I totally regret not making Chapter 9 a lot longer, but oh well, I'm making up for it now!!
Thanks for all reviews, I want you guys to know that I do indeed read them and take them into very careful consideration when I'm in writing mode.
I also intended this to be surgery chapter, but it doesn't look like it. I am writing this story as I go at this point. I did have many notes for the early chapters, but now it's as the ideas come in, and me relying on my knowledge to place things together.
Also, after my submission of Chapter 9, I got a quite a bit of Lucas hate mail. I'm glad my writing is making you all so passionate!
-Choco
Chapter Ten
Peyton tapped on Ella's bedroom door lightly. Upon hearing no answer, she slowly peeked her head inside.
Ella was lying curled up in a ball atop the white duvae cover adorning her bed. All she could see was her daughter's curly yet slightly wavy golden hair, hiding her tear drenched face, but failing to omit the cries and loud sniffles that, despite being muffled by the fluffy pillow, could still be heard.
She didn't lift her head when she felt the bed dip down when her mother sat cross-legged next to her, immediately rubbing comforting circles on her back. She always did it in the same pattern, first placing her hand gently on her upper back, then going circular in a downward stroke, then back up again. Whether it was to ease her discomfort, cheer her up, or to lead her to sleep, it usually always did the trick.
Ella turned her head towards her mother, which was red from all the tear shedding. Her eyes were blurred and blotchy, and there was even snot coming down from her nose.
Seeing her daughter like this was exactly what Peyton didn't want.
She gently moved Ella's damp stray curl away from her forehead, whispering to her as she did so. "Come on, baby. Shh. Don't cry."
"Daddy's so m-mean t-to m-me!" She blubbered, stuttering over her own innocent words as they left her mouth, tears running down her face and lips as they parted to speak. She leaned into her mother's chest, soaking her shirt.
Peyton wrapped her arms around the small body seeking serenity in hers, kissing the top of her head. "I know, he was mean. But he didn't mean it. He was just really upset," Peyton explained delicately, wiping the tears that still fell from the green eyes concealed in her shirt fabric. She moved her head back slightly to look at her, brushing that stubborn curl behind her ear once more. "but he loves you. You know that, right?"
What Ella said next nearly broke her heart. "No, he doesn't!!"
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Lucas found himself testing out the basketball hoop in the backyard, hoping to let off some steam. He enjoyed the one of a kind feeling of the ball in his palm, the small bumps rubbing against his fingers. He closed his eyes to listen to the the therapeutic thump of the ball against the concrete, and the gentle swish when his prized object gracefully fell into the net.
Although what he was creating through his movement and skill wasn't as magical as it was on the River Court back home, it was good enough for him.
Throughout all of his young life, basketball was the only thing Lucas was able to make sense of. There were no questions, no arguments. There were no suppressed feelings and conflicted hearts. There was no confusion. It was just simple. He shoots the ball, and it goes in. It's so fluid that he doesn't even have to think about it.
Those moments he spends in front of a basketball hoop are the instances of simplicity that he had once had as a young boy. He only realizes now that he took advantage of that simplicity. That innocence of the sweet, caring, and sensitive 16 year old that just grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and so eagerly wanted to belong. He wanted to believe that he mattered, and that he wasn't just a bi-product of two teenagers in love, who one night decided to prove that love to one another in the purest form in the back of a car seat one night. That he wasn't the bastard son.
He wanted to believe that he didn't just yell at his daughter. That he didn't just take all of his anger and frustration out on her. He never wanted to be that guy. The guy who yells at his kids. He had been raised in a calm and loving household, and he wanted that to be carried on.
He sunk another couple three pointers, and that's when he heard a loud buzzing sound coming from the slate bench by the stairs. It was his cell phone ringing. He jogged over to see who was calling. Nathan.
"Hello?" he asked, panting heavily.
"Dude, do you live like, in the land of no phones?" Lucas heard his younger brother's sarcastic yet concerned voice on the other line.
"What?"
"The number you gave me for the house isn't going through. I've called at least once, and Haley's called, like, three times. She's going nuts."
"Oh…" Lucas flinched. He made a mental note to fix the phone later. "Didn't we talk, like, two days ago?" Flashbacks of him slamming the phone down after his brother told him Dan's request re-entered his mind.
"That's exactly what I said. But, you know Haley."
"Yes, unfortunately." He laughed when he heard yells of protests coming from the backround, a voice he was sure to belong to his best friend.
