AN: Thank you so much! Your interest in what's going to happen next keeps me firing away!
Chapter 37
It's been two days since Nathan found the kids and Peyton had to be rushed back into stop her internal bleeding. Luckily, the bleeding was coming from the original site. During the accident the artery that was bleeding was badly damaged and ruptured again needing to be fixed.
Peyton remains in a coma. The doctors are unable to promise anything. The orthopedic surgeon was able to set her leg but not take her into surgery to fix it. If she wakes up it will have to be broken again and pinned to be fixed, the same with her face. Peyton couldn't undergo surgery again. Her blood pressure dropped too much during the emergency surgery she underwent to fix the artery. They had to use the defibrillator to start her heart when it stopped during surgery. They couldn't take the risk of losing her for minor surgeries such as fixing her leg and face. She was weak and her vitals kept dropping. Also, the swelling on her brain hadn't gone down which was causing everyone, including the doctors, to worry.
Brooke hadn't slept. Her eyes were blood shot and she wasn't handling things very well. All she could do was cry. She even refused to eat. She left Peyton's side only to spend an hour with Sawyer.
Sawyer is a mess. She is afraid to go to school because she's afraid someone will come and take her. She's also terrified that her mommy is going to die.
It's Friday morning and Nathan is making breakfast for Jamie and Sawyer. They had all talked and decided she needed to go back to school. She had been staying home with Nathan but it wasn't doing her any good. Sawyer and Jamie walk into the kitchen.
"I don't want to go to school today" Sawyer says sitting down
"It's going to be so much fun today!" Nathan says smiling "I talked with Mrs. Johnson and she said I could stay all day!"
"Really?" Sawyer says with a huge smile on her face
"Really" Nathan says "And Chloe's mom called and was wondering if you'd like to go over to their house after school and have your first sleepover!"
Sawyer's face drops and Nathan notices.
"What's wrong?" He asks
"I don't want to stay at Chloe's house!"
"Why not?" Nathan asks confused "I thought she was your best friend"
"She is" Sawyer replies "But there's no daddy at her house so no one will be able to keep me safe!"
Nathan sighs and walks over to Sawyer "Remember I told you Dan is in jail now and he can't hurt you anymore?"
Sawyer sighs "Can I think about it?"
"Sure you can" Nathan says "I can always take you over there later"
"Thanks, Uncle Nate!" she says with a smile
"I'm going to Madison's after school, remember?" Jamie says
"For what?" Nathan asks
"Her birthday party"
"That's later tonight"
"I know but she asked me to come over and help set stuff up"
Nathan shakes his head "Ok, what time do you need a ride home?"
"Midnight"
"We'll see about that!" Nathan sighs
"Dad!" Jamie whines
"Well Sawyer, Luke and I don't want to stay up that late"
"Why can't mom or Nanny Deb stay with them?"
"Because your mom is staying at the hospital with Brooke and Nanny Deb is a maybe"
"So mama isn't mad at Aunt Haley anymore, either?" Sawyer asks
Jamie looks at her "I just think that since your mommy is hurt everyone is getting along"
"Oh ok" Sawyer says
"We need to go to school" Nathan says with a sigh
Sawyer takes her bowl and puts it in the sink. Then she walks out of the room.
"You shouldn't make her go to school" Jamie says
"She can't just sit around the house all day crying" Nathan sighs
"But she's scared and she's little"
"That's why I'm going to school with her"
"Have you called Grandma Karen?"
"No" Nathan says "I don't think she needs to come here right now"
"Maybe it will make Sawyer feel better"
"The only thing that's going to make Sawyer feel better is her mom"
"I know but what if Aunt Peyton doesn't wake up?"
"Let's not think about that right now" Nathan replies
Jamie was going to say something but Sawyer walks back into the room.
"Can we stop by the hospital and say hi to mama?"
"If we leave right now" Nathan answers
"Ok" Sawyer says "I'm ready"
Jamie runs and grabs his book bag and then they all get into the car. They drive towards the hospital. They ride the elevator up to the floor Peyton was on.
"You two stay here" he says as Sawyer and Jamie take a seat in the waiting room.
