You Are My Only One
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING; though I would love to own One Tree Hill. Definitely a cool thought.
Story by:B. Davis FTW
"No, see you have to let me in! Nathan's my," The dark haired man thought to himself quickly, trying to formulate some kind of excuse that would seem plausible "brother in law" Yes, good going. They'll definitely believe that one. "Brooke Scott is my sister, and I need to see her now."
"You're Brooke Scott's brother?" The receptionist eyed him up and down "Yeah, take a seat pal. Brooke Scott has no siblings, I've looked it up because of all the reporters trying to get in here and get their story." This lady actually thought she was smart. "Now run along back to your little headquarters across the city and wait until she gets better, just like the rest of them" Her eyes darted to the cushioned waiting chairs across from the desk.
He walked away dejectedly, watching as a tall redhead walked toward the same receptionist from the entrance. "Hi, I was here yesterday for Brooke Scott." Aha! This girl could surely help him get to Nathan. "You can check the visitor's log. My name's Rachel Gatina"
"You know the way Ms. Gatina" He glared at the receptionist. I bet she's lesbian. This girl was hot, and definitely caught his eye. He stood up and extended his arm to tap lightly on her shoulder. She turned around, her red hair swirling in a perfect circle as she did. Wow. Her face is way hotter than I expected. He couldn't even get the words he needed to say out of his mouth in the presence of this goddess. "Uh, hi"
Rachel raised an eyebrow. Who does this guy think he is? "Um, hey?" She half smiled a bit, seeing he clearly wasn't in the state of mind to be thinking, let alone speaking, right now. "Can I help you with something?"
Well she's obviously not a hockey fan. "Yeah, actually. My name's Steven Wright, I'm a friend of Nathan's. I heard Brooke was over here, and I thought I'd check out how Brooke was doing, but this receptionist wouldn't let me through" He leaned in close to her ear. "I even tried to play the brother card" He smirked a bit after whispering in her ear, pulling back to where he was standing before with his hands in the pockets of his worn leather jacket.
Rachel chuckled as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Brooke's side? Oh I did too." She quickly thought back to what he said and shook her head. "Sister, I mean. Cause you know, I'm not a guy or anything" God Rachel, you're so stupid. What the fuck is wrong with you? She mentally smacked herself in the face.
"Yeah, I happen to like that fact about you" A cool laugh came from Steven's mouth as well as he put out a hand. "My friends call me Steve" He smirked at her as she shook his hand.
"Rachel, as you probably heard before" After sharing a small laugh, Rachel pointed her thumb toward Brooke's room. "Um so, do you want to come back with me? Nate's really bent out of shape and I think it'd be good for him to see a new face besides mine"
"Yeah, sure. That's actually why I came. I know he's head over heels for the girl, and he can't be doing too well right now." As they neared the door, Steve put a hand on the small of her back as he brushed past her "Though I can't even fathom why any guy would get sick of seeing your face everyday" He gave her a small wink before walking over to Nathan at Brooke's bedside.
"Wright?" Nathan hadn't expected Steve to be there in front of him at all, mostly because of his absorption in Brooke's condition 24/7. Though he probably should've considering Steve had been his best friend since college, and he was always there to look out for Nathan and Brooke. "What are you doing here man? Don't you have practice?"
"Are you kidding Nate? Once I heard about Brooke's accident, I ran my ass over here as fast as I could!" He laughed a bit at Nathan's shock. "I wasn't going to leave you hanging over here"
"Thanks for coming Wright, but how the hell did you find out about the accident? I haven't left the hospital in two days, and Rachel's only gone from here to the house a couple times" Nathan had neglected to realize the power of the press and how they would probably be watching Brooke like a hawk.
"At the sake of being repetitive here, are you kidding Nate? This is all over E! News, TMZ, People Magazine, In Touch, it's everywhere." This probably disappointed Nathan even more. Seriously, people in the hospital couldn't keep their mouths shut for even a week? Brooke's well being should've been their top priority, not contributing to some stupid headline on a glossy piece of paper.
Reading his thoughts through his facial expressions, Rachel quickly added, "Don't worry about the hospital staff though Nathan, they're keeping a tight lid on everything going on here and who they're letting in. Even Steve had a hard time getting in, and he used the brother card!"
"Yeah, that receptionist was obviously not a Kings fan" Steve nodded as he let out a short laugh. His face quickly changed though as he walked over to Nathan, putting a hand on his shoulder. "How's our girl doing, in all seriousness?"
Nathan had to be thankful for Steve's ability to change the mood of any room, and give him a little bit of relief while still keeping him in check with reality. It was definitely a big part of their 'bromance'. "She basically has to wake up today to avoid any lasting damage to her body from the crash"
Steve squeezed Nathan's shoulder slightly, "She'll wake up Nathan, don't worry about it so much. You should be worrying about the stench you're giving off" Another smirk landed upon both brunette's faces as they shared a small laugh.
"What if she doesn't wake up Wright? How the hell am I supposed to live with myself if something else is wrong with her besides this whole unconscious thing? She's my wife and the mother of my child; I'm supposed to protect her from anything and everything, and here I go causing her injuries. We've only been married a year, and I've already fucked up" Both Rachel and Steve could plainly see the weight of the world finally having its effect on Nathan. Rachel had gone back and forth from the hospital to Lucas and Peyton's house checking on both Alexis and Nathan and Brooke as much as she could. The only thing she neglected to check on was how Nathan was coping with all this.
