A/N: Do I hear two updates in one month? Do I hear THREE?!

Yes, I maaaay have the chapter after this written up already. ;) I'm riding this train of inspo as far as I can. I'm thinking about uploading once a week until I can't anymore, how do y'all feel about that? Haven't done that since chapter 20, three years ago. :0

Thank you to Muttlpe Mike and Kitkatkatester once again for reviewing the last chapter. :)

Enjoy!

Mike crutched to the living room area to meet a nice smell wafting from the kitchen. He couldn't place what it was exactly, only that it made him almost smile. He sat on one of the chairs in the living room and let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.

Zoey stepped out of the kitchen and looked over at Mike. "Oh, you're awake!" she said, her voice friendly as she gave him a once-over, trying hard not to stare at his exposed facial injuries. "Breakfast is almost done." She smiled.

"It...smells good…" Mike replied with a small nod. "I'm sure it'll... taste great." The slight pauses in his sentences were a bit awkward, but nothing too out of the ordinary. His stomach growled ferociously, much to his surprise.

"I'll be sure to give you extra," Zoey remarked, hearing that loud rumble. She moved out of sight once again to get everything plated.

It was strange being the one served instead of serving, Mike thought to himself as Zoey handed him a plate of steaming food and a couple of utensils. "You can eat there, just don't make a mess," Zoey told him.

"I won't," Mike promised before slowly starting to eat, his movements pained at times but careful. He watched for any stray crumbs or molecules of food that could drip onto the cushion he sat on.

No way would he make a mess.

Messes led to more pain.

Zoey watched him for a minute before going off to wake her supposedly-still-sleeping husband.

Mike eventually finished his food. Somewhere along the way, Duncan made his appearance for the day, his hair all messy and his shirt a bit rumpled. "Morning," he said to Zoey, planting a quick peck on her cheek once he found her in the kitchen. "Sleep alright?"

Zoey turned to face him, a slightly hardened expression on her face. "You need to talk to Mike right now. You can't keep him in the dark anymore," she reminded him.

He sighed dramatically, still a bit sleepy. "I got work today," Duncan claimed.

"Your work can wait. Take some breakfast and tell him the truth," Zoey said firmly, handing him a plate.

"Alright, fine, fine…" he left the kitchen and stopped to look down at Mike, who was just about done with his own food. Duncan bit his lip seeing all those scars, the bruises looking old. He wasn't a stranger to seeing those sorts of things, but seeing them so clearly on Mike when he hadn't before made him stop in his tracks.

Mike looked over slowly at Duncan, returning his gaze in an oddly intense moment of eye contact. He watched Duncan drop the look to sit down with his plate on his lap, starting to pick at the food in front of him. Duncan sighed. "I...I haven't told you everything, Mike…"

No kidding Mike thought.

"I bet you have a bunch of questions, and I'll...try my best to answer them."

Mike remained silent for a little bit longer. "...how...did you know where I was?" he started slowly, trying to regain eye contact.

"...that's complicated," Duncan said vaguely, spearing a piece of food and eating it.

"...I've got time," Mike replied.

Duncan paused his eating. Mike looked at him expectantly.

"...I happen to know who took you from the palace," Duncan said quietly.

"...how long did you…?" Mike started to ask.

"Long enough," Duncan replied, putting down his fork.

"...can you tell me?" Mike then asked. "Who?"

"...I don't…" Duncan sighed in frustration. "I don't think it's a good idea...for you to know."

"Why not?" Mike frowned, his scars shifting slightly as his muscles moved. "If...they're someone good…" he was hesitant in his speech.

Duncan grimaced. "I wouldn't say that…"

"Then who is it?" Mike hadn't realized his voice was starting to sound impatient, almost angry. "Who...who would abduct someone...just to take them to a doctor?" He didn't understand. "And you said...someone else...was looking for me."

"I-"

At that moment, there was a loud, forceful knocking on the door. Both of them were slightly startled by it, looking at each other. They saw a tall, foreboding shadow through the curtains that had yet to be pulled away from the front windows that morning. "Go back to the guest room," Duncan advised Mike in a whisper, standing up quickly. "This could be trouble…"

Mike was trying not to get angry at Duncan for cutting their conversation short, but it wasn't really his fault. He grabbed his crutch and, as carefully and quietly as he could manage, began his trek out of the living room and to the guest room once again.

Zoey heard the knocking and put her hand up in front of Duncan when she saw him going to open the door. Let me handle this, her look conveyed. Duncan nodded and left the room as well. "Who is it?" Zoey asked, looking at the door.

"I'm the head of an investigation sanctioned by the royal family into a strange disappearance," Jo's voice responded on the other side.

Zoey could have sworn she heard the sounds of a second person as well, but she didn't think anything of it. Cautiously, she opened the door, putting on a friendly smile after recognizing Jo as the guard lady from the palace. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"I was given a sort of...tip...that the missing man passed through this side of town," Jo explained, pulling out her trusty description. "This is the last house in the area I haven't checked yet. May I come in?"

Zoey could definitely hear something. After a moment of looking, she took notice of someone near the front of the path up to the house. He was kicking rocks over the walls of plants, as if waiting for something. "Well, I'm not sure if I can help you at all, but...you may come in." She stepped aside and gestured in a welcoming fashion. She watched as Jo turned to the guy in the yard, made a quick and jerky motion with her head beckoning him to come in with her, to which he obliged, smirking. He gave Zoey a snide wink as he passed through the door, and she couldn't help but frown. Something felt wrong about this guy, she could feel it…

Jo surveyed the room, eyeing the two plates on the table. "My husband left for work shortly before you arrived," Zoey explained hastily. "He was in quite the rush."

"Mm, sure," Jo replied with a curt nod.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Zoey asked the two.

"Water is fine, thank you," Jo replied.

The man accompanying her replied, "I'm all good here," with the same scheming look on his face.

Zoey nodded, quickly filling a cup of water and offering it to Jo. "Please, sit," she invited. "I'll answer what I can."

Jo placed herself where Mike had been previously, beginning to rattle off the same spiel she'd given many times before. The man with her wandered instead of staying stationary, fiddling with this and that. Zoey did her best to ignore him as she and Jo began to chat.

Mike was barely able to hear what was happening out there, as the door was closed. He thought he heard a voice that made his blood run cold, but it could have just been his imagination. He waited, his fingers clenched around his crutch tightly as he sat on the bed.

Footsteps. He heard eerily familiar footsteps approaching his location, and felt himself holding his breath as he heard other doors opening and closing with little mercy. He counted one, two, three doors.

Suddenly, he saw it:

A jiggle of the handle.

The doorknob turned just the right amount...it hadn't locked.

Mike felt as if he couldn't breathe, but couldn't place why.

The door creaked open. The intruder stood in the doorway, his mere presence making Mike feel tiny. He felt himself shaking, his breaths becoming labored, near panicked, his grip on his crutch tightening so much his knuckles nearly went white, and the strain on his muscles pained him more than before.

No. This can't be happening...

NO!

The intruder grinned slowly, taking a step forward. "There you are, Multiple Mike..."

Uh oh...

Please review if you feel like it, and I'll see y'all very soon :)