Chapter 10.

Lauren tapped on the bathroom door lightly, hoping she'd given him enough time to get himself sorted.

"Come in, babe…" he called softly through the door. She pushed it open and saw he was sitting in the bath, his arms wrapped around his knees and the bubbles were gathered around his body.

She walked over to the bath, maintaining a safe distance so she wouldn't see anything he wasn't comfortable with her seeing. She leant her forearms on the side of the bath and looked into his eyes. "You okay?"

"I want to start scrubbing at my skin…" he admitted in a whisper and Lauren could see his hands were twitching slightly as he fought every instinct he had.

"You still willing to trust me?" she asked him, lifting her hand and caressing the side of his face.

"Yes…" he said, although she could hear some slight trepidation in his voice.

She picked up a sponge from the edge of the bath and put some soap onto it. She carefully washed the top of his back with it, washing it but not rubbing the skin raw like he'd told her he'd been trying to do. "Just tell me if this becomes too much for you, Joe…" she told him softly.

"I will…" he whispered as he lowered his head and rested his forehead on his knees.

Lauren could see the bruises that had formed on his skin, all across the back of his shoulders and his upper arms and she could only imagine that they got worse further down his body. He was still sitting tensely and she wished there was some way she could get him to relax or make this easier for him. "Do you want to lean back, Joe... so I can do your chest?" she asked him softly once his back was done. He didn't answer and she knew he was mulling the question over in his head. Slowly he moved, lying back in the bath. His eyes were shut and Lauren could see his face was beetroot red. Her heart went out to him again. "Joe... look at me..." she whispered gently, pausing until he did as she asked. When he didn't, she tried again, "Baby, please... look at me..." He finally did as she said and she could see the tears brimming in his eyes, "Are you sure you're happy for me to do this, Joe?" she asked him. He shook his head, a stray tear rolling down his cheek. She brushed it away gently. "Can you tell me why?"

He took a deep breath and licked his lips, "I'm worried how I'll react to you touching me... I'm worried you'll think less of me when you see what they've done to me..."

"Joe... that's never going to happen..." she told him, "I love you and I want to look after you and care for you. I don't like seeing you hurting... or unhappy... just like you said to me that first night you were here… in this very room, in fact. Do you remember?" she asked him. He nodded his head. "You made me feel like I could deal with my problems... you made me strong enough to handle it and you were there for me when it was too difficult for me to deal with. I want to do the same for you... to be there for you when you need me... And now is one of those times, Joe..." she said softly. "I know this is difficult... probably the most difficult thing you've ever had to deal with and it must be confusing for you but we can do this, Joe... we can get past this together, I know we can. Do you believe me?"

"I want to..." he whispered. "It just seems so difficult." He took a shaky breath, "I don't know how to handle this... my brain is all over the place..." he told her softly. She reached for his hand, wrapping hers around it and squeezing it gently.

"It's okay, Joe..." she said gently, "It's going to be okay..."

"That's just it, babe... I'm not sure it is..." he whispered sadly. Lauren stared into his eyes for several seconds then picked up the sponge again and started to wash his bruised and marked chest, valiantly trying to subdue the increasing emotions she was feeling as she saw the damage that had been done.

*JL*JL*

It was almost two hours before they left the bathroom and Lauren had discovered that Joey hadn't been comfortable enough being naked with her there. He had left his boxers on when he got in the bath, only removing them after he'd got out of the bath again and had a towel wrapped around his waist. Lauren wasn't surprised to be honest and she figured they would deal with that over the coming days and weeks as he began to recover. She walked with him back to the bedroom and he stood there while she dried his upper body gently with a towel. She had been right the bruises did get worse the lower down his body she looked. And they were all over his body, back and front, showing how much he fought to try and get away from them as they held him against the wall. There were also many cuts and scrapes on his forearms and hands, and a couple on his face. He hadn't shaved since the attack either and Lauren wondered if it was so the marks on his face were hidden by the facial hair that was starting to show. Lauren was sure there were some bruises she hadn't seen yet... ones he wasn't comfortable with her seeing. She stepped closer to him once his body was dry and she placed a gentle kiss directly above his heart, feeling the steady (but slightly too fast) beat of it beneath her lips. "I've left some clothes on the bed for you, okay?" she told him softly. "I'm going to go and clear up the bathroom and then have a shower... I'll be back soon."

She started to walk away from him and Joey grabbed her hand. She turned back to look at him as he laced their fingers together. "Thank you..." he said softly. She smiled at him, squeezing his hand in hers and then left the room.

A/N: So Lauren was looking after the boy she loves… and Joey wasn't handling it too well. SEND ME A REVIEW. Back tomorrow…