Author's Note: Not done yet. One more chapter after this one. Then I have an idea for an epic fic of sorts.

Chapter 11: Healing

Micky stayed by Peter's side as Mike led the police and paramedics through the door. The police went straight for Babyface and his accomplice Mr. Vidic. The paramedics immediately averted their attention to Peter. One of them knelt next to Micky. He really didn't want to let go of Peter. As creepy as it sounded, the feeling of Peter's pulse under the shirt was the one thing keeping him together. As long as he felt Peter's pulse, he knew he was alive and that was enough for Micky. Mike had to literally pull him off Peter to let the medics tend to him. Once he'd let go, he nearly crumpled. Davy and Mike supported him. As much as they'd berated him for feeling guilty, he still did. His knees weakened seeing the look of pain on Peter's face.

"Come on, Micky," Mike said wrapping his arms around Micky offering more than just physical support. "Let's get in the car so we can follow them to the hospital." Micky nodded and let Mike lead him out to the car. Nobody spoke the whole drive to the hospital. When they pulled up, Micky had regained some of his composure, so they all ran into the hospital and to the front desk. Micky winced in pain as he realized that he was ignoring his own injuries. His whole body hurt and he still felt light-headed. Mike spoke to the woman behind the desk.

"Our friend was brought in here a few moments ago," he said.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Peter Tork," Mike answered. "He was shot in the shoulder."

"Yes, they took him back to surgery," she answered Mike before looking at Micky. "You look like you were injured as well."

"He was," Mike answered for him. "Davy here was hit on the head and knocked out. They both need to be seen, too."

"Mike, I told you I was fine," Davy muttered.

"Sorry, Davy," Micky said putting his hand on Davy's shoulder as if to stop him from escaping, "but unless you want me whining about how it was my fault you got hit on the head for the rest of your life, you're coming with me to get checked out."

"They're preparing a recovery room for your friend," the nurse said. "I can take you all there so you can wait for him and have a doctor look at your injuries as well. I'm sure the police will also want to speak with you, too."

"Thank you," Mike said. The three of them followed her, Davy mumbling the whole way about Micky guilt-tripping him. Halfway down the hallway, however, Micky had to stop. His back was still in pain and he could feel sharp jabs with every step. Mike had been walking behind him and stopped to look nervously at him as he leaned against the wall.

"I'm fine," Micky breathed feeling a little short of breath. "Sort of. I just can't walk that fast." The nurse also stopped and looked at him.

"Maybe we should get you a wheelchair," Mike said.

"I'm fine," Micky said. "Just give me a minute."

"You look like you're about to faint," Davy countered.

"Wait here," the nurse said before scurrying off. Micky felt a fresh wave of dizziness pass over him and his knees went weak again. He would have fallen on the ground had Mike not been right there to catch him. Davy looked around nervously looking for the nurse.

"Ok, yeah, definitely a wheelchair for you," Mike said. Finally the nurse came back with a wheelchair and Mike lowered him into it. The room wasn't much farther, so it only took them another few minutes to get there. Once they did, an orderly was just leaving.

"I just finished up in there, Ma'am," he said wheeling a cart full of dirty linens out.

"Good, thank you," she said before he walked away. "You please sit on the bed," she instructed Davy. "And you can stay there until the doctor gets here. Should be only a minute or two."

"Really, guys, I feel fine," Davy said as the nurse left. "I'm more concerned for Micky and Peter."

"As am I, but it wouldn't hurt to have him look at you," Mike said. "That pot was one our heaviest pots. You could have some brain swelling in there."

"I'm fine, really. I've fallen off horses several times. I have a rather hard head."

"I'll say," Mike deadpanned which caused Davy to shoot him a dirty look. Micky laughed a little, but winced when a shooting pain went through his head.

"I think maybe I'm the one with the swollen brain," Micky groaned as he rubbed his head.

"You have a brain?" Davy joked.

"Since when?" Mike added.

