Hey...Please read and tell me what you think. Thanks.
Summary: Nathan returns safely home from war, only to be injured in a car accident. Will the accident bring his family closer together or tear them apart? Can his friends and family help him to deal with it before its too late? Naley, Brucas
I'll Be There For You
CHAPTER 1
A little boy comes running through the house, laughing uncontrollably as his small feet hit the floor. Lucas is right behind him, his arms extended as he grabs the little boy and lifts him above his head. "I got you now." Lucas laughs as he lowers the boy to the ground and tickles his sides.
"Uncle Luke!" The little boy screeches. "Stop!" He laughs.
"Who's the best?" Lucas asks as he continues to tickle the small child.
"You are!" He laughs as Lucas picks him up and sets him on his feet.
"That's right." Lucas chuckles. "And don't forget it."
"I'm hungry." The boy says looking up at Lucas.
"Let's go get some cookies and milk." Lucas says picking him up like a football and walking to the kitchen.
"Well if it isn't two of my favorite men." Haley says greeting them as they enter the kitchen. Lucas places the boy into the chair and walks to the fridge to get the milk.
"Wanna get some glasses down?" Lucas asks grabbing the cookies from the cabinet.
"Ya sure." Haley replied. "What time do you work today?"
"My shift starts at 5." Lucas answered sitting at the table next to the boy.
"You have weird hours." Haley said sitting across from him.
"One of the joys of being a doctor." Lucas replied sarcastically.
"So what brings you by?" Haley asked dunking her cookie into the milk.
"I just wanted to check on you." Lucas said. "Make sure you're doing alright."
"I'm doing good." Haley smiled taking a bite of the cookie.
"Plus I wanted to see Andy." Lucas said rubbing the small boys hair.
"How's Brooke?" Haley asked.
"She's doing well." Lucas answered.
"What about Jak?" Haley questioned him.
"He's hyper as ever." Lucas answered. "He's been asking about Andy."
"Well maybe I'll take him over there today." Haley said. "Brooke and I can catch up and Andy and Jak can play."
"I think they would both like that." Lucas smiled.
"Me too." Haley replied.
"So any word on Nathan yet?" Lucas asked.
"I got a letter from him a couple days ago." Haley said taking a sip of the milk. "He said he's doing fine. That he isn't in that much of danger. Said he misses us, and to say 'hi' to you."
"Any word on when he will be home?" Lucas asked.
"He said maybe sometime in March." Haley answered. "That's when his unit is supposed to come back."
"Another 2 months?" Lucas stated. "Tell me why he wanted to be a Marine again?"
"I dunno." Haley replied. "I just want him home. He's already been gone for 9 months; missed Andy's birthday, Christmas, our anniversary."
"I know." Lucas said offering her a weak smile. "How is Andy holding up?"
"He's doing ok." Haley replied. "I just worry about him. He's starting school next month, that's another thing Nathan is going to miss."
"I'm sorry Hales." Lucas said resting his hand on hers.
"Me too." Haley yawned.
"Tired?" Lucas laughed lightly.
"Exhausted." Haley mumbled trying to hold in another yawn.
"Can't sleep?" Lucas asked curiously as he dunked another cookie into his glass.
"Andy has been having nightmares." Haley informed him. "I haven't been getting much sleep."
"Well, hey." Lucas said taking a bite of his cookie. "I'm here now, why don't you go take a nap, I'll watch Andy."
"I dunno Luke." Haley said hesitantly.
"Hales go." Lucas said taking her milk away. "I think I'm capable of watching him for a couple of hours. Besides, Andy and his favorite Uncle need a little manly bonding time."
"Alright, you convinced me." Haley smiled as she stood from the table. "Come wake me up when you need to leave."
"Night." Lucas said putting their glasses into the sink. "Hey Andy, wanna go play some basketball?"
"Can we go to the river court?" Andy jumped up excitedly; whenever Lucas and Andy played together, that is usually where they ended up.
"Sure." Lucas said taking Andy's glass, "Go get your Jaket, and shoes on."
Lucas grabbed a pen from the desk and wrote a note for Haley on a random sheet of paper, 'Hales, went to river court, be back soon. Have cell, Love, Luke.' He laid it on the coffee table and the two headed out the door.
Lucas lifted Andy onto his shoulders and passed the ball up to him so he could shoot the ball; they played that way for a while. When Lucas got tired he put Andy down and let him play for a while by himself.
"Uncle Luke?" Andy asked with the ball in his hands.
"Ya buddy?" Lucas asked pulling the boy onto his lap.
"Is my daddy coming back soon?" Andy asked a little sadly.
"He will soon." Lucas answered him. "He still has two more months."
"That's a long time." Andy said, his head tilting towards the ground.
"It will go by real fast." Lucas said using his finger to lift the boys face. "Now, I heard a little nephew of mine was having nightmares…wanna tell me what they're about?"
"That daddy gets a boo-boo and doesn't come back." Andy said, a tear slipping down his cheek.
"Hey." Lucas said wiping it away with his thumb. "I promise that nothing is going to happen to your dad, I won't let it. Ok?"
