Heavy white curtains, blowing in the light breeze. A shadowed, severe looking room with clean, cracked tiles and the sweet smell of antiseptics...
A heavy, cold machine in the corner. No, two machines...lights...dark...[]
The next thing that penetrated Lucas's world was sound.
Some of them seemed to drone on and on, until it felt like a blade, sawing at his mind. Then there were cool voices...usually accompanied by hands.
And...occasionally...the voice. It made him want to wake up right away, but he knew it was best not to fight it. He would try to hold onto that sound, because he knew it was Karen's.....[]
Nathan could sense he was in a hospital. Being an athlete all his life had introduced him to the pains from accidents and injuries. Dan had always got him into the little hospital outside of Tree Hill, no matter how insignificant the wound. It was part of staying fit, he'd been told, over and over. Protect your mind, protect your body.
The trouble with remembering was that he couldn't recall the game that had sent him here. He hoped he'd done well; in the back of his mind, Nathan sensed that he would have.[]
"So, what do you have for us today?" Karen faced the docters anxiously, her hands twisting a little charm on the bracelet Lucas had given Karen on her last birthday. She turned it around and around, trying to keep calm, but realized she was failing miserably.
Dan Scott stood beside her; well, not close, just near, out of necessity because of the room's size. He leant forward, across the docter's desk, and pounded it with his fist. "Answers! We want answers, not a bunch of medical terms and empty promises!"
The thin, graying docter, eyeglasses shoved down onto the tip of his nose, shuffled a few papers and shook his head. "I don't know. We don't know, yet. I'm afraid all we can do is wait. But their chances look pretty fair."
"For how long?" Karen spoke up, tense but polite. "How long do we have to wait like this?"
"That's due, in part, to your sons. A large part; they themselves decide when to join us."
Dan shook his head. "This is all stupid and ridiculous. I sent Nathan on a school trip, a, a campout in the woods and he comes back like a cardboard cut-out. Yes, it looks like Nathan, but he isn't there, he can't see me, he can't talk-but oh, it's alright! He might be able to hear me!"
Karen turned and hurried into the cool hallway. She ran a couple of yards to the room her son was in, but a nurse was busy with the IV; unable to watch Lucas lying there so helpless and still, she slipped outdoors and dropped onto a curbstone.
People hurried by; kids in Scooby Doo shirts and staff with name cards looped around their necks. None of them payed any attention to her. After all, this was a hospital. People were supposed to look sad and tired and scared. Unless...she almost smiled, you were having a baby. "Then you'd only be scared and tired."
She hadn't realized she'd spoken the words aloud until a quiet voice said," I remember."
It wasn't Dan; the erratic beating of her heart slowed down. Keith; gently smiling, arms outstretched, as near a father as Lucas had ever known.
"How's Haley?"
"Her mom's still with her." Keith sighed, lowering himself beside Karen."She's going to be okay,though. Lucky kid. Broken finger. A couple of cuts, some good sized bruises. She's a fighter." He hesitated. "So is Lucas."
"Is he?"
Keith took her by the shoulders. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"He's changed, Keith. He's changed so much. Sometimes I don't think I really know him anymore. He hides so much from me. I know it's just that he doesn't want me to be hurt, but I feel like I don't even know what makes him happy anymore. What makes him cry, what gives him that funny little smile I see when he comes home some nights."
"He's grown, Karen. Of course he's changed. Lucas is turning into the man he's going to be one day. And it's only natural that he tries to protect you. A serious, responsible son is going to feel protective towards his mother. He'll feel the need to be stong for you, to be the man, yet he'll still want all the encouragement and advice a kid of that age has to have."
"Men." Karen cupped Keith's hand in hers. "They grow up to be such complicated creatures."[]
Peyton slammed her sketchbook shut and tossed it to the foot of the bed. The colorless curtains were drawn open, but her view was limited to the sky and a couple of tree tips. Not an overly stimulating atmosphere. "A room with a view."
She discarded her empty water glass and sighed.
"Hey."
"Oh-hey."
"I'm Karen, Lucas's mom?"
"Ya, I know who you are."
"I just wondered how you were doing." Karen glanced around. "These hospital rooms can get monotonous."
Peyton folded the top of her sheet into tiny folds. "How are they doing?"
Karen wandered towards the window and stared out, unseeing. "The docters say they're still in some gray area, like a coma. They don't think it's very dangerous, though. Something about pressure and shock, I don't know. But I can't help worrying..."
Peyton bit her lip. "Why did you come up to see me?"
Karen turned, her voice regaining it's confidence."Because you're Lucas's friend. And because I know he would be here if he wasn't downstairs. Because he would expect me to, and because I wanted to." She smiled, smoothing rumpled blankets and retrieving the emptied glass. "Let me see to this. Heaven knows the staff is busy enough, what with all these new arrivals." She hesitated in the doorway, Peyton secretly admiring her steadiness and honest simplicity. "Can I get you anything? Something to read?"
Peyton shook her head 'no', then hesitated. "Maybe some more sketching paper?"[]
Haley was allowed to move about in her wheelchair freely; the docter's were just holding her, 'under observation,' and she'd be free to go home tomorrow.
