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DO YOU FEEL IT TOO? - part two

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"What are you doing here?" Peter asked coolly. The shock of Mike's presence had worn off instantly for him.

Mike was taken aback for a moment. "Can't a guy just say hi to his old friends?"

"Sure. But I don't see any old friends around here." Peter replied evenly.

"Petah!" Davy gasped.

"Thought you'd come in and tell us how stupid we're being? Ask why we're still doing the whole Monkees thing?" Once his first statement had been made, the rest of what he had to say came quite naturally to Peter. "Well, we're doing fine without you, thanks for caring. Now maybe you should leave before I say something really mean."

Any arguments the estranged Monkee would have made were instantly wiped away in the face of so much unbridled anger. He still tried his best to reply, however. "Peter, I---"

"Goodbye!" Peter snapped and started to walk away.

The other two Monkees had backed up a few steps the moment the argument had begun. They didn't want any part of this conversation right now. It was something that definitely had to be hashed out between Peter and Mike.

And I thought I had things I wanted to talk to Michael about. Micky had to keep checking that his mouth was closed, for it seemed to be constantly on the verge of dangling open. Peter's anger was shocking, but not unfounded. He had been the other true musician when the show was created and had looked to Michael as something of a blood brother. So when Mike decided to alienate himself from the others, it had hit Peter really hard.

"Say somethin'." Davy muttered to Micky so that Peter and Mike wouldn't overhear.

"Like what? 'Can't we all just get along?' Be serious!"

"I am bein' serious. Things can't go on like this!"

Flustered, Micky walked up to Peter. "Pete, maybe we should go somewhere more private to hash things out with---" He turned to motion towards the fourth Monkee, but he was gone. "-- Michael."

Davy bit his tongue. "Damnit."

"Good riddance." Peter shrugged and started walking again.

Determined to keep a handle on things, Micky stepped directly into Peter's path. "Hope you're happy."

"Actually? I am. Now move."

"No."

Before Micky could say anything else, Peter lashed out suddenly, punching the drummer across the jaw. Micky fell in a heap on the soaking wet grass. "Told you to move." He walked on without saying another word.

Rushing over, Davy held out a hand to help Micky up. Cradling his jaw with one hand, Micky took Davy's hand with his free one. "What got inta him?" Davy shook his head in disbelief.

"Must have been the spirit of Muhammad Ali." Micky mumbled, cracking a joke despite his bloodied jaw.

"Let's go clean that up. We still 'ave a show tonight, Michael or no." Or Peter. He added as an afterthought.

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Peter had shown up after all. It really shouldn't have surprised Micky though. Even if he was having personal problems, consummate professional he was, Peter wouldn't let that affect the fans. They had paid good money for a show, and a show they were going to get.

So why is it that I can't get my head into the game? Micky sighed.

"Mr. Dolenz?" A young assistant had come up behind him soundlessly. Taken off guard, Micky was about to holler at the young woman, but one look at her frazzled appearance told him that she, too, was having one hell of a day.

"Yeah?" He tried to sound as peppy as possible, despite the current circumstances.

She handed over a small, handwritten note and then rushed off in response to the sound of her pager going off.

Fan mail so soon? He cracked a smile in spite of himself and opened the crinkly piece of paper.

Surprise Guest Performance Tonight-- Be ready after 'Long Title'.

Great. Just when he was figuring he could at least hold it together through the standard lineup, they went and added something on him. Sighing, he threw his hands up in surrender. Oh well. He'd be as courteous as possible to their guest.

"Ready, Mick?"

Micky turned to find himself face to face with Peter.

"It's getting pretty loud out there. We don't make our appearance soon, I think they'll begin dismantling the furniture." Both chuckled uncomfortably. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier."

"Forget it. I already have." Micky smiled a little and tried to make his way to the stage, only to find Peter blocking his way.

"I've just had a lot on my mind. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Again, it's forgotten." Peter's apology had made Micky feel a lot better, and this time, his grin was much broader than before. "C'mon!"

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Rocking through classics such as "Last Train to Clarksville" and "She Hangs Out", the time flew by for not just the audience, but the three performers as well. At least for the evening, they could forget about their offstage problems.

Peter introduced 'Long Title' as usual with the introduction of it having been from their one and only movie, HEAD. The irony wasn't lost on him that, in an odd way, this song symbolized how he had felt about the whole group towards the end of the 60's. He had written it one day while playing a few chord changes. The song had just fallen out of his mouth, seemingly all by itself. It was oddly prophetic, for at the time, he had had no idea that that was going to be his attitude about anything having to do with music.

