It's All Your Fault

Lucas gently closed his front door as he entered into his home. He sighed softly and placed his car keys on a near by stand. As he entered into his living room he saw Brooke and Elizabeth, curled up together on the couch, fast asleep.

Lucas smiled softly and carefully lifted Elizabeth up from the couch into his arms and nudged Brooke lightly on the shoulder. "Hey Brooke, wake up."

Brooke's eyes fluttered and she quickly awakened. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Luke, when did you get back?"

"Just now." Lucas said as he gently rocked a sleeping Elizabeth. "Did my mom, Andy and Lily leave?" He asked.

"Yeah, a little while ago. They were all really jet lagged and since your guestroom's still being refurnished they decided to just get a room at that Inn by Tric. They're going to stop over tomorrow afternoon."

"You could have called me to come home when my mom left. You didn't have to stay this late."

Brooke adamantly shook her head no. "You know I don't mind Luke."

Lucas gave Brooke a half-hearted smile in appreciation. "So I'm guessing Lizzie woke up?" Lucas asked as he glanced down at his daughter, who still lied peacefully asleep in his protective arms.

Brooke nodded her head yes. "She came downstairs while I was out here reading. She didn't say anything…just came over, laid down and eventually fell asleep beside me. I know you wanted me to call you if she woke up, but you hadn't been gone all that long and I wanted you to be able to spend at least a little bit more time with Peyton."

Lucas nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, well I'm gonna get her to bed. I'll be back in a second."

Lucas slowly headed out of the living room and headed up the stairs toward Elizabeth's room. He turned on her bedside lamp, pulled back her covers and gently placed his daughter into her bed. As he placed the covers over her, Elizabeth began to fidget. Lucas thought he had awoken her, but she soon stopped moving and Lucas sighed in relief.

"I love you so much Lizzie." Lucas whispered to his sleeping daughter. "More than you'll ever know." He bent down and kissed Elizabeth's forehead. He then cut off her lamp and headed toward the door, taking one last look at his little girl before exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind him.

Lucas walked back downstairs and saw Brooke gathering up her things in the living room. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Brooke. For being there for me today. For Lizzie. It really means a lot. You're a good friend."

"Anytime Luke. Day or night, rain or shine. I will always be here for you guys."

Lucas broke from the embrace and gave her a small smile. "That's really good to know. Especially since I've lost the one friend that's always been there for me since the beginning."

Brooke eyed him confused. "Did something happen with Haley?"

Lucas ran his hands through his hair and took a seat on his sofa. "Yeah. I saw her before I headed off to the hospital. We had words…I said some things…some pretty mean things."

Brooke went and sat down beside him. "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean any of it Luke."

"But, that's the thing. I don't really regret anything I said. Maybe how it came out, but that's all. I meant everything I said."

Brooke sighed. "Well what happened exactly?"

"I told her I wanted her out of my life."

"Oh Luke…"

Lucas cut Brooke off. "She defended him. Nathan. And it just felt as though she expected me to be OK with that. But it's no OK, Brooke. It's not OK."

"I know it's not Luke. I know."

Lucas got up from the couch and began pacing around the room. "Am I wrong Brooke? For feeling how I do?"

Brooke took a minute to clear her thoughts before answering "I don't really think there's a clear cut way you should be feeling. This whole thing…it's a really difficult, complex situation. I don't think anyone could blame you for feeling as you do."

Lucas's living room filled with silence before Brooke finally spoke up again. "So what's going to happen tomorrow? Have you thought about whether or not you're going to take Elizabeth to see Peyton?"

Lucas stopped pacing and diverted his attention Brooke. "I'm not sure. If she wants to see her, then I'll let her. But if she's too scared I'm not going to force her to."

Brooke simply nodded. "Well if you need me to watch her or anything, just let me know."

"Thanks Brooke. I really appreciate that."

Brooke grabbed her purse and got up from the sofa. "Alright, well I better get going."

Lucas walked Brooke to the door. "Remember Luke, I'm just a phone call away. If you need me, call OK?"

Lucas nodded and Brooke gave him a half-hearted smile before heading off to her car and driving off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

All was quiet at the other Scott household. Jamie had already gone to bed and Nathan and Haley were preparing to do the same. Haley, already in her night gown, was in their bathroom brushing her hair, while Nathan was in their room changing out of his clothes.

Once Haley had finished in the bathroom, she headed into her bedroom. She walked passed Nathan, slid into bed, turned off her bedside lamp and shut her eyes.

After Nathan had finished, he turned off his own lamp and got into bed. He lied there in the darkness, finding it nearly impossible to fall asleep. He turned over to Haley and gently shook her. "Hales, you asleep?"

"Of course I'm not." Haley snapped, without turning around to face Nathan.

"Alright you have been snapping at me all day long. Ever since you got back from seeing Lucas. What happened? What's wrong?"

