Notes: This is a work of fiction only based in the real world where the guys are actors. Facts (dates, family situation, etc..) that aren't true to life are because they were made up to suit the story.

July, 1982
Peter sat in back of the limousine that Mike had sent to the airport to pick him up, looking around as it pulled onto the grounds of the Nesmith estate in New Mexico. It was seven years since hed last seen Mike or his daughter Shelly, and it had been at the wedding of an old friend. Peter didnt mean to let time slip by like that, and he was sure that Mike or none of the other guys did either, but that was just what happened.

When the series ended in 1969, they all made vows to meet with each other as much as possible and to keep in very good touch. It worked for a few years, but Peter stayed in California while Mike moved to New Mexico and Davy and Micky to England. That tended to make things a little hard. In addition to that, they were all doing their own thing and branching off into new careers, dealing with family... well, the time just slipped faster than any of them ever expected.

Another thing Peter didnt expect was this out of the blue invitation from Michael. Mike was the least social out of all of them and Peter was very pleased with the proposition that he come and stay here for a as long as hed like to catch up on old times, but wondered at it just the same.

The car was still heading towards the main house when Peters mind flashed to Shelly. That last time hed seen her, she was only ten years old and hed been 28. He found her sneaking champagne from one of the tables at the wedding reception and she was slightly tipsy. Fortunately, he found her before Michael did and took her off to the side to gently lecture her as to why she should not be drinking at such a tender, or probably, any age. Hed had his brush with drugs and alcohol, and it got him worse than nowhere. The last thing he wanted for his friends little girl was something like what he went through.

After Peters little drinking lecture, Shelly had put her arms around his neck from her position in his lap and pressed her little forehead against his own. Shed always been a precocious young lady and hed listened to what she told him with amused interest, and a finger wrapped in one of her pipe curls until it became clear what she was getting at. The ten year old daughter of his best friend was telling him that she was in love with him, and had experienced a crush on him for "quite some time now, Uncle Peter."

Hed responded by holding her at arms length and explaining that he was just a little too old for her, and maybe shed prefer a nice young 12 year old boy, someone closer to her age and experience. Hed then tried to lighten his statement by joking that he was sure she would no longer have an interest in him once she reached adulthood, but that if by some remote chance she did, to give him a call. Despite all his efforts, she took it very hard and had not spoken to him since. Not once in seven years. The only contact in that amount of time with her was the birthday present and card he sent her every year. He always received a formal thank you note in return, but nothing more.

Shelly held a special place in his heart. She was the first "Monkee child", born to Michael and his former wife before the series started, when Michael was 18 years old. It was easier to keep in touch in the earlier years after the series ended and Peter watched Shelly grow from a toddler to a pre-teen with interest. There had always been something exceptional about her and he felt that they shared a certain bond. He hoped what theyd had all those years ago hadnt really been spoiled by how hed been forced to "let her down" and that they could develop a friendship again. He missed her most of all, and would be glad to see what she was up to, who she was seeing and how she was getting along with learning the "family business". Mike always wanted her to work along side him and now that he was into other things besides just playing music, she was able to do that.

Peter just knew shed be beautiful and bright. She was a gorgeous young child with an impish and intelligent manner and he hoped she kept those qualities. Michael was perfect, and Peter knew any daughter of his would grow up to be, as well. She would be 17 now and greatly changed, but he was looking forward to getting to know her again.

He was still thinking about how she might have turned out when the car finally pulled up to the main house. Hed been here several times before, many years ago, and the place never ceased to amaze him. Peter himself once owned a virtual mansion during the series, but it never came close to what Michael had built. When things calmed down about two years after the series end, Peter eventually sold his beach side home and moved to a respectable sized Victorian out in the middle of nowhere. He lived there alone and if he didnt love the house so much, he would sell it and get something smaller. In this palace the only family members were Michael and Shelly, but they employed vast amounts of house servants, grounds keepers, chauffeurs, people to tend to the stables, etc

Peter stood at the doorway as the chauffeur rang the bell and he smiled when recalling Michael and a very young Shelly designing the place together. Of course, Michael guided her away from certain things, but she actually came up with some pretty good ideas. Shed always been old for her age and had a good eye for art, something Peter appreciated and understood completely. She designed the gardens, the maze out back, and yes, even the "Alice in Wonderland" room. He was still chuckling when the butler came to the door.

"Mr. Tork. Mr. Nesmith has been expecting you. Come this way please." The butler, an old British man of about 65 who looked strikingly like Sir John Gielgud, stepped back and let him through.

Peter looked around to find that what he saw so far hadnt changed in all these years. Typical of Michael and Shelly both, creatures of habit and strict organization. Mike had ingrained the very few of his qualities that Shelly was not simply born with into her at an early age. For many years, in fact, she had been dubbed, "Junior" by all of them because she was very much a little Michael. Peter prided himself in that hed been able to bring out the childs softer, humorous side, though. It was something many people never got a chance to see from either her or her father.

The butler led Peter to a huge library down a massive hallway and off to the left. When they reached the door, the butler knocked and from inside, they heard Michaels voice, "Enter."

The butler let Peter in and Michael looked up from his book. He was sitting in a throne-like chair by an empty fireplace, reading from the Complete Works of Aristotle. He wore pressed jeans, a white button-down shirt and had on a pair of Benjamin Franklin looking glasses. He, like Peter, was 35 now and while he wore a serious expression as always, he didnt look like he could be much beyond his late 20s. He still had a full head of thick brown hair and was as lanky as they came.

When they first met, Peter wondered how Michael could be so skinny and look so powerful at the same time. One day, it just dawned on him. It shone in his eyes. It was something that came from within, the way he thought of and carried himself. It was his "the world revolves around me" attitude which never wavered. Michael was a good friend though and had a kind heart. People just had to prove themselves with him if they were going to find it.

"Peter." Mike put his book down on a side table and removed his reading glasses. He stood and smoothed his pants and shirt, motioning for Peter to enter the room.

Peter stepped forward and shook Mikes hand. He then ran the same hand through his longish, golden hair. "Wow." He breathed. "Its nice to see you. You look great."

"So do you." Mike tugged on the end of Peters shoulder length hair. It was darker than last time theyd met, but still basically fair. Shelly liked to say that it was the same shade as a gold colored crayon. "Nice hair." Mike chuckled.

"I thought Id leave it long for a while and see how I like it. Something different, I guess. If they thought I was a long haired weirdo in the 60s, I can just imagine what the public at large would have to say about me now." Peter replied, blushing slightly.

"Oh hell, Peter. Were living in the decade of the big hair band. I dont think youd get a second glance today. At least you dont have an entire can of Aqua Net in there." Mike paused, "No, really. It looks good."

"Gee thanks, Dad. Im glad you approve." Peter laughed and looked around. He was anxious to see Shelly. He and Michael had formed an unsteady friendship over the years, in fact Mike was really his best friend. The continuous party at Peters house ended in what seemed a lifetime ago and the guys in the band were the only thing he really had left. He and Mike were more like brothers, when it came down to it, because the time they spent together all those years ago was so intense. They quickly moved past friendship and onto family, but they never talked much unless it pertained to music, and he could feel the conversation dying down already.

Mike seemed to sense the same thing and he rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath and said, "OK. Well, Juniors up in her room. I told her you were coming, but not the exact day. In a way, I was keeping you as a surprise for her. Shes really been looking forward to your visit. Remember where her room is?"

"Yeah, I think so." Peter smiled, wiping his palms on his jeans. He was nervous, and couldnt quite put a finger on why. Maybe it was because Mike was so prefect. Mike was one of those people who could make you feel greatly flawed even if there was nothing wrong with you, and he could do it just by standing there.

"Great. Go on in there and Im sure youll get the reception of a lifetime. Not much has changed around here, but Im sure shed like you to take her for a walk around the grounds, anyway. Shes working on plans for another rose garden and shes just been busting her buttons to tell somebody about it." Mike gave Peter a small wave with the back of his hand in a gesture of dismissal.

It was clear that Michael was going to return to reading his book, so Peter smiled then left the room. He made his way through the elaborately designed house, passing expensive, heavily carved and ornate antiques on the way, his footsteps echoing down every hallway on the marble flooring. He reached the massive mahogany staircase and ascended to the third floor, heading to the west wing where Shellys suite of rooms was.

He got to her door and knocked lightly. Michael told him to just go in and Michael had always been one for just barging in wherever he wanted to go, but Peter was a firm believer in knocking. He waited for several long moments and there was no answer. He knocked again and when she didnt answer this time, he cracked the door open, peeking in.

Shellys sitting room was basically the same as the last time hed been here, with the exception of a few things like more records on the shelves and newer, bigger, stereo and TV equipment. Large, framed photographs of the group and herself in various times and settings graced the walls in here. His favorite, one he had up in his own house, hung above her television set. It was of himself and her at the wedding reception where they last met. She was seated in his lap. They were both in formal attire and Shellys little dress was an exact copy of Scarletts ball gown from Gone With The Wind. The photograph was taken right before hed caught her drinking and had to have "the talk" with her.

He stepped fully into the room, glancing around for any photos that might give him an idea of what she looked like now to soften his shock when he finally did come face to face with her again. A girl did a lot of changing between ten and 17, and he knew that no matter what her appearance was, he was not prepared for it in any way.

The closest thing he found seemed to be of her at about age 13, 14 or so. She and Michael were standing in the library hed just come from and she wore her school uniform, holding up what appeared to be a plaque of some sort, he assumed for academic achievement. In the photo, she appeared relatively the same as the last time hed seen her with just a few more signs of growing up.

Finally, he realized he was going to have no luck and decided to proceed into her actual bedroom. When he reached the door that led from the sitting room, it was half open. He stuck his head in and found her laying on the bed, face first with her chin propped in one hand. She had headphones on and was moving her head to the music while reading a magazine of some sort. Her long black hair spilled down her back and she had a very nice tan. What he tried to avoid noticing was that she wore tight bluejean shorts that were extremely tiny, leaving not much to the imagination and a skin-tight dark green tank top to go with them. Strangely enough, her shirt was the same green as the wool hat that her father used to wear so many years ago.

Peter was utterly glued to the floor as he watched her in silence. She was no longer a kid, his special little friend, the serious adult trapped in a childs body. He gulped and knew it was audible, but didnt have to worry since she had the headphones on. The music from them was so loud, strains of it hit his ears from across the room. He gathered that it was heavy metal of some sort by her sporadic singing, what little of the music he actually heard, and the way she moved her head to the beat. She was the most beautiful thing hed seen in years or maybe ever, and he wished like hell he was ten years younger.

It took a moment for him to collect himself and he decided it was best to leave the room and wander the grounds when Shelly sensed his presence and rolled over slightly, turning her head to look at him. Her large, light brown eyes were twinkling when they met his own deep brown ones. She threw her headphones off and sat up on the bed, bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

Finally, she realized she would have to go to him and spoke in a well-trained voice, "Peter." She sounded almost British, and that southern quality from her younger years was completely gone. He also noticed that the "uncle" had been dropped. She moved through the room like royalty and when she got to where he was standing, she held her hand out as if waiting for him to kiss the back of it.

He did, avoiding being scratched by her long, French manicured nails and stepped fully into the room, giving her a slight bow and a bright smile. "Shelly. Its wonderful to see you. Ive missed you." He tried to keep his eyes from traveling up and down her very appealing body. She was more athletic in appearance than Michael and not quite of a medium height. She looked a great deal like her mother, as she always had, but the inner qualities she got from Michael made her look mostly like him once one began a conversation with her or observed her for any length of time.

