"No way, man," BA growled. "I got to get us some defenses started here."
"I’m supposed to go with you to scope out the problem, right?" Face asked hopefully.
"Me, me, oh please, me!" Murdock pleaded with a sidelong glance at Micky, who immediately faked a yawn.
"Okay, Micky, it’s you," Hannibal declared.
"Wha’?" Micky gasped. "But… but what if I fall asleep? It’s been a long day…"
"Don’t worry, Mick," Nancy interrupted. "I’ll go out with you to keep you awake."
"Good idea," Hannibal agreed, pointing at Nancy with his cigar. "Keeping double watch makes you less likely to be caught off guard."
Micky sighed resignedly.
"Um, Hannibal?" Rose piped up.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Doesn’t this seem awfully suspicious to you? I mean, here we are in the middle of nowhere, with our location known by no one but Decker and those goons who were after us last night, and this lady just happens to be standing in the middle of the road and just happens to recognize the van and know who y’all are, and she gives some very sketchy details as to why her family needs your help. I’m not a detective, but that seems like too much of a coincidence to be trustworthy."
"Yeah," Jean nodded. "Remember those mercenaries who almost did you guys in?"
Hannibal nodded thoughtfully. "It could be a trap. Could be. But if we don’t get into town, we’ll never find out."
"Doesn’t sound like Decker’s kind of trap," Face pondered. "His are usually better thought out. More details, y’know."
"So was the plan Kyle had," BA agreed. "Seems like some kind of amateur if it is a trap."
"Or maybe it’s somebody trying to look like an amateur to throw us off," Murdock countered.
BA shot him the Look.
"He’s right, though," Desy piped up. "I’ve written and read too many stories to think it couldn’t happen."
"Or it could be bounty hunters working for Decker," Nancy suggested.
Peter, hopelessly lost, looked pleadingly at Tippy.
"Don’t look at me," Tippy shrugged. "I’m as lost as you are."
"So what should we do?" Mike asked. "If it’s a trap, then shouldn’t we just mosey on out o’ here?"
"But wha’ if i’ isn’ a trap?" Davy argued. "Tha’ lady could be in a lo’ o’ trouble."
"We’ll just have to risk it," Hannibal sighed. "BA, get started. Face, you come with me. Micky, you and Nancy find yourselves a good place to watch from. Everyone else help out as much as we can. Murdock, I’ll leave the radio with you."
"Right, Colonel," Murdock nodded.
Hannibal and Face got inside the van and pulled out the weapons they were likely to need, then handed the rest to BA and drove off into town. BA immediately went to work, issuing orders and scoping out farm equipment that could be used to make or launch explosives, serve as armor, etc.
Micky and Nancy settled beside a convenient wall that hid them from view but didn’t obstruct their line of sight down the road. Micky put his arm around Nancy’s shoulders, and she sighed.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh, I dunno. Just ready for it to be over but not ready for it to end, if you know what I mean."
"I think so. Ready for the adventures to end, ready to go home…"
"But not ready to leave you."
He squeezed her shoulder. "Ditto."
Nancy chuckled in spite of herself. "I think Rose and Jean are getting to us."
Micky giggled.
After a moment, Nancy closed her eyes, leaned her head on Micky’s shoulder, and sighed, this time more happily.
"What?"
"The Rhein."
"Mm. Yeah. We’ll always have that, won’t we?"
"Yeah."
While Micky and Nancy quietly exchanged pleasant memories, in town a very different scene was unfolding at the Porter family business. Melinda Porter stared in disbelief and hurt at the sinister-looking men who stood before her.
"You said you’d let them go if I found the A-Team and brought them to you!" she finally complained. "You promised!"
"Listen, lady," the burliest one growled. "We just have your word that the A-Team is on their way. We ain’t lettin’ your parents go ‘til we get those guys."
"What do you want with them, anyway? They’re nice men, and they help people in trouble! What is it you have against them?"
"They messed with some kinfolk o’ our’n down in South Carolina," drawled a second man. "Some revenuer came in scopin’ out a way to put in a road through their land, an’ our folk caught the man an’ were just about to execute ‘im when these city boys crash-landed an’ came up on ‘em with their machine guns an’ fancy explosives an’ such. Wound up gettin’ the law down there to arrest the lot o’ ‘em. So we’s out f’r revenge."
