(A/N: I see a little sillouetto of a man, skatamoosh! Skatamoosh! Will you do the fandango? Thunderbolted lightning, very very frightening me! Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo Figaro. Magnificooo...

If y'all don't know Queen then the last part made no sense. Okay, now for your Friday Morning Feature, an update!)

Mort barely slept that night, his mind wandering to scary thoughts of what his subconcious self had been planning to do to Marissa. First Chico, then Tom Greenleaf, then his NYPD body guard, then Ted Milner (who had it coming), and finally, Amy (who also had it coming). Would Shooter really go as far as to murder Marissa? She was just a child for God's sake!

He stood up, unlocking his jaw, and walked over out of his bedroom and down the landing to Marissa's door. He had to check on her, just to make sure she was alright. To make sure Shooter hadn't hurt her. As he slowly opened the door, a beam of light shone through the crack and widened as he opened the door further. At last he saw Marissa's sleeping face, completely peaceful and carefree. Tucked in with her were her two barbies. Mort smiled a little and slowly closed the door so he wouldn't wake her.

"She's alright," he said to himself.

But for how much longer?

"I don't know," he answered in dismay. He turned and went down the stairs and laid on the sofa, and ever so gradually he fell asleep.

----

"Mort!" shouted Marissa's voice from above, and he jerked awake. She sounded frantic, afraid or worried about something. Mort shot up the stairs and burst through her door.

"What's wrong?" he asked. But Marissa was smiling and pointed to her bed.

"I made the bed all by myself." He looked over and sure enough, she had, as well as could be of a six year old at least. Sighing, and realizing he had worried for nothing, he forced a smile.

"Wow," he said, kneeling down. "That's really cool, munchkin."

"Are you proud of me?" she asked, looking cute.

"I am proud of you," he said, snickering a little. "You want to go out for pancakes?"

"Yeah!" she said eagerly.

"Well get dressed and we'll go."

"Um, Mort? Could you brush my hair for me?"

"Sure," he said. "Just come and get me when you're dressed." He left and climbed down the stairs, into the living room. He had brushed Marissa's hair for her everyday she'd been there, which took a bit of adjustment. Mort had never brushed a little girl's hair for her before, and never had to put it in a ponytail or braids. Instead, he just brushed it out and let it hang down freely.

Marissa came down in a pair of pink overalls with 'Hello Kitty' on them, and a purple T-shirt underneath. He brushed her hair out, and then loaded her up in the car, and drove down to Ihops.

They had barely stepped through the door when Marissa suddenly broke into a smile and ran up to a familiar face. "Miss Julie!" she squealed, and Juliet, who had been asking for a table for one, turned wih surprise and smiled when Marissa came over, arms wide open, ready for a hug.

"Hey, Marissa," she said, giving her a hug. She looked up and saw Mort hanging up his coat. "Hi Mort," she said, waving.

"Hullo," he said, smiling.

"Are you three together then?" asked the waiter. Mort and Juliet shrugged.

"I guess so, sure," said Mort. Juliet smiled and nodded. The waiter took them to a booth, and Marissa sat next to Mort while Juliet sat across from them.

"So what brings you here?" asked Mort.

"I'm going to visit my cousin after this. He lives a few miles from here, and I haven't had a decent meal in ages. Only making minimum wage, which isn't much." Mort smiled.

"I remember what that was like," he said with a smile. "Before I took up writing."

"Really? What did you used to do?"

"I worked at a Pizza Hut, making pizza." He snickered and she smirked.

"I never really pictured you doing anything other than writing."

"Trust me, even the great ones have poor starts."

"Barbie has a good job," said Marissa with a smile. "She's a flight attendant."

"Really?" asked Juliet with a smile. "Does she make a lot of money?"

"Yup, and she's going to have her own house soon. That is, if Santa gives her one."

"Have you been a good girl?"

"Yeah. Real good."

Mort snickered and looked back at his menue. "Marissa, do you know what you want?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I want pancakes," she said, nodding.