"Very funny, guys," Micky said, even though he was actually laughing a little. At that moment the doctor walked in.

"Good evening, gentleman," he said. "My name is Dr. Hastings."

"How's Peter?" Davy asked.

"Davy, he's not going to know anything yet," Mike reprimanded.

"That's alright," Dr. Hastings said. "I understand your concern for your friend. I don't know his condition yet, but I have seen hundreds of shooting victims in my career here. The fact that he came in awake and aware is a good sign. From what I understand, first appearances are that the bullet missed all vital organs, which is another plus. I have the utmost confidence your friend will make a full recovery. He's being tended to by the best surgeon this hospital has."

"Thank you," Mike said.

"Shall we see how you boys are doing in the interim? Can I start with your names and injuries?"

"This is Davy Jones," Mike answered. "He was hit over the head with a heavy pot. We found him passed out on the floor."

"Let's take a look, then. Mr. Jones, where did the pot hit you?"

"Right here," Davy said indicating a spot on the back of his head. "It didn't hit me that hard. He kind of threw it at me more than anything else. I tried to dodge it, but I guess it still nicked me."

"There doesn't appear to be that much damage," Dr. Hastings said examining the spot on his head. "Just a little bruising. Do you have a headache?"

"A little," Davy answered. The doctor asked a few more questions to Davy and Mike while doing a few more examinations that gauged Davy's reactions, but Micky found himself zoning out and not paying attention. His head was throbbing. And he felt like he might be a little sick.

"Ok, look straight ahead for me," Dr. Hastings said as he shone a very bright light in Davy's eyes. Micky really hoped the doctor didn't have to do that to him. The lights in the room alone were enough to make his head pound. "Normal pupil reactions. I don't think there's anything other than a concussion here. I'll give you some pain killers and if your symptoms get any worse, come back, ok?"

"Sure," Davy said as he hopped down from the bed.

"Who's next?" the doctor said looking at Mike. "What's your name?"

"I'm Mike Nesmith and I'm fine," Mike said. "Took a punch, but I've had worse. This is Micky Dolenz. He took a pretty bad beating from a really big guy. And he had a chair stab him."

"A chair stabbed him?" Davy asked confused.

"Yeah, the chair he was tied to broke and the splintered wood pierced him in the back," Mike said as he moved to help Micky to the bed.

"Let's take a look," Dr. Hastings said.

"Can you not shine that light in my eyes though?" Micky asked. "My head already hurts from the lights in here."

"I'm sorry, but I will have to see your pupil response. How do you feel otherwise?"

"A little sick, to be honest. And in a lot of pain."

"He's really weak," Mike said. "He almost collapsed on the floor out in the hallway."

"Mr. Dolenz, I'm going to say three words and I need you to listen to them carefully, ok?"

"Sure," Micky answered unsure why he was doing that.

"Ok, the words are 'pen', 'ball', and 'hat'. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Alright, did you pass out at all?"

"No, but I came close. My vision went all fuzzy a few times."

"No seizing?"

"No."

"Have any of you noticed any slurred speech?"

"No," Mike answered.

"Mr. Dolenz, do you have any numbness?"

"No," Micky answered.

"Push on my hands." Micky tried, but couldn't push very hard. The doctor then shone the bright light in his eyes with an apology explaining it had to be done. Micky jerked away as soon as he did it because pain shot through his head. It was like someone was stabbing him directly in the brain. He tried to stay still for the second eye, but couldn't. He gasped in pain and clutched his head. "Alright, there is some muscle weakness, but not much. There's also a delayed reaction in the pupils. Let's take a look at your back now." Dr. Hastings moved to look at his back. "This doesn't look that deep. We'll get it cleaned up and put a bandage over it. Alright, Mr. Dolenz, what were those three words I said earlier?"

"Pen, um…bat…" Micky trailed off. He couldn't remember the last word. He didn't know why; the doctor had only said it a few minutes ago.

"Actually, the word was 'ball'," Mike said after a few minutes.

