Chpt. 11--Old Flame
Alabama

"Brooke, what--" Peyton shook her head as if to clear it. "Ok, B. Davis, start at the beginning."

"There's really not much more to tell. He said you had lost touch since high school and he didn't realize you were in L.A. He and Jenny have lived here for about a year now and he'll be starting his second year at College of the Canyons in the fall. He seemed pretty anxious to see you. And Jenny--God, Peyton, she's cute. And so grown up."

"Jenny. Wow. I'd love to see her. I wonder…" But Peyton trailed off because thinking of Jenny reminder her of a time when babies were an important part of her future plans. She just wasn't ready to think about that right now. So she focused on this new 'little kid' Jenny and smiled bright with interest. "And Jake, of course. Did you tell them about the accident?"

"Yeah. I told them you were hurt right now but that I was sure you'd be desperate for visitors in a few days. I got his number and gave him yours." Brooke held a piece of paper out to Peyton. "Of course, I told him about Broody here too." Brooke nodded towards Luke, noting that her use of his nickname seemed particularly appropriate at the moment. "I figured we could all do dinner together--order in here--sometime this week. You know, catch up with an old friend," Brooke said innocently.

"Yeah, of course." Luke tried to inject a little enthusiasm into his voice. It wasn't too hard--he did want to see Jake. He just wasn't sure what this new development meant for him and Peyton. But since there was no 'him and Peyton' to speak of, he decided to focus on the pleasure of catching up with an old friend. And he couldn't deny how nice it was to see those green eyes lit with genuine happiness again. "It'll be great to see Jagielski again. God knows it's been a while. Let's do dinner Thursday night."

Luke was carrying Peyton into the living room when Brooke opened the front door to Jake and Jenny on Thursday night. All four adults went instantly, and awkwardly, still as they each contemplated the scene before them. Luckily Jenny was oblivious and she ran to hug Brooke around the legs, causing Jake to recover first and smile. "Apparently you made a life-long friend in the produce section, Brooke. Jenny, come meet my other friends. This is Luke." Jake and Luke shook hands and Luke clasped Jake on the shoulder before crouching down in front of Jenny. The boys missed it but Brooke and Peyton both understood the girl's suddenly-shy smile. After all, they've both nursed crushes on Luke in the past as well.

"Hey Jenny. Man, you're pretty tall, huh? I bet you play basketball like your dad." Jenny nodded silently. "Sweet! I've been looking for a little competition around here. You and me, we're going to play a game one day soon."

"Hey, I want in on that action too. But I get Jenny on my team. She's pretty fierce." Placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders, Jake turned her to where Luke had settled Peyton. "And this, Jenny, is my friend Peyton. You knew her when you were a baby." He leaned down to give Peyton a kiss on her cheek. "Its good--great--to see you Peyton."

"You drew a picture of my daddy and me when I was a little baby. It's pretty good." Jenny stated matter-of-factly. "It's hanging on the wall in my room."

"Thanks," Peyton smiled as everyone laughed.

"Does that hurt real bad?" Jenny pointed at Peyton's cast.

"No, not real bad. My belly hurts the most."

"Your belly?" Jenny's eyes were wide. "Did you have a baby? Cause they had to cut my mommy to get my brother Tommy and it made her belly hurt for like forever."

Everyone laughed again at the little girl's logic but Brooke understood the pain that streaked into Peyton's eyes. "I…No, I didn't have a baby. I was in a car accident."

"Well, you're still alive so you must have been wearing your seatbelt." This time Peyton joined the others when they laughed.

"Been drilling that lesson into her head, huh, Jake?" Jake just shrugged at Brooke and grinned.

"Yeah, I was wearing my seatbelt. Good thing, huh?"

Jenny nodded solemnly. "Uh-huh. Did you--"

"Ok, Cat, that's enough questions for now."

"Daddy calls me 'Cat' cause I'm so curious, but I don't know what that means."

Delighted with her, Peyton gave in to the urge to run a hand over her blonde curls. "Well, I'm sure you'll ask him about it one day."

