Disclaimer- I don't own WordGirl & co.

Happy Thanksgiving- And to those of you who aren't American, have a Happy 26th of November.

There was a stillness in the room that constituted for the perfect napping area. The television wasn't on, the people weren't home, the neighbors had quit moving their furniture around in the next apartment, yes, this was a cat's ideal sleeping space.

Utter silence.

"Afternoon my sweet kitty!"

The Heaslip family cat nearly suffered a heart attack as the front door to the apartment flung open. Violet and her mother had made a quick run to the store in order to buy a few things for Violet's and Becky's 'party' that night.

"Oh mom," Violet danced into the apartment as her mother balanced the shopping bags and shut the door. "I can't wait until Becky gets here."

"Well in the mean time," Mrs. Heaslip smiled. "Do you mind helping your mother?"

Violet laughed as she ran to assist her mom. Violet took one of the bags and went to place it in the kitchen.

Upon hearing the words "Becky gets here," the family pet made its retreat to Mrs. Heaslip's bedroom. Hopefully that monkey wouldn't accompany Becky this time.

"Well Violet," the mother joined her daughter in the kitchen. "Becky should be here in less than an hour, we should probably get started on making those cookies." Mrs. Heaslip began emptying the bag when her daughter grabbed onto her arm.

"No mom, I want to make these with Becky," the girl quickly put the exposed items back into the bag. "She's going to bring some snacks too."

"Sounds like fun."

"It will be the best time ever," Violet beamed. "Just me and my best friend."

"Well don't stay up too late."

"We won't, the show's only an hour long and the cookies should only take a few minutes."

Mrs. Heaslip smiled at her daughter's lack of time conception. She knew better. The two would end up goofing around until nine at night and then beg to have Becky spend the night. It happened this way almost every time Becky came over. But she didn't mind. Becky was a good girl and it gave Violet someone to play with.

"Okay dear," Mrs. Heaslip patted her daughter's head. "Come get me to put the cookies in the oven, okay?"

"Right mom."

"I'll be working on the design scheme for the mural." With that, Mrs. Heaslip went to her work room.

Violet turned to face her tranquil living room . . . In a flash Violet ran over to the windows and threw open the curtain. There was just enough daylight left to fill the room with a warm, orange glow. Violet then went to the side closest in the hall to the bedrooms. There she found a large quilt which she could place on the living room floor so she and Becky could eat there. Violet laid the large blanket out along with a few extra pillows she found in the closet.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

Popcorn and diced fruit were put out in bowls with juice pouches placed next to them. And once Becky arrived, hopefully a few minutes early, they could start baking the cookies. This was such a pleasant turn of events considering the stress of the week. Now that she and Becky were friends again, Violet just couldn't wait to spend time with her best bud. Violet clapped her hands in excitement as she continued to prepare the living room for the Pretty Princess Power Hour Party.

Wait . . . Violet remembered that she had an old princess costume from last Halloween in her closet. Maybe she and Becky could dress up for the show. Oh what fun!

Violet ran back into her bedroom and rummaged around until she found her outfit. It still fit too! Maybe she could find a pretty outfit for Becky to wear and they could make crowns out of some of her art supplies. This was going to be the best time EVER!

Violet went over to her dresser to try and find another nice garment for her friend. In her haste she didn't notice she was shaking the small dress quite a lot. Several items fell from the top of the dresser, including a picture frame. Violet barely had time to look up to see the glass in the frame shatter onto the floor.

"Oh no," Violet dropped to her knees before the picture. "Daddy's picture."

The child scooped up the photo. Violet held the frame as if she were holding fragile porcelain with soiled hands. Why did this have to fall?

"Mom!" Violet couldn't hold back the tears as she ran to the workroom. "Mom, mom dad's picture fell on the floor and now it's smashed and I didn't mean to do it and I'm sorry."

Violet spoke so fast that her mother could scarcely keep up until the frame was held up to her.

