The Sunday morning sunlight poured through Peyton's window, hitting her in the face and causing her to wince as she opened her eyes. She closed them again, turning onto her side with her back towards the window, rolling right into another body. She wasn't used to sleeping in the same bed with someone, but she didn't mind, when she opened her eyes and saw that it was Lucas she was laying next to. Her father, of course, had had to go on a job, so he had left yesterday, and Karen had agreed to let Lucas stay at Peyton's, but she had made it clear that it wouldn't be happening all the time.

Rachel, Brooke and Jake were leaving later that day, so Peyton knew she had to get up soon. When she saw that Lucas was still asleep, though, she decided that staying in bed for just a while longer wouldn't matter that much. She knew the perfect way to wake him up, too. She propped herself up onto her elbow, being careful of her ribs, and leaned over, kissing his cheek, then his other cheek, his forehead, his nose, basically everywhere except his mouth. Lucas woke up about halfway through this and put his hands on Peyton's waist, carefully pulling her on top of him as he pulled her lips to his. "I could get used to waking up like this," he said when they broke away for air.

Neither of them heard the door open. "Geez, P. Sawyer, aren't you supposed to be taking it easy? You just got out of the hospital a couple of days ago," Brooke's voice startled both of them because neither of them had heard her enter the room. Peyton jumped, causing her to jerk her ribs the wrong way. With a yelp of pain, she fell next to Lucas on the bed, clutching her torso above the broken rib and breathing heavily.

Lucas sat up, carefully helping Peyton lay flat on her back, as Brooke stepped closer to the bed, apologising. Peyton looked at Lucas first. "I think now would be a good time to take my pain pill," she said, and he got out of bed, leaving the room so he could get the pill and something for her to take it with. When Lucas was gone, she turned to Brooke. "It's okay, B. Davis, I'm fine. It's not your fault," she said, cutting off Brooke's apologies.

Lucas came back into the room, holding Peyton's bottle of pain pills and a bottle of water. Peyton sat up, taking the bottle and opening it while he opened the bottle, pouring a pill onto his hand and handing it to her. She threw it in her mouth, swallowed some of the water, then put the lid back onto the water bottle, passing it off to Lucas as she leaned back into the pillows once more.

Peyton had her eyes closed, but she could feel both Brooke and Lucas hovering around the bed, and she could imagine the concerned looks on both of their faces. She sighed, and didn't bother opening her eyes as she spoke. She knew the pain would stop soon. "Relax, both of you. I'll be fine, just as soon as the pain pill kicks in," she told them. Lucas set the water bottle and the pill bottle on Peyton's nightstand and sat next to her, noticing then that he was only wearing boxers, and Brooke was still in the room. He pulled Peyton's blanket over the lower half of his body.

Brooke wasn't even paying attention to Lucas. She was watching Peyton intently. With a sigh, Peyton opened her eyes, staring directly at Brooke. She could tell that Brooke was still blaming herself for the accident, and knew that she needed to talk to Brooke, especially since Brooke was leaving tomorrow, and they hadn't gotten a chance to have a real conversation yet. She glanced over at Lucas. "Could you fix me something to eat?" she asked him, but her eyes told him that she needed alone time with Brooke. Lucas understood and nodded, placing a kiss on her forehead before he stood. "And put some clothes on, mister," she said, her tone becoming more teasing.

Lucas chuckled, but didn't say anything. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a shirt before leaving the room, closing the door as he did. Brooke walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down where Lucas had been previously. Peyton's pain was starting to lessen, just a little bit, so she sat up slightly. She was just about to open her mouth, but Brooke didn't need any prompting. "I really am sorry, Peyton," she said. Peyton knew how serious she was, because Brooke never called anyone by their real first name once she had made up a nickname for them.

Peyton sighed, carefully sitting up all the way. She didn't know what to say to convince Brooke that it wasn't her fault. "You listen to me, Brooke, and you listen good," she said sternly, so that Brooke would look at her. When she was sure she had Brooke's complete attention, she continued. "I do not blame you. I was the one trying to jump out of the car. Ah, ah," she made a noise to cut off Brooke's protest. "It's the truth, Brooke, and even if it wasn't, nothing can chage what happened. It was an accident, horrible, yes, but it did happen. Besides, if it hadn't, I wouldn't be where I am now. I would still be an empty shell, and while I do wish it didn't happen, it snapped me out of my stupor, and I'm thankful for that. So think of the good, and stop blaming yourself for things you can't change," Peyton's tone left no room for arguement.

