rear of the stage, showing them the different ropes that pull the scenery on and offstage. He pulls out a cart of props and shows them the swords, unloaded stage pistols, even the ladies' parasols. He swishes a sword around and enacts some of his duel choreography for the twins' benefit. ;) )

(Emma and Mike and Valerie and Peter wander around, gazing at various objects.)

*Lauren watches disinterested, her arms folded over her chest.* :P :(

*The twins watch Gary's display as intently as possible.* ;)

Emma: (Goes over to Lauren) Laur, where's Micky?

(Gary dances around the twins, swishing the sword around. Davy grabs another sword, and they recreate the final dueling scene between Captain Powers and the Scar for the delighted twins. ;) )

Lauren: *frowns* I don't know. He made a comment about wanting to find the boat mechanisms. Next thing I knew, he was gone.

Emma: I hope he didn't get lost in this big theater. :p

Lauren: Em, I've got a REALLY bad feeling. WORSE than just him getting lost. :( :P

Emma: (Frowns, worried) Oh, man. You don't mean... :(

Lauren: I wish I didn't. :(

(Emma looks at the twins, who are happily watching Davy and Gary jump around each other.)

Emma: We've got to find Micky.

(Emma puts her hand on her stomach.)

Lauren: *nods* And fast.

Emma: Oh, man...

(Davy missteps a landing and stumbles as he jumps down from a crate. Daph and Gary run to him.)

Gary: You ok, Davy?

Daphne: (Softer) Dave, you feel it, too?

Davy: (Nods; to Gary) I'm sorry, Gary, but we're gonna 'ave to cut this short. We've got to go. We 'ave...pressin' business.

Peter: (Gulps and puts a hand on his stomach) Yeah.

Mike: We're supposed to be meetin' someone.

Lauren: *puts a hand to her throat; mutters to Emma* My throat is sore, and I've got a craving for crackers.

Emma: (Eyes widen) Oh, God...

Gary: (Shrugs) Well, maybe we could show the kids around again after a matinee. (Elbows Davy) You've got to work on the backstep thrust there, David. We'll see what we can do with that tomorrow.

Davy: I'll be there, Gary. ;)

Mike: Thanks for the tour, but we've really gotta go.

Gary: You're welcome. The kids are really cute. ;)

Lauren: *forces a smile* Thanks. :)

(Emma sweeps Shelly into her arms; Mike takes Little Mick's hand. They both bring the pair over to their mother as they head to the auditorium.)

Davy: She's 'ere.

Valerie: (Gulps and nods) I guess we've all felt it.

Peter: Where's Micky?

Lauren: *nods* Missing.

Mike: He's probably rootin' around under the stage.

Lauren: *shakes her head* She's got him. I can feel it. My throat's sore, so he's been muted. *makes a face* Then there's the craving for crackers. :-/ /:)

Peter: Craving for crackers?

Lauren: *shrugs* I have no idea.

Davy: (Clenches his fists) If that b...(looks at the kids)...witch did anythin' to Mick...

Daphne: We'll BOTH take her on! X(

Lauren: *narrows her eyes* And me. X-(

Mike: We've gotta find him.

Emma: This is a big theater. He could be anywhere!

Davy: No, 'e couldn't. (Turns to Lauren with a grin) Lauren, if you were mechanically-minded, where would you go in a theatah? ;)

Lauren: Well, he mentioned wanting to look at the boat mechanisms. We could start there.

Mike: (Picks up Little Mick) Right. (Turns to the little boy) We're gonna find your Daddy, little cowboy, so your Mommy can give him a good chewin' out for wanderin' off. ;)

*Little Micky grins slightly.* ;)

Emma: (Picks up Shelly) Daddy'll be ok, Shel, don't worry. :)

*Shelly just chews on a finger.* :(

Lauren: I've gotta find her something better than her finger to chew on. :P ;)

(The entire group makes their way downstairs. Dave, Daphne, and Lauren try to push their way in, but they finally figure out all three of them aren't going to fit through the door. In the end, only Lauren and Daphne make it in.)

Daphne: I wish I knew of a way to tell if he was here or not.

Lauren: I'd think I'd feel better than I do if he was. *frowns*

Daphne: (Indicates the room - the pencils and pens are scattered around and the chair is tipped over) SOMETHING happened in here!

Davy: Wot's goin' on? Did you find him?

Mike: Inquirin' minds wanna know! ;)

Lauren: Oh, man...

Daphne: (Shakes her head) No, we haven't found him.

Lauren: But he WAS here...wait a minute... *squints and looks around the tipped over chair*

Daphne: Did you find something?

Peter: Is he ok?

(The others try to crowd in the doorway.)

