Peyton was laying in the hospital bed, eyes wide open. She was getting a little impatient. A nurse walked in to check her vitals. "Are we done here yet?" She questioned. The nurse looked at her with a calm expression.
"Mrs. Scott, we are waiting for your doctor. He should be in soon." She said and then left. Peyton sighed heavily. She had been there since early that morning. The procedure had gone well. Now she was waiting for the doctor to give her the all clear.
It was Thursday, almost a week after her blow up at Lucas, and she had a lot of things to do. Today was the only chance Peyton would have had to have this done, and now, she needed to get out of there and head to the office to finish getting things in order for the concert. The door opened and Peyton looked up expecting to see her doctor. Instead, there was a brunette with a small smile on her face, and a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
"Brooke, I told you not to come," Peyton said, stubbornly.
"You didn't think I could let you go through surgery without someone here? Honestly, Peyton, I wasn't going to leave you here alone," she set the flowers on the bedside table. "How are you doing?"
"The damn doctor is taking far too long to get back here," Peyton replied. "I've got so many things that I need to get done today, so I just need for him to release me."
"You don't think that you're going to work after this? No ma'am. The doctor told you that you needed to rest for at least the weekend to recover."
"You're kidding right? I have rehearsals the next two days, and the show is Saturday, and I just can't- I don't need this right now. What I need is to get out of this bed and get to the office." Brooke looked at her best friend and furrowed her eyebrows.
"At least let me take you there," Brooke offered.
"No," Peyton said, shaking her head. "My car's outside. I drove myself this morning."
"So I take it that you didn't tell Lucas," Brooke commented. She couldn't believe that Peyton was willing to go through all of this alone. She couldn't imagine not telling Julian what was going on with her.
"No, and I'm not going to tell him. It's fine." Peyton pushed herself to a full sitting position in the bed. Brooke moved forward to help her. "Can you get me some water?"
"Sure." The brunette grabbed the nearby pink pitcher and poured some water into a styrofoam cup. She added in a couple of ice cubes and a straw and walked to the bed, holding the cup for her best friend.
"I don't need you to hold it for me. I'm not helpless."
"Let me take care of you, please," Brooke said. Peyton looked up at her best friend, their eyes meeting for a long moment. Brooke's eyes were filled with sympathy, and need to be there for Peyton. The blond's expression softened as she took a deep sip from the straw.
"Thank you," Peyton said, sitting back in her bed. Brooke put the cup down on the nearby table and took a seat in the chair next to the bed.
"So how did the surgery go, I mean, obviously, it was okay, right?" Peyton nodded in response.
"I got out about an hour ago. The doctor is supposed to come in and talk to me soon. I just need him to sign some release forms so I can go," she commented lightly. Brooke seemed to take this situation a little more seriously than Peyton did.
"How are things with you and Luke? Haley told me about the fight, and Jagielski.."
The blond furrowed her eyebrows. "How the hell did you hear about that? How did Haley?" She asked, wondering if Lucas went to Haley and told her about their fight nearly a week ago.
"Nathan was at TRIC to invite you guys to a get together, and he heard the fight. He told Haley. She told me." Peyton heaved a sigh. It was impossible to keep her private business private, wasn't it? "I'm sure she didn't mean any harm by telling me. She just kind of slipped about it, thinking that I already knew, and once she said something, I pressed her for more information. Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"Because it really isn't that important," Peyton commented. "Lucas walked in while I was talking with Jake, who was auditioning for the label, and thought there was something more going on. Because when all of the crap was happening ten years ago, Jake was in town, saw me, and comforted me. Luke saw him put an arm around me."
"And he waited ten years to say something?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, you guys really don't talk," Brooke said incredulously. "I thought all of this time maybe it was an exaggeration, but you guys don't.." The door opened and both girls looked up to see the face of Peyton's doctor.
"Mrs. Scott, I've sent off the mass to the lab to be tested. I'll let you know by next week whether it is malignant or not."
"Thank you doctor." Peyton said slowly. "Does this mean I'm good to go?" The doctor stared at her for a moment.
"Well, I would like to keep you for a while longer to monitor you, make sure you haven't had any ill effects from medications."
"Doc, I'm fine," Peyton said. "Really. I'm just really itching to get out of here. I've spent enough of my life in hospitals. I just want to go home." The doctor sighed.
"Alright, just keep off of your feet, and if you starting have any lower stomach cramps, come in to the ER immediately."
"I will," Peyton said, giving a thankful smile. She glanced over at Brooke.
–
The last week, Luke had basically been at the house by himself. Sawyer didn't know it, but Peyton was sleeping at the office every night, coming home before Sawyer got up, and then leaving after she had gone to bed. They hadn't spoken a single word to one another since their fight the other day. Luke understood her anger. But the words from his brother really made him think. He spent that night alone in the house, sitting in the living room and looking at pictures. There was one of their wedding day, Peyton big and pregnant, dancing with Luke at the reception. He remembered that night and how perfect it all seemed.