"And the last word was 'hat'," Davy added.

"What does that mean?" Mike asked worry dripping from his voice.

"It means his cognition is impaired affecting his memory," Dr. Hastings answered.

"That sounds bad," Davy said sounding terrified.

"It's not that bad," Dr. Hastings answered. "It does mean there is some brain swelling, but it doesn't look that bad. I can give him some medication to reduce the swelling. With rest and the medication, the swelling should go down and he'll make a full recovery."

"Thank you," Mike said breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'll have the nurse start the medication immediately and bring in another bed for when your other friend is out of surgery. The police are also waiting to speak with you if you're ready."

"I'll talk to them outside," Mike said squeezing Micky's shoulder a little as a way of saying he was there for him. "Micky needs to rest like you said, and talking to the cops is only going to stress him out." The doctor nodded and they both left the room. Micky sighed and lay down on the bed. He winced a little as he felt pressure on the wound on his back so he rolled onto his side. Davy walked over to him and looked anxiously at him.

"You heard the doc," Micky said. "I'll be fine." A moment later the nurse came in and began hooking Micky up to a machine that took his blood pressure and heart rate. Then she moved to insert a needle in his arm which caused Micky to jerk away.

"It will only hurt for a minute, but I need to give you the medication," she said.

"Micky, please let her do this," Davy pled and placed his hand over Micky's. Micky closed his eyes and relaxed his arm so the nurse could start the IV.

"Ok, here we go," she said. "Slight poke in just a second." He felt the needle poke his arm and he jerked. Davy gripped his hand tightly, but the pain immediately started to fade. The nurse then starting hooking him up to an IV and then took another needle and injected something into the IV as well.

"What is that?" Davy asked.

"It's a hypertonic saline," she answered. "It'll help reduce the brain swelling. I've also given him a strong pain killer." Davy nodded and the nurse then moved to start cleaning the wound on his back. She had to push him over a little more to get at it better. He felt a slight burning when she cleaned it and he tensed again. Once again, Davy squeezed his hands around Micky's hand.

"It's ok, Micky," he said. "Just squeeze my hand." The pain went away quickly again and she put a gauze pad on the wound and then wrapped it in a dressing.

"You're all set, Mr. Dolenz," the nurse said packing up her supplies and cleaning the trash from the bandages. "Your pain should start to go away from the medications soon. If you need anything else, just let me know. There are blankets in that cupboard. He's probably going to start getting cold soon."

"Thanks," Davy said. "We will." Micky rolled back over on his back and closed his eyes for a moment. Davy didn't wait for Micky to get cold. He just grabbed a blanket and draped it over Micky carefully tucking his feet under it and then pulled a chair over so he could sit on Micky's left side and keep an eye on him. It suddenly struck him how lucky he was to have friends like this. After a few minutes Mike came back inside the room.

"How's he doing?" Mike asked sitting in a chair on the other side of Micky.

"I'm fine," Micky said. He could already feel the pain killers start to work. The pain in his head was getting better as well as the rest of his body.

"The nurse gave him some sort of saline solution or something that she said would help reduce the swelling and some pain killers," Davy said. "And his back is all bandaged and clean now."

"That's good," Mike said. "Are the pain killers working yet?"

"Yes," Micky answered. "I feel fine for the first time all day." Mike smiled.

"Glad to hear it, buddy."

"What did the cops say?" Davy asked.

"They didn't really say much," Mike answered with a sigh. "They mostly just wanted to hear what happened. I told them everything and they had me sign something. They said they'd been looking for Babyface for a while, but didn't want to release anything to the media for fear of scaring people."

"You must be joking!" Davy said. "They should have at least told us!"

"Yeah, they realize that in hindsight. But they're going to head over to Lucy's and arrest her. Assuming she's still there, anyway."

"Good," Micky said. "She deserves to go to jail." He was met with silence for a few moments.

"Micky, I'm really sorry about her," Mike said. "I want you to know that I didn't want to be right about her."