It never failed to amaze her how so much could go wrong in only a few seconds time. The camping trip had been such fun; the next morning, it was a Saturday, they'd packed their bags and started back down to the drop off point where the buses would be waiting to take them home. Ony it hadn't been quite that simple. One of the two buses ("naturally, ours," Haley thought), had skidded on some gravel going downhill and lost control. Or, the driver lost control. Anyways, it was one big collision and a nice flop on the side, and here she was!
Haley had actually been stowing her gear when the bus skidded; she'd grabbed a seatback, but lost hold. It was Lucas who jumped up and wrapped himself around her; she still remembered the feel of his arms, how she'd known it would be okay, because Lucas was there and he was taking care of her and...this hospital cheese sandwich was terrible. It tasted like cat food. And if Haley said it tasted like catfood, then it did, because she would know.[]
Peyton tried to forget the sound of the accident; it seemed to haunt her when the veil between sleep and waking started to part. Lucas's scream of "Haley!," was the first instant she had known something was wrong. Then, Nathan's quick, highstrung, "It's okay, Peyton!"
Lots of other people yelling and screaming. Glass shattering. The driver cursing, then suddenly quiet. Nathan, shoved against the side, everything on top of him; nothing was the same, the bus had shape shifted and Peyton panicked. She drug herself from under Nathan's outflung arm and stumbled towards the front of the bus. She had to see what was happening; it was dark, the windows, or what was left of them, were under her feet. It felt strange, stepping on broken glass. Lucas blocked the way, he was draped over one of the seats. Peyton screamed and climbed over him, but there were people everywhere and the few who were conscious madly shoving and fighting for the doors. Peyton saw Brooke; she was trapped under someone, and getting trampled under the mad rush for safety. Tim appeared, eyes wild, but Peyton caught him by the sleeve and they untangled her. By then, teachers from the other bus were there, shouting advice, giving instructions. Coach Whitey started snapping orders to some of the basketball players. By the time Peyton was lifted out, the ambulances had arrived. Her feet were sliced from glass shards, and she'd dislocated her shoulder. Funny, it hadn't hurt at the time. Seeing the EMS carrying Lucas, then Nathan, five or six of the others out on stretchers...that had been the worst moments of her life. Haley, holding a cold patch to the mass of purple on one side of her face, had rode with her to the hospital. Both of them were still in shock. By then, fear for the Scotts had overwhelmed any physical discomfort. Maybe by tomorrow they'd be back to normal and.....maybe those sleeping pills were working after all.[]
A heavy, cold machine in the corner. No, two machines...lights...dark...[]
The next thing that penetrated Lucas's world was sound.
Some of them seemed to drone on and on, until it felt like a blade, sawing at his mind. Then there were cool voices...usually accompanied by hands.
And...occasionally...the voice. It made him want to wake up right away, but he knew it was best not to fight it. He would try to hold onto that sound, because he knew it was Karen's.....[]
Nathan could sense he was in a hospital. Being an athlete all his life had introduced him to the pains from accidents and injuries. Dan had always got him into the little hospital outside of Tree Hill, no matter how insignificant the wound. It was part of staying fit, he'd been told, over and over. Protect your mind, protect your body.
The trouble with remembering was that he couldn't recall the game that had sent him here. He hoped he'd done well; in the back of his mind, Nathan sensed that he would have.[]
"So, what do you have for us today?" Karen faced the docters anxiously, her hands twisting a little charm on the bracelet Lucas had given Karen on her last birthday. She turned it around and around, trying to keep calm, but realized she was failing miserably.
Dan Scott stood beside her; well, not close, just near, out of necessity because of the room's size. He leant forward, across the docter's desk, and pounded it with his fist. "Answers! We want answers, not a bunch of medical terms and empty promises!"
The thin, graying docter, eyeglasses shoved down onto the tip of his nose, shuffled a few papers and shook his head. "I don't know. We don't know, yet. I'm afraid all we can do is wait. But their chances look pretty fair."
"For how long?" Karen spoke up, tense but polite. "How long do we have to wait like this?"
"That's due, in part, to your sons. A large part; they themselves decide when to join us."
Dan shook his head. "This is all stupid and ridiculous. I sent Nathan on a school trip, a, a campout in the woods and he comes back like a cardboard cut-out. Yes, it looks like Nathan, but he isn't there, he can't see me, he can't talk-but oh, it's alright! He might be able to hear me!"
Karen turned and hurried into the cool hallway. She ran a couple of yards to the room her son was in, but a nurse was busy with the IV; unable to watch Lucas lying there so helpless and still, she slipped outdoors and dropped onto a curbstone.
People hurried by; kids in Scooby Doo shirts and staff with name cards looped around their necks. None of them payed any attention to her. After all, this was a hospital. People were supposed to look sad and tired and scared. Unless...she almost smiled, you were having a baby. "Then you'd only be scared and tired."
She hadn't realized she'd spoken the words aloud until a quiet voice said," I remember."
