A/N: "its been a loooonggg, a loooonnnggg time comin;…" ("Change Gon' Come by Sam Cooke). Lol.

Sorry guys! Life has been kicking my butt, and I went back to being a reader for a while, 'cause I couldn't figure out this chapter. But I finally eeked it out. Hope its okay.

patto85- You aren't being picky! Its one of the things that irk me when I read kidfics, when kids are doing miraculous things at young ages (like saying dada at 2 months old or something), but its cool because everyone doesnt know development like I do. But everything kids do in my fic is age appropriate, and I have my models to thank for that (godchildren). Keith does have a speech impediment, which I mentioned in chapter 5, but Anna is on target, maybe a little advanced for her age. But her dad was a writer, so its not surprising. The twins were premature, but everything else is fine.

Ok so this following paragraph will prove how long Ive been struggling with this chapter. Its about 6.23.

YAY! Peyton Sawyer is Mrs. Scott! The whole "I adore you" part was a little intense, I would have preferred she say love, but nothing can ruin my joy! I was a little upset that Skills cussed so much at a 5 year old, but whatever. LOVED Brulian! It was so emotional! I wanted to slap him for bringing Missy to the wedding, but Brooke being mad about it all the way through was hilarious! Nate made me cry when he said he was tired of failing, but I love love love Naley's relationship, and how supportive she is of him. Go Haley!

The last epi was alright. Everybody got their happy ending. Im sad to see Leyton go, but I am glad that they didnt keep just one, because Id rather have them ride off into the sunset then have Peyton stay and have Lucas be dead, or vice versa. I am going to watch season 7, because you have to at least give it a try, and because I like Brulian and Baley friendship, but I think the writing has gone down, so we'll see if they can spice it back up.

Ok. On with the show, in which I own nothing, but wouldn't it be great if Mark asked me to write an episode?

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Chapter 11 Welcome to Fatherhood

It was amazing how quickly one's life could change. The scene was reminiscent of the day before, the shrieks and giggles of the children permeating the air and bringing a smile to Peyton's face. But the person causing the laughter and joy of her children and Tony was a new addition. This time, it was Lucas who was chasing Anna around, Keith in his arms with his hands outstretched trying to grab hold of his sister, while Tony bounced on his chubby legs and chortled, having just been set down by Lucas after running after Keith.

Tonya pulled up a chair and sat in silence with Peyton, watching the antics of the four in the yard. Brooke was gone, with plans to join them for dinner, after apologizing for the need to leave and 'take care of some business.'

"He is really good with them." Tonya admitted reluctantly, as they watched Lucas fall to the ground, Keith and Anna jumping on top of him, joined by Tony, who was protected from the twins' thrashing arms and legs by Lucas' strong hands.

"He is." Peyton said, smiling softly. "He's had practice with his nephew and little sister apparently, who are almost a year older than the twins."

The silence lapsed again between them, becoming strained as neither said what was hanging on the tip of their tongue.

It was Peyton who spoke first. "He asked me to come with him. On his book tour and then to Tree Hill." The words hung between them as Peyton spoke what Tonya feared.

"So you believe you are this 'Peyton' person then?" Tonya said quietly.

"I wouldn't have told my kids he was their father if I didn't believe I was his Peyton." She said simply.

"So what are you gonna do?" Tonya said hesitantly.

"I don't know." Peyton said honestly. "I don't want to go on the tour with him, but I don't want to deny him time with the twins. And since he has a contract with his publishers and the stores in Charleston, he couldn't cancel if he wanted to, not without a huge fine. Besides, he seems like a man of his word, and I have a feeling it wouldn't sit well with him to have to break it."

"I do think it's a good idea to visit Tree Hill." Peyton mused, thinking out loud as she continued. "Apparently there are old friends who live there that want to see me. And maybe, being in the place I grew up may trigger my old memories."

"So, you're leaving then." Tonya said resigned, seeing in her posture that Peyton had already made up her mind.

"Yes. I think I am." Peyton said slowly, just coming to terms with it herself.

"For good?" Tonya said quietly.

"For a visit." Peyton amended. She frowned as she processed Tonya's words. "Did you think I would move to Tree Hill for good? Leave everything I've built here, everyone I know, after one day with strangers from my past?"

Tonya said not a word, but her eyes were suspiciously bright.

"First of all, I have no memory of this Tree Hill place. For all I know, I hated it and couldn't wait to get away!" They both laughed at that, dispelling the tension in the air.

