Author's Note: Hey, all. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I'm working on a one shot Baley songfic. So far it's going pretty good, but it's longer than I thought it was going to be. The song is View From Heaven by Yellowcard, so that will kind of give you a little hint as to what it's going it to be about. Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not just sitting here on my ass doing nothing. I'll try to get that up for you as soon as possible and maybe even an update for my other Baley story, Fifteen Years In the Making. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
...WWHT...
"Give it to me straight, doc," Brooke said, trying to keep the wavering out of her voice. She was pretty much jello on the inside, but she felt as if she had to keep up a brave front for all of the people around her. She knew that all the people in the room were scared to death, just like she was. They all loved Haley too and that gave Brooke at least a little bit of comfort.
"To us," Peyton corrected, moving over to stand beside Brooke. She understood that Brooke felt that she was the leader of this little party because she's been the most intimate with Haley or whatever, but Peyton wasn't going to let her be the only one worried. She wanted to know how Haley was just as much as Brooke did.
"Actually," he stated, looking between the five people that were waiting for news on his patient. "Is anyone here family of Ms. James?" Everyone quickly answered yes, feeling that they were close enough to Haley to consider her family.
"She's my best friend," Peyton and Lucas answered.
"She's practically my daughter," was Karen's answer.
"I'm her girlfriend," came Brooke's voice, her's being the loudest one. Everyone was so focused on getting to hear about Haley that they completely forgot that they had an actual blood relative standing no more than two feet away.
"I need immediate family to disclose this information to you," the doctor answered. He watched all their faces fall before he noticed the girl standing off to the side. "What about you? What's your relation?"
"She's my baby sister," Taylor answered, glancing over at the others with an amused grin. She was glad that her sister had so many people that cared that much about her. She knew that Haley couldn't count on their parents, so it was good that she had other people to go to.
"Why didn't you speak up before?" he asked, eyeing her. She shrugged her shoulders and took a few steps forward so she was standing with the rest of the group.
"I thought I'd wait until these fools figured it out," Taylor answered, smiling sweetly at the others. They all rolled their eyes before looking down at the floor in an embarrassed fashion. She shook her head and looked up at the man that knew the fate of her dear sister. He expression became very serious as she looked up at him. "So, what's the deal? Is she alright?"
"Like I said before," he answered, glancing down at the folder that was attached to his clipboard. He had so many patients and so little time. "There's good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"
"The bad news?" Taylor answered, but it came out more as a question than anything else. She was really starting to get worried about her sister and the doctor's hesitance to answer her question was only proving to heighten her fear. She glanced back at Brooke to see if that answer was okay with her. When the brunette nodded she turned back to the doctor. "I think we're going with bad news, doc."
"As you wish," he sighed. As much as he hated giving bad news to people, the thrill of giving them good news sometimes was enough to make it worthwhile. "Your sister, or you friend," he said, looking passed Taylor to the worried people behind her. "Is going to have to stay the night or observation."
"That's a bad thing?" Peyton asked, totally uneducated when it came to hospital matters. The only time she had ever been in one was when her mother died. She was never really fond of the place for that reason, but she was more than willing to be here for Haley.
"No, it's usually just procedure," he answered with a smile. "Ms. James is going to be fine. The blow to her head caused nothing more than a slight concussion, I'm happy to report." Most of the visitors let out sighs of relief, but Brooke wasn't completely convinced of her girlfriend's condition just yet.
"So that's all?" Brooke asked, not wanting to get her hopes up. Brooke was never good in this kind of situation, even though she'd never really gone through something like this. No one she's ever loved has been hurt like this before. She certainly didn't like those feelings that were being stirred up in her. Right now, all she wanted to do was go find Haley and hold her forever. "She's fine."
"Right as rain," he answered, his smiled widening when he saw the light return to Brooke's eye right in front of him. "The bleeding that started, it was just from a cut on the back of her head. Most likely the result of the girl's ring."
"But there was so much blood," Peyton interjected. She unconsciously wiped her hands on her pants as if there was still Haley's blood all over them. Peyton could still remember the smell of it on her hands; it made her sick just thinking about it. She was afraid that she was never going to be able to look at her hands again without picture red all over them.
"Head wounds tend to bleed a lot," he explained, smiling gently at Peyton. He noticed that she was playing with her hands. He could only imagine what it felt like to have a loved one's blood on your hands. "But I assure you all, that she is fine. You can ask her yourself."
"She's awake?" Brooke questioned, practically jumping up and down. If it weren't for the hand that Karen had laid on her shoulder when the doctor arrived, she would have been up in the man's arms by now. "We can see her?"
