Thanks to the people who have reviewed and to those sticking with this fic given the awful length of time between updates. I've exams coming up so it's taking me a while to get updates written, it's also why this one is a short one.
Lauren
"Dad I don't think your attitude the last two weeks is to do with the same sense of terror the rest of us are feeling about our first game so what is it to do with?" I paused before saying the next thing because I felt a kind of dread at hearing the answer. "Mom's been weird too so I just...did you remember something and talk to her about it?" He looks straight at me and slowly shakes his head.
"I haven't remembered anything." He looks really sad but for the first time I'm not sure whether he's sad because he hasn't remembered anything or because of what he might remember. "But your mom has told me something." It was almost like pulling teeth to get the information out of him and for that reason I somehow instinctively knew he wasn't going to tell me what it was mom had told him. Not that it would stop me asking.
"What she say?" He gives me a look.
"Not really something that you need to know. It's between your mom and I."
"I hate to break it to you dad but everything between the two of you always affects all of us." He rolls his eyes at me.
"You're such a smartass." I laugh at him.
"I think we both know where I get that from." We smile together conspiratorially and then I frown.
"What's wrong?" Typical he's suddenly Mr Observant.
"Nothing's wrong it's just that...for a while there it felt normal. Like it was." He nods his head almost sombrely but I can see him trying not to smile. Entirely on impulse I lurch forward and wrap my arms around him for an awkward hug. I can tell it takes him by surprise and I move away before he has chance to put his arms back round me but I think that for each of us, just for now it's enough to recognise that despite all my bluster and BS I do want to build a relationship with him because the truth is there's a part of me that never stopped being that kid who only just got her dad. However it's just too much for me to handle the aftermath of that impulse so I mumble something and then make a dash off out of the gym.
"Lauren." I pause at the doors and turn back to him.
"I'll be okay. Thank you for worrying." I smile hesitantly back and nod before bolting out the door. I bump straight into Ky.
"Hey I was looking for you."
"I was just talking to my dad." He nods and seems to take it totally in his stride that after making such a huge deal of the fact that just because my dad is the coach things wouldn't change at all and I'd still keep my distance that I've taken such a sudden turn and have been talking to him. That's why I love him, because he doesn't make a big deal out of things. He just takes my hand and starts walking with me down the halls heading towards the quad where I know our friends will be sat at the same table as always having lunch.
"Planning on anymore chats with Coach Scott then?" It takes him the best part of five minutes to ask me that and the sly look on my face reminds me of exactly what I hate about him. That he knows me so completely that he could predict that eventually I'd give into my need to talk to him. The need that not once have I verbalised to anyone not even myself. I scowl at him and give him a shove playfully and he grabs me round the waist and begins to tickle me. I squeal and squirm my way of his grasp bolting out the doors into the quad and racing over to our friends. He chases after me and as I circle the table he attempts to grab me, all the while our friends laugh at our antics. When eventually we both give in and collapse down next to our friends I reach across and grab a handful of fries from Izzy's plate.
"It's good seeing you like this." I frown at her confused because honestly Ky and I have always had the tendency to act like immature kids around one another. "I mean like you don't have the weight of the world on your shoulders." I shrug.
"It's been a rough few months with the accident but things are normal-ish."
"I didn't mean since the accident." I don't reply to Izzy because I honestly can't think of anything to say. Instead I lean in against Ky and he lazily slings his arms around me. Izzy's words play in my head. I wonder whether it's true whether I do feel better despite the fact that outwardly my family is far worse than ever before. It's strange that when I think about it to the outside world my family seemed near perfect when in actual fact we'd long since fallen apart, but now that outwardly we've fallen to pieces on the inside things actually feel like they're getting better.
Connor
"Go Lauren!" I grin as my mom shouts out encouragement and watch as my sister scores the perfect three pointer. Lauren is absolutely on fire this game and that's saying something considering there's one girl who seems to refuse point blank to pass to her. Despite the obvious problems in the team they are winning. Watching dad screaming from the sidelines is a little weird given I've only even seen Uncle Nathan doing that kind of thing. Uncle Nathan who is sat on the other side of me. My whole family has turned out today to watch Lauren's first game and it's nice because it's been a long time since we were all anywhere, I think maybe the hospital was the last time and that's sure not something I want to think about.
