A/N: Sorry for the wait! This took forever to type up and get just right. I'm still not sure if it's right though. Hope you like it though! Please Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill

Chapter Eleven: Breaking and Entering in Your Own House

"Coffee?" Karen asked to the sleep deprived man slouched over her café's counter. He simply nodded his head without looking up. "Rough night?"

"Haley wouldn't stop talking," he said, the exhaustion evident in his voice, "And I don't mean like normal Haley rambling because that usually trails off. She spent all night bitching about Lucas, worrying about Peyton and feeling bad for Jake. She must have come up with every single scenario possible for what was going to happen. Finally I just told her that it was none of our damn business what happens with them. She got so mad she pushed me off the bed and I spent the rest of the night being lectured about my insensitivity."

"Oh, Nathan," Karen sighed pouring a tall cup of coffee. He took a big swig and put the mug down.

"Am I totally wrong?" Nathan wondered.

"No. You're just married to Haley. You should expect it. She likes to meddle."

"Yeah well I'm tired of meddling. I just want to sit back and let Peyton figure out her own life. Plus she keeps wanting to get Peyton and Lucas back together and I don't." Karen looked up at him in shock.

"What?"

"I'm sorry Karen," he said softly, "But after everything he's done I don't think he deserves Peyton's forgiveness. He just got up and left her with all those kids. It's not right."

"People make mistakes." The owner of the voice was a female, but her voice was slightly unrecognizable. Nathan turned to look at the woman. Nikki. Nathan took in her appearance. He hadn't seen her in almost ten years. She still had her long shiny black hair and she still wore too much mascara for a face that was already pretty enough without it. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a black Aerosmith t-shirt. "People get their priorities mixed up. They're blinded by fear and lust." She took a seat on the stool next to him.

"You'd know all about that wouldn't you, Nikki?" he smirked.

"Yeah I would," Nikki sighed, "But I got a second chance with Jake and Jenny. And I was much worse than Lucas. He probably deserves the chance more than I did."

"Probably," Nathan joked. Nikki glared at him and pushed his shoulder.

"Oh shut up, Nathan," Nikki chuckled. They both shared a laugh, "Do you remember the easier days? Before the kids and the broken marriages and the broken hearts."

"You mean freshman year making out in my car?"

"Yeah," Nikki reminisced. "Before Jake."

"Before Peyton."

"Before Haley. That's for sure. You were such a jackass back then."

"Yeah and you were a total tease. I couldn't even get past second base."

"I was saving myself for someone worth it."

"Jake I'm assuming?" Nikki didn't say anything, just sipped her coffee.

"He's a good man." She said finally after a good pause.

"Yeah he is."

"He deserves a girl like Peyton. It's too bad that she's going to go back to Lucas."

"You talked to her already?" Nathan asked, befuddled.

"No. I just know. It's the way all women are. We fall for the bad boys."

"Ha! Lucas isn't a bad boy!" Nathan said.

"Oh I trust your opinion. You just ooze machismo," Nikki said sarcastically.

"He's not."

"He treats her like shit. That makes him a bad boy."

"That's beside the point," Nathan said waving it off, "Peyton's not desperate enough to take him back."

"It's not being desperate. It's called following your heart," Nikki said rolling her eyes.

"She's gonna wind up with Jake. He takes good care of he."

"Care to place a bet on it?"

"We are not betting on my sister-in-law's happiness!"

"Chicken," Nikki muttered, knowing he wouldn't take it.

"Fine! You're on!" Nikki smirked at him. He had changed a lot since high school, but some things always stayed the same.

"Twenty bucks says that Peyton and Lucas are renewing their vows within the year," Nikki extended her hand, "Shake on it?" He accepted her hand.

"No way in hell that'll happen."

"We'll see, Scott," Nikki said paying for her coffee. She turned and went to leave the café.

"Hey Nikki," Nathan called. She turned around.

"What?"

"It's good to see you again."

"You too." She left and he turned to see Karen smirking at him.

"What?"

"You two had a past, then?" Karen asked.

