The ride in the limo had been amazing. It was completely decked out inside. And the fact it was a limo from the Beatles driving them through London to a party the Beatles were throwing in the Monkees' honor might have made it even better. Peter had already taken two shots, Davy three, Micky one and some olives, and Mike one. Steph, Kari, and Ginger had also both been sipping a little champaign. Ginger very little. Which made Mike laugh at her. After that she'd taken his drink and took a swig. Mike had to then hold her up while she nearly chocked.They arrived at the party and were checked in and instructed to wait outside the door one moment.
John Lennon came out to meet them. John Freaking Lennon.
"Hello lads! And luvly ladies."
They all felt as though they'd been hit with a steam roller, but they extended their hellos and thanks for the party.
"Not a problem. I never miss one of your programs. Now c'mon in, I'll introduce you around."
They all followed John Freaking Lennon into the party. There were wild lights all around. Black lights, strobe lights, multicolored shifting lights, and yet everything was dark with splashes of psychedelic color everywhere, giving it the appearance of being a very trippy dream. The most modern furniture was scattered about. Bean bags were plopped onto the shag carpeting, long, deep couches were in different areas, egg-chairs were in little groups, and there were ultra-mod barstools at the bar of all different colors that looked even more far-out in the light. People were milling about everywhere. There were groups of people making out very hard, some gathered around speakers, some drinking, some smoking, some dancing, some plain passed out on the floor. Underneath the thick pot cloud.
"Everyone, everyone! Here they are! The Monkees, very cool, very hip. Not teeny boppers, they can be heavy. Just to let you know since you wouldn't be here getting stoned and laid if it wasn't for them."
Cheers arose.
"Now, we're going to jam some. Beacuse they can't have all the attention. We're the bloody Beatles. But this is for them. We're luvly people, really."
Three others went to the stage-like area John was standing on. George Freaking Harrison, Ringo Freaking Starr, and Paul Feaking McCartney joined him.
Then adjusted their instruments and began. The Monkees and the girls had mingled in closer with the crowd to watch.
The music began. In was incredible. It was better than seeing them for the first time on Ed Sullivan.
Steph looked over at Peter and whispered, "Long way since the Villiage, eh, hubby?"
Peter smiled to his dimples. "Long way, Mrs. Tork."
Ginger cast a glace to Mike. He was standing in utter awe. Ginger swore he could have cried tears of joy if he wasn't fighting it. "My God..."
"Pretty nice, cowboy."
"This is... just... incredible." Mike took Ginger around the shoulders. Kari bounced into Micky. "Circus boy, this is the center ring!" she laughed, as did Micky.
"Yeah, long way offa Pop's Ranch, too!"
They all stood there and listened to 'With A Little Help From My Friends' in euphoria.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had been at the party for hours all involved in different activities after mingling with the other stars and generally cool people there. There was incredible music playing, great people to talk with, and everyone had managed to talk with everyone else. There was just a really good vibe going down.
Micky and Kari had spent most of the evening rapping with John and Cynthia after Mike and John had had a very long talk. They were really getting along really well. All of the Beatles were as cool as they'd expected.
Peter and Steph were talking with George a lot. And seemed to find it very hard to stand up. Or open their eyes. Or not mumble. But they were having fun. They had taken everything that was snortable, smokable, or anything else. Peter was doing it, therefore to share in the experience, his new wife did as well. At the moment, she was enjoying all the beautiful colors. They were so lovely...
Davy had been mingling around. He'd found a nice girl to makeout with.
Ginger and Mike were standing talking to Ringo. He was wonderful company. As they were talking, Ginger felt something slap her backside. She turned around and saw Paul behind her. He clapped. "Good evening, luv."
"Gu.. Uh.. Ah..'Lo."
"Hey, Gin, we'll be right back, a'right?" Mike said.
"We'll be back," Ringo said with a smile.
"Uhh.... ahh..."
"She'll be fine, we'll talk." Paul waved the two men away and winked at Ginger.
Mike hesitated. But Ringo Freaking Starr was walking away talking to him. Ginger nodded and he left like he'd just gotten a quarter from his mother for the ice cream man.
"So, are you enjoying yourself? I certainly hope so. If not I can help. See?" Paul kissed her gently on the lips.
"Ahh... uh..."
"Let me hear your voice, luv," Paul said to her stuttering with a laugh.
"Ah... sorry. Yeah, it's a really great party..." Ginger said as they sat down on a couch. "Thanks a lot for having it, it's a real honor. I know it means a lot to the guys."
"Well... looks like there's some fringe benifts for us as well," Paul said with a charming smile. He picked up a glass of champaign and some sort of cigarette. Ginger was already getting light-headed from all the pot floating around, if it wasn't a normal smoke Paul had, this was going to be bad.
Mike and Ringo had already been gone too long... even though it was Paul Freaking McCartney.
