Disclaimer: I don't own OTH or any of its characters. I am just borrowing them

A/N: WARNING: You might need tissues. I know I did.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed for any of these chapters I greatly appreciate it. Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. The encouragements made me want to write that much faster. Thanks again

On with the chapter, I hope it is as good as you want it to be.

"Jake?" Lucas asked, "Jake!"

Jake was pulled out of the memory and looked at Lucas.

"Jake, What is going on?" Nathan asked again

Jake took a deep breath and looked around the group. "Peyton is gone"

Haley, Karen and Brooke all gasped and started crying.

"Oh god" Lucas said

"Jake, are you ok?" Andy asked

"She died…she died in my arms" Jake said as tears rolled down his face.

Andy immediately grabbed Jake and pulled him into a hug. Lucas walked between his mom and wife and put his arms around them. They both leaned against him. Brooke burying her face in his shoulder.

"She can't be gone. No" Haley said with her face buried in Nathan's chest still holding Danielle. Nathan had his arms wrapped protectively around both of them. He kissed the top of Haley's head as tears came down his face.

"She's gone" Was all Nathan could say

Lucas leaned his head against his mom's as tears came running down his face. He could feel the heavy sobs and hear the sound of the agonizing cries coming from her. Finally, she spoke, "I just lost one of my children" was all she could say before she fell to her knees and put her face to the grass.

Jenny who had watched the scene from the porch already knew what was going on. Her mom was gone and her family was hurting. She walked over to Jake and tugged on his pant leg. Jake released the hug that Andy had him in and bent down to his daughter.

"Daddy, don't cry. Mommy is in heaven"

"I know sweetie. Daddy is just sad that mommy is gone"

"I am too"

"Come here" Jenny stepped into her father's waiting arms and buried her head in his shoulder.

"We will be ok, daddy. Mommy promised" Jenny said remembering what Peyton had whispered to her last night.

The next few days were a mix of sadness and joy. There was always someone in the house with Jake and the girls. Haley and Brooke had moved their stuff there until after the funeral. They cooked, cleaned and greeted the flow of people who had come to give their respects to Jake. At night, after everyone was gone and the girls were in bed. The group would sit around the living room and talk about Peyton. Mostly about what she brought to each one of their lives. They laughed at some of things that she used to say and do. They just remembered Peyton

Friday came, the day that they were to lay Peyton to rest. The church was full to capacity. Peyton had touched many lives. Jake walked in from the back holding Danielle in his right arm and holding Jenny's hand with his left hand. Karen, Andy, Lucas carrying Jason, Brooke, Haley and Nathan followed him. The open casket at the front of the church held Peyton, Jake couldn't look at it as he took a seat at the front of the church and held Danielle in his lap. Karen sat down next to him and Jenny instantly climbed into her lap and laid her down against her shoulder. Karen closed her eyes as she rocked the child side to side.

The pastor approached the pulpit and began the service.

"Today we have come to celebrate the life and death of Peyton Sawyer Jagielski. A woman that was taken from this earth too young. A beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. The family has asked that they be given the chance to remember Peyton through several eulogies." The pastor nodded to Jake. Jake looked at Lucas.

Lucas rose from his seat, handed his son to his wife and walked towards Peyton's casket. He looked at her, looking like she was sleeping and wanted to yell 'wake up'. Instead he turned to the congregation and began, " Peyton was a wonderful person. Who will be missed dearly. Anyone who knew her back in our high school days knows that she was always the one that you could find drawing and listening to some band that I had never heard of in her room. That was the place that she could always be found when you needed her. She gave so much to so many without really ever realizing it. She was a wonderful wife and a wonderful mother and I am proud to call her my sister."

Lucas turned back towards Peyton's casket and leaned down as he whispered, "I'll miss you Peyton and I am glad that we got to share this time together. You will NEVER be forgotten. I love you, sis" Lucas kissed her cheek and walked back to sat down next to Brooke. He put his arm around her as she put her head on his shoulder.

Haley stood and walked towards the casket, but she couldn't look at Peyton. She turned around and looked at Jake. "Peyton and I didn't start out as friends, but we ended up as sisters. She has been my confident for many years. She was my shopping buddy, who told me that I could afford that $500 dress in window and that it would look dashing on me." Haley laughed, "She was there for me when times got tough and things were going crazy. When she got sick, I stepped into that role for her. The other night, I made a promise to Peyton. A promise that I intend to keep. I promised Peyton that we would all be okay and that we would help raise her two precious girls. Two girls that she loved more than life itself. She was a wonderful mother, wife and sister and she will continue to be even from heaven." Haley turned back to face the casket and whispered, " bye Peyt"

She walked back to her seat beside Nathan and sat down. Karen moved Jenny to sit on Andy's lap as she stood and walked towards Peyton's casket. She looked at the young woman that she thought of as a daughter and placed her hand on Peyton's. She brushed the tears that fell down her face. She turned away from the casket and looked towards her family. "Peyton Sawyer was the teenager girl who used to come into my café, order a cup of coffee and sit in the corner drawing. When she married Jake, she asked me to stand in as her mom. She told me that I had been her mom since the day that she walked into the café for the first time. She used to tell me, 'mom, you have more kids than just Lucas.' She was right. I have more kids than just Lucas; Peyton was one of the them. So to my daughter, Peyton, thank you for allowing me to be your mom. You will be greatly missed." Karen turned once more to look at Peyton before she walked back to her seat.

Jenny instantly climbed back into her lap. Jake stood and walked to Haley. He handed Danielle to her and walked towards the front of the church. He couldn't look at Peyton.