"She was actually looking for you." The moment Haley had woken up, she has asked for Brooke. The doctor wasn't exactly sure which one Brooke was, but he could only assume it was the girlfriend. "You're Brooke, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Brooke answered, distractedly. She was only told two seconds ago that she could see Haley, but she was already dying from the wait. "What room is she in?"
"Why don't you follow me?" Brooke nodded, turning around and giving everyone a hug before she left. "You all can visit in a little bit. Visiting hours are over all ready, but I'll give you a chance to see her before you leave." They all nodded and when Brooke untangled herself from Taylor's arms, she turned back to the doctor.
"Lead the way," she instructed. He nodded and they started towards the elevator to get to Haley's room.
...WWHT...
Brooke and Lance, as she had learned his name to be on the way up, were just rounding the corner to the hallway that Haley's room was in. Once they reached Haley's door, Brooke peaked in and saw Haley sitting there. Wasting absolutely no time, Brooke pushed the door open and barged inside.
"Baby," she cried, running over to the bed and wrapping Haley up into her arms. Lance decided that he should leave them alone to give them their private time. He motioned to the nurse that was standing beside the bed to come with him. She nodded and slowly walked out of the room. "Oh, baby."
"Hey, Tigger," Haley greeted in a light tone, laughing at the way Brooke was kissing her. Brooke moved her lips all over Haley's face, wanting to cover every inch with feather light kisses. "I could get used to this kind of greeting."
"You have no idea how much I missed you," Brooke sighed, ceasing her assault and pulling back to get a good look at Haley. She wanted to remember what Haley's face looked like, memorize it so se would always be able to picture it in her mind.
"I didn't go anywhere, silly," Haley reminded her. She shifted in her bed carefully; moving over to the side so there was room for Brooke beside her. Brooke carefully climbed up onto the bed and got into a comfortable position. She lifted her arm and Haley laid down in them so her head was resting on Brooke's shoulder, her arm draped across Brooke stomach.
"I thought I'd lost you," Brooke whispered in Haley's hair. She closed her eyes as those horrible feelings washed over her again. She had never felt that way before, and just thinking about it now was enough to make her sick to her stomach again. She kissed Haley's hair softly. "What were you thinking making that smartass comment?"
"I don't know," Haley sighed, a smile creepy onto her lips. Even though she scared everyone and she had a killer headache now, seeing the look on Theresa's face when she said that made it all worth it. She would never forget how good it felt to say that to her. "It just felt like it needed a smartass comment. And hey, I learned from the best."
"Was that some kind of dig at me, missy?" Brooke asked with a light laugh. When she heard Haley's giggle, she thought that her heart might burst. There was a point not even an hour ago that she was afraid she'd never hear that again. She sighed in contentment and tightened her hold on her girlfriend. "I'm serious though, baby, I was so scared."
"I know," Haley whispered, snuggling in closer. "And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I should have just kept my mouth shut."
"I'm really not one to talk when it comes to that," Brooke replied, a slight smile coming to her lips. "I think we both know that I like to say things when I should just shut up."
"Ah, but that's one of the things I love about you," Haley laughed. She picked up Brooke's hand that was lying on her thigh and began to play with it. Brooke remained quite, happy to just watch Haley. After a few more moments for silence, Haley finally spoke up. "Tigger?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Before," she started, her voice much more quite than it had been just moments before when they were talking. "Back at the party, even before the thing in the pool house, about what Theresa said when we first got there..."
"Yeah," Brooke breathed out after Haley trailed off, leaving the question hanging in midair. Brooke knew that they were going to have to talk about that, she just hoped that after what happened in the pool house, Haley would have totally forgotten about it.
"I was thinking about it all night," Haley revealed. Her whole conversation with Lucas was almost one sided as her mind was off thinking about the harsh words that had been exchanged between Brooke and Theresa. "And I realized when you guys were talking in the pool house ... she's right. I am beneath you."
"Baby, no," Brooke said, trying to make her voice forceful in an attempt to convince Haley that she didn't feel that way at all. "You can't honestly tell me that you think I believe that."
"But it's true," Haley stated. "You don't see my friends, you don't see Lucas or Skillz or Mouth or Fergie or Junk or anybody coming up to you and saying that you're not good enough for me. That's because I'm not good enough for you. You are the most beautiful thing in this town. Hell, probably in this state at the very least, and I'm just Tutor Girl."
"Hey," Brooke called softly, whispering it into her ear. Haley immediately calmed down when she felt the soft breath on her neck. "I want you to stop with this nonsense." Haley turned her head to try to protest, but Brooke silenced her with a single finger on her lips. "I thought you were supposed to wear the smarty pants in this pairing. Why are you being so incredible stupid?"
"I'm just stating the obvious."
"Yeah, that you're stupid," Brooke laughed. At first she was dreading this conversation because she couldn't stand to hear all that pain and insecurity in Haley's voice, but after hearing how silly she was being about all of this just made it almost funny to her.
