Rub-a-dub-dub (1)

Artic chuckles to herself *God...it feels good to be free...even if it is only on the weekend* Making her way down the dark halls towards her padded room Artic rounds a corner running into the night maid and her laundry chart. "Oops! Sorry!" Artic apoligizes.

"That's okay happens all the time...they really need to put mirrors on the corners so you can see people coming." The maid replied with a smile "Have a good night and I put all new sheets and towels in your room."

"Thanks!" Artic smiles back and continues on her way *SQUEK* "What the..?" Artic jumps back and sees a Rubber Ducky laying in the hall "Who put that there?" Bending down Artic picks it up "Your soooo cute! I used to have one just like you! Want to go take a bath?"

As Artic begins to skip towards her room with her prize she hears heavy footsteps coming towards her fast *What to do...what to do...she can't let anyone see her with the Rubber Ducky...they won't ever let her live it down!* Frantically she looks around...nothing but doors...grabbing the first door she comes to she opens it quickly and throws Mr. Ducky in. Shutting the door she turns just in time to see Ragnar come running down the hall.

Artic leans her head against the door *That was close! Now to get Mr. Ducky back!* Just then a light in the room comes on...Artic panics and runs down the hall into her room and slams the door.

Ragnar ducked and dodged but managed to stay out of sight of the cleaning lady as she decended into the bowels of the mansion and into the area that many Scapers never see but take for granted...the maintenance floor.

Humming to herself, the maid opened the washer door and began to toss in the Laundry. Oh the inhumanity of it all! In a matter of moments the washer was full, closed and filling with water!

Viridan sat up in bed and looked around. Something had woken her up; she rubbed her head-- did something hit her? She leaned over the bed, took a deep breath and bravely looked under it. Nope, no nasty boogie men under there, just her favorite pair of gold Rockette dance shoes. Oh! she thought, I forgot to leave those out to be polished! In her sleepy state and without her contacts on, she didn't notice the small bright yellow object sticking out of one of her shoes. Yawning loudly, she opened her door and set the shoes outside. "Jeez, I just love room service", she mumbled softly as she climbed back into bed and tried to return to the dream where she was singing the part of Brunhilde.

It's in the shape of a ball, and big enough to really accentuate a Rockette outfit. As a matter of fact, it goes EXACTLY with the shoes, but being a Viking, Ragnar doesn't notice that.

The assassin within her made her instantly awake. The slight sound of voices and a door being opened and closed made the petite woman grab for her knife. She waited in a crunched position on her bed, waiting for the expected attack. A minute passed and nothing happened, quietly she swiftly grabbed her weapons and opened the door.

The hall was obscured in darkness, the spattering of candles, which dotted the huge arched hallway, cast slithering shadows on the cold stone floor. Tahji glanced down each end as she slowly made her way toward Mouse’s room. She moved without a sound quickly opening Mouse’s door without waking her. She made a detailed search of the room, moving lithely throughout the parameters. The moonlit room glowed in the mansions darkness, as Tahji made sure that Mouse was ok. Knowing her friend had a tendency to cry out irrationally, she made quick work to leave the room.

Upon leaving the room, Tahji glanced at Mouse one last time, and stopped, as she saw something unusual on her friend’s nightstand. Sitting in a beam of moonlight sat a small yellow thing. She moved closer to the object and discovered it was a…what? A rubber ducky! Fond memories of a rubber ducky she had stolen when she was little, made her give in to the impulse of childish behavior. She grabbed the ducky, and departed the room.

Heading for her room, she realized that she should make sure that no intruder had entered the mansion. Making her way down the candle lit halls, she stepped outside the mansion, rubber ducky and knives in hand, and no one was about. Letting a fraction of her guard down, she stepped back into the mansion. Foot steps! Knowing the rubber ducky would be of no use against an intruder, she threw it in the solarium and turned to face her enemy.

“Ragnar!” she whispered in recognition, “What are you doing up at this hour? Don’t you know we have training at sun up? Don’t you think you need some sleep?”

Ragnar spotted the weapons and how she was poised for attack, and held up his hands, “Tahji, you need to settle down. Can you please put those away?” he gestured at the knives.

“Except for you wandering around?” she snorted, “no, I thought I heard somebody, so I came to investigate. Now I’m going to bed, good night Ragnar. And stop sneaking around, you KNOW how jumpy some of us are!”