"Plus," added the third with an evil grin, "we might could get some money from the military while we’re at it. Good thing we stopped by an army surplus store on our way; I reckon we got enough weapons to take care o’ them."
Melinda sank into a chair and buried her face in her hands. "What have I gotten myself into?" she moaned.
"Commercial?" the troop in Tippy’s apartment yelled at the TV in disbelief.
"I can’t stand this!" Tiff cried. "The suspense is killing me!"
"They always put commercial breaks in the worst places…" Alex complained.
"So what show is this?" Andrea asked.
"Looks like a fairly old one," Linds noted. "Not recent, I mean."
"Um… The A-Team," Nick reported after a quick search through TV Guide.
"That would explain Mr. T," Metty nodded.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Connie dashed to answer it.
"G’day, mate," said a girl with a distinctly Australian accent. "I’m Harley. This is me pal Joy." She gestured toward the girl standing beside her.
"Hi," Joy smiled.
"I understand the Chalkies are havin’ some sort o’ meetin’ here," Harley continued. "Can we come in?"
"Um, Metty?" Connie called over her shoulder. "Do we know a Harley or Joy?"
"JOY?!" Tiff exclaimed, running to the door. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be here three weeks ago!"
"My plane was hijacked," Joy shrugged apologetically.
"Déjà vu," Alex remarked dryly.
"Anyway, we wound up in Australia somehow—I still haven’t figured that out—and while we were waiting for the government to get things straightened out so we could go home, I decided to go to the Australia Zoo. That’s where I met Harley."
"And we wound up being drafted to help out with an episode of Crocodile Hunter," Harley continued. "Then when we were done, me mum decided I deserved a vacation. So I came back with Joy."
"Well, welcome to the Chalkie Crew," Metty smiled. "I’m Metty. Tippy’s not here right now, so I’m kind of in charge while she’s gone. C’mon in."
"Oh, really?" Joy asked, following the other girls into the living room. "When do you expect her back?"
"No telling," Metty sighed. She introduced the newcomers to the rest of the group.
"And what is that?" Harley wondered, pointing at the robot.
"Hotzaringa," spat the robot, emitting a few sparks.
"I think there’s an easy way to explain the whole situation," Nick replied, watching the TV closely. "Or at least to start explaining it. See that girl right there?" he pointed as the program returned from the commercial break.
"The one lugging the sack of fertilizer?" Joy frowned.
"Yep. That’s Tippy."
Harley and Joy exchanged a look, then turned back to the TV in time to see Tippy turn around and peer into the shadows of the barn.
"Peter?" Tippy called.
The two newcomers gasped as a pale Peter Tork stuck his head out from behind an old wagon.
"Peter, come help me with this, please," Tippy pleaded.
Peter sighed and reluctantly came out of his hiding place. "Okay." He picked up one end, and they continued carrying it toward the barrel where Murdock and Mike were whipping up materials to make explosives.
"Peter, what’s the matter?" Tippy asked.
"I’m scared, Tippy. I hate violence. You know that. And now there’s a real chance that we could all get killed."
"Well, if I understand right, nobody ever gets killed on this show."
"Yeah, but they get hurt sometimes, don’t they? I mean, just a minute ago Murdock was trying to remind BA of a time when he was hurt and BA helped him out."
"True…"
"And I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want anybody to get hurt. I wanna go home."
"Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean. I kinda wanna go home, too. It’s just…"
"What?"
"If you go home… and I go home… then we won’t see each other anymore."
Peter’s face fell even further. "Oh, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that."
"Heyheyheyheyhey," Murdock said when he noticed their crestfallen expressions. "No gloomy faces allowed. You got the A-Team on your side, an’ ever’thing’s gonna be fine."
"Murdock, this is insane," Tippy replied, dropping her end of the fertilizer sack. "Do you really think it’ll work?"
"’Course it’ll work! And this ain’t insane. You want insane, ask me to write you a letter sometime."
Murdock winked, and Tippy and Peter burst into chuckles in spite of themselves.
"Now, see? Isn’t that better?" Murdock beamed.
Outside, BA worked on welding together a makeshift tank while Rose and Davy worked on hanging a trip wire.
