Chapter 27 Her Saving Grace

Peyton almost hadn't heard the little girl's soft greeting. "I told you to call me Peyton," she responded kindly after she realized what Laura had said. "Are you alright?" Laura nodded, but Peyton could see that she wasn't. Her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days, her face was covered in bruises, and she was holding herself strangely.

"I'm not allowed to let you in," Laura said meekly.

"That's okay," Peyton answered. "I can stay out here. I just wanted to talk." She sat down on the porch, just in front of the door, and pulled her knees up to her chest. Laura sat down on the inside of the door, looking out curiously at the older woman. "Is your mom home today?" Laura shook her head. "What about your dad?" Another no. "No school today?"

"I don't feel so great," Laura answered in a whisper.

"I can see that," Peyton agreed. "What hurts?" She could tell that Laura was scared about more than just getting into trouble again.

"My side hurts really bad," Laura admitted, her hand resting near her ribcage. "Is it supposed to ever hurt so bad?"

"No," Peyton answered gently, with a shake of her head. "Can I see?" After thinking about it for a minute, Laura opened the screen door and practically crawled out onto the porch next to Peyton. She gently lifted her nightshirt so that Peyton could see the black, jagged bruises. There were definitely broken ribs in there, Peyton realized. Laura cringed at the slightest touch. "I think you need to see a doctor," she observed gently. Immediately Laura shook her head, her eyes wide with terror.

"I can't leave."

"I have a friend who's a doctor. I can have you back here before lunch. And I think he can make you feel better." Laura looked skeptical, so Peyton leaned over and hugged her gently. "I'm not going to let them hurt you again. It's not right. And it's not going to happen again. Do you want to get dressed first?" Laura nodded and stood carefully, obviously in pain. Peyton waited on the porch until Laura hobbled back ten minutes later dressed in jeans and a pink t-shirt. Having put in a call to Jake while the little girl was getting dressed, Peyton found him waiting for their arrival.

"Hey Peyton," he said calmly when he saw his friend shepherding in a small, terrified little girl. "You must be Laura," he said as he crouched to her level and offered a smile. She nodded shyly, looking at Peyton.

"This is my friend Jake," Peyton told her. "He's a doctor during the week. And a pretty good musician on the weekends," she added with mock-emphasis. They walked into one of the exam rooms set up for children which cheerful colors and the instruments hidden under creative, harmless looking objects. With Jake's help, Peyton carefully lifted Laura up onto the exam table. After a quick look at her ribs, Jake turned to Peyton.

"You probably should have taken her to the emergency room," he whispered.

"I pretty much thought I would have gotten arrested for kidnapping on the spot," Peyton returned quietly. He immediately understood the predicament. He was able to help with the ribs and a couple of old scratches and bruises. Everything was documented both by Jake and a non-invasive nurse who stayed in the room the entire time. After they were all done, Jake asked Laura if they could take pictures. She wasn't sure it was a good idea, but eventually relented.

"What are you going to do with her?" Jake asked after the nurse took Laura to find a lollypop.

"I can't take her back to that house," Peyton insisted.

"Have you called Lucas?"

"No," she replied, her tone indicating his insanity, "he's at work."

"I think he'd want to be involved." Jake turned towards her with a goofy, questioning expression. "Is this what you do with your days? I thought stay-at-home moms were supposed to; I don't know—stay at home!"

"I am not a stay at home mom," Peyton hissed, then looked a bit embarrassed. "Okay, so I am. But that term just makes it sound like I do nothing. I make more money than Lucas, for goodness sake!"

"Hey, I didn't want to get into money matters. I was just wondering how often you do the Nancy Drew thing," Jake said with an amused chuckle.

"Only when my children ask me to," she returned haughtily. "Now what am I going to do?"

"Go home and call the police," Jake said, his expression returning to one of seriousness. "Get Lucas home first. I'll be over with this file. Have Ryan there too. They might be interested to know why you were snooping around in the first place."

"The police?"

"It's the only way I can think to keep her out of that house."

"I should talk to her first," Peyton said absentmindedly. She gathered up the little girl and the pills Jake had prescribed and filled and then took her back to the Scott home. Surprisingly, the little girl didn't argue much with Peyton's plan to tell the authorities about her parents.

"We have to call the police. You need to tell them what's been going on with your mom and dad."

"They'll take me away," she answered softly. Peyton nodded sadly, taking Laura's hands in hers.

"Probably. But it's for your own good. You can't let them hurt you anymore."

