Chapter Nine: Burn
"Hey babe, it's me. I'm just calling you to let you know I landed safely and I'm headed to the hospital now. I know it's late but I just wanted you to know I'm okay and I can't wait to see you when you get here in a few hours. I love you. Bye." She smiled to herself in the back of the cab she was riding in as she shut her phone. Nathan had called while she was on the plane and left a message telling her what room number and floor he and Haley were on and said she should get there as soon as she could since Haley was moving faster than expected.
Upon arriving at the hospital, she thanked the cab driver, paid him way more than she needed to, grabbed her bag and hurried to the front entrance. The elevator ride seemed to take forever but when it finally dinged alerting her she had arrived at the seventeenth floor, she smiled before stepping into the hallway. "Nate!" She called when she saw him pacing in the hallway.
"Hey!" He smiled as he ran over to hug her. "You got here pretty fast."
She grinned. "Well I didn't really have time to react. One minute I'm making dinner for me and Julian and the next thing I know he's pushing me out the door telling me its time. How's she doing?" She asked as he led her toward Haley's room.
Nathan shrugged. "She's doing all right." He replied as he pushed open the door.
"Brooke!" Haley exclaimed when she saw her. "You made it!"
She dropped her bag on one of the chairs before walking over to Haley and hugging her. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world." She smiled. "You weren't supposed to be early though."
Haley opened her mouth to answer but instead she reached for Brooke's hand and squeezed it as a wave of pain ricocheted through her body. Once it ended she smiled at Brooke. "Thanks."
Brooke squeezed her hand back. "No problem."
Haley sighed as she shifted her position in the bed. "It wasn't up to me, she wants out." She said as she placed one hand on her belly. "Besides, its only two weeks early and you're here now as apposed to March. Where's the boyfriend?"
Brooke sank down into one of the chairs beside Nathan. "He's flying out first thing in the morning. We both couldn't just up and leave so he stayed behind so he could get Megan situated and the apartment in some sort of order before leaving. He's going to call when he lands so I can meet him at the airport."
Nathan opened his mouth to ask Haley something but stopped when he saw their doctor walk in. "I'm just going to see how things are going, okay?" She asked Haley as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Well it seems like she's not coming as fast as we originally thought. You're still at only four centimeters." The doctor said as she tossed her gloves into the trashcan before walking back toward the door. "I'll be back in about an hour to check again."
Haley groaned. "Well you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. You heard the doctor, things are getting slow again. Go home, take a shower and let Sam and your mom know you're back home."
Brooke looked over at Nathan who nodded. "Are you guys sure?"
"Haley was in labor with Jamie for almost thirty-six hours," Nathan said as he shook his head and reached for his wife's hand. "She's only been in labor with this one for about five hours, we have plenty of time before her birth."
Brooke nodded as she stood up. "Okay, but the second anything changes or happens you call me, okay?" Both Haley and Nathan nodded. "Do you want me to bring Jamie back with me? Let Lucas know, anything like that?"
Nathan shook his head. "Jamie's with Skills so I'm sure he's having a blast and would much rather be there than here waiting for his baby sister to be born. Would you mind picking Luke up and bringing him with you when you come back? I couldn't get a hold of him to let him know it was time."
"Of course. We should be back in a few hours but remember, if anything happens call me."
"We will." Haley assured her as she watched her walk out of the room.
--
As she walked out of the hospital, Brooke glanced down at her cell phone and noticed she had a new voicemail. She smiled to herself when she heard his voice. "Hey baby, it's me. Listen, I know I said I'd fly out tomorrow morning but I couldn't wait that long so I jumped on the next plane to North Carolina right after you. I have some bad news for you though, Megan insisted on coming with me. Please don't hate me, Brooke, but I didn't know what else to do. We landed about an hour ago and right now we're sitting in the parking lot waiting for the rental car. I'm going to drop her off at the hotel and then meet you at the hospital and we can talk. I love you and I'll see you soon." Once the voicemail ended, a scowl had replaced the smile. Nathan had given her the keys to his car so she wouldn't have to take a taxi home but instead of turning right out of the parking lot in the direction of her house, she turned left.
She banged incessantly on the door until he finally answered.
"Brooke," He said groggily as he squinted in the bright sunshine. "What are you doing here?"
"Dragging your drunk ass to the hospital in time for your niece's birth." She said as she pushed an extremely hung over Lucas to the side who only had on a pair of boxers. "Luke, it's a mess in here." She said as she glanced around his apartment.
He brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed as he stumbled behind her. She was right, there were empty beer bottles everywhere, piles of dirty clothes all over the place, dozens of to-go boxes strewn across the apartment some still with food inside that was beginning to turn to mold. He took the pair of jeans and shirt she handed him and began to get dressed. "You need to stop doing this to yourself." She said as she grabbed a trash bag from underneath the counter and began to toss everything in it.
