Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this.
A/N: Here we are, after New Year's. Somebody needs to do something before Drake cracks.
Chapter Nine: Something You Need
Megan was sitting on the sofa watching television the morning after New Year's when the doorbell rang. She hopped off the sofa and answered the door. She wasn't surprised to see Christine standing there.
"Hey," said Megan.
"Hi," Christine said. "Did Josh talk to Drake about this?"
"Um, no. Break it to him gently. Although, he should be glad with what he's getting."
"Gotcha," Christine replied.
Megan decided the best way to wake Drake this morning was to holler up the stairs. No one else was home that morning besides Josh anyway, and he'd be up already.
"D R A K E !" Megan yelled.
Drake wondered what Megan could possibly want this early in the morning. He pulled the pillow over his head.
"DRAKE! YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS HERE!"
Well, that changed things. Drake practically jumped out of bed and managed to find some clean clothes to wear. He ran out of the room and gave his hair a quick check in the mirror in the hallway before stumbling down the stairs.
"Sleeping beauty has awakened," said Megan. "Shocking."
"Thanks for the commentary," Drake said as Megan made her way back to the sofa. He turned to Christine. "Come to say goodbye before you go to San Francisco?"
"Actually," said Christine.
"You're not breaking up with me before you go, are you?"
"What would make you think that?"
"Paranoia."
"Drake."
"Fine, sorry. I'm just freaking about everything."
"I know. Josh and I have been worried, and we think it would be best if you had some time off."
"What?"
"Away from here."
"Where? Why do you two think I need something like that?"
"Drake..." Christine said nervously.
"What?" he asked.
"Um," said Josh, stepping behind Drake with two bags in his hands.
"What are you doing with my suitcases?" Drake questioned. He looked from Josh to Christine. "What's going on?"
"I think you should come with me," Christine said.
"And I agree," Josh stated. "You're way too stressed to stay here. Go have some fun with your girlfriend for the week, okay?"
"But, Josh..." Drake began.
"Don't 'But, Josh...' me. Go."
"Come on, Drake," Christine said. "I think you should. You need to relax. You can't do that where Ford is. Just come with me. My dad said he'd be happy to see you again."
Drake sighed.
"You touched my underwear, didn't you?" he asked Josh.
"Excuse me for packing you a supply of boxers," Josh retorted.
"Drake...Josh..." Christine said, aggravated. "Drake, are you going to come? I think it would be healthy for you."
"Oh, alright," Drake said. "What about Mom and Dad?"
"They already know," Josh said. "I told them."
"What about Bobby?" No question of Ford.
"He'll be fine. He's familiar with Mom and Megan."
"You two are just running my life, aren't you?"
"Drake, we're just trying to help."
"Fine. Fine. Fine." Drake picked up his bags and carried them out to Christine's car. He wasn't very happy. Josh gave Christine a look as if to say, "Good luck driving with him." Christine sighed and walked over to her car.
"Bye, Drake," Josh called from the front door. Drake didn't respond. He just gave a short wave. Christine knew this would be a long drive.
The first hour, Drake didn't say a word. Christine had kept the radio on because the silence was killing her. Was he mad at her? She and Josh did this for his own good. Finally, she shut off the radio.
"If you're going to be mad at me, could you at least try to argue with me? I don't know what I did wrong. If you feel like I'm running your life, I'm sorry, but you need to relax for a little while. The winter semester is going to start soon, and you're going to be too stressed to do anything. I just don't want you to freak. I told you before, these heart conditions are hereditary. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Drake glanced over at her. He was being a bit silly. He did need the time out. What better way to spend that time than with the woman he loved. This would be an okay trip.
"I know. I get it. There's just so much stress at home that it's eating away at me."
"That's why Josh asked me if he thought you could come with me. He told me you had a rather large argument with Ford."
"Argument is too light of a word," Drake replied. "I exploded, and I'm sure I had every right to."
"I'm glad you did yell at him," Christine said. "It would have been worse to keep that in, I'm sure."
"I guess," Drake said.
"Look," said Christine. "We can talk about Ford this week if you want. I just want you to lose a bit of the stress that's been dumped on you. It's not fair that you have to deal with this. You're almost nineteen, but you should never have to be forced to change your life that drastically, especially for someone who's barely been there for you in the first place."
Drake sat quietly for a moment and then spoke.
"We're not going to see David on this trip, are we?" Drake asked.
"There's a possibility," Christine responded. "Don't worry about him. Rachel said he broke up with me for a girl here."
"He's a jerk and an idiot," Drake replied.
"Idiot?"
"He gave up you."
