Chapter 25- As We Go Along
"Arthur Dolenz, glad to meet your acquaintance… again." Arthur said, walking over to the bed.
Mike stared at the man in awe. "Mike Nesmith," He said, holding his hand out for the man to shake.
"I know. It's nice to see what you look like." Arthur smiled and sat down in the chair Davy had vacated. They were quiet, each looking at the other until Mike spoke.
"So, how's everything going?" Arthur smiled and Micky bit back a laugh.
"It's going fine." Arthur answered. "How are things going for you?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess. I wish I can get out of this place." Mike sighed as he laid back on the pillows.
"Mike, you've only been in here for two and a half days." Micky pointed out, laughing.
"Seems like months." Mike grumbled.
"Yeah, I hate hospitals. I broke my hip last winter going out to the shed and ended up here for almost three months. That's when my nephews moved me to Rosebud… The senior living center downtown." Arthur clarified as Mike looked a little puzzled.
"Oh, you have kids?" Mike said curiously, leaning forward.
"You could say that... Five years after Jacob died I became Mary's guardian." Arthur said.
"What happened to Elizabeth?" Mike asked.
"Well, she and Victor died in a car accident after moving to England." Arthur sighed. "That's how I became Mary's guardian."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How's Mary?" Mike asked.
Micky bit his lip, predicting what the old man was going to say. "Mary was doing well. She met a great man and had two kids. Jacob, who your friends have met," Arthur said, glad to think of happier times then dwell on sad moments. "and Michael." Mike looked up, his eyebrows raised so high that they almost disappeared into his hair.
"Hey, you have a kid named after you, Mike." Micky said smiling. Arthur chuckled as Mike shook his head.
"You said Mary was doing well. What happened?" Mike asked, biting his lip, hoping nothing bad happened to the little girl that had grown on him. Arthur let out a heavy sigh and looked out the window. Micky's heart dropped, knowing what Arthur was going to say.
"Her and her husband, Jim, died the same way that her mother died. I became a guardian to her boys as well."
"Oh Arthur, I'm- I'm sorry." Mike said. There was a cold silence that filled the air. Suddenly, Mike broke it. "It's funny," Mike said, looking at his lap. "To me, Mary is still the little girl I knew, but in this time she's already had children and has passed on." He was quiet for a moment, looking out the window. The silence returned. The only sounds were that of the quiet shuffling of doctors and nurses outside the room.
"So, what happens now?" Micky asked, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at each other.
"You come see me as often as you can, that's what." Arthur said, "And bring your friends." The two Monkees chuckled. "After what I did for you, I deserve it."
"Oh, we'll be stopping by so often you'll get sick of us." Peter's voice said, making everyone jump.
"Where did you come from?" Micky demanded, massaging his chest "God, way to kill a person Peter."
"Ah- sorry?" Peter asked. "Lizzy is bringing Davy home and is going to stay there for a while. I just told her to make herself at home and if our landlord comes by to hide." Peter grinned.
"Why would you do that?" Arthur asked.
"Well, he's kind of… cranky." Micky explained, "Always getting on us for our rent if we're a tiny bit late."
"Ah, one of those people." Arthur said, nodding.
"Hmm, hmm." Mike nodded as a nurse brought in some lunch for him.
"Chow time." She said happily, setting a tray on a nightstand and left. Mike looked at it. He looked at it for so long that Micky got worried.
"Mike, you alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Is that supposed to be soup or dishwater?" Mike finally asked, picking up the spoon and stirring it around. "Here Mick, want it?"
"Don't give it to him," Peter said. "He might start his werewolf impression. That is one thing we don't need."
"Werewolf impression?" Arthur asked, puzzled, but smiling slightly at the boys' antics.
"Yeah, whenever there is something weird to eat or I make Cream of Root Beer Soup, Micky decides to imitate a werewolf." Peter said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure that's what this is." Mike said tasting the soup and made a face.
"I'll take it!" Micky said and made to grab it.
"Oh no, we don't need a werewolf in the hospital." Mike said, swatting Micky's hand away laughing.
Maggie led Jesse through the rain and into the waiting room of the same hospital that Mike was in. "Stay there," She demanded as she led him to a chair and pushed him down into it. "Connie," She said, stopping a blond nursing student. "Can you get this young man the forms to fill out?" Connie looked at them both, her brown eyes looking the young man up and down.
"Connie, papers, now!" Maggie barked, bringing the young woman out of her thoughts.
"Oh, right." Connie hurried away to get them.
"No need to get annoyed at her." Jesse said, rubbing his lower back. Maggie rolled her eyes.
"I know Connie. There is no way she would have gotten the papers if I hadn't yelled at her," Maggie explained, sitting down next to him. "She would have stared at you until the cows came home."
After a few minutes of waiting, Connie came back and handed Jesse the forms.
"Thank you." Jessie said, politely taking them. He took the pen Maggie gave him from her purse and started filling them out. After he finished the papers, he handed the papers back to Connie and Maggie took her pen back. She grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote something down and gave it to him.