"Not really. We just got along when we were younger," Nathan said, "Her dad and my dad both worked in cars. There were a lot of boring dinner parties. We were the only kids."

"Never saw that coming," Karen admitted.

"She's better now though then when she was a teen."

"So are you."

"Sometimes I wonder."

"You are. We all grow up. Some of us become better people. Some of us, worse."

"Which is Lucas then?" Nathan asked quietly. Karen didn't respond for a moment, just stared at her intertwined hands.

"He's trying to figure that out on his own." Nathan nodded.

"You're right."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucas trudged up the front steps of his house. Well, his wife's house at least. He had spent the night at his mother's house. He couldn't sleep a minute. The night was passed thinking about Peyton, wondering what she was doing, if she was thinking about him. He had gotten up early, showered, shaved and dressed for success. He wasn't planning to sweep her off her feet. He knew he needed to a plan. A small envelope that came in the mail that morning had given him his answer. He had checked Peyton's mail too and sure enough she had gotten the same little envelope. And with a simple phone call, he had set it all in motion.

He approached the door and contemplated knocking or ringing the bell. Instead he took out his key and tested if it still worked. It did so he softly opened the door. Was this breaking and entering? No. It was his own house. He had paid for it. The first thing he saw was their dog, Spud, asleep on the couch. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Great guard dog," he muttered.

"Daddy?" a voice from his left said. He looked and found Anna at the kitchen counter with her sister, Marissa.

"Hey girls," he said softly, "What are you two doing up by yourselves?"

"We're waiting for breakfast. Lizzie's going to make cereal." He watched as his seven year old wandered back from the pantry with a box of Cheerios in her hand. She climbed the stool and kneeled on it so she could reach the counter.

"Good morning Lizzie," he said as he entered the kitchen. She ignored him. He sighed and grabbed the box out of her hands pouring three bowls.

"I can do it myself!"

"Stubborn, like your mother." He grabbed the milk out of the fridge.

"You're mean," Elizabeth complained.

"Yeah, I'm just terrible." He slid her and her sisters a bowl of cereal each.

"I'm gonna go tell mommy…or Jake."

"Mommy or Jake?" Lucas asked raising an eyebrow, "Jake's here?"

"Yeah he sleeps with mommy," Elizabeth said nonchalantly.

"In the same bed?"

"Yep," Anna said, "Aunt Haley says it's wrong but mommy says it's totally ignorant."

"Innocent you mean?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah."

"What the hell are you doing here?" a voice screeched suddenly from the kitchen entrance. Lucas looked up and found his wife clutching her robe close over her short red silk nightgown.

"Well aren't you just looking sexy this morning," Lucas said smoothly. Peyton blushed but didn't let it affect her reaction.

"What are you doing in my house!"

"Our house, Peyt," Lucas sighed, "Our house."

"It hasn't been your house since you left, and it won't be your house for long," Peyton muttered as she stepped past him to grab some coffee. As she reached up onto the top shelf of one of the cabinets Lucas stepped behind and put his arms on either side of her trapping her there. She slowly lowered herself from the tippy-toe position feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Keep telling yourself that," Lucas whispered in her ear before placing a small kiss on her cheek. "You know you love me." Peyton turned around and looked him in the eye.

"Back off," she hissed pushing him in the chest. He held onto her hand when it touched her chest.

"Darling, don't be so mean."

"Don't call me darling. Don't walk back into my house and pretend like everything's gonna go back to normal."

"I didn't like normal, Peyton."

"I'll ask you again. What are you doing in my house?" Peyton asked softly.

"Obvious answer would be I'm staring at my wife," he whispered, "Not so obvious answer is that I'm here to inform you we're going to a wedding."

"What?"

"Bevin and Mouth sent out invitations to there wedding, and I called this morning to tell her we were going."

"You didn't," Peyton whispered, her jaw almost on the floor at the news and her eyes narrowed. Seeing their mother like this, all three girls slipped out of the room.

"She seemed awfully surprised to hear I was coming. She said you had told her when they first got engaged that I become a celibate monk in Tibet."