It was evident now that she wore rings on almost every finger, a dainty choker around her neck, a tennis bracelet, two small gold hoop earrings in both ears and had ankle bracelets on both of her ankles. She looked like a hippies dream with a queens demeanor. He noticed that more than a few of those items of jewelry were past birthday presents from him. Shed changed, but only slightly, just looking like an older, curvy version of the girl hed left seven years ago at that wedding reception. And she still smelled like strawberries. He was about to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming when she spoke again.

"I"ve missed you as well. Wont you give me one of your famous bear hugs?" She held her arms out gracefully and gave him what he didnt even dare to think of but for a moment as a seductive smile.

Peter was genuinely overwhelmed by this entire situation and didnt know whether he was coming or going. He tentatively stepped forward and began to hug her like he was afraid she would break. She felt like heaven in his arms, but he wouldve pulled away to try curbing the feeling he got from holding her if she didnt have him wrapped in her sweet embrace, keeping him from moving back.

Shelly giggled, "Im not that fragile, you know. Wheres the hugs I used to get?" To punctuate her point, she squeezed him tightly, pushing all the air from his body.

He nervously chuckled in response once he recovered his breath and pulled her further into his arms. Something about holding her turned him back into that shy kid from Connecticut who had come to California to hang out and play his banjo over 15 years ago. "You feel really nice, Shelly." He murmured before he could stop himself.

After his statement, which made her smile and sigh, she instantly felt him tense up and try to pull back. She wasnt about to let that happen. Shed been waiting for this moment since they saw each other last and he was so beautiful to her eyes. He was all shed ever wanted and when she was foolish enough at ten years old to spill the beans about how much she desired him, hed been so gracious about it. Shelly spent her entire life watching him, either in real life or on television and it was Peter, her childhood crush, that she still longed for. There were a few boyfriends, all famous musicians or actors, but she always ended up comparing them to him and it never lasted long.

Her father seemed so upset at everyone she brought home, fearing that she was going to date someone just like himself when he was younger. He knew the kinds of things he used to do and he knew the kinds of things her boyfriends did. He didnt like the way they looked at her and he wouldve killed any one of them if he thought they were sleeping with her. Shelly wondered what her father would think if she ever managed to catch Peter, his best friend and 18 years older than her at that.

They held each other for a while longer, Peter getting quite nervous that Shelly would notice his feelings as ones of want, however against his will, and Shelly hoping that Peter would notice her feelings as ones of want and that she was all for it. He continued to squirm and she decided to give him a break and let him go. The last thing she wanted to do was receive another lecture like the last one.

She dropped her arms, pausing to stroke his back lightly one more time then turned around to pick up what was left laying on the bed in her haste. "How long are you here for?"

"Im not sure yet. Mike. umm your dad.." Peter cleared his throat at this point. He had to keep reminding himself that this was Michaels daughter, and not a dating prospect, "..he gave me an open invitation."

"Wonderful." She clapped her hands together once and straightened from her position. She had been leaning over the bed, picking up her headphones and magazine. Peters eyes unsuccessfully tried to go anywhere but on her. "Well simply have to keep you here as long as possible. I just graduated two months ago and my lifes kind of slowed down. Im not going to go to college, though."

"You dont need to. Youve got this down, right? Youre staying in business with your dad, I assume?" Peter asked, raising both of his eyebrows. He sat in a chair by the door, crossed his legs and placed his hands in his lap.

Shelly looked him up and down. She used to sit in that lap, and she wanted to right now. He looked positively yummy in the white shirt and pants he was wearing. She wondered if she could get him to go swimming then tried to concentrate on his question, attempting to sound offhanded. "Oh yeah, I dont want to leave home and I know what I need to know. Besides, Im the richest woman in New Mexico." She giggled then became a bit more serious, "And Daddy needs me."

That sent a shiver down Peters spine oh yes he does he thought. He bit his lip and winced at his own thought process, surprised at himself for having such intensely sexual thoughts about anyone, much less Shelly. He had to get out of here or he was going to end up doing or saying something inappropriate.

Peter was saved by the bell as it were when the intercom buzzed, startling both of them. Shelly reached over to push the button and talk into it, "Yes."

"Junior." Mikes voice came out of the speaker, "Im in the library. Could you and Peter come down here for a minute? I wanted to discuss dinner and a few other things."

"Yes, Daddy. Well be there in a minute. Love you." Shelly responded, wrinkling her nose and glancing at Peter.

"Love you too. Now, you stop holding your Uncle Peter prisoner and get down here."

Shelly stepped away from the intercom and presented herself in front of Peter, holding out her hand. "You heard him."

Peter softly laughed and took her hand. She led him back down to the library and walked in, still holding his hand as they stood in front of Mikes chair. He removed his glasses as he looked at them, a million of thoughts of times past running through his mind.

He put his book down, "Junior, I was thinking about having you tell Helga to make lobster for dinner tonight. Is that fine with yall? 6:00?"

"Thats wonderful, Daddy. Ill tell her on the way out. I was hoping our distinguished guest would come with me to look at the site for my new rose garden." She squeezed Peters hand and moved closer to him.

Peter nodded as an answer to both of them and felt his hands getting sweaty as Michael watched he and Shelly together. It was always so hard to tell what Michael was thinking. His calculating eyes didnt miss a single minuscule thing, either. He was sure to realize that Peter had a strong and inappropriate attraction for his daughter that was growing by the second. Combine that with special place shed always held in his heart, which was seeming to change to another type of love altogether, and he wondered how long he could navigate through a stay here without getting his head chopped off.

"Great." Mike responded. "Peter, I had Wadsworth put your bags in your usual rooms. If you want something else, let Junior know and she can take care of it for you."

"Those rooms will be great Mike, thanks." Peter responded. Sure the rooms were great. They adjoined Shellys.

"Alright. Junior, I was thinking about letting Helgas daughter move into a position helping her in the kitchen. Suzie is leaving because shes getting married and wants to move away and we need another girl there. Does that sound alright to you?""

"Yes, Daddy. Ill inform Helga when I tell her about dinner and Ill also make sure Kevin finds us another maid." Shelly became completely business-like and handled the conversation with great efficiency. It was evident that she and Michael made the household decisions completely together.

"One more thing, Peter. Ive got a new album Im working on and I was kind of wondering if youd like to be a part of it. Thats a portion of the reason for my invitation, but I wanted to get a feel for where youre at." Mike raised both of his eyebrows.

"Wow. We havent worked together since 1969, Mike. Thatd be great. I brought my banjo, but" Peter trailed off.

"Ive got plenty of that stuff here. Actually, I was looking at keyboards and bass. Are you up to it?" Mike tilted his head.

"Yeah, when do we start?" Peter asked, happy not only to work with Mike for the first time in so long, but to have something to relieve the suffering of his confusing feelings for Shelly. He needed to think about them and hard, but not while alone in a room with her. Having a musical outlet would help greatly.

Mike nodded, pleased that Peter wanted to work on the material, "How about we get together tonight after dinner? We can rehearse for a bit and see how it goes."

Peter was about to respond. Hed just made a bright smile and there was a knock at the door. "Enter." Mike and Shelly both said at the same time.

A young man stuck his head in the door and when Peter turned around to look at the kid, he almost had a heart attack. It was just like looking at Mike between ten and fifteen years ago. What happened next gave Peter a pang of jealousy.

"Shelly..er.. Miss Nesmith." the kid started with a wave and a big smile, switching to calling her Miss Nesmith when he saw that there was company. He stepped into the room, right on Shellys other side and didnt bother to hide the fact that he was checking her out with needy hazel eyes. He was obviously head over heels for her. "Sorry to interrupt, but weve got a little problem out in the stables. I wanted to go over it with you before I make a final decision."

"Alright, Kevin." Shelly looked up at him.

Peter couldnt see the expression on her face because she was looking the opposite way from him, but she sounded professional. There was at least a hint of a smile in her voice, though. He couldnt help but grow more jealous, wondering if this guy was by chance sleeping with her, and tried to control the pissed off look coming onto his features. He was putting the carriage before the horses here and had to get a grip on his attitude.

Shelly continued to address Kevin, "Why dont we step outside for a moment?" She let go of Peters hand then moved back so that Kevin and Peter could face each other, "Kevin, this is Peter. Hes one of our dearest friends."

"Im a big fan, sir." Kevin said, shaking Peters hand.

Peter noticed that Kevins hands even looked like Mikes and it almost sent a shudder through his body. "Thanks. Nice to meet you."

"Kevins our personal assistant." Shelly supplied. "Ill be right back then we can go for our walk."

Peter smiled at her and nodded, letting the heat out of his hands once she and Kevin were gone from the room. He tried to hide the gesture from Michael by distracting him with a question, "God Mike, whered you get that kid? Hes a dead ringer for you."

"Yeah. Well, hes a year older than Junior, his family lived in Santa Fe and they owned a small general store. They werent doing very well and we took a shining to him. Hes lived here for about, oh.. six years now. I sent him to school and had him learn how to help run the estate and now its his job. I taught him how to play the guitar and actually, hes the other guitar player Im gonna have on my album. Youll get plenty of a chance to get to know him if youre here for any length of time. Hes a great kid and I always hoped that Junior would well, you know Her hearts wild though. She could do a lot worse, I tell you what." Mike rolled his eyes. Shed made fairly good choices so far, from what was out there, but he always feared the worst.

"Yeah." Peter sighed and put his hands in his pockets, looking down at the floor.

"So, what do you think?" Mike made a gesture with his thumb towards the door, "I think shes grown up really beautiful, myself. And Peter, shes the smartest little thing youd ever want to see. Shes a great help and I dont know what Ill do if she ever meets someone good enough for her and leaves me here without her."

"She turned out great, Michael. I dont think you could hope for anything better." Peter paused, laughing nervously and trying not to say too much or too little. Either would be offensive, so he had to be careful, "If you meet all of her boyfriends at the door with a shotgun, like I assume you do, I dont think her leaving here is something you need to worry about."

Mike laughed out loud at that one, "Know what your problem is? You know me too well, good buddy."

There was a lull in the conversation while they both looked around the room for a moment, then Shelly came back in. "Sorry about that, Peter. Im ready to go on our walk now if you are." She turned her attention to Michael, "Daddy, I had Kevin handle the dinner arrangements and the thing with Helgas daughter and the new maid for the staff. I think were all set now. See you at dinner."

"Thats my girl. Gimmie sugar." Mike stood up and held his arms out.

She gave him a hug while he smoothed her hair then he bent down after a moment so she could give him a peck on the cheek. He squeezed her once more then looked up at Peter, "Have you hugged her yet? She gives the best hugs." He picked Shelly up so that her feet were off of the floor and squeezed her again. He finally let her down, waiting for Peters response.

Peter looked at his own feet as Shelly took his hand again and he murmured, "Yeah. Great hugger."

"OK then. Ill see yall at dinner." Mike walked them to the double doors that led from the room and closed them when they were gone, shaking his head. Peter sure was nervous about something.

Shelly continued to hold Peters hand in her own and he noticed through his sweating that her skin felt like pleasantly warmed silk in his grasp. Shed always had nice skin, but he never thought of her this way until seeing her laying on her bed like that. He knew he had to ditch these thoughts or he was going to find himself dead and buried out in their back yard. He was frantically trying to get his mind on other things when she turned to him.

"Peter, it just occurred to me that Ive not given you a chance to unpack and get settled in. Why dont I let you do that and we can go for our walk afterwards? I cant wait to show you my gardens. Maybe well have time to walk through the maze, too. That should be fun." She smiled softly up at him and began to head in the direction of the staircase.

