"Sam?" Jack said, looking down at Lucas. "Oh shit."

"What did you do?" Brooke yelled, running to Lucas. He groaned and rolled over, his hand moving up to the back of his head.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, backing up. "I didn't know it was you, I swear."

"Lucas," Brooke said, leaning over him. "Lucas, are you okay?"

"Damn," Lucas said, sitting up. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" Sam asked him. "Why haven't you answered my calls?"

Jack looked back into the house. "I was going to," he told her. "I just stopped by here to get some money, and then I was going to drop the kid off at the police station and then just leave town. I figured I'd call you to let you know where I was going, so maybe you could come with me."

"The kid?" Brooke said, looking up. "Jamie?"

Jack nodded. "I got him away from them," he told her.

For the first time, Brooke noticed Jack's face. "Oh, Jack," she said. He looked worse than she had after her attack. "What did they do to you? Did they hurt Jamie too?"

"Jamie!" Jack called into the house. "It's okay, you can come out." He looked back at Brooke. "I told him to hide in case you guys were my cousins."

Jamie came to the doorway. When he saw Brooke, he ran out of the house and into her arms. "Aunt Brooke!" he cried. He looked down at Lucas. "Uncle Lucas!"

"Jamie," Brooke breathed, holding the little boy tightly. "Oh, Jamie, we've been so worried."

Sam moved closer to Jack. "Are you okay?" she asked him, her finger lightly touching his face.

Jack grimaced and moved his head back. "I'm going to be okay," he told her. "But we need to get out of here. Once my cousins realize the kid is missing, they'll come here."

"They hurt Grandpa Dan," Jamie said, tears streaming down his little face. "He got hurt when we left."

Jack looked at Brooke. "They shot him," he told her quietly. "He was creating a distraction so I could get Jamie out with them noticing."

"Oh no," Brooke said, frowning. She bent down to Lucas. "Luke, are you okay?" she asked him again.

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head a little. He felt the warm trickle of blood running down his neck but ignored it. "Where is Dan?" he asked Jack.

Jack pointed to a dirt road beside the house. "All the way down that road, there's a dead end. You keep walking straight for another half a mile and there's a barn. That's where we've been." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about your Dad, man. And about your head. I really am."

Lucas got to his feet, staggering a little. "You saved Jamie," he told Jack. "And I'm going to get my dad back."

"Lucas," Brooke said, putting her hand on his arm. "You were just hit with a bat."

He nodded slightly, wincing at the pain in his head. "Brooke, you and the kids go back to the car. Call Nathan; let him know what's happening. If Dan's been shot, I don't have time to wait for them."

"You're not going alone," she told him.

"I'll go with him," Jack told her. "It's my family."

"Jack," Sam said, reaching for her friend.

Brooke shook her head. "No, Jack, I'll go."

"Brooke, dammit, go to the car," Lucas told her.

Brooke stood in front of him, taking his face in her hands. "There is no way I could ever live with myself if I let you do this alone and something happened to you. I'm going with you, or I'm going right behind you. Either way, I'm going."

"Brooke, I can't lose you," Lucas told her. "I need you to be safe."

"Then I guess I'm going with you instead of behind you." She looked at Jack. "Is that bat the only weapon you have?"

Jack shook his head, going back into the house. He returned with a pistol. "I don't know how to use it."

"That's probably a good thing," Lucas remarked dryly, taking the gun. He checked it to make sure it was loaded, and then handed it to Brooke. She knew how to handle a gun and he was seeing two of everything; the gun would be useless in his hands. "I'll take the bat."

Brooke nodded. She looked at Sam. "Sam, you and Jack take Jamie back to the car and call Nathan. Tell them that Dan's been shot and we need an ambulance. Jack, you drive them to the police station." Jack nodded. Brooke bent down, looking at Jamie. "We're going to get your Grandpa Dan, okay? Don't worry."

"What if they hurt you and Uncle Lucas too?" Jamie asked her fretfully.

"They won't, bud," Lucas told him, hugging his nephew. "We need you to be strong and take care of Sam and Jack, okay?"

Jamie nodded, hugging Lucas tightly. Brooke hugged Sam. "Be careful," Sam whispered to the woman, surprised at how much she had grown to care for her in the very short amount of time they'd been together. Brooke nodded and let her go, turning to hug Jack, surprising him. "You take care of them," she told him.

"I will," he said.

Brooke and Lucas stepped back. "Go," Lucas told them.