Micky and Kari were laughing with John and Cynthia. They'd discussed mostly the Monkees and the Beatles. John told Micky what he'd told Mike earlier that had made Mike's night, that there were eight of them to know what it feels like to be in the Beatles' position in the world. They were chatting, when John pulled out a joint. Micky took it and smoked it.
"Would you like one, Kari?" John asked as he held another joint out for her.
An offer to smoke pot with John Freaking Lennon. How could she resist. She took it and began to smoke it. After a while, when she was getting used to it, Ringo and Mike showed up to join in the conversation. Ringo was smoking and Mike had a drink. Kari stood up after a while. Easier said than done, but she did it. Then someone leaned on her. She turned.
"Hi George!"
"Hello darling," he said brightly. As bright as he could be on a little acid. "Having fun?"
"Oh yeah, very hip party," Kari replied. Then she was squeezed a little. She laughed.
"I'm going to get back to Peter and Steph... I'll see you later. I think I've got a thing for you. You're very sexy. Bye." With that George left.
When he retured to Peter and Steph, they were in deep philosophical discussion with some other people. They were talking about love, peace, music, time and space, the things they saw climbing up the walls...
Ginger and Paul weren't making out too well (no pun intended...). Paul was blowing pot directly into her face and she was about to pass out. He kept grabbing at her, as well. She enjoyed talking with him, though, surprisingly, because he wasn't too high and he was charming. But she was glad when Mike came back.
Talk about an accent. "Heya thur! Havin' a gas? Boy man, Ah tell ya, it's jest great here!"
Ginger just looked at Mike. It wasn't easy. She was dizzy and her eyes were wattering. "Mike...?"
"Yuh?" He sat down on the other side of Ginger. She was sandwiched between Mike Nesmith and Paul McCartney. What, oh what, could she do?
She elected to stay still. She really couldn't stand up. In fact, she didn't want to. She was feeling relaxed against her instincts. The pot cloud must've been two feet off the ground by now...
"Hey man, you've brought a lovely girl here," Paul told Mike.
"Yeah, she's pretty great. I love her." Mike kissed her. At that point Ginger knew he was higher than a kite in March on a windy day.
"I can see." Paul kissed her.
Ginger was thoroughly freaked out. She heard Kari laughing hard as she clung to George while talking to Micky. Ginger turned to look at Mike. His eyes were red and half closed. He coughed very hard, and he looked green. Ginger wasn't sure if the fact she was starting to get past a buzz was making him look that way, but he did look green. He'd said once to her in private he couldn't smoke. She supposed he had tried to succeed.
"Mike... have you had a few too many drinks?"
"Nope. Just the one on the way over, and [cough, hack] one here."
Ginger nodded. "And have you had any of those funny cigarettes?" She remembered her biology teacher saying that "waky baker" didn't affect some people that much. It obviously affected Mike.
"[cough hack] Just one..." He held up three fingers.
"Riiight... Well... I think I'll go t--"
"Go? What go? You just got here! Make yourself at home... If you stand up we'll play 'slap clap' some more," Paul said with a cheeky grin. She'd been sitting there for an hour at least. And she'd sit there until Paul stood up first.
Mike and Paul leaned in to talk in front of her. Trapped with a high Monkee and a high Beatle. What fun.
Kari was really enjoying talking to George now. She decided to tell him so. "I'm really enjoying talking to you!"
"Really? So am I."
"Yeah. But Micky and I are getting married so I should let you go." Kari let go and fell on Micky's lap.
"I win!!!" Micky yelled, George just laughed.
"No, man..." Peter said at his group. "You've got... love, but then there's a whole different universe of LOVE... You know, man? It's all love. Like... the sky is Love... and the ground is Love... and this table is Love..."
"Right on..." Steph said.
"I see a field," Peter said.
"Whoa Peter, me too... and it's red, man..."
"Man, it's strawberries... Strawberries, John, you see them?"
"Yeah man... strawberry fields..."
"Strawberries are love, man..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After all the guests had either passed out or left, the seven got up to leave. Peter and Steph got up from the floor with Ringo, Kari got up from sitting on George and Micky, Mike got up from laying on Ginger's lap on a couch with Paul laying on the other side of Ginger (she'd pushed him of her lap) and John sitting across from Mike in a chair, Ginger got up (with another quick game of 'slap clap'), and Davy came out of a back room.
Saying good-bye to the Beatles wasn't a very easy thing to do sober, so imagine how hard it was in the tripped up state that everyone was in. But somehow the seven got into the limo and were on their way back to the hotel, still buzzing from the party.
Kari was in a giggling fit that Micky soon joined. They had no idea what they were laughing about, but, man, was it funny. Davy just kind of sat there next to Micky, sulking a bit, but suddenly grinned when he noticed that he was wearing his shirt inside out. Mike was talking to Ginger, his accent almost sounding like another language. The funny thing was, was that she knew exactly what he was talking about. She nodded her head in understanding, which was throbbing after being surrounded by bright lights and loud music for so long. Steph had passed out as soon as she got seated in the limo. This had been her first encounter with drugs and... well, she was more then spent.