Andy nodded his head as he bit his lip and looked up to Lucas. Lucas had to smile, the way he bit his lip when he was sad reminded him of Haley. Andy had Haley's brown hair, and he definitely got her intelligence; he had Nathan's green eyes, and his ability for sports.
"How bout we play some more basketball?" Lucas said lifting Andy from his lap and placing him on the ground. He stood and grabbed the ball from Andy and made his way to the basket.
"Uncle Luke!" Andy yelled chasing after him laughing. "It's my turn to shoot!"
"Go for it." Lucas said tossing him the ball lightly. Andy pulled the ball behind his head and tossed it towards the basket; it bounced off the bottom of the rim and fell to the ground. "Nice try." Lucas said.
"Uncle Luke?" Andy asked again.
"What's up buddy?" Lucas said holding onto the ball to talk to his nephew.
"Is my daddy good at basketball?" Andy asked.
"He's great." Lucas laughed. "Promise not to tell if I tell you a secret?"
"Promise." Andy said nodding his head.
"Your daddy is good, but I'm the best." Lucas said picking Andy up and flipping him upside down.
"Uncle Luke!" Andy yelled wailing his arms to try to get loose.
"Come on." Lucas said throwing the boy over his shoulder. "We gotta get home so I can go to work."
-----
Lucas and Andy returned to the house, trying to be as quiet as they could so they wouldn't wake Haley. Lucas walked to her bedroom to see if she was still sleeping, and she was. He went to Andy's room and grabbed a small bag and packed it with some clothes and toys. He returned to the living room to find Andy playing basketball on the playstation; Lucas again laughed at the boy's semblance to his father. He grabbed the note from the coffee table and crumpled it up, he wrote another note on a new sheet, 'Hales, came back from r.c., decided to take Andy with me…call if u need anything, feel free to stop by work or house. Andy can stay for night if you want. Love, Luke.'
"Hey buddy." Lucas said kneeling down in front of Andy. "Do you wanna come to work with me?"
"Did mommy say ok?" Andy said pausing the game.
"She sure did." Lucas said taking the controller from him and shutting the game off.
"Ok." Andy said jumping up from the couch.
"You can even spend the night at my house tonight." Lucas said holding up his bad.
"Cool." Andy smiled.
"Let's go." Lucas said offering his hand to the boy.
-----
"Now remember." Lucas said kneeling in front of Andy. "Don't touch anything unless I say you can, ok?"
"Ok." Andy nodded his head. "Can I be a doctor?"
"Sure." Lucas replied taking the boy's hand. "Let's go get you some doctor clothes."
Lucas brought him to a closet and picked out some kid's scrubs, and even managed to find him an old stethoscope; he looked like a mini doctor.
"This is cool!" Andy said playing with the stethoscope. "Can I listen to your heart uncle Luke?"
"Yep." Lucas said taking the end of the stethoscope and holding it to his chest. "Do you hear it?"
"Ya." Andy smiled.
"Hey Dr. Scott." A nurse called from the main desk. "Abby Gonzalez is in exam 2, he's waiting to be seen."
"I'm on it." Lucas called standing up. "Let's go buddy." He said extending his hand down.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Scott. You must be Ms. Gonzalez." Lucas said shaking the woman's hand. "Excuse me for a second. Hey buddy." Lucas said towards Andy. "Why don't you take your toys and go play over there?"
"Ok." Andy said grabbing his bag and making his way to the other side of the room.
"Sorry." Lucas said turning back to the patient. "What seems to be the problem?"
"My arm." She said holding her right hand out for Lucas to see.
"Well that looks broken." Lucas smiled lightly. "Of course we have to get some x-rays. Are you feeling any pain?"
"Yes." The woman answered him.
"Alright." Lucas said standing from his stool, I'm going to give you some pain relievers until we get those x-rays."
"Thank-you." The lady smiled gently as Lucas began an IV on her other arm. "Is that your son?"
"Him? No." Lucas smiled. "He's my nephew."
"Got stuck babysitting at work?" The lady asked a little disbelievingly.
"No, not exactly." Lucas said as he grabbed the medicine from a cabinet. "My brother is in Iraq, so I'm giving his wife a break."
"Well that's mighty nice of you." The lady smiled as Lucas injected the medicine into her IV.
"His wife is also my best friend." Lucas smiled when he was done.
"Do you have any kids of your own?" Ms. Gonzalez asked.
"A son." Lucas smiled. "Jak, he's 5, just like Andy."
"Do they look alike?" Ms. Gonzalez questioned.
"Oh no." Lucas laughed lightly. "Jak has blond hair like me, brown eyes; and he is a lot more hyper."
"Sounds like a handful." Ms. Gonzalez laughed.
"Big time." Lucas smiled. "Alright, well, I'm going to call radiology and get those x-rays going. I'll check back in on you in a while."
"Thank-you." Ms. Gonzalez said as Lucas made his way to Andy. "Looks like someone was tired." She said as Lucas picked a sleeping Andy up from the floor.
