It was the middle of the night, on their wedding night, and half an hour ago, Peyton had woken up alone. All three kids were at Haley and Nathan's house for the night, and when Peyton noticed that the sheets were cold on Lucas's side, she knew exactly where he was. After the wedding, they had spent the rest of the day without even a mention about Karen, or Dan, or any of the drama, but Peyton knew that couldn't last forever. So she had pulled on a pair of sleep shorts and one of Lucas's sweatshirt and shoved her feet into her slippers, grabbing her keys as she headed for the car.
He hadn't driven to the cemetary, and it really hadn't been his intention to go there when he had left the house an hour ago, but he had started walking, and that was where his feet had taken him. His eye retraced the name he had been staring at for over a half hour. Keith Allen Scott. His uncle, who had died while he was in high school. Keith had been more of a father to him than Dan, even though he lived with Dan. Keith had always been more understanding than Dan, and Lucas had been able to talk to Keith as a kid, about anything. Keith had told him everything he knew about his mother, because he certainly would never ask Dan.
Now Lucas wished that he had his uncle here to talk to, which is why he had settled for just talking at the grave, knowing that Keith could hear him, even if he couldn't reply, or answer him. Peyton knew that he would talk to her on his own time, but the silence was killing her, and she needed to break it to let him know that he could talk to her. "You know, if you don't want a marriage that ends in divorce, you shouldn't leave your new wife alone in the middle of the night," she said, attempting to be her normal sarcastic self, even if both of them could hear the struggle for her to keep her tone even.
Lucas finally looked over at Peyton, a guilty look on his face, which hadn't been her intention at all. She quickly opened her mouth to retract her statement, but he spoke first. "I'm sorry, Blondie. It's just, I honestly don't know what to do. I tried to put it aside, and focus on us, but it's so confusing. I don't know what to feel, or do right now. I wanted this day to be perfect for you, but all I've been thinking about is that I have a mother now, and I actually know who she is. I don't know whether to be mad at her, or hate her, or forgive her or what, though. I mean, she's been in our lives for months. Did she know I was her kid, or didn't she? I don't know which would be worse," he paused, and Peyton knew that all of his questions and comments were rhetorical. "I'm sorry I ruined our wedding day with my family drama," he finally added.
Peyton couldn't keep quiet after that. She sent him a stern look, and pointed her finger in his face to make sure she had his complete attention. "Now, you listen to me, Lucas Eugene Scott, you did not ruin our wedding day. You couldn't have ruined our wedding day, and you want to know why?" she didn't wait to hear an answer from him. "Our wedding day was perfect because it was OURS. You are stuck with me forever now, and that is what made this day perfect. Nothing could have changed that," she assured him.
Lucas ducked his head down, looking at their intertwined hands. She always knew exactly what to say. He looked back up at her, reaching up with his free hand to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. Her hair had begun getting wavy again not long after Chilarie was born, as the effects of the perm she had gotten had begun to fade. Now her curls were back to being wild and unruly, just the way he loved them. "There's no one I'd rather be stuck with, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer Scott. We're True Love Always and I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, before planting a sweet kiss on her lips.
There was a small smile on Peyton's face as Lucas pulled away, and he noticed that her eyes were still closed from the kiss. He wanted to take her back to their house so they could go back to bed, but he still couldn't get over the fact that Karen was his mother. His mind was still racing, which was exactly what she saw when she opened her eyes and looked into his. She reached out with her free hand and caressed his cheek. "About Karen, I think you should talk to her, figure out her story on all this. You really can't trust Dan, not from what I've heard. Karen's really been here for me, and she's my business partner. Hear her out first before you decide what to do," she said.
There was a moment of silence, while Lucas broke Peyton's gaze and went back to staring at Keith's grave. Then, out of nowhere, he started chuckling, softly at first, then louder when he looked back at Peyton and noticed the look of utter confusion on her face. She honestly thought he was going crazy. When he stopped laughing he spoke before she could. "There really isn't anything funny. It's just, you never even met Keith, and you just told me the same exact thing that he would have told me if he were here. We really are meant to be," he said, partly amazed, and completely sure at the same time.