He walks through the door and down the hallway to Peyton's room. Brooke is sitting there with her tear stained face.
"Hey" Nathan says softly from the door
Brooke wipes her eyes and looks at him. "Hey" she answers
"Where's Haley?"
"She went to get me some clothes and breakfast"
"Oh ok" Nathan sighs "Any change?"
Brooke just shakes her head no "What are you doing here?"
"Sawyer wanted to see you before school"
"Oh" Brooke sighs "Ok, where is she?"
"In the waiting room" Nathan replies "I didn't think she should come down here"
"That was a good idea" Brooke replies getting up "Will you stay with Peyton while I go see Sawyer?"
"Of course"
"Thanks" Brooke says walking out of the room and down the hallway. She takes a deep breath and then walks into the waiting room.
"Mama!" Sawyer yells as Brooke walks through the door
"Hey princess" Brooke says walking over to her and picking her up "How are you?"
"Uncle Nate says I have to go back to school"
"You do" Brooke sighs
"But mommy is still in a coma"
"I know but your mommy would want you to go to school"
Sawyer sighs "Ok" she says "Uncle Nate is going to school with me today and staying all day"
"That should be fun"
"I guess" Sawyer answers "Chloe wants me to spend the night but I don't think I want to"
"Oh princess you should" Brooke answers "You'll have so much fun"
"I'm going to think about it"
"That's a good idea" Brooke hugs Sawyer tight "I miss you a lot princess"
"I miss you and mommy too" Sawyer says
"I know" She answers looking at Jamie "How are you little man?"
"Ok" Jamie says "How are you?"
"I'm ok" Brooke smiles at him "Thanks for asking"
Jamie gets up and hugs her. Brooke looks at the clock.
"You two need to get to school. Sawyer, go to Chloe's house please"
"Ok, mama"
"If you end up not wanting to stay the night you can call Uncle Nate and he'll come and get you"
"Promise?"
"Promise" She says "Now you have a great day at school with Uncle Nathan"
"Ok, I will, mama" She answers "Can I come back after school?"
"You better" Brooke says smiling at the little girl
Nathan walks out of through the doors "We have to go, Brooke"
"I know" Brooke sighs hugging Sawyer one more time "You have a great day" she says kissing the little girl's forehead
"Will you give mommy a kiss for me?"
"I sure will" Brooke says "Bye you guys" she says walking back through the doors and down the hallway. She walks into Peyton's room and sits down. She sighs and blows Peyton a kiss "That's from Sawyer" she says. She looks at her beautiful girlfriend. "Peyton, baby" she sighs "You have to wake up"
The nurse walks in. "Morning, Brooke" She says
"Yeah, I guess" Brooke sighs
The nurse walks over to the machines and starts looking things over. "Her vitals are stronger today"
"They are?" Brooke asks
"They are" The nurse says "Her last EKG looks good too"
"That's good, I guess" Brooke sighs
"The doctor has ordered another MRI of Peyton today"
"Every time you move her she gets so agitated"
"I know but it's how we'll tell how her brain is doing"
"I know" Brooke answers "It's just hard on me to see her like that"
"I can only imagine" The nurse answers "With her blood pressure stabling the orthopedic surgeon might be able to fix her leg"
"No" Brooke sighs "I don't want any more surgeries until she's awake"
"I can understand that" The nurse answers "Doctor will be in shortly"
Brooke nods as the nurse walks out and Haley walks in.
"Any changes?"
"EKG is good and vitals are up"
"That's great"
"Not really" Brooke sighs "She has to go for another MRI today"
Haley shakes her head "Why do they keep moving her and agitating her?"
"I don't know" Brooke replies
"I brought you some coffee and muffins"
"Thanks"
"I got you some fresh clothes too and you could take a shower in Peyton's bathroom"
"I don't want to leave her side."
"It might feel good to take a hot shower" Haley says cautiously "Having that hot water run over you
Brooke looks at her "Yeah, it might" she says "You promise to stay right here and not go anywhere?"
