Part 13

After getting an okay from the doctor who ran the emergency ward, Davy, Micky and the Swoonies hurried into Mike's room. He was indeed unconscious, yet appeared to be resting peacefully. The doctor entered the room and informed the group that Mike definitely wouldn't die and there would be no long-lasting effects from the fire.

"Does this mean Mike will be able to return home in a few days," Jenna asked.

"I think we can safely assume that," the doctor assured them as he left the room.

At that moment Peter burst in.

"I just got a call about my house!" he beamed.

"And?" Janine asked.

"The patio is scorched and my lawn is only a memory, but everything else is in fine shape!" he informed them.

"Thank goodnez!" Mimi breathed. "You were very, very lucky."

"Like I was telling the girls earlier, if Mike hadn't helped with the fire extinguisher, the house probably wouldn't look the same as it does now," Micky said.

After a few more hours at the hospital, Davy suggested they take a look at Peter's house. They very reluctantly left Mike and headed out to Peter's pad.

"The grass definitely took a beating," Peter commented, as he walked out in his backyard, which was still steaming.

After much inspection of Peter's home and property, the Swoonies and the Monkees parted. Several days later, they got word that Mike had returned home from the hospital, but was still rather weak.

"That stinks!" Kit sighed as she hung up the phone from talking to Davy.

"Is everything alright?" Kat asked, as the other Swoonies echoed her concern.

"Oh, you know how we'd planned to go to the Monterey Pop Festival in a few days. Well, Davy says he doesn't want to go now and wants to know if I'll stay back here with him," she sighed.

"Are you disappointed?" Alison asked.

"A bit, yes. I wanted to go with you guys," Kit moaned, flopping down in a chair.

"That leaves only two Monkees going with the eight of us. Mike is obviously in no condition to even get up from his bed," Janine added.

"Seven swoonies," Jenna threw in.

"What? Huh? Who else isn't going?" Lynne kooked.

"I don't know if I'll go. Maybe I should stay with Mike," Jenna reasoned.

"Are you sure? It would be such a shame to miss an opportunity like this," Christine ventured.

Finally, the big day arrived. The Monterey Pop Festival.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Christine asked Jenna and Kit as she got into Peter's car with a few other Swoonies.

"Mike needs me..." Jenna answered.

"And Davy needs me, too," Kit grinned, looking all to devious too be even the slightest bit trusted.

"Alright, then," Gleeby sighed. "If that's what you want."

"Behave yourselves!" Micky called out through his car window.

"Of course I will," Jenna frowned. "Mike isn't feeling well. Do you think I'd pounce on him when he's feeling sickly? hu-HU!"

Kit just blushed.

"Hey! Where's Keith, Mimi?" Kit asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, I'm meeting him there," Mimi explained.

"Oh, wow! Speaking of meeting people, I was supposed to meet David down the street a bit so he could drive me to Mike's house!" Jenna exclaimed, looking at her watch.

"And I should probably head on over to Davy's house. He's expecting me there soon!" Kit added.

She and Jenna hurried off. After they had lost sight of their fellow Swoonies, the others piled into Micky and Peter's cars and drove off.

"Davy?" Kit asked as she knocked on the door. Davy opened it. "Welcome, dahling," he smiled and led her inside.

Kit instantly felt the change in temperature. "Davy! This house is freezing!" Kit shuddered.

"That was my plan exactly," he grinned.

Kit looked puzzled. "I 'aven' turned th' 'eat on fer days in 'ere. I've left all th' windows open day an' night. I've been plannin' fer this moment..." he breathed.

"Didn't you get horribly cold?" Kit questioned, gasping slightly. Davy began to laugh.

"I dressed in layers!" he smiled.

"So what was your purpose in doing this?"

"So we c'n cozy up in front a' th' fi-ah place! Sound romantic? I think it does..." he trailed off.

"Hold on just a second. I feel a massive swoon coming on," Kit replied and promptly melted into a chair.

"Oooh!! This is such a hip happening!!" Alison smiled. "Almost everybody who is somebody in the music world is here!!"

"And we just arrived and I've already seen some of my favorite musicians!" Janine answered, excitedly.

"Speaking of favorites, there's Keith!!" Mimi cried, and quickly ran over to him.

"We'll see you two in a little bit," Gleeby called out to them.

"My life cannot get any groovier right now," Lynne sighed, gazing off into space.

"Oh, but it will get less groovifying," Christine quietly moaned to Lynne. "That Lesh creep is going to eventually be mean to Peter. At least that doesn't happen for two more days. I can't say I'm looking forward to that."

"Me either," Janine pouted, overhearing the two.

"At least we can enjoy the music," Lynne offered.

"T'is very true," The other two answered.

"C'mon. From this far away, we can't hear the music, and we did come with the intention of hearing it," Peter spoke to the group. "I only have a few minutes anyway. I've been asked to introduce the next band coming up to the bandstand."

As they walked toward the heart of the festival, the music began to get louder and the crowd of long-haired, love-bead wearing, peace-loving people began to thicken.

"Thank you for driving me here," Jenna told David as she got out of his car. "I really appreciate it."

"When do I pick you up?" he asked pleadingly.

"In a few hours. See you then!" she smiled, looking lovingly into his eyes.

She turned and hurried up to the door. She knocked on it but no one answered. She knocked a little louder and still nothing happened. Jenna turned the doorknob and to her surprise the door was unlocked.

"Mike?" she called out as she walked in the door.

After hearing no reply, she began to look around the house for Mike. Finally, she heard him call out, "Jenna? Phyllis? Who's out there?"

