"Brotherly Love"

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Drake and Josh". The characters belong to their creators and Nickolodian, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)

Walter had all but nodded off as he sat watching Drake sleep. He jumped when the door opened. "Sorry honey, we didn't mean to startle you." Audrey said quietly as she, Josh and Meagan entered the room.

He stretched and rubbed his eyes and checked his watch. "It's OK." His eyes rested on Drake. "He's been asleep for almost an hour now."

"Are we still supposed to wake him every hour?" Audrey asked.

Walter nodded. "Through the night and the doctor will reevaluate him in the morning."

Audrey gently shook her son. "Drake. Drake, it's time to wake up."

His eyes slowly began to open and finally rested on Meagan, who hadn't said a word since entering the room. "Hey squirt." He said softly.

She slowly stepped closer to his bedside and then gently took his hand in hers. "You look terrible." She said quietly as she took note of his badly bruised face.

"I'll be OK."

She nodded and began to inventory his injuries. "How bad is your arm broken?"

"Both bones in my forearm." He adjusted himself in the bed and looked around a bit, catching sight of his mom, dad and Josh. "I didn't realize the whole gang was here."

"How are you feeling, honey?" Audrey asked.

He thought for a moment. He really wasn't in that much pain right now, but he was pretty sure that was largely due to the morphine pump beside of this bed. He felt his stomach rumble slightly. "I am a little hungry."

Audrey's eyes lit up. "That's a good sign. I'll check with the nurse and see what you can have."

"I'll go with her." Walter started across the room. He looked back just before he slipped out the door. "You two keep an eye on him. He's not supposed to get out of bed."

"Do you remember what happened?" Meagan asked as she pulled a chair to the bedside.

"It's all kind of fuzzy. I know we were on our way to a gig at The Cave. Jennifer had met me at the house and I guess I got caught up in showing her around, because I forgot my music portfolio. I remembered it about a mile or so down the road and had Steve turn around and go back.

I didn't stop to check the garage to see if Josh had already left and when I came in I called out to him, so he wouldn't think someone was breaking in." Drake began to stare straight ahead as the haunting memories of the previous night re-played in his mind.

"Mike Wilson was there." Drake said quietly, obviously becoming agitated.

Josh approached the opposite side of Drake's bed, careful not to disturb his broken arm. "It's OK Drake. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Jennifer was part of this, wasn't she?" Drake asked in a quiet voice as the realization hit him.

"It looks that way." Josh replied his eyes drifting from Drake to Meagan.

Across town, Jennifer sat in the window seat in her room with her knees drawn tightly to her chest. She reached for the phone again, only to slam in back onto the cradle. "What could I possibly say to him?" She thought.

"Jen, Mike's here!" Her father's voice boomed from downstairs.

"Tell him I'm not here." She called back down.

"Tell him yourself!" Her father yelled.

Before Jennifer could say anything else, Mike bolted through the door. "Come on. Gather up some clothes and let's go. They're not far behind me."

"Who?" She asked as she watched dumbfounded as Mike began packing some things in her backpack.

"The police." Mike replied. "And don't think that they don't know that you were involved."

Jennifer's eyes widened. "Mike, I didn't know that you were going to hurt Drake."

"Yeah, but you knew that we planned to break into the house. You set it all up and if you don't come with me right now, that's exactly what I'll tell the police." He stopped packing and stared into her eyes. "If I go down, you go down with me."

She knew that he meant every word he said and she quickly threw a few more things into the backpack. As they started to leave, she ran back into the living room where her father sat in his LazyBoy and kissed him on the cheek, something she hadn't done in years. "Bye daddy."

Her father sat dumbfounded. "Bye." He then paused. "Where are you going?"

"Out. I'll be back."

Drake had just finished the last of his chicken broth when a nurse came in and cleared the room. "I'm sorry, but he has to have some rest." She focused on Audrey and Walter. "One of you can stay through the night, but everyone else has to leave."

"I'll stay." Audrey volunteered.

The nurse laid her hand on Audrey's shoulder. "The doctor said that he should be OK, so you don't have to wake him every hour. Let's let him get some rest."

After Walter gave Drake a hug, Josh stepped closer to the bed and gripped his brother's hand tightly. "See you tomorrow."

Drake nodded. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Meagan waited until Josh and Walter had left the room. She looked down at the floor and Drake was startled to see that she had tears in her eyes when she looked back up. "I love you Drake." She said quickly as she leaned closer to him and kissed him on the cheek and then raced out of the room.

Drake's hand instantly touched his cheek. "Who would have thought." He said as the door closed.

"Who would have thought what?" Audrey asked. "That your sister loves you?"

Drake smiled as her mother began tucking the bedsheets in and making her son more comfortable. "Yeah." He answered. "I mean, I know that she loves me, she's my sister, but . . ."

"She loves you a lot Drake. You and Josh both." Audrey kissed her son's forehead. "Now, close your eyes and get some rest."

He nodded, nestled down into the bed and fell asleep almost instantly. It wasn't a very peaceful sleep though. Close to 3:00 a.m., Audrey could tell that Drake's dreams weren't at all pleasant. She buzzed for the nurse and tried to gently wake him.

Drake head jerked from one side to the other as he mumbled and grimaced as he re-lived each blow from Mike Wilson. "No! Oh God, stop!"

By the time the nurse arrived, Drake was covered in sweat. As she reached for his arm to remove the IV that he had partially tore from his arm, his eyes bolted open and he screamed; "Don't hit me again! Please!"

Tears were stinging Audrey's eyes as she and the nurse tired to calm him. "Drake, honey, its mom. You're safe." His wide eyes stared into hers and he began to calm down as she continued to talk to him. "Shh. It's OK. You're safe now. You're in the hospital and you're going to be fine."

He nodded slowly as he began to realize that he was in the hospital and that Mike Wilson was nowhere around. His breathing steadied. "I'm OK." He said as he relaxed a bit. "It was just a dream."

"There you go, honey." The nurse said. "It was all just a dream. Now, I need you to hold your arm still while I get this IV back in."

"Owww." Drake complained as the needle pierced a fresh patch of skin.

To be continued . . .