"How's everything?"
Lucas had always been grateful of his younger brother's way of checking in with just one simple question. He didn't interrogate, or try to hound out information. He didn't pressure. He was just calm, and took whatever information he could get. With Haley, it was a totally different story.
"Fine… so far. I mean, things are a lot harder on Peyton and me than Ella."
"She's got no idea, right?"
"Well, aside from the obvious? Zero idea. And to tell you the truth, neither do I. "
"Yeah."
"So, listen…I decided to let Ella talk to Dan. On the phone."
"On the phone? Don't you think that's a little…restrictive?"
Lucas smirked. Of course his younger brother knew before he did. "Well, yeah. I know that now. I told Ella she could talk to him, but she just wanted to meet him anyway. Then I yelled at her."
"You? Yelled at her? Really?"
"I know. I'm such a dick."
"Glad you finally saw the light. How bad was it?"
"She ran upstairs crying. Then Peyton was this close to kicking my ass."
"I would've done the same thing."
Lucas chuckled. "Well I'm just glad you're not here right now, then."
"Damn right. This is my niece we're talking about here."
Lucas was always grateful that Nathan was so protective of her daughter. Although sometimes he thought he was protective enough for the both of them. "Yeah. You think I'm doing right with this Dan thing?"
"Do what you think is best."
One of the best things about Nathan was that he never gave the right answer, and he never gave the wrong one. That was for Lucas to figure out. Although, at times, that was exactly what was so frustrating.
"Thanks. Everything good with you?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. We're actually going to head down to Atlanta to visit Haley's parents for a few days. They're begging to see the boys."
"Tell them we say hello, will ya?
"Sure thing, bro. Alright. Haley's practically attacking me for the phone. But you know if you need anything at all, just call us, okay? We love you."
Lucas smiled. "We love you, too."
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line, Lucas hearing Nathan's "ow!" as he handed the phone over.
"Lucas! How are you? And Ella? And Peyton?"
He laughed. "Hey, Hales."
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"Oh, Ella. That's not true. That's not true at all. Daddy loves you very much. He'll always love you," She said this with such conviction, and looked her daughter in her watery eyes, to make sure she understood.
Ella nodded feebly. "I'm s-sorry, Momma," she sobbed, her face contorted as more tears flowed.
Peyton looked at her quizzically. "Sorry for what?"
"For m-making you and Daddy fight. N-now you're mad at him 'cause of m-me," she sobbed again, it all being propelled by her guilt.
"Sweetie. It's not because of you. He isn't being very nice, and he's very stubborn," Peyton replied, brushing the hair out of Ella's face, and by then Ella had let out a hoarse cough, from being overwhelmed by the ferocity of the tears that she leaked.
"Shh, it's okay. No more crying. You'll make me sad!" Peyton joked once more, remembering the episode at the airport. "Here, drink this," she cooed, handing Ella a glass of tap water she gathered from the bathroom sink. Ella obliged, gladly taking large sips of the soothing liquid as it tried its best to wash away the invisible strain on her throat. As she let the glass leave her lips, she coughed once more, a remaining amount of water failing to go down the right way. The water spilled from out of her lips down to her chin, which was wiped by a tissue thanks to Peyton. She then held another tissue over Ella's nose. "Blow," she told her gently, which Ella then did.
"Where's my little lioness, huh?" Peyton whispered softly to her, leaning in to tap her softly on the nose. She waited until she saw a small smile revealed itself on her daughter's face, as she remembered one of her favorite movies The Lion King.
"There she is," she told her through a smile, before she ushered her back into her arms. Ella snuggled in close to her chest, her adorable feet resting atop her mother's left thigh.
Peyton loved to be able to hold her daughter so close, memories of the times when Ella was an infant flooding her mind. The times when her whole world was bundled in a pink blanket, being lulled to sleep by the slow, tranquil movements of the white rocking chair tucked in the corner of the nursery.
Even though she was a lot bigger now, Peyton loved the fact that Ella's body could still fit within the confines of her embrace. She loved that Ella still was and would always be, the one guiding light that would be able to lead her from darkness.
Once Ella could hear the steady thump of Peyton's heartbeat resonating in her ear, she was able to close her eyes, letting her breathing labor, and her eyes dry. As she loosened up her feet slowly slipped and hung off Peyton's lap. She inhaled and let her mother's smell seep through her nostrils, a smell she was sure she would never find anywhere else. Thankfully, she would never have to look for it.