They all arrived at the hotel, stumbling over to the elevator (with the exception of Steph who was being carried by a stumbling Peter). And they all managed to cram themselves into a single elevator, which was a trip within itself as Micky and Kari kept pressing random floor buttons, so it took forever for the group to get to their floor.
Nobody seemed to mind, though.
Micky and Kari nearly ran (as hard as it was to run) into Micky's room, which only made Davy roll his eyes and sulk all the way to his room. Mike had to lean on Ginger for support as they slowly trudged to his room. Peter carried Steph to his room, not knowing where her room key was.
He gently set her down on his bed and sat in a chair across the room, keeping an eye on her as he wrote out some song lyrics that were just flowing into his brain.
"Peter?" came a slow, soft mumble after an hour of silence.
"Yeah?" He asked, his buzz wearing off.
"I'm going to go throw up now," she said simply.
"Do you need help walking to the bathroom?" he asked, getting up.
"Yeah."
He carefully helped her up and they walked of to the little bathroom that was connected to his room.
"You want me to hold back your hair?" Peter asked as he slowly settled her over the toilet.
"That'd be great."
Peter gathered her hair in his hands and smiled as he thought of how comical this moment really was.
Ah... the joys of married life.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They all managed to get some sleep and wake up feeling somewhat normal.
The girls had pretty much passed out in their respective men's rooms (With nothing happening in any of the rooms). They all met in the hall, refreshed and ready for breakfast as they were all terribly hungry.
It was about time for the guys to leave again to do last minute things before the concert. They handed Ginger, Kari, and Steph back several stage passes and badges that would allow them to get all the way back to their dressing rooms. They said their personal good-byes--which seemed to be a little bit harder today, and they boys were gone.
"So, what did you all do last night?" Kari asked, raising her eyebrows in a mock suggestive manor. She was beginning to pass Peter on the 'cheeky scale'
. "Nothing. Mike and I just fell sleep," Ginger said, still feeling giddy after waking up next to him that morning. She had surprisingly not freaked out like she would have thought she would, but waking up in his arms sort of made something click inside her. She was still nervous at the thought of...well, some aspects of a relationship, but she didn't seem to sweat over the small stuff. She felt as if a little boulder had been lifted off her shoulders as she come to the realization that...she did want to wake up with Mike every morning.
"How about you, Steph?" Kari asked, still being cheeky.
"Ha ha ha. No nothing. I think I actually threw up, though," she said as they walked into Kari's room for more wedding plans.
"You do that a lot," Ginger joked. Kari laughed at this.
"Yeah well, if you get motion sickness as easily as I do and did all the stuff that I did last night, then you'd be throwing up too."
"How much did you do?" Ginger asked as they got out the almighty 'wedding planner'--a notebook that was already half filled with plans and ideas.
"I have no idea, but never again will I do that much," Steph sighed as she took a seat beside Kari on the floor.
"What about you Kar?" Ginger asked sitting on the other side of Kari. "What did you do last night."
Kari blushed, not liking how the tables had suddenly turned.
"Like I'd tell you if anything did happen" she said, blushing as Steph and Ginger made "ooooo" sounds. "Ok, fine. Nothing happened. Can we get to work, please?"
Ginger and Steph laughed and they got back to work.
"So... where should we actually have this?" Kari asked, rubbing her tired eyes after two hours of brainstorming.
"I don't know." Ginger said getting up to go order a pot of coffee (and a pot of tea) from room service.
"I know this great little chapel that is just on the other side of town," Steph said, stretching. "I think it'd be perfect."
"How do you know about a chapel on the other side of town that'd be perfect for my wedding?" Kari asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ginger laughed as she placed her order with the people downstairs.
"Well, Peter and I went sightseeing one night. We thought it was really cute. It looks so pretty on the outside, so we went inside to check it out. It is so beautiful. You'd really like it."
Kari seemed to ponder this as Ginger flopped on the bed.
"We'll check it out tomorrow," Kari said, "You'll have to take us there since you know where it is."
Suddenly this idea didn't seem so great to Steph anymore. What if someone there recognized her?
The three sat in silence for a moment before Kari burst out laughing.
"What? What is so funny?" Ginger asked, looking at her friend who was rolling on the floor howling.
"Mike's... Mike's pants... they were so tight!!!"
This caused Steph to laugh and Ginger just sat there shaking her head, remembering.
"Oh, man!" Ginger said as the coffee and tea arrived. "We should get ready to meet the boys at the stadium for lunch."
The girls went their sepreate ways to freshen up and whatever else they had to do, and soon met up and caught a cab to the stadium. Showing their passes and badges they were allowed in and saw the boys were finishing their solo acts before they took a break. The girls sat in the front row as Micky finished up his rendition of "I Gotta Woman". Kari giggled as he bounced all over the stage and did a couple of flips.