Sweetiepie was napping in the solarium. He loved his home in the rooftop lodge, but sometimes he just needed a change of pace. So he hung out in the solaruim occasionally. This time he had fallen asleep there.

He awoke in the middle of the night. He hadn't meant to be there this late! But he had fallen asleep and voices had woken him up. Being still half asleep, he didn't recognize Ragnar's voice so he froze and waited for the people to leave.

The Farscape Mansion was teeming with 'Scapers, but few of them came up to the roof. Sweetiepie liked his solitude, but sometimes he got lonely. So he took the rubber duckie up with him, for company.

Gripping the duck in his talons, Sweetiepie flew out the window and up, up to the top of the mansion. But a gust of wind made him loose his balance momentarily. He dropped the duck. Should he go retrieve it? Well, it fell into the lake on top of the roof. Ducks lived in lakes. It would be safe there until morning. Sweetiepie flew back to his palacial birdcage in the rooftop lodge.

Meanwhile, the rubber duckie bobbed in the rooftop lake. The wind blew it one way, the current carried it back the other. (How can a rooftop lake have a current? How can an old Victorian mansion have a lake on the roof to start with? These are unanswerable, and largely irrelevent, questions. The house is magic. Leave it at that.)

Chryse headed for the lake with a beach chair. On nights like these when she suffered from insomnia, the lake offered her a nice place to relax. She set up the chair on the shore and settled in to let the water's motion lull her to eventual sleep.

She was almost in lala land when something fell from the sky and landed with a *plop* in the water. Fully awake again, she decided to retrieve the little floating object, hoping the exercise would tire her enough to make her sleep.

She dried off and lay back in her chair, the ducky on the ground next to her. A few minutes later, she fell into a deep sleep and didn't hear the footsteps coming on to the rooftop...

Kara was just putting her laundry out for the maid when the maid came by with a big laundry hamper on wheels. Kara started to put her laundry into the hamper when something caught her eye. It looked like a fuzzy, brown arm.

"It must have been tangled in some dirty clothes." KaraS said. "Perhaps it belongs to Jila's kids, or ButchCrichton's daughters. Or maybe one of the other children who's parents live here in the mansion."

"That would be helpful of you. I'm really behind. The washing machine full of towels overflowed and made a big mess." the maid said as she rolled her cart full of laundry away.

"You are looking for a lost object and I just happened to have a lost object on me. I thought it might be fate. But I guess not. I was going to take this bear up to Jila's to see if it's her kids' but if you are going up that way, could you take it for me?"

Rae looks up from her mediatation at the sound of yet another pair of footsteps. "And here I thought I was the only one here who stayed up all night." Sighing, Rae shrugs on a robe (gotta' wear SOMETHING if you're going downstairs, after all, we have kid-scappers) and heads down-stairs to see what's happening.

With dragging feet he made his way to Jila's room and knocked on the door....No response. Maybe she was just a deep sleeper. This was not going well. Pretty soon the place would be astir and he'd never find his toy!

kitten bounds up the stairs and onto the roof *Maybe if I watch the fishy I will get tired* she thinks to herself. As she walks towards the lake she notices Chryse74 laying in a beach chair and cats being what they are she had to investigate.

As kitten gets closer she notices something yellow next to the beach chair and she drops down in the tall grass (okay...it isn't that tall...but she's a kitten and it's tall to her!) Kitten slowly crawls towards the yellow object as cats do when they are stalking prey.

Closer...closer...kitten begins to gather herself for the pounce....*GGGRRRRR!* she cries out as she flies through the air onto the poor Rubber Ducky *SQUEEK* artickitten gives another *GRRR* and pouces again *SQUEEK* *GRRR* *SQUEEK* kitten is having a ball until Chryse rolls over and begins to grumble about all the noise.

Kitten grabs the Rubber Ducky and tries to run with it but it is too heavy...*GRRR* "!" then an idea comes to her...taking a firm grip on Ducky she hops like a bunny *SQUEEK* hop *SQUEEK* hop *SQUEEK* hop *SQUEEK* Chryse opens an eye but all she sees is what looks like the back end of a white tail deer bounding across the lawn "Darn deer..." and she rolls back over.

As kitten gets to the top of the stairs she releases Ducky so that she can get her breath back...that's one heavy Ducky! ;) Rubber Ducky is to close to the edge of the stairs and begins to tumble down them. Kitten watches in horror as Ducky bounce *SQUEEK* bounce *SQUEEK* bounce *SQUEEK* down the stairs.