"Wha’ good does this do way up ‘ere?" Davy asked.
"I think the idea is that the van drives through and hits the wire, which snaps the net that Jean and Desy are making into position so that when the bad guys drive up, they hit the net and presumably somebody flies overboard. That’s what they did in the Jamestown episode."
"Oh."
"And the only reason I know is because I watched that episode."
"Oh. Okay."
They worked in silence for a moment. Then Rose said, "Y’know what, Davy?"
"What?"
"If and when we ever get back to our respective homes…"
Davy gulped.
"I’m really gonna miss having you for a friend."
"I’ll miss you, too." He smiled weakly, and then the smile turned introspective.
Rose knew what he must be thinking about and remained tactfully silent.
BA put the finishing touch on his "tank" and went to check on Jean and Desy. "You girls about done?"
"One more strip," Desy reported.
"Good, good."
"That’s it," Jean nodded, securing the last strip of metal used to reinforce the netting.
"Okay. Bring it on over here."
"Nothing?" Hannibal asked as Face came out of yet another small business.
Face sighed as he pulled the door of the van shut. "Nope. No problems with violence, no big businesses trying to move in, nothing. And nobody has any idea why anyone would report such a thing. Think maybe this FBI ‘badge’ is scarin’ people into silence?"
Hannibal shook his head. "Not likely. We’ve been to six family businesses and five other small stores, and no one’s come up with anything except the one guy who said he’d seen three mangy-looking strangers in town. And the manager at the grocery store said he had seen MPs come through. So either those three are after us, or Decker’s using Melinda. Either way, it smells like a trap."
"So what are we gonna do? If it is those three, Melinda and her family could be in some serious trouble."
"Yeah, I know. And it doesn’t seem too likely that Decker would try something like this. Let’s go back and talk to that man at the hardware store to see what we can find out about the strangers in town."
Nick sighed. "I gotta get back to work on this robot, girls. Holler if anything happens."
"You know it," Metty nodded.
"Still trying to figure out what caused the Jackson Five outburst?" Andrea asked, following him out of the living room.
"Yeah," Nick nodded despondently. "This thing is stubborn as a mule, though. I’m afraid I’ll have to take all the tubes out again to find out what’s going on."
"I won’t talk," the robot fizzed.
The phone rang, and Andrea ran to answer it. "Linds?" she called after a brief exchange with the person on the other line. "It’s for you! He says he’s your advisor from med school!"
"Why is he calling me here?" Linds frowned. She took the phone and headed into the kitchen to be away from the noise.
"What is this thing that’s connected to your voice box?" Nick demanded.
"Question does not compute," the robot sparked. "Define is."
"Great. Not only are you an alien robot and a smart aleck, but you’re also a Clinton Democrat."
"Hannibal’s calling Melinda," Alex reported. "Think he’s mad she lied to them?"
"Claytoof zamora," the robot muttered.
"You’re a big help," Nick groaned.
"Nah, he’s probably trying to get hold of her to let her know they know what’s going on and they’ll try and get her out of it," Andrea replied, going into the kitchen to fix some popcorn.
"Yes, sir," Linds sighed, coming back out. "I’ll be there as soon as I can. Goodbye, sir." She hung up, and almost immediately the phone rang again. This time it was for Connie, so Linds handed the phone to her and settled back into her place in the living room.
"What was that all about?" Tiff asked.
"Oh, the dean wants me back a week early. Apparently we’re supposed to start hospital rounds before classes start, and he can’t make any exceptions. So I have to take the next flight back home."
"Bummer," Metty commented. "Still, there’s no telling when they’ll find a way to get home. I’m just glad you’ve been able to help this long."
"Don’t feel like I’ve done much," Linds shrugged. "I mean, we’ve chased down an alien robot and tried to interrogate it, and we’ve sat around watching TV trying to find out where our friends are. So far only two of those three have been successful."
"Well, two out o’ three ain’t bad," Joy drawled in her best Peter imitation.
The others laughed.
Connie stomped back into the living room in tears. "I can’t believe this," she moaned. "My parents just called and they want me home right away! But I can’t leave now! We don’t know what’s gonna happen!"
