Authors Note: A bit of a long chapter! A little emotional (spoiler) based on something really close to home so I put a lot of effort into this chapter, I hope you guys like it! And let me know :) emilylauren.

She should have known, she should have noticed the change in his lifestyle, the habits that he had or didn't have. She didn't have to think about it very hard when she realised; Li Mei hadn't seen Daniel eat a thing for days, she had only seen him with his bottles and his glasses of water and now he was lying in a hospital bed, Daniel hated hospitals.

She thought back to the moment he collapsed in the choir room, the look on his face after he spun. For what felt like slow motion she watched as his eyes rolled back in his head and his legs buckled beneath him. The sound as his elbows and head hit the floor was unmistakable. She was the first person to notice, she noticed his eyes switch from concentration to a confused daze. Before anybody else had noticed anything was wrong she had jumped up from her seat, grabbing Joey's hand as she did. And although she was behind a row of chairs and other people, she was the first one to rush through them all to get to her brother. She was the first one to hold his hand.

"Wes you need to call me back, Daniel collapsed in school and we're at the hospital. Get here as soon as you can... I'm scared Wes."

She said as she left her fifth message on her older brother's phone. She couldn't understand why everything around her was moving so slow? Why the doctors weren't telling her how he was, why nobody was answering her phone calls, if he was even awake yet. Finally after another half an hour of waiting a doctor appeared into the waiting room where Li was sat not so patiently with Mr Schuester; he came with her in the ambulance, and although all she wanted to do was make fun of his ridiculous noodles in slime hair... there were more important issues.

"Miss Bryant?"

"Yeah?"

"Daniel is fine. We're keeping him here overnight... in the observation ward"

Li Mei had been through this before; she knew exactly what the observation was. A room filled with people just like Dan where the curtains around the hospital beds weren't allowed to be closed, where a nurse had to be in or outside the room at all times... because the patients were at a danger to themselves.

"Oh..."

"He'll only have to stay tonight, but tomorrow morning there's somebody coming to speak to him about his... issues shall we say."

"Ok, so be honest with me now. How is he really... how bad is it this time?"

Mr Schuester stopped and looked sadly confused when he listened to her say the words 'this time' they had obviously been through a situation like this before, you really did never know what was going on in somebody's life behind closed doors.

"Well he's had to have some blood testing, and he's on a drip... he's very weak Li Mei. His drip is feeding his body a lot of medicine and the vitamins he needs but he's in a bad condition. It's not what you want to hear but he's in better shape than he was last time. There were no traces of painkillers... or not enough to cause serious damage. All I can assume is that he didn't have enough therapy sessions after your last visit, he wasn't completely over his illness and that's what has continued it on to today."

Both Li Mei and Mr Schuester listened intently to the doctor. This was the first time that Li had to take full control, her dad was out of town on a business trip and Wes wasn't answering her calls. Daniel definitely wouldn't want their mom to know... she would only judge him; so Li had to take on the responsibility. At least she had Mr Schuester there with her, it was a little awkward but at least she hadn't broken down or flipped out at any of the hospital staff.

"Ok, um... well can I see him?"

"Well he's conscious, but I don't think he's awake right now. When he does wake up he'll probably be a little confused so just talk things through with him and if you need any help just ask for one of the nurses. I've got to go see some other patients now but are you going to be ok?"

It was time for Mr Schuester to become the responsible, caring adult that he was to the rest of his kids. Both Li Mei and Daniel were his children now. It was time he took that into consideration.

"She's going to be fine doctor; Li Mei is a strong one to say the least."

The doctor smiled sympathetically.

"We know she is. Stay strong Li Mei."

Doctor Swinburn was gone and Li was getting ready to go and see Daniel in the room... she didn't know what she was going to say to him, all she really wanted to do was punch him in the face and shout at him for being so stupid but she couldn't she couldn't hurt him more than twice in a day... and especially in these conditions. He was her brother, her big brother; she wanted nothing more but to tell him that she loved him no matter what.

"Mr Schuester thank you for coming with me, but you should probably get back to school. I'll just get a cab home tonight or something. Is it alright if I miss the rest of the day? I um... I really don't want to leave him here."

He smiled at the girl in front of him. From what he had seen in the glee club she was a loner... introverted and didn't really have an opinion for anybody or anything. But you should never judge a book by its cover, she was warm hearted and cared a lot about the people closest to her.

"Of course you can. Miss Pillsbury has already informed the office staff that you and Daniel won't be returning to school today. You keep someone informed ok? And if you need anything just give me a call."