He couldnt find his voice and just nodded in response. He realized that all hed been doing was nodding and smiling since arriving here, but there was no help for it yet.

As she led him up the stairs, she wondered if she was making him feel like he had to let her down again. She didnt mean to come on so strong, but they were so close when she was younger, and it just felt familiar. Not least in the reasons for her actions was the fact that she still suffered from the hugest crush on him and she wanted so badly for her feelings to be returned. The things she was doing and saying to him were almost automatic and unable to be controlled.

They got to his door and she said, "Ill just let you unpack. Ive got to do a few things in my room. Is it alright if I come and collect you when Im finished?"

"Yeah." He responded, opening the door that led from the hall to his sitting room. "Ill see you in a few minutes then."

"If you need me, the door that adjoins your sitting room to mine is unlocked." She inclined her head to hide her now oncoming blush and turned to go.

"Shelly." Peter called out after her.

She turned to face him and her silky raven hair swept around, some of it falling in front of her face. She wiped it away and raised her eyebrows at him, "Yes?"

"Thank you. Its nice to see you again." He responded quietly, his soft brown eyes searching her own.

Her heart did a flip flop in her chest and she clutched at it through the material of her shirt, before she could stop herself. She nodded once, doing her best to keep from running back into his arms and forcing him through the door into his room, away from the world. She wanted him so badly that she thought shed pass out from desire right now. Finally, she swallowed and said, "Its nice to be seen." She turned around and went to her own rooms, his eyes following her until she was through her door.

While Peter was getting settled, Shelly ran straight for the phone by her bed and began the call she had to make. She needed the only woman in this world that she trusted and needed her now. Shelly hoped like hell that her target would be home.

The phone rang five times and she was about to hang up when she heard a breathless, "Hello?"

"Oh god! Uncle Micky. Im so glad your home. Please put Aunt Ginger on the phone. I need to talk to her right now." Shelly was very excited and time was of the essence here.

"Well hi, Junior. Its nice to hear from you too." Micky responded in his usual joking manner.

She loved him very much but didnt have time for his gentle teasing, "Uncle Micky, PLEASE." She begged. "This is a life or death situation."

"Hold your horses there, little filly." Micky was doing his impersonation of her father, something he could never pass up. When there wasnt a responding laugh, he gave up. "Ill get her."

Shelly rolled her eyes as she listened intently to the background noises of Micky slamming around, bumping into things and looking for his wife. Finally, she heard footsteps coming closer and the other clatter ceased. "Junior?" Ginger asked, sounding almost confused, "Its nice to hear from you, but Micky says youre excited about something. You didnt even groan at his jokes."

"Look, Im sorry to have to be so brief, but Peters here and " She was cut off by Gingers exclamation.

"Peter?! Hes there?" Ginger sounded extremely overjoyed.

"Yes, hes here and I" Shelly had never been so uncertain about how to act in any situation in her life. She trailed off.

"Youre still in love with him, arent you?" Ginger hit the nail right on the head.

Of course she knew. Shelly made no secret of it to anyone in their group except her father, and she and Ginger spoke at least once every month. The conversation always had a way of turning to Peter and his merits as Shelly saw them. All these years, shed never contacted him except to thank him for his birthday presents for the fear that shed make a goof out of herself and was trying to prevent that right now.

"Well, of course I am. Seeing him is just making it worse." Shelly complained.

Ginger giggled, "Whats your problem, girl? Go claim your man."

"Im glad youre so optimistic, but its not that easy. As much as Id like to live in denial, I have to remember that not only is he 18 years my senior, hes daddys best friend, and he dumped me once." Shelly sighed.

"Rachel Michelle Nesmith! How many times to I have to tell you that Peter never dumped you. You were a ten year old girl with a crush on a 28 year old man. What did you think he was going do, take you up on your offer? Youre an adult now and if you two want each other, it is certainly normal and appropriate. Do what I say and go feel him out." Ginger laughed again and said, "I didnt mean that the way it sounded."

"Thanks." Shelly grumbled. "How do I do that without scaring him or taking a chance that hell dump me again?"

Ginger chose to ignore the fact that Shelly still had the mindset that shed been dumped by Peter, "If you love and want him that badly, its a chance you have to take. Weve all been there. Youre a smart girl and I know youll do the right thing. You know that Peter has always loved you, but if you want a relationship with him other than a loving friendship, you have to risk something. Its a decision only you can make, but if you want my advice, youll never find anyone with a better heart and if he already isnt on his knees after one look at you, he will be soon."

"Youre right. I am pretty fabulous, arent I? What am I so worried about?" Shelly flipped some hair back over her shoulder.

"Oh." Ginger groaned, "Now Ive done it. Your ego wasnt inflated enough then I had to come along and make it bigger."

"Im not all that bad. Look at Daddy." Shelly giggled from Gingers mild teasing. It was half true, but she liked her huge sense of self-importance. It was there to serve her well throughout her lifetime, and she just needed to learn to employ it with Peter again.

"We dont call you Junior for nothing, my dear." Ginger responded.

"Very funny. OK. Hes unpacking now and Im fixin to go take him to look at my gardens." Shelly stood, preparing to hang up the receiver.

"Yes, dear. You have a good time showing him your gardens." Ginger giggled again. "Im just teasing! If you need anything else, you give me a call. And I want you to call me anyway and let me know whats going on. Give Peter my love, but not too much." Another giggle could be heard, "And tell your father we said hello."

"Thanks for the advice. Tell Uncle Micky Im sorry for being so abrupt." Shelly said.

"He understands love. Wait till I tell him this one. Hell be so excited for you." Gingers smile could be heard all the way from England.

"Great. Yall keep your fingers crossed then."

"Well do it. Bye, Junior." Ginger hung up the phone as did Shelly.

She paced her room for a moment and tried to get herself under control. After catching her reflection in the mirror, she bit her bottom lip and went to her closet, pulling out a pale yellow flowing sundress with buttons running down the front. The dress begged her to buy it one day when she and Kevin had gone shopping in Santa Fe. She did because, for some reason, she thought Peter would really like it. She put the dress on, and quickly fixed her hair in a french braid which she tied at the end with a ribbon that matched the dress.

When she was satisfied with her appearance, she headed for the door that adjoined their sitting rooms. She, like her father, was not one for knocking and went right through, making hardly any noise as she did so. The door from the sitting room to the bedroom was open and Peter was just removing his white shirt from over his head in order to change into something else.

Shelly bit her lower lip, hard, and let out a sharp but quiet whimpering noise that she couldnt keep in. Sure, she possessed plenty of "non-image" Monkee photos, had seen him shirtless years before, and even touched his chest when she was a young child, but this was too much. Passing out cold on the floor seemed like a definite possibility.

"Oh, Shelly." Peter briefly caught her eyes and gave her a nervous laugh. He held his shirt in sort of a ball in front of him and blushed, "I was just about to change into something else. Ive had this on since 6:00 this morning, I wore it on the plane, wellyou know." He looked trapped.

She gulped, "Yeah." For lack of something better to say or do, she came closer to him and held out her hand, "Why dont you let me take that to the laundry basket?"

"Oh no. Its in the bathroom, right? Ive got it." They were standing very close and he could feel his hands begin to sweat again. If he had any sense, hed just put this back on or leave her here while he went to the closet to get the other shirt he was going to wear. He couldnt move, though.

Strangely enough, they both began having practically identical visions, though neither of them imagined that the other would be thinking along the same lines. The vivid daydream they shared began with Peter dropping his shirt to the floor, allowing Shelly to reach out and lightly scratch him with her sharp little claws while he undid her heavy braid. Next, hed entwine her waist- length black hair in his fists as she dropped tiny kisses and nibbles onto his chest, both of them moaning softly all the while as feelings of intense desire washed over them.

Shellys little fantasy was progressing so nicely that she was actually about to growl then reach out to grab him. Had she looked into his eyes at that moment, she would have seen her feelings reflected. As it was, she focused her attention on his ball-o-shirt and abruptly snatched it away, using both of her hands and all of her strength. When she did this, she made what everyone referred to the as the Davy noise, "Ooh!", then quickly proceeded to the bathroom where the hamper was located, staying longer than necessary so she could try and calm down. She could have kicked herself for her goofy reaction, but it was the only thing she was able to come up with at the time. Before putting his shirt in the hamper, she held it to her nose just once. She breathed in gently to smell the faint scent of baby shampoo. He still used it. There was no doubt about it, she was going to die.

With Shelly in the bathroom, Peter let himself fall back onto the large four post bed. He put a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy. What he wanted to do to her certainly wasnt acceptable and he needed some time to meditate, clear his thoughts and figure out where to go from here. Obviously, he would spending most of his time at their home with her and things were just bound to get more difficult. This was only the first day.

He quickly gathered himself up off of the bed and went to the closet, putting on a light blue polo shirt, nervously waiting for her to emerge from his bathroom. By the time he figured hed embarrassed the daylights out of her and she was never coming out, she did, giving him a nervous smile, her gaze floating anywhere but on him.

"Shelly." Peter began softly. She looked at him and made an affirmative noise in her throat and he continued, "Im sorry I didnt tell you this when you came in, but that dress is really nice. I like it a lot." He wanted to tell her that she was stunning and looked like a yellow rose in the early morning light, but the last thing he needed to do was freak her out any more than hed already done.

She made her best effort to make her smile look genuine. Hed said the dress looked nice, and nothing about her in it. Obviously, he still thought of her as that little ten year old girl with the foolish crush on him. "Thank you." She finally said, "Actually I bought it because it made me think of you. I know its one of your favorite colors, although the color looks better on you than it does on me." Shelly was instantly reminded of the pale yellow eight button "Monkee shirt" Peter had sometimes worn in the series. It made him look like a big piece of butterscotch candy and caused her mouth to water.

The smile he gave her in return was bright and very genuine, "You really bought it because of me? Wow. Im flattered."

--Flattered. The word a man uses when hes fixin to turn a girl down,-- she thought.--Next comes its not you, its me.-- "You know, I just thought of something else I have to do in my room. Can I see you in a minute?"

There was a slight catch in his voice, "Sure, and I promise to be fully clothed, too."

Shelly was disappointed to say the least about that part as she turned to go back into her own room, "OK." she said simply.

Peter watched her go and sighed, slouching against the wall. He dropped into a sitting position right where he was and began to take deep breaths. It was unclear how long she would be busy, but hed take any amount of time he could get to try and get control of this situation before it got any more out of hand than it already had.

Shelly ran to her bed and threw herself down face first, reaching for the phone. Her hands were shaking and it was a little difficult to dial the numbers, but she finally succeeded. The call was answered on the other end during the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Uncle Davy!" Shelly exclaimed, "What are you doing there?"

"Hello, luv! How wonderful to hear from you. What do you mean what am I doing here? Ive got a right to be in my own house, havent I?" Davy chuckled.

Suddenly, Shelly realized what shed done. She was so nervous, she just dialed the first British number that came to her mind, thinking it was Micky and Gingers, but instead reached Davys private home office. "Im sorry about that. I meant to call Aunt Ginger. I guess I just wasnt paying attention."

"Take it easy. You sound awfully agitated about something. Whats gone wrong?" Davy asked in a bright but calming voice.

Before providing him with a response, Shelly scrambled off of the side of the bed, sitting on the floor and taking the phone with her. She was blocked by the bed from the doorway now, and if anyone came in, they wouldnt see her sitting there. She lowered her voice and tried to sound casual, "Oh, its nothing. How have you been?"

