Author's Note: If anyone can figure out where I got the characters from, kudos to you! I changed their names slightly because they obviously don't have anything to do with the Monkees. I just find it fun to insert characters from other stuff I like. :D kind of like a where's waldo in a way. Fun little game for me.

Chapter 4: Deceptions

Peter's heart sank lower than it had in a long time. He watched Mike storm out the back door and then looked over at his other friends. Davy and Micky just stood there for a few moments. Peter decided to run after Mike. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, but he knew he had to say something to help his friend. He knew in his heart that Mike hadn't meant what he said, but it didn't make him any less worried. None of his friends had ever fought like that and he was scared.

He thought he heard Davy call after him as he followed Mike out the back door, but ignored it. His biggest concern was making sure Mike was ok. He'd never seen Mike react like this before. He saw Mike take the stairs down to the beach two at a time, which was easy given his large stride. Peter followed him and caught up to Mike just as he reached the shoreline.

"Mike!" he called. Mike stopped momentarily to look back at him for a second before turning back to stare at the water.

"Peter, I'm so sorry," Mike said as Peter caught up and stood next to him. "I didn't mean that. I don't want to go back home."

"I know," Peter said.

"I just-" Mike started but trailed off.

"It's ok, Mike," Peter said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder to try and reassure him. "You don't have to explain. I know. I understand. There have been times where I've thought about going home, too."

"Really?"

"Sure. Things get hard for us sometimes. No one is going to deny that. And when that happens sometimes I think about how much easier it would be if I just went home. I'd have a warm bed to sleep on every night and my mom would make sure I had 3 square meals a day. And my mom makes some great food. I really miss her cooking. And everything else about home."

"So why are you still here?"

"Because I wouldn't be happy if I went home. Not truly. If I went home I'd be giving up on my music. No one cares if you can sing or play guitar back home. It's fun for the talent show, sure, but there's no one to really listen. Not like people out here do. And most importantly, I would be giving up half my family. I couldn't bear to lose you guys right now. You all mean more to me than anything else."

"I feel the same way. Only there aren't even any talent shows in New Gallifrey. The only person who listened to my music was Aunt Kate."

"I know you feel the same way, Mike. And so do Davy and Micky." There was silence between the two of them for a few minutes as they both just stared at the ocean. Peter took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I think so," Mike answered. "At least now. I let my anger get the best of me. I didn't mean to hurt any of you. I'm really sorry."

"It's ok, Mike. I already told you. It happens. We all get angry from time to time."

"You forgive me?"

"Of course I do, Mike. Come on, why don't we go home. You can apologize to Micky and Davy."

"Sure." Mike smiled at Peter and the two walked back to the pad together. When they walked in, however, the living room was empty. Peter looked at the counter where Mike usually put the keys to the car and saw they weren't there.

"You think Davy left for work early?" Peter asked. Davy didn't have to go to work for an hour, but it was a reasonable assumption that Davy had left so he wouldn't have to take part in another argument, should another one arise.

"Probably," Mike agreed also noticing the missing keys. "Micky probably went to sleep."

"More than likely," Peter agreed. "I'll go check on him just to make sure." Peter made his way up the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible so that he didn't wake Micky. He carefully opened Micky's door and discovered that his friend was indeed passed out and snoring in his bed. Peter closed the door and walked quietly back downstairs.

"He up there?" Mike asked from the kitchen table where he was now sitting looking at a new newspaper.

"Yeah," Peter said. He took a deep breath and wasn't sure if he should proceed with the thought that had suddenly occurred to him. "You know, something's bugging me."

"What?" Mike asked folding up the paper and looking at him intently.

"Well, it's not really like Micky to do something like this, is it?"

"No, that's why I got so angry."

"And he said that Lucy kept saying 'just a little longer', right?"

"That's what he said."

"Well, it's just weird. I mean, why wouldn't she let him go home? It seems…" Peter couldn't bring himself to really say it. He always had a certain amount of trust in everyone, but at the same time, he couldn't escape the feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad was going on.

"You think she purposefully kept him out all night?" Mike asked.

"That's kind of what it seems like."

"Why would she want to do that?"

"I have no idea."

"The only thing I can think of is she was trying to sabotage us, or at least him. But why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. It doesn't make sense."

"No, Peter, I think you're on to something. It actually does make a certain amount of sense to me. We just have to figure out why she would do that."

"How do we do that? Micky said she was out of town."

"Well, we could start by getting to know a little bit more about her. Do you remember where Micky said she worked?"

"Umm-" Peter said trying to wrack his brain to remember. "I think he said she was a manager at an upscale electronics store. I don't remember what it was."

