"Step by Step, Brother"

By Lorrie

Chapter 12 – Homecoming

Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Drake & Josh". The characters belong to the creators and Nickelodian, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)

The phone rang just as Walter walked in the house. "Isn't someone going to get that?" He yelled, struggling with his briefcase.

"I'm in the shower!" Josh yelled back.

"I'm doing my homework!" Megan called downstairs.

Walter picked up the phone. "Hello." He said, half out of breath.

"D-d-dad?" Drake said slowly.

"Drake!" Walter yelled excitedly. "Oh, son, it's so good to hear your voice! How are you? How did the therapy sessions go?"

"O-on-ly sp-sp-speech." Drake replied. "OK with w-w-w-walking."

Walter beamed. "That's great son. I can't wait to see you."

"W-w-when?" Drake asked.

"The weekend. We'll be up Friday night." Walter said. He waived Megan to the phone as he saw her bound down the stairs.

"Is it Drake?" She whispered.

Walter nodded. "Drake, Megan wants to say hi."

"OK." Drake said.

Megan took the phone from her step-father. "Drake? Are you OK?"

"F-f-fine. Th-anks." He replied. "W-w-what are y-ou do-ing?"

"Homework." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Bel-ieve i-i-it or n-n-not, I w-wish I w-w-as d-d-doing h-h-home-w-work." He struggled to complete the sentence.

Megan laughed. "Yeah right. You hate homework."

"W-w-where's J-J-Josh?"

"Getting ready for work, I think. Hold on, I'll get him." Megan said and cupped her hand over the phone before yelling at the top of her lungs. "JOSH! DRAKE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"

"I'm coming!" Josh shouted back, bounding down the stairs. "I'm coming!"

Megan turned her attention back to the phone. "Hey Drake."

"W-w-what?"

"I miss you."

"M-m-m-miss you t-t-too." He said slowly.

Audrey stared at her son as he spoke, she could tell he was tired. "Drake, why don't you wrap it up and let me talk to dad?"

"I-I-I h-have t-t-t-to t-t-talk t-t-t-to J-J-J-Josh f-f-f-first." He said and then let out a long breath.

"Honey, you're tiring yourself out, I can tell." Audrey said softly.

"I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine."

Josh took the phone quickly from Megan's hand. "Drake! I'm here!"

"H-h-hey bro." Drake smiled at the sound of his step-brother's voice and Audrey found herself smiling.

"So, how did therapy go?"

"O-on-only sp-sp-spee-ch. I c-c-can w-w-walk f-f-f-fine."

Josh was close to crying tears of joy. "That's so great Drake! So how about your speech therapist? Do you like them?"

"Yeah. H-h-her n-n-name is J-J-Jenn. Sh-she's in h-h-her e-early tw-tw-twenties."

"Ah," Josh exclaimed. "Now, I understand. I'll bet she's small, blonde and very attractive."

Drake laughed. "B-B-Bingo!"

"Hey, I hate to cut this short, but Helen called and wanted me to come into work for a couple of hours. I need to get going or I'll be late." Josh paused. "I miss you, brother."

"M-M-Miss y-you t-t-too." Drake replied and handed the phone to Audrey.

"Josh, honey it's mom. Can I talk to your dad?"

"Sure. Hey mom, how is he, really?" Josh asked.

"Very tired." She replied, turning away from Drake. "I can't get him to rest."

"Turn the TV on." Josh said. "He'll get into a movie or something and he'll be asleep before you know it."

"Thanks honey. Now, can I talk to dad?"

Josh passed the phone back to his father, told everyone bye and left. "It's me." Walter said into the phone.

"Hi honey." Audrey said sweetly.

"So, is he really doing that well?" Walter asked.

Audrey nodded as she spoke. "He can walk just fine." She beamed. "It took a few minutes to get his legs going again, but I could hardly believe it when he started walking." She could feel tears stinging her eyes as she spoke.

"What about his speech therapy?"

"Well, he's only had the one session. Jennifer will be back tomorrow and promised to bring her guitar, so hopefully if she'll approach this on a level Drake can get into, it will go faster for him. He's getting so frustrated."

Walter nodded in understanding. "Well, you can imagine how hard this is for him."

She stared at her son, lovingly as she watched him flip through the channels on the TV. "So, are you guys still planning to come up here over the weekend?"

