Authors Note: I am soooo sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! I didn't feel like writing it...until Drake Bell was in a car accident. That really motivated me to write this. I hope you get better, Drake! Meanwhile, here's the next chapter! Once again, all responses to reviews will be posted on my profile, which I will put up tomorrow.

saved - chapter nine

Drake's eyes closed as he saw Walter raise his fist in the air, he knew he didn't have enough strength to fight back, his ribs hurt too much to even breathe. The teen closed his eyes awaiting the pain…but none came. Then he heard a familiar voice snap "Not on my watch". He almost laughed with relief, but knew it would hurt too much. Opening his eyes, Drake saw his brother, his wonderful dependable brother, glaring at Walter. 'I'm safe,' was his last thought before he let the darkness take him.

To say Josh was angry would be the understatement of the year. His eyes had widened in shock when he had seen his father backhand his brother. He had heard what his dad had said, but couldn't believe it. It was like being trapped in a nightmare.

Josh had grabbed his dad's fist before he could do any further damage to Drake, and pulled his brother away from the man, away from harm. That's when he noticed the half filled glass of wine sitting on the table. And then Josh started putting two and two together. Drake's recent change of behavior, his sudden fear of Walter, the cutting, the crying.

Finding his voice, Josh whispered in disgust, "H-How could you? How could you start drinking again and doing this again? You promised me you would never let this happen again!" By the end of his rant, Josh was almost screaming at his father.

Receiving no answer, Josh went back to tending to his brother. Appearance-wise, the teen looked like he had only gotten in a small fight with a school bully, but what was going on in the inside was what worried Josh. He didn't know if his brother might have a concussion, broken limbs, bruised or cracked ribs, or anything. So he chose not to move Drake around much, in fear of worsening his condition.

He was torn between calling 911 and driving Drake to the hospital himself. If he called 911 then he knew he would have to tell them his father had done this, and he just couldn't do that. Josh looked up from his brother and saw Walter sitting at the dining table, face red with anger, and a new glass in his hand.

With a forlorn sigh, Josh took out his cell phone and called the cops. He told the woman who answered that his brother was badly injured and needed an ambulance right away. After giving her his address, he hung up and waited for help to arrive.

Suddenly, Walter shot up from the table, and tried running towards the door but Josh dove at him, and threw him to the ground with every ounce of strength he possessed. "You're not going anywhere! You're going to pay for what you did!" Josh yelled, tears filling his eyes.

"You don't think I can still hurt you?" Walter asked in a threatening tone.

"No, you can not hurt me, and I won't let you hurt my brother-"

"You're a little late for that, aren't you?" Walter scoffed. Josh clenched his fists.

"How long has this been going on?" Walter was silent, so Josh tried again.

"I said, how long has this been going on!"

Walter glanced up at Josh; a small smile appearing on his face…and then the man turned on his side and puked. It was pointless trying to get any answers out of the drunken man before him. Hearing a moan come from the couch, Josh rushed to his brother's side.

He crouched beside his brother, a small smile on his face when he saw Drake's eyes slightly open.

"Hey, bro. Someone's coming to help, you hang in there, okay?" Drake nodded slightly, but immediately stopped, holding his head.

"Dizzy?" Josh asked in a whisper. The boy mumbled a weak 'yes', and clenched his eyes in pain.

Without warning, Drake broke out into a coughing fit, blood spraying from his mouth, while he held his right side tightly. Thankfully remembering what he had learned in his 'first aid' class back in second grade, he placed Drake in a semi-prone position, with his right side down.

Josh stood back up, and sat beside his father. He couldn't believe this had happened, his father had promised! Closing his eyes in anguish, tears slid down his face.

Suddenly in the distance Josh could hear a siren. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Running to open the door, he was greeted with the sight of an ambulance and two police cars.

Two medics quickly jumped out of the ambulance and grabbed a stretcher, running into the house. Josh pointed to his brother on the couch, and the two men saw Drake start coughing up blood again, and grew concerned. Placing him very carefully onto the stretcher, and securing it so he wouldn't fall off, they rushed out of the home, passing the two officers that were now walking up to the home.

"May I ask what happened here, son?" The officer on the right said in a deep voice.

"I-I came home about ten minutes ago…I had left something home that I needed at work, and so I came back and my…my father was hitting my brother," Josh stuttered, voice shaking nervously.

