BRIEF NOTES:

Thanks again for the reviews. I appreciate your patronage.

This one's a little longer than the last chapter; there'll be a couple of flashbacks towards the end.

The bold words are lyrics of a song.

I hope you guys enjoy this.

DISCLAIMER:

Same as always. I don't own OTH.

CHAPTER THREE

Derek Sommers walked in to the sight of his sister's infamous brooding. She was scrunched up at the corner of the couch; and if he hadn't known better, he'd say she was having a staring contest with the stuffed animal lying atop the coffee table.

A little over four years ago, he walked into the same scenario. He waited two hours outside her door only to discover that she had left it unlocked. Given the history which brought them together, he entered her house in a mad rush, prepping himself for the scolding he was about to give her. But the moment he stepped inside the living room, as his eyes bore witness to the unrest that enveloped her, the annoyance dissipated. It was then that he finally found his resolve – she was his family, and he would never ever let her walk through life alone.

He decided to interrupt the stare-down between woman and toy. "You know, the last time I found you like this, you were fat and failing art mechanics. Oh, and you can try all you want, but that snuffleupagus is never going to blink before you do."

She blinked, snapping herself back to reality. "Oh. Hey, it's you." She said as she gave him a small smile.

"You wanna tell me about it?" He curiously asked.

Her brows started to furrow, he noticed. This couldn't be good news.

"Lucas is coming back." Her anxiety leveled up the moment that escaped her lips. Inside of her mind, it was only a notion… but when the words came from her own voice, it had suddenly become a solid reality.

He was stumped. Having nothing intelligible to say, he asked, "When?"

She looked up at her brother, her eyes swimming in unshed tears that resembled rollercoaster feelings. "I don't know. Neither do Nathan and Haley."

His next inquiry was spoken with apprehension. "He knows, right?" Derek sat next to her, hoping his presence beside her offered some sort of comfort.

"Yeah. He has since."

"And did you say anything to --" Peyton immediately cut him off with a "NO." that was said with more force than expected.

"Well, are you planning to?" He asked quietly, hoping to tone her down.

"I don't know."

Her distress was unnerving. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time. Truth be told, he hadn't seen her like this since the night the Cape Canaveral coast guard called and informed them of the accident that claimed her father's life three years ago. In the back of his mind, he could only hope that she possessed enough pluck to hold herself together. She had to, because both he and Peyton knew that she had to be twice as strong – once for her…

"Mommy?"

And once more for her son.

"Lucas… Lucas, wake up."

The gentle hands that shook him brought him back from the dream. He blinked once, twice then thrice in order to banish the remnants of sleep from his eyes. When he finally opened them, he was surprised to see nothing but darkness and the steady flashing of blues and greens from the hotel sign.

The clock on the dashboard read 12:17 am. His eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Was I out that long, ma?"

Karen chuckled as she replied, "Yeah, son. You were out for a good 7 hours at least."

"No way." He couldn't remember sleeping that long. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he slept like that at all. "Sorry I slept on you. Did you check in already?" He felt bad for having let his mom drive a whole 5 hours without a conscious companion.

"Don't be. It was good to see you in a deep sleep. I can't remember the last time you were ever that calm. Whatever dream you had, it must've been a really good one."

He gave out a tense grin. Oh, you have no idea, he thought inwardly. "Can't really remember. So yeah, did you check in already? Should I carry Kaitlyn out?" He asked, praying the questions wouldn't give away his desire for a subject change.

"No, actually, I haven't. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to drive straight through the night. I mean, Kaitlyn's out like a light too so I was thinking it would save us some more time... so we could get there earlier than expected." His mother's propositions were practical, they always were. He just didn't know if the short route there was the one he wanted to take.

But he knew better than to argue with practicality. "Sure, ma. I'll take the wheel from here."

They exchanged places and he adjusted the driver's seat to suit his preferences. As soon as the engine revved to life, he slowly turned the car towards the hotel's exit. In a matter of seconds, they were on the road again. Just 8 hours more and they would be back.