Brooke thought about what Peyton had said. She had never considered it like that before. Maybe it could be considered good, in the end. Peyton was back to being Peyton, and she seemed happier, so she shouldn't feel guilty. She knew the guilt wouldn't completely go away, at least not immediately, but she felt better about the situation now. "I love you, P. Sawyer. I'm glad you're doing better. You heal up quick, hear me, and the next time we see each other, let's not get involved in a car accident, or end up in the hospital for any reason, okay?" she said, a slight smile on her face.

Peyton grinned, nodding. Looking down at her cast, and still feeling the pain that hadn't completely faded yet, she had to agree with that last part. "Yeah, I'm a bit sick of the hospital. Next time we see each other, let's let it be for a happier reason," she said, before giving the bubbly brunette a hug. Peyton could smell good smells coming from the kitchen, so she moved toward the edge of the bed, grabbing her crutches. "Now, I'm going down for breakfast. I have some unfinished business with my boyfriend," she said.

Brooke laughed, but didn't comment on the scene she had walked in on earlier. Peyton left the room, heading down the hallway, stopping in the bathroom to brush her teeth before going downstairs to the kitchen. Brooke left the room as well, going down the hallway in the other direction, headed for the guest room she was sharing with Jake. She had gotten out of bed while he was still sleeping, and she wondered if he had woken up yet. As she slipped into the room, she saw that he was up, packing up the last of their things.

She slipped into the room, sneaking up behind him as his back had been facing the door, and wrapping her arms around his waist, kissing his neck from behind. He dropped the clothes he had been folding and turned in her arms, so he was facing her. As he looked into her eyes, he could tell something was different. "You talk to Peyton," he instantly realized. He had known that she wouldn't be completely okay until she had gotten to talk to Peyton. He could also tell she didn't completely forgive herself yet, but she was on the way there.

She smiled at him, her dimples flashing. She loved how well he knew her. All he had to do was look at her, and he could tell what she was feeling and thinking. He knew her better than anyone else, and she loved that. "I love you," she said simply, instead of replying to his statement. It hadn't been a question anyway, and even if it had been, he knew the answer. She didn't wait for his response. She moved her arms from his waist to his neck, kissing him passionately. He was shocked for a moment, but she felt his arms wrap around her waist as he responded.

She knew exactly why he was a little shocked. She hadn't kissed him once since the accident, actually, she had barely made any contact at all, except what was absolutly necessary. She just kept kissing him, though, pushing him back onto the bed as things got more heated. A little while later, when they had broken apart, both of them breathing heavily, Jake murmured, "We're going to be all right. Everything will be okay." Brooke nodded, silently agreeing with him before crushing her lips to his again. She had to make up for lost time.

In the kitchen, Peyton had pulled herself up onto the counter, next to the sink, propping her crutches up next to her. Lucas was finishing up her breakfast. She began chatting with him as he cooked, thankful for the normalcy. She wasn't looking forward to school tomorrow, but she knew she'd have to face it sometime. She knew she'd make it through the day, only because she knew Lucas would be by her side. With Lucas next to her, she knew she'd be able to get through anything. She looked fondly down at her ring, getting lost in her thoughts and forgetting that they had been in the middle of a conversation.

She was broken out of her thoughts by Lucas, who was standing right in front of her, in between her legs, as he pressed his lips to hers. His hands moved to her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, forgetting about the pain that was still slowly fading away. When she needed air, she broke away, resting her forehead against his and gently playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, where her hands rested. "What was that for?" she asked when she had regained enough breath to talk.

He grinned back at her, his blue eyes flashing mischeviously. "We were kind of interrupted this morning," he said, his hands on her waist tightening, sliding her even closer to him. "Besides, I've really missed my girlfriend. It's good to have you back, you know?" he became a little more serious, but the smile was still on his face, and in his eyes.

Peyton sighed, but it was a happy sigh. She was perfectly content to stay in Lucas's arms forever. If only that were possible. "It's good to be back," she replied honestly. She realized now exactly how wrong she had been to crawl into her shell as she had. She had almost pushed away Lucas, and everyone else she loved, including Rachel. As if summoned by Peyton's thoughts, Rachel entered the kitchen, sending Peyton a look. "I love you, but you're going to burn my breakfast," she reluctantly let him go, turning him around and pushing him back to the stove.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Your breakfast is already finished, love, and that was why I came over her in the first place. To help you down and to the kitchen table," he said, before doing just that. He carried her into the dining room and sat her down at the table, in front of the plate of food he had made for her. He brought her crutches setting them next to her before going into the kitchen to clean up. Rachel had gone into the dining room, and she was watching Peyton as Lucas left. Neither spoke while Peyton ate, and the silence still hung around them as Lucas re-entered the dining room. "I'm going to head home to change and check in with my mom. Love you," he told Peyton, kissing her on the top of the head before leaving the house.

