I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the Characters or Flashbacks, just my plot.
Who would've known that this would happen? Karen had always known that Luke hadn't exactly been a priest in his high school years, but getting poor Peyton pregnant? I mean, the girl might not have been the most maternal type, but from the little she'd seen of her, Karen though that Peyton had done a pretty darn good job. She closed her eyes as she thought of the last time she had talked to Peyton before the girl left... "I finished the flyers for the next open mike night Mrs. Roe." "Thank you so much, Peyton. You have no idea how much we appreciate you. What would we do without you?" Peyton's expression seemed to droop a little. "I'm sure there's some other aspiring artist in Tree Hill." "Nobody could come close to our Peyton, though." Karen didn't know why she said that, but she'd felt as if Peyton had become like a daughter to her in the amount of time Lucas had come back to Charleston, even though he'd only been gone for three months. "Mrs. Roe, I want you to know that I'll always consider you the coolest adult around, and that when I leave Tree Hill, I'll always remember you." "You'll always have a place right here in my humble little café." At the time, Karen had assumed Peyton meant college or her career, but when no one could find her the next day, she had come to the sickening realization that Peyton had left much sooner than any of them thought she would.
The café wasn't very busy that day, but it had a gentle trickle of usual customers. "Karen, do you know what happened to our order of frosting?" Haley called out. Mrs. Roe smiled. Haley had been a teacher until her and Nathan had their first daughter, Rose, and then she quit. When Rose was old enough to go to school, Haley took up her old part-time job at the café and had taken a partnership with Karen after Deb ended up leaving Tree Hill when she got married to Keith. "I'm sorry, Haley, but I really don't have any idea. I'll have to talk to the company president if this happens again, though." All of the sudden a woman burst into the café all out of breath. Mrs. Roe turned around and gasped, whispering "Peyton."
Anna had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that they were all dribbling the ball up and down the court, passing and trying to shoot. She figured she would just go with the basics and ask her dad the details of the game later on. Anna still couldn't believe she had a dad. He seemed like a really great guy, the kind that gets along with people, and he looked like he could be either broody or talkative, depending on his mood and surroundings. Suddenly, her dad yelled out "Anna, get the ball!" He passed it, and instantly, she glided to meet the ball without a second thought. She had only started playing two minutes ago and hadn't gotten the ball before this, but now she was exhilarated. She dribbled the ball, throwing in a couple of the twists and turns she remembered from dance lessons. Soon, she was up at the basket. Aware of what was going on around her but not caring, she let the adrenaline rush guide her jump and hold on the ball, and slowly came down as a swish rang through the air.
Panting hard, she noticed her dad's amazed face, and saw the other players patting him on the back and directing towards her "Your dad sure knows how to raise basketball stars, I'll give him that." She smiled, and they continued with the game. By the end of the second half, she and her dad were and unbeatable team, challenged only by Nathan and Jake. She assisted her dad in making the winning basket. Everything felt so natural, so right. Nothing like this had ever happened before, but she knew in that instant that she loved this sport, and she loved everything that it did to her.
She looks so much like Peyton, Lucas thought while the two of them walked home. He couldn't believe she was his daughter. Maybe it was weird, but he felt like he'd known her for years, and like she truly was his little girl. Anna was the one to break the silence this time. "I don't know how to play, you know. Mom always told me basketball was a waste of time, and wouldn't let me play. She taught me how to shoot and all, but I never pursued it or pushed her to let me learn how because she looked so sad whenever we so much as flipped by a basketball game on TV. I was kinda wondering if you would... that is, if you had the time... well, would you teach me how to play?" "Of course I will," Lucas answered before even allowing himself time to think about it. "How is your mom by the way?" He asked after a little bit. "She's a professional artist now. Her landscapes, portraits, and work as a children's book illustrator are all widely recognized. She still loves to sketch, especially comic strips where she puts phrases in the corner. When I turned eight, she gave me a book of black-and-white sketches she'd drawn of me growing up: me sleeping as a baby, my first steps, first lost tooth, first word, and a bunch of me playing with my best friend Alyssa. I still love that book more than anything else she's ever made."
"I know it may sound kind of weird, but did you mean it when you said your mom never dated anyone else?" "Yeah. Mom got plenty of offers, but she never took anyone up on them. I saw this picture of her from high school one time. She looked exactly the same as she does now. I'm not sure, but I always kind of thought that she never wanted to date anyone else." "I can't believe she never told me about you," Lucas said, shaking his head. "She always told me that some things are better left unsaid so that no one gets hurt. I always assumed things were better this way, with me and her together and really happy with our lives and you off somewhere free to live your life without a daughter to tie you down." "I just think she should've told me at least. I would've liked to see you grow up, to be there when you were born and help choose your name. I would've liked to walk you to your first day of school and hold your hand that extra second before letting you go. I would've like to hug away all the monsters under your bed and kissed all the scrapes and cuts you got over the years." Lucas hadn't ever realized that all of those feelings were inside of them until they were out in the open. "You want to know a secret?" Anna whispered, looking more like Peyton than ever. "I would've liked you to be there too."
Peyton and Karen were seated in her living room drinking coffee. "I was going to do the right thing and tell her. I had a copy of her birth certificate, an old photo of Luke, and even this," Peyton said, holding out a vinyl bag. Karen slipped open the flap, and pulled out an old, dusty book inside. "Oh my," Karen whispered when she opened it up and saw all the sketches Peyton had drawn of her turbulent relationship with Lucas, ending with a sketch of an infant Anna sleeping with words in bold capitals at the top: "And Now She'll Never Know You." "Where did I go wrong, Karen? I tried to be a good mother and give her everything. In a messed-up kind of way, I tried to be strong for Luke too. I didn't want to put stress on him and make him into one of those dad's who's either never home or who's always at home and acts like, well, like Dan." "You may not have done the right thing," Karen said slowly, "But you did what you thought was best, and that's all any of us can do. Yes, this means I'm not mad, and yes, this means I understand." A smile flooded Peyton's face and the two women hugged as the door opened.
