Peyton stepped out of the car, followed by Brooke and Haley. She spent the entire ride reminding the brunettes not to tell Lucas about her encounter with Ricky. They walked slowly towards the front door, all feeling less content than before. Peyton opened the front door to her house to find a note on one of the side tables. She opened the small folded paper and read Lucas's neatly printed writing.
"I hope you had a good day. Go upstairs and follow the red and white road. Love Lucas." The blonde read out loud. Just reading that he loved her lifted some of the weight from her shoulders. He always had a way to make the bad tings seem better. Brooke and Haley were glad to see their friend smile again and they were all anxious to see what was upstairs.
The girls put their bags down in the living room and then crept slowly up to the second floor, unsure of what to expect. When Peyton, who was in the lead, reached the top of the stairs she found a trail of red and white rose petals. Brooke and Haley gaped at the scene as they all continued to walk down the hall admiring the beautiful set up that had been created. The hall was lined with vanilla candles, each set in a tall crystalline holder, with ceramic vines wrapped around to the top. The sweet smell filled the hall way, surrounding the girls.
Peyton followed the petals until she neared the guest room and the trail stopped. As soon as she stopped walking Nathan appeared in a clean cut black suit, from around the corner. He smiled at Haley before bowing in front of Peyton, causing the blonde to laugh. Peyton was so caught up in everything before her that she jumped slightly when she felt arms slide gently around her waist. She instinctively looked back to make sure it was Lucas and smiled when he kissed her.
"We have a surprise for you" he whispered into her ear causing her smile to grow. "Close your eyes." He said softly and she obeyed. She heard a door open and followed Lucas lead as he moved her towards the newly open room, his arms never leaving her waist. She felt his body turn her and then continue walking straight for a bit and then stop.
"Lucas what's going on" she questioned, her eyes tightly shut.
"Open" he whispered into her ear once again. When she lifted her eye lids her mouth dropped as she looked around the room. "Nathan and I have been working on it all day." She was till in awe as he told her.
"This is amazing" Haley stuttered as she and Brooke entered the room. Lucas looked down at Peyton who was just staring at everything. In the corner there was a mahogany crib, lined with baby blue sheets. Next to the crib there was a matching book case, however it was empty. The small night stand on the other side of the crib held a simple blue lamp with a clean white shade. The wooden floors had been cleaned and she could small the faint sent of varnish that was still lingering in the room. In the center of the floor there was an antique rocking chair with a fitted white cushion intricately designed with tiny purple and blue flowers with vibrant green vines connecting them all. On the opposite side of the room the old closet doors had been replaced with new sliding ones. Next to the closet the bureau held an empty picture frame with the words 'My first day home' written across the top in multi-colored letters. There were various baby products lined along the back, including baby powder, shampoo, lotion, and oil. Above the bureau a medium sized oval mirror hung. It was lined in silver and blue to follow the theme of the room.
"Peyton…" Lucas calmly whispered. She hadn't said anything for the past ten minutes and he was getting worried that she didn't like the room. She broke away from his grasp and walked over to the crib. She let her frail finger trace the edge of the smooth wood. As she ran along the inside of the rail her finger traced over a grove in the wood. She leaned over the rail to find the words Lucas Scott etched into the dark wood. She turned to face the group of people behind her. She turned more specifically to Nathan and Lucas with a grateful look on her face.
"I don't know what to say. This is…incredible." She went over and hugged Lucas tightly. "Thank you so much" She felt the warm tears slide down her face. She looked over at Nathan and walked over to him. She hugged him as well before turning back to the room. She walked to the rocking chair, letting her finger maneuver around the wood. She looked at the smooth design in the wood and turned to look back at Nathan in shook. "This is the old rocking chair from your attic. I always said how much I loved this chair." She watched as her ex nodded his head.
"I didn't always ignore everything you said Peyt. I think that came out wrong" he gave a small laugh and the rest of them joined in.
"It's okay, this makes up for it Nate." Peyton turned around and looked over the room again.
"I think you missed something Peyton" Brook said as she caught sight of the book shelf. Peyton followed her eyes and strolled over to look at the shelf. When she reached it and looked at the second shelf she found what Brooke had spotted. She smiled as Lucas wrapped his arms around her again.
"Now we can look for names at night." He said gently.
"I'd like that" she said as she turned around to face him. She stood on her toes and placed a loving kiss on his lips. "I'd like that very much." She looked past Lucas at her two best friends. "Did you guys know about this?" She questioned them.
