Chapter 7


Karen set the phone down on the table and immediately walked into Keith's arms. He held her for a few moments, before asking about the final arrangements. Karen shook her head, totally at a loss for words. "I leave him alone for less than 15 hours and he's in surgery," she said, leaning into Keith's shoulder.

Walking her over to the coach, Keith consoled her the best he could. "It was an accident, Karen. Dan said that a drunk driver hit the bus. Luke would be in the hospital whether you were out of town or not," he said.

Karen nodded at his words, but added "If we were in town, Lucas would not be at the mercy of Dan right now." She had wondered why Dan picked now of all times to show any parental concern for their son, but decided that basketball must have played a role in his decision. Leave it to Dan to only be interested after Luke had shown potential in basketball.

Keith considered her words for a moment. "Okay, so I wouldn't want to leave a dog in Dan's care, but I have faith in Deb. I really do, Karen. She's a nice lady." He'd often wondered if Deb would have stayed with Dan if she hadn't gotten pregnant with Nathan, but who was he to question love?

After speaking to Dan for the last two hours, Karen had reluctantly decided to stay in Florida until her cousin could drive in from Tennessee. Dan had smugly informed her that he and his wife had plenty of room and resources to care for her son, until she and his brother could return from their "vacation". That meant that Lucas would be forced to stay with Dan and Deb two or three days until she and Keith could drive back to Tree Hill. Pulling in a deep breath, she gave Keith a look of despair. "This is my worst nightmare. I have feared for years that something would happen to me and Lucas would be forced to live with Dan."

Rubbing her back, Keith tried to soothe her frenzied state. "Karen, who else is there to watch out for him? Thanks to Dan, I'm the only paternal relative that knows Luke, and you don't have any close relatives young enough left to raise him. You've put me down as his guardian in case something happens to you. There's not much else you can do," he offered. "Besides, Lucas will be 18 in a few years, and you'll not have to worry about it."

Karen listened to his words and tried to relax. "Well, Haley said she'd call me if all hell breaks loose. And Deb did mention that the doctors are sending him home with morphine patches. I guess he'll be asleep for most of the time," she speculated. "Maybe we'll get lucky and Dan will lie low while Luke is there."


Dan paced the hallway outside his son's hospital room, glaring at Deb as slammed his cell phone shut. "The woman is impossible. She complains about the decisions I have made for our son, when she's not even in the state to care for him," he complained, as Deb raised her eyebrows at his words. "Did you just say 'our' son?"

Pausing, Dan considered his word choice. The term had just slipped out of his mouth without any hesitation. Rolling his eyes at his wife, he leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes. "What do you want me to say, Deb? That I have been wrong all these years? That I should have fought Karen for custody and raised Lucas with Nathan in our house?" he demanded, not sure what the woman wanted from him.

Sighing, Deb placed an arm on her husband's. "I'm just saying that he's a part of our lives now. And for all our sakes, you have to figure out what to do about that. Because encouraging your youngest son to attack your oldest son is not working for any of us," she commented. "You have to be an example to both Nathan and Lucas and show them that we all can get along."

"And how do you propose I do that with a boy who clearly hates me? It's a bit too late to start being his father now, Deb. And to be honest, I am not sure that I would even know where to start. He's a stranger to me," Dan admitted.

"He's only a stranger because you've made it a point not to let him in your life. Maybe this is a great time to start showing Lucas that you do care about him and that you don't hate him," she gently suggested, knowing that would be a huge second step for her husband. He'd just realized tonight that he actually did care about the boy. Sometimes it took near death experiences for that lesson to sink in.

"I don't know, Deb. I guess we'll just try to get through the next few days and see if any of us are still alive at the end to deal with the fallout," he said, straightening up as he saw Haley rounding the corner.

Haley slowed down a beat when she saw Dan and Deb standing outside of Nathan's room. "Hey," she cautiously greeted them. Dan still looked like he wanted to eat her for breakfast, based on their earlier confrontations. She'd gone home to sleep for a few hours, before going to Luke's house to pack a bag for him.

Smiling at the girl, Deb tried to diffuse the tension between Haley and her husband. She'd talked to Haley's parents about her staying with them a few days, and was a bit surprised that they didn't seem to notice she had been gone most of the night. "Did Karen get a chance to call you?" she asked, knowing that Luke's mom was beyond apprehensive about her son staying with Dan.

Haley shifted the bag to her other shoulder, out of nervousness more than the weight of the bag. "Yeah, she's wigging pretty badly. But I promised her that I would fend off all psychos that tried to attack Luke while he was staying with you," she said sweetly, loving the look of contempt that crossed Dan's face at her words.