"What have I told you about those stupid 'what ifs' Nate? I tell you this over and over again every time you come to me with those stupid situations. You can't waste the time you have worrying about what could happen, because if you do you're gonna miss out on a hell of a lot more than you want to." Rachel slid the second and last plastic chair over to Steve, who took it and sat next to Nathan, putting his hands down on his own knees.
"Brooke will wake up. I want you to tell yourself that up until the second she does, even if that's at midnight tonight and today's over. You keep telling yourself that, and stop avoiding everyone else in your life, namely your daughter" Steve knew it was hard for Nathan to even think of being away from Brooke, but he had other responsibilities to take care of now. "She's three months old and has no idea what's going on. All she knows is that her mommy and daddy aren't there to put her in her crib at night anymore, and if I was her, I'd be scared shitless."
Rachel moved toward Nathan slowly. She hated to see him in this kind of pain when she was hurting as well. Brooke was like her sister and Nathan like her brother. To see Brooke motionless on a hospital bed and Nathan to be a broken shell of the man he normally is killed her more than anything, but she knew what Steve was saying was right. Brooke was going to wake up. She placed a hand delicately on his shoulder, rubbing it. "Nate, we'll go see Lexi Rae tomorrow, okay? Just stay with B for now" Following a grateful nod from both men, Rachel smiled back weakly, leaving the room for the two to speak to each other alone.
"I'm so goddamn scared Wright" Nathan began to break down as his voice started to crack, "I've never been this scared in my life. Not even when I found out I was going to be a father, which was pretty scary. I can't raise Lex on my own, she needs Brooke. I can't be there for her like she can. She's my calm place, you know? Whenever I'm angry or really upset over something, all I have to do is take Brooke into my arms and I'm instantly content." He angrily wiped a hand across his face, wiping away at the tears. "I can't live without her, and not only that, but I don't want to"
"You're not going to have to Nate! I already told you she's going to wake up." Steve grabbed a box of tissues from a table in the corner and offered one to Nathan, who took it. "You have to have a little faith here Nate. I know you're not religious, and you know I'm not either, but you gotta believe in Brooke's strength and that she won't leave you. Not now, when she has so much more to do. She's gotta be that amazing mom you and I both know she will be and take her company to heights no one ever imagined! And most of all, the two of you have to prove to both your parents that you're able to live the life they told you you can't."
Nathan simply nodded, having accepted his friend's words. He knew if he didn't have Steve as a friend, he would be in some pretty dark places with nowhere to turn. "Hey, do you think you can go check on Rachel?" Nathan knew when Brooke woke up she would be badgering him to set Steve and Rachel up anyway, so he might as well start now.
Steve nodded, leaving the room under the impression that Nathan wanted some alone time with his wife.
"Hey there Red" Steve took his whole wheat turkey and cheese sandwich and his apple juice and sat down at the table with Rachel.
"Hey Steve" Rachel took a bite out of her chicken Caesar salad, eyeing his lunch "So mommy sent you lunch today?" A smirk landed on her face after he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Hey, not all of us can have a perfect body like you without any work" He shot her a half smile as he opened his juice bottle and took a sip "But how about I take you out to lunch and you can show me how to really eat?"
Before Rachel could even think of an answer, she turned her head quickly toward the cafeteria door, where Steve's glance strayed as well to Nathan running into the spacious room full speed, his arms waving in the air. "She's awake! She's awake!" His voice bounced off every blank white wall in the cafeteria as smiles formed on every person in the room. It was a good day when someone was saved in the hospital, and for now, they had something to smile about.
"Slow down Nate," Steve chuckled as he put a hand on his friend's back. Nathan's goofy smile told him everything. Brooke was going to be just fine, just as he had told Nathan minutes before.
"She's awake! You left, and I was just sitting there, holding her hand when her finger moved!" Nathan looked between his two friends excitedly, apparently trying to figure out how to formulate his thoughts. "I swear I thought I imagined it, but I called the doctor and she opened her eyes and said some words. They were hoarse cause her throat was dry, but the doctors are just checking her over now" The wide grin didn't leave his face for even a moment as he spoke, though the smiles around the room had long since faded with the coming of more somber news from all over the hospital. "Come on guys! We have to go see her!" He was like a four year old on Christmas, pulling Steve and Rachel much like a little kid would his parents down the stairs to the evergreen tree in their living room. The excitement of all the perfectly wrapped red and green themed gifts caused a high no substance could replace; one of pure joy and bliss. Can't get that from a stupid ecstasy pill, now can you?
AN: Sorry it's short. A boy who goes to my school died this morning, and we're all really beat up over it. He was on my bus, and it's really just a complete shock to me because whenever I saw him, he was so happy. He committed suicide by way of oncoming traffic. I'll get a longer chapter out to you guys later. And for those of you waiting for Best Friends for Life, I'm working on that one, and I'll have it up by the end of the week, hopefully. About this chapter, Rachel and Steve won't be a one time deal. I'll keep them going throughout the story. Give me some feedback on them, if you can.