"Shh, Connie, it’ll be okay," Linds interrupted soothingly, laying a hand on Connie’s arm. "I have to leave now, too."
"Y-you do?"
"Yeah. In fact, would you want to ride with me to the airport? If your flight is before mine, I can wait with you until time for you to go."
"Would you?" Connie perked up a little. "Oh, thanks, Linds!"
"C’mon, kid. Let’s get packed."
"Still no word?" Rose sighed, sitting down by Murdock just inside the barn doors. It was nearly 5 in the evening, and Micky and Nancy had been relieved by Mike and Desy, followed by Tippy and Peter. Davy and Jean were nearing the end of their shift.
Murdock shook his head. "Nope. Not since about four when they said they thought it was a trap and were goin’ to do some more research."
"Think maybe they’ve been taking their time getting the setup done?"
"Possible. Sometimes it takes Hannibal a while to get his makeup on."
"Hope nothing’s gone badly wrong."
"Hey, little lady," BA interrupted, coming up behind them. "Don’t you worry none ‘bout them. Face can scam his way into anything. And Hannibal? Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to him that he cain’t handle."
Rose smiled up at him. "I know, BA, I know. But I’m prayin’ for ‘em all the same. For if God be for us, who can be against us?"
"Amen," Murdock and BA nodded.
"Still, I do have to admit that I’m enjoying getting to hang around with two of my all-time biggest heroes while waiting for the other two to get back." She grinned, then gave each of them a hug and headed off to find Micky so the two of them could relieve Davy and Jean.
"Rose?" Murdock called after her.
She stopped. "Yeah, Murdock?"
"Thanks."
"Yeah," BA agreed. "Thanks, little siste’. We ‘preciate your prayers."
Rose smiled. "Any time, guys. Any time."
Upstairs in the hayloft Mike found Desy trying hard to blend in with a convenient hay bale without losing her hat.
"What in the world are you doin’, girl?" he asked, sitting down beside her.
"I’m cold," Desy groused.
"Here." Mike took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.
"Thanks, Nez," Desy grinned at him.
"No prob, Des."
"So what are you doing up here?"
"Checkin’ on you."
"Oh."
"What’re you doin’?"
"Trying not to be lonely."
"Now why should you be lonely now that we’re all back together?"
"Well, I kinda miss Mush…"
"Ah."
"And I really miss my family and friends and boyfriend back home."
"Uh-huh."
"And getting shot at is not my idea of a good time. Fist fights, yes. Guns, no."
"Right."
"But part of me doesn’t want to go. I don’t wanna leave you guys. We’ve been through so much together, and we’ve gotten so close…"
"And when you go home, all that’ll be left are the memories and four old guys who don’t know you exist."
"Exactly."
Mike sighed. "Well, I don’ have any easy answers for ya, darlin’. Wish I did. But it ain’t gonna be easy for any of us. Look how hard Micky’s fallen for Nancy. I’ve never seen ’im flip over a girl like that before. And Davy’n Jean are gettin’ awful close, too."
"Yeah, and Tippy and Peter are still trying to figure out where they stand on a lot of things. And Rose… I think she’s just happy being around all of us. But she’s really gonna miss you guys when we all get home. And so will I."
"We’ll miss y’all, too."
Outside, Jean and Davy watched the birds flying against the late evening sky. Neither one had said much while they were on watch, but now Davy broached the subject he’d been dreading all day.
"Jean?"
"Yeah, Davy?"
"Wha’ do you believe about… about fate an’ destiny an’ things like that?"
Jean shrugged. "Well, I believe God has a plan for each of us. And as long as we’re willing to do what He wants, He’ll make it all possible. The hard thing is being patient enough to wait on Him to do what He wants and listening to hear Him tell us what His will is for our lives."
Davy nodded slowly. "I think that’s wha’ I believe, too. I’ve been thinkin’ abou’ i’ a lot lately… well, evah since that day I prayed wi’ Rose, really, bu’ especially the last day or so. An’ I think if God wants two people to be togetheh, ‘E’ll work ou’ a way for ‘em to be togetheh."
"Is this headed where I think it’s headed?"
"Probably."
Jean’s eyes dropped to the ground. "I think you’re right. That’s what I’ve always thought. But right now… well, I just can’t see how He’ll do it."