He didn't know why, but the sudden urge to play "Oh, wise radio". He, for one, never believed anything a magic 8 ball said; and since this game was somewhat similar to that, he had to laugh at himself for even wanting to try it out.

Nevertheless, he wordlessly asked his question and pressed the tuning button. When the dial stopped, it fell on a song he had never heard of. He had to guffaw, at first, because this kind of song was certainly not among his favorite genres. But for some weird reason, each word from the lyrics gave him something to smile about.

I wanna let you know what I was going through
All the time we were apart I thought of you

You were in my heart.
My love never changed

I still feel the same

If the words were any indication, then maybe there was still something to hope for after all.

It was 2 in the morning. Technically, she should be crawling upstairs and into bed.

But she couldn't help herself. She crept as stealthily as she could into the room that now held her most cherished treasure.

Her little miracle worker.

She had believed that the moment she found out about him, not too long after his father had to go. After all, the greatest, yet very inexplicable, things started happening when that test kit turned pink. She stroked his cherubic face gently as her subconscious brought her the memories of this little boy's marvels.

It couldn't be.

How was this even possible? She took the pill everyday, and as far as her counting goes she had never missed a single one.

This couldn't happen to her, especially not now.

Six weeks. It had only been six weeks since he left. And if this test result was true, then it only meant the vindication of what she's been trying so hard to deny.

Peyton Sawyer was approximately 4 weeks pregnant… with their child.

Her back fell against the bathroom wall as she slid onto the tiled flooring. She was at a complete loss as a million and one thoughts swam – no, jetskied – in her head.

She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice the figure standing stiffly outside her bathroom door.

"Peyton?"

It must've been her imagination, but she swore that voice belonged to the one and only person she would have wanted beside her right now – next to Lucas, anyway. She didn't look up… she couldn't. Today was becoming too much of the twilight zone for her, and if she looked and no one was there, she had no idea what to think anymore.

"Peyton, what's wrong?"

Now there was someone beside her. The person put its arms around her shoulders. She became even more fearful, so fearful that she just wanted to play dead and shut herself off.

But her instincts knew her better "I'm pregnant", she blurted. Even then, she still couldn't look. So she opted to stare at the pink plus sign instead.

Peyton heard the voice gasp, and she felt the arms snake around her, enclosing her in a hug. She refused to look anywhere else but the test, and the rest of her body shook with the onset of fear.

She was released from the hug, and quiet words had begun to be spoken. "I had nowhere to go this morning, so I started to drive around town. For some reason, I found myself at your doorstep without knowing why. Even stranger, I felt this need to go in – which is funny, considering how I don't even know anymore if you lock doors or not." The voice paused for a moment, but very quickly spoke again. "When I stepped inside that doorway, I realized why I needed to come here… to you. I was angry when you told me how you felt about Lucas, but not for the reasons you think. I was angry, because the nagging feeling at the pit of my gut that I found too hard to accept came true. That is, the feeling that somewhere down the line, it would always be you and him. I couldn't accept it not because I wanted him for myself – I guess somewhere inside of me I already knew that we weren't written in the stars. I couldn't accept it because I envied it – that one love that everyone knows is meant to be. I know now that I've been too selfish, wanting things all to myself when you deserved more. You do, Peyton. You deserve more than the shit I gave you and more than the way life's treated you. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry Peyton. I know I've caused you so much pain, and I know you might never want me back in your life, but I need you to know that I'm sorry. Hopefully, somewhere along the way, you'll be able to accept my apology."

Peyton Sawyer couldn't help it anymore; she stopped looking at the pink plus sign. "Brooke…"

The former best friends enclosed each other in a hug that spoke of forgiveness in a way no words ever could. But Brooke Davis knew there was still one thing she needed to hear.

"Will you give me a second chance, Peyton? I know I haven't been the greatest friend, but I want to do right by you. And I need you in my life. I do. I know we can't have what we had before, but I want us to be better friends than we were then. This time, if you'll let me, I promise you we'll be stronger." Her eyes were clouded with anticipation, and Brooke hoped to the high heavens that she wouldn't be refused.