"I love you, Momma," she muttered, as her body slowly let go of all of her tension and stress she put on herself. Her eyelids fluttered open in search for the eyes that mirrored her own, and smiled when she found them.
Peyton grinned modestly. There was never another person who told her the three words 'I love you' as much as Ella did.
Not even Lucas, she was sure of it.
She said it over anything. The little things, most especially. She said it before Peyton tucked her in like she did every night. Or when she woke up in the morning. When she helped her in the bathtub. When she served her breakfast, or showed her how to draw one of her favorite cartoons. She loved when she saw her mom laugh across the room, in the midst of talking to Aunt Haley at a party. She loved how she sipped her drink, placing her lips to the rim of the glass and taking it in slowly. She loved when she watched her work at the studio, her long slender fingers pressing all the buttons and pushing all the dials, her head bobbing ever so slightly at the music she helped make. She loved how she lay stretched out on the couch, barefooted, working vigorously on a drawing. How she stood by the stove, holding a wooden spoon. How she drove in her black leather jacket, which she promised Ella she would get some day, at the front seat of her 1963 Mercury Comet, hair blowing in the wind. Or when it was times like these, when she comforted her, just rocking her in her arms to make her sadness go away. She had the best mother anyone would ask for, and she would never change that.
Peyton smiled softly. "I love you too," she whispered before leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead, swaying her gently back and forth, humming a sweet melody that her mother used to sing to her. She saw that her voice and her movements was helping Ella somehow drift to sleep, her eyes closing slowly.
"Want to take a nap?" Peyton asked her softly, stroking her blonde eyebrow with her thumb. She knew the suggestion was silly, considering it was only 10:30 in the morning and Ella had woken up from sleep two and a half hours ago. But she also knew that despite her denial, Ella only slept really well in her own bed back home.
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Lucas had decided that the basketball hoop was too low for him. He had already broken it in, being able to sink the ball in with his eyes closed, and behind his back, as well as over his head with his back facing it. He wanted a challenge, so he walked out farther from the hoop, a few feet distance from the Little House, and threw the ball as hard as he could. He didn't expect it to make it in, and he was right. He was surprised that the ball actually made it to the back board, but it just bounced off, and it was threw so hard that it made it's way back to where Lucas was, but it stopped right at the door of the Little House.
Lucas walked over to pick it up, and then, out of sudden curiosity, stepped inside the man-made house, remembering that Ella had mentioned that she was drawing something earlier. The house was musty, but it gave off a one of a kind feel. He looked toward the small table, and sure enough, crayons were scattered across the white surface. The drawing lay among it all, but it was blank. He shouldn't have, but Lucas couldn't resist flipping it over.
The drawing had one stick figure in the middle, which Lucas assumed was him, with the blonde hair and blue Raven's Basketball shirt. He was shooting a basketball into a hoop. It looked like the one in that very backyard. It was almost all colored in, and at the top was the title, in sloppy five year old handwriting: My Hero.
He smiled, and then suddenly his guilt came back full force. He had racked his brain and couldn't figure out why his daughter even looked up to him. He was childish and a coward. He didn't deserve to be admired by anyone. He guessed it was just the love she had in her heart for him, the heart of gold she got from her mom. The love that couldn't be taken away, that was innocent and true. He wanted to honor that, and be worthy of it. Because his previous actions proved he wasn't.
He gently laid the drawing back where it was, flipped over, kept from curious eyes.
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Ella shook her head vigorously, regaining a burst of energy once Peyton uttered that three letter word that all tykes hated. "No," she insisted as she wiggled herself free. "I wanna go back to my drawing," she said, her small feet hitting the floor. Soon, she was gone, bounding down the stairs. Peyton smiled and shook her head. Ella had obviously had inherited that love for art that she had, as well as Ellie. And as long as Ella wasn't drawing red stop lights and Angels of Death, Peyton was fine with that.
She took the empty cup from the night table and followed her daughter down the stairs, only to be met with an empty living room, as well as kitchen. "Is your dad outside?"
"No, I don't see him," Ella replied.
Great.
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Lucas was taking a walk, realizing he never really knew the neighborhood. One stroll to the corner and he fell in love with it. It reminded him of Tree Hill, with the little shops and restaurants. The friendly faces and little kids in their strollers, or scooters, or bicycles. It had that small town feel he thought he would never get to experience anywhere else, even though it wasn't necessarily a town. But it was the type of place where people would smile if you walked by. Where people would direct you if lost. Where they would welcome you into the neighborhood as if you'd been there all along.