"What kind? You've got a few options here..." he read them off, but her eyes lightened up when he read off a particular one.

"Chocolate chip!" she said, nodding eagerly. Mort shrugged.

"Okay," he said.

"I'm going to go use the bathroom," she said, sliding out of the booth.

"Do you know where it is?" he asked. She nodded and scuttled off to the bathroom. Mort looked over at Juliet and snickered, shaking his head. "Chocolate chip," he chuckled. "Figures, she's attracted to the most sugar packd item on the menue." Juliet giggled and nodded.

"I used to love those when I was little. My mom made them for me from scratch."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She made them turtle shaped."

"Turtle shaped?" She laughed and nodded.

"She would make a big circle for the shell, pour four small ones on the sides for legs, a head, and a tail. Then she put chocolate chips on the head for eyes."

"And I thought I was strange," said Mort, knowing that in secret, she would never be able to top him.

"Hey, I love my turtle pancakes. I still make them like that."

"Well I'm never eating breakfast at your house." Her mouth widened and she started laughing. "That sounded pretty wrong, didn't it?"

"Just a little," she giggled. "Oh, I just remembered. My neice, Elisa, is coming over on Friday to spend the night. Would Marissa like to come over?"

"I'll have to clear it with her agent, but I think we can pencil you in," he said in a cheesey tone, glancing at the back of his fingernails.

"Well cool. Give me a call then by tomarrow then." She pulled out a napkin and wrote down her number. He remembered when he had first asked out Amy and she gave him her phone number on a napkin. Juliet handed it to him, and her stowed it in his jacket pocket.

Marissa came back a few minutes later and Mort smirked at her. "What happened? You fall in?"

"No," she laughed.

"Hey Marissa," said Juliet. "Do you still want to come over to my house?"

"Uh-huh!" she said eagerly.

"You don't want to do that," teased Mort. "There'll be all those dolls and girly things! You don't like that do you?"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do!" she laughed and he smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He smiled.

"Okay." She smiled and Juliet beamed at him. This was a side of Mort she had not seen, nor did she expect to see... ever. Perhaps Marissa was a better influence on him than he was on her?

When they finished eating Mort was amused with the fact that Marissa had managed to get syrup all over her face, in her hair, on her shirt... "Next time we'll bring you a bib," he teased. "Why don't you go in the bathroom and try to wash off your face." She climbed off the booth, and Mort looked at the check.

"How much do I owe?" asked Juliet.

"You know what, don't worry about it. It's on me," he said with a grin.

"No, seriously. I'll pay for me."

"On minimum wage?" he asked. "I'll pay for you. You can return the favor when we go out for dinner." She raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she asked. He gave her a funny smile, and she chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh no," she laughed. "You seriously think I'll go out with you?"

"It's not really a date," he said, shaking his head. "More like two friends hanging out." Juliet laughed and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Oh, you're a wiley one," she muttered. She looked up "Okay. Fine. As long as you don't mind dining cheap."

"Ma'am, I sleep on my sofa, I spent six months living with a dog and living of Doritoes and Mt. Dew. Do you think I care?" He laughed a little and she shrugged.

"Okay. Call me when you've got a babysitter."

"I'll do that."

Marissa came back, but didn't look much better. Mort sighed. "Guess you're getting a bath when we get home," he said, grinning. "Ready to go, munchkin?"

"Yup." They all stood up and Mort paid at the counter. Mort promised to call incase anything came up, and then left with Marissa to go home. When he pulled into the driveway, he looked in the rearveiw mirror to see Marissa had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful and content. If you looked at her, you wouldn't have believed she had thrown a monster of a tantrum the day before. He climed out of the car, and then carefully pulled her out, carrying her, and kicked her door shut behind hm.

Deciding the sticky mess could wait, he laid her down on the sofa, and let her sleep, while he went up to his computer to write for a while.

(A/N: I am writing this and I am really sick at the moment, so if the chapter stunk, I wasn't really focused. In fact, I feel like I'm going to collapse, so I'll leave y'all to it.)