"Brotherly Love"

Chapter 7

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.)

The following morning, Meagan was up earlier than anyone else. She checked the 'fridge for Drake's favorite snacks and made sure that there was plenty of chocolate milk.

Walter yawned as he crossed the living room. "What are you doing up so early?" He asked, catching sight of his daughter.

"Making sure everything is set for Drake. What time is he coming home anyway?"

Walter reached for the phone. "I don't know. Let's give the hospital a call and find out."

"Hello." Audrey answered quietly, so as not to wake Drake.

"Audrey, is that you?"

"Good morning." She said sleepily.

"Is everything alright?"

"Drake had a rough night. He woke up around three this morning after a nightmare. He had pulled his IV out and . . . " She paused. "Walter, let me call you back. The doctor just came in."

Walter sighed. "OK honey, just call me as soon as you can."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too." He replied. He was hanging up the phone just as Josh came down the stairs. He immediately noticed the worried look on his father's face.

"What's up dad?" He asked.

"Um, oh, that was your mom. She said Drake had a rough night."

"Is he OK?" Josh asked, quickly taking a seat beside of his dad on the couch.

"Yeah. He's sleeping right now. Seems that he had a nightmare around 3 this morning and somehow pulled out his IV."

"He is still coming home today, right?" Meagan asked.

Walter pulled the little girl close. "We won't know that until your mom calls back. The doctor was just coming in."

The doctor gently nudged Drake until he began to wake up. He watched as his patient squeezed his eyes tightly and then opened them. "Good morning." He said.

"Morning." Drake said half-asleep.

"I understand you had a pretty bad dream last night." The doctor stated as he took Drake's vitals.

"I guess." Drake replied.

"How do you feel this morning? Any pain?"

"Not much." Drake replied.

"Good. I had the nurse turn off the morphine pump last night around midnight, so you haven't had any pain medication since around 10:00 p.m."

"So I can go home today?" Drake asked.

The doctor nodded. "If you'll promise that you'll do nothing, and I mean nothing, but rest. Yes, I'll let you go home today." The doctor looked at Audrey. "I'll want to see him again in a couple of days to see how he's progressing."

Audrey nodded. "That won't be a problem."

"Good." The doctor smiled. "Now, I'm going to give you a couple of prescriptions, one for pain and the other to help you sleep. They're both to be taken as needed."

After calling Walter back and letting him know that they were on their way, a nurse helped Drake into a wheelchair and downstairs to the lobby where Audrey was waiting.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was tired just from the morning activities when they pulled up in the driveway. "Mom." He said before getting out.

"What honey?" She asked.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

Audrey smiled. "For once, none of this was your fault."

He sighed. "Well, yeah, it sort of was. I knew deep down that Josh was right about Jennifer and I kept seeing her anyway. I knew that she was still hanging around Mike Wilson and his friends, but that didn't keep me away and when Jennifer asked about dad's coin collection that should have been a red flag for me, but it wasn't."

Audrey cupped her son's chin. "Drake, we all make mistakes about people, especially if we have feelings for them. I'm sorry that Jennifer wasn't what she appeared to be and I'm sorry that you got hurt, and I don't mean the beating you took."

He nodded. "Thanks mom."

"You're welcome." She replied as she got out and helped Drake out of the car.

The phone was ringing when they finally got inside. "Hello." Walter answered. "Just a moment." He cupped his hand over the phone. "Drake, its Steve, do you feel like talking for a minute?"

Drake nodded and took the phone. "Hey, what's up?"

"You sound a lot better."

"Well, I feel a little better."

"I thought you'd want to know, I just heard that they nabbed Mike, his brother and Jennifer just over the county line."

"So, their in custody?" Drake asked.

"Yeah." Steve replied. "They were caught robbing a service station. Mike was holding the manager at gunpoint."

"Jennifer too?" Drake asked.

"She was driving." Steve replied. "Hey, I know that you just got home, so I'm going to let you rest. Take care and I'll talk with you later."

"Yeah, later." Drake said, hanging up the phone.

Josh moved the phone from Drake's lap onto the table. "What's wrong Drake? You're pale."

"Mike, his brother and Jennifer were just arrested for armed robbery." He said dryly.

Audrey and Walter looked at each other, thanking God that Mike didn't have a gun when he robbed their house. "Honey, are you OK?" She asked, taking a seat beside of Drake.

"I'm tired. Do you think someone could help me upstairs?"

Josh let Drake wrap his good arm around his neck and they started upstairs. "Is he going to be OK?" Walter asked once the boys were out of earshot.

"I'm sure he will, in time." Audrey replied.

Upstairs, as Josh opened the door to their room, Drake began to protest. "How am I going to get into my loft?"

"How about you take my bed . . ." Josh offered. Drake shook his head. "Just until you can climb up to the loft on your own." Josh finished, helping Drake ease down to the bed on the floor.

As Drake grimaced against the pain in his side, he reluctantly agreed. "Just until I can climb up there, though."

Josh nodded and watched as Drake grimaced again. "Do you want your pain pills?" He asked.

Drake nodded, as he tried to get comfortable in Josh's bed, his right arm cradling his broken ribs.

"I'll get mom with your medicine." Meagan announced from the doorway.

"Thanks Meg." Drake replied, his voice wavering, betraying the brave front he was trying to put up.

Audrey was in the room within seconds, along with Walter and Drake's pain medication. "Here you go." Walter helped him sit up until he swallowed the pills and some water. "OK, now everybody out. Drake needs to rest." Audrey announced, sending everyone out of the room.

"Mom." Drake called out as she started to close the door.

"What honey?"

"Do you think you could leave the door open, just a little?"

Audrey nodded, leaving the door cracked slightly as she headed back downstairs. She knew that Drake would recover, but his recovery; both physical and emotional were going to take a while. "Good night honey." She said softly.

"Good night." Drake replied quietly.

THE END