Don't Tell Me
A/N: Ok so here's a little update. It's the chapter I'm sure 99.9% of you have all been waiting to read. Ugh...I'm a HUGE tennis fan and my boy Roger Federer just lost the Australian Open final to that damn Spainard, Rafa Nadal, and because I'm absolutely devestated, I would really appreciate some nice reviews. They might lift my spirits a little bit. Anyways, I hope you like it! - Jasmine
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Hospital...
"Where'd you go?" Lucas asked his wife as she took a seat beside him in the waiting room.
"The bathroom." Peyton said as she took Anna from Lucas's arms. "And then Brooke called me so I talked to her for a while."
Lucas nodded his head in understanding. "Did you tell her what's going on?"
Peyton shook her head no. "I didn't have to. Nathan did last night. He stayed over at her house. That's why she called...she wanted to see if we were ok and to let us now that she's here if we need her for anything."
"That's good to know."
The three sat together in silence for a few more minutes before a slightly agitated Peyton finally spoke up.
"What is taking so long?" Peyton asked her husband, while gently cradling a sleeping Anna in her arms.
Lucas checked the time on his watch and shook his head. "I don't know."
"Tell me again why we came all the way out here to Wilmington to get this done?"
Lucas sighed. "Because this is the only place that would be able to give us the results by tomorrow. Besides, did you REALLY want to get this done at Tree Hill Memorial?"
"Absolutely not." Peyton said as she absent mindedly played with her daughter's dark blonde curls. "And the only time I ever want to hear that hospital's name again is in a court room. We are so suing their asses."
Lucas nodded his head in agreement.
Peyton began looking around. "Where's Nathan?"
"He sent me a text a few minutes ago telling me that he's running a little late because there was a bad accident on the highway but that he'll be here soon."
Peyton nodded, but remained silent. She turned her attention to her husband, who was staring aimlessly out of the waiting room's window.
"Where's your head at Luke?"
Lucas directed his attention toward his wife. "I just...I know Nathan told me that no matter what the results are, that he still wants everything to stay the same and that he's not going to impede but..."
Lucas's voice trailed off. He took a minute to regain himself before speaking again. "Peyton, I really...really need for this test to show that I'm Anna's father. It has to."
Peyton was about to respond, when a nurse entered into the room and walked over to the couple. "Mrs. Scott, you can bring your daughter in now."
Peyton got up from her chair and looked over at Lucas. "You coming or are you going to wait out here for Nathan?"
"I'm going to stay here."
Peyton nodded her head and she, with Anna, followed the nurse.
Lucas sat very still in his seat, staring off into space and quietly contemplating.
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"I'm coming!" Brooke yelled as she hurried to answer her door. She opened it and was surprised to see Haley standing before her.
"What are you doing here?" asked an agitated Brooke.
Haley sighed. "Nathan didn't come home last night and he isn't returning my calls. I wanted to know if you knew where he is. I---"
"He stayed here last night." Brooke said cutting her off. "And he left early this morning for Wilmington...to go and meet Lucas and Peyton at the hospital. You know...so he can do a paternity test and find out if Anna is his daughter...the possible daughter YOU never wanted him to find out about!"
"Brooke---"
"How dare you Haley?!" Brooke said interrupting once again. "You had no right to want to keep that type of information from him a secret!"
"Don't you think I know that Brooke!" Haley screamed. "I feel horrible about it!"
Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Really? Because I kind of think that you're upset because you got caught!"
Haley shook her head. "No, that's not true."
"Sure it isn't." Brooke scoffed back sarcastically.
"Brooke...I-I know what I wanted to do wasn't right, but....you don't have any idea how hard this whole thing is to deal with. Learning your husband might have a child with another woman? And not just any woman, but your close friend and his ex? It's the most devastating news a wife could hear."
Brooke sighed. "I understand that it hurts, but still...that's no excuse and you know it!"
"Alright, maybe not." Haley said growing frustrated. "But let's pretend for a second that the shoe was on the other foot."
"What do you mean?" a curious Brooke asked.
"What if it were Julian. What if you were to find out that there was a possibility that Julian may have a kid with Peyton...the girl he loved before he loved you. Would you be so quick and eager to tell him how he might possibly be bonded for life with that girl? The girl he very well might still be with right now if there were no Lucas?"
Brooke pondered for a moment before answering. "At the end of the day I would still tell Julian...partly because I know he loves ME and that the news wouldn't change that fact and more importantly because it's the right thing to do."
A doubtful Haley nodded her head. "Ok Brooke...you can keep telling yourself that if you want to, but I think what you're saying is a load of a bull and deep down I know you think so to."
Brooke and Haley stared at each other for a long while in silence before Haley eventually turned around, headed for her car and left.
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Nathan stood looking around the hospital floor before finally spotting Lucas, who was pacing about in a waiting area.
Nathan walked up to his brother. "Hey."
Lucas acknowledged Nathan's presence with a nod, but remained silent and continued pacing around the room.