That was the night they were blessed with Sawyer. However much a blessing it was to have their little girl, that night was probably the most afraid that Lucas had ever been in his life. There were many events that happened in past years that scared him, but none more than the thought of losing his wife. And now, sixteen years later, here he was, broken marriage, barely a father to his daughter, and alone. Nathan told him that he needed to talk to someone. But who could he? Peyton? No. She was avoiding him. Sawyer? No. She really didn't need to know what was going on, at least not right now. Brooke? Maybe. Only, he knew that she was on Peyton's side of things, as any good best friend could be. Nathan? No. He and Nathan were close, yes, but Luke didn't quite know how to feel about talking to him about stuff so personal. Haley was always a good option, but he was sure that he screwed things up by making her leave last week.
Another picture on the mantle caught Lucas's eye, and that's when he knew exactly who he could talk to. He grabbed his keys and headed out of the door.
–
"Sawyer Scott," came a voice behind Sawyer as she rounded the corner to her next class of the day. She didn't stop walking because she recognized the voice. Realizing that she wasn't going to turn around, Ryan darted ahead in front of her and turned around, walking backwards. "Hey."
"Bye." Sawyer said, trying to dart around him. He put his arm out, stopping her.
"Come on, just talk to me for a minute," he said. "I'm not bad. I promise." Sawyer rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, just walk away."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not interested," she commented.
"Because of your friend Kara, right?" He asked. "Come on, I'm not into her. She's easy to figure out. I'm not into her type of girls."
"What makes you think I'm different from her type?"
"Because unlike ninety percent of Tree Hill High's population, you're not swooning when I talk, or trying to place yourself in my path in the hallways," Ryan said.
"Fine. Oh, Ryan, please please please, take me out on a date!" Sawyer said, feigning a southern belle accent. She straightened up and then gave him a dirty look, before pushing past and continuing to her next class.
"So, I'll pick you up Saturday?" He called after her as she walked away.
–
Lucas knelt in the grass, his eyes looking forward at the stone before him. "Keith, I don't know what to do," he said slowly. He hadn't visited Keith's grave in a long time, and he regretted it. The headstone itself looked the same as it always did, but everything was different. Lucas was a different person than he was the last time he came to this grave. "I'm so angry.. I know that I said a while back that I was moving on from a lot of things.. Dan, mostly, but it all seems to keep seeping up again." The leaves rustled in the wind overhead. "Do you know that Haley said I was turning into Dan the other day? I can't believe-" He stopped and sighed. "No, I can. She's right... But I've been on this track for so long, it's like it's taken control of me. I have no choice in how I behave around everyone else. There are a million things going on that I don't know about. Peyton and I don't talk anymore. Sawyer and I barely have any semblance of a relationship." He felt tears sting at his eyes. "I don't know who I am anymore. I always thought that I modeled myself after you, but lately.."
Lucas looked at the name on the stone. "Lately, I've come to realize that without trying, I've become no better than my father." In his mind, he was thinking what Keith would say if he were here. How would Keith guide him down his path in the best way? "My wife hates me and I have no relationship with my child. It's just how Dan used to be with Nathan whenever I joined the team. How can I change this?" He wrung his hands together, his eyes low on the grass below.
–
"Brooke, you should have just let me go," Peyton said as she walked into the house, being shepherded closely by her best friend into the house.
"No, you weren't supposed to drive."
"Well, you could have at least brought me to the office," Peyton whined. She was exaggerating the fact, but it helped her ease through the fact that she was mad Brooke wouldn't let her do what she wanted to do.
"No, the doctor said you needed to take it easy. No more work today," Brooke said, gently pushing Peyton onto the couch. "Now, you rest, and I'm going to make you some soup."
"Brooke, I'm not a sick child-"
"But you've been through a lot today, and you really need to rest." The brunette turned and headed toward the hallway, but stopped instantly when she saw Lucas standing in the kitchen, looking at her.
Lucas was confused. What was Brooke talking about? Did something happen to Peyton that he didn't know? "What's going on?" he asked, his concern showing only through his eyes.
"Well, Peyton-"
"Nothing," Peyton interrupted, standing from the couch and walking toward the kitchen. "Thanks for bringing me home, Brooke. I'll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal." Brooke looked between the pair and shook her head.
"Ridiculous," she muttered, then headed back out the way she came. Lucas turned to watch his wife walk into the kitchen.
"What was she talking about, Peyton?" He questioned, stepping just inside the doorway.
"I had a doctors appointment today. It was nothing," she said, trying to play it off the best that she could. Truth was, she had a little pain from the incision. She opened up a cabinet. "What do you want for dinner?" She was trying to busy herself. Lucas watched as she winced in pain when she reached into the cabinet above her head.
"What happened at the doctor?" he asked.
"I told you, it was nothing," Peyton repeated. He sighed.
"You're lying. I can tell just by the way you are walking, and how you're wincing that it was something more than nothing," he said slowly. Peyton placed her hands on the counter and closed her eyes for a moment. She repeated his sigh and turned around after a minute.
