A/N: And it has finally come!! The writing of my first ever One Tree Hill fanfic. I hope everyone likes it....and constructive criticism and reviews are much appreciated!! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of One Tree Hill, including the characters, the setting, this episode, and so forth.
Summary: After the wedding party, instead of telling Haley about going away in an RV, Lydia and Jim James tell her that Jim is suffering from Liver Disease. Haley is devastated and is faced to deal with this reality, but more drama comes as Jim reveals a hidden secret about his life in the last few months of his life that is common in Tree Hill. He has another daughter.
Second Verse, Same as First: Chapter 1 - The Wedding Party
(From Episode 202: "Truth Doesn't Make A Noise")
(Takes place towards the end of the party. After Haley tells Deb off, and the her 'rents never told her that they were going off in an RV)
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Haley felt the bass boost of the DJ speakers beat near her heart. Her smile had never left her face since she had walked into her wedding "reception." She couldn't believe how Lucas, Brooke and Peyton had put all of it together for her and Nathan. As she danced to the bouncy hip hop music with Nathan on the dance floor, she eyed her three best friends and mentally thanked them all.
Things were great, and it felt like they were only going to get better.
Her best friend since FOREVER, Lucas Scott, was back in Tree Hill from "permanently" moving to Charleston with his uncle, Keith. There didn't seem to be any more drama between the love triangle of best friends: Brooke and Peyton. Best of all, she was now married to the love of her life, Nathan Scott, and her parents were right there with her, celebrating.
All the fun made her forget about the conflict with Deb, Nathan's mother and her opinion on hers and Nathan's marriage. It made her forget about Nathan's father and his landing in the hospital, and what he would think about her marriage to his son. Hanging out with the people she loved made her forget all about her troubles.
She looked over at Nathan and noticed he looked especially hot as he danced close to her. His hands were on her hips and she knew he was checking her out like the animal he was. She smiled, and as she looked at him, she had absolutely no regrets about the love of her new life. It still seemed like a dream that they were married.
The music started to slow down, and Haley glanced at her watch. It was 10 pm, and the party was about to end. People were leaving, and said their goodbye's to Haley and Nathan, plus an extra congratulations. Haley smiled at all her guests and thanked them for coming.
Soon, just about everyone was gone, and there were only Peyton, Brooke, Nathan and herself left. Peyton and Brooke were off cleaning stuff up and fooling around, while Nathan and Haley sat down on a couch.
"Where'd Lucas go off to?" Haley asked, looking around the place. Nathan shrugged. "I think Karen said that he went to the hospital to visit Dan....." he replied.
Haley sat on Nathan's arms, and Nathan cuddled her in his arms. Haley turned to look at Nathan. "Really....? I never really thought Lucas would go over there to visit him."
"Yea, me either. I stopped over to talk to him earlier, since Dan requested that Lucas visit him, and told him to just stay away, because......well, you know how Dan is. I guess Lucas just wanted to see what was up."
"You were at the hospital today?" Haley asked, not knowing that he went to the hospital without her.
Nathan gave Haley a reluctant look. "......yea, actually I did. I went there to tell him about us.....I went to my mom's after you stopped by there earlier to tell her off, and she mentioned that my Dad didn't even know about us yet. So I decided to tell him myself."
"Oh....Nathan, you didn't have to do that. We could have done that together...." Haley said, worried that his father had totally scolded Nathan. Nathan smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry Haley.....nothing happened. All he was talking about was basketball........you KNOW my Dad. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I just thought I should tell him as soon as possible...." he said, kissing Haley on her forehead. Haley smiled and laid her head on Nathan's chest.
"That's why I married you.....you have things all under control." she said, smiling. Nathan grinned and squeezed Haley's hand.
"Oh...geez, that reminds me." Haley said, suddenly. She stood up from the couch and started to grab her purse and her coat. Nathan looked confused.
"Haley? Where are you going?" he asked, chasing after her.
"Don't worry, my parents just wanted to see me at home before the night was over. They told me they wanted to tell me something.....I have no idea what, but I guess it's a family thing. I'll meet you at home." she said, kissing Nathan on the cheek.
"Well....don't forget to come home. That bitch at my mom totally turned me on...." Nathan said, laughing. "Better be there to quench my thirst."
Haley smiled at Nathan slyly and winked. Brooke and Peyton started laughing like crazy in the back. "EW! Guys, really.....keep married talk to yourself." Peyton said.
"If I have to be THAT cheesy when I get married, then that better be one giant rock on my finger." Brooke said, laughing with Peyton. Haley rolled her eyes and Nathan chuckled.
"You're drunk. See you guys later! Thanks for everything....." Haley said, running over to the girls to give them hugs. Brooke and Peyton grinned.
