The idea for this story has been in my head since my first watching of season 5 but it's just now coming to fruition. I am a total sucker for Lucas and Haley so that's obviously what I had to write.

Dedicated to Rachael who claims to love whatever I write - so here's testing that theory.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing and seek to make no profits.

I'll get it if you need it,
I'll search if you can't see it,
You're thirsty, I'll be your rain,
You get hurt, I'll take your pain,
I know you don't believe it,
But I said it and I still mean it,
When you heard what I told you,
When you get worried,
I'll be your soldier
-Gavin DeGraw;

The thundering staccato of his tiny bare feet on the wood floor broke through the smashing of metal and glass, through the thickness of her bedroom door and straight into her heart. There was fear in every footfall as he threw open the door and dived under the cover beside her, turning his head into her side and letting a few, small, hot tears wet the fabric of her nightshirt. She curls her arms around his tiny body and kisses his head over and over as she fights back tears of her own. "It's going to be okay," she promises. "We're going to be fine."

"Mama," he whimpers against her. "I want Uncle Lucas."

She knows, then in that very moment, that the time has come to leave. Jamie is paying the price for her stubbornness and Nathan's anger and she can't sit idly by as her baby carries their pain on his so tiny shoulders. "Go get your shoes on, bud."

"We're leaving," he asks quietly.

"We're leaving," she promises. "Go get dressed and I will be there in a minute to help you get some stuff together to take to Uncle Luke's, okay?"

"Okay, mama," he agrees and slides off the bed.

She watches him sprint out of the room with more spring in his step than she has seen in four months. Then it's her turn; she climbs out of the bed she barely got to share with her husband after their return to Tree Hill. She grabs a suitcase from the closet and rifles through her drawers, pulling enough clothes out for several days away from home – long enough for her to get her head together and figure out what to do. She throws the books she needs for work into her bag and throws them both of her shoulder as she slips down the hallway to her son's room. Jamie is sat on his bed, trying to tie his Converse – the ones Lucas bought him for his birthday. There is a small pile of coloring books, storybooks, and toys sat next to him on the bed; just the bare essentials, he has a whole stockpile at Luke's house too.

"Hey Jimmy-jam," she greets him as she kneels by the bed to take over shoe-tying duties. "What did you pick out here?"

"This is the coloring book that Uncle Luke and I have been working in," he tells her. "And that's the book you and me are reading. And I can't leave without my dinosaurs."

"Good reasons," she tells him and kisses his nose. "Want to help me pick out some clothes?"

"Yes mama," he mumbled through a yawn. He clamored down from his bed and crossed the room to open his dresser drawers; lazily he pulled out several of his favorite shirts and several pairs of pants. "Here go Mama."

"Thank you," she told him and pressed a kiss to his head. "You need some underpants and socks."

"Up there," he told her, lazily pointing at the top drawer – exhaustion causing him to fade quickly. "Please don't forget my cape, mama."

"I won't," she promised as she dropped another kiss to the top of his head. "I love you, Jamie."

"I love you, too, mama."

She zipped up his suitcase and shoved the toys and books into his book bag before ushering him down the stairs. Nathan had apparently finished his rampage and was flopped across the couch with a bottle of bourbon dangling from his finger tips. Haley sighed and knelt down to Jamie's level and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Jamie, buddy, can you go wait for mommy in the car?"

"Yes ma'am." Jamie gave a sad look at his father, offering a small wave as he turned on his heel and escaped out the front door. "Bye daddy."

"We're going to go stay with Lucas," Haley explained as she stuffed her keys into her purse. "I just… need a couple days."

"To play house with my brother," he slurred. "I ain't Dan, Hales."

"Then stop acting like him, Nathan," she fired back and turned on her heel, grabbing her luggage and heading out to the car where her son was waiting.

The ride to Lucas' was filled with the quiet hum of the radio and the thump of Jamie's sneakers against the bottom of his car seat as he attempted to keep himself awake. Haley sang along with the radio softly as she turned onto Luke's street and the thumping of Jamie's feet came to a stop – of course he would fall when she was almost there. She parked in front of the house where she had spent at least half her childhood.

Rain was starting to fall as she got out of the car and opened the door behind her, she unlatched Jamie's seat and lifted him into her arms. She clung to him in the way children do with complete faith and trust, curling his body into hers. She kissed the shell of his ear as she climbed the slight hill to the porch where she used to sit and talk with her best friend for hours on end. She knocked gently and watched as the bedroom light turned on and the soft familiar footfall before the door opened. Lucas stood before her with sweatpants slipping low on his hips and a tired hand running over his face. "Haley?"

"He just… And I…" Words so suddenly failed her. "Jamie asked for you and we just… we can't stay with Nathan anymore, Luke. Jamie is starting to pay the price for his actions and I won't sit around and watch my husband turn into the one person I truly hate on this planet."

