Disclaimer: I am not the proud owner of Drake and Josh.

Rating: T – for adult situations (love triangle het/slash – not explicit)

Chapter 6. – Resolution

Pins and needles! Pins and needles! Pins and needles! The Master Blaster in Josh's brain was sending a host of messages throughout his nervous system, trying to get Josh to wake up. The sun had long been up. Josh should have been awake hours ago. He ought to have been at the keyboard, working on that film treatment for his first book. And what about exercise? Josh told the Master Blaster politely but firmly to shut up.

Josh yawned and revelled in what a good night's sleep he'd gotten. As he grew aware of pressure and numbness he gradually opened his eyes to see that Mindy was using his upper arm for a pillow. There she was, hair falling across her face, legs drawn up, with her back pressed into his side. That was right where she liked to sleep. Then Josh came to realize that Drake was where he liked to sleep, with his ear pressed against Josh's heart, softly snoring into Josh's chest, and his foot hooked over Josh's ankle. They had him right where they wanted him, flat on his back. . . .

What? Was he dreaming? Oh. My. God. He found he was missing many details from last night. He remembered dancing and then everything got fuzzy. Mindy had been drunk. Had he himself then gotten drunk? He didn't feel hung-over. A bolt of fear shot through Josh's nervous system with such intensity it caused his scalp to prickle. Had anything taken place before they were asleep? He knew something had been said about a 3-way. Had they – ?

Josh used his free hand to lift up the sheet. He wore his blue boxer briefs. Drake was shirtless, wearing a ratty old pair of Chargers' PJ pants. Mindy was enveloped in one of Josh's t-shirts. What had led up to this unprecedented event? Why couldn't he remember? It was insane! It was also kind of wonderful.

Not wanting to disturb his pretty sleepers, Josh lowered the sheet back into place. He carefully dislodged his arm from underneath Mindy's head and managed to put a pillow in its place as she unconsciously adjusted her position. He stretched his arm and shook his fingers, flexing out the tingles, and then rested his hand on his abdomen. Still feeling drowsy, he decided to stop thinking and enjoy the novel sensation of having both his loved ones close by. Josh let go of his questions and concerns and drifted off again.

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Lying on his stomach, clutching a pillow, Josh opened one eye to look at the clock. 12:37 p.m.! The day was nearly half gone! He must have forgotten to set the alarm. He tried to recall events from the night before and kept losing his train of thought. He must have gotten drunk. He did remember that Mindy had gotten tanked during dinner. Maybe he'd sent her home in a cab? He couldn't remember how he and Drake had gotten home. Drake was probably asleep on the couch, mad about attending the wedding with Mindy. Josh stepped into the shower. He was in no hurry to have a confrontation with Drake. Nothing spoiled a Sunday afternoon like an argument.

As he lathered and rinsed, Josh thought about his odd dream: Drake and Mindy were asleep on either side of him, everything all peaceful and nice. Josh hardly ever remembered his dreams, so he was glad to have had such a pleasant one. Still yawning when he finished his shower, Josh stumbled out of the bathroom, briskly rubbing his thick black hair with a towel. He pulled on some seamless bike shorts and a v-neck t-shirt, steeled himself for the worst, and opened the bedroom door. The smell of food cooking assailed his nostrils. He heard voices.

"So do you want coffee or some of that herbal hogwash Josh calls tea?"

"I had plenty of coffee yesterday. I'll take the tea. It's not bad with sugar."

Oh, no! Drake and Mindy were alone together in a room containing sharp knives? Josh approached cautiously. He was in the dining room when he stopped in his tracks. There was Mindy, in a short kimono-styled robe that some Japanese fans had given to Drake but he never wore. Drake had on a blue t-shirt and was wearing the Chargers pants from the dream. The two of them were busy in the kitchen – making things! Now Josh thought he must be hallucinating. The table was set for three. There was a potted red geranium for a centerpiece. It looked like exactly like the one from his neighbor's terrace.

Mindy saw Josh from the kitchen and smiled. She beckoned him to sit down as she came forward and pulled out a chair for him. Like a sleepwalker he obeyed. Mindy put her arms around his neck, nuzzled his ear and said, "You smell like pears." She darted back into the kitchen. He heard her say, "Josh is up."

Drake entered the dining room with a glass and a mug, which he set on the table for Josh. "Hey! You look well-rested." Josh wrapped his arm around Drake's thigh and pulled him closer. He picked up the glass and sipped orange juice. It tasted so real!

Josh looked up into Drake's smiling face and asked, "Did I miss anything last night? I must have had a black-out."

"Relax, Doodle! All is well." Josh didn't let go and rested his head against Drake's torso.

Mindy brought plates full of something. She set one down before him and put one down for Drake. She went back and returned with a third plate.

Drake massaged the back of Josh's neck. "Okay. We're going to eat now." Josh let go of Drake, who sat down. Drake was to his right and Mindy sat to his left. Josh looked down at his plate at what appeared to be pancakes and scrambled eggs. Drake and Mindy were sitting there like it was the most normal thing in the world for them to have prepared a meal - together.

Josh picked up his fork and poked around his plate with it. Everything seemed edible.

Mindy informed him, "I used Egg-Beaters." Knowing Josh didn't normally use syrup, she asked, "Do you want jam or yogurt for your pancakes?" Josh shook his head.