Dan gave Haley a nasty look and then headed for the door to Nathan's room. "I am going to get him up and ready to go. We can head home once Lucas' doctor signs his release forms," he commented as politely as he could. Dan would be relieved when this situation was over so he'd never have to see Haley James again.

Haley and Deb watched Dan slink out of their sight before shifting their conversation. Haley motioned to her bag. "I brought something for Luke to wear to your house. It's just a sweatshirt and some flannel pants. I figured that he could wear them home and then sleep in them," she offered, trying to get focused on taking care of her friend. She could worry about Nathan later on. Deb smiled at her thoughtfulness. "I already have Lucas ready to go. I hope he doesn't mind, but I just brought along a set of Nathan's clothes for him to wear. I figure that they're both about the same size, and I didn't know if you'd remember to bring anything for him," Deb said.

Lucas had woken up a few times during the night, and the doctors were impressed with his physical health. Deb was a bit concerned as she'd tried to talk to the boy for a few minutes, but hadn't gotten more than a few slurred words out of him. Then again, Lucas didn't really know who she was, and she hadn't felt like subjecting the sick boy to Dan.

Haley pondered the various reactions Luke would have to waking up in Nathan's clothes and decided to let it go. He'd be much more upset about being in Dan's house than in Nathan's sleepwear, she thought.


Dan pulled the SUV up to the front door of the house and killed the engine. He was so anxious to get out of the hospital that he'd not really considered how he was going to get two semi-stoned boys into the house and up the stairs to the bedrooms. He'd had help getting them into the car at the hospital, but even that had been a major production.

Opening the passenger door, Deb jumped out and motioned for Haley to get the door to the house open. She helped Nathan out of the car, steadying him as he pitched forward.

He looked down at her and smiled in a dazed way. "You sure are short, Mom," he drawled, causing her to smile. Haley jogged back to where they stood and supported Nathan's other side as he swayed back and forth. Nathan patted Haley on the head, musing her hair. "Haley, are you moving in with us?" he questioned.

Motioning toward Lucas, Deb began walking Nathan toward the house. "Dan, bring him up," she ordered, as she and Haley disappeared into the house. Dan started to protest, but realized he was alone with the kid. And while Nathan was capable of somewhat walking to his room, Lucas was not able to stand up by himself. Sighing, Dan opened the back door and tried to get the kid's attention. "Lucas… kid… Help me out here," Dan said, trying to get Lucas to open his eyes. The hospital had warned them that he would be on a morphine patch for several days, the side affects of which would basically knock him out for most of the time. But even Dan was worried that the kid should have stayed at the hospital. He should have just paid the extra costs for keeping him in the hospital. As it was, Dan definitely needed to have a conversation with Karen about getting better health insurance.

Dan gave up trying to get Lucas' cooperation, and bent over him, gently picking the boy up. He shifted the boy's weight so that Lucas was leaning against Dan's chest, and then slowly made his way toward the house.

After settling Nathan into his bedroom, Deb moved through the connected bathroom into the guest room where Lucas was going to stay. She turned down the king sized bed's comforter, and eavesdropped on the conversation from the other room. Deb smiled as she heard Nathan sweet talking Haley. Smiling, she realized that Dan had a lot more to worry about than putting up with Ms. James for a few days. It looked like she was going to be around for the long term.

Haley fussed over Nathan, pulling his comforter up to his chest. Nathan coughed a bit before pulling Haley down on top of him. She blushed, realizing that the despite the thick comforter, she could feel nearly every hard muscle of his fine body. Nathan ran his hands down her back, massaging slow circles on her back with his bandaged covered hands. "You sure know how to perk a guy up," he uttered, trying hard to avoid coughing, even though it was hard to breathe with her on top of him. But he'd waited for weeks to get this close to her, and neither the lack of oxygen nor his parents in the same house was going to deter him.

"Nathan, your mother is in the next room," she weakly protested, silently loving his roaming hands. She stared into his eyes before lowering her head to his and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He tried to argue when she pulled away, but his lungs gave out and he started coughing.

Haley watched him in concern, realizing that he was still fairly sick. The doctor had said that the smoke inhalation would take a few weeks to completely recover from, and he still had his burned hands and broken rib to heal. Nathan stopped coughing and focused on catching his breath. He still wasn't used to be so short winded all the time. He looked at her shyly before pulling her closer to his side, snuggling with her in his arms. He cleared his throat and asked a question that had been bothering him. "Haley, no one said anything about the others. Did they get out alright?" Nathan had been out of it for a while, but he could tell that his parents were tiptoeing around the answer to that question.

Haley thought about her answer for a second. "The firemen said that if you and Lucas hadn't gone back for the girls, that they might have been trapped after the fire spread. You saved Brooke and Peyton's lives," she said, feeling him breathe a huge sigh of relief behind her. "The doctors think that Brooke will be fine after the cast comes off her ankle and Peyton. . ." she paused, wondering how to explain his ex-girlfriend.

