Unable to sleep, Hat Kid found solace in sewing. Creating objects from thrown away scraps of fabric brought her great joy. Breathing life into a new creation was so satisfying.

Looking at her creation, she smiled. It was a little ghost, with purple fur around its neck, and bright, gold eyes and smile. Normally, it would've been a hat. But she had added more fabric to create a 'Finger Puppet'.

Happy with the result, she set it down and started on another one. Using leftover gold fabric, she started making a bird-like puppet, with a dark suit and little hat…

She giggled, noticing the similarities between this little puppet and the Angry Bean downstairs.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

Snatcher woke up to shouting. Groaning, he sat up and stretched, popping his back. He really needed a better mattress, this one was seriously hurting his spine. Stumbling downstairs, the young man loudly complained; "It is TOO EARLY for your shouting, old man!"

It seems like the other tenants agreed with his thought, as Cookie and Grooves were already at the main table.

Conductor was pale, sputtering and gesturing to an object at the table. It was a finger puppet, resembling a strange gold creature, with a dark suit and hat, and a purple tie. Nearby was a piece of paper, with the Conductor's likeness scribbled onto it, along with a heart.

Snatcher's eyes went wide. No one in the house could sew...except for a little Borrower he knew. Gulping nervously, he asked, "Did you make that, old man?"

Now, despite the fact that he was at least in his late fifties, and that Snatcher was a foot taller than him, Conductor turned to the young man, shooting him a death glare. "Ye did this, DIDN'T YE?!" he snarled, barging his way past Cookie and Grooves to pin Snatcher against the wall.

"Hey, hey! You think I can sew?!" Snatcher hissed, giving Cookie and Grooves fearful looks.

Grooves stepped forward, pulling the enraged and frenzied bean away. "C'mon, we'll deal with it later. We have a set to go to-"

As the two left to go to work, Cookie and Snatcher got closer to the abandoned finger puppet. She gave him a look. "It seems as though someone got creative in the middle of the night."

"It wasn't me. I can't sew." he repeated.

"Not you, dear. Her."

His voice went flat. "Oh. You know?"

"She came and said hello yesterday. Grooves and Conductor don't know yet." she gave a cat-like grin. "Although it seems like she wants to reach out!"

Snatcher frowned. "After the outburst he just had at me? I don't think I want the kid to meet him."

Cookie nodded in agreement. "The Conductor is...old. And easily prone to paranoia. It happens in the elderly. It's not like what she's been doing is subtle, I heard him shout at Grooves about the rat poison."

He nervously chuckled. "Yeah…"

"You should talk to her." she said quietly. "She isn't ready for Conductor yet."

Climbing back into the attic, Snatcher heard sniffling. "Kid?" his heart sank into his stomach, realizing what the sniffling noise was. "Aw kid, don't cry." he started searching the attic, finding her hiding underneath his pillow.

Her face was red and she had large tears rolling down her face. "He didn't like my gift." she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

Snatcher winced, thinking about how to lightly break this to her. Subtlety wasn't his strong suit. "So... Kid. The Conductor is kinda old. And when you get older, you get more paranoid. It's a mental thing." he sat on his bed, and she wriggled closer and laid her head on his hand. "So, you're doing your thing around the house. But he doesn't know it's you. So, he thinks he's losing his mind."

She wiped the snot on her sleeve. "I worked really hard on it…"

"And he's a moron for not appreciating it. Don't worry, Cookie has it right now." he ruffled her hair as softly as he could.

"I made you one too…" she pointed to the desk.

"No way!" he quickly made his way over to the desk, noticing the purple ghosty finger puppet. "You made this for me?!" sitting back down on the bed, he put on the puppet. "Oh ho! Look at it!"

He wiggled the puppet close to her. "Oooh! You stepped into my forest!"

She giggled, hugging the puppet. "I'm glad you like it!" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Kid anyone who wouldn't like this, is a heartless bastard." he said, enjoying the gasp at his foul language.

"So... let's stay away from Conductor, for now at least, OK?"

Conductor tried very hard not to think about the strange things that had been going on at the house, and to work on his movie. He tried very hard not to think about the tiny mud prints, or the noises in the walls and floors, how little bits of food and other small items were going missing; and he tried very, very, very hard not to think about the little 'gift' for him on the table.

But most of all, he tried very hard not to think about what Cookie had told him. About the 'Little People' who lived under the floorboards.

Of course, he couldn't help but think about all of it. Something was going on in the house. And he knew that young idiot had a hand in it. Snatcher must be doing this, enjoying the suffering he caused.

Because what was the alternative? Hyper Intelligent Mice? Little People? Preposterous.

