Angel called to say that she was at work, and that she wouldn't be in until late. Mike took the call, and he could tell by her voice that something must have happened between her and Micky. Micky had been in a bad mood since he got back from the police station, and Angel hadn't come back with him. When Davy asked him where she was, Micky had snapped that she had gone for a walk.

"Hey Micky, that was Angel." Mike said cautiously, not wanting to upset Micky.

"Where is she?" Micky asked looking worried. It had been about three hours since Micky had gotten home, and Mike could tell he was starting to worry.

"She's at the restaurant working, won't be home till late." Mike responded. He braced himself for Micky's response, but saw only sadness in his eyes. "Is something wrong Mick?" Mike said, hoping to get some hint of what was going on. Micky nodded, and hung his head low.

"I did something dumb." He replied softly. "I kissed Angel." Hearing this, Peter and Davy jumped off their seats on the bandstand, and came into the kitchen where Micky and Mike were.

"So?" Davy said, not understanding what was so wrong about that. "She isn't... shouldn't have done it, that's all." Micky said. They all exchanged glances over Micky's head. They'd never seen him so hung up on a girl before, and this wasn't looking so good.

"Don't worry about it Micky," Peter said as he placed a comforting hand on Micky's shoulder. "I'm sure you guys will talk it out."

"Man I hope so." Micky said. "What was I thinking?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself man." Mike said. "You only kissed her."

"You guys don't understand though," Micky said "she isn't like other girls." He looked up at Peter, and they exchanged knowing glances. Davy noticed this, and wanted to know what they knew that he didn't.

"Wha' aren't ya tellin' us Micky?" He asked in an irritated voice. Mike also shot him an irritated glance.

"She's... Angel's had a hard life. Especially with...guys. She has a rough time trusting 'em, and I betrayed her trust." Micky said in a guilty voice.

"Why can't she trust guys?" Davy asked. Micky took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he should be telling them this or not, but figured that if she had told Peter, it was ok for them to know.

"Her boyfriend beat her up pretty bad. That's why she was in the hospital." He sort of felt relieved to tell someone about this.

"Mick, that's awful." Mike said. Davy nodded.

"She was finally starting to trust me, but now..." he paused, looking terribly upset. "I don't think she can." Peter squeezed Micky's shoulder. Then Micky got up, walked into his room, and shut the door. The others looked at each other. They had to do something to help Micky, but what?

'It's lucky for me that they were short a waitress.' Angel thought to herself as she cleared dishes away from a table. She hadn't wanted to go back to the pad, where she would indefinitely run into Micky; so she had walked over to the restaurant and told them she was ready to go back to work. At first, the other employees had given her strange looks. Angel hated that, and she got it all the time from people who knew about the way that Billy treated her. The only ones who hadn't done that to her were Peter and Micky, they had been very understanding and kind. She sighed to herself; she wouldn't be able to talk to Micky like she had anymore. It made her sad to think that, she had really liked talking to him; but now she knew he just couldn't be trusted. He was just as bad as all the others.

The whole night Angel dreaded going back to the pad. She offered to close up the restaurant so she could stay later. Her boss agreed, but wouldn't allow her to do it alone. She grumbled to herself, Jeffery was so sexist; he didn't think a woman would do a good enough job. It was after midnight by the time Angel and Jeffery were done cleaning, and all the other workers had gone home. They were all alone.

"I guess I'll go now," Angel said, wanting to get out of there as quick as she could; Jeffery was known to hit on waitresses. He was in his mid-twenties, and he had just taken over the restaurant after his father had gotten sick. She'd only worked with him a few times, but he gave her the creeps.

"Already?" He said, grabbing her arm. She pulled her arm away quickly; it was lucky that he hadn't grabbed her bad arm, which was still in a sling.

"Yes." She replied tartly. She began to walk away, when he grabbed her arm again.

"I don't think so." He said with a grin. Angel's heart skipped a beat. She tried to pull her arm away, but was unable to do so. Jeffery pulled her closer to him, and she could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Let go off me!" Angel yelled, surprised at the volume of her voice. Jeffery just laughed.