Drake told Mindy, "Josh says he must have had a black-out last night and wants to know if he missed anything."

"You didn't drink anything but ginger ale last night," Mindy assured him.

"I don't remember leaving the reception. I don't even remember going to bed. Tell me what happened."

Drake put his hand over Josh's. "There's nothing to tell. We played Parcheesi. You got tired and crashed."

"Well, who won?"

"You did," Mindy assured him. "You won this time."

"I had such strange dreams last night. First we were all at the beach. Then I was flying by the full moon in a giant shoe."

Drake chuckled. "You should save that one for your next book!"

"I even dreamed that you two were asleep in bed with me."

"That part was true. After you zonked, Mindy and I stayed up talking about the wedding and old times and such. I was too tired to drive her home, so we just crawled in with you."

"Mindy, I decided I'd like some apricot jam for the pancakes, please."

Mindy set down her napkin and rose to get the jam for Josh. As soon as she was out of earshot, Josh leaned towards Drake and inquired in a low voice, "Did anything happen? In bed?"

Drake again took Josh's hand. "Of course not. Everything's fine. Everyone is fine."

Mindy brought the jam and as she passed, she and Drake exchanged glances that Josh couldn't interpret. He tasted some of the eggs – a tad too wet for his taste. And the pancakes were overly brown. But the miracle of this meal was what smacked Josh in the face. Mindy and Drake had worked together to make it happen. Something like this had been a far distant hope when Josh had coerced them into being his dates for the wedding. He'd thought it was a safe environment for them to appear in. Josh wanted to show them off. He wanted them to behave when they were around each other. His lowest expectation had been merely to get through the event without tears or bloodshed.

"Josh! Josh!" Drake waved his hand in front of Josh's face. "Are you with us? Do you need more sleep?"

"Sorry, Drake. I was just thinking how surprised I am and how pleased that you've both gone to so much effort to create this lovely brunch for us."

"Josh Nichols!" Mindy pretended to scold, "After all the meals you've prepared for us, it's only fair. You push yourself so hard all the time, we thought you needed to sleep in for a change, and that you might like a break from the cooking."

Josh nibbled at the grapes and melon in a side dish.

"Oh, by the way," said Drake, as casually as he could, "I left a message with Dr. Stein's answering service to set up an appointment ASAP. Mindy and I decided maybe you needed some help with that writer's block thingy."

"You and Mindy decided?"

"Um hmm. And to make sure you figure out what's bothering you, and to be sure you get past this, we're going to set up some sessions that include the three of us."

Josh started choking on the grape that he had just inhaled. Drake flew out of his chair, ready to pound Josh on the back or administer the Heimlich maneuver. Mindy ran to get Josh a glass of water. Josh coughed and managed to swallow the grape and clear his airway.

Crisis averted, Drake and Mindy resumed their places. Josh drank some water, his thoughts racing.

"Now let me make sure I've got this: the two of you want the three of us to see Dr. Stein?"

"He's made a name for himself on San Diego talk radio for his couples counseling," Drake stated.

"We aren't exactly a couple," Josh said, as fear and resistance fought for dominance in the back of his mind.

"We could be considered intersecting or interlocking couples," mused Drake.

Mindy spoke up. "We're not trying to minimize the inherent difficulties. It's not going to be easy. We'd be breaking new ground here. It just seems like it would help us if we could work some things out, talk about them in a neutral setting. We can't be the only three people on Earth with this type of, um, arrangement."

"Yeah. Maybe we could set up our own support group or network or something," Drake added.

Josh did a spit-take with the water.

Drake handed Josh a napkin. "What would really be the coolest would be to have our own reality show."

Mindy laughed. Josh thought he'd somehow crossed over into a parallel universe.

Drake continued, "And I know just what we'd call it: 'T-R-Y-angle.' The guy with the extra wives has a show. Why NOT us?"

"TRYangle? Oh, noooooooo!" Josh groaned at the bad pun. He chewed on his fingers.

The kitchen radio had been on the whole time in the background. A bouncy reggae song started to play. Mindy stood and said excitedly, "Drake, THIS one!"

She hurried into the kitchen and turned up the radio, coming back with a wooden spoon in each hand, which she shook like maracas. A Jamaican man's deep voice sang the verses in counterpoint to a woman's chirpy chorus of "ay ay ay, ay ay ay!" backed by horns, guitars and a pumped-up keyboard.

Drake snatched up the pepper mill, as Mindy said "Take it, Drake!"

Drake jumped up, clowning around with Mindy, pretending to sing along, "tell you baby, tell you baby, you huggin' up the big monkey man . . . I've seen no sign of you, I've only heard that you huggin' up the big monkey man . . . is not lie, is not lie . . . now I know that, now I understand . . . you huggin' up the big monkey man."

Josh recognized their spirited imitation of his own antics. The song was happy-sounding and the beat infectious. He couldn't refuse them if they wanted to talk to Dr. Stein. In the long run, it could only help things. A sense of light and warmth and sweetness suffused him. He thought of one of his stories, when the hero emerged from the Chamber of Grace. Josh felt like that hero, who's been armed with all that he needs to face the challenges ahead. Josh stood and joined the demented hopping, pumping his arms up and down and using his hips to bump first Mindy, then Drake, knocking them off balance, until the three of them were helpless with laughter.

The End (or is it?)