Peyton sat anxiously on the edge of the bed. Amy had helped clean up the mess from earlier and now all she could do was wait. Most of Brooke's plans had ended in trouble back when they were in high school…Peyton couldn't help but fear that was going to happen again. Stealing Alex didn't seem right but she had to see her little girl and she didn't know what to do. Peyton's head jolted up as the room door slowly opened. Peyton stood from the bed as she played with her fingers. "Mommy" the little girl screamed as she ran into the room.
"Oh God…" Peyton dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. "Ohh I miss you so much baby" Peyton cried as her tears soaked through her daughter's shirt.
"I miss you to mommy" Alex buried her face into her mother's neck, almost scared that if she let go Peyton would disappear.
"Ally I'm so sorry?" Peyton pulled back from the little girl and moved the tucked the curls behind her small ears. "I never meant to leave for so long, I promise I didn't meant to."
"It's okay…you came back" Alex wiped the tears from her mother's eyes like she used to do on many nights. "Look…this one is yours." Alex dug into her pocket and pulled out the small silver locket.
"Yes it is" She smiled as she retrieved the locket from her daughter's hands. She slipped it on and smiled as she gripped it in her fingers. "I really missed you" Peyton whispered as se cooked her head to the side. For the first time she noticed how much Alex had grown, it really had been two years and things had changed. "How are you and your daddy doing?" She needed to make sure that Alex really felt okay in Tree Hill.
"We're good. He and Uncle Nathan take me to the park a lot and we play basketball and Uncle Nathan lets me dunk the ball." She smiled widely and Peyton could only laugh at the enthusiasm. "Guess what I did yesterday" Peyton watched as the child's eyes grew wide.
"What did you do" she asked, mocking the excitement.
"My class went to the museum" Peyton smiled but it was forced. She hadn't thought about the fact that she had missed her daughter's first day of kindergarten, she had missed a lot more then she planned to.
"That's great babe" Peyton kissed Alex on the forehead before standing up. She lifted Alex into her arms and watched as Amy frowned but the blonde just glared back. "Guess what I brought with me?" The two blondes made their way into the kitchen.
"Cookies" Alex squealed as she spotted the bag and all the ingredients out on the counter. "Can we make them now?" she stuck her lip and the older blonde just laughed.
"Only if I get a kiss" Peyton raised a brow and watched as Alex giggled before leaning in and wrapping her arms around her mother's neck and pushed her lips against Peyton's cheek. "I missed you jitter bug" Peyton stuck her tongue out and watched as her daughter did the same. They had 8 hours together before Brooke had to take her home. Peyton pushed the thought out of her head as she slid a chair over to the counter for Alex to stand on. She already knew this day was going to speed by.
There was only an hour left before Alex had to go home. They had spent the entire day doing stupid things in the hotel, but neither of them cared so long as they did it together. Peyton and Brooke were now teaching Alex and Amy their old high school cheers.
"If it's action that you're craving go and get yourself a Raven- I said go Ravens go mighty Ravens" The watched as the two former cheerleaders clapped their hands and the arms into the right positions.
"I wanna learn that one" Alex jumped off the bed and ran to stand beside her mother, but they were interrupted by the ringing phone.
"Hold on babe" Peyton walked over and picked up the phone with a smile on her face. "Hello"
"Miss Sawyer…" the woman on the other line questioned.
"This is she" Peyton was still smiling as she watched Brooke she the tiny blonde how to move her arms.
"This is Tree Hill County Memorial, we got in touch with the doctor and we have what you requested." The lady spoke calmly.
"Oh thanks, I'll be by soon." Peyton hung up the phone and gave Amy a look that let her know who was calling. "Okay this is the last one we gotta get you home jitter bug."
"Do I have to go back…I wanna stay with you…" Alex pleaded as her eyes swelled with tears.
"Sweetie you have to go back…I'll be right here though." Peyton wrapped her arms around the little girl as tears slipped from her own eyes.
"Actaully Peyton we have to go now, you gotta get her home by 7 and we have to make a stop first." Amy informed her sadly.
"Alright." Peyton used all her energy to lift her daughter into her arms before they left the hotel room, only Amy staying behind. The car ride was quite, no one wanted to talk and Peyton and Alex just cried.
"Where am I stopping" Brooke asked.
"The hospital." Peyton replied dully from the passenger seat.
"Well look who just turned down that road" the brunette spat bitterly. Karen had convinced Lucas to let Alex go for the day and he in turn blocked out everything Haley said about going to get his daughter. It was against his better judgment but his mom was certain that Alex would be fine. "I'm following them. They are supposed to be bringing her back now and that's not the way to your house."