"Gah! What was that." (It's not often she gets attacked by bouncing yellow objects) "Oh, it's a little rubber duckie. How cute. Where did you come from little fella?"

'Ghost carries the duck downstairs to the ballroom. "There ya go, little guy, I hope you're comfortable here. I've got to be off. This house won't haunt itself." she says, patting the duck on the head and grinning as she watches it bob in the water.

The blankets, a german shepard, a great dane, two rottwielers, a doberman pincher, a mastiff, a St. Bernard, a Great pyranese, a basinji, an ALaskan Malamute, and Thor.

Normally, she'd be sound asleep, but tonight she was wide awake. She decided to head down to the ballroom hot tub and try to relax for a while. Shoving dogs off of her, she rolled out of bed, and changed into one of her bikinis and a robe. She headed for the door, when she noticed Thor following her.

"Of course. Let's just try to be quiet, ok? It's late, and I don't want to wake anyone up." 6th opened the door, and the girl and dinosaur slipped quietly down the hall.

"Thor..." 6th said warningly, and Thor, with a small whine, dropped the bear and followed his mistress down the hall. He had chewed up all the various toys his mistress had bought him, and he needed something new to play with.

He swam over to it, nudging it with his nose. It squeaked, but did not fly away. Thor sniffed it, then licked it. It did not run, it was not alive, he realized. A new toy! Thor was excited. Something new to play with!

Thor growled playfully, and leapt out of the tub. 6th scrambled out after him, slipping on puddles on the floor. She tried to tackle the little T-rex, but he skittered to the side, knocking the table with towels and 6th's robe into the hot tub.

"Drat you, Thor!" 6th yelled as the dinosaur ran. Oh well, she'd just have to hope no one would see her running around the mansion at midnight in a bikini. She didn't want to try to explain that one.

OH! What have we got here? I'm sure this is not your yellow ducky! You are much too old to be playing with this cute thing. And anyway, It's almost as big as you! Here, let me take it to the lost and found. I'm sure someone is looking for it. You might get it stuck in one of the crawl spaces you like to haunt...there you go little guy, go play now.

Well, I'm NOT going down there in the dark with the little "spider crickets" hopping all around just to save a rubber ducky! I'm sure someone else will find it and take it to lost and found tomorrow. I'll ask around and see if anyone has lost one and direct them to the basement.

*There you are, little rubber bird! Why do you smell like lizard?* Thor sniffed the rubber duck. He tried to pick it up, only then realizing he still had the bear in his mouth.

*Hmmm...Drop bear and take duck?...or leave duck and chew bear...?* Thor pondered back and forth. As he crouched on the steps thinking, Louie darted down the stairs and grabbed the duck, scurrying away with it.

*HEY!!!MINE!!!* Thor growled, and galloped after the lizard & duck, the bear still held tightly between his teeth. He was bound and determined NOT too lose either toy now, though he was darned if he could figure out how to carry them both at once. He'd figure that out once he caught the lizard...

for a cup of hot tea. She was coming down with a cold and the warm liquid with lemon would be good for her sore throat. When what should dash by but a large lizard with what looked like a yellow toy in it's mouth. Kara was astonished! No sooner had she stoped being astonished by the lizard than a dinosaur sprinted by, following the lizard.

The three of them ran down the hallway, one after the other. Thor was the fastest runner, but the lizard had scooted up the wall and was running just above Thor's maximum jumping hight. Thor was growling and bouncing up, trying to get at the lizard. This enabled Kara to keep up.

The lizard ducked down the back staricase. Thor ran right into the wall, trying to corner at speed. But he wasn't fazed and tore down the stairs after him. Puffing like the overweight, out of breath woman with a cold that she was, Kara followed.

The lizard reached the bottom of the stairs and raced toward the main enterance hall with the dinosaur in hot pursuit. When KaraS finally got there, she found the lizard perched on the chandelier with the yellow toy still in it's jaws while Thor bounced and jumped, trying to get at it.

Kara retrieved the lizard from the chandelier and got the duck away from him. She put the two lost toys up on a bookshelf in the main hallway and went looking for Sixth and Drumheller to return the wayward reptiles to their humans.