It wasn't Dan; the erratic beating of her heart slowed down. Keith; gently smiling, arms outstretched, as near a father as Lucas had ever known.
"How's Haley?"
"Her mom's still with her." Keith sighed, lowering himself beside Karen."She's going to be okay,though. Lucky kid. Broken finger. A couple of cuts, some good sized bruises. She's a fighter." He hesitated. "So is Lucas."
"Is he?"
Keith took her by the shoulders. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"He's changed, Keith. He's changed so much. Sometimes I don't think I really know him anymore. He hides so much from me. I know it's just that he doesn't want me to be hurt, but I feel like I don't even know what makes him happy anymore. What makes him cry, what gives him that funny little smile I see when he comes home some nights."
"He's grown, Karen. Of course he's changed. Lucas is turning into the man he's going to be one day. And it's only natural that he tries to protect you. A serious, responsible son is going to feel protective towards his mother. He'll feel the need to be stong for you, to be the man, yet he'll still want all the encouragement and advice a kid of that age has to have."
"Men." Karen cupped Keith's hand in hers. "They grow up to be such complicated creatures."[]
Peyton slammed her sketchbook shut and tossed it to the foot of the bed. The colorless curtains were drawn open, but her view was limited to the sky and a couple of tree tips. Not an overly stimulating atmosphere. "A room with a view."
She discarded her empty water glass and sighed.
"Hey."
"Oh-hey."
"I'm Karen, Lucas's mom?"
"Ya, I know who you are."
"I just wondered how you were doing." Karen glanced around. "These hospital rooms can get monotonous."
Peyton folded the top of her sheet into tiny folds. "How are they doing?"
Karen wandered towards the window and stared out, unseeing. "The docters say they're still in some gray area, like a coma. They don't think it's very dangerous, though. Something about pressure and shock, I don't know. But I can't help worrying..."
Peyton bit her lip. "Why did you come up to see me?"
Karen turned, her voice regaining it's confidence."Because you're Lucas's friend. And because I know he would be here if he wasn't downstairs. Because he would expect me to, and because I wanted to." She smiled, smoothing rumpled blankets and retrieving the emptied glass. "Let me see to this. Heaven knows the staff is busy enough, what with all these new arrivals." She hesitated in the doorway, Peyton secretly admiring her steadiness and honest simplicity. "Can I get you anything? Something to read?"
Peyton shook her head 'no', then hesitated. "Maybe some more sketching paper?"[]
Haley was allowed to move about in her wheelchair freely; the docter's were just holding her, 'under observation,' and she'd be free to go home tomorrow.
It never failed to amaze her how so much could go wrong in only a few seconds time. The camping trip had been such fun; the next morning, it was a Saturday, they'd packed their bags and started back down to the drop off point where the buses would be waiting to take them home. Ony it hadn't been quite that simple. One of the two buses ("naturally, ours," Haley thought), had skidded on some gravel going downhill and lost control. Or, the driver lost control. Anyways, it was one big collision and a nice flop on the side, and here she was!
Haley had actually been stowing her gear when the bus skidded; she'd grabbed a seatback, but lost hold. It was Lucas who jumped up and wrapped himself around her; she still remembered the feel of his arms, how she'd known it would be okay, because Lucas was there and he was taking care of her and...this hospital cheese sandwich was terrible. It tasted like cat food. And if Haley said it tasted like catfood, then it did, because she would know.[]
Peyton tried to forget the sound of the accident; it seemed to haunt her when the veil between sleep and waking started to part. Lucas's scream of "Haley!," was the first instant she had known something was wrong. Then, Nathan's quick, highstrung, "It's okay, Peyton!"
Lots of other people yelling and screaming. Glass shattering. The driver cursing, then suddenly quiet. Nathan, shoved against the side, everything on top of him; nothing was the same, the bus had shape shifted and Peyton panicked. She drug herself from under Nathan's outflung arm and stumbled towards the front of the bus. She had to see what was happening; it was dark, the windows, or what was left of them, were under her feet. It felt strange, stepping on broken glass. Lucas blocked the way, he was draped over one of the seats. Peyton screamed and climbed over him, but there were people everywhere and the few who were conscious madly shoving and fighting for the doors. Peyton saw Brooke; she was trapped under someone, and getting trampled under the mad rush for safety. Tim appeared, eyes wild, but Peyton caught him by the sleeve and they untangled her. By then, teachers from the other bus were there, shouting advice, giving instructions. Coach Whitey started snapping orders to some of the basketball players. By the time Peyton was lifted out, the ambulances had arrived. Her feet were sliced from glass shards, and she'd dislocated her shoulder. Funny, it hadn't hurt at the time. Seeing the EMS carrying Lucas, then Nathan, five or six of the others out on stretchers...that had been the worst moments of her life. Haley, holding a cold patch to the mass of purple on one side of her face, had rode with her to the hospital. Both of them were still in shock. By then, fear for the Scotts had overwhelmed any physical discomfort. Maybe by tomorrow they'd be back to normal and.....maybe those sleeping pills were working after all.[]