Davy was responding to her in cheerful tones when Peter walked into Shellys bedroom. He was so jarred from their experience a minute ago, he couldnt remember if he was supposed to come get her or if she was coming after him. The door between their sitting rooms was open, so he wandered through and into her bedroom. When he didnt see her right around, he called her at a moderate volume.

Davy stopped talking suddenly, "Junior, that couldnt be Peter in the background?"

"Yes, it is." Shelly hissed back at him. She wanted to hang up before Peter found out she was on the phone trying to get advice on how to handle him. What other reason would she have for darting off and making a phone call in the middle of their conversation? It was so obvious.

"Well, why didnt you say so before? Put him on, will you, luv?" Davy seemed excited at the prospect of speaking with Peter and Shelly knew it had been a while because she asked every time she and Davy talked.

She ducked further down and heard Peter getting closer, calling to her once more. She whispered again, "Uncle Davy, I dont think thats such a good idea."

"Why not then?" Davy exclaimed.

Before she could answer, she felt Peters soft breathing in her ear. He was lying on her bed with his head hanging over the edge, very close to her face. He whispered, "I think your mastery of hide and seek is slipping."

She could have easily turned her head and kissed him, but Davy screamed in her ear, "Junior. I heard that. Let me talk to him. Please?"

His statement jolted Shelly out of her reverie and she sighed, handing Peter the phone. "Uncle Davy." She deadpanned.

Peter raised his eyebrows and took the phone, both he and Shelly keeping their positions right where they were. "Hi, Davy." Peter said, a soft smile on his features.

"Peter! What are you doing there?" Davy asked. "Are you in her bedroom by chance?"

Peter turned a deep red and he tried to compose himself, "Actually, yes. We were about to go for a walk and Shelly was going to show me her garden."

"Thats something Id like to see." Davy quipped. He both meant that hed not received such an invitation from Michael in a long time and that he would like to spend a little "quality time" with Shelly. She was a very beautiful young lady, and he was only semi-teasing, but he was a ladies man and she was a pretty young girl. If she wasnt Mikes daughter, he would have asked her out. As it was, she was off limits and he just thought it a funny joke. He teased Shelly about it enough and knew that she was alright with such kidding.

Even though Davy meant nothing by his comment, Peter became instantly defensive, "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Take it easy. It was just a little joke. Youre awfully touchy about her, arent you? Dont worry, Mike wont hurt you too badly." Davy chuckled slightly.

Shelly could tell by the look on Peters face that he was not amused by whatever it was Davy was saying. It was no surprise, because the two of them had often experienced this problem in the past. Davy would make some joke he thought was funny and Peter would just end up shaking his head or frowning. Neither of them were in the wrong, it was just that Davy was very jovial in a bizarre way and Peter tended to be more intellectual and serious. He laughed and smiled often, just at different things that Davy did.

"David, I am sure I dont know what youre getting at." Peter said flatly, actually nervous that someone was on to him. If Davy could tell all the way from England, it was just a matter of time before Michael found out, if he didnt know already. In addition, he didnt want anyone discussing Shelly in that manner whether she minded it or not.

Davy laughed louder this time, "Sure you do. Dont worry. Your secrets safe with me. Its just between you, me and her. You know, Im glad for you two, because Ive been listening to her pine over you for a lot of years now. Its about time."

Peter was unable to speak for a moment as he looked at Shelly from the corner of his eye. Surely, Davy was joking again or he was talking about the childhood crush thing. There was no way to ask for clarification with her sitting right there, so he just continued hanging on to the receiver in silence.

When Peter said nothing else, Davy went on, "Right! I suppose the two of you would like to be alone. Youre the luckiest man in the world, mate. Give her my love and call me for the wedding."

There was a clicking noise and Davy was gone. Peter looked perplexed and dazed as he reached over to hang up. He shook his head once, firmly, and Shelly caught his gaze.

"So what did he say?" She raised her eyebrow. An amused smile covered her features.

"Nothing." Peter mumbled absently, then continued in a brighter tone. "Hey, how about that walk?"

Once again, they were close enough to kiss and began to take each others breath as they searched each others eyes. It was time. Right here, right now. They moved closer and closer at an excruciatingly slow rate, both of their hearts pounding so loudly that the sound filled their ears.

"Peter!" Mike hollered from the doorway. He was laughing at the site of Peters body laying across Shellys bed and his head hanging over the other side, "What on earth are you doing laying there like that?"

Shelly and Peter both jumped at the sound of Mikes voice. Peter was the first to speak since he was the one Michael had been addressing. He sat up on the bed and turned around, "Actually, I just hung up from talking to Davy." He said in a shaky voice.

"I see. How long has it been since youve talked to him?" Mike asked, coming a little bit closer. It was evident that hed startled Peter upon entering the room.

Peter thought for a moment. He had to admit that he became more and more reclusive as time went on. He was slightly embarrassed to respond, "Its been a lot of years. Maybe right after the last time I saw you."

"Yeah." Mike breathed, inclining his head.

There was never much time for Mike to miss his friends, and with the exception of Peter, Shelly basically kept in contact with them for him. He continued to wonder what exactly had happened between Shelly and Peter the last time theyd met. She stayed in touch by phone calls and infrequent visits to Davy, Micky and Ginger, but not Peter. Mike asked her about once a few years ago. She only said, "Never mind." and gave him a look that suggested he leave at that. She had done nothing like that to him before or since, so he just decided to drop the matter. Whatever it was, they seemed to be genuinely happy to see each other and getting along just fine.

Mike picked up his head, put his hands in his front pockets then continued, "I was thinking Id like to go on that walk with yall. Wheres Junior?"

"Right here, Daddy." Shelly peeked over the bed and gave him a small wave. She didnt look over earlier, because she was really hoping he would go away and leave her alone with Peter so they could pick up where they left off. Now that he was asking for her, she had to tell him she was there.

"Great. Actually Kevin wanted to go too. Hes waiting right out here." Mike indicated the sitting room with a gesture of his hand. He couldnt hide his wishes for Shelly to marry Kevin. It would be right on so many levels. Forcing her was out of the question, but there was nothing wrong with gentle guidance.

Shelly stood, smoothed her dress and walked around the bed. She reached for Peters hand and gently took it in her own, her eyes only making brief contact with his. After their close call just now, she didnt want to chance slipping up in front of her father. Also, she was afraid that shed only been imagining that he was about to kiss her. The truth hurt and she didnt want it right now.

In a way, Shelly wanted to make her feelings for Peter known to him beyond a doubt so he could just dump her again right away and end her suffering. However, it wouldnt really end her suffering, just turn it into another kind. While they walked to her sitting room, she wondered which type of pain would be best; longing for him while there was at least a glimmer of hope in her mind or dying of a broken heart from being turned down once more. Neither one was pretty. Ginger had said, in so many words, that she should take her chances and lay her neck out on the block if she wanted Peter badly enough. And she had been just about to do that when her father came in. Shelly really didnt know if she considered the interruption a blessing or a curse.

Peter, too, had his mind flooded with a mixture of confusion, hope, and frustration. He found it very hard to believe that Shelly leaned in to meet his kiss half way. That just wasnt possible and if it hadnt been for the interruption, he probably would have ended up spoiling their renewing friendship. The "almost kiss" and what Davy said to him on the phone both bewildered and exhilarated him. He wondered if he should try to speak with Shelly alone and risk upsetting the delicate balance of their relationship by at least asking her a few questions.

Mike followed them, softly smiling. To him, they looked the same as when last together and it continued to force a sense of nostalgia into his mind. Peter possessed a special ability to relate to Shelly, sometimes even better than he did. He briefly considered asking Peter to use his influence to talk to her about considering a relationship with Kevin and thought it a very good idea. For once, Mike had no clue about something. Peter and Shelly were burning hot for each other right underneath his nose.

Kevin saw them enter the sitting room and he stood right away. His bright eyes turned a little darker when he realized that Shelly was holding Peters hand again. He addressed Shelly in a strange, sad tone. "Hey. I hope its OK if I come along. Your dad asked me."

"Wed love you to come along. What would make you say that?" Shelly reached her free hand out to touch his arm, briefly. Shed been so blindly in love with Peter all of her life, she didnt see it anywhere else. Her boyfriends had been simply friends as far as she was concerned, and Kevin was just a fixture in her life. She never thought of him that way and assumed they were close because of their siblingesque relationship.

Kevin closed his eyes when she touched him then opened them quickly, hoping nobody noticed. The two of them spent a great deal of their days together and as time went on, it became increasingly more difficult for him to control his reactions to her. Hed never made a move because he could see she wasnt ready for anything like that yet. It probably didnt help that he looked exactly like her father at a younger age. He responded, "I dont know. Its just that youve got company and all."

Shelly didnt miss the glint in Kevins narrowed eyes and the tone of his voice when hed said company like it was a dirty word, despite his efforts to make it sound natural. She knew he was a big fan of Peters and wondered why he seemed to resent Peters presence all of a sudden. Maybe it was just her imagination from being too nervous. "Youre part of the family, and its your responsibility to entertain company as well as mine, dear. Now lets go."

During the lengthy walk, Peter was basically silent, doing more of what he now thought of as his famous nod and smile routine. Shelly, Mike and Kevin pointed out the items of interest on the grounds and laughed together quite often. Several times, they snickered at private jokes Peter didnt get and they would have to stop and explain them to him. Shelly and Mike had a habit of saying the same thing at the same time quite frequently, and it was evident to Peter that Shelly had developed something with Kevin where the two of them played off of each other like some well-polished vaudeville act. It was very close to what he had experienced with her at one time, and it not only made him regretful, but panicky. Now that Shelly was an adult and he was thinking of her in another manner altogether, Kevin was the competition it made him wonder how he could possibly win Shellys heart in a million years with someone like that hanging around.

Peter and Shelly finally got a chance to be alone when a ranch hand approached Michael from behind. He murmured something inaudible to everyone else, and Mike turned to Kevin, "Could you come help me out for a minute here, Shotgun?"

"Yeah, sure." Kevin smiled and put his hands in his pockets.

"Junior, this might take a little bit and I know youre dying to take Peter through your maze, so why dont yall go on ahead? Well meet yall on the other side." Mike pulled Shelly closer to him and she was forced to let go of Peters hand, deciding it was better than dragging him with her.

She kissed her dad on the cheek as he bent down then she gave Kevin a small wave, turning to walk the few yards over to the large maze shed designed, making a motion for Peter to follow her. He trailed slightly behind, wiping his palms on his pants and wondering if this was a good time to talk when she entered the maze and turned to give him a wink.

Her laughter sounded like the tinkling of tiny bells as she ran ahead of him and he made several false turns trying to catch up with her. At one such false turn after a good ten minutes of running, he stopped and waited. Shellys giggling seemed very close to him at that moment, and his waiting paid off. When he could tell she was passing him right on the other side of the bushes, he quickly crawled under and grabbed at her ankles.

Shelly let out a scream of delight and allowed herself to collapse, landing right on top of him. Their laughing ceased once she scrambled around and laid on her side, her head propped in one hand. Peter turned to face her, mirroring her position He looked away for only a moment to reach over and pick a little white flower that grew under the shrubbery to his right.

He began to lightly trial the blossom down the bridge of Shellys nose as she smiled back at him, both of them still trying to catch their breath. "Youre naughty." He said softly, returning her soft smile.

"I try." She gave him a wink that went straight to his heart, then moved her eyes around to see the flower he was tracing the lines of her face with now.