"I guess so." Lucas smiled as he carried to boy to the main room. "Alex, is there an open bed I can put him in?"
"He can sleep in the lounge on the sofa." Alex, the desk secretary, suggested.
"I'd rather have him somewhere where I can keep an eye on him." Lucas said cradling the boy in his arms. "He gets nightmares, I don't want him to wake up and me not be there."
"He can sleep right over there." Alex said pointing to an empty bed. "You can close the curtains some for a little privacy."
"Thanks." Lucas said as he laid him onto the bed, and covered him with a sheet. He closed the curtains, but left them open enough so he could see him from the other rooms. "Can you page me if he wakes up?"
"Sure can." Alex replied.
"Thanks." Lucas said grabbing another chart and made his way to another patient.
-----
Haley woke up and made her way to the living room to find it empty. She turned her head to the clock and it was already ten in the evening; she told Lucas to wake her up. She noticed the note on the coffee table and read it, she smiled to herself at Lucas' sweetness. She picked up the phone and dialed the number to the hospital. She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the basket on the table and bit into as she waiting to Lucas to come to the phone.
-----
"Well I was right Ms. Gonzalez." Lucas said walking into the exam room. "You have a fractured radius." Lucas said holding up the x-ray to the ceiling lights. "See it right there?"
"Yep." Ms. Gonzalez replied.
"Dr. Scott, phone call at the front desk; Dr. Scott, phone call at the front desk." A voice said over the speakers.
"Excuse me for a moment." Lucas smiled as he made his way to the front desk. "What line?"
"Line 3." Alex replied. Lucas hit the button, "Hello, Dr. Scott."
"Hey Luke." Haley said on the other line.
"Oh, Hey Hales." Lucas smiled into the receiver. "What's up?"
"You brought Andy to work with you?" Haley laughed.
"You looked so peaceful." Lucas laughed lightly. "I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"Well I'm up now." Haley said. "I'll be there in a few minutes to pick him up."
"No Hales." Lucas said. "He's fine. I promised him that he could sleep over tonight anyway."
"Well how is he?" Haley asked.
"He's sleeping right now." Lucas said turning towards him. "I gave him some kid's scrubs and an old stethoscope, he loves them."
"He must look so cute." Haley laughed. "What if he has a nightmare?"
"I'm keeping an eye on him Haley." Lucas assured her. "I've got it handled. Why don't you call Peyton or something. Or have a night to yourself. You can stop by in the morning."
"Thanks Luke." Haley said into the phone.
"No problem." Lucas replied. "Hey Hales, I gotta go."
"Bye Luke." Haley said.
"Bye." He replied as he hung up the phone. "Hey Alex, could you help me with a cast?"
"No problem." Alex said following Lucas into the room.
-----
"He still sleeping?" Lucas asked Alex at the end of his shift.
"Yep." Alex replied.
"Ok." Lucas said signing a couple of charts. "Do you need me for anything else before I leave?"
"I think we have everything taken care of." Alex replied looking through some papers.
"Ok then." Lucas said laying the charts on the counter. "I'm going to head home."
"Goodnight Dr. Scott." Alex said as Lucas walked out the doors with Andy in his arms, and the small bag on his shoulder.
"Night." Lucas nodded as he left the hospital.
-----
Lucas opened the front door as quietly as he could as to not wake Brooke. He walked into the living room, but found Brooke watching TV. "What are you doing up?" Lucas whispered as she flicked through the channels.
"I was waiting for you." Brooke said turning the TV off and facing Lucas. "Hey, why do you have Andy?"
"I wanted to give Haley a break." Lucas whispered so he wouldn't wake the boy up. "Wanna give me a hand?"
"Sure." Brooke said removing the bag from Lucas' shoulder and following him to Jak's room. "I'll grab some blankets."
Lucas laid Andy onto the pull out bed they had for when he spent the night. He grabbed Andy's pajamas from the bag and Brooke helped him change him into them. Lucas covered him up with the blankets; he moved the hair off of his forehead and laid a kiss there.
"Uncle Luke?" Andy mumbled as he opened his eyes slightly.
"Hey buddy." Lucas whispered. "Go back to sleep."
"Ok." Andy replied. "Love you."
"I love you too buddy." Lucas smiled. "Sweet dreams." He whispered making sure they boy was covered up completely before he turned around and met Brooke in the hallway. "Do we have those old baby monitors still?"
"Ya, they're in they closet." Brooke said opening the closet door and pulling them off the shelf. "Why?"
"Haley said Andy has been having some bad dreams lately." Lucas said placing one inside Jak's room and bringing the other one with them into their room. "I want to know if he wakes up in the middle of the night."
"Dreams about what?" Brooke questioned as they lay in bed together.
"He told me that he dreamt about Nate getting hurt and not coming back." Lucas replied.
"What did you say to him?" Brooke asked.
"I told him that it wasn't going to happen." Lucas said wrapping his arms around his wife. "I'm beat."
"Me too." Brooke yawned. "Good night Luke."
"Night Brooke." Lucas kissed her forehead.