"Vidic's?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, that was it!" Peter said snapping his fingers remembering.

"So we go to that store first and see what we can find out about her. But remember, we cannot let Micky find out that we're snooping around on his girlfriend."

"Right. I don't think we should tell Davy either."

"Agreed. This stays between us." Peter nodded agreeing with Mike wholeheartedly. Mike wrote a note for Micky and Davy, just in case he came back before them, saying they'd be back soon. Then the two of them made their way to the electronics store.

It took Mike and Peter at least 2 hours to get to the electronics shop by bus, and another half hour wandering around a little lost. Finally they found it. When they walked in, Mike was taken aback by the displays around him. All the latest technology lined the walls with brightly colored price stickers on them. Some of them cost more money than Mike had even imagined was possible for one person to have. Then again some of the stuff was fancier than Mike could have imagined, too.

"Can I help you?" said a man behind the counter. Mike pulled his eyes away from all the shiny objects around him to look at the man behind the counter. He looked like a middle aged man with white hair and a white beard. He wore a suit with a laboratory jacket and a red tie. He smiled at them, but somehow Mike didn't feel pleased by it. The man's smile seemed almost devious. It sent chills up Mike's spine.

"Uh, yes," Mike started. They'd come up a plan on the way for how to weasel information out of whoever was here, but he was temporarily thrown by the creepy smile. He cleared his throat a little before continuing. "Well maybe. See we are private investigators with the firm of Nishwash and Thorkelson. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

"No, can't say as I have," the man replied. He seemed to be buying the lie, so Mike delved in further.

"Ah, well, I'm Nishwash, and this is Thorkelson," Mike said introducing first himself and then Peter who went along with the plan and adopted an uncharacteristically stern face. "We are looking for some information you might have on an employee. Her name is Lucy Stills."

"I can't imagine why you would be looking for information on her," he responded. "Lucy is one of my best employees. I'm William Vidic. I own this store."

"Do you have very many employees, Mr. Vidic?" Peter asked sounding very stern.

"No, just a few."

"Well, then saying she is one of your best doesn't really describe her all that well, does it? I mean if you have two employees, than saying one is one of your best is like saying one apple is redder than another, don't you think?"

"Not really. I have had several employees over the years and she has always performed well past my expectations."

"What else can you tell us about her?" Mike asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"What her daily habits are?" Mike asked.

"What sort of company she keeps," Peter added.

"Is she a work-a-holic?" Mike continued.

"Does she party a lot?" Peter supplied.

"What sorts of men interest her?" Mike asked.

"Gentleman, gentleman, please!" Mr. Vidic said putting up both hands to stop them. "I'm not sure it would be ethical of me to answer any of that. Why do you want to know all this?"

"We told you, we are investigating her," Mike said leaning on the counter. "We were hired by a client who believes she is of a suspicious nature and wishes to find out what he can about her."

"Well, I'm afraid I can't be of service to you," Mr. Vidic said sternly. He was staring at them very intently. Mike had a bad feeling that they should probably leave before their deception was uncovered.

"Alright, then, Mr. Vidic," Mike said standing up straight now. "We shall be going then. Good day, sir." Mike pulled Peter by the back of the collar a little and they made their way to the front of the store. As they did so, a young blonde woman walked by them. They both smiled courteously at her, but the smiles quickly melted off their faces when they heard Mr. Vidic address her.

"Lucy!" he said. "You're early. You aren't supposed to be here for your shift for another half hour."

"What can I say," Lucy replied. "I got bored at home. Thought I'd come in and look over some paperwork before my shift started." Mike and Peter exchanged one quick panicked look with each other before dashing out of the store. If Mr. Vidic said anything about the "private investigators" their deception would definitely be uncovered. However what worried them the most is that Lucy was even there at all.

They ran down the street and rounded a corner before stopping. Mike peered around the corner to ensure that no one was following them and that they hadn't been seen. Then he leaned against the wall and realized that he was breathing heavy. Peter was doubled over with his hands on his knees panting as well. He hadn't realized how fast they'd actually run.

"That…was…Lucy?!" Peter gasped in between breaths.

"I guess," Mike replied. Peter swallowed and stood upright having sufficiently caught his breath.

"What is she doing here?!"

"That's just what I was going to ask."

"Maybe she got back from her trip early?"

"I don't think so. You heard what she said. She was bored at home. She never left."

"So she lied to Micky?"

"Either that or he lied to us."

"I doubt that. Micky's not a liar."

"I agree with you, Pete, but then that leaves us with her being the liar."