"I'll stay right here"
"Ok" Brooke says standing up "Baby, I'm just going to go into the bathroom and take a quick shower. I'll be right back" she says softly blowing her a kiss. Brooke takes the bag from Haley and walks into the bathroom room. She gets into the shower and lets the hot water pour over her body. She just stands there and cries until the hot water runs out. She then quickly washes up and puts the sweats on that Haley brought her. She pulls her hair up in a ponytail and walks out of the bathroom.
"Do you feel better?" Haley asks
"Yea" Brooke says shaking her head
"How about I warm up your coffee and you start on this muffin?"
"I'm not very hungry" Brooke replies
"You haven't eaten in days. You can't be weak when Peyton wakes up because she's going to need a lot of help at home"
Brooke walks over and takes the muffin and sits down.
"I'll warm up your coffee"
"Thanks"
Haley walks out of the room and Brooke stares at Peyton. She puts her hand lightly on top of Peyton's. She not supposed to touch her but it's been days and she wonders if Peyton feels alone. Haley walks back in and hands the coffee to Brooke. Brooke takes it and takes a drink.
"Will you do me a favor?" Brooke asks
"Of course" Haley says
"Will you call Karen? I haven't done that yet and will you go see if Nathan's doing ok at school with Sawyer?"
"Sure" Haley says "Anything else"
"Who had Luke?" Brooke says almost scared at the answers
"Deb"
"Oh ok" Brooke sighs "Could you bring him here?"
"Sure"
"Thanks, Hales"
"No problem" Haley says walking out of the room. She picks up her phone and dials Nathan but there's no answer. She walks out of the hospital and gets into her car. She drives across town to the Elementary School. She walks in and goes into the office.
"Can I help you?" Asks the secretary
"I need to go check on Sawyer Scott. I'm her Aunt Haley"
The secretary looks at her "I can't let you into the room during learning time without a note from Mrs. Johnson but we can go peek in the window"
"Ok" Haley says
The secretary gets up and Haley follows her down the hallway. She stands in the window of Mrs. Johnson's room. She sees Nathan sitting in a chair in what looks like a beauty shop area. He has fake curlers in his hair and about 5 little girls around him. Haley laughs.
"That's my husband" she says
"He's been everywhere with Sawyer today"
"She was worried about coming back to school"
"I don't blame her"
Nathan notices Haley standing at the door and says something to the girls and walks over opening the door.
"Is everything ok?" He asks worriedly
"Yes" Haley replies "Brooke just wanted me to check on Sawyer"
"She's doing great!" Nathan says "She's glad to be back."
"I think she's glad to have her Uncle Nathan here with her"
"She is" Nathan smiles "I should get back"
"See you later" Haley replies
Nathan nods and walks back in.
"Uncle Nate!" Sawyer says walking over to him
"What's up munchkin?"
"We have to clean up. It's writing time"
"Ok" Nathan says taking the curlers out of his hair and putting them back in the basket it.
The kindergarteners clean up the room and then go sit at their table spaces. Sawyer gets a chair and puts right next to hers.
"Sit down, Uncle Nate" the little girl says
Nathan looks at the chair. It's about 2 feet tall and looks like if he sits in it he will break it.
"Uncle Nate" Sawyer says "Mrs. Johnson sits in these chairs all the time"
Nathan sits down. His knees go up to his chin almost. Mrs. Johnson laughs a little at him.
"We have to write our names on the top of the paper" Sawyer says holding out her extra pencil to him
Nathan takes it and writes his name on the top of his paper.
"Now what?" He asks
Chloe looks at him "We put the date. It's on the corner of the board"
"Ok" Nathan says doing what the little girl tells him to do
Mrs. Johnson claps a pattern with her hands and all the children follow. Nathan looks around. They are all looking at her. He looks at her too.
"Today boys and girls we're going to write about something we're going to do this weekend" She says "Here is your topic sentence" she says turning towards the board "This weekend I am going to _. I want you to fill in the blank with what you're going to do and then draw a picture of what your sentence says. Any questions?"
The kids don't ask questions and they all get to work.
Chloe looks at Sawyer "I'm going to write that you're coming to my house tonight"
Sawyer smiles "I'm going to write that I'm coming to your house"
Both girls get to work and then they look at Nathan.