The other officer raised a brow, his green eyes narrowing. "Where's your father, boy?" Josh stepped inside the house and pointed to his father, who was on the floor with his back leaning against the wall.

"Go with your brother to the hospital, we'll take care of your father." A bit uncertain Josh left his home without a second glance, running to the ambulance and getting into the back. He immediately grasped his brother's hand, in hopes of comforting the dazed boy on the makeshift bed, with an oxygen mask on. Drake dark brown hair was matted to his forehead, and his breathing was shallow. Too shallow.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever, Josh was positive they would never get there. Finally Josh saw the hospital in view, and sighed in relief. A group of nurses were waiting for them at the emergency door, and quickly rolled the stretcher inside. Worried, Josh followed them through the doors of the emergency room, but was immediately stopped by a passing nurse. The nurse put a hand on his arm to keep him from moving on.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to wait in the-" But Josh shook her hand off.

"My brother is back there!"

"Mister, calm down. The doctor's are doing everything they can to help him, but you must wait here until further notice." When Josh failed to obey, she said in a much sterner tone, "Please, sir. Don't make me call the guards to escort you out," Shoulders slumping, Josh made his way back into the waiting room.

Josh had just began getting comfortable in the hard hair in the waiting room when a doctor came up with a clipboard in his hands.

"Mister…"

"Nichols, sir." Josh replied.

"Mr. Nichols, my name is Doctor Kon I will be the one operating on a Mister…" The doctor glanced at his clipboard, "Parker. All I need is a legal guardian's signature and we can begin."

"Doctor Kon, my mom is on vacation…and my dad was taken by the police…can't I sign it?"

"Are you eighteen?" The doctor asked.

Josh lowered his, putting his head in his hands, "No, I'm not…"

"I'm sorry, but we need to get in contact with your mother immediately. Mr. Parker needs this operation right away. Can you please give me the number of where she is staying at?" Josh wrote it down for the doctor, and handed it to him, hands shaking. At that Doctor Kon left, leaving Josh once again in the waiting room to pray to God his brother would be fine.

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Josh knew for a fact that he had been sitting there for well over an hour; possibly two, because he had went through all fifty magazines in the waiting room twice. He was becoming restless just sitting there not knowing what was happening.

"Mr. Nichols?" A soft voice called out at the emergency room doors. Josh stood so fast that he almost fell back down.

"I'm here!" He said, and walked over to her. She smiled at him, and sat down offering him a seat.

"Mr. Parker's operation was a success. His lung had been punctured by a broken rib, which caused internal bleeding and a collapsed lung. He's doing fine now, he's been moved to our second building, and you can see him in an hour or so when visiting hours start. The doctor will be with you shortly," The nurse said, and Josh nodded. Leaning back against the hard hospital chair, Josh closed his eyes. He felt like crying he was so relieved!

Suddenly a loud 'Josh!' made him jump off the chair. Standing in the emergency entrance stood a very disheveled Audrey Parker, and next to her a…crying Megan? Josh stared at his little sister in disbelief.

"Where's my son?" Audrey demanded, walking to the front desk. Josh grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

"Mom, the doctor is already done…he said everything was a success, and that Drake's fine-"

"When can I see him?" Audrey asked. A kind voice from behind them answered her question. Turning around, she went up to the doctor.

"You can see him now. Mrs. Parker, I presume?" The doctor asked; Audrey nodded.

"Your son will most likely be asleep when you see him, we just finished the operation, and he's as good as new," Doctor Kon said with a small smile. He informed them of where Drake was located and the three hurried off, anxious to get to the boy.

Upon entering the hospital room where young Drake Parker slept, Audrey began sobbing, putting her face in her hands. Megan stood beside her mom, not really sure how to act, but Josh was completely different.

Josh walked up to his brother's hospital bed and just stared at Drake. He was amazed at how innocent and vulnerable the boy looked lying in the bed, he felt a sudden need to protect him…to protect him from all the evils in the world. But he was a little late for that wasn't he? Sitting in the hospital chair, he took hold of his brother's hand that didn't have the IV in it.

After taking a minute to compose herself, Audrey stood on the other side of drake and ran her fingers through his soft hair, and down the side of his face. She couldn't believe what she had let happen to her son, how she had let that man fool her.