"Come in," he told her as he stepped to one side.

She walked into the bedroom where she had crashed so many nights from the age of eight on and let out a shivering sob. Jamie was so heavy in her arms and she was so tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She bowed her head into her sons neck and tried so valiantly to fight it all back. "Luke…"

"Give him to me, Hales," Lucas ordered gently and lifted the four year old from her. She watched through her teary eyes as her best friend tucked his nephew into the bed, pulling the blankets up to his jaw and dropping a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep sweet, J-Luke."

"Lucas," she started once more as he turned to face her.

"C'mere," he instructed and took her hand in his, pulling her into his arms. She collapsed into him and let loose of everything she had been holding so tightly inside; her sobs barely muffled by his shoulder, he rocked her back and forth as she cried. "I've got you, Haley. I have you."

Haley curled her fingers at his shoulders, her nails digging into his shoulder blade as he kept the gentle rocking pace as he ran his hand over her back with the other curled into her hair. She let out every ounce of fear and pain that she had been bottling up since Lucas had called her from the hospital telling her that Nathan was injured, that he couldn't feel anything from his legs on down . She let Lucas tip her back on the bed, lay her down beside Jamie as he wrapped his arms around her. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck as she tried to control her breathing. "Thank you."

"Shh," he whispered in her ear. "You never have to thank me for taking care of you, Haley James Scott."

"Can Jamie and I stay with you for a few days," she whispered as she rearranged herself so that her ear was over his heart, the comforting beat thumping against her. "I need some time to figure out what needs to be done – some distance from Nathan."

"Of course," he promised. "You can stay as long as you need."

"I don't tell you enough," she breathed. "But I really do love you a whole helluva lot, Lucas Scott."

"I love you, too, Hales," he replied as he kissed her head while her eyes fluttered close and she gave into the pull of sleep.

Morning dawned on the sleeping trio and James Lucas Scott sat up in his uncle's bed to rub the sleep from his eyes. His head turned toward his mother and uncle, smiling when he saw them entwined with one another and his mother looking far more rested than she had in a long time – since before his daddy had gotten hurt. His stomach grumbled and he wondered what Uncle Lucas had to eat but his mama always told him that he wasn't allowed to cook for himself, not until he was old enough to see all the burners on the stove. "Mama," he asked and poked her side. "Mama, I'm hungry."

Haley didn't move in response, fully ensconced in sleep.

Jamie's brow furrowed and he stood on the bed, bouncing lightly as he watched the sleeping adults. When the light bouncing failed to wake them, he began to leap on the bed like a full-blown monkey. He watched with glee as his uncle started to come to consciousness. "Uncle Lucas finally you woke up!"

"Hey buddy," Lucas mumbled with a sleep roughened voice. "Can you stop the jumping?"

"Sure," Jamie told him and finished with a leap onto the grown man's abdomen. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Luke laughed as he roughed up his nephew's hair. "Why were you jumping?"

"I'm hungry and nobody was awake and mama says I can't cook for myself," Jamie explained. "Can I please have something to eat?"

"Let's go scavenge for food," Luke decided and scooped the four year old up, tossing him over his shoulder as he held onto his ankles. "Let your mama sleep, okay? You guys had a rough night and she needs her rest."

"She does," Jamie agreed through a fit of giggles. "She hasn't been sleeping good with daddy being all mean."

"Do you want to tell me what happened last night," he asked as he plopped the little boy on the counter and began to pull the ingredients out for pancakes.

"Daddy was drinking," Jamie explained with a shrug. "When mama and I got home he was on the couch all drinked."

"Drunk," Lucas corrected gently.

"Drunk," Jamie agreed. "Mama sent me upstairs but I heard them arguing and, Uncle Luke, he was being real mean to my mama – not saying nice stuff at all. When mama and I went upstairs for bed, Daddy started throwing stuff. It was scary. I asked mama if we could come stay with you and that's how we ended up here."

"I'm sorry daddy was mean, bud," Luke told him as he dropped a kiss to the crown of his head. "He's got some stuff that he's dealing with but that doesn't excuse him acting like a jerk but it might mean he takes awhile to figure out he's acting like a jerk. Understand?"

"Kinda," Jamie replied with a shrug. "I miss my daddy, Uncle Luke."

"We all do," Lucas promised. "You do know that daddy loves you though, right?"

"I guess," Jamie shrugged. "Not like you and mama love me. Or Uncle Skills and Junk and Fergie. But I guess daddy loves me the best he can right now."

"I love you a lot," Lucas told him while mentally vowing to have some serious words with his little brother. "Do you know how much?"

Jamie held both his arms out in full extension. "This much?"

