(We open with a shot of the large shed on the edge of the Montgomery House grounds. It's a big house-like building, with shutters and flower boxes. The MonkeeMobile drives along a wide path to the shed.)
Mike: Ok, everyone out. (As he climbs out) Pete, thanks for lettin' us use your shed for storin' this stuff until we can get it sorted out.
Peter: You're welcome. Our shed is twice the size of anyone else's garage, and there's plenty of room. We keep Rosemarie and our other vehicles in another shed further down the path.
Mike: (Puts a hand on Micky's shoulder) Hey man, you feelin' ok now?
Micky: *shrugs; still has the blanket wrapped around him* I'm getting there.
Peter: (Gently) Micky, maybe you can explain why you were so upset back there. It's not like you to get that freaked out.
Davy: Yeah, mate. Aftah all, you've been the one to START some pretty freaky tricks.
Micky: It's more than an overactive imagination, I know that much. Remember when we...ah... *sighs* found out about how I have a way of manipulating reality and fantasy?
Peter: Yeah...
Davy: Oh, that.
Mike: Yes, that. Is that what you were doin'?
Micky: I didn't do it on purpose! It just happened.
Mike: We need to work on you controllin' that, too.
Peter: (Gives Micky a small hug) So you don't scare yourself silly like that.
Micky: *small smile* Thanks guys. I just don't understand why it hasn't happened before, since we've been through some pretty hairy situations.
Davy: I don't think I'd say it 'asn't 'appened before, mate. There was that time when you went completely unresponsive.
Micky: Oh yeah. *shrugs* I don't remember much about that one.
Mike: That was the time Alex corrupted Lauren, and she went after Daph and Em.
Micky: Yeah, that's why.
Mike: Micky, I don't think any of us WANT to remember much about that time.
Davy: Definitely not.
Mike: Let's face it. That whole incident wasn't exactly one of our better go-arounds with the devils.
Micky: No, it wasn't.
Peter: Michael, it wasn't entirely our faults. We didn't know Alex had survived his fight with Micky until he showed up at his house.
starwenn (9:01:48 PM): Mike: I'm surprised Micky didn't feel it. Can't you feel Alex?
Micky: I...I thought there was no way he'd survived! I could still feel him, even after the fight, but I thought I was just imagining it. Then I lost it when he came back because if I'd said something we might've been better prepared.
Peter: (Squeezes Micky a little) Don't beat yourself up about it, Mick. Alex probably would have attacked us anyway, no matter how prepared we were.
Mike: Come to think of it, a lot of things that happened around that time were never really explained.
Peter: (Nods) Like why they didn't try for Valerie and me earlier than they did. Sheila loves to pick on pregnant women.
Mike: And where WAS Alex all that time, other than puttin' the moves on thirty women? He left Sheila in jail that long?
Micky: Jackass was probably plotting the whole time.
Mike: How did he get the Arizona Complex up so fast, anyway? Imagined it up?
Peter: That's probably what he was doing all that time.
Micky: That's what I would've done.
Peter: I know what will make you feel better, Mick. Why don't we go through all these boxes and things we picked up from the house?
Micky: *nods* Yeah, please.
Mike: We need to figure out what we can sell and what we want to keep. (He pulls out the mandolin) Well, I know what I'm keepin'. I love this thing.
Peter: (Pulls out a box) There's some really great sheet music here. I've never heard of some of these classical and chamber pieces.
Davy: And I'm keeping that tea set!
Mike: How 'bout you, Mick?
Micky: Truthfully, I didn't really pay attention to what we actually grabbed, but there might be something I'd like in there.
Peter: Go through it, then. (He puts the box aside as Mike strums his mandolin)
Mike: Hey, maybe we could use some of this stuff in the play next month. It looks sorta old enough.
Davy: That's not a bad idea, mate.
Peter: And it'll be cheaper than renting a lot of props.
*Micky looks through the boxes and pulls out the silverware set Davy found.*
Mike: (Strumming his mandolin) Found anythin' yet, Mick?
Micky: *brings the set over to the others* Yeah, the silverware set. It's similar to the one Mom has.
Peter: (Sets a box down and takes a look at it) Hey, you're right.
Davy: I thought it looked familiah when I first saw it. Must've been why I took a liking to it.
Mike: (Pulls out the large red quilt) I think I'll keep this, too. Em will love it. (Grins) I can't wait to get under this thing with her.
