Chapter one

The car pulled up to the club and immediately all four Monkees spilled out of it. They then began unloading their instruments from the car and bringing them inside the club. This was the first paid gig that they had in months so they were all very excited. Not only was their first gig in a while but they were going to get paid much better than most gigs that they had in the past. And if things went well they would be eligible to come back for the battle of the bands as well as other opportunities that were coming up soon. Because of all this it seemed as though everything was going in just the right direction for them.

Right away, once they had everything inside, they scrambled to the stage with their instruments. The club owner came up to them and began telling them everything that they needed to know about the gig that night and club rules and whatnot, all while they were setting up on the stage. The excitement seemed to be contagious amongst the band. They laughed, joked and even did a little roughhousing with each other, often having to stop and remind themselves that they were supposed to be setting up. Not to anyone's surprise, Micky was especially excited about performing that night. Since he was so over the moon he was also extra hyper and wasn't paying attention to what he was doing the entire time. Often he was warned by Mike to calm down and pay attention, and often he ignored the warnings only proving to everyone that he was getting by just fine despite the way he was acting. Unfortunately this could only go on for so long before something happened to him.

Micky went up to one of the microphone stands that was center stage. In order to do a quick sound check he tapped on the microphone and then hummed a little bit into it. Then, grabbing the stand with both hands, he leaned forward with the stand and belted out a long, loud single note. When the note ended he stood up straight, still holding onto the stand, and began singing part of one of their songs in a rather seductive way. It was then when Mike, growing frustrated, pulled Micky away from the microphone.

"Would ya cut it out? We have to finish setting up."

"Alright, alright I'm done. But we were all goofing around." Micky let out a small laugh.

"Not as much as you." Mike rolled his eyes and walked away.

Micky fixed the microphone stand the way it should have been and then looked out to where the audience would be. As he stood there imagining the audience there, a big smile formed across his face that seemed to stretch all the way to the back of his head. He was then brought back to reality once Mike reminded him again that he needed to finish setting up his drums. With a slight sigh he turned around and looked toward where his drums lay on the stage in pieces. The only thing he disliked about being a drummer was the fact that his was the only instrument that required disassembling and reassembling every time they had a gig somewhere. To make this aspect worse he usually was the only one who ever did anything to set them up. But instead of complaining about it, he just sucked it up and prepared himself to put his drum kit together.

Not paying attention to what he was doing, Micky took a step too fast and accidentally wrapped the microphone cord around his ankle. This caused him to stumble, and while trying to regain his balance he wound up falling backwards off the stage. The microphone and stand also came down, smacking him right in the face. The rest of the Monkees barely had time to shout let alone run over to help stop Micky from falling. The last thing that Micky heard before his closed his eyes were his friends' cries of concern.

………………….

Micky cracked his eyes open and was greeted right away by a bout of double vision. His vision cleared and he saw two familiar brown eyes staring into his. Looking quite concerned, yet relieved at the same time, Peter backed away a little while maintaining eye contact with him.

"Welcome back, Micky. You had us a little worried there for a minute."

"What's going on, Pete? Where are we?"

Peter frowned and then held up a small light, shining it into Micky's eyes. He then turned towards Mike who stood near by.

"After everything he's been through, I'm not surprised that he's still experiencing these spells." Said Peter

Mike nodded his head. "I've been keeping a close watch over him since he was brought in last week. He hasn't changed at all. Unfortunately."

As the two of them spoke to each other, Micky lay there taking in everything around him. Everything about this place bothered him. But what was bothering him the most was his friends. Peter looked and acted much more mature, and seemed much smarter. His hair had been cut short and was slicked back, and he was dressed in a white doctor's coat. A stethoscope was draped loosely around his neck and shoulders and there was a name tag clipped to his coat. Mike seemed to be less fatherly and yet he held a very kind and caring demeanor about him. He hadn't changed very much in his appearance, except that he wasn't wearing his hat, his hair was a little shorter, and he was wearing dark blue scrubs. He, like Peter, wore a name tag clipped to his scrub top. Both name tags had unfamiliar names on them.

Confusion swept over Micky in one large wave as he turned his eyes away from who he believed to be his friends and he looked around the room. The walls were painted very light beige, almost white and there was the hum of small machines near by. Due to his uncomfortable confusion he had not realized until this moment that he was lying in a hospital bed and he wore a hospital gown to go along with it.

Micky tried to sit up only to be cautioned by whom he only thought to be Mike to lie back down. As he laid his head back on the pillow as instructed he finally managed to read the name tags that Mike and Peter bore. The tag on Peter's jacket read "Dr. Tim Weston" while Mike's tag held the name and title of "Derek Ross R.N." The confusion within Micky began to turn into panic as he tried to make sense of everything.

"Wh-what's going on?" Micky's voice shook a little as he spoke. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Micky just try to relax." The doctor said. "We understand the confusion you're experiencing. You're just coming out of one of your dizzy spells. According to all your tests it looks as though your tumor has returned. I'm afraid you'll have to undergo some more chemo treatments."

The fact that this all came from the mouth of the person he believed to be Peter dressed as a doctor, caused Micky's panic to begin to grow.

"Tumor? Chemo? What the hell is going on here?! Mike, Peter please tell me what's happening. Where's Davy?"

Mike stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Micky's shoulder. "Hey Mick, just relax. After you passed out in the hallway we had a feeling you were going to wake up not remembering anything again. We'll explain everything to you the best that we can in a minute. Just tell us the last thing you remember happening."