"I can see that Haley, and I also know that I cant stop you from following them" Lucas leaned back in his seat and impatiently waited at the red light as did Haley. As hard as he was trying to stay calm all he wanted was his little girl back in his arms, safe and sound. The brunette sped off as soon as the light was green, determined not to lose Brooke's car. "What the hell are we doing here" Lucas sat straight up as he watched Brooke stop the car in front of the ER entrance to the hospital. He and Haley looked at each other before she sped around the parking lot and got ready to pull in behind Brooke.
"Mommy can I come." Alex asked from the backseat and Peyton just nodded. The older blonde stepped out of the car and quickly lifted her daughter form the back seat and made her way to the entrance.
"What the hell is going on Peyton." The blonde spun around only to come face to face with Haley. The petite brunette caught the blonde off guard as she snatched Alex from her mother.
"So you take Alex for one day and you have to bring her to the hospital." Lucas was now the one standing in front of Peyton
"Back off, Alex is fine" Brooke got out of the car and made her way towards Peyton.
"You get the hell out of my face before I have you arrested for kidnapping." Lucas glared down at the brunette. He was more pissed at her then at Peyton.
"All I did was bring her to her mother" the brunette retorted as they watched Lucas take Alex into his arms. The small child had tears streaming down her face and she watched her mother's pale face.
"Well I hope you enjoyed your day Peyton because I'm filing for custody" Lucas turned around and walked back to the car. Haley gave the other two girls one last glare before going back to the car.
Peyton stood there, shocked. Had she really just lost her daughter? The more she thought about it the more her throat constricted. She coughed a few times before it turned into a violent heave. "Peyton…" Brooke turned to face the blonde who was now holding the back of her hand over her mouth. Brooke watched as Peyton walked down the sidewalk, away from the car. Peyt, I'll drive you back to the hotel."
"No" Peyton whispered, it was all she could get out. The blonde walked slowly into the parking lot, all sorts of thoughts reeling through her head. Her daughter wasn't going to be hers anymore and that was one thought she couldn't fully comprehend. As she stepped onto the pavement everything started to spin like it had this morning.
"Can I ask you one question Peyton." Lucas had finished strapping his daughter in and he was now standing next to an open car door. The other blonde didn't sop walking. "Why now….why are you back. You said you don't wanna take Alex and you sure as hell aren't welcome so why? Did you just want to give Alex false hope make her think that she had her mother back and then you could leave and say that you kept your promise and returned." Lucas was screaming now. "Why Peyton….WHAT THE HELL POSESSED YOU TO COME BACK…WHY AFTER TWO YEARS ARE YOU SO DAMN DETERMINED TO SEE HER! WHY!"
"because" Peyton whispered as she slowed her pace and continued to cough, her hand now stained red.
"BECAUSE WHAT!" Lucas screamed from the car.
"BECAUSE I'M DYING…IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR!" She didn't bother to turn around she didn't want to see him. It was almost identical to the feeling she had earlier…the only difference was that this time her world went black.
"PEYTON!" Brooke screamed as she ran over to her best friend, lying lifeless on the black top. "Peyton wake up" Brooke pleaded as she lifted the blonde's head into her lap. "Please…" the brunette whispered right before Lucas lifted Peyton's body from the ground, rushing into the ER.
"I need a doctor." Lucas ran up to the nurses station and watched a few guys ran towards him. Before he knew it he was holding a crying Alex in his arm and he, Haley, and Brooke were standing in the hall waiting to here anything. It was about fifteen minutes later when Amy came running through the doors.
"Amy I thought she told me everything…she said she was going to be fine." Brooke whispered as tears poured from her eyes. Amy's eyes shifted down to the floor.
"She lied…we came back because she wanted to see Alex…she needed to." Amy looked up at Lucas whose eyes were now blank. "She was sick and it went away…we thought everything was fine and then one day it just came back. It got worse and worse and she quit her job. Between her doctor appointments and constant fatigue we didn't have the time or the money to take care of Alex anymore. It was just supposed to be until Peyton got better, she was supposed to rest and take the pills and do the therapy and everything was supposed to be fine." The watched as tears slid down the brunettes cheeks. "I brought Alex down here because Peyton said she could trust all of you to take good care of her…because she couldn't anymore…she didn't have it in her. The more she tired the sicker she got and she wanted to get better for Alex. She said she wasn't being a real mother anymore because all she did was sleep. If she wasn't sleeping she either wasn't home or she was doped up, she just wasn't herself anymore. She hated leaving Ally with babysitters all the time and she said it would be better if Alex was with family and I agreed. It never got better" They looked at Amy and then to the closed doors. They waited because they refused to accept what Peyton and Amy had said…things had to get better.