Nathan tensed up, waiting for information about his former girlfriend. "What about Peyton?" he asked, fear evident in his voice. He'd always regret how poorly he treated her, and now he might not get the chance to make amends for the past.

"She's physically fine, but the doctors are concerned about her emotional state. The wreck totally freaked her out, that's why she wasn't able to leave the bus or help Brooke. She just kind of shut down. Her dad has come back to town, but the doctor's think she needs some serious counseling to deal with all the problems surrounding her mother's death," Haley stated, not sure why she felt so jealous of Nathan's concern for his ex-girlfriend. After all, she and Nathan weren't dating. They were just….friends. Friends that kissed and occasionally snuggled.

Sighing, Nathan pulled Haley closer to him. He was getting sleepy, but he was too busy thinking about everything to relax enough for sleep. He cleared his throat and asked, "And Lucas? Is he okay?"

Rolling over, Haley looked Nathan in the eye. "He's okay. The doctor said he has a serious concussion and smoke inhalation. And he had to have surgery for a small puncture in his lung. But he should be okay," she mentioned. "You do realize that he's staying here until his mother gets back to town?"

Closing his eyes, Nathan nodded his head. "Yeah, my dad told me when we were leaving the hospital. I can't say that I am too happy that he's invaded my home."

Haley kissed him on the check and gently got off of his bed. "Well, once he wakes up and realizes where he's at, I can guarantee you that he'll take off as soon as he can walk out the door," she muttered, not pleased with Nathan's attitude toward his brother.

He grabbed her hand as she moved away from the bed. "I am trying, Haley. I really am, but it's hard to have to share everything with the guy: the team, you, and now my home. I just need some time to adjust," he admitted, not sure why he was willing to let his feud with Lucas go, but not wanting to upset Haley before they even had a chance to be together.

"There will be time later, Nathan. I just hope that both you and Luke realize that having a brother is a good thing," she offered, before walking out the door and joining his mother in the other room. Nathan watched her go, as sleep rapidly claimed him.


Dan slowly moved up the stairs, gently cradling Lucas to his chest. He was trying to avoid jarring him, which was extremely difficult given the boy's lanky frame. He cleared the last stair with a thud, which elicited a groan from Lucas. Dan looked down and saw his son's glazed blue eyes staring up at him. Luke groaned and muttered, "hurts . . ."

"I know it hurts, Lucas, but you'll be asleep soon." Dan realized that he must be putting too much pressure on the boy's stitches, and he attempted to shift Lucas' weight. Luke leaned his head against Dan's shoulder, and asked in a low voice, "mom?" Dan found himself co-opting Deb's soothing "sick child" voice. "Your mom will be back as soon as possible, Lucas." He walked into the extra bedroom and found his wife and Haley waiting for them.

Dan gently laid Lucas down in the bed, and stepped back while Deb and Haley moved in like the mother geese they were. He took the moment to appraise his son, taking in the boy's features. Deb caught him staring and followed his eyes down to where the sleeping boy lay. She realized what Dan was staring at. "Oh my, he looks just like your mother, Dan." The fine blue eyes and the carved features were much like the pictures of Dan's fair-haired mother that covered the Scott mantle.

Nodding, Dan realized his wife was right. He'd never really seen any similarity between him and his son, except for the blue eyes, but he was realizing that the boy carried more Scott features than he knew.

Haley coughed, attempting to politely break up this little love fest before Dan got overly possessive. Lucas opened his eyes at the noise and stared at her with dazed eyes. "Hales?" he questioned in a scratchy, rough voice. The doctor had warned them that both Nathan and Lucas needed to speak as little as possible, as their lungs and throat were extremely damaged from the smoke inhalation.

Haley moved over beside Lucas and lay down next to him on the bed. He smiled at her, before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.

Dan motioned her to the door. "We have a guest suite downstairs that you can use while you're here," he offered, attempting to be polite to the girl. Haley stayed next to Lucas and waved Dan off with a gesture. "I can just sleep here with Lucas. We sleep together all the time," she offered, before realizing what meaning her words had. "I mean, we aren't sleeping together, we just sometimes fall asleep together," she added lamely, before turning red at what images must be running through Deb and Dan's minds.

Deb smiled at her and gently helped her off the bed. "I am sure, dear. But I did promise your mother that you'd have your own room while you stayed here, and I wouldn't want to disappoint her," the older woman said, smoothly moving them out of Lucas' room.

Haley looked back at Luke and sighed. She had to leave him alone at some point. But this entire situation was filling her with dread. There wasn't a house big enough in Tree Hill to contain three Scott's, she thought as she followed Dan and Deb down the spacious staircase.