So after some gentle persuasion, it's on with the show. Exposition... part 2 at the ready! Enjoy! Hope you don't hate me too much...

Chapter 36.

The family were still sitting and waiting an hour later when the door opened and the doctor returned. "Mrs Branning, can I have a word?"

Lesley looked at her daughter before looking back at the doctor, "You can tell me about Joey in front of his family."

The doctor nodded and moved to take a seat, staring at Lauren for several seconds before starting to speak. "Joey's had a cerebral haemorrhage. This has been caused by the level of alcohol he's consumed over a short period of time and also high blood pressure."

Lauren froze on her dad's lap, staring at the doctor and wondering why it had never happened to her. Why Joey and not her? The family were silent for several seconds as they processed what he'd just said, "What does that mean exactly?" Max asked, squeezing Lauren's hand to comfort her when he felt her reaction.

"It means that unless we can get a control of his blood pressure and if the haemorrhage continues growing at the rate it is now, there's a chance he could have a stroke which could prove fatal. At the moment he's in a stable condition and we're treating his condition chemically while we review how he reacts to that. He's already had a CT scan, which is why it took so long for me to get back to you as they were backed up and I wanted to wait for the results before I told you anything."

"Why did this happen?" Lesley asked. "I mean, he's only twenty-four."

"Like I said, the excessive alcohol he has consumed recently won't have helped. From the tests we've ran it seems he probably stopped drinking a couple of days ago so he's gone from binge drinking to complete withdrawal. You also told me earlier he's been under quite a bit of stress which I'm sure will have led to the very high blood pressure he also has. Add in the fact he doesn't appear to have been eating or sleeping and he was like a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode."

"What happens if the drugs don't work?" Max asked.

"If they don't work or if the haemorrhage gets worse we'll have to operate but it really depends on what happens over the next few hours."

"Can I see him?" Lauren whispered but the doctor didn't hear. Max did though and he looked at his daughter, seeing the horror on her face.

"Are you sure you want to, babe?" he asked her gently.

Lauren looked at him, nodding, "It should be me in there, not him. I'm the one who has alcohol issues not him." She looked down, "I want to apologise for the things I said to him. I lied to him and he needs to know that."

"Okay, let me ask the doctor." Lauren relaxed against her dad, looking at Alice and sending her a sympathetic smile as she sat next to her mum in shock. Max cleared his throat before speaking, "Er, Lauren wants to know if she can see Joey. She wants to speak to him. Is that okay with you, Lesley?" he asked.

Lesley looked at Max and his daughter and nodded her head, knowing Lauren was their best chance of Joey's condition improving. "I have no problem with that." She confirmed to the doctor.

"Before any of you see him, I need to warn you what you'll see." The doctor started, deliberately focusing his attention on Lauren, who was watching him through her hair. "At the moment we've put Joey into an induced coma. This is to give his body a chance to recover from this event. As I've said, we will review his condition over the next twenty-four hours but he needs to have stabilised more before we think about removing this sedation." He paused and looked at the family to ensure they'd all understood what he'd said so far. "Because of this, Joey is in Intensive Care and he's hooked up to various machines. A lot of these are just taking readings and they'll alert us immediately if he gets worse." Lauren looked down at her hands and the doctor sees and guesses she wants to ask something. "Do you have a question, Lauren?" he asks her gently.

She nods, "When he recovers... I mean when you wake him up and he's out of intensive care... what then? Will he still be Joey? The Joey he was before?" she asks, her voice timid and very un-Lauren-like.

"At this stage it's too early to tell. There are pluses and minuses to be taken into account."

"Like what?" Tanya asked, knowing they all wanted to know.

"Okay, well the pluses are his age and general fitness; the fact he was here in the hospital when it happened so he got medical care straight away; the fact his binge drinking has only been for a short period of time."

"And the minuses?" Jack asked.