Peter: Some of the linen will be nice for a Christmas present for Valerie. I saw a really pretty baby's blanket in there somewhere...
Mike: We can sell most of the books. I saw a couple I may keep, but most of them were borin' old tombs on medical stuff and old novels.
Micky: I might keep a couple of the novels.
Peter: I saw some books on religion I liked, but I'm with Michael. I know several rare book dealers in LA who'd love to have those.
Davy: If for just the leathah bindings on some of them alone!
Peter: (Picks up a large, deep red book) This one has a real leather binding. You don't see books made like this today!
Micky: Wow! That's for sure!
Mike: (As he hauls a stack of boxes into the shed) You know, I wonder how those ghosts got in that house in the first place. I think I heard it belonged to a doctor and his family until the last of the family decided the house was too fancy and abandoned it.
Davy: Really? I'm wondahring the same thing, then.
Peter: I guess they just found a house that no one else was living in and moved in. Emerald told me that's how she ended up living in the Montgomery House.
Micky: Makes sense.
Peter: Poor little Emerald has no idea what or who she was before she...went. Maybe it's just as well. She's the happiest ghost I've ever seen. Jordan's still a little wary around her, but I think he'll get used to her eventually.
Mike: I'm glad we found her. I kinda like that kid. She's no worse than the livin' kids, anyway.
Peter: (Looks at Micky) Val and Lauren told me you guys had the twins over here a few days ago and they ran into her.
Micky: *nods* Yeah, the twins loved her!
Mike: And Katie's dyin' to meet "the green Casper."
Peter: Valerie said she'd get her that green scarf for Christmas. She really, really wants it. (He drops the box on the shed's concrete floor) Whew, that was a heavy one!
Micky: What's in there?
Peter: I don't know. Who packed this one?
Micky: Let’s see... *He opens the box. His eyes widen and he looks up* Pete, I thought you said the chandelier fell? *Motions to the box. Sure enough, there's the chandelier, still intact.*
Peter: (Eyes widen) It DID fall!
Mike: (Joins them) Ho-ly SHIT!
Davy: Then 'ow...
Micky: I don't believe it!
Mike: I don't remember packin' anythin' that heavy.
Davy: I didn't do it.
Peter: It fell! I know it did! I saw it!
Mike: Then how did it end up in that box in one piece?
Micky: I wonder if the ghosts did it?
Mike: After what they put you and us through?
Davy: Trying to make it up to us?
Peter: They must have changed their minds and decided they felt bad about scaring Micky.
Mike: (Runs his finger across one crystal) Man, this thing is gorgeous! Look at it! It's not even dusty!
Peter: You know...I'll bet we could get a lot of money for this.
Mike: A cool $5,000 at least, or a lot more.
Peter: Think of what it would mean to our business!
Mike: And our finances in general.
Davy: Amazing, mates.
Mike: Maybe those ghosts weren't such bad suckers after all.
Peter: At least they realized what they did was wrong.
Mike: I wonder if we could still get away with havin' that auction. Some of that furniture was pretty groovy.
Peter: I'd love to have that piano in the ballroom. (Smiles) We'll say the auction money is for charity, maybe saving the whales or the Starlight Orphans' Home.
Davy: 'Ow about the Orphans?
Peter: (Nods) I like that. We're using some of their kids for crowd scenes in the play, and they're a great audience.
Mike: Yeah, I like playin' for them on occasion too.
Peter: Unless anyone wants anything else, we'll sell the rest of this. The linens should bring in a lot of money from collectors, too.
Mike: And those pipes. We got a lot of money for the antique pipes we found in Texas.
Peter: I don't know about those ink bottles, but the other glass bottles should bring in quite a bit. Antique bottles are really popular nowadays.
Micky: I might be able to use the ink bottles.
Mike: I ain't gonna ask what for.
Micky: Don't, because I'm not positive on for what yet.
Peter: We'll leave the chandelier here for now. I don't think I could move it again, anyway. Let's go relax in the kitchen. No one else is home right now. Val's at work and Emma and Lauren have Jordan with the other kids.
Mike: We ought to bring anything that's gonna get dirty or moldy inside.
Peter: (Nods) Definately the linens, and the better books, too.
Davy: Right.
Peter: We'll just leave them in the guest room until we figure out what to do with them and who's keeping what.
Mike: The stuff the rest of us are takin' should be fine in the car.
Micky: Yeah.
