Chapter 13

City of Lights

Claire ran as fast as she could, the duffle bag swinging around, slowing her down. It was only a matter of time her father found out she was gone. It wouldn't take long for him to find out she was at Drake's house. She reached the Parker-Nichols doorstep. She knocked on the door, Josh answered. She was gasping for air, tears stained her cheeks, and her hair was dishelveled.

"Claire...What happened to you?" Josh questioned as she walked in and he shut the door.

"No time to explain, where's Drake." She said winded.

"He's gone with our Mom, some kind of trip." he stated nervously. He could sense Claire was in trouble.

"You know about me right?" Claire asked looking around the house.

"Yeah, I do. Is this about that?" Josh asked, he was concerned.

"Yeah, this is. I really need to find Drake, do you know where they went?"

"Not sure, I could as my dad."

"Do it. I don't have much time." She gasped as she followed Josh upstairs.

"Dad. Where did Drake and Mom go?" Josh yelled up to his father.

"Napa, why? I'm not sure I should have told you, but that's where they are. They took their cell phones though." Walter yelled back to his son.

"Thanks." Josh told him. "Napa, they're in Napa. I'm going to call Drake, quick get in the car. I'll take you there." Josh said grabbing the keys of the table.

Claire got into the passenger seat of the Camry. "No time to worry about driving this car. Nothing's going to happen this time." Josh told himself. He started the ignition and backed out of the driveway.

"Here call Drake." Josh said throwing Claire his cell phone. "He's speed dial number 1."

"Thanks." Claire pressed the buttons the phone was ringing.

"Drake honey, you're phones ringing." Audrey said shaking her son awake. They were in L.A. and she was finding the hotel they were supposed to be staying in. It was 9:15.

"Thanks Mom." Drake said picking up the phone. It was Josh calling him.

"Josh what's up?" Drake stated casually.

"Drake, it's not Josh, it's Claire." she said nervously. Drake could tell by her voice that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong? Claire, I know something's not right. What happened." Drake asked, he was panicking now. His mother could sense it too. She acted like she wasn't paying attention but she really was.

"I can't explain now. Where are you? Josh and I are in the car trying to find you guys."

"We're in L.A. Claire, what's wrong?" Drake demanded. He wanted answers.

"I said not now, where are you staying?"

"We're trying to find the Best Western. Whoa, found it. We're staying here. It's a long drive you can tell me now."

"No, we'll be there in a few hours. I'll call you when we get to L.A. I love you." Claire said as she hung up the phone.

"I love you too." Drake said not fast enough, he heard the click of her getting off the other line.

"What was that about?" Audrey questioned looking at her son as she turned off the ignition.

"I don't know..." Drake sighed. "I honestly don't know."

"So where are they?" Josh asked as he got on the highway.

"L.A. They're spending the night at the Best Western." Claire told him. It was 9:20, it wouldn't be another 2 hours until they got to L.A. It'd be 12 in the morning at the latest.

"Claire, that's like 2 hours away. I'll drive you rest." Josh said running his hand through his hair. He didn't want to risk falling asleep and killing not two but three people.

Claire instantly fell asleep, Josh turned up the radio, it always kept him awake while driving. The highway was hypnotic and everytime he could feel himself falling, he played one of Drake's songs, somehow they always managed to keep him awake.

"Claire sweetie open up, It's mommy." Abigale Johnson said softly as she knocked on her daughters door. She knew her husband had said some pretty harsh things in the heat of the moment, but she knew he didn't mean it. She was here to give her daughter a second chance. She had secretly asked Charlie about it all, he confessed, everything. Even showed her the pictures his friends had made him take. She was honestly disgusted by it all. Her husband still didn't understand it all, he still wanted her to have an abortion. Abbie was here to make sure it was her daughters decision not her husbands.

"Claire open up." Her mother tried once more. She then realized the door was unlocked. "Darling, I'm comming in." she opened the door to find the room empty. The dresser and closet in dissaray. She knew that he daughter had run away and she knew exaclty where to find her. The Parker-Nichols residence.

She ran downstairs and got into her Escalade, she disliked the idea that she flaunted her richness by driving one of those mammoths, but it was Daniels idea in the first place. He wanted her to be safe and luxourious at the same time. She parked on the curb outside the Parker-Nichols residence and got out of the car. Walter answered the door, he was about as frantic as she looked.

"Come in." Walter said inviting a woman he'd never seen before in. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are." Walter confessed.

"I'm Abbie Johnson, Claire's mother." She said sitting down on their couch. "Is Claire here by any chance?" She asked looking around for any sign of her daughter.

"No I don't think she is. As a matter of fact neither of my sons are home. Drake is out with his mother on a trip and to be honest I have no idea where Josh is. It's so unlike him to not leave a note. The camry's gone and everything." Walter ranted.

