(A/N): Hello! My name is Carly, and this is my first Monkees fanfiction. I really don't know what to say, except that this is a work of fiction and I don't own Mike, Micky, Peter or Davy in anyway. I do own my original characters though, as I made them up myself. But anyways, here's my first chapter! :)

Chapter 1
Mike Nesmith wandered aimlessly around the streets of his home in Malibu, California, whistling a quiet tune to himself, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Strands of his wispy dark hair blew thoughtlessly in the night wind, as the signature green wool hat he wore on his head stayed secure. His shoes crunched on the gravel under his feet as his brown eyes skimmed the small shops and stores lined up neatly on each side of him. The only lights outside were the dim street lamps and the illuminating full moon. Mike liked this. He enjoyed the sound of the ocean crashing out behind the boardwalk and the quiet chirps of crickets nearby. It was peaceful, especially if you were living with a bunch of Monkees, like he was. It was his time to reflect on his life, what was going on it, and what was going to happen. He didn't get to do it very often, but he savored the fifteen minutes he got greedily. Mike continued to stroll down the block, acknowledging the few other people that he passed on his way. Most of them were scurrying to get home, as it was a Friday night, and it had been a long, tiresome, week. Checking his watch, he noted that it was almost eleven o' clock.

"I guess I better start heading back to The Pad." He sighed, turning on the heels of his feet, starting to walk back to the beach house he shared with his three best friends. Hopefully they were already in bed. He really didn't feel like playing babysitter tonight. Trying to get his pals to go to sleep was like trying to wrangle a bunch of wild animals into cages at a zoo. Mike smirked a little as he thought about this. He continued on down the lonesome sidewalk, ready to crawl under his warm sheets and escape from the cold, September evening that was among them. For a while, he was too distracted in his own thoughts to notice that the crickets had died down, and he was far enough from the ocean not to hear it anymore. The only sounds were his slow and steady footsteps. But soon, Mike realized that he wasn't alone. Every time he walked, he thought he heard another person scurry behind him. He whipped around, his heart pounding in his chest, to reveal that there was no one there. Swallowing thickly, he kept on going. But he heard it again. Small and delicate footsteps prancing on the pavement. Mike shot around once more, and when he saw once again that there was no one there, he picked up his pace.

"This is ridiculous." He muttered to himself. There were about three more blocks to his home. But once the tiny footsteps behind him picked up again, Mike was certain somebody was following him. He stared sprinting no, desperate to reach to safety of The Pad, but whoever was behind him starting running behind him as well. He didn't dare turn back now. Suddenly, a cold and clammy hand clamped down on his back.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mike screamed, jumping three feet up in the air, an expression of pure horror twisted on his face. He fell to the ground, as panicked wheezes escaped from his mouth.

"I'M ARMED, I'M ARMED!" He lied, spinning around, expecting to see some burly man in a mask holding a pistol to his face. But instead, much to his surprise, all that was standing behind him was a small, whimpering little girl. Her hypnotizing blue eyes widened in fear as she stepped back a little, frightened by Mike's actions. Her mousy brown hair ran down her back, leaves and parts of shrubs stuck inside. Her delicate face with smudged with dirt as tears ran down it, cleaning some of it away. She was wearing a red velvet jumper, with white tights and black Mary Jane shoes. Well, Mike assumed that they had once been black, from what he could make out in the darkness of the night. They, as well as her clothes, were quite messy too. The girl's small frame shook as she stared into his eyes, as she held her fists together tightly. She only appeared to be about five or six years old. Mike's heart fell at the sight of this small child so badly shaken up. He sat up slowly, trying his hardest not to startle her anymore.

"I-I-I'm sorry, little one. I didn't mean to scare you like that." He stuttered through struggled, raspy breaths. His heart was still banging wildly in his chest, but after a few moments, it subsided. When he saw that she was still clenched up, he moved a little closer to her.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you, I swear." He promised. The girl's expression soon softened as she saw that he wasn't lying. She loosened her hands and slowly walked over to him. Her watery eyes looked him up and down, and when she saw that he was just as startled as she was, she knew that he was okay. The little girl rubbed her nose furiously on her sleeve and then turned her focus back towards the tall Texan sitting before her on the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, mister." She finally croaked. She swatted away the few tears that were still falling from her face. Mike chuckled lightly.

"Oh, it's quite alright. I-I-If anything, I'm sorry for scaring you." He replied in his thick Texas accent. The little girl stepped a little bit closer to him, seeing as he wasn't going to hurt her in any way.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Mike asked softly as the night air sent a shiver down his spine.

"Beatrice." She answered after a couple moments of silence. She ran a small hand thought her hair, looking down onto the pavement.

"Beatrice. Well, that's a very pretty name. It's nice to meet you. My name is Mike." He grinned, extending his large hand for her to shake. Beatrice stared at it for a few moments before she gradually took her small hand in his. It was warm, which felt good to her.

"Now, what's a pretty little princess like you doing out here alone, so late at night?" That was the question that had been at the top of Mike's mind for the past five minutes. He didn't see any sign of the child's parents, and she obviously looked like she had been out here a long time. Beatrice shuffled her feet, avoiding Mike's gaze for a little while, until she finally opened her mouth to speak.

"I've been out here all day. My mommy and I were shopping, and then she left me out there by that lamp post. She told me not to move and that she would be back soon to come pick me up. But she never did." A couple of small tears rolled down her small, pale face again as the memories of earlier that day started flooding back to her. Mike's heart snapped in two at the sight of this small child in such a state. He opened his mouth to try to speak some words of wisdom, but much to his surprise; Beatrice ran into his arms and clutched the back of his jacket tightly with her small fists. Mike didn't know what to do. Here he was, with an abandoned little girl hugging him, out on the streets of Malibu. The only thing he could think to do was to hug her back. And that's exactly what he did. He wrapped his arms around the child's heaving frame and rubbed circles in her back comfortingly.

"There, there, you're going to be okay." He whispered, as Beatrice continued to sob. It took a couple of minutes for her to calm down, until she released herself from Mike's grasp and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. He could see that she was still shivering from the cold night air, so he took off his snug, fleece jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders instead. Beatrice clutched the sides gratefully, but still had the same panicked expression visible on her face.

"Well, where am I going to go? I don't know where my mommy is. What am I supposed to do?" She whimpered, wiping her eyes. Mike thought for a moment.

"Well, it's too late to go and turn you over to the police. And I can't really try and look for your mom anywhere at this time of night," He said aloud as Beatrice stood close to him, holding onto his waist.

"I guess you could come and stay at my house for the night." He said finally. Beatrice sniffed and nodded her head feebly. This man was very nice to her. He had comforted her in her time of need, and she knew he was going to protect her for the time being.

"Could I really?" She asked innocently. Mike smiled softly and nodded his head.

"Of course. We're buddies now, and you need to get out of this cold air and into a nice warm bed." He announced, lifting the girl into his arms. Beatrice wrapped her small arms around his neck and rested her head onto his shoulder, her long hair falling over.

"Thank you Mike." She said, nuzzling into him. She felt safe with this man, even though they had only known each other for about fifteen minutes. Her mommy had always told her to never go home with a stranger, but it was her mommy who forgot about her and left her on the streets. It was fair play now. Mike let out a shaky sigh and smiled gently as Beatrice held onto him tightly.

"It's alright Beatrice. You're safe with me now." He said, as he patted her back comfortingly and walked on into the brisk September night.

(A/N): Well, I hope you enjoyed what I've got so far. I hope to add more to this at least once a week. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE leave reviews; I would LOVE some feedback! Thank you! :)