A/N: So I'm going to try for two chapters today. I've edited them both already but I might not get to post the second chapter until quite late tonight. So here is the first chapter. It starts from directly after the last chapter ended.

Chapter 13.

Joey's doctor came into the room and was soon checking there was no further injury to his patient.

"Can I go home?" Joey asked the doctor.

"I don't know. I'd rather keep you in another night. You've been through a lot and I'd like to make sure you haven't damaged anything further."

"We can bring him back in if he starts to feel ill..." Lauren suggested.

"Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?" He asked Joey.

"I'd really rather go home."

"Okay... it's against my recommendation but I can understand why you'd want to be out of here." He looked at Joey's notes, "I'm going to sort out a prescription for some pain relief and also some antibiotics to ensure you don't get an infection. You'll need to come back and see me next week so I can check you again. I'll get one of the nurses to make an appointment for you before you leave."

"Thanks Doctor." Joey said gratefully.

Max and Jack left the room with the doctor. "Do you want me to help you get ready?" Lauren asked him.

Joey nodded, "Alice brought me some things in last night."

She reappeared just seconds later with a small holdall. She pulled out some clothes, "I guess I now have the answer to the age old question?" She giggled.

"Huh?"

"Boxers or briefs..." she teased, waving the offending item in her hand.

"Give me that..." he said, grabbing it from her hand, blushing profusely.

"I was just teasing, Joe."

"I know." He tried to sit up in the bed but groaned in pain when he moved.

"Are you sure you should be going home? You're still in so much pain."

"To be honest I just can't face another night of being in here." He said. She moved closer to him and helped him so he was sitting upright. He moved his legs over the side of the bed, carefully ensuring he remained covered. "I might need some help..." he said softly, his face now flaming.

It then became Lauren's turn to blush as she took his underwear and knelt down so she could help him put them on. Between the two of them they managed to get him dressed in T-shirt and sweatpants without increasing either of their embarrassment any further. He sat back on the edge of the bed and Lauren put sock and trainers on his feet. He winced slightly as she helped him to his feet and wrapped his arm around his stomach. He stood there watching while Lauren packed the few bits he had in the room into the holdall. She then zipped it up and moved so she could stand beside him, her arm round his waist. "Let's go then..."

Max and Jack were outside, waiting for them. "We'll go down and get the car. You two make your way down and we'll see you down there. There's no rush." Max said.

"Did they give you his prescriptions and everything?" Lauren asked.

"Yes. I'll pick them up later today." Max said.

"Thanks Uncle Max." Joey said.

Max and Jack had disappeared quickly and Joey and Lauren made their way slowly down through the hospital. They took a lift to the ground floor and Lauren noticed Joey seemed to be struggling. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Just tired," he said. She stood closer to him, pulling him against her so he could lean on her.

"We'll be home soon and then you can get some proper rest."

*JL*JL*

"Tan, it's me." Max said into his mobile. "We'll be on our way home soon." He paused as she spoke to him, "I'm at the hospital with Jack and Lauren. Can you make up a bed for Joey? He's been released so he's coming home with us now. I should imagine he's going to want to go straight to bed when we get back." Another pause, "Oscar can come into our room."

"Alice..." Jack said quietly.

"Oh, yeah. Tell Alice we're on our way home. We need to talk to her and I'm sure she'll want to see Joey." He looked out of the car window and saw Lauren and Joey coming out of the exit, "I'd better go, Joey's just come out and we need to get him in the car before he collapses."

Within a minute Joey and Lauren were in the back of the car. Lauren helped Joey with his seatbelt and took the middle seat so she could sit next to him. Her hand clutched his as they began the drive home. "You okay?" she asked when she saw him wince with almost every jolt of the car.

"Could do with a pain killer." He admitted.

"Max, why don't you drop me off and I can collect Joey's tablets and bring them over? I'll stop in at the B&B as well and pick up his things from there."

"Thanks Jack."

"Yeah, thanks Uncle Jack... for earlier too." Joey said quietly.

"I'll be over soon." Jack said, once Max stopped.

The car pulled up outside number 5 and Lauren jumped out, running round to the other side so she could help Joey out, "I can manage, Lauren." He said, his voice a bit sharper than he'd intended. "Sorry." He added. He took a step and stopped, wobbling slightly and looking at her, "Okay, I need some help." She smiled and stepped forward eagerly. Each step up to the front door was filled with agony for Joey but he knew he wouldn't have managed it without Lauren's help. The door opened, Alice stepped forward to hug him. Joey cried out in pain when she squeezed him a little too tightly, "Ow." He said.