"Thanks, Tigger," Haley shot at her sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and turned her head away from Brooke again, burying her head back into Brooke's shoulder. "You know this is supposed to be a pep talk, right? It doesn't really work when you keep calling me stupid."
"You'd have to be if you believe that crap you were feeding me," Brooke answered, shaking her head. She brought the hand that Haley had been expecting up and ran it through Haley's hair in an attempt to calm her down. "I don't know when you got the idea that whatever Theresa says is anything but complete BS, but you need to remember that she's nothing but a bitch."
"I know that, I was just..." Haley trailed off as she tried to remember what her argument was. Brooke was right; Theresa was full of shit and Haley knew that. Theresa was the girl that got off on making others feel like crap. Haley knew this too. So why did she take the thing Theresa said so seriously? "You're right."
"I am," Brooke stated. "You know, it'd save us both a lot of time if you could just remember that for future reference." This actually got a chuckle out of Haley. "Is that the sounds of common sense I hear?" Haley rolled her eyes and playfully smacked Brooke on the leg.
"So you don't think Theresa's right about me?"
"How can you even ask me that?" Brooke decided that it was time to stop answering all of Haley's questions with another question. She needed to stop beating around the bush and actually say the words that will squash Haley's fear.
"I don't know, I just..."
"Baby," Brooke called, cutting her off before she could say anything else. Haley stopped in mid sentence and looked up at Brooke. Brooke reached out and rubbed soft circles on Haley's cheek with the pad of her thumb. "I don't know who caused you to think you were anything less than the most beautiful person in the world, but I'm here to tell you that you are."
"Tigger..."
"You are more than good enough for me," Brooke continued, in a harder tone so Haley would know not to interrupt her again. "Hell, you're too good for me. I don't know if you're aware of this, but I wasn't the greatest person before being with you, but you changed me. You made me a better person and if that doesn't show you what an amazing person you are than you're even more stupid than I thought."
"I get it, Brookie," Haley assured her. "You can stop calling me stupid now." She didn't know how she did it, but Haley was amazed at how Brooke never failed to make her feel better. No matter, she always knew she could count on Brooke when it felt like things were closing in on her.
"Okay," Brooke laughed. Haley repositioned herself so she was facing her girlfriend. Brooke brought her other hand to cover Haley's other cheek and pulled her closer, bringing their lips together in a soft but passionate kiss. Both found it amazing how they could share so much with just a single kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Brooke rested her forehead against Haley's and looked deep into those beautiful brown eyes that she had been terrified she'd never see again. "I love you, Haley James."
"I love you too."
"You mean everything to me," Brooke continued, massaging Haley's pale skin with her warm fingers. "I don't know when it happened, or how I missed it, all I know is that it's true." Brooke closed her eyes for the briefest moment to try and stop the tears at the memory of seeing Haley so broken. "When I saw you lying there, when I thought that you were going to die... In that moment, I wanted to die too because wherever you are, that's where I want to be."
"Sweetie," Haley tried to say, but the words were brought to a halt when her lips were meet with Brooke's again. This kiss was less intense and more loving. Its primary purpose to show Haley how much she loved her.
"Just promise that we'll be together forever," Brooke instructed her. She knew she sounded crazy, maybe even suicidal, but she didn't care. She looked straight into Haley's eyes. "Just promise me that, please, because I think I'd die if this ended even a day short of forever."
Haley didn't know what to say. She had never seen Brooke so vulnerable before. Usually, it was Haley that needed the reassurance in this relationship and Brooke would be there to tell her that she loved her. Now Brooke was openly crying, practically begging Haley to promise her something that neither of them really could.
"I..." Haley tried, but found it almost impossible to form a coherent sentence when Brooke was searching her with those lost puppy dog eyes. Haley let out a light, soft laugh, showing Brooke just how choked up she really was at her words. Haley reached out and took gentle hold of Brooke's chin so they were looking directly into each other's eyes. "I promise you, Brooke. It doesn't matter what happens today or tomorrow or a year from now. I don't know where I'll be ten years from now, but I know it's going to be with you. I can feel it in my heart; you and me are in this for the long run. There's no turning back."
"If it's even possible, I love you more," Brooke told her, leaning forward to capture her lips in another soft kiss. The salt from their mixed tears didn't even faze them as they sought the comfort of each other's mouths.
They were soon lying back on the bed, just content to be with each other. There was nothing being said because everything they could have possible said had already been spoken. They just wanted to try enjoying and basking in their love.
...WWHT...
I don't have the energy to reread this right now and I really want to get it up tonight, so if it blows, I'm really sorry. I'll read it tomorrow and if it's really horrible, I'll have to fix it up. Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks.