Thanks to everyone who reviewed part 1. Here is part 2 of the prequel. After this, it will jump 6 years ahead to when Jamie is in high school. Having now read the summary of the season 8 finale, I realize the Nathan stuff here is slightly AU, but I like it the way it is and don't want to change it. But you can assume that everything else through the end of season 8 happened. As promised, this includes a hopefully plausible explanation for why Peyton and Lucas left.
1 HOUR LATER
A crestfallen Jamie walks over to Haley at the end of the game. "Hey honey," she says, trying to be cheery.
"Where's Daddy?" Jamie demands. Haley glances at Brooke, not sure what to say.
"Your daddy got a call about a job interview, and he had to go meet with someone," Brooke manages.
"What kind of a job?"
"Coaching basketball at Bear Creek," Brooke says quickly. "Bear Creek is a forty-five minute drive, and he called your mama to say he was stuck in traffic. But I got it on video for you to show your dad later, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie says, still crestfallen. Haley mouths a silent "thank you" to Brooke, which Jamie notices.
Suddenly, Haley's phone rings. Her heart leaps with hope for a moment, until she sees it's from an unfamiliar number. Brooke sees the look on her face and quickly takes charge. "Hey Jamie, how would you and your sister like to come have a sleepover tonight?" she asks cheerily. Jamie doesn't respond and just stares at his mother. "Come on, buddy, what do you say?" she urges.
"Okay," Jamie says reluctantly. Brooke watches with concern as Haley takes the phone call, looking distraught.
6 HOURS LATER
Haley is standing on the bridge, surrounded by cops and search and rescue personnel.
"Any update?" a familiar voice asks. Haley whirls around, surprised to see her childhood best friend.
She shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lucas pulls her into a tight embrace.
"They've been searching for hours and they haven't found him...they said there's nowhere else to look but I begged them to look one more time."
"And they confirmed that it's his car?"
"Yeah, they got the license plate. How..."
"Brooke called Peyton," Lucas explains. "I got in the car as soon as I heard."
"He said he was at TRIC and was on his way over," Haley explains, sobbing. "That was an hour and a half before this happened. I don't know where he was...the guys he was with said he said he was headed straight to the game."
"Haley..." Lucas says warningly. "Don't jump to conclusions."
"I'm not...I just don't know what to think. He's been acting strange lately...I should have seen this coming..."
"No. You shouldn't have," Lucas says firmly. "We don't know what happened or why...don't do this to yourself."
"I don't know what I'm going to say to Jamie," she says distraughtly.
"Come on," Lucas coaxes. "I'll drive you to Brooke's and we'll talk to him together."
"No...I need to be here."
"Come on, Hales. There's nothing you can do here. Your son needs you...I talked to Brooke about an hour ago and she couldn't get him to go to sleep...he knows something's wrong."
"Yeah, you're probably right. But I don't know what to tell him."
"The truth," Lucas says firmly. Haley looks surprised. "Hales, he's not a little kid anymore. He knows something's wrong."
"How do you tell a kid his father's missing and may never come back?" she asks, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her cheeks.
LATER - OUTSIDE BROOKE'S HOUSE
Lucas and Haley pull into the driveway. Haley just sits in the car after they arrive, afraid to get out.
"You ready?" Lucas asks gently.
"No," Haley says with dread, but then starts to get out of the car anyway, then stops.
"Maybe I should do this alone," she says suddenly. Lucas looks at her questioningly. "Lucas, you're my best friend and I love you for being here, but I don't know if it's a good idea for Jamie to see you right now."
"Why not?"
"Because, you're pretty much his favorite person in the world, and while seeing you might be a welcome distraction for him right now, if he has to turn around and say goodbye again it's just going to make things worse."
"Listen, Haley, I can stay for at least a few days. And I'll come back as often as you and Jamie need."
"Look, I appreciate that, but you have a family of your own to take care of."
"I know. But Peyton and I talked about this and she understands that it's important to me to be here right now."
Before Haley can respond, Jamie runs out to greet them. "Uncle Lucas!" he yells, excited to see his uncle. But his excitement quickly fades when he sees the look on his mother's face.
THREE DAYS LATER
Lucas is alone in Haley's kitchen, cleaning up and talking to Peyton on the phone. "I just want to stick around for one more day...will you guys be okay?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine. Tomorrow's Friday...we could come up and join you and stay for the weekend."
