A/N: Eeeek!!! I am SOOOOOO sorry for the delay in getting this out to you guys! I'm not making excuses here, but I know from experience that when long delays like this happen, people start to wonder if something serious has happened, so I'll offer up an explanation. My grandfather had two more weeks of chemo, which made him grumpy and sick (naturally), and I did my best to make him comfortable. I also started working. I was going to write on the weekends (both this one and the one before), but we went up into the mountains and hiked and picnicked, so I didn't really get the chance. So, I am super sorry for the delay, but I hope you all like the chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! There's no song because I couldn't think of a good one to put there- there are probably several, but I'm drawing a serious blank, so… Yeah… -Jess
Disclaimer:Nope, OTH still belongs to Mark Schwann- to whom I give major brownie points for the awesome season four finale!
--Chapter Seven--
When Karen finally released Finn, after murmuring "I'm sorry," any number of times, Brooke slipped her arm through Finn's and one through Peyton's- who linked arms with Haley- and left the guys and Deb to follow them to a booth. Brooke and Peyton slipped into one side, with Finn and Haley on the other, so Nathan and Lucas scooted a small table over and joined the girls. Karen and Deb excused themselves to the kitchen, saying that they actually did have a café to run, which got a laugh out of the gang. A few minutes later, Jake came in carrying Jenny and passed his daughter into the waiting arms of her "uncle" Lucas so he could give his girlfriend a kiss. It took him a few seconds to realize there was a new addition to the group, but when he finally realized that Finn was there, he arched an eyebrow in silent question, figuring he'd get answers from everyone there.
He wasn't disappointed- but he was surprised. As though perfectly choreographed, Brooke, Peyton, Haley, Nathan, and Lucas told Jake, "She's Keith's daughter," while the blond tucked into the far corner of the booth blushed at being the center of attention once more- now that she wasn't in hysterics, she was quite embarrassed by her lack of control earlier.
Jake was immediately struck with a wave of sympathy for Finn because Keith was gone, and looked toward his own daughter, thankful he hadn't lost her in the recent trial against Nicki. He didn't want to think of how she could have grown up with Nicki feeding her ideas about how he hadn't wanted her or, perhaps even worse, not telling Jenny anything about him at all. "I'm Jake, Peyton's boyfriend," he said with a smile, still amazed that he could say that after everything they'd been through with Nicki- there had been a few times there that he'd thought he was protecting Peyton by pushing her away, despite the fact that neither of them had really wanted it that way; he knew that Peyton hadn't put up too much of a fight those times because she'd known how much it had hurt him to push her out of his life, and hadn't wanted to cause either of them anymore pain.
Even if she had wanted to, Finn couldn't have resisted returning Jake's smile- it was practically contagious. Even Peyton smiled- and was that a blush creeping up those cheeks? "Finn Scott," she told Jake, "and who is that precious little girl you brought in with you?"
Finn had thought Jake's eyes had gleamed with pride and love when he'd said Peyton's name, but that was nothing compared to he look that entered his eyes when he looked over at the baby girl- who had now been relocated to Nathan's arms- as he said, "That's my daughter Jenny."
"She's adorable," Finn told him with another glance in Jenny's direction. She didn't feel comfortable prying and asking for details, respecting the fact that Jake hadn't bombarded her with questions about her non-existent relationship with her deceased father. She felt completely wrung out after the last couple of hours- heck, the last few weeks. Ever since news had come of Keith's death, her world had been spinning out of control faster than she could take a breath.
As much as Jake wanted to ask what had suddenly brought Finn to Tree Hill, he didn't- he didn't really need the explanation so much as wanted it, and Lucas and Nathan seemed okay with her being there. Whatever was going on was for Lucas, Nathan, and Finn to work out- with the rest of them there to support their friends.
"So, Finn, you and Haley should really get together and sing one night at Tric," Nathan said as Jake took a seat at the table. The comment garnished curious glances from Lucas, Brooke, and Jake, so he explained, "She was singing at the cemetery, when it started to rain. You have a really great voice," he told his cousin, who began to feel the heat of a blush creeping up her neck.
"You sing?" Lucas inquired, arching his eyebrow as he glanced over at Finn.
With a slight nod of confirmation, Finn told him- and the curious group of listeners around her, "I sang in the choir at my high school and in junior high- with a whole bunch of other kids, so I was never really in the spotlight. But I like music- it helps me identify with things around me and makes me feel better. There's a song out there somewhere that fits each of my moods and every moment of my life, which I like."