"Me, Jenna!" she answered back. She followed the sound of his voice and found herself in the master bedroom, staring directly at Mike. "So... How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down on the bed near Mike.

"Still rather weak and very tired," he answered.

"But it's a definite improvement," she laughed.

Mike didn't respond. She turned to him and saw that he was gazing fixedly upon her, smiling a bit. Not knowing how to react, she quickly changed the subject.

"So... what do you think of the recent heat wave?" she asked, still a bit nervous.

Meanwhile, back at Davy's house....

"Ah ya warm enough, dahlin'?" Davy asked, sitting down next to Kit by the fire.

"I suppose. Still a little chilly," she sighed.

"I c'n fix tha'," Davy said, throwing a blanket around the two of them. He inched up right next to her and put his arms around her waist. At that moment, the phone rang.

Davy quietly cursed at the phone and very reluctantly got up to answer it.

"Yeah?" he grunted into the receiver. "Oh.... really? Hmmm.... Mi' be interestin'. We could try. Wha'? Wha' am I doin' right now? Well, Kit's ovah here an'... No!! It's no' like tha' a' all! No, she is no' ! Of course I do!! Bu' tha' isn't wha' I had in mind!" Davy hung up the phone.

"Who was it, darling?" Kit asked. Davy, still standing by the phone, answered Kit's question.

"I' was Micky. 'E was calling from th' Monterey Pop Festival. Said 'e'd seen th' perfect openin' act fer ou-ah tour which is comin' up. Someone by th' name of 'Endrix, I think," Davy informed her.

"But what were you kooking about?" she asked, rather puzzled.

"Micky jus' didn't understan' th' situation ov-ah here, tha's all," he reposnded.

"As in...? Heehee!!" Kit laughed.

"Oh, well. Le's forge' abou' everyone else, me love. Jus' th' two of us, tha's all tha' mattahs ri' now," Davy breathed, coming over to Kit.

She looked up at him, only to see him unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it behind him. He sat down next to her and Kit swooned right into his arms.

A roar of applause, cheers and screams rose from the enormous crowd, Peter announced the next group to perform. As he stepped down from the bandstand, he was swallowed up by a crowd of adoring fans. Caught up in the excitement of the moment, Janine surged forward through the crowd that engulfed Peter. Without hesitation, she lithely slipped around the last body between herself and Peter, propelling herself into his unsuspecting arms. Abandoning all inhibitions, she began kissing Peter wildly, as if the two of them were not being watched by thousands of sets of eyes. Peter willingly returned her kisses, as they stood locked in their passionate embrace.

"Oh my goodnez! Isn't that Janine up there?" Alison, cried, standing up.

"Where? Where?" Mimi asked, looking in the opposite direction.

"Up by the bandstand!" Alison shrieked.

"She's kissing Peter!" Lynne sobbed. "Why couldn't it have been me?"

"It's the ultimate PDA!" Gleeby moaned, averting her eyes.

"I cannot believe this!" Kat shrieked.

"We must be next!" Christine smiled, advancing through the crowd.

"Yes, Gleeby, I know those PDAs are a horrible shock for you..." Micky soothed, with a devilish look in his eyes.

Gleeby blushed, holding his hand tightly.

The crowd was upon Janine and Peter, pressing closer and tugging at Peter's clothes. With a playful laugh, Peter smiled back at the crowd.

"We're so close yet so far away!" Christine cried in frustration, gently pushing people aside as the Swoonies made their way slowly, but surely over to Peter. Above the fans joyful squeals, a ripping sound could be heard.

"They're tearing Peter's shirt off of him! We've got to get there, and fast!" Lynne cried, determindly pushing aside the last person who stood in the Swoonies' way.

"It's mine!! All mine and you can't have it!" cackled a girl, waving Peter's shirt above her head as though it were a flag.

At that moment, a serendipitous gust of wind came up and wrenched the shirt from the greedy fan's grasp. The shirt wafted downward as the breeze gentled, depositing it serenly upon Kat's head. The warmth of Peter's body still clung to the shirt, sending Kat into a deep state of swoon.

"Yay!! It's ours!! It's ours!!" shouted the surrounding Swoonies as they praised Kat and held tightly to the shirt.

The girls slowly moved away from the crowd, with Peter and Janine following. Mimi, Gleeby, Micky and Keith approached them.

"Congratulations on your prize!" Gleeby smiled, surpressing her urge to chastise Janine.

"That is so gret3l!" came a voice from behind the elated group.

To the Swoonies' surprise, there stood Swoonie #33, Calli, smiling at the group.

"Calli! How did you get here?!?!?!" Mimi excitedly cried.

"I don't really know," Calli said, looking rather puzzled. "I went into my walk-in closet to get a pair of shoes. Then, all of a sudden, I was here, watching Peter's shirt get torn off! I don't think anyone here will mind terribly that I'm barefoot."

"Psychojello! So this is like some out-of-body experience right now for you!" Micky marveled.

"Or else I'm just dreaming it!" Calli smiled. "But I hope not."

"We must allow the reality of the now to just happen as it happens. Observe, and act with clarity, for where there is clarity, there is no choice, and where there is choice, there is misery," Peter remarked and then looked up, astonished at what he had just said.

" 'ey, man! I think you're on ta somethin'!" Keith remarked.

"I've got to write this down!" Peter grinned. "Got something I can write on?" Christine shoved the shirt in Peter's direction.

"Here's a pen!" Alison offered, pulling one from her bag.

Peter hastily scribbled the half-speech onto the back off his shirt. "I'm entrusting you girls to keep this in a safe place in case I might need it later!" Peter said to the Swoonies.

The girls beamed, understanding the significance of this highly-treasured souvenir.