Haley sat up and turned to face Nathan. "What's wrong? What's wrong?! Are you really asking me that right now?! Everything is wrong Nathan! Peyton…she might die…and now my best friend of over 20 years wants absolutely nothing to do with me because of you! Because I'm defending the man he thinks put his wife in a coma!"

Haley paused momentarily before continuing. "Nathan I swear to God if you're lying to me about this---"

"Haley" an agitated Nathan said, cutting his wife off. "I've told you a million times, that I am not lying."

Nathan turned on his bedside lamp and hopped out of bed. "What exactly did Lucas say to you that is causing you to doubt me all of a sudden?"

Haley remained silent.

"Look Haley, Luke's a mess right now. And understandably so. But he's not looking at this whole situation clearly. He's not thinking with his head, but with his heart."

"Yeah well maybe he's not the only one!" Haley retorted, throwing her hands up in the air.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe my love for you has been blinding me…keeping me from realizing the obvious."

Nathan folded his arms over his chest. "The obvious, huh? Obviously I would go out, get high on some pills…considering the fact that I'm a druggie and all. Then I would go OUT OF MY WAY to offer Peyton a ride home, knowing that I could possibly OD at anytime during this drive to her house. It all makes just perfect sense!"

Haley again remained quiet. The two gazed at each other before Nathan finally looked away.

He went and grabbed a pair of pants from a near by chair. "Unbelievable. Ok, I'm done trying to defend myself to you or anyone else for that matter. I'm leaving"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Nathan, stop. Just come back to bed."

"No I can't be here right now." Nathan said pulling a shirt over his head.

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here will be fine." Nathan answered as he finished putting on a pair of sneakers.

"You know you can't dr—"

Nathan cut her off. "Relax, I'm calling a cab!" He shouted as he left the room and slammed their bedroom door shut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You're home."

Brook tossed her coat on a near by chair, plopped her keys on the coffee table, walked over to Chase and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. "Yeah I'm home. Thank you for waiting up for me."

"No problem." Chase smiled at Brooke. "So how are things with Peyton? Has there been any change? How's Lucas?"

Brooke sighed. "There's still no change. Luke's a wreck. Lizzie's a wreck. Everything's just really bad."

"I still can't believe Nathan was arrested for a DUI." Chase said as he headed into the kitchen, with Brooke following close behind. "My jaw literally dropped to the floor in shock when you called earlier and told me that."

Brooke opened up the refrigerator, took out some iced tea and poured some into a nearby empty glass. "Yeah, this whole thing is just crazy."

"Do you believe he really did it? Take those drugs and then get behind the wheel?" Chase asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Brooke took a sip of her drink and sat down next to Chase. "I don't know. I mean, he definitely overdosed, but that doesn't really prove anything. I didn't see him take anything. Nathan was on his like best behavior. He only had that one drink the entire night."

Brooke paused for a moment, taking another sip of her tea before continuing. "But then again, he's had problems with pills in the past. And just because I didn't see him take anything, doesn't mean he didn't at some point."

"Lucas is pretty sure Nate's guilt though right?" Chase asked.

Brooke nodded. "Yup, he's pretty much convinced. I'm so worried about him. And Lizzie…she hasn't really spoken since Luke told her about the accident. I wish I could do more to help them."

Chase just shook his head. "But you can't. You can't make Peyton wake up."

"I know. I guess all I can do is be there to support Lucas and Lizzie. As Peyton's best friend, I feel as though that's my duty; to help take care of her family until she comes back to us."

"That's all you can do."

"Yeah."

The two sat together in silence for a while before Chase spoke up. "So have you tried talking to Nathan, or even Haley?"

Brooke shook her head no. "I haven't spoken to either of them in a while. But Lucas…he's talked with Haley. Well more like, had fought with her. Let's just say Luke's not too fond of her at the moment."

Chase yawned. "Yeah well that makes sense. I mean, if Haley's supporting Nathan, then I can totally see why he'd be upset with her."

Brooke just slowly nodded her head in agreement. She took one last sip of her tea before getting up from her chair and placing the empty glass in the sink. It was at that moment she had made a sudden realization.

Brooke suddenly grabbed at her empty wrist. "My bracelet. It's gone."

"Which bracelet are you talking about?" Chase asked.

She turned around to face him. "The silver one with the little heart. You know the one that Peyton loves and is always borrowing from me. I wore it last night at the party. I remember taking it off when I was in Peyton's room, because I had planned on putting it on her wrist this morning, but I never did. I got sidetracked."

"You probably put it down somewhere in there."

"I have to find that bracelet" said a flustered Brooke walking out of the kitchen, with Chase following close by. "I'm going over to the hospital. Hopefully it's still there and no shady nurse picked it up."

"It's late Brooke; do you think they'll let you in?"

Brooke grabbed her coat, zipped it up and picked up her car keys. "I'm family; they'll let me see her."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Please, will you let me see her?"

"I'm sorry, but you can't." replied a pretty young red-headed nurse, blocking the entrance to Peyton's hospital room. "It's late. Visiting hours are over."

