CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Is there anything we can do, Daddy?" I'd been at home for all of two hours and I felt uncomfortable and out f place. Lilly was with her parents and little brother - which I could understand - Joe said he was going to be hiding out in his apartment, - away from the press and his family - and the kids were still at the hospital. Half of my family was in Malibu to see me, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it.

"We can go get Blue Jeans if you want-" Dad started to suggest, a lot more happy and agreeable now that Joe wasn't around.

"I mean Lorraine." I cut in sadly. I was surrounded by my family after thinking I might never see them again - even my evil cousin Luanne was be civil - and all I could think of was little Lorraine. All alone in the hospital, so far no family to come and be with her, her parents and siblings gone in the crash... How long could the hospital keep her before she had to go to social services? "She's all alone, Dad, she doesn't have any family left, what's going to happen to her?"

"I'm sure childrens services will take good care of her, Mile." Dad tried to sooth, but it wasn't working.

"But, she's so little." I worried, "and she's probably scared."

"They'll take care of her, Mile." He insisted placatingly.

"No they won't, Dad." I snapped back, I couldn't help it, my little Lorraine was all alone. "She's alone, her parents, her siblings, she doesn't have any family and she went to me and Joe because we're familiar to her, and now she doesn't even have that."

"There's nothing we can do, Miley, you took care of her, but she's not your problem anymore, the sta-"

"Lorraine isn't a problem, Dad." I stood up angrilly. "She's a scared, lonely child, and I'm going to her." I grabbed a random set of keys off the table in front of me and left. Whichever relatives car I was about to take I sure hope they didn't mind. When I clicked the unlock button I jumped in and recognised the car, it was Mam'aws new one that we got her a year ago. At least I knew it was a good one, and the press camped outside didn't know it as mine. I heard protestig voices behind me, but I ignored them, blocking out all my well-meaning family and driving.

"Miley! Miley! Miley!" I parked at the hospital and tried to ignore the press still lingering outside the hospital.

"Where's Lorraine?" Was the first thing I said when I reached the nurses station.

"Miss Stewart, I-" The nurse started to protest.

"Please?" I begged, turning up my puppy dog eyes. "She needs me."

"I'm sorry, Miss Stewart, I can't-" The nurse looked nervous.

"Back the fuck off!" An angry, violent voice yelled at the paparazzi, cutting the nurse off again and we both turned to see Joe. He looked ready to murder someone, that red hot look of pure rage and violence in his eyes - the one that screamed for blood to be shed and lots of it - from when he incapacitated Hanson before we were rescued was back.

"Joe!" I called out, eyeing his clenched fists warilly.

"Miley?" His anger seemed to be overpowered with surprise at seeing me here. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you okay?" I stepped over to him. "Don't be angry."

"Better now." Joe smiled lazilly, reaching up and tugging on a lock of my hair and I could actually see small cuts from his nails on his palms when from clenching his fists. "You're like magic." He marvelled.

"What are you doing here, Joe? Are you okay? Your cuts-" I started to worry, but he swatted it away and stepped around me.

"Where's Lorraine?" Joe asked the nurse, I guess he'd had the same thoughts as me.

"I-I-I-" The nurse stuttered, I knew very well what it was like to be on the recieving end of Joe's smoldering stare.

"Please?" I pleaded again, joining him. "She's just a little girl, she needs us."

"I can't-" The poor nurse started to deny again.

"Do you really want to be the one responsible for a four-year-old little girls emotional termoil?" Joe demanded of the woman, a slight growl creeping into his voice. "Lorraine needs us, and after everything she's been through are you really going to say no to the only familiarity she's got left in her life?"

"It's okay, Melissa." I looked over to a set of double doors that hid the patient rooms to see Dr. Lexi Lane. "They can come through." I let out a breath of relief, I was going to get to see Lorraine. "But only them, okay? Lorraine really does need their familiarity right now."

"How is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"She's not scared is she?"

"Lorraine has night-" Joe and I both started questioning.

"See for yourselves." Dr. Lexi cut over us, gesturing into one of the rooms after we'd passed the double doors. Lorraine was sitting on the bed with some toys, having a very animated conversation with them. I let out a breath of relief, she was okay.

"Good." Joe let out and I looked up to him; all the anger was gone, now all I could see was relief.

"I only just got her calmed down, I was actually about to come call you." Dr. Lexi explained. "The dolls distracted her, but she starts screaming when she realises you're not here."

"We're the only familiarity she has right now." Because they'd had a week and a half to find her family and they didn't have anything.

"Is there anything we can do?" Joe asked, I looked up to see his sad teddy bear eyes trained on Lorraine.

"I don't know." Lexi sighed, shaking her head. "I'll look into it, but it's not looking good right now."

"Can we-?" I gestured in to Lorraine hopefully.

"Go on in." Dr. Lexi nodded and I didn't need to be told twice. I paused at the door and watched Lorraine, happy for now, but what about when we had to leave? Or when Childrens Services came to take her?

"Go." Joe urged softly with a sigh. "She's still scared of me." I opened the door and Lorraine's head shot up, a bright smile taking over her face as she jumped up.

"MILEY!" I could barely catch her fast enough when she jumped to me.

"I've got you, Princess." I cradled her close.

"I was scared you was gone forever." Lorraine mumbled, hugging me tightly around the neck before she pulled back. "You came back, just like Doctor Lexi said."

"Of course, I'll always come back to you, Rai." I cooed, brushing her blonde hair back from her face.

