Title: All His
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Pairing: Keith/Karen, Dan/Karen
Rating: PG
Spoilers: All pre show
Notes: For the LiveJournal FirstLines1000 Challenge #19.
***
"I'm not fighting with you right now," Dan says, his voice calm, his eyes anything but. "I'm going out with the guys."
"Well, I'm fighting with you," Keith says, grabbing his brother by the arm. "And you're damn well going to listen to me."
Dan wrenches his hand free of Keith's grasp, putting some distance between them. "We've had this discussion," he says. "More than once. And my decision's not going to change."
"Karen is pregnant," Keith reminds him, unable to believe what his brother is doing. "With your kid. You owe her-"
"I owe her nothing." Dan's voice is cold, but there is an almost mocking gleam in his eyes that makes the hair on the back of Keith's neck stand on end. "Karen and I are over. I would have thought that would make you happy."
Keith frowns, not because he's unsure of what Dan means, but rather the opposite. "What?"
"Karen. She's all yours." Dan takes a step closer to Keith, his face darkening with fury, eyes glittering with malice. "C'mon big brother, it's hardly the first time you've had to make do with my cast-offs-"
Anything else that Dan might have come out with is lost when he falls to the ground, courtesy of Keith's fist making contact with his chin. Keith stands there, looks down at Dan as, stunned, he stares up at Keith. One hand goes to his swollen lip, to the trickle of blood making its way down his chin, and Keith steps over him, because if he doesn't, he knows he'll beat his brother to a bloody pulp. "She's too good for you," he mutters, and he doesn't care if Dan hears him or not.
He's not sure where he's going until he gets there, and even then, he stands at the door for a long moment before stepping inside. For an instant, he doesn't think she's there; then he sees her, sitting in the bleachers, her head in her hands. She looks utterly miserable, and a fresh wave of anger at his brother surges through him.
Dan had told him earlier tonight where he was going, what he was going to do, and Keith had pleaded with his brother to change his mind. Karen doesn't deserve to be left behind in Tree Hill while Dan goes off to live the high life at college. She doesn't deserve to have to raise a kid on her own, sacrificing her own dreams, while Dan goes off and chases his. She deserves better than the life that Dan is handing her.
Of course, she deserves better than his jackass brother, which is part of the problem.
Another part is that Dan had been closer to the truth than Keith cares to admit.
Pushing those thoughts aside, this being neither the time nor the place, he makes his way to her side, sits down beside her. He doesn't say anything, isn't even sure if she knows he's there until a harsh chuckle escapes her. "I was wondering if you'd show up."
He looks at her curiously, because her head is still in her hands, then shrugs. "I figured you might still be here," he says. "Guess I don't need to ask how you are?"
She laughs, but when she looks at him and he sees her tear-stained face, her red eyes, he knows it's anything but funny. "I'm pregnant Keith," she tells him flatly. "And as of about an hour ago, the life I had planned out for myself doesn't exist anymore. So tell me, how do you think I am?"
"Pretty angry," he allows. "But I'm not the Scott you want to yell at."
He spoke mildly, but her face registers chagrin, and she drops her head. "I'm sorry," she mutters, looking away from him. Her head whips back around when his hand finds hers and he squeezes gently.
"I'm sorry too," he tells her. "That my brother's an idiot. I tried to talk some sense into him you know. And then when that failed, I punched his lights out before I came here."
Her jaw drops, and he shrugs. "He deserved it."
He thinks the next sound from her is supposed to be a chuckle; it's more like a sob. "I had so many plans Keith," she whispers, staring at the Ravens pennant hanging from the ceiling. "We were going to go to college, we were going to get out of here… and I have no idea how I'm going to do this on my own."
Keith lets out a long breath, knowing what he wants to say, but equally knowing that it's not his place. So when he hears his own voice saying, "You're not," he's just as surprised as she is.
"What are you saying?" she demands, eyes narrowed, and he shrugs again, because it's so simple, so clear to him. He knows exactly what he wants to do.
"Look Karen, Dan's made it clear that he doesn't want to know. But this kid… it's gonna be my nephew or niece… that makes me involved too." Her eyes grow wide and slightly moist as he talks, but he doesn't stop, because he's afraid that if he does, he won't have the courage to see this through. "And you've got every right to tell me to get lost, and I wouldn't blame you if you did, but I just want you to know… whatever you need, if there's anything I can do…" He sighs again, shaking his head. "You're not alone Karen."
Tears spill down her cheeks and she wipes them away with a self-conscious giggle. "Boy," she says dryly. "Did I ever choose the wrong brother."
He doesn't say anything, because he's often thought the same thing. Instead he slings his arm around her shoulders and offers to drive her home, an offer she accepts. And as he drives, he thinks of Dan's angry words.
"Karen. She's all yours."
Not yet, he thinks to himself. But maybe someday.