Thanks to lysser8312, a.k.a.-ashley and tutorgirl323 for reviewing; I'm glad you all like the new story! And it's really encouraging to know that someone other than me is enjoying it! Here's the next installment… the story starts out slow, but it will eventually pick up the pace. Thanks everyone for reading and please let me know that you think!

Chapter 2 Couldn't Leave her if I Tried

The sleepless night was passed with many tears, a few pots of tea, cartons of ice cream, and quite a bit of stock from Brooke's emergency liquor supply. Lucas was the only one in the household awake before noon the next day. He took advantage of the time to clean up after the storm. It had left more damage in its path than they had realized. Tree branches filled the Sawyers' yard and Lucas walked outside just in time to see one of their elderly neighbors attempting to fix a mailbox that had been blown over by the high-speed winds.

Peyton woke slowly and realized that she was sandwiched between Brooke and Haley, both of whom were still deep in sleep. She crept out of bed and padded slowly down the stairs, wondering if Lucas had really spent the night; she had heard snippets of conversation from the night prior that led her to think he may have refused to leave. Seeing no sign of him in the living room or kitchen, she was just about to return to bed when she heard a loud noise from the front yard. Drawing back a gauzy curtain, she saw Lucas helping Mr. Howard with his mailbox.

Ignoring the dampness of the grass, she walked out into the yard and stood behind him, watching as he gathered more sticks and branches on his way back to the porch. Since he was looking at the ground, he almost bumped into her before noticing her. If Peyton had gotten any sleep the previous night, it didn't show the least bit. Her eyes were red, puffy, and rimmed underneath with dark circles. He hair, wilder than usual as a result of the humidity from the storm, was barely tamed back in a lose ponytail. The pajamas she wore were well suited for summer, but not for the damp and chilly morning they were currently experiencing.

"It's cold. You shouldn't be out here," Lucas chided gently. Laying the sticks on an already large pile, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her carefully back into the warm house. He turned around to close the door when he spotted Nathan walking up the sidewalk, vigilantly trying not to step on any of the remaining storm debris.

"Hey Peyton, Luke. Have you seen my wife?"

"Sleeping upstairs," Peyton answered in a monotone voice. At least she was offering information, Lucas reasoned.

"Another man?" Nathan asked with a mock expression of concern.

"Another woman," Peyton answered with a smirk. Nathan laughed and followed the two into the Sawyer home.

"I'm sorry to hear about Jake." Nathan was the first person to simply bring the issue into direct conversation.

"It's probably better this way."

"If it's meant to be, you'll have him back."

"I don't think it was mean to be," Peyton answered with a lack of emotion noticed by both brothers. Lucas was working on breakfast while Peyton and Nathan sat across from one another at the table. "He said we were moving apart—"

"At least he knows his geography," Nathan answered with a good-natured laugh. Peyton almost smiled, but thought against it. Jake was going to Florida for college and she was going to New York but she had been willing to attempt a long distance relationship. Apparently, it wasn't all that important to Jake. Peyton's hands began to shake again once that thought passed through her exhausted mind. Nathan noticed and compassionately took her smaller hands in his. "You'll find the one, Peyton. And it's going to be someone who loves you as much as you deserve to be loved."

"Who are you and what have you done with Nathan Scott?" Lucas snorted as he tried to hold back laughter at Peyton's question. It was true; the kind words didn't sound like something that would normally come from his younger brother. Nevertheless, they seemed to have helped Peyton. She even smiled when Lucas set a plate of waffles and fruit in front of her. She only picked at it, but Nathan's appetite made up for the difference. Lucas was still standing at the stove when Haley came down the stairs looking almost as exhausted as Peyton.

"Morning," she said with a yawn. She sat on Nathan's lap and laid her head on his shoulder, contemplating the possibility of falling asleep again. Then, she smelled food. She looked up and noticed Lucas standing in the kitchen. "Waffles?" She looked at Lucas hopefully and he soon set a full plate before her, shaking his head in amusement as he sat down next to Peyton.

"The storm didn't cause too much damage," he said to Peyton in a normal tone. "There's a fence post in the backyard that needs fixed, but it shouldn't take long. Other than that, it's just a lot of loose branches."