This is the first time my parents have been in the same room since the day we first saw my dad without any walking aids. Admittedly the room is a huge gym and there's an awful lot of people in here separating them and they're both here because of Lauren not each other but I'm almost certain that with the team winning I can convince them to spend time together after the game.
As the final buzzer sounds the cheers of the crowd are deafening. I try to locate my big sister in the mass of people now on the court. I spot her suddenly and almost throw up my popcorn as I see her making out with her boyfriend. As they break apart though I see her run over to dad and I watch her actually hug him. I glance up at my mom and she seems as shocked as I am. Emily looks almost murderous as she spots them both. Ignoring both of them I jump up and force my way through the crowds which is easier than for most other people given that I can get through the gaps between people's legs.
"Lauren!" I shout and she stops talking to dad and turns round to find me. She opens her arms wide and I think my face is going to split in two from my huge smile as I launch myself at her. "You were great!"
"Thanks kiddo." She ruffles my hair as she sets me back on the ground. Mom and Emily appear next to us and after they both congratulate Lauren, mom happily and Emily grudgingly, mom turns to dad and congratulates him on his coaching abilities.
"I can see you turning out just like Whitey." He looks down and there's almost a blush on his face and I vaguely think I remember Uncle Nate saying Whitey was his high school basketball coach.
"How about we all go for pizza to celebrate?" I look for one parent to the other and then to Lauren praying that she hasn't made plans with her friends. She raises a quizzical eyebrow at me and I plead with my eyes at her to go along with it.
"Yeah that sounds fun Connor." I grin at her in relief.
"What sounds fun our new basketball star?" Lauren turns and grins, embracing grandma and I see the rest of our family on the now clearing court.
"Thanks grandma. Pizza to celebrate. Connor suggested we all go."
"None of you guys had plans did you?" My head turns sharply to look at my mom, I hadn't planned on the entire family going. It'd be much easier for my parents to avoid talking to one another if no one else was there.
"Pizza after a winning game always beats any other plans. In fact I say pizza is the only way to celebrate." My dad snorts at what Uncle Nate said.
"I never saw you having pizza to celebrate, not unless it was helped down with a keg or two."
"Dude kids here." I watch the adults in my family laugh at my dad and my uncle and it seems so easy between them all. I suddenly remember all the stories I've been told of times when the entire family were together regularly and I've seen the pictures of the family meals out together and all the happy smiling people. Suddenly the idea of everyone coming for pizza with us doesn't seem such a bad idea because I realise it's got to remind my parents of when we were all happy.
Dinner is probably the most relaxed and at ease I've seen either of my parents in a long time. They join in when everyone else reminisces about this time or that time and the mood is one that's incredibly light and happy. It does make me a little sad that my parents sit at opposite ends of the table and that they don't talk directly to each other more than the odd time or two but at least they seem happy to join in with remembering. In fact my mom even voluntarily talks about the time she was pregnant with Emily and she decided she and my dad needed to do something a little crazy so they tee-peed the ex-mayor's house. The ex-mayor who happens to be my Uncle Nate's dad. Lauren says she remembers one of the first times she actually did something fun with both parents and it was when dad had to rescue mom from destroying the nursery for Hannah. This gives me a good idea for my plan on getting my parents back together.
I knock on Lauren's door and wait for her to tell me it's okay to come in. I go inside and see she's watching the footage of the game from earlier.
"You could have gotten a few more points if that girl actually passed." Lauren gives me a little half smile.
"I'm not exactly her favourite person."
"You're mine." She gives me a full smile this time and I perch on her bed next to her. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure you can baby brother."
"When dad first showed up they didn't like each other did they?"
"No they didn't, they were pretty clear in the not liking. They just were never really around one another and if they were it was tense rarely they argued but maybe that was just rarely they argued when I could hear."
"Is when Uncle Nathan and Aunt Haley needed them when Hannah was born when they first started getting along?"
"Yes and no. It was fun doing Hannah's nursery but it was still tense. Things didn't really change until I got sick and I was in the hospital."