"What?" He asks
"What are you going to write about?" Chloe asks
"Hum" Nathan says thinking "I'm going to write about all the laundry I have to do this weekend"
Sawyer and Chloe laugh. The three sit at the table and do their writing tasks. Nathan notices that Sawyer has good handwriting but she's an amazing artist. He's proud of his little niece. All the children work and talk quietly until Mrs. Johnson rings the chimes hanging in the front of the room.
"Ok, boys and girls" she says softly "Please put your writing in your writing journal and then it's time to get ready for lunch"
The kids start cleaning up and Nathan looks at Sawyer.
"Hey honey" he says and the little girl looks at him "I'm going to go call your mama and see how your mommy is doing before we go to lunch"
"Ok" Sawyer says picking up her supplies.
Nathan walks out of the room and dials Brooke.
"Hello" Brooke answers in a very crabby voice
"Hey Brooke, it's Nathan. I'm just calling to see how Peyton's doing?"
Brooke sighs "No change and they're talking about moving her to a rehab center if she doesn't make any changes in the next couple of days"
"You know" Nathan sighs "I know she looks really bad and you think it's best that Sawyer not see her but maybe that's what she needs."
"No Nathan!" Brooke hisses "She's not coming in here!
Nathan didn't want to do this but he thought Sawyer should see Peyton "No offense Brooke" he says cautiously "But right now I'm Sawyer's legal guardian and I think it would be good for both of them to be in the same room with each other"
"Are you insane?" Brooke yells "Peyton looks like shit and you want to bring Sawyer here and when did you become their legal guardian?"
Nathan sighs "I always have been and Peyton hasn't changed the will yet"
"Yes, she did" Brooke hisses
"No, she did" Nathan response "The lawyer contacted me when he found out that Peyton was in the hospital to remind me that I'm Sawyer's legal guardian and since there are no legal documents for Luke that I'm to keep him too"
"Well that's going to change as soon as she wakes up!"
"Brooke" Nathan sighs "I don't want to argue with you. I'm bringing Sawyer to the hospital tomorrow after I pick her up from Chloe's. Then I'm going to take her into her mother's room so she can see her!"
All Nathan hears on the other end is silence. Brooke had hung up the phone. Nathan turns around and sees Sawyer standing there.
"Are you really going to take me to see my mommy?"
Nathan looks at her "Do you want to see her?"
Sawyer just shakes her head yes.
"You know she looks really bad. She's really hurt"
"I know" Sawyer says "But I miss her and I want to go sit with her"
"Then tomorrow when I pick you up from Chloe's we'll go over to the hospital so you can see her"
"Can we pick her up some white lilies?"
"Of course"
"Thanks, Uncle Nate"
Nathan walks over and gives the little girl a hug.
"It's lunch time" She says
Nathan takes her hand and they walks back into the classroom where all the kids are lined up. Sawyer and Nathan get at the end of the line and walk to the cafeteria. Sawyer gets their lunchboxes out of the container and she, Nathan and Chloe sit down. All the kids are opening their lunchboxes.
A little boy holds up his sandwich "Yuck, my mom made me a peanut butter and jelly today! Does anyone want to trade?"
Sawyer looks at her sandwich and it was turkey "I have a turkey" she says
Nathan looks at her "You like turkey" he responses
"Yeah but I like Tommy's mom's jelly. She makes it herself and it's really sweet"
Tommy looks at Sawyer "Is there cheese?"
"Yep" Sawyer answers
"Ok, here" he says handing her the PB and J and taking the turkey
"Thanks" Sawyer says smiling
Chloe looks at Nathan "Do you have a turkey sandwich?" she asks
"Yes" Nathan answers raising his eyebrows at her "Why?"
"I have a leftover roast beef sandwich and I don't really like this kind"
Nathan smiles at her "Would you like to trade?"
"Um huh" Chloe says handing Nathan her sandwich and taking his
The trading goes on for a few more minutes until all the kids have what they want and they start eating.
"Sawyer" Chloe says with a big smile on her face "My mom says we can sleep in the living room tonight and watch movies if we want"
"That's so much fun!" Sawyer answers "My moms let us do that sometimes"
"And she said we could have pizza and snacks and she bought ice cream to make sundaes!"