"Actually no." The both said and it was the truth. They were just as surprised to see the new baby room as she was.
"Go get dressed" Lucas said as he looked at his watch. "There's more" he informed Peyton.
"Let's go" Brooke said as she took both Peyton and Haley by the hand and lead them to Peyton's room. She ran downstairs and soon returned with the three dress bags in her hands. She handed the two girls their dresses and told them to hurry up. They only had half and hour to get ready and she knew they were gunna need more time. Peyton didn't know what was going on but she was too happy to care. Nothing was bothering her anymore and she was glad. The girls got ready in record time and rushed downstairs to meet the guys who were already dressed. Sometime while they were upstairs Charlie had arrived so they headed straight to dinner.
Lucas had blindfolded Peyton so that she wouldn't know where they were going. Once they arrived at the restaurant Lucas lead her through the front entrance and once inside her remove the blind fold. Again the three girls stood in awe of the fancy restaurant they were eating in. Above their heads hung a crystal chandelier and in front of them there was a case of marble steps. The group was escorted upstairs and seated in one of the corner tables.
"You guys there are no prices on the menus." Haley pointed out as she searched through the large selection of entrees.
"If you have to ask you can't afford it" Brooke informed her nonchalantly.
"It's taken care of Hales just order what you want, but only one meal per person please." Lucas said as he opened his own menu. Diner went by quickly for them and they laughed and talked the entire time. About two hours into the excursion Peyton stood and grabbed Lucas's hand.
"Let's dance" She said sweetly as he rose from his seat. The entire group made their way onto the dance floor. They alternated partners and soon found their way back to their dates. As a slow song began to play Lucas took Peyton tightly into his arms and the couple swayed lightly to the music.
Lying here with you listening to the rain
Smiling just to see the smile upon your face
These are the moment I thank god that I'm alive
These as the moments I'll remember all me life
I've found all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
Looking in your eyes seeing all I need
Everything you are is everything to me
Theses are the moment I know heaven must exist
These are the moments I know all I need is this
I have all I've waited for and I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
Every prayer has been answered every dream I have's come true
Yeah right here in this moment is right where I'm meant to be
Here with you here with me
Lucas let go of Peyton's waist and lifted her hand in his, spinning her around before pulling her body back into his.
These are the moment I thank god that I'm alive
These are the moment I'll remember all my life
I've got all I've waited for and I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more then this time together
I could not ask for more then this time with you
Every prayer has been answered every dream I have's come true
And right here in this moment is where I'm meant to be
Here with you here with me
I could not ask for more then the love you gave me
Cause it's all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more.
As the song ended Lucas dipped Peyton, but he nearly dropped her as his eyes caught sight of the door. There standing against the frame watching them was Rick. He picked Peyton back up but he smile disappeared when she caught the look on his face. Before she turned around to see what he was staring at she caught the same look and Nathan's face. When she turned she understood why and she wanted to run. She wanted to burry herself in a dark corner and stay there until he was gone. She didn't want him to be there because it meant trouble. She wanted the night to be perfect and that wasn't gunna happen with Rick there.
"Luke, can we please just go back to the table, don't let him ruin this." She pleaded with him and when he saw he face his look softened and they left the dance floor.
"Hey you guys do you wanna just get out of here. We can just go back to the house for a bit and talk. Plus we won't have to be on good behavior over there." Lucas said as he slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around Peyton's shoulders. They all agreed and after Lucas paid for the bill they headed for the door. They were all relieved to find the Rick had left and they hoped that the night would be peaceful.
They made their way outside and over to Lucas's car. He let go of Peyton's hand reluctantly as he reached into his pocket for the keys. When he retrieved them he looked up to find Peyton gone. They had been walking behind the others so Lucas could try and talk to her but no she wasn't next to him. He looked around and spotted her behind one of the nearby trucks. They all had noticed she had disappeared and they followed Lucas to the truck. When they found her Rick had her pressed up against the side of the truck and she was frozen stiff like she had been earlier.
"Remember what we talked about Peyton. Don't be scared, everyone knows we belong together and I know you know that too. Just admit that you miss me Peyton and we can move past this and be happy again." He buried his face into her neck, still unaware of Lucas and the others.
"I wasn't happy" Peyton muttered before pushing him off of her. He stumbled slightly and then gained his balance and started towards her. After his second step his body swung around and his face connected with Lucas's fist. Peyton stood back and jumped when she felt her body pulled from off the truck. She looked up to find Nathan with a protective arm on her shoulder. She turned back to see Rick and Luke on the ground. Luke was on top and beating the crap out of him.