"Oh, really, it was no problem....." Brooke said, obviously proud of herself, showing no real sign of modesty. Peyton gave Haley a peck on the cheek.
"Congrats, girl." she said. Haley smiled at her friends, then turned around to wink at her husband before leaving the place. She walked over to the parking lot and opened the door to her car. As she started driving, she couldn't help but wonder what news her parents wanted to tell her.
--
Lydia James paced back and forth across the living room while Jim stared at his wife clueless as he laid back in his easy chair. "Lydia.....you're giving me a headache. Calm down okay? Haley's going to be here any moment...."
"I can't help it Jim.....I'm just......I don't know." she said, still set on pacing.
"Lydia.....please. Just sit down and relax. If Haley sees you a nervous wreck, she's going to KNOW something's wrong. We don't want to send her in panic right away....." he said, calmly. Lydia stopped and faced Jim.
"It was hard enough putting on our regular selves for the party.....I don't know if I can be that person now. There's so much.....And I feel terrible, having to deal with this on our daughter's wedding party....."
"Hey....don't you feel terrible about anything." Jim said, standing up and walking to Lydia. "This is about me, and I feel like she has to know today, or she never will. We have to tell the whole family.....it's been going on for a few months now."
Lydia stared at Jim. "I know......it's just, we're in this together.....and I can't believe it's actually happening again...." she whispered, suddenly breaking into tears. She collapsed into Jim's arms, and Jim tried to comfort her.
"Lydia.....she's going to be here any second......you gotta be strong baby....." he said, looking into her eyes. Suddenly, the opening and closing of the front door startled the both of them.
"Mom? Dad?" they heard Haley call from the foyer.
Lydia sloppily wiped away her tears and straightened herself out. Haley walked into the living room and saw the both of her parents. Jim and Lydia put on the best smile that they could and greeted Haley.
"Hey you...." Jim said, walking over to Haley and hugging her tight. Lydia smiled as she saw her husband hug their daughter.
Haley was a little confused. "Hey.....dad. What's with the hugging? I mean, I did see you like an hour ago." she said. She looked over to her mother and saw her face. Her mother's face was somehow different. Haley noticed the tear streaks under her mother's eyes and her heart suddenly fell at the sight of her mother's sadness.
"Oh my god.....what happened?" she asked, sitting down on the couch, entering a state of shock.
"What would make you think something's wrong honey?" Lydia answered as she sniffled a little.
"Mom.....you were crying. You never cry until something's up. What's wrong? What did you want to tell me?" Haley said, her voice sounding more anxious by the minute. There was a beat of silence for a moment as Lydia and Jim glanced at each other. Jim took a deep breath before replying.
"Haley.....your mother and I have....news." he said. Jim walked over to the chair where Lydia sat, and held her hand. "Um......okay. About two months ago......I started having some pains while working and I noticed myself feeling more fatigued than usual."
Haley was still confused as she observed her father searching for the right words to say.
"As you know.....before you and your brothers and your sister was born, I.....suffered from liver cancer. And the symptoms I was experiencing seemed REALLY familiar." he started. Haley's face turned pale.
"Dad....." she whispered.
"We went back to your dad's old doctors....." Lydia said. She suddenly paused and turned away, as if she was experience so much pain. Haley watched her parents struggle through their confession.
"They thought chemo had gotten rid of it......gotten rid of the tumor. But over the years, somehow I obtained a kind of liver disease. And....." Jim said, looking at the floor.
"Mom, Dad, how can you not tell me this?? How can you go the doctor and just not tell me? Does anybody else know? Does Joe know?? How about Michael and Andy?? Dana??" Haley asked, naming her siblings. Lydia shook her head.
"No....they don't know yet. We wanted to tell you first.....your father felt that he really had to tell you now. Out of everyone Haley.....you've always been the most understanding....." Lydia said.
"Dad.....there's.....treatment. There's treatment....tell me there's treatment for it." she said, walking over to her father. Her father couldn't look Haley in the eye. Haley's eyes brimmed with tears as she watched her father avoid eye contact.
"Haley.....the reason I told you first.......I wanted to tell you that......part of the reason I let you marry Nathan was because.....I was so sure he was a good guy and that.....I wanted to see you get married before I......." Jim muttered, as words struggled to come out. Haley wouldn't let him finish his sentence.
"No. NO! Dad, you're not dying......you're NOT!" she screamed. She stood and started pacing. "There's a cure. There HAS to be a cure. You haven't been to enough doctors. Tree Hill hospital is CRAP."
Lydia started to tear, and Jim squeezed her hand as he started to also. Haley was too angry and was too in shock to realize all the tears pouring down her cheeks. "Daddy....this can't be right......" she whispered. Jim walked up to Haley and embraced her.
"Haley.....my little girl.....it's going to be okay....." he said, rubbing her back for comfort. Haley could barely believe what was happening. Her parents were always so fun and immature. How could something this serious be happening to them?? To her father??