"Just remember," Sam told them as they started away from the house, "that now is no time to be making out."

Brooke rolled her eyes and watched as they got back to the road. She looked at Lucas. "How badly are you hurt?" she asked him quietly.

Lucas took her hand and started walking down the road. "Don't be anywhere near me if I'm swinging the bat," he told her as they walked into the moonlight.

"That's what I was afraid of," she said. She knew it was pointless to try to convince him to wait for help. She hoped the police and an ambulance would pass them on the road they were on and take over. She could shoot, but she wasn't sure she could ever kill someone.

They walked in silence, grateful for the moon. Everything seemed too quiet. "I guess they haven't noticed that Jamie and Jack are gone yet."

"It won't be long," Lucas told her, stepping over a large rock. "I don't know what's going to happen when they do."

"How are we going to go in?" she asked him.

"I don't know what kind of barn it is," he said, almost to himself. "If there's living there, it has to have doors; probably not a tobacco barn." Brooke nodded. "We'll just have to wait and see."

After they'd walked for another few minutes they heard voices. They quickly moved into the tall grass on the right of the road, hunkering down. They stayed quiet as they heard a 4 wheeler start, dropping lower to the ground as its headlights swept the area they were in as the person driving it turned around. "Find them," a man said angrily, shouting to be heard over the sound of the motor. Lucas looked at Brooke, who nodded. They'd just realized that Jamie and Jack were missing.

"That only leaves Mikey," he said as the 4 wheeler sped past them.

"We can do this," Brooke said, getting to her feet. Lucas moved more slowly, still dizzy.

They reached the end of the road and walked into the grass. Moving as quickly as possible, they saw the light from the barn almost immediately. "There it is," Lucas said.

The barn was large and had been converted into living quarters. Brooke immediately thought of the place Patrick Swayze's character had lived in for the movie Road House, and then made a face when she realized she had more important things to be thinking about than old movies. "Do you think the doors are locked?" she asked Lucas.

"Only one way to find out," he told her. They walked to the large front door and paused, listening. Not hearing anyone, he pulled on the handle. It was open.

"Should we go in?" Brooke asked.

"I think you're fine where you are," a voice said from behind them. Lucas closed his eyes when he realized how stupid they'd been. He and Brooke turned around slowly to find Mickey behind them, gun pointed at Brooke. "Drop the weapons or I'll shoot," he told them. They complied. "I know you," he said to Brooke. "You were at the hospital."

"Look," Lucas said. "We don't want any trouble."

"You some of them Jehovah's Witnesses, then?" the man asked. "Coming to spread the Good Word?" He grinned and Brooke realized that Sam had been right; these people were scary.

"We just want Dan," she said. "That's all."

"You don't want him," the man told her. "He'll be stinking after a while and there ain't no cleaner that'll get that smell out of your curtains."

Brooke gasped and Lucas closed his eyes. His father was dead; they were too late. "You killed him?"

"Naw, Carrie did. Stupid bitch, you can't give her a gun without her shooting someone," Mickey said, obviously annoyed. "We's gonna ransom that old bastard, get enough money to get the hell out of here. Now we're screwed."

"What about Xavier?" Brooke asked him.

Mickey shrugged. "He'll get out eventually. He'll know where we are."

"I have money," Brooke told him. "I can give you money."

"Oh yeah?" he asked her. "How much money you got?"

"Millions," she told him.

He snorted. "And what? You gonna walk to the nearest ATM and make a withdrawal?"

"I can go to the bank in the morning, get as much as you need."

Mickey looked behind him. "We ain't going nowhere until Carrie gets that boy back."

"She's not getting him back," Lucas told the man. "Jack took him to the police station. The cops are on their way now. You should take this time to run, get away."

The gun wavered in Mickey's hand. "You're lying."

Lucas shook his head slowly. "They'll be here any minute."

"Shit!" the man said angrily. "We shoulda left after I shot that boy, but no. We gotta get that brat, can't leave without him. Stupid bitch!" He spit on the ground as he said it.

"You should go now," Brooke told him. "Just leave."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" he screamed at Brooke, moving closer to her and putting the gun up to her head. "Don't open that whore mouth again, you fucking got me?"

Ice coursed through Lucas's veins as the man threatened Brooke. His eyes wild, spit flew out of Mickey's mouth as he screamed. Lucas couldn't hear him; a faint buzzing what all he heard as time slowed down. He looked behind the man, his head lifting in recognition and surprise. Was it a ghost? If Dan was dead then it surely was.