He walked up one block, then took a turn to the right at the Italian Deli, passing the large pharmacy with one of those machines by the entrance that had a little racecar that you could sit in, and if you slipped a quarter into the slot it would move and play music.
He walked a little farther and passed a modest, small, local movie theater, which was closed, as it was still too early for the first showing. He regretted not being able to smell the popcorn that should've wafted through his nose.
He passed an animal clinic, then another funeral home, the second one he had seen in the same vicinity. He passed a wine shop, then a Starbucks. A couple more stores that he knew Peyton would love, and then he stopped when he found the place he was looking for.
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Peyton was making the bed in her bedroom, spreading the sheet across the mattress, meanwhile fluffing the pillows and placing them in the right place. She looked toward the night table when she heard her cell phone start to ring.
"Hey Brooke."
"Hey girly. I tried calling the number you gave me, it didn't work. Did you fake number me??"
Peyton laughed. "What? No of course not. The phone is broken." She frowned when she remembered hearing it crash against the wall as she was making her way up the stairs.
"Oh. So how are you?"
"I'm doing okay. Hoping to be able to hold on to time, but apparently that's impossible."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Yeah," Peyton breathed as she ran her hand through her hair.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine.. Luke and I have been fighting a little bit, but it's nothing I can't handle."
"What did Broody do now?"
"Ella wants to meet Dan, who's never even met her, and is dying apparently, and Lucas is freaking out. He yelled at her earlier, and then she started crying."
" Aww. Lucas yelled at her? Wow. He must be really pissed, huh? And seriously, Dan is dying? Isn't he like, immortal?"
"We all thought so."
"Yeah. Ugh, you won't believe what's been going on."
"What's up?"
"Vic-whore-ia."
That was all Brooke needed to say for Peyton to gasp. "No! Really? What does she want??"
"I have no friggen idea. She comes in all sentimental; 'I need to know my granddaughter' like, what the fuck is that? If you wanted to get to know her you would've done it a lot sooner."
"Wow. I think I'm seeing a pattern here…" Peyton chuckled softly.
"Yeah, really."
"What are you going to do?"
"I think I'm just going to try and keep her away. I don't want her to be a part of my life, she tried so hard to distance from it already. I'm just making it easy for her."
"Well, you know I'm always here if you need me…"
"Same goes for you of course. Are you sure you don't want Natalie and me to come up there for a few days when Ella's recovering? Jullian's gonna be out of town for a few days. We'd love to come visit, and I'm always here to help."
"I know you are, but Luke and I decided that we don't want anyone in the hospital immediately afterwards, but we'll see. God, I'm scared out of my mind here," Peyton said honestly.
"We all are," Brooke rasped into the phone.
Peyton smiled, and turned her head at the sound of a soft knock at the door.
"Hey, I gotta go, I think Luke's back."
"Uh huh. Go kiss it out, you're gonna be fine. Give me all the details later. Love you, and tell Ella I miss her."
"I will. Love you too, bye." She smiled as her phone clapped shut, grateful for her best friend's one of a kind advice. She turned when the door opened, meeting her husband at the other side of the door.
His blue eyes were sympathetic, asking for her forgiveness. "Hi."
"Hi," she returned, placing the pillows atop their bed.
"We're actually in a really nice neighborhood," he commented, perhaps for the sake of conversation, or perhaps he was really struggling to find the words to say to her, and the small talk that leaked from his mouth was just a way of prolonging it.
"I bet," her voice was monotone and empty. Lucas could tell just by looking at her that she was holding back what she really wanted to say, her cheekbones more refined, her gaze fixed on her fingernails. He was going to get it eventually, so why not help her along.
"I didn't mean to yell at her," he said honestly, staying in the doorway.
And there she went.
"For the record, Ella isn't one of the guys on your basketball team who you can yell at whenever you want to. She's your daughter. What is wrong with you?"
"I'm an asshole," he said with finality. "All this crap going on with Dan that should've ended I don't know how many years ago when he finally turned himself in to go to prison. But instead it just keeps coming, and I don't know what to do anymore. He's done enough damage to me and my family. I'm going to do whatever I can to prevent it now. Is that so hard to understand?" He asked her exasperatedly.
"It's what she wants, Lucas."
"I know that. But we can't just give her everything she wants whenever she asks for it."