"Oh, the glass broke." Mrs. Heaslip smiled affectionately at her daughter. "Don't worry about it Violet, we can fix it."

Violet watched her mother removed the picture from the frame as if watching the hands of a master potter. Each movement was so careful and calculated that it was hard to believe any wrong had been done at all to cause such a beautiful display of concern for the picture. Mrs. Heaslip placed the photo into another empty frame she had in her work space.

"Here you go Violet," the picture was handed back to its grateful owner. "It doesn't fit perfectly but it should do."

"Thank you mom." Violet's tears had vanished as she took the picture with care.

"I'll be in your room to clean the glass in a minute." Mrs. Heaslip shook her head a bit as her daughter bounded off.

Violet placed the photo back in its honored position in her bedroom.

"I'm sorry dad, I just got a little carried away." Violet placed a fond kiss on the new glass separating her from the photo's surface. "I'll be more careful. Now let's see what I can do about this mess."

The whole traumatic episode was forgotten as the light knocking drifted into the bedroom from the front door. Becky had arrived!

Violet left her room and quickly went to greet her guest. This was so exciting to have Becky here, and with the collector's cards. They could read all the bonus material about the characters together and answer all the trivia questions on the back.

As soon as the door opened the two friends rushed to hug each other and share all the ideas they had made for the evening. Bob also trailed behind Becky carrying all her collector's cards. He didn't wait for Violet to invite them in; Bob went straight into the living room to examine the food selection Violet had placed out.

"We still have twenty minutes before the show starts," Violet pulled her friend inside and to the kitchen. "I thought we could make some cookies and they would be done by the end of the show." Bob's chirps of approval could be heard from the living room.

"Sounds great!" Becky grinned placing the chips she had brought with her on the counter. "I really like your costume Violet."

"Thanks, I thought I'd wear it for the show. I tried to find one for you, but, I got sidetracked." Violet shrugged feeling bad that she didn't get her friend something to wear as well.

"It's okay, I don't need a costume." Becky didn't want Violet to feel down about anything tonight. This was Violet's time to be happy and hang with her best friend. Becky was going to let nothing ruin this night with Violet. Anything WordGirl needed to do could just wait.

The two got started on the cookies right away. Flour, sugar, water, the floor was covered in ingredients. The two girls laughed aloud as they mixed their concoction in a large mixing bowl. The two worked the batter together despite the fact Becky could easily do it alone. Bob had remained in the living room where he had finished off the popcorn and had set the channel on the television. As the monkey turned his attention to the fruit, the theme song for the Pretty Princess show began.

"Violet," Becky called dropping her spoon. "The shows starting!"

"Oh dear," Violet quickly went to the cupboard to find a cookie tray. "We need to hurry if we don't want to miss anything. I'll get my mom; you start putting cookies on the tray."

Violet ran to the workroom leaving Becky to grease the tin and place the cookies. Not a problem. Super speed made life so much easier. Becky had everything done before Violet and her mother returned.

"Wow Becky," Violet said as her mother took the tray to the oven. "You're really fast."

"And if we're not faster we'll miss the show."

Both girls fled the kitchen for the television. Mrs. Heaslip only growled at the sight of the mess. But this was Becky and Violet's special night . . . it wouldn't hurt to clean it up for them, just this once. Mrs. Heaslip retrieved a mop and bucket and proceeded to clean the floor. It was unbelievable the mess these two little girls made. Almost made her wonder about the cookies themselves. Maybe she'd pass on eating them.

The door bell rang.

The girls never moved from their position from in front of the screen, so Mrs. Heaslip leaned the mop against the wall and went to the door.

"You two could have answered it."

"Ah huh." Violet agreed mindlessly never looking at her mother.

Mrs. Heaslip rolled her eyes. Kids. As she opened the door she was a bit surprised. The girls on the other hand hadn't noticed who came to the door; they were only annoyed by the slight mumbling behind them. Grown-ups.

