SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dianehermans: I know, but it was necessary for the story.

Long Live BRUCAS: Yeah, I figured she deserved some. Yeah, it did.

DISCLAIMER

Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! I never meant to stay away from the story this long! I hit writer's block, which I still have, but I think I'm winding down with this one. One Tree Hill belongs to Mark Schwahn and the CW. I incorporate some season 3 and 4 plots, but the storyline is mine as are characters you don't recognize. Okay, timeline here was that it was late at night when Rachel had her accident, and now it's morning. I apologize that it wasn't made clear in the last chap how late it was.

Back at the Jagalskie home, Amanda paced around nervously. I hope that poor girl is okay, she thought to herself. The door opened and the woman hurried to meet her husband.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She made it. The doctors had to perform emergency surgery even without the consent and from what I heard, the parents were glad that they did," he answered.

"Oh, thank goodness," she sighed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Man, what a morning," he continued, rubbing his face with a hand. I'm going back to bed."

"I'll let your office know."

"Thank you." John went back to their bedroom as Amanda went to the phone and dialed a number. At their own house, Jake and Peyton were getting ready for school as Jenny sat in her hair chair, eating cheerios.

"Babe, do you mind if we drop Jenny off early this morning? I need to do something in the school library before class," Jake requested as he made sure all of his assignments were in his binders before putting them in his backpack.

"No, of course not," Peyton responded, doing the same. Then, noticing that her daughter had finished her food, gave her a second helping, which Jenny began eating.

"I swear, she has your appetite," Jake joked. Peyton threw him a look of mock-anger. Then, once they were ready, she lifted Jenny from her high chair and brought her to the car, where the young girl was placed in her car seat. Then, she started the car and they drove off. Minutes later, they arrived at her husband's parents' house. Jake got out of the car and unstrapped Jenny's car seat as Peyton grabbed the bag of Jenny's things. Then, they walked up to the door and knocked.

"Seriously?"

"Jake, the last time we just walked in, we caught your parents making out."

"Hey! I just finally got that image out of my head!" Peyton laughed as she knocked again. The door opened to reveal her mother-in-law.

"Peyton," she said in surprise.

"I know we're kind of early, sorry. Jake said-" Peyton started to say.

"It's perfectly, fine, Peyton," Amanda reassuringly interrupted, moving aside so that they could walk in.

"Did Dad already leave for work?" Jake asked.

"No, he went back to bed," Amanda answered.

"Is he not feeling well?" Peyton queried. We shouldn't leave Jenny with them if he's sick. What if she catches something? She's so little, she thought.

"He's fine. He just had a long night," Amanda told them.

"What do you mean?" the kids queried and Amanda told them what had happened.

"Whoa," they breathed.

"Never thought I'd say this, but poor Rachel," Peyton commented.

"Yes," Amanda agreed. Jenny cooed, causing the trio to smile.

"And on that note…" Jake's voice trailed off and they said their goodbyes, and Jake and Peyton went back to the car, got in, and then drove off. Once they were at Tree Hill High, Jake immediately went to the library, while Peyton went to homeroom. She pulled out a sketch pad and began drawing. As she did so, her mind wandered aimlessly, and she only half paid attention as various students came in. Presently, the teacher came in and looked at them. She didn't really care what her class did as long as they were well-behaved. She saw Peyton drawing and smiled softly before turning her gaze towards the other students. Being homeroom, there wasn't really anything for them to do. Well, at least there was some that finished up homework in the class, so she was sure some teachers were grateful for that. After that, the students went to their various classes. As he headed for his class, Lucas did a quick check to make sure he had everything he needed. When he got there, he wasn't all that surprised to see Bevin holding court with a group of her friends. He only half paid attention as he sat down and took out the things that he'd need for class.

"So, did you hear about what happened to Rachel?" he suddenly heard her ask. He looked up from what he was doing just as Brooke and Peyton walked in.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know. She just said somethin' 'bout Rachel," Lucas replied.

"Oh, yeah. John was with her at the hospital today," Peyton recalled.

"The hospital? Why? What happened?" Brook wondered.

"My dad had the news on this morning, and apparently, she was speeding and got into a really bad wreck. She's in the hospital," Bevin told them. Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton stared at one another. I didn't expect it to get around so fast, Peyton thought.

"Man…" Lucas muttered.

"That's gotta be tough," Brooke said softly. Sure, she didn't really like the girl because she was constantly hitting on her boyfriend, but it didn't mean she wanted her seriously hurt.

"Yeah," Peyton agreed in the same voice.

"What hospital is she in?" Brooke wondered.

"Tree Hill County General," Bevin answered. Then, the teacher came in and everyone sat down. As the teacher talked, Brooke started out taking notes, but soon found herself wondering about Rachel. I hope she's okay. I mean, I know she was hitting on Luke and everything and I was annoyed with her, but I never wanted her to be in the hospital, she thought to herself. She let out a sigh. Her pensive mood lasted throughout the morning as the news of Rachel's accident spread through the halls.

"Hey, is everything all right? You seem to be pretty pensive this morning," Lucas noted at lunch.

"I just can't stop thinking about Rachel. I mean, she's in that hospital all alone, no friends, and I'm not sure why I'm even caring since she kept hitting on you, and-" Brooke began to say, but then trailed off. She wasn't explaining herself very well.

"It's because you have a good heart," Lucas told her. He took her hand. "You have a goodness that's overwhelming and even if you get mad at someone, you can't help but feel for them when they're in pain because that's just who you are," he continued. Brooke groaned.

"Why can't I just hate her? That'd be simpler," she complained, causing her boyfriend to laugh.

"But it's not you, Pretty Girl." Brooke rolled her eyes. Then, "Luke…do you think…uh, how would you feel-"

"You wanna visit her after school, don't you?" She nodded.

"I'll drive." She took his hand, leaned forward, and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Thank you." Then, they went to their next class. After school, they met their friends at their lockers.

"You almost ready?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah," Brooke replied.

"Takin' her to the garage again, man?" Nathan asked.

"No. We're visiting Rachel in the hospital," Brooke answered. Everyone stared.

"You and your big heart," Peyton sighed. Only Brooke, she thought to herself. Despite her apparent shallowness, her friend was really one of the most selfless people she knew.

"Do you think it's a bad idea?" Brooke asked hesitatingly.

"For me, yes," Peyton replied. "For you, no. Do what your heart's guiding you to do, B. Davis," she continued.

"I will," Brooke replied.

"You guys want to join us?" Lucas offered.

"I'm not ready to take that step yet," Peyton declined.

"And I've gotta take Glenda her assignments," Haley responded. The others made similar excuses.

"I'll go with you." They turned to see Mouth.

"Come on," Lucas said, and the three left together. Lucas drove to the hospital. When they got there, they walked up to the desk.

"Hi. We're friends of Rachel Gatina's. Is she accepting visitors?" Lucas asked.

"Yes. It's room three-o-three," the receptionist told them and they headed for the room. Mouth knocked on the door.

"Come in," they heard her say. Mouth opened the door and Rachel stared in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here?" she wondered.