Peyton could have been offended by the slight surprise in her husband's voice, but she knew exactly how he felt. She was still surprised sometimes by the intensity of their love. She hadn't always believed in it, but she was beginning to realize the same thing, and he sometimes surprised her with everything he knew about her. He had proved again and again since they had moved back in together exactly how well he knew her. So she just smiled back at him. "You're so right. Now let's go home, Mr Scott. I'm not through with you yet," she said, a devilish glint in her eye as she stood up.
That idea definately appealed to Lucas. He jumped to his feet, noticing just what she was wearing, and then, since she was walking so slow, grabbed her up, running to the car with her thrown over his shoulder. "Lucas! Let me down! When I said let's go, I didn't mean carry me! Our bedroom isn't going anywhere! Lucas! Let me down," the laughter in her voice was ruining her attempt at a stern tone. She slapped his ass, just as he reached the car, and he finally set her back on her own feet. She huffed, pretending to be angry and pointed a finger in his face. "Don't ever do that again," she glared at him.
Their eyes met and he grabbed her finger, stepping closer as he held her gaze. She couldn't help it anymore. Under the intensity of his gaze, she burst into giggles, and he took that as his cue to swoop in, hungrily attacking her lips with his. A few minutes later, she broke away, gasping for breath as she rested her forehead against his. Lucas was breathless as well, but he just moved his lips down to her shoulder, hitting the spot that he had discovered one day when they had been making cookies. As Peyton errupted into giggles, they both thought of that day.
FLASHBACK
About six months after the twins were born, Peyton was finally allowing them to stay the night at someone else's house. It had taken a lot of convincing, and begging on both Lucas's and Haley's part, but Peyton had finally allowed herself to be separated from her babies for more than a few hours. Lucas was just getting home from dropping them off, and he followed his nose to the kitchen. He was surprised to see Peyton in the kitchen, mixing a big bowl of cookie dough. There was also a cookie sheet full of already cooked cookies resting on the stove. "What is this?" he asked, walking over to Peyton, reaching around her and grabbing one of the already made cookies.
As Lucas tossed it from hand to hand for a moment, trying to get it to cool down, Peyton set the mixing bowl down, turning around and looking up at Lucas, so she could gauge his reaction. "Well, I mean, this is our first night alone in six months. I thought I'd celebrate it by making your favorite food, which, I just so happen to know, is chocolate chip cookies," she explained. She felt bad for the hard time she had given him. She knew now that all he wanted was some alone time with her. She wanted it too, really. She was just being too much of an overprotective mother, and she had finally realized that. Now she wanted to make it up to him.
Lucas finally took a bite of the cookie, but immediately brought his free hand up to his mouth, holding it as he turned, running to the sink before dropping his hand and spitting out the cookie. He grabbed a napkin and wrapped the rest of the cookie in it as he turned back to Peyton. She had a horrified look on her face, but before she could ask what she did wrong, he had a question for her. "Peyton, how much salt did you put in these?" he asked, pointing to the wrapped cookie in his hand.
Peyton shrugged as he tossed the napkin to the counter. She looked at the recepie, confirming that she had read it right. "Just a dash, which is exactly what it says in the book," she said, pointing to the line in the cook book. He hesitantly asked her to show him how much as he held out his hand toward her. She eyed him warily before picking up the salt, taking his hand and pouring some salt on it. "About that much, you know, a dash," she repeated.
Lucas's eyes had widened as the pile of salt on his hand grew. When she finally stopped pouring, he used his free hand to pick up a pinch and throw it over his shoulder before throwing the rest in the sink as he mumbled incoherantly under his breath. He turned back to his girlfriend. "Peyton, honey, that wasn't a dash. That was a handful. No wonder the cookies are salty," he said, rolling his eyes.
Peyton gasped, pretending to be offended for a moment. Then she got a devilish look on her face as she got an idea. She picked up the bowl of cookie dough again, and picked some of it up in her fingers. "Well, I think you should try this batch. See what you think of it," she said, shoving at his mouth, getting some on his face as well, a grin now on her own face as she started laughing.
Lucas just stood there for a second, momentarily stunned. Then he got over the shock, and reached up to wipe the cookie dough from his mouth. "Nope, it's still salty," he said as he threw the cookie dough into the sink. He took the bowl from her arms, slyly picking up some cookie dough from the bowl. "I think I need a second opinion, though," he said, smearing it on her face, laughing just as she had been moments ago.