"Shelly." He said, seriously, "You turned out really well. I thought about you every day, but I was under the impression you were angry with me."

Peter handed her the flower and she picked at the petals as she spoke, throwing them and the stem to the side eventually, "I could never be mad at you. Despite the requests you sent every year with your birthday presents, I just didnt call because I didnt know what to say. I was devastated by the talk you had to have with me at that wedding reception. Not the one about drinking. The other one, and I felt like such a goof. I was so foolish to ever say that to you and I really hope youve forgiven me for my childish outburst all those years ago. It made me see that there are occasions when its best to keep ones thoughts and feelings to oneself, however rare they might be. I was simply afraid you thought of me as some senseless infant."

He chuckled, "All along, I thought you were angry with me. You cant possibly know how it made me feel, because you were my favorite little friend. Never at any time did I view you as senseless or an infant. I loved you very much and really enjoyed your company."

"Past tense. Everything you just said was in the past tense." Shellys misting eyes searched his face, "How do you feel about me now?"

"The truth?" Peter raised his eyebrow and moved gently closer to her. It was every bit as slow as when they were in her bedroom before being interrupted.

Shelly nodded, her eyes getting wider and searching his more frantically now. A whimpering noise escaped her throat that couldnt be controlled and she balled her fist up, her nails digging into the palm of her hand.

Taking her hand and prying the fingers open so he could hold it in his own, he took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, "I love you." The statement came out almost in a whats a guy to do tone.

"I I love you." She trembled as his fingers gently tickled her palm. It was a relief to say it, even though they were talking about two different kinds of love.

It was evident to Peter that Shelly didnt fully understand what he was saying. She was making no attempt to move back from his inching closer to her and didnt remove her hand from his gentle tracings, so he tried again, "Shelly, I dont think I said that the right way. The last thing I want in this world is to scare you, but I cant deny it, so heres your chance to let me down easy. What Im trying to say is that not only do I love you, Im falling in love with you. Ive gotta be honest. I wanted you the minute I came in and saw you lying on the bed. Youre as sweet as ever, bright and intelligent, and the most enchanting creature Ive ever seen. What I really want is a chance to get to know you as an adult and to try and make you happy." He held his breath as he waited for her response.

Shelly blinked, not believing this was really real. She had been holding her breath as well and let it out in a sigh when he finished and she tried to let his words sink in. Her eyes seemed to be hazed over and her gentle quick breathing now came warm on his face. When she gathered her wits, she realized that he had gone way out on a limb to tell her this and that she owed him something back. Actions spoke much louder than words and she quickly took the front of his shirt in both fists and leaned in to kiss him, effectively pushing him into a laying position on the soft green grass.

They both moaned and growled softly as the kiss deepened. It seemed to last forever and not long enough at the same time. Peters arms wrapped tightly around her and he had to remind himself of where he was to keep from freeing her hair from its long french braid. He would give anything to be in the house, alone with her right now. This was far too monumental to be interrupted by having to finish walking through this thing and having to meet Michael and Kevin when they were done. To top that off, he didnt know how he was going to hide this from Mike. Hed have to kidnap Shelly and take her home, because her father would never agree to a relationship between them.

Once neither of them were able to breathe, they reluctantly broke apart, only moving back enough to look into each others eyes. Shelly was now completely on top of him and ran her fingers through his soft golden hair as she searched his eyes once more. After a while, she whispered into his lips, "I love you. Im in love with you. Ive been in love with you all of my life. Ive never been able to stop it, no matter how hard I tried."

Peter held her face in both of his hands. He, too, waited a few moments to speak. "Shelly, Ill do whatever it takes to keep you. I need you to complete me."

"Just keep kissing me like that and well have no problems." She lowered her head again and they began another openmouthed kiss, Shelly running her hand up under his shirt and trailing her fingers across his stomach.

Suddenly, the sound of hollering made them pull away from each other and get up to sit on the marble bench off to the left. Peter helped her up and continued to hold her hand in his as the voice got closer. At first, neither of them could tell if it was Michael or Kevin and it was a little eerie. They shared one more long and meaningful gaze as Kevin rounded the corner. His eyes darkened as he saw them sitting together.

"Hey, Junior. Your dad sent me in here to find you. Weve been done for quite some time now and thought you two would be out." Kevin folded his arms as he stood in front of them. He didnt miss Shellys pleasantly flushed cheeks and how her lips seemed to have turned a deeper shade of red. A sure sign of heavy kissing.

Shelly and Peter looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. Apparently, they had been there much longer than theyd thought. Shelly took Kevins offered hand and allowed him to pull her into a standing position. She loosened her grip afterwards to indicate that he should let go and the three of them quickly made for the end of the maze.

Michael was waiting outside, and chuckled when he saw them. "Looks like yall did some running in there. Shes pretty evil about trying to hide in that thing. If you dont know your way around, shell lose you in an instant."

"I caught up to her." Peter said with a knowing grin and a wink in Shellys direction. He only realized that he was probably being overly bold in front of Michael only after it was too late to take the gesture back.

"Good for you. Maybe you taught her a lesson or two about being such a little sprite." Mike pulled Shelly into a hug and gave her a gentle squeeze. He looked down at her and said, "I think its about time we got back to get ready for dinner. What do you think?"

She nodded up at him, relieved because he didnt seem to notice that she and Peter had been involved in his absence. This time she took his hand and they all headed back to the house. During the walk, Shelly forced herself not to look back at either Kevin or Peter and kept the conversation between herself and her father, leaving the other two to each other. Every once in a while, strains of their discussion would hit her ears and it was hard to keep from laughing. They seemed to be carrying on in an overly polite manner.

Dinner went well and the food was great. Everyone had plenty of wine which eased some of the tension that had begun to build within the group. Nobody at the table was much of a talker under normal circumstances, but the alcohol, the time spent apart and the soft lighting in the comfortable setting gave Michael and Peter what they needed to spend the meal in discussion about the old times. Shelly was glad to see them like that. Her father would have to be in a good

mood for what he was about to find out.

When they thought they could get away with it, Peter and Shelly would share longing gazes, both dying to get up and away from Kevin and Mike for at least a few minutes. They sat across from each other but the table was too wide for them to touch in any way, only serving to make the situation more frustrating and the need for the meal to be completed more urgent.

It seemed like an eternity, all of them feeling a slight buzz from the amount of alcohol consumed, when Michael pushed his chair back and finally made a motion to stand. Shelly looked at the grandfather clock in the corner and discovered that they had been at the table, eating, talking and steadily drinking for over three hours.

What she heard next seemed to be almost in a dream and she couldnt believe it. Peter stood right after Mike did and raised his voice, "Michael. Theres something Id like to talk to you about."

"Go right on ahead, Shotgun." Mike replied as he sat back down and reached for his glass again, keeping his eyes on Peter.

"Not here." Peter remained standing and his eyes traveled to Kevin. It was clear that this was a private manner.

Kevin smiled innocently back at both of them while Shelly bit her lip, almost hard enough to draw blood. She wanted to jump up and tell Peter that this was not the time. She knew her daddy would just kill him and that shed never ever see him again. It was necessary for them to form a plan before talking to him about it, but as she tried to speak up and get Peter to stop, her voice wouldnt come.

Mike stood again, "Alright. Lets go to the library." He quickly gave Shelly a kiss on top of the head, his hand on her shoulder and said, "You and Kevin keep yourselves occupied for a bit while we talk. Why dont yall go get set up down in the studio and well be there shortly."

"Yes sir." Shelly responded in a whisper. She lifted her eyes and watched with a strange mixture of excitement and fear as her father and Peter left the room.

She and Kevin went to the studio portion of the house while Mike and Peter made their way into the library. Mike had no idea what Peter wanted to talk to him about, but he was glad because it would give him a window of opportunity to discuss a few issues of his own. They entered the room and Mike closed the double doors behind him, gesturing Peter to a chair.

When they were both seated, Peter began to speak, but Mike held up a hand and said, "Before you tell me whatever it is you wanted to talk about, I have something to say while Junior and Kevin arent around. I sort of told you before that I was hoping shed fall in love with him and marry him some day. See, I figure its perfect. That way, neither of them would ever have to leave here and theyd both get everything when Im gone." At the shocked look on Peters face, Mike held up a hand again then continued, "Peter, its not just the practicality issue. I love my daughter more than anything in the world and I want her happiness above all else. Kevins in love with her and hes been really patient waiting for her to return his feelings. Hes a good kid and hed treat her like gold, and hes not one of those freaks whos into weird shit. They get along really well and they enjoy spending time together. She just hasnt fallen in love with him yet. I was wondering if you could use your influence with her to kind of guide her in the right direction. I dont know whats always been with yall, but you have a way with her. You can even reach her where I sometimes cant. I think its because Im her daddy and maybe she feels the need to rebel against me sometimes, whether its a conscious effort or not. Whatever it is, it would really mean a lot to me if youd just talk to her."

Peter exhaled a long breath of air. This was going to be harder than he originally thought. He took a few more moments then leveled Mike with his eyes and said evenly, "I dont think thats going to be possible."

"Why not?" Mike joked, chuckling. "Are you in love with her yourself?"

"Yes." The response was simple as was the expression on Peters face. He was dead serious and telling the Gods truth.

Mikes eyes opened wide in shock, wider than Peter had ever seen them, they narrowed immediately, "What?!" He stood up and crossed the room to Peters chair, looming over him, "I dont think I heard that right."

Peter didnt want to promote conflict, but he wasnt going to back down from Mike on this one. He stood up as well, forcing Mike to take a few steps back. "Yes, Michael. Im in love with your daughter. Shelly. Your only child. The girl right here in this house. Her. Believe it."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Mikes face was red in anger, his fists were balled up and he glared down at Peter like hed kill him at any minute.

Peter held up a hand and spoke in a tranquil voice, "Calm down, Michael. Please. Yelling and getting mad isnt going to help the situation one bit. I really dont care what you do to me, but if you keep this up, youre just going to hurt her and I dont think you want that."

"What do you mean Ill hurt her? She knows about this? Youve told her? Does she feel the same way?" Mike was not cooling off one bit.

"I did tell her about my feelings, but if you want to know how she feels, I think you should ask her that." Peter expected the punch in the mouth any minute now, but continued to talk in serene tones. He was trying to pacify Michael, even if just a little.

Mike began to head to the desk in the middle of the room and turned around to point at Peter forcefully, "You dont move one damn inch." He then stood behind the desk and pounded at an intercom button.

"Yes, Daddy." Shellys voice floated through the speaker after a moment.

Mike gritted his teeth and tried to sound normal, "Junior. Could you please come into the library and leave Kevin there? Theres a private matter I need to talk to you about."

Shellys gulp was audible and she breathed heavily for a moment before responding, "Yes sir."

By the way she answered, Mike already knew what she was going to say when she got there. Was she really that afraid of him? What had he ever done to make her scared? They were closer than any child and parent he knew, and besides, hed never known her to be afraid of anything, least of all him. He thought about it and realized that it wasnt anything hed done, but the fact that she knew forming a romantic relationship with Peter was the wrong thing.

When Shelly entered the room, Mike was pacing back and forth, threatening to kill Peter, asking him if he was crazy, telling him he was crazy and a whole host of other things along those lines. To Peters credit, he took it all, only watching Mike with wide brown eyes, knowing that anything he would say or do at this point would just make matters worse. It was best to let Michael get it out of his system and hope that he would calm eventually.

Shelly stood next to Peter and took his hand in her own as she waited for her dad to be finished. Finally, he was and turned his attention to her, looking down into her eyes, "Junior, youre in love with him I take it? Or you think you are, I should say."

