Jake looked at Spencer and then at Emily. He made up his mind and turned to Mike.

"Why don't you go take Spencer inside and I'll help Emily?"

"I don't need help." said Emily stubbornly. Jake ignored her completely and continued talking to Mike,

"Just bring him to a water fountain or something to drink water and make sure he doesn't go into shock. Also don't leave him alone, Josh might come back."

Mike looked at Jake not envying his position at all. Emily looked pissed. Once Mike and Spencer had left Emily turned to Jake.

"I don't need help." she repeated.

"Bite me." replied Jake grabbing his water bottle and a tissue from his bag. "Stay still."

Jake expertly washed the blood of her bottom lip and the back of her head. He then checked her arms to see if there was anything more than bruising and was almost certain nothing was broken.

"You should put some ice on your eye and arms... and maybe take an Advil for your head."

"How do you know so much about medical work?" she asked curiously.

"My dad's the head doctor at the hospital, you pick up a lot. It also helps to be able to treat your own injuries in football." He smiled and she smiled back. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful her smile was, especially when she didn't have the walls she had built around her. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Derek coming up behind him.

"Hey, Eric will be here in 5 minutes, let's go wait in the school." said Derek rudely walking past them. Jake looked at Emily for an explanation for his hostility but she just shrugged and followed Derek.

When Eric arrived the first thing he had asked was,

"What happened?" His face had been deadly serious for the second time in his life, the first being his wife's funeral. \

Emily had explained there had been a fight, leaving out names, and that the matter was resolved even though the kids knew better. Eric had insisted Emily go to the doctor and told them they had to report it to the school or the police the next day. It had turned out Emily had a minor concussion, and obviously a lot of bruises. The doctor had said to wake Emily up every 2 hours that night and Derek had taken that job.

Emily was dreaming about being in Gym class, she was running towards the post, she was almost there.. A couple more steps. She swung her leg back to kick the ball and then she fell. The field was shaking she closed her eyes and opened them again. She was in her room with Derek shaking her trying to wake her up.

"Emily get up!" She mumbled something incoherent and pulled the covers over her head. She hoped he would go away and let her sleep, but he didn't. Suddenly the warmth was taken away and she was lying there cold on her bed in her PJ's with the cover on the floor beside her.

She sat up and glared at Derek.

"Jerk." she mumbled getting off the bed and grabbing her covers.

"Not my fault you were idiot enough to take on 3 guys on your own." he replied but without a joking tone. She looked up and Derek's eyes were furious, but she knew that behind them was fear and concern.

"I had no other choice." she replied repeating what she had told him she guessed a thousand times already today. Derek's fury broke and he just looked sad. He sat on the edge of her bed and for the first time actually responded.

"I know."

"You do?" she asked confused trying to read his expression but it was difficult in the dark room.

"I keep thinking about it over and over.." he started staring out the window, "I know what position you were in, and I know you could outrun them. I tried putting myself in your position and I know I would have done the same. It's just.. I should have been there. It's my job to protect Spencer and especially you. You're my sister!"

Emily went over and put her hand on Derek's shoulder.

"Derek it's not your fault. I know it's your tendency to blame everything on yourself but this wasn't your fault. I know you're not going to listen but you have to believe me. Josh would have found Spencer and I anyway, you saved us. If you didn't come when you did I would have been in worse shape than I am now and Spencer would have probably been hurt too."

She saw Derek shudder and hugged him.

"Derek, you did all you could. You're one of the best brothers in the world, got it?" She released the hug and looked into his eyes. There was still pain but there was less than before. "I'm going to go back to bed, see you in 2 hours!" she smiled. Derek smiled, hugged her again and then left to go get some sleep.

The next day at school was awkward. Word had gotten around at the school, like Emily had expected, but she hated how everyone was looking at her funny. She didn't see Josh that whole day and she didn't care. She ignored all the stares and whispers but they secretly bothered her. She was happy when JJ didn't talk about it and waited for Emily to tell her on her own.

Considering what Spencer had been through the last couple of days Emily thought he was doing great. All in all she considered her encounter with Josh a success even if her head still throbbed, not that she would admit that to anyone.