Mickey, noticing Lucas's expression, quickly turned and pointed the gun at Dan. Lucas pushed Brooke back and swung his arm, his elbow connecting with the side of the man's head as his gun went off. As Mickey staggered, Brooke picked up the bat and tossed it to Lucas. Lucas caught it and swung it as the other man turned around, shooting again. The bullet missed Lucas, but the bat connected. Mickey went down on his knees, dropping the gun. Lucas hit him again and the man was unconscious.

Lucas looked behind him to see Dan on his knees. "Dad," he cried, rushing towards the older man. The word came without thought and was something he'd analyze later.

Dan was holding his stomach, looking down at the blood that poured over his hands. "Lucas," he said weakly.

"We're going to get you out of here," Lucas told him. "How badly are you hurt? Did he hit you?"

Dan shook his head. "Last shot missed." He smiled at Lucas, lifting his blood stained hand. "Got hit earlier, though." He grimaced. "You came to save me," he said.

Lucas nodded, looking back for Brooke. "Brooke," he said.

"Brooke's a little busy," Carrie said, the barrel of her gun against Brooke's head.

"Where did you come from?" Lucas asked. He hadn't heard the 4 wheeler.

"I saw you in the field," she told him. "I turned around for just a second and spotted you two walking toward the barn. I parked the 4 wheeler and came back just in time to see you knock out my brother." She shook her head. "You really shouldn't have done that."

Brooke was trying to tell Lucas something with her eyes, but he had no idea what it was. He walked closer to the two women but Carrie held up her hand. "Stop," she told him. "Stop right there."

"What do you want?" Lucas asked her.

"I want my little boy back!" she screamed at him.

"Jamie is not your little boy," Brooke said.

Carrie turned to look at her. "Guess what, bitch?" she said to Brooke. "You don't have a man anymore." She quickly pointed the gun at Lucas, firing off a shot. Dan, realizing what she was going to do a moment before she fired, grabbed Lucas's leg and knocked him down. The bullet that would have hit his heart instead passed through his shoulder, hitting Dan behind him.

"No!" Brooke screamed, jumping at the woman before she could fire again. Carrie swung the gun back around, pushing it into Brooke's stomach.

"I hope this hurts," Carrie said, grinning.

Lucas hadn't hit the ground after being shot. He didn't even feel the pain as he ran towards the two women, tackling Carrie. Falling, she squeezed off the shot. Lucas screamed, something in him snapping. He fell on top of her, knocking the breath out of both of them. Carrie tried to point the gun at him but he caught her arm, slamming it against the ground. She wouldn't let go of it. Lucas kept slamming her arm until he heard something snap. Screaming in pain, Carrie finally let go of the gun.

Brooke sat on the ground beside them, watching Lucas grab the weapon. "Luke," she said, her hands pressing into her side.

Lucas looked over at her, tears moving down his dust covered face. "Brooke?"

"I'm alive," she told him. "I'm going to be okay." She had been afraid that he was going to kill the other woman.

Lucas looked back at Carrie, motioning for her to stand. Cradling her arm, the woman got to her feet. "Where are you hit, Brooke?" he asked her.

"My side," she said, biting her lip at the pain. "I think it's okay."

"Dan?"

Brooke looked over at the older man. "He's down," she told him, her lower lip trembling as she looked back at him. Hearing a noise beside her, she looked over. "Lucas!" she cried as Mickey ran towards them.

Lucas turned quickly around and shot, hitting the other man in the chest. Carrie screamed, running towards Lucas. Brooke picked up the bat he'd dropped and swung from her seated position, hitting the woman in the knee. Carrie fell to the ground, writhing in pain. "Bitch," Brooke said, watching her.

"Lucas," Nathan called from the field. "It's me, okay?"

"Nathan," Lucas said, his body sagging in relief.

Nathan ran up to the barn, breathing hard. "The police should be right behind me," he told them. "I didn't want to wait."

"Dan's down," Lucas told him. "Go check on him, okay?" Nathan nodded, running over to the man.

"Lucas," Brooke said, still watching Carrie. "I think I'm going to pass out." She wasn't sure, but she thought that she'd lost too much blood.

"I'll carry you," he told her. "Can you stand?"

"You can't carry me," Brooke told him. "You've been shot too, Luke."

As if her words were the reminder he'd needed, pain shot through his shoulder, so intense he almost blacked out. He wouldn't be able to carry her. Where was the damn ambulance?

