A/N: Hi all... sorry this is up a little latter than i plan. I thought I'd have it up by yesterday but life got in the way. Anyways thanks so much toleona, fggt16, tanya2byour21, and sobreyra274 for the reviews. As long as I know people are reading I'll keep updating. The reviews really keep me motivated so I really appreciate it. FYI, I'm putting up a poll on my page for when the affair starts if you'd like the story to stay at Teen or if you'd like it to be Mature....so vote and that's where I'll take it.

Oh and if you haven't noticed yet, which I'm sure you have, every chapter has a theme song. I have a playlist for this story at imeem. If you want to hear them just put the link in your address bar.

.com/people/8VmFxDS/playlist/Oab_-zDR/right-to-be-wrong-soundtrack-music-playlist/

Anyhow, hope you like the next chapter and thanks for reading. :)

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How To Save A Life

As he goes left and you stay right.
Between the lines of fear and blame,
you begin to wonder why you came.

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend?
Somewhere along in the bitterness;
And I would have stayed up with you all night
had I known how to save a life…

*

Brooke looked over at the man now sitting beside her, trying to wrap her mind around what he could be doing in California and on the same beach as her. "So, are you going to answer me or what? What are you doing here or did you just decide to take up stalking me?"

"Three thousand miles away," Nathan shook his head and gave an ironic laugh. "I would've found someone in the same town if I was planning on stalking someone; it's usually easier that way." He paused briefly. "What are you doing here?"

"Relaxing," she sighed, "or at least I was." Her hazel green eyes met his blue. "You still haven't said what you're doing here."

He thought about giving her another evasive answer before thinking better of it, offering her the truth in one simple name. "Dean."

She immediately sat up straighter. "He's here."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I tracked his cell when he finally turned it on to Texas. I had someone on it already and they found out the number he called was to a friend who lives a few blocks from here. We have every indication that he's coming to hide out there. Now, we're just waiting for him to arrive."

"At the beach?" she raised a brow at him.

"No," he huffed. "I have a detective outside the house. He'll call as soon as there's movement."

"Nathan, are you hearing yourself here? You tapped this kid's phone, which if I can just mention to you is illegal and you've got a stakeout going on?" she looked at him as if he'd lost it. "Who are you?"

"A father who just wants justice for his little girl," he replied. "That's who I am."

"If that's true then you've shared all this with the cops," Brooke looked him straight in the eye, seeing the answer written there. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"You're one to talk about being cooperative with the cops," he shot back. "That must have been why you were so helpful before with Sam."

"Oh okay," she scoffed as she stood up. "I see we're back to that."

"Brooke," he grabbed her arm to stop her. "Do you plan on being that helpful now?" His eyes peered into hers.

"Yeah, that's what I'm going to do since Sam and I are obviously Dean's accomplishes," she snatched her arm from his grasp, turning to grab her shoes.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Nathan replied as he stood up. "Look, I know I was harsh on you and Sam…"

"You think," she interrupted with a roll of her eyes.

"But I felt like you were protecting her and she was hiding something," he continued right over her. "I know I crossed the line and maybe there is no justification for you but Liz is gone and I needed to know the truth and now that I do, I'm not going to stop until that punk pays for his crimes."

"I am so sorry that you are hurting Nathan," she sighed, suddenly feeling sympathetic, "and I wish there was something I could do to help you because I think there's been enough pain to go around." She exhaled deeply. "What Dean did was irresponsible and stupid and what he's doing now by running doesn't make it any better."

"But," he crossed his arms over his chest. "I can tell there's more so out with it Davis."

Brooke took a deep breath before continuing. "But, I see the fire in your eyes when you talk about him an it's worse than the way you looked that night I thought you were going to knock me over to get up the stairs to Sam," she shook her head. "That night, the way you looked scared me but the look in your eyes now terrifies me. Nathan, what are you going to do if you find this kid before the authorities?"

"I haven't thought that far yet," he answered.

"Really," she didn't look convinced. "I know how beautiful and bright and amazing Elizabeth was and how she touched so many people's lives because I was one of them. I loved her too and I want him to pay but if you don't get your anger under control, I'm afraid that when you find this kid, you'll do something you'll regret. Then it won't just be him or even his family that pays but yours too." She tilted her head to the side. "Can you really live with that? Can you make Jamie live with that?"

Nathan's couldn't help but let her words sink in; still no matter how persuasive she was, there was something inside of him that couldn't let this go until Dean was in custody. "Look, I appreciate your concern but next time I want your advice on how to look out for my son, I'll ask for it." He paused briefly. "Just do me the same favor you did Sam and keep your mouth shut." Nathan said before he turned and walked away.