"Umm…" Jake couldn't do this. He felt like his whole body was going to give way. Lucas and Nathan were instantly at his sides. "It's ok. We are right here with you. So is Peyton" Nathan told Jake.

Jake looked towards his two little girls both wrapped in the arms of their aunt and grandma. He had to honor Peyton. He stood up straight and looked towards the back of the congregation. "I'm ok," He told the guys and they headed back to their seats next to their wives. "Peyton was the girl that I fell in love with the day that I officially met her. She liked me even though I had a young daughter. She helped me escape with Jenny away from my crazy ex girlfriend, never knowing if she would see me again. She took Jenny and I in when we came back to Tree Hill months later. She even helped hid Jenny when they took me to jail. She protected my daughter until I could be with her again. Finally, after all that she still agreed to become my wife and legally adopt the young girl who she had been raising as her own. Peyton was a wonderful mother to our two daughters and she was a wonderful wife to me. The night before she died, she looked at pictures with Jenny and talked, she played with Danielle and made her laugh. She was saying her final goodbyes to our children. A final goodbye that she wanted them both to remember as a happy time. Peyton deserved some much more than this life could give her, but she was happy with what she had. I will miss her and I will always love her."

Jake turned and faced the casket that held his wife. He leaned over to her and put his hand on her heart as he whispered, "You will always be in my heart no matter what. I love you Peyt. Rest in peace." Jake walked back over and sat down. Karen put her arm around the back of shoulder and whispered, "It is all going to be ok"

"Thanks Mom" Jake said as he looked at Karen

10 Minutes later the door to the church came open as Peyton was carried out. Fergie, Mouth, Skills, Lucas, Nathan and Andy held the casket tight as the carried her across to the grass to her final resting place among the trees in the middle of the cemetery.

As a new week began, things were getting back into a routine. Brooke and Haley had moved back out of Jake and Peyton's house. Haley back home and Brooke back to Karen's. Lucas and Brooke would be leaving on tomorrow. Lucas had a meeting on Wednesday that he had to attend. Jake was handling being a single parent as well as could be expected. Jake could not bring himself to sleep in his own bed however and continued to sleep in the guest room down the hallway near Danielle's room. The group had planned dinner at the café before Lucas and Brooke left and Jake knew there was something that he needed to bring with him. Something he had promised Peyton.

Jenny and Danielle were taking their afternoon nap before dinner. It was now or never Jake said to himself as he walked into the master bedroom and looked around. Nothing on Peyton's side of the room had been touched since the day that she died. Jake couldn't bear to move anything. He wanted everything to be as she left it, at least for a little while longer. Jake moved to Peyton's side of the bed and was instantly in tears. He knelt beside the bed and looked under the bed for the box. He saw it near the edge and pulled it out. When he lifted the lid, Peyton's perfume filled the room. Jake closed his eyes and enjoyed the smell that he loved so much. When Jake finally looked down, he saw a bunch of envelopes with his wife's handwriting. The one on top said 'to my darling husband'. Jake could not bring himself to read it just yet, so he lifted it out of the box and put it aside. He found the letters for Lucas, Brooke and Jason rubber banded together. Peyton must have written them at the last minute. He found ones for Haley, Nathan and two that were address to 'my unborn niece or nephew' also rubber banded together. Next, were two for Karen, one that said 'when I am gone' and another that said, 'when you need me'. There was one for Andy. All of them held together as the rest had been. There was a stack of letters for Jenny and a stack for Danielle, a letter for each milestone just as Peyton had said. There was a few stragglers at the bottom of the box, one for Skills, Fergie, Mouth and another one that said 'to my unborn niece or nephew'. Jake added that one to the pile for Lucas and Brooke. He gathered up ones for Lucas and Brooke, Nathan and Haley, and Karen and Andy. He placed them on the bed so that he would remember to grab them when he left the room.

Jake placed the letters for the girls back in the box and put it back under the bed. He picked up his letter and leaned back against the bed. He hesitated before he opened the letter.

My Dearest Husband,

If you are reading this, then I must be gone. I am sorry that I had to leave you. Jake, please remember that I love you so much, which makes this letter that much harder to write. I know that this will be something that you will hold on to for the rest of your life, the last words that I spoke to you. Thank you Jake for being a wonderful husband and a wonderful friend. You made my life so special just to have you there day in and day out. Thank you for giving me our two wonderful daughters. I pray that these next few years are not too hard for you. However, I know that you will raise our little girls just the way that we had planned. Don't forger to call Haley or Brooke or Mom when things get a little awkward for you to talk about with one of them. I promise you there will be times like that. I laugh just thinking of your face. In the end, I know that you will raise two beautiful young women and I am sorry that I will not be here to help you. Thank you for the best years of my life. I will miss you and never forget how much I love you even from beyond the grave. Promise me Jake that you will be happy. I want you to be happy and I want our children to be happy. I love you Jake.

Your loving Wife,

Peyton

Jake sat the letter down beside him and let the tears fall down his face. "I love you too Peyton. Don't worry we will be happy". Jake rose to his feet and wiped the tears from his eyes. He leaned down and picked up the letter, put it back in its envelope and placed it on Peyton's pillow. He picked up the stack of letters for everyone else as he walked out of the master bedroom towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge and saw a note on the freezer door. It was Peyton's handwriting 'What doesn't kill us makes us stronger'. Jake laughed as he closed the fridge. This would make him stronger. It would make all of them stronger.