Peyton called after him, echoing his sentiment as he left the house. Rachel took a seat at the table, watching as Peyton finished her breakfast. "I'm going to stay in Tree Hill," she finally announced, breaking the silence. Peyton looked up, in complete shock, her fork halfway to her mouth. She set her fork down, waiting for Rachel to continue. She had not been expecting this at all, but Rachel sounded completely sure in her decision. "There's no reason for me to go back," she added with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

Peyton sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that Rachel wanted to stay because she felt guilty, despite how ricilous it was. She shook her head. "Sorry, you can't stay," she told her simply. Rachel's eyes widened. Peyton continued before she could say anything. "You have to go back, and go to school tomorrow, just like I have to go to school tomorrow. You can't run from your life, Rachel. You do have friends there, and you get to go and graduate with them. It's too late in the year to switch schools now, and if you don't go back soon you won't even get to graduate," she paused, knowing that this wasn't the real issue.

Peyton realized her voice had gotten agitated, and Rachel was staring at her in shock. "This isn't about school, Rachel, and we both know it. You don't want to go back, because you feel guilty for the accident, and you want to be here in case something happens," she said, her voice softer, and Rachel didn't deny it. There was no point in denying the truth at this point. There was a brief silence before Peyton continued. "Well, don't feel guilty. You know why I came back, don't you?" Rachel looked up, with interest. "I knew I had made a mess of my life, and I needed to fix it. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," she said firmly. "You are, though," she added.

Rachel shook her head. "I know you're right, Peyton, but I feel so bad. I mean, do you realize if it wasn't for the accident, we probably still wouldn't be speaking. I walked out on you, when you needed me the most, and you could have died, and would have never fixed things. I made your saying true. People do always leave," she said sadly, looking down again shamefully.

Peyton shook her head adamantly, reaching across the table to take her best friends hand. "You know, Rach, there's a second half to that saying," she said, surprising Rachel and causing her to look up again. "Sometimes they come back. I didn't realize that then, but it's true. You came back, and Lucas didn't give up on me. You're all here now. Brooke even came back," she said, and then wished she hadn't. Rachel's eyes darkened at the mention of Brooke. "No, don't blame Brooke. The accident was my fault. I was the one trying to jump out of the moving car," she raised her voice to speak over Rachel's protests.

Rachel's voice died as she heard Peyton's admission. She didn't know that Peyton had been trying to jump out of the car. That made her blame Brooke just a bit less, but she still felt worried about Peyton. Peyton sensed that. "It was a horrible accident, but everything is better now. I may be a little battered physically, but things really are better, now, and I won't let you ruin your chance at graduation by staying here. Please, for my state of mind, get on that plane today, and go home. I'll be fine, I really will," she said.

Rachel nodded hesitantly, and neither of them noticed that Lucas was back in the house, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "I'll look after her for you, promise," he spoke, and Peyton looked up to him with a smile that only his presence brought out. He was in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, leaning against the door frame, and if it weren't for her broken leg and ribs, she'd jump him right there. He smiled back, as if reading her thoughts. He walked over toward her and leaned down, but instead of kissing her, he picked up her plate. "Finished with this?" he asked as he straightened, already walking toward the kitchen.

Peyton groaned in disappointment, glaring at Lucas's retreating back. She heard his laughter as he turned on the water. "Tease," she called, before turning to look at Rachel, who was looking down at her hands again. "You are going to go upstairs and pack your stuff right now, missy, then we are going to go to the airport, and you, Brooke and Jake are all going to get on that plane," she said firmly, expecting to get some more protests from her friend.

Rachel looked up at Peyton, nodding, more sure of herself than before. She knew Peyton was right. Besides, she wanted to find what Peyton had with Lucas, and what Haley had with Nathan, and, though she didn't like to admit it, because she disliked Brooke, what Brooke had with Jake. She was realizing that she might even have had it, if she hadn't ruined it already. That was why she had to go home, to see if she might still have it. "You know, I've been seeing someone," she said suddenly, realizing that she hadn't told Peyton yet.

