Disclaimer: Drake and Josh are owned by Viacomm and Dan Schneider, not me, but here's my chance to thank everyone connected with the show for 4 great seasons and to say how much I miss it! tears-in-eyes

Author: therubyone

A TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

Chapter Seven – Tuesday (Farewell, So Long, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye)

The entire family went to see Drake off. They stood waiting and watching patiently as Drake discussed things with the other musicians and the tour manager, who supervised the loading of the equipment and luggage.

The moment came when all that remained was to say goodbye. Drake swept Megan off her feet, knowing she wouldn't like it but would most likely not dare to react in front of their folks; he kissed her sloppily on both cheeks, dumped her, then moved on to his parents for more kissing, hugging and pats on the back. He was relieved that Mom was holding it together. Then he was alone with Josh, standing a few feet away from the rest of the family.

Drake spoke softly, so only Josh could hear. "I wish you'd given me a photo of Miss Nancy instead of Oprah, even though I know there aren't any photos of Miss Nancy. Don't think I don't appreciate it, though. It's because of what Oprah's meant to you. But as for her taking your place? Nobody can or will EVER take your place."

"That's mutual, you know that," Josh rushed to reply, hoping Drake would be pleasantly surprised with the photo of the two of them that he took at Aunt Katherine's and added to Drake's album the night before.

Last night, while Drake slept, Josh had prepared and rehearsed an upbeat message to send Drake away with, but now he couldn't believe what he was saying; it burst out of him spontaneously. "Well, sugar pants, this is it. Number Seven on my list, and I don't even care if you think it's lame: the thing I will miss the most is simply being around you on a daily basis. I know you're going to meet a lot of people along the way. But whoever you may end up with in the future, don't forget it was little ole 'Miss Nancy' who popped your cherry! So your lily-white ass belongs to me. Forever." He gripped Drake in a tight but fast hug and managed to croak out, "Now go. Go. Have yourself a success story."

They were both very careful not to actually use the word "goodbye," but merely wished each other "good times." They knuckle-touched on it. Drake looked up into Josh's eyes, exhaled, and then smiled THAT smile, the wistful one that didn't show any teeth. Josh had seen it before, like the time they made up after Josh was "done." It was the special smile that said "I love you" without needing to say any words. Not saying anything now, because he was choked up, Drake punched Josh lightly on the shoulder, turned on his heel and purposefully rushed up the steps, disappearing onto the bus, racing to meet his future with an eager heart, putting all his attention towards the journey ahead of him.

The windows were tinted so they couldn't tell if Drake was waving farewell to them. Josh suspected he wasn't. Drake wasn't the type to look back. And that was fine as far as Josh was concerned. Something in him ached a bit, though, like when the Carmichaels' dog got hit by a car. The dog was gone, passed out of this life: it had happened so fast and nothing could change it. Yet there was still a powerful sense of loss. Josh had nothing but good will for Drake, and knew it was equally reciprocated. But they'd never be like they were. That chapter of their lives was now officially closed. He had a metallic taste in his mouth and there was ringing in his ears; it seemed as if he was watching everything from somewhere outside himself. The last place on earth he wanted to be was in "their" bedroom, now minus one. He and Audrey had set up a schedule of all the things they needed to do to prepare for Josh's departure; Josh was going to make certain that he stayed very busy, and out of the house as much as possible.

As his family stood watching the bus pull away, Josh got out his cellphone, selected one of his contacts and pressed. After a few rings, he heard a familiar voice answer.

Unbeknownst to Josh, Megan sidled closer to him, lurking behind his back. She strained her ears to listen to his conversation and heard:

"Hello, Leah? Yeah, it's Josh. I haven't seen much of you since the fire. I've missed you and I wanted to find out how you're doing. . . . Sure. I'd love to come over for dinner. . . . Excellent. . . . You're right, we have a lot of catching up to do. . . . Seven o'clock? Fine. I'm looking forward to it. . . . Peace. Out."

Josh smiled to himself and put his phone back into his pocket, which caused his hand to touch the keepsake that Drake had given him. His thumb absent-mindedly traced the silver buckles on the front of the case. Josh had looked on the web and learned that in Victorian times the buckle was a symbol of strength and perseverance. Josh chuckled quietly at the thought that Drake had picked the buckles because they represented the belts on their own two pairs of pants. Another thing he definitely would not miss was Drake's white belt – stupid buckle!

"Perfect!" muttered Megan, to herself. She smiled a smile that bespoke pure evil. Now she would have most of the evening to finish booby-trapping the boob-cave with her tricks. Josh was in for the full treatment before he managed to slip away. If she was able to capture images of the torment, she'd post them on the web, and also e-mail them to Drake, so he wouldn't feel left out.

She gloated to herself at the thought of how Drake was going to react to the itching powder she'd applied liberally to the insides of all his fancy new underpants, and, as a backup, she'd also dowsed inside his tight denim trousers, in case he went commando. She'd also dipped his spare guitar picks in petroleum jelly. She had even exchanged his regular toothpaste for the tube of joke toothpaste she got when she accompanied Josh to the magician supply shop: it would turn Drake's teeth black! Ah, good times! Once Josh left for UCLA, she'd have Drake all to herself again, after the tour. She was already thinking of the topics she needed to update on her website under the heading "Making Boys Cry."

Megan loved her brothers dearly, a pair of silly and adorable idiots, her very own big, boob-ish playthings. Drake and Josh provided an endless font of amusement for her and there was nothing she liked better than pranking them. She didn't know what made her do it. So she liked to play rough? She didn't care. She couldn't stop. She didn't want to. She knew she'd have to ease up once they were gone, so she was hoping to give them something spectacular to remember her by, just her own special way of saying goodbye.

FIN