Author's Note: Okay, so here's my first attempt at an OTH fan-fic. Some background: Tree Hill High's graduation is next week (I had to include that in the story; it'll be in the next couple of chapters some time…), and everything up to Prom has happened like on the show, with a few exceptions. First, I like Leyton, but I'm definitely more a Brucas fan, so Peyton and Lucas never got together. Peyton got back together with Jake after the school shooting and he moved back to Tree Hill after being awarded full custody of Jenny. Jeyton is now engaged. So, the second change is that Lucas and Brooke are still together- hence, Chase never happened. No one knows yet that Dan killed Keith (with the exception of Abby, but no one knows she knows), so that will probably come out here, too. I guess that's it! I hope you guys like it! Read it and let me know what you think! -Jess

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or the song "Thicker Than Blood" by Garth Brooks… blah… blah… blah… Finn's mine, though!

Our family never shared the same last name
But our family was a family the same

(And they say) Blood is thicker than water
Oh, but love is thicker than blood

--Chapter One--

For seventeen years, Keith Scott had been at Karen Roe's side, helping her raise her son Lucas. He'd been, in every way that counted, Lucas's dad- playing ball with him, listening to him, talking to him, helping him make some of the biggest decisions in his life. When Keith died, it had been Lucas that mourned him, as a son would a father. It had been Lucas who desperately sought the truth behind his beloved uncle's death. And thousands of miles away, on the other side of the country, a young girl wept for lost possibilities… and a father she'd never know.

In the bustling city of San Francisco, California, Finley Alyn Scott- who had been given her father's surname, despite the fact that her parents had never married- sat on the cushioned window-seat in her bedroom on the second floor of the old Victorian house she'd grown up in, staring blankly out at the San Francisco Bay. Normally, that was a familiar and comforting sight for seventeen-year-old Finn. And, though her toffee-colored gaze hadn't moved since latching onto the Golden Gate Bridge, she wasn't really seeing anything as lost in thought as she was.

Today was her last day in San Francisco. In California. Hell, on the West coast. In a little over three hours, she would be boarding a plane to Raleigh, North Carolina. After that, she would rent a car and drive the two hours to Tree Hill- the town her mom had grown up in. The town her dad had grown up in… the town her dad had died in.

And that was what Finn was stuck trying to wrap her mind around- the fact that her father, Keith Alan Scott, was gone and she'd never even gotten to meet him. She didn't blame him for that, though. After all, that wouldn't really be fair, since her mom had never informed him of her pregnancy. Oh, several arguments had been fought over that point, but Finn had thought she'd found some peace with her mother on that one. Her father's death changed that all…

Eighteen years ago, when Rebecca Siler had first found out she was pregnant, Keith's younger brother Dan had already walked away from one unborn child. At eighteen, Becky had been afraid that Dan and Keith would prove to be more alike than most people thought, and Keith would walk away from her and their baby- Finn. So, Becky had fled to California, where she'd gotten a scholarship to attend college. Her great-aunt had let her move in with her and had taken care of Finn while Becky was at school.

It bothered Finn that Becky had painted Keith with the same brush as Dan, especially given the descriptions she'd gotten out of her mom over the years- from everything she'd heard, Keith and Dan Scott were really nothing alike. But, as Becky had pointed out many times over the years, an eighteen-year-old girl about to go off to college didn't always think about things like that when she first found at she was pregnant and Finn supposed she could understand that.

With the news of Keith's death, had come another rift between mother and daughter. All her life, Finn had harbored hope that she would one day be able to stand face-to-face with her father and, if she were really lucky, build a relationship with him. At the very least, she'd wanted him to know that he had a daughter.

The news of Keith Scott's untimely demise had been circulated widely, since he'd died in a shooting at Tree Hill High. Her mom had tried to tell her, when she'd found Finn with her gaze glued to the television set in the living room and tears streaming down her face, that she should be proud her father had died a hero. He'd gone into the school to talk the shooter, a young man authorities had identified as a student by the name of Jimmy Edwards, and ended up being one of two fatalities that day- Jimmy being the other, who had reportedly killed himself after shooting Keith.

