It was morning and Cara was just waking up on the couch of the four young men who called themselves "The Monkees" in their apartment. She sat up slowly, feeling groggy and still tired, and looked around to see if she could find anybody. None of the guys were down yet, but she still figured that she'd be ready. Maybe she'd cook a breakfast for them for being so nice for letting her stay. She'd try to be nicer to the charmer Davy too. She figured that just because he was a so-called "ladies man" didn't mean he was a mean, abusive man like Jeff. Boy, was she glad to be rid of him for now! Slowly, on wobbly, early-morning legs, she stood up and walked upstairs to find the bathroom.

When she found it, she went in, stripped her still-damp clothes off, and climbed into the shower. When she started the water, she sighed in relief to have the warm water pouring on her instead of that freezing rain last night. She was sure she could do whatever she wanted here.

When she was finished, she got out of the tub and started to towel off. It was then she realized something very unfortunate…

Wrapped in her towel, she knocked on the nearest man's door, not really knowing or caring who it belonged to. She knocked and stood back, hoping this was a good idea. When the door opened, she saw a sleepy-looking, very embarrassed Peter in the doorway.

"Uh…good morning Cara," he said, trying to avert his eyes. "Is…something wrong?"

"Well…it's kind of stupid," said Cara. "You see…in my rush of running away yesterday, I seem to have forgotten to pack anything…including clothes."

"Oh," said Peter. "Uhm…well Davy's kind of your size…maybe some of his? I mean, if you don't mind men's clothing."

"I wouldn't mind if he doesn't," said Cara. "It's just…how do I put this…I'm sure none of you have…well…the other clothing I need." She blushed a bit, although it was not really something to blush about.

"Oh…" said Peter, getting Cara's encrypted message.

Cara shrugged. "Ah well…I'll just wear the stuff I had on yesterday and buy some new stuff later…"

"You sure you wanna go out?" asked Peter.

'Well, I kinda have to!" said Cara. Figures, thought Peter. Leave it to a girl to want to stay inside for fear of being caught by her evil boyfriend but absolutely need to go out to buy some new clothes.

"Alright…lemme get Davy, I'm sure you don't want to walk all over the hall in nothing but a towel," said Peter, very, very red.

"Ok," said Cara.

"You can stay in my room for now," said Peter.

Cara nodded and went to sit down on Peter's bed as he went over to Davy's room.

Peter walked down the hall to Davy's room, contemplating what he just saw. He wondered if there'd ever be a day when he saw Cara when she was actually dry. Surprisingly, she wasn't shy about just being wrapped in a towel at all. Peter didn't know why he was so embarrassed, there was nothing showing…when he got to Davy's door, he knocked two times and waited.

A tussle-haired Davy answered. "What's up, Pete?"

"Do you…think you can spare a pair of jeans and a shirt?" asked Peter. "Cara forgot to pack clothes with her."

Davy raised his eyebrows. "And just how do you know this?"

"Cause she walked up to my room wearing nothing but a towel," said Peter.

"Woo, hot," said Davy, winking.

"Oh, stop that Davy," said Peter. "Just give me some clothes, she's in my room."

"Alright," said Davy, laughing. "Chill out man, don't think too hard, you'll hurt yourself." Davy went over to his closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a yellow button-down shirt. He tossed them to Peter, who, of course, caught them with his face instead of his hands.

"Thanks, Davy," Peter's muffled voice said from behind the clothes. He walked slowly out of the room with the clothes still on his face.

"Don't mention it buddy," laughed Davy as Peter walked away.

As Peter approached his room with Cara still in it, he finally took Davy's clothes off his face. There was no way he was going in there looking like an idiot, although according to his bandmates, he was already. As he was reaching for the doorknob, he wondered if she was still wearing her towel…if he walked in on her and she was naked, then that would be a worse embarrassment than wearing Davy's clothes on his face. Instead of just opening the door, he knocked instead. "Come in!" Cara called from within.

Taking that as the green light that she was covered, Peter opened the door to his room and went in. Sure enough, he was right. "Here are some of Davy's clothes," said Peter. "These ok?"

"Yeah, they'll do for now," said Cara. I'll just go to the bathroom to change." Cara took the clothes and walked to the bathroom. When she got in, she took the towel off and the clothes on. They were a little looser than her own clothes, but Davy was stockier and broader than she was. The length, however, was perfect. She checked her arms to see if the bruises Jeff left were still visible…they were. She wondered if any of the guys noticed yet. Digging through her purse she had brought up that morning, she found her makeup and made herself look like a woman who was not battered. She took the time to dig through the cabinets and was pleased to find a hairdryer and gel products. Upon seeing the gel, she immediately wondered which Monkee used it…

Peter waited, somewhat nervous, downstairs for Cara. Mickey, Mike, and Davy were downstairs with him, but for some reason he felt alone. What would she look like, all cleaned up and everything? He was also wondering if she thought him as dumb as his friends thought he was. Deep down he knew it could be true, but he sincerely hoped Cara didn't see it.