"Yes, Daddy. I am in love with him. I dont think it. I know it and its been all of my life. I never got over my childhood crush, I guess you could say. Its a dream come true that he feels the same way about me, finally." Shelly did not remove her gaze from that of her father and her expression dared him to tell her their relationship was not acceptable.

"What did he do to you?" Mike demanded, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"He did nothing. He told me that he was falling in love with me and I kissed him." Shelly raised both of her eyebrows, her eyes shining in further defiance.

Mike removed his hands from her shoulders. He wanted to shake her and that wasnt acceptable, "Junior, are you fucking crazy?" He began to pace again, "Not only is this man old enough to be your father, hes a hippie and hes been with tons of women. Hes even been married and divorced two times for God sakes. And he had kids. Kids, Junior. What do you think, that hes gonna marry you? First of all, if he does, are you prepared to be somebodys mother? I wouldnt presume to say that you cant do whatever you set your mind to, but I know how you feel about children. Do you really want your relationship intruded upon by his kids?" Mike stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Shelly again, making sure she was listening to this last part. He put a finger under her chin and raised her face so she had to look at him. His voice dripped with poison as he asked, "Are you prepared to be the third former Mrs. Peter Tork? Youre mighty special to me, but what makes you think youre any different to him than the two wives hes already had or any of the other multitudes of women hes slept with?"

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on her. She had been so infatuated with Peter for so long, she was blind to his faults and past mistakes. She knew all of these things, of course, but chose to ignore them lest they ruin the perfect image built up in her mind. Words escaped her once again today and wouldnt come. Her mind was racing too fast and her heart was falling at the same rate. Reality sucked and she wanted to retreat from it immediately and be transported to that spot theyd chosen on the grass earlier that day. To be frozen forever in that moment in time was what she wished for most.

Peter, too, was too stunned to speak for a moment and squeezed Shellys hand like his life depended on it. The things that Mike threw at her were all either half-truths, easily explained or so far in his past that they meant nothing. Hed half expected that Mike would pull out all the stops, but hoped that the years wouldve taken away some of the Texans vindictiveness. He shouldve known better. Nobody in the history of the world ever lost in a fight with this man who was capable of taking one little piece of something and blowing it all out of proportion to make it sound relevant. Mike was good, damn good in fact, but he didnt understand the depth of feeling Peter had for his little girl. In the past, Peter wouldve backed down right away, either out of fear or just knowledge that he couldnt beat Mike no matter how hard he tried. Not this time.

Peter wanted to give Shelly a chance to respond, but she seemed to be saying nothing after long moments. While he didnt want to force her to be with him if shed decided that Mikes words were pertinent, he felt she needed the full truth. He took a deep breath, tried to center himself and spoke in a carefully controlled tone, "Michael. Id like to say Im surprised at you, but Im really not. You were never one to let any little point slide and have every right to try to protect your daughter. I wouldve expected nothing less, but I think I have the right to clear a few things up. First off, my only response to your concern about the years between us is that love knows no age limits. Dont think for a second that the difference in our ages hasnt occurred to me, but if we love each other, its immaterial and easily dismissed."

"Hippie!" Mike shouted, pointing at him, "Love knows no age limits. Please. Come up with something a little better than that or I wont even waste my time. Ill haul Junior off, pack her little duds and send her away to Europe with Kevin right now."

"I want you to hear me out first, and I want her to hear it too. You may be hotheaded and authoritarian, but youre very intelligent above all else. Intelligent people usually want all the facts they can get so they can arrive at an educated conclusion and I would hope that youd take a moment to hear this. Maybe I can make you see that your perception of me is a little bit wrong. Are you going to listen?" Peter asked, slowly forcing his voice to take on the peaceful tone he knew he needed to use to get Mike to hang in there while he continued. Shouting would only make a bad situation worse. He also had to prove to Shelly that he was capable of keeping his temper, even at the worst times of his life.

Mike continued to loom over Peter. He knew that to be the one in control, he had to keep standing and not back up one bit. His advantage lie not only in his sharp words, but his intimidating height. "Yeah, Ill listen until the bullshit gets too thick to wade through." He folded his arms, raised his eyebrow and waited.

"Fine." Peter didnt dignify Michaels bullshit comment with a response. He took a deep breath before continuing. It would be easy for him to point out several unsavory, similar things about Mikes past, but he chose not to do so. He was trying to resolve a conflict here, not keep one going. "As for my kids, lets start there. They dont live with me. Both of them live with their mothers and I dont see them as much as Id like to. They have their lives and I have my own and if Shelly were to ever decide to accept me as her husband, they would hardly even factor in. She certainly wouldnt be forced into motherhood or even anything like it. My daughter lives in Oregon and her mother doesnt want her to be away long enough to come and stay with me for visits, so we keep in contact by mail and phone calls. I love her very much, but shes better off where shes at. Her mother was remarried and my girl has a stepfather who loves her as well and has asked to adopt her. Ive wrestled with the idea for a long time now, and I think Im going to let them go ahead with it, because theres no reason for me to stand in the way of their happiness. As for Ivan, he and his mother still live in California, but across state. I see him basically on his birthday and around Christmas. If you wanted to bring up Shelly having to deal with seeing either of my former wives, I dont see his mother at all and I pick him up when hes visiting at her parents house. Its been a long time since Ive justified my life to anyone, Michael. But Ill keep going if you need more."

"Dont stop now, Shotgun. Youve gotta get to the best part still. What about your long string of women?" Mike laughed bitterly and continued, "This should be rich."

"Actually Michael, it is. I find it hard to believe that you didnt bring up my past dependence on drugs and alcohol, because its about the only thing you left out and what I would consider to be the most important of these issues. Maybe you decided to have a little mercy on me, Im not sure. Be that as it may, its directly related to my history with women which, I have to admit is not what I wish it was. I would change it in an instant for one moment with your daughter, but I cant, so all I can do is make an attempt to explain myself. I dont feel I owe you anything, but I do owe it to her and since youre asking, now seems like a good time. None of it started until we got the series. You cant tell me the fame didnt go to your head too, because I saw it. You were just strong enough and smart enough to stop with smoking a little grass. As far as your groupies went, I dont know what youve told Shelly and I wouldnt want to shatter her image of you, so I wont go there." Peter took a deep breath and leveled Michael with his eyes. There was a silent communication between them that Shelly did not miss. Finally, Peter continued, "Anyway, I took everything I could get my hands on and women were throwing themselves at me for the first time in my life. Once I got into it, I just couldnt stop myself and I kept pushing and pushing to see how much I could get away with. I was bored to tears, got nothing out of any of it and Id hoped to get something out of all the sex and drugs if I just pushed it far enough. Well, I never did. So I thought it would be a big thrill to get married to someone I didnt even love. We continued to live the life I had been living and one day I realized that it was no way to go on when youre married. We had a hollow relationship, it was too late to try and have a normal one and we made a mutual decision to get a divorce. You were there and you know the story, but maybe youve forgotten."

"I didnt forget. I just wanted Junior to hear it in case she didnt know already. Why dont you tell us about your second failed marriage, Peter?" Mike felt he had plenty of room to talk in this area. Sure, hed taken advantage of the occasional groupie now and then, but mostly it was after his wife was killed in that car crash shortly after the series had begun, when Shelly was just a toddler. He cheated on his wife a time or two, but it was nothing like what Peter had done with all those orgies and whatever else and Mike stayed married to his wife, unlike some people he knew. He looked down at Shelly and asked, "So what do you think of him now, kiddo?"

"Daddy." She responded in a tone of warning, shaking her head slowly. "Its not necessary.

Why dont you just stop?"

"No. I dont want to hurt you, little girl, but you need to know what youre getting into, unless youve changed your mind by now and hes made you sick to your stomach." Mike took her free hand in his own and gave it a little squeeze then let it go.

"Hes right, Shelly. You do have a right to know." Peter tried to see her face, but she wouldnt turn to look at him and he could only see her from one side. She was obviously struggling and he hoped that by being completely honest, he could save what hed begun with her. "My second wife was another matter altogether. The series was over for several years and I met her in a book shop. She claimed she didnt know who I was. Ill never know if that was true or not, but I wanted to try at a normal life and we got along really well and found that we had a lot in common. I was clean and sober by then, but the experience left me unable to feel. I wasnt in love with her anymore than with my first wife, but that didnt matter. At the time, I assumed being in love was something that would come along because of the friendship I thought we had. Her background was similar to mine, but she reacted to it differently than I did. She was given to fits of depression and had absolutely no sense of self-worth. I thought I could save her with tender care and attention, but she only got progressively worse. She refused to go get any kind of help. Her biggest problem was that she never felt loved enough or attractive enough. I found her in bed with another guy one day when I came back from Davys house. This was when he still lived in California and wed been hanging out that day. It turns out that she cheated on me every time I left the house, even for five minutes. There were signs, but I ignored them, hoping like hell I was wrong, because the last thing I wanted was another marriage that didnt work out. Please forgive me, Michael, but after being presented with proof like that, I couldnt see staying married to her. I couldve used your method and killed both of them with a shotgun, but I found that I didnt care enough to do anything like that. If you must know, I havent been with anyone since the breakup of our marriage. For some reason, it left a bad taste in my mouth and I thought it wise just to avoid relationships altogether. Now, here I am at 35 years old. Im actually falling in love for the first time in my life, Ive been on the straight and narrow for years and its been a long time since Ive done anything I regret or wish I could take back. Ive spent many years trying to atone for the sins of my past as it were and I thought I was there until being brought before the Spanish Inquisition this evening." Peter took a deep breath and pulled Shelly closer to his side by his death grip on her hand.

"Sucks to be you, doesnt it, good buddy?" Mike asked with a chuckle, turning his back on both of them and going to sit behind his desk. Hed made his point and now he could sit back and watch Shelly dump Peter faster than a flea-infested mongoose on an oil slick.

Peter sighed, "Well, we cant all be as fabulous as you are, Mr. Perfect." He was past the point of being able to piss Mike off, he knew. Mike felt victorious, and now it was safe to take a jab or two at him. Peter felt he deserved to let off a little steam after going through what he just did. Hed wanted to tell Shelly everything in private and in his own time, but that idea was now blown sky high thanks to her father, the prosecuting attorney.

After Mikes responding chuckle, the room went silent for quite a while. Peter and Mike both tried to catch Shellys gaze, but she kept staring forward, her face completely devoid of all expression. She had a lot to think about. Peter had made mistakes, it was true. But hed been honest about them and Shelly believed him to be well beyond making them again in the future. It didnt change the fact that his past was unsavory to say the least and she could no longer ignore it, having been presented with it in such stark terms.

Finally, she picked up her head, pointedly looking at neither of them and whispered, "If you both will excuse me. I have a great deal of information to consider." She turned and left the room, seeming to float from it as the two men she couldnt bear to see right now watched her go.

"Well Shotgun, I hope youre happy. Im gonna have to buy her the whole city of Santa Fe just to see her smile again." Mike shook his head and frowned.

"Me?" Peter almost squealed, indicating himself then Michael, "Youre the one with the Nazi interrogation tactics, Heinrich Himmler."

Mike stood from behind his heavy rosewood desk, using both of his hands on the top of it to push himself to a full standing position, "This desk once belonged to a German World War II official, but Himmlers the wrong guess." Mike smiled at Peter smugly as he thought about how Peter always seemed to miss the mark by just the littlest bit. "Thats beside the point, though. Needless to say, the albums out of the question. When are you leaving?"

