Don't Let Go

A/N: Thanks to all my readers for sticking with this story. I'm finally getting to the place that I looked forward to writing, the drama. Hope you enjoy

Chapter 5

The next month passed by slowly and uneventfully. Peyton's stomach had expanded a bit more as she entered her seventh month of pregnancy. Her routine had slowly changed, she worked a little less and rested a little more. Lucas on the other hand was working more than usual.

He'd been back to Raleigh three times during the last month for various staff meetings. Peyton was a little frustrated with his frequent trips, and while he hated being away from her it was part of his job.

They had decided to spend the afternoon trying to get the nursery in order. They had accumulated a few more pieces of baby furniture, and all the room needed was a fresh coat of paint and a crib. They had decided on a soft shade of green for the walls. Since the sex of the baby was going to remain unknown they needed a neutral color. And Peyton had fallen in love with the color after seeing it in a baby magazine.

The baby furniture was covered with large white drop cloths and trays full of green paint were scattered around the room. Lucas had painted much of the room without any trouble, although he wasn't get much help from his wife who had opted to supervise from a comfortable position in the rocking chair.

"You missed a spot." Peyton directed towards Lucas.

"What?"

"You missed a spot up by the ceiling." Lucas looked up at the white area of paint that he had missed with his brush.

"Well it's so nice of you to notice my mistake from the comfort of your rocking chair."

"I'm just taking a break."

"You have been taking a break for the last hour." He smiled before turning back and painting over the missed spot.

"Well the next time you carry around another human being plus thirty pounds of extra weight you can have all the breaks you want honey."

"Point taken." He grumbled.

Peyton stood slowly from her chair and walked over to where he was standing. "The nursery looks good."

"We still have to put up the wallpaper and arrange the furniture but it's almost done."

"Well since you painted all day the least I could do is make dinner."

"That's a deal." He leaned down and kissed Peyton, running a quick hand over her curved stomach before she left.

In between checking her sauce and putting a pot of water on to boil Peyton thought she heard a phone ringing. After a bit of searching she found Lucas' cell phone under a stack of unopened mail. She answered it and was irritated to hear his boss' voice on the other end.

She found Lucas in the nursery cleaning up and handed him the phone. Peyton covered the receiver and reminded him of his promise of no work over the weekend. He nodded at her and took the phone.

Minutes later Lucas walked into the kitchen with a guilty look on his face. Peyton just stood there and shook her head. She couldn't believe it.

"Lucas please tell me you are not going into work this weekend after you promised me otherwise."

"Peyton I have to…" he started.

"Dammit Lucas." She stared at him, the disappoint me evident in her eyes. "This is the fifth time this month that you have had to drive back up to Raleigh for work. Wasn't the whole point of working from home so you could actually work from your home."

"I still have to go to meetings when they need me to, it's part of my job."

"Well your job is really starting to piss me off." She huffed. "When do you have to leave?"

"In a few hours."

"Oh, in a few hours that's great. Why don't I help you pack?" Peyton breezed past him in the direction of their bedroom, making great time for a pregnant woman.

"Peyton don't be mad." He said coming into the room.

"I am mad Lucas. I'm mad that lately you've been spending your weekends in another town. I'm mad that you are going to miss the breakfast with your brother and my best friend that we planned weeks ago."

Lucas was growing frustrated, not with his irritated wife but for but for the fact that he didn't like being away from when she was pregnant. He hated having to go to staff meetings and he hated being away from Peyton but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Are you having an affair?" her accusation snapped him back into reality.

"What? Peyton, are you serious? I cannot believe you just asked me that. I have never even thought about betraying you like that. Do you actually think I'm cheating on you." He asked, trying not to raise his voice to her.

"No, I didn't really think it was true." Peyton mumbled under her breath.

Lucas sighed. "It's only two days, and believe me I wouldn't go if I didn't have to."

"Why do you have to go?"

"Well if I don't go I could get fired."

"What would be so bad about that?" She was just arguing for that sake of arguing. She knew he was going to leave, he had to. But that wasn't going to stop her from letting him know that she was angry.

"You're being ridiculous Peyton." He said sternly, as he began to fill his suitcase. "We have a baby on the way and a mortgage to pay every month, this job is important. We need the money."

Money had never been a source of arguments between the Scott's, but that was when it was just the two of them living in modest apartment. But now there were plenty of new expenses like the house payment and doctor bills, not to mention the baby that was in it's way

"Fine, go to your meeting. Your black slacks are hanging in the laundry room, be sure to pack them." Peyton walked into their bathroom and closed the door, leaving Lucas to pack by himself.

Dinner was quiet. Peyton was still simmering over being left alone again, and Lucas didn't want to say anything to her that would upset her anymore.

Peyton had lost her appetite after their fight, so she spent most of dinner pushing the food around her plate. She hated fighting with him and she knew how stubborn she was being but she just wanted to be with her husband.

"Why don't you go lie down and I'll clean up after dinner." Lucas said standing from the table. Peyton silently agreed with him and left the table without a word.

Lucas took his time washing the dishes, hoping it would give them each time to cool off. When he walked back into the bedroom Peyton was in bed propped up against some pillows reading.

"I have to get going." He said softly as he grabbed his coat from the closet. "Peyton I need you to not be mad at me right now. Please."

"I'm not mad Lucas, just a little sad." Even now it was rare for Peyton to make such an admission. While the depressed gloomy girl he had fallen in love with as a teenager had long since faded away after they married, Peyton still had the occasional hard time opening up to her longtime companion. Lucas felt his heart break a little at her admission.

"It's only two days Peyton, I swear when I get back I will make this up to you." He knelt down by her bed and held her hand to his cheek. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I'll miss you." She whispered softly.

"I'll miss you too." He kissed her softly, letting his lips linger on hers for a few extra second. "I love you Peyton." He kissed her once more on the forehead before standing up and grabbing his suitcase.

"I love you Lucas." He smiled at her before walking out of their room. She waited until she heard the telltale click of the front door before burying her nose into her book.

A/N: I was going to end this chapter a little farther down the road, but this felt right. The upcoming chapters will be the most intense, there is going to be some major turmoil coming up in Lucas and Peyton's lives. So keep reading, and don't forget to review!