Author's Notes: I'm having so much fun writing this! And it's so great to see that Peyton being bashed (we didn't get it enough on the show) is being appreciated. Now a poll: shall Peyton-the-bitch return, and spread the word around about the Brucas' supposed baby? Or do you want more silly-Peyton with her mouth tight shut about what she thinks she knows?
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. The characters belong to Mark and CW; the plot belongs to Karen.
The Reuniting Song
By Julianna
Chapter Three: Surprises.
When Peyton left the drugstore, she was hell-bent and decided to wreak some havoc in the perfect relationship Brooke and Lucas had going on. She had never lost a guy to Brooke before, and there was no way in hell Lucas was the first one. After all, he had gone first for her, and second for Brooke.
However, when she arrived at her house, the two surprises she found waiting for her at her door step astonished her too much for her to think of doing any harm to her former friend.
Jake was sitting on her porch's small stairs, his long legs serving as chair for a blonde little girl who grinned openly and toothlessly at Peyton, shaking her chubby arms happily as she moved around his lap. "Pey! Pey!" The little girl squealed happily.
Peyton stared at her two guests with deep shock. Jake finally let Jenny go and Peyton kneeled, spreading her arms wide open. Jenny ran towards Peyton, holding tight at her neck when her little body was enveloped at the blonde's warm embrace. "Jennifer Victoria Jagielski, you are so grown! Oh my God!"
Jenny smiled shyly at Peyton. "Miss you", the little girl said simply, resting her cheek on Peyton's shoulder and looking adoringly at the blonde. Peyton's heart swelled at this, and she blinked repeatedly, furiously trying to clear her eyes from the sudden tears.
Jake noticed Peyton's emotion and approached her carefully. Jenny was still nestled in between her arms, the two blondes staring adoringly at each other. And, for a brief second, the briefest moment ever, Jake envied his daughter, for being at the receiving end of such a passionate look. "Hey", he said quietly.
Peyton opened a big, bright smile at him, the tears she was fighting so hardly to keep at bay finally flowing down her cheeks. "Jake, oh my God!" She said, hurling herself and Jenny against him. He held her, first awkwardly then more at ease. "Oh, God, I can't believe you're back here", she whispered, feeling at peace for the first time in months.
Haley's hands were shaking.
Lucas could feel his childhood best friend's trembling through the thick material of his jacket. Brooke was babbling incessantly, trying to fill up the thick silence between him and Haley, and he loved her even more for that, but Haley was nervous, and probably Brooke's good-natured babble wasn't helping to calm her down at all.
The blond boy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, Brooke and Haley stopping as well and staring curiously at him. Lucas then pulled his best friend to him, wrapping his arms tightly against her slim waist. "It's going to be fine", he whispered against her hair. "We all love you. And you can count on us to help you with the baby, okay?"
Brooke smiled softly, tears filling her hazel eyes at the scene. She could only guess what Lucas was telling Haley, but she had an idea: that she wasn't alone, they would help her with the baby, both she and baby were going to be fine. As she imagined Haley with a kid in her arms, she felt a pang of emptiness inside her.
And suddenly Brooke Davis, the girl who had never fallen in love before, the girl who was too terrified to have a child of her own with the man she had always dreamed with, was envious of what Haley James-Scott supposedly was going to have: the hot husband, the big picket-fence house, the blue eyed, dark haired baby.
And then Lucas was staring at her over Haley's head, an comprehensive look in his eyes, and Brooke joined their embrace, wrapping her arms around Haley's waist and above Lucas's arms, her hands resting on his back, massaging it kindly and her cheek resting against Haley's strawberry blond locks.
"You're going to be fine, sweetie", Brooke whispered, feeling Haley's body heaving with sobs. "You are, okay?"
Haley nodded silently, hastily wiping the tears that ran down her cheeks. She smiled weakly at the couple, noticing Brooke's commotion and Lucas's reassuring eyes. She then shot then a grateful look at them, standing between their bodies and wrapping one arm around Lucas's waist and the other around Brooke's. "You guys are the best", she whispered.
When the three teenagers returned to Karen's Café, the sound of the wind-bells nearly made Karen and Deb jump out of their skin in surprise. The two women startedly turned to look at the newcomers, and it was clear there wasn't any relief at their faces when their eyes met Brooke's, Lucas's and Haley's.