"What a guy," Kari sighed dreamily. "I'd like to see Mike try that," she said to Ginger who shook her head and Steph laughed.
With a big ending the rehersal was at a cease until lunch was over. The guys has spotted the chicks and smiled.
Micky hopped down off the stage, drying himself off with a towel and Kari ran up to him. She greeted him with a big hug and kiss.
"Gee, I guess I've been a good boy," he grinned as he returned the affection.
"I missed you," Kari grinned back.
Peter and Steph were sitting in the front row of seats, swapping spit. And being in the position of spouses, they could do it anytime they wanted to.
"Are we going to lunch or what?" Mike asked as he walked up to Ginger. "I'm starving!"
"Way to put on the charm, Michael," Ginger said sarcastically.
"Oh, hi Ging," Mike replied as if he just realized she was there. Ginger rolled her eyes.
They all headed out to eat at a nice, but mildly fancy restaraunt a few blocks away called Chandlers. They were seated in a more secluded area and ordered quickly. The table that they were seated at was circular so it was easy for them to all be able to talk.
Peter and Steph were talking quietly on about how much longer they wanted their marriage to be a secret. Everyone else was so wrapped up in something else, no one heard them, so it was safe.
Mike and Ginger were discussing last night, the parts they could remember anyway. Mike was practically out of the pan handle bragging about talking to John Lennon. And his accent got a little thicker when he was proud. Ginger didn't care, she thought it was cute.
Kari and Micky were seated close together talking about their upcoming wedding. Micky had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and Kari played with her engagement ring as they decided whether to have a chocolate cake or a white one. She began to play with someone's foot for a couple of seconds but realized it wasn't Micky's. Davy looked up at her. She was still playing with her ring and had found Micky's foot. Even though Davy knew she didn't mean it, it meant a lot to him. He smiled to himself as he looked ever the concert schedule.
Soon their food came and boy, were the guys hungry.
"Geeeez, Micky," Kari giggled as Micky stuffed his face with food.
Peter wasn't any better off. "Peter Thorkelson! It's like you've been starved!" Steph cried as she watched him take five inch bites.
"After I've gotten really high I get hungry," Peter replied, in his show staged dummy-like way. This made everyone laugh. Mike began to talk about the groovy lighting effects they were having during the show and Micky joined in.
"Andwe'llevenhavethisBIIIIGscreeninthebackgroundofwherewe'replaying!" Micky rambled on as he chowed down.
"Yeah, 's gonna be NEAT!" Mike was unusually hyper. Kari gave Ginger a look and Ginger just shrugged.
They paid for the ticket and the girls said another reluctant goodbye to the guys.
"Well, only five more hours 'till the show," Steph glanced at a nearby clock. It was two.
"C'mon!We'vegotmoreplanningandwegottagetreadyinthosefewhours!" Kari said, dragging the others out of the taxi and into the hotel.
Ginger and Steph shook their heads.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The girls were watching the end of the concert, singing along as they had been through the whole thing. Micky had flipped around on stage, Mike had played the heck out of the whole concert, Peter had played loads of instruments, and Davy had really worked the crowd.
They closed the concert with a loud, rocking, psychedelic version of "Steppin' Stone" that left the crowd hysterical for more of the Monkees.
They ran off stage and right to the girls, who were just as wound up. They'd seen Monkees' concerts on television at different times, and had even attended about half of one, but not backstage with the Monkees as their boyfriend/fiancee/husband.
"Oh my gosh that was AMAZING!" Kari screeched.
"Thanks!!!" All the boys chorused as the seven were rushing out of the building into a limo.
"Okay, 'nuff rehearsin' and workin'..." Mike said.
"I'm ready for a break," Micky agreed looking at Kari as the girls were mobbing the limo.
"And some playing," Peter added.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They seven were ushered into the hotel where they all changed clothes to prepare for their private night with their significant other. Kari and Micky had decided to go out, Mike and Ginger had decided to hang around the hotel a while then maybe go out, and Peter and Steph were definately staying in.
Steph quietly shut her door. As soon as she turned around, Peter gently took her in her arms.
"I'm really enjoying this marriage thing..." he said as he kissed her.
"Me too..." she kissed him back. Lots.
"Did you lock that door?" Peter asked with the cheekiest of grins.
Steph kissed him for answer. "Let's get back on with the honeymoon, Love."
They had no idea, as they embraced, what would happen next that would change there lives forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mike and Ginger had stayed in Mike's hotel room. They'd done a lot of talking about different subjects like the concert and the previous night's party and just anything. Ginger had massaged Mike's temples for a while since he had a slight headache from the concert. They also had the talk Mike wanted to have.
"So.. Gin... I... What we were talking about before the party last night. I still want to talk about that."