"Don't you think we can? Just this once?" She pleaded. Ella's happiness was too precious for her to be lost now, so close to the wire. Just thinking about her daughter, lying on a hospital bed, her small body lost within the sheets, confined to a cast, made her tear up.
Not wanting to make her cry, the words spilled out through his lips. "I'm sorry…"
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," she bit back, glaring at him, the green eyes she possessed burning through his heart. She wiped the tray tear that fell, and then started to leave, but Lucas stepped once to the side, blocking her path, his fingers lightly holding her elbow.
"Peyton, I don't want to fight," he tells her softly.
"Neither do I. But it's too late for that." She shares a glance with him, and for a second he could see the regret in her face, but it quickly disappears as she leaves him standing alone in the room.
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Lucas approached the Little House, walking slower than normal. Surprisingly, Peyton let him off easily. This is what he was really dreading. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the white wooden door.
"Who is it?" came the voice that he loved on the other side.
"It's Daddy. Can I come in?" he asked her sweetly.
"No!"
He sighed. "Pretty please, pumpkin?" He looked through the glass windows that gave the house natural light, and pouted. He saw his daughter standing there stubbornly, and he had to blink, it was like looking at a Time Capsule. Every passing day it stunned him, just how much she was like her mom.
He saw her little body make its way to the door, and he became relieved when she opened it. "Mean people are not allowed. I'm making a sign," she stated stubbornly, showing the sign she had made, on white printer paper. Lucas couldn't help but smile slightly at her sweet innocent handwriting with the capitals mixed, one letter lower case, one letter upper case, missing a vowel or two, all in red marker.
"I know. I was mean. I want to tell you something," He knelt down so they would be eye level. "I'm sorry, pumpkin. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was really upset. And I hated to see you so sad. I don't ever want you to be sad. It hurts Daddy. I love you so much. Can you forgive me?" He asked her quietly, as if he was a young boy. He smiled a crooked smile as he tried to convince her.
All it took for Ella was the spark in her Dad's eyes when he looked at her, and the small smile he gave her as he was bent on his knees. How he brushed the stray curl from her forehead. Or when his fingers crawled up her sides threatening to tickle her, hoping it would make her laugh.
Then came the gift that all young kids possessed. The one that most people searched years for, no matter how much time they spent searching their soul, or asked questions. It was the gift to forgive.
"How much?" she asked him. He smiled. "Like this much?" she stretched her arms out a little past her waist.
Lucas shook his head. She stretched her arms out more. "How 'bout now?"
He shook his head again. She stretched her arms out as far as it was allowed. "Now??" She frowned when his head shook no yet again. "You must love me a whole lot, 'cause my arms can't stretch out anymore!" She said incredulously, and Lucas just laughed and scooped her up into his arms, spinning her around, and soon the young laugh that was music to his ears was out for all to hear.
I love you more than you'll ever know.
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"What's that?" Ella asked Lucas once he placed her back on the ground and kissed the top of her head. Her finger was pointing to a bag laying against the wall of the Little House; a bag Lucas had purposely hidden from Ella's view.
"That," Lucas looked towards it, "is a present I got for you." He grinned when her face lit up.
"Really? Something for me? What is it?!?" She asked excitedly. Ella absolutely loved presents.
Lucas chuckled. "It's a surprise. You have to find out."
Ella smiled and grabbed her father's hand, the hand that towered so well over her own, and made her feel like everything was going to be okay.
They walked together over to the bag, and sat down together on the grass. "Remember what Dr. Farrell said about sitting in a W?" Lucas warned her, when she saw her sitting in the forbidden 'W' position, putting her weight on the back of her legs, and her feet flopped to the side behind her. Dr. Farrell had strictly forbade Ella from sitting in that position, saying it was bad for her legs and their muscles.
"Always try Criss-Cross Apple Sauce," Ella recited while rolling her eyes. Frankly, she thought sitting in a W was a lot easier. Sitting cross-legged was difficult for her, the muscles along her thighs way too tight due to her spasticity that came along with having CP. It was painful to stretch her thighs so that her knees could touch the floor when sitting that way, but that was one of the things that she was working on in Physical Therapy.
"That's right," Lucas replied as he helped her sit the correct way. "Okay, now you have to close your eyes," he told her as he reached for the bag. Ella did as she was told, covering her eyes with both of her hands one on top of the other.
"No peeking," Lucas warned when he saw the small cracks that enabled Ella to see between her fingers.
