So I haven't really kept up with OTH through the years, but I think I know enough about the 4th season finale to attempt writing how I'd like the 5th season to go. I think the big change I'm making is Karen's not pregnant, 'cause I thought that was lame. I'm not sure if Dan killed himself or not, but he might make an appearance later in my version. And I have no idea what they ever did to Whitey, but he's here (kind of)! Anything else should be explained and if not, just ask me!

Also - anyone who's read my OTH stories knows I'm kind of all about the Brooke/Nathan, so expect some changes in the pairings. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

All Of a Sudden, I Miss Everybody

There were long periods of time when Lucas didn't think about any of them.

Sure, there were days when he heard a fellow student's girlish giggle and thought of Brooke; moments when he wrapped his own hands around a basketball and wondered what his brother was up to. Two and a half minutes at a time when an old punk rock song shuffled its way onto his iPod screen and he remembered the brightness of Peyton's hair; how it always seemed at odds with the sadness in her eyes.

But for the most part, Lucas Scott had moved on.

He knew, of course, that most people wouldn't believe him. He'd written an entire book based on those pivotal friendships, after all. A person with a healthy understanding of how the past should stay past didn't pen novels centering around events from what seemed like another lifetime. They didn't dedicate said novels to friends who had grown up and somehow turned into strangers.

"Lucas?" On the other end of the line, Nathan cleared his throat. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I heard." He shook his head to clear it, tightened his grip on the phone. "When ... when did it happen?"

"Just last night. You're the first person I called. I figured ..." Nathan trailed off, unsure of what else he could say. "I always felt like he was more of a father to me than Dan. I just - I know you felt the same way."

"I did." He didn't like the past tense; how the words seemed to sting as they left his lips. "I ... I didn't even know he was in the hospital."

"Neither did we." A long pause, followed by a noise that was either Nathan sighing or static creeping across their connection. "But that was Whitey, you know? Stubborn. He didn't want anyone to worry."

"Sounds like him," Lucas murmured. How long had it been since he'd last spoken to his former coach? He always telephoned at Christmas, and again in late February to wish the older man a happy birthday, but they were short, perfunctory calls - the kind where he proofread a paragraph or filled in a crossword while talking.

"Luke." Nathan's voice had risen a notch, bringing him back to reality again. "Are you listening? Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"Make what?"

"The funeral." The exasperation in his tone made it clear that Nathan was repeating himself. "It's on Saturday. It'd be really great if you could come."

Lucas was quiet again. "I ... I don't know."

"Come on, man. Don't you think it's time?"

He considered. It had been four years since he'd left Tree Hill. A last minute scholarship from the University of Illinois had taken him halfway across the country; away from the town he had finally learned to call home. It turned out Chicago suited him - the anonymity of a larger city; the idea of sitting all day in a coffee shop, hunched over a notebook, and not knowing anyone who entered.

He wondered if Brooke and Peyton still met for brunch every Sunday morning; if Brooke's laugh was as throaty and Peyton's mouth as thin. He thought of how much Nathan and Haley's little boy had probably grown; of how tired his mother had looked last time he'd visited.

"Maybe," he allowed, as his mind came full circle back to Whitey - if he'd been lonely in his dying hours, or scared, or (most likely) just the way Lucas had always seen him; stalwart and quiet and fiercely determined. "Maybe it is."

XXX

It wasn't a particularly long flight from Chicago to Charleston, but as soon as he'd stepped off the plane, Lucas felt like several years had blinked by. Only instead of flashing forward, he'd gone back in time. He was sixteen again; a son cast aside by his father; a loner in love with a girl who barely knew his name.

"Lucas? Earth to Lucas?" In the passenger seat, Katie reached to turn the radio down and peered curiously at him. "You awake? 'Cause I would prefer you to be awake."

"Sorry." He shook himself out of his musings, working up a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just ... detour down memory lane, I guess."

His girlfriend smiled back and laced her fingers with his on the gearshift. "Is it weird to be back?"