"What are you doing?!" Mrs. Heaslip's voice suddenly rose to a level that broke Becky's concentration on the show.

When Becky turned to see what was going on, she found herself face to face with Scoop's dad. The man had entered the house uninvited kneeling before Becky. What was going on?!

"Becky," Mr. Ming did his best to remain calm. "Where did Todd go after you went to the horse show this morning?"

The man looked frazzled. His face was blotchy from some sort of heavy activity and his breathing was much stressed. Despite his attempts to appear composed, he emanated fear and panic. His eyes were tinted red as well; he had been, or at least was on the verge of, crying.

"I, I don't know."

This truth didn't seem to settle well with Mr. Ming. His voice rose as he did all he could not to shout at the girl.

"You had to have seen something! He had to say something to you!"

"Don't do that to her!" Mrs. Heaslip quickly came to Becky's rescue by coming between her and Mr. Ming.

"What's happening mom?" Violet turned the television off as she and Bob gave their full attention to the situation at hand.

"Nothing yelling at a child will fix." Mrs. Heaslip helped Becky off the floor and guided her to the couch. "Becky, please sit here. Violet, go to your room for a second, okay sweetie?"

"Yes mom?" Violet wasn't certain what was happening, but it would be best to just ask later.

As Violet left, Mr. Ming removed his glasses and wiped his face with his free hand. He stood up and faced Becky.

"I'm sorry," his voice was shaking. "Todd hasn't come home yet, and I'm wondering if he had told you anything about where he might be."

Becky glanced over to Bob who was still seated next to the television. He only offered her a shrug. He wasn't there; he knew nothing. Becky then sent her gaze on Violet's mother. The woman smiled weakly and encouraged Becky to tell anything that might help find him. Becky's eyes then fell to her hands.

Scoops never said he was going anywhere, but then again she didn't really remember. She was in such a hurry to get to the Birthday Girl she didn't even think to ask if Scoops was going to head home. He seemed hungry, it was lunch time and maybe he went out to eat . . .

"We were seated on a bench and I went to go see something, and when I got back he was gone. I figured he had gone home to eat. Maybe he's working on his paper."

"I've already check the school news room, and no one's seen him around town. Becky try to remember." Again Mr. Ming bent down facing Becky. "If he were running away from home, where would he go?"

"He wouldn't run away." Becky spoke softly as if having a hard time believing the story the man was telling her. "He seemed perfectly okay at the show."

Mrs. Heaslip then came along Scoop's father. She smiled weakly and took Becky's right hand.

"How long were you two together, and when was the last time you saw him?" Her voice was steady and nonthreatening, but the words somehow installed fear in Becky.

What was wrong? Scoops wouldn't run away, that wasn't like him at all. He loved his parents and never had a reason to leave them. Maybe he was just caught up in his work . . . No sooner had the thought entered her mind was it dismissed. Scoops didn't have his press pass so he wouldn't have been out reporting. Not to mention the biggest news that happened today was WordGirl and he had gone in the opposite direction of that.

"He left right around lunch time. Twelve maybe one o'clock. I really don't know where he could have gone."

"Thank you Becky," Mrs. Heaslip gestured for Becky to go to Violet's room. "We need to talk for a moment alone."

Becky did as instructed, leaving the two adults alone. Bob followed close behind the girl while looking back at the soft-spoken adults. Bob then crashed into the halted Becky.

Mrs. Heaslip may have wanted a moment alone, but this sounded like something WordGirl should hear.

Scoops' father sat on the edge of the sofa and placed his head in his hands.

"I've been out looking for him since five; I thought he might come here to be with Violet." The man deepened in his personal misery. "I saw Becky and I just had to ask."

"I'm not mad at you; I just don't want you frightening the children." Mrs. Heaslip went to the phone. "Does he have any other friends he might visit?"

"I've already called them all; he's mad at me."

"I doubt your son would runaway just because you told him to stop working on that paper." Violet's mother came back into the living room a struck a thinking pose. "Have you called the police?"