"They called in Anna?" Nathan asked.
Lucas nodded. "Yeah. Peyton's with her."
"Luke, you're going to wear a hole in the floor. Why don't you sit down?"
Lucas shook his head. "I can't. I-I just..."
Nathan sighed. "I know how afraid and nervous you are about this whole thing. I am too. There's nothing I want more than for this test to prove what's been assumed up until this past week. But Luke you pacing around this room like a mad man...it's not going to change these results. So calm down...and sit. Please."
Lucas stopped moving and looked over at his brother. He nodded softly, walked over to a chair and sat down. Nathan took a seat next to him.
Lucas took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I've never been more terrified in my life than I am right now."
"I know." Nathan said nodding. "And the last thing I want to do is to put you through all of this agony, but I...I really need to know the truth."
"I get that." Lucas said to his brother. "It's just...really hard."
Nathan remained quiet, but nodded his head in understanding.
The two brothers sat together for a while in silence before Nathan flinched as he felt a vibration in his jeans pocket. He pulled out his cell and noticed it was Haley calling. He hit the ignore button and placed the cell back in his pocket.
"Haley?" Lucas asked.
Nathan nodded. "Yup."
"Have you talked to her at all since yesterday?"
Nathan shook his head. "Nope."
"Do you plan on talking to her anytime soon?"
"If I do, it will not be pretty." Nathan answered truthfully. "What she wanted to do...it's unbelievable. I...I don't see how we'll ever be able to get back what we he had after this. And if I'm being completely honest with myself right now, I don't even know if I want to."
Just then Peyton remerged into the waiting area, with Anna in her arms and the nurse following behind her.
The nurse directed her attention to Lucas and Nathan. "You two can come in now."
Both Lucas and Nathan looked over at Anna and then at each other before slowly getting up from their seats and following the nurse.
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The next morning...
Nathan slowly walked up to Lucas's front door and knocked on it gently. Within a few moments, his brother appeared before him.
"Hey...I umm...I just heard your voicemail." a nervous Nathan told Lucas. "You got the results?"
Lucas took in a deep breath. "Yeah, about an hour ago. Peyton and I...we obviously didn't look at them. We wanted to wait for you. So...why don't you come in so we can sit down and...take a look."
Nathan nodded and followed his brother inside.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Nathan asked, looking his brother up and down.
"No, did you?"
Nathan shook his head. "No."
The two entered into the living room, where Peyton sat on the couch staring intently at a sealed envelope on the coffee table in front of her. Lucas took a seat next to his wife and Nathan sat down beside Lucas.
An extremely nervous Peyton picked up the envelope. She looked over at both Lucas and Nathan, who both gave her the go a head by nodding their heads slowly. Peyton picked up the letter opener from off the table and carefully unsealed the envelope.
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"Peyton, I'm sorry it took me so long to get here." Brooke said apologetically as she entered into her best friend's home. "Is everything ok? Is there anything you need?"
Peyton nodded. "Yeah there is."
Peyton motioned for Brooke to follow her into the living room. Peyton sat down on the couch next to Lucas and motioned for Brooke to sit down in the chair across from her, Lucas and Nathan.
"Are those the results?" Brooke asked pointing to the opened envelope on the coffee table.
"Yes." said Peyton shaking her head. "I...I was able to open the envelope up but...none of us could actually take the results out of it and look at them. That's why I called you Brooke. Us three...we were hoping that you could do that for us."
Brooke opened her mouth and began shaking her head. "Oh no, I really shouldn't---"
"Please Brooke." Nathan said interrupting. "Please."
"Are you all really, really sure you want me to be the one to do this?" Brooke asked, looking at the three for confirmation.
Lucas, Peyton and Nathan all looked at each other and shook their heads yes.
Brooke nodded and picked up the opened envelope from the table. She slowly removed the contents and stared at the results. She looked up at Lucas and then her eyes shifted over to Nathan, and then Peyton before her gaze finally rested on just one of the brothers.
"It's you Nathan. You're Anna's biological father."
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Ok...so I really hope that none of you guys are mad at me right now! But please stay with me because unlike my other two stories, I know EXACTLY where I'm going with this and I promise you all you're going to love it. Anyways...the test has been taken and the results are in: Nathan is Anna's father. So...what will happen now? Will Lucas be able to get over the fact that not him, but his brother, is the biological father of the little girl he's been raising for all this time? And what do you is going on in Nathan's head right now? What about in Peyton's? It's obvious that Naley is in some serious trouble, but what about Leyton? Will they be able to get through this difficult time together or will it drive them apart? Hmm. Please review with your thoughts/comments...I greatly appreciate them all. Ok...so here are some previews for next time and beyond!
Nex time...
Lucas, Nathan and Peyton react to the news
Haley hears about the results
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And still to come...
Lucas is plagued by unpleasant dreams, while Nathan is left feeling conflicted after experiencing very similar dreams...dreams he actually finds quite pleasant.