He hardly got any filming done today, due to the terrible rainstorm that blew in and his paranoia. Why he chose to film in one of the rainiest places ever, he'll never know. Probably because Grooves wanted to film there.

Returning home, Conductor had one thing on his mind; finding out what was going on in this damn house! He didn't even make any sort of remark to Grooves, that's how focused he was.

Rummaging through his mostly empty cupboards, he thought about his dad. His father always had mice in the barn or in the house, so he taught his young son how to catch them with ease. You get a bowl, coat the edges, and place some bait and more oil inside. Mouse slips in, and can't crawl out.

Having a bowl and oil, Conductor was missing something important. Bait. Reaching all the way back into his pantry, he pulled out a wrinkled bag of sandwich cookies. He had no recollection of when he bought it, ate it, or shoved it way back in his pantry; but that wasn't important. Pulling out a single, stale cookie, he placed it in the middle of the oil coated bowl.

The trap was set.

He placed it in the main hall, by a large crack in the wall. No self-respecting vermin would pass up such an easy treat. Mentally praising himself for how clever he was, The Conductor turned to have a few choice words with the lowlife in the attic.

Snatcher was on his computer, messaging a client. While 'day job' was a bit of a stretch, he made good money as an online legal consultant. Although to his utter annoyance, no one in the house seemed to understand. Guess that's what happens when the youngest person (besides himself and Hat Kid) is in her late thirties.

Conductor slammed open the trapdoor. "There ye are! Don't think Ah've forgotten about yer little prank this morning!"

"C'mon in, no need to knock." Snatcher muttered sarcastically, not looking away from his laptop.

"So, where is it?!" the old man stomped around the attic, looking for something. Snatcher immediately glanced at the dollhouse, stomach sinking.

"Where's what?" he asked, trying to direct Conductor away from the little borrower house.

"The little...thing ye made! Ah know it's up here!"

Snatcher sighed, rubbing the bags under his eyes. Time to take the fall. "Fine. It was me. Happy now? I made it for Cookie. See, I made one for me too." he pulled the little ghost Hat Kid made him from a drawer.

"Give it to me." Conductor demanded, trying to snatch the puppet from his hand.

"What?! No way old man! This is mine!" he held the puppet over his head, smirking as the shorter human tried to reach it.

Giving up, the Conductor huffed and fixed his tie. "Don't think I'm going to forget and forgive so easily, lad."

"Is it because elephants never forget?" he grinned at the furious old man. "Get out of my attic."

After basically shoving the angry old man through the trapdoor, Snatcher heaved a sigh. "That was close, eh Kid?" he opened the dollhouse, grinning. But his grin quickly faded as he realized the little borrower wasn't in there. "...kid?"

Hat Kid stared at the bowl curiously. It was a bowl with a single cookie inside. Was it an offering from the Cookie Bean? Did some other forgetful bean leave it?

Well, surely no one would mind if she helped herself.

Quickly clambering to the top of the bowl, she hopped inside and took a big bite of the cookie. She gagged; this cookie was beyond stale! Seeing this cookie operation as a bust, she turned to leave.

But she couldn't.

The walls of the bowls were coated in a thick oil she didn't see before. And as she struggled more, she found the oil covered her hands and feet more and more.

Fear shook her small frame. This was a trap, like Tim, Thor, Timmy and Bow had warned her about. And she was dumb enough to fall for it.

Whimpering, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, she kept trying. She had to escape! She wasn't a dumb animal, she could escape!

After several more tries to climb out, she started to get tired. No, this is what whoever set the trap wanted. For her to get tired, to give up, to die covered in oil. Well, she wasn't going down without a fight!

Hat Kid even tried to use the cookie as a foothold, but it too was starting to get coated in oil.

Just as hope was lost, she heard it. "Kid? Where are you?!" came a panicked whisper from down the hall.

"I'm here! I'm covered in oil and this cookie is stale!" she blubbered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Snatcher peered from down the hallway. Seeing the bowl he quickly sprinted over to rescue her. "Aw kid, what happened?" he gently picked her up by the cape, setting her down in the palm of his other hand. He shuddered. "You're...slimy. Is that oil?!"

Nodding and quietly crying, she held tightly onto his fingers, wanting comfort. He gave a sad smile as he stood up. "Don't worry kiddo, we'll fix this."

Hat Kid was currently taking a bath in a tea cup at Cookie's. The oil was on her hands, feet, face, everywhere! So Cookie Bean had drawn up a miniature bath for the Borrower and offered to wash her clothes.

In the other room, the two beans talked.