Peyton sat next to her son on the bed; closing the book she'd just finished reading and finding him already fast asleep. She stood up and tossed the book on top of the shelf before retuning to his bedside, pulling the covers up around him tightly and kissing him on the forehead before turning out the light and exiting his room.

She made her way downstairs and found her laptop, finishing up her next article for her music review column. She loved her work because she had always been passionate about music, even when she was little but she had lacked the natural vocal gifts to pursue it professionally so she'd settled for the next best thing, music reviews and recruiting bands for the label. She wasn't sure who said it but as the saying went, those who can't do it write about it. It had been very true in her case and had given her the opportunity to do something she had enjoyed.

Peyton supposed that was why she had gone back to work so much sooner than Nathan. The way she saw it, he'd been roped into selling their coffee shops to go into the family business while she'd gone on to do something she truly enjoyed. Her work and her son were the only reasons she'd been able to keep functioning in a world without her beloved Elizabeth while Nathan apparently has nothing else to focus on but his anger, not even her. She wondered when their relations hip changed so drastically that they could no longer lean on each other for support; if it was just their reaction to Liz's death or if the chasm between them had started before.

She typed the last few lines and read over it twice before emailing it to her friend and partner Faith. She smiled as she remembered how they'd meet.

Peyton found her way to one of the empty tables near the front, listening to the ending rift of the song the band on stage was playing. She felt almost mesmerized by the music, feeling it in every nerve of her body, clapping loudly as they finished and took their break.

"They're great huh?" a woman in the next table turned towards her.

"Yeah they are," Peyton smiled at the sienna woman, thinking she couldn't be much younger than she was. "They're the kind of band my label should be signing but isn't because they'd rather sell commercial garbage."

"Tell me how you really feel," she laughed. "If it's any consolation my label just signed them although if I don't get another backer soon it will pretty much be for nothing."

"You have your own label?" her eyes glistened at the idea.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "at least for now."

"You said you have to find another backer," Peyton inquired curiously.

"Yeah, the guy…" she paused briefly. "My ex, he pulled out when we broke up. It was a collaborative project, my vision and his backing but it didn't work out." She shrugged. "So if you know anyone…" she trailed off, the humor in her voice evident.

"I just may," Peyton said seriously.

"Really?" her brown orbs looked at the blonde in shock and excitement. "You're serious about this? Who-who did you have in mind?"

"Hi," She reached her hand over the gap between their tables. "Peyton Scott."

"Faith," she took the hand she was being offered. "Faith Winslow."

And the rest had been history, although her name had changed to Faith Taggaro two years ago when she'd married. They'd gone on to also publish a music inspired newspaper called Sing On Tree Hill along with running Red Bedroom Records, a name Peyton had of course picked out when the ex had threatened to sue them over the previous one and since then, their partnership as well as their friendship had thrived. And Peyton was grateful for it; it was one of the reasons that was forcing her to live.

Peyton smiled as she got the instant message from her friend saying that she received the article, typing in a few lines before saying goodnight and signing off. As she closed the computer and made her way up to bed, Peyton just hoped Nathan would find something to motivate him to the land of the living because she wasn't sure that she'd be able to save him.

Brooke woke to a sudden pounding on her door, her eyes opening to sunlight filtering through the blinds as she turned her head before ducking under her pillow. "Go away," she belted out in a raspy cry, slightly muffled by the pillow as the pounding continued. "I don't want any!"

"Brooke," a male voice yelled from the other side of the door. "Brooke, wake up."

"Why, why, why!" she moaned as she threw the comforter and pillow off her and got out of bed. "I'm coming god," she said when the knocking continued steadily. "What?" she yelled as she threw the door open, a scowl on her face.

"That's quite a look Davis," he laughed as he stepped passed her and into her hotel room.

"Nathan?" She looked down at what she was wearing and immediately pulled her robe on, tying it closed before plopping back on the bed.

"I meant more of the hair and your facial expression but sure," he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Get dressed."

"What is with you, are you bipolar or something?" she squinted up at him. "And how did you even find out what room I was staying in or did you have your detective follow me too?"

"I called your house and spoke to Rachel," he answered. "And no, I don't think I'm bipolar but I was an ass to you again last night and after I thought about it, some of what you said made sense."

"O-kay," she drew the word at as she looked at him in disbelief. "And what brought on this change?"

"If I tell you you'll probably think I've lost it," he answered with a shrug.

"Well it's too late for that," she laughed.

