Title: coming home, come unfold babe
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1855
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Summary: Lucas comes home with two extra children. Takes place after the episode "Last Known Surroundings."

Author's Note: I haven't watched OTH since the middle of s7 so I don't know much about what's going on now. All I know is that Haley asked Lucas to take her kids back home with him until an abducted Nathan is found. Also, I'm not sure about the ages so for my story, Jamie is nine and Sawyer is four.

-x-
a dark world aches for a splash of the sun oh oh
-x-

Lucas, Jamie and Lydia Bob Scott are barely out of the gate when a loud cry pierces through the airport.

"DADDY!" Many startled faces, including Lucas', begin looking around for the speaker.

The owner of the cry, a tiny little thing of four years old, slams into his legs with more force than expected. Knowing the top of this head more than his own, Luke hands over control of Lydia's stroller to Jamie and picks up his own daughter. Small hands immediately reach out to touch his face, his lips pursing outward as she squeezes his cheeks together.

"I FOUND YOU DADDY!" Sawyer yells again, this time her voice only causing smiles to appear on the people passing by.

"You sure did kiddo." He says, pressing a sloppy kiss on her soft, baby cheek. Giggles fill the air when he blows raspberries on the side of her neck.

"Stop it daddy...that tickles!" She shrieks in a fit of laughter, her blonde curls bouncing around merrily.

"Okay, okay...daddy's stopping." Lucas acquiesces and pulls away, shifting her onto his left hip. Sawyer continues to blab into his ear, speaking so fast her words mash together and he has no idea what she's saying. Her hands move around in a blur of expression, reminding him so much of her mother.

Speaking of which, his eyes start searching the crowd for the person he wants to see most after his beloved daughter.

"Where's your mom little girly?" Lucas asks with a poke to Sawyer's tiny belly.

Instead of answering her father, Sawyer twists around in his arms and yells once more. "MAMA! MAMA! I FOUND HIM!"

Lucas smiles even though he is a little embarrassed by all the attention his daughter is attracting. Sawyer is so much like her godmother that way.

Then almost like a scene from a movie, the crowd parts and Lucas sees his wife walking towards him...and like always, he is hypnotized by her beauty. With a pair of chicken legs and messy blonde curls of her own, Peyton Scott reaches her tiny family.

"We missed you daddy." She says with a smile, pressing a welcoming kiss to his lips. He had only been gone for a few couple hours, but after Nathan's disappearance, it was a few hours too many.

The kiss didn't last nearly long enough when their daughter begins making disgusted noises.

"Ew! Gross!" Sawyer comments, sticking out her tongue at her parents.

Lucas begins another round of kisses on his squirming daughter's face while Peyton moves over to her niece and nephew, who have been overshadowed by her boisterous child.

Immediately pulling Jamie into a hug, Peyton is amazed by how much he's grown during their time apart.

"I can't believe how big you've gotten!" She exclaims, feeling a little saddened by the reminder that all children grow up.

"Hi Aunt Peyton." Jamie says, a little embarrassed by the attention. He loves his aunt but was quickly reaching that age where female attention was a tiny bit humiliating. Peyton lets him go with a knowing smile and turns her attention to the precious little angel in the stroller.

"Hey there cutie." Peyton croons, smoothing down the cowlick on Lydia's head. Since this was their first official meeting, Lydia brought her clenched fists up to her eyes in an attempt to hide behind them.

Peyton frowns in disappointment. "Oh come on Lydia. You don't need to hide. I'm your Aunt Peyton."

Noticing his wife's failing attempts to draw Lydia out, Lucas feels better about his own encounter with the baby.

"She did the same thing to me when I first saw her." Mischievous green eyes glance up at him.

"Well I can understand why she'd hide from you. Those squinty eyes terrified me the first time I saw you too."

"Hey!" The corner of Peyton's mouth rises in a teasing smirk while Jamie's laughter sounds in the background.

Sensing that she is no longer the center of attention, Sawyer decides to get it back. Pointing at Jamie from over Lucas' shoulder, she asks "Who's that?"

Lucas lowers her down and drops to a knee before her. "Don't you remember? That's your cousin Jamie and that..." he points to the baby in the stroller, "is your cousin Lydia. They are going to be staying with us for a little while."

"Like a sleepover party?"

"Just like a sleepover party." Lucas clarifies.

"Hi Sawyer." Jamie smiles kindly, knowing she couldn't have remembered him. The last time he saw her, she was just learning how to talk.

For a moment, Sawyer looks between her two cousins with an adorably pensive look on her face. Lucas can see Peyton biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Then without so much as a word, Sawyer immediately walks over to Jamie and throws her tiny arms around his middle. Lucas gives his wife a confused glance and she returns it with one of her own. The nine year old stiffly returns the hug, awkwardly patting the little girl's back.