"But I'm family." Nathan said to the nurse, hoping that would help his cause.

"Who are you?" the skeptical nurse asked. What's the relation?"

"I better not give her my name." Nathan thought to himself.

"Peyton's husband Lucas…he's my---cousin. I'm his cousin. Jamie Scott. And Peyton…she's been a friend of mine for many years. We even dated once upon a time ago. Please, will you just let me see her?"

The nurse still appeared slightly hesitant. "Look, I'm a new nurse. It's my first night doing an overnight here. I know she's family and that you want to see her, but you're not immediate family and I really don't want to break any rules on my first night."

"I don't want to get you in any trouble. I really don't." Nathan told the nurse honestly. "It's just—I really need to see Peyton. I promise to keep the visit short. I'll be no more than ten minutes."

"And you're really family?" the nurse asked.

Nathan nodded his head and crossed his heart. "Yes, I swear."

After a moment's contemplation, the nurse finally decided to give in. "Alright, you can see her. But only for a few minutes. I have to go and check on a few other patients down the hall. When I come back over here—"

"I'll be gone." Nathan said cutting her off.

Now content, the nurse gave Nathan a small smile and headed down the hall as Nathan headed into Peyton's room.

Nathan entered into Peyton's hospital room, gently closing the door behind him, though not hard enough, as he left it slightly ajar. He didn't seem to notice, as he continued into the room and walked over to her bedside and sat down in a near by chair.

"Oh Peyton." Nathan said gazing at his sister-in-law and growing teary-eyed. "This never should have happened. You…you don't deserve this." Finding himself getting too choked up to continue speaking, Nathan simply grabbed Peyton's hand and held it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Excuse me!" Brooke shouted out, waving her hand at the red-headed nurse near by.

The nurse, who had been busy arranging files, looked up at Brooke. "How can I help you?"

"My name's Brooke. Brooke Davis. I was here earlier, visiting Peyton Scott. I was wondering if I could go and see her. I think I might have lost something in her room…a bracelet that I wanted to have her wear. I know it's late, but it was on my mind and I—"

The nurse cut her off. "Is she family?"

Brooke nodded. "She's my sister. And if you don't believe me you could call up the blonde day nurse, ugh what's her name…" Brooke pondered momentarily before remembering. "Valerie!…she'll vouch for me."

The nurse, sensing Brooke was being genuine, gently shook her head. "No that won't be necessary. It's fine if you go and see her. Just as soon as Mr. Scott's left, you're free to visit with her."

"That's weird." Brooke said aloud to herself. She averted her attention back to the nurse. "But Lucas is home. Who else would be here visiting Peyton at this hour?"

"His cousin Jamie's here."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Cousin Jamie, huh? Now cousin Jamie…would he be tall, athletic like, with dark hair and blue eyes?"

The nurse shook her head yes.

Brooke absent mindedly nodded her head. "I figured as much."

"He is family, isn't he?" the nurse asked worriedly.

"Oh he's family alright." Brooke answered. "Look, I know you wanted me to wait until Jamie left, but I have a feeling he won't mind me butting in on his visit with Peyton."

Not waiting to hear permission from the nurse, Brooke began walking down the hall towards Peyton's room.

"Gosh Nathan…what was he thinking?" Brooke said quietly to herself. "He is so lucky it's me and not Lucas who decided to pay an unexpected visit to Peyton tonight."

Once Brooke reached Peyton's room she noticed the door was left slightly ajar. She peeked in and saw Nathan quietly sitting next to Peyton's bedside, holding her hand and crying very softly. Brooke was slightly taken aback, and instead of barging into the room, like she had planned on doing, she remained outside the door, watching intently.

Nathan, completely unaware of Brooke's presence, wiped away his tears, cleared his throat and began speaking to a comatose Peyton. "I have done some pretty rotten things and I haven't always been the greatest guy, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that. Probably better than anyone else."

Nathan paused momentarily. He took in a deep breath and then continued.

"I used to think that that Nathan was in the past, but maybe I've only kidding myself….you know, I've been really defensive lately about these accusations and perhaps that's because there's an element of truth to them. The accident…it shouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened if I had never taken---"

Nathan stopped speaking and cupped his face into his hands. "I'm so sorry Peyton. I've been trying to block Lucas and now Haley's accusations from my mind, but I can't because they're right. They're absolutely right. This is all my fault. Everything's all my fault."

Oh the drama! It appears as though Lucas got to Haley a bit. And now maybe both Lucas and Haley have gotten to Nathan...

Anyways, for next time...Nathan makes a confession to a comatose Peyton, while Brooke listens in. What exactly does he say and will Brooke keep it a secret?

And still to come…

Dan reveals a shocking secret to Lucas about Peyton's past

More Naley angst, Peyton flashbacks, and the return of Julian to Tree Hill

I hope you all liked this chapter! Thanks to all of those who review. Keep them coming...they mean the world to me:)The next chapter will be up soon. Promise!