"Oh, you bet. I don't think I could hold Josh or Megan back if I tried." He laughed. "We'll be leaving as soon as they get out of school."

"Good. We'll be waiting for you." She sighed. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." Walter replied. "I guess I'd better get off of here and get some dinner on the table for me and Megan."

"OK honey. I love you."

"Love you too." He hesitantly hung up the phone.

"Mom didn't want to talk to me?" Megan asked, somewhat hurt that Audrey hadn't spoken to her.

Walter wrapped his arms around his daughter. "Oh honey, I don't think it was that she didn't want to talk to you, she's just a bit wrapped up in Drake right now."

Megan nodded. "Do you want some help with dinner?"

"That would be great!" Walter said.

Audrey left Drake's bedside for the night and returned to her hotel room, planning an early start to the hospital. She woke the next morning with a terrible headache and dialed Drake's number.

Drake reached for the phone. "H-h-hello." He answered.

"Honey, it's mom. I have a terrible headache, so I'm going to try to sleep it off before I come over. OK?"

Drake nodded. "OK." He said slowly. "H-H-Hope y-y-you f-f-feel b-b-bet-ter s-s-s-oon."

"I'm sure I will honey. Are you sure you'll be OK until I can get there?"

"I-I-I'll b-b-b-be f-f-f-fine."

"I love you." Audrey said.

"L-L-Love y-you t-t-t-too."

It was nearly 11:30 when Jennifer knocked on Drake's door. "Hey there!" She said, watching him flip through the TV channels.

Drake sat up in bed and his eyes widened as he noticed the guitar she held in her hand. "W-w-wow! T-t-that l-look-s l-l-like a M-M-Mar-t-t-tin." He struggled to speak.

Jennifer nodded. "It is. It was my dad's." She held the guitar out to him.

Drake lifted his broken left arm as best as he could. "C-c-can't p-p-p-play."

Jennifer carefully laid the guitar in his lap and showed him that he could finger the chords with his exposed fingers and strum with his uninjured right hand.

The chording was awkward at first, but within minutes, Drake had mastered it. He seemed calmer as he played a sweet, slow tune.

Jennifer smiled as she watched him change chords and softly begin to hum. "That sounds pretty. Why don't you sing it to me?" She asked.

Drake cocked his head to the side and gave her a mock scowl. "C-c-can't."

"Try." Jennifer encouraged.

He smiled at her. "N-n-no w-w-words y-y-yet." Drake continued to play the guitar and hum. He closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting on the edge of the bed in his room where he does most of his writing. Then she heard his voice, barely above a whisper at first and then it grew stronger. You help me hang on. You help me be strong. You encourage me when I think there is no way. You are the one that I lean on. The one I fall back on. With you here, I know I can get through the day. He stopped suddenly. His eyes met hers and filled with tears. "Th-th-thanks J-J-Jen-n-n."

Jennifer found herself crying too. "Oh Drake, that's beautiful."

"F-f-for y-y-you." He stammered.

Jennifer closed her eyes and smiled. "That's so sweet. Thank you."

Drake shook his head. "N-n-no. Th-th-thank y-y-you f-f-for g-giving m-me m-my m-mu-mu-music b-b-back."

Jennifer smiled at him again just as the door opened. "Hey, looks like your lunch is here." She lifted the guitar from his lap and watched him shake his head.

"I n-n-n-eed t-t-to f-f-f-fin-ish th-that s-s-s-ong." He protested.

"You need to eat your lunch." Jennifer stated. "I'll give you the guitar back when you're through. Maybe we can find a more comfortable position for you to hold the guitar in while we're at it."

Drake turned his nose up at his lunch tray. "Look, I know the food's not the best here, but if you don't eat it, Dr. Thomas won't let you keep the guitar in here. I had to do a lot of tall talking to get him to agree to this."

"B-b-but i-it w-w-worked." Drake said, taking a bite of the stale ham and cheese sandwich.

Jennifer nodded. "I know, but Music Therapy is considered experimental. There are no guarantees, but in your case, since you have a musical background, it made sense to try this."

Drake smiled. "D-d-don't y-y-you h-a-a-ve o-ther p-p-patients?"

"Not until this afternoon." Jennifer answered.

"S-s-so y-you th-th-thought y-y-you'd s-s-spend s-s-s-some t-time w-w-with m-m-m-me?"