"Honey, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Luke, it's been two years. I think I'll be okay."
Before Lucas can respond, he notices something in the window. "I need to call you back," he says abruptly, hanging up the phone and running outside.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he demands.
"Lucas..." Dan says, surprised to see him. "I'm just here to talk to Haley."
"Like hell you are."
Dan sighs. "Nathan came to see me the night of the accident," he explains. Lucas shakes his head with disgust. "From what he said, I don't think he had told Haley he was coming...he was supposed to be at Jamie's game. I think I might have been the last person who saw Nathan alive. I just want her to know the truth because I don't want her to suspect the worst...she deserves that much."
Lucas softens a little bit. "She's resting right now...trying to sleep for the first time in 3 days. I'll tell her you stopped by."
"Here," Dan says, handing Lucas a letter. "This explains everything. My number is in there in case she has any questions."
"Alright," Lucas nods, taking the letter and turning away. Dan opens his mouth to speak again, but realizes it's futile, and walks away dejectedly.
ONE MONTH LATER
Lucas carries a suitcase out of his room and peeks in at his sleeping three-year-old daughter and smiles before walking to his bedroom. He sees Peyton sitting on the bed drawing, and he goes over and kisses her forehead.
"Hey you," he says with a grin.
"Hey," she says back, looking up from her drawing. "Is Sawyer asleep?"
"Yeah, she went down pretty fast. I guess all that tap dancing wore her out," he says with a chuckle.
"I don't know where she gets it from," Peyton says, shaking her head.
"I don't know. But if she grows up to have long chickeny legs like her mom we're going to have to padlock her bedroom door to keep the boys away," he says, earning himself a playful swat.
"What are you doing?" Peyton asks as he grabs a bag from the closet and begins packing.
"I thought I told you...I have to go back to Tree Hill tomorrow."
"Again?"
"Yeah, it's Jamie's first game since the accident and I promised I would be there. Haley's worried he's not going to be able to do it."
Peyton sighs. "Honey, Sawyer's first recital is tomorrow night," she protests. Lucas winces.
"You forgot, didn't you?" she asks.
"I'm sorry," Lucas admits. "You told me last week...I must have gotten mixed up. But I promised Jamie I would be there and I can't back out of it."
"I know," Peyton says with a sigh. "And I understand that it's important to you to be there for Haley and her kids right now...I know they need you. But we need you too."
"I know," Lucas says with a sigh. "And I know I haven't been the husband or father that I should be this past month and I'm sorry. But the situation up there is such a mess...Jamie won't even go home because he says it's too sad. Brooke and Julian have been taking care of him, but they have two 4-month-old babies and Julian's movie is going into production soon and he can't put the studio off any longer. Haley doesn't know how to talk to him...she can't even make sense of it herself. She's spending hours every day on the phone with search and rescue personnel and calling every hospital on the East Coast...she's convinced that his body should have washed up to shore and someone should have found it by now."
"But I thought they said the tide from the hurricane was strong enough..."
"Yeah, they did. But she's still hanging on...as long as they don't find his body I think she's going to keep hanging on...so is Jamie. I can't say that I really blame them."
"Yeah, me neither," Peyton agrees. "Looking back, I don't know how my dad managed to do it...to be strong for me in spite of how much pain he was in. I know they need you right now...I shouldn't have given you a hard time."
"You're not...you have every right to be upset. I know I'm not being fair to you and Sawyer, and I'm sorry."
"It's okay...I understand," she reassures him.
"Will you tape the recital for me?" he asks.
"Yeah," she says with a sigh. "Why don't you see if Jamie wants to come live with us for a little while?"
"You'd be okay with that?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Haley and I talked about it...I told her I would talk to you about taking him in for the rest of the school year, but she doesn't think it's a good idea for him to have to start at a new school and make new friends, then come back and have to readjust again."
Peyton takes a deep breath, hesitating before speaking. "Maybe we should move back," she says quietly. Lucas looks up, surprised. He shakes his head and is about to say something but Peyton cuts him off.
"Luke, just hear me out, okay?" He nods.
"I know that I said I was happier here, and in some ways I am. I feel safer here. But I feel like we're hiding..."
"Peyton..."
"Luke, your book is going to be released next month, and you're going to get enough publicity that if he wanted to find us he could. So it doesn't really matter where we are."