"About what?" Ginger hadn't meant to say that, she just got defensive on instinct. That was the last thing she was going to say that someone else inside of her had forced her to. "Mike. I didn't mean to say that. Lately for some reason I've been saying things and they sound like it's coming from someone else."
Mike sat up off his bed to Ginger who was sitting in the middle of it. He swung his legs over the side as she sat cross-legged in the center. He looked at her. This was a good start.
"So why is that?"
Ginger took a deep breath. "I don't know. I don't know why."
"You haven't been yourself. Lately it's gotten worse. I didn't fall in love with a girl who's afraid of anything. I'm not going to let you turn into one." Mike's words were direct and hard, but they were filled with all the compassion he had in his very soul for her. Ginger marveled at this as she always did. He was the only one she'd ever known to possess the ablity to speak in that way.
"I've noticed it too. It's like... whenever I want to get closer, a little warning light goes off..." Ginger explained. Mike remained quiet to listen to her get this awful thing out. "You... You comfort me like no one else can. I feel right when I'm with you, like I'm complete and meant to be here. You hold me and hug me--you even held me all night last night and I loved it--but when we kiss, it's like rockets go off..."
Mike liked what she'd said. He'd liked holding her too and she'd explained exactly how he felt about her. "But aren't rockets a good thing to have go off when you kiss someone?"
"Yes..."
Mike blinked and raised his eyebrows, which prompted Ginger to elaborate.
"I... I want to, I do, but when those fireworks go off I feel like I've got to stop. I... I dunno, I feel... guilty or something..."
"Guilty? Ginger if you think that any of what's happened to you is y--"
"No!" Ginger interrupted him. "No, that's not it at all. It's like I feel guilty because..." She sighed. "I feel like I'm a kid getting ready to eat a cookie I stole before dinner, and I put it back to be good."
Mike had to laugh. She certainly had a way of putting things. "Oh... I think I see now..."
"Yeah..." Ginger was ashamed she was being such a baby. "Buy hey, listen, that's a stupid problem I've got to deal with and I will. I'll do it, and I'll do it quick. There's no sense in it. I won't let it keep me from what I need. And I don't want to you to baby me about it. You do what you think's right and I'll get over any thing I've got going on. It'll go away."
Mike had a small smile on his face. He was amused by the fact she was being so fiercly independent. Steph had told him that he should help Ginger, just be patient and care for her. Ginger had told him the opposite. Maybe by following Ginger's advise, he'd inadvertantly be following Steph's as well.
"Okay. You work it out then. And I know that you can. I just want to tell you that if you stumble a little, I'll pick you back up after you fall." Mike was lying. He'd catch her before she fell. But he'd wait for her to lose her balance first.
"Thanks, dear."
Mike winked and stood up. "Let's go swimmin'."
Ginger's eyes brightened. There were two indoor pools, so the rain wouldn't be an issue, and one of the pools had been closed for the guys anyway. She stood up in front of Mike. "Okay. Before I go change, I'd appreciate if you'd help me a little bit with my issue."
Mike looked puzzled, but intrigued at Ginger's hint of a smile. "What?'
"Hold up your arms."
Mike did so. Ginger removed his shirt.
"Thanks a bunch." She left to go change.
"Yeah, she'll be okay..." Mike muttered to himself with a smile.
Ginger returned with a short pink robe on, and Mike just wore trunks and carried a couple of towels. Ginger was looking at Mike like she had when she'd first seen him in a towel. Particularly at his chest and stomach with the little bit of hair on it and his usually covered arms. Now, however, she didn't feel ashamed of it. Somehow, just confiding in Mike had helped her a great deal. Matter of fact, the more she looked at him in his trunks with his bare chest and stomach, the more helped she felt. By golly, she might even be cured. She'd have to see later.
The reached the pool, went in with Mike's key, and sat their stuff down.
Ginger removed her robe. She was in a bikni. Mike did a double take.
"So, do you think the water's cold?" he asked as Ginger came over to him at the water's edge.
"Na, it's inside."
"Oh. Well, good for you then." Mike nodded.
"Why me?"
"Cos of this!" Mike picked her up and tossed her in the water.
As he was laughing and Ginger was resurfacing, Mike grabbed a beach ball. He threw it to her. "So is it cold?"
"No. Smartass."
Mike laughed really hard then sat down on the edge of the pool and slid in.
"That's not how you get into a swimming pool," Ginger said.
"How do you get in then? Have somebody throw you?"
Ginger glared at him, water dripping off of her. She suddenly jumped up and grabbed Mike's shoulders, bringing him down, then she pushed his head under the water to make sure he was soaked. And a little drownd.
He came back up and took a big breath. "Very nice." He lunged at her. Ginger dodged him and tried to repeat her attack, but this time Mike went under before she grabbed him. He pulled her down from underneath and ontop of him.