And Finn figured that, in the grand scheme of things, she was proud of her dad- she was proud to be related to someone who had gone into a school where his nephews were being held hostage and tried to talk a terrified teen down. She was proud that her father had been such a great guy. Knowing that he was such a great guy- according to the newspapers and news channels, Keith Scott had been a well-liked man in Tree Hill with a kind heart- just made Finn angrier with her mother, though, for never telling Keith about her.

Being mad, hurt, sad, or even furious wasn't going to change anything, though, and Finn knew it. None of that would bring Keith back to all of the people who had known him and loved him, or to the daughter who'd never known any more than stories of his youth and who loved him anyway. If she wanted to know Keith now, she'd have to get to know the citizens of Tree Hill- the people who'd been a part of his life the past eighteen years. She wanted to meet the cousins Keith had sacrificed his life for, his fiancée, and his friends. She wanted to take flowers to his grave and tell him everything she'd been dreaming of telling him since she was a little girl.

And in a few hours, she'd be well on her way to doing all of that- she'd be in Tree Hill, North Carolina. She'd spend the entire summer there before heading off to Duke University, and she planned to learn as much about her father as possible in that time.

"Finn, are you ready to go?" Becky Siler questioned her only child as she pushed open Finn's bedroom door. The room her daughter had grown up in now seemed so plain- her furniture was all still there, but the posters and photos had all been taken down and packed, either away in boxes or into Finn's suitcases.

She couldn't believe her daughter, her baby girl, was all grown up and going away to college. Tears pricked her eyes because she knew Finn was angry with her, and she wondered if their relationship would ever mend. From the moment Finn had decided to go to Duke when she was seven-years-old, they'd planned to take their trip to North Carolina together. They were going to spend the whole summer in Tree Hill, seeing all of Becky and Keith's old stomping grounds and exploring any new additions to the town. When the time had finally come to make the travel arrangements, though, Finn had declared that she wanted to go alone. Instead of having three more months with her daughter before she started college on the other side of the country, they would be saying good-bye in an hour, when Becky dropped Finn off at the airport.

Without a word, Finn grabbed her backpack- filled with books to read on the two planes she'd be traveling on for the rest of the day, a journal, some clothes, her wallet, some snacks because airplane food always sucked, her cell phone, and her iPod- and slung it over a shoulder, squeezing by her mother on the way out of the room.

The ride to the airport was filled with a tense silence- while Finn knew being angry with her mom wasn't going to change anything, she couldn't help the emotions she was filling. She was smart enough not to open her mouth, though, and say something she'd probably end up regretting. Instead, she kept quiet, despite the fact that doing so took such great effort on her part that she'd already bitten her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood a couple of times. While she wasn't exactly a chatterbox, neither was she one to keep her opinions to herself- normally, at least. At the moment, she was sure anything she said would just make things worse between her and her mom, and she really didn't feel like doing that.

When they finally pulled up to the terminal, Finn practically leapt out of the car and removed her suitcases and backpack from the trunk. Her mother got out of the car along with her and gave her a hug before telling her to call when she got in. Though Finn didn't return the hug, she didn't back out of it, which she thought was pretty good on her part. "I will. Bye," she told Becky as she walked away, turning to give a little wave before she stepped inside the terminal.

Her voice hadn't held any of the anger or pain she was feeling- it had been utterly emotionless. Becky hadn't expected anything different, though, really. The quieter Finn was, the more upset she was- Becky was just glad Finn had actually said anything before stepping inside the terminal.

The three and a half hour flight to Chicago was passed reading Pride and Prejudice for probably the millionth time and trying to ignore the little boy behind her who had clearly been practicing his soccer skills by kicking her seat the entire flight. The hour and fifteen minute layover passed getting to gate her next flight was departing from, buying a coffee she was desperately in need of, and waiting for all of the passengers to board the flight to Raleigh. It was just her own miserable luck that the same little boy who'd been behind her on the plane to Chicago had been seated beside her on the plane to Raleigh. It wouldn't have been so bad, really, if he hadn't decided to throw a tantrum that had lasted the entire two and a half hours of the trip- during which he had successful spilt not only his orange juice all over her, but her own Sprite, as well- she was thankful she'd finished her hot coffee before boarding.