"I'm not!" She insisted, closing the small gaps she had made on purpose.
"Okay," Lucas replied as he reached into the bag and brought out her surprise. He laid gently on the ground, and he smiled proudly when she opened her eyes and saw what was there.
Eloise: The Ultimate Edition lay in front of her, a considerably large book and in hardcover, with a collection of Eloise stories Lucas knew Ella actually hadn't read yet. He had decided on buying it immediately after he saw it on the shelf in the Children's Section of the quaint bookstore he stepped into while on his walk.
Ella gasped. "Eloise! Yay!! I haven't read these yet!! Thank you, thank you thank you!" she expressed her gratitude excitedly as she hugged him and leaned into his frame. "How did you know I wanted it?" She questioned him when she pulled back.
Lucas furrowed his brows. "What do you mean, 'how did I know?" I'm your Dad, of course I know!" he claimed, kissing the top of her head.
"The best Dad," Ella stated truthfully, with a smile on her face.
Lucas smiled. He didn't think Ella knew how much that meant to him.
"Momma! Look what Daddy got me!" Ella said excitedly to Peyton who was making her way towards them. She waved the book high in her arms.
Peyton smiled, putting on a brave face. "Wow! That's great babe. Did you say thank you?" She looked towards her husband sitting on the grass. who looked up at her, smiling slightly. She could tell he was full of regret and was asking for forgiveness. She saw Ella give Lucas a big hug again, and the way he gratefully wrapped his arms around her. She also saw their interaction from the deck, and how the way Lucas took his daughter into his arms. She knew how good he was with his daughter, and that just made her want to forget about the whole thing and just forgive him, the way Ella had so easily. But she wouldn't. She'd let him get away with one too many things in their time together. She was now trying to make this time count.
"I wanna read it right now!" Ella proclaimed excitedly, opening the large front cover.
Lucas intervened, putting his hand over hers as he did so. "Now, wait a minute…"
Ella looked at him, confused. "Why?" She saw nothing wrong with reading the book she was just given.
Lucas smiled sneakily. "Don't you want to speak with your Grandpa Dan first?"
Ella's eyes widened. "Really?!? You're gonna let me?!?" When?"
Lucas shrugged. "How about right now?" he asked her, as he brought the now repaired house phone from behind his back.
Peyton, who was now sitting beside him on the grass, shook her head. He was always full of surprises.
She squealed. "Yay!!" She tried to remain calm as she watched Lucas, after some consternation and struggling to remember what the number was, dialed it. Once he made sure it had gotten through, he handed the telephone over to Ella, who gladly took it and placed it on her ear.
He looked down when he felt Peyton's hand place itself atop his own, entwining their fingers and squeezing it lightly. Thank you, she mouthed, smiling gently.
He smiled as he shrugged, bringing their joined hands up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.
She didn't need to ask what made him change his mind. All that mattered was that he did, and Ella was getting her wish.
All of a sudden Ella panicked and shook her head, trying to give the phone back to her Dad.
Lucas's eyes widened. "What?!? After all this trouble you don't want to talk to him?" He asked her, only half joking.
"I don't know what to say," she responded timidly, cradling the phone in her hands.
Both Lucas and Peyton laughed. "Say 'hello,' silly," Lucas advised her gently, placing the phone back to where it was before.
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Dan Scott had been rolled the karma dice many times. When he had his first heart attack, which then turned out to be the catalyst for discovering he had HCM. When he had been drugged and left to die in a fire caused by his then wife. After he had been put in jail following false allegations that he had murdered loan shark Duante Jones (even though that was of his own doing to protect Nathan). After he had been terrorized of ghosts of his older brother Keith, and then later messages drawn in red paint on his wall, in his office and home, announcing his crime, however he had no idea of the identity of the witness. After turning himself in and therefore losing all possibility of a relationship with both of his sons, one estranged and one fathered, but confused and lost none the less. Not to mention the love of his life, who declared her hatred for him when she visited him in his jail cell. After he found out he was in dire need of a heart transplant, just subsequent to when he was granted parole.
He thought, if not his family, but God, had finally forgiven him for his sins, when, after countless days of waiting for that purple beeper to vibrate, he had been granted a new heart. He thought almost all was right in his world, when he was able to breathe and walk and smile, patrolling the streets of Tree Hill, inside and out, a new man. But then nothing compared to the roll he got this time, when it was discovered that his new heart was failing him.