"I don't think so baby," He said as he pulled her closer to him. Angel tried to ward off his busy hands, but was to no avail. She felt salty tears sting in her eyes, but Jeffery only laughed at her.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice "Get away from her!" She turned to see Peter standing by the door.

"What are you doing? Leave her alone!" He grabbed Angel's bad arm, and she winced. Jeffery walked up to Peter, about to hit him.

"Back off man," Peter said, walking towards the door. "You're not worth it." He took Angel by the elbow and led her outside. The air felt cool against her wet cheeks. "Are you ok?" He asked Angel, who just nodded in shock

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"Well I realized you walked here, and it isn't too safe to walk the streets at night." He gave her a concerned smile. "Are you sure you're ok? Seriously." She didn't say anything, she couldn't. Her lower lip began to tremble, and Peter hugged her tenderly, gently stroking her hair. After a long while, she let go and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thanks, I'm ok now." She said softly. Peter took her into the car, and they started their drive back to the pad.

"Peter, thanks." She said after a minute. "If you hadn't shown up..." she trailed off.

"Don't think about it." Peter said. "What were you doing there alone with him anyway?" Angel looked a bit embarrassed.

"I offered to clean up so I wouldn't have to go back to the pad." She said quietly, looking straight ahead.

"Why didn't you want to come back?" Peter asked, suspecting he already knew the answer. Angel took a deep breath.

"I didn't want to see Micky." She said.

"He told us what happened." Peter said, earning an annoyed look from Angel. "He feels awful about it."

"Well so do I." She said coldly, in a way that Peter didn't think was possible for her to speak. "I trusted him, now I can't anymore."

"Angel, he didn't...he didn't mean to betray your trust."

"But he did." She said coldly, glancing out the window. She sighed loudly to herself. "How will I ever be able to trust him again?' she asked herself.

"I know that you're upset, but you really should talk to him." Peter finally spoke up. "I know that he really cares about you, and I think you care about him too."

"Oh." She said lamely, not able to think of anything else she could say without telling how she felt about Micky.

"Angel, I know it's tough for you...with guys and all. But Micky understands that; really, he does. I think you should at least give him another chance, he really cares about you."

"I thought he did too," she said sadly "but I was wrong."

"If he didn't care about you, I wouldn't be here." Peter said in a serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked, looking confused. "He sent you to come get me?" Peter nodded.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you, he thought you would get mad." Angel smiled to herself. 'How sweet.' She thought, but quickly masked her emotions from Peter.

"I finally trusted him Peter," she said somberly "I didn't think I would be able to ever trust any man again, but I trusted him. And what did he do? He betrayed my trust. How am I supposed to trust guys when all they do is betray me?" she asked him. Peter was about to say something, but Angel continued. "You want to know the truth? I did-I do care about him, a lot." She confessed. "I thought he was different, but I guess not." She finished. Peter smiled to himself; he had finally gotten her to admit her feelings for Micky. He put a hand on her arm, a gesture he wasn't sure of what her reaction would be to, but she just smiled at him. They'd finally reached the pad, and they both got out of the car and walked inside.

The first thing Angel saw when she stepped inside was Micky half asleep on a chair in front of the television. As Peter shut the door, Micky opened his eyes with a start. Even in the dim lighting, he could see that Angel's eyes were red; she had been crying.

"Angel, are you ok?" He asked, forgetting for the moment that she was mad at him. Angel looked him in the eye.

"Yeah, I'm ok now." She said warily. She walked over to her suitcase, and pulled out a nightgown, then went into the bathroom to change. Micky gave Peter a puzzled look.

"What happened to her? Is she alright?" Micky asked, Peter looked at him gravely.

"Her boss attacked her...I showed up just in time. She says she's ok, but I don't know. She hides stuff like that, Mick." Micky nodded, Peter was right about that. Angel had a way of keeping things from him; from everyone.

"Oh no..." Micky trailed off. Angel already had things rough enough, and now this had to happen. He heard the bathroom door open, and turned to see Angel wearing a blue flowered nightgown that went down to her ankles; her hair was tied in a blue ribbon.

"Micky, we need to talk." She said. Micky shot Peter a 'get out of here' look, and Peter was happy to oblige.