It took another hour to get her bags, the car she'd arranged to rent for the next two weeks, until her car arrived from California, and find her way out of the rental car parking lot. By the time she hit I-40 and began the last two-hour leg of her journey, anger and emotional pain had been replaced by irritation, anxiety, frustration, hunger, and a headache. Wanting only to get to Tree Hill as quickly as possible, she decided food could wait until she'd reached her destination and, when she finally spotted Karen's Café once she passed the "Welcome to Tree Hill" sign, she was breathed a sigh of relief and swore she would love Karen- whoever she was- for the rest of her life, just for opening a café.

She grabbed her wallet and cell phone out of her backpack and headed inside. All she wanted to do was get some food, something to drink, get to the condo she was renting for the summer, take a shower, and go to sleep. She looked at her watch as she pulled the door open and decided it was probably safe to call her mom- Becky would probably still be at work, so she would call the house. She wasn't ready to talk to her just yet. As she'd hoped, the house phone rang three times before switching over to voicemail, and Finn left a quick message.

"Hi, Mom, I'm in Tree Hill. Stopped for some food, so I'll be at the condo in a bit. Bye." Once again, her voice was cold and devoid of any emotion- which was probably why people in the booth beside where she was standing were looking at her so bizarrely, she figured. It certainly wasn't because she'd used the cell phone in there; there were plenty of other people talking on them scattered about the café.

She ordered a burger, fries, and a Diet Dr. Pepper at the counter, then took a seat at the only empty table- right next to the booth full of teens who'd been staring at her. It finally hit her right about the time her food arrived that she was actually in Tree Hill- that her cousins could very well be in the cozy little café right that moment, that her father had probably eaten there several times over the past however many years the place had been open, and that most of the people in there had probably know him pretty well. The tears she'd fought against spilling since leaving her childhood home that morning fell from her eyes and emotion welled up inside of her. She couldn't stop the tears, which she knew were drawing more attention to her. The teens who'd been so puzzled by her behavior earlier were the only people close enough to hear the nearly imperceptible sobs and see the salty tears running down her face, and she could feel their curious gazes on her.

"Are you okay?" The softly asked question came from beside her and, without turning to look at the young man who'd posed it, she nodded her head in the affirmative- despite the fact that she clearly was not okay. But she didn't know these people, and it was bad enough that she was unable to control the crying-jag and put a stop to it- she didn't want to have to deal with strangers, no matter how kind they might be.

Lucas Scott, however, had never been one to back down from a challenge- nor had he ever been able to walk away from someone when they were clearly in pain. Wanting to help, as was his nature, Lucas moved his chair back just a little and angled his head in the direction of the girl- who he figured to be about his age- and said, "It doesn't look that way to me."

When she only ignored him, he simply sighed and pressed on, undeterred by her silence- after all, if he left people alone every time they said they were fine, he would never get anything out of Peyton, Brooke, Haley, or even Nathan. "I'm Lucas Scott," he introduced himself with a gentle smile, hoping she'd finally look at him.

His name, rather than the kind tone he'd been using, was what had her head jerking up. She was sure she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but she couldn't help it- he'd said his name was Lucas Scott. Lucas Scott was her oldest cousin, the one her father had helped raise. With a look of sheer horror in her chocolate eyes, she bolted for the door, pulling it open as quickly as she could and running out onto the sidewalk and to her car, where she slumped in her seat once she'd unlocked the vehicle, her head resting on the steering wheel as she cried.

Lucas had decided that maybe he shouldn't push and just let the girl sort her problems out on her own, and was only slightly surprised when Nathan reached over to the table she'd been sitting at and picked up her wallet. He unzipped it and looked at her driver's license in an attempt to get her name, wondering if he would recognize it- not that he'd recognized the blond herself, but she'd obviously recognized Lucas, if the way she'd reacted when he'd introduced himself was any indication. "Finley A. Scott," he read, looking at Lucas with a shocked expression.

Two sets of blue eyes widened in disbelief as different possibilities filled Lucas and Nathan's minds, and the girls sitting beside them could tell that they were wondering if it was possible that Dan had another child. Nathan shoved the ID back into place and sprinted out the door, Lucas hot on his heels. They spotted Finn sitting in her car, shoulders shaking from crying so hard, and rushed over to her door, which she'd left open. The brothers crouched down beside her and Nathan handed her the wallet.

