CHAPTER 2

After hanging up, Nathan paced outside Brooke's room, waiting for the doctor to come out. Finally, almost a lifetime later in Nathan's opinion, the doctor stepped out of the room. He looked somber and serious, complete opposite of the irritatingly cheerful expression he was sporting earlier. When he saw Nathan racing toward him, he nodded in the direction of the chairs lined up against the wall and asked Nathan to take a seat. When Nathan shook his head, the doctor quietly replied, "Trust me son, you are going to want to be sitting down when you hear what I have to say."

Finally Nathan took a seat beside the doctor and tried to mentally prepare himself for the worst.

"Physically Brooke is fine. Her body will obviously need time to get back into shape after being out of commission for so long. She will need to go to physical therapy and it will probably take her a few months before her body fully recovers and starts functioning normally."

"Well that's good right doc?" Nathan asked, his voice full of hope.

"Yes that's good, in fact it is a miracle. But there is more. Like you heard her before Brooke seems to be stuck in the year 2006. Apparently the shock of the accident injury combined with the coma has led her to suffer from retrograde amnesia. I will of course have to run a few tests before I can give you a definitive diagnosis but she cannot recall the last seven years of her life. She doesn't recall graduating high school even."

Nathan mutely absorbed the information that the doctor had just given him. The doctor laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Nathan shrugged him off and standing up he asked, "So will she ever remember?"

"Well that is something, unfortunately, even medicine cannot answer. Usually most victims get back their lost memories at least most of it. Some victims get back partial memory and in extremely rare cases, victims never recover any memory."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair, disheveling it and growled, "Well I guess that's vague enough. So what are we supposed to do in the meanwhile?"

The doctor finally got out of his seat and looking Nathan directly in the eye, he said, "Be patient with her. The victim of retrograde amnesia may feel embarrassed or stressed that they no longer remember key people and significant events. Typically the victim may be overwhelmed by the rush of well-wishers, who seek to reacquaint themselves. It is important to let the amnesiac go at his or her "own pace," so they are not overly stressed."

Nathan looked at the doctor and asked again, "Will she ever remember doc?"

"I hate to say this, especially as a doctor but I honestly don't know. She will have to meet with a psychiatrist and eventually if she wants, she can work with a hypnotist and try recovering her memory that way. Unfortunately you cannot force memories on her but you can re-introduce her to them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you can take her to familiar places. Don't tell her how or why they are familiar just take her there and see how she reacts. Introduce her to familiar smells, perfumes, food…whatever. Do activities with her that you used to before everything happened. Stick with your normal routine, something is bound to connect in her mind."

"And how do I explain her daughter to her?"

"You don't. Not yet. As far as she knows she doesn't have a baby…"

"Or a husband…" Nathan interrupted.

"That is true," the doctor replied, "but a husband is a relationship that you can introduce but not force on her."

"I don't understand…"

"I recommend telling her about her marriage. I mean after all there is a ring on her finger and legally she is married. That is a fact she cannot avoid. But don't force her to be a wife. Just educate her on the daily routine and let her get used to it eventually."

"Fine but what about her daughter, we can't just not tell her about her own child. And what about when she asks about how she got married or what has happened in her life since 2006, what do I tell her then?"

"The truth. She obviously knows that seven years of her life have gone by and she doesn't remember them. Its okay to tell her the truth but its like I said you can tell her the facts just don't force the emotions on her. Look Nathan, I know this is hard and I am very sorry for it but she is young and healthy in every other way, there is no reason not to hope that she will remember everything very soon."

"Hope…right," scoffed Nathan.

"Well in either case it's going to be a long road to recovery for her and for you. As a doctor and as someone who has been a friend for the past few years, I recommend you take up on all the support you can get." The doctor patted Nathan on his shoulder and walked past him. Nathan quietly headed towards Brooke's room and stood at the window looking in at the sleeping girl inside.

Nathan felt a warm hand squeeze his shoulder. "Hi Nate", a gentle voice whispered next to his ear. Nathan turned and enveloped the slender blonde in a tight hug, "Thank you guys so much for coming."

"Of course…" Peyton slowly pulled away, "How is she?"

"Physically, she is as healthy as a horse. But she thinks she is a senior in high school and that it is 2006. She doesn't remember her marriage or her child." Nathan turned to Lucas and said, "She doesn't understand why everyone keeps calling her Mrs. Scott, considering she broke up with you and that you were now in love with P.Sawyer and she is dating Chase."

"Wow!" was all Lucas could say to that.

"Where is Haley?" Nathan asked looking past the couple and toward the hallway. A little girl shyly stepped out from behind Lucas and giving him a bright smile, she said, "Hi daddy!"