"You don't understand." He said as he buttoned his shirt.
She dropped the bag to her side and stared at him. "I don't understand? Lucas, I know better than anyone else how much life sucks. It took me a long time to figure out that no one can make my life better unless I'm willing to change it myself. We all have our shitty moments but the longer you dwell in them the harder it is to get back to normal. Don't do this to yourself, Luke." She begged as she returned to cleaning off the coffee table.
To her surprise, he began to help her as he handed her three Styrofoam containers. "How'd you know I was drunk?" He asked softly.
She reached for an empty beer bottle and tossed it in the bag before turning to look at him. "I know you a lot better than you think I do." She simply shrugged. "I know how you deal when things get hard, I know where you go when you feel like the world is closing in on you, I know that when it feels like nothing is ever going to go in your favor again you try your hardest to avoid everyone and everything so you won't let anyone down. Contrary to popular belief, I know you Lucas."
He was about to respond but he got cut off when he heard her phone ring. "It's Nate." She said as she glanced down at it before answering. She was on the phone for less then ten seconds before hanging up. "C'mon, we have to go." She said as she reached for his hand and dragged him out of the apartment.
--
By the time Brooke and Lucas had reached the seventeenth floor, both their hearts were beating rapidly with anticipation. Nathan hadn't said much on the phone, just that she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Again, when the elevator doors opened, Brooke saw Nathan pacing in the hallway. "Hey!" She shouted as they ran toward him. "Why aren't you in with Haley?"
Nathan looked over at Lucas and could smell the booze radiating off him. He shook his head in disgust before turning back to Brooke. "It's not time—"
"Then why did you call me telling me—"
Nathan took her hands into his cutting her off. "There's been an accident." He said.
Brooke paled. "Sam."
Nathan shook his head. "Sam's fine. It's Julian."
She stared at him in confusion. "He just called and left a message an hour ago," She said as she shook her head. "He landed and he's going to meet me here soon. He's okay there's no way he was in an accident."
"I was down on the first floor getting a bite to eat in the cafeteria when all of the doctors jumped up from the tables and ran toward the emergency room entrance. I followed them, Brooke. I saw him on the stretcher." He said sadly.
Tears pooled in her eyes. "He's okay though, right?"
Nathan shrugged. "They wouldn't tell me anything since I barely know him. That's why I called you."
She nodded as she stared at the floor. All of a sudden, her head whipped up. "Did you see Megan?" She asked.
"I just saw Julian, Brooke." He answered before turning his attention toward his brother. "Take her down to the front desk to see Julian."
Lucas nodded and reached for Brooke's hand. "C'mon, Brooke." He said softly.
"Tell Haley I'm sorry." She called to Nathan who was walking back toward his wife's room.
He nodded. "She understands."
--
"I'm here for Julian Baker?" Brooke said uneasily once she and Lucas were at the front desk. "He's my boyfriend."
The receptionist glanced over at the computer screen and began typing frantically. She looked up at Brooke through her glasses and smiled weakly. "He's in surgery right now." She replied.
Brooke felt like she was going to collapse. Lucas sensed it and as her knees gave out he caught her before she hit the floor. The receptionist immediately stood and hurried around the desk to help Lucas bring her into the waiting room.
"I'm fine," Brooke protested minutes later once she came to. "I just collapsed."
Lucas shook his head. "You're not fine." He said as he handed her a glass of water.
"Wouldn't you get dizzy and faint if you found out Connor had been in an accident and all of a sudden got whisked into surgery?" She asked.
He nodded his head in agreement.
"See?" She shrugged. "It's no big deal."
Lucas leaned back in his chair. "You say that all the time."
"Me fainting really isn't a big deal compared to my boyfriend in surgery!" She exclaimed. "My problems aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, Luke. I'm really no big deal. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find out what happened to Julian that required surgery." She huffed.
He watched as she slowly got up out of the chair, stood for a few seconds to make sure she wasn't going to collapse and walk toward the receptionist desk. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Hi," She smiled. "I was just wondering if you could tell me what happened to Julian Baker this afternoon."
The receptionist smiled back and asked if she was sure she was okay to which Brooke responded she was. She frantically typed on the keyboard again before turning her attention back to a half-smiling Brooke. "It says here that he was involved in a car accident. There were two occupants in the vehicle and the other occupant sustained severe third degree burns covering eighty percent of her body. Your boyfriend suffered a severe head trauma and…" She trailed off when she saw how pale Brooke had become. The receptionist stood up and waved Lucas over who was by her side in seconds. He lifted her into his arms and followed the receptionist into one of the rooms where he lay her down on the bed. "Go find out what happened to them." She said to Lucas as she pulled the hospital blanket up to her chin.