He held her to him as he concentrated on staying under water. Then he kissed her. The two kissed underwater until they had to come up for breath.
"Hey, this water's kinda shallow... Let's move to the deep end," Mike said as he took off swimming.
Ginger swam after him. "Fine with me..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Micky and Kari were wandering around the city in the London fog. They'd stopped for dinner and gotten in some sight-seeing. As they were sight-seeing, they'd seen some beautiful homes. This had prompted a discussion about what they wanted their house to look like. They both had started discussing their future home spontaniously, and when they realized that they were discussion such and important thing, neither of them were too keen to stop the conversation. They were now thinking about what to do next.
"I'm getting tired of walking..." Micky mumbled.
"Me, too," Kari agreed. "Let's get a cab."
"Nooo..." Micky said. "I'm sick of cabs."
Kari gave him a look. "You want me to carry you then?"
"Yeah!" Micky threw his arms around her neck like he was going to jump into Kari's arms. "Wait, I have a better idea. Let's go over there." He pointed a rental car place.
"Wow. Genius. So convienent," Kari laughed.
They went into the place and in nearly no time they pulled out in a MG two-seater. They drove around for a while, Micky prentending--when it was safe to--to forget what side of the road he should be on it England, which made Kari laugh hardily. Then, when they were on the outskirts of town, Micky pulled over and got out. Kari, not knowing what he was doing, got out as well and met Micky at the front of the car.
"What's up?"
"I want to do something," Micky said decidedly.
"...What?"
"I want to help you with this whole driving issue," Micky said flatly and uncharacteristically seriously.
"Micky... No... I... It's okay--"
Micky shook his head. "For me. Please just try?"
Kari looked at Micky. His eyes were pleading. He truely wanted to help his fiancee out with the traumatic part of her past. She sighed. "I don't think I can Micky. And it looks like it might rain so I--"
Micky cut her off by shaking his head and leading her over to the driver's side. "It's okay, I'll be right here."
That was Kari's worst fear. If she wrecked, Micky would be right there. In harms way. Because of her.
He opened the car door and gently pushed Kari inside. He shut her door and ran around to the passengers side. He jumped in, excited that he'd gotten her this far.
"You've started it before, you know," he said with a genuine smile.
Kari gave a nervous laugh. She reached a shaky hand up and started the engine.
"Now put it in gear and pull out." Micky was anxious now that she'd come this far.
Kari cast him a glance. He nodded encouragingly. She reached up, put the convertable in gear, and very slowly pulled onto the road. "Oh... Oh my... OH MY GOD!"
"Just stay calm," Micky said with a big smile. "See it's not hard at all! You did it!"
"No, Micky, it was you!" Kari looked nervous out onto the road. It was raining now. "I should stop though, it's raining."
Micky shook his head vigoriously. "No, this is too great. Just keep going. The rain won't bother you."
A car approached. Kari stiffened immediately.
"It's okay, just be cool," Micky said soothingly.
The car passed and Kari let out her breath. "I can't believe this..."
"I'm really proud of you," Micky told her.
"Thank you." It was a loaded 'thank you'.
Kari continued to drive them all the way back to the rental place in the rain. They checked the car in and began to catch a cab bak to the hotel.
Kari was about to flag down a cab when Micky reached out and caught her chin, tilting her head to him. They locked eyes. Micky had done so much for Kari and her thanks and love radiated from her eyes. Micky saw the world in Kari's. They embraced and began kissing as the raindrops fell onto them. Soon they were completely soaked but they didn't care. They stood there kissing in the rain as if the water was making a curtain around them from the rest of the world.
"Let's get back to your room," Kari finally said.
"Why I thought you'd never ask," Micky said fancily.
They began to walk back to the hotel, holding hands, stealing quick kisses, and in total love.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next couple of weeks were hectic. As Kari and Micky's wedding drew closer, more things suddenly came up. The guys were busy juggling all their concerts, plus having last minuet photo shoots, interviews, and public appearances. The girls were just as busy as the boys planning Kari's wedding, which had now been publicly announced.
Kari and Micky's family were flown in and the two spent less time with Mike, Ginger, Peter, Steph and Davy. Kari and Micky's mothers, as well as Micky's sisters, joined Ginger and and Steph with the planning. They all got along famously, which under the intense circumstances, was incredible. Kari and Coco got along the best, which made Micky happy beyond all belief. When there was a little bit of free time (which was rare) the three of them would go hang out at a local pub or cafe.
Aside from all of the wedding business, Mike, Ginger, Steph, and Peter managed to break away for a couple hours a day--sometimes as a group and sometimes in seperate couples.
Ginger and Mike's relationship, throughout the whole mess, grew stronger. Ever since that night in the pool something had changed. Ginger was no longer afraid to "steal a cookie". Hell, sometimes she stole two. Things could not have gone better for them.