"Im not. Not until I find out what Shellys feelings for me are after what just happened in here. I dont guess you understand this either, Mike, but Ive run out on too much in my life and Im not going to now. Every time Ive ever had a problem or a snag, I just give up. Not this time. Im staying and if you want me out, youll have to pick me up and throw me out." Peter came over to the other side of Mikes desk and leaned towards him, resting his hands on the wood surface, as well.

Mike bent slightly, leaning forward to meet Peter halfway. Soon, they were almost touching foreheads as they continued to glare into each others eyes. Mike gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, you go ahead on and stay, but you keep your hands off of her. The only reason Im gonna let you stay is because I know Juniors fixin to send you away for me. Just sit back and watch. You wont be waiting long."

"Well see, Michael." Peter left the room and restrained himself from slamming the door like he wanted to.

He immediately headed for Shellys rooms knowing that she had vacated the library earlier because she wanted to be alone to think. Peter fully respected that, but he couldnt bear the feeling that hed left her on a bad note and wanted to see her for just a moment, if only long enough to let her know that he loved her and was waiting here for as long as it took her to reach any type of decision regrading their relationship.

When he reached her door, he knocked softly and there was no answer. He waited and knocked more loudly, and still no answer. "Shelly." He called through the door, receiving no response from that either.

He decided to take a chance and opened her door slowly, his eyes sweeping the room. She was not in the sitting room, but her bedroom door was open. Thinking she might be in there, Peter proceeded inside, but soon it was evident that she wasnt around. Deciding it would be best to leave for now, he went to the small, marble topped desk in the corner, hoping to find a pen and paper in order to write her a love letter.

The stationery and large,white quill were right where they shouldve been, but next to Shellys inkwell, looking very out of place, was a neat stack of magazines almost six inches tall. They caught Peters eye and he began to flip through them. They were all publications solely dedicated to the group. He smiled, leafing through the one on top. At first, he didnt notice anything unusual, but upon closer inspection, he found that almost all of the pictures of him had hearts drawn around and about them. They werent what one would normally expect from a childs doodling. They were all painstakingly precise and nothing less than flawless. What he recognized as Shellys childhood handwriting was also present throughout the magazines he flipped through. On the inside cover of all of them was written, "Property of Mrs. R. Michelle Nesmith Tork. Do not touch or suffer Nazi torture. This means you!!!"

He saddened even more when he was reminded of how long shed had that crush on him and how deeply it ran, but couldnt stop the chuckle at the "greeting" shed carefully placed inside all of these magazines. At some point, there lived a child inside her after all, a very methodical, systematic child, but one just the same. He mulled it over for a moment then placed everything back where he found it, not meaning to snoop through her things.

Peter sat behind Shellys desk and took a piece of cream-colored marbleized stationery from the holder. It was embossed with the old English letters RMN. He thought that very clever since both she and her father could use it. But this was obviously only hers. It was scented like everything else that had anything to do with her, strawberries. He closed his eyes, taking in her delicate scent before dipping the plume into the ink well and beginning the letter straight from his heart:

After finishing the letter and reading it over too many times to keep track of, he used her red wax to seal it, leaving one of her selection of imprints in the middle. This particular one was heart shaped, which he thought rather appropriate. He placed the letter on her pillow and made sure everything on her desk was just how she left it then exited through the door that adjoined their sitting rooms. He didnt know if Michael or anyone else would be out in the hallway and didnt have the will to deal with something like that right now.

His heart nearly broke again when he noticed that the door had been left open. Shelly never did anything by accident and was overly particular in every way. The fact that shed left this door open was one of her ways of letting him know her feelings for him. He stepped through the doorway and picked up his head to see Kevin sitting on the Victorian sofa in the center of his sitting room.

"What is it that I can do for you, Kevin?" Peter asked with a sigh. He was tired. He stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Hitler." Kevin replied flatly, standing up to gain some sort of advantage. He was as tall as Mike and knew the quick, easy ways to gain control of a conversation. Hed learned from the master.

"Excuse me?" Peter asked, coming closer.

Kevins face carried a smug smile as he looked down on Peter, "The desk. It belonged to Adolf Hitler not Heinrich Himmler."

Peter couldnt believe it. He threw up his hands, "You are just like Michael, arent you? Could we forget about the desk for a moment?" His words got more forceful and spaced farther apart as he went. Unfortunately, he ended up sounding a bit like William Shatner.

"I just thought youd like to know." Kevin began to circle Peter slowly, "Its amazing what you can hear when the intercom system keeps screwing up. I guess Ralph needs to look at it again. Anyway, I assume you know Im in love with Shelly. Why dont you just give it up? I love her more than you could ever even fathom and lets face it, I know what it takes to keep her happy. Ive lived with her every day for the past six years and all my time is spent studying her every move and catering to her every whim. You dont know a thing about her anymore, and you cant just waltz back in here and expect to take her away from me. On top of all that, I dont have your offensive past and Im not as old as the hills, either. You know, shes got a lot of energy and shes gonna need someone who..uhdoesnt tire out so easily."

Peter had taken about all he could for one day. Without a word, he whipped around and punched Kevin square in the nose before the kid even knew what was going on. He shook his hand out and waited for Kevins next reaction. One didnt come right away. The kid just stood there with both hands over his nose, evidently bleeding. He didnt scream or make any sort of noise, which Peter had to admire, but he seemed to be trapped by indecision. Obviously, he hadnt expected such a reaction from somebody as "old as the hills".

It wasnt much longer before Kevin removed his hands from his bleeding nose and he began to lay back into Peter. They seemed evenly matched for a while and were both landing some fairly solid punches, then somehow they ended up on the floor. Peter got Kevin pinned and had pulled his arm back to punch the kid in the face once more. Something made him hesitate. He hated fighting and this was ridiculous. He held his fist over Kevins face for a moment, now trapped by indecision himself.

"Yall stop." Shellys weary voice came from the adjoining doorway. They were so involved, she went unnoticed until speaking.

Peter instantly stood up to see Shelly with his letter in her hand. She was crying and he forgot all about Kevin on the floor. "I love you, Shellyangel." Peter whispered, holding her in his arms, gently, but enough to let her know he was really there. "Please. Tell me its not too late."

She shook her head against his chest, "Its not too late. Ive always been in love with you and theres never been room in my heart for anyone else."

"I was hoping youd say that." Peter quickly undid Shellys french braid and began to smooth her now wavy hair, her favorite gesture and the one that always comforted her above all else.

While they held each other closely, Kevin pulled himself up from the floor and sat back on the sofa, checking the blood that came from his nose. Shelly wanted to be wrapped in Peters embrace forever, but caught sight of Kevin out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh god, Kevvie." She gently pried herself from Peters arms, placed his letter on a table and sat next to Kevin on the sofa. Looking at his nose carefully, she got up and called the kitchen on the intercom, "Helga, I need anyone to come up here with some ice in a baggie and a damp washcloth right now. Im in the blue rooms, right next to my own. Thank you."

Peters heart wrenched in his chest when seeing her go back to the sofa and huddle closely with Kevin as they murmured to each other. He hung his head, knowing that Shelly was going to lay into him for busting Kevins nose and hoped it wouldnt become another obstacle to their relationship. He also hoped Shelly still knew that flying off the handle and hitting people just wasnt him, but when it came to her, things were different.

"Well then, thats what you get." Shelly said loud and clear.

Peter looked up to see her frowning at Kevin and holding him at arms length. Peter went to answer the knock at the door and heard Shelly again, "I mean I love you very much too, but just not that way. Youve gone about this all wrong. I want you to apologize."

Kevin was actually beginning to see the humor in the situation. When Peter offered him the bag of ice and the washcloth, he took them, "Nice left hook, old man." He chuckled.

"Youre not so bad yourself, youngster." Peter chuckled in return and watched with amused eyes as Shelly gently wiped at Kevins face then held the ice to his nose as he tried to move back.

When Kevin was pretty much taken care of, Shelly made sure he had the ice held to his nose and went to the bathroom to rinse the washcloth. As soon as she was in the other room, Kevin said, "I guess the best man won. Congratulations." He paused, remembering to apologize, "Im sorry about all that."

At least Kevin wasnt a sore loser, but the look in his eyes told Peter he had gotten a big dose of bitter reality. It was evident with everyones attitude around here that Kevin fully expected Shelly to fall in love with him and that theyd be married some day soon. Peter hated to disappoint, but she made her choice and, fortunately, it was him.

There was an uncomfortable silence until Shelly returned from the bathroom, then the tension got even weirder. She sensed it and looked down at Kevin as he leaned back on the sofa, the ice still held to his nose, "Are you going to be alright, dear?"

"Yeah." He breathed. He knew it was time for him to leave, and stood to go. "Thanks, Shelly."

She put her arms around his waist and leaned her head against him, "Kevin, I do love you and Im sorry it had to turn out this way. You wouldnt be happy with me anyway."

"I wouldnt say that." He quickly dropped a kiss on the top of her head and pried himself from her embrace. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but whenever he held her close like that, he had to use a great deal of self control and now that there was no chance in the world that he would have her, he had to get away from her and clear his head.

When Kevin left the room, Shelly leaned her back against the door, arms behind her and blinked back at Peter, "Now we just have Daddy to deal with."

"I can handle him now." Peter opened his arms and waited for Shelly to melt into them. She did, right on cue. "I just needed to know you were still with me."

They spent the rest of the night in the window seat in his bedroom, curled up under a quilt, looking out at the darkness. The grounds appeared so peaceful in the light of the full moon and it provided them with the perfect setting to discuss with each other the things each of them had been up to for the last seven years. The funny thing was that the both of them had done a lot of growing up during that time. Shelly physically and Peter emotionally. Hed needed the time alone after his second marriage to center himself again and figure out where he was really going with the rest of his life. He didnt consciously think that he was ready for another relationship when he came here, but this was right. She was right, and exactly what he needed.

At one point, they fell asleep in each others arms, and didnt wake until the bright sun shone through the window in their eyes the next morning. Shelly looked up to find herself cradled in Peters arms, her head lying on his chest. He was awake and his eyes were slightly hazy as he looked down upon her. He smoothed her hair and watched her with a tender expression on his face.

"Good morning, Shellyangel." He said softly, upon seeing her look up at him.

"Peter. Youre still here." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes and snuggling further into him. She made several little noises that could be best equated as I dont wanna get up whimpers.

He chuckled, "I thought the same thing when I woke up. I couldnt believe you were still here. You know, you wake up the same way you did when you were a little girl. You always used to rub your eyes, snuggle back up, mumble and make those sweet little noises. Every time I was at your house overnight or early in the morning, youd come out in the living room and find me. It was always the same routine. I looked forward to it then, but now its different. I want to be holding you when you wake up every day and to be the one bringing your coffee. Youre so tender and vulnerable in the morning. It looks good on you and I dont want to miss a bit of it."

"Love you." She murmured, still working her head into his chest. She wanted his shirt to go away, but didnt have the strength or the coherence to remove it right now.

He smiled and continued to pet her, "I love you too, Shellyangel." He knew she heard and understood him, but was unable to respond too much as of yet. His first order of business after getting her woken up would be to deal with Michael.

"Coffee." Shelly curled up further and began to yawn.

"Yes, my love." He picked her up in his arms, quilt and all and went to the intercom. He found the button for the kitchen and when he pushed it, Shelly picked up her head and spoke.

"Helga coffee. Blue room." She muttered and seemed to almost drift back to sleep. He took her to the sitting room and held her on the sofa to wait for their coffee to come.

