The Man Who Was His Father
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the One Tree Hill characters.
Thanks so much to all my reviewers, you guys really inspire me to write. And I apologize for taking this long to update, school is way too time consuming. I'm planning on a new chapter at least every three days, so updates will come sooner.
Chapter Three:
"Dinner was great mom" Lucas said pushing himself away from the table, his growling stomach calmed by a hot meal. After Karen and Keith had come home from grocery shopping the foursome had sat down to a homecooked meal, and caught up on the latest happenings in their lives. Peyton was noticeably quiet during dinner, which hadn't gone unnoticed during dinner.
"Why don't you guys go relax in the living room and I'll get these dishes cleaned up real fast and join you." Karen stood from the table and grabbed hers and Keith's plate.
"Let me help you with those Mrs. S." Peyton said, picking up her own plate from the table and placing it in the sink. Lucas and Keith quietly ducked out of the kitchen and headed towards the living room in hopes of catching the final minutes of the game on television.
"Oh don't worry about that Peyton, go relax, I can handle these" she said motioning towards the pots and pans that were stacked in the sink.
"I don't mind really, I was actually hoping we could talk without the boys around." She turned from the sink to face Karen.
"Why don't we let these dishes soak, and we can sit and talk" Karen said, letting the hot water fill one side of the sink, before turning off the faucet. She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table for Peyton, and then occupied the seat next to her. Peyton found comfort in the fact that Karen was willing to make time for her.
"Lucas is shutting you out too isn't he?" Karen asked gently.
"How did you know?" Peyton asked shaking her head.
"I knew something was bothering you, you were so quiet at dinner tonight. I just assumed it had something to do with Lucas."
"He refuses to talk about Dan with me. I just want to know that he's ok, but I don't know how to be there for him when he pushes me away." Karen could tell from her voice that Peyton was hurting. She reached across the table to grab the younger woman's hand. Peyton acknowledged the gesture by giving Karen's hand a gentle squeeze.
"He acted the same way with me when I tried to talk about Dan. I understand why he feels the way he does, Dan was never a father to him. I think he's confused with how he should feel." Karen rubbed at an absent spot on the table, trying not to seem overly worried about Lucas' behavior. She didn't want to further Peyton's own stress over the situation. The truth was that Karen was afraid of what was going on in Lucas' head, how he was handling things by himself. "He'll come around Peyton. Lucas isn't the type of man to keep things bottled up for too long. He needs you and he loves you, and you just have to silently support him for right now as hard as that may be."
"Thank you Mrs. Scott." She said, sounding somewhat relieved after Karens gentle words towards her. But Karen could sense that there was something more on Peyton's mind.
"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about Peyton, you know you can tell me anything." Peyton just looked towards Karen with a nervous expression. She rose quickly from the table, crossing the small kitchen floor, and came to rest bracing her hands on either side of the sink.
"Peyton is everything ok?" Karen asked, standing from her chair and coming to stand next to her daughter in law.
"I just, I haven't told anyone yet. I was going to tell Lucas, but then this whole situation with Dan Scott happened and I don't know when the right time to tell him is anymore." Peytons words were nervous, and they came faster than usual.
"What are you talking about sweetheart?" Karen gently prodded for more information. Peyton took a deep breath in before revealing her news.
"I'm pregnant" she said gently. For the first time in nearly a week she felt relief at the fact that she could tell someone the one thing she was keeping from her husband. She searched Karen's face for any kind of reaction, and was happy to see her mother in law beaming from ear to ear.
"Oh Peyton, I am so happy for you" Karen pulled Peyton into a warm embrace, and squeezed her softly. "Well I'm happy for Lucas too, of course."
"Well I'm glad your happy, it feels good to finally be able to tell someone. I just didn't know when to tell Lucas, I mean he has all this stuff going on with his own father. I just…"
"Sharing this with Lucas will make him so happy Peyton, and it might allow him to come to terms with Dan. Knowing he's going to be a father will change the way he looks at life in general." Karen still couldn't stop smiling at the news.
"I think you're right, it would make him so happy. We had been talking about trying for a baby a few months ago, and now we're going to have one." Peyton smiled to herself. Shouts could be heard coming from the living room, and Lucas and Keith made their way into the kitchen.
"The tarheels just won in overtime, it was great." Lucas said as he searched trough the fridge for something to drink.
"Well I think Keith and I are going to turn in for the night, and we'll leave you two kids to get settled" Karen rubbed Keith on the back, and he nodded in agreement. She walked over to Peyton and pulled her into one last hug and whispered in her ear "You're gonna do great sweetie."
"Thank you for everything Mrs. Scott" Peyton whispered back. Stopping to hug Lucas goodnight, Karen and Keith made their way back to their bedroom. Peyton sat at the kitchen table near her husband.
"I have something I want to tell you" she said looking at Lucas.
Up next: Peyton tells Lucas her news, and they go and visit with Haley and Nathan. So hope you guys enjoyed the chapter it's a little shorter than the rest, but please leave your comments!