Steph and Peter were doing great as well; enjoying the pleasures of married life. Everynight Peter would sneak into Steph's room and sometimes they'd just talk or just bask in each other's company. They used stay awake 'til midnight talking or reading or doing other things, but now Steph was lucky if she was able to stay awake until nine. It was weird because lately she felt as if she was running a marathon every day and she found that she couldn't stand the taste of tea anymore. Her taste in foods had completely flipped and some of the foods she'd loved before made her feel like vomiting (and sometimes she did). She wrote it off as a mixture of her sinuses acting up (they did that whenever she went somewhere drastically different) and all of the stress caused from Kari's wedding. But whenever she felt sick, Peter was always there to make her feel better.
Davy, on the other hand, seemed to just disappear.
Then, the big day arrived.
Kari paced the room she, Ginger, Steph, Coco, Debbie, Gina, were in the bridal waiting room, waiting for the moment...the moment when Kari was to walk down the aisle. The girls had spent the whole day fixing up each other's hair and applying makeup, having a real girls' day, and now Ginger was trying to get Debbie and Gina to sit still and not ruin their up-do's that she had worked so hard to create. They were the cutest little flower girls.
Kari looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress and Micky was in for the shock of his life.
A knock sounded at the door.
Everyone's attention was fixated at the door. It slowly opened to reveal Kari's father in a tux, ready to go.
"It's time," he said, smiling at his daughter with fatherly pride.
Ginger, Steph, and Coco gave Kari one last hug, before they walked out into the hallway to pair off with their respective guys. Ginger with Mike, Steph with Peter, Coco, with Kari's brother, Adam, and Debbie and Gina with Davy.
"Well, this is it," Kari's father said when the two were finally alone.
"I love you so much!" Kari said running over to her father and give him a hug.
"I love you too, Kari," he said rocking back and forth with his only daughter in his arms. "You will never know how proud I am of you today because words cannot express how I feel."
Kari pulled away, tears of joy in her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry.
"Let's go... there is a very lucky man waiting for you out there."
He held out his arm and Kari took it. She inhaled deeply as the two started to walk to the door. In the distance Kari could hear an organ striking up the wedding march.
As Kari exhaled she smiled to herself.
This was the happiest day of her life.
The rest of the day was a euphoric blur. The wedding was the prettiest anyone had ever seen. The church that Steph suggested was, indeed, perfect. The entire day itself was, indeed, perfect.
The reseption had lasted untill midnight (Steph had passed out on a couch in one of the other rooms in the dinning hall around 10) and never had Kari danced so much in her life. Her feet hurt like hell, but she didn't care. Her feet could be bleeding and she'd still dance the night away with Micky...her husband...
And she was Mrs. Dolenz...
...Mrs. Kari Dolenz...
She was now a married woman...
...and she loved every minute of it.
At the end of the reception, everyone went to their hotels, the families being in a different one, as not to attract too much attention. Peter entered the group's hallway carrying Steph, who had been passed out for a few hours now, and carried her to her room. Mike and Ginger walked in, hand in hand after the beautiful night. Mike stopped at Ginger's door and gave her a sweet, serene kiss and left for his room. Davy came in, went in his room and then went out, disappearing for the night.
Kari and Micky were the last two to arrive, they had spent time driving around in the limosine and made it back as everyone was about asleep.
Micky still couldn't believe when she had walked through those doors in her dress and that picture wouldn't be leaving his mind. It was such a wonderful night that he didn't want it to end.
"So, how are you feeling Mrs. Dolenz?" he asked, as they entered his room.
"Like today couldn't get any better," Kai smiled as she kissed him again. They kept kissing as Micky sat down on the bed.
"Maybe it can," he grinned cheekily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day it was packing time for home. They would be leaving around three and not one of them didn't find it hard to say goodbye to England. They had grown so accustomed to it, the way life was and how it passed by. It was an experiece they wouldn't forget. Especially Micky and Kari.
The plane ride was somewhat normal. Steph hurled about every five minutes and Mike would drawl on over stories of his cars. Micky and Kari were actually pretty quiet, they were too wrapped up in each other to really notice anything else.
The plane landed and they were going to enter the terminal. But they weren't expecting the company...
"What the?!" Mike was about to bust someone's head. Papperazzis, reporters, and everyone else were there awaiting their arrival. There were so many flashes of cameras that Steph and Peter felt like they were back at the Beatles' party and expected to see a giant ferret climb the walls...
It only got worse when the newlyweds came onto the scene. Micky stumbled from the bright burst of lights flashing and Kari had to hold him up, this only giving photographers jucier pictures that could say only what it really wasn't saying. Among the reporters was Veronica. Ginger spotted her and wanted to tear after her, but couldn't and Veronica liked it too much.
Finally finding the limo, they rushed in with their luggage being thrown in the back trunk and zoomed off to the studios. They would find their cars there and would be able to go home to rest.