"Thanks."

Walking into the observation room she didn't give a tiny rat's ass what the rules were, pulling the curtain around both her and Daniels bed she sat down on the visitor's chair. Taking his hand she stared at the drip that was inserted into it, a long tube connected to an IV. He was fast asleep so she didn't have to worry about what to say just yet. He looked so peaceful, even though it had been at least two hours since the pass out, he had more colour in his cheeks. The doctor was right; he was in a better condition than the last time...

"You're starting to really worry me Danielle. I can't lose you... you know it's just me and you."

She knew she was speaking to herself, and she knew that the other patients in the ward could probably hear everything she was saying; she didn't care.

"Remember when I pushed you down the stairs when we were seven? I remember at the time all I wanted to do was push you and let you fall... you stole my Barbie for god's sake. But when I pushed you, and I heard the sound of you banging down every step, my heart stopped. All I remember was bursting into tears and running down to check that you hadn't died on me. You split open... but when Mom came running down to ask you what happened, you said you fell... I loved you then. And I love you now, so please stop doing this to yourself... you're my big brother Daniel and in this crazy big hateful world, you're the only one I have."

She was using everything in her power not to cry, it was taking a lot. She knew that he was going to wake up again, but how many times was he going to do this? What happened when the next time was worse? What would happen if he went just that little step too far?

"You're such a freaking idiot! I mean seriously Dan why are you so stupid!"

Now she couldn't stop herself, tears fell like it was Niagara Falls up in there.

"...Because I'm related to you."

Li Mei froze and looked up from the drip she was still staring at. He spoke, he was awake. How much of that conversation did he hear?!

"Oh my god Daniel, how are you? Do you know where we are? Do you want a drink? Do you want some water!? I can get you some water..."

"Great, yes, no, no...Shut up."

Same old Danielle

"I hate you, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You know what..."

"...It's not that easy"

His voice was croaky and tired, he sounded ill... he was ill.

"I know, but I thought we were over it... I thought that you were ok"

"We? This is my issue Li"

"Daniel you have an eating disorder, this affects all of us."

"I'm sorry..."

"I love you, you god damn asshole."

"I know, I heard... just don't push me down the stairs again."

"...don't take so long in the shower."

...

Before they knew it visiting times were over and it was time for Li Mei to leave the hospital. It wasn't too bad; Daniel was still tired after having another blood test so he would more than likely sleep through the night. Kissing her brother on the head she quietly left the ward being extra careful not to wake any of the other patients. As she began to walk out of the ward she pulled her cell out of her jeans pocket. She completely forgot that she had to get a cab home... it was late and dark and getting a cab kind of scared her. As she walked into the waiting room she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"How's it going monster?"

Jumping at the sound of somebody she spun around to see just the person she wanted to, Joey.

"Jesus Joey you scared me... what are you doing here?"

"Um... waiting for you?"

"What, why?"

"Because you're my friend and I wanted to give you a ride home, Mr Schue said something about you getting a cab..."

"Oh god, are you sure? I don't want to put you out."

"I've been here for a while, and I have nothing better to do tonight. Let me drive you home."

She shrugged and smiled to herself accepting defeat, this guy had been waiting there for hours clearly... all so she didn't have to get in a sleazy cab. He was such an awesome friend and given the day she'd had she could do with something to make her smile.

"Thank you Joey."

Jumping into Joey's banged up old truck she felt more at home than ever. The air freshener smelt like the forest, the seats were surprisingly comfortable and the faint sound of the radio made her relax. Driving down the dark and empty highway she watched the pretty lights as they went past.

"I love driving at night... it's calming."

"I know right? Sometimes when I've got a lot on my mind... me and my truck just let the road lead us places. But we always end up somewhere in particular, I think that's why I love my truck so much, she always leads me where I need to be."

"Mmm"

"How is Daniel holding up by the way? What even happened..."

"He's fine, he still managed to bully me enough and ah it's a bit of a long depressing story...I wouldn't want to put a damper on your night."

"I've got time."

