46 hours ago Midnight Wednesday

They wouldn't let him in to see her. They wouldn't tell him how she was. They said they needed to speak to a family member. Couldn't they understand that her only family member was out at sea and out of contact? Lucas paced the hospital waiting room. He noticed a couple, probably in their late 40s, that looked as tense as he was. He took a seat beside them and asked who they were waiting for.

"It's our son." The women said with teardrops hovering in her eyes as she struggled to not let them fall. "He got into a car crash but they wouldn't operate without parental permission. They waited half an hour for us to get here before they tried to help him. It could be too late."

"Lady, I could be sued for operating on a minor without parental permission." A doctor who had overheard the conversation said from behind Lucas.

"Our son could die!" She screamed at him and finally let the tears come streaming down her face. Her husband put his arm around her and calmed her down. Lucas looked over at the doctor but refused to judge what he had done. The doctor was in a tough position. He really could've been sued for trying to save the women's son. It was a shame.

Lucas left the couple and walked over to a little boy he saw sitting by himself on the other side of the room. The child was the only person in the entire waiting room that was smiling. Lucas assumed he didn't know what was going on. He asked the boy his name.

"I'm Jimmy." The little boy said and then continued. "My mommy's coming home today."

Lucas smiled at him. Then a man pushing a woman in a wheel chair came towards them. "Come on Jim. We're going home." The man Lucas assumed was his father said. Jimmy jumped into his mother's arms and she held him close. Then she whispered in his ear just loud enough to hear, "I'll never leave you again."

After the family left, a doctor walked into the room and asked if there was anyone there for a Peyton Sawyer. Lucas quickly walked up to him. The doctor recognized Lucas as the guy pestering all the nurses for information. He hesitated for a moment before he said: "You may see her now."

Lucas noticed that Peyton was asleep as he quietly crept into her room. She looked so peaceful lying there. He pulled up a chair next to her bed, sat down, and took hold of her hand. Peyton's body turned to face him under the covers but she remained asleep.

Nathan

On and on, the icy roads came at him but Nathan remained at full speed. He couldn't get himself to slow down. Who knows what could happen if he lost even two minutes? His heart pounded beneath his chest. He hadn't slept all night so he was mostly running on adrenaline. His stereo was blasting at the highest volume to keep his mind off…well, everything. He didn't want to think about how Chris had tricked Haley into leaving with him or worse, what they could be doing right now.

Nathan noticed a sign as he sped by it: New York State Line 3 miles. Two minutes later, he crossed the state line and saw bright lights up ahead. He was there. Then it hit him: Where would he look for them?

Haley and Chris

A huge sparkling city was in view below her, yet all she could think about was a small apartment back in Tree Hill. She took a picture of the city outside her window on her camera phone and titled it: I miss you. Chris noticed her taking the picture and said, "Isn't it beautiful?" A tear rolled down her cheek. He wrapped his arms around Haley with no idea. "Tomorrow, big things begin."

Haley nodded and replied, "I should really get some rest." She left his embrace and laid down on one of the queen size beds behind them. Chris joined her crawling in on the other side, uninvited. By 3 am, Chris was fast asleep while Haley hadn't slept at all. She buried her face in her pillow and cried. This is my dream. Haley thought, trying to cheer herself up. If Nathan and I are meant to be together, it'll work out despite all this. He'll forgive me…right? She stayed stuck on that thought until she finally drifted off around 4:30 am.

Lucas and Peyton

After a little over an hour, Peyton awoke. She looked up at Lucas who hadn't taken his eyes off her since he had entered the room. He rubbed his hand against hers and said, "Hey you. How do you feel?"

"It feels like I tried to fight a brick wall with my face." She replied.

"Well you should see the shape the brick wall is in." Lucas joked back.

She smiled at him…that gorgeous smile. A few hours ago, he thought he might never see it again. He didn't want to get into serious stuff until later. So for the moment, he simply glared back into her beautiful eyes.

"Look Peyton, I need to tell you something." He breathed in deep and then out slowly.

"What?" She curled her eyebrows at notice of how nervous he looked. But then again think of how I must look right now. She thought.

"The reason I came to your house tonight…" He paused. These things are never easy to do. "…well I needed you to know that I…"

"Oh my God, Peyton are you ok?" Brooke ran in and asked frantically. Perfect timing, Brooke. Lucas was upset but relieved to be interrupted. He knew that he shouldn't wait. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. There's no better time than now. But he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't ready.

"Yes I'm ok. Brooke you can get off me now." Brooke released her.

"P. Sawyer, if you ever have a near death experience again, I swear I'll kill you!" Peyton smiled at her best friend and then looked around for Lucas. He was gone.

Nathan

"Are you sure you didn't see them? I can tell you the description again. One's a beautiful brown haired young lady. The other is a man with messy hair and a kind of deformed face. Here, I have a picture of the girl." Nathan said to a man at the newspaper stand.

"Sir, I told you. I have not seen them."

"But security said to come here. He said everyone goes past here."

"He probably just wanted you to leave him alone." The man said, clearly annoyed. Nathan's face fell. "Alright…" The man conceded. "…I really haven't seen them but my friend who works the 8 to midnight shift probably did. His name is Raul. You can call him on this number." The man wrote 10 digits on a magazine. Nathan held his hand out for the magazine. The man shook his head. "You have to buy it first."

Cheesy, no-good newspaper stand clerk… Nathan thought as he paid. "If you're lying to me, I'll be back."

"Trust me, I wouldn't want that." The man said seriously to the back of his head as Nathan walked to a pay phone. He picked up the receiver and didn't hesitate to dial the number. Yea, It's late... He thought as he looked at his watch, 2:53 am. …but this is important.

"Hello. Who's this?" A sleepy voice answered on the other side.

"I need your help. Have you seen…"

"Yes, I remember them."