Chapter Two

"Oh God, I…I think my water broke"

You know those fleeting moments that you experience in your life that change everything? That one moment that you look back on years later and you say "Oh, yeah, I remember that", except you don't go in some long drawn out explanation to recount the event to others because those five words are all you need to say? Well, Lucas Scott was having his.

He didn't ask any questions. He didn't shout, he didn't scream, he didn't cry. His throat tightened up and he couldn't breathe, it was as if all the air was being sucked out of his body. He closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. It's a dream, just all a bad dream. The voice in his head told him. He opened his eyes again. He was still in the same place, still at the river court with Nathan, Skills, Fergie and Junk.

Gotcha, the voice sneered. Instinctivly, he clenched his fists.

And then he ran.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he didn't care if they got so sore that they fell off, because even if they did, he wouldn't feel it. He ran until Skills's "Hey man, where are you going?" got fainter and fainter in the distance, and until Nate's questioning eyes could no longer gaze onto the back of his blonde head. He ran until he got to his house, where his wife was waiting.

Lucas burst into the front door of his house with such force and agility that he was surprised the door didn't fall off of its hinges. He saw no one in the house except for Peyton, standing there helplessly, the phone still clutched in her hands, tears still running down her face and the mascara she was wearing smeared everywhere. He ran to her and grabbed her into his arms, ever so gently, and for a split second, he felt human again.

Her distraught sobs filled his ears as he rubbed frantic circles on her back.

"Peyton, what happened? Did you call the docter? What's going on?" He waited unti her breathing labored just a little bit and she was able to speak.

"I.. I just got off the phone with Maureen, she said that I had to stay in bed and not do anything for the next 24 hours, she asked me if I wanted to go to the emergency room now and I said no because you weren't here yet…"

Lucas just nodded nervously as she rambled on.

" So then she told me to just stay in bed and not do anything, and to feel my belly to see if the baby was moving and if it wasn't that I had to immediately go to the hospital…"

"Are you.. are you sure that your water really broke?" Lucas felt dense for asking, but he was so desperate to find a way for it to be untrue, to find some solution, so that this couldn't be happening right now.

Peyton didn't take it well. Her voice rose as she replied,

"What do you mean? Of course it did!! I just had to go put a freaking pad on to stop the amniotic fluid from coming out!!"

Even though she just yelled at him quite brutally he knew that she was relieved that he was home, because she kept crying and clutching at his shirt, and he thought she would never let go of him. He didn't want her to.

"Oh…okay, lets get you in bed then" he spoke nervously, and she just nodded and slowly made her way to the bedroom they shared. It was then that Nathan walked through the door with Skills.

"Luke, what the hell's going on?" Nathan asked, but stopped short when he saw his brother's features. He was tired and out of breath. His eyes looked terrified and slightly empty. Lucas was always full of life and his eyes had meaning, and Nathan seeing his brother like this, the complete opposite, frightened him. "Are you okay, man?" he questioned, clearly concerned.

Lucas just looked at him and shrugged slightly. "Peyton's…Peyton's water broke" He said it with such a quiet voice, as if he knew there was nothing he could do to stop this, or change, or somehow make it better. If Nathan knew his brother, then he knew that this was killing him. Especially if it was about his family.

Lucas wiped his eyes when tears threatened to fall. He lay his head in his hands and sank down into his chair. He looked incredibly hopless and terrified. Nathan stood there watching this with Skills by his side, wondering what he should do. Should he go and take his brother in his arms? Should he pat him on the shoulder? Should he reconcile him with words? He was never good at making descisions like these. But he did get the feeling that words were so meaningless. How could words provide comfort at a time like this? He had never heard anything like this before. Is this even possible? He didn't dare ask, because one look at Lucas and he knew it was true.

Nathan mustered up the courage to say something. Anything.

"I'm gonna…I'm gonna go call Haley" was all he could manage. Lucas said nothing. He reached into his pocket and got out his cell so he could call his wife. Maybe she would know what to do.

He doubted it.

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Nathan sat on the couch with Skills. Neither of them could say anything. They were so confused and scared. When the waiting got too long he eventually started tapping his feet on the floor. Skills gave him a look and he glanced back apologetically. He had to use his hands to grip tightly onto his legs so they would stop making noise.