There was another moment of silence, filled only by Lucas's laughter. Peyton was frozen, the chunk of cookie dough half way in her mouth and halfway smeared onto her cheek. She didn't even bother to reach up and wipe it off. She grabbed the bowl out of his hands. "That is it, Lucas Scott, you are so gonna get it," she said, and that started a full on cookie dough war, which resulted in them being covered in cookie dough, as well at the kitchen and most of the living room. It was surprising at how much of a mess they ended up making with the amount of cookie dough they had.
When Lucas was out of cookie dough, he was just outside the entrance to the kitchen, just out of her line of sight. Peyton was standing behind the table, which she had tipped onto its side to use as a sheild. She had the bowl of cookie dough in her hand, though not much was left. She wanted to get him out of hiding, and she knew just how to do it. "Oh, I've got cookie dough all over. Oh, look, it's even in my bra. I guess I'll have to take it off to get all the cookie dough out," she said in a loud voice, while standing, ready to throw the cookie dough.
Lucas immediately entered the kitchen, and held up the lid he was using as a shield as cookie dough came flying at him. He held the sheild and his free hand up in surrender. "I give up, I give up," he said, waiting for her to put down the cookie dough as he crossed the kitchen toward her. He took the bowl from her and set both it and the lid on the counter, before facing Peyton again, helping her as she stepped over the table, so she was on the same side as him. "Now, if anyone is going to help you take your bra off, please, let it be me," he said as he took her in his arms, kissing her.
As they kissed, the sunk to the ground, leaning against the table for support as they made out. Peyton pointed to a spot on her shoulder, where there was a chuck of cookie dough, and told him that he'd missed a spot. Lucas attacked it with his lips, causing her to giggle. "You know, I take that back. This is the best cookie I've ever had," he said, before kissing her shoulder again, noticing that she jumped and giggled all the harder when he did.
END FLASHBACK
When Peyton caught her breath, pulled away, wanting to get into the car so they could get back to the house and finish what he'd started. "God, I thought I was never going to get all the cookie dough cleaned up. It was everywhere," she said, just to make conversation as they drove to the house. It had been a long night after that cookie dough fight, and then they had to get up in the morning to clean the apartment up before they went to pick up the boys. It had been a lot of scrubbing, because the cookie dough had dried over night.
Lucas remembered that day, too, but he was thinking of the night and cleaning the cookie dough off of themselves. Peyton could see the lust in his blue eyes and just smirked at him, glancing over at the speed limit sign they had just passed. She was teasing him by going the speed limit and they both knew it. He reached out and softly touched her bare thigh in retaliation. Then he reached up, and brushed her curls out of her face. "You know, you're beautiful, Peyton Scott, and I love you," he said.
Peyton looked over at him, a small smile on her face when he saw the adoration in his eyes. She loved the way he made her feel gorgeous, even when she knew she wasn't. She was wearing pajamas with no make-up on and she hadn't even brushed her hair. He was looking at her like she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, though, and that made her step harder on the gas. Instead of responding to the compliment, though, she simply said, "I kind of like you," in a serious tone, as she tried to hide her smile.
Before Lucas could banter back, Peyton was pulling the car into the driveway to their house, and they both got out of the car, headed for the front door. Peyton was still turning the key in the lock when Lucas reached her, unable to stop himself any longer. Their lips crashed together and Peyton wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him lift her up so she could wrap her legs around her waist. Than they were just a tangled mass of limbs as they made their way through the house, shedding clothes as they headed toward their bedroom.
A few hours later, Lucas was the one that woke up to an empty bed. He reached out to touch the cold sheets, just as the door to their bedroom opened. The early morning sunlight was streaming through the window, and Peyton playfully climbed on top of him in bed, straddling his hips and leaning down to kiss him lightly, "I had been hoping you'd still be asleep. It would have been fun to wake you up," she said, trailing kisses along his jaw. "I made us breakfast, but you have to get out of bed to get it," she said seductively.
Before Lucas could do anything to stop it, Peyton was gone. He noticed that she was only wearing one of his tee-shirts and her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, but that was all he got a chance to see before she was out of the room. He desperately wanted to sleep some more, considering it was an ungodly hour, and she had kept him up most of last night, but he couldn't help but get up and follow his wife. Besides, the smells from the kitchen were making their way up to their bedroom, and Peyton's cooking skills had greatly improved since the cookie incident.
