"Peyton…"

Peyton smiled.

"Hey, Karen."

The two women embraced. They had always been close and Karen's Café had always been the epicenter of the group's Tree Hill social scene. It had been a difficult decision making that choice to fly back to North Carolina but Peyton knew in her heart she was doing the right thing.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay", the blonde nodded for emphasis.

"Good. I just hope you're ready to face whatever it is they have to say."

"Are they here?"

Karen pointed over to a table in the back corner and Peyton took a deep breath. She walked slowly over to where the two people were sitting.

"Peyton", Larry said, breathlessly. "I…I'm so glad you could make it."

Ellie nodded.

"Wasn't sure you'd come."

"I almost didn't", Peyton admitted. "But I guess I had to. It was only fair that I hear you guys out."

"Peyton, this is all my fault", Ellie began. "I don't want you to be mad at your dad. And I don't want you to be mad at Anna either. If you're pissed at anyone, then it should be at me. I was the one who walked away. I did it because I love you and it was best. And I was the one who told your parents that we should keep it a secret from you."

"Why?"

Ellie sighed.

"To avoid all this. You being hurt and not understanding. The drama of it all."

"Then why did you come back?"

"Because I couldn't stay away. You're apart of me and I never stopped loving you or thinking about you. I had to see you, to see the kind of woman you turned out to be. And it made me proud. Even though I had no hand in that it felt kind of good knowing that maybe because I gave you a chance, that you turned into this confident, talented, amazing, beautiful woman."

Peyton turned to her father.

"And you?"

"I'm sorry, too", he said. "For so much Peyton. Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. I love you. , that you turned into this confident, talented, amazing, beautiful woman."

Peyton turned to her father.

"And you?"

"I'm sorry, too", he said. "For so much Peyton. Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. I love you. You have to know that. And everything I ever did, I did it for you. Maybe I went about it the wrong way. I don't know. Maybe I didn't know how to be there for you after Anna died. All those times when you were in high school and I was out to sea…I did that for you. I worked hard to give you the kind of life you deserved."

Peyton shook her head.

"That's all fine and good, Dad but none of that stuff even mattered to me. I didn't care about money or clothes or any of that crap. I needed you. I just wanted my dad."

"I'm sorry, Pey. Please believe me. I did the best I knew how under the circumstances that I had to deal with. So many times I wanted to tell you about Ellie and me and Anna and just everything."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I couldn't. I didn't know how. I was afraid. Every single day I wanted to tell you but it just got harder and harder. I was gone for so long, then when I came back for good, you were almost grown and you had Jake and…"

"That was my life, Dad. Jenny and Jake were my life."

"Then you should understand. I know how much you love them. You'd do anything to protect them. All you ever wanted was to protect Jenny from Nikki."

"Look, Dad…"

"I know you feel betrayed. I know you're angry. That's okay. Just don't be mad at Anna. She was a good woman and she loved you more than anything in this world. We were a happy family once. I want you to remember her with love. Remember it the way it was."

Peyton felt the tears coming on and she tried to fight them off.

"Dad, I know why you did it but it doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I understand if you hate me", Larry said, fighting off his own tears.

"I could never hate you, Daddy. I, I love you."

He reached out for her hand and for once she didn't flinch or pull away. Instead she let the tears fall.

"Peyton, I'd love to have a relationship with you but I know it might not be possible", Ellie began. "I don't expect you to want to be my best friend. I don't expect to walk back in and take off from where I left. I know you're not a little baby anymore."

"Then what do you want?"

"A chance. I want to be a small part of your life. I want you to know how I feel and understand why I did the things I did."

"Listen, Ellie…"

"There's so much I want to tell you. I want to talk about my life and what I did during the years I wasn't there…good and bad. And I want to know the same about you…good or bad. Look, Peyton, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes and do things sometimes we're not proud of. But I want you to know me, all of me, because you're apart of me, too. I grew up pretty lonely, too. And when things got overwhelming, I couldn't handle it either. I battled depression. I had a drug problem. And sometimes I get these awful headaches…"

"Migraines?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah. You get them too?"