"My wife did; they haven't seen him."

"Maybe he got lost."

"No, he knows the city too well. He hates me."

The two adults continued on like that as Becky shrunk back in the hall to her friend's door. She looked to Bob as her mind filled with questions.

"Scoops wouldn't runaway, Bob," the heroine whispered as she placed a hand on Violet's door. "Something's wrong. He may be reckless at times, but he knows better than to go off alone."

Before Becky could open the door, however, Violet removed the wood from between them. Violet jumped at the sight of her friend not expecting someone to be there.

"Becky?" Violet's face was one of alarm. "What's happening?"

"Scoops is missing." Becky said sheepishly as if the blame could be pinned on her.

Violet gasped at the news placing her hands on her mouth to stifle the noise.

"What should we do? Is he hurt? Maybe he got lost."

Becky diverted her gaze to a small scratch on the wall. Violet was rambling on about the actions they should take to help, but Becky didn't seem to hear her. Becky's mind, or heart rather, had become the front line of a remorseful war. Where was he? How could this have happened when WordGirl was around? If only she had been a better friend to him instead of just trying to save her own skin. Frist she had offened her family, then Violet and Tobey, and now Scoops . . .

She had to stop this negative thinking; that wasn't going to find him. She needed to retrace his steps and find where he had gotten lost.

"Violet?" Becky interrupted Violet's rant. "I have to go."

"So soon? But we need to help look for Scoops. He could have gotten lost and is right now walking into so dark scary forest or something!"

"I know, and I will look. But, I want, to go home first. I'm Sorry." Becky knew this was a weak excuse, but what else could she say. She had promised this night to Violet, and now she was running away from looking for their friend.

Violet stood mouth slightly ajar at Becky's attitude, but her position quickly changed: Violet smiled sweetly at Becky.

"Okay Becky, I'll see you later."

. . ?

"What?" Becky couldn't believe what she just heard. A minute ago Violet was demanding she give all her effort to the search and now she was okay with her leaving?

"It's okay Becky, you need to go." Violet stepped back in her room. "I'm going to get my shoes on and help mommy look with Scoops' dad."

Violet went to her closet and prepared to leave never once looking back at Becky. Violet lifted the end of her princess costume and started wiggling her feet into a pair of shoes. Becky on the other hand didn't have time to waste on this awkward exchange of words, WordGirl was needed.

"Come on Bob."

Violet looked up as the two figures fled from her room.

"Don't worry WordGirl, I'll be praying for you."

As Becky was trying to leave the apartment, she happened to catch the eye of Mrs. Heaslip.

"Where are you going Becky?" the woman asked.

"Home."

Becky was out before anyone else could question her. She dashed far out of sight of the Heaslip home before quickly transforming into WordGirl and getting to the sky.

"Word Up!"

Huggy was still struggling with his costume as he shifted around in WordGirl's tight grasp. She was holding him much harder than usual. She must have been nervous.

"I want to check the school first," WordGirl took a hard right. "The only thing that would keep him away from home is work." Huggy spoke in protest, swiftly refuted by WordGirl. "I know his dad already check there, but I need to see it for myself."

The media room of the school house was empty. There wasn't even an indication that someone had been there earlier that day. WordGirl thumbed through the reports scattered across the editor's desk. All of them were mark with Friday's date. Scoops hadn't been here. This fact worried Becky. Why else would he stay away from home?

Just then WordGirl's super hearing picked up a noise in the halls of the school.

"Huggy," The heroine whispered to her sidekick. "Did you hear something?"

The duo went back out into the dark hall of the school. The place looked very different at night. Though Becky knew where she was, it felt like she was standing on a completely different planet. The colorful posters on the wall now were indistinct gray as shadows cast themselves on obscure objects. Even the hall itself looked longer and disfigured by the darkness.

There came a sudden loud bang as a locker somewhere slammed shut. The noise was so surprising that Huggy nearly jumped into WordGirl's arms. The girl then crouched back into the media room to wait and see who might come around the corner.