Kitten looks down the stairs in frustration *They didn't seem so big when I was going up them* slowly she slides one of her legs over the edge kitten feels around for the next step *Hazmana! My leg isn't long enough* Kitten slides her other leg over the edge of the stairs as she clings to the top stair…still unable to feel the step below she wiggles a little trying to reach the step with her back paws. As kitten is trying to stretch to the next step her front claws start to slip *This isn't going to work! GRRRRR* Scrambling back up to the top step kitten begins to pace…*What to do…what to do…There has to be easier way down stairs*

A flash catches kitten's eye as she paces back and forth *Wonder what that is* Bouncing over kitten finds a laundry shoot. Pulling the door down and open she tries to look in but can't quite see so she climbs onto the open door. Kitten is leaning forward for a better look when the door snaps closed flinging her headfirst down the laundry shoot. *THUD* *BANG* *THUD* *BANG* *THUD* *BANG* *THUD* Is all that is heard as kitten tumbles down the laundry shoot.

After what seems like forever (at least to her) kitten falls into a pile of dirty laundry in the basement *EEEWWW* After shaking her limbs to see if everything was as it should be kitten set off up the basement stairs and into the main hallway. Running down the hall in search of her squeaky toy kitten passes a large bookcase….skidding to a stop she sniffs the air…*Ducky! But where?* Following her nose back to the bookcase she looks up but can't see a thing. *sniff* *sniff* *Ducky is up…so up I go!*

Climbing up the bookcase was quite easy really…finally kitten reaches the shelf Ducky is on *Ducky!* <POUNCE> *SQUEAK* (((Ducky))) *I missed you! Why'd you take off down the stairs? Bad Ducky!* Looking down kitten tries to decide her best course of action…*Hmmm…can't carry you down…well…you're a duck…duck's fly…* "!" Kitten gets an idea (this can't be good) *Fly Ducky FLY!* and without further ado kitten heaves Ducky over the edge of the shelf…*FLY! FLY! OH NOOOOO!* Kitten watches is shock as Ducky falls like a rock to the hall floor. *SQUEAK!*……*SQUEAK*…*SQUEAK* Kitten squeezes her eyes closed as Ducky bounces across the floor…tentatively kitten opens her eyes and peaks over the edge of the self *Oh thank God your okay! That wasn't funny you scared me! Now me…hmmm…got to be a better way down*

Looking around kitten sees a well worn by love Teddy Bear *Ummm…excuse me. Could you help me?* After a brief (one sided) conversation kitten gets a firm grip on Teddy and flings them both over the edge of the self. *YEEEEHHHAAAAA!* she cries out as they fall like rocks to the floor below. *THUMP*

*Thanks for breaking my fall Teddy…smooch* <BLUSH> kitten turns and grabs Ducky in her teeth *Now to go play!* As she hop *SQUEAKS* down the hall Ragnar comes around the corner in front of her and they both freeze in place. Then all Hazmana breaks loose as Ragnar lets out a curse "Give me that you little fur ball!" Kitten turns tail and hops down the hall at full speed with Ducky squeaking his discomfort the entire time. Ragnar gives chase in hopes of finally getting his Mr Ducky back!

Kitten skids around another corner with Ragnar close behind…*What to do! Where can I go?!* Seeing her answer straight ahead kitten takes off like a snow shoe bunny down the hall…*I think I can…I think I can…don't look back!* She can hear Ragnar right behind her…he's almost got her when she dives into and heat duct….Ragnar dives after her and grabs a hold of her tail! MEOW!

Still holding the kitten my the tail he picked it up to look under it. Nope, no Ducky there. He lowered the cat, looking over it, Nope, no ducky there. He looked left, he looked right....no Mr. Ducky!

He nearly jumped! He had been so intent on the rubber duck and the kitten he hadn't been paying attention to goings on around him. He spun about to find Jila standing there watching him with a look somewhere between confusion and consternation. She eyed the kitten...

Ragnar's eyes darted sideways to where the kitten still dangled by the tail, curling up and batting at his hand. "Ooo..." He quickly reached over with his other hand and cupped the kitten in a more comfortable fashion. Jila was glaring...

"Uh...it was stuck...in the vent...I was just trying to get it out. Are you alright little kitten?" He asked picking it up higher and rubbing it's little head, one eye watching the frustrated cat and the other Jila. Hope....

Throwing on a pair of shorts under her t-shirt, Kaybe yawns elaborately, and throws open her door. "This is the noisiest night." "You would think Ghost is having an all night haunting party."

*Wandering down the hall Kaybe doesn't see anyone, till she rounds the corner into the main hall. Jila has her hands on her hips eyeing Ragnar, who very meakly sets down the kitten he is holding and turns around and walks past her, as Jila turns and goes the other way.