(Cut to the yellow kitchen of the Montgomery House. Peter leads the guys in the house.)
Peter: Who wants home-brewed iced tea? Sophie made it for us the last time she was here.
Mike: Got any coffee?
Micky: I'll take the iced tea!
Davy: I'll 'ave the tea as well.
starwenn (10:53:56 PM): Peter: (He pulls an earthenware jug out of the refrigerator and pours three glasses) This is ours. (He goes to the coffee pot and shakes his head) There's some left, but I'm going to have to heat it. It's been sitting around for who knows how long?
Mike: I'll take it chilled and black, please.
Peter: Uh, yeah. (He brings the four glasses over to the guys)
Mike: (Lifts his glass) To our generally successful salvaging adventure. Let's hope we run into fewer ghosts when we do this stuff in the future.
Peter: Agreed.
Micky: No kidding.
Davy: 'Opefully.
Mike: (After all four drain their glasses) We should do stuff like this together more often.
Peter: (Nods) It'll help bond us again.
Mike: Not only did we find great stuff (small smile) we helped each other.
Peter: And that's what's important.
Davy: Absolutely, mates.
Mike: Maybe we can help each other figure a few other things out. The devils ain't out of the runnin'. All we did was destroy Alex's latest machine, and he can always build another one.
Micky: Yeah.
Peter: They're seriously getting dysfunctional over there, though. Alex and Zelda really are fed up with Sheila's interrupting their "together" time and bossing them around. They have some getting together of their own to do...and considering how stubborn the lot of them are, that'll take even longer for them than for us.
Mike: And we're comin' up on Christmas soon. We all know they HATE Christmas.
Micky: So we won't be seeing them anytime in the near future.
Peter: (Nods) I think that's at least a fairly safe assumption.
Mike: Yeah. We should have at least the remaining months of this year to worry about our shaky finances, our group problems, and trying to whip the Beach Cave and the Guardians back into shape.
Peter: I think we're making some good headway in the last one. I did call about seeing a therapist. I go in for evaluation next week.
Mike: Em's tryin' to get me to see one, too.
Peter: We do need to work on our sparring more, especially since we won't have much time to do so during the holidays.
Mike: Oh yeah, and as far as I know, Em and I are stayin' here for the holidays this year. We don't really have the money to be runnin' all over the place.
Peter: We may visit Val's grandparents in northern California during Christmas week, but we'll be here for the holidays themselves and for New Year's.
Micky: Yeah, Lauren and I decided we'd hang around here, too. I did give her the green light to call her parents, but NOT every night.
Davy: *chuckles* Daph and I are staying 'ere, too.
Peter: Good. That means we can do a lot of things together this Christmas.
Mike: Somethin' besides savin' the world or a prince's toy factories.
Micky: Something normal for a change?
Mike: Or at least as normal as we ever get.
Davy: Monkees-normal.
Peter: I like the idea of us decorating the Montgomery House together. Valerie hires a decorator to do the ballroom because she uses it for company functions, but we can do the rest of the house.
Mike: We can take the kids on a lot of outin's, too. I know Em's been after me to spend more time with Katie and especially Robbie.
Peter: I've missed so much time with Jordan...
Mike: And of course, we've gotta spend some time with our ladies.
Micky: Of course.
Peter: If I can get Val to stay home from work.
Mike: Who's gonna have the New Year's Party this year?
Micky: We could hold it.
Mike: Didn't you guys do it last year?
Peter: But they have enough room for parties.
Micky: Yeah!
Davy: I don't wanna clean up aftah. Mick can 'old it.
Mike: If we're tired enough, maybe we can even do a round-robin, like we did last year.
Davy: Sure.
Mike: (Looks at his watch) I'd better get goin'. Em has an interview for a local magazine this afternoon and I told her I'd take Katie and Robbie while she was in Bakersfield.
Peter: And I need to pick up Jordan.
Davy: I promised Daph I'd take 'er out to eat tonight.
Micky: I just wanna see Lauren.
Mike: I'll take you two home. (Smiles at Peter) Thanks for havin' us in here.
Peter: No problem. I'm just glad we're all alive after what happened in the house and we have a lot of great stuff!
Micky: Thanks for everything.
Davy: I'm with Petah.
Mike: I'll see you in a little while, Pete. Have a nice night.
Peter: You too! (He smiles and leans back with his glass of tea as the guys finish their drinks and leave and we fade out on the kitchen and the blonde man in it.)