Peyton calmed. "I was thinking maybe a vacation. You, me, and the kids can go and visit Tree Hill for a while. Peanut and Yoda can get to know the rest of their family, I can maybe find something that sparks some memories, and you and Tony can be there for moral support."

"You want us to come with you?" Tonya said, surprised.

Peyton grabbed Tonya's hands. "Of course. They may have been my friends in the past, but you are my family now. It would be nice not to have to do it alone."

"We could have Molly take over the gallery while we're away." Tonya mused, planning for their eventual departure.

"And if orders come in, I can work from pictures that she can email." Peyton added.

They were interrupted by Keith running over, out of breath and grinning from ear to ear. "Momma!" he said, stopping in front of them and breathing hard. "I like havin' a daddy!"

"I'm glad baby." Peyton said, smiling to herself as he ran back off to help Anna and Tony, who were currently attached to Lucas' legs, take him down.

"If only Tony could be so lucky." Tonya sighed. "Unfortunately, I remember everything about his father, and I know he isn't coming back out of the blue."

"Well, with Lucas' past, I'm sure he would probably be there for Tony like his uncle did for him and his mom. I mean, look at him now."

"Lucas didn't have a dad either?" Tonya said, puzzled.

"Dan was more like a sperm donor, and every part like an ass!" Peyton spat out forcefully, then frowned. Her eyes widened as she looked at Tonya. "Umm, how did I know that?"

Tonya shrugged, eyebrows just as raised. "Did he talk about his parents at all?"

"He had to have. I mean, why would I remember things about his life if I can't even remember mine?" Peyton said, puzzled.

"Well, he was your 'husband.'" Tonya said, laughing as Peyton took a swing at her.

"Okay so we weren't married. You can stop laughing now."

Tonya calmed herself down. "Okay, okay. So seriously, even though you guys weren't married, it obviously was a serious enough relationship that the thought of being married wasn't aversive, and you had his kids."

"Okay…" Peyton said, not sure where she was going.

"So, maybe his history may be a part of your memories, especially if you guys were close. How long were you too together?"

"I don't know." Peyton said sheepishly. "We haven't talked about…us…yet."

"Really?" Tonya said, surprised. "The man's been looking for you for 4 years!"

"Yeah, but there was a little matter of proving that I was Peytn first, then introducing him to his kids! Plus he's been dating his editor for the past year. Still is for all I know, so obviously he's moved on from the thought of us." Peyton reminded Tonya. "Remember, its been all over the tabloids. Oh God." Peyton covered her mouth. "I've been all over the tabloids!"

Because he was a famous author, the supermarket rags would sometimes speculate into Lucas and Lindsay's relationship and the impact that Peyton being his first true love had on their being together. Their favorite storyline was the one of Peyton coming back from the dead in some sort of way by random 'Peyton sightings,' much like the old Elvis ones. A popular one was of Lindsay, apparently breaking up with Lucas on many occasions because he had a 'séance' fund, where proceeds from his first book went towards his weekly attempts to contact Peyton in the spiritual realm because he couldn't let go of his first love.

Peyton groaned at the thought, hiding her face in her hands while Tonya patted her back in sympathy.

"Ok, change of subject. What are we going to have for dinner?" Tonya said, trying to distract Peyton from the reality that she was 'famous.' "Somehow, I don't see Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott, famous clothes designer and bestselling author, being okay with chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese."

Peyton sat up. "Hey, we didn't know they would be joining us for dinner, and it's our house. My kids want chicken fingers and mac and cheese, so that's what we're having. If they don't want to eat that, then oh well." Peyton said, huffing at the thought of their popular guests turning their noses up at her food, and still too miffed about being fodder for the gossip mill to be nice. "Besides, Lucas is now a dad. So he has to learn sometime to like kid food, and there's no time like the present."

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"Macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers! Alright!" Lucas said, rubbing his hands together excitedly as the twins giggled at his antics, one sitting on either side of him. Brooke had pulled up a chair next to Anna, while Peyton's seat was next to Keith, Tonya on the other side of her next to Tony.

He looked up at Peyton, who was sitting down in her seat from serving the food. "When I was little, chicken fingers and mac and cheese was my favorite meal, so mom would cook it all the time."

He grinned sheepishly. "I didn't realize until I got older how much she had to love me for making it so often. It is definitely food for the juvenile palette."

"Momma loves us a lot then, 'cause we have it all the time, too." Keith said seriously.

"It's our faaaa-vorite meal!" Anna added, dragging out 'favorite' dramatically.

"Cheeze! Cheeze!" Tony chimed in, banging his spoon on his high chair repeatedly.

