Our Hearts' Desire (The Monkees Family Vol. 2)

Chapter 26

When Gabby woke up, on her way to the bathroom she could hear Peter and Dawn arguing quietly in their bedroom. She stopped to listen to their conversation and heard them discussing the previous night's events. Peter was arguing that Gabby needed to find a new place to stay and Dawn was lobbying against that position.

"Peter, she's one of our best friends, besides which, look at how she's dropped everything to take care of me and the kids. She needs us and we owe her!"

"Dawn, I'm the first one to acknowledge how grateful I am to her and how much she's done to help us, but we owe a responsibility first and foremost to our kids and their safety and well-being. We have no idea what Micky's like anymore or what he's capable of. We don't know what his state of mind is going to be like when he comes home and starts looking for her. Eventually he'll figure out she's here and eventually he'll find out she's involved with Davy on some level and he's not going to be happy about that. And even if he doesn't get violent, he's going to be pissed, and I can't have the kids exposed to a pissed off Micky haranguing Gabby in their presence."

Dawn countered: "And what about Gabby? What about her safety and well-being? She's a survivor of abuse and rape, Peter, and she's experiencing flashbacks and is scared of Micky. She needs a safe place to live and friends who will back her up."

"I understand that, Dawn, and my heart bleeds for her. I wish we could be the ones to support her, but we can't. We just can't put our kids at risk. Gabby will understand that. Someone else from the family is going to have to step up and help her, or she's going to have to go it alone. She's a tough customer and a brave woman. She's faced down the whole L.A. police force. She can handle one angry, drunk husband."

"Peter, that's cruel and overestimating her ability to cope with this, and you just don't understand what you're saying. I forgive you for it. But you just don't understand what Gabby's going through."

Gabby had heard enough. She pushed open the door and asked "Can I come in? I think I can save you two some hassle."

They both nodded and Peter started to blush furiously and make squeaking noises preliminary to an apology, but Gabby just held up her hand and said "Don't worry about it Pete, it's cool, I dig where you're coming from and I don't disagree."

Dawn wailed "But Gabby, where will you go, what will you do?"

"Davy and I already talked it over last night. I'm going to temporarily bunk up with him until I can get a read on whether Micky's a threat to me or not. Davy's going to give me my own room and space at his place, and it's all above board, so that should satisfy the family for appearances sake, not that I give a flying fuck what they think at this point but I really would like my own space. I'm not moving in as his lover. He's taking me in as an act of friendship to protect me."

Dawn blew out a breath of relief. "Well, I'm glad you have a safe place to go and someone to look out for you. But you should think about taking out a restraining order, Gabby, if Micky steps one foot out of place."

"Micky's never been violent with me, but then again, I don't think it's Micky who's flying back on that plane. That's why I'm taking precautions, so yeah, I'm hip to the legal protections if I need them. I'm really hoping someone can convince him to go back to rehab and therapy. Then, if and when he gets clean, he and I can talk about the state of our marriage. But anyway, I don't want to burden y'all with that stuff. One thing that concerns me, though, is that I'm leaving you high and dry when you need my help. Can I still come over and bring over the shopping and food for dinner and help with the kids?"

Dawn looked hopefully at Peter, but he sadly shook his head no. "Gabby, we'll always be grateful to you for what you've done and maybe you can come back soon, but until we get a look at Micky and figure out what his state of mind is and how bad off he is, I don't want to risk him coming over here looking for you and starting up a battle in front of the kids. I'm sorry."