"I know. But that's not what I'm worried about."
"I know that. You're worried about me. And I don't blame you. The idea of going back scares me too...I'm afraid of the flashbacks coming back, I'm afraid of feeling scared all the time like I did before. But you're the one who said that if I let him change my life I was letting him win. Do you remember that?"
"Yes, of course I do," Lucas says with a sigh. "But that was before we had a daughter. That was before I had to worry that every time you saw a man with slick blond hair you would become so disoriented that you put yourself and our daughter in danger."
FLASHBACK: 4 MONTHS AFTER SEASON 6
"You were supposed to be mine," Peyton hears a familiar voice saying, a voice she never wanted to hear again. She runs into Sawyer's room and is horrified to find Ian Banks/'Psycho Derek' holding her daughter. "We were supposed to have you together," he says tauntingly to the crying baby.
"Stop it! Get away from her!" Peyton screams frantically. She runs over to take the baby back but Ian holds a knife a half-inch from her daughter's eye, warning her not to come any closer.
Peyton wakes up with a jolt and looks around at Lucas sleeping next to her, shaking with fear. She quickly gets up to go check on Sawyer. Lucas opens his eyes groggily.
"I didn't hear her crying...I'm sorry" he says groggily.
"She wasn't. I just need to go check on her," Peyton says frantically, running out of the room. She peeks in and is relieved to see that Sawyer is sleeping peacefully in her crib. A moment later, she feels Lucas come up behind her.
"Is everything okay?" he asks gently.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just had a bad dream."
"You want to tell me about it?"
She shakes her head. "No, that's okay. I'm sorry for waking you," she says apologetically, knowing it's only been an hour since the last time he got up with the baby.
"It's okay...are you sure you're alright?" he asks skeptically.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go back to sleep while we still can," she suggests.
"Okay," he nods, still looking a little concerned as he wraps his arm around her and leads her back to their bedroom.
ONE MONTH LATER (5 Months After Season 6)
Peyton is at the supermarket, carrying Sawyer in a baby carrier attached to her stomach. She gets into the checkout line behind a middle-aged man with longish light blond hair. Suddenly, her mind FLASHES BACK to prom night, when Psycho Derek greeted her at the door when she was expecting Lucas. Panicked, she abandons her shopping cart and runs out of the store, gripping Sawyer tightly. "Get away from me!" she screams. A few people look up and stare. She keeps running, not noticing she is running into the middle of the street with cars coming. Cars start honking frantically. A Lincoln Navigator swerves to the side of the road, coming within inches of hitting her in the stomach where she is holding Sawyer.
Suddenly, she comes to and realizes what she's done. She just stands there in a daze for a second, then rushes to the side of the road.
"Are you okay, Ma'am?" the driver of the Navigator asks. She just nods feebly, motioning for him to go on, still shook up.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Peyton nervously walks into their bedroom, where Lucas is plugging away on the computer.
"Hey," Lucas says, looking up with a smile, which quickly fades when he sees her expression.
"Luke, I need to tell you something," she says quietly.
"What's going on?" he asks nervously but reassuringly, motioning for her to sit down next to him.
She takes a deep breath. "Ever since Sawyer was born, I've been having nightmares," she begins.
"Yeah, I kind of suspected that. What kind of nightmares?" he asks.
"About getting attacked...about something happening to Sawyer. All of the trauma from what happened with Psycho Derek...I thought it was all gone, that I had dealt with it years ago...but since Sawyer was born I can't shake that feeling I had after the attack of being afraid. So I looked him up in the online prison system, wanting to reassure myself that he was still safely behind bars. But he wasn't...the system said he had been paroled. And since then the fear has gotten worse...it says he's been assigned to parole somewhere in Florida but I'm still scared. At first it was just nightmares, but then it got worse...I started having flashbacks. It's happened a couple times where I saw someone who somehow reminded me of him and I just froze for a few seconds."
"Peyton, why didn't you tell me?" Lucas asks, his tone not quite angry but a little on edge.
"Because I didn't want you to worry," she says meekly. "You spent months worrying while I was pregnant and I could tell how much it was eating you apart and I didn't want you to have to worry anymore. I didn't want you to think I was crazy...I just kept hoping it would go away, but it didn't. And then something really scary happened today and it made me realize I couldn't hide it anymore."
