I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the Characters or Flashbacks, just my plot.
A/N: Okay, this is going to be the last chapter of this fanfic sniffles I might do an epilogue now or I might tie one on in another chapter, but whatever I decide to do, the last chapter will have (dundundun) a preview of the prequel I'm doing to this! It's going to follow Peyton and her journey as well as giving some more backround on Alyssa's family, and it's also going to follow up on the Tree Hill gang after she left. To my reviewers: I love you all. You make my day and give me the encouragement I needed to finish my very first completed fanfic, my baby. This story is dedicated to tardychick and lysser, because you guys have been there through thick and thin! Who knows… maybe someday we can collaborate on something!
The waiting room was silent. Alyssa's parents were going to come down as soon as they could manage, which knowing them, probably would be in a few days. Anna was sitting between Adam and Jake on the floor, sqeezing Adam's hand and laying her head on Jake's lap. Lucas, Peyton, Nathan, and Haley all stood in a circle near the doctor, trying to glean information and explaining that Alyssa was officially an emancipated minor, but that Peyton was her godparent and since neither Alyssa or Adam were in a position to make a decision about any type of medical action, it would be better for everyone concerned to let her make the decision. Karen set next to Brooke and Jake Sr., all of whom were flipping idly through magazines, trying to pretend they were actually reading them.
"I don't know what could've happened. Alyssa did everything to a T that those baby books talked about. She never drank, smoked, and she quit caffeine. She took it easy and tried to stay away from stress as much as possible. What… what happened?" "Adam, the same thing could've happened to me just as easily. I was reading through one of the books I got on when to know if something's wrong, and I think that Alyssa most likely either had an early labor, a false labor, some really killer cramps, or… or a…" Anna looked down in shame for even mentioning it at the present, but Adam's probing gaze drew the words from her mouth. "a miscarriage," she finished quietly, her voice cracking as the last word came out.
The doctor walked up to the group, waiting quietly until they'd had a moment to compose themselves. "You friend had a great deal of internal bleeding. We're still not quite sure what this was from, but thankfully, we didn't have to perform a hysterectomy. However, one of the babies… one of the babies died. The other two are both doing very well, and thankfully, we were able to force a controlled labor so that she didn't have to carry the little guy around for the rest of her term." "I… I lost my son?" "Oh Adam," Anna said, struggling for words, and reaching out to him. He whipped away, putting his head in his hand. The doctor waited for another moment before continuing. "Of course, we'll keep her overnight to stabilize her and give her a blood transfusion, and we'll want her back for weekly checkups for awhile, but overall, she should be fine, as well as your two other babies."
"Wait… how did you know what sex the first baby was? Alyssa is only three months along," Anna inquired, looking up for the first time. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. She's around five months along, I believe." "The first time… the first time we ever… oh, wow," Adam said, something akin to awe in his voice. "We'll be able to give her a few minutes before we begin the procedure to see one or two people. We'd prefer you don't bring in a mob, though… she'll be under the influence of the medication beginning… after it's all over, we'll clean up the baby and give her and the father a couple moments with him. Sir, I'm genuinely sorry for you loss." The doctor turned around, and Adam motioned for Anna. "I… I need a moment. I want to be the last one to see her before the labor. Would you go, Anna?" "Of course," she whispered, rubbing Adam's back and getting a kiss from Jake on the forehead before going to the hospital room.
She wasn't prepared for the sight she laid eyes on. Alyssa looked perfectly normal; with the exception of the IV and the blood transfusion, there were no needles or tubes sticking onto her, and she wore a somewhat fazed expression. "Anna," was the only word that left her mouth, and she smiled happily. Anna rushed over to the bed, kneeling on the floor beside her and gripping her hand. "Hey, you. You know, you better hurry up and get out of here… there was some slinky guy who was offering the younger girls a chance to model hospital gowns, and I'm scared that even now you could kick his sorry butt to the curb." Tears were on the verge of overflowing, but she held them in check. Alyssa's were flowing freely. "Anna, listen to me. I was distraught when they first told me, but now I get it. I have two of three triplets inside of me, a beautiful boy and girl. Their brother will be loved so much, and in an instant I would've taken my own life for his. But I need to be strong, for Adam… for myself. I need you to be happy for me, because I'm happy for myself. I have been so blessed, and I will never, ever forget little Jimmy." "So, you really are going to name him James, after that James Lafferty guy that was such a heartthrob way back when, huh?" "Yeah, are you kidding? That guy was hott stuff!" They both laughed shakily. "Listen to me, Anna. I'm going to need you. I'm going to be angry a lot of days, and some days I'm going to be sad, and some days I'm going to need to pretend nothing's wrong. I just… I really need a sister." "Then it's a good thing you have me."