"Tell me, Jenny, do you like to eat bugs?" Luke asked seriously.

Jenny made a disgusted face and shook her head adamantly. "Nuh uh. No way."

"Oh good. I'm glad I decided not to cook the bugs for dinner tonight then."

"Man, I was really pulling for the bugs," Brooke whined. "But lets go see what we've got for dinner instead, shall we?"

Conversation flowed smoothly as the four friends traded high school memories over take-out hamburgers and red wine (Jenny and still-on-medication Peyton made due with diet soda drank out of fancy wine goblets). Whenever an awkward silence threatened Jenny was quick with a new question that got them all going again. When dinner was over, Luke understood that Peyton probably wanted some time to talk to Jake alone, so he carried Peyton to the living room and asked, "Hey Jake, why don't you keep Peyton company for a while? Brooke, Jenny, and I'll clean up. You mind drying dishes, Jen?"

"Sure! That's what I do with my daddy. But can you keep telling me about New York, Brooke? Can you really stand on the top of the tallest building in the whole world?"

Shaking his head at his daughter, Jake sat across from Peyton on the couch. "She's great, Jake. Exactly how I thought she'd be."

"Yeah, she's something."

"And she still adores her daddy." Jake smiled and shrugged. "So, Nikki had another baby?"

"Yeah, Tommy. Cute kid and his dad's a great guy. Nikki and I… I guess we worked things out. She got her life together. Thomas, her husband, was a big part of that. Now they live in Beaumont and we share custody of Jenny. It's not perfect, but…"

"If that kid is any indication, I'd say it's pretty close to perfect, Jake."

"Yeah, that's Jenny. She just rolls along. But what about you? I mean before the accident. How did L.A. happen?"

"I took an internship with Sire Records after high school and I just sort of stayed around."

"Peyton Sawyer, out to save the music industry, one artist at a time. It fits."

"Yeah, well, it's more like Peyton Sawyer, out to serve the man, one espresso at a time but I'm trying."

"Trust me, I get that. I guess not everything works out like we planned in high school. And Luke?"

It was impossible to miss but Peyton didn't respond to the implication in his question. "Luke's Luke, I guess. Where there's danger, he is there, right?"

"So you're not…he's not…"

"No, he's not. Or at least not like you mean. Not right now."

"In that case, do you want…I mean, maybe when you're feeling better, would you like--" But Jake's question was cut off when his daughter raced into his lap.

"Daddy, Lucas wrote a book! A whole book and he gave me one and he showed me your name. You're in a book Daddy! Did you know?"

Jake looked up as Luke entered the room. "I hope its ok. I thought she'd get a kick out of seeing her dad's name in a book. I…You probably haven't read it but don't worry. Your…ummm…your story's not really in the book. There's just a mention about wishing you were around for the state championship. At the time I figured you would be the best at handling the whole situation with Nate. It just seemed like you always had it together. Anyway, I hope its ok."

"Are you kidding me? Of course I read your book, man." Jake avoided eye contact with Peyton while they discussed this particular subject. "I thought it was great. I never thought to show Jen. Thanks, Luke. Really."

"And he even signed his auto…his auto-mo-graph, Daddy. And then I signed mine. Look! Do you think maybe I could write a book one day?"

"Of course you can, Cat. You can do anything. But right now what you're going to do is say goodbye. We're gonna go home cause its getting pretty late and Peyton needs her rest." He winked at Peyton as he rose. Leaning down to brush his lips against her cheek he whispered, "I'd love to see you again, Peyton. Call me sometime."

Before she could respond Jenny wrapped her arms around Peyton's neck, careful not to touch her belly. "I'm gonna come back soon, ok? Maybe you could draw me a new picture 'cause now I'm all growed up."

"Absolutely."

"And Brooke's going to make me a pretty new dress. And Luke's going to teach me how to beat my daddy in basketball."

"Ok you little schemer." Jake hugged Brooke and shook Luke's hand. "Let's go. Goodnight guys. Thanks again for dinner. And for the memories. All the places I've lived, who knew Tree Hill, and everyone in it, would be the one I'd miss the most?"