Lauren: *picks up a small, round object; holds it up and catches a bit of light on it* One of his rings. This one's always falling off. *frowns* He said he was gonna put it on a chain. :P

Daphne: I guess he never got around to it. (Frowns; quietly) Lauren, did your chest burn earlier?

Lauren: *nods* She must've found him rooting around down here...and... *gulps, nods again* I felt a burning. I was hoping it was heartburn. *small half grin* :P

Daphne: Oh, god. She got him and read his soul. :p :o :(

Lauren: *quietly* Dammit. :( :P

Emma: Did you find something?

Davy: What's goin' on?

Lauren: Yes and no. Come on, Daph. May as well let the masses know. :P

Mike: Us cowboys are gettin' restless. ;)

(Daphne and Lauren push through the others and heard them back up to the main auditorium.)

Davy: Well, wot 'appened? Where's Mick?

Lauren: Shelia's got him. Where, I don't know.

Emma: Oh, god... :o

Lauren: *holds up the ring* I found this.

Valerie: That's one of Micky's rings.

Peter: Oh, no! I hope she hasn't hurt him! :(

(Mike growls and lets loose with several nasty Spanish phrases.)

Lauren: *sighs; sarcastic* Other than reading his soul and muting him, I'm sure he's fine. :P

Emma: (Glares at him) Mike, watch your language around the twins! :p

Davy: The mutin's gonna drive him crazy. She musta muddled 'im, too. :p

Lauren: It's the only way she'd be able to do anything to him. :P

Mike: Darn that b...(looks at Little Mick and sighs) witch! :p

Emma: (Softly) What should we tell the kids? :(

*The twins look on curiously.*

Lauren: We'll make up something. They may understand a lot of things already, but this is too much for them now. :P

Davy: Lauren, can you feel him?

Lauren: *pauses* Yes...*shakes her head* but I don't think he's here. The feeling isn't as strong.

Davy: Where would she take 'im? She ain't got the Huntah Royale Theatah to 'ide in anymore. :p

Lauren: She could've hid him anywhere.

Daphne: The Tea Room. That's where Shelia's working now.

Mike: We ain't got proof.

Daphne: (Grins) We will. ;) :D

Lauren: Daph can snoop around. ;)

Davy: (Eyes widen) Daphne....

Daphne: Davy, I'm the only one who can! They'll get majorly suspicious if we all show up there snooping!

Davy: I still don't like it, luv. If Shelia catches wind...

Daphne: How about I keep my communicator with me and call someone whenever I get some information?

Lauren: Please, Dave? :(

Davy: (Sighs) We don't seem to 'ave a choice in the mattah now. All right, Daph, but you'll 'ave to report to one of us every couple of hours and aftah you're done for the day. Make sure Shelia don't catch you with the communicatah. That'll give you away for sure.

Daphne: I'll take all the James Bond books out of the library. ;)

Emma: (Puts her hand on Lauren's shoulder) Lauren, do you and the twins want to stay at the Pad with us for a few days?

Lauren: *nods* Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks. :)

Mike: We'd love to have you guys. (Turns to Little Micky; mock-serious) Well, little cowboy, seems you’re the man of the house for the moment. Would you, your mother, and your sister like to spend a few days with Uncle Mike and Aunt Emma? ;)

Little Mick: *beams* Yeah! :D

*Shelly, still chewing her finger, nods.*

Emma: (Pulls Shelly's finger away gently) We'll make you chocolate chip cake. It's Nana Jackman's recipie. She got it from a restaurant in New Jersey she used to work at. :) ;)

Shelly: Choc-chip! :)

Emma: It's the best cake in the world, and it's a bundt cake, so there's lots of it. :)

Mike: I've been wantin' to have that again. ;)

Lauren: I could use some chocolate about now. :)

Daphne: (Looks at her watch) I have to be at the tea room in about an hour.

Davy: Do you want to go out to dinnah aftah you get off work and clean up a bit?

Daphne: Sure. Something simple. I'll probably be tired. :) I)

Davy: You can tell me everythin' you've learned. ;)

Daphne: (Nods) And you can tell everyone when you get back to the Pad.

Peter: We're at the Montgomery House, too, if you need us.

Mike: Good thing we had the last Club Fairview gig last night. :p

Valerie: I've got meetings in the city, but Peter should be around.

Mike: Ok, gang. Let's go home and figure out how to help these kids' Dad. (Bounces Little Micky)

*Little Mick laughs.*

Lauren: And what to tell them. :P

Mike: (Looks into Little Micky's wide eyes) Um, kids...

Emma: Daddy's going to be going away for a few days.

*The twins exchange looks.*

Mike: Don't worry, he's ok.

(Emma gulps, trying to blink back tears.)

