Nick lays back in his bed and looks over at Joe as their mom brings the covers over him. "How is she going to handle being in a foster home if she can't even handle being away from me?" he asks quietly.
Joe sighs, sitting back down in the chair next to him again. "I don't know, buddy," he replies just as quietly.
Nick swallows a little and looks over at his mom, biting his lip. "Can she stay with us? Please, Mom?"
His mom sighs heavily. "No, Nicholas," she says, "she can't." Nick starts to protest but she holds a hand up. "I know how much you love her, Nick, and I owe her pretty much everything because she brought you back to me. But she can't stay with us. She needs to learn how to live without you, honey, and she can't do that if she's right down the hall."
Nick frowns. "Why does she need to learn how to live without me?"
"Because you were there for her at a time when she needed you the most. She's come to reply on you to be her savior, her shoulder to lean on. You can't be that for her twenty-four-seven. She needs to learn how to be strong on her own. Without you."
But Nick shakes his head. "She needs me!" he protests. "I'm the only one she's not afraid of. They can't just put her in a foster home where she'll be afraid of everyone! She needs me!" he says again.
His mom sighs once more. "I know she does, Nick," she says, "but she also needs to learn to be strong by herself. Don't try to argue with me, you know it's true."
Nick starts to protest but then he nods his head, looking away from her. "Yeah," he says quietly. "I know it's true."
"Get some sleep, buddy" Joe says, brushing curls away from Nick's forehead. "The minute something, if anything, happens with Demi, I'll wake you up, okay? I promise."
Nick looks at Joe for a second before nodding and closing his eyes slowly. He's asleep minutes later. Joe smiles softly and sits back in his seat, watching over his little brother. He looks up a little while later when he hears the door to the room open. He frowns at the woman standing there.
"Can I help you?" he asks.
The woman nods, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.
"I'm Demi Lawson's social worker," she says.
"Oh." Joe sits up straight in his chair. "Hi."
"I need to discuss something with Nick," she continues, looking at Nick's sleeping form. "Is that okay?"
Joe nods. "Yeah," he replies. "Yeah, that's fine." He reaches over and nudges Nick gently. "Nick, bro, get up, buddy."
Nick stirs a little and blinks at Joe. Then he notices the woman standing by the door. "What's wrong?" he asks, suddenly alert.
"Chill, Nicholas," Joe assures him. "She's Demi's social worker. She needs to talk to you about something." He looks over at the woman. "Can my mom and I stay in here with him?"
The woman bites her lip slightly, thinking about this. "I don't know," she starts. "I think it'd be better if it was just me and him."
"But–" Joe starts.
But Nick reaches a hand out for his big brother. "It's okay," he tells him. "I'll be okay."
Joe bites his lip as he looks at Nick and nods slowly a few seconds later. "Okay, Nick," he says, standing up. "Come on, Mom."
He waits for their mom to stand up too and then he walks out of the room with her.
Nick watches them leave and then looks at the woman as she takes a seat in the chair Joe just vacated. "What's your name?" he asks her.
The woman gives him a warm smile. "Madison Spencer," she replies.
"Ms. Spencer–" Nick begins, but she stops him.
"Please call me Madison," she tells him, smiling again.
Nick nods. "Madison," he says, "what's this about?"
Madison crosses her legs and puts her hands in her lap. Professional. "As you know, Demi has been through quite a lot in her life. She has bruises and burns scars covering over half of her body. She's been raped over and over and over, violently, for who knows how long." She pauses for a second. "In a few days, she's going to be going to a rehab center. In California."
Nick's eyes widen. "What?" he says in disbelief. "California? No," he protests, shaking his head. "No, no, no."
Madison sighs. "I know how close you two have gotten. And I hate to take her away from you, I really do, but I know the people in the rehab center. They're good people, and they can help Demi. They have counselors there she can talk to. People who will help her get through this."
Nick looks away from her for a second. "But she won't have me."
"No," Madison replies. "I'm sorry, Nick, but I know this will be good for her. She'll get better. That's what you want, right? For her to get better?"
"Of course–" Nick starts.
"Then let me do this for her," Madison says, interrupting him. "I wanted to talk to you about this first before I talked to Demi because I needed you to be okay with this. I've talked to doctors and nurses, and even your mom. I know how much you've come to care for her, and I needed to know that you were okay with this." She pauses again. "Are you okay with this?"
Nick looks at her for a second and hesitates before sighing. "I want her to be okay," he answers, "and if that means she's not going to be with me, then...okay. I'm okay with it."
Madison tilts her head to the side. "Are you really?" she asks him.
Nick sighs again. "No," he replies.