"We're going to the kitchen", Lucas said calmly as he smiled reassuringly at Haley. He would deal with her mother and Deb later – Haley was the one he needed to focus on right now. He gently led his friend towards the small kitchen on the back, Brooke clutching at the brown paper bag and trailing behind them.
Haley sat down on a stool, Lucas took a seat on another one next to her and Brooke ditched a third one, preferring to sit on Lucas's lap so they could cuddle. The brunette laid the brown bag in front of Haley, gently pushing it towards the other girl. "All it takes is three minutes, Hales", she whispered kindly, looking reassuringly.
Haley took a deep breath, clutched the bag to her chest and went to the small staff bathroom. Brooke heavily leant her forehead against Lucas's, looking deeply into his blue irises. She could read the concern for Haley in them, and she took his hand in hers, lacing her fingers around his and squeezing them lightly. "It's going to be okay", she whispered.
"She's so not ready for this, Brooke", he whispered, knowing he could fall now. She'd hold him. "Haley… She's so scared and lost and… She's terrified. She's not ready for this, and I can't imagine how it's going to be for Nathan if Haley's really pregnant".
"They're more ready for this than we were last year with our scare, baby", she whispered. "They're married. They love each other. We… We were on a bad path back then. I was heartbroken and angry and grieving over losing you, and you were feeling guilty and confused.We weren't in a good place to have a kid. But they are".
He was staring at her admiringly, his blue eyes shining with unspoken love. "I love you, do you know that?"
She smiled shyly and kissed him
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Haley's hands were shaking as she read the instructions on how to use the pregnancy test. Brooke, being the practical one, had bought two different brands, and Haley had just opened the first box, now reading the instructions.
Her hands were shaking as she put the two thin plastic sticks on the sink. What if she really were pregnant? She wasn't ready for a baby – neither was Nathan. They were two under-sixteen newlyweds who had decided to jump marriage ship in an impulse. Although Haley was head over heels in love with Nathan, she wasn't stupid and knew they were struggling to finly mesh her over-organized lifestyle with his bachelor one.
And now that it seemed they were slowly putting their lives together and making it only one, this. A baby. Their baby. Haley rationally knew she wasn't ready for being a mother at such young age, but deep down, she wanted the child, if there were one, of course.Besides, Karen had Lucas at my age and looked how well he turned out to be, she tried to reassure herself.
Nathan, however, was another entirely different story. Haley knew he didn't want to have a child anytime soon – more like never. He didn't feel like being a parent to someone, and it didn't shock Haley, considering whom her husband had had as role model. Dan surely wasn't someone to look up to, when it came to parental skills. No surprise, really: the guy all-but-rejected one son and put way too much pressure on another.
I'm going to make Nathan see this can be a way to prove he's not like Dan at all. This baby's a chance to defeat Dan on what he was never able to be good at: a father, Haley thought excitedly. Nathan was going to accept this reasoning, she was sure of it.
She shakily looked down at the two tests, fear creeping up her spine as she saw the thin blue strip at the first one. Her eyes flew to the second one, widening when she saw a similar blue line on it. She fearfully bit her lip, tears threatening to fall down as her hand slid to her flat stomach.
Brooke and Lucas were still snuggled together when the door squeaking open made the couple look up. A deadly pale Haley left the bathroom, the two sticks tightly clutched in her hands, and there was no need for them to ask what the answer was.
It was clear in Haley's eyes, in the scared – no, terrified glimmer into her chestnut brown pools that she was actually with child. Both Brooke and Lucas jumped up, both running to Haley and tightly wrapping their arms around her. Haley broke down as both started whispering nonsensical words inside her ears, trying desperately to comfort her.
Lucas was focused enough to lead a shaky Haley to a stool, where he sat her down. He sat down in another stool, and Brooke went to pick a glass of icy water, which she placed in Haley's trembling hands. "Look at me, Hales", he said softly, putting a finger under her chin and making her look up at him. "It's going to be fine, okay?" He whispered, in that reassuring way that made Brooke all warm and fuzzy inside. "It is", he insisted.
"You promise?"
He nodded quietly.