"You and Haley should definitely do a duet or something at Tric, then," Lucas said, looking at both Finn and Haley and agreeing wholeheartedly with Nathan. He wanted Finn to make friends with their little group and feel like she fit in.
Finn gave a small shrug in reply, muttering, "Maybe."
Because he didn't want to push the subject, Lucas gave his cousin a reassuring grin and turned the subject to Haley and Nathan. "So, what have you two decided to name the baby?"
The original purpose for today's lunch had actually been for them to announce the name of the soon-to-be newest member of the Scott family, and five sets of inquisitive eyes turned to Nathan and Haley. With his infamous Scott smirk in place, Nathan laid a hand on his wife's bulging stomach and Haley intertwined her fingers with her husband's. "James Lucas Scott," he told the group, noting the surprised look on his brother's face.
Brooke, Haley, and Peyton quickly started up a conversation on what a cute name it was, with Peyton saying she would make a sign for baby James's bedroom with his name on it. Most of the artwork in his nursery had been done by Peyton, while Lucas, Nathan, and Jake had put together the furniture. Brooke had made the bedding and curtains and even designed a few outfits she couldn't wait to put baby James in.
Jake and Nathan had started up a conversation about basketball and hadn't noticed the look on Lucas's face. It was Finn's voice he heard through the haze clouding his mind.
"Lucas?" his cousin questioned. She'd tapped Brooke on the shoulder and the brunette had stood, thinking Finn needed to use the restroom, and had ended up just trading places with her. Brooke smiled at Finn as she realized the short blond just wanted to talk to her cousin.
Lucas turned his gaze to Finn and knew she must be wondering why he didn't seem happy with the news- it wasn't that he wasn't thrilled by the idea of having his nephew named after him, it was just that it was a little unexpected, and had made him think back to how just two years ago he and Nathan had hated one another. With a shake of his head, Lucas explained, "I just didn't expect it, that's all."
His cousin arched a brow and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," he said with a little shrug. "I'm really happy about it, though- it's cool. It's just… Up until Nathan and Haley started dating and I joined the basketball team, Nathan and I… well, we pretty much despised one another. That was only a couple of years ago- and, while sometimes it feels like all of that happened forever ago and all of us," he motioned to the happily chattering group surrounding them, "have been friends, it still amazes me sometimes how so much can change in so little time- two years ago, Nathan never would have considered naming his son after me," he said with a genuine smile, proud to be able to share his name with his nephew and proud of what his relationship with his brother had evolved into.
"Really?" Finn asked, shocked by the information. Though she hadn't known them very long, or seen them interact much, even she could see that the two brothers thought highly of one another and loved each other. She couldn't imagine that they'd ever hated each other.
But Lucas bobbed his head in affirmation, leaving Finn completely baffled- and intrigued. "Why not- I mean, do you mind telling me? Because you don't have to," she hastened to add, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
"You know we're half-brothers, right?" Lucas started, mentally configuring what he was going to say to explain the way things had been for years to his cousin. When she nodded, he went on with his story. "Well, we didn't, not until we were eight. I grew up resenting Nathan because our father had chosen him and Deb over me and my mom. As I got older, I didn't feel so bad for myself, because I'd had Keith," he paused, feeling a wealth of sadness once again that he'd had Keith in his life and Finn hadn't, "but I felt bad that Dan had hurt my mom that way. I wanted to make Dan realize that he'd made a mistake walking out on her.
"Nathan hated me for a bunch of reasons, too- Dan's not the nicest guy in the world, in fact he's pretty much just as far from it as you can get. And he's always pushed Nathan into playing basketball, pushing him so hard that back when Nathan and I were first really starting to get along a month or so after I joined the team, Nate took some amphetamines to improve his game so that he could beat one of Dan's records and ended up passing out on the court. He had to deal with that pressure all of his life- and I didn't. But as Dan's son, I should have.
"Plus, for years, Nathan had thought he was Dan's oldest son- his only son- and then, BAM!, he found out he wasn't. That was pretty hard for an eight-year-old kid to deal with. And Dan never wanted us to get along, either, so he fed that confusion and anger and helped twist it into hatred."
With wide eyes, Finn said, "But that changed. I can see that the two of you are really close and that you love each other. It's not like it used to be." The mention that he'd had Keith in his life didn't go unnoticed by Finn, but she'd expected that her father had been a part of both Luke and Nate's lives all along, but now she was confused as to why he hadn't been in Nathan's life.
Lucas nodded, grinning as he thought back to the Pinkerton game and how Whitey had made them walk thirty miles back to Tree Hill, and everything that had happened that night. That was the night he and his brother had started to understand one another.
