Chapter 13- No Words (Or a Lot)
Micky sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands. Looking up at the clock, he noted that he still had at least half an hour till he could see any of his friends. As every minute ticked on, Micky's eagerness grew. Soon he was tapping his feet and drumming with his hands without realizing it. He was all too eager to see his friends make it out of this okay. The young drummer had been sitting in this waiting room for a good five hours, too tired to do anything productive, but too worried to sleep. Last he could consciously remember, Peter was on a safe and comfortable road to recovery, while the unknown still laid with Davy and Mike. Mike had just been admitted into the hospital, whereas Davy still had not woken up from his surgery. Micky secretly hoped that Davy had woken up while they were away, even though he toiled with the idea of waking up alone and confused in a strange hospital. Neither the idea of Davy waking up alone or not waking up at all comforted him.
Micky heard a rough, raspy cough from beside him. He looked over. To his surprise, Mildred sat next to him, wearing a look that told him he was in trouble. "Mildred! W-what are you doing here?" Micky asked, still too tired to realize why she was here.
"What happened to you last night?" She asked in her mother voice. "Not only was Annette and I worried sick, but I had to pick Annette up from work. She called me at ten o'clock at night to tell me she was still at the diner."
"Sorry, Mike and I got into some trouble." Micky said quietly, looking down at his feet to avoid her gaze.
"Mike? Who's Mike?" Mildred asked.
"Mike is one of my band mates, Mildred. He's the one who wears the wool hat a lot." Micky suddenly sobered. 'Mike's hat! When did he last have it? Was it still in Ms. Purdy's car? Was he wearing it when we were kidnapped?' Micky knew his friend was not wearing it when he had been beaten and opened up at the warehouse. Did it get lost between the parking lot and the warehouse? Mildred cleared her throat to bring him back when she notice him not paying any attention to her.
"Right, uh," Micky said, rubbing the back of his neck. "See, Mike had saved Davy, and while looking for Peter and I, Davy needed a doctor, so he was admitted here. That's when Mike and I found each other and then we were kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Mildred gasped. "Was it by that Morales fella?"
"Yes, ma'am. But he's in prison, for sure, now." Micky said with a shy smile.
"Well that's good. Now where is this Mike character?" Mildred asked.
"He got beat up pretty bad, Mildred. He's in back with Davy and Peter. I can't see him till visiting hours begin." Micky sighed, leaning back and stretching. "They did the same thing to him that they did to Peter, except Mike wasn't patched up afterwards. I don't really know how far they got with Mike, I was a tied down at the moment."
"Mr. Dolenz?" A young nurse interrupted. "You're here to see Mr. Tork, yes?"
"And my other friends as well," Micky said, standing. "David Jones and Mike Nesmith."
"Oh, yes. Dr. Tennant told me to tell you that Mr. Nesmith is right next to Mr. Jones in Room 114."
"Thank you," Micky said, standing. He and Mildred followed the nurse into the halls of the hospital. She left them when they reached rooms 111, 112, and 114.
Micky stood in the hall, torn between the three rooms. There was only one of him and three of them. Who should he visit first? He needed to know if Davy had woken up yet, but he also felt obligated to be with Mike. However, he always started the morning with stopping in with Peter. He looked at Room 111. He quickly decided on a plan and opened the door to the room.
"Good morning Micky!" Peter said happily as Micky stepped into the room. Mildred followed him. "Good morning, Mildred. It's good to see you this morning."
Micky moved to speak, planning on telling Peter about what had happened that night, but no words left his mouth. His face fell when he couldn't find the right words to tell Peter that now Mike was admitted into the hospital. Peter noticed this right away and made to question it, but Mildred stopped the both of them.
"Micky, why don't you go check on the others, I will keep Peter company, as well as explain the best I can of what you told me." She pulled up a chair to Peter's bed and situated herself. When Micky was frozen in his spot, she gestured for him to leave.
"Uh, right, okay. I'll be back a little later Pete, so I can fill in any extra details." Micky turned and left the room.
"What's going on?" Peter asked Mildred when Micky shut the door behind him.
"Well…" Mildred began.
A soft knock came from the door. After a moment of silence, the door creaked open, revealing the drummer of the Monkees. He looked down upon the band member sleeping in the hospital bed, his heart sinking. He looked so… dead. He knew that wasn't the case. It couldn't be the case. He lightened up a little at the sight of Mike's green wool hat on Davy's nightstand.
"Davy?" Micky asked, quietly shutting the door behind him. He frowned when he got no reply from the petite percussionist. "I wonder if you can hear me…" Micky wondered aloud, sitting in a chair. "I mean, if you can, great. I've got a lot to say. Well, I always have a lot to say. Mike and I were kidnapped by BabyFace last night, so I could talk about that. Or I could chew you out for not going to the hospital when Mike first saved you. Though for both topics I would prefer you to be awake and listening. So that leaves me to either just ramble on and on, or sing. What do you think, Davy?" Micky shook his head when Davy, of course, didn't respond. He sighed and leaned back, considering his options.
"I thought love was only true in fairy tales. Meant for someone else, but not for me. Love was out to get me, that's the way it seemed. Disappointment haunted all of my dreams…" Micky sang softly, not wanting to start the chorus. After letting the silence fill the room, Micky decided to leave and check in on Mike. "I'll be back to check in on you, Davy. I'm going to see how Mike's getting along."
"Thanks," A small, raspy voice said, causing chills to crawl up Micky's spine. He quickly turned around to see Davy smiling at him, his eyes halfway open. When he made eye contact with the Brit, Davy continued, "I need the silence."
"Hey, I take offense!" Micky joked, trying to conceal a smile, but failed. He gave a hearty laugh.
"When you come back, tell me how Mike's doing." Davy said, closing his eyes again.
"I will," Micky said, leaving the room to let Davy sleep.
Micky stepped out into the hall and turned to walk into room 114. However, the door to 114 opened, revealing a young, thin, and dashing doctor. He smiled when he saw Micky standing there. Over the last week Micky learned that this man was the man who was attending his friends, Dr. Tennant.
"Ah, Micky! Good morning to ya," Dr. Tennant greeted the drummer. "You on your way to visit Michael?"
"Yes, how is he?" Micky asked eagerly.
"He's doing surprisingly well for all that has happened. He just woke up when I was in there. If you like, you can go and visit with him. We were able to sew him back up. Your captors were only able to break two ribs, unlike Mr. Tork, and he is recovering surprisingly well. I would say that, if all continues to go well, we will be able to release both he and David at the same time."
"How long till Peter is released?" Micky asked.
"I'd say Saturday of this week." Dr. Tennant smiled. "He's been healing very well for the injuries that he had. However, I do have to say that I don't think it would be wise for him to do any physical labor such as lifting, running, or working till the 24th at the earliest."
"The 24th? What's today?" Micky asked. He honestly had no idea what day it was. Everything happened so quickly, he couldn't keep track.
"Today is the 7th, of January, Micky." Dr. Tennant said with a hint of concern.
"1969," Micky breathed. What a great start for the new year, right?
"Right," Dr. Tennant looked down at his clipboard to review some information. "I have also been told that Sergeant Starkey would like a word with you once you get a chance. He's out in the waiting room. We don't want him stressing out the others until they are well enough."
"Okay, is this about last night?" Micky asked.
"I assume it is about this whole ordeal. He wants to cement not only your confessions, but the confessions of David, Peter, and Mike, as well."
"Right, right, thanks for telling me, Doc." Micky said, waving off the idea. Dr. Tennant nodded and walked off into Davy's room. Micky turned and walked into Mike's room, relieved to hear that all of his friends were going to be alright in the end.