"A-a cure?" Peter asked. His eyes were big.
"A cure, Pete," Mike said. He looked at the rest of us.
"Really? So I don't have to...to..go through that ever again?" Micky asked, smiling broadly.
"Are you sure it works?" I asked. Fiona nodded assuredly. "Oh, my..wow," I gasped, speechless.
Peter reached forward and grabbed Fiona around the waist and hugged her again, nearly smushing her. Micky just sat there as if he were in a trance. I looked down at the baby and felt a renewed sense of happiness.
"And it could work for you, too," Mike was saying to Nicole. She shook her head.
"No Mike, I don't want it." Her words stunned everyone.
Peter turned and looked at her. "You-you don't want it?" he asked. She shook her head, no. "B-but it's a.."
"I know, Peter," she said. "And I don't want it."
"B-but," he began.
"It's her decision, Peter," Fiona said. "She doesn't have to take it." She turned to Micky. "Tell me, do you still have that science lab thing in the basement you were telling me about." At his nod, she replied, "Good. I'll need to use it, if you don't mind." He nodded again.
"Are you sure you wanna go down there?" Mike cautioned. "I don't think it's safe."
Micky shot Mike a Look. "It's perfectly safe," he said. "You can use whatever you want from down there," he added to Fiona.
She nodded, pleased. "Thank you."
"So when do we get this cure?" I asked.
"It must be taken at midnight on the day before the full moon. If it is effective, as it should be, there will be no changing after that," she said. Then she turned to Micky. "Let me see this little laboratory you've told me about." Micky grinned and led her in the direction of the basement.
(one day before the full moon)
"Hey, Mike. Mike. Wake up, it's almost midnight," I said, whispering.
"Here, let me try," Micky volunteered. "HEY, MIKE!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Mike, jolted out of bed, put his hands over his ears. "What, what is it?" he asked. Then he saw Micky and glared.
"What?" Micky asked innocently. Mike hit him with a pillow. "Hey!" he shouted, picking up his own pillow and returning the gesture, beginning a pillow fight. I rolled my eyes as they hit each other over the head with pillows.
"Guys, come on," I said. "It's almost midnight, and we've got to take that stuff." Finally, Mike stopped hitting Micky with the pillows, and Micky relented as well. I headed downstairs with Mike while Micky woke up Peter.
(downstairs)
Peter was still half asleep when Micky led him down the stairs. I watched, wondering if Peter would make it down the spiral staircase without tripping. Miraculously, he did.
Fiona handed everyone a test tube. The liquid inside was somewhat green in color, and smelled, well, not desirable. After waiting a moment so that it was exactly midnight, I took a deep breath, held my nose, and swallowed the disgusting substance.
Micky and I saw no danger, although I thought it tasted horrible, it didn't hurt us. With Mike and Peter it was a different story.
The first indication that something was wrong was the horrible headache. It was strong, and Peter said later that he felt as if his head were going to implode. Mike felt a wave of nausea. They both started to moan.
"Are you okay, Petah?" I asked. He looked at me. "I didn't think so. Come on, lay down on the couch," I said. However, I noticed that Micky was already leading Mike there. "Or upstairs," I decided.
"No, no stairs," Peter mumbled. "Whole world, spinning, turning. Stairs....oooh," he moaned. I got the idea, and led him to the spare room.
Nicole was already asleep, and I laid Peter down next to her as quietly as possible. I didn't want to wake her up.
"Are you going to be all right?" I asked Peter. For an answer, he moaned and rolled over and fell asleep.
I left Peter in the spare room and went back to the living room. Micky and I seemed to be oblivious to these odd side-affects that were happening. Not worried, we all went back to sleep, leaving Mike and Peter downstairs.
(next morning)
I awoke late since I'd stayed up late, and felt refreshed. It was about eleven o'clock, and everyone else was awake already. When I came downstairs, I saw that Nicole was already beginning to make lunch. We hadn't asked her to, but she felt like cooking, and was reading a recipe while cooking over the stove. I glanced around to see where everyone else was. Mike was out on the beach, sitting, looking, and playing a mournful song. Peter was looking at the newspaper while sitting at the kitchen. Micky and Fiona were nowhere to be found.
"Where's Micky?" I asked.
"In the basement," Nicole replied. "He had to do something with Fiona." I nodded. "I don't know what, but it seemed important."
"I'd go see what they were doing, but I'm afraid to go down there," I said. "Hey, Pete, can I have some of that?" I asked.
Peter remained oblivious, completely lost in what he was reading.
"Petah?" I asked again.
"Huh?" he asked looking up. "Oh, sure. That's the stuff I've either read already or don't want to read," he added, pointing to a pile. I reached over and retrieved the front page and sat down to begin reading.
Mike came in the house. He put his guitar in a safe place on the bandstand and came in the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and sniffed.
"Mmm, what smells so good?" he asked. Nicole looked up from the pot and grinned.
"Surprise."
"A good surprise? I'm somewhat skeptical of your cookin' ability," he quipped, earning him a Look from Nicole. Then, he sobered. "Listen, can that stay without you? I need to talk to ya," he said.
She nodded, and they started to head out to the beach. "Davy, can you watch that?" she asked. I nodded, knowing that she'd asked me because Peter was still oblivious to the world, lost in whatever he was reading.