Davy smiled wryly. "God’s kinda like ‘Annibal. ‘E’ll think o’ somethin’."
Jean laughed in spite of herself.
"All change for Picadilly," Rose called as she and Micky came out of the barn.
"Huh? Oh! It’s time already?" Jean started, looking at her watch.
"Yep. Still no word from Hannibal and Face."
"Davy? You okay?" Micky asked softly.
"Yeah," Davy nodded half-heartedly.
"I understand, man. I understand."
The two bandmates shared a smile. Then Micky gave Davy’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Holdin’ up okay, sis?" Rose asked Jean.
Jean nodded. "Not easy, though."
"No. No, I bet not. Just remember, though, I’m here for ya."
"Thanks, babe."
"No prob."
The twins hugged for a second. Then Davy and Jean went inside while Micky and Rose sat down.
"So, bro!" Rose began. "Sounds like some exciting things have been happening since last I saw you."
Micky grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well. You know."
Rose chuckled.
"Sorry we haven’t had more time to get to know each other, though. You and I, I mean."
"Yeah, me, too. But you’ve had other things on your mind, and we’ve been dimensions apart for a fair amount of time. Still, I’ve enjoyed the time I have gotten to spend with you."
"Me, too."
"And I’ll miss you when and if we ever do leave."
Micky’s reply was sadder this time. "Me, too."
"So tell me about Germany! How’s Fuzzy?"
"Murdock?" suddenly came crackling over the radio.
Everyone stopped talking. Every ear craned to hear.
"Yeah, Colonel?" Murdock replied.
"It’s the same clan we were up against in South Carolina. We managed to get Melinda out, but they’re after us. Unless we can lose ‘em between here and there, we’ll be comin’ in hot."
"Roger. Our position here is secure."
"Great. Watch for us."
"Roger."
"Let’s go!" BA yelled.
The group scrambled to get to their positions or to get out of harm’s way, whichever they had been assigned to do. Rose and Micky focused their eyes on the road.
"Lord Jesus, be with us," Rose whispered.
"Amen," Micky added without thinking.
About five seconds later they heard it: the roar of tires on the road accompanied by the rat-tat-tat of machine-gun fire.
"Here they come!" Rose yelled and dashed inside the doors.
"They can’t be that close," Micky called after her.
"I’d guess half a mile," Rose replied, sticking her head back out. "If they’re goin’ over 60, which I’m guessing is likely, they’ll be here in less than a minute."
"They’re at the gate, Micky!" Murdock called from his perch in the hayloft, from which he, too, could see the road. "Get in here!"
Micky paled and jumped to his feet. As he did, a bullet zipped past his face; he felt a stinging pain in his forehead and lunged inside with a yelp. Rose and Nancy, who had been standing ready to shut the doors behind the van, ran to his side.
"Owwwwwww…" Micky moaned.
"Where is it?" Rose demanded, helping him into a sitting position. The van roared in behind them.
"Forehead…"
"Check it out, Nan." Rose jumped up to get the door on her side; Hannibal got the other. Hannibal then motioned for Melinda to get up in the hayloft, and he and Face found strategic positions from which to shoot.
"Oh, Mick…" Nancy sighed, her heart aching to see her loved one in pain. "Here, let me look."
"Is it bad?" he groaned.
"Looks like it grazed your forehead… doesn’t look real deep, though."
"Here, let’s get ’im out o’ the line of fire," Mike ordered, running over to them. He and Nancy lifted Micky between them and helped him behind a hay-bale barricade. Desy helped them get him into a reclining position and propped him up with a hay bale.
"First aid kit," Rose announced breathlessly as she joined them. "Got it from the van."
"Don’t think it’ll need stitches," Mike reported. "Just a scratch."
"Here, let’s get it cleaned up. Lean your head back, Mick, an’ I’ll put some peroxide on it."
"Don’t bleach my hair, now," Micky joked.
Mike laughed. "No, I don’ think it’s TOO bad!"
Micky chuckled, then grimaced as the peroxide hit the wound. Rose quickly bound the place with bandages to stop the bleeding.
"Micky???" Peter gasped when he and Tippy finally made it over to the others.
"It’s not as bad as it looks, Pete. Mike doesn’t even think it needs stitches," Micky reassured him.
