A/N: Sorry it's taken so long (not like anyone has read it besides Val) Mucho gracias, Vallie! I am not sure what people wear to Broadway plays, so I'm just going to guess.

Erik groaned as he heard an engine rev and tires squeal as they came around the corner and a yellow sports car jerked to a stop at the front of the hotel stairway where he was waiting.

Loud music was pulsating from the car, and the window rolled down and Mara leaned out to grin at him. He rolled his eyes to the sky. She was dressed in a red tank top and faded, ripped jeans, and from what he could guess, sneakers were tapping impatiently on the gas pedal, causing it to make a vroom-ing sound several times. Quite a contrast to his suit.

"Get in!" she shouted over the music. "You are not wearing that!" he berated her as he got into the car and clapped his hands over his ears to try and maintain his hearing.

"Why not?" Mara shouted back. "Because it is a Broadway play," Erik screamed at the top of his lungs just as Mara turned off the radio. His words travelled miles, throughout the car and out of it, causing several bystanders to hush and stare at the car.

Mara stifled her laughter, and Erik gritted his teeth. "You did that on purpose, did you not?" he asked her. "I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about!" Mara choked on her laughter and for a few moments struggled to keep herself calm. She then looked at him, a wicked grin on her face. "Ready to pick up Val?"

Before Erik could answer, she swung the car into gear and the tires squealed as she swung out onto the highway. Erik clung onto his locked door in terror as Mara whooped in delight and hit 95 mph, zooming along a back road, effectively avoiding traffic.

"Could you slow down, please?" Erik screamed at her. Mara looked at him incredulously. "Go faster?" she called back. "Okay!" "NO!" Erik screamed, but Mara's foot increased its pressure on the gas pedal, and they hit 110 mph.

Moments later, they squealed to a stop in front of Valerie's house. Erik was frozen in his seat, his hand clutching the door handle in a white knuckled grip, his eyes wide and his face quivering.

Val came out of the house dressed in a long black evening dress that bared one of her shoulders. She was wearing elegant black heels, and her red hair was up in a bun, with slight wisps falling around her face. When she opened the door she gasped at the sight of a petrified Erik and a street-rat-looking Mara. "Oh, Mara!" she gasped as she got in. "What...I mean..."

"Hi, Val," she said cheerfully. "What do you think?" "Of what?" Valerie asked incredulously, easing into the seat beside Erik, and yanking his hand off the door handle, but it remained in a claw-like grip. "I think he's shocking!" Valerie said, waving a hand in front of Erik's face. He didn't respond.

"Nah," Mara said, easing into traffic at a decent speed. "If he was shocking, I'd know." Valerie looked back and forth at the two, trying to decipher what had happened.

She gave up and moved on to her next subject. "Mara, why are you wearing that outfit?" she asked. "Well, why shouldn't I?" Mara asked, glancing down at her outfit in genuine confusion.

"Because it is a Broadway play!" Valerie protested. "So?" Mara asked, turning onto a rock station where Gwen Stefani was playing. Valerie looked at the paralyzed Erik and said, "Erik, if you can hear me, get up and help me get Mara out of the driving seat and to my house before the play starts."

The idea of Mara out of the driver's seat was apparently strong enough to wrest Erik from his paralysis. He twitched violently one last time, and lunged at Mara with a fierce shout. Mara screamed and the car swerved to a stop. The sports convertible rocked a few times and muffled shouts and screams could be heard.

A few moments later, the car started up again, this time with Valerie at the wheel. Mara was sitting in the back, her hands tied together with some rope that Erik had found in the glove compartment.

"Oh, come on!" Mara complained loudly, twisting her wrists and wincing as they were burned by the ropes. "I'm innocent! You can't just kidnap me! And don't wreck my car!"

"Valerie will not drive 110 mph," Erik said, glaring at her. She glared right back, despite the fact that they both had the advantage.

"We are not kidnapping you," Val said in her lawyer-calm manner. "We are taking you back to my house to get you into a suitable outfit. Got it?" "I do not want to wear a dress!" Mara said. "I haven't worn a dress in over ten years, and I do not plan to break that record tonight!"

"Wanna bet?"

Mara growled. "We only have about an hour," Val said worriedly. "Think we can make it?" "No problem," Erik said. "We'll find her a dress," he said, emphasizing 'dress', "and we'll be there before the first act is finished." Mara rolled her eyes to the sky in desperation. "You aren't going to dress me, are you?" she asked, the question pointed at Erik.

He recoiled, his face turning a deep red, as did Mara's. "NO!" he cried. "Well, what am I supposed to expect from a stupid senator who knows everything about me besides my shoe size?" she cried in protest. "6 and a half," Erik answered promptly as Val said, "Grow up, Mara. I don't think you ever got out of puberty."

"Nope!" Mara said with an ounce of cheerfulness. "I'm just an over-grown teenager without any zits and a dirty mind."

"That's apparent," Erik said dryly.

They arrived at Val's house a few moments later, and they wrestled Mara out of the car as she clutched onto the door and screamed that she didn't want to go. Curious neighbors peeked out of their windows as Valerie waved in embarrassment, and wrenched Mara's hair, an effective technique.

Mara yelped and scurried into the house to avoid her hair being pulled from her scalp.

...............................A HALF HOUR LATER........................

"Could you hurry up?" Erik yelled through the thick wooden door. "We are!" Valerie answered, grunting. "Mara isn't cooperating!" There was an oof and Erik winced as he anticipated Valerie's bruise.

Then, there was the sound of a body hitting the floor, and Mara said, "Okay, okay! Please do not throw me again!" "Get in here," Valerie ordered. There were some more scuffles and scrapes and oofs, but a few moments later, Valerie opened the door, looking calm and collected, brushing her hair from her face.

"Come on, Mara!" she called. "No!" came Mara's muffled voice. "I don't want to go out in public looking like a...a..." "A civilized human being?" Valerie finished. "No!" Mara retorted. "Civilized human beings wear casual clothes." "No, apes wear the clothes you wear," Val said. "Or at least, they're fit for apes."

Finally, persuaded by the fact that they were going to miss the play, Mara stepped reluctantly out of the room. "Wow," Erik said. "You do good work," he said to Valerie. "I know," Val said, smiling proudly at her creation.

Mara was dressed in a silky, strapless green dress that came down to about her knees and was wearing green slipper-like shoes, kind of like moccasins. Her hair was falling around her shoulders as Valerie had finally given up in putting the stubborn hair into a scrunchie or bun. In short, she looked like a civilized human being instead of the ape that she usually looked like.

"Wow," Erik said again. Mara pouted. "Are people going to hit on me?" she asked Valerie in a whiny voice. "Um...no?" Valerie offered, despite the fact that she really wasn't sure. "If you act elegant, they won't anyway," she lied, wondering if Mara would buy it. "Fine," Mara muttered. "I'll try and be graceful this ONE time. But don't expect me to look like a duchess every day."

She stalked out of the room in a fury to her car, where she revved the engine. Valerie and Erik looked at each other in dread. No matter how fancy she looked, she was still the same old Mara.

Valerie vaguely wondered what would happen if someone hit on her. She had a feeling she didn't want to find out.