"Right, come on. You're going straight upstairs," Lauren said. She stood behind him and gently steered him in the right direction, her hands resting on his hips as he slowly climbed the stairs. Max watched the two of them disappear up to the room Joey would be staying in, a small smile on his face as he saw them interact with each other. He took a deep breath and walked into the lounge, finding Abi, Alice and Tanya waiting for him. He shut the door and took a seat next to Tanya.

*JL*JL*

Lauren was helping him get settled in his new room. He slowly stripped down to his underwear then climbed onto the bed. She pulled the duvet up over him, taking a seat by his side. "Do you need anything?" She asked him.

"Just something for the pain..."

"I'll go and see if Uncle Jack is back. I'll get you a drink as well." She stood and leant down, kissing him briefly. "I'll be back in a bit."

Lauren walked downstairs, going into the lounge and finding her family and Alice sitting there. She could tell from the atmosphere in the room that her dad had told them about Derek. Alice was crying softly and Tanya was hugging her to comfort her.

"Lauren, how is he?" her mum asked when she saw her.

"Tired and in quite a bit of pain. Is Uncle Jack back?"

"Not yet. He won't be long, Lauren."

"You've told them then." She asked him softly. Max reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, nodding in answer. "What do you think will happen now?"

"The police are going to want to speak to Joey. I'll call them later and let them know he's here rather than at the hospital. Depending on what he tells them and what Derek's said to them, I'm fairly sure they'll press charges. After his actions this afternoon, I can't see him being released for a while." His words set Alice off in another flood of tears.

"Can I talk to you for a second, dad?" Lauren asked him hesitantly.

Max looked at her, worried. "Sure." They stepped out into the hallway. Jack came into the house just as they closed the door again. He handed Lauren the bag of drugs and put down Joey's bags, seeing the seriousness on both their faces he joined the rest of the family in the lounge.

Lauren looked down at the floor, scuffing one of her feet on the floor. Max reached forward and lifted her chin, his hand brushing the side of her face. It reminded her of Joey so much that tears flooded her eyes, "I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone but I need to tell someone." She whispered. Max pulled her against him, brushing his hand up and down her back, "He's not gone into huge detail but he told me that the other night wasn't the first time Derek's hit him." Max tensed at her admission. "Dad, he's got scars... I'm scared there's more to this than any of us realise."

Max hugged her. They were both silent for a couple of minutes, "Go back to him. We'll sit down and talk to him about it in the morning."

"Thanks dad. Can we keep this between us, at least until you speak to him in the morning?"

"Course."

"I'll tell him that I've told you in the morning." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her dad, hugging him again before going to the kitchen and getting Joey a glass of water. Her dad was gone from the hallway when she returned and she climbed the stairs quickly again. When she was back in the room she saw he was asleep. She knelt by the bed and brushed a hand over the top of his head. He barely stirred. She smiled and for quite some time she stayed doing the same thing over and over. She finally stood and started walking towards the door, intent on retrieving his bags from downstairs.

"Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggg ggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The noise Joey made caused her to jump and she ran back to him. He was thrashing around in the bed and it took several shakes of his shoulder before he woke up. He stared at her and she pulled him into a hug, feeling him sag against her. She said nothing as the release of emotion from whatever he'd dreamt about overwhelmed him. This was a side of him she was sure he never showed anyone.

Once he'd gone quiet, barely moving in her arms, she spoke, "Do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head. "It might help..." she whispered.

"I can't. Not tonight. Not after earlier." He told her hesitantly.

She sat up, grabbing the bag of drugs and reading each packet carefully. She pulled out the correct dosage of each drug and passed them to him along with the glass of water. "I'll be back in a minute." She told him, kissing his forehead.

"I'd understand if you don't want to be with me anymore," he said as she walked back to the door.

"I'll be back in a minute, Joe." She said again, smiling at him before shutting the door.

Max was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Everything okay?"

She nodded, "Bad dream." She told him.

"I'll see you in the morning." He said. "Abi's going to go and stay with Alice tonight. She doesn't want to be on her own, Whit and Tyler are away overnight and there isn't room for her here."

Lauren looked at the floor, her skin flushing. "She could stay in my bed." She suggested softly. She could feel her father's eyes on her. Her eyes darted up to meet his, "It's not like that, dad. I just don't think he should be on his own tonight. He's pretty shaken up from what happened earlier."

"Okay." He agreed. "We'll talk about this more in the morning. We need to come up with a long term solution for Alice anyway." Lauren was about to walk into her room when he spoke again. "Don't make me regret agreeing to this, Lauren."

"I won't, dad. I promise." He nodded to her, "Dad..." she suddenly said, moving down the stairs so she was standing just a few steps from the bottom. "I want this to work with Joey but I know I need to get to know him better before I rush into a relationship with him. I want this to be more than a one night stand." She smiled slightly, "I want you to be proud of me for a change."