Peyton was a little surprised at the subject change. She kinked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Rachel took that as a cue to continue. "His name's Marvin and he's completely opposite from the guys I usually date, but I think that's what I like about him. He's sweet and kind and smart. Everyone calls him Mouth, don't ask me why. I don't understand why he'd want to be with someone like me, but he does, or, at least, he did. I haven't talked to him since I came here. I don't know if he's moved on our not. I really think I could love him," she explained.

Peyton smiled. She had never seen Rachel get really deep with a guy before, and never the sweet type. Rachel was usually into the bad boy type. She could tell tell that Rachel really cared about this one, though. "Well, if it's meant to be, it'll work out. Just look at me and Lucas. I mean, life has thrown so many things at us, yet, we're still together. You go back and get your man," she said. Rachel smiled at her friend, before going to the room she had been staying in to pack her stuff.

A few hours later, Peyton was standing next to Lucas, leaning on her crutches as she watched her friends plane take off. He moved to stand behind her and she leaned back into him, resting her head on his chest. After a few minutes, Lucas broke the silence. "What's going on in that mind of yours, Blondie?" he asked. Peyton had her ear resting against his throat, and she could feel the vibrations as he spoke.

She turned, looking up at him, pretending that she hadn't just been lost in thought. "Nothing, why?" she asked. He just held her gaze steadily, waiting patiently for her to tell him what was wrong. She sighed, looking away from his searching gaze. "All right. Fine. I guess I'm just worried about tomorrow. I mean, I can barely remember my time at Tree Hill High, but I'm relatively sure I didn't make a good impression. It's almost like my first day all over again, because I try to block out those two months of my life," she told him.

Lucas pulled her close. He had had a feeling that the problem would be something like that. He knew she was worried about what everyone would say about her, and think about her. "It'll be fine, Peyton. Tomorrow's just another day. There's nothing to worry about. You'll do fine. We're almost done there anyway. What does it really matter what these people think? They don't know you, or what you've been through. Just be yourself. I'll be there for support," he paused, seeing that her spirit was lifted a little by that last sentiment, but not completely. "If all that doesn't work, I promise I'll take you home early, okay?" he asked.

Peyton cracked a smile this time, forcing herself to remember that she could get through anything, with Lucas by her side, which he would be. She had four of six classes with him, and the classes she didn't have with him, Haley was in. She could get through it. "Let's get out of here. We still have a full afternoon to finish what we started this morning," she said, a devilish grin now on her face. Lucas grinned back at her before picking her up, holding her carefully as he hurried out of the airport, with her laughing the whole way.

The next morning Lucas let himself into her house early. He just hadn't been able to wait any longer. He didn't hear any noise as he left his bag on the couch, heading up the stairs, and he found it odd that the house was silent. She should be up getting ready for school by now. When he pushed the door open to her room, he realized it was empty. He searched the whole house, but it was useless, she wasn't there. He was just about to get worried when his cell phone beeped, signaling that he had a text. It read: Change of plans. I'll meet you at school. I might be late. Love you. XOXO -Peyt

Lucas tried to call her, but it seemed that after sending the text, she had shut her phone off. He hoped she knew what she was doing, but he knew that she did. Still, he wanted to be there for her. He knew where she'd be, so thats where he headed. He grabbed his backpack and the keys to the Comet before heading to pick Peyton up. He pulled to a stop, and saw her exactly where he had known she would be. He got out of the car and walked over, standing behind her. He was about to open his mouth, but then he saw what she was wearing. She had on a plaid miniskirt and a tight black vintage tee-shirt, underneath her leather jacket. Her hair seemed extra curly this morning, and she had done her make-up perfectly.

Peyton had heard him approach, but was waiting for him to speak. She looked up at him, from where she was on the ground in front of her mother's grave stone, and saw that her was staring at her. She cocked her head to the side and kinked an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was thinking, but deciding to just finish up what she was there for. "So, I guess I should go to school now, Mom, since my ride has arrived. Thanks for the talk. I love you," she looked back up at Lucas, holding her hand out to him. "Well, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to help me up?" she asked.

He reached out, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet before pulling her into him, kissing her deeply. "You look gorgeous, Blondie," he said in explanation when they broke the kiss. She blushed, smiling at him, before bending to pick up her crutches. She winced slightly, and he noticed. "You took your pain medication this morning right?" he asked, concerned for her.

