Live on through: From the ends of the earth.
*Authors Note* So I was sitting and watching One Tree Hill as my holidays started and I was watching season three so naturally I blubbered when Dan shot Keith but that's not that point (Sorry I got side tracked) I was thinking about how Andy came back into Karen's life and became such an important person for both Little Lily Roe Scott and of course Karen Roe, so this story is going to be based around that moment, the moment when Andy Hargrove stepped back in Tree Hill and helped Karen heal*
Karen sat down on the couch exhausted, she had been up all night tending to her daughters every little whimper, which had turned out to be A LOT of whimpers, let's just say Lily Roe Scott was doing what a baby did best, disturbing a parents sleeping pattern. It usually wasn't this bad because Lucas was still sleeping at home and sometimes, while Karen kicked herself for having to do this but Lucas would pick up some of the slack, clean some stuff, throw a blanket over her when she fell asleep or continued to let her sleep and look after the new baby, But this week Lucas was with Peyton she was leaving for her internship in a couple of days and they were trying to spend as much time as they could together so it was all up to Karen to take care of Lily and she wasn't going to lie it was incredibly overwhelming. She threw her head back onto the head of the couch and shut her eyes beginning to slowly make her way to a horizontal position on the couch, she lay down on a pillow and threw the laundry that had been sitting on the couch onto the floor and began to snuggle into the couch grooves when the doorbell rang, she groaned, opened her eyes, stood up as she tied her hair into a pony tail and then walked to the front door of her house, expecting to see Whitey for the hundredth time this week, or Deb for the seventh time today, with both of those guests she didn't care what she looked like and threw the door open and as she looked on at her guest she instantly wished she had checked before she had opened the door and put some makeup on.
"I'm very tired right now so I am not one hundred per cent sure if you are a mirage or not" she said staring on at him
"I'm definitely not a mirage" he said with his New Zealand accent
"Andy Wow" she said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the incredibly sleep deprived black haired woman who swore that she could falls asleep on his shoulder right now.
"Karen" he said pulling her out of the hug, putting her at arm's length with his hands on her shoulders "Well you look tired" she nodded
"Do you want to come in?" she asked
"I thought you would never ask" he said as she stepped inside and he quickly followed into the house which he had spent so much time at when he was dating the woman standing in front of him. But back then it was crazy neat freak clean and at this very moment it was as messy as he had ever seen it. He watched as she crossed the room and threw herself down onto the couch and he was just as quick to join her. He reached down to the uncomfortable lump underneath him and pulled out a baby t-shirt, he looked at it quizzically at it and then turned to Karen "Did Lucas attempt to do the washing again?" he asked referring to the time that he had stayed over and Lucas had accidently shrunk his pants, Karen remember and let out a very loud laugh, which seemed to startle the baby in the room across. Lily began to cry and for the second time in the span of less than two minutes Andy had looked quizzically at Karen.
"Oh no oh no oh no" Karen said standing up and running as fast as her tired legs would take her up the hallway, as Andy stood there looking up the hallway confused as ever.
Karen stood above the crib, leant over and picked up the black haired delicate featured screaming baby and wrapping her in her own arms, rocking her back and forth. She stood there for ten minutes soothing the little girl and as she did she failed to notice the man in the doorway smiling on at her. Finally she felt the eyes piercing at her skin and turned smiling as he smiled on at her.
"Sorry she is a bit fussy at the moment" Karen said as Andy stood forward taking a closer look at the baby in the love of his life's arms
"Who is this little darling?" he said stroking her head
"This is Lily Roe Scott" Karen said tilting the little girl up to give Andy a better look
"She is gorgeous" he said as she began to cry again and Karen began to rock again "Let me" Andy said holding out his arms
"Oh I don't know, she doesn't really warm to people she doesn't know" she said between shhh's as Andy continued to hold his arms out before Karen finally gave in and handed over the baby. Karen looked at him, smiled "Is it okay if I lie down? You said it yourself, I look tired"
"Yeah sure, I'll take little Miss Roe to the living room and let you get some rest" he said kissing Karen's forehead and walking out the door before turning to face her again "And by the way even when you're tired you still look gorgeous" he said with his accent before walking out the door.
Karen woke up refreshed and for a moment had to recall the moments before her nap, she had a serious case of the baby brains at the moment. When she did remember she threw her legs over the side of the bed and slowly walked up the so far silent hallway, as she made it further down the hallway she could hear his accent and the gurgles that had become like the English language to her recently. As she walked into the room she found it cleaner than before and she found Andy sitting on the floor dotingly watching as Lily played on the floor in front of him, she went and sat down next to him on the floor and he looked up at her.