Jennifer nodded. "You remind me a lot of my little brother Drake and I don't get to see him very often."

"W-w-why?" Drake asked as he continued to eat.

Jennifer shook her head. "It isn't important."

"J-J-Jen?" Drake thought he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"He suffered brain damage in an accident a few years ago. He and some of his buddies were partying and there was a car accident. Dennis was the lucky one. His two best friends died at the scene. He was in a coma for almost a year before he woke up and even though he's having trouble talking and walking, it's cases like yours that still give me hope." She managed a smile.

Drake stared at her. "I'm s-s-s-sor-ry a-about D-D-Den-nis."

Jennifer wiped her eyes. "Well, like I said, it's cases like yours that give me hope that someday he might be able to walk and talk like he used to." She looked at his tray. "Look at you! You've cleaned your plate."

Drake smiled as he stared at his speech therapist. She reached behind him and picked up the guitar. "Do you want to try this again?"

Drake nodded and allowed Jennifer to place the guitar in his lap again.

Friday afternoon, Josh and Megan could hardly wait for the bell to ring. They had each packed early that morning and left their bags in the Jeep. Walter was going to pick each of them up from school so they could get on their way sooner to see Drake and Audrey.

As they met in the Jeep, Josh piled into the front seat while Megan climbed into the back. "This has been the longest week of my life." Josh exclaimed. "I can't wait to see Drake . . . and mom."

"I know exactly how you feel." Walter said. "Everyone buckled up?"

"Yes." Megan replied. "Let's get going."

Two hours later, Walter pulled the Jeep into the hospital parking lot. Drake's eyes lit up the moment his dad, brother and sister walked into the room.

"Drake!" Megan exclaimed, running to hug him.

"E-easy M-M-Megan." Drake said, hugging her in return.

"Hey bro!" Josh greeted, pulling Drake into a hug.

"H-Hey y-youself." Drake replied, trying to speak carefully as Jennifer had instructed him.

Josh noticed the guitar. "Hey, where'd that come from?"

"J-J-Jen. W-We've been d-d-oing m-m-music therapy."

"How does that work?" Walter asked after giving Drake a big bear hug and mussing his hair slightly.

"J-Jen sh-sh-showed m-m-me a w-w-way to p-play e-even w-w-with a br-broken a-a-arm."

"And he can sing." Audrey added.

Drake smiled. "W-W-With-out st-st-stut-tering."

"I've heard about that. That there are musicians who can't talk at all without stuttering, but when they sing everything connects perfectly." Josh said.

"So, you have to sing everything?" Megan asked.

Drake shook his head. "H-Hope-fully s-s-soon I c-c-can t-t-t-talk t-t-too."

Audrey smiled. "He's improved a lot in a week. Dr. Thomas said that he may release him in a couple of days."

"So, you guys could ride home with us?" Megan asked excitedly.

"That's the hope, sweetie." Audrey replied, hugging her daughter and looked back at Drake.

"So, when do we get to meet this Speech Therapist of yours?" Josh asked.

"L-L-L-ater." Drake replied.

"Jennifer usually only sees Drake during the week, but she said since he was mostly likely going to be released over the weekend, she would make it a point to stop by and see him." Audrey explained.

Walter and Audrey left the hospital for a while to go pick up dinner that everyone could enjoy in the hospital cafeteria. Drake was thankful to be eating food other than hospital food and to be allowed out of his room for a change.

After dinner, Drake found himself yawning as he listened to Josh explain every detail of everything that had been going on in school for the past week. "Am I boring you?" Josh finally asked, watching his brother's eyes began to droop.

Drake shook his head and slapped his hand across Josh's shoulders. "J-J-Just a lit-tle t-t-tired."

"I'm sorry. I should have realized." Josh rambled.

"I-I-It's OK." Drake replied.

Walter and Audrey watched the boys and then smiled at each other. "We had better let him get some rest." Audrey said as she reached over and kissed Drake's forehead. "We wouldn't want Dr. Thomas to say that he's too tired to come home." She mussed his hair. "I love you." She said quietly.

"L-Love y-you g-g-guys t-t-t-too."

Each family member gave him a strong hug before leaving the room. Drake closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The following morning, there was a soft knock on his door, just as the sun began to stream into the windows. "Drake." He heard Jennifer's soft voice.

