Disclaimer: I do not own Drake and Josh; all the rights go to the creators of the show.
Drake sat on the bed biting his nails as he tried to distract himself. He paused a second before pulling his hand away from his mouth in disgust. He never bit his nails before; it was a major turn-off whenever he saw a girl chewing off her fingertips, and definitely not a habit he had ever picked up. Yet, considering the circumstances, he was downright terrified.
Judging by the clock in the small room, it had been just over two hours ago that Drake had agreed to tell Dr. Richardson about his father. Part of him wanted to scream and run from the hospital without looking behind him away from the doctors and social workers, while the other part couldn't help but picture his father behind bars…powerless. Josh was watching him like a hawk while trying to comfort and keep him calm the best he could. A light knock on the door made Drake jump as a nurse walked in to take his vitals.
"How are you feeling Drake?" She asked smiling as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his upper arm, Drake merely shrugged as she went about her business checking various monitors.
"Um…is Dr. Richardson busy right now?" Josh asked glancing over at Drake who clenched his jaw and curled up on his side as the nurse finished working on him. The nurse tilted her head to one side thinking.
"I think one of his patients had to be rushed to emergency surgery, but I can page someone else...is something hurting you? Do you need more pain medication?" She asked looking over at Drake again, Drake shook his head.
"No." Drake replied solemnly without looking up, luckily Josh jumped in to save him.
"He just needs to talk to him." Josh said, the nurse nodded in understanding.
"Of course, I'll have him paged when he gets out of surgery." She replied; Josh nodded.
"Thanks." He said, the nurse smiled at him then turned and walked out of the room.
"I don't want to do this." Drake said so quietly that Josh barely heard him.
"I know you don't, but they'll lock him up and he'll never be able to get near you again." Josh stated his voice tender and comforting. Drake sighed and ran a hand through his tousled hair.
"It's getting late; mom and dad will wonder why you're not home yet." Drake said, shifting on the bed; he couldn't seem to stop fidgeting or sit still. Josh rolled his eyes.
"Stop making excuses Drake, you can't run from this anymore." Josh said his tone suddenly firm and serious.
"Forget it." Drake said dryly. Josh just couldn't understand. He didn't think of the aftermath his confessions would cause. In Josh's mind, if he reported his father, they would arrest him and he would be thrown in jail and never be able to see or get near Drake again. Drake however, thought about the situation differently, he knew the chaotic aftermath that would follow. There would be questioning from social workers and possibly the police, they would want to know everything that Rick Parker did to him, and going over in detail every time he had been beaten or made to clean the floor until his hands were red and numb was not something he was even sure he could do. Then, there would be a court trial where in front of his family and his father he would be forced to relay the gritty details again. The thought of sitting on the stand and testifying in front of his father made his stomach twist in nervous knots. With a heavy sigh he sat up and propped his elbows on his knees before digging his hands into his forehead. Josh didn't know what else to say, instead, he gently rubbed calming circles on his brother's back. He would stay here all night if he had to if Drake needed him.
XXXXXX
It was oddly quiet at the Parker-Nichols residence. Audrey and Walter were sitting on the couch while Megan was upstairs doing her homework. The TV was on in the living room, but neither Walter nor Audrey was paying much attention to the evening news.
"Shouldn't Josh have been home by now?" Audrey asked glancing down at her watch; they had left the hospital over two hours ago, and it had been one of the hardest things she had done.
It felt strange to walk out of the building leaving Drake there by himself, though knowing that Josh was there with him helped some…at least he wasn't completely alone. It still felt odd leaving then hospital without him. He shouldn't be there. Audrey thought sadly. He should be upstairs playing his guitar or playing one of those video games that drove him insane. The last place he should be was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to IV's and monitors.
"He's probably waiting until Drake falls asleep to leave." Walter replied; Audrey nodded then turned to Walter.
"I think we should talk to the school tomorrow, even though it's a Saturday, there will still be staff there and ask around to see if anybody has been picking on Drake." Audrey said firmly, she had been going over scenario after scenario in her head of how and who could be hurting Drake; the only solution she could come up with was that someone at school was bullying Drake. It sounded illogical, but she couldn't think of anyone who had a grudge against Drake or would want to torture him on a daily basis.
