It's later in the day after Davy, Micky, and Mike worked on fixing up Davy and Daphne's house... and had their run-in with Alex. Everyone's still been staying at the Cartwright Mansion.

The trio separated in the living room. Micky, holding ice wrapped in a face cloth to his right hand, headed down the west wing to his and Lauren's room. Balancing the makeshift ice pack, he pushed the door open and snuck in. He closed the door after him.

"Mick?"

Micky made a face, still facing the door. He sighed and turned around.

Lauren sat up from where she'd been reading on the bed. "Mick, what happened to your hand?!" She got up and went over to him.

"It's fine, babe, really. We, uh... had a bit of a problem working over at Davy's house," Micky said.

Lauren made a face. "What kind of problem?"

"Alex...?"

"What!?"

"We were about to start working and we kinda started arguing. Next thing we knew, Alex showed up and..." Micky paused, trying to remember what happened. He shook his head, "Next thing I remember is chewing out Mike... among other things."

"How did your hand get hurt?"

"I... punched Mike in the jaw."

"Why in the world would you do that?"

"I don't know. I don't even know why I was so mad at him. Alex must've done something to me when he showed up. He put his arm around me and that's when I don't remember."

"Let me see your hand," Lauren said.

Micky winced, removing his makeshift ice pack from his knuckles. The back of his hand was black and blue.

"Does it hurt to move it? Can you make a fist?"

"I was flexing it earlier..." Micky started to close his hand and winced.

"I saw that, Mick." Lauren shook her head. "I hope you didn't break it!"

"You hope?! What about me? I won't be much of a drummer or help to the band with a broken hand!"

"Mick, you've gotta go see a doctor and get it checked. It's very possible that it's really just banged up, hence the bruising--"

"But bruising could mean it's broken, too. I have had my share of broken bones, babe," Micky admitted.

"Still, you need to get it checked," Lauren said.

Micky nodded. "Okay, lets go."

--------------

It wasn't until later that night that Lauren and Micky returned to the Cartwright Mansion.

Davy and Mike were in the living room, playing with and keeping an eye on the kids.

Lauren came in first, then realized she was missing someone. She turned and leaned back out the door. "Mick, come on, already!"

Davy and Mike heard the exchange. Mike got up and went over to find out what was going on, while Davy turned around and leaned over the back of the couch.

Micky finally came in. He sighed upon seeing Mike. "It isn't broken, but I banged it up pretty good. The doc at the ER said I needed it braced atleast." He held up the injured hand, frowning.

"How long?" Mike asked.

"Couple weeks to a month, atleast until the bruising is gone," Micky replied. He kicked the door closed behind him and trudged into the living room.

Mike followed shortly after, while Lauren stopped by the couch.

"Could've been worse, mate," Davy said, optimistically.

"I can't play the drums, Dave, I think it's already pretty bad." Micky flopped down in a chair and was immediately flanked by the twins.

Little Mick looked curious. "Daddy's got a booboo?"

"Want me to kiss it, make it feel better?" Shelly asked.

"Sorry, kiddos. Daddy does have a booboo, but a kiss won't make it better," Micky said.

Little Mick started to climb onto Micky's lap. The other three all winced as Micky quickly moved the injured hand out of the four-year-old's path. The younger Mick wrapped his arms around his daddy's neck. Shelly then followed suit, also giving him a hug. Carefully, Micky wrapped both arms around the kids and hugged them.

--------------

Later, Micky sat in bed, watching Lauren putter around the room. She finally joined him.

"So, you guys still worked on the basement even after you were injured? You probably hurt yourself more," she said.

"We got down to the basement and they did a good deal of the work. I did swing a hammer a few times and it hurt, so I tried blue-lighting it. That worked so that's what I did," Micky explained, lifting his injured hand and tracing around the brace with the index finger from his other hand. "I thought it was just sore."

Lauren sighed. "Atleast you aren't evil anymore." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Micky grinned, then waggled his eyebrows. "You sure you don't want atleast a little bit of that now?"

"Go to sleep, Mick," Lauren said, with a wink, then slid down under the covers. "And don't forget to turn off the light."

Micky shrugged, deciding he deserved that. He blue-lighted the light off and slid under the covers... then fidgeted for several moments, trying to find a comfortable position to protect his hand. He sighed, laying on his back with the hand on his chest. He hated sleeping on his back...