"Do I have to do this all over again?
Didn't I do it right the first time?
Do I have to do this all over again?
How many times do I have to make this climb?
Didn't I....?
Didn't I....?"

They were almost to the end of the song when Micky remembered the note he had been handed. At the end of the song, he got up from his perch behind the drums and quickly passed the paper off to Davy. Giving it a quizzical look, Davy shrugged and motioned Peter over.

"Wish you'd told me sooner Micky..." Was the only response Peter gave. He, however, nodded in agreement. They waited for some motion to come from the roadies that their guest was ready to go, but none came. Micky tapped his foot anxiously and glanced at Davy for some kind of help.

Throw us a bone here, pal. He thought to himself in distress.

The crowd cheered loudly as Davy grabbed the microphone and started working the audience. A little stalling never hurt anyone, and who better to draw people's attention than Mr. Teen Idol himself?

"Heya gorgeous. So, where ya from?" Davy picked a random girl in the audience, who instantly looked as if she were ready to faint dead away.

After a couple minutes of this, it was clear that even Davy wouldn't keep them distracted forever. "Well.. can't hold up the show any longer." Peter set his guitar down and headed over to the keyboard for 'Shades of Gray'.

"When the world and I were young just yesterday... life was such a simple game a child could play..." Davy began to the elation of the audience who immediately roared upon recognizing the tune. The three Monkees grinned to each other, having settled back into the grove. And what better song to settle back with than this one?

"But today there is no day or night... today there is no dark or light... today there is no black or white... only shades of gray..." They harmonized as the audience began to sway with the music.

Peter prepared to take the second verse when another voice jumped in over his.

"I remember when the answers seemed so clear... We had never lived with doubt, or tasted fear..."

Turning to his right, thinking Davy had made a mistake, realization swept across Peter as he turned to face none other than Mike. It was hard to keep himself contained, and Peter considered, for the briefest of moments, stopping the song right there. His stunned mind simply went into automatic pilot, however, and he continued playing as if he had been fully expecting Mike to pop in out of nowhere.

Definitely a surprise guest. Micky thought to himself. Emphasis on 'surprise'.

At the end of the song, the audience was on their feet... might have been on them beforehand for all Davy knew. Frankly, he had been a little too busy gawking to notice. What's he doin'?

Gotta look happy to see him. Gotta look happy to see him. Peter repeated over and over to himself as he stepped away from the keyboard and over to Mike. Boy he would let him have it for pulling a stunt like this. He'd skin him alive right in front of the fans. He didn't care. He opened his mouth, prepared with a barrage of words--- "Hey." Hey? HEY?! Smooth. Real smooth. And articulate. Can't forget articulate.

Mike pulled his bandmates into a huddle in response. "A simple sorry isn't gonna cut it, I know." He mumbled. "But I want you to know I thought long and hard about this... the fights, the breakup, the reunion, the running off on you guys... and I realized who was really being the idiot." A grimace spread across his face as if his own words left a bad taste in his mouth. He was really humbling himself here, and the shroud of pride he had used for years as a cover was finally crumbling. "You guys kept going even when things got rough. I was... afraid. Afraid to fail. But I know now that it's all about the risks. Being secure is great, but part of the fun is in NOT knowing what tomorrow may bring. I'm ready to take that chance again."

Even more lost for words now than he had been before, Peter fumbled with a mouth that had suddenly become useless. "Michael I want you to know that----"

The cheering fans broke into the conversation suddenly in the familiar call of "We want the Monkees! We want the Monkees!"

"Hear that?" Mike grinned. "They want you guys."

"Nuh-uh. They want US." Micky slapped him on the back and jumped back behind the drums.

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"Wait up, Roy! I just want to pick up a copy of The Post."

The papers had arrived in the office early that morning. Flipping to the entertainment section for the most recent Hollywood scoop, Robert's mouth hung open. "Well I'll be."

"You'll be what?" Roy quipped.

"Funny." He tossed the paper at Roy. "The Monkees are mounting another tour."

"ANOTHER? Geez, this is becoming like the Stones. First annual last tour. So... what's so special about this one?"

"Look at the picture."

Four beaming faces stared back in black and white print under the heading-- NESMITH JOINS MONKEES TOUR: Missing Monkee Comes Home to the Zoo.

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