"She didn't pick up on the sarcasm," Peyton said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah well I talked to Mouth and he said he'd love to see us both there. And he said to tell Jake that he can still come too. Would you like me to go tell him myself? He's in my bed correct?"

"Our bed…as in Jake and mine," Peyton rubbed her forehead. Lucas glared at her.

"How's it feel sleeping next to someone else?" He couldn't help it. The words just flowed out of his mouth. The jealousy was flowing through his veins.

"I don't know. How'd it feel for you?"

"Do you love him?" Lucas asked, he was wringing his hands unconsciously. When she didn't respond, he continued. "Does he have your heart? Can he tear down those walls you build up when you've been hurt? Does his kiss make you melt? Can he-"

"No!" she yelled, cutting him off, "He's not you, ok!" Lucas stared at her as she shook violently. "Just like I wasn't Brooke." Lucas opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off. "But you know what, he's here, Luke. He holds me at night. He takes care of me." Lucas pulled the wrecked woman into his arms as she broke down into tears. Her sobs echoed in his head as silence otherwise enveloped them.

"I want to take care of you," Lucas finally whispered into her hair, breaking the deadening silence. He kissed the top of her head over and over again, his own tears rolling down his cheeks. She was too tired to push him away.

"I'm tired of you hurting me," she sobbed, "You really hurt me."

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was hurting you being here."

"You were," Peyton admitted, "But I wanted you to change. I didn't want you to leave."

"If I hadn't left, I would have never known how I really felt about you." She shook her head against his chest.

"I'm afraid of being with you, Luke. I don't think it's a good idea." Lucas pulled away from her still holding her shoulders and searched her eyes. They stood there for awhile, just trying to read each other and failing miserably. The sound of a throat being cleared broke their trance. Peyton and Lucas's eyes snapped up to Jake who was standing at the entrance way to the kitchen with J.J. in his arms. Lucas let go of Peyton's shoulders.

"I'm gonna go," he said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Peyton nodded half heartedly, and he knew her head was someplace else. He reached over and squeezed her hand, offering her a small smile.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. She smiled shyly back at him. Why was it that she believed it when he said it as opposed to when anybody else did? She watched as he slid past Jake, his eyes lingering on his son.

"Hey daddy," Anna asked running down the hall before he could exit the kitchen.

"Yeah Annie?"

"Can you take us to school?" Lucas looked up at Peyton who sighed.

"Do you want to take them?"

"I'd like to if it's all right with you."

"It's their last day before Christmas break. They only go for two hours."

"I can pick them up too then. I have the day off."

"Good then Jake, you can come with me to the doctor for J.J.'s check-up."

"Sure," Jake said quietly. They all stood there as Anna took off to gather her sisters for school. Awkward silence encompassed them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe you're at school with Anna," Lucas said as he helped Marissa out of the car. Marissa smiled at him.

"I grew up!"

"Yeah you did." Lucas sighed. He had missed so much in their life already. "Okay, Annie and Marissa," he said hugging both of them, "Be good. Don't give your teachers hell."

"Okay, daddy," they both chorused before Anna took Marissa by the hand and led her inside. Lucas turned, ready to face his sulking oldest daughter. He climbed back into his car and glanced in his rear view mirror. Elizabeth had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. When she squinted her eyes like she was doing now, she was the spitting image of him. He took a deep breath.

"So, how's school?" Lucas asked. Elizabeth looked up at him blankly. She didn't respond. Lucas shook his head.

"What are you learning?" Still nothing.

"Come on Lizzie," Lucas begged, "Tell me something."

"I'm not going to talk to you, she said firmly.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I wish I could take back the fact I left, but I can't."

"I don't care if you take it back."

"Well how long are you gonna ignore me?" Elizabeth sighed and bit her lip. She went from looking like her father to the spitting image of her mother in a moment.

"How long were you gone?"

"Eight months."

"Tell me when it's been eight months." Lucas sighed at her attitude.

