"Step by Step, Brother "
By Lorrie
Chapter 3 – Fishing for Common Ground
Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Drake & Josh". The characters belong to the creators and Nickolodian, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)
The following morning, Walter called out to the boys at 5:00 a.m. "Come on guys, we need to get a move on!"
Josh jumped out of bed at the sound of his dad's voice. "Coming dad!" He called back. Looking towards Drake's loft, he saw that his brother was still fast asleep. "Drake! Come on, we're leaving soon!" He shook him slightly.
Drake rolled over. "Just a few more minutes." He mumbled into his pillow.
"Drake, come on! Dad's waiting." Josh insisted, shaking Drake once again.
Drake lifted his head from the pillow, glanced at the clock and moaned. "It's only 5:00 a.m." He protested.
"I know, but dad wanted to get an early start." Josh replied as he pulled on his jeans and t-shirt.
"Why so early?" Drake continued to protest. "We packed the Jeep last night."
Josh pulled the cover off of Drake, eliciting a scowl from his brother. "Come on. The sooner we get on the road, the sooner we'll be there."
Drake shook his head. "Yeah? So?"
"Just get dressed, OK?" Josh left the room. Drake continued to lie in bed for a few more minutes, then slowly got up and got dressed.
Josh was already eating breakfast when Drake sat down at the table, poured himself a bowl of cereal and began eating. "Good morning guys!" Walter announced as he took a seat at the table.
"Good morning, dad." Josh said cheerfully.
"Good morning, Drake." Walter repeated to his step-son.
"Mornin'." Drake mumbled.
Walter wasn't quite sure how to take Drake's lack of enthusiasm, but he knew that he wasn't really much of a morning person, so he didn't press it.
After breakfast, the boys made their way upstairs to brush their teeth and to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. "You bringing your guitar?" Josh asked.
Drake shrugged and picked up his black acoustic guitar and placed it in its case. "Couldn't hurt, I guess."
Downstairs, Audrey took a seat beside her husband. "I'm so glad Drake decided to go." She smiled. "He seems to finally be bonding with you."
Walter placed his hand over Audrey's and nodded. "I'm glad he's going too. We're going to have a blast!"
"You had just better be careful." She cautioned. "I overheard the boys planning a rock climbing adventure tomorrow."
Walter laughed. "I think I had better leave the rock climbing to them, then."
Audrey joined in his laughter. "Just make sure they don't get hurt." She kissed him. "You either."
"I promise we'll be careful." Walter replied, returning the kiss.
Drake and Josh both bounded down the steps. "All ready to go!" Drake announced.
"Well alright then. Let's get a move on." Walter said, grabbing his jacket and keys.
"Bye mom." Josh said, giving Audrey a quick hug.
"Bye Josh. Be careful."
"I will." Josh replied as he stepped out the door.
"Bye mom." Drake said, wrapping his arms around his mom's neck.
"Bye sweetheart. You be careful."
Drake gave her a cock-eyed smile. "I will."
An hour into the road trip, Walter turned to the boys. "How about some traveling music?" He began to sing, off-key. "Oh, I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee . . ."
Josh joined in at the chorus, singing boisterously. "Oh Suzanna, Oh don't you cry for me . . ."
"I think I'm gonna cry if I have to listen to much of this." Drake rebelled, as he turned his head to the window, pulled his jacket collar up around his ears and scrunched down in the seat.
"What's wrong Drake?" Josh asked when he and Walter finished their rendition of the song.
"I have a headache." Drake lied.
"I'm sorry son. Do you want me to pull over so you can get some fresh air?"
"No, that's OK. I'm sure it'll pass." Drake replied.
Josh turned to look at Drake in the backseat. "Why don't you try singing with us? Maybe it'll make you feel better."
"No thanks." Drake mumbled.
"Maybe we had better not sing for a while Josh. Let's give Drake's head a break." Walter suggested.
Josh's eyes widened. "Not sing? We always sing car songs when we go camping."