"I love sundaes"
Chloe's face drops "But my mom said you didn't know if you were going to come stay"
"I am!" Sawyer says with a smile "I want to come have a sleepover"
"You do?" Nathan asks
"Yeah!"
"Great!" Chloe yells
The kids finish their lunch and then the rest of the day of school. Then Nathan takes Sawyer home to get her stuff and then dropped her off at Chloe's. He then returned home plops down on the couch. Deb walks in with Luke.
"Hey mom" he says as she sits down "How's Luke?"
"Fussy" Deb says "He can tell things aren't right"
Nathan sighs "I'll take him. What are your plans tonight?"
"Not much" Deb answers "Do you want me to stay?"
"No" Nathan says "We'll be alright"
"Ok" Deb says standing up and handing Luke to Nathan "If you need anything call me"
"I will. Thanks mom"
"No problem" She says kissing his forehead and then walking out of the room then the house.
Nathan looks Luke "What should we do buddy? Should we go see your mommy?"
He gets up off the couch and packs Luke's stuff and walks out to the car. He puts Luke in his car seat and gets in. They head to the hospital and to Peyton's room. He walks in and Brooke is sitting there just staring at Peyton.
"Hey" Nathan says and Brooke looks at him
"What are you doing here, Nathan?"
"I came to sit with Peyton for a little while"
"Oh are you her guardian too now?"
"Brooke stop"
"No Nate you stop!"
"Where's Haley?"
"I sent her home"
"Oh" Nathan says "Why?"
"I was sick of her asking me if I was ok or if I want something to eat or if I need a break"
"Of course I don't want anything to eat and no I'm not ok and no I'm not going to leave her!"
Nathan sighs "Brooke" he says softly "It's not healthy for you to be sitting here all the time like this. You look horrible and you need some sleep"
"I'm not leaving!"
"You're going to get sick, Brooke" Nathan spouts back "And then you're not going to be able to take care of Peyton when she wakes up"
"She's never going to wake up, Nathan!" Brooke hisses "She's going to be like this forever! Nothing is changing and it's been too long! This is what it's going to be like. I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting next to this bed with her!"
"No, you're not" Nathan answers "She will wake up and if she doesn't we will hire a nurse and we will take her home!"
"We will?" Brooke says
"Yes" Nathan says "Now stop being a bitch"
Brooke looks at him "Nathan, my whole world is lying here dying!"
Nathan walks over and wraps his arms around her. "It's going to be ok, Brooke" he says
Brooke starts crying and he just hugs her.
After a few minutes Brooke pulls away and wipes her yes. "I just get her I can't lose her"
"She's going to be ok"
"No one knows that"
"Just have faith"
Brooke takes Luke from Nathan and hugs him. Nathan goes and sits back down.
"I really don't think you should bring Sawyer here"
"I already told her she could come"
"Fine"
"Are you hungry?"
"No" Brooke says
"Ok" Nathan answers "We should probably head home. I just wanted to check on you and Peyton"
"Thanks" Brooke says hugging and kissing Luke and then hugging Nathan.
Nathan walks out of the hospital and sighs. This is taking it's toll on Brooke and he's worried that she'll slip into the same depression Peyton did when Lucas died and the kids are going to need her more than anything. He gets into his SUV and headed home. Nathan and Luke hung out until it was time to pick Jaime up. Then they all got home and went to bed.
The next morning Nathan went over to Chloe's house and picked Sawyer up. Sawyer was sitting in the back seat and wasn't saying anything.
"What's wrong, princess?"
"I'm scared"
"About what?"
"Seeing mommy"
"We don't have to go if you don't want to"
"No, I want to I'm just scared that mommy is going to die like daddy did"
Nathan sighs "I know" he says honestly "We're all scared about that but I think it will help her if you're in the room with her"
"Ok" Sawyer says "I'll tell her all about school"
"That sounds like a great idea"
Sawyer turns her head and looks out the window again as Nathan drives to the hospital. They pull into the parking lot and Nathan parks. He helps Sawyer out of the SUV and they head into the hospital. Sawyer holds his hand really tight as they ride up in the elevator. When they exit the elevator and start to head towards the doors Sawyer drops behind Nathan. She holds onto his shirt as they walk to where her mom is laying. He walks into the doorway and Brooke looks up at him.
