I'm so sorry about the long wait guys, I'm just having some writer's block with my other fics and somehow I put this one aside.
Enough excuses though!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer : I don't own anything you see familiar, just the plotline and a few characters.
A few days after coming home from the hospital, Sophie sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall in front of her.
James is coming home today.
He had to stay at the hospital for a while, because at first he wasn't stable enough to return. That and they still had to take tests, to make sure nothing else was wrong.
Every day, everyone went down there to see him. Except for Sophie. She used the pretense of watching over Jacob and Gavin. After all, seeing James in his condition would arise too much confusion. They still didn't really understand what was going on, only that Sophie and James had gotten into an accident and they were both recovering.
Right now, Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Peyton and Brooke were all at the hospital. Jake had volunteered to look after the kids at home, so he is playing with Jacob and Gavin and their toys in the living room. Dean, Bryan, Preston and Keith were outside shooting some hoops to pass time.
Oliver, Lily and Jenny were cooking lunch for everyone. It's all mostly James' favorite foods though.
She's still feeling guilty, but a little less. It's not as consuming as before. But it still resided in her mind and left a heavy weight on her heart.
What was she to do? She really wanted to talk to her mom about it, and tell her everything. Telling Haley things always made her feel better. But she didn't want to her mother to know that the accident had happen because she-
"Knock Knock." Sophie lifted her head to look at the door, to see who had interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh hey Aiden." Sophie attempted a smile, but it came out as a grimace.
"You know you're really capturing your Uncle Luke's infamous brooding face, right?" He joked, walking into the room and sat down in her computer chair by her desk.
She shrugged her shoulders in a helpless manner, "At least I don't have the squint." She half joked.
"Not yet." He grinned, "So how's the arm?" He had placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.
"I hate this thing!" She growled, motioning to the sling her arm was in. "It hurts sometimes and then I have to take all these pills." She made a face. "My face doesn't hurt as much though." She added the last part as an afterthought.
"The Doctor said it'll get better." Aiden consoled her as best he could.
"But the scars will still be there." She said, a little bitterly. She was talking about the scars that would remain on her shoulder blades and right leg, from the stitches.
"They'll fade eventually." He countered.
Will they? She couldn't help but to think. She wasn't thinking about the stitches either.
They were silent for a while before she spoke up again. "Are you gonna stay for lunch?"
Aiden thought about it for a while, "Well it seems more like a family thing to me … But only if you want me to."
"You know you're just like family." Sophie said, "I need you there! There's no way I can handle this without you."
Aiden raised an eyebrow, "Dramatic are we?"
She scoffed. "No."
Aiden smiled, shaking his head. But then he turned serious. "Soph?"
"Yeah?"
"What happened that night?" He asked her, eyeing her critically. Everyone else tried to get it out of her, but it went along unsuccessfully.
"Why do you want to know?" She responded instantly, her defenses going up.
"Because." That was all he supplied her.
Sophie rolled her eyes. "My dad asked you to didn't he?"
He shrugged, not giving her a clear answer, and instead asked, "Why haven't you told anyone?"
Sophie thought about that question. "I don't know." She said honestly.
Aiden nodded silently. "Well then you should … when you're ready."
Sophie smiled slightly in a grateful manner, and for the first time that day it didn't turn out like a grimace.
"When is Jensen coming down?" Lily asked Jenny, while she chopped some onions.
"In a few days, he said that he had some work to finish up so he could take the weekend and few days extra off." Jenny answered her, putting a bunch of vegetables, including the onions Lily just finish up, into a pot on the stove.
Oliver was perched up onto the counter, biting into an apple. "I wonder what it'll be like."
All movement in the kitchen ceased for a few seconds.
"I think it'll be hard … at first though." Lily said, resuming her job. "The Doctor said that familiar surroundings would be good for him, but not to press too much to the point of suffocation so we won't do that. Of course not, I mean we are his family. We wouldn't be pushy. But then again, he's like a whole different person. He might not respond the same way Jamie does when he gets annoyed." Lily rambled on while Jenny looked at Oliver in concern and he looked back at her, mirroring her expression.
"Hey wanna step out for a little while?" Oliver cut her off, hopping off of the counter. He tossed his eaten apple into the trash bin.
"No I have to keep making Jamie's food." Lily said, not looking up.
"Don't worry about it, I've got it all covered." Jenny reassured her.
"Yeah, I'll help out. Just get out of the kitchen for some time." Jake came into the kitchen; having overheard their conversation from a few feet away.
"We can take the boys with us." Oliver offered, leaning against the island with his arms crossed.
Lily bit her lip, contemplating their offer.
"Get out!" Jenny ordered her lightly but firmly.
"Okay …" Lily put down her knife and washed her hands. Oliver went into the living room to get the boys ready. Jake took over Lily's job.
When she was done, Lily went into the living room and helped Oliver get the boys in their shoes and coats since it was a little chilly outside. They were about to leave the house, when Lily stopped to say that they would be back shortly.
"You guys could get ice-cream before lunch!" Jenny called out, smirking to herself.
"Ice-cream?!" They heard Jacob and Gavin repeat excitedly and Oliver laughed.
"Thanks!" Lily called back, knowing the boys would be hyper until they got their ice-cream. Then they would be ten times worse afterwards.
The door shut closed behind them.
Jenny looked at her dad and sighed, traces of mirth vanished. She thought back to one of the hospital visits she had made.
"Hey." Jenny sat down in a chair by his side.
"Hey." James said back, looking at her.
"So uh … Yeah I'm Jenny." She said awkwardly.
"I know." James nodded, leaning back to rest his head on the pillow. The white medical wrap that had been wrapped around his head was removed earlier that day.
"You do?" Jenny asked, shocked. Did he remember her name?
"Yeah. Uh…" He struggled to remember something. Jenny leaned forward, her eyes showing her confusion. "B-" He started to say the name, but in fear that he would get it wrong, he covered it up with, "My aunt … Yeah she told me."
"Oh, you mean Brooke." Jenny felt her hopes plummet. She actually thought that he had remembered.
"He's gonna be alright." Jake said, without looking up from stirring the contents of what was in the pot on the stove.
Jenny smiled wistfully. Her dad always knew the right thing to say to her.
The game was Keith and Dean versus Bryan and Preston.
"Two points for Scott!" Keith cheered for himself. The ball fell through the hoop and bounced on the ground. He turned around to high five Dean. Their victory was short lived. Preston snatched the ball from the ground and tossed it to Bryan. It was too late for either Keith or Dean to stop him as he jumped up and slammed the ball into the opposite hoop.
"Yes!" Bryan exclaimed, landing on his feet.
They continued to play for a few more minutes before Preston called a time.
"Too much to handle?" Bryan asked, jokingly.
Preston shook his head. "I'm just thirsty." He took a water bottle that was on the ground by his sweatshirt and drank some water. He wiped some sweat off of his forehead.
Bryan rolled his eyes at Preston's seriousness.
"So uh … How much longer until they get here?" Dean asked, sitting down on the ground.
"They should be here in a half hour." Keith answered him, waving his phone, "My mom just texted me."
Preston, seated beside Dean, looked up and nodded. They all decided to get back to playing some more basketball. Fifteen minutes into the game and they heard Jenny call out.
"Hey get your butts in here!"
Simultaneously, Dean, Bryan and Keith all groaned while Preston was half way there. They made their way into the house and kitchen.
"Whaddya need?" Keith asked, showing in his voice that he wasn't happy that their game had been interrupted.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Wanna try that again?" She's not one to take attitude from anyone.
Keith raised his head slightly, jutting his chin out. "If I don't?"
She placed a hand on her hip, while everyone watched on in amusement. This was their usual banter. Distracting and amusing.
"Dude back down, you're about to get your butt kicked." Bryan snorted, swiping some carrots off of the chopping board.
Neither of the two listened to him.
"Listen squirt." Jenny smirked at the much hated nickname Keith had acquired. He growled. "I can take you easily."
"Pfft, yeah if you sat on me." He chided and she gasped.
There was silent and a beat later, Jake realized they were having a staring contest.
Jenny or Keith didn't blink, until Dean's hands came out of nowhere and he clapped right in front of Keith's face. "AH!" He jumped back. Realizing what he had done, he shoved Dean. "You made me blink!"
Jake and Preston shared a look before chuckling and Bryan laughed with Dean.
Jenny grinned at him. "You lost."
"Obviously." Keith rolled his eyes but laughed anyways. "Nice bringing the squirt comment in there." He praised her.
"I liked the "If you sat on me" comment." She said, clapping him on the back.
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."
She smiled. "No problem." The smiled quickly disappeared from her face and she looked him straight in the eyes. "Say that again and I really will torture and sit on you." She warned him, before giving him a wink.
The mood suddenly shifted.
"Is the food ready?" A voice asked from behind them.
"Whoa!" Bryan exclaimed. "Give us a warning will ya?"
Lily rolled her eyes and put a squirming Gavin down. Oliver chuckled and put a Jacob down, so he could join his twin. They had come through the other door.
"Yeah, it's all done." Jenny answered Lily's question, turning off the stove and putting some dishes aside. Most of it was already on the table.
"How much longer?" Bryan asked, sitting on the counter.
"Ten more minutes." Jake answered, looking at his watch. Before texting Keith, Brooke had called home.
"Or not …" Sophie said, as she walked down the stairs quickly with Aiden in tow.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, confused. Bryan got off of the counter.
"Look out the window." Aiden advised and everyone moved towards the windows in the living room. Jake pulled back the curtains and saw that two cars had just pulled into the driveway.
"We saw them from the window upstairs." Aiden explained.
"Jamie's hewe!" Gavin explained happily. Despite the situation, no one could hide their smiles at the boys' reactions.
"Yeah! Finawy!" Jacob sighed, overdramatically.
Sophie patted his head, gently giving him a sad smile.
Review please! Thanks for reading!
Ooh I've been thinking about doing a Brulian one-shot, any ideas?s