So... for the record, David Witts is one mighty fine guy... and he can belt out a tune! So happy to see him today in Hairspray... and very glad my mum managed to not run him over as we were leaving the car park...! Silly boy walked in front of our car!

Chapter 38.

"What is it, dad?" Joey asked once Tanya had rejoined them at the table.

"We wanted to tell you where we were today..." Max said, taking his wife's hand in his. "We went to see DCI Davis... although he's DCS Davis now. We received a letter from the prison about your father, Joey and we went to speak to him to get some advice."

"What did the letter say?" Joey asked.

"Your fa... Derek has applied for parole..." Tanya said, reaching over the table for Joey but the boy shook off her hand.

"It was supposed to be an indefinite sentence..." he said softly, almost reverting back to the small boy that turned up on their doorstep all those years ago.

"We know that, Joey. His sentence was that he could apply for parole after fifteen years... which he has now served. So that's why we went to speak to the policeman who was on the case... so we could see if there was anything we could do to stop him from being released." Max told him.

"And is there?"

"There's nothing we can do... but you can." Max said.

"Me? What can I do?" he asked.

"You would need to write a letter stating the reasons why you think Derek shouldn't be released."

"And that would mean he would have to stay in prison?" Joey whispered.

"If the parole board thought your reasons were serious enough for him to not be released."

Joey was silent for several minutes and he could feel the family watching him. "When is the hearing?" he asked.

"A week on Friday..." Tanya told him.

More silence. "Can I go to my room now?" Joey asked.

"Of course you can..." Tanya said. Joey was gone before she'd even finished speaking and within moments the family heard the sound of his bedroom slamming shut behind him.

Lauren got to her feet, meaning to head upstairs after him, "Leave him, babe..." Max said, touching her arm, "He just needs some time..."

"But dad..." she said, her head turning towards the door as she looked at it longingly.

"Help your mum with the dishes..." he said, kissing the top of her head gently.

"Okay dad..."

*JL*JL*

It was an hour before Lauren could follow Joey upstairs. She tapped on his door much like he had done just a couple of hours earlier. She didn't hear any response so she pushed open the door and saw Joey sitting at his desk. His college books were in front of him but it was clear he wasn't doing much work. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her face and her heart broke because she could see he was really upset. She reached for his hand, pulling him gently to his feet. She then led him over to his bed and made him sit down on it. She stood in front of him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. She was only slightly surprised to feel his body start to shake against hers.

Joey allowed himself to feel the emotions that had been numbed until Lauren held him so tightly. He had only let her see him like this one other time in her life... and then it hadn't been quite as bad as he was now. Mostly he had been comforting her until he froze and then it was her turn to comfort him.

*JL*JL*

Joey had looked up as his bedroom door opened. In the doorway stood his baby sister, Missybear clutched under her arm and thumb in her mouth. "LoLo?" he whispered, sitting up in his bed.

"I can't sleep, JoJo... mummy and daddy are fighting, JoJo..." she said.

"Come here, LoLo..." he said, holding his hand out towards her. She ran over to his bed and scrambled up beside him, Joey helping her up. Joey put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his body. This wasn't the first night that mummy and daddy had fought with each other. It was becoming a regular occurrence and Joey didn't like it at all. Daddy had been working long hours and he was always tired when he came home. He didn't have time to play with Joey in the evenings anymore, Joey usually had to go to bed when daddy got home from work and LoLo saw even less of him. The arguments had gradually been getting worse but tonight's fight was the worst one yet and it was bringing back a lot of bad memories for Joey. He turned to the top of his bed and pulled Bear over to where he sat with LoLo and hugged him against his chest, just like his baby sister was doing with Missybear. There was a loud bang downstairs and Joey's head turned towards the door, panic on his face and he hugged Lauren a little tighter against him. She started to cry softly and Joey kissed the top of her head gently, his fingers brushing through her hair. Suddenly he had an idea and he pushed himself off his bed, holding his hand out towards his sister, "Down you get, LoLo..." he whispered.

"Where we goin', JoJo?"

"We're going to hide, LoLo..."