"Would you ever get sick like that again?"
"No Connor I wouldn't. The doctors fixed what was making me sick. I wouldn't be able to play basketball if they hadn't.
Lauren
I get an incredibly sick feeling when I'm called to the principal's office. My grades may not set the world alight but I'm not failing anything and my general behaviour means I do still get classed as a good student. I know I've not committed any wrong doings so I panic when I'm called there. Seeing my dad looking like a wreck when I step inside just makes the panic grow.
"Lauren your mom just called Connor's in hospital we need to go." I nod dumbly and follow him as he rushes out into the halls and to the parking lot. I vaguely realise he has a new car, or at least new to him because this car is definitely vintage. Driving along the panic doesn't subside but I worry more because my dad's driving a little erratic, plus I still have that whole fear of the hospital thing.
We get there and rush inside, as my dad heads to reception to ask for information I shout out to him because I can see my mom through some doors and rush to her.
"Is he okay?" She turns at the sound of my voice and opens her arms wide for me to rush into them. In some ways I feel like a child again for the very fact that I'm seeking comfort from her something I've not done in a long time.
"I think so honey."
"What happened to him Brooke?" I pull away from my mom and watch as she raises her hands in a god knows gesture. The metal bracelets on her arm jingle softly as it moves up and down.
"An accident, he just fell Luke. One minute he's at the top of the jungle gym reaching for the monkey bars and apparently the next he was on the ground. One of the other kids told the teacher he went head first. The doctor said he roused a little but he's out cold again now. He's fractured his left arm but other than that they say he's okay. They're just getting him settled now and then we can see him. The doctor said they'll want to keep him in for observation for at least one day maybe more." As she speaks it seems almost like a bridge is built between the two of them. It's like in one awful moment where something might have happened to one of their most precious possessions they are able to overcome all the problems that divide them. I wonder if that's what it was like when it was me in the hospital bed. And that's when it hits me.
We wait patiently and silently, or at least silent on my part until the doctor comes. We go to Connor's room and sit with him until he thankfully wakes up. Eventually my dad agrees to mom's suggestion of going to collect Emily from Aunt Haley and Uncle Nate's. My mom walks with him to bid him farewell and give him a verbal list of the things she'd like him to get from the house for Connor's stay in hospital and it gives me the opportunity to say exactly what it is that has been on my mind since arriving here over two hours ago.
"You did it on purpose." He looks at me panicked and that's when I become one hundred percent certain. Until then I was hoping that he'd turn round and tell me I was wrong but he doesn't.
"Don't tell." I explode then because I am so god damn furious with him.
"Why shouldn't I tell Connor? Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was? You got off so lightly from this but you could have seriously seriously hurt yourself and you expect me to not say a word." He looks up at me and he seems so much younger than he is when he finally whispers.
"I just wanted to fix them." My anger goes then because honestly who could be angry with a child who wants desperately to unite his family. I sink down beside him on the bed and wrap him in my arms.
"It's not your job to fix them Connor. They broke what they had and they broke our family and the only ones who can fix all that is them. You swear to me that you will never, ever do anything that stupid again and I won't tell them you did it on purpose. But you better mean it Connor because I never want you to be in this place again – or worse which could happen if you're that stupid again." He snuggles closer to me.
"I promise Lauren." We sit together like that for the longest time, with me stroking his hair like he's a much younger child than he is and by the time my mom returns she finds him asleep against me. She stands in the doorway and smiles at me and I don't feel that I can tell her the truth because I think it will seriously hurt her to know why Connor did what he did. She's punishing herself and has been since dad's accident for her poor parenting over the past couple of years and this would just make it worse. While we may not be managing to build any real bridges I know she is getting back to the person she used to be and I somehow think this will make it so much worse, which most certainly wouldn't be good for Connor.
Emily
I'm glad Connor is okay, of course I am but it does seem a little like everyone is making a bigger fuss than necessary. He fell off playground equipment he didn't get hit by a car. Lauren has even been worse than mom and dad and has spent every second she hasn't been at school at hospital with him, insisting that mom get his room ready and she would bring him home with dad. Lauren is settling Connor in his room now. Dad is downstairs helping mom clean the dishes after she let him stay for dinner. It was completely weird to all be sat round the table and the extra weird part is knowing dad can't even remember a time when we all sat round that table because he can't remember us living in this house.