"So she is Keith's then?" he asked looking back down at the little girl on the floor
"Yeah she is" Karen said putting a hand on Lily's stomach
"Where is Old Keith now anyway?" Andy said with an affectionate smile up at Karen
"Didn't you hear?" she asked, it wasn't many people who hadn't heard on the news about Keith's untimely end but it was obvious when Andy shook his head that he was the exception "Keith died"
"What? How?" Andy asked officially shocked
"Dan shot him and then watched him die" she gulped as her face flared red in anger
"Wow that's absolutely horrible Karen. Well at least he got to experience being with you and having a gorgeous baby daughter" Andy said trying to put the best possible light on it, knowing that it was impossible
"Actually he died well before I even knew I was pregnant" Karen said feeling the tears well in her eyes, she looked down at the ground, at her hand, but her hand wasn't alone for long, it was soon accompanied by Andy's right hand, the other made a cupping motion at the bottom of her face and lifted it up so they were looking into each other's eyes.
"I'm so sorry Karen" and as the words left his mouth they seemed to make this connection, it wasn't just eyes meeting, it was this connection that they had so clearly shared before and somehow in that brief caring moment it had reappeared, she felt herself getting drawn in until her face was just about to connect with his when the door flung open, and Karen darted backwards as Andy smirked, She looked up to find Deb standing in the doorway and as they both looked at her she smiled, held something in her hand and said "Spare Key" with so much enthusiasm in her voice as she tried to get out of the situation she was in. Andy took the situation for its humour and stood up going over to embrace the blonde woman who he had become close to when he was dating Karen "Hey Deb" he said as the smiled and matched the hug.
Deb sat on the couch with the little girl lying in her arms with Karen draped on the couch next to her, her legs resting where Deb's knees sat. "So I walked into a pretty steamy interaction"
"Please be quite" Karen said shielding her face
"I'm just going to have to forgive you for not telling me Sexy Professor was back in town"
"I didn't know"
"Sure you didn't" Deb said looking down to Lily "Sure she didn't! Mummy and Andy sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G" she sang to the baby in her arms.
"I love how mature you are Grandmother Deb" Karen said standing up as Deb hit her on the leg
"Okay that was just mean" Deb said following her up the hallway to the kitchen making kissing noises as she walked behind, but she stopped as they approached the kitchen and Karen gave her a glare.
"So what are doing back in town Andy?" Deb asked with the little girl draped across her arm
"My mum, she passed away so I came back to the states to the only other place that I ever felt I belonged" he was responding to Deb but he was looking at Karen as he said it
"Fair enough" she said as the front door opened again and the house all of a sudden became very loud again
"It's so quite in here, No more crying baby" Lucas said waking up to his mother before noticing Andy in the corner and letting out a laugh and then getting a spring in his step, pouncing at Andy as Peyton walked into the kitchen smiling at her boyfriend's reaction, watching as the boys hugged before Lucas walked over and scooped his little sister out of Deb's arms as Andy opened his arms and indicated that Peyton should come and give him a hug.
Andy tagged along to the Peyton goodbye BBQ where he was introduced to the other new addition to the Tree Hill family James Lucas Scott, as well as getting to catch up with all the people he hadn't gotten a chance to keep in touch with when he had left all those years ago, and they were seriously providing him with the laughs and fun. He went home with Karen, Lucas had offered him his bed as he was going to spend the night at Peyton's and he was quick to accept that offer. Karen walked into the house, put the capsule on the kitchen table and pulled the sleeping Lily out and holding her in her arms. Andy kissed Lily's forehead as Karen walked her up the hall into her bedroom and Andy headed towards Lucas' bedroom. He took his shirt off and slipped into his pyjama pants before lying down on the top sheet, He went to go to sleep, when he felt her presence and smelled the sweet smell of her skin
"Are you okay?" he said propping himself up on his elbows
"I'm sorry about your mum" she said stepping into the room and sitting down on the end of the bed
"I'm sorry about Keith" he said sitting up fully as Karen began to cry, he leaned forward and touched her leg as she crawled up the bed and wrapped herself in his arms as he kissed her head.
"Were you telling the truth about this being the only other place in the world that you felt you belonged?" she said looking up with a tear running down her cheek
"How could you not feel as though you belonged when you were in Karen Roe's arms?" he said with a smile as she looked at him in all seriousness before lifting herself up and planting a kiss on him.
Karen woke up in Andy's arms, it was nice, it was warm and so comforting, and she didn't want to move. The light shone in and she smiled as the rays hit her face, it was perfect until she remembered that she was yet to hear the cries of her baby daughter and she quickly opened her eyes, the sun was up so Lily should have been awake, when she went to sit up she saw her son standing in front of her and smiling as he held his baby sister.
"You two better not have had S-E-X in my bed"
Chapter Done!