He knew deep down there was nothing he could do anymore, and settled with the fact that he was finally going to die. He had gained realization that he had to stop fooling around, and so he set out trying to gain redemption once again.
He knew his only granddaughter was out there, brilliant and sweet and innocent but tough and savvy at the same time. He knew she had been born with Cerebral Palsy, when he found out his heart broke into a million pieces. He begged Nathan and Haley to tell him something, anything. He didn't need to see any pictures. He already saw in his heart that she was the most beautiful, brave, and courageous little girl in the whole world. And yet, the more he found out about her, that she loved reading, animals, chocolate, and the color red, the more he fell in love with her. The more he wanted to spoil her rotten and tell her stories. With every little detail, his heart ached to meet her. To hear her laugh or see her smile.
He tried, he really did. He tried to fight against Nathan's insistence that there was no way Lucas would allow Ella near Dan with a 10 foot pole. He tried to fight against the fact that his younger son had already informed his brother about Dan's request, and it had been denied. He shouldn't have been surprised. He deserved every spiteful remark, dirty look, and obscenity delivered his way. He deserved all the daggers that speared into his flawed heart.
But knowing that he would never get to know his granddaughter before his time was up, hurt like hell none the less.
So he spent the majority of his days sprawled out in the sand by his beach house, hoping the sound of the ocean and their waves would heal the shattered pieces of his broken life. Maybe even give him answers, a miracle, possibly. But all he saw was the young people, the people years after his own generation, jogging with their dogs, playing frisbee, being with the ones they love. He wanted to shout at them. Scream. Ask why they were able to live life in such frivolity, while he was forced to wake up at each dawn and remember that he was knocking at Death's Door. But for what? His chances had all run out. Or so he thought.
Dan had gotten sick of the sun, so he was lying on his oversized couch, gruffy beard and all, staring at the ceiling and realizing that the fan above his head did 147 rotations a minute. Then the phone started to ring.
He ignored it, thinking that whoever was calling was nobody important. Probably just a guy from the credit card company telling him that he was behind on payment. Dan didn't bother paying his bills on time anymore. Why should he if he was going to die soon?
But then the shrill noise in his ears was starting to give him a headache, like almost all things did now that he was a heavy drinker. So he reluctantly got off the couch and walked to the phone, glancing at the caller ID.
Out of Area, the letters deciphered.
Must be the Devil wanting to know where I've been, he thought to himself. He smirked. "I suppose I should tell him," he muttered, half joking. He picked up the cordless, pressed the TALK button and placed it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hi, Grandpa Dan!!" came a young voice.
It took him a moment to figure out who it was. The voice was innocent and sweet, caring and generous. It couldn't of been Jamie. Jamie was too old to have that voice anymore. His voice had matured over the years, while still attaining that childhood touch to it. Just not in the way it used to when he spoke of his love for basketball and how he was sure his father was going to the NBA. Matthew was far too young, he just started walking. He thought hard, and when he finally identified the voice, his eyes widened.
He fell effortlessly into the chair, struggling to find the words to speak. This had to be some kind of joke. Was it? He stayed silent, trying to process the jumbled thoughts crowding into his mind. He closed his eyes and opened them, convinced it was all a sick dream. But the voice was still there, calling his name once more when she heard no answer. He tried to open his lips, but it was like they were stuck together from all the shock. She said hello again, and Dan knew that if he didn't say something soon, he would lose her.
"Ella?" he asked quietly, all the while praying for it all to be real.
"Hi Grandpa Dan! I thought you weren't there, I almost hanged up."
Her voice was exactly like he imagined it. Only 1000 times better. He cleared his throat. "No, no I'm here. I'm so glad to hear from you." He said gently, a wide smile on his face.
"Me too! I tried talking to you before, but my Daddy wouldn't let me. He said you were real mean."
Dan chuckled softly. I wouldn't blame him, he thought. But he shoved it to the back of his mind.
"What are you doing?"
He absolutely adored the innocent way she posed the question. If he were to answer it 100 percent truthfully he would've told her that he was wallowing in misery, getting drunk and waiting to die. But he decided not to, so he thought up a quick lie. "I'm… sitting on my couch, watching television."
"Really? What's your favorite show? I love Barney. My Daddy says I'm too old to watch it anymore, but I don't care." Dan could've sworn he heard his eldest son's modest chuckle.
Dan smiled. "Barney's my number one man. But, I'm a pretty big fan of basketball these days."