"Hide, go seek?" she asked, a smile appearing on her face as that was her favourite game to play apart from dressing up. Especially with JoJo because he found the bestest places to hide.

"Yes, just like that..." he said. She took his hand and slid off the bed. He walked across his room and opened the door to his wardrobe. "In you get, LoLo..." he whispered.

"I's scared of the dark, JoJo..." she breathed, hesitation on her face as she looked at the warbode. She didn't want to be in the warbode on her own in the dark.

"I'll be with you... I'll keep you safe. There won't be any need to be scared," he said softly, nudging her towards the cupboard. With one more glance at him Lauren climbed into the cupboard, relaxing slightly as Joey followed and sat next to her. Joey pulled the door shut and they were plunged into darkness, a slight whimper from Lauren as it did. Joey put his arm around her, feeling her curl up against his side. "It's gonna be okay, LoLo..." he said quietly.

Lauren believed her brother and she relaxed slightly, "JoJo..." she whispered urgently less than a minute later, "I's not got Missybear..."

"She'll be safe, sis..." he said.

"She's scared... I can hear her kying, JoJo..." she sobbed.

Joey sighed and passed Bear to her, "Bear will look after you while I go and get her for you..."

"Look after her, JoJo..." she whispered, "She's my bestest friend 'sides you..."

"I look after you, don't I?" he asked her. In the dimness he could just make out her nodding her head. "Then Missybear will also be okay, won't she?"

"I guess..." she whispered.

"I'll be one minute..." he said before opening the door and creeping out. He glanced back at Lauren and saw her sitting looking up at him in her Little Mermaid onesie pyjamas. She was sucking her thumb again but she whimpered slightly as he took a couple of steps away from her. He pushed the wardrobe door shut and he heard her yelp as she was plunged once more into darkness. He looked around his room and saw Missybear still sitting on his bed. He walked over to the bed, pausing slightly because it had gone quiet again downstairs. He leant onto the bed and dragged Missybear by her foot towards him.

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Joey froze. The voice was a lot louder than it had been before. A door slammed and it spurred Joey into action. He grabbed Missybear and a pillow off his bed. As he walked back towards the wardrobe he picked up the blanket that was on top of a cupboard and continued back to his sister. He had one thought in mind, keeping LoLo safe. That was his number one priority. Always had been and always would be.

Either mummy or daddy walked past his room and then went back downstairs and Joey dashed for his wardrobe, opening the door, throwing Missybear at her owner and clambering inside, struggling to get everything inside with them. Finally he managed it and he pulled the door shut again. LoLo was watching him as he arranged the pillow at one end of the wardrobe base and then he tugged on her hand and she crawled over to him. He nudged her so she was lying down and he lay beside her, spreading the blanket over them both. He wrapped his arm around her waist and hugged her close.

There was silence within the wardrobe while the world continued to bang and crash outside.

"JoJo..." Lauren whispered.

"Yes, LoLo..." he whispered back.

"This is a stange game of hide, go seek... we're both hiding togefer... who's going to find us?" she whispered.

"It's a special game, LoLo..." he said softly.

"Peshal?"

"Yes, one we'll play if mummy and daddy fight..." he murmured, tightening his hold on Lauren.

There was silence for a few seconds, "JoJo..." Lauren whispered again.

"Yes, LoLo..."

"Mummy and daddy still love chuver don't they?" she asked him, "They fight lots..."

"Course they love each other, LoLo..." he reassured her, hoping he wasn't lying to her.

"They won't spit up?" she whispered.

"No, Lo..." he said. His fingers ran through her hair to calm her down and she relaxed against him.

"JoJo..." Lauren whispered.

"Yes, LoLo..." he repeated.

"I love you the mostest..." she said.

"I love you too, LoLo..." he said, smiling into the darkness.

They lay in the darkness of the wardrobe for quite some time. Joey thought Lauren was asleep but she wasn't, she was listening to the events in the world outside their safe little cocoon. She could feel the tension in her brother's body increasing, his arms tightening around her and it scared her. Part of her knew he was scared about what was going on and that worried her... because JoJo was scared of nothing. Lauren closed her eyes and tried to sleep, the steady pace of Joey's heart filtering into her ear and soothing her.