The blonde's tears were streaming down her face, but the faint shadow of gladness in her eyes was unmistakable.

"We have to be, Brooke..." Peyton said as she offered Brooke a lopsided grin, "Because you're going to be a godmother."

She smiled at the memory. He didn't even form much yet then, and already he had started to work his magic on her life. Bringing her and Brooke's friendship back was only the first. Two months later, an even greater surprise came to her.

She had just come from the doctor's clinic – from her very first checkup – when her cellphone rang. The name on the caller ID caught her off-guard. He wasn't supposed to be calling anytime soon.

"Dad?"

"Hey sweetie. How's my girl?"

"Fine." Cool, Peyton. The trick is to keep cool.

"Good. Listen, you think you'll be heading home anytime soon?"

They weren't scheduled for a video conference today, he was still at sea. "In a bit. Why? Were we supposed to go on webcam today?"

From the other line, she heard Larry Sawyer laugh. "No honey. It's just that I'm kinda standing outside my front door and I realized that I didn't have my keys."

"You're home?" She tried to sound excited, but all that came of it was a squeak.

"Yeah, we finished early. There's not gonna be another job for my team anytime, so I'm all yours for the next year."

Not what she had in mind at all. "Oh. Okay. Great. I'll be home in five." She ended the call and gripped the wheel until her knuckles turned white.

"Papa Sawyer's in town?"

She was so lost in her worries that she completely forgot about Brooke. Since that afternoon, there wasn't a moment they hadn't shared. Peyton had already started at UNC-W a week ago, while Brooke stayed in Tree Hill… taking a year off of college so she could convince her parents that FAIU in California was where she deserved to go. Even with those impending distractions, both girls knew they'd make their ways to stick up for each other.

Peyton didn't say anything. Instead, a slight nod stood in place of a "yes."

It only took Brooke one look at her to see the fear and apprehension that came over the blonde. She immediately understood.

"Okay, P. Sawyer, let's do this." The relief in Peyton's sigh was so obvious it made her laugh. "What, you think I'd miss the opportunity to see my number one hot dad fantasy?"

It made Peyton laugh. Knowing that she had someone by her side… it was enough.

Telling him that she was 2 months pregnant was just about as bad as anyone would've expected it. What father wouldn't be enraged at the thought of his child carrying another? In addition, the notion of the child's father being gone didn't exactly help. Words were said during that night, but most of the hurtful ones were taken back eventually. Larry Sawyer was upset as a father could get, but along the way he began to see changes. His daughter had become a wiser, stronger, and braver woman. And so he began to think that this baby wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Her dad. He was probably with her mom now, looking down on her. She could only hope that she'd make them proud someday. Derek said they already were – all three of them. But somehow, she still believed she needed to do more to feel their pride.

Derek. He was another surprise. He came home 3 months after her dad, during her finals for the first semester and at the 5th month of her term. He walked in on her at the verge of tears, thanks to the hormones and the C+ her anal-retentive professor gave her. He gave her exactly what she needed at the time – the slightest bit of comfort and the biggest slap of reality. At the end of that day, when he asked her if she cared to give a homeless marine a space to permanently live in, she confirmed what she had always suspected at the start of her pregnancy.

This child was her angel – the one who made people come back.

She looked at the clock again. It was 3:30 AM. Her smile was one that expressed contentment; she could just look at him for hours and not even bother with anything else. But she knew she needed to rest. She didn't trouble herself with going to her room; instead, she took her jacket off and settled herself beside her son. He was fast asleep, but the warmth of her body was enough for him to sense her presence and he cuddled closer to her. The faint smell of baby shampoo on his hair was the last thing on her mind as she drifted off to much-needed sleep.

With him in her arms, she was right where she wanted to be.

End note: The song is Kylie Minogue's - Especially for you. For some weird reason, it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I wrote Lucas playing "Oh, wise radio."