"He's alive," Nathan said, running back to Lucas. "But barely." He looked at his brother and his friend. "You've all been shot?" he asked in shocked disbelief. Lucas nodded and Nathan looked around, trying to find some way to get them to help. "Where's the damn ambulance?" he muttered, unintentionally repeating Lucas's thoughts.

Carrie was sobbing quietly, watching them. "Nathan, help me," she said. "Do you see what they've done to me? They killed my brother!" She screamed loudly, causing the others to jump.

"Can't you knock her out?" Brooke asked them.

"Carry Brooke," Lucas told his brother. "Get her out of here."

Nathan looked to the field. "There's a 4 wheeler back there," he told Lucas. "I'm going to go get it and bring it back. Can you take Dan and Brooke out of here on it if I do that?"

Lucas gritted his teeth, nodding. "Hurry, little brother."

Nathan took off running again, ignoring the pain it caused him. He wasn't entirely recovered, as much as he wanted to be. He'd left his truck on the side of the road by the house and ran the way Jack had told him, praying he'd be in time to help his family. Now he was still praying. As he ran, he tried to figure out why the police hadn't made it to them yet.

Finally reaching the 4 wheeler, Nathan had trouble lifting his leg to get on it. He'd worked hard in the gym yesterday, before his world had fallen apart. Remembering the look of urgency on Lucas's face, he forced himself on the ATV and started it. He drove straight back to the barn and parked it beside Dan. "Dad," he said, wincing as he got off the vehicle. "Dad, I need your help. I can't lift you."

Dan groaned, barely conscious. Nathan helped him up, both men stumbling. Sweat poured into Nathan's eyes, stinging them. Working together, they got Dan on the back of the 4 wheeler. Nathan got on and drove it to Lucas and Brooke. He was alarmed at how weak they both looked. "Lucas, I have to stay here with Carrie," he told his brother as he got off. "Give me the gun and take Brooke and Dan."

"I don't know if I can," Lucas told him.

"Lucas, get up," Nathan pleaded. "I don't know what else to do."

Lucas looked over at Brooke, who was slowly losing consciousness. He forced himself to stand. "Take this," he told his brother, handing him the gun. "If she moves, shoot her ass."

Both men helped Brooke up, getting her to the 4 wheeler. Lucas got on, and they worked to get Brooke on in front of him. Neither man was paying attention to Carrie, who had picked up the bat Brooke had dropped and stood up, limping her way to them.

Dan grabbed the gun from Nathan's hand and shot her as she started to swing for Nathan's back. The shot hit exactly where he was aiming; right between her eyes. "Now we can all go," he said, dropping the gun. He lost consciousness again, slumping forward.

Nathan stared at his father for a moment, and then looked at Lucas. "Can you drive?"

Lucas nodded. Nathan got onto the back of the 4 wheeler, holding onto Dan. "Let's go," he said. "I need to see my son."

Lucas drove them slowly through the field, afraid to go too fast in case he lost consciousness. They reached the house and kept going, driving the ATV out onto the road. They passed Nathan's truck; there was no way they could get off the 4 wheeler and into the other vehicle as weak as they all were. He kept going until he finally saw flashing lights.

Several police cars and an ambulance stopped in the middle of the road, EMT personnel jumping out to help them. Nathan answered some questions as he sat on the 4 wheeler while they loaded Brooke, Dan and Lucas into ambulances. "What took you guys so long?" he asked, watching police cars rush past them, presumably en route to the barn.

"The kid driving your son ran a red light, caused a pretty bad accident. We couldn't get through."

"Jamie," Nathan said, sitting up. "My son, is he okay?"

The officer nodded. "Their car wasn't involved in the accident."

"Was anyone hurt?"

Nodding again, the officer helped Nathan off the ATV. "Had to cut a couple out of their vehicles. They'll be okay, though." Seeing how much pain Nathan was in, he frowned. "Do you need an ambulance?"

Nathan shook his head. "I need to see my son."

"I'll take you," he told Nathan. He helped Nathan into the back of his cruiser and got in, radioing dispatch to tell them he was on the way to the hospital with Nathan Scott.

"Why are they at the hospital?" Nathan asked.

"Checking the kids out," the cop told him. "Standard procedure." He looked in the mirror. "The Daniel's family is a pretty tough bunch. How'd y'all get away?"

"The Scott family is tougher," Nathan said simply, closing his eyes and leaning back against the seat.