Megan stood by the door, too shaken to get anywhere near her older brother. Seeing him like this was like being trapped in a nightmare to the young girl. She knew no one would notice her absence, so Megan left the room.

"Drake, sweetie, can you wake up? Moms here," Audrey whispered into her son's ear, hoping he would wake up so she could see his beautiful eyes again. Then, she would know in her heart that he was gonna be alright.

But nothing happened, all was silent. There was no Drake opening his eyes, smile on his face yelling 'Psyche!' letting them know all this had been a prank. Instead the only sound in the room was the reassuring beep coming from the heart monitor.

Suddenly the beeping fastened, and Drake's eyes slowly opened, but were too heavy to keep open. Josh shot off his chair and stood over his brother.

"Drake? Are you awake?" Groaning, Drake tried again, and this time was successful in opening his eyes. Now Audrey sat beside Drake on his bed and stroked his arm, muttering soothing words when she saw the pain in her son's eyes. The beeping sound slowed, and Drake sighed.

"M-Mom…?" He croaked, licking his chapped lips.

"I'm here, baby! I came as soon as I heard what…happened," Tears glistened in Audrey's eyes.

"Josh?" Josh came into Drake's view, "Thanks man." Knowing exactly what his brother was talking about, Josh ducked his head, shrugging. It was around this time that Audrey noticed her daughter missing from the room, and guessed what was wrong.

"I'm going to go check on Megan, I'll leave you two boys alone."

"So…how are you feeling?" Josh asked quietly. Drake tried to shrug but winced in pain.

"Better than I was earlier. I'm seriously thankful you came, or I don't know what would've happened to me because of that psy-" Drake immediately stopped talking when he saw hurt flash in his brother's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Josh. I didn't mean that!" But Josh raised his hand, his eyes meeting Drake's.

"Yes, you did. And you have every right to say that. That man that hurt you was not the father I know and love…I don't know who that was, but I am so sorry he hurt you. I should've been there! You should've told me!"

"I wanted to, Josh. But…you love your dad, and I didn't want to hurt you, and I knew you probably wouldn't believe me…"

"Not believe you?" Josh whispered incredulously. "Drake Parker, anything you ever tell me I will believe! We're brothers, man. Understand? Brothers are there for each other; I just wish I could've been there for you," Josh muttered the last part.

"You were there for me, you just didn't know it. Every night I went to sleep knowing that at least one person would stick by me, and that one person was you. I'm sorry I never told you, I honestly thought it would make things worse. But now we can look past that, and move on."

After hearing that, Josh couldn't help himself. He bent down and embraced his brother, being mindful of Drake's ribs. For once, Drake leaned into the embrace. Deep down they both had needed this simple act of love over the past few weeks. Josh was the one to break the hug, a shy smile on his face.

"I'm gonna leave you to get some much need sleep, see ya' later," Josh said.

"See ya'," Drake whispered, and fell back against his pillows, eyes closing.

Josh went out into the waiting room and sat beside his mom and sister. Audrey was reading through a magazine, and Megan was just staring blankly at the wall in front of her. He knew this must've been hard on her. It was hard for all of them to see the teen so broken.

Suddenly the halls erupted in complete chaos. A woman could be heard speaking urgently through the speakers. Josh caught a few words.

Kon…room 319…immediately…

Josh's eyes widened in shock. Room 319 was…Drake's room. Jumping out of his chair, Josh ran to his brother's room, but bumped into Doctor Kon.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nichols. You have to wait out here." Josh wanted to respond but Doctor Kon was already rushing into Drake's room, nurses following after him.

Josh's heart was beating frantically against his chest, he could hear it thumping in his ears, as tears made their way into his eyes. Completely numb, he stumbled back to his seat.

Audrey was hugging Megan to her, tears falling from her eyes, as she stared in shock at the room her son lay in. Megan had her head buried in her mother's neck, probably to hide her own tears.

It felt like hours had passed, but in fact it had only been minutes, when finally Doctor Kon stepped out of Drake's room looking very grave. Audrey stood up from where she had sat and rushed to the doctor's side. He looked past her and into Josh's eyes, and slowly shook his head.

In memory of Andrew Sezonov. Rest in Peace.