"I have an idea what's going on." Abbie stated. "Claire probably came over here looking for Drake. He wasn't here so she decided that she'd go find him and Josh would help her. It explains a lot. Where are Drake and Mrs. Parker?" Abbie asked.

"They're heading to Napa. But I believe they're staying in L.A. for the night." Walter explained.

"If we find Drake, we'll find Claire and Josh. Let's go, we have 2 hours and we can take my car." Abbie said stainding up.

"I can't leave Megan alone. I'll go get her." Walter said as he walked towards the stairs.

"I'll be waiting in the car."

"rooms 32 and 33, on the 4th floor." The concierge told Audrey as he handed her the keys.

"We're not sharing a room. Sweet." Drake smiled as his mother handed him his key.

"They're conjoined rooms, we'll leave the doors open. This way we get a little more privacy. I don't need you sneaking off at night doing god knows what in L.A." Audrey stated as they borded the elevator. The two shared a ride of silence. Drake was too busy worring about Claire to think about anything else. Not even the fact he was in L.A. where movie stars and agents roamed the streets.

The two exited the elevators and entered their rooms. Drake threw his guitar and duffle down on the first bed and opened the door so his mom wouldn't freak.

"Drake, try to get some sleep." Audrey said as she kissed her sons head, an act she hadn't done since he was a little boy.

"I'll try. Claire said she'd call when she got to L.A." Drake told her. He checked the time. It was nearing 10. She and Josh wouldn't be here until at least 12..

"You have some time until then. Good night."

"Good night."

Drake walked into the small bathroom and threw on a pair of flannel pajama pants. He brushed his teeth and got into bed. He didn't feel like sleeping much so he turned the t.v. on. Nothing that interesting was on, but he liked the hum and the glow of the screen. It was rather soothing. Probably because he used to fall asleep on the couch next to his father when he was little. He watched as the light when out in his mothers room. He got up and opened the guitar bag, his journal was sitting there, he hadn't written in it in a long time. He finally felt the need to now. He grabbed a pen off of the desk and sat back down on the bed and began to write.

Well, here I am again, writing in this stupid journal. I don't know what it is that keeps bringing me back here, but there's something magnetic about it. Anyway, it's been so long and so much has changed. Claire's pregnant and yes we're back together. Josh has a new girlfriend, Marissa, she's good for him. He deserves something nice in his life. By the way I'm in L.A. maybe I can convince my mother to stay here a day or two. I just want to see the city. Claire's on her way, Josh is bringing her. She sounds worried, I'm scared for her. I don't know what it means. Then again I don't know why I do half the things I do. I agreed to help her with the baby, I agreed to be it's father. I think that means I'll have to marry Claire. It's not that I would mind that. Actually I'd love to marry her. It'd be the perfect ending. I'm tired now. I'm going to try to sleep before she get's here.

Drake

With that Drake closed the journal and turned off the light. He didn't sleep very heavily considering the weight that was on his mind.

Walter and Abbie were driving down the highway as fast as possible. Both wide awake, both sipping on coffee's they'd bought at Starbucks, both containing inhuman ammounts of espresso. Megan was asleep in the backseat. Walter had quickly packed a duffle for her and a duffle for him. He figured if they were all going to be in L.A. why not take an unplanned family vacation. It was close to 10:30. They were almost there. They'd just entered Oceanside. They'd been on the road for about 40 minutes, only an hour and 45 minutes left.

"Claire, wake up." Josh said nudging her awake. They had just exited the highway and he could see the city lights.

"mmm..." She moaned opening her eyes. "We there yet?" She asked sitting up. The clock on the dash read 11:55.

"Yeah, we just got off the highway. You better call Drake." Josh said handing her the cell phone. She dialed the numbers. She hoped she wasn't waking him up.

Drake's phone rang next to his head. He hadn't wanted to miss this call so he kept the phone close to him.

"Claire...you're close right?" Drake asked.

"Yeah, 15 minutesish. We just got off the highway." She said softly. "We'll be there soon."

"Good, I'll wait up for you. We're staying at the Best Western, you'll find us." Drake soothed. Just hearing her voice calmed him down. He knew hearing his calmed her too.

"Talk to you then." Claire said as she hung up.

Drake placed the phone down on the nightstand and decided to take a shower. He got out, the sound must have woken his mother up because she was sitting on the second bed in his room. Coffee in her hands, she was all dressed too.

"Mom, sorry, I didn't mean to get you up." Drake said as he put on deodorant and pulled a Beatles tee over his head.

"You didn't. Walter called. I guess he and Mrs. Johnson are on their way too. They just got off the highway. Megan's with them." Audrey explained quietly. "This whole thing is just so confusing." she sighed.

"I never expected or wanted any of this to happen. All over a baby. A baby that Claire never even asked for." Drake said his voice getting louder. "She knew this was going to happen. That's why she didn't want to tell her parents." Drake blamed himself. HIs mother could see that.