The beam of a flashlight was the first detectable thing followed by a man's voice.

"Well there's nothing in his locker, so maybe he was here to maybe, pick something up."

"Nah, he would have done that Friday." Came another voice.

Two figures came into view and WordGirl recognized their silhouette immediately; it was the city policemen. They must have come to the school to look for Scoops as well. Hmm, this was a waste of time.

"Let's go Huggy, he's not here."

The heroes made their retreat out the window. WordGirl's next stop was every restaurant from Scoops' street to the horse show grounds. If he had stopped anywhere to eat, someone had to have seen him. But alas, at every store the answer was the same, "No, Scoops never stopped by today, but I'll keep an eye out for him." Scoops hadn't even been seen walking past any of the outdoor venues. How had he walked through town unseen? Due to his paper, everyone knew who he was; someone had to have seen him.

It was now going on ten o'clock, and WordGirl still had yet to find a sign that Scoops was okay. If she really had been the last person to see him, this meant he had been missing for ten hours.

"Where did you go, Scoops?" WordGirl asked as if somehow he would hear. Huggy looked up at the Lexiconian and then back at the streets. He then spoke up telling WordGirl that it would be best to go where she last saw him. "Good idea Huggy."

WordGirl gripped her sidekick tightly as she made her way to the horse show grounds. The first place she looked; that bench.

o.

Tim paced around his living room. It was ten o'clock, what was keeping Becky? She never usually stayed out this late without calling. Maybe the show was running over and the girls forgot to check the time.

"Maybe I should watch some TV, take my mind off of it."

Tim got comfortable on the couch and began flipping through the channels. He might even find that show that the girls liked so much. But that's not what Mr. Botsford found. What he found was a rather unsettling new report involving one of Becky's friends. The news anchor spoke,

"Authorities say they are look for a missing child tonight. The boy was last seen at the horse showing at about noon, and officials say no one was with the child when he left. The boy's information is now on the screen; if you know anything about the case, you are encouraged to call the police department . . ."

As Scoops' picture and information appeared on screen Mr. Botsford felt a sickening feeling over take him.

"Holy tap-dancing bees!" Tim got to his feet. "TJ!" He shouted at the stairs.

TJ shouted something back down to his father, but it was drowned out by the sounds of the phone ringing.

"Get down here, TJ!" Tim called as he hastened to the phone. "Hello?"

"Evening, Mr. Botsford?" the voice was Violet's mother's.

"Hey, did you hear about Scoops?" Tim asked.

"Oh I'm glad Becky told you," the woman breathed a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to make sure she let you know when she got home, we need all the help we can get. Have you been calling people?"

"Huh?" Tim was slightly confused by the conversation. "Becky didn't tell me, I heard it on the news."

"Why didn't she tell you when she got home?"

"Becky's not home yet," dread started to take hold of Tim's voice. "She's still with you isn't she?"

Silence.

"Isn't she?"

"No, Becky left my house at seven-thirty."

Scoops' hat had been found and examined in WordGirl's hand.

"My daughter's not here, where is she!?"

How could WordGirl have missed this?

"I don't know where she is; maybe she went to look for Scoops alone."

His note said he was going to walk home with her; Scoops wasn't going to leave without her.

"No, my daughter would have told us, she's missing!"

That fearful memory of Tuesday . . .

"There's no way two kids would go missing on the same day . . ."

o.

"Yes Tommy, what is your answer?" Beau had asked that morning on his television show.

"Capture means to catch, restrain or even win over like WordGirl does when she beats her opponents."

"That's right Tommy." Beau beamed as he turned to the monkey waiting on stage right. "Huggy show him what he's-"

Tommy interrupted the game show host to add a little more to his definition.

"It can also mean to trap, seize, incarcerate, detain . . ."

"Okay Tommy that's enough."

"Jail, imprison or even kidnap."