Mirror, Mirror

Chapter 6

They gathered back at the Monkees' pad with Sharon. Mike and Michelle, arms folded, paced back and forth across the room, in opposite directions, passing each other in the middle of the room, as they processed what Micky and Gina had told them. Micky, Sharon, and Gina all sat on the chaise, with Sharon in the middle. Peter and Petra sat cross-legged on the floor. Davy sat in the red armchair, while Devona perched on the arm of the chair.

"You're sure that was Shawn?" asked Petra.

"From Gina's description, it sounds exactly like him," Sharon said.

Davy looked over at Gina. "Hey, are you okay over there?"

Gina sighed and continued to stare off into space, her chin resting on the knuckles of both hands.

Dev snapped her fingers next to Gina's ear. "Earth to Gina Dolenz, come in please."

Gina gave Dev an annoyed frown. "What?" She blinked until her friend came into focus. "Oh... uh, sorry." She chuckled. "I was just thinking about that guy we saw tonight. The one we think might be Shawn. I mean, I know he's a kidnapper and all, but..." She sighed again and went back to smiling at an image that no one else could see. "Gee, he's cute!"

Dev settled back on the arm of the chair, smiling a bit, and purred, "Well, I can't say I blame you, there."

"It's gotta be Shawn, then," Michelle said, stopping and placing both hands on her hips, "if he affects Gina the same way Sharon affects Micky."

Mike stopped pacing in the middle of the floor and held up both hands, signaling for the conversation to stop, as well. "Okay," he said, facing Sharon, "lemme see if I understand this. You and Shawn Walker are twins, right?"

Sharon nodded.

"And in your world," Mike went on, "you lost your brother, Shawn, in a car accident."

Sharon's eyes dropped as she nodded again. Micky covered her hand with his own to comfort her.

"Why didn't you mention this to us before?" asked Devona.

Sharon answered, "I was so confused and freaked out by seeing Shawn again, and him kidnapping me... I didn't know what to do or what to say. I thought I'd flipped."

"When did you lose him?" asked Peter.

Sharon squeezed her eyes shut. "About three months ago. Our dad died when we were kids, and we lost our mom shortly after we graduated high school."

"Rough life," Micky said tenderly. Gina handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sharon said, her voice half-choked with tears. "It's all been really hard. Shawn was taking care of both of us. He worked two jobs trying to support us both since our mom got sick during our senior year. When I lost him, I had to try to find work. It hasn't been easy. Fortunately, the house is paid for. But he and I were so close. He was my... my best friend." She began crying in earnest, and Gina gave her another tissue.

"You've been through a lot," Petra said.

"And then along comes some lunatic from the world on the other side of the mirror and kidnaps you," Davy said. "But why would he do that?"

Michelle tapped on her chin thoughtfully. "Sharon, can I ask you something kinda hard? What would you do to try to get Shawn back, if it were possible?"

Sharon thought about it for a moment. "I... I don't know. Anything, I guess. But the idea of kidnapping a look-alike... That's absurd. And wrong."

"Yeah, but you're not just look-alikes," Gina said. "You're each other's doubles."

"Wait a minute," Devona said. "I think I see what happened. When Shawn got into that wreck in our world, the same thing happened to Sharon in this world."