A/N: Fasten your seatbelts... here's the next chapter. It's short but gets you by the throat...

Chapter 9.

Joey opened his eyes and the room was barely lit. He turned his head and saw Alice asleep in the chair Lauren had been sitting in just a few hours ago. "She's asleep."

His voice made him jump and he was ashamed of his reaction to the man who was supposed to be his father. "What do you want?"

"I came to make sure you were okay." Derek stepped out of the dark, towards the bed. "Isn't that what father's do?" Joey didn't say anything. Sometimes it was just better to let him say what he wanted to. Maybe he'd leave. "I spoke to Alice earlier. She called me when you fell asleep. She said about Max."

"What about him?"

"You're going to move in with him when you get out of here?"

Joey could see he was angry and he wasn't really sure what his answer was supposed to be. How could he answer that without getting himself in even more trouble. "What do you want me to say, Derek?"

"Move in with me and Alice... when you get out of here. We can be a proper family."

"You and I both know that would be a really bad idea."

"And why's that... son?" He'd stepped closer to the bed again and was now hovering over Joey. Joey tried to move away from him but it was a futile attempt because Derek grabbed him and pushed him back on the bed, "Stay where you are, Joseph, we don't want you getting hurt any more now, do we?" He smirked at the boy lying before him, seeing the same small boy he always saw. He drew himself upright and pulled a cigar from his jacket pocket. "Unfortunately I can't light this in here... After all we have something to celebrate, don't we, son? You remember how I like to celebrate with a cigar, don't you?" Joey nodded, staring at the cigar in father's hand and wishing he could be just about anywhere else right about now. "Maybe we'll just save this for when you get home?"

"I'm not coming home, Derek. Not to your house."

"Don't disrespect me, Joseph. I'm warning you!"

"What are you going to do about it? Hit me again?"

"I thought you didn't remember?"

"I lied." He admitted.

"What a surprise! Joseph Branning... lying. Call the papers." His hands were round his son's neck in an instant, gripping it tightly.

"Derek!" Joey gasped. He struggled on the bed and groaned when his wounds started screaming at him for mercy. "I can't breathe..." Derek loosened his grip but didn't release him completely. "You can't do anything to me here... how would that look? How would you explain more damage than you've already done? How do you think Alice would feel if she woke up and found me even more injured? You'd do that to your own daughter?"

"Don't push me, boy."

"I'll bear that in mind..."

Derek turned and strode out of the room, an angry look over his shoulder as he left Joey on his own. Joey took a few minutes to get his breathing under control. He could hear his heart racing with the machine next to his bed. Gradually the beeping slowed down and, very carefully Joey turned on his side, facing away from Alice. He winced as his stomach complained with his movement but he needed a moment to himself to get his head around what had just happened.

TBC

A/N2: Bit of a cliffhanger... In my mind I'm seeing a close up of Joey's face, tears welling in his eyes as the "duff duff's" start. See I could totally do this for a living. In light of tonight's episode, (spoiler alert), this chapter appears quite appropriate... Let me know what you think. Unfortunately you're going to have to wait till tomorrow to find out what happens next. Any ideas?