"That’s good," Tippy sighed in relief.
"Ditto," nodded Jean, dropping down behind them. She and Davy had just launched their last missile—the rest were being saved for the tank—and had rushed down the ladder to be with their friends.
"Double ditto!" Davy added.
After saying one last goodbye, Metty closed the door behind Linds and Connie and went to check on Nick’s progress.
"This thing is driving me nuts," Nick grumbled. "It won’t answer my questions and I can’t get the wiring figured out."
"Anything I can do to help?" Metty asked.
"No, not at the moment. Thanks, though."
Metty nodded and rejoined the others, who were on the edges of their seats watching the show. Just as she sat down, a loud explosion blew the barn doors open.
"I’m Robin the Robot!" fizzed the robot.
"Get the girls into the van!" Hannibal yelled over the commotion.
"Shut up!" Nick cried.
The Chalkies immediately dashed around the barricade and into the van. They were in such a hurry that Desy didn’t even notice when her hat flew off. The Monkees took a few seconds longer to get moving because of having to help Micky to his feet, and when they reached Desy’s hat, Mike paused to pick it up.
"Desy!" he called. "You dropped your…"
"I’ve HAD IT!" Nick shouted, throwing his wrench into the robot’s insides.
Hannibal hollered, "DOWN!"
Dual explosions rocked the barn and the apartment.
BA was the first back on his feet, then Hannibal, Murdock, and Face. In typical A-Team fashion, they shot the attackers’ vehicles out from under them, then forced them to surrender.
While BA and Face tied up the culprits, Murdock ran over to the van and peered inside. Surprised, he did a double take, then looked around the area for a moment. "Uh, Hannibal?" he squeaked.
"Yeah, Murdock?" Hannibal answered around his cigar.
"They gone."
"What?"
"I know, man. I know I’m crazy. And I may see things that ain’t there. But I don’t think I’ve ever not seen something that was there!"
Hannibal took his cigar out of his mouth and strode over to the van. He poked his head in the side door and looked around.
"What that crazy foo’ talkin’ ‘bout, Hannibal?" BA demanded.
"Even I have to admit that’s a little far-fetched, Hannibal," Face agreed. "People don’t just disappear into thin air."
"Think nine people could hide in this van without being seen from the door?" Hannibal asked.
"No…" Face and BA admitted.
Hannibal turned around with a sigh. "Then they’re gone."
The four of them exchanged incredulous looks.
"NICK!" the five girls huddled on the floor heard a chorus of female voices yell.
"What?" Tippy asked quietly.
"I don’t know what happened! Honest!" a male voice answered. "It just exploded when I threw my wrench down!"
"It’s déjà vu all over again," Nancy quipped.
"Maybe you tripped the self-destruct mechanism," a voice overhead suggested.
Nick grumbled, "Metty, it landed nowhere near the self-destruct mechanism. This thing kept shorting out anyway, and something major musta just blown."
"Does this mean what I think it do?" Jean quoted.
"It do," Rose nodded.
As one, the travelers backed out from under Tippy’s table and were immediately greeted with cries of joy and wonder, then smothered with hugs. Those who had been left behind when the adventures began hustled the travelers to the couch and demanded a full account of all their adventures.
Several hours, five phone calls, some cursory cleanup, and three bags of popcorn later, Joy sighed happily. "Those were some groovy adventures, man."
"I’m just glad you’re all home safely," Metty grinned, squeezing Tippy’s shoulder.
"Hear, hear," said the others.
"I can’t believe you guys actually got to meet the Monkees!" Alex squealed.
"Me, either," Tiff agreed. "Hey, where are they?"
"Yeah! I mean, if they went on all these adventures with you…."
Five faces fell. "Well… um…" Desy began.
"We got separated right at the end," Rose replied sadly. "They got us into the van just before the grenade or whatever it was went off, and I think they had to dive underneath. So I’m guessing they’re back in the TV dimension."
"I hope so… I hope so…" Tippy whispered.
"Micky…" Nancy choked.
Jean started sniffling. "We never really got to say goodbye…."
"Don’t have to," interrupted a familiar Texan voice from behind them.
"Mike?" the five on the couch gasped, turning around.