"What happened?" he asks, alarmed. She hesitates. "Peyton, what happened?" he demands more firmly.
"I was at the grocery store with Sawyer, and I saw a man who looked like him. Or maybe he didn't, but from the back of the head he did, and I panicked. I ran out of the store and I kept running until I realized I was standing in the middle of a crowded street with cars coming."
"Oh my g-d...did anybody get hurt?" Lucas asks frantically. She shakes her head.
"No...thank g-d the driver of the car closest to us reacted in time," she says quickly. Lucas just sits there for a minute, his heart beating fast, processing what she just said.
"I'm sorry, Luke," she says, tears streaming down her face. "I know I should have told you...but I never thought it would get this bad. I never thought it would make me put our daughter in danger," she sobs. "If the driver hadn't seen us..."
Lucas is still processing and dealing with a mix of fear, anger, confusion, and pain, but his protective instincts take over and he wraps his arms around her tightly.
"I'm so sorry..." she says again.
"Hey, it's okay," he says softly. His voice is shaky, reflecting his own fear. He takes another minute to compose himself, then wipes away her tears and cups her chin so she is looking at him. "I won't let anything happen to you or our daughter, ever. I promise," he says firmly. She nods feebly, desperate to believe him.
"We're going to get you some help, okay?" he says, trying to be reassuring even though he's obviously scared. "We'll get through this together, just like we've gotten through everything else."
"Okay," she whispers, leaning in and letting him soothe her.
Peyton starts seeing a PTSD specialist who says it's common for somthing like this to reoccur after having children. But she keeps having nightmares and occasional flashbacks, and after a few months, Lucas suggests leaving Tree Hill and starting fresh somewhere were the memories of the attack aren't all around them. So he makes a few calls and gets his old job coaching at Gilmore (where he started as Whitey's assistant coach) back, and they move down there. They tell their friends about the job but don't tell anyone about the other reason they left (which is why nobody on the show ever explained it!). Nobody knew until a few months before Nathan's accident, when Peyton finally told Brooke the truth after Brooke was hurt that she made up some excuse for not being able to come up to see her when her babies were born. After that Brooke brought the babies down to visit her and they've become really close again.
END OF FLASHBACK - BACK TO PRESENT
"But for the grace of g-d I could have lost both of you," Lucas says, his voice choking up. "I don't ever want us to go through that again."
"I don't either," she says adamantly. "But what's to say it couldn't happen again anywhere?"
"Has it?" he demands. "Have you had any flashbacks since we moved here?"
"Just the one," Peyton admits.
"You mean when we were loading the car to go to Tree Hill for Brooke's wedding?" Lucas asks. Peyton nods.
"See, that's my point," Lucas insists.
"I know. But maybe I've just built it up in my head to be scarier than it is. Maybe if I actually went back I'd be okay."
"But maybe you wouldn't. Peyton, we can't take that chance..."
"Honey, I know you're scared, and I am too. But our family needs us. I lost my mom when I was the same age as Jamie and I want to be there for him. I want to be there for Haley and for Lydia...I think it's time, Luke."
"Peyton, we can't," Lucas tries to reason.
"Damn it, Luke, I don't want to hide anymore!" she snaps. "I'm tired of hiding. I wasn't there when Brooke got married...I've seen Davis and Jude once and I've never even met Lydia. I wasn't there for Nathan's funeral...I haven't been there with you to help this past month. I'm tired of not being there. I'm tired of feeling like I'm missing out on everyone's lives. I'm tired of being afraid to go home," she says with a sob. "And I know that you want to go home too. You've been trying to hide it, but I can tell how much you miss Tree Hill, especially now. And I know that if you keep going back and forth you're always going to feel like you're letting someone down."
"Peyton, it's only been a month. I won't be going up there as much when things settle down, I promise. Haley's sister Quinn is stuck in Europe right now on a contract she can't get out of, but when she comes back they won't need me as much."
"I know. But I know you'll want to be there. I know you want to be there for Jamie and Lydia the way Keith was there for you and I support that. Hell, I love you for that. But I want to be able to do that with you. I want to go home, Luke," she pleads.
Lucas looks at her sympathetically, trying to contain his emotions. He sits down next to her and grips her arm gently.
"Look, why don't I bring Sawyer up to join you after her recital and we'll see how it feels. If I can't handle being there then we'll come home and I won't mention it again, alright?" she suggests.