"Goodnight guys." Peter said, leaving the room.

" Nite." They answered back. When Peter had gone into his bedroom and shut the door, Micky looked at Angel and waited for her to continue.

"Peter told me that you think I'm mad at you." She began.

"He said that?"

"Yeah...I just wanted to tell you that...I'm not." She said, Micky breathed a huge sigh of relief. She giggled; he hadn't realized how overly dramatic he was acting. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you like that on the beach, I shouldn't have done that."

"Nah, I deserved it."

"No, you didn't. I was just...scared, I guess." She said sadly, looking down at her feet. This was going to be tough: admitting how she felt for Micky. She had decided that she would tell him, but now she was having second thoughts. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Scared?" Micky said, not realizing what she had meant until after he asked.

"Yeah. I was afraid that you'd...gotten to close; that you would end up hurting me like Billy did, and my father." She paused, and took a deep breath. "He didn't hurt me like Billy did, but he told me he would always be there...then he died, and I was all alone." Angel said the words she had never said aloud before, not even to herself. Micky wanted to hug her, to comfort her...but he couldn't. It wasn't the right time.

"Angel, I would never ever hurt you the way that Billy did. And your dad...well I wouldn't want to hurt you that way either. I care about ya babe." He said with a smile. Angel looked into his eyes and could see that he was telling the truth, that he wouldn't hurt her. And for the first time, she believed him.

"I believe you," she said softly "and I care about you too, babe." She said, trying hard to keep a straight face. She succeeded, and Micky laughed. "But seriously Mick...I do care about ya. You're just about the nicest guy I've ever met." She said somberly.

"Listen Angel, you wanna go outside? It's such a nice night and all..." Micky said, and she smiled.

"Good idea, let me just get my guitar." She said with a laugh, then she grabbed her guitar, Micky grabbed a blanket, and they walked outside together. Micky took her hand, and they sat on the shore with the blanket wrapped around them.

"Micky, can I play you a song I wrote?" Angel asked, and Micky's jaw dropped. She had told him that she never played for anyone, especially her own songs.

"Sure, go ahead." He smiled. She returned the smile, and began to play some soft riffs. Then she began to sing in a steady voice: She walks all alone in the night She keeps things all bottled up tight No one knows her, no one at all And in the night, she hears the wind call: You're all alone, by yourself; all alone You have nobody to call your own The wind calls to her as she walks in the night And still she keeps things all bottled up tight.

"Angel, I..." Micky started, but he couldn't finish the sentence. He just didn't know what to say. He could tell how hard it was for her to play in front of someone else, especially such a revealing song that was obviously autobiographical.

"Thanks." She said softly. Micky smiled. Then she handed the guitar to Micky. "Your turn." She said with a smile. He instantly knew what song to play, and luckily, it was one of the Monkees songs he did know the guitar parts for. He began to play 'Take a Giant Step', and Angel wanted to melt right into the sand as he sang the beautiful lyrics right to her, not once avoiding her eyes.

"That was beautiful, Mick." She said after he had finished playing. She moved closer to him, still gazing deeply into his eyes. Micky moved in to kiss her, and she met him halfway. This was different than before, they put their souls into this kiss. One kiss flowed into another, but after a while Angel pulled away. Micky knew that she would want to take things slow, and he didn't blame her after the things she had been through. He took her hand in his and stroked it gently. She was glad he understood, and she shot him a grateful look. He wrapped the blanket around the both of them and held her close to him.

"It's a beautiful night, huh Angel?" he said softly.

"Yeah," she answered back "you can see the stars and everything." Micky kissed the top of her head, and gently ran his fingers through her wavy brown hair. He didn't want to go back inside the pad; he just wanted to stay where they were forever. He guessed Angel felt the same way since she made no motions to get up. They both fell asleep on the beach; the first time in weeks Angel hadn't had insomnia.

The next morning, Peter again was the first to wake up. He was anxious to talk to Micky about what had happened with Angel, he had heard them leave the pad the night before. He walked into the living room and looked down on the couch, only to see it made up as it had been the night before. Angel hadn't slept there, and Peter's brown eyes filled with worry. What if she had left or run away? He ran up the stairs to inform Micky about this, but saw his bed was in the same state as Angel's. Where were they? Had something happened to them? Peter shook Mike from a sound sleep.