"Let's just give it a rest for a while, OK?" Walter said.
"Aww alright." Josh moaned.
Josh remained silent for just a couple of minutes. "Hey Drake, have you ever been rock climbing before?"
Drake nodded. "Yeah, lots of times. How about you?"
"Yeah, dad and I went a few years ago."
"I think I'm going to let you guys go alone this trip." Walter announced.
"What?" Josh questioned. "Why?"
"I wouldn't want to slow you guys down."
Drake shifted positions and stuck his head between the two front seats. "You won't slow us down. I thought you were going to do things with us, not just watch."
Walter smiled. "So you guys don't mind if I go?"
"It wouldn't be the same without you, dad." Josh said, looking at his dad.
"Drake?" Walter questioned.
"I feel the same way, dad. There's no reason you shouldn't go with us."
"Well, if you're sure, then rock climbing it is."
"There it is!" Josh announced as they passed the sign for the campground.
Walter pulled into the entrance and paid their camping fees before proceeding to spot #51. When he finally parked, the guys jumped out. "Wow!" Drake exclaimed. "This is a great spot!"
"We've had the same spot for as long as I can remember." Josh said.
"It's really great." Drake repeated.
Walter opened the back of the Jeep and began to pull out their gear. "Come on fellas, a little help here?"
Drake grabbed his pack and pulled it onto his back. Josh did the same and the two carried their packs to the area where they planned to set up their tent.
"Can you guys get the tent up while I get the firewood?" Walter asked.
"No problem." Drake replied as he and Josh went to work setting up the tent.
Josh looked a bit bewildered at the poles and stakes laying on the ground. "You do know how to set up a tent, right?" Drake asked.
"Not one like this." Josh confessed. "I have a nice pop-up tent in the Jeep, maybe I should go get it."
Drake shook his head. "No way. When my dad and I used to go camping, he always brought this tent and I don't plan to sleep in anything else."
"But Drake, it's an old tent. I have a much newer one in the Jeep and it's easier to set up."
"Fine, then set it up and you sleep in it. I'm setting this one up, right here and this is where I'll be sleeping." He began to set up the old style tent.
"Wow!" Walter expressed his amazements at Drake's ability to maneuver the tent poles, canvas and stakes without instructions. "What a great old tent!"
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Drake answered beaming. "It was my dad's."
"Josh, won't it be great to sleep in an old-style tent for a change?" Walter asked.
Josh fumbled with his tent for a minute before popping it open. "Uh, I thought we'd stay in this tent."
"Oh, well, uh, maybe I could stay one night in your tent and spend the other in Drake's?" Walter said, not really wanting to have to split his time with the boys.
"It's OK dad." Drake said, staring at Josh and his tent. "I'll be fine by myself."
"Drake . . ." Walter started, but stopped as Drake climbed into his tent and tied it shut.
"I told them I didn't want to be a third wheel." He muttered as he straightened out the wrinkles in the bottom lining of the tent.
"You're not a third wheel." Josh said from outside of the tent.
Drake untied the tent and stuck his head out. "Are you eavesdropping on me?"
"It's a little hard not to." Josh replied. "You are talking out loud."
"Oh." Drake replied and stuck his head back inside the tent.
Seconds later, Josh climbed inside. "Don't be mad Drake. I know that you had to be used to doing certain things with your dad on your camping trips like I'm used to doing certain things with my dad. The thing is, we need to find a way to combine the two."
"Yeah I guess." Drake said.
"Come on. Dad's already got the fishing gear out and he's more than ready to get to the river."
Drake smoothed one final corner of the tent, the corner where his dad had always slept. He placed his sleeping bag on the other side and left the tent with Josh.
As they walked towards the river, Walter began whistling the tune from Andy Griffith and before they knew it, both Josh and Drake had joined in. And by the time they reached Walter's favorite fishing spot, they were laughing.
"This is great!" Drake said as he baited his hook and began to wade into the shallows.