"I had a dream last night about Lizzie and that's pretty much all I'm going to say," he watched her nod acceptingly. "Anyways, I think you were right about what I could do to this kid if I'm alone with him and since Peyton and Luke aren't here to stop me…"

"Well with an offer like that how could I resist?" she offered him a half smile with an eye roll as she stood up and headed towards the bathroom. "Make yourself at home while I go get dressed and call down to room service and have them bring me up a mocha double latte extra foam and what ever it is you drink. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

Sam walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she made her way to the kitchen. She blinked hard a couple times when she found Rachel standing in front of the stove; spatula in hand and there was nothing burning.

"Where the hell am I?" the brunette mumbled looking around.

"Good morning Sammy Davis Jr." Rachel lifted the skillet from the stove, dividing the eggs between the two plates on the counter before going to the microwave and pulling out a plate of bacon. She placed a few slices on a plate before sitting it on the table. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with my irresponsible can't even make toast cousin?" she sat down, staring at the plate before looking back at the red head.

"You'll notice I didn't make any toast," she laughed as she filled two cups with orange juice and sat them on the table before heading back for her plate, tossing some bacon on it and sitting down across from her younger cousin. "Well, eat already."

Sam looked hesitant at first but then took a bite of the eggs, a surprised smile on her face. "This is really good."

"Thanks," she shrugged. "I promised Brooke I'd take care of you so that's what I'm doing. Plus I met this really hot guy two moths ago and he loved making breakfast and then he'd eat it off…" she caught herself mid-thought. "Anyways, I picked up a few things. He was from South America and loved everything spicy…"

"Hence the salsa and peppers in my eggs," Sam said before taking another bite. "It's good though. Brooke doesn't even coke breakfast like this, usually it's cereal or we go to Haley's or sometimes Lucas brings some muffins or something."

"Well I'm just glad you like it," Rachel nodded before taking a bite of her bacon and chewing. "I really never got to talk to you much about the accident and everything; you're doing okay right?"

"Yeah," she nodded in between mouthfuls. "I still miss Liz you know but there's nothing I can do about that except make better choices in the future, like staying away from alcohol."

"Yeah it's probably good you learn that now instead of later like me and Brooke or never like our moms," she shook her head. "Anyways, I'm here if you need me."

"I know," the brunette nodded. "Thanks Rach."

"I feel stupid," Brooke said as she crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. "What the hell Nathan."

"We're just waiting for the cops to arrive," he replied. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"I didn't know I'd be standing across from a beach house in the sun trying to look inconspicuous while your eyes burned holes through the door," she rolled her eyes. "How long did they say they'd be?"

"They didn't exactly give me a time table Davis," he said before averting his eyes as someone stepped out of the house. "It's him… he's leaving."

"What?" Brooke looked up at him. "How do you even know what he looks..." she stopped mid-question. "Never mind."

"Let's go," he grabbed her arm.

"What-Nathan no," she shook her head. "We need to wait for the police."

"Fine you wait for them and I'll follow him," Nathan said as he hurried across the street behind him. "Hey!"

Dean turned around and his eyes grew wide before he took off sprinting like he was on the track team, Nathan running after him.

"Damn it," Brooke yelled as she slipped of her Jimmy Choos and ran after the pair.

By the time she finally caught up to the pair they were on a secluded part of the beach, Nathan pulling the kid from the side of the rocky hill that lead up to the street, throwing him down into the sand. He hovered over him, fire and hatred in his eyes as he bawled up his fist and pulled his arm back, preparing to pound the teenage boy below him whose actions had taken his little girl away from him.

"Nathan," she pulled against his shoulders from behind.

He felt the pressure of her trying to pull him off but it didn't deter him and before he knew it, his hands were around Dean's neck and he was sure he could squeeze the life out of him without an ounce of remorse.

"Nathan stop… please," She was next to him now,pushing him; trying to get his eyes to meet hers. "Nate, you're killing him, stop…" her hazel green orbs finally met his tormented blue. "Stop…"

Nathan complied, his hands retracting from the boy's neck almost as if he'd suddenly been burned as he stood up and stumbled away from the weight of what he'd almost done. He watched as Brooke knelt down to check on the boy, who seemed more frightened than actually hurt though there were remnants of where his hands had been; the hint of pink and slight swelling as he coughed and gasped for air.

"You're going to be okay," she reassured him. "But it's over now… no more running." Brooke turned to look at Nathan who started to step forward but she put her arm out, halting his movement. "It's over."

Nathan stared down at the two of them as he heard the sirens wailing in the background.

