The Man Who Was His Father
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the One Tree Hill characters
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Chapter 4Cool night air swirled around the pair as they sat across from each other on the porch. It was late, but Lucas could hardly sleep knowing his wife had some kind of news she wanted to share with him. He was getting impatient, and she noticed his fidgeting.
"Before you say anything, or before I tell you anything I just want you to listen to this." Peyton handed Lucas a small digital voice recorder she pulled from the pocket of her red hoodie. He rolled the device around in his hands, and looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
"What is this" he asked.
"Just listen, and then I'll explain everything" She gave him a sly smile, and moved from her chair on the porch to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and with his free hand pushed play on the recorder. Peyton took a deep breath and felt her pulse quicken, as Lucas brought the device closer to his ear. He heard nothing but silence and a bit of static.
"I can't hear anything" he said, shaking the player around in his hand.
"Just listen" she laughed, running her fingers through his short hair. He turned the small black dial on the side of the recorder, and the volume of the static increased slightly. He listened carefully until he finally heard it. A gentle swoosh came in a constant rhythm, and Lucas may not have been a doctor but he was pretty sure he knew what a heartbeat sounded like.
"Is that-" He looked up quickly and met Peyton's eyes.
"The doctor said the baby has a good strong heartbeat, I thought you might want to hear it." He was quiet again and looked down at his hands, the babies gentle heartbeat was the only noise to invade the silence.
"That is the most incredible sound I have ever heard." He looked up at her, and she smiled.
"Are you happy?" Peyton asked, placing a hand on his cheek. The answer was obvious from the expression on his face.
"I'm so happy Peyt, nothing could make me happier right now. We're going to have a baby, that's incredible" He looked up at her with an enormous grin on his face. She leaned down to kiss him sweetly on the lips, and he pulled her closer.
"So how long have you been keeping this little secret from me?" Lucas asked, cutting short her kiss.
"I've known for a few weeks, according to my doctor I'm a little over a month along." She said while absentmindedly placing her hand on her stomach. He noticed the gesture and placed his hand over hers.
"Our baby is in there." He said with a hint of amazement in his voice. In that moment it was only about them. Peyton, Lucas, and the baby made their own family, and nothing else seemed to matter.
"I love you so much" he kissed her, and placed a hand gently on her cheek.
"I love you too." She was finding it hard to stop from smiling, everything seemed to be falling into place for them. She knew Lucas wanted nothing more than to be a great husband and father someday. And he was an incredible husband, she loved him more than even he knew. Peyton was sure he would be an incredible father.
He leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers, and they stayed together in silence for what seemed like a lifetime. They were always comfortable just being together in silence, words sometimes seeming unnecessary. He placed his strong hands on either side of her soft face and kissed her softly on the tip of her nose before pulling her gently to her feet.
"Dance with me." Lucas asked her, pulling her body towards his own.
"We don't have any music." She said matter-of-factly.
"Who needs music," he whispered in his ear. "When your husband has such a great voice."
"You never sing Luke." She laughed softly.
"Correction, I only sing on special occasions, and tonight definitely qualifies as special." He kissed her before bringing his face down to hers.
He sang only for her, his lips held close to her ear, his voice just above a smooth whisper.
It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, "Do I look alright?"
And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight"
She smiled to herself as she recognized the song. To anyone else it was just some old Eric Clapton song, but to her it was something special. He'd sang that same song to her the night he proposed.
We go to a party and everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady, that's walking around with me.
And then she asks me, "Do you feel alright?"
And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."
Their feet shuffled across the wooden porch, their bodies swaying to his voice. She reached up and placed her hands on the nape of his neck, and ran her fingers along his hairline. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, and pulled her closer.
I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don't realize how much I love you.
He kissed her in between verses, and ran his hands through her hair. He loved the way she felt in his arms.
It's time to go home know, and I've got an aching head
So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.
And I tell her, as I turn out the light,
I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight
Oh my darling, you look wonderful tonight."
He finished his song with a kiss on her head, and his hand lay across her stomach. She pulled back to wipe away a single tear from her cheek, he laughed and rubbed at the same spot.
"I really do love it when you sing" she said.
"Whatever my wife wants, she'll get" he smiled at her.
"Can I get that agreement in writing" she said trying to stifle a yawn.
"Alright lets get you to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow. Nathan and Haley are expecting us to visit tomorrow"
"Fine, bed sounds really good right about now. Lead the way daddy" He grinned at her last word, and lead her back to his old bedroom.
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"Ok do me a favor Luke, let's keep the baby news quiet for right now. I just don't feel right about springing it on people with everything that's happening with Dan." She waited for his acknowledgement before she rang the doorbell to Nathan and Haley's house.
"That makes sense I guess, even though I don't think we should base our decisions on Dan Scott. But if that's what you want." He shrugged his shoulders.
"That's what I want Luke, just for now. And then you can shout it from the roof tops if you want."
"Don't tempt me Peyton, cause I would do it." He laughed. "Now ring the doorbell, I'm freezing" He rubbed at her arms, knowing she had to be cold as well. Peyton rang the doorbell, and waited for Haley to appear. She was at the door in a hurry, and Peyton couldn't help but laugh as Haley swung the door open wide, and greeted them with her trademark beam.
"Hey guys!" Haley said coming out onto the porch to wrap her arms first around Peyton and then her oldest friend Lucas. She ushered them into her home and they dropped their coats onto the small table by the door. "Make yourselves comfortable, I'm going to find that reclusive boyfriend of mine". Peyton and Lucas made their way into the living room and sat on one of the couches. Haley went back into one of the bedrooms to get Nathan. She returned a few minutes later with Nathan in tow.
"Hey Luke" he walked over to the couch, where Lucas stood to shake his hand. They had become better friends after he realized Nathan really did love Haley, and there was no sense in holding a grudge against him.
"How you doing Nathan?" Lucas said shaking his hand firmly.
"I'm good, I'm good thanks" Nathan gave Lucas a small pat on the shoulder and then made his way over to Peyton.
"Hey Nathan" She said, giving him a hug.
"You look great Peyton." He gave her a quick smile, and made his way over to where Haley was sitting.
They sat around in the living room talking about anything for a few hours. Nathan took over Dan's business after his retirement, and Haley was part owner of Karen's Café. They had been living together for a few years, with no immediate plans of getting married. They were comfortable just taking things slow. Nathan stood after awhile and motioned towards Lucas.
"Lucas, could I talk to you for a minute?" Luke nodded and got up to follow him towards the kitchen.
That's it for Chapter 4, hope you guys enjoyed it. Luke's song was Eric Clapton: Wonderful Tonight. I went old school on that one, but it's a good song. Next chapter will be Lucas and Nathan talking about their dad, and some other stuff. And then we're finally going to get to some Dan/Lucas interaction, which is probably going to get really deep, and will be really be interesting to write. So please let me know what you thought of the chapter, and thanks for reading!