"Way more than that," he told him as he looked him in the eye. "I mean, if I had to measure it in distance, I would probably say that my love for you reaches from right here in Tree Hill to where Aunt Karen and Lily are in Ireland."

"Whoa," Jamie gasped. "That's a lot, Uncle Luke."

"Indeed," he said with a solemn nod.

Jamie flung his arms around his uncle's neck. "I love you that much and more, Uncle Luke."

"I'm glad," he said with a chuckle. "Want to help me make your mama some pancakes?"

"Duh," Jamie replied.

When Haley emerged from the bedroom a half hour later; the boys had completely destroyed the kitchen with flour everywhere on their persons and a pile of semi-descent pancakes swimming on a plate of syrup. She leaned against the door frame and watched as Lucas gave Jamie war stripes of pancake batter and Jamie left a pancake batter handprint on the man's chest that caused him to laugh as he sprinkled sugar in Jamie's already sticky blond hair. "Boys," she chastised as she walked across the kitchen. "Don't you know that you're supposed to eat your food and not play with it?"

"Aw, Hales, c'mon," Lucas goaded. "You know that you want in on this fun."

"Yeah mama," Jamie added. "Don't you want to play too?"

"Want to see fun," Haley asked her son who nodded vehemently. She grabbed the package of flour and dumped it over Lucas' head as Jamie roared with laughter. "War has been declared, Lucas Scott."

"You're dead," Lucas deadpanned as he grabbed the hose attached to the sink and turned it on, aiming the spray at his best friend. "Get her, Jamie!"

"No," Haley cried through her laughter. "You're on my side, right?"

"War," Jamie let out the battle cry as he slung handfuls of batter at the both of them as he leapt from the counter and slid across the floor to take refuge under the kitchen table.

When the flour plumes had settled, the trio were collapsed on the kitchen floor with syrup, batter, and flour caked persons. Haley and Lucas were laying parallel to each other with Jamie flopped across both their stomachs, idly tracing shapes in the pile of flour on the floor. Haley's stomach rumbled embarrassingly loud and she cleared her throat, blushing. "Why don't you boys go get in the shower and I will start cleaning this mess up."

"We started it," Lucas countered. "I'll clean up."

"No," Jamie protested. "I want Uncle Luke's help."

"Go Lucas." Haley shoved him as she stood up. "Jamie wants his Uncle Lucas to help him get cleaned up. You boys get your showers taken while I cleaned and then I'll take a shower while you boys run to get breakfast in town because I am starving."

"Yes ma'am," Lucas relented as he scooped his nephew up and carted him toward the bathroom.

Jamie emerged from the bathroom first, completely clean and dressed in a white t-shirt and khaki shorts, his red cape fastened around his neck. Haley smirked when she saw that Lucas had spiked the front of his hair so that he matched his favorite Uncle. "How do I look, mama?"

"Like a mini Luke," she told him with a grin. "Is Uncle Lucas finished?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded as he hopped on the couch and grabbed the remote.

"Thanks buddy," she told him and kissed his head. She ducked into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a plaid blouse from her suitcase before making her way to the bathroom. Unthinkingly, she threw open the door to find her best friend standing wrapped in a towel with his razor in one hand. "Oh," she exclaimed. "Sorry, Jamie said you were done."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Just, just, a towel." She hated herself for the way her eyes raked over his taught, damp muscles. It had been way too long since she had gotten any kind of relief in that department but staring at her best friend, her brother-in-law, was just weird. "I'm gonna… I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Luke told her as he washed the remnants of shaving cream off his face. "The bathroom is yours, Hales." He slipped past her, his upper pectorals brushing against her back as he slipped past her into the bedroom.

When she emerged from the bathroom nearly forty-five minutes later, she heard laughter coming from the living room. She glanced at herself in the mirror and took a steadying breath, shaking off the image of Lucas in his towel. She ran a hand through her damp hair and followed the voices out to the living room. "Hey boys."

"Mama," Jamie greeted her as he jumped up from his place at the coffee table where he was eating a gooey cinnamon roll. He raced around the table and couch to throw himself into her arms. "We got breakfast- Uncle Luke bought us gooey cinna-rolls."

"That sounds yummy, little man," she told him. "Did you tell Uncle Luke 'thank you'?"

"He did," Lucas told her from his spot on the floor beside Jamie's spot. "We are watching Saturday morning cartoons – you're welcome to join us."

"That sounds perfect," Haley replied with her first real, deep seated smile in ages.

Jamie squirmed in her arms and cupped her face in his tiny hands. "Mama, can we stay with Uncle Luke forever?"

"I don't know," she told him as her insides twisted. "We can definitely stay for now though."

"Good enough," Jamie replied. "For now."