*JL*JL*

Joey and Lauren had been in the wardrobe for a while and both were starting to doze when there was a loud crash and a scream from downstairs. The noises made Lauren jump, "JoJo..." she whispered but she got no response for her brother. "JoJo..." she repeated. She let go of Missybear and prodded a finger in Joey's chest. Nothing. Lauren bit her lip, panic building within her at the strange behaviour from her best friend and brother. She pulled herself from his arms and sat up, "JoJo..." she whispered, bending down to right in front of his face so he could hear her. She lifted her hand to touch his face and was surprised when she found his cheeks were wet. She frowned because she'd only ever seen JoJo cry once and that was because he was poorly and his tummy hurt. "Don't ky, JoJo..." she whispered. He said nothing so Lauren lay back down beside him. This time though she wrapped her arms around him and she hugged him tightly. In each of her hands were Missybear and Bear and she pressed them against Joey, needing the strength from their furry friends to look after her big brother. She didn't know what was wrong with JoJo but she was determined she was going to look after him... cos he looked after her all the time. Lauren and Joey stayed like that for a long time. It had gone very quiet in the outside world but Lauren didn't move from JoJo's side because she knew she had to stay with him until he told her it was safe... or mummy and daddy came to them. After a while though Lauren started to get scared and so she turned to Missybear and Bear for support, "Missybear, can you talk to me and JoJo... cos it's dark and I's fightened..." she whispered. She was silent for a few seconds, "I know you're scared too, Missybear but you need to be big and bave now... like JoJo was when he escued you. JoJo's the bavest person I know... he's not afaid of the dark like we are, Missybear... but he said that Bear would look afer us if he wasn't able to and right now he can't... so we've got to look afer him and keep him safe." She stopped whispering again, "Fank you, Bear... JoJo will fank you too for looking afer the free of us..." Bear and Missybear sat side by side behind Joey and Lauren tentatively reached for JoJo's face again, this time it wasn't wet anymore but he still wasn't saying anything so she couldn't relax yet. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and squeezed him a little tighter in her arms, "I's gonna look afer you, JoJo..." she told him softly.

*JL*JL*

Tanya walked upstairs to check on Lauren. She pushed open the door to her room and was stunned to find she wasn't in her bed. Her chest grew tight as panic set in and she quickly moved to Joey's room but again he was missing from his bed. She ran back downstairs and found her husband standing near the window with a glass of whisky in his hand. "Max, the kids aren't in their beds..." she said quickly.

"What do you mean, they aren't in their beds?" he said, turning to look at her.

"Exactly what I just said... they aren't in their beds." She snapped.

"Well, they can't just disappear, can they?" he snapped back. His free hand brushed down his face and he sighed, "Sorry, babe... I shouldn't snap at you..." He put down the glass and walked over to her, "They've got to be somewhere, babe." He reassured her. "You check down here and I'll check upstairs."

"I've already looked in their rooms." She said, tears flooding her eyes as she thought of the children being lost. Something occurred to Max and he hugged her quickly, taking her hand in his and pulling her towards the stairs. "Max?"

"Come with me..." he said softly, heading for Joey's room.

"I told you they weren't here..." Tanya said as they walked through the door. Max pulled her over to the wardrobe and he pulled open the doors, staring in and seeing Lauren and Joey curled up in the bottom. Tanya relaxed as she saw the two of them. "Lauren... Joey..." she breathed, crouching down.

Lauren lifted her head off the pillow and looked up at her parents, smiling at them; revealing her gappy smile to them. "Hi mummy, hi daddy..." she said, "I's looking afer JoJo..." she whispered, her hand running through her brother's hair, just like he did for her.

Max frowned and crouched beside his wife, "What's wrong with Joey, babe?"

"I don't know, daddy. He was fine when we first started paying hide, go seek... but then there was a skeem and since then he's been quiet. I've been looking afer him with Bear and Missybear..." she told them.

"Come here, darling, so daddy can check on Joey..." Tanya said gently, her heart racing as she glanced at her son again. Lauren wriggled where she lay but Joey's arms tightened around her.