Christine blushed. Drake had been her best friend for years. The fact that he was saying these things because they were together was new. She loved it, though.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she replied, smiling.
Christine finally parked near her dad's house. She opened the car door and noticed that Drake was hesitating.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"The last time your dad saw me was when I was eleven and we were best friends. Now I'm nearly nineteen and your boyfriend. I can only assume what he thinks I'm thinking."
"Are you?"
"Huh? What? I...uh...why...no...yes...um..."
"This is why you need a week off. Calm down. I'm kidding. He's not going to think that."
Drake got out of the car and followed Christine up to her dad's house. He did need to relax, but it wasn't easy after you'd been driven insane the past four months by someone who was supposed to be your father. Christine rang the doorbell and her father answered quickly.
"Hello, sweetie," he said.
"Hi daddy," she said, giving him a hug. "You remember Drake?"
"Sure I do. It was always impossible to keep you two apart."
"Hello, sir," Drake said.
"Sir is too formal. You always called me Mr. Baylor anyway. That seems too formal now, though. It's John now, Drake."
"Okay," said Drake.
"Well, let's get your things inside. I'm sure it's been a long drive. I just ordered a pizza. I hope that's okay."
"That's fine," Christine replied. They gathered up their bags and Christine left her's in her bedroom and Drake left his in the guestroom.
Christine's dad went to bed early. He said he had a big meeting the next day and that he was sorry for the interruption, but that should be the only time he had to run out of the house for other than the normal work hours that week.
Drake sat on the sofa in the living room, thinking about the argument he'd had with Ford. He couldn't get it out of his mind. Christine was sitting in a chair and glanced up from the magazine she was looking at.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "You're very quiet."
"I just don't get it," Drake replied.
"Get what?"
"Why he won't listen. Why he won't be part of our lives. He told me he wanted to last year. He told me to go after you. Why is he doing this all of a sudden?"
"Have you ever thought that maybe he's depressed because his wife left him?"
"Yes. But if I mention going to a psychiatrist, he refuses. Just like everything else."
"Only he can decide if he wants to take better care of himself. Unfortunately, he apparently doesn't want to. I wish I could help you with this, Drake, I really do, but I don't know what I can do."
"Just listening is enough," Drake responded. "I'm sorry I'm bothering you with all of this. Things are just irritating now."
"It's okay," she said, sitting next to him. "You don't have to be sorry. He's been a pain for your entire family. I just hope things get better soon."
Drake sighed. He hoped so too.
"Something else is bothering you, isn't it?"
"Yes," he replied. "I just wonder if I'm doing the right thing by trying to get the band together now."
"You've still got the semester to decide," Christine responded.
"I know. I just can't help but feel like I could be doing something more important."
"What's more important to you?"
"I don't know."
"If you don't know, then why question it?"
"Promise you won't laugh?"
"Why would I laugh?"
"Because it's not me."
"If it's not you, then..."
"Just promise," he said.
"Okay. I won't laugh."
"I've thought about becoming a school counselor."
She didn't laugh, but he didn't know what she was thinking either.
"You don't think I can do it," he said.
"It's just, you need a Master's Degree. Drake, that's a lot of school."
"I know what I need. I found a brochure when I was trying to choose my classes for next semester. I told you it wasn't me."
"No, it is you. You want to help people, you always have. I'm just confused about why you've decided this."
"Well, I'm thinking about it. I've just been thinking about Bobby a lot, and his dad doesn't do very much. I don't think he's been a very good role model, to say the least. A lot of times, schools see problems and try to have them fixed. I just want to be where I can help someone like that."
"This is interesting."
"What?"
"You apparently hated school, and now you want to spend the rest of your life working at one."
"Maybe it is weird."
"It's a wonderful idea, Drake," Christine said.
"Thanks," he replied.
"What's wrong with the band, though? I thought things were going well."
"They're going okay. I guess the rest of them don't have the passion we used to have. They've been talking about other careers."
"You can still do music. Maybe it won't be your career, but it can still be part of your life. I couldn't imagine you without it. What ever you decide. This is your choice."
"I know. Thanks for listening. Sometimes it just feels like there's too much on my mind."
"Hey, I want to listen." She kissed him. "Goodnight, Drake."
"Night," Drake responded. She went to her room. Drake got up off the sofa and headed toward the guestroom. He had needed this. Time away so he could cool down and just relax. It wouldn't be so bad.
A/N: Drake will make a career decision eventually. Right now he's speculating what he could be doing.I'm dropping a hint now, but it won't do you any good. His career has been foreshadowed already. I said it would come into play a lot. And, yes, they did go to their own bedrooms. None of that while her dad's around.