Lauren: He's just...on a little trip. *forces a smile*

Mike: (Mutters) Damn Shelia, hurtin' kids.... X(

Emma: We're gonna take you kids to your house so Mommy can get your toys and other items, then go over to the Pad. :)

(Emma reaches one hand up to wipe away her tears.)

Valerie: Come on, guys. Let's go.

Mike: Yeah, it's gettin' too maudlin in here. (Grins at Little Mick) We've gotta pick up Katie from the Parkers' house, anyway.

Emma: (Nods) Remind me to offer to watch Suzy for Grace sometime to repay the favor. (Turns to Shelly) Shelly, why don't you go with Uncle Peter for a minute? I want to talk to Mommy. (Sets Shelly on the floor)

*Shelly nods and goes over to Peter.*

Peter: (Puts out his hand to Shelly) Yeah, honey! I'll take you for a ride on my shoulders.

*Shelly grins.* :D

(He swings the little girl onto his shoulders with a big grin. :D )

(Emma pulls Lauren in front of the theater near the empty box office as the others head off to the cars.)

Emma: Lauren, what did you feel? Is he ok? (Sighs) More to the point, are YOU ok?

Lauren: *turning the ring over between her fingers* The chest burning. She read his soul. My throat when she muted him. *makes a face* I haven’t figured out the crackers thing yet. *sighs* He's about as okay as he can be. I’m...I don't know what I am. I'm pissed that Shelia got the drop on us again. I'm pissed at him for taking off like that. I'm worried, but I we've gotten out of these jams before. I dunno... *watches the ring being turned over in her fingers*

Emma: We'll find him, honey. Do you know if she took him far?

Lauren: He's still in the city, not too far away. Other than that, I don't know.

Emma: (Puts her hand on Lauren's shoulder) Honey, if there's anything Mike or I can do for you and the twins...

Lauren: Just letting us stay at the pad is enough. *small smirk* Just keep me occupied so I don't have enough time to think about this. I don't want to realize just how mad I am. ;)

Emma: You've got it. Any requests? ;)

Lauren: The twins love a good game of hide and seek. *grins* For that matter, so do I. ;)

Emma: (Grins) And there's certainly enough places to hide in the Pad. Ok, we'll play hide-and-seek when we get home. It'll amuse Katie, too. I think she likes watching the twins run around. ;)

Lauren: She exercises vicariously through them. ;)

Emma: No, I think she thinks they're the funniest damn things on Earth. ;)

Lauren: That, too. ;)

Emma: Come on, honey. Let's go home and figure out how to help your hubby, and maybe shake some sense into Davy and Mike, too. They've been trying to avoid each other for the past few weeks. They were ok after the radio show, but once Davy started talking about the dress rehearsals, they lost their tempers again. Scared the hell out of Katie, and I wasn't thrilled with them, either. :p

Lauren: I can imagine. I can also understand both sides of thinking. As long as we can keep them from killing each other, I think we'll be okay. ;)

Emma: We've got to talk to Davy. He needs to figure out what he wants to do, perform in the show...or with the guys. :p

Lauren: He ain't gonna like it, but he does have to choose. :P

Emma: It wasn't so bad when the show was first starting, but now....(sighs) Lauren, we could lose him.

Lauren: *nods* I know. :(

Emma: It's scaring Mike to death. Davy's like the little brother he never had, and he's worked so hard to make the band what it is.

Lauren: We just have to make sure that Dave knows how much we'd miss him if he did leave and show him what he means to all of us.

Emma: (Nods)Right.

Mike: (Comes back out to the girls) Hey, are you ladies coming? The twins are askin' for choc-chip cake. ;)

Emma: I just had to talk to Lauren for a few minutes, honey. We'll be there. :)

Mike: (Nods) How you feelin', anyway, Laur?

Lauren: *shrugs* I could be better. :P

Mike: You'll be better once we get your things and take you back to the Pad. :)

Lauren: *small smile* Yeah. :)

Emma: (Puts her arm around Lauren) Come on, honey. Let's go have chocolate chip cake, before the twins drive Aunt Valerie and Uncle Peter crazy. ;)

Lauren: We'd better hurry, then. ;)

Mike: And get little Dolenz footprints all over the back of the Monkeemobile. ;) :p

Lauren: As opposed to the big footprints, right? ;)

Mike: I've told Mick to stop puttin' his feet on the white upholstry. :p

Lauren: Since when did he ever listen? Got a lotta footprints in my car, too. :P ;)

Mike: (Takes the women's arms) I'm the luckiest guy in LA. I have two beautiful women on my arm. ;)

Emma: But only one in your heart. ;)

Mike: Of course. ;) (Leads the girls around to the parking lot; fade out on the front of the theater)