"What do ya want Pete?" he grumbled, his dark brown eyes half closed.

"Micky and Angel are gone...I don't know where they are. I heard them leave last night, but they never came back." He said franticly. Mike also looked worried. He got out of bed and they walked down the stairs, to see Davy stagger out of his room.

"Ey, what's goin on?" he said sleepily.

"Micky and Angel went out last night, and they never came back." Mike said. "Let's go see if the car's here." He said, and they all walked outside. They saw that the car was there, and were about to walk back inside when Peter spotted something.

"Isn't that the blanket Angel was using?" he asked, seeing a big heap wrapped up by the blanket.

"Yeah," said Davy "it is." They walked over to it, and saw a bevy of curly brown hair sticking out. They all looked at each other in unison. What was Micky doing sleeping on the beach? Mike tapped him on the shoulder, and he stirred a bit, causing a second mop of wavy brown hair to show itself. Once again, the guys all looked at each other in unison; it was Angel! Davy couldn't contain himself, and busted out laughing. Peter giggled, as did Mike. Angel sleepily poked her head out from under the blankets.

"What's so funny?" she said in a raspy voice, causing them all to laugh even more. Micky finally opened his eyes, and looked around. It took him a minute to realize what had happened; he and Angel had fallen asleep on the beach. Angel looked up at him, and he gave her a smile. She smiled back.

"What in the world are you two doin' out here?" asked Mike with a laugh. Micky gave Angel a dramatic wink and she giggled, causing Davy to cry with laughter.

"We came out here last night, and I guess we fell asleep." Micky said casually. The guys weren't buying it.

"Sure man, sure." Davy said sarcastically, winking at Micky when he thought Angel wasn't looking. Angel knew they were only joking, but it hurt her anyway. Peter saw the hurt look on her face, and spoke up.

"I believe you." He said, and Angel gave him a grateful smile, causing his dimples to carve in his cheeks.

"Oh we're just jokin' around." Davy said, quick to apologize; Mike shot her an apologetic smile. They had forgotten that they needed to be careful of hurting her feelings.

"Forget about it." She said; she was in such a good mood that morning, nothing could have spoiled it. Micky slid his arm around her waist, and she moved a little closer to him.

"Uh Mick, hate to ruin your mornin' but we're rehearsing today..'member?" Said Mike, Micky nodded. "Well we'll leave ya alone now...I guess I'll cook breakfast." He said, and the guys left for the pad, leaving Micky and Angel alone together. Micky turned to Angel.

"Sorry babe, it's a Sunday ritual." He said softly to Angel, lightly kissing her ear. Angel turned so that they were face to face, and put her hand behind his neck. She pulled his lips to hers, and kissed him tenderly. Micky was a bit surprised by her sudden boldness, but then it occurred to him that she was finally opening up to him; showing the real Angel. He smiled and kissed her back. They were interrupted by a loud cough, and Angel looked up to see Peter standing there with a grin on his face. She gave him an embarrassed smile, she hated being 'caught in the act'; how embarrassing. She could feel her ears turning red, and knew that the blushing would soon spread to her face. She noticed that Micky wasn't embarrassed, and wondered how he pulled that off.

"Sorry to um, interrupt you two, but breakfast is ready." Micky and Angel shot him questioning glances. "He made cereal." Peter said with a laugh, then he turned and walked back into the pad.

"Mike cooks too fast." Angel grumbled, and Micky laughed. He helped her up, and they brushed the sand off of themselves, which was quite a lot. Then he took her hand, and they walked into the pad together. Davy was on the phone, and he handed it to Angel as soon as she walked in.

"It's for you...it's the realtor." He said. She took the call, and was informed that she would be able to move into her new beach house in two days. She was happy and sad about this; happy to finally have a place all to herself, and sad because she would no longer be under the same roof as Micky. She decided not to mention the latter to Micky, seeing as though their relationship was in its very early stages. She knew though, that she cared more about him than she was willing to admit to anyone; even herself.