Thanks again for your lovely reviews everyone. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but it's what I ended up with. Hopefully you'll all like it though?
A week had gone by since Peyton had been rushed into hospital. Seven long days, one hundred and sixty eight whole hours and still there had been no change. Not with Peyton anyway, but Lindsey had been true to her word and was gone by the time Lucas got home that night and she hadn't been seen or heard of since. Larry had finally been gotten hold of and had been at the hospital ever since and Brooke had also calmed down the morning after the police had spoken to her and the other's and she'd apologised to Lucas for putting the blame on him.
Luke was still battling with his demons though. He'd been at the hospital every minute of every passing day, but he'd stayed in the family room. Not once had he made the short walk to where Peyton was. The words she'd told him from that night still etched in his mind. On numerous time's Haley or Nathan or whoever was there would try to coax him round, even Brooke, but he just shook his head and stayed where he was.
Today little Jamie was having his first visit to see Peyton. At first, Nathan and Haley had wanted to keep him away, a place like this didn't seem right for someone of his age, but he kept telling them he wanted to come. He'd been sad when Haley had told him that Aunt Peyton was sick and even sadder when Nathan had told him that he couldn't see her until she was home and better.
"Hi Uncle Lucas." He said as he walked into the family room with Haley.
"Hey buddy." Luke said with a small smile as he hugged him.
"Any change?" Haley asked as she hugged and kissed his cheek. Everyone had been taking it in turns at the hospital so that Peyton was never alone. Skills was in with her at the moment while Brooke and Larry were getting some coffee's.
"No, still the same." Luke replied and then sat down.
"I drew Aunt Peyton a picture, do you think she'll like it?" Jamie then asked as he handed Lucas the drawing. Luke noticed it was of everyone with the words 'Get Well Soon' and lots of kisses underneath.
"I think she'll love it." He told him.
"Jamie was wondering if you'd like to go in with him?" Haley tried and Lucas looked up at her. "It'll be his first time and...your's too?" She added and then he looked at Jamie.
"I don't know bud?" He said and Jamie looked a little disappointed.
"I think he'd rather go in with you than me." Haley pushed and Lucas looked at Jamie's little face, he knew he was already sad about Peyton and he didn't want to make his nephew any more sadder.
"Alright. We'll go in together when Uncle Skills come's out ok?" He told him and Jamie hugged him while Haley smiled to herself.
Skills had been chatting to Peyton for the last half an hour. He made it his duty to keep her up to date with all the latest music news whenever he visited and today was no different.
"You know The Cure are going on tour again? Announced it last night. So you better wake up soon skinny girl cos I got you tickets! That ass of your's needs to be at their gig, not in this bed!" He told her, but other than the beeping of the machine's she was attached to, there was just silence.
"The other ticket is for Luke by the way, it's bout time he was dragged to a gig of there's, his squint fits their music." He added and then laughed to himself as he imagined Luke's face at having to be there, but then he stopped laughing as he remembered what Luke's face had looked like for the last week.
"Skinny girl, he needs you. He's...he's brooding a hell of a lot more than normal. He's a real mess. My dawg...well he smell like a dog, he ain't shaved or showered. I ain't seen him this bad since Keith died. You need to wake up for him, a lot's happened since you were in here, Lindsey left and he's been stuck in the family room, scared to come in. We keep trying to make him, but...well I guess you know cos you won't have heard his voice, but if you can hear mine right now, just wake up...you got a gig to go to and a boy that needs to tell you he loves you!" He told her and then planted a kiss on her cheek before sighing and then he left.
Lucas looked as the door went and Brooke and Larry walked back into the family room with the coffee's. Luke shook his head as Brooke offered him his and she sighed as she placed it on the table. It was only then that she saw Haley and Jamie sat there too and she smiled before giving them both a hug.
"How you doing buddy?" She asked Jamie and he smiled.
"I'm going to see Aunt Peyton with Uncle Lucas." He told her.
"Oh you are, are you?" She replied and then looked at Luke who just weakly smiled at her.
"Yeah, I'm going to give her this." Jamie said and then handed Brooke the drawing.
"Wow, that's better than the stuff she draws! She's going to worship this buddy!" Brooke told him and Jamie smiled.
"I'm hoping it'll make her better." He said.
"I'm sure it will and I'm sure hearing your voice will as well." She told him and then looked at Lucas. "Your's too Broody." She added with a smile.
Larry then hugged Jamie and whispered a quiet 'thank you' to Haley as he hugged her. He'd always liked Lucas and was glad that Haley's little push for him to go in with Jamie had worked. He'd hated seeing 'Rake Boy' hurting the way he was and blaming himself for all of this. He was also hoping that Luke's voice might be the key to his daughter waking up? Nobody else's had seemed to do the trick yet.