"You mean to tell me that you walked right in there and snatched up one of the starting positions on the basketball team? Not even Nathan or I could've done something like that in the day." Laughter followed, and father and daughter walked into the living room as if they'd known each other for years. "Mom? What are you doing here?!" Anna gasped when she saw her mother. "I think I should be asking you that question first," Peyton snapped back. "I'm here because there were a couple key people in my life who I thought I might need to meet. Since you've already met all these people and have obviously hurt everyone in this room, what are you doing here?" Peyton stepped back as if she'd been slapped and retorted "Did you ever consider before leaving that maybe I would've told you what you wanted to know, and we could have done this together? That's why I went over to Alyssa's house and found out you were down here. I trusted you, honey." "Yeah, well I trusted you for sixteen years, and it looks like my supply's run out." Anna stormed outside, not caring where she went. Karen quietly walked upstairs, leaving the two facing each other.
"I pictured what would happen if I ever saw you again a lot of times, Peyt, but never before did I think I would be mad at you." Peyton looked at him and said, "You know why I kept her away from you? You wouldn't have understood! You would've just done something stupid like run away or asked me to marry you." "So what if I had asked you to marry me? You would've said no, and that would've gotten us nowhere. I liked you a lot. Heck, I loved you! I still love you! And you never once gave enough thought to me or my feelings to tell me about my daughter!" "It always has to be about you, doesn't it? I was thinking of Anna. I didn't want her to stay in this town! That would've been hell for all of us! And what about the pressure being so good at basketball would've put on her? I didn't want her going through that!" "You knew she was that good at basketball and you never though to develop her talent? That's pure crime. I wouldn't have cared if she only had one eye and couldn't even pick up a basketball! She's my daughter, and I love her because she's my daughter! Anna deserved to be able to have someone who was at least willing to try to be a dad to her. I don't care what else happens, but you aren't going to keep me from knowing my daughter any more!" Both of them were breathing heavily when it happened. It was impulsive and not thought out at all, but they kissed. It was the briefest of things, and they were both crying. They stood there holding each other and just cried and cried.
Anna ran back down to the River Court. She had no idea what brought her there, but when she got there, she saw a guy about her age shooting hoops. He was better than her, she realized with a smile. "Well, well, well, is this the miracle girl I heard about from my big sis?" he said, coming over to her. She was startled by his phenomenally good looks. Unlike his sister, he had ruffled brown hair, and his eyes were a dark brown. His lips were even and perfect, his nose was straight and average. The rest of him from there on down was arranged in a pretty terrific package too. "That would be me," she said, flashing a nervous smile. "How old are you anyway, mister? I mean, Jenny's only a year older than me." "Yeah. I'm actually starting my junior year, too. I'm Jake Jagleski Jr." "And I'm Anna Michelle Sawyer the first," she said in a mock serious tone. "Well, Miss Anna Michelle Sawyer, how would you feel about a round of one-on-one basketball?" "You're on!" She said with a tinkering laugh.
After three rounds, they finally sat down for a break. "So you're Mr. Scott's daughter, right?" He asked. "Yeah. I guess that's where I get the basketball genes from, since my mom was a cheerleader." "Did your dad ever tell you about all the drama that went on when our parents were in high school? I mean, my mom, Brooke, used to date your dad. My parents got together around the time your dad and my mom split up. It was really weird and the timing was really off, but they got married as soon as they found out about me. My mom always treated Jenny like her own daughter, but that's another story in itself." "Actually, my mom only told me that there was way more drama here than anyone would've though possible. I always got a kick out of her stories about it. I mean, could reality really be that much of a soap opera?" The two of them sat there laughing and trading stories until the sun started going down.
"I guess we better get going," Anna said reluctantly. "Who are you staying with?" Jake asked. She couldn't tell if he was asking out of politeness or because he really cared. "Well, I'm actually staying with my grandmother right now." "Then why don't we go over to the café and get something to eat before you head back? That way you can check in and maybe we could talk some more," he said, kind of sounding nervous over the last part. Anna got a small "oh-so-THAT'S-what-you-mean" smile on her face and said "I'd like that a lot," with sincerity resonating in her voice.
When they got to the café, Karen walked over to Anna. "So that's where you were. We were getting worried for awhile, but I figured that you would be playing ball with someone." She gave the two a small smile of approval and led them over to the tables. The two talked over dinner; she found out that even though punk rock was his usual kind of music, his favorite was the Beatles. He found out that years of dance lessons were what gave her all of her natural grace on the court. By the end of the night they talked like they'd known each other for years. Without talking about it, he walked her back to Karen's. "Look, I know it might seem like I'm coming on to you, but I was wondering... would you like to meet me at the River Court for a rematch tomorrow at seven?" "Are you that eager to make sure it doesn't get around that a girl beat the crap out of you while you were in the zone?" she asked in a joking voice. They both laughed, and then she said "Good night." "Good night," he replied, and moved his hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Just in case you were wondering, the answer for tomorrow is yes," she said, her eyes shining as she moved towards the door. Once she was inside, she found a sight she'd wanted to see all of her life: Her mother had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch in her father's arms.
Thanks to my reviewers! It means so much to me! I'm sorry to anyone who wanted this to be a Brucas, but I've been toying with the idea of a Bake story for awhile. To anyone who wanted Nathan to be the dad: I love Naley too much to do that. Please r&r soon! OnTheOutsideLookingIn