He found everyone else sitting around the kitchen table, having breakfast. He grabbed a bowl and sat down in an empty seat.

"Hey guys," Micky said, as he poured himself some cereal.

"Where have you been?" Mike asked curiously.

"Oh, I was just out," Micky shrugged. "Walking and thinking." Davy raised an eyebrow, and Micky added sarcastically, "Yes, I can do both at the same time!" He poured some milk into the bowl, then looked up and asked, "So, what are you guys' doing' today?"

"I'm going horseback riding," Davy told him. Micky thought that might be fun, but before he could say anything, Davy added, "with my girlfriend, Sheila."

"You must like her," Mike said, smiling. "You and her have been together for quite a while, huh?"

"Yeah," Davy blushed. "I do like her--" The phone started ringing, and Davy went to answer it.

"How about you guys?" Micky interrupted, looking at Mike and Peter. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the park to catch butterflies," Peter said excitedly.

"And I'm going with him," Mike added. "Someone has to keep an eye on 'im!"

"Hey!" Peter objected. "No they don't!"

"Sorry, Pete," Mike apologized, so Peter would feel better. "Why?" he looked back to Micky. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure yet," Micky shrugged. "That's kinda what I was thinking about. I was hoping you guys might be doing something that sounded interesting."

"And?" Mike prodded.

Micky sighed, "I think I'll stay home. Or maybe go out for another walk."

"Well, sorry we're not very interesting," Mike told him, acting offended.

Before Micky could reply, Davy came back and sat down. He had a glum look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked him.

"That was Sheila," Davy informed them. He sighed, "She said she's busy today; she had to cancel our date."

"Aw, we're sorry," Mike said sympathetically. He knew Davy had really been looking forward to that.

"I'll go with you!" Micky volunteered.

Davy looked at him skeptically, "Thanks, mate." He chuckled, "But it's not the same."

"Oh, come on," Micky pleaded. "Would it hurt you to spend time with a friend, instead of a girl?"

Davy thought about this, then shrugged, "Okay."

"Guys," Mike put in. "Me and Peter are takin' the car, so we'll drop you off, then pick you up after a couple hours, okay?"

"Sounds fine to me!" Micky said enthusiastically; he was eager to do more than just sit around the house.

"I guess," Davy said, still a little upset. The phone rang again, and Davy jumped up to answer it, "Maybe that's Sheila again, saying she can go." But when he came back, he had other news. "Guys, guess what! We got a gig. Remember that club we played at a couple weeks ago?" The others nodded, and he went on, "Well, someone else heard us, liked us, and now they want us to play for them!"

"That's great!" Mike agreed. "When is it? And WHERE is it?"

"He didn't say," Davy told him. "He just wanted to know if we'd play for him."

"That's it?" Mike asked, confused. On the rare occasion when someone did hire them, they always mentioned who, where, and when.

"Well, maybe not, I got excited and wanted to tell you guys," Davy looked away, embarrassed, "I think I hung up on him."

"That's alright," Mike chuckled. "If they liked us that much, they'll call again." As he spoke, the phone began to ring. This time, Mike answered it.

So it hadn't been Sheila on the phone. Micky knew Davy was upset that she had to cancel, "I'm sorry Sheila can't go riding with you."

"That's okay," Davy told him. He shrugged, "You're right, I should spend time with my friends, too."

~~~~~~~~~~

Davy couldn't help but laugh as Micky bounced around on the horse. "You have done this before, haven't you?"

"Yeah, sure, I've done this lots of times! But not recently, so I'm a little out of practice," Micky said, making an excuse. But when Davy kept staring, he admitted, "Well, no, not really."

"You should have said something; an instructor could've helped you," Davy told him.

"I don't need an instructor," Micky said defensively. "I can get the hang of this!"

"Oh yeah," Davy pointed over to a young woman. "That's the instructor."

Micky thought for a while, then smiled, "Next time!" He thought a little more, "You know, sometimes I get a little jealous. I mean, you're always getting the girls. Okay, sure, I get some, but only when they wanna hear a joke. I don't think any of them ever take me seriously."

"Oh yeah?" Davy asked, surprised. "Well, I'd like to date just one girl - like Sheila. But she expects me to look at a lot of other girls; she's always thinking that I'm going out with somebody else." He paused for a while, before adding, "She's the only girl I'm dating; I really like her, and I wish she would start to trust me."

"Well, give her time," Micky encouraged. "I'm sure she will."

"Yeah, I suppose," Davy said half-heartedly.

Micky wished he could do something to cheer Davy up, but what could he do?

"Hey, Davy, I think I'm doing better!" Micky said happily. Davy looked up and noticed Micky wasn't bouncing around on the horse quite so much.

"Great," Davy teased. "Then why don't you try jumping a hurdle?"

"Like what. . .oh!" Micky didn't realize Davy had been teasing, but instead, challenging him. He had seen a small fence, and started racing towards it.

"No, no, Micky!" Davy called, chasing after him. "Come back; I didn't mean it!"

Micky reached the fence, and still at full speed, the horse jumped over it. As soon as the horse landed, it jolted an unprepared Micky, causing him to fall off.

Davy wasn't sure whether he should be worried, or if he should laugh at the silliness of his friend. He hurried over there, but once he got closer, he noticed Micky wasn't getting up! Worried, he jumped off his horse, and ran over to Micky.

"Micky, Micky, are you alright?" he said in a rush. "Micky, come on. . ." Davy bit his lip, worried, deciding what to do. Finally, he mounted his horse again, and dashed toward the stables for help. . .

  - Chapter Two -

~~~~~~

An ambulance arrived and got ready to take Micky to the hospital. While waiting, Davy decided to leave a note for Mike and Peter. With trembling hands, he quickly wrote down: Micky fell off his horse. Come to the City Hospital! After giving it to the girl he had showed to Micky earlier, he hurried to catch a ride in the ambulance.