"You left this inside, Finley," he said, making sure to get her attention by using her first name. His eyes, along with Lucas's, were filled with tenderness and wonder as they waited for her to look up. When she did, she was biting her lower lip in an attempt to quiet her cries. "I'm Nathan Scott, and this is my brother Lucas."

Finn nodded her head- she knew their names and that they were brothers. Still, she remained silent, her amber gaze darting between the two of them as she alternately wished they'd just let her leave and, at the same time, wished they would never leave. "Are you… um… related to us? Is that why you ran?" Lucas asked as he found notable similarities between himself, Nathan, and Finley, making him even more certain Dan did in fact have another child.

When Finn bobbed her head again, both Nathan and Lucas sighed heavily, with Nathan saying, "You're our sister, aren't you? You look us, especially Luke," he added, seeing the same similarities in her facial features Lucas had.

At Nathan's comment, Finn shook her head and finally spoke in a trembling voice, her words slightly halted by her sobs. "I'm not… your sister. I… I'm your…" She broke off, unable to finish as Lucas and Nathan shared a surprised look.

If she wasn't their sister, then how was she related to them? The only other way she could be related to both of them was through Keith, and his only child hadn't been born yet- Karen was three months pregnant. But when Lucas's gaze captured and held Finn's, he saw the truth in the familiar brown orbs staring back at him.

Finn saw the change in Lucas's eyes as they went from compassionate to confused and drew a shuddering breath before saying, "My mom never told him," which only made the tears fall faster and she wondered if she would ever stop crying. "She was afraid he'd walk away like… like Dan did," she added, bowing her head and resting it once more on the steering wheel.

She wasn't trying to make excuses for Becky, and the Scott brothers seemed to understand that. "Is that why you were mad at her earlier, when you were on the phone?" Nathan asked, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Keith had a daughter. It seemed impossible, and yet… not impossible at the same time, and he didn't know what to do with that.

Finn nodded. "I always knew she'd never told him, and we've fought about it before. But then he died, and I realized I was never going to get to meet him, and the fight started up all over again."

The boys could understand that- they'd both been hurt and frustrated when they'd found out they were brothers years ago, and that Dan had walked away from Karen and Lucas.

"So, your mom found out she was pregnant after my mom found out she was pregnant with me, right?" Lucas questioned, still reeling from his shock. At Finn's nod, Lucas went on, "So, you're younger than me by a few months- are you older or younger than Nate?"

"I'm younger than both of you- seven months younger than you, Lucas, and four months younger than you, Nathan. My mom was two years behind Keith in high school," she told them, her voice catching when she said her father's name. "She was in Dan and Karen's class," she added, "and when she found out she was pregnant with me, she'd already gotten accepted to a university in California, so she just left. She moved in with her great-aunt Vi, who took care of me while Mom was at school."

A contemplative silence fell over the trio for a moment as Nathan and Lucas took everything she'd told them in. "How long are you in Tree Hill?" Lucas asked, wanting her to say she was staying for a while- he wanted a chance to get to know his cousin, another link to his uncle Keith. He knew his mom would welcome Finn into the family, especially being pregnant with Keith's child.

"Until September, then I'm going to Duke," she replied, hoping they didn't tell her to get out now and leave them alone. Instead, she watched as smiles broke out on both of their faces.

"Duke, huh? Luke and I are gonna be going there in the fall, too," Nathan told her with a genuine smile, not his infamous smirk.

Lucas stood, taking one of Finn's hands from the wheel, while Nathan mimicked both actions. They pulled Finn up and out of her seat along with them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Finley Scott, and I'm sure my mom- Karen, the owner of the café in front of us, and Uncle Keith's fiancé- will be more than thrilled to meet you, too," Lucas told her.

"Really?" Finn asked, wonder and skepticism filling her voice.

"Yup, especially since she's pregnant with our baby brother or sister," he added, realizing that the baby would be both his half-sibling and her half-sibling.

Nathan shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. "We have the most screwed up family tree in all of Tree Hill, don't we?" he asked with a laugh, slinging one arm around Finn's shoulders as Lucas did the same. They closed Finn's car door, locked the car with the button on the key ring, and walked back into the café, laughing when they saw that Peyton, Brooke, Haley, Deb, and Karen all had their faces pressed to the window, watching the scene in the parking lot.