"What are you doing in there? Come out of there before you get hurt." And Kaybe reaches into the vent retrieving the kitten, clutching a rubber ducky in it's mouth. "taking the ducky, Kaybe smiles. "I had one just like this! How cute!

Walking through the hallway, she trips and falls. cursing, softly, to herself, she looks at what tripped her. It's a teddy bear. much worn, and with a name tag? BEORN wonder who it belongs to?

Kaybe comes walking around the corner to see what the noise was, "Hey, Chryse, you ok?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I just tripped over Beorn. Looks like the chair is trashed though. What's that?" Pointing at the yellow thing in Kaybe's hand.

The viking's eyes light up in triumph as he figures he can just retrieve his beloved rubber ducky by waiting until it gets deposited in Lost and Found and going back to the bubble bath with Mr. Ducky. Too bad, IQ120 seems to have other plans...

The lady was sick, and she was not in the mood to play with him. He trudged along behind her. A movement down a different hall caught his attention, and he paused to look.

The girls stopped at a hole in the wall with a sign over it. Thor didn't know that it was the lost and found center, he couldn't read the big sign over the window that said LOST AND FOUND. But he saw the duck and the bear being passed through the window to the man behind the desk. The two girls left, and Thor trotted up to the window.

Thor was excited. FINALLY...*yesyesyes...my duckmyduck, gimme my duck!* The man tossed the duck in the air and Thor jumped up, catching it in his teeth, making it squeak.

"Sorry, Rag." 6th said. She would have laughed at Ragnar's reaction to her bikini, except she was currently rather frustrated at Thor. She couldn't find him anywhere.

"S'a long story. But it's THOR's fault I have nothing to put on over this, not mine. He got all excited about some stupid rubber duck in the hot tub..." 6th continued, not noticing the look of horror that passed over Ragnar's face. *Thor, the notorious chewer of other people's things???* he thought, ignoring 6th's rambling story as images of chewed and mangled Mr. Ducky floated before his eyes.

"Where'd he go???" Ragnar grabbed 6th by the shoulders and shook her before he realized it. 6th raised her eyebrow at him, and he slowly removed his hands, embarrassed. *Can't let on it's my duck...* he thought.

"They...ugh!...heard all the...ooof!...noise...and they want to play...<GET BACK!!!>...I can't let them out at this hour...<BACK I SAY! GET DOWN>...little help, big guy?" she panted, digging her heels into the carpet, and shoving hard.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" 6th grinned. "Come on, you look like you could use some new clothes too. Before some joker yanks that towel off of you. What are you doing walking around in a towel anyway?" she asked as they walked into the costume closet.

"Um..." Should he admit he was taking a bath? 6th was pretty sharp(usually). She could put 2 and 2 together(Or Ragnar in bath and rubber ducky) and figure out Mr. ducky was his. But 6th, easily distracted as she was, got overwhelmed by the amount of clothes in the costume closet, and forgot she had even asked a question.

"Let's hurry." Ragnar said. Most of the clothes were Farscape PK commando gear in different sizes, and Ragnar grabbed a likely looking outfit, taking off for the changing rooms.

Muttering to himself about the pickyness of women, and worried about his precious duck, he threw another bundle of clothes at her. She seemed happy with the choice, and to save time, just pulled it on over her bikini.

Before anyone could say anything, a squeaking sound came rapidly up the hall. Before they could get up, Thor came bounding up the hall. He skidded to a stop, seeing his mistress.

"What? OH, sorry..." Rae giggles sheepishly, then gets her first good look at Sixth. "Nice look on you, Sixth. Are we having a costume ball?" Grinning, Rae pulls off her house-robe, revealing the sleeveless PK leather vest and pants. "So, what are we doing?"

from having tea in the kitchen KaraS is astonished to see another chase race by. First Thor, rubber duck in mouth, dashed by. He was followed by Ragnar, resplendant in leather PK gear. Next came Rae, hollering at the top of her lungs and swinging her pulse rifle about like a baseball bat. Bringing up the rear was Sixth, her red hair streaming behind her.

Puzzled, Kara watched IQ wander down the hallway in the opposite direction that the others had gone. Even for Farscape Mansion this was shaping up to be a strange night.

all the fuss is about? Kaybe wonders to herself. "Chryse, why is everyone going crazy over the cute little bear, and ducky? They are probably one of the kids. You would think they belonged to one of us with all this commotion",*she laughs at the thought.