"I'll give you a hand with it," Nathan said as he began to stand up. He picked Haley up and set her back down on the chair by herself.

"Don't bother," Peyton interrupted before Lucas could get up. "You guys have other things to do before you leave."

"Actually, I'm pretty much ready to go," Lucas argued. "And it won't take long."

"It's not like I have to pack for myself," Nathan said jokingly, earning a glare from his wife.

"It's not important," Peyton argued, visibly upset but probably not over the fencepost. Haley moved her chair closer to Peyton and, ignoring any protests, gathered the other girl into her arms. Sobs erupted seconds later. She motioned over Peyton's shoulder for the boys to go and do whatever it was they needed to do. When they reentered the house, the brothers found Peyton and Haley dry-eyed and dressed, laughing at a very grumpy Brooke. Apparently, she woke up on the wrong side of the wrong bed.

"I think I need to go home and change," Haley said abruptly, standing up from her place on the living room sofa. She shook Brooke's shoulder, trying to move the girl from her current position on the other sofa where she was sprawled face down. "Come on, Brooke. You could use a shower." Haley transferred the semi-conscious brunette to Nathan and leaned down to hug Peyton. "We'll be back."

"You don't have to—"

"We'll be back," Haley interrupted firmly. "Keep an eye on this one," she said as she playfully ruffled Lucas's hair. She knew from the look in his calm blue eyes that he wouldn't leave Peyton for a second. He had made the mistake of leaving her once before and he wasn't about to repeat such an error in judgment.

Brooke, Nathan, and Haley left quickly, taking the tense atmosphere with them. Once they left, Lucas and Peyton fell into a comfortable banter revolving around nothing more serious than which eighties band would be the most memorable in pop culture. Then again, with Peyton, any conversation dealing with music was serious. She fell asleep while watching Charade with Lucas and didn't wake up again until much later in the day, when the sun was starting to set. Casting aside the blanket that had been laid over her, she walked around the house and found that it was still only Lucas who remained with her. That must have changed at one point throughout the day, because he had obviously left long enough to have showered and dressed in a different t-shirt and cargo khaki combination.

He was bent in concentration over a tattered old copy of Tom Jones and didn't hear Peyton as she joined him on the back screened in porch. "Hey," he said nonchalantly as she sat next to him and pulled her knees up to her chin. "Sleep well?" Peyton nodded but didn't respond audibly. "Some woman called. A Claudia Shepherd. She wanted you to call her back today, if possible."

"She's the owner of the apartment building I'm moving into in New York," Peyton explained. "Have you been here all day?"

"Nah," he answered unconvincingly. He quickly changed the subject so that she wouldn't question his obvious lie. "Hales was here for a long time, but she and Nathan had an obligatory dinner with Deb and Dan. Those are the times I'm thankful that Dan never wanted me as his son."

"Oh Lucas—"

"It's okay," he interrupted. "It's taken a long time, but I think I'm at the point where I realized that it's his problem, not mine."

"You deserve better."

"So do you. I know you don't really want to talk about Jake—"

"I'm just tired of people leaving," she said sadly. His blue eyes met her sad hazel eyes and he realized that was the look that had scared him so much the day before; exhaustion. She had dealt with being left too many times in her short life and Jake had been one abandonment too many.

"They must not know what they're missing," Lucas said playfully, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm going to call Ms. Shepherd—"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh Luke, you don't have to—"

"Actually, I do. I'm pretty hungry. I was just going to let you in on the deal." Peyton laughed, showing one of the first real smiles of the day.

"Luke, why don't you head home—"

"I'm staying," he answered firmly. "Now what do you want to eat?"

"Whatever you're having is fine," she said with a small sigh. She wasn't sure what to do with this new side of Lucas; the side unwilling to leave her. Independence was her first nature, she wasn't used to having someone hang onto her presence so steadfastly. But she quickly accepted that he wasn't going to leave—because she didn't really have much of a choice. They walked back into the house together, she going to her bedroom to use the phone and he heading for the kitchen to investigate the dwindling contents of the pantry.

The title of this chapter is derived from the Monkees song "I'm a Believer."

"Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer
Not a trace of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love, I'm a believer!
I couldn't leave her if I tried."