Lucas shakes his head adamantly. "No. If you want to try going back, we'll do it together. You're not driving up there by yourself."
"Okay," she nods. Suddenly, tears start brimming in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asks gently.
"I'm sorry," she says softly, tears starting to flow.
"For what?"
"For everything. For letting my fears get the best of me...for making you miss out on your life...for putting our daughter in danger..."
"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. We've talked about this."
"I know, I know. But she could have died, Luke. She could have died and it would have been all my fault."
"Peyton, please, don't think like that. Look at me," he says firmly. She looks up. "I want you to know that I don't blame you for anything, okay? It's not your fault that it happened to you, and it's not your fault that some of the trauma came back after Sawyer was born. And I'm not missing out on my life, okay? You and Sawyer are everything I ever wanted and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Peyton nods, leaning into his embrace. "I love you so much," she says softly.
"I love you too, Peyton Scott," Lucas says. She chuckles a little. "What?" he asks.
"Would you laugh if I said that even after three years, I still get butterflies when you call me that?"
"Really?" he says with a grin.
"Yeah," she says, blushing a little.
"You're such a dork," he teases.
"This coming from the guy who wrote 'Peyton Sawyer will become Peyton Scott' on a piece of paper in 8th grade and stuffed the paper away in a brick wall."
"Okay, so I'm a bigger dork," he admits.
"But you're my dork," she says, kissing him on the lips.
"So tell me," he says, planting soft kisses all over her neck. "Does that still give you butterflies?"
"Mmmm...maybe," she says with a grin.
"Does this still give you butterflies?" he whispers huskily in her ear as he strokes her inner thigh teasingly.
"Mmmmm..." she nods. "Are you sure Sawyer's asleep?"
"Out cold," he promises. She nods and leans up, kissing him hungrily.
THE NEXT DAY
The next day, Haley and Lucas drive with Jamie and Lydia to Jamie's game. "Do I have to play?" Jamie asks glumly.
"No, sweetie, you don't have to, but I think you'll regret it if you don't," Haley says.
"Can I talk to him for a sec?" Lucas asks Haley when they get inside. Haley nods.
"Listen, buddy, I know how you're feeling right now," Lucas says to Jamie. Jamie just stares. "After my Uncle Keith died, I didn't want to play either. I kept looking at the bleachers and seeing him there rooting for me and without him the game just didn't seem to matter. But it does matter. And you know how much your dad would want you to get out there and play your best."
Jamie looks down. "He was supposed to be here," he says glumly. "Last time I played, he promised he would be here and he wasn't."
"I know, buddy. And we still don't know what happened and I know that's hard for you. But knowing your dad, I know he must have been trying really hard to be here. And he's here with you tonight, even if you can't see him."
"Yeah, that's what Aunt Brooke said. She said Daddy's still looking out for me."
"Well, she's right. I know it."
"How do you know?"
Lucas sighs. "When my Uncle Keith died, I couldn't figure out why. He and my mom were supposed to get married, we were finally going to be a family, and then he was gone, just like that. And your Aunt Peyton lost her mom when she was just about your age, and she could never understand it. But then when she was pregnant with Sawyer, the doctors told us there was a good chance she could die if she went through with it."
"But she didn't."
"No, she didn't. She was okay, and my daughter was okay, and I know that my Uncle Keith and her mom must have been looking out for us. Just like your dad's going to be looking out for you for the rest of your life. So play for him tonight, and make him proud, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie says reluctantly, not fully convinced. Lucas gives him a quick hug and then nudges him toward the bench where his team is gathered.
5 minutes later, the game begins. Jamie is instructed to throw the ball in from out of bounds.
Everyone watches nervously as Jamie steps up to take the ball. He looks over and sees a whole entourage of people rooting for him: Haley, Lucas, his 1-year-old sister, Brooke, Julian, the twins, Mouth, Millicent, and Skills. But his father isn't there, and at that moment that's all that matters. He freezes, just standing still for a minute as everyone watches, holding their breath. Eventually, he drops the ball and walks over to Lucas, who by this point is standing at the edge of the court.
"I couldn't do it. I'm sorry," Jamie says, tears streaming down his face.
"It's okay, buddy," Lucas says, putting his hand on Jamie's shoulder and leading him off the court, shaking his head apologetically at Haley, who looks heartbroken.