"I already am, darling." He said and it made her smile grow wider.

"Thanks Dad." She ran back upstairs to her room and then only minutes later heading back to her cousin. He was staring at her when she walked in the room, a look of surprise on his face.

"I didn't think you'd come back," he murmured.

"Why not?"

"Because..."

"You think I'd not want to be with you anymore because I saw you cry?"

"Crying is for girls and babies." He whispered, a distant look on his face.

"That sounds like your dad talking." She said, kneeling beside his bed and brushing her fingers through his hair again. He shrugged. "Joe, do you know what I was thinking when you did that?" He looked at her, a frown on his face, "I knew this was a side of you that you don't show anyone and I felt special because you shared it with me."

"Oh."

She smiled as she watched him think about what she'd just told him, "Shift over..." she whispered and he does it without even thinking about what she'd said. She lifted the duvet and started to climb into the bed beside him.

"Lauren..."

She placed her finger on his lips to stop him talking, "My dad knows. He knows nothing is going to happen tonight. I just didn't think you'd want to be on your own."

"I don't want to disturb your night's sleep..."

"Why would you?"

"Bad dreams..."

"How often do you have them?"

"Most nights... since coming to Walford anyway. Not so much when I didn't see him all the time."

Lauren was laying next to him in the bed now, her body pressing against him slightly in the compact space they were sharing. She could feel the tension in his body. "If you don't want me to stay, I can go downstairs and sleep on the couch."

"Why not in your own bed?"

"Dad's letting Alice stay in it. He doesn't want her over the road on her own." He nods his head, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No." He whispers, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her so she's almost draped over him. "I never want you to leave." He breathes; his voice husky as he says what she's been longing to hear.

"Joe... dad wants to talk to you in the morning..." she says softly, her cheek resting on his chest. She can hear his heart beating beneath her ear and she's aware of the increasing speed of it before she feels the tension in his arms and body. She pulls away from him, looking at his tense face, "Breathe, Joe." She reminds him, brushing her hand down his face. He exhales a sudden rush of air. "What are you thinking?" she asks him.

"I don't know if I can tell him everything."

"I'll be there with you."

"I don't really want you to know either." He closed his eyes and Lauren held her breath, waiting for him to say something else. "Do I have to tell him?"

"I think you do, Joe." She kissed him softly on the lips, "Have you thought that maybe you need to talk about it. Maybe once you tell someone everything, it might make you feel better. The nightmares might stop. You can start living your life again."

"He told me bad things would happen if I ever told." He said to her.

"He can't do anything to you now. And if you tell the police everything, I'm sure they'll be able to lock him up for a very long time."

"And what if they don't?"

"You really think my dad is going to let him anywhere near our family?" she asked him.

That caused Joey to stop and think about what she'd asked. "Okay."

"Joe, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"If you knew coming here would mean facing him, why did you come to Walford and why did you stay once you got here?"

"I came for Alice. She's part of the reason I stayed as well. I couldn't leave her with him. I couldn't have him do this to her..."

"What's the other reason?"

"You." He whispered. His eyes were intense as they stared into hers. "I couldn't bring myself to leave once I'd met you. I wanted to know you. I wanted to be with you."

"I wanted that too." She admitted. Their lips met with an intensity neither had experienced before. Joey rolled them so Lauren was lying on her back. "Stop, Joe." She whispered when she wrenched her mouth from his.

He moved to her neck, peppering it with soft kisses. "Can't..." he whispered.

"I promised my dad nothing would happen." She said gently, "And I don't want you to hurt yourself any further."

He paused and placed one more kiss at the base of her neck before rolling onto his back, taking her with him. "Thanks for everything you've done, Lauren." He told her gently.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, you know that." Her head was back on his chest now and she turned it slightly so she could kiss his skin. "Get some sleep. You must be knackered."

*JL*JL*

It would be nice to say they slept soundly from that point but their night was disturbed several times with Joey waking them. The following morning it was almost ten and they were both still asleep. Lauren was lying behind him now; her arms cradling his body and clutching his hands in hers. Her chin was resting on top of his head, as he'd shifted down the bed in the last couple of hours. Joey was still restless but having Lauren's arms around him did offer him some sort of comfort. Lauren was more concerned about him than she'd been even the night before. She'd made a few discoveries during the night which had been far from reassuring and she just wished she could make things better for Joey.

TBC

A/N2: So what do you think? I think I've probably discharged Joey from the hospital too early but I needed to move the story on so I decided to get him to beg to leave. I'm not sure I'd want to stay there any longer after going through what he's been through. Anyway he's got Lauren to look after him. Let me know what you think in a review.