Peyton straightened, nodding. "Yeah, it just hasn't kicked in yet. I'll be fine," she said, smiling reassuredly. She used her crutches to move over to Grace's grave. "So, I guess I'll see you later. I got a handsome man waiting for me," she smiled slyly over at Lucas before saying her goodbyes to Grace. As she moved toward him, she asked, "You do have a car, right? I don't think I'll be able to get to school with only my crutches?" He raised an eyebrow at her, taking her bag as she struggled with it and her crutches. "I guess I didn't think over my plan this morning very well," she answered his look, rolling her eyes.

A couple hours later, they were sitting in the lunchroom, at a table with Haley, Nathan, and some of their other friends. Peyton was really trying to stay in the conversation, to almost everyone's surprise, but she kept getting distracted by Lindsey, who was sitting on Lucas's other side, flirting shamelessly with him, ignoring Peyton completely, despite the fact that Lucas was practically ignoring all of her advances. Peyton leaned across the table to whisper to Haley. "Is she always like this? It's like I'm not even here?" she said to her friend.

Haley shrugged, glancing at Lindsey, who had placed her hand on Lucas's arm while she laughed at a joke he had told the rest of the table, and he uncomfortably shifted, moving his arm out from under her hand. She looked back to Peyton. "Well, since you've come to school, it's almost been like you weren't here. To be honest, she's been like that almost all year. He's always ignored it, though," she sounded apologetic, and spoke quickly to defend Lucas, but that didn't stop Peyton from thinking about the words, even when Haley turned to converse with her husband.

Throughout the whole day, Peyton was shown time and time again exactly how much of a zombie she'd been since she had started Tree Hill High. Everyone else seemed shocked that she even had a voice, and when she raised her hand in class, the teachers looked surprised that she was there. She decided she had to change things. She spent the day speaking up as much as possible, even though she wasn't really sure what was going on in the classes. She vowed to go to Haley for help. Surely after a few tutoring sessions, she'd be caught up.

Her biggest annoyance, though, was Lindsey. She caught up with Lucas between almost every class, talking to him, flirting with him and flipping her hair, and completely ignoring Peyton. When the end of the day came, Peyton had her last class without Lucas. They had decided to meet at her locker, so she was on her way there, when she spotted Lindsey, and decided to take care of the pesky problem. "Hey, Lindsey," she called out, getting the brunettes attention.

Lindsey turned around, coming back toward Peyton, a bit of a confused look on her face, which she hid quickly. She stopped in front of Peyon, but Peyton didn't give her the chance to open her mouth before she started speaking. "Listen, slut, you need to stop flirting with my boyfriend. I realize I might have been out of it recently, but I am back to normal now, and I don't like what I'm seeing. You left him, and gave him up, so stop trying to get him back, because in case you haven't noticed, he doesn't want you. I'm only going to be nice about this once, so listen good. In case you haven't noticed from all the months he's spent ignoring you, he's with me now, and we're in love, and I treat him right, so unless you want me to mess up your face, you better stay away and keep your hands off my man," she said firmly.

There was silence because Lindsey was speechless. Peyton spotted Lucas over Lindsey's shoulder, so she moved past Lindsey, to Lucas, who took her bag for her. He had an amused look on his face. As they walked toward the lockers, and then toward the Comet, he stayed silent. "You know, you're extremely hot when you're telling someone off," he finally commented on the scene he had witnessed. Peyton had been waiting for him to tell him whether or not he had heard.

She looked sheepishly up at him, biting her lip. Then she decided she wasn't embarrassed by it, especially when she saw how amused he was. She shrugged, putting her crutches in the back and then getting in the passenger seat of the car. "Well, the slut deserves to know that she can't give you up over the summer, and then expect you to come crawling back to her, especially since you're with me now. She can't just flirt with you right in front of me and expect me not to do anything," she said, irritably as she noticed Lucas's smile widening. "Okay I was jealous," she admitted, letting him hear her say what he had been waited for her to admit. "Let's just go home, and maybe I'll let you stay so we can do homework together," she said, seductively as she changed the subject. He agreed, putting the car in drive and heading for her house.

A/N: Okay, so I managed to get this updated. Yay me! I still feel like crap, but there's only one chapter left of this, which will be the epilogue. I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do with it, but once I do, I should have it up fairly soon, though I'm not making any promises. I could probably drag this out longer, but I really don't want to. I think this'll be a good place to end it. I will put up the epilogue of this before I do anything else though, so it should be up this week. I have to say, I did have fun with this, and thanks for all your support. I really did love reading every review I got, which was over 200, and the most reviews I've gotten for any single fic. Thanks for that. I'm done babbling now. I've got to get to bed.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill, and I never will.