Well apparently quite a lot of you want to read more... and to celebrate the fact my love for Max knows no bounds (the way I write him anyway)... here's a chapter that focuses a lot on him. I guess that's probably not what you want to see right now... Sorry!

Chapter 39.

Jack walked up to Lauren's room, knowing that was where Max was likely to be. His journey to the hospital had been surprisingly quick although given it was nearly three in the morning, it wasn't a huge surprise.

He looked in Lauren's room but could easily see his brother wasn't there. So he decided to try the side room they'd been waiting in earlier to see if he was there. At first he didn't see Max through the window but then he caught sight of him sitting on the floor, with his arms leaning on his knees and his head resting on them as he leant against the wall. Jack pushed open the door and walked quietly into the room and sat next to his older brother. They sat in silence then Jack reached for Max and pulled him into a hug, feeling his brother dissolve against him, the pressure from the day finally overwhelming him. "How am I going to help her through this, Jack?" he asked softly a little while later.

"She's strong. She's going to get through this because we're all going to be there for her." He said to her.

"You didn't hear her talking to Joey earlier." He said.

"What did she say?"

"She wants to continue the relationship with him." Max said, "The way she spoke about it, she said that he gave her the strength to look to the future. For the first time, instead of just concentrating on getting through the day without having a drink he made her not think about it. She told him she's dreamt about a future and he's always in it."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Surprisingly it doesn't bother me." Max said, glancing at his younger brother, "What do you think about it?"

"I don't know, Max. Some people will have problems with it. It could hurt the family." He squeezed Max's shoulder, "I spoke to Sharon about it when she got home from work and she was telling me about how it was when she got together with Dennis. A lot of people judged them too and they weren't even related."

"So you think it's a mistake?"

"I didn't say that. I do think they've already got a lot to contend with without this additional pressure on top of it. We've seen today that neither of them copes too well under pressure. Maybe it's not worth the risk."

"We'll be there for them to help them cope. What did Sharon say about it? Other than talking about Dennis..."

"She actually thought it was a good thing. A lot of times in the last couple of months we've both commented about how happy Lauren has seemed. He obviously makes her happy."

"He does. I've noticed the difference in her so much since she met him and he seems like a good kid. That's all I want for her. I want her to be happy. Joey does that."

"What about Derek?" Jack asked.

"What about him?"

"Joey's his son. I know Lesley said we shouldn't tell him but..."

"You didn't hear what she told us about him." Max said harshly, "I know he's his father but it's in name only." Jack looks at him in shock, knowing that of all his siblings Max is the one Derek has the closest relationship with. Max sighed, "The last time Derek saw Joey was on his seventh birthday. Del hit Lesley when they got into an argument after Derek ruined Joey's party. Joey tried to stop the fight between his parents and Derek hit him. It was an accident but he hit him with such force that he threw the kid across the room. Derek and Lesley decided to separate while Joey was unconscious in the hospital." Jack stared at his brother, once more in shock at hearing what Joey had gone through. "Lesley told us some other things too. Joey may have changed Lauren but she's changed him just as much. Joey's never admitted to loving anyone in his life, not even Lesley or Alice. He told Lesley just after Christmas that he loved Lauren. She also said that Christmas day was the first time she'd seen Joey cry since he was a baby."

"So we're not telling Derek then?"

"No." Max said firmly.

The door opened and Lesley poked her head through the door, "Hi." She said weakly. "How's Lauren?" she asked, seeing Max's face.

"The doctor had a nurse sedate her. She was becoming hysterical and he thought it might be easier for her to cope with this while he's operating on Joey." Max said. Jack got to his feet and held out a hand to Max, helping him get to his feet as well.

"Are you okay, Max?" Lesley asked.

"Yeah." He said although it was a lie. "I'm going to go and get a coffee. Do either of you want one?" They both answered no and Max walked wearily from the room.

"Do you believe him?" Lesley asked as she took a seat. Jack looked at her, "He's clearly not okay."

