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Chapter 11 One Day at a Time

It took them at least a half an hour more to get home than she thought it would, so Peyton was already a bit on edge when Lucas carried a sleeping Winifred into the house. She rushed over to them, ignoring Ashton while he tried to tell her about the museum. Ryan walked into the house with Gretchen holding his hand but he soon left her in the middle of the hallway and retreated to his room without a word to anyone.

"What in the hell happened?"

"She passed out at the museum," Lucas said as he walked toward the stairs, carefully maneuvering between furniture. "Let's talk about this later."

"Lucas—" Her voice was bordering on frantic and she looked ready to cry.

"Peyton," he said in an even, firm, and soft tone, "you need to calm down or you're going to scare the kids." She nodded reluctantly and turned around to see Ashton and Gretchen still standing in the hallway, a bit confused by the scene before them.

"Hey guys," she said in a tone that was as cheerful as she could muster. "Did you have fun with your dad?"

"The museum was cool," Ashton said shortly. He didn't seem to want to discuss it any longer; he was perceptive enough to know that his parents had heavier things on their minds. "Can I go play PlayStation?" Peyton nodded and the little boy was off like a rocket, running down to the basement game room where his videogames were kept. She picked up the confused baby and tried to think of something happy to say to her. Instead, she took Gretchen into Ryan's room and ordered him to watch his sister for a little while. It seemed that was the only way she could get him to comply anymore; asking no longer worked with the temperamental youth. Lucas was coming out of Winifred's room when Peyton reached the door and he caught her wrist, stopping her from entering.

"She's okay, she's sleeping. Come on." Peyton agreed and after one more look at her daughter's bedroom door followed him to their own bedroom. Lucas sat on the bed and ran his hands agitatedly through his hair, waiting while Peyton closed the door and sat down across from him on the bed. "I have never been so scared in my life."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She fainted. And then, when she woke up a minute or so later, she couldn't walk because her leg muscles were in spasms."

"That's it," she said in a firm tone, "we're going to the hospital."

"She's okay right now. Why don't we call and make a doctor's appointment?"

"With the same doctors who keep telling us that she's fine and we're imagining this?"

"What about a new doctor?"

"You'll have to see who else is on the insurance. I don't know if there is another GP in Tree Hill on your plan."

"I'll call Haley. She'll know."

"They use Nathan's insurance."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Then, I'll have to pull out that paperwork and figure it out," he said with a resolute sigh. "I won't take long." He kissed her forehead and moved from the room, only to look back and realize she hadn't left the spot or taken her eyes from the place where he had been standing. "Peyton, it's going to be okay."

"I know," she said softly. "I was—um, actually—I was just trying to decide what to make for dinner. Silly, I know."

"It's not silly. Try to stay calm, okay?" She nodded and watched him leave the room, leaving her to feel incredibly alone and vulnerable. While Lucas was in the den sorting through insurance forms and attempting to find a list of providers, Haley was a few blocks away arguing with Nathan's insurance holders over the telephone.

Nathan and Jared, who had been at the park playing basketball, arrived home to find her at the kitchen table with dozens of papers splayed in front of her. Jared looked curiously at his father, wondering what was going on to cause his usually calm mother to behave like a lunatic. In her determination to inform the person on the other end of the phone that he was truly the most idiotic scum of the earth, Haley failed to hear her husband and son return. She jumped out of the chair when she felt Nathan's hand on her shoulder. Nathan motioned to his son that he should go in the other room; it was best to avoid Haley in her more neurotic moods. Jared happily escaped to his room to play with his newest video game while Nathan continued to listen to his wife's troubling conversation.

"No," Haley said to the man on the phone. "No, it doesn't work that way. You can't tell me what I can and cannot do. If I want to have this damn baby in the middle of a New York subway, you couldn't stop me." She paused, listening to him and then laughing sarcastically. "Well, yes, I suppose you could still charge me. This is ridiculous! Do you know that you're causing anxiety to a woman who is eight months pregnant?" With that, Nathan took the phone from her hand and hung it up; ignoring the look of indignation and fury that suddenly appeared in her eyes.

"Nathan! It took me an hour to get to that manger. I have to call back now and wait for twenty minutes before even talking to a real person—" she tried to snatch the cordless from his hand but he held it out of reach and she was too tired to try and fight him.

"What's going on? What are you doing talking to the insurance company?" He had seen the papers spread in front of her and realized immediately whom she was speaking with.

"They just dropped my doctor from the coverage. There was a message on the machine, telling me I have to find a new doctor. I am not finding a new doctor four weeks before I give birth! It's ridiculous!"

"Hey, hey. Calm down. We'll fix it."

"Nathan, there are some things you just can't wish away."

"We'll pay out of pocket—"

"Do you know how much that costs?" Haley asked with a sarcastic scoff. Nathan shook his head.

"Too much if we also want to send the kid to college one day." She handed him a receipt she had gotten at her last appointment and Nathan winced. If that were the cost of one appointment, the hospital delivery would be five times the amount.

"Don't worry about it, we'll find a way," he said soothingly, drawing her out of the chair and into his arms.

The title of this chapter comes from the following quote:

I've developed a new philosophy... I only dread one day at a time. Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)