No one was ever quite sure if it was the medication or her guardian angel that quieted and calmed Alyssa that day, and no one knew what it was that she said to Adam that made him smile through all his tears before she was rolled away into the OR. Everyone expected her to die, for some reason; they couldn't really believe that anyone who wasn't on the brink of death would've been so… angelic in the end. She lived, though. The change was temporary, but somehow she managed to be the comforter that day. For the next four months, she was waited on hand and foot from her bedrest perch, and with the plenty of time afforded, she actually finished high school early and got a head-start on college applications. When she did have Michael and Sophie, the grief came back for awhile, but she slowly and surely learned to cope with the grief, having more than a couple late-night talks with Peyton, the only person who could truly understand what she was going through. Peyton and Anna went into labor on the same day; both at exactly thirty-eight weeks. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with the babies; the doctor said that Peyton and Lucas's Trina Starr and Anna and Jake's Laura Lynn and Elijah James (The middle name a subtle tribute to the poor little James who wasn't still there) were some of the fattest babies he'd ever delivered. Jake, Anna, Alyssa, and Adam had a double wedding about a year after the babies were born and Brooke and Peyton were fully adjusted to being grandmas (Peyton had taken over the task of becoming Sophie and Michael's surrogate grandmother) and had had time to plan a wedding. Thankfully, they moved out of the apartments… but they decided that strangely enough, they enjoyed living next door too much to part, so with Nathan and Lucas's help, they bought Dan's old house and the one next to it. In short, they lived happily ever after… well, at least until all their kids became teenagers.
Epilogue
"Mom, will you PLEASE explain to Lucas that I REALLY don't appreciate him reading a diary that HE WROTE to his friends!" Laura yelled, coming into the kitchen. "Honey, I know that it's hard, but he's only eight, and you're fifteen. I think that you should possess the maturity to let it slide," Anna answered, tossing up the salad and adding in, "Oh, could you please set the table for me? I got home from the club a little late." When Karen had retired a few years back with a tidy little sum, she'd sold the café to Haley and Peyton, and they'd both decided to add on a club, which they'd let Alyssa and Anna run once they bought into the partnership, too. It was very successful, and they'd opened up a chain.
Alyssa entered the house through the backdoor, stopping for a moment. "Have you seen Tony and Brandon? I have a feeling that they're…" she was cut off when the two ten-year-olds ripped through the kitchen with a scream. "Did you guys get into Aunt Anna's DVD collection AGAIN and watch House of Wax?" They looked guiltily at each other, and she threw her hands up. "No staying up until two when you fall asleep in spite of your terror tonight," she yelled, waving at Anna and saying that she'd bring over the chicken in a little while for dinner. The two of them almost always pooled their food "resources" together so that the two families could have dinner together.
"Hey, mom, do you know where Michael is? He said he wanted to talk to me," Laura asked after she'd finished setting the table. Michael was her best friend practically from the old days when they beat each other over the head with rattles. "I think he's outside playing basketball with Uncle Adam and your dad," she answered. Laura decided to check her room first, since he sometimes would hide in there to scare her. What she found was her brother, Elijah, and Sophie, Michael's sister, making out on her bed. "OH MY GOSH! Just WAIT until mom finds out!" The two scrambled up guiltily. "I am so sorry, Laura. We were just talking, and then Erika wouldn't leave our room alone, and Lucas was in Elijah's room, so we came here, and things just… happened," Sophie explained, her face growing red. "Well, at least you found a room," she said with a laugh. She couldn't wait to tell her boyfriend, Daniel, about this. His mom, Jenny, was a teacher at their high school. She knew that Michael would love to hear about it, too.
Laura decided to just let them be, since they obviously needed to define their relationship, and she found Michael. "Hey, stranger," she said lightly as she flopped next to him on his bed. "You know, usually when a hot girl sits down on my bed, I'm hoping she's not a stranger," he joked, and she punched his arm promptly. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" "Yeah, I did. I… I don't really know if this is the best place to talk about it." "Come on, aren't we used to talking about stuff no matter what it is and no matter where we are?" "Yeah, I guess you're right. Listen, I know that this doesn't change anything for you, but it's going to change a lot between us and for me. I need you to promise that we won't be weird or awkward now." He hesitated, his nervousness showing through. "Of course not. I mean, you're my best friend. I love you… like a brother of course," she stuttered, unsure of the feelings that sprang up with that simple term. Similar ones had been randomly rushing in, but she convinced herself they meant nothing… were nothing.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang. "Hey, Daniel! What's up?" She was surprised by the uncomfortable voice on the other end. "Look, we need to talk." "Okay, shoot," she answered nervously. "We… I… I think we need a break. Actually, I think it would be a good idea if we saw other people." "You… you're joking." "No, I'm not. Listen, I'm sorry, but I've got to go… I hope we can still be… friends… just… we can talk about this later…" "No, actually we can't! We can talk about it now! What the heck is wrong with you! Just… what… why are you breaking up with me?" "I just… there's nothing left to us, okay? Let's leave it at that." "Yeah, let's just leave it alone. I can't believe this. I can't believe you. Bye, Daniel," she spat out, clicking the "end call" button on her cell phone.
"Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry," Michael said, and she broke out in tears. He moved closer and put his arms around her, rocking her back and forth. "You're gonna get through this. I can't believe that idiot. You're too good for him anyway, okay?" She nodded silently, sniffling. They stayed like that for a long time, and eventually they both stopped moving, and an awkwardness entered the atmosphere. "Um… we should probably get going…" he started. "Yeah…" she drifted off, and suddenly they were moving towards each other, and their lips were touching. They broke off almost as soon as it happened, moving away from each other. "Woah, what WAS that?" she whispered, touching her lips. "I'm not sure. Look, I should probably go… you're on rebound, and that definitely wasn't the best way to inform you of how I've felt for awhile now… a couple months, actually…" She stared at him, working her mouth again and again before saying anything.
"Look, I don't know what the heck just happened. I… I know it's awful, but you know, if this really is just a rebound thing, it'll be over soon and… and we can forget about it, right? I mean, as long as you don't feel taken advantage of, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't." He nodded hesitantly, and they moved towards each other, but she pulled back at the last moment. "What's wrong?" "I want this too much for a rebound. That scares me. I mean, I shouldn't be feeling this way so soon after my boyfriend dumped me… well, I mean, I knew it was coming… and I did kind of have feelings for you for the past year, but…" "You've liked me that long?" "Well, yeah. But you and Melanie got together, and I freaked. I mean, why…" "We were never really interested… it was a stupid, immature mistake. I don't know why we did it." "Oh…" "Yeah…" they leaned forward again, their lips making full contact this time, the kiss deepening extremely quickly. Just then, Alyssa came in with a thud. "Hey Michael, Laura, dinner's ready… wow, okay. Um, Michael, you know where the condoms I got you are in your sock drawer, and remember Laura: if it's your time of the month, say no, no matter how much you want it, because your mother and I are living proof that protection doesn't always work." With that she left the room, shouting out as an afterthought, "I'll stall dinner for fifteen minutes, and after that you're on your own explaining this to everyone else."
They sat staring at each other, and finally Laura laughed uncomfortably. "So… what exactly was that? Some sort of game?" She smiled and said the classic lines, "No, I don't think so. But just in case, do you want to play again?" Michael gently locked the door, kissing her as soon as the lock clicked.
Sophie, Elijah, Michael, and Laura ended up downstairs thirty minutes late. "Isn't it kind of odd that your mom expected us to be needing condoms already?" "Well, you can never be too careful," Michael answered, biting her ear gently. "Just remember, you won't be needing those little rubbers for a long, long time yet," she said, making him turn her towards him. "That… isn't what this is about. I… I think I'm in love with you. So I want this, taking it slow, like real slow. What do you think?" "I think that sounds great. Only, maybe you shouldn't be telling me that you're in love with me if we're taking it slow," she whispered, walking hand in hand with him to the table as they laughed softly. She smiled as she watched her parents hustling around and sat down next to her best friend, and now, oddly enough, her boyfriend. When there was finally a quiet moment Adam passed the salad to Jake. "Hey buddy, do you think that this'll go straight to our hips?" "Nah, I bet it'll be okay. That new diet book in the kitchen said so," Jake answered, the two men howling with laughter as their respective wives swatted them. They slowly passed the bowls around the table, and the family laughed at the many inside jokes they were sharing. Everyone knew that this was just another page to add to the scrapbook someday… just one more day in the life.
Okay, so here's the preview of my prequel, with just a couple snippets.
"What do you think?" asked the man, scratching his head hopefully. "I think that this isn't fit to house a rat," the young blond said, sighing. "I guess I'll take it."
Karen watched the young boy outside playing basketball sadly, her eyes tearing up at the memories she had. "Hey, mom…" a husky voice greeted her. "Lucas," she whispered. She turned around, not quite ready to see him back for real… not quite.
"You know, she's not coming back, Lucas. I don't know why you can't just accept that. She was my best friend. I wish I could change things, but I can't. Aren't you just willing to give us another try?" "No, I'm not, Brooke. I just… I'm not in love with you." "It's too bad that you're in love with her, then, because she's left with something of yours that you won't ever be able to get back."
Well, this is it, guys. Thanks again, and I hope that you'll look forward to seeing my new ficcy soon.