"Of course I know that, Mike," Micky answered. "But the fact is that you were. Why I didn't listen to you, I have no idea. But it won't happen again."

"Hopefully it won't have to come to that ever again," Mike said. They spent the next several hours talking about random things. Micky didn't contribute much as he was starting to feel really tired from the medication and just wanted to close his eyes and sleep, but the doctor had come back in to check on them and had instructed them not to let Micky sleep just yet. He had told them he'd be back in a few hours to re-check Micky's cognition. The nurse had also come in and given Davy a few aspirin's for his own headache. Mike and Davy both stood up when he finally did come back in. Despite the doctors assurances that Micky and Peter would both make a full recovery, Micky could tell they were both extremely nervous.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Dolenz?" Doctor Hastings asked with a smile.

"Much better," Micky answered. "Really tired though."

"Yeah, the medicine can do that. I'm sorry. I'll let you go to sleep once I determine you're improving. I'm going to run you through those tests again, ok?"

"Sure," Micky said pushing himself up so that he was sitting once again.

"Ok, I'm going to say three words again. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"The words are 'ball', 'cup', and 'hat'. Got that?"

"Yes."

"Ok, how is the headache?"

"Better."

"And the nausea?"

"Gone."

"Ok, let's test some reflexes." The doctor hit his knees with the little rubber hammer and his legs kicked perfectly. Then he shone the bright light in Micky's eyes. It hurt a little, but Micky forced himself not to flinch away because it wasn't nearly painful as it was before.

"He didn't flinch away this time," Davy said. "That's good, right?"

"Yes, he is making improvements. The pupils are reacting better. Not perfectly yet, but I expect them to within a few days. Mr. Dolenz, push on my hands again." Micky pushed and though he was still a little weak, he did better. "You also appear to have some muscle strength back. Now do you remember what those words were?"

"Ball, cup, and…" Micky couldn't think of the last word that readily. It took him several seconds before he finally remembered it. "Hat!" He heard Mike and Davy both exhale deeply as though they'd been holding their breath.

"That's definitely good," Mike said with a smile.

"Yes. He is definitely improving. I expect reflexes to return to normal within a few days and cognition to return within a few weeks. I'll test you again in the morning. In the meantime, get some sleep. I checked on your friend for you as well. They are closing him up right now. They successfully removed the bullet and he should make a full recovery. He'll be joining you within an hour."

"Thank you so much," Mike said. Micky could see relief wash over his face just as relief was washing through his own body. Davy smiled and closed his eyes in relief as well.

"If it's ok, doc, I'd rather stay awake until he gets here," Micky said.

"You can if you want, but he's under a rather strong anesthesia," Doctor Hastings answered. "He won't even be awake for a few hours himself. Probably won't wake up till morning. He needs the sleep to recover."

"Even so, I'd still rather be awake when he gets here."

"Understood. But you need to sleep after that. Are you boys staying as well?"

"Yes," Mike and Davy answered in unison.

"We aren't leaving," Mike said.

"I expected as much," Doctor Hastings said with a smile. "I'll have the nurse bring in a few cots. It will be tight, but that way you boys can sleep as well without hurting your backs in those uncomfortable chairs."

"Thank you," Davy said. Mike and Davy both sat back down in their seats once the doctor left and there was a few moments of silence between them.

"Peter's gonna be ok," Davy said.

"I just can't believe he did that," Mike said. For the first time he looked a little broken. Micky understood what was going on with his friend. Peter had gotten shot trying to save him. He'd jumped in front of a bullet meant for Mike. And Mike thought he had to stay strong for all of them despite the fact he'd nearly died. Micky reached out and squeezed Mike's hand.

"It's ok, Mike," Micky said. "You don't have to hold it in anymore. If you bottle up your emotions like that, you're going to explode one day. Neither of us will think any less of you for showing emotions. They aren't a sign of weakness. They're a sign of humanity." Mike smiled and for the first time shed a tear.

"Thank you, Micky," Mike said.