"I don't think I've ever tried this culinary delight." Brooke said teasingly to Anna, leaning towards her. "I think I'm in for a treat!" She said, smiling, making Anna giggle and nod in agreement.

Peyton raised an eyebrow to Tonya, both of them pleasantly surprised at the reaction of their guests to their meal. They would not make the mistake again of making assumptions. Peyton was even more curious to learn not just about who she was, but who they were, these friends who would drop all commitments in their busy lives to sit in a small town and eat chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese just to be with her.

The conversation flowed easily during the meal, led by the twins as they told their mom and Tonya about everything they had done with 'daddy' even though they were there for all of it. Brooke had missed it, so they had one extra captive audience.

Bedtime did not flow so easily, as neither twin was ready to relinquish the time they had to spend with their father for something so inconsequential as sleep. Whines and pleadings for "Five mowuh minutes?" from Keith, and "I'll be your best friend if you let us stay up longer," from Anna, morphed into tears and tantrums as they realized that mom would not budge on bedtime.

Lucas and Brooke stood helplessly by- Brooke from inexperience, and Lucas from uncertainty as to his right to intercede- as they watched Peyton attempt to console the wailing twins.

"Okay now guys," she said, scooping up first one, then the other, and dumping them on the couch before sitting down herself and gathering them in her arms, one under each shoulder. "None of that. Now, fix your face and tell me what's the matter. You guys don't normally fight bedtime, so what's going on?" she said soothingly.

"I wanna stay wif Daddy." Keith mumbled, obligingly wiping his tears away with his sleeve and struggling to calm his breathing.

"Me too, Mommy." Anna said pleadingly, no longer sobbing, but still looking up at her mother with puppy-dog eyes, the tears clinging to the ends of her lashes somehow more heart-wrenching than if they were actually falling down her face.

"Oh honey." Peyton hugged first Anna, then Keith, before continuing. "I know you had a good time with daddy today, but its time to go to bed now. Daddy's going to go to his bed and go to sleep too, and tomorrow he'll be back and you guys to play together again."

"Can't he stay here with us? He can sleep in the middle." Anna pleaded. The twins slept in one double bed, unable to let go of the closeness they felt in the womb and later in the crib they shared. Peyton hoped they would grow out of it before they hit puberty, or it might be a problem.

Lucas couldn't take it anymore and spoke up hesitantly. "I wouldn't mind… if it was okay with you, Peyton."

At once Peyton was assailed with three pair of pleading baby blues, and she was helpless to resist. "Well, if everyone gets their bath and in their pajamas without a fight, you can have a sleepover with daddy."

Lucas grinned as the twins cheered and smothered their mother with hugs and kisses, before making their way to the stairs. Keith stopped in front of Lucas and looked up at him, a serious look on his face. "Momma says you can stay fowuh a sleepovuh, but only if you don't thwow a tantwum. So twy an' be good, okay?" He said, as if Lucas didn't hear the entire conversation.

Peyton looked over at Brooke, and smiled softly. "You are welcome to stay too if you want. We have the extra space. Maybe we could talk some more, catch up, I guess?"

Brooke smiled back, excited. "Of course! It'll be just like high school!" she frowned. "Except we won't be sharing a bed, and there are other people in the house with us, but pretty much the same. I'll go get our things from the hotel, and I'll be right back!"

Peyton glanced over her shoulder at Tonya, who had sidled up to whisper in Peyton's ear. "So you slept with Brooke Davis in high school? Maybe Lucas wasn't the only love of your life." She giggled as Peyton swatted at her, then stared at her in horror. "Oh my God! I would say you are out of your mind, but I'm out of mine, so anything's possible."

They stared at each other for a frozen minute, before bursting into laughter. Something told them the visit to Tree Hill would be anything but uneventful!

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Ehh, not my favorite, but I had to get it out there so we can go to Tree Hill! YAY!

Ok, for you guys. So Lucas is going to his book signing alone, while everyone else heads to Tree Hill. Do you want to:

A- see Lucas at his book signing and any possible interactions with Lindsay, or

B- go straight to Tree Hill and get on with the story.

Most votes wins, cause being fan driven is the entire point of me posting chapters as I write instead of writing them all out first like I usually do. And since a couple of people have asked me- Yes there is another story after this one- its the sequel to Anything for Brody. So, vote and as soon as I get 41 votes I will write the next chapter (odd number so there will be a winner).

I missed you guys, but school is out now, so I will have more time to write, and chapters will be updated more quickly. Hope to hear from you!