"...Ok, well um. When my parents got divorced me and Dan both took it pretty hard, I used all of my energy hating the world and people with curly hair... Daniel got depression. My mom never really cared, she called us both attention seekers; especially Daniel and that just made him worse. He got bullied a lot in school, we both did. One time some guy called him fat in the hall way and I ended up getting suspended for fighting with the guy... I guess you could say I'm protective over him. Well Daniel has always wanted to be a model, he swears to the world he isn't gay but modelling has always just been his dream job. When this guy called him fat he started crash dieting, then he stopped eating, then he started eating a LOT. He would eat and eat and eat and then make himself sick. Then he got to a point where just the thought of food made him feel useless, like he was doing something wrong but wanting a hamburger. That's when he discovered the water theory... if you drink a ton of water it makes you feel as if you aren't hungry, it's also not healthy. So Daniel... um, he started drinking bottles of the stuff by the hour, I never really understood why at the time; I just assumed he was being weird. One day he came home from basketball practise and he was covered in cuts and bruises, some guys attacked him in the parking lot. He walked into the house and my dad and my brother started to panic. When I saw him I was furious, that people were low enough to just attack somebody in the streets... but my mom... she told Daniel to man up, she said that he more than likely provoked them and that if he was a real man he would have been able to stand up for himself... that night Daniel didn't speak much, he said goodnight and he disappeared into his room. The next morning we were running late, so Wes decided he would wake him to hurry him up you know? Wes found him... he was in his bed, lifeless. There was an empty pack of paracetamol painkillers next to him. He tried to take his own life."

Li Mei struggled through the entire sentence but something about Joey made her relaxed. She could tell him anything. Joey didn't know what to say, he had never expected something so heartbreaking... he just assumed Daniel had the stomach flu or something.

"...wow. I am so sorry Li."

"It's fine... we rushed him to the hospital, and he had to have his stomach pumped. He was placed on the observation unit; just like the one he's in now. He needed constant care... they wouldn't leave him on his own. After he admitted to his problems he was put into hospital organised therapy. Sometimes we would go as a family, sometimes he would go on his own. Either way I was with him every time... inside the room or waiting out of it. We thought he had gotten over it, moving to Ohio and away from my mom was good for him; it was good for us... but obviously not."

Joey pulled up on the side of the road, he wasn't too far away from Li's house but that didn't matter. He felt like now was the perfect and the right time to talk to her. She needed a friend more than ever right now.

"Li you know that I'm here for you... and Daniel. I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that alone."

"I wasn't alone..."

"Oh?"

"I had Dan"

"He's a cool dude."

"He's an ass."

"So are you."

"We're twins."

"You're the prettier one."

Li Mei laughed, it was the first time she had properly laughed in hours. She needed to laugh. Nobody had ever called her pretty before, nobody.

"Thanks... but Daniel would disagree."

"...I think you're beautiful."

Suddenly things felt a little more awkward than before.

"Thanks... you too?"

Joey laughed out loud; she had such a sarcastic sence of humour it made him laugh.

"Oh I know."

They arrived at Li Mei's house to see that Wes's car wasn't in the drive... he must be out somewhere with some of his warbler friends. Oh the joys of having to talk to Wes about Daniel when he finally got home.

"Joey?"

"Yeeeeeeeees?"

"Do you um... have any plans for the rest of tonight?"

"It's gone midnight... so no."

Li Mei thought twice about what she was going to say but at that moment she didn't care. She just didn't want to be alone tonight.

"Can you stay with me tonight? My dad's away on business and my other brother has... well I don't know where the hell he is. I kind of don't want to be alone."

"Wow... um, sure. If you really want me to?"

"I don't want to be alone."

And she wasn't. Joey stayed with her until the minute she fell asleep. They sat up and played video games whilst Li Mei questioned him about the up keeping of his dazzling dreadlocks. They realised that they were both complete nerds as they argued about superheroes. According to Joey, Batman was the best superhero of all time, Li Mei strongly agreed; the best superhero of all time was clearly Thor... he had a god damn hammer. It was gone 3am when they both realised the time, they still hadn't slept and in five hours Li Mei had to get back to the hospital for when visiting hours started.

"We should probably get some sleep monster."

"Mm, you're right. You can stay... in here if you like, or we have a spare room."

Joey thought about it for a second. He was a virgin, he liked being a virgin. And as much as he wanted to share a bed with Li Mei tonight, it wasn't the right thing to do... and besides, he had more respect for her than that.

"Um, I'll take the spare room?"

"...sure. It's down the hall, turn left and you're there."

Joey smiled as he left the room, his heart pounding in his chest. He was an idiot, he had been waiting all of his life for a girl like Li Mei, a girl that he could play video games with; a girl that wasn't disgusted by his indie style and his dreadlocks. He had been waiting all of his life and when he finally got the opportunity, she was too special for him to take it. Taking off his t-shirt and his pants he climbed into the bed in the spare room in just his underwear. Before you knew it he was asleep.

Dreaming about the girl that he could read comic books with.