"His blood pressure is our major concern. We need to ensure it's under control and manageable. It could take us a while to find the right medication to do this or it could right itself. He needs to be kept stress free for the time being. And if he does actually have a stroke, then his long term recovery will depend on the severity of it." Again he looked at the assembled family to see if there was anything they didn't understand, "I know I've overwhelmed you with a lot of information but Joey is actually in the best place he can be now and he's holding his own. They're just getting him re-settled in the ward after his scan and then one of the nurses will be able to take you up to see him. It's only two people at a time though." He got to his feet followed by all of the family apart from Max and Lauren. "And you, Lauren, will be going back to the ward once you've seen Joey. No longer than thirty minutes, please, Lauren."

"Thirty minutes?" she gasped. That wasn't enough time for her to say everything she needed to.

"You can see him again in the morning. At that time, assuming you behave tonight, I should be able to release you and you'll be able to visit him more often."

"Doctor?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Why did this happen to Joey and not me?" she whispered. "I've been as upset as he's been and I've been drinking much harder and longer than he has. It should be me in there, not him."

"I don't know, Lauren. Different people react in different ways." He stopped and then crouched down in front of her, "Maybe you should take this as a sign to change your ways... so that it won't be you next time." He told her gently.

"I will, I promise." She whispered and she really truly meant it.

*JL*JL*

"I'm going to have to get home, Max." Jack said, "Sharon's working tonight and I need to look after Denny."

"One of us should go home too, Max. Abi and Oscar can't stay with mum all night." Tanya said. Lauren was still sitting with her dad and her hand gripped his jacket collar as she heard the possible threat of him leaving. Tanya saw her reaction and sat next to her husband so she could speak to Lauren, "Do you want dad to stay with you, sweetheart. Or I can? It's up to you."

"Daddy..." she whispered, snuggling into him further.

"Okay, darling," Tanya kissed her softly, seeing her daughter smile, "Jack, can I have a lift back?"

"Sure." Jack stepped closer and brushed his hand over Lauren's head, "Look after yourself, Lauren." She smiled up at him. "Call me if you need anything, Max."

Tanya stepped forward and kissed Max, "Are you going to stay all night?" she asked him quietly.

"Yeah, I'll stay with Lauren and keep an eye on Joey, Lesley and Alice." He told her, "Remember, not a word to Derek. The last thing Joey needs is him being here."

"Why don't you take Lauren back to her room for a while? She can have a rest before going to see Joey." Tanya suggested as she saw Lauren dozing against his chest and at Max's nod she helped him move Lauren back to her room by moving the IV stand as he carried their already sleeping daughter to her bed. They both stood watching her once she was settled on the bed, "I can't believe we nearly lost her again, Max." Tanya whispered to him as she leant against him.

"I know. When I answered the phone..." His arms tightened around her, "I didn't think I was going to get there in time, Tan. I thought I was going to walk in there and find her dead." His words are quiet but they hit Tanya hard.

"I thought we were past this. I'm not sure I can watch her go through all that again." Tanya confessed.

"I'd rather watch her go through that than have her end up in Joey's position." He said and Tanya realised it was true.

"Do you think the doctors will find anything wrong with her?" she whispered.

"I don't know babe. Let's not worry about that yet. We just need to concentrate on getting her through the next few days."

"You're right." Tanya said, "I'd better be going if Jack needs to get back. Call me if anything happens."

"I will."

TBC

A/N: So Joey is actually really sick... did that surprise you? Like I said earlier, please don't hate me. I'm beginning to think I might have a thing for Joey in a hospital bed... blame it on all the medical shows I watch.

I'm no doctor but I did a little research. Apologies if I've got anything wrong... just call it artistic license. Next chapter tomorrow... and the next few are quite Max-centric (these were all written while I was writing a Lesson Learnt - particularly the scene in the Vic (chapter 16 or 17?) - to counteract the general shittiness of his character in that story).

We will now also be changing to only one chapter per day - but to counteract this and so you're don't get too severe withdrawal symptoms, tomorrow's chapter is huge. There is one drawback... I won't be able to post it till quite late. Sorry!