"'Kay." Lorraine looked past me and her eyes landed on Joe. "Joe came back too." She became shy. "Joe cuddles?" The precious little girl reached out for Joe, who was more than happy to oblige.

"Hey, Princess." He looked so at peace to have her accept hm again after the last two days. I guess she'd been really scared that we wouldn't be bac that that overrode the fear of what Joe had done to Hanson.

D

"The thought of her, all alone..." Joe shook his head, I understood though, he didn't need to finish. Joe was sitting on the hospital bed Lorraine had been playing on before, with the girl in question napping in his arms after falling asleep there. "I had to make sure she was okay."

"Me too." Lorraine was sucking her thumb in her sleep and clinging tightly to Joe; it was an adorable sight to see.

"How's your family?" Joe changed the subject, speaking in soft tones.

"Overwhelming." I scoffed and he grinned. "I love them, but sometimes they can be a little much.."

"What about your Dad?" Joe asked, more hesitant this time.

"He'll come around eventually." I assured, though I wasn't 100% sure on that. "He just doesn't understand what happened, and he cares too much."

"That's something I'm familiar with." Joe smirked, absently combing his fingers through Lorraine's hair. "You're very easy to love." There it was again; love. I still wasn't sure if it was a dream or not if Joe said he loved me last night, but the thought wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"So are you, Joey." I smiled at him and his expression turned hesitant. It broke my heart that he was always so hesitant to believe that someone could love him. "You're sweet, you're kind, smart, sensitive. Anyone would be crazy not to love you."

"Or maybe you're the crazy one." Joe shot back with a grim half-smile. "Considering the current consesus, that seems a little more likely."

"Why don't you want to see your family, Joe?" He'd been startig to open up, to relax more, to not hate himself so much and now it was like we'd taken a step back. It was either the confrontation with my Dad this morning, or the other drastic difference was his family.

"Told you on the plane; fight with the bros." Joe muttered stiffly, his whole demeaner changing.

"About what?" I pressed, I didn't want to see Joe upset, but I had a feeling this was important.

"Nothing. Not important." He said gruffly, his hand stilling in Lorraine's hair.

"Joe, we spent over a week thinking we might never get off that island, and then when we did get rescued you tried to avoid your family as much as you could. That's more than a fight with your brothers." I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you, Miley, I have problems." Joe snapped, turning a glare on me that made me flinch back. Anger, cutting, self-drepciation. Yeah, Joe had a few poblems. "They just don't get that." He looked at me and sighed, his anger dissipitating and his eyes softening as he gazed at me. "They always thought there was something wrong with me, but they never cared enough to talk to me..." Joe took his hand off Lorraine's head and flexed his fist a few times, both of us watching the light scars on his wrist vary in visibility. "Dad walked in once, you know." He hummed, I blinked up at him, then to his scars again. "When I was doing these one time." I gasped, shocked, horrified. "He didn't do anything, he just walked away, like he didn't even care." He got a far away look in his eyes, haunted and hurt. "Every time I went to them with a problem they just brushed it off like it was nothing, told me to write a song and get over, stop being such fucking little pussy." Anger had crept into his voice and his fist clenched again. I reached out for him, both my hands on his fist and he relaxed a little at my touch. "Until I just stopped. Stopped going to them, stopped caring, stopped trying to fight it. I just gave in and played the puppet out in public for the paparazzi. I kept trying to bottle it up, to pretend I was just fine like they wanted me to be, but then I just..." He turned his wide hael-brown puppy dog eyes on me. "Exploded... I had to get away, the next thing I knew I was at th airport and Paris was the first flight I saw." I got off the chair next to the hospital bed and climbed up onto the bed; sure it was cramped with Joe, Lorraine and me, but that didn't matter.

"I care." I hummed, kissing Joe's cheek tenderly.

"That's why I wanted to be with you." Joe said, nuzzling into my hair. "Because they don't care, and they make me so... Angry... And then there's you; so sweet and perfect and you control the anger, and I think..." He took a deep breath, kissing my temple. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

"I think I'm falling in love with you too." I admitted shyly, holding his hand in my lap and absently tracing the scars on his wrist.

"That's why I wanted to be with you instead of them." Joe laced his fingers with mine. "Because they never cared, and all I care about is you."

1) Sorry it took so long, been super busy.
2) I had a request to delve deeper into Joe's issues with his family, so here it is :D Hope it wasn't too traumatising.
3) Only 3 chapters left O.o Anything you want to see happen in those chapters?
4) Did you have a favourite part of the chapter?
5) Did you expect Miley and Robby to fight?
6) How do you think the fight will resolve?
7) So far the requests for new stories involve;
-1; a married Miley/Joe story (this idea is appealing to me more and more)
-2; a futuristic adventure story (if you PM me idea you have I'd love to look over it, and I'll try, but I'm not quite sure I could do futuristic)
-3; a teacher/student Miley/Joe story (I've seen a few of these, and I actually have quite an interesting start to a story like this already, so who knows, I may ellaborate)
-4; I am totally open to other pairings, it doesn't have to be just Joe and Miley, it could have one of them, both, or neither. Just as long as there's no nick (I really don't know why I don't like him).
-5; I've had the idea for a story based on the Parallax TV show from 2004 (it's Australian, but you can find it on youtube if you want.) So let me know what you think of that?
-6; Also keep sending in ideas, I love to hear them and I'll take all into consideration and find the one that fits for right now. :D

Reviews are welcomed with open arms :D

Smiler For Joe!