Micky stared at him like he was out of his mind. "Tell me first who you are. I think you're Mike… I mean you have to be Mike. You look and sound just like him." He let out a small nervous laugh.

Mike sighed. "Micky you know who I am. I'm Derek Ross and I'm the main nurse who has been taking care of you these past two years. In fact you request me to take care of you ever since your first visit here."

"And I am Dr. Weston. I've been treating you for a brain tumor, the reason for you being in the hospital now. The three of us have seen an awful lot of each other." He finished with a slight smile. "Now, Micky, it's your turn to talk to us. What is the last thing you remember before your dizzy spell?"

"M-my dizzy spell? Guys what are you talking about? I didn't have a dizzy spell; I fell off the stage and the mike stand hit me in the head. The next thing I know, I'm waking up in this hospital with you two playing dress up." Micky laughed. "Peter you expect me to believe that you're a doctor treating me for a brain tumor? And Mike, how in the hell can a guy be a nurse? Nurses are chicks."

Dr. Weston and Derek frowned together and hesitated before answering Micky.

"Micky, we're sorry about this, but we are not Mike and Peter." said Derek with a sigh. "We are in fact Dr. Weston and Derek Ross. And you should know that in this day and age there are plenty of male nurses like myself."

"Now," said Doctor Weston as he sat next to Micky on the bed. "Please finish telling us what you remember. For starters… what stage did you say you fell off of?"

Micky frowned and then nervously grinned with a small laugh to match. "What do you mean? The stage at the Vincent Van… we were setting up for the gig. I-I was just about to put my drum kit together… I think…"

"Are you referring to the old club the Vincent Van Au Go Go?" The doctor asked. Micky confirmed with a nod of his head. "I'm afraid that would be impossible for you to be on stage at that club. It burned down in 1970 and has not been rebuilt since."

"And if you ever were there…" The nurse started "You would be much older than you are now. Probably in your late 40s, early 50s."

"W-what year is it?" Micky asked with a trembling voice.

"It is 1998. You started coming here for treatments in 1996." Doctor Weston answered. "Now do you care to continue telling us about being at the club?"

"W-well I… That is the four of us were there for a gig. We were all setting up but I was goofing around." He paused and looked at Derek. "You, I mean Mike told me to stop messing around and set up my drums. I tripped over the mike cord and fell off the stage. The mike stand came down and hit me in the head. That's the last thing I remember."

"That's really interesting." Replied Derek, genuinely fascinated by what Micky was saying. "You said the four of us were setting up. Who else was there?"

Micky blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting that he was only talking to Mike and Peter's look-a-likes. "What do you mean who else was there? Davy! Who else?"

"So you are saying that you, Derek, this Davy person and I were setting up for a gig at a club that burned down years ago, and then you fell off the stage? Micky none of what you are telling us makes sense. It must have been some dream you were having."

"No it wasn't a dream! It's what really happened! Come on you guys this isn't funny." He started to feel the burn of tears forming in his eyes as he spoke. "Mike, Peter, you have to remember Davy and being in the band together. You know… Hey hey we're the Monkees…? We're The Monkees, man. Don't you have any idea what I'm talking about? You have to! You just have to!" His tears had just begun to fall as he finished talking.

"Micky please calm down. Everything is going to be ok. We know this is a lot for you to take in right now but we assure you that everything will come back to you real soon." Derek said with a soothing tone as he wiped Micky's tears away.

"This happens every time after one of your dizzy spells." Dr. Weston added. And that is why we decided to bring in someone who might help you come through this bout of confusion."

"Please tell me it's Davy. I need to see him now. I need something… normal." He sniffed.

Derek shook his head sadly. "Sorry Micky. We don't know anyone named Davy around here. But hopefully you will remember Paula. Seeing her could help you feel better."

Dr. Weston stepped away from Micky's bed and then walked over to the door. He opened the door and then stepped into the hall. When he returned a second later he was carefully ushering a sickly looking teenage girl. He walked the girl over to Micky's bedside and then Micky wiped away the remainder of his tears to look at her.

"Hi Micky. Remember me?" She asked with a grin and an eerily familiar British accent.

Her overall appearance shocked Micky at first when he saw her. It was partly due to the fact that he wasn't prepared to be greeted by someone in her condition. She had no hair, was rail thin and swimming in her pink hospital issued pajamas and matching robe. Another thing that shocked Micky was the fact that, despite her ill appearance and feminine features, this girl could have easily been Davy's twin sister. All Micky could do was stare at her and try to get his brain to register what he was seeing before him.

"Micky this is Paula. The two of you met two years ago. With her cancer and your brain tumor, you have been pretty much on the same schedule for chemo treatments. So because of that you two have managed to become friends." Dr. Weston explained.

"You've been close friends ever since. You have helped each other through your illnesses and even visit each other during extended hospital stays like right now. She has really helped you out a lot whenever you have your dizzy spells." Derek added.

As Micky looked at Paula, Derek and even Dr. Weston, he felt a strong and growing sick feeling in his stomach. All the information he had just heard within minutes was swimming around through his mind. He had never been more confused and scared than he was in this moment. Trying to take it all in only made him feel much worse. Suddenly the entire room began to spin and then the double vision returned. The next thing he knew, everything around him had turned completely black.