"I'll talk to Josh later when he gets home too, see if he knows anything. He was acting kind of strange at the hospital; I think Drake may have told him something." Walter added, Audrey rubbed her forehead feeling the beginnings of a migraine.
"How could we not have noticed? Broken ribs aren't easy to hide, and his arms…" Audrey broke off as the disturbing image of Drake's cut and scabbed arms flashed across her mind. She tried to blink back tears unsuccessfully as a few silently made their way down her cheek. Walter immediately moved over to her and put his arm around her.
"It's not your fault, none of us noticed." Walter said sadly, he too felt that as parents they should have seen warning signs…something.
"But I'm his mother! I'm supposed to protect him!" Audrey exclaimed, Walter stroked her hair softly.
"You have, you've always protected and been there for him, but parents aren't super heroes. As much as we wish we could, we can't be with our kids every minute of the day and bad things will happen to them, all we can do is help them though the bad things the best we can." Walter said, knowing how true his words were. Audrey looked up at him and lightly kissed him.
"I love you." Walter kissed her back gently.
"I love you too." He replied giving her a small reassuring smile. Silently, he swore to himself that they would get to the bottom of this one way or another.
XXXXX
Dr. Richardson stretched as he walked out of the operating room, pulling the latex gloves off his hands at the same time. The surgery had taken longer than expected but the patient was going to be alright. He made his way to the nurse's station to grab another patient's chart and begin his rounds when he noticed a nurse walking towards him.
"What can I do for you nurse Brooks?" Dr. Richardson asked smiling wryly at the woman in front of him.
"While you were in surgery I was checking on your patients, and your patient Drake Parker asked to see you." She said, Dr. Richardson's eyes narrowed.
"Did something happen?" He asked already starting to make his way back down the hall in the opposite direction towards Drake's room, nurse Brooks shook her head.
"No, his brother said that Drake just needed to talk to you, he seemed kind of anxious." She answered walking beside him.
"Which one? Drake looked anxious or Josh?" Dr. Richardson asked. Nurse Brooks thought a minute.
"Both actually, but Drake more so." She replied quickly, Dr. Richardson nodded.
"How long ago did he ask for me?" He asked, nurse Brooks looked down at her watch.
"Um..an hour ago, maybe two I'm not sure." She replied hesitantly, she hadn't really paid too much attention to what time it had been.
"Thank you." Dr. Richardson said, giving her a small grin before knocking on Drake's door and letting himself in.
Drake looked up, almost horrified at him as he entered the room; Josh appeared calm but was fidgeting with his car keys in his hands to keep himself distracted.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, I just got the message that you needed to see me." Dr. Richardson announced stepping into the room. Drake opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out, he tried again then looked over at Josh with the most frightened expression he had ever seen.
"The thing is Dr. Richardson is that, Drake has something he needs to tell you, but it's not exactly easy for him." Josh stammered before turning away from the doctor and staring right at Drake.
"I'm right here." Josh said directly to Drake and moving so that he was now sitting on the bed beside him. Drake nodded numbly at his brother.
"I understand, take your time Drake." Dr. Richardson said sincerely, he walked across the room and sat in the chair on the opposite side of Josh.
"I…see the thing is…about how I got hurt today…I didn't exactly get jumped walking home." Drake began, his voice sounded hoarse and weak. Dr. Richardson didn't react; he just nodded again and waited for him to continue.
"Can you tell me what really happened?" Dr. Richardson asked, Drake felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He was silent for a few minutes then looked up at Dr. Richardson who didn't appear annoyed that he was stuttering and taking forever to form a sentence in his head.
"I...he...he hits me. He picks me up from school…I don't have a choice…I have to go with him…you don't know him…how he is…I have to do what he says" Drake blurted out, then shook his head back and forth, he looked down and noticed his hands were shaking. Josh grabbed his shaking hand and grasped it in his firmly.
"It's okay Drake, there's no rush." Dr. Richardson said again with all the patience in the world. When Drake didn't say anything else, Dr. Richardson questioned him slowly.
"Drake, can you tell me who hits you? Dr. Richardson asked as gently and calmly as he could.
"He's…."You're going to pay for it now boy, I warned you, you never knew how to listen did you? Drake let out a sound between a squeak and a gasp as his father's voice echoed around him so loud and real to him as if he were standing right there next to Josh. Dr. Richardson acted quickly leaning in towards Drake.