Davy waited while the doctor made sure Micky was okay. Why did the time seem to be going so slow? He sighed, wishing there was something around that would give him something to think about.

~~~~~~

Pulling into the parking lot of the stables, Mike was ready to pick up Micky and Davy. Peter was currently pouting, he hadnt been ready to leave the park, he had been having too much fun!

"Hello," Mike greeted a young woman as he walked in.

"Hi there," she said. "Would you like two?"

"Two what?" Peter asked.

"Horses. . .this is a stable," she reminded him.

"No, no, were not here for riding," Mike told her. "Were here to pick up some of our friends."

"Oh! Well, if theyre not ready," she shrugged, then pointed over to a bench, "you can wait over there."

"Thank you. . ." Mike replied.

~~~~~~

Davy was flipping through a magazine, when someone sat down next to him; but he didnt pay much attention.

"Davy? What are you doing here?" the person asked.

Davy looked up immediately, he knew that voice! "Sheila?"

She giggled, "Yep, its me." Sighing tiredly, she added, "This is why I had to cancel our date; my cousin broke his leg, and I needed to come here with him. Im still really sorry about that!"

"You couldnt help it," Davy shrugged. "Im here because Micky and I went horse-back riding, and he fell off his horse. . ."

Sheilas eyes widened, and her hand covered her mouth, "Oh my. . . I hope hes alright!"

"I couldnt tell, he was unconscious," Davy told her regretfully. "But Ill know as soon as the doctor tells me."

"Oh, well I--" a doctor waved at her from across the room. "I have to go take my cousin home now." She stood up, but before leaving, told him, "I really hope Mickys alright. . .Im sure he is!"

"Thanks," Davy smiled, and watched her as she left. He went back to his magazine, thankful it was about music!

~~~~~~

Mike checked his watch for the hundredth time. Where were those two? They wouldnt ignore the pick-up time, would they? No, of course not! Maybe they were having too much fun? No, he still didnt think so. Whatever their reason, he was not happy!

The young woman walked by them, cleaning. "Are you still waiting?"

"Yes," Mike sighed impatiently.

"You know what," she said, trying to be helpful. "I could give your friends a call over the loudspeaker."

"Would you?" Mike asked hopefully. "Please; that would really help."

"Sure," she chuckled. "What are their names?"

"David Jones and Micky Dolenz," Mike informed her.

The girl repeated the names slowly and quietly, as if to herself. The she realized, "Oh! Are you Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork?"

"Yes, we are," Peter said, a hint of curiousness in his voice. "Why?"

"I have this note for you," going over to the counter, she reached back and grabbed Davys note. "Mister Jones asked me to give this to you," she handed it to them, then decided to give them some privacy, "Im sorry."

"Sorry?" Peter asked, as Mike read the note. "For what?"

Mike was stunned. Davys note was short and quick, not really descriptive. "For. . . probably for. . . uh, nevermind, we need go," he said quickly.

"Go where?" Peter asked; he was getting confused.

"Micky got hurt," Mike informed him. "We have to go to the hospital."

"Is he okay?" Peter asked cautiously.

"I dont know. What I told you is all the note says!" Mike replied, worried.

~~~~~~

When a doctor came out, Davy recognized him as the doctor who had taken care of Micky. "Is Micky alright?"

"Yes," the doctor nodded. "Hes going to be fine. . .got a nasty bump on his head, though. That might be sore for a while, but otherwise, he appears to be fine. In fact, as soon as he wakes up, he can go home."

Davy felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. . .a weight of worry! He sighed and asked, "What should I do while Im waiting?"

"Oh, you can go and wait in his room," the doctor told him.

"Thank you," Davy smiled. But he hesitated; he wasnt sure what he should do. Should he go and wait for Micky to wake up? Or should he wait for Mike and Peter? It had already been a while; they should have been there already. He stood still and looked around, thinking.

The doctor looked up from what he was doing, and reminded Davy, "You can go and wait."

"Yeah, but I. . ." he nodded, "Okay. I have some friends who should be coming any minute; will you tell them where I am?"

The doctor nodded, and went back to what he was doing.

~~~~~~

Mike pulled the car into the hospital parking lot. Rushing into the building, they immediately went to the front desk and asked about Micky. The nurse pointed them in the direction of Mickys room, and they hurried off.

When they saw Davy, they felt relieved, and hoped for some news. But before Davy could tell them anything, he had to calm them down. They both felt much better when they learned Micky was, in fact, okay!

So. . .they got comfortable, and were prepared to wait. . .

~~~~~~

It was getting pretty late, and all the other Monkees had drifted off to sleep. Micky opened his eyes slowly. He had a throbbing pain in his head, and he felt very confused. He groaned and put his hand up to where it hurt.

Peter, who had been halfway between sleep and awareness, sensed something different. Opening his eyes, he saw Micky was awake. Waking up Mike and Davy, the three walked over to Mickys bed.

"Hey Micky, hows your head?" Davy asked.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked at the same time.

"How do you feel?" Mike asked, also at the same time.

Realizing they had all spoken at the same time, they broke out laughing. Until they realized Micky wasnt laughing. "Whats wrong?" Mike asked, worried.

Micky looked at Davy, "My head feels terrible!" he turned his gaze to Peter, "Yeah, Im fine!" and finally, he looked at Mike, "Besides my headache, I feel fine." Then, looking at all of them at once, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did. . ." Peter told him matter-of-factly.

Davy rolled his eyes, and held back a chuckle.

"Sure," Mike said to Micky. "What do you want?"

"Who are you?" Micky asked curiously. "Do I know any of you?"