"I've always played basketball, but I never joined any of the teams at school- and, since I was eight, I haven't joined a community league either, because that's how I found out about Dan and Nathan," Lucas continued his tale, "and one day Uncle Keith went and talked to Whitey- that's the coach of the Ravens, the Tree Hill varsity basketball team- and asked him to give me a shot. At first, Whitey and I were both more than a little reluctant, given all of the issues between Dan and Keith and Nathan and I, but I ended up joining.
"It wasn't easy, or pretty, and for a while Nathan and his friends on the team made my life a living hell, and then Haley started tutoring Nathan. At first, she made this deal with him that he had to lay off me since she was helping him, but then they ended up falling for each other- I wasn't thrilled with that by a long shot because I was sure Nathan was going to hurt her. After a while, I began to see that she was really happy with him, and I was glad, because Hales and I have been best friends since we were little kids. She's like a daughter to my mom, and I've always considered her to be my sister. I wanted her to be happy, but I hated seeing that it was Nathan of all people that she was so in love with.
"Nathan wasn't exactly happy, either, with the fact that Hales and I were such good friends and that he would sometimes get ditched so she could hang out with me. We finally figured out that if we wanted to keep Hales in our lives, we were going to have to accept each other's presence in our lives, too. So, we became… I don't know, not friends but not enemies. Acquaintances, I guess you could say. Which led to friendship… which led to brotherhood- and him and Haley naming their baby after me. All in about two years… "
By the time he'd finished, Finn understood the shock she'd seen on Lucas's face, but she was immensely glad that things had worked out. She was thrilled that her cousins had worked out their differences and made amends- she'd always wanted siblings and couldn't imagine hating them like Nathan and Lucas had hated each other.
"It's a good thing that Nathan and Haley fell in love, then," she said with a smile. "Otherwise, Nathan and his friends probably would have just kept hazing you and you might have quit the team- which would have been very sad. This way, though, the two of you were forced to put aside your differences or lose Haley."
Because he couldn't disagree with that statement, Lucas nodded. "Yeah- and I'm glad for it all now. They really love each other. They've had their ups and downs, but they make it work. I'm happy they found each other, and I'm really glad Hales helped Nate and I get to this point. I have a really great brother, and it's nice to be able to say that- it's nice to know it."
Finn gave a thoughtful nod in reply, then thought back to how Lucas had mentioned problems between his father and hers, and asked, "Why wasn't my dad a part of Nathan's life, Lucas?"
With a heavy sigh, uncertain as to how Finn would react to this, and feeling guiltier by the second that Keith had been a dad to him all those years and not to his own daughter, Lucas said, "When Dan walked away from my mom when she was pregnant with me to go to college and play basketball, Uncle Keith stepped in- he was pretty much my dad, and that caused a lot of issues between him and Dan. Dan wanted me out of his life completely, and Keith kept that from happening. But Keith loved my mom and he loved me- he taught me how to fish and how to ride a bike and how to drive. He helped me learn to read and made me feel better when I was sick. I could talk to him about anything and everything- and I did. I think Dan resented that, even though he didn't want to be a part of my life, because he didn't think that Keith should get to do all of those things with me. It made things between Nathan and Uncle Keith difficult, and not just because of Dan but because of me. But once Nate and I started to get along more, Uncle Keith became a bigger part of Nate's life."
Finn could feel her eyes swelling with tears once more and cursed the emotional rollercoaster she'd hopped on today as she said, "He wouldn't have walked away from my mom and me."
It wasn't a statement, and they both knew it. It made Finn even angrier with her mother for taking her away from her dad and from her cousins. Finn noticed the nervousness glinting in Lucas's blue eyes and gave him a watery smile. "It wasn't your fault that you got to have him as a dad and I didn't, Lucas. My mom should have given my dad the option to be a part of my life and she didn't. And I…" She gulped in a breath of much-needed air and let a few tears slide down her cheeks. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive her for that, Lucas."
Grateful that she didn't hate him and that she was still there, allowing him to be a part of her life, Lucas reached wrapped his arm around her in a one-armed hug and squeezed her tightly. "It's okay to be upset with her, Finn- hell, I'm upset with her for taking that opportunity away from Uncle Keith, and for keeping you away from me. It would have been nice to have grown up with you. And maybe one day you will forgive her- or maybe you won't. But I promise you that Nathan, Haley, little baby James, our little brother or sister, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Jenny, Deb, and I will always be here for you from now on and make-up for all the years we lost- and we'll make sure you hear all about your dad, okay?"
Finn could only nod and hold Lucas tighter, elated by his pledge.