"Drake, listen to me, he's not here. He can't hurt you." The doctor said speaking loud and clearly, Drake just shook his head again.
"No, no you don't understand…he's going to kill me now!" Drake gasped out loud. Josh squeezed his brother's hand trying to reassure him.
"You're stronger than him Drake." Josh said softly.
"Listen to me Drake, no one is going to kill you, I won't let him get a chance to even try, but I need to know his name, I can't stop him if I don't know who he is." Dr. Richardson spoke in a soft, clear tone, never breaking eye contact with Drake, who closed his eyes and took a long, shaky breath. He hadn't realized that his cheeks were wet until Dr. Richardson grabbed a tissue off the bedside table and handed it to Drake, who just shook his head and wordlessly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Rick." He said the name so softly it was almost a whisper. The name sounded strange to say out loud; dirty and disgusting.
"Do you know his last name?" Dr. Richardson asked Drake's mouth went dry. He couldn't suppress a groan as a chill ran through him. He tried to ignore it, and quickly shook his head; this was why he never told anyone over the years…all the questions, all the faces starting at him, and more than anything, the fear of what would happen next.
"Parker." He said a minute later, then gasped loudly and let out a dull moan.
"No!" Drake nearly screamed as the reality of what he had just said crashed down on him. He hunched over again with his knees pulled up to his chest and his elbows digging into his knees. He kept his head bowed down and gripped his hair at a total loss of what to say or do next.
"Drake, relax, it's okay, he's not going to come after you. I'm really proud of you Drake; it took a lot of courage to tell me." Dr. Richardson said grabbing Drake's shaky hands. He kept his head bowed, looking down; he refused to look up at the doctor.
"Do you think you can answer a few more questions?" Dr. Richardson asked gently, knowing how overwhelmed Drake was already. Again Drake looked up at Josh feeling completely helpless.
"I'm not going anywhere." Josh repeated.
"Is Rick Parker a relative of yours?" Dr. Richardson asked even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer, he needed Drake to confirm it to be sure. Drake made a strangled sound in the back of his throat as if debating how to answer the question, then with the slightest movement of his head he nodded.
"Yes." He said with a bitter edge to his voice. "He's…my father." Drake choked out in disgust.
Rick Parker did not encompass what it meant to be a father. He had never treated him or acted how any loving parent should. Whenever Drake pictured a father figure in his mind he always saw Walter. Although Walter Nichols was dorky and downright embarrassing to be around sometimes, he looked out for and took care of Drake; he cared about him. Three things every father was supposed to do and three things Rick Parker never did.
"How long has this been going on Drake?" Dr. Richardson questioning a bit further, Drake took another staggering breath.
"It's well…a while, it's complicated." Drake muttered he didn't want to go into the details. He leaned back into the pillow feeling weak and lightheaded; drained of all energy.
"Alright Drake, that's enough for now, I'm proud of you." Dr. Richardson repeated, he saw the obvious signs of exhaustion, Drake needed to rest.
"You did the hardest part by telling me, but I want you to understand what's going to happen now. By law, I have to report this to Child Protective Services. Once I make a call, someone from CPS will come here and talk to you and take down your statement. All you have to do is be honest with them Drake, they aren't the enemy here, despite how it may seem to you. CPS will also pay your dad a visit, after that, we'll take things one step at a time. The important thing is that you are safe." Dr. Richardson explained, Drake groaned. The words, child protective services alone made him feel uneasy.
"Do you have any questions for me?" Dr. Richardson asked when all Drake did was nod at his explanation, he didn't need to hear it; he had a pretty good idea what was going to happen now. He went rigid as one thought stumbled across his exhausted brain.
"My parents…" Drake muttered, Dr. Richardson understood.
"With your permission I can tell them if you don't want to, but they have a right to know Drake." Dr. Richardson answered, Drake shook his head; he didn't think he could face telling his parents.
"You can tell them, it won't matter, damage is done." Drake said under his breath, his voice was bitter and held little emotion.
"Okay." Dr. Richardson said. "I know this may sound crazy to you right now Drake, but try not to worry. There are a lot of people that are on your side and want to help you." Dr. Richardson stated. Drake snorted, he was right, that did sound crazy.