"Fine, I went in for a check up with my gynecologist a couple of weeks ago and they found something," she said slowly as she walked across to the kitchen table to sit down.
"And?"
"And today, they removed it," she said, standing. "The doctor will get back to me if it's malignant or not." Lucas instantly felt his emotions rush over. That was one of the worst things he could have ever expected to come from his wife.
"Cancer?" He asked. His hands were shaking at his sides. All of this time, he'd harbored these feelings of anger and hurt toward his wife, and now, there was a chance she could be dying. How could he take back his behavior? He didn't know what to think or feel. So he simply walked over and pulled her to his chest. At first, she was tense. She didn't know how to take the sudden physical contact with her husband, when there had been none between them. But soon she found that familiar feeling of love for Lucas, and that familiar feeling of being safe in his arms and she melted. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked into her hair as he held her close. "You didn't have to go through this alone. I would have been there." She could tell by his voice that he was on the verge of tears.
"I didn't want to worry anyone. I figured that I would tell you if it was bad, and I wouldn't if it was nothing," she admitted, pulling out of his embrace. "We won't know anything until next week, so it's best not to worry." She turned and walked out of the kitchen and to their bedroom, closing the door soundlessly behind her. Lucas heaved a sigh and then took Peyton's empty seat at the table. Had they really fallen so far apart? He glanced at the clock and realized that it was time to get Sawyer from school.
–
"Hey, bitch," Kara said, walking up to Sawyer at her locker. Sawyer looked at her best friend, whose tone was more than a joke.
"What's your problem?" Sawyer asked. Kara often got pissed off and took it out on Sawyer, so her tone was really no surprise.
"So, I heard from Janet who heard from Cody and Rodney that Ryan asked you out today." Sawyer looked over at her best friend, lifting her eyebrows slightly and giving a laugh.
"And did they hear what I told him?" Kara looked a little stunned. All she heard was that Ryan asked her out. "I said no."
"Yeah, well, that doesn't change the fact that he asked you out. I mean, you must have given him some reason to think he could ask you-"
"Look, Kara, I really don't have time for this. I haven't said more than a few words to the boy. All of which were to turn him away from me," Sawyer said. "He asked me out. I told him no. End of story." With that, Sawyer slammed her locker and headed for the front of the school.
–
A confused Sawyer entered the house. She walked to her room to drop off her bag and then headed to the kitchen. Her mom was cooking. "Hey," Peyton said, giving a smile. "How was school?" Sawyer looked at her mom. She looked tired, more tired than usual anyway.
"It was okay. Why didn't you come get me today? That's twice in a week," Sawyer said. Lucas entered through the back door to the kitchen. He glanced at Peyton, and then set his keys on the table.
"Something smells good," he commented. "I'm going to take a shower." With that, he turned and walked to the bathroom. Sawyer turned sharply to her mother, expecting an explanation.
"I'm just not feeling well," Peyton lied. "So, your dad decided to go get you."
"Well, are you okay?"
Peyton gave her daughter a warm smile. "Of course, I've just been feeling a little under the weather. Everything's okay." She paused to turn back to the stove. "I'm making some stir fry. I hope you're hungry." Sawyer continued to study her mother.
"Yeah, that sounds good," she said. "Just call me when it's ready. I'm going to try and get some homework done." Peyton muttered an okay before she heard the door to Sawyer's room close. The phone rang so she grabbed it from the counter.
"Hello."
"Hey," Brooke said. "So I've been trying to come up with something for Sawyer's birthday, and I'm drawing a complete blank. I was thinking maybe we could do something special for her at the concert this weekend." Peyton was surprised that Brooke wasn't hassling her about earlier. She leaned against the counter for a moment.
"That could work," Peyton said. "I know she said she didn't want a party-"
"Well, she said what she wanted was a beach party, but she was worried because she thinks she's not popular. I've been talking to her friend Kara, and she's planning something Saturday night after the concert is over."
"Oh, okay, that sounds good," Peyton said slowly. "I'm going to talk with a couple of the artists and see if we can't pull something together." She heard Brooke talking to one of the kids in the background.
"Okay, sorry, what?"
"I said I'll figure something out for the concert. Don't you worry."
"Alright, I'm sorry, Lila keeps getting into stuff, and Julian is bathing Liam," she sounded exhausted, Peyton noted. She remembered what it was like whenever Sawyer was a toddler. She could only imagine what it was to have two at the same age at the same time. "Does she have a favorite artist that's playing?" Peyton thought for a long moment.
"I'm not sure. I tried to get some of the artists that she likes, but most of them didn't pan out," Peyton said. "We'll get something together. Give me until rehearsals tomorrow. I'll have something, I'm sure."
"Alright. Hey, Peyton?"
"Yeah?"
"I really hope you talked to Luke about what's been going on," Brooke said. "I think that it could help if you just talk to him. He wants to do better, I could tell that much when I looked at him earlier. He's not completely cold. Maybe it's not too late to fix things."
"Thanks, Brooke," Peyton said. "I'll talk to you later." With that, she hung up the phone and went back to cooking dinner.