"Drake, honey it's not your fault. She needed to tell them. She couldn't have gone much longer without doing it could she?" She asked.

"No, she's already three months. It's really sureal mom. I don't understand why I want to be there for her so bad." He was now sitting on the bed next to his mother. She placed her arm around him.

"It's because you love her Drake. And you know what, I'm proud of you. You didn't just leave her when you found out. Drake, I can tell she's changed you. It's obvious in everything that you do these days. I honestly wouldn't mind you staying with her, even possibly marrying her. Drake, she's just as much a part of my life as she is yours. I can say that I would help you two with the baby, watch it during the day while you two go to school. I want you two to finish out your senior year." Audrey explained to her son. She couldn't help the tears falling. He couldn't either.

"Thanks." was all the managed to get out. The two shared a moment they hadn't in a while. They sort of knocked down the walls of the past and built bridges to the future.

"Wow, we made it." Claire gasped as they stepped out of the car. Josh opened the trunk and pulled out their bags. He locked the car and they walked in.

"Thank god it's still open." Josh sighed.

"Can I help you?" The concierge asked. It was apparent that he was tired and just wanted his shift to be over.

"One room or two?" Josh asked Claire.

"I don't think we need one. We'll just room with Drake and your mother." Claire explained.

"Could you tell us where Audrey Parker-Nichols is staying? I'm her son." Josh explained.

"Sure, let me look that up for you. Do they know you're comming?" The guy asked as he typed on the computer.

"Yeah, they do."

"Room's 32 and 33, 4th floor. Have a nice night or morning. Whatever."

Claire and Josh boarded the elevator. They got out and found the two rooms. Josh knocked on the door. Audrey answered it.

"Josh, Claire glad you made it." She said as she hugged both of them. "Josh you're father is on the way, along with your sister and Claire's mother." she told them as she grabbed their bags and placed them on the floor.

"Wait my mother's comming?" Claire asked a look of terror washed over her face. "She can't be comming she just can't. That was the whole reason I left. She can't..." Claire cried as Drake went over and pulled her into a hug.

"Mom, I'm taking a shower." Josh said as he went into her bathroom. Audrey went over to the dresser, she was already making another pot of coffee, the coffee that came with the room.

"Claire, tell us what happened." Drake said as he walked her over to the bed. They both sat down and held hands. His mother was in the room, he didn't want to do much more than that.

"You two want coffee?" Audrey asked pouring a cup for herself.

"Yeah, sure." They both said in unison. She poured two more cups and handed it to the two of them.

"Claire you ready to tell us now?" Drake asked as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Yeah, well, I told my parents everything. That it was Charlies friends who did it. They didn't believe me. I think my mother might have, but my father, he didn't at all. He kept yelling at me and telling me I couldn't see you again because it was all your fault. Then he told me that he was taking me to Nevada or something to get an abortion because too many people knew him here. I didn't want to and that's basically when I decided to run away." Claire recalled the events.

"He can't make you do that can he?" Drake asked, looking at his mother for reassurance.

"Because I'm a minor he can. It's not fair." Claire sobbed. Drakes mother nodded, that's when he knew it was true. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Walter, here let me take Megan." Audrey said as she opened the door.

"Mommy, where are we?" Megan asked. She was still tired.

"It's not important right now, why don't we put you back to bed. She placed her down on the bed she'd been sleeping on. Megan quickly dozed off again.

"Claire, I'm so glad your safe. I was really worried about you." Abbie said as she went over and hugged her daugher. "Charlie told me everything. Claire baby I believe you. Your father is another story but as long as I'm with you he won't do those things."

"Audrey, is Josh okay?" Walter questioned looking around for his son.

"Yeah, he is." Josh said as he dried his hair off with a towel.

"So we're all okay now." Drake stated as he looked around the hotel room. "We're all okay."

"Well let's try to get some sleep. Drake, Claire, Josh you all sleep in the other room take Megan with you." Audrey said as she handed Megan to Drake. The four of them walked into the other room. Drake and Claire slept together. It wasn't like they were going to do anything. They just needed the comfort of one another. Plus their families were there. Josh and Megan slept in the same bed. Megan to tired to care.

"Here Abbie, you take this bed and Walter and I will take this one."

"Sounds like a plan."

All the lights turned off by 1:00. The next few hours were spent peacfully sleeping. All of them together, content, at least for a moment.

ok so I told you I'd pop a few out. At least it's all kind of happy for a moment, but if you've read this fan fic...I'm sure you know that won't last for long. So, in light of everything I hate to tell you all this might be done soon. I can feel the ending comming on. Then again I might just add sequelness on to the end of it...call it an epilouge of sorts. Oh and BTW thank you all you guys who reivew like hours after I post...kind of makes me wonder if you have lives...but then again...anyone who writes fan fiction doesn't really. Still thanks...makes me love this fic even more! ;) keep reading and I'll keep writing.