Nathan tried to listen intently as the doctor explained everything in detail. It was hard to comprehend all that medical mumbo jumbo. It didn't make sense. All he knew was that his mother, his beloved mother, the beautiful, strong, sweet woman who had raise him and given him everything, was very sick.

"Lupus?" he asked after finding his voice finally. "I've heard of that. It's pretty bad, isn't it?"

"Well, it can be serious, yes."

"How did she catch it?"

"You can't catch Lupus", the doctor informed them. "It isn't a type of cancer and it isn't related to AIDS. It's a disease that affects different parts of the body. All patients react differently. It can affect the joints, the skin, the heart, the brain, the kidneys…anything. Ms. Lee had been diagnosed with a serious case of Systematic Lupus Erythematosus."

Nathan felt his knees buckle. That diagnosis seemed grave.

"What does all that mean? How did this happen to her and why now?"

"No one knows what causes Lupus but most cases are manageable. And most cases are diagnosed at a very early age."

"Is there a cure or is…or is she gonna…"

Die was what he meant and they all knew it but he couldn't manage to actually speak the word.

"There is no cure but there are very formidable methods of treatment and as I've said before, if closely monitored, the condition can be controlled. Ms. Lee just had what we call a flare. That means that she displayed the common symptoms of the disease and we were able to diagnose her after some tests."

"How, how is she now? I mean is she conscious? Is she awake and stuff?"

"She's sleeping peacefully. We have stabilized her and explained the condition to her."

"But she's going to be alright?"

"With some rest and a few lifestyle changes, the answer to that is yes, at least for now."

Everyone breathed an audible and collective sigh of relief, particularly Nathan.

"Alright, Doc. What do we have to do?"

Nathan stirred and jerked before sitting up in the seat. He looked around and remembered where he was and how he'd gotten there. He remembered all the events of the evening before and the dialogue from the conversation with his mother's physician. A pain shot through his neck and he rubbed it, groaning softly to himself.

"Nate?"

When she felt his body move, she instantly woke up as well.

"Hey", he grimaced, yawning a bit. "You're still here?"

"I wanted to stay with you, make sure you're okay and stuff."

He looked at her and nodded, grateful for the presence.

"Thanks."

"You're holding you neck…"

"Oh. I think I slept on it wrong. I'm okay", he looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"Cooper and Lucas went back to the house to get a shower and I think Haley went upstairs to the cafeteria. Skills and that Christina girl left but they said they'd be back and that they'd take care of opening up the Den today."

Thank God for that. Those two knew the business like the back of their hands. Nathan knew he could trust them to take care of things and so could Deb.

"And what about her?" he motioned over to the young woman curled up on a nearby chair.

There was Brooke sleeping in the same seat she had inhabited the entire night before.

"She's been here all night. The guys woke her up this morning to see if she wanted to head back to the house but she said she'd stay on here for a while. I guess she wanted to make sure Deb was alright."

Nathan stood and walked over to her. Her breathing was slow and even as he gently shook her by the shoulder. She flinched, then her eyes open and she sat right up.

"What happened? Is everything okay? Deb…"

"No, no. She's fine. It's okay. Um, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that it's morning and you've been here al night and I thought you might want to go home for a little while."

Brooke rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"After eight."

"Have you seen her?"

"Not yet but I'm probably gonna in a few minutes."

Brooke nodded and sighed.

"I'm just glad she's going to be okay. But Lupus…that just sounds pretty bad."

"I've been reading up on it with the pamphlets and stuff the nurse gave me."

"Any useful info?"

"Actually yeah. I mean, it's going to be tough but according to all that stuff I read and they told me, Mom could lead a normal life. The only thing is, she's gonna have to slow down, way down."

Brooke chuckled out loud.

"Yeah right. Like that is ever going to happen. Your mother is the hardest working person I know."

That was the truth and Nathan knew it.

"She really works that hard?"

"Yeah. I mean, the Den is open as a diner for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then after dinner hours, it's basically a bar, which means it keeps really late hours. In addition to that, there are the behind the scenes stuff…orders, deliveries, accounting. And Deb insists on doing most of that by herself. She definitely bears the brunt. And I respect her for her dedication and hard work but she's only one woman, one person. The Den is her life and when she's not doing something for that, she's worrying and being a mom to me and Haley and Skills and your brother and everyone else. It's like she takes no time for herself."

"I know."

"I mean, you mother is gorgeous. Even after all these years, she's still a total babe. Everyone knows it and you should see the men checking her out. But that's just not what she wants, at least right now in her life. And she has a lot of people she's friendly with but she doesn't have a lot of real friends because she spends so much time at the Den."

"Yeah", Nathan shoved his hands in his pants. "It's a long story…"

"I know. I know most of it. And you don't have to explain. Deb and I understand each other."

Nathan nodded. He'd heard his mother rave over the phone about the new border and now he was beginning to see why. Brooke seemed like a nice girl. He was glad she was around.

"That's good. Look, why don't you take Daytona back to the house? I'll be there soon. You guys could get cleaned up, get some real food to eat. You can come back later."

"Okay. As long as she's going to be okay…"

Nathan gave a tired smile.

"She's fine physically now but we'll see if the same goes for me after I tell her she's needs to cut back on like 99.9 percent of her stress and running around."