The door then went to the family room again and Skills came in telling them that Peyton was ready for her next visitors. He smiled as Jamie got up, but was surprised when he saw Lucas do the same!
"Woah, am I seeing things?" Skills asked and Jamie just smiled.
"I wanted to go in with Uncle Lucas." He said and Skills nodded and then held his fist out for Jamie to bump.
"I'm proud of you ." He told him and Jamie smiled before taking hold of Luke's hand and leaving the room.
It was only a short walk to where Peyton was, yet to Lucas it felt like the longest walk in his life. He still couldn't actually believe he was doing this, but as he got to the door of her room and saw her through the glass, everything suddenly felt real and his breath caught in his throat. Everyone had told him how she looked and what to expect, but it was a lot different seeing it for real.
Getting himself together, knowing he had his four year old nephew with him, he knew he had to be strong and crouching down to Jamie's level, Lucas looked at him.
"I want you to listen to me ok buddy?" He asked and Jamie nodded, waiting for him to carry on. "I know your Mom and Dad have probably told you that Aunt Peyton is sick and that there's lots of machines and tubes around her, but it's nothing to be scared about ok?" He said, wanting to give him a little warning before going in and Jamie nodded.
"Mama said they help her." He replied and Lucas smiled and nodded.
"That's exactly what they do bud." He told him. "She's going to be asleep when we go in and probably will be until we come out, but we can talk to her ok, she'll be able to hear us." He added and Jamie looked confused.
"Won't we wake her up?" He questioned and as much as Lucas wanted to say yes and wished it was as simple as that, he shook his head. "Ok." Jamie replied.
"Ready to go buddy?" Luke then asked and Jamie nodded before Luke took his hand and opened the door to Peyton's room.
They both walked in and as Lucas took a seat on the chair next to Peyton's bed, he lifted his nephew onto his lap. "Hey, I know I probably shouldn't be here, but someone wanted to see you and he didn't want to come in with anybody else." Lucas told Peyton and then Jamie spoke up.
"Hi Aunt Peyton. It's Jamie." The little boy said. "I'm sorry that you're sick." He added and then looked down at the drawing he had in his hands. "I drew you a picture. Aunt Brooke says it's better than the ones you do." He continued and then reached over and placed it on her bed. "I hope it makes you better." He told her and Luke just smiled to himself. He couldn't believe how well Jamie was handling this. He was doing a much better job than he was!
"Chester sends you rabbit kisses and he misses you." Jamie carried on and then continued to do so for the next hour! He told her everything he'd been doing at school over the last week, the play dates he'd had and how he'd made mud pies with Nathan!
Luke on the other hand, hadn't said a word in the last sixty minutes. At first it was shock, then guilt, but now it was because of what Peyton had said the night that all this had happened. He still couldn't let it go and he knew it wouldn't be right for her to hear his voice or know he was there.
A little tap on the door suddenly broke him from his thoughts and he turned to see Haley poke her head through.
"It's been an hour, I was going to take Jamie back home." She said and Luke nodded. Jamie was a little disappointed at having to go, but he got told he could come again soon.
He said his goodbyes to Peyton and then hugged his Uncle. "It's all going to be ok Uncle Lucas." He told him and then went over to Haley who just smiled at Luke before leaving.
Luke was planning to do the same, but as he got near the door, he stopped himself and then ran a hand over his face and let out a sigh before turning back to look at Peyton.
"Ok, so I know what you said...infact I can't stop thinking about what you said, but the way I see it, you can't see me or speak to me right now so I'm just going to stay here and talk to you until you wake up and tell me to go." He found himself saying and soon enough, he was back in the chair and talking to her as if he hadn't spoken to her in years!
"Last week when you told me you still loved me, I should have said it back...I was planning to say it back, but I wanted to break up with Lindsey first." He explained. "She was going to save me the job, she'd started packing by the time I'd got home, but somehwere in the middle of it all, she'd found your ring and thought it was for her. It was never for her, I still kept it because I thought and hoped that maybe one day me and you could get back together and be at that stage again." He told Peyton. "I was about to explain that to Lindsey, but before I had the chance, she said yes! I don't know why I didn't tell her sooner that it was your ring and that she'd assumed wrong, but she's gone now Peyt and I do love you, I never stopped and I never will. That's why I really need you to wake up for me. I need to tell you, you need to hear it and we need to be together." He explained and then felt tears prick at his eyes.
He let out a sigh and then took her hand in his and softly kissed her knuckles. "Please baby, I need you to wake up." He whispered. "This isn't how we were supposed to be." He added sadly and then suddenly, he felt a light squeeze on his hand.