White Wall Serenade.

Disclaimer: I do not own Drake and Josh, nor am I looking to profit from this written work. The song Welcome Home (Sanitarium) Belongs to Metallica.

A/N: Here begins Drake's road to recovery, please enjoy, and, compliments or Criticism are appreciated. This chapter is a lot longer then I thought it'd be…

*.*.*.*.

"…Welcome to where time stands still, No one leaves and no one will
Moon is full, never seems to change, Just labeled mentally deranged
Dream the same thing every night, I see our freedom in my sight
No locked doors, no windows barred, No things to make my brain seem scarred…"

Drake watched the houses as the car drove past, each of them seemingly normal and gone in a blur. He didn't really know why he had agreed to to leave home, maybe because his mom had tried so hard to speak highly of a place she'd never been. Maybe because home wasn't the same place it had been for him. He was wasting away there, and seeing the pain it brought was drowning him.

His mom had promised him that it would be okay, that he could come home whenever he wanted. He just wanted all of this to stop. Walter had urged him on, repeating everything that Officer Grey had told him about the place. It seemed harmless enough, but, he'd already learned that not everything was what it seemed. Like messages from a cute girl… He thought, remembering every text Shane had sent him. Knowing where that had landed him.

And now hear he was, sitting in Officer Grey's car watching the world pass by as he waited to be dropped off. His parents had offered to take him, but he'd talked them out of it. Lieing was easy, especially when they didn't know what to think anymore. All he'd had to do was tell them he wanted to talk to Officer grey alone, and they'd agreed to let him drive Drake down. Really, he just didn't want them to see him enter those walls, to have to see the pain in their features as he was left in a place he didn't trust, a place they never thought they'd have to take any of their children.

The Institution for Young Adults was a relatively small building. Maybe four floors with a couple hundred rooms. The exterior was pleasant enough, brick walls and tall, white stone pillars made to look like they were holding the second story windows. There were no bars on those windows, which gave Drake an odd sort of relief. A wrought iron fence surrounded the property, protecting its green lawn and all of the inhabitants. The look of the place didn't change what it was; however, it was still a place for kids who were messed up. Teenagers who couldn't deal with the world, surrounded by doctors who wanted to get inside their heads and try to talk all of their insanity away.

"What do you think?" Officer Grey asked, parking the car.

"Looks all right." Drake said absently as he got out of the car. "Kinda like a school."

Officer Grey smiled. "At least this school, you can leave any time, and there are no teachers to work you over." He said, trying a bit of humor.

"Yeah," Drake followed him toward the building. "No teachers, just doctors wanting to hear all of your worst memories while they try and talk you out of your problems."

Officer Grey stopped and looked at Drake. "They can't help if you wont let them, Drake. No one's going to force you to talk about anything until your ready, and your Doctor is one of the nice ones." He chuckled. "She's very pretty to."

Drake grinned and walked through the glass doors. The walls were an off white color, covered in various painting and pictures of kids who'd left. There were awards from the state for the Center's involvement with Teenagers and the community. There were a lot more people in the lobby then Drake had expected, from Doctors to kids, and even a few families who'd come in to visit. It was lively, no one seemed too unhappy.

An attractive woman in her late twenties smiled as they walked through the door, pushing back her auburn hair she walked across the lobby smiling. "Byron Grey, nice to see you again." She turned her brown eyes toward Drake. "And you must be Drake Parker, we're glad to have you."

"Jennifer Harsman, chipper as always." Officer Grey greeted her. "You've read Drake's file?"

"I have," She said, clutching her clipboard. "His room is already set and schedule prepared." She turned to Drake, looking at him with a solid face. There was pain in his eyes, according to his file, he'd been through quite a bit. "I want you to feel safe here, if you need anything, let me know. Would you like to see your room?"

"Sure." Drake said, looking toward Officer grey, and then Jennifer.

"All right, this way." She lead them through the lobby toward an elevator. "It's the third floor, room thirteen. You have your own room, so privacy shouldn't be a problem. The building is co-ed, I hope that's not a problem."

"No problem." Drake replied as the elevator opened. The desk at the front of the hall housed a young man behind a computer, typing away furiously. The label over the desk read Sexual assault wing. Drake cringed as he read it.

"Jordan," Jennifer called, catching the man's attention. "This is Drake Parker, room thirteen."

Jordan smiled wearily. "Hello Drake." He said, taking in his appearance and returning to his work.