"Where's Sawyer?" She asks
Nathan nods his head backwards and Brooke sighs.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" she huffs walking over and moving Nathan aside. "Princess, you don't have to come in here" she says softly
"I want to see mommy I'm just scared"
Brooke sighs "Come on sweetheart" She says taking the little girl's hand. They walk slowly towards Peyton's bed. They reach the side and Brooke picks her up. Sawyer looks at Peyton.
"Mama, she looks funny"
"She got really hurt, sweetheart"
"Can I talk to her?"
"Sure, honey"
"Can I sit on her bed?"
"You have to be rally careful because she's in a lot of pain"
"Ok" Sawyer says
Brooke sits Sawyer gently on the bed and takes a seat in her chair. Sawyer just sits there looking at Peyton for a few minutes. Then she takes her hand and kisses it softly.
"Mommy, it's me Sawyer" She says in a quiet voice "Mama says you're really hurt and that you're in a coma. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I miss you. Luke misses you too and so does mama. You have to get better so you can come home and be with us again. I have to tell you all about school and all about my first sleepover. It was so much fun, mommy." Sawyer stops talking and sighs. She moves closer to Peyton and whispers something into her ear. She then kisses Peyton's check and looks at Brooke. "Will you help me down?"
"Of course baby girl" Brooke says getting up and helping her off the bed
"I'll be waiting, mommy" Sawyer says kissing Peyton's hand. She walks over to the doorway where Nathan hadn't moved "I'm ready to go home now" she says looking at him
"Ok, princess" he says
They all say their good-byes and Nathan and Sawyer leave. Brooke sits down and picks up her magazine and flipping through the pages. She was so tired and she was so scared. She just wanted Peyton to wake up.
A nurse walks into the room and looks at Brooke. "You need to get out of this room"
"I can't leave her. What if she wakes up?"
"Then we'll come get you"
"No, I have to be here. She can't see a stranger when she opens her eyes"
The nurse nods in understanding "They'll take her for another MRI later today"
Brooke just nods and the nurse leaves.
This is the pattern that continues for days. Nathan brings the kids, Brooke refuses to leave and they run tests to check for any changes.
It finally hit the one month mark and the doctors were losing hope that Peyton would ever wake up. The swelling on her brain had started to go down which should have stimulated some brain activity and she still wasn't breathing on her own.
Nathan had physically removed Brooke from the hospital and she was only allowed to be there so many hours a day. Brooke was pissed at him put it was what needed to be done.
It was a Friday afternoon and Brooke was giving Peyton a sponge bath. She was washing her badly damaged leg and something she thought would never happen again, happened. Peyton's hand twitched. Brooke couldn't believe her eyes. She runs the washcloth over her leg again and again her hand twitches. A smile fills Brooke's face. She runs the washcloth over Peyton's leg again adding a little pressure this time.
The blonde raises her hand and swats at Brooke's arm. Brooke drops the washcloth and looks up at Peyton. She was laying there with her eyes fluttering.
"Peyton?" Brooke asks looking at her
Peyton was gagging trying to talk with the ventilator in her throat.
"I'll go get help!" Brooke says running out of the room.
She returns with a doctor and a nurse.
"We'll need you to wait outside" the doctor says. "We need to take the ventilator out and give her a check-up"
Brooke walks out of the room and she collapses on the ground and tears rush down her face. She just cries and cries and cries out of relief. She cries until she can't cry anymore and then she stands up and composes herself wiping her tears away.
The doctor walks out and looks at Brooke.
"Well?" Brooke asks
The doctor sighs "We're going to have to run some more tests"
"Did she say anything?"
"No, she just looked at us" The nurse says
"Thank you"
Brooke walks into the room where Peyton has fallen back to sleep. She goes over and takes Peyton's hand. Peyton opens her eyes.
"Oh thank God, baby" Brooke says
Peyton looks at her confused "Who are you?"