Kitchen:
Niles is pouring milk for the kids who are sitting at the table.
"I had another nightmare. One with you know, Fran..." Brighton was continuing.
"Oh,"
"It was the one that she actually gets married. ah...I can't take it." he gets up walks over the counter. "What is wrong with me? Why can't I get her out of my mind? She's not coming back to see us ever again." He sakes his head, "Why was I expecting her too?" He sighed. A one tear went down his face. "She was just playing with us when she said that she would stay." He blinks back more tears. "I know that when she started I didn't like her," A smile crept across his face when a memory of the time that he covered for her by not telling where he for the idea of smoken. "I got attached then she just abandoned us just like..." He sighed softly, remember his mother days before she was gone.
"Mother..."
"That's not true." Maggie yelled.
"Yes, it is." He goes to the subzero. And looks inside it.
"Mother didn't abandon us . She just..." Maggie could bring herself to say it.
"Mom," Gracie didn't remember anything about her mother nothing, nothing at all. She began to cry.
"I don't..." She sniffed, Niles walked over to her. He hated to see them like this. What was he going to do?
"It's ok Gracie," he hugs her. "I know. That, was a low time for you guys, I was there. And you got though it. We will have to get though this too." Niles looks up to the ceiling not again. Help me. That was the worst years of our lives, trying to raise kids that needed a mother. Nothing had prepared me for that. But we managed to get though it. But can we do it again? They are older now but still. This is going to be a challenge. Especially for me.
"Niles," Maggie stares over at him. She knew that he was in deep thought. Maggie's mind: This is also affecting him more then we knew. What's going on? I know he once said that Fran was his best friend but...Is there more?
"Yes, Ms. Margaret."
"Um...Niles, if we tell you something you promise not to tell dad." Maggie spoke.
"I...I..." he knows he can't keep a secret from Max. He couldn't even tell Ms. Fine.
"Promise me Niles, well not now anyway."
"Say in about a week you can." Gracie helped her sister out.
Niles had an idea of what the kids wanted to do. He saw it on their faces. They tried this before when their mother died. They wanted to runaway.
"I...I can't make any promises if I don't," he lied he knew what they were going to ask him to do, "know what it is." He smiled, "But I wont tell, if you don't want me too." Maggie went up to Niles and hugged him.
"Thanks so much. We knew we could count on you." Max slowly makes his was down the hall and sits just out of sight on the stairs.
"We want to leave for awhile." Niles made a thinking look.
"Like runaway?"
"Yeah, we can't seem to stay here. Everything reminds us of the people we say..."
"Lost." B finished.
"Right." Maggie looks at B and then back to Niles. "We started to be a real family again and then she just took off and I think that we should too. I can't take this anymore. She dumped us for some fling and we don't want to stay around anymore. Is that a crime?"
"Not in that way. But what about your dad?" Niles walks closer to the staircase in the kitchen.
"What about him?" Brighton question watching every move Niles made.
"Daddy got over mom and he can get over Fran just as easily."
Gracie started sobbing as she got up. "It's like he doesn't care."
"Yeah he has done nothing to stop her. He probably doesn't care about what it's doing to us. That's why we have to runaway. Niles." Maggie continues.
"There's no point in us staying." Bright starts towards the door.
"Look at us we are so...so depressed." Gracie ran up to her sisters' side and clung to her.
Her sobbing got louder. Maggie faces Niles. "I see more years in therapy to get her through this. There, there Gracie." She starts to rub Gracie on the head. "We will take care of each other."
"I'm going to pack we want to leave before he gets up." Niles hears a creak from the top of the stairs and sees what he believes to be a shadow of someone. He thinks that it could possibly be Mr. Sheffield. What possibility, he knows it's him. Who else would it be here unless it was a ghost? Niles smiles and faces the kids. "Where would guys go?"
"Anywhere, just not here." B answered as he followed his sisters out of the kitchen to the living room.