"What happened?" He asked.
"There was a car accident this afternoon. Paramedics said that Julian was driving and there was a female passenger in the car and it had somehow crashed through one of the barriers on Riker's Hill before exploding into flames." She stopped. "A good samaritan was able to stop and he pulled Julian out of the car first and then went back to get the female passenger. Both were alive when they arrived here but I'm not sure they'll survive. Your friend's boyfriend is in surgery right now because a piece of metal from the car pierced through his abdomen when the car tumbled down into the ravine so he lost a substantial amount of blood. I'm so sorry."
Lucas shook his head in disbelief. "Thanks." He mumbled before returning to the room Brooke was currently occupying.
About an hour later the receptionist popped her head into her room. "Julian's out of surgery now if you'd like to see him." She said.
Brooke nodded and sat up before getting out of the bed. She and Lucas walked behind the receptionist but as they approached Julian's room, Brooke reached for Lucas' hand. Waiting outside of Julian's room was one of the doctors who had operated on him. "My name is Dr. Walker." He said introducing himself. "Due to the severe head trauma Mr. Baker experienced in the accident he's been unconscious ever since paramedics arrived at the scene. It may take a few hours for him to wake up or it could take a few weeks but there's also a chance he won't wake up. I know it's a lot to take in right now but I just wanted you to be aware of Mr. Baker's state. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask a nurse to page me, okay?"
Brooke nodded as she fought back tears as she watched Dr. Walker turn and leave. She inhaled deeply before pushing the door open. Lucas let go of her hand as she cautiously walked into the room while he hung back for a moment. "Hey handsome." She said as she reached for Julian's hand. "I'm here."
A few minutes later she turned toward the door and motioned for Lucas to come in and join her. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours and he was growing very uncomfortable. "Want me to call your mom and Sam? I could call Peyton if you'd like? Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked.
Brooke smiled at him. "You'd call Peyton for me?"
He laughed softly. "I'd do anything for you."
She looked over at him with a stunned expression, which made him instantly regret his last comment. "I'm sorry." He muttered as he stood up to leave.
She reached out for his arm and stopped him. "Call my mom for me." She said.
He nodded before digging into his pocket and retrieving his cell phone. "I can do that."
"Brooke?" The nurse said quietly as she entered Julian's room. "Megan is asking for you."
She glanced over at Lucas who nodded as he continued to dial Victoria's number. "I'll stay here with him."
Brooke and the nurse walked down the hallway in silence. "Don't be afraid when you go in there. She's struggling to stay alive, I don't think she has much time." The nurse said sadly when they arrived at Megan's room. "Whenever you're ready just go on in." She said before turning and walking back down the hallway. Brooke took a deep breath before opening the door only to see Megan struggling to breath with several lacerations on her face. She was thankful there was sterile gauze covering the rest of her body that had been burned in the car fire because Brooke was sure she wouldn't be able to handle it. She tried to hide the tears that were escaping her eyes when she neared Megan lying helplessly on the table. Brooke carefully reached for Megan's hand. "Hey," She whispered. "I'm here."
"Hi." Megan croaked; her eyes were closed due to the severe burns she had sustained there. "I never meant to hurt you." She said weakly in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry for how I acted."
Brooke wiped the tears from her eyes as she squeezed Megan's hand gently. "I forgive you."
"He really loves you, Brooke."
Brooke nodded. "He loved you, too." She whispered.
"I know that." She stuttered. "But not the way he loves you. You two are going to burn so bright together." Her voice became shallower and Brooke could tell speaking was becoming a struggle. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for hurting his baby; it really was his baby by the way. It was a little girl. Tell him that I made a mistake and I will always love him. Will you tell him, Brooke?"
"I'll tell him." She conceded.
"I wanted to be a good mom and I wanted him to be a good dad but I ruined it. I ruined our baby's life, my life, his life and you're life. I never meant to hurt you, Brooke." Megan continued to struggle with her words. Brooke could tell she was fighting to stay alive but third degree burns covered eighty percent of her body and there was no way she would be able to recover from that no matter how hard she fought back. She knew Megan knew that too. "Take care of him for me." Megan pleaded.
"Take care of your baby for him." Brooke chocked through her tears.
"I'm sorry." Megan repeated.
"I forgive you. It's okay. I don't blame you for anything and he's going to be okay. So don't worry. You just go ahead and go," She said softly as she stroked Megan's hand. "You can let go now…go ahead and go…just go." Brooke felt warm tears cascade down her face when the monitor beeped a steady tone signaling Megan was gone.
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