"Is there anything else you want to ask me right now?" Dr. Richardson asked for a second time noticing that Drake seemed to be hesitating on something.
Drake chewed on his lip, there was something else he wanted to ask about but was afraid to hear the answer, yet at the same time he had to know.
"Dr. Richardson, what will they do with me?" Drake asked quietly, Dr. Richardson cocked his head to one side, slightly puzzled by his question.
"What do you mean Drake?" Dr. Richardson asked, Drake sighed clearing his throat and shifting positions again on the bed.
"I mean because of this." Drake stated holding up his scarred arms. Josh looked confused, not sure what Drake was trying to say but Dr. Richardson understood what his concern was.
"Are you asking me if we're going to send you to a psychiatric facility?" Dr. Richardson asked, even though he knew he was right, he could tell by the way Drake tensed up. He flinched at the choice of words, there was no nice way to say it: psychiatric facility, loony bin, psych ward, to him it all meant the same thing…they thought he was crazy.
"I'm not crazy." Drake said flatly, his voice a bit stronger than it had been a minute ago.
"No one said you were Drake, and to answer your question, I can't really say, because I don't know. It's standard procedure for CPS to do a psychiatric evaluation, and based on their results that's when we make the decision of whether the patient should be put on a psychiatric hold or not." Dr. Richardson replied Drake clenched his jaw, Dr. Richardson's explanation had been cold-cut and clinical; it made him nervous.
"Don't stress over that right now, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Dr. Richardson said grinning down at Drake who nodded unconvinced.
"Can I be alone now? I told you what you wanted to know." Drake said his voice bitter again. He didn't mean to come across as sounding rude and mean but he was too tired and drained to care and said things solely on impulse.
"Sure, get some rest. Don't hesitate to page me if you need me." Dr. Richardson said, he stood up and squeezed Drake's shoulder, trying to offer him some form or reassurance before leaving the room. Drake let out a long heavy sigh and laid back down sinking into the bed.
"You did it." Josh said grinning at Drake who simply nodded in agreement. Part of him was still waiting for his dad to pop up at the window or walk in the room to "teach him a lesson" for opening his big fat mouth.
"I'm proud of you too, you know." Josh said looking up at Drake.
"Yeah." Drake muttered. He didn't feel proud or accomplished. He couldn't deny that a large weight had been taken off his chest but at the same time, new worries and anxieties of what he knew was going to place in the near future replaced the gap and left him feeling worn and exhausted both physically and emotionally. Suddenly, he yawned and wiggled down further into the sheets. He hadn't realized just how tired he really was, but a dull throbbing in the back of his head kept him from sinking into blissful unconsciousness. Whether the pain was the result of the concussion or from spilling his guts out to the point of exhaustion was anyone's guess. Sleep sounded like an amazing escape to him. No more questions, no more hospitals, he wouldn't have to think or worry about anyone; just escape.
"What time is it?" Drake asked breaking the silence in the room. Josh glanced down at his watch, his eyes widened, not aware of how much time had passed.
"Almost a quarter till nine." Josh answered; Drake looked up at his brother and bit his lip again. There were so many things he wanted to say to Josh but he couldn't figure out how to say everything he wanted to through his exhaustion.
"Josh?" Drake began, his voice sounded tired and weak.
"Hm? Josh said looking up at him. Drake opened his mouth, then closed it and opened it again still struggling to find the exact words that described how he felt. Finally, he looked in to Josh's face and opened his mouth again.
"Thanks."
"Anytime bro."
Josh leaned back in the chair to get into a more comfortable position. He had done all he could to help Drake for now. Now, all they could do was wait. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that the worst was over, he knew better. They had a fight ahead of them but for the first time in years, Drake wouldn't have to fight alone anymore.
Hey everyone,
Okay, I have to correct a huge screw up I made in previous chapters. In chapter 2, I said that I changed Drake's age to seventeen, and then I realized when I was re-reading some chapters that I made him sixteen again in chapter 6. Please forgive my major goof up, I still think it makes more sense to have Drake a year older, so he is seventeen, and I apologize if it caused any confusion.
Also, I'm sorry that this chapter isn't quite as long as the past two or three have been, but I couldn't think of what to add, I hope it still turned out okay.
As always, reviews are appreciated.
Thanks,
Fantasyforever1989