Sure enough, there they were, all four of them. None of them looked like they’d slept much. The graze on Micky’s forehead had healed to a thin red line. And in his hand was a strange-looking device.
Davy lay a hand on Jean’s shoulder with a twinkle in his eye. "I told you ‘E’d find a way, luv. This one just ‘appens to ‘ave fuzzy hair."
"Couldn’t think of a better one meself," Jean answered, her eyes shining.
"Ditto," Rose grinned.
Davy leaned down to hug each twin in turn.
Micky showed his invention to Nancy shyly. "I stole your idea, Nan. Hope you don’t mind."
Nancy was speechless. She stared at it, then at him, then jumped up and gave him a hug, nearly knocking the couch over in the process.
"Oh, Peter, thank God you’re all right," Tippy sighed, coming around the couch to give him a hug.
"I missed you, Tippy," he whispered.
"I missed you, too. Wasn’t much time to, but I did."
"I’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ve been talking about."
"And?"
"I still don’t quite understand. But I was wondering…"
"Yes?"
"If maybe you could help me understand."
Tippy looked him in the eye. "I’ll try, Peter. I’ll try."
"You dropped your hat," Mike told Desy and handed it to her.
"Thanks, Mike," Desy grinned.
They smiled at each other for a minute, the sort of smile that only best friends can share.
Rose coughed politely. "Um, Nan…"
"Huh?" Nancy asked through Micky’s shirt.
"Mind if I hug Mick for a sec? After that he’s all yours."
Nancy laughed and turned loose. "Sure thing, Rose."
"Good to see you, bro," Rose grinned as Micky vaulted over the back of the couch and plopped down between her and Nancy.
"Good to see you, too, sis," Micky grinned back and gave her a hug.
Harley finally picked her jaw up off the floor. "That’s… that’s…"
"Davy…" Alex breathed.
"Unbelievable," Andrea commented, shaking her head.
"No kidding," Nick agreed.
"After this mess? Nothing’s unbelievable," Metty laughed.
"So, why’d you guys come here?" Desy demanded as the other Monkees found seats. "I mean, other than to return my hat."
"Well, we were all pretty miserable once we got home," Mike explained. "Life just wasn’t the same without y’all around. And Micky and Peter kept telling Davy an’ me how much they enjoyed being in the 21st century. And since somewhere in one of our discussions it came out that the show was gonna be cancelled anyway, we figgered we might as well try to find a way to get to y’all’s dimension."
"Micky remembered Nancy telling him all about her fic series, and we thought that might be easier than trying to rig a van," Peter continued.
"Makes sense," Tippy nodded.
"So when we weren’t having other adventures, I tinkered around with this thing until I got it to work," Micky finished. "Tried it out by sending Davy into The Brady Bunch."
Everyone laughed.
Late that night, Jean and Davy sat outside on Tippy’s balcony looking at the stars.
"So how does it feel?" Jean asked.
"’Ow does what feel, luv?"
"Y’know, leaving everything you knew to come here. All that."
"Well, it’s not like we can’t go back. I mean, all we’d ‘ave to do is get the device from Micky and away we go."
"Yeah, but this is where you’re planning to stay, right?"
"Unless something major ‘appens, yeah."
"So? That’s a pretty big shift, coming from that world to this one. It was bad enough going the other way; we sorta knew what we were in for, even if it wasn’t our choice to go there."
"I know it is. But I did a lot of praying in the time we were back. Musta been a month, although it was only a few hours here. Anyway, I asked God to show me whether or not this whole idea was a good one or just another of Micky’s schemes that wouldn’t work."
"And what happened?"
"We had to fight an evil wizard by capturing an alien plant with the power to hypnotize people or otherwise make them chill out. And then I passed a pretty girl on the street and nothing happened. Nothing. Except that it made me miss you even more."
"What did that settle for you?"
"It made me realize that what I really wanted was reality, a world where there were boundaries of what could and could not happen. A place where things happened for a reason, where things made sense."
"Things don’t always make sense here."
"But at least there’s some solidity to it all. And that’s what I want. And I want to be with you."
"What if you change your mind?"
"I won’t."
"You sure?"
Davy replied by humming "Never My Love."
Jean grinned. "Me, too, luv. Me, too."
The End—or is it?