"It's not going to be okay...." she said. She couldn't stand looking at her parents. She grabbed her keys and her purse and ran out the front door. Jim and Lydia were left in the living room, with tears in their eyes.
Haley blindly ran to her car and started the engine up. She raced her car onto the road. She knew she had to be with Nathan to help her calm down. Only one question formed in her mind while she drove.
How did things get this bad?
--
"Singing this song is all I need,
Writing this sad melody.
And I'm here hugging your memory.....
I'm not willing to let you go......
To let you go."
Ally let the chords of her piano ring before she lifted her foot off the piano pedal. The spotlight shone on her flowing auburn hair and she smiled as she slowly started to hear the applause forming among the audience. It wasn't long until the whole café was whistling with joy.
"Ladies and Gentlemen.....let's give a round of applause for our performer tonight, Allison Chung!!!" the announcer exclaimed to the audience. Ally stood up from the piano stool and smiled modestly to the crowd. All she could see among the crowd were smiles and she bowed. The applause soon ended as Ally walked off the small platform.
"And don't forget customers......samples of our new raspberry cappuccino are now being served at the counter!!"
Customers that were sitting at the table lined up at the counter to get their free samples. Ally smiled as she finally caught sight of her step brother, Mark sitting at a table. She ran over to him and sat down at the table. He smiled as he caught sight of her, and handed her, her work apron. She tied it back on and sat down next to him.
"How was I?" she asked.
"Do you have to ask?? Where do you think all the whistling came from?" he told her, smiling as he pointed to himself. Ally laughed as she jumped on him to hug him.
"Thanks so much for coming....." she whispered, as she let go. Mark smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
"That's awesome that your boss let you perform for open mic night. You were great up there....your talent's really paying off. It was a great idea to spend my last night here in Pittsburgh with my little sis." he said. Ally's smile suddenly faded away at the thought of Mark leaving Pittsburgh.
"I can't believe you're going all the way to UCLA for college.....What am I going to do here without you?" she asked. Mark glanced at Ally.
"Hey now......we've been over this. You'll be fine. I'm coming back every couple months."
"Months? Mark......you're my best friend. I'm going to be so lonely."
"You're so not. You have other friends at school....." he said, not really knowing much about Ally's personal life. Ally didn't seem convinced.
"Not only that.....I guess I'm just freaked out being alone with.....Pete." she said, referring to her stepfather.
"Hey. I talked to him. If he lays one hand on you, he's gonna have to answer to me." he said, very serious. Ally looked away and thought about her stepfather, Pete McCoy, the man her mother married before she was taken by a bullet on the job as a narcotics cop. Pete was an alright and successful guy and was cool to Ally until after her mother died.
Ally's mother was Pete's "love of his life", and he had gotten depressed after she passed away. He succumbed to alcohol in hard times, and when he was drunk, he always found his way to verbally take his anger out on Ally. After Ally's mother had died, Pete had given her the cold shoulder. Ally always thought it was because that he felt "obligated" to take care of her because he was her only living relative, but he didn't want the responsibility. Mark was the only friend she had in the house, and Mark always protected her from Pete, but now that Mark was leaving, all Ally felt was fear.
"You know. I get it's normal for him to be like that. But it's been over at least 9 years since my mom died. Why does he have to keep drinking? I hate it that I have to come home to him yelling at me." Ally said. Mark looked away.
"It's just how he is.....he's not bad, Ally. My dad's just.....hard to deal with." he said.
"ALLY! WE NEED YOU BACK HERE TO MAKE MORE SAMPLES!!" someone called from behind the crowded counter. Ally was startled and looked up. "I'll be there in a minute!!" she called.
"WE NEED YOU NOW!!"
Ally sighed and looked over to her brother. Her brother smiled and pointed to his watch.
"My plane leaves in an hour. I'll be missing you little sis." he whispered, as he pulled her into a hug.
"Don't be a stranger McCoy...." Ally said, feeling tears forming in her eyes. She hugged Mark tight, wishing he wouldn't leave.
"I'll come back to take care of you.....I promise. A few visits later, I'll have my degree and I'll be working before you know it. Just wait for me. Keep working hard....." he said, looking at Ally in the eye. She nodded, and before she knew it, he was out the door.
As Ally rushed back to her place behind the counter, all she could think about was going home and how she didn't want to. She couldn't help but feel cold. Home was supposed to be a safe haven......
But most homes didn't have a Pete waiting.
To be continued......stay tuned for Chapter Two of "Second Verse, Same as First."
A/N: Thanks you so much for reading!! I hope I didn't bore you guys with the introduction to Ally's character. The words to the song are mine.....no one steal please! And please review!! Remember it's my first fic....so go easy on me!