"What's taking so long up there?" Peter wondered to himself. Nicole had been upstairs for ten minutes already, and he wondered how long it took to tell someone that dinner was ready.
Maybe he could get Thomas to tell her to come down to dinner, he thought. He didn't feel like walking upstairs, and dinner was almost done.
Then, the realization hit him. Thomas wasn't there. Peter stopped his stirring for a moment as he realized what he had done.
'It's not too bad,' he thought to himself. 'At least you haven't forgotten him. You're used to him, that's all. And you miss having him around.'
He looked down at the chicken, sautéing in the frying pan with the vegetables, thinking about Thomas. Thinking about how easy it was for him to forget that Thomas wasn't his son. He'd been there since Thomas was born, no one had ever disputed that he was the boy's father. But now it was different.
Peter let out a huge sigh as he turned off the flame under the frying pan. He was going to call the others, but something told him not to. Instead he just sat down at the table, lost in thought.
"Peter!"
Nicole jolted him back to reality with a start, and he looked up. She and Davy were entering the kitchen. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces.
"Oh, sorry," he said, standing up. "Dinner's ready now."
"Peter," Nicole said in a persuasive voice. "Dinner can wait."
"It can?" he asked. Surely she wasn't thinking of...? Not at a time like this!
"There's more important news," she added.
"There is? What news is that?" he wondered, almost afraid to ask. He looked around the room. Davy had brought Mike and Micky into the room now, and he had a feeling he would be embarrassed shortly.
"Davy found Thomas," she replied, and threw herself into his arms.
Peter looked startled for a moment. This hadn't been what he was expecting at all! "He-he did?" he stammered, stunned for a moment.
"Davy, that's great," Micky cheered. He started jumping up and down in the air until Mike gave him a Look that clearly said, "don't do that."
"Don't do that," Mike said. Micky stopped, bowing his head slightly.
"Where is he Davy?" Mike continued, ignoring Micky's outbursts.
"In a broken down 'ouse about three miles from 'ere," Davy replied.
"So close?" Peter asked aloud. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"So now what?" Micky asked. "We go in and sneak 'em outta there in the nighttime?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "Micky, don't you remember the last time you tried to sneak in and rescue someone?" he asked.
Micky shook his head. "No."
"You ended up in the same place as them," Mike clarified.
"I did?" Micky asked.
"Yep."
"Wait a sec," Nicole put in. "When was this?"
"Long story, babe," Micky replied.
"Yeah, I'm still writing the book," Davy replied, and Peter chuckled.
"We need a better plan than that," he said, bringing them back to the subject. "I've got one," Mike replied, with a thoughtful look on his face.
"You do?" Micky asked.
"What is it?" Davy asked.
"I'll tell you over dinner," he replied. "If it ain't cold already."
After the dinner had been eaten, the group headed into the living room and lounged on the couch, waiting for Mike to explain his plan.
"Well, what's the plan?" Micky asked, lounging on the arm of the sofa.
"Okay, lemme get this straight. Dave, you said Tom's in a house?" Davy nodded. "Where at?"
"'Bout five miles from 'ere," Davy replied. "I think the road's called Gopher Lane..."
"Gopher Lane?" Mike asked. "What kinda name is that?"
Davy shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't name it," he replied indignantly.
"Hey Mike," Peter spoke up.
"What Pete?"
"Remember how Micky and Davy found his library card?"
"Yeah?"
"Is there an address on that? Sometimes library cards have addresses on them," he suggested.
"Good point," Mike replied. "Where's the library card?"
"I'll go get it," Micky volunteered, and ran out the front door. He returned a few moments later with a smile on his face.
"It's got an address," he reported cheerfully. "634 Gopher Lane."
"See? I was right," Davy said, sticking his tongue out at Mike. Mike ignored him.
"What do we do now?" Micky asked.
"Well, we've got to rescue Thomas," Mike replied. "The question is how."
"What do you mean how?" Micky asked.
"Well, if any of us get within ten feet o' the place, 'e'll know and then we'll be in Thomas' spot," Davy clarified. Mike nodded.
"So what do we do?" Micky asked. "Disguise ourselves?"
Mike shook his head. "Too risky," he replied. "He'll probably see through any sorta disguise we could come up with."
"So what's the plan?" Peter asked.
"You're gonna get 'em," Mike replied.
Peter looked shocked for a moment. "But Mike, you said yourself, he'll get me that way," he protested, unwilling to sacrifice himself with no benefits.
"No he won't," Mike replied confidently.
"H-he won't?" Peter asked. Mike shook his head.
"Nope."
"W-why not?" Peter asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"'Cuz you ain't gonna be human," Mike replied.
"You mean-?"
"Yep."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Mike?" Nicole asked. "I mean, the full moon ain't for a few weeks."
"I know. That's why Peter's gotta do it. He's the only one of us three that can change when it ain't the full moon."
"Are you sure it's safe?" Micky asked.
Mike nodded. "What could go wrong?"
"Tons of stuff," Peter replied, standing up.
"Like what, Petah?" Davy asked.
Peter began to pace around the room. "Well, for starters, I could get shot."
"Shot?" Micky asked, shooting him a skeptical look.
"Yeah. For all we know, Bob could be storing a shotgun in there. I don't want to get killed."
"Peter, I really doubt that," Nicole spoke up.
"Second of all, it's really risky," Peter continued, ignoring her comment.
"Why?" Micky asked.
"Well, you guys have seen it. If I change and it isn't the full moon, I could have trouble changing back. I might not make it until the next full moon. And that's ages away."
"Small sacrifice, Pete," Mike pointed out.
"It is?"
"Yeah," Nicole said, standing up. "So you're stuck as a dog for a few weeks. Thomas will be safe. Think of Thomas, Peter. Don't you want him to be safe? And come home?"
Peter looked down at her face, staring up at him with pleading eyes. He looked at her for a long moment. Then he looked at Mike and Davy and Micky, all watching him. Everything depended on his decision.