Sawyer turns her gaze up at Jamie, sadness written all over her face and Lucas can feel a small tinge of pain in his chest. And when he feels a warm and familiar hand slip into his own, he knows Peyton is feeling the same pain. The look on their miracle baby's face is one they never want to see again.

"My mama said you are sad and miss your daddy. Mama gives me hugs when I miss my daddy." She squeezes him tighter, her face bunching up in concentration. "So my mama said I have to give you my biggest and bestest hug so you don't feel sad no more."

Jamie's hug turns sincere and he smiles at Peyton thankfully. "So does my mom. Thanks Sawyer."

Sawyer grins then, showing off her many baby teeth, before disentangling herself and moving over to the stroller. The love Lucas feels for his family in that moment is intense and honestly, the best feeling in the world. Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, he is glad Peyton didn't listen to him four years ago.

Peering inside the stroller warily, Sawyer frowns at the baby. Lucas is a tiny bit disappointed by Sawyer's lack of warmth towards the youngest member of the Scott family. Lydia surprises them by staring right back at Sawyer instead of hiding like she did before.

"Is she your baby?" Sawyer asks Jamie, his face slowly turning red in embarrassment.

Lucas and Peyton fail to hold in their laughter as Jamie screams "NO! Lydia Bob is my sister!"

The boring baby suddenly becomes interesting to her. "She has a boy name like me and mommy do!" Sawyer rejoices and gives her father a big smile. She then pats Lydia on the head like she would a dog. Jamie's look is disapproving while Lucas is just glad to see her slowly warming up to Lydia. His biggest wish is for all three children to get along...and that maybe, just maybe, they'll all be close friends one day.

"Okay, come on motor mouth. You still have homework to finish at home." Peyton scoops up an unwilling Sawyer and rolls her eyes at her husband. Lucas throws her a knowing smile. Their lovely daughter is notorious for leaving her homework undone until the last minute, opting to build imaginary cities with her Legos instead.

"Let me go mama! I wanna help push the stroller!" Sawyer says while twisting in her mother's arms. Used to getting her way, Sawyer ends up pushing the stroller under Jamie's watchful eye, who is happy to let her help.

Following after the three children, Lucas throws an arm around Peyton's shoulder...feeling slightly guilty that he could easily do so while his best friend was sick with worry for her husband. For the first time since Haley called him, Lucas finally allows himself to think about the possibility that his brother had been abducted...that he might not come home.

After years of being able to sense her husband's emotions, Peyton pulls his hand to her lips and kisses his palm. She holds his hand against her chest.

"Nathan is gonna come home Luke. He won't let anything keep him away from those two." She tilted her head in Jamie and Lydia's direction.

With an eye on the children to make sure they don't stray too far, Lucas presses a kiss against her temple.

"I hope so Peyt." He says with a sigh. Peyton rubs a comforting hand up his back.

Then out of the blue, a small smile appears on her face and Lucas' eyebrows bunch together in confusion.

"What?" He asks, an inquisitive smile on his face. Peyton looks at the three children a couple paces ahead of them.

"Even though Jamie and Lydia are here for a terrible reason, I am kind of excited to have a house filled with children." Peyton explains and Lucas can't help but lovingly roll his eyes at her lack of subtlety.

For the past two years, she's been bringing up the idea of having another baby...her desire increasing with the births of Lydia, Jude and Davis.

He can't say that he hasn't thought about it...hell, he wants a whole team of children. But when his mind goes down that road, he can't help but remember what they went through, what she went through, trying to bring their first tiny teammate into this world. Every time he brings it up, Peyton reassures him with that annoyingly confident smile of hers that everything will be fine. Once again repeating that they have gone through too much, survived too much, for anything to separate them again.

"I'll tell you what. If..." Lucas swallows the lump in his throat. "When Nathan comes home, we'll talk about it. Really talk about it." He promises, hoping and praying that he isn't jinxing anything. When Peyton's face splits into a large grin, Lucas feels warmth spread throughout his body.

"Deal." Peyton agrees, now looking like their young daughter whenever she knows she's going to get what she wants. Her eyes face forward and she suddenly cackles in that adorable way of hers. "Now I think you should go get your daughter before she steers poor Lydia into oncoming traffic."

More laughter follows Lucas as he runs after their daughter and the runaway stroller.

God he loves his family.

-x-
fourteen months later
-x-

Keith Nathan Scott, son of Lucas and Peyton Scott, is born.

He has ten fingers and ten toes, a patch of sandy brown hair and a heart as strong as the two men he's named after.

Little Keith also has a big sister who loves him as fiercely as their father loves his own brother.

Whenever Lucas looks down into his son's blue eyes, identical to his own, his faith in love and hope is renewed.

Keith Nathan Scott, nephew and godson of Nathan and Haley Scott, is a perfect reminder that no matter how dark the road seems, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

I would love reviews! Thank you for reading!

title: "I Know Places" by Lykke Li
lyrics: "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant.