A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter. This is dedicated to chapter basically explains Leytons new life in Charleston. There will be flashbacks explaining the happenings in between. The chapter came out really, really long but I couldn't break it into two so sorry for that.

Whatever Gets You Through The Night.

Peyton was drawing. To all who knew her well, she only drew when she needed to escape harsh realities of life but not this time. It was noon and she was seated on the front porch of their house in Charleston drawing a picture of the rivercourt. She had just put Sawyer down for a nap and Lucas was still away at practice. At the bottom of the drawing were the words, 'we were here' and inside the court itself, she had written out her husbands name, hers and Sawyers.

They had been in Charleston for eight and a half months now. If she was honest to herself, she had not seen them lasting in this town for more than three months. Settling did not come easily, there were days she would crawl back in bed after seeing Lucas off wishing she was back in Tree Hill.

They had been lucky enough to find a house within such a short notice. The house had an open plan kitchen, three bedrooms one of which had been turned into the nursery and a backyard which Lucas was already planning on putting up a swing set for Sawyer. The neighborhood was okay with sidewalks and a play park where moms took their kids in the afternoon to play. Charleston was great, and in some ways it was just like Tree Hill but she still missed their hometown.

"Baby, Charleston is not so different from Tree Hill. You'll love it. I promise." Lucas had assured her over and over during their first weeks in the new town.

-- xx Flashback xx --

Lucas had called Charleston back and he had accepted the position. He only had two months before he was required to report officially so they had begun the moving preparations. They had all gone to Charleston on a weekend to search for a house and familiarize with the town. "Sawyers first road trip." Lucas had been so excited as he explained to Peyton why they should all go. They met up with the realtor who had three houses to show them. They fell in love with the second one and didn't request to see the third one. It reminded both of Karen's house in Tree Hill.

Telling their friends had been the hardest part of all because all of them had grown so close to Sawyer especially Brooke. Nathan had agreed to assist Skills in coaching the ravens but only because Haley threatened him to get his act together or else. He was still not so comfortable talking about Lucas getting the Charleston job and everyone left it at that. Haley had thrown a quick farewell party in her backyard where the women cried their eyes out while the guys sipped on their beers.

The reality of moving sank in when they guy Lucas had hired parked the U-haul in front of the house. Uncertainties, the what ifs, anxiety and worries crept up Peyton's heart. This was it, they were moving away from their family, friends and familiarity of Tree hill. She was sitting on the couch in the living room when the front door opened and Lucas walked in.

"Hey, you okay?" he sat down beside her on the couch.

"Yeah. I'm…I'm fine. It's just that it's sinking in. We are actually moving."

"Babe, we are going to be fine." He touched her face and brushed his knuckles against her cheeks. "It won't be easy but we'll get through it. I promise."

She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his hand sucking in a slow breath. "I know."

Honestly speaking, it was killing him. Apart from the few book tours and college, he had never considered living outside Tree Hill. Both of those times, he always had the assurance of returning home but this, this was indefinite. If everything went well, then it would be a permanent home for them which saddened Lucas even more.

-- xx End Flashback xx --

She looked down at the drawing in her hands. It was almost done, just a few shadings required here and there then it would be perfect. All the drawings she had done recently were different parts of Tree Hill that held some kind of memory or another for them.

She had settled into a routine, one that included feeding Sawyer, changing her and getting some work done while she slept. She cleaned the house and once in a while tried to make edible dinner but she was improving on that one.

"You could scout for bands through the internet." Lucas had mentioned even before they had moved.

"The next time you see me working, my hair will be a lovely shade of gray." She had said seriously breaking into a laugh when she saw the horrific look on Lucas' face.

"Not funny...at all."

"Honey… I'm kidding. Of course, I will continue working. I might even open a branch of Red Bedroom Records down there." Her eyes twinkled at the thought. "We'll see how it goes but for the first few months, I will concentrate on taking care of Sawyer and helping Haley out."

Being a mother to Sawyer was a greater experience than Peyton had ever imagined. Sawyer was a happy healthy baby with her father's eyes. She had become so good that she could distinguish each cry according to Sawyers need which of course, had come from experience.

xx Flashback xx --

The screaming was incessant. Sawyer had cried that night more times than she had ever cried since she was born. She wouldn't sleep and was crying continuously. Peyton had been up more times than she could count feeding her, lulling her to sleep only for her to wake up after a few minutes. As her cries filled the house for the umpteenth time, Lucas threw back the covers and left their bedroom grabbing the monitor with him.

He opened her room and switched on the lights. She stopped crying when the lights went on but tiny whimpers still left her. Her tiny feet were flailing in the air and she had streams of tears going down the sides of each eye.

"Hey, baby girl. What's wrong?" he asked. "It's okay… I'm here now." He soothed her softly while cradling her. He carried her to the kitchen and pulled out her milk from the fridge and put it in the microwave as he continued rocking his hands to soothe her. She had stopped crying but was making crying faces and squirming uncomfortably. When the milk was ready, he tested the warmth. Then he brushed the nipple of the bottle against her lower lip but as soon as it touched her mouth, she jerked back and started fussing arching her back.

He placed the bottle on the counter and shifted her to his shoulder. "Ssssshh, it's okay honey, it's okay." He continued to sooth her rubbing circles on her tiny back. Suddenly a stream of vomit came from her and splashed across his shirt. Fear knocked the wind out of Lucas. He ran a hand on her tiny head and stopped when he felt her forehead. It was too warm and clammy. Then it hit him, "Oh my god, you are running a fever." He strode towards his bedroom frantically wanting to shout for Peyton. Then he remembered that he had gone through this, before, with Lilly and Jamie. Waking Peyton up would only result in a panic and they would probably end up in the emergency room.

He cradled her in his arms and took her to the bathroom to wipe of the vomit from her face and remove her soiled clothes and his shirt. Luckily he was wearing a wife beater underneath. He wetted a small wash cloth and placed it on her forehead. That seemed to calm her even more. He reached for the medicine cabinet and pulled out Tylenol and gave her the appropriate amount. She was still restless but at least she had calmed down. He took her back to nursery and dressed her up again. Then he sat back in the more comfy chair rocking back and forth.

"She woke up again?" Peyton's voice was filled with sleep. She walked towards them and reached out a hand to her baby.

"Yeah. Someone is having her first fever."

"Oh my God Luke, Why didn't you wake me up?" she removed the cloth and felt her daughters forehead. "Oh God, She's burning up, we need to take her to the hospital." She was starting to panic when Luke reached out with his spare arm to calm her.

"Peyton calm down. We don't need to take her to the hospital for a fever. I have given her Tylenol and her fever should be coming down soon."

That seemed to calm her down for a moment but then she started panicking again. "What if it's something worse Luke, She could be having some kind of baby disease…" she flailed her arms wildly in the air.

Lucas reached out for her hand and shifted in the chair to create more space. "Come're." He pulled her down next to him. "Sawyer's fine, I have done this with Lilly and Jamie and I promise the fever will come down. If it doesn't then we will take her to the hospital. Okay?" His arm went around her shoulder pulling her closer.

Sawyer's eyelids drooped with sleep but she was restless and would open her eyes again. "My baby's sick." She said sorrowfully as she stroked her cheek. It was so hard looking at her baby struggling to fight the illness offending her tiny body.

"I think we should put her down in a bassinet and put it in our room." Lucas suggested as her fight with sleep grew weaker and weaker.

"Okay."

Sawyer was sleeping in her bassinet at the foot of their bed but they both knew sleep wouldn't come easily to both of them for the rest of the night. One tiny noise from her and Peyton was peering over her bassinet checking on her. She only seemed to relax after she was convinced repeatedly by Lucas that they would take her to the hospital in the morning.

"Thanks Luke."

"For what?"

"…taking good care of her. You are such an amazing Dad."

"It's my job Peyton and you are an amazing Mom too."

Ultimately sleep had taken over Peyton's tired body and she gave in. Lucas was still awake listening to the soft breaths of both his girls. He chuckled as he imagined how the situation could have gone differently had he not had any experience with taking care of infants.

-- xx End Flashback xx --

Her neighbor, Jane Peterson passed by the sidewalk and waved to Peyton. She smiled and waved back at her. The woman had stopped dropping of home baked goodies at the Scott's house when she saw that Peyton was not interested in forging a neighborly relationship with her. They were more of civil to each other and Peyton was okay with that.

xx Flashback xx --

Lucas and Peyton had taken a walk with Sawyer in her stroller after Lucas came home from the gym. It was early and he had suggested that they should take a walk and get ice cream. On their way back just as they neared home, they met a middle aged couple who introduced themselves as their new neighbors. Introductions were made and before they knew it, the Petersons had invited them to dinner at their place. Lucas gladly accepted their offer even though Peyton kept on telling them that they didn't have to have a formal welcome-to-the-neighboorhood-dinner.

"Baby why did you accept to go to that dinner? This whole thing makes me feel old. It's a Saturday night, we are in our twenties. I mean, if we have someone watching Sawyer, we should be going out for a fun night not a dinner with some old stuffy people." she whined as she lay on the bed.

Lucas was just from the shower and was standing in front of the closet debating which shirt to wear. They had been over this conversation since the minute they got home after meeting with the Petersons. "…because they invited us…because we are trying to establish a good relationship with our new neighbors." She was pushing him and he was really trying his best to keep his calm. "Peyton, we are doing this, just get in the shower before we show up late. I promise, it will only be for an hour or two."

"I'm still not comfortable with the idea of letting a stranger watch Sawyer." She had still not moved from the bed.

He was buttoning his shirt and stopped midway. He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself and went to lean over her on the bed. "That stranger will also be watching their son and we will be in the same house." He let out a desperate sigh. "I don't understand why you are being stubborn. Babe, just get in the shower, dress up so we can go and get over and done with this."

"Fine." She huffed as she went into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.

Oh, this was going to be one long night. Lucas let out another sigh. That woman could be as stubborn as hell, one of the reasons he fell in love with her and had to live with.

From the beginning of the meal, the hosts seemed to be trying too hard to tell funny stories and Lucas laughed at all the stupid jokes. Peyton merely pasted a forced smile whenever Lucas looked at her pointedly. She did not say a word unless she was responding to a question. It was awkward and forced she couldn't wait to get out of there. But can you blame her? What could she possibly have in common with Mrs. Peterson, who was in her late thirties and seemed to be trying so hard to be the perfect American housewife living behind the white picket fence?

"As soon as you settle in, call me over so I can show you how to make a good roast." She had told Peyton as the sitter handed over a sleeping Sawyer to her father. She had desperately wanted to roll her eyes but held back knowing Lucas would scold her. She smiled politely and assured the woman that she would inform her.

"Peyton, that was mean." Lucas had started as soon as they were out of earshot. "Those people were just trying to help us settle in."

She snorted at Lucas. "Oh, I think I'm settling in fine without their help. If that woman comes knocking on the door to make roast, you'll do it with her." The utter defiance in her tone left no room for any argument. As soon as they were in the house, she headed straight to the nursery having taken Sawyer from his arms.

He had followed her after giving her a few moments but winced when he saw how she was avoiding looking at him. He kissed Sawyer goodnight and left for their room. Out of guilt, she had stayed in the nursery longer hoping that she would find Lucas asleep.

When she entered their bedroom, his night light was on and he was reading a book. "I'm sorry," he began. "I shouldn't have made you go if you didn't want to go." He looked genuinely remorseful.

She stood at the foot and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Actually, I am the sorry one. Luke, you were just making an effort." She dug her hands deep into her pockets. "I didn't grow up with all these formalities Luke, and I know you had every good intention but… baby, I'm too young to be sharing recipes and neighborhood gossip with that woman."

He looked at her for a while and chuckled shaking his head. "I have to admit though the roast thing was funny." He reached out his hand to her which she accepted and allowed him to pull her. "You just learnt a couple of years back the difference between a dash and a handful; I think roast would be too much for you."

She was now lying almost entirely on top of him with his hands cupping her face. She loved the nearness of him, the smell of his skin and the way his fingers felt on her face. She leaned in and kissed him deeply. She drew back searching his eyes. "I will learn to make you a good roast one day, just not now."

"That's better." His lips brushed against hers as he smiled at her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

-- xx End Flashback xx --

She had just finished talking to Haley on the phone. Normally Haley would call at around this time with any updates she had and Peyton would also give her progress. She was still managing RBR and Haley was in-charge of production. Currently, she had taken up scouting for bands on the internet and it was working out well.

Brooke called her every other night and they would talk hours on end. Lucas shook his head at her all those times wondering how they never ran out of gossip. But he loved how the move had not changed anything between the friends.

"Honey, I'm home." Lucas said in a sing-song way laughing as he entered the house.

"Oh, that just doesn't sound right." She smiled at his tired looking form as he made his way towards her.

His hands fell to her waist and he pulled her closer to himself. "Hi."

A warmth radiated from her heart, the way it always did when he came home. She slid her hands up around his neck. "Hi, yourself." She brought her lips to his and kissed him. The kind of slow kiss they hadn't ever stopped sharing.

When they pulled apart to catch their breath, he brushed his nose against hers like he loved to do. "You missed me." He teased her.

"Yes." – She smiled and gave him another kiss – "cause I know that you missed me too." She left his embrace and pulled him to sit with her. "Tell me about your day."

"My day was-" he stopped midsentence.

"…was?" she said as she turned to look at him curiously.

A chuckle sounded in his throat. "I can't do this, Peyt"

She grinned amusedly at the pained look on his face. "Can't do what?"

"You want to know how my day was?" he moaned and let his head fall against hers. "How can I be telling you how my day was when all I've been thinking about all day is kissing you?"

She laughed and as she was catching her breath, he placed his hands on her face, eased her closer to him and kissed her deeply.

"Should we take this farther?" she asked seductively when they both came up for air after the long slow kiss.

"Definitely." he replied kissing her again.

He stood up and carried her up in his arms heading over to their room where he laid her on the bed.

-- xx Flashback -- xx

They were bone-tired after their journey. It was raining heavily by the time they got to Charleston. Luckily, the guys Lucas had hired had removed their packed boxed from the truck. After a take-out dinner and tucking Sawyer in, they snuggled in bed for their first night in the new town.

"I love our new bed." Her head was on his chest with his arm around her.

"I love it too but I miss my bed in Tree Hill." She didn't say anything. " Don't you?"

"No." she said honestly shaking her head after a few moments.

"What...why?" his brows furrowed, he lifted his head to study her.

She took in a sharp breath debating whether it was really necessary to be this honest. "Because… it reminds me of…. Forget about it, it's stupid"

"No, tell me what it reminds you of." He prodded. She shook her head against his chest. "Babe…please tell me."

She shifted so she was now looking down at him. "Okay… It reminded me of Lindsey."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because…."

"…because of what?"

"… the same reason you pretended to like The Cure all those years."

She did not need to say anything else to elaborate more. No wonder she had wanted to move into his mother's room. He felt like a jerk having been insensitive and blind to her feelings. He couldn't help but wonder what else reminded her of Lindsey.

-- xx End Flashback xx --

Peyton was peppering him with kisses on his face, along his jaw line and his neck as Lucas moaned beneath her. His hands were roaming all over her back. She felt him tugging the hem of her top. She held his face in between her hands and kissed him deeply, her tongue slipping past his in his mouth. His lips detached from her mouth as he slipped off the top she had been wearing.

"I love you so much, Mrs. Scott," he said before their lips met again for a long passionate kiss.

"I love you too," she whispered staring deeply into his eyes before locking her lips with his. She pressed her hips against his which caused him to groan. She reached down for his belt and managed to remove it.

He was rolling her on her back to give her room to remove his jeans when a cry filled the house. "Oh my God…" he groaned loudly and collapsed on her. "Please, please baby not again. I swear it's like she has a timer in her head. This is what, the tenth time we have gotten things going, and then she starts crying." He whined.

She laughed at him and pushed him away from her and reached for her top beside the bed. "Honey, stop whining and exaggerating, it has only happened three other times." She leaned over him and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'll make it up to you later."

After Peyton left the room he took a sharp breath. No pun intended but this was getting harder and harder on his part. He would have gone through with it this time, had Sawyer not cried. Maybe that was a warning signal going off telling him to do something about it. He had to make a decision soon, a decision he was sure he would fight over with Peyton but had to be done nonetheless.

This was my first trial at flashbacks so I would really love your input on what you thought of them and the chapter in general.

Also, this is the last fluffy chapter you will read for a while compared to what's coming next. All I can say is that it won't be an easy read.

The next chapter: All That You Can't Leave Behind.