Lucas was still sitting crying silently in the kitchen. Nathan cursed himself. He wanted to help Luke so badly, but he really, truly, didn't know how.

Soon, but not soon enough, Haley came through the door with a sleeping Jamie in her arms, as well as a distraught Brooke in tow. Nathan sat up, immensely relieved.

"Hey" he muttured silenty. He walked over to his wife and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He softly pattered Jamie's head. "Little man's already out? It's only 8:30. He's usually bouncing off the walls".

Haley chuckled. "Yeah, but he had a crazy day today… " She couldn't finish, because just as she was going to ask what was going on, Brooke interrupted her.

"Is it really true? What's happening? Where's Peyton??" Tears were already falling down her face. She couldn't conjure what she would do if something were to happen to her best friend. Or her Godchild.

It was decided not long after Peyton and Lucas found out they were going to be parents that both Haley and Brooke would be the Godmothers of their child. Even though, techinically, Haley and Nathan were set to baptize the child when the time came, Brooke was going to be considered Godmother and Aunt to their child no matter what.

"Davis, do you have to be so damn loud?" Skills asked incrediously.

"Sorry. I have to go talk to Peyton" without another word, despite Nathan's protests of she's sleeping, Brooke walked quickly to Peyton's bedroom.

"It's true, isn't it?" Haley asked.

Nathan just nodded.

"Oh my God…" Now Haley was crying quiet tears. They might've been young, but they all knew that a pregnant woman's water breaking when she was only 6 months pregnant was not a good sign. "Where's Lucas?" she looked around the house for her best friend.

"He's in the kitchen. He hasn't said a word since he first told me about it" Nathan said sadly, as he noted that there was one less visitor. "Where's Sam?"

"Brooke left her home, with Jullian".

As the months went by, Brooke and Sam got closer and closer, even saying "I love you" to each other, and at that point it was inevitable that Brooke was going to adopt Sam as her legal daughter. After a long process, it finally happened, and Samantha Walker is now Samantha Davis. Brooke had asked Sam several times if she was sure she didn't want to hyphen her last name to Walker-Davis, but Sam absolutely refused. She said she didn't want any part of her parents anymore, they didn't want her. Why should she want them?

As for Jullian, when he and Brooke first got together, no one really thought it would last. But over time, Jullian proved himself to be a good guy, and the gang thought he was a great fit for Brooke. Even Lucas, who wasn't even on speaking terms with Jullian after his movie An Unkindness of Ravens was a flop and got shut down, saw how happy he made Brooke and how she smiled so brightly whenever his name was even mentioned. "As long as he makes Brooke happy" Lucas would say on the matter. She had gone through enough. Now, Brooke has a 15 year old, and is fully commited to a serious relationship with a guy she loves. She had never been happier.

"I have to talk to him. Here, take Jamie". Haley gently handed her son over to his father, who went and layed him down on the bed in Karen's old room.

As Haley passed Skills she patted him on the shoulder and quietly approached Lucas, who was sitting in the same position with his head in his hands, crying ever so softly. "Lucas… " Haley called gently. He didn't respond. She walked over to him and rubbed his shoulder. "Lucas?" she called once more. He slowly lifted his head up to speak with her. His cheeks had evidence of tear marks down his face, his eyes were puffy and wet. "Are you okay?"

"No." he answered. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

"What happened?" She asked again. She tried not to push too hard. Lucas said nothing for about a minute. She stood, waiting there for him to answer her. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to leave him alone, but she wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going to abandon her best friend. Not now.

Lucas figured he should respond. As much as he didn't want to, he forced the words to leave his mouth. Slowly and quietly, he said: "Well, Peyton's water broke, and she told me that she called Maureen who told her to stay in bed and not do anything for the next 24 hours, and to make sure she felt movement in her belly, and if she didn't she would have to go to the hospital immediately".

Maureen was Peyton's midwife. She was a kindly old woman who loved her job and knew what she was doing. Whatever she suggested should be done, Peyton did it.

Haley nodded. "And if you did feel the baby moving?" She didn't know what came next.

"We go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning". Tears started coming down Lucas's face again. He quickly stopped them. He never let anyone see him cry.

Haley rushed to her best friend's side, wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. "Luke, its going to be okay" she soothed. She started to cry again. Today was just a day for tears.

"How do you know that Haley?" he asked hopelessly as he leaned his head into her shoulder for comfort. Haley didn't respond, she just continued to rub his back and kiss the top of his head, because she didn't know.

She didn't know anything.

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Brooke tapped softly on the bedroom door. When she heard nothing on the other side, she turned the handle and went inside. The sight left her heartbroken. In the bright bedroom , her best friend sat, fully clothed, with shoes on her feet, atop the bed, resting against the headboard. Both her hands clutched her stomach. Her face was blotched and puffy, the mascara made several streaks along her face. Her eyes were red and her hair was disheveled. She lay in a large scattered pile of used tissues. She didn't even awknoledge Brooke coming into the room. She only stared straight ahead at one thing. The clock.

Brooke choked back tears as she approached Peyton. She noticed something, like a book, lying by her feet. "What'cha got there?" she asked gently.

No response. Brooke went ahead and picked up the item on the bed. She picked it up and to look at it. She wished she hadn't.

It was a photo album, and it was open to a picture of Lucas and Peyton, in a docters's office. Peyton sat happily in a blue hospital gown atop the table, leaning back. Lucas stood by her side with his arm wrapped around her, smiling that golden smile of his. Lucas smiling so widely was a rare occurance before he got back together with Peyton.

God, I really need to design hospital gowns, Brooke couldn't help but think as she gazed at the beautiful photo. Those things really were so disgusting. Brooke always said that they shouldn't even be classified as an article of clothing, but rather something someone threw out in the trash and the hospital recycled it. She turned her attention to a photo next to it, and her heart broke even more. The photo was small and black, and there was a gray fuzz in the middle. If you looked really closely you could see a small spackle of life, no bigger than the size of a peanut. On the side were small, gray numbers. It was the date: 7 March 2012. Beneath the two pictures were the words The First Ultrasound. It looked like it was made by Peyton's labelmaker that she first used when Brooke bought her the baby album. Brooke couldn't help but wonder if the album was ever going to be used again.

Brooke mentally cursed herself for thinking that. She closed the album and lay it on the nighttable. She sat crosslegged on the bed beside Peyton, and gently lay her hand on Peyton's leg to comfort her small sobs. "Peyton, honey, don't you think you should get some sleep?"

Peyton didn't even look at Brooke when she responded. "No. I'm fine."

Brooke decided to push a little. Even though she never admitted it to anyone, she wished that Peyton had done the same after she lost Angie and was attacked. She knew Peyton might not like her for it right now, but she decided it was for the best.

"You really should get some sleep". She waited for any sign that Peyton was beginning to get annoyed.

But there was nothing. Just fear. Horrible, paralyzing fear. A fear that something was going to happy to her baby. Her first baby. One that she was so happy and exhilirated to welcome to the world soon, with open arms and a loving spirit. One that she was ready to parent right from wrong, good from bad. To save it from the evils of the world. She was ready to get the life full of happiness that she had been waiting so long for. She was ready to be a mother.

"No." She said simply, her eyes still on the clock ahead of her.

Brooke sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes". Peyton's lip trembled, and Brooke saw that she was about to start crying again. But she held it together.

"Really? Because I can go and get you some food or soemthing to drink if you want-"

"No Brooke!! I need to save my baby!! It needs to be okay!! It has to be okay!!. Her resolve broke, and so did she. She sobbed louldy, harder and harder as the cries of sadness escaped her dry lips and her shoulders shook with pain. Brooke immediately rushed to her best friend's side, kneeling on the bed, with her arms wrapped her slightly larger body frame that developed through her pregnancy. She buried her head in Brooke's shoulder as she barely stopped frequently to take in breaths.

Peyton and Brooke had proclaimed that since they were 8 they were going to be friends for life. They helped each other through all the heartache and anguish that they both had to go through as a part of growing up; losing your mother through a car accident or over a company that you worked so hard for in making great, getting shot in a school shooting or being abused by a sadistic eventual murderer, losing the wealth you grew so accustomed to over your lifetime, and then going through a long, difficult journey to find yourself, and then to unviel to the unsuspecitng world the independence and inner strengh even you youself didn't know you had. Even though they went through a bumpy ride with a certain brooding blonde stuck in the middle, they overcame it and pulled through in the end, and they became closer than ever, with their friendship renewing in a literal battle to save each other from death.