"Weird?" To be driving an unfamiliar rental car down the streets he'd grown up on; to pass the high school that had forged such huge pieces of who he was today? "Yeah, you could say that."

"I'm so excited to finally be meeting your mother," Katie continued, shaking her red hair away from her face. "You did tell her you were bringing a guest, right? Because I swear to God, Lucas, if you're springing me on her ..."

She trailed off, but he'd experienced enough of her Irish temper to know she was capable of some very inventive threats. "I told her, I told her," he assured her, turning his palm upwards to squeeze hers. "She can't wait to meet you."

Katie returned the pressure. "I'm kind of nervous."

"Don't be," he said. "She's going to love you. Just like I do."

Her face lit up, reminding him again just why he'd fallen for her. The first time they'd met, she'd been dressed like a librarian and badgering him for an interview for the school paper. The athlete/author angle would really interest our readers, she'd told him, eyes serious behind a pair of tortoise-shell rimmed glasses.

He'd refused, at first. It had been midway through their junior year and he'd just published The Games That Play Us. People in his classes were starting to notice him; fans coming up to ask questions wherever he went. He hadn't wanted to draw anymore attention to himself.

Katie had persisted, though. And when he'd finally agreed, the smile she'd given him had been so unexpected - wide and dimpled - and she'd laughed, just a little, as if she'd known all along he'd say yes. And he'd been hooked ever since.

"Oh, is this it?" Katie asked now, sitting up straighter as the car slowed. "Is this your house?"

"Yes." Having pulled into the driveway, Lucas took a moment to study the familiar frame. The shrubs needed to be trimmed and it could have used a fresh coat of paint, but it still felt the same. "This is it."

XXX

Karen was waiting, of course.

"Oh, my boy," were the first words out of her mouth. There were already tears welling in her eyes, but to her credit, she was battling them back. "Lucas. I can't believe it. Look at you."

"Look at you," he returned, enfolding her in his arms. He'd always been taller, but he could see now the grays in her hair, the slight hunching of her shoulders. "Have you been waiting at the window all morning?"

"Ever since Nathan told me you refused to let us pick you up at the airport," she sighed, the gentle reprimand inherent in her tone. "I don't know why you insisted on renting a car."

"Are you gonna yell at me like I'm ten years old again in front of our guest, Mom?" he asked jokingly, releasing her to sling one arm around Katie's shoulder. "You've been asking to meet her for months."

Karen took one look at the other woman and melted. "You're Katie O'Meara," she declared, stepping forward to hug her. "I've heard so much about you."

"Probably not as much as you'd have liked," Katie replied warmly, accepting the embrace. "If Lucas is as tight-lipped with you as he is with me, you must've been begging for details."

"I told you Katie's an aspiring journalist," Lucas reminded his mother as she led them both inside. "She asks more questions than you do."

"But I get just as few answers," Katie told her, and the two women shared a laugh as they settled down at the kitchen table.

Lucas had to smile at the sight of his mother and his girlfriend drinking coffee together, chatting like old friends. It was a cozy scene, though he couldn't help but think about the other girl who'd lived like a daughter with Karen.

Reading his mind as she always had, Karen chose that moment to meet his gaze across the table and ask, "Have you made plans to get together with everyone before the service, Luke?"

He hesitated. "I'm not ... really sure."

Karen raised a knowing eyebrow. "Well, I happen to know that Nathan's picking Brooke up at airport as we speak and they'll all be at the house later. They'd love to see you."

Lucas gave Katie a pointed glance. "You see how she did that? That suggestion thing that was really a command?"

"Don't look at me," Katie said, shaking her head. "I'm on her side."

"I knew I shouldn't have introduced you two," he groaned, throwing his hands up. "You've known my mother for five minutes, Katie, you can't be on her side."

She shrugged in response. "I am."

He glanced from her stern face to his mother's serene expression. "Haley said she'll have dinner ready around five. That gives you a little time to unpack, and then you'll want to hurry on over."

Patting his arm, she stood and began to clear the table, the conversation clearly finished. Defeated, Lucas let his head drop to rest on the smooth surface and mumbled, "Home, sweet home."