Ginger looked at Mike's car and found a fresh newspaper on the windshield. It took only a glance for her already pissy mode to get hostile.
Immediately Ginger reached across Mike and flung the door open.
"No don't... Man... Somebody will die at her hands if that paper has anything bad in it..." Mike muttered getting out of the car after it came to a stop. Ginger had gotten out before it had completely stopped moving.
Even with the advantage of having easily longer legs than Ginger, Mike couldn't catch her. Security was pulling in behind them and locking the gates of the studio which prevented the teeny boppers, who wanted Kari's blood, and reporters, who wanted anything, from getting in.
"Steph? You okay? Let's go into the studio..." Peter said. Steph's head had been lolling against him the entire ride. He got out and Steph leaned on him for support all the way into the studio with Davy's help. Micky and Kari went to catch up with Mike and Ginger.
Ginger had torn the newpaper off Mike's GTO and looked at the page it had been folded back to, gaping at him in stuttering rage.
"What's it say?, he asks as if he cares..." Mike asked sarcastically as he caught up to her, out of breath. He leaned on her shoulder and read it. "Woo..."
"Well? What's it say?" Micky asked.
"Apparently, you and Kari have been married for a while and it's only just been made public because Kari's expecting. And not your kid, either, man."
"Veronica..." Ginger said through gritted teeth, the news paper shaking in her hands.
"She has a hang-up about that stuff," Kari said. Those sorts of reports were just rolling off of Kari now.
"And," Mike continued, "Kari is due in court for another drunk driving accident."
"Great, she finally gets back to driving and now this." Micky sighed.
"It's okay." Kari just shrugged. "Just keep those teenyboppers off of me and I'll be fine."
"Now there's the snag," Mike said, still skimming the paper. "Seems the police have been at your apartment, Micky. It was broken into and messed up a little. No real damage done because the cops got there in time."
Micky and Kari both gasped. "At least there's that..." Micky said.
Mike nodded his sorry and continued his report. "And... Oh here's something else, Steph and Peter are no longer an item. Ginger and Peter are. Now that's news."
"Mike, we would have told you but..." Micky joked.
Mike gave him The Look.
"Who are you an item with then, Mikeypoo?" Kari asked.
"Uh... Davy."
"WHAT?!" Micky and Kari said in unison.
Mike shook his head to indicate his sarcasm, he was still reading for that part. "Oh here it is... Seems I'm just a loser. I've turned to heavy drugs since losing my, oh, "sleeping partner". I demanded total control of the group and didn't get it. Instead of Peter quiting, now I am."
"You mean it?" Micky asked hopefully.
"Keep it up, Shotgun, and we will be losing a member... That's crazy. If I wanted total control I'd have it..." Micky and Kari rolled their eyes. "Ah, what else... Ginger's given all her kids up for adoption. And uh... Oh..." No he knew why Ginger was shaking with the extreme effort of resisting comiting murder. "Says, Barbour and Nesmith split up after the Monkee with the hat--Damn it--tried to force himself on her. Like last time, he was involved in a brawl with her protector, which this time turned out to be Tork. Well, well, well," Mike said simply. He wasn't kidding around anymore either.
Ginger finally spoke. "And Steph's so devastated that I'm her boyfriend's whore that she is in a mental ward for attempted suicide..." Ginger paused. "And her real parents are in here. They want to find her to help her."
All four stood in silence.
When they were heading to the studio in silence, Peter, Steph, and Davy met them as Peter and Steph were leaving and Davy was helping her to the car.
"What was in the paper?" Davy asked. Peter looked as if he wanted to know too. Steph looked as if she was going to collapse.
"Later," Ginger said. "What's wrong with Steph?"
Kari had, upon seeing Steph, went to assist in making sure she didn't get sick.
"Really bad motion sickness," Peter said. "Along with jet lag. I'm taking her to the doctor right now to get some medicine and an IV for her. She's dehydrated, I think."
"You wanna lift or something?" Mike asked in a very concerned tone, pointing to his car.
"Na, I've got it already," Davy said. "See you guys."
With that, the three got in Peter's car and Davy drove off as the others went inside.
Immediately, a newspaper was hurled all the way across the studio, smacking into a wall with a loud smack.
"Hey, calm down..." Mike said soothingly, but firmly, to Ginger. He very gently laid his hands on her shoulders.
She turned around, arms akimbu. "Careful, they may get a picture of me looking mad and you touching me. Then they'd really have a field day."
Mike smiled. "It's just the press."
"Well I'm tired of them doing this! It's not right! What they said about you and after all the..." She took a shaking breath. "But that's not anything like they did to Steph. They've gotten Steph's so-called-parents looking for her! She's just getting over what they did to her and--"
Mike nodded slowly and she drownded herself out. "I know. Whether they are looking for her or they're not, they won't get to her. Not while I'm in that house." Mike walked her over to Micky and Kari.
"She'll get hers, trust me," Ginger said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~