Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this.

Author's Note: Good to hear you're all liking it and are curious. The moment some of you have been waiting for...Amanda, let's see if your inkling is correct.

Chapter Nine: Time to Face the Truth

It was finally spring break, and Christine stood outside her dad's house in San Francisco. She was scared. This was difficult. She pulled out her cell phone and called Drake. For some reason, she needed him for this. She'd felt very alone in her feelings until she finally got to San Diego and found Drake again. Though it was apparent he wasn't fully prepared to take on the promises he'd made when they were eleven, he was now. Well, except the marriage one. That had been an "in the moment" type of thing, and they weren't in a relationship like that anyway. That wouldn't happen.

"Hello?" Drake said when he picked up his phone.

"Hi," Christine said. "I'm in front of his house. Drake, I'm scared. What if he doesn't accept..."

"He will. He's your dad. He loves you."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am."

"Thanks," she said. She paused, she heard the sounds of flights being announced over Drake's phone. "Where are you?"

"JFK."

"Huh?"

"Airport."

"Hold it, you're in New York?"

"Yes."

Christine closed her eyes. She knew how much it took for him to get there. She just wanted this to work for him.

"Good luck, Drake."

"Josh!" Audrey called.

"Yeah?" he asked, walking out of the kitchen.

"Where's Drake?"

"Um..." Josh froze in place. Gee Mom, he decided he'd go to New York to see your ex-husband for a week. He thought it might bother you, so he didn't tell you. "I believe right about now he's at the airport."

"Why the airport? When's he going to be back?"

"Probably in a few days."

"What? I thought you meant he was dropping off a friend."

"No, that'd be impossible to drive that far."

"What? The airport's only..."

"He's not at our airport."

"Then where...?"

"He's at JFK."

"What!" Audrey exclaimed. "Why is he in New York? Alone I might add? Oh, my baby is alone in New York City."

"Mom, relax," Josh said. "I'm sure Drake can take care of himself. He's not stupid. He's got street smarts."

"But, why...?" Audrey's face fell. She knew why. "He's going to see him."

"Yeah," Josh replied. Drake had been right. Josh did try to talk him out of it, but he went anyway. If it had been their mom, it would have been a different story, which was why he left very early that morning to catch a flight. "He just wants to know what happened."

"I see," Audrey said. "I can understand. I hope he gets his answers." Audrey left the room. Her little boy was growing up. It was happening quickly. She just hoped he could still hang on to what was left of his childhood, even though it was fading fast.

Drake stood outside the door of his dad's house. It was on Staten Island. Drake felt the blood pumping around his head. He felt slightly sick. His stomach was twisted in knots. His face was hot. He felt like he would faint. He rang the doorbell in case that did happen, at least then it was likely that someone would open the door and call him an ambulance if he did faint.

A woman of about thirty answered the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Drake stared at her. He knew who she was. The woman who had replaced his mother in his dad's, er, Ford's heart. Drake wasn't too sure about calling him "Dad" anymore. He'd have to see what had happened over the course of six years.

"I'm looking for Ford Parker," Drake said.

"He's not home right now," she said. "He won't be back until 5:30. Then he'll be home for dinner." She began to close the door.

"Wait," Drake said. He didn't want it to end this way. Not now. If he left, he'd never come back. He had been too reluctant to drive to the airport. He'd been too reluctant to get on the plane. He'd been too reluctant to get a cab and get this far. If he turned back, it was the end. "I really need to talk to him. This is extremely important."

"What could a sixteen-year-old boy that I've never met have to do with my husband?" she questioned.

Drake sighed. He wouldn't get anywhere unless he told her.

"I'm seventeen, and I'm his son."

The woman stood in the doorway for a moment. She looked closely at Drake. She sighed. It was him. She'd only seen pictures of him when he was small, but there was no mistaking that this was Ford's son. She couldn't turn him away now.

"Would you like to come in and wait?" she asked. "I can get you something to eat."

As hungry as Drake was, it wasn't her job to feed him. It was his mom's. Well, she shouldn't be completely obligated, but she was the only woman older than himself who he'd let prepare food for him. If a girl he was dating did it for him, well, that was a plus.

"No thank you," he said. He knew if he didn't mind his manners, he wouldn't get very far. "I'll just wait."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then come in," she replied.

Drake stepped inside. He glanced around. The woman led him to the living room. He saw photographs of his dad and the woman in the room with him. And a little boy who looked about five in the most recent pictures. Drake felt his heart break. Had he been replaced like his mom had? And what about Megan?

"I have to go get dinner ready," she said. "Ford should be home soon. Have a seat if you like."

She left Drake alone in the room. He didn't know what to think of her. He couldn't be angry with her. It wasn't like Audrey hadn't remarried. She had waited a long time though. She had waited until she found someone she really loved, who wanted what she wanted. His dad had apparently moved on quickly. Especially if the boy in the pictures was five.

Drake realized he really didn't know what he expected out of all of this. Was his dad really going to acknowledge his existence this time? It was almost impossible to not. Drake would be standing in front of him, in the flesh. No letters to "get lost", no emails to "accidently" delete, no phone calls to "miss". The only way he'd get away now was to run, but he had already done that, hadn't he?

The boy from the pictures ran into the room. Drake looked at him. He looked like a Parker. He knew this boy was his brother, but it was hard to put those feelings into place. The boy had stopped when he noticed Drake. Drake didn't blame him. It must have been confusing for a five-year-old to run into his living room and notice a complete stranger standing there without his mom or dad around.

"Who are you?" asked the boy.

"Drake," Drake replied. Last names weren't something he wanted to get into with a child that small, especially one who shared his.

"What are you doing here?" the boy questioned.

Drake normally enjoyed kids. He loved when he had to babysit Megan or her and her friends sometimes. She was actually nice then, and her friends were okay. They liked him because he got them in to see Ghost Monsters and took them all to Chuckie Cheddar's once. Sure, when he had to become a big sibling, he was probably one of the worst big siblings in history, but when he was brought into the situation, it was either that or go back to remedial English, which made it feel like work. Drake hated work. It didn't help when Mrs. Haifer said she hoped it would teach him responsibility. He hated school, so learning wasn't up his alley. Drake didn't know whether he could feel anything for the child asking him questions or not. Just like his dad's new wife, it wasn't this boy's fault, but it didn't help any.

"Bobby," said the boy's mother, walking into the room. "Leave this boy alone. He's waiting for your dad to come home."

"This boy." I'm his brother. The boy followed his mother into the kitchen. Drake watched. He felt slightly insulted. He shook his head and glanced at the clock. It was almost 5:30. He was glad his dad would be home soon. Many times he thought about getting up and leaving, but he felt he had to do this. If he wasn't going to do it for himself, he'd do it for Megan, who had barely known their dad. Drake heard the front door open. He sighed. This was it.

A/N: Another cliffy...maybe I'm getting too evil. Things will be cleared up tomorrow. Three chapters to go. Then I'll have to finish up the second part, which I got kind of stuck on. Anyway, thanks Allie for the airport info since I forgot that one of the major airports in New York is JFK. That was interesting...oh, yeah...that's it... Mmm-hmm. Okay, so please review, and tomorrow, well, Drake's going to make a few decisions.