To say Brooke and Peyton were best friends would undoubtedly be the understatement of the century. They were sisters. More than sisters, even. Over so long they've practically become a part of each other, like a woven scarf that might've become tattered over the years, but was still rich, like a golden trove, in sentimental value.

"I'm…I'm sorry, but I'm just…so scared" Peyton was so out of breath from all the exhaustion and anguish. Her throat was so scratchy and dry that she could barely formulate a real scentance.

Brooke just did her best to soothe Peyton's sobs as she quietly muttered "it's okay".

She hoped with all her heart that it would be.

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Lucas had been laying on Haley's shoulder for some time, but after much comtemplation, he decided enough was enough. Over the many minutes he and his best friend sat there, Lucas had been about as silent as a stone, so when he spoke aloud it startled Haley.

"Okay" he muttered. His voice was as soft as a mouse's footsteps.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Okay" he said slightly stronger and with more force. He leaned away from Haley's shoulder and wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. He hadn't even taken it off when he came into the house. How could he have time for that?

Haley was still staring at him dumbfounded from her chair. "I have to stop doing this".

"Doing what?"

"This". Lucas expalined hypothetically with a slight wave of his hand. "I have to stop moping around, waiting for someone to take me in their arms and tell me what to do to fix things. If the problems do get fixed, I have to stop acting like I knew what to do and that I was the one who fixed everything all along, when the reality was that I was never more lost. I need to solve my own damn problems. I know it sounds corny Hales, but, God, I need to grow the hell up". He finshed with a small smile. Haley returned it.

"Yeah. You definitely do". She laughed. Haley had no problem being honest when she had to be.

"Aw, thanks Hales". Lucas mocked as he dramatically clutched his hand over his flawed heart. They looked at each other silently for a small minute. Thanks. "You should get out of here. I can handle things".

"You sure?" Haley questioned guardedly.

"Yeah, absolutely". Lucas reassured her with a slight wave of his hand as he scratched the back of his head quickly. "It's getting really late. Besides, doesn't Nate have a big game tomorrow in Raleigh or something?"

Nathan was determined to play the game he loved again. He gave his heart and soul to being the best basketball player he could be, which meant that he didn't care which steps he had to take to get there. Putting Devon Fox in his place, skillfully impressing Bobby and all the other coaches as a Charleston Chief, quickly moved him up the ranks. After his historic basket at the final buzzer of the D-Leauge Championship won it for his team, he got the call.

He was a Charlotte Bobcat, and tomorrow morning was his first away game, with a jersey that wrapped his wide shoulders with a number that was none other than 23. He also sewed the small numbers 12 and 44 as patches on the front of his jersey as a homage to Quentin Fields and his son James, the two most influential people in his astonishing comeback.

Nothing pleased the Tree Hill friends more than to see Nathan finally conquer his lifelong dream. They saw all the hard work he accomplished, and everything he learned over the years. When he was approached by major challenges, whether it be a high-school point shaving scandal, or his own inner rage and fury that got him thrown through a plate glass window, and when he had to fight his own depression and resisting the urge to become an alchoholic, they always supported him.

Like Whitey always said: "They always love someone who rises from the ashes. Remember that". Rise he certainly did, and that's something that he nor anyone else would ever forget.

"Yeah, his first." Adoration shined in her eyes. It was unexplainable how proud of him she was.

"Well, go on get out of here. All of you guys. And don't ask me 'are you sure' again because I'm just going to say yes. I'm fine". Everyone laughed slightly, accepted it and said their goodbyes. Luke promised to call them tomorrow morning.

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Lucas opened the door slightly to find Peyton still sitting there, wide awake, staring at the clock. There were no tears anymore, she just looked tired and weary. He didn't need to say hello. All he did was go into the bed, also fully clothed, and lay down next to her. He lightly pressed his palm on her stomach, silently begging his kid to stay in there. The baby responded with a kick.

Lucas wrapped his arms around his wife and she responded by leaning her head on his shoulder. They lay there in slience for a moment.

"We'll go to the hospital first thing the morning. I promise." He muttered, kissing her on the head and stroking her arm.

"Everything's gonna be alright, right?" She asked sadly.

He could only say one thing. "Yeah. Yeah, it is".

It was then in the comfort of her husband's arms and his sweet breath warming her ear, that Peyton finally fell asleep.