Peyton was setting one plate full of food onto the table when he entered the dining room. She sat a set of silverwere next to it, and was about to sit down, when Lucas wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "It smells delicious, Mrs Scott," he whispered into her ear, talking about the food, and also her, as he breathed in the scent of her strawberry shampoo. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.
A smile appeared on Peyton's face when he called her Mrs Scott. She would never tire of hearing that. She could hardly believe she was someone's wife now, but at the same time, she couldn't believe it had taken her so long to become Lucas's wife. In reality, she had been Mrs Scott for a lot longer than just a day. It had just taken them a while to get their act together and make it official. "That sounds perfect," she whispered back, referring to his words, more specifically, the last two. She placed her hands on top of where his were linked on her stomach, and just stood in his arms for a minute.
Then they broke apart, and sat down, sharing the same plate and the same silverware as they ate breakfast together in an empty house. When they were getting close to being finished with breakfast, Peyton noticed that Lucas was about to ask her something. She wasn't sure what it would be, but she waited for him to speak. "Are you okay with the fact that we didn't have a honeymoon?" he asked, probably for the twentieth time since they had made the decision. She wasn't sure where the question had come from this morning. She had thought they had already discussed this.
Peyton took the fork from Lucas's hand and sat it down on the plate, looking up and meeting his gaze as she scooted her chair closer to his, taking his hand at the same time. "Listen to me, I already told you. I am perfectly okay with the lack of honeymoon. We decided that we're just too busy to take any amount of time away from our lives. We have the kids, and work, and our family. Not to mention the whole mess of drama that sprung up yesterday. Last night was enough. We got to be alone, and when does that ever happen?" she paused, looking at him.
There was silence for a moment, and she could tell Lucas was still hesitant. "I know you've said that you want our lives to be perfect, but when are you going to get it through your head? As long as I have you, and our kids, then nothing else matters. We don't need to go away. In fact, all that will lead to is me missing my kids and my friends. I'm just glad I finally get to be your wife. I don't need to go to France or anywhere else to celebrate that. We can go visit other countries later, when our kids are grown, or we get tired of them, which ever happens first," she joked, letting him know that her words were true and then they went back to eating.
When they were finished, Peyton stood to take their plate to the sink. Lucas followed her into the kitchen, standing at the counter, as he watched her frame. He could easily take her back to bed right now, and spend the whole day there, but their was something he had to do first. "Well, my wife, I'm going to shower, and then head to the Cafe. Want to join me in the shower?" he asked, as she finished cleaning up. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, trying to take away from the seriousness of what he was about to do.
Peyton knew exactly what he was doing, but she was glad that he was at least going to see Karen today. She'd allow him a little time to stall, besides, the sound of him calling her wife made her want him all the more. "Yeah, I need to shower before I pick up the kids anyway," she said, just as she finished loading the dishwasher. He turned to go upstairs and, with a mischevious grin, she ran and jumped on his back, making him piggy back her up to their room, as she laughed the whole way.
A/N: Okay, this chapter came out kind of easy, the only reason it wasn't up sooner was because I couldn't find the time to write it. My weekend was occupied with birthday stuff, and we have testing this week, which really sucks. Anyway, I am working on my OTH/Twilight crossover, and I should post a chapter of that before I get to another chapter of this, unless inspiration hits me for the next chapter like it did for this chapter, which is entirely possible, because I already know what's going to happen next chapter. So, I guess we'll just have to see what my muse wants me to write.
Also, on another note, I didn't get as many reviews as I expected for last chapter. Not that I really need the reviews, because I do enjoy writing the story with or without reviews. It's just, the reviews really do help me, and the lack of reviews make me wonder. Did y'all not like the last chapter? Are you losing interest in this fic? I did have some other possible storylines for this, but I won't write them if people don't want to read them. So, tell me what you think, please, and give your opinion on what you think should happen between Karen and Lucas, if you'd like. Thanks to those of you who do review, it means a lot.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill. I borrowed the cookie scene from the fourth season because it's one of my favorites, but it's not perfect, becuase I didn't feel like actually watching the episode to get it perfect. So, it came out of my memory, the best I remember it, with some minor alterations on my part, but the scene belongs to the show, not me. I take no credit for anything.