"Yeah it is!" Josh echoed, wading in a little further downstream.
"I'm glad you boys approve." Walter replied as he too waded in and cast his line.
"I've got one!" Drake called out as he began reeling in a beautiful rainbow trout.
Walter sat his rod on the bank and joined Drake. "Easy. Careful now, don't lose him!"
Drake carefully reeled the fish in and scooped it up in his net. "Gotcha!" He said as he removed the hook and held the fish up for everyone to see.
"Well done, son!" Walter slapped his back.
"Hey, I've got one!" Josh called out and the scene repeated itself with Josh as the center of attention.
Once all three of the guys had caught two trout each, they gathered their gear and headed back to camp, whistling again as they walked.
"OK, if you two will clean the fish, I'll get the fire started." Walter said, gathering wood in his arms.
"It's a deal." Josh replied, eliciting a grimace from Drake. "What?"
"Cleaning fish?" Drake said in disgust.
"You like to eat them, don't you?" Josh asked.
Drake shrugged his shoulders. "You know I do."
"Well, it's a little hard to eat them with their scales still on and their guts inside, isn't it?"
Drake rolled his eyes at his brother and grabbed the scaling knife from his gear. "Fine, fine, let's get on with it then." He muttered.
An hour later, Josh, Drake and Walter were sitting around their campfire, eating their catch of the day, along with the rice and broccoli that Audrey had packed for them.
"This is great, dad." Josh said.
Drake nodded, approvingly. "Yeah, it's really good."
"Well, I did use the secret Nichols family recipe." Walter winked at Josh and Drake felt like he was on the outside of an inside joke.
"What Nichols family secret recipe?" Drake asked.
Josh smiled. "Oh, just something that's been handed down from generation to generation in the Nichols family for hundreds of years."
Drake continued to eat. "I see." He said, matter-of-factly.
"What do you think Josh?" Walter asked. "Is it time to let Drake in on the old family recipe?"
Josh stared at his step-brother mockingly for a minute, his hand rubbing his chin as if in deep thought. "Well, he has been part of this family for a little over a year now, but has he proven himself worthy of knowing the secrets of the family?"
Walter's expression grew serious. "That's a good question Josh. Has he proven himself yet?"
Drake was quickly growing tired of the scene before him. "Look, I don't need to prove anything to anyone. If you want to tell me, then tell me, if not, it's not a big deal anyway."
Josh's hand flew to his heart. "Not a big deal! The Nichols secret family recipe . . . not a BIG deal? Oh, how wrong you are, my brother."
"Oh, come off of it. So, you have a secret way of fixing fish, who doesn't?"
Walter and Josh looked at each other. "So, you have a secret family recipe too?" Josh asked.
"Duh! Do you really think my dad and I camped and fished all those years without a special way of cooking fish?" Drake asked.
Walter looked at his step-son. "I'm sorry Drake. We're just kidding around with you. The only thing I do to the fish is marinate it in orange juice before I cook it."
"You're kidding? That's what my dad did. He always said the more pulp in the juice, the better." Drake replied in disbelief.
Walter and Josh looked at each other again. "And all this time, I thought that was a Nichols family secret." Josh said.
"I guess it's a Parker-Nichols family secret." Drake smiled.
Walter smiled at both of the boys, marveling in the way that they were getting along. "Drake, how about bringing out your guitar?"
"Only if you promise not to sing car songs." Drake laughed as he got up.
For the next hour, Drake played several tunes and then, just before they were ready to call it a night, he began to softly sing the song he had written in the park:
I don't want to forget
The feelings I've felt for you.
I don't want to lose
All the things we've shared.
And just because I move on,
Just because I keep on living,
Doesn't mean I'll forget,
Doesn't mean I'll ever forget . . . you.
"That's beautiful Drake." Walter said solemnly. "When did you write it?"
"Yesterday, in the park." Drake replied and put his guitar away.
To be continued . . .
