A Friend In Need...

"I can't believe it's finally over," Micky declared. He stood in the middle of the stage and stared out at the empty amphitheater. He yawned and stretched, rubbing his aching arm muscles. "Now we can go home and rest."

"It was a good idea to end to the tour near 'ome this time...instead of out in Indiana like last time," Davy agreed, coming up behind him.

"You two gonna stand around or are you gonna help?" Jenny appeared on stage pushing a cart used to carry the heavier amplifiers. Micky and Davy rushed to help out.

Mike finished carefully placing his guitar on the bus and headed back to get some more things to load. He passed Lou and Jim, who had returned from their previous tour to help out again, and turned to help them push the heavy amps onto the bus.

"That's it. Just a little higher," Lou coached in between grunts and groans as the three men attempted to heave the large box on to the bus.

Peter, you okay? Mike heard in his head. He ignored it momentarily, more concerned with loading the bus for the moment.

"Man, couldn’t' they make these things outta styrofoam or somethin'?" Lou groaned as he heaved.

Finally the heavy piece of equipment was loaded on board, and the three rested for a moment, bending over and resting their hands on their knees while they breathed deeply and attempted to catch their breaths.

Images popped at Mike again.

"Peter!" he shouted suddenly and, despite his tired state, rushed back towards the stage.

"Ugh...uh...uh..."

Micky and Jenny were attempting to pull the giant amplifier on its wheels while Davy attempted to push. It was heavy, though, and the three had not managed to move it more than an inch. The rest of the stage was almost empty, and they were the only ones there.

"Sheesh," Micky groaned, pausing in his pulling to catch his breath. "I don't think we're ever going to move this thing."

Jenny was reluctant to admit defeat. "Not if you don't help!" she scolded as she continued to pull. "Ugh...uh..."

A shadow of the stage concealed a mysterious figure.

"Ah...I think we...might...'ave to...give up on...this one.." Davy gasped. "I...don't think...we'll make much...progress."

"You're right," Jenny admitted finally. She stepped away from the amplifier, which was taller than her even when not on the wheels.

Micky agreed and leaned against the handle they had been using to pull. He was tired already, couldn't they take a nap?

A silly giggling sound came from the shadows.

"What was that?" Jenny asked.

"What was what?" Davy asked, stepping away from the amp.

"I thought I heard someone laughing."

Davy looked around and shrugged. "There's no one 'ere," he reported.

"I heard someone though..."

"I didn't 'ear anything..."

"Hehehehe."

Jenny and Davy looked at each other. "I 'eard that," he amended. Both turned and walked towards the far side of the stage.

"Maybe we should get some help with the amp," Jenny suggested as they moved off.

Micky was half-asleep. The handle of the cart didn't make a very comfortable pillow, but it was useful. He was still standing up, so he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but maybe he could close his eyes for a few moments...

Suddenly the cart began to move. "Hey guys, I thought we were giving up on this," he called.

"We did," he heard Jenny respond, but her voice was far away.

The cart took another lurch forward, and he stepped back. "What on earth?" Micky walked around to the back of the cart to see if someone was pushing it.

There was no one there. The cart lurched forward again.

"Alright, what's the big idea?" he snapped, climbing on to the cart and peering over the top to try to see if who ever was in front could be seen from the top.

The cart lurched forward suddenly again and began to gain speed. The giant amplifier began to head straight for the audience seats.

"AAAAHH!" Micky screamed. He held the sides of the amp for dear life. "What's going on?"

Suddenly the cart switched directions and spun back the other direction...once again at an alarming rate. Then it paused and stopped again.

Micky started to step off the cart. It moved. He stepped back on.

"Hehehehehe."

"Who's there?" he called, about to step off the cart. Before he could, it lurched forward again and sped back to its original position. Micky groaned as it stopped suddenly and he fell off.

"Micky what are you doing?" Jenny asked. Micky looked up from where he lay on the floor and stared at Davy, Jenny, Lou, and Jim.

"S-s-something was moving th-the amp," he stammered, standing up. "It went...over there...and over there..."