"What's this then?" Jessie asked,confused.
"I have to get to work, this is my phone number. Call me to let me know that you're okay." She said as she got up and made to leave.
"Alright, I'll do that." Jesse said, flashing her a grin. She smiled and quickly walked away. Maybe, just maybe, love was only sleeping. She hurried through the corridor, past other doctors and nurses, right to her station. Maggie took off her coat and hung it up. Putting her hair up in a ponytail, she grabbed a clipboard and went to find Dr. Hartnell, her mentor. She looked in some of the patients' rooms and break room, but she couldn't find him.
"Excuse me, Gill?" She asked, stopping another doctor.
"Yes, Ms. Simms?" Gill asked, dubbing back to talk to her.
"Is Dr. Hartnell in?" Gill looked at her with pity in his eyes.
"Didn't you hear? Oh, no, you weren't here were you? Chris died, he had a heart attack."
"What?" Maggie asked, her eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah, apparently he was feeling poorly but got a house call from some kids whose friend was pretty sick. As soon as he got home he just.. died." Gill said. "His funeral is the day after tomorrow."
"Oh, thank you for telling me. Jeez, how is Anna holding up?" She asked, referring to his wife.
"Pretty shaken up, but holding it together." Gill said. Maggie nodded her head.
"Well, I better get back to work. Nice seeing you again." Gill said, hurrying away.
"You too." Maggie said to no one, quickly shaking herself a little bit. She went back to work thinking about what Gill said. "He went to a house call from some kids whose friends was pretty sick…"
Lizzy wandered around the house, trying to find something to do. Peter had dropped her off, helped get Davy into the bedroom, gave her advice about the landlord (he was joking she hoped), then went back to the hospital to drive Arthur back to Rosebud when he was ready to go. The house was filled with all kinds of random stuff. She poked her head into a doorway and found a room that was filled with a hodgepodge of stuff. Shutting it with a click, she turned around and let out a little scream that she quickly muffled. Sitting in a chair next to her was a dummy.
"Why on Earth do they have that?" Lizzy wondered aloud, going around it and getting her breathing back under control. Wandering into the kitchen, she found dishes still in the sink. Deciding that she'd help out a little, she looked around for the plug and started running water.
After the dishes were done, she found a broom and swept the floor. She looked in on Davy once to see if he was okay and found a book on meditation laying on the floor. Picking it up, she brought it back down stairs and started reading it. She was so engrossed in it that she didn't hear Davy wake up or come down stairs until he sat down next to her.
"Hello love." She looked up, startled.
"Davy! Uh, hi. You're up." She said.
Davy smiled. "Yeah, how long have I been asleep for?" he asked. Lizzy looked at her watch.
"About two, three hours, maybe." She answered. "I started cleaning up a little bit, I hope you don't mind." Lizzy said as Davy looked around.
"Why?" Davy asked.
"I was bored, and I thought I'd help you out a little." Lizzy said. "I didn't do much, just some of the dishes and swept the floor."
"Ooh, ahh, well, thank you."
"You're welcome. You have an amazing view here." She said waving to the porch.
"Oh, yeah, when the clouds aren't covering it, the sunset here is wonderful." Davy said. "One of the perks about this house." He wandered over to the bandstand and looked out at the beach. Lizzy followed him over there.
"Davy, can I ask you a question?" She asked. Davy looked at her with questioning eyes.
"Of course." He answered, smiling. Lizzy took a deep breath.
"What are we?" She asked.
"Humans, I hope." Davy joked. Lizzy laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Not what I meant. I mean you and I." Davy looked at her, nonplussed.
"You and I?" He repeated "I'm not quite sure I'm following." Lizzy sighed and bit her lip.
"Is there something between us? I think there is, but I don't know." Lizzy said, not looking at Davy. "I don't want to push you into anything, but I also don't want to miss out on this if there is something there. Am I making sense?" Davy gazed out across the beach and didn't talk for a time, collecting his thoughts. Finally right when Lizzy thought she wrecked her chances, he spoke.
"I think there is something there between us, Lizzy, but well-" He broke off.
"Davy, Peter and Micky told me that you're a bit of a lady's man. Always having a different girl every week or month… but I'll risk it, if you want to." Lizzy said, looking at the Englishmen. Davy tore his eyes away from the ocean and just looked at her. He laughed.
"Lizzy, if there's one thing you have got to know about me if we're going to be dating, don't listen to Micky or Peter when it comes to my relationships."
"Why not?" Lizzy asked.
"Because, first off, the few girlfriends I have had, they broke it off with me. Second, most of the dates I've gone on with girls where just that. Dates." Davy said, stepping closer to her.
"Really?" Lizzy asked, doubt in her eyes.
"Yeah, it is true that I date a lot," Davy said. "But when a relationship lasts for longer than a few dates, I'm never the one to break it off. It's always the girl."
"I won't break it off." Lizzy whispered. "And I'll give it a try if you want to."
"I'm willing if you are." Davy said taking her hand.
"Okay." Lizzy blushed before being pulled into one of Davy's signature kisses.