"Lucas stop" Peyton yelled, scared that he was gunna kill him. Lucas knew that he had to stop and he did.
"Don't ever touch her again. I don't wanna see you within a mile of her or next time I won't stop. I can promise you that, so keep your fucking hands to yourself." Lucas said sternly as he stood up and stepped away from Rick. Rick got to his feet and turned away but he quickly spun back around and punched Lucas in the jaw.
"Stop it" Peyton screamed as she moved closer.
"Stay the hell out of this" Rick screamed at her as he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her backwards with all he had. She went crashing down towards the ground and Nathan caught her just before she hit. He helped her steady herself and then stormed over to Rick.
"I told you last time that if you touched her again you were gunna regret it and I'm not one to break my promises." Nathan shoved Rick against the truck and held his arm to his neck. "See I'd rather beat the shit out of you then just have you die so I won't hand you over to Lucas. Be glad Charlie's holding him back because your ass is good as dead if he ever gets a hold of you." Nathan looked over at Lucas who was fighting to get away from Charlie who was using all his strength to keep Lucas out of jail. Nathan turned back to Rick and let him go. He turned his head and then slammed his fits into Rick's jaw causing him to slide down against the truck. Nathan picked him up by his collar and slammed him against the truck again.
"Come on! I thought you were big tough man. Defend yourself because this is pathetic man." Nathan hit him again, just as hard and he picked him up the same way he did before. "What's wrong man? You can only hit women, your not man enough to come after me. Now you're what I call damn fag. If your not prove me wrong." Nathan pointed his finger and Ricks face and then let him go. They watched as Rick slid to the ground. Nathan laughed as he looked at the guy sitting by his feet. "That's what I thought. You're a real tough guy you know." He said sarcastically before walking back to the group.
Lucas had broken from Charlie's grasp but he had looked on with the rest of them as Nathan messed with Rick. As his brother returned to the group Lucas slipped back over to Rick. He pulled the guy back to his feet and brought their faces inches apart. "You have no clue what I could do to you right now, but you see her over there…" Lucas pointed over to Peyton and waited for Rick to follow his gaze. "She needs me. And you…" His finger was now pointed at Rick and he brought their faces closer together. "You're not worth it." He let go of Rick and let him stand against the truck as he walked back over to the group of his friends. As soon as he was there Rick watched Peyton wipe the blood from Lucas mouth and kiss him gently.
"Peyton why didn't you tell me you saw him today." Lucas asked as he looked down at her.
"Because I didn't want to ruin anything. The day just felt so perfect." She whispered.
"Well don't be afraid to come to me and tell me that Peyton. I'm always here for you no matter when." She looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you for not taking that too far." She said as she grabbed his hand and they walked to his car.
"You're too important to me. I spent all that time fixing up the room today…Peyton I wanna be there to watch my son or daughter grow up in that room. I wanna stand over you in the rocking chair while you feed them or read a story. I wanna hear the mobile going and I wanna watch him sleep in his crib at night. I'm not interested in giving that up because I wanna be there for it all." He smiled down at her and kissed her before they got in the car.
That ride home was quite but all the couples held hands. They were all still a little unsettled about everything that happened. Lucas dropped everyone home and then drove back to Peyton's. As usual he stayed the night with her and they changed and lay in her bed. Peyton settled against his chest and reached for the book of baby names that was on her night stand. Lucas smiled as they flipped through the pages.
"Nathan is not such a bad name you know." Lucas said as they searched through the boys names. Peyton agreed with him as she thought about everything Nathan had done for her lately, including that night.
"I like Dana" Peyton said when they got to the girls section.
"Me too" Lucas added as he closed the book. They had decided to pick one girl's name and one boy's name every night and they had picked Nathan and Dana.
"Oh my God" Peyton shrieked suddenly startling Lucas.
"Peyton what's wrong" Lucas asked quickly, fear immediately radiating through his body. She didn't answer him she just took his hand and placed it on her stomach. He was confused at first but when he felt the sharp movement against his hand his face lit up.
"He kicked or she but it doesn't matter. They kicked." Lucas was babbling as the baby kicked a third and last time. They were both amazed as they forgot about everything from the night. All they could think about was the life that was now moving around inside of Peyton. They were both glad to fall asleep in each others arms with Lucas laying a protective hand on Peyton's stomach.