"I don't think so…"

"She will. The doctors talked to her and so will I. It will be tough but I'll make her promise me."

"Good luck", Brooke shrugged. "Promise or not, Deb's gonna be back to her old schedule as soon as they let her out of this place and there's nothing you or I can do about it, short of you looking over her shoulder every five minutes."

Nathan frowned as he watched Brooke take Daytona and leave. Taking a deep breath, he entered his mother's room.

"Nathan", she smiled, her tired face instantly brightening when she saw his face.

"How are you feeling, Mom?"

"Better. Much better, honey."

"Well, you gave us all a big scare."

"It was nothing really. I was just a little tired, that's all. I'm fine. No reason to worry. You didn't even have to drive all the way up here."

"Of course I did, Mom. Where else would I be? And yeah, this is a little bit more serious than you're letting on. The doctor told me everything. You have Lupus."

"I know", she said casually.

"The symptoms are pretty bad. Rashes, fevers, swollen joints, chest pains…the list goes on. You can get really sensitive to the sun, it can make your blood count drop, and I read about hair loss and seizures and hallucinations and miscarriages…"

"You certainly don't have to worry about the latter", Deb quipped.

"Mom, I'm not joking around. This is serious. There are certain things you have to do so you won't have those symptoms. Otherwise, there might be other attacks and this could…well, it could kill you."

Deb took her son's hand.

"Listen, honey, I know you're frightened. It's okay. This Lupus thing sounds much worse than it is. I will beat it, Nate. I promise you that."

"Mom, you can't just beat it. There's no cure. But you can feel better and control it and have a normal life. But to do that, you have to change a lot of what you've been doing."

"Nathan…"

"Mom, you have to start listening to your body. You have to take better care of yourself. You need to see a doctor on a regular basis. You need to start eating better, healthier, three meals a day and nutritious snacks, not just grabbing a bit whenever you can remember and put it in your busy schedule. You have to rest more and limit your stress. That means cutting back at work…way back."

"Nathan, you know I can't do that."

"You don't really have a choice."

Tears welled in her eyes.

"The Den is my life. I love that place. That grungy little hole in the wall with the same old drunk customers…well, that's my dream. Besides you, it's the most important thing I have. I worked so hard to build that dream into a reality. And it isn't much but it is something and it's one of the few things I can say is mine. You might not understand…"

"I do understand but you can do other stuff. You're not that old, Mom…"

"Gee, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you have your youth and your looks and everybody loves you. Your life could be so much better, so much more. You should make some friends and get out and do stuff. Or maybe you could, I don't know, get a boyfriend or something. I mean, as long as he's a decent guy and all. But you deserve to be happy."

"I am happy."

"I don't think you are."

Deb shook her head.

"All these years I've chosen not to date. And I've chosen not to have a lot of friends. I know that's hard to believe and someone might question my sanity for doing that but I felt it was the right thing. Because once upon a time, I had a lot of friends. And I had my family. And I was very much in love. Just look where all that got me. When it was gone, I literally had nothing. It hurt so much, Nathan. The pain was unimaginable. I didn't know what to do. But you were coming so I knew I had to do something fast. I started looking out for you and me because we didn't have anyone else to do it for us. My top priority was raising you and making sure you were happy. And for me, I just wanted to be self reliant and sufficient. Nothing else mattered. So I had you and the Den, my only two loves. And that's safe because neither one of you have ever disappointed me. You've never hurt me or turned your back on me. It might seem stupid the way I've chosen to live but it is my decision and I don't have any regrets because I did what I had to do to protect us."

She was pouring her heart. They had always shared an unusually close relationship but Deb finally opened up to her son in a way she never had before.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Mom. It's okay to be who you are. And it's okay to live. You are the bravest person I know but you have to move on in order to save your life…and yourself. I know you're scared but it isn't brave if you're not scared. And you're the bravest person I know."

The tears fell from her eyes.

"I love you so much, Nathan…"

"I love you, too. And I can't bear to lose you. None of us can."

She nodded and squeezed his hand.

"It's just so much involved with the day to day operations of the Den. I just don't know if Christina and Skills and Haley could handle it all. It's just so much…"

"They can and they will. They'll do whatever to help you out. They love you. And Lucas will step up and you were right about that girl, Brooke. She seems like a good kid."

"Yes but…"

"And I'll be here."

Deb's eyes widened. Nathan couldn't believe he had said it himself. The words just kind of tumbled off his tongue. But he had meant them.

"What?"

"I'm gonna stick around in Tree Hill for a while."

"No. Not because of me. I'm not asking you to do that…"

"I'm offering."

"But what about Charleston?"

"Charleston will still be there when all this is over. Being home right now is more important. I want to help take care of you and I know I can run the Den."

"And your racing?"

Ah, racing. That was a tough one. His heart sank.

"I'll take a little break. And just like everything else…well, it will be waiting on me when I get back. Trust me, Mom. This is what I have to do. I need to do it…and I want to."

She looked him right in the eye.

"Everyday I thank God for such a wonderful son. I still don't know where I got you from. You're too good to be true sometimes, kiddo, you know that?"

He winked and smiled.

"I learned from the best, Mom. Everything I am that's good is because of you and it came from you."

And truer words had never been spoken.