The whole gang sat patiently, well, as patient as a group of friends could be who were waiting to find out whether not just one, but two of their friends were going to live to see another day.

"Hey guys…"Jake said from his wheelchair. He said it hesitantly and they could all tell that they were wondering if an explanation was going to follow. After a long silence, Nathan stood up and walked out of the room. He wasn't going to just sit in there with the man that almost and might have killed his first love. Not today, not any other day.

Nathan walked outside of the hospital. He took a deep breath in and let his frosty breath escape from his lips. He felt a hand on his back and turned around to see Haley standing next to him, ready to comfort him as needed.

"Nate? Is everything alright? You looked kind of funny back there. Anything you want to talk about I hope you know that I'm here for you."

"Of course, I know, it's just, this hits too close to home for me you know?"

"Um…" Haley let her sentence linger off; she wasn't really sure what this had to do with anything previously that had happened in his life.

"Hey Babe?" Trish called from the kitchen

"Yea?" Nathan called back from the behind the door of his bedroom

"I um, I need to tell you something."

Nathan emerged from the bedroom holding the towel around his waist. "What is it kid?"

"I love you." Of course this wasn't the first time he was hearing it from her, but her always loved to hear those words come out of her mouth. He loved it when she'd stop him from whatever it was he was doing just to tell him she loved him. This time it was bittersweet because Trish was going away for the summer.

"What does that have to do with this hitting close to home?" Haley asked, not wanting to seem rude but wanting to hear more.

"Just hold on okay? I was driving her to the airport and you probably remember that night."

"Nate slow down, it's coming down hard, you can barely see out of the windshield."

It was the hardest it had ever rained in Tree Hill. No one had seen it come done like this before, trees were done and power lines were exposed, but for some strange reason, Nathan thought he had to get Trish to the airport on time for her flight. He didn't see it coming nor did he stop once he had hit her.

He skid off the road trying to avoid a puddle but ended up hitting a little girl that wasn't visible from the sidewalk. He didn't even stop to make sure she was alive. Later, he found out that the girl had survived but was now paralyzed from the waste down. He had actually seen her around town a couple of times and would even pretend that his "little sister" didn't need the brand new pair of jeans and she could have it if she wanted.

"You see Hales, I'm a horrible person. I didn't stop to make sure that girl was okay. I just kept driving. At least Jake had the decency to stop given the fact that he too was injured. But you see, this is why I'm not going to fight for custody of my daughter. I can't be around her. I hurt one little girl I didn't even know imagine what I could do to someone that I do know and do love."

"Nathan, you can't think like that. You think that leaving your daughter with Trish and Dan is the right thing for her? You know what kind of person Dan is. You know what he's capable of and you're just going to let him get away with raising YOUR daughter?"

"Guys good news" Jake said wheeling himself out of the sliding doors of the hospital. "Peyton just got out of surgery and she's in stable condition."

For the first time that night, Nathan cried.

Lucas held Brooke in his arms as she cried tears of joy. If anything had happened to Peyton, she wouldn't be able to survive.

"Remember you said we needed a song… well I have one for us." Lucas said brandishing his I-Pod.

Come a little closer, baby
I feel like layin' you down
On a bed sweet surrender
Where we can work it all out
There ain't nothin' that love can't fix
Girl, it's right here at our fingertips
So come a little closer baby,
I feel like layin' you down

Come a little closer, baby
I feel like lettin' go
Of everything that stands between us
And the love we used to know
I wanna touch you like a cleansing rain
Let it wash all the hurt away
So come a little closer baby
I feel like lettin' go

If there's still a chance
Then take my hand
And we'll steal away
Off into the night
'till we make things right
The suns gonna rise on a better day

Come a little closer baby
I feel like strippin' it down
Back to the basics of you and me
What makes the world go round
Every inch of you against my skin
I wanna be stronger than we've ever been
So come a little closer baby
I feel like strippin' it down

Just a little bit closer baby
Just a little bit closer baby
Come a little bit closer baby
I feel like layin' you down

"aw, Lucas, I love it. What's it called?"

"it's um… "Come a Little Closer" by Dierks Bentley. I knew you'd love it seeing as its coun—"

"Are you here to see Peyton?" the doctor interrupted.

"Yes we are. Is everything okay doc?" Brooke said getting up

"We have some bad news."