"We need to do something about Conductor. The more paranoid he gets, the more dangerous he's going to get!" he hissed, holding the oil-soaked top hat between his fingernails. He was furious at the old man, he could have seriously hurt the little borrower!

"Well what do you suggest?" Cookie sighed, hanging Hat Kid's little purple dress to dry.

He grasped his hands together, a nervous habit of his, and turned to her. "Let's get him completely wasted."

She stuttered, almost dropping the tiny brown boots down the sink drain. "Are you insane?!"

"Hear me out, hear me out. You've never seen the old coot drunk before. I. Have." he sighed, rubbing his temples as he thought about last time. "He turns into the biggest, most sentimental, most pathetic BABY I've ever seen!"

Eyes widening in surprise, she leaned in closer. "...really?"

"Really. He cried about his mom and her train, said how I reminded him of his son or whatever and then hugged me, crying, until he passed out."

She gave a mischievous grin. "You're serious? Have you mentioned it?"

"I tried once. But he gut punched me so hard I had to lay down for hours." he winced, remembering how painful it was.

"So, you think we should get him drunk-"

"And his grandfatherly instincts will kick in, and bing, bang, boom, Conductor falls in love with her like you have." he placed his hands on his hips, and gave a smug smile. He sure was smart.

"And like you have?" she purred.

He sputtered, "No! She's just a kid who lives in the attic with me! I'm a lone wolf! I don't have friends, or anything of the sort!"

Cookie gave a motherly smile. "If you say so, dear."

"I'm ready to get out now!" Hat Kid called out. She had scrubbed off all the oil by now, and wanted to go home. "Thanks again Miss Cookie...I'm sorry if I interrupted your night.."

"Don't apologize dear!" she wrapped up the tiny girl in a hand towel, placing her on the couch and turning on some brightly colored cartoons. "You didn't interrupt anything, I'm always here to help! Me and Snatcher are talking, watch this while you, and your clothes, dry off."

After making sure the child was comfortable, Cookie returned to Snatcher. "Thanks again, I didn't feel...comfortable giving her a bath."

"So, we have Conductor, what about Grooves?" she asked the young man. "Are we going to get him drunk too?"

He scoffed. "I've never met anyone as relaxed as Grooves. I don't think he'll be a problem." Snatcher didn't even think Grooves had noticed anything strange going on. He was the Yin to Conductor's Yang. "I'm sure after she gets used to Conductor, we'll introduce Grooves. Slowly. Slowly introduce."

Cookie nodded. "You're being a marvelous help. Such a young girl...all alone…"

Snatcher unfortunately discovered that it took quite a lot for the old director to get drunk. Of course, Conductor was suspicious, but after the young man explained it was an apology for the finger puppet, he gladly accepted the apology alcohol.

Snatcher bought him a bottle of Scotch and Whiskey, as a 'gesture of goodwill'. He then watched in absolute horror, and slight awe, as Conductor popped open the Scotch and started drinking it straight from the bottle.

He thanked Snatcher, and then sauntered to the common area. The stage was set. "OK Kid. Ready to go meet Conductor?"

Hat Kid looked rather concerned. She was aware that alcohol made Beans and Borrowers alike...different.

"Look, he's not gonna hurt you. He's probably gonna see you and just start bawling." he said with an air of smugness, waving his hand dismissively.

She gulped, but put on a brave face as she marched into the common area. She didn't see him right away, so she climbed onto a table to get a better view.

Turns out, he was right behind her.

Gasping, she spun around to face the angry bean. Although, thankfully, he didn't seem up to his namesake at the moment. He blinked at her, tilting his head slightly like a confused dog. He glanced at the now half empty bottle of whiskey in his hands, then back at her. "...Ah'm more drunk than ah thought…"

Comforted by how passive he was being, she stood her ground, swallowing nervously. After a few tense moments, he shrugged and stumbled to a nearby couch. In a matter of moments, he started to snore.

She heaved a heavy sigh, as she had been unconsciously holding her breath around him. But that was hardly an introduction.

Carefully climbing down from the table, she started to scale the back of the couch. Reaching the top, she sat down to catch her breath. Couches were big! She leaned over the edge, hesitating. "...Conductor? Sir?" he shifted as she called out to him. "Are you OK?"

No response.

She moved from the back of the couch to the armrest. "Sir! Are you OK!?" she asked, louder this time.

He snorted, slowly sitting up. The Conductor looked at her, blinking in surprise. His face was about a foot away from her. "Are you OK?" she asked for the final time, fiddling with the bottom of her dress nervously.