My mom says you only ever hear half a story when you eavesdrop but as I walk past Connor's room and hear Lauren making him promise her that he won't ever do anything so stupid again I wonder what she means. He promises he won't but then adds that he won't need to because it worked and mom and dad doing the dishes together now proves it. It's then my brain goes into overdrive and I take a good guess at what it is he did on purpose.
"You didn't fall by accident!" The words are out my mouth before I realise I'm even saying them and Lauren turns to glare at me while Connor can't even look right at me. It's enough to show me I'm right.
"Emily it's not that simple." I hate that Lauren is never nice to me unless it's for Connor and the tone of her voice right now is definitely her trying to be nice to me.
"Seems pretty clear to me but maybe we should ask mom and dad to be sure."
"Don't tell!" Connor practically shoots out of bed.
"I won't tell – so long as you stop trying to get them back together."
"No way Emily. They should be together." Lauren must realise we're about to descend into enough chaos to alert mom and dad because she forces Connor to lay back down and then calmly turns to me.
"Emily why would you want Connor to not try and get them back together." I give her a look because I honestly didn't think she was quite this stupid.
"Because they stopped fighting. There's no more yelling and door slamming and dad's actually sticking around even though he doesn't live here we all see him a million times more than did before. And they can be in the same room as each other without it being like a war zone that we walk into. I'm not scared of them both being home anymore. I think the better question is why would you want to change that?"
Brooke
She sighs with relief as she closes the door behind Lucas. It's been almost two weeks since she blurted out about the miscarriage but because of Connor there's been no time to think about it let alone discuss it and she knows Lucas is none the wiser about what happens than he was when she first said it. She knows she was completely wrong blurting it out like she did and the worst part is she truly had no intention of ever telling him because if someone could erase her memory of all that misery then she would gladly take it.
She's not sure how she feels about tonight, it was almost like they were a family again and there's a huge part of her that misses that so badly.
"Mom?" Brooke's jolted from her thoughts by the soft whisper of her oldest daughter.
"Yes honey." Brooke felt incredibly apprehensive about the fact Lauren was coming to speak with her. Lauren hovered instead of sitting on the sofa beside her.
"Connor would kill me if he knew I was talking to you. I promised I wouldn't say anything. But after hearing Emily you need to know what's going on with them." Apprehension turned to worry but Brooke managed to bite her tongue. It seemed the tactic worked as it appeared Lauren felt emboldened and perched in the edge of the sofa. "Connor's fall wasn't an accident."
"Someone did it to him?" Brooke felt both incredulous that her son wouldn't have told her that and angry that someone had hurt her son.
"No. He did it to himself. He got this idea about wanting you and dad to get back together and decided to help things alone. He'd asked me what thawed things out when dad first came to Tree Hill when I was a kid. I thought he was just curious but then there was the accident." Brooke felt winded by the realisation that her baby boy had thrown himself head first to the ground knowing he could seriously hurt himself because of her and Lucas.
"What do you mean you promised not to tell me?" Lauren looked shocked that the first words Brooke said were those.
"He swore he wouldn't do anything stupid again – mainly I think because he thought it was working. Then Emily went off on one saying to leave it and that it's better now you're apart. I just got the feeling that she would work as hard to keep you apart as he would on getting you together and I was scared it would mean he wouldn't stick to his promise." Brooke shook her head completely bewildered at how her life had ended up like this. How she'd ruined the lives of her children.
"You told me everything once Lauren and yet now you can contemplate not telling me something this important."
"You stopped sharing first." And Brooke knew she was right. There was no one to blame for the situation but herself. She and Lauren had been inseparable once, for the longest time. Even after Lucas and she had gotten married Brooke and Lauren had shared a special bond, they'd been closer than close and she had often shared more with her daughter than other people would think appropriate but she'd always been open. Until the miscarriage. When she thought about it she could trace most the problems in her relationships with her children and husband back to that miscarriage.