"Unfortunately", Peyton mumbled. "Especially when I get stressed or upset about stuff."

"They're hereditary. Sorry. I have them. My mother has them and her mother had them and so on."

"That's nice to know."

"There's so much more I want to know about you and things I want you to know about me."

Peyton took a deep breath.

"You want to know about me? I'll tell you. I'll tell both of you. I was a happy kid with a perfect life. Then my mom died. And I call her my mom because she was the one who was there for me, the one who loved me and took care of me. And that sucked. It really hurt. I didn't know how to deal with it and nobody showed me how. But I moved on because I had no choice. I was unhappy for a while and the only thing I had, the only thing that made me happy was my art. It saved me. It was my therapy. And I had some good friends, too. They really took care of me and stood by me. And I had Jake", she smiled through tears. "Jake Jagielski…the love of my life. He is my soul mate and my best friend and my life partner all rolled up into one. The minute we first became friends, I just knew he was going to be this special and incredible force in my life. I was right. I fell in love with him…and his daughter. He and Jenny became the family I never had. I took on that responsibility before I was even a high school senior. I don't regret that. I didn't give birth to her but I was her mother because biology isn't the only thing that makes a family. But Nikki came back and took her away and Jake and I had to deal with that heartbreak for years. We went through a lot of other stuff. I had my problems with drugs and depression too. Jake was really there for me. But it all came to ahead when I lost my baby. I had a tubal pregnancy and there were complications and infections and now…well, it's a very strong possibility that I can't bear my own children. That's hard and it hurts and Jake and I deal with that. I'm over it now because I've learned that I can't dwell on the past or cry over what I don't have. I have to look to the future and be grateful for what I do have. And I have a great life. I have the greatest, most loyal friends in the world, friends I've had since high school and even before that. I have a job that I'm good at and that I love. And I have a husband and a daughter that mean the world to me. Jake and I are happy and doing well and now that Jenny is back for good, our lives are complete. And I feel better about myself. Loving yourself and taking care of yourself is an important first step but it took a while for me to learn that. Things haven't been roses lately and we had to deal with someone in our lives who did us harm and pretended to be someone she wasn't. That was really rough on everyone but we got through it. It's just another life lesson. Shit happens and you take it with a grain of salt and you move on. There will be storms and there will be sunshine. You just have to take the good with the bad. So that's it. That's my life, what it has been and what it is now."

Larry smiled.

"And it sounds like you handled it like a champ. You came out smelling like a rose, Peyton. I'm very proud of you."

"Me too", Ellie said.

"That's where I am now. And I'm happy. I take things one day at a time and I have a great support system. Look, there are no easy fixes, here, guys. I don't know what to say. I don't know what you want to hear. This meeting does change things but it's not like waving a magic wand. You can't sprinkle your pixie dust and expect everything to be okay and we can all be this wonderful, happy extended family. It's not that easy. I'm still struggling. I'm still hurt. And it's going to take some time."

"We understand", Larry sighed.

Peyton nodded.

"We can take baby steps, I guess. A phone call or letter here and there. Build things up. When the time is right, I don't know, maybe you could come out to Miami and see the house and Jake and Jen."

"That'd be pretty cool", Ellie smiled.

"Yeah", Larry agreed. "I'd like that."

Peyton took a deep breath.

"Um, look, I have to go. I have a plane to catch. Jake has a long road trip coming up and I like to be home when Jenny gets in."

"Okay", Larry and Ellie said in unison.

"I guess, well, I guess I'll be talking to you later."

Out of natural reaction both parents hugged her. She tensed in their arms but didn't pull away. After all, she knew how they felt. Not so long ago she had been in their position and Jenny had been on the other end. She knew what it was like. How hard it was. Then everything had changed…for the better. Peyton knew what that was like to. And it felt pretty damned good.