AUTHOR'S NOTE: This takes place after Peyton talks in her sleep. I don't own anything, even though I wish I did. Many of the lines in the beginning are taken straight from the show.

I woke up, feeling alone in the bed. I looked around till I found Jake by the door. "Jake, you okay?"

"You know you talk in your sleep?" he asked me, his face unreadable.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"I've been sitting awake wrestling with the feeling that you need to go back to Tree Hill. You shouldn't stay here…. You can't. "

Panic overtook me instantly. I didn't understand what had happened that would make him push me away like this. "Why?" I asked. "What happened?"

"You talk in your sleep, Peyton," Jake answered, as thought it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Okay, so what. I don't understand this. I mumble a few words in my sleep. I mean, is what I said really all that bad? Did I say I wanted to kill you or something?" I try to make a joke to relieve the tension… to make the whole situation go away.

"No. You said I love you."

"Okay, well normally that's a good thing," I responded, confused. Most guys would love to hear that the girl they love loves them, especially when it's in her sleep.

"You said I love you, Lucas." The look on his face spoke of his anguish.

Panic instantly overtook me. I could explain this. I could make this whole situation go away. Afterall, it was Jake I loved… I knew that with all my heart. "No, look Jake, I can explain that. It isn't like I love Lucas. You see, sometimes I relive the shooting in my sleep. And in the library when Luke rescued me, I kissed him and told him I loved him."

"You told Lucas that you loved him?" Jake asked, defiantly looking a little bit outraged and maybe even a little hurt.

"It was the school shooting, okay," I tried to explain. "And I was bleeding and I thought I was going to die. I didn't mean it like that. Jake, I love you." He had to understand that I was delusional at that moment when I told Lucas that I loved him. It didn't mean anything.

"I know that you do."

I was confused. His words said that he loved me, but his tone said that what had happened mattered. "Then why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"When you decided that you weren't going to go back to Tree Hill, do you remember what you told me?"

"Yeah."

"You said that you're father's not around. That Hailey has Nathan and Brooke has Lucas…"

I could see where he was going with this. He thought that I was only choosing him because I felt lonely. That he wasn't that important to me. He didn't realize that he was my everything.

"Okay, you know what, Hailey and Brooke are my best friends and they spend a lot of time with their boyfriends. That is all that I meant by that." I tried to explain. He had to know that truth. He had to see how much I loved him… not Lucas. That I missed him, not my friends.

"Let me ask you a question. What if Brooke didn't have Lucas?"

"No, Jake," I cried out. "I see where you're going with this, and even if Brooke didn't have Lucas, you would still be the one I would want to be with. After Brooke and Lucas broke up the first time, I wasn't with him. Every time Brooke talks to me and starts to feel insecure about her relationship with Lucas, I don't think that it's an opportunity to break them up. Because I have seen Brooke and Lucas together, Jake, and I know that they are meant to be together, Jake…"

"I don't want to be second best, Peyton," Jake said.

"I didn't mean it like that, Jake. I mean that when I go to bed at night, you're the last thought in my head. When my dad told me to follow my heart, you're the first person who popped into my head. When I think of all of the people in my life that I would want to share a special moment in my life with, you and Jenny are the people who I would want to be there. I love you, Jake, now and forever. What else, Jake? What else are you worried about?"

"Well you see, Peyton, you ask me to marry you after Jenny called you mama."

"Yeah." I shrug my shoulders, not really sure why this is a big deal. I mean it shows how much Jenny loves me… and how much I love Jenny.

"After you lost your mom again. I mean, your dads not around…"

I could see where he was going with this... the conclusion he was forming in his head. "You know what, don't…"

"You're alone, Peyton. I get it. It makes all the sense in the world that you would want a family."

When Jake said that, I just fell in love with him a little bit more. He might have had the wrong conclusion, but he cared enough about me to be worried about me.

"No, I want this family."

"Do you?"

"Yes, Jake, I want this family. I want you and me and Jenny to be a family. I love Jenny and I love you. And Jenny loves me… It's not about having a family, just for the sake of having a family. It is about having our family. It is about feeling what I have been feeling these last few days with you, for the rest of my life. It is about going back to when you and Jenny where staying at my house before you had to send Jenny away. Remember that? When Jenny would be there and we were there together. It is about that family, and the way that made us feel."

Jake just looked at me, his face still hesitant… unsure.

" I don't understand this because it seems that you're working really, really hard to push me away. So if you're not into me, just say so." I was scared that that is what this was all about; that Jake just wasn't that into me and that he was pushing me away the only way he knew how.

"No, that is not it. I love you, Peyton. Okay. I don't want to believe that there is another guy in your heart. But I think that there is," Jake finally responded.

"I think that you're afraid," I said, feeling terrified, myself.

"Yeah, you know what, I am afraid. It hurt like hell the last time I lost you and I don't want to do that again."

"Then don't," I said, not understanding how he could say that he didn't want to lose me, but push me away at the same time.

"Look. Marriages fall apart all of the time. Because people, they get caught up with the romance and they're not honest with themselves. Well, I have to be twice as honest. Once for me and once for Jenny."

"I understand that, Jake, but I don't believe that this is what that is."

"Here's what I want you to do, Peyton. I want you to go into the bedroom and think. I want you to search your heart and if you think that Lucas is in there, then I will understand, and I won't hate you for needing to go home and follow your heart. But if you search it, and I'm there, then we can move forward."

"I don't need time to think about it Jake…"

"Please, Peyton. If you love me like you claim you do, then do this for me. Go in there for the next three hours and don't talk to me, just think. Think about marriage, think about Jenny. If you don't think that this is a marriage that could last forever, then we can't get married, because we can't do that to Jenny. So please, Peyton, go search your heart and I will check in with you in a few hours."

"What will you do, Jake?"

"I will search mine." I nodded absentmindedly. "Where's your head at, Peyton?"

"Well, when I went to bed tonight I was living a fairytale and when I woke up, it's a nightmare."

"No, it's still a fairytale. Don't give up on that. But look inside your heart. Ask yourself, is Lucas still there. And if not, I'll be here."

I walked into the bedroom and quietly closed the door. I understood where he was coming from. I had to think about Jenny to. If I wanted to be a Mom, I would need to start putting Jenny before me. He was right, it wouldn't be fair to hurt Jenny if this wasn't forever.

I sat down on the bed and looked around the room. On the wall there was a picture of the three of us. I went over to it, and smiled as I remembered the day it was taken. It felt right, when it was the three of us… but that wasn't what this was about…

It all came back to Lucas. Did I love Lucas? I closed my eyes and tried to picture my life without him. Lucas was the one I called when I was in trouble. But if I stayed in Savanna, he wouldn't be here… but Jake would be. Jake would be able to bail me out of any problem I had. Lucas was just a stand in Jake… really that is what it boiled down to. I didn't need him in my life. I couldn't cut him totally out, but I only needed him as a friend.

I sat on the bed for the next three hours, playing devil's advocate with myself. Trying to give myself a reason to go back to Tree Hill, just so I could be completely honest with myself… not just for Jake, but for Jenny as well. But for every reason to go back, there was another to stay. Because I really did believe that true love was enough… And with Jake, I had true love.

Three hours later, Jake knocked on the door and came into the room. He sat down on the bed next to me. "Are you ready to talk, Peyton, or do you need some more time to think?"

"I have thought about it, Jake. I looked at it from every angle, but I always came back to the same conclusion… I love you, Jake. And I want to marry you." I looked at him hesitatingly, "What are your thoughts, Jake? Because if you don't love me as much as I love you… I do need to leave, for Jenny."

"I could hold you in my arms for all of eternity, Peyton, and it still wouldn't be long enough." He pulled me to him as I burst into tears. "It's okay, my love, it will all be okay."

"I love you, Jake. So much…"

"I love you too, Peyton. Let's rest for a little bit longer, before Jenny wakes up. After that, we need to call your dad…"

"Yeah. Jake, I want to get married right away. I just want it to be you, me, and Jenny."

"Whatever you want, Peyton."

We were quiet for a little bit longer. "I need to go back to Tree Hill…"

"What?" Jake asked, his voice conveyed a little bit of hurt.

"No, I don't mean like that. I mean, Nathan and Hailey are getting married in a few days and I am a bridesmaid. Plus I need to pack my things and drive down here."

"Do you need me to come down with you? I am sure I could talk to my boss…"

"No, it's not worth the risk. We have to think about Jenny… and winning custody. I will be back in a week and we can get married then."

"I love you, Peyton."

"I love you, too, Jake."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Love it? Hate it? This can stand alone, but I will probably be adding more… Peyton's new life in Savanna and all of that.