A/N: So here is chapter 3 of this little story. How are you liking it so far? This chapter will bring Lauren back into the story... as well as one of my favourite characters from the show.

Chapter 3.

"Joey..." Her voice was soft and it seemed to be almost a whisper in his ear. He thought at first he'd imagined it but she repeated it again and he knew it wasn't a dream. It was the voice of an angel though; his angel but that bit was definitely in his dreams.

He tried to open his eyes but groaned as his battered flesh protested harshly. "Ugh..." he moaned softly.

"Oh, thank God." She said gently. "What happened to you?"

Joey shrugged and then winced as his body again reminded him of what damage he'd incurred. "Lauren..." he whispered but he couldn't say any more as his split lip opened up.

"Come on." She urged him gently. "Can you walk?" she asked him as she tugged on his arm and helped him to his feet. He nodded but enjoyed the feel of her arm as it wrapped itself around his waist. She handed him a tissue and he held it to his mouth, trying to stem the blood from flowing down his mouth.

Lauren helped him across the square and up the steps to number 5. She pushed open the door and pulled him inside.

"Lauren Branning, do you have any idea what time it is?" Max hissed at her loudly as he appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He appeared to have been sitting up waiting for her. "What the hell?" He said when he saw his nephew leaning heavily on his eldest daughter. He strode over to them and then helped Joey through the house and into a chair in the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked them both.

"I stayed at Whit's last night and I woke up early and was coming home when I found Joey on the ground in the gardens."

"Joey?" Max asked him quietly.

"I don't remember," he mumbled, unable to look at either of them.

Max and Lauren shared a look which said neither of them believed what he'd just said. "Lauren, go upstairs and get the first aid kit your mum keeps in the bathroom. Oh and wake your mum up. She can help me."

"It's okay. I can help." Lauren said. She left the room quickly and ran up the stairs. She quickly returned to the kitchen with the first aid kit. "What do you need?" she asked her dad.

"Clean his eye and cheek. There's dirt in there which will need to come out." He stood and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Lauren asked him in a panic.

"I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to take him to the hospital."

"NO!" Joey cried out.

"Was he conscious when you found him?" Max asked his daughter, ignoring Joey's protest. Lauren shook her head. Now he turned his attention back to his nephew. "Then we need to get you checked out at the hospital. We could patch you up but it looks like you've had quite a beating and we should make sure there aren't any injuries we can't see." He left the room once he'd finished speaking and Lauren began to brush at the wounds on Joey's face with a damp cotton wool ball.

Joey winced at her first touch, "Sorry." She whispered. She bit her lip as she poked at the wound, trying to get the dirt out of it. Fresh blood oozed to the surface and she mopped it away. "Look at me, Joey..." she said softly. Her free hand lifted his chin when he didn't do as she asked. "Let me look at your eyes, Joe." He couldn't do as she asked even if he'd wanted to with one eye swollen completely shut and the other wasn't much better. "Joey..." she pleaded with him. He tried to do as she asked with his right eye and she smiled at him when he eventually looked at her. "Talk to me, Joe."

There was something about her tone when she called him Joe. Something he liked and it made his stomach tighten in a way he'd never experienced before. She'd found a weakness in him and was taking advantage of it for all she was worth. He was about to answer her when the door opened, Max coming back in and they both turned to look at him.

"Let's go then."

"Uncle Max, this isn't necessary."

"Don't argue, Joe." Lauren said as she helped him to his feet. He winced as she put his left arm over her shoulder so he could lean against her but making the ribs on his side scream in agony and a moan escaped him before he could stop it. She helped him into the back of her dad's car, climbing in beside him and taking his hand in hers. As her dad drove she spoke to Joey quietly, offering him some comfort when the car hit potholes and a couple of speed bumps.

"I'm sorry for what I said last night," he whispered to her.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Joey. How about, once we get you home the two of us have a chat."

"I'd like that." He told her softly. Another bump in the road caused him to wince and clutch at his ribs.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly against her, brushing her hand tenderly up and down his back. When her dad stopped the car at the entrance to the A&E ward, he quickly climbed out of the car, opening the back door and helping Lauren ease Joey out and to his feet. "Take him in Lauren, I'll go and park my car. I'll call your mum and then be right in."

*JL*JL*

They were fortunate the hospital had just hit a bit of a lull in patients and it was only five minutes before Joey's name was called. He got to his feet shakily and then turned back to Lauren. Without a word he held his hand out towards her and she took it, squeezing his hand slightly as they walked after the nurse. Lauren helped him onto the bed and the nurse left them alone, saying a doctor would be with them shortly.

The pair fell silent as they waited. Joey shut his eyes as the harsh light of the room caused his head to begin to pound. "Joey, are you okay?" Lauren asked him tentatively. He shook his head and groaned as the pain in his head increased tenfold. He rolled away from her and leaned over the side of the bed, his stomach lurching causing him to vomit violently on the floor. "Joey!" Lauren said in alarm. She rushed from his side and to the door of the room, "Help, please. We need help in here." She called out, trying to beckon someone to come to their aid. Joey could just about hear the sound of feet running towards where they were located and he collapsed back onto the bed, suddenly feeling weak.

"Lauren..." he whispered and she appeared at his side in an instant. "Don't leave..." he asked her gently before closing his eyes and lapsing into unconsciousness.

"Joey... Joey! JOEY!" Lauren cried out as she was pulled from the bed to be replaced by various nurses and a doctor. She couldn't understand what they were saying when they began to babble amongst themselves as they treated her cousin. Their words a mass of abbreviations and codes she couldn't hope to understand. Tears filled her eyes as she saw them cut away his shirt and she saw the bruises that swathed his body. Her dad came to stand next to her and she fell against his chest, sobbing as she watched the medical staff treat Joey.

"He'll be okay, Lauren."

"Who would do this to him?" she whispered into his shirt, unable to tear her eyes away from the bed.

"I don't know. I called the police while I was outside."

Lauren pulled away from her dad and looked up at him. "What will they be able to do? He said he didn't remember anything."

"And we both know he wasn't telling the truth."

"Mr Branning?" the doctor said from behind Lauren, drawing both their attention back to him.

"Yes, Joey's my nephew. This is my daughter Lauren." Max said, his eyes darting to look at Joey, who was still surrounded by nurses. In that second of looking at him, he was drawn back to that night more than a year ago where the injured party had been a different member of his family. And the outcome had been devastating. "How's Joey?"

"Your nephew has been badly beaten but I'm assuming you already knew that. He's sustained severe bruising to his ribs and face. He should be okay but I'd like to..."

"Doctor!" It was one of the nurses and the doctor rushed back to the bed to look at Joey.

"Dad?" Lauren whispered, as she watched them frantically work on her cousin.

"You heard the doctor, he said Joey was going to be okay." Lauren could clearly hear the lie in his words and her heart sank as she saw the doctor's face turn to resignation. The room became a swarm of activity and the pair watched in dismay as Joey was pushed out of the room on the bed he lay on.

"I'm afraid Joey's condition has taken a turn for the worse. I'm worried about internal bleeding, a rib may have nicked something when it broke. I'm going to need to operate on him."

"Will he be alright?" Max asked, concerned about his nephew and feeling his daughter begin to shake in his arms.

"At this stage, until I get in there and see what damage has been caused I can't really say." He turned to leave the room, "I'll get a nurse to keep you informed of what's happening. And I'll come and see you when I've finished with him."

TBC

A/N2: Okay so I'm no doctor so I can't swear the reality of what I've written. What do you think so far? Another chapter soon. Don't forget to send me a review.