Author's note: This chapter, like the previous one of the same name, is based on the story by Crystal Rose of Pollux, taking the veiwpoint of Micky and Peter. All of the Dialogue was written by her, and a few of the descriptive scenes as well.

When Peter woke up, Mike was gone, just like he'd said he would be. Peter felt a heaviness in his heart that he felt would be there for the rest of his life, but he tried to ignore it and put on a brave face for Davy and Micky.

The day seemed to drag on forever, nobody felt like doing anything. There just didn't seem to be a point without Mike around. And while Micky busied his hands by doing all of his laundry and Peter picked up around the pad, Davy just sat around doing nothing.

Micky and Peter had both tried to get Davy to do something, but he couldn't be cheered up. It had them worried.

"He's acting just like Mike was the time he got scammed," Peter said, softly.

"Do you think my Cagney impression will cheer him up?" Micky asked.

"I don't think so," the blond said. Something like that would cheer him up, but it was Davy he was worried about. "Right now, the only thing that'll cheer him up is—"

He was interrupted by the phone ringing. Davy vaulted over the backless couch and answered it before Micky or Peter had a chance to even take a step towards it.

"Hello?!" he asked, eagerly, as Micky and Peter waited breathlessly. Finally, Davy managed a grin. "Mike!" He exclaimed.

"That," Peter finished his sentence, grinning also.

He and Micky now crowded around Davy, trying to hear what Mike was saying.

"You should see the size of this motel room, Tiny!" they heard. "And the furnishings!"

"I'm sure it's wonderful," the English boy said. "And we're glad you're enjoying it!"

"So, are you getting ready for that show?" Micky asked.

"Working on it," Mike answered. "I already made the solo adjustments last night; I just need to practice up a bit. The show is tomorrow night, but I've got time to talk to you guys. So, what're you guys up to?"

"Oh, we're… keeping busy," Davy lied, prompting Peter and Micky to give him a look. "You don't need to worry about us, Mike; we're handling things just fine!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," the Texan said. "Because I'll be staying in Phoenix for a few more weeks. Barty said that he's going to arrange a few gigs for me while I'm down here—going to get started making a name for myself."

Peter felt his heart drop as he and Micky exchanged glances..

"A few weeks?" Micky mouthed, silently.

"Hello?" Mike called over the line. "You guys still there?"

"Yeah, we're still here," Davy said, recovering from his shock. "That's great, Mike. Really great. You'll be fine; I just know it!"

"Yeah, you'll knock 'em dead!" Peter agreed, mustering as much enthusiasm as he could.

"You'll steal a few hearts before your gigs are over, I'll bet!" Micky added, although not nearly as excitedly as he would have been any other time.

"Well, I hope you're right," Mike said. "But will you three be okay without me for a few weeks? I didn't realize that I'd be staying that long…"

"We'll be fine," Davy said, and Peter studied Davy. Somehow, he felt Davy would be far from fine.

"Glad to hear that," Mike said, sounding relieved. "If Mr. Babbitt comes by, my share of the rent is up in my room; it's under the photo album on the shelf. Oh, I'll give you guys the number of this motel room; call me if something comes up, okay? Or, you know… if you just wanna talk for a bit, you can call, too."

"You bet we will," Peter promised, as Micky wrote the number down. "But, for now, you'd better get practicing for your shows!"

"Right; I'll talk to y'all later!" Mike said, and he hung up after they had all exchanged goodbyes.

Micky sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Weeks," he repeated. "He's going to be so used to that kind of life—being a solo star—he won't ever want to come back to amateurs like us…"

"This is how it ends, then?" Davy asked, quietly. "I mean, is there even any point in trying to keep this thing together?"

Peter suddenly felt panicked. Was Davy talking about giving up on the Monkees? "Well, I can think of one point," He said, desperately grasping at straws. "We need the money."

"Yeah, that's one point," Micky agreed. "Unfortunately, it's a pretty darn good one. We've got to keep ourselves fed."

"Then I'll do what Mike would do," Peter said, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. Now it sounded as if he was already trying to replace Mike's place as their undisputed leader. But, it was too late to take the words back now.

"I'll go search for a gig opportunity," He said, taking a handful of change from the petty cash jar. "This should get enough newspapers to find a potential gig or two! Just leave this to me!"

Again, kicking himself for the way he'd worded things, he left the pad and walked down to the news-stand on the corner.

He wasn't trying to replace Mike, he wasn't. Mike was their leader, their figurative big brother, he was always there to take care of them, to help them when they needed it. In fact, Peter owed his life and soul to Mike.

He gave an involuntary shudder as he thought of how much of a mess he'd gotten into in the past. How on earth was he supposed to get through life without Mike? He could barely get through a shopping trip without Mike to bail him out of his mistakes.

Reaching the newspaper stand, Peter stood and looked at all the newspapers, although he wasn't really looking. He was just thinking.

He could never replace Mike. He couldn't even try to replace Mike. But he would do what he could until Mike got back.

That made him feel better. He wasn't trying to replace his friend, he was just... filling in for a few weeks.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Peter purchased a few papers, but instead of returning to the pad right away, he looked around at the town and decided to go for a walk, try and clear his thoughts.

As he walked, he thought about what Davy had said earlier, about there not being any further point to their act. It had Peter worried, sure, it was bad enough to face the prospect of their foursome becoming a threesome for a few weeks. But Davy was acting very strange about being a trio. In fact, he hadn't even mentioned it at all.

What would happen if Davy decided that he didn't like being a threesome? What would happen if Mike won the record deal and moved on to be a solo star? Would Davy still be willing to stick with the band?

Peter had the most horrible feeling that if Mike never came back, Davy would give up on them too, and that thought made Peter feel awful.

He already felt like he was losing one of his best friends. He wasn't sure if he could handle losing another one.

Micky sighed and after staring at the back door for a moment, headed down towards the beach. Davy had made it very clear that he wanted to be alone, and Micky was all for giving him some privacy, but he hated to leave the younger man all alone, especially now.

Not that he was worried for Davy's safety, no, he was worried that with Mike's absence, Davy would be depressed and maybe even sulky, and would start to do some deep thinking.

And the result of that deep thinking was what worried Micky.

He had no idea what his younger friend could be planning, and that was part of what scared him.

But, he couldn't sit around and play nanny to his British friend. That was Mike's job.

Micky sighed. Mike. Mike would know what to do, Mike would know how to fix it. But Mike wasn't here, and that was the problem in the first place.

There had been plenty of times in the past when Mike had been busy and had been unable to help them out, but this was the first time he had done something that really threatened to break up the group.

It made Micky mad, to be honest. Davy was right, it wasn't fair to Mike for them to expect him to stay with them forever. But Micky didn't care about what was fair at the moment. Micky wanted what was best for himself, and what was best for him was the Monkees.

Sure, they weren't exactly successful. Sure, they only ate dinner when it was absolutely necessary. Sure, they had Mr. Babbit showing up at the doorstep all the time to collect a late rent they could never quite afford to pay. But didn't friendship count for something?

Micky stopped and sat down on the beach and stared out at the ocean. Davy's favorite song, I Wanna Be Free, began playing in his mind, and he sighed. He never really cared for that song, if you really truly loved someone, you should be willing to make a commitment.

But regardless of his views on relationships, he understood what it was saying. If you love something, let it go. If what took a friend away from you was best for the friend it was taking, you should let that friend go for it.

But understanding the concept didn't make it hurt any less.