"J-J-Jenn?" He replied. "W-What are y-you d-doing h-h-here?"

She smiled as she pulled a chair next to his bed. "I wanted you to be the first to know. My brother spoke yesterday. His first words in years."

Drake smiled. "Th-th-that's g-r-r-eat n-n-news."

"He sounds a lot like you."

"Y-y-you m-m-mean he st-st-stut-ters t-t-t-too?"

Jennifer nodded. "But you're coming out of that, you know?"

Drake nodded in response. "B-Be-cause of y--you."

Jennifer reached for his hand. "You know if you were just a few years older . . ."

Drake smiled. "I-I'm n-not that m-much y-y-young-er than y-you."

"No, not that much." She held his hand for a moment longer and then reached for the guitar. "Would you play something for me before I leave?"

He let her place the guitar in his lap and he fingered a few chords before beginning to sing: You help me hang on. You help me be strong. You encourage me when I think there is no way. You are the one that I lean on. The one I fall back on. With you here, I know I can get through the day. He looked up and their eyes embraced each other for a moment, then Jennifer cleared her throat.

"Well, I guess I'll go ahead and take this home with me." She gently took the guitar from him. "Dr. Thomas tells me that he's releasing you today, so I guess this is goodbye."

Drake nodded. "I-I'll m-miss y-you."

"I'll miss you too, Drake." Jennifer replied and left the room.

A month later . . .

"Hey Drake!" Josh called out as he entered the house.

"Up here!" Drake replied from their room.

Josh bounded up the stairs. "What are you doing? I thought you and the banc were going to rehearse."

Drake looked him, puzzled. "Oh, yeah, you're right."

Josh studied his brother with genuine concern. "Drake, are you OK? I mean, you haven't really been yourself since . . ."

"Go ahead, you can say it. The accident. I haven't been myself since the accident."

"Well, you haven't. I mean, you're much more concerned with your schoolwork than you used to be. You don't play your guitar 24/7 and you seem to be genuinely interested in what's going on with other people." Josh explained.

Drake laughed. "I know. It's just since the accident, it seems like there are just more important things in life than me, you know?" He paused and studied Josh's face. "I can't begin to understand what you guys must have gone through when I was in a coma. I mean if it were any of you, I don't know how I'd handle it."

Josh gave his brother a hug. "Step by step, brother. Step by step."

"Hey, do you think dad would be willing to take us camping again, say maybe next weekend?" Drake asked.

"Not unless I can go too." Megan said as she rushed into the room.

"You hate camping." Drake stated.

Megan shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, but someone needs to keep you too big boobs out of trouble."

Drake pulled her close and began to tickle her. Megan began to scream in laughter until Audrey and Walter rushed into the room.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Audrey asked.

Drake stopped tickling his sister, Megan stopped laughing. Josh held up his hands. "Just an innocent bystander." He defended.

"Hey dad," Drake started. "Do you think we could all go camping next weekend?"

Walter looked at Audrey, she stared back at him and then to Drake. "Honey, are you sure you want to go camping again? I mean, you're just now recovering from you last camping trip."

Drake nodded. "I know. Mom, I'm fine and yes, I really would like to go again."

Walter shrugged his shoulders. "Well . . ." He looked at Audrey.

"I . . . I guess it's OK." Audrey replied.

"Great! Then it's set for next weekend." Drake said excitedly.

"Why is it so important that we go next weekend?" Audrey asked, suspiciously.

Drake shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "No reason." He said quickly.

"You're sure?" Audrey asked as she and Walter neared the door.

"I'm sure." Drake replied as he watch his mom, dad and sister leave the room.

"OK Drake, what gives?" Josh asked. "Why next weekend?"

Drake looked to his left and then to his right. "It's Jennifer's birthday. I've also booked a gig for the band at The Last Stop."

"The Last Stop? Drake, that club serves alcohol. You can't get in. How is your band getting in?" Josh asked.

Drake placed his hands on Josh's shoulders. "The band doesn't have to be 21. I've already checked. Besides, the owner's heard us before and really wants us there."

"So, how do you plan to get around mom and dad?" Josh asked.

"That's where you come in." Drake began to explain his plan to Josh.

"Yep, he's back to normal." Josh thought as he laughed and shook his head.

THE END