"Well," All of the kids turn to look his direction. "Come down here and I will make you some breakfast before you go. Just you know," he winks. "One more time."
"We will, now remember not a word. You promised us. Don't let us down too."
"I wouldn't dare do that sir, I love you guys." When Max hears the swinging doors swing. He comes down the stairs. "Shhh" he mentions to Niles. Niles nodes. Niles goes to the door to see if they are gone form the area. B has to duck behind the couch as Niles enters the room. Niles walks all the way around the room just to make sure that none of them were hiding out. B crawls on all fours all the way around the couch. Niles doesn't see him hiding there. After not seeing anyone, Niles shrugs, "I guess they all went up stairs to pack." He walks back into the kitchen. When the coast seems to be clear B lefts his head over the top of the couch and goes to the door to listen.
"They've gone back up stairs sir." Niles walks to the stove and gets the teapot. "I know that you were listening to them from the top of the stairs."
"Yeah, I didn't know that they were so..."
"So upset, uh." Max sits down and puts two cups on the table. Max sighs.
"I heard," he sighs again. "They think that Ms Fine abandon them. I know they were upset but not that much. Not to the point that they wanted to runaway again."
"Well sir." Niles pours hot water into the cups. "Do you blame them?"
"I guess not." Niles put in the teabags. Then he sits down. They look at each other. After a few minutes Max continues. "I didn't know how attached they had become."
"They considered her part of this family." Niles looks at Max. "And so did you."
"What have I really done? I don't...They don't deserve this again." He corrected himself. Niles knew that Max was deeply in love with Fran from the beginning he just didn't know it till she was gone. Silence filled the room. Max reaches into his pocket.
"Here's what I want you to do." He hands Niles a wad money.
"For me sir." He grins and chuckles.
"No Niles..."
"Just had to ask sir. You've never given me any money before." Max rolled his eyes.
"Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, I want you to take the kids somewhere. Somewhere out of town."
"Where sir?" Niles has a concern look on his face.
"Anywhere. Just don't tell them that I'm setting them up."
"And you?" Niles looked over at him and saw that he was thinking. Max had a plan but what was it. Was he going to take the advice he was given? Was he actually listening?
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm going to get Fran... I mean... Ms. Fine back. I'm going to stop this wedding. I have to give one last try. I have to know. I can't live with myself if I don't. I have to help my kids. I have to save my family." Niles grinned. Niles' mind: He said 'my family' does that mean she's part of it? Only one can hope. Maybe he does know. Maybe we will be a family, in the whole since of the word.
"Now, that's the man I know, sir." Max sips some of his tea. B, not hearing anymore talking, runs upstairs. Burst into the Maggie's room. Tells them that their dad has set them up to go out of town with Niles and that their dad is going to the wedding.
"We have to play like we don't know anything is happening." Brighton commented.
"Dad is going to stop the wedding? Yeah right, there's no way he can pull that off all by himself." Maggie propped up some of her pillows and shifted in the bed.
"My point exactly. That's why we have to get to that wedding. We have to get Niles to bring us there without letting dad know. I think there is going to be lots of action."
"And you know this how Brighton?" Maggie asked.
"There's always action when Fran and dad get emotional, you should know that by now."
"We're going to be a family again." Gracie shouted.
"shhh Gracie. You'll get us into trouble. We are supposed to be a sleep." Maggie said.
"If I can help it we will be." Brighton shot back. Footsteps could be heard from outside the door. "shhhh" The door slowly opens. Niles peers in.
"You awake..." he calls in a whisper. Knowing all too well that the kids didn't go to right bed like they said they would. Niles' mind: They are making plans to get out of here and I'm helping them? What have I got myself into? Will this plan even work? What if they find out that both of us lied to them? I think that this might back fire on Max. I have to think of away to help them. Ummmm...We are going to that wedding! Max will need all the help he can get. I'm the one that will end up saving the day, like always.
"Yes, Niles. Come in. We want to talk to you." Brighton's whispered voice was heard.