She giggled, "I can't, mummy, JoJo won't let me go!"

Max moved closer and brushed his hand down Joey's back, inhaling when Joey flinched away from him. "Joey..." he said softly.

"Ow, JoJo, you're hurting me..." Lauren whispered as Joey's arms squeezed her tighter against him.

"Come on, Joey... let go of your sister..." Max said gently.

"We're okay now, JoJo..." Lauren whispered, "Mummy and daddy are here now. They found us in the warbode... so they win the game..." she told him. "We'll haf to find a better hidey pace next time, JoJo..." She looked at her brother's face again and her bottom lip quivered as she saw it much better now the doors were open. He looked very scared and he was kying again. "Don't ky, JoJo..." she murmured, kissing his cheek again. "We'll win next time..." she promised him. She reached up and wiped away his tears, unaware of how her mummy and daddy were watching them. Lauren bit her lip and moved her mouth to Joey's ear, "JoJo... you need to let me go... cos I need to use my potty weally badly..." she whispered urgently. Her words seemed to do the trick and she scrambled over him and over to her mummy. The two of them left the room and headed for the bathroom.

Max moved forward and sat in the wardrobe beside him, lifting Joey onto his lap. "Talk to me, little man..." he said softly. Joey said nothing but he didn't pull away from Max either. "What happened, Joey?" he asked.

"You and mummy were fighting..." he whispered.

"I know. We're very sorry... daddy's work isn't going very well and mummy and I are a bit worried about things."

"It made me think of mummy and Derek..." Joey admitted. "I was scared..." he whispered. "Mummy screamed and I thought you had killed her..."

Max stared at the boy in his arms, complete devastation ravaging his body as he realised what his row with his wife had done to their son. They should've thought about the consequences of what they were doing when it was happening but the last six months or so had been difficult for the Branning family and although they had tried to hide it from the children, it was apparent that both of the youngsters were more than aware of the tension between them. "I'm sorry, Joey. Mummy and I were having a disagreement and it got out of hand... but it's all sorted now, I promise. It won't happen again."

"You and mummy are fighting lots. LoLo thinks you're going to split up," Joey whispered. He looked up at his daddy, "You aren't going to, are you?" he asked. "Cos I told her you weren't and I don't want to lie to her, daddy."

"No, we're not, Joey."

"Promise?" Joey whispered.

"I promise..." Max said.

"And mummy would say the same thing?" Joey asked, staring at his daddy intently.

Max glanced up and saw Tanya and Lauren walk back into the room, "Why don't we ask her, eh?" he said softly. Joey nodded and they both looked up at the two girls as they walked over.

"Ask who what?" Tanya said as she sat on Joey's bed with Lauren on her lap. She stared at Max and saw the emotions on his face.

"Joey... and Lauren... are worried that we're going to split up, babe." Max said softly. "I told Joey we're not but he wants to know if you would say the same thing."

"Joey, darling... daddy and I love each other very much. We've been arguing but it's only because we're scared we might not be able to give you and Lauren the things you want and deserve..."

"Me and LoLo just want our mummy and daddy to be happy and to love us..." Joey whispered.

"And a new dess for Missybear, JoJo..." Lauren whispered, making Joey giggle, closely followed by their parents.

"You are a cheeky little monkey, Lauren Branning," Tanya said, tickling her daughter's tummy and making her giggle with them.

"Mummy, top it..." she shrieked with laughter.

"Okay, sweetheart," Tanya said.

"Down, mummy..." Lauren said, looking up at her mummy. Tanya kissed her on the forehead and then lowered her to the floor. Lauren scampered across the room to JoJo and her daddy. She threw her arms around Joey's neck, "Fank you, JoJo..." She said softly, "for looking afer me and Missybear..."

"I always will, LoLo..." Joey whispered.

A/N: So Derek applying for parole was Max and Tanya's big news... and I had a couple of correct guesses - so well done to the both of you! And another flashback (another of my favourites)... some cute Joey/Lauren moments... Let me know what you think. Back tomorrow...