"He's very close to Lauren. He helped her deal with her alcohol problems in the last two years and they've always been close but going through that together brought them closer." Jack said, taking a seat beside Lesley. "Also, his eldest son, from his first marriage, died just over three years ago. Max saw it happen and today has scared him because he's worried he's going to lose Lauren too."

"Oh god. That's awful. I'm so sorry."

"It was difficult for the whole family. Lauren didn't handle it well either. She started drinking not long after Bradley died."

"I can see she's very close to Max."

"They've had their problems over the years but since she admitted she was an alcoholic and asked for help they've become much closer again. She called Max this afternoon when she got drunk." Jack looked at Lesley, "I'm sorry this is all happening to Joey. I can't imagine how he's been feeling since he found out about everything."

"He's been really suffering. The first time he's had a proper relationship and she ends up being his cousin. It's kind of tragic really." Lesley bit her lip and looked at the youngest Branning brother, "Lauren seems like a nice girl."

"She is. She went through a rough patch about four or five years ago, not all of it was her fault and the main person to suffer as a consequence was her because she drank to try and deal with what she was going through. In the last year she's become more like she used to be and," he smiled before he spoke again, "She's been so much happier since she met Joey. I wish things had been different."

The door opened and they both looked up. Max stood in the doorway and he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Max?" they both asked.

"It's Lauren..." he whispered.

Jack sprang to his feet and took the three long strides to his brother's side. "What is it, Max?"

"I went to see her." He said, a haunted expression on his face, "She's awake." He said, looking at his brother, "but she won't respond. She's just lying there. She won't talk to me, Jack. She's just pushing me away."

"It's going to be okay, Max. She's just in shock." Jack said softly, thinking that his brother might very well be too.

"Where's Alice?" Max asked.

"I left her at home. I'll call her once the operation's over. One of us should get a decent night's sleep."

*JL*JL*

They sat in silence for more than two hours before the door opened and the doctor walked in, accompanied by another man. All three of the Branning's got to their feet. "Mrs Branning, this is my colleague, he assisted me in operating on Joey."

"How is he?" Lesley asked.

"The bleed was bad, worse than even the scan revealed but we were able to drain all of the excess blood."

"Do you know if there will be any permanent damage from the stroke? Do you know how bad it was?" Jack asked.

"Like I told your brother before the surgery, it appears to have only been a mild stroke and I'm fairly confident he didn't suffer any lack of oxygen. At this stage it's too early to say if there will be any long term issues until he awakes."

"Do you know when that might be?" Lesley asked.

"I'd like to keep him under for at least another day. His blood pressure has stabilised now and he's also re-hydrated so he's a lot better than he was when he first collapsed." The doctor turned to Max, "Mr. Branning, I looked in on Lauren on my way here and I've given her a stronger sedative to help her sleep the remainder of the night."

"She's not reacting to anything..." he said.

"It's the shock of seeing Joey like that. I think that once she sees Joey in the morning, she should come out of it."

"Will she still be released tomorrow morning?" Max asked.

"I think so." He looked in one of the files he was holding and pulled out a piece of paper, passing it to Max, "I've arranged for a specialist to see Lauren next week. He had a spare couple of hours and he's agreed to see Lauren as a favour to me."

"Thank you, doctor."

"I've also written down there the names of a couple of counsellor's who specialise in patients like Lauren. As I'm sure you're aware, a lot of Lauren's issues stem from psychological issues as well as physiological ones. Given the strain she's going to be under with Joey, I would recommend she speak to one."

"I'm not sure how she'll feel about that."

The doctor smiled at him, "I think you might be surprised, Mr. Branning. She's had several big scares tonight and I think she might be ready to talk about it."

"I'll talk to her about it and try to convince her." Max said.

"Can we see Joey?" Lesley asked.

"Yes. A nurse will come down and take you to him when he's back in Intensive Care. He's in recovery still at the moment and they're going to do another scan."

"Thank you so much, for everything you've done."

TBC

A/N: So that wasn't too bad, right? You got a bit of resolution about Joey and Lauren too. Anyway, that is definitely it for tonight. Back tomorrow.

Oh and how cute were the Lauren/Joey bits tonight? It took me a while to realise what we were seeing but then I was like YAY! I wish they'd do that more often...