"Awesome! So is my Daddy. His favorite team is the Tar Heels."
Dan laughed. "Well you tell your Daddy that the Bobcats are giving the Tar Heels a run for there money." Dan had saved all of the newspaper clippings, recorded all of the games, news reports, and SportsCenter episodes with all mention of Nathan. To say he was watching over his progress religiously was an understatement. Even after all those years, Dan had no doubt in his mind that Nathan would make his dreams come true. And he had never been more proud of him.
"I will! Guess what?"
"What?"
"I'm in New York City. I hav'ta get surgery on my legs."
"I know, I heard all about it. But you're going to be okay. Just remember to be really, really brave, and you'll be as good as new in no time."
"Yeah, that's what my Dad says."
"Your Dad is a smart man," Dan stated truthfully. One of his biggest regrets, to this day, was abandoning his son and not sticking around to be a bigger part in his life.
"I know."
"You know, I've had one of those once. Now I've got a real big scar where the Doctors fixed me."
"Really? Do you think I'm gonna have one?"
"I think so," he told her. He had no idea concerning the procedure she was going to undergo in days time, and of course he saw no use in asking her. Wanting to discuss something much less morbid, he changed the subject. "What are your favorite things to do?"
All those speculations about being a reader, a lover of chocolate and animals, and wanting to explore became true as she answered his question. And soon when she told him that one of her favorite books was Eloise, how her favorite color was red, and how one of her biggest wishes was to get a dog and name it Spot, he finally started to cry. Hard. He did nothing to wipe the tears away, letting them fall down his face and soak the collar of his shirt. Because finally, after drowning in Scotch, and becoming numb, he allowed himself to just feel something again. Even if it was sadness and devastation, in the midst of talking to a grandchild he wasn't sure if he was ever going to meet. Or maybe, it was happiness at the prospect of talking to her, and confirming his true belief that she existed.
"Don't be sad, Grandpa Dan. Why are you sad?
He forced himself to quieten his sobs by biting hard into the side of his hand, shutting his eyes tightly before answering. Taking a deep breath, he said: "I'm so glad you called."
"I am too. I wish we could meet soon. I miss you."
He kept crying, quietly so she wouldn't hear him this time. "I miss you too, sweetheart. And maybe…" he paused, his emotions getting the best of him. "maybe we could see each other someday," he choked, wiping the back of his wrist across his face.
"I hope so. That would be the best thing ever!"
Dan laughed. "You have no idea." Dan heard nothing for a few moments, and he gathered that she was being spoken to at the other end.
"Aww, I have to go now. But do you promise we will talk again?"
Dan was hesitant, wishing there was someway he could keep Ella on the line. But he knew better than that. "I promise," he spoke firmly, and he knew all too well that those two words were meant for her and himself.
"Yay! Oh, and Grandpa Dan?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
How she could love him, he had no idea. But that was it. He was surely going to go into overload, and he had to get off the phone soon before he scared her with his sobs. "I love you too." He managed, the tears returning.
"Bye!"
"Bye bye now," he said softly, clinging onto the phone for dear life. But then he couldn't hear her voice anymore, and she was gone. The click on the other end just made it final. It was all over. He placed the phone back on its base and started to sob, harder than he had in a very long time.
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Now that everyone was forgiven, well almost everyone, the beautiful clear day heightened everyone's desire to go outside, so they all decided they would head out to the local park. Peyton went upstairs with Ella to help get her ready, and Lucas was about to be in their footsteps to take a quick shower, when he heard a rapid succession of knocks at the front door.
He racked his brain trying to figure out who it could be. Nathan and Haley were about to head out to Atlanta, and as far as he knew Brooke was in Tree Hill trying to fight off her mother. Besides there was no way she'd make it to New York. in that short of a time. None of them could.
The rapid knocks continued, as if the deliverer couldn't stand to wait. "Alright already," Lucas mumbled, annoyed.
When he reached the door and pulled it open, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What are you doing here?!?"
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A surprise visitor? Who do you think it is? Feel free to guess! Let me know what you think.
P.S. Writing this is a GREAT distraction after watching the finale last week… it hurts to think of One Tree Hill's Season 7 without LP. I was dissapointed with their send off, I would have loved to see all the goodbyes. But at the same time, I am thrilled with their happy ending. Their baby girl owns my heart=] (Not really, but she's SO cute!!!!!)
I hoped you liked it, sorry for the long wait, again, I write this as I go, none of it is pre-written.