"He keeps pretty busy," Jennifer said, leading them towards Drake's room. "Alright, this is it. Boys rooms are on the left side, girl's on the right. We don't allow any off you to be in a room together with the door closed, or after eight pm." She said as she opened the door.

The room wasn't very big, but it wasn't too small either. The walls and carpet were a light blue and the ceiling white. There was a dresser, a bed and small desk all made with light colored wood. There was a small bar-less window and a bathroom the size of a closet in the corner. "Showers are on the first floor, if there's anything you need in here, Jordan can help you." She watched Drake as he observed the room. "Do you like it?"

"It's not bad," Drake said as he placed his backpack on the bed.

Jennifer smiled. "Well, I'll leave you to get settled, I have a group to run in ten minutes." She shook Officer Grey's hand. "Always nice to see you again, tell the wife I say hi."

Officer Grey smiled. "I will."

"She's nice." Drake said after she was gone. "Not what I expected."

"She's a very kind woman Drake, you can trust her." He smiled. "I have to get back to work now, are you gonna be all right?"

"Yeah," Drake looked over the room again. "I wanna call my mom later, let her know I'm okay."

Drake followed Officer Grey to the elevator. He didn't say that he was afraid of being left here with all of these strangers. He could feel the fear like a cape over his shoulders. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a voice; young and feminine.

"Officer Grey!" Drake watched as she ran down the hall, stumbling on her boots as she tried to pull her long, black skirt out of the way. She looked to be the same age as him, dyed red hair in long twin braids, revealing hazel eyes.

"Robyn," Officer Grey smiled. "How are you today?"

She stopped in front of them, not even looking at Drake. "I'm breathing," She replied. "How's Toby?"

Officer Grey offered his best smile. "Toby is fine, I've told you that. He wasn't as badly hurt as you thought, and he still offers his apologies."

She looked at him, not sure if she believed him. "He has nothing to apologize for." She said. "I'll see you later then." And she was gone, walking down the hall to what must have been her room.

"Who was that?" Drake asked.

"Robyn Chrystfer. She goes to the same school as you." Officer Grey said, as if Drake should have known. "Girl's been through a lot, doesn't trust anyone, especially boys, so leave her her space."

"Who's Toby?" Drake asked, all the while trying to remember her.

"That's her business." Officer Grey hit the button for the elevator. "Take care, Drake. Don't forget to call your mom."

Drake watched the elevator doors swallow Officer Grey, leaving him alone. He walked back to his room in a daze, shutting the door and falling onto his bed. He didn't want to be here, alone in this cold place. He wanted to be home, somewhere warm and familiar. But he wasn't wanted there, not in the condition that he was in. They couldn't see him.

The call to his mom was short, just a hello and a brief description of the institution. He could hear Audrey's relief as he assured her that he was fine, that everything and everyone seemed okay. He wanted to tell her to bring him home, to just hold him and make him feel safe, but he didn't. He told her he loved her, and hung up before Josh could finish asking to talk to him.

"…Build my fear of what's out there, Cannot breathe the open air
Whisper things into my brain, Assuring me that I'm insane
They think our heads are in their hands, But violent use brings violent plans
Keep him tied, it makes him well, He's getting better, can't you tell?…"

Drake let the phone fall to the floor as he curled up on the bed and cried. He knew he was tired, but he didn't want to sleep, he didn't want to remember, and he knew that being behind these walls would do nothing but make the nightmares stronger. He looked at the healing lacerations on his wrists, tracing them with his thumbs. The bruises were gone, but the pain was still there.

He could hear the faint sounds of crying from the room next to his, and then the screaming. The sound of running followed as Doctors burst into that room, and then everything was silent.

Suddenly the air was too much, everything was too much! Drake pushed himself off of the bed, crawling into the corner as the tears fell into the carpet. A fading trail of fear and pain. The bed was too much like the one Shane had left him tied to, had raped him in. These walls mocked him with their calming colored paint. Every shadow was a twisted image of Shane, laughing and reaching out for him.

You'll never escape, you are mine…

"No," He begged as he made himself as small as possible. "Just leave me alone." The broken whisper faded as his tears fell. These people couldn't help him, no one could. He was broken. Their words were never going to mend that.

Drake grasped his wrist, pressing down on the marks until the skin turned red. He welcomed this pain, anything to distract him from the memories. New pain to hide the old. He stayed in that corner, shaking as he fell into sleep. The nightmares were there, a collage of everything that had happened. He couldn't wake up, not on his own, and now, Josh wasn't there to help him.

"…Sanitarium, leave me be
Sanitarium, just leave me alone…"