"I love you Lizzie." No response.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It wastes time…And I'd rather be high…Think I'll walk me outside…And buy a rainbow smile…But be free…They're all free…So maybe tomorrow, I'll find my way home…So maybe tomorrow, I'll find my way home." The words echoed through the kitchen as she waited for her kids to come home. The song reminded her of Lucas. He had found his way home. Or at least that's what he wanted her to believe. And she slowly was starting to believe it. Her reverent silence and studying of the song was broken suddenly.

"J.J.'s down for his nap," Jake said in a low voice from the kitchen entrance. His words caused her to jump back a little. Jake had the week off and he was leaving soon to spend the day with Nikki and Jenny. He still hadn't said a word about the scene he walked in on in the kitchen that morning. They only talked about J.J.

"Thanks Jake." A pregnant pause passed where they just stared at each other. "Are you going to see Jenny and Nikki now?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded rolling up his sleeves.

"Cool. Will you be here for dinner?" Jake nodded. He went to the sink to wash J.J.'s just finished bottle. Peyton went back to her drawing.

"Hey Peyton," Jake asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to talk about what happened this morning?" Peyton sighed and stood up. She approached him as he turned off the sink and turned to face her. They now stood face to face, eye to eye.

"He just said a lot of things to me and now it seems we're going to Bevin's wedding."

"But isn't that-"

"I know. I don't think he knew that though. He probably didn't read the invitation," Peyton chuckled, "So like him." Jake shared her smile though not as enthusiastically.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Well I have to go to the wedding now. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I meant about you two."

"I don't know. I just feel like-" Peyton began, but she was cut off by the opening of the front door.

"Mommy! We're home!" Anna called. Peyton left Jake standing in the kitchen and went to greet her kids. Lucas was there too, but she chose to ignore him for now.

"Hey girls! How was school?"

"Good. We made these," Anna shoved a sparkly paper snowflake ornament into her mom's hands. Peyton stared at it. Once again, her daughter had made something that could pass for a 14 year old's art.

"This is beautiful!" Peyton said in awe.

"Look what Marissa and I made mom," Elizabeth showed Peyton her and her sister's ornaments for the tree.

"I love them all. Why don't all of you go put your ornaments on the tree." The girls nodded and ran into the living room leaving Lucas and her alone.

"So how was it?" Peyton asked, politely.

"Fine. It was nice to talk to Anna and Marissa."

"And Elizabeth?" Peyton said, quirking an eyebrow at the fact he didn't mention his eldest.

"She won't talk to me." Peyton nodded.

"She'll come around."

"I hope so." An awkward silence settled over the two of them. Lucas stared at her. She was so beautiful, inside and out. He couldn't help it when his eyes became transfixed on her lips, her hair, the curves of her face. Peyton felt his eyes on her even as she stared down at the floor.

"Listen, Lucas," Peyton said finally finding the courage to break his trance, "Bevin and Mouth's wedding is a week from Saturday."

"What?" Lucas said, his eyes snapping up from her lips to her eyes. "How's that possible? The invitations came out today."

"Those weren't invitations. They were reminders. The invitations came out two weeks after you left."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So I made an ass of myself by calling Bevin and Mouth, huh?" Peyton couldn't stop the chuckle that burst from her throat.

"Just a bit," she laughed. "But I'm sure Bevin won't mind if you come."

"What about you? Will you mind?" Lucas asked seriously. Peyton shrugged, trying to look indifferent.

"I don't care either way."

"Were you planning on taking Jake?" Lucas asked, the jealousy evident in his voice.

"No," Peyton said, trying not to smile at his jealousy, "He was going to watch the kids for me. I was supposed to let Mouth know this week."

"Well would you like me to accompany you?" Lucas asked timidly. Peyton bit her lip.

"Pick me up at four," she said.

"Ok," Lucas said, smiling from ear to ear, "Well, I should go." He quickly kissed her on the cheek before she could protest, and walked out the door. His sudden smile and kiss made her uneasy.

"This doesn't change anything, you know?" she called after him. He turned and nodded. She slowly shut the door seeing it.

"You're right, Peyton," he whispered to himself, "It changes everything."