Here's the next chapter – I know it's moving slowly right now, but the story is about to pick up – and include more of the other Scott family, Brooke, and Jake. Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter – let me know what you think!

Chapter 20 A Mother's Work

No one in the Scott household was ready to get up the next morning; the previous day had been too chaotic to lead into any amount of decent sleep. Lucas was up with the first warning of the alarm clock but he switched it off right away and attempted to quietly get ready for the day. He woke his sons and oldest daughter and began laying out breakfast before he even attempted to wake his wife. Peyton woke with a start, the top of her head catching his chin with a large crack.

"Owww," she moaned softly as she rubbed her head.

"Yeah," he agreed as he rubbed his chin. "Are you still getting up to go in with Fred? I could take her in—"

"No, I'm getting up," Peyton insisted. She had spoken to Haley at dinner the night before and her sister-in-law had offered to watch Gretchen while Peyton ran a few errands that morning. Haley was home on early maternity leave and was happy to help, even though it left her incredibly curious. She knew that her zealous and diligent friend rarely needed someone to keep an eye on Gretchen; it was not often that the toddler did not accompany her mother. Nevertheless, she had agreed without questioning to keep an eye on the baby that morning.

"I'll drop Gretchen off with Hales before I take the boys to school," Lucas said as he straightened his tie.

"Sounds good," Peyton said groggily. "Don't say anything—"

"I'll wait until we're together," he agreed. "But we have to at least tell Haley and Nathan."

"We'll wait until their baby is born," Peyton said stubbornly. "I'm not stealing their thunder."

"Fair enough. It won't be much longer." He turned to see that she hadn't made it very far; she was sitting groggily on the edge of the bed, contemplating her next move. "I'll see you in a few," he said with a chuckle. She nodded, not getting up to look through her closet until he was gone. A pair of khakis, a purple button down shirt, a pair of loafers, and a necklace later, Peyton was sitting in the kitchen with her sons, picking at the muffin Lucas had handed her.

"Mom, can I join the band?" Ashton's excited request was interrupted by Ryan's scoffing and hurtful words.

"The band is for geeks."

"Ryan!" Peyton warned with a glare; she wasn't in any mood to deal with his attitude that morning. "Ash, you can do whatever you like. The band sounds like fun. What did you want to play?"

"It's stupid anyway," the little boy said quietly, staring down into his cereal. Peyton glared at Ryan but allowed the subject to drop; she would talk to Ashton when his brother was not around; that usually made the little boy open up more.

"It's not stupid, kid-o. We'll talk about it later, okay?" Ashton nodded, but looked absolutely miserable. Half an hour later, after Lucas had left with the three youngest, Winifred came trudging down the stairs, her eyes dark underneath from a lack of proper sleep.

"Are you alright?" Peyton asked as she felt her daughter's forehead; it wasn't terribly warm.

"Yeah."

"Do you want something for breakfast?"

"I ate the toast dad brought upstairs. I did," she insisted after noticing Peyton's suspicious expression.

"Okay," Peyton said slowly, unconvinced. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Winifred answered firmly. "I have to go mom. I have to try."

"I know," Peyton said mournfully. She leaned down to hug her daughter close. "I just worry."

"I know," Winifred said with a roll of her eyes. She offered her mom a genuine smile. "I'll be fine. We'd better go."

"Alright. Come on." Peyton grabbed her purse and her keys before going out to the driveway with her daughter. She had a meeting with the principle and guidance counselor to let them know what was going on, and to find out what needed to be done to ensure her daughter passed the eighth grade.

"Love you mom." Winifred said as she jumped out of the car. She didn't want to chance her mother actually walking into school with her; that would be incredibly embarrassing.

"Love you too, have a good day."

"You too!" Peyton parked and walked into the main entrance, checking in with the secretary and then sitting down to wait.

"Mrs. Scott! How nice to see you! I didn't realize we had an appointment—" The principle stood just inside his office door, slightly surprised to find Peyton in his office. Just then, another woman walked in and he remembered setting the time for the meeting. "That's right – this is about Winifred."

"Hi Peyton," the other woman said with a smile as she took the other chair in the room.

"Audrey," Peyton said with a nod. She had graduated with the woman who was now one of the guidance counselors at the middle school. The two had never really gotten along because Audrey had spent her entire school career infatuated with the Scott brothers; both of who occupied spots in Peyton's closest circle of friends.

"Well, what can we help you with Mrs. Scott? I have noticed that Winifred has been missing quite a bit of school this year. I hope everything is alright—"

"It's actually not," Peyton interrupted quickly, not wanting to dance through the niceties before getting to the point. She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder, which contained both the specialist's and the doctor's notes and explanations. She handed copies to the principal. "She hasn't been feeling well all summer and recently we discovered the reason. The doctor believes she has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I don't really understand it much myself," Peyton admitted, "but I know that there is something wrong with Fred and that's the first reasonable explanation we've been offered.

The notes from her doctors should explain everything, but I wanted to make sure we work out a reasonable schedule. She needs to have fewer hours of class. The doctor thought 8 to noon would be a preferable schedule, but we can be lenient as long as it's consistent."

"Mrs. Scott, you must understand, the school day lasts until 3. We simply cannot allow one student to forgo three hours of the school day—"

"You don't have a choice," Peyton insisted. "She can't handle long days. We're willing to work with her at home to make sure she keeps up with the work. I need your assurance that she's not going to be penalized for missing classes when necessary."

"It's going to be incredibly difficult for Winifred, as intelligent a child as she is, to keep up in so many classes. Have you considered pulling her out for a medical leave?"

"It's not necessary," Peyton insisted. "She can still do the work; it just needs to be on her own time table. I'm sure you're aware that my husband is a teacher, along with my sister. They're perfectly capable of helping her keep up."

"I'm well aware of your family ties," he answered. Peyton knew exactly what he was implying; had she entered with any other family name, she would never have been given the time of day to begin with. Nathan and Lucas were surrounded by some sort of quasi-legend that demanded respect in this town and their wives continually benefited from it. It also helped that the name caused most people to see dollar signs.

"I'm sure we can work something out," Audrey said cheerfully. She had been silent up until that point, tapping away on her laptop. "We can rework Winifred's schedule so that her important classes are in the morning. English, History, German, and Algebra can all be fit in before lunch."

"Thank you," Peyton said sincerely. "Do I need to speak to her teachers, or will you?"

"Oh, we'll take care of everything," Audrey said, once more in an overly sugary tone.

"I'll be back to pick her up at noon then."

"Let us know if we can help in any other way," Audrey offered as Peyton stood.

"Certainly will," Peyton returned, inwardly craving to roll her eyes. The only reason Audrey was being so nice was because she now had a juicy little tidbit about the Scott family to spread around town. Peyton was angry with herself for not realizing it sooner; Audrey was going to make her little girl the day's top gossip story. The mother of four quickly excused herself, only gaining a bit of satisfaction when she saw, upon leaving, that part of the other woman's skirt was tucked into her stockings. Despite all the maturity she had gained over the years, Peyton still couldn't bring herself to tell the woman and save her later embarrassment.

The title comes from this quote:

"A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done"