Davy heaved a sigh. "Then 'ow did it get back 'ere, Micky?" he wondered aloud.

"It moved back here," Micky replied.

There was a silence for a moment.

"Hahahahaha, hehehehe, hohoho, harhar, that's a good one," the others laughed.

"You really had us going there for a second, Mick," Jim declared.

"Nobody could move this old amp on their own. You three were dumb to even try," Lou gasped between boughts of laughter.

"You really 'ad us fooled," Davy agreed, slapping Micky on the back. "That was a good one, it was."

Micky rolled his eyes and walked off, grumbling to himself. He was so angry he didn't notice the little voice in the shadows.

"Hehehehehe..."

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked. Joanne and Nicole stood in the doorway of the dressing rooms backstage. He stepped towards her and they embraced.

"I came to see you, of course," Nicole replied with a smile. "The kids were very impressed."

Joanne nodded. "It was awesome," she agreed. She expected Thomas to chime in, but there was silence. "Where'd Tom go?" she wondered, turning away.

"He's probably around somewhere," Nicole said with a wave of her arm.

"Yeah, somewhere," Peter agreed. He coughed a few times and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Peter, are you okay?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, just tired," he replied. He looked up, and she could see that his eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale.

"We'd better get you home soon," she declared.

There was a noise in the hallway and the sound of a few boxes falling over. A few moments later, Mike walked in, attempting to look calm as he brushed himself off.

"Hi guys," he greeted, leaning, attempting to look casual, up against the doorway.

"Hi, Uncle Mike," Joanne said.

Peter and Nicole were both looking at him. "I, um, tripped over a few boxes in the hall," he explained, gesturing behind him. "Nothing to worry about." Both nodded but didn't seem convinced. "So, um, what didja think?"

Joanne was about to answer when there came another noise from the hall.

"I'll kill ya! Kill ya! Stupid, no good, stinkin' brat!" Micky was shouting. The others rushed on to the stage to see the drummer chasing Thomas around the stage.

Thomas didn't seem to be phased by it at all. He was laughing as he ran towards the wings on the other side. Right before the doorway, he shot into the air and hovered just out of reach, succeeding in making Micky even more furious.

Jenny and Davy were standing nearby laughing.

"What's going on?" Mike asked. Micky explained the situation to him.

"He made a fool out of me!" he sputtered. "Stupid little brat! I'm gonna kill 'em!" He clenched his hands into fists and waved his arms around.

Thomas laughed. "You'll have to catch me first!" he replied.

"Thomas, get down from there before someone sees you," Nicole ordered. "What did you do?"

Thomas reluctantly lowered himself to the ground a significant distance from Micky. "It was kinda funny," he told his mother. "And I didn't mean anything by it."

Davy and Jenny burst out laughing again. "It was funny," Jenny agreed.

Micky grumbled something under his breath.

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed. "Thomas, apologize please."

Thomas heaved a sigh but agreed. “I’m sorry Uncle Micky," he told him.

Now that the situation was under control, the group started for the car. The crew was going to take care of the amplifiers and stuff in the bus while the Monkees and Jenny rode home with Nicole and the kids.

"Hey, wait a sec," Micky said when they were in the parking lot. “Where’s Peter?"

"I thought he was with us," Nicole frowned.

"I'll go back for him," Mike volunteered.

"Let me help," Thomas offered. "It's a big parking lot, and a long walk."

"Okay," Mike agreed. Thomas flew them both back in the direction of the amphitheater.

When they arrived they made their way back towards the dressing rooms.

"Pete! Hey, Pete," Mike called. He was about to open the door when an image flashed in front of his face. He swore under his breath and opened the door in a hurry. Thomas looked at him curiously for a moment and followed.

"Dad!"

Peter was obviously very sick at this point. He was sitting at the table in the center of the room, his head resting on the table. He was pale and sweating, and when Mike felt his head, there was a definite fever.

"We'd better get you home," he told his friend.

Peter shook his head. "No," he said. "Need help."

"You want to go to a doctor?" Mike asked.

"No," Peter replied. "I want to go to a vet."

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