Shortly, the door from the hall opened and Mike came in with servants behind him. The mousy looking girl that followed him in created a space on the coffee table and set down a try filled with coffee and covered silver dishes. An older, hardy looking woman followed and placed another tray down that contained china and silverware.

"That will be all." Mike gave them a wave of his hand over his shoulder and held Peters gaze in his own. He seemed devoid of emotion and looked like he could go either way, although, anyone that knew him at all would figure displeasure would probably be the most likely. His eyes glinted and narrowed as he looked Peter and Shelly up and down. The quilt was only partially covering Shelly and he commented, "Shes dressed. Thats good. I take it yall didnt do anything inappropriate."

"No Michael. We sat in one of the window seats and talked. Thats it. After that, we fell asleep. She just woke up only a few minutes ago." Peter hoped that the controlled calm would stick around for a while. At least it was better than yelling.

"Daddy." Shelly whispered. She shifted in Peters arms and made several more of her sleepy noises.

"Junior. I got your coffee here." Mike sat down in a blue upholstered Victorian chair that matched the sofa.

"Uhhhggg." She grumbled, rolling herself further into Peters body.

Peter bent over and whispered in her ear, "Shellyangel. I think you want to be awake for this one." He ran a hand over her hair. It was so shiny and soft, it continued to draw his attention.

Shelly grumbled once more and sat up, slowly and reluctantly, pulling the quilt up so that it wrapped around her shoulders. She sat as close to Peter as possible without being in his lap and peered uncomprehendingly at Michael.

Both Peter and Michael reached out to get her a cup of coffee at the same time. They looked up at each other and Mike surprised Peter by pulling away and sitting fully back in his chair. Peter gave him an uncertain smile and poured Shelly plenty of cream with her coffee, handing her the cup.

She mumbled something that was intended as a thank you. Fortunately, Peter understood her and said, "Youre welcome, my one and only love." He turned his head to smile softly at her and took her free hand in his, gently caressing the back of it with his thumb.

While Shelly tried to fully wake up, Mike silently watched her and Peter together, spending a good half hour studying their behavior. They seemed, for all practical purposes, to have forgotten his presence. They knew he was there, because he was right in front of them, but it didnt matter as the two of them were in a world of their own right now. It was evident, as he observed, how much Peter cared for her. Peters love shone in his eyes, was heard in his voice and could be seen in even his tiniest gesture. Mike had seen him with a lot of women in the past, way in the past, and had never seen him behave this way or look like he did now. He continued to observe them as Shelly worked on finishing her third cup of coffee, and was now fully awake.

"Ive seen enough." Mike said finally.

Peter suddenly turned his eyes from Shelly and glared at Michael, "Then maybe you should"

"Let me finish." Mike held up a hand. "I wasnt too happy when I came in here, but Ive been watching yall. The way you hold her and brush her hair from her face, the look in your eyes, the sound of your voice. Youre patiently waiting for her to wake up, similar to what I would do myself. Its obvious you didnt try to get her in bed and I respect that. Ive never seen either of yall look the way you do right now, and Im not talking about the rumpled clothes." He stopped to wink at Shelly, "Id like to apologize if I hurt either one of you last night, but I was somewhat drunk and just a little surprised. I want yall to know that I wont stand in your way. Your breakfast is probably cold by now, though."

Peter could hardly care about the food. Shelly let him handle this, because he was the man, he wanted to and it was his right to assert himself against her father. He took a deep breath and spoke in a peaceful tone, "I appreciate that Mike, but it would be helpful to have a little more from you than just a promise not to stand in our way. I think your daughter would like you to be happy about this. I want the same thing, but I can accept it easier if you cant be brimming with joy over it. I dont think she can. Michael, she loves you so much and your attitude last night towards us loving each other was, in a large part, what almost lost her to me."

Shelly could tell that they were waiting for her to say something. Her voice was soft, but it was clear she meant what she said, "Its true, Daddy. I know you love me and you were just trying to protect me, but you have to trust that I know what Im getting into and that I know my own heart. Ive heard you say enough times that you want my happiness above all else. Peter is what makes me happy. Ive had what most would refer to as a crush on him ever since I can remember and Ive hidden it from no one except you because I knew you wouldnt like it. His past is immaterial to me because its way in the past and hes not the same person that went through those things. Hes had a chance to grow, he had no way of knowing he should wait for me, and I hope you would forgive him. Realize that he wont do those things to me and he never did them as anything directed towards me. Im a separate issue from his past and his past is not his future. His future lies in a successful life with me. I truly want you to be happy about this, but if youre not, well" It hurt too much to tell him that if he wasnt happy, it was just too bad. It was very important for her to have his full moral support. Her eyes began to cloud with tears as the unsaid words caught in her throat.

Mike sighed, "Junior, dont cry." He noticed the way Peter wiped at her tears, "I love you and if this is whats going to make you happy, Ill be all for it. I mean that. Its clear that you love each other very much and thats what counts."

Shelly slowly pried herself from Peters embrace and went to where Michael was sitting. He stood up and hugged her closely, smoothing her long raven mane. She absolutely purred under his comforting attentions for a moment then looked up at him, "I love you, Daddy. Thank you."

"I love you too, kiddo. Now go get you a shower and Ill see you in a little bit." He pulled her away from him and gave her a swat on the behind to attempt to shoo her from the room.

She trotted back over to Peter, brushing his lips gently then whispered in his ear, "Ill miss you."

"Ill miss you too, Shellyangel." He whispered in return. "Hurry back."

"Count on it." She said over her shoulder as she left through the adjoining doors, the quilt trailing behind her.

Mike watched her go then closed the door and sat back in his chair. He lazily blinked back at Peter for a moment then took a drink from his own coffee cup, "Peter, theres just a few more things. First of all, I dont assume youre going to sleep with her until yall are married?"

Peter chuckled, "Dont you think we should leave those types of decisions up to her? I mean, I dont want to rock the boat so soon, and if thats what she wants, Im all for it. But, shes an adult now, Michael, and I think something like that is really her choice."

"Junior may be an adult to you, but shell always be my little girl and I cant help that. Ill do my best to let her make up her own mind about what I can, though." Mike smiled just slightly and set his cup back on the table.

"I can accept that." Peter nodded. "Thanks for what you said. It made her feel a lot better. Me too, actually. I didnt want to have to fight you on this, Michael. Its amazing how after all these years, we still havent figured out how to get along for more than five minutes if it doesnt have to do with music. I think, though, that she can bring us closer together. Id like that."

"Yeah." Mike breathed and ran a hand through his hair, "Me too. Look, that actually brings me to my other concern. I really dont want her to go away. I was wanting yall to consider living here. Do you think you could do that one thing for her poor old daddy?"

Peter chuckled again, "I have to tell you, I think thats her decision, too. Ill go with whatever she wants, but I think we both can tell that shes got no particular desire to go anywhere else. I do have that house in California, Michael, but I could see keeping it for a vacation home. Id live anywhere she wants me to, but we need to ask her that."

"Alright. Tell you what, Ill even let you talk to her about it. At any rate, I want you to stay here until yall decide. Just let me know." Mike stood and headed for the door that led to the hallway.

"Mike." Peter called after him, "I actually wanted to go into town to get her a few things. Do you have a car I could use?"

"Yeah, sure." Mike responded, taking his hand off the doorknob.

"Would you wait for her and explain? Ill be back as soon as possible." Peter stood as well. "Im just going to take a quick shower and Im sure Ill be done before she is. That is if she spends as much time primping as she used to."

"She does." Mike smiled, "Ill wait in her sitting room. Just go down to the garage and tell Jasper you want a car. Take whichever one you want."

"You still have the car from the series?" Peter raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah. Its down there." Mike moved to the doorway that adjoined the sitting rooms.

"Good. Ill take that one then. I never got to drive it enough. It was always you." Peter left for the bathroom.

Peter went to town to do some shopping while Mike and Shelly reached an understanding. He let her know, quietly and tenderly that he had just been looking out for her best interests and apologized for his behavior. He even apologized for desperately hoping shed marry Kevin. Mike had apparently seen Kevin the night before and while it wasnt really funny, got a chuckle out of the way Peter busted his nose. That was more behavior hed never seen from his hippie friend before.

When Peter got back, he came into Shellys sitting room and Mike gave both of them a quick smile then left them alone. Shelly was practically jumping up and down on her green-upholstered Louis-Philippe love sofa. She was wearing a flowing silken dress that was of a shiny white. The dress was sleeveless and the top was tight, but the skirt spread out around her beautifully. Her black hair contrasted beautifully against it and Peter thought again about what a true angel she was.

He knelt down before her and said, "I hope youll forgive my absence, but Ive brought a peace offering." He handed her a tiny burgundy velvet box.

Shellys eyes gleamed back at him. She bit her lower lip and carefully lifted the lid on the box. Inside was a simple silver locket attached to a dainty, intricate chain. "Its beautiful." She whispered, looking into his soft brown eyes. Her own began to tear up.

"Open it." He said, laying a hand on her knee.

Her hands were shaky and it was hard, but she eventually got it open. Engraved on the inside were the words, "Shellyangel, be my bride." She gasped and picked her head up to look at him.

"I drew up a design for a ring, but I couldnt wait for it to be ready to let you know that I dont want to ever spend another minute of my life without you." He patiently waited for a response, his heart thudding in his chest as he reached up to wipe her silent tears away gently.

"Are you sure you want me?" She asked, it was so quiet and begging.

He reached out and pulled her to him, "Oh, Shellyangel. Ill spend the rest of my life showing you how much, if you will do me the honor of allowing me the chance."

She nodded her head against his shoulder. He still knelt before her and she was leaning into his embrace, "I cant say yes enough times. Oh thank you. I love you so much."

There was a knock at the door and both of them wondered if they would ever be alone for more than ten minutes at a time. "Enter." Shelly said only loud enough to be barely heard.

Peter didnt look towards the door. There was only one person it could be, because Michael didnt knock. He figured Kevin didnt usually either, but that he had to have a little more respect for Shellys privacy than that. He fastened the delicate chain around Shellys neck and looked at it on her once before sitting next to her on the sofa.

Shelly stood up and took the few steps to get to where Kevin was standing right inside the door. She looked up into his face. He looked slightly better than the night before but not much. She reached up to touch his nose and he pulled back just a little, then finally let her feel it. "Kevvie. Are you sure youre alright."

"Im fine. Uhh, your daddy said Peter asked you to marry him and I just wanted to come up and say congratulations." He took her into his arms for a hug. Hugging was something the two of them did often and he hoped that wouldnt be taken away from him due to Peters intentions. Just because he couldnt be allowed to be in love with her anymore didnt mean he didnt still love her.

"Well." Shelly giggled, "I guess he knew even before I did."

"No. I just told him I was going into town to buy you a few things. Michael is too smart for his own good some times." Peter shook his head.

Kevin backed away slightly and put a finger under Shellys chin, "You sure you dont want to change your mind about me?"

"Kevin." She replied in a tone of warning.

"Cant blame a guy for trying." He shrugged. "Im gonna leave yall alone now. See ya at lunch."

"Bye, hun." Shelly gave Kevin a small wave as he left the room.

She was almost back to the sofa when Mike walked in, "Hey yall. Howd it go, Pete?"

Shelly rolled her eyes and sat back down next to Peter, taking his hand. He smiled up at Mike and said, "She accepted."

Mike folded his arms as he stood before them and said, "I guess that means theres only one more thing to say." He leaned over to clap Peter on the back and said, "Welcome to the family, son."