"Why would she lie about something like that?"

"To convince him to spend the entire night with her."

"So we're back to that."

"Yes. All we have now is proof that she's an underhanded, sneaky little she-devil."

"Mike!" Peter said looking at him in shock. Mike wasn't surprised; he really didn't talk about people like that all too often. But in this case she deserved it.

"What? You don't agree with me? She's playing Micky for a fool. She's trying to sabotage him. She's playing a game with his heart and because of that she is an underhanded, sneaky she-devil!"

"I agree with you, but this doesn't really tell us why she's doing it."

"No, it doesn't. We'll just have to follow her to see if we can find that out." Mike and Peter took up a post in the alley. They had no idea how long they'd have to wait there, but they were resolved. They'd find out why this woman was lying to Micky one way or another.

Davy worked through his shift silently. He was still rather angry and upset at Mike for blowing up at Micky like that, but it was mostly because he was so deep in thought. He hadn't expected Mike to agree that returning home was a good idea so readily. After Mike had stormed out, he was a little upset that Peter had followed him. Davy had though that Mike deserved to be alone. He knew that was his anger more than anything, so he'd let it drop after calling after Peter went nowhere. He decided that he had an hour before he had to be at work, so he decided to just leave early. Everyone's tensions were so high, including his own, so he thought it best to just leave and try and calm down.

Now his shift was almost over and he was still a little upset. He wasn't seething as he had been before, but he was upset thinking that Mike wanted to go home to Texas. Normally he would have just realized Mike probably hadn't meant it and that he'd just said it out of anger. But his thoughts went back to that strange conversation he'd had with Micky a week prior. Micky had mentioned that he thought Mike had been thinking about going home. So did this outburst between them all prove Micky right? Was Mike really thinking about leaving them? And if he was, what did that mean for the rest of the group? What did that mean for Davy?

Davy sighed as he clocked out for the end of his shift. He wasn't sure he was ready to go home yet. He didn't know if he wanted to hear what Mike had to say. He was surprised to see Micky outside leaning against the car as though he were waiting for him. He was gripped by worry wondering if something had happened. This was twice now that Micky had shown up at his work to wait for him.

"Micky," Davy said when he approached the car. "Is everything ok?"

"Let's go back to that diner," Micky answered. "We need to talk."

"Sure," Davy nodded and followed Micky back to the diner in silence. They quietly took a booth near the back and ordered two sodas.

"I think we should figure out what we're gonna do," Micky said after the server brought them their drinks.

"What do you mean?" Davy asked.

"Well, I mean that this proves that Mike is thinking about leaving. That I'm not crazy. We need to think about what we're gonna do if he does."

"I don't know. I've never really thought about what I'd do if any of you left."

"Neither have I, but we kind of have to now, don't we."

"Why don't we just talk to him?"

"Yeah, cause talking worked so well for us earlier. I don't really want to fight with him again."

"Neither do I, but what else can we do?"

"We do what I just said. We figure out a way to move on."

"Move on?"

"Yeah, without Mike, we need to figure out how to pay for the pad and our food."

"But-" Davy started, but Micky had already rolled on to his next thought.

"Listen, Davy, I have an idea. I have a friend who's got a job that he needs a little help with. He's willing to pay us a hefty sum if we help him."

"What kind of a job?"

"I don't have all the details yet, but I think this will be good for us. You and I. We can prove that we don't need Mike."

"Is it a show?"

"Of sorts. But it'll be good for us."

"I don't know, Micky. I don't think I can perform without Mike."

"So what, are you gonna go back to England with your tail between your legs? Or are you gonna pull yourself up and move on? I for one don't want to be dependent on anyone. I thought you wanted the same thing."

"It's not that I'm dependent on Mike-"

"That's what it sounds like. Mike's already got one foot out the door, man. We can either do the same if we want to do anything with our lives, or we can sit and wallow in our misery and despair. Mope over a man who doesn't give two shakes about us."

"Now hold it, Micky! Mike cares about us and you know it!" Davy felt himself get a little angry. How could Micky be so quick to just kick Mike out of their lives? To just let him go without a fight? And to say that he didn't care? He glared at Micky who seemed to recoil from his outburst for a moment.

"Obviously not well enough to stay," he said after a few seconds.

"Don't count him out yet, Micky!" Davy countered jumping up from the table and now visibly angry. "He's not gone. He probably said that he was leaving out of anger. I am not going to just give up on him like that. And you shouldn't either. We've all been through way too much together to just give up on each other. I don't know what's gotten in to you, but I'm done talking about it. I'm going home. To talk to Mike."