"Hey guys," said a playful-sounding female voice from the staircase. The four turned around. It was Cara, clad in Davy's jeans and yellow shirt, her hair dry, curly, and bouncy; just the color Peter thought it would be; her bangs resting just above her eyebrows, which arched above dark eyes—were they smiling?

"Mornin'," said Mike as Cara bounded down the staircase and into the living room. "You feeling better?"

"Much," said Cara. "Thanks for the clothes by the way, Davy."

"Not a problem swee—uh—Cara," said Davy, catching himself right away. Instead of the borderline furious look Cara first gave him when he called her a pet name, a soft smile appeared, and a small laugh. Davy sighed in relief and went on over to the kitchen.

"Feeling nicer, eh?" said Mickey.

"A bit," said Cara. "I just needed to settle in a bit. I didn't mean to snap at anybody."

"You're good," said Davy, coming out of the kitchen with two apples. "Here, a peace offering," he said, tossing one of them at Cara. She caught it and took a bite.

"Best o' friends now?" asked Mike.

"We'll see," said Cara with a sly smile.

"You said you needed to get your own clothes, right?" said Peter.

"Yeah…" said Cara. "I do need to…but how? I'm still a little scared to go out."

"Well whoever's taking her out it's gonna be me, cause that car's mine, and I don't trust any of you all to drive it," said Mike. Peter opened his mouth to speak up, but stopped when he realized that Mike was serious and there was nothing he could do about it. He was very crestfallen.

"Ya know," said Cara. "That may just work out in my favor." Peter looked even more upset. "Mike, ya mind if I borrow that hat?"

Mike touched the green wool cap on his head. "Uh…well I guess so," he said. "What're ya gonna do with it?"

"Put it on of course!" said Peter, ecstatic that he was able to get a word in.

"No shit!" said Mike. "I was asking Cara."

"Okay," said Peter, looking down and frowning sadly. Cara shot Peter an apologetic look and he brightened up a little bit. At least someone felt sorry for him.

"Here ya go Cara," said Mike, handing her the cap. Cara bunched up her auburn hair and set the cap over it, hiding all of her hair except her bangs. Dressed in Davy's clothes and Mike's hat with her hair covered, she looked very unrecognizable and androgynous. "Let's get gone ma'am, don't want ya having to wear Davy's clothes for God knows how long." Cara nodded and followed Mike out the door to the Monkeemobile, as Mike's car was so coined.

They got into the car and Mike pulled out of the driveway. "So…you're sure you can't go back to where you left all your clothes and just pick em up?"

Cara's eyes widened. "Oh God no!" she said. "That's where Jeff lives! There's no way I'm going back there! I'll only get what I need, I swear."

"Ok, understandable, sorry, didn't quite put two and two together," said Mike. "There's a cheap little store just around the corner, you can run in, get some stuff, and get on back home. It's close so if you ever need more you're all set."

"Alright," said Cara. After five minutes Mike pulled the Monkeemobile into the parking lot of the small boutique called "Appleblossoms."

"Thanks for dealing with this Mike," said Cara as they walked out. "I know men don't like to be dragged around shopping and the like."

Mike swatted his hand. "It's nothin'," he said. "I understand, and I know neither of us would let you out alone at the moment. Just glad to help you out!" He finished with a small wink. Cara beamed and went on inside the store with him.

Appleblossoms was a small place with a large number of clothing racks crammed inside every which way, helter skelter. Cara went off to look at skirts and dresses while Mike stayed watch, feeling something was amiss. He knew for a fact that Jeff didn't know where on earth Cara was, but it never hurt to be safe. However, he couldn't help but notice something was not quite right. He decided to brush it off when he realized it was probably just him being paranoid. Nothing was going to hurt the nearly unrecognizable girl in the small boutique. "Find anything?" asked Mike.

"A couple dresses," said Cara from across the shop. "I think I'm gonna go ahead and try them on." Mike nodded and watched the girl, feeling like the father he always acted for the boys in the band.

Then, something he did not expect. When Cara came out to model her first dress, which was an earthy-colored patchwork quilt pattern, a shout of "Oh my God…Cara?" echoed from across the shop. Both Mike and Cara froze, both terrified. Both of them knew from that moment that going out was a mistake.