She watched him look her over with a scrutinous expression. Satisfied with whatever he was looking at, he slowly smiled. He started to reach over, and she braced herself for whatever was coming next-

"Ye've got a tiny top hat." he wheezed, his shaky smile growing larger. The Bean tapped her hat gently. "Did ye make it yerself?" his voice was slurred, and his accent was thicker than usual.

Taken aback, she fixed her hat, tilting it back. Really? The hat was the first thing he notices? But, it was still a nice compliment, and she nodded.

He was practically grinning from ear to ear. "Well, yer quite the talented lass then, ain't ya?"

Hat Kid couldn't help but blush. Conductor let out something that sounded like a mix between a cackle and a giggle, and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"Oh geeze old man, you got into your booze again?"

Rage flashed on the old man's features. She gasped and took a step back in fear. Conductor's head turned to voice in the doorway.

Snatcher had a wide, smug grin spread on his face. Arms folded, leaning on the doorway.

The Angry bean leaned close to Hat Kid, and she could smell the booze on him. "Don' pay attention ta him lass. He can't see ye!"

"Um, I can. Actually." walking over to the Borrower, he offered his hand for her to hop onto. Hat Kid happily obliged, climbing onto the bean's hand.

Conductor seemed confused, but quickly grew angry. "Don't! Ye! Touch her!" he snarled. Stomping closer, the angry bean snatched Hat Kid out of Snatcher's hands and into his own.

She squeaked fearfully, the exchange between the two was a little too rough for her tastes. The old man heard her squeak, and immediately started to try, keyword try, to comfort her. Cupping her in one hand, he used the other to gently prod her for injuries. "Oh! Ah'm so sorry lil lassie! Ah'm so sorry! Lemme look at ye."

Satisfied she wasn't injured, he smiled at her. "Yer...yer so tiny!"

As the old bean cooed over her, Snatcher grinned. His plan was working perfectly. Strolling up to the two, he placed a hand on Conductor's shoulder. "This, is Hat Kid. Put her down for a second, so we can talk."

"Hi!" she chirped, waving her hand. "Here, set me on the table."

The Angry bean did so, nodding slowly. Seizing the opportunity, the young man leaned closer. "She's a very little girl...who got separated from her family." he purred in his ear. "She's all alone...the poor, poor dear." his sympathetic frown twitched into a sly grin.

Conductor sniffled. "T-The poor lassie!"

"Absolutely heartbreaking." Snatcher placed both hands on the Conductor's shoulders in mock empathy. But his large grin betrayed his gesture. "The poor child is only…" he glanced at the bewildered Hat Kid. "...psst kid, how old are you?"

"Nine and a half-"

"Nine and a half! She's so young!"

Conductor was making an odd sort of whimpering noise. This was it. Time for the killing blow. Hissing in his ear, "And you were going to poison her."

The Conductor broke down. He sounded like a dying bird, and Snatcher assumed it was crying? He hoped it was crying, otherwise the old man should see a doctor. Regardless, the angry bean was sobbing at the tiny girl, slurring apologies and how guilty he was. "If, if there's anything, *hic!* anything Ah ca' do for ye, lassie! Anything!"

The little borrower felt kinda bad...but he did say anything. "Can I sit on your shoulder?!" she gasped, hopping around the table like a little robin.

"Er - maybe another time." Snatcher interjected, stepping between the two. He saw the old man stumble around like a drunken sailor, and he did not like the idea of his tiny Borrower riding his shoulders. "And quit you're crying old man."

"But...she's so small, laddie!" he whimpered. "Ah can't protect her!"

"You don't need to worry about that, old man. Let's just get you to bed. Say goodnight to Hat Kid." Snatcher, admittedly, did not think about this part. But his plan had gone off without a hitch! Conductor and Hat Kid were acquainted with now, and he could focus on Grooves later.

Right now, he had to get this old man to bed.

Cookie and Snatcher stared at the Conductor at the breakfast table. He stumbled out of his room around ten in the morning, complaining about a terrible headache. He had been quiet, sipping his coffee and doing the morning newspaper crossword.

Cookie cleared her throat. "So...do you remember last night?"

He looked suspicious. "...why?"

Before anyone could stop her, Hat Kid scampered across the table to get a packet of sugar nearby. "Morning Conductor!" she said cheerfully, opening the packet to get the delicious sugar inside.

"Morning little lass-" he greeted, sipping his coffee. Then as the realization hit him like a train, he sputtered and started choking on his coffee. "WHAT?! WHY IS THERE A TINY GIRL ON THA TABLE?!" he shrieked.

Snatcher sighed, rubbing his temples. Apparently, his plan hadn't worked as he hoped.