Lucas sat at his desk, head in his hands as he let out a frustrated breath. Taking over the company had basically gone smoothly until today. Julian had just informed him that there was a woman in the hospital, claiming to have had an adverse reaction to one of their products and her husband was threatening a law suit. It was the last thing he needed right now when the company's numbers were finally steady and recovering from the downfall of nearly two years ago.

"Hey," Lily said as she walked into the room. "You look like somebody just ran over your dog Luke, what's up?"

"Close the door," he motioned to her as looked up from the computer screen.

Lily did as he asked. "Okay."

Lucas stood up and walked over to the chairs set up on the other side of the room, taking a seat and waiting for his sister to follow suit.

"Lucas," worry etched across her face. "You're scaring me here. What's happened? Is someone hurt; was there another accident?"

"No Lily," he shook his head. "Nothing like that," he ran a hand over his buzzed hair as he let out an exasperated breath. "It's business; someone is claiming that they had an adverse reaction to one our products that put them in the hospital and they are threatening a public lawsuit if we don't pay them off."

"What?" She shook her head. "I hate to ask this Luke but could one of our products have done something like that?"

"Maybe if she had some sort of extreme allergic reaction to something she's already allergic to but that wouldn't be our fault just like if someone decided to eat peanut butter even though they knew they were allergic to peanuts," he answered. "Truthfully, I think it's a scam. Julian has done some research on these people and they've threatened quite a few lawsuits, most of them settled out of court."

"So they're scam artist," Lily replied with confidence. "Then we'll fight them."

"And they'll go public," he countered.

"I don't understand why that concerns you so much," she peered at him inquisitively. "Luke, they're liars."

"But we're just starting to recover from the damage my ass of a dad did to our company two years ago," Lucas explained. "We're at a very critical point right now and the board is finally behind me as CEO; a scandal like this could do damage to our business, our stocks…"

"But we'll prove that they're lying," she reached over to squeeze her older brother's hand reassuringly.

"But at what cost?" his blue eyes looked up at her. "I don't know if this company will be able to survive another hit like that."

Lily sighed deeply. "You're actually thinking of paying them off Luke, aren't you? And how much of a hit will that be if the public finds out?"

"They'll have to sign a confidentiality agreement," he replied but his voice sounded unsure.

"And what does dad think about this?" Lily paused briefly. "You did tell him Lucas?" She waited for a response but got no answer. "Lucas!"

"Uncle Keith can't know," his voice sounded dejected. "You know what he's going through right now, it's the reason I'm in charge now. I can't put this on him too."

"So you're asking me to lie to my father about his company," she ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"No," he shook his head. "I'm asking you to protect your father and to help save our family company."

She shook her head. "You better know what you're doing Luke because I don't want to have to explain this to dad if this goes wrong."

"Thanks Lily," he replied.

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't thank me."

Nathan exited the police station after being questioned and waiting for them to contact the police department in Tree Hill. He was lucky the cop questioning him seem to sympathize with his situation and once some high price lawyer from LA arrived, courtesy of Dan Scott, it seemed more trouble for their department than anything else to charge him with assault for detaining a fugitive, at least that was what his lawyer said. He shook the man's hand and after that found himself walking down the steps of the police station, finding his brunette friend waiting for him. He wondered though if after everything that happened if he still had the right to call her that.

"Hey," he said when he came to stand in front of her.

"Hey," she smiled wirily. "Glad to see they let you out."

"They probably wouldn't if you hadn't been there," he replied. "If you weren't, I would've…"

She shook her head. "You would've stopped."

"I don't think so," his voice was suddenly void of emotion. "You saved that kid's life," he shrugged. "Mine too."

"All in a day's work," she smiled naturally this time, her dimples making an appearance.

"I am sorry Brooke…" he paused briefly, "about the funeral. It wasn't right to keep you away. I know you loved her."

"I did," she said, her eyes softening. "I visit her, once a week."

"I know," Nathan nodded. When he noticed her inquisitive look he continued, "The Gerber Daises; I figured you were the one who left them for her."

"Yeah," Brooke had to stop her eyes from watering. "Well, I should go. You should too, I'm sure Peyton and Jamie can't wait for you to come home."

"Yeah," he nodded, forcing a small smile. "When are you going back?"

"Tomorrow," she answered. "I still have some business to take care of here."

"I could wait," he offered. "The jet's much better than flying commercial."

"Tempting," she tilted her head to the side, "but like I said, I think your family needs you and I think you need them too."

Nathan nodded before watching her start to walk away. "Hey Brooke," he waited for her to turn around. "Thanks."

She smiled warmly. "You're welcome," she said before she turned right and resumed walking away.

Nathan stood for a moment, watching her form become smaller and smaller before turning left and walking away.