"Okay," she whispered softly, "Do we have to go to the police station?"

"No," Peyton assured her. "We can stay here." She convinced the little girl to take a nap and thanks to the medicine Jake had given her for the pain, she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Pulling the door gently closed, she went into the den where she called her husband and attempted to explain the craziness of her morning. He promised to be home as soon as he could get away. She then called Brooke and asked her to drop off Ryan and then pick up the other kids from school. It was almost two thirty in the afternoon when she, Lucas, Ryan, Laura, and Jake were seated around the living room, nervously waiting for the police officer to arrive.

Lucas answered the door to find Officer Vegas, his old classmate and teammate, at the door with his partner.

"Hey Luke," Jim said easily, reaching out to shake his old pal's hand.

"Vegas," Lucas greeted him with a nod. "I didn't know you worked for the township."

"Just transferred back," he said with a laugh. "Teresa and I were in Charlotte for the past few years. We got a call from this address, but it was a woman."

"My wife," Lucas said as he stepped aside to allow them both in. He pointed to the framed portrait that dominated the entryway. "Peyton. We have four kids. One more on the way." All too late he realized that they hadn't told anyone about the new baby; but Vegas didn't seem fazed by the comment.

"You two actually got married?" Vegas attempted not to look completely shocked. "Congratulations man."

"Thanks."

"Four kids," he said with a shake of his head. "They're beautiful. Any talent from their old man?"

"From us both," Lucas said with a nod. "We don't know which is going to win out. Basketball or art."

"What seems to be the problem? The call was regarding domestic ab—" Vegas stopped talking as they walked into the living room. He had suddenly realized that the call came in about domestic abuse. The voice was female, her husband answered the door. "Tell me Lucas isn't the problem," he said when he saw Peyton sitting in the living room.

"No!' She said quickly, banishing that thought. Then, she broke into laughter brought on by the stressful day. "Of course it's not Lucas. What's Vegas doing here?" Her second question was directed at her husband, who was still standing in the doorway.

"I was just relocated back home," he answered before Lucas could interrupt. "You said you wanted to report—" he was only halfway through his sentence when he realized that Jake was sitting on the other couch with a young boy. "Jake! You guys are still friends after all these years?"

"We try," Peyton said dryly. "He's married to Brooke. If you stick around long enough you'll see Nathan and Haley too. But can we get on with the matter at hand?"

"Of course." The spent half an hour listening to Peyton retell the story of her morning. After that, Vegas turned to Laura and asked her what had happened. She explained how her parents had been drinking and how she had forgotten to take the laundry out of the dryer. Tears were practically flooding the Scott living room when Laura finished her whispered explanation. Jake showed Vegas the medical file, handed him a copy, and told him that she was lucky to only have a few broken ribs and dark bruises.

"We have to call this into Child Protective Services," he said as soon as he had heard all of their stories. "Luckily, you never entered their home, correct? Peyton nodded. "Good, then I don't have to arrest you."

"Oh good," she responded dryly, earning a withering look from Lucas. She needed to stay calm for the sake of the two children in the room. Angering the authorities would do them no good, even if it did happen to be an old friend who used to practically worship Lucas and Nathan on the basketball court.

"But Laura can stay here until some other arrangement is made?" Lucas asked.

"That's not protocol. We're supposed to take her down to the station and call CPS. They'll pick her up down there and take her to a foster family."

"You can't make an exception?" Peyton asked in a gentle tone, mostly because she was holding a frightened little girl in her arms. During the conversation, the little girl had moved closer until she was practically sitting in Peyton's lap. She stroked Laura's hair gently as she waited for an answer.

"As a doctor, her doctor at this point, I don't think it'd be wise to move her. She's already been through enough," Jake said to Vegas, his professional tone turned on for full effect.

"Excuse me for a minute and I'll see what I can do," he said. Lucas showed him into the kitchen where he could make his phone calls and the rest of them waited in the living room.

"I don't feel so good," Laura whispered in Peyton's ear. Peyton took her hand and led her into the bathroom, where the little girl proceeded, due to an excess of nerves and the pain pills, to throw up the little amount of food she had eaten that day. Peyton sat behind her on the carpeted floor, holding back her long blond locks. "I'm sorry," she whispered as soon as she had finished.

"Don't worry about it," Peyton said without pause. She took a washcloth and ran it under cool water before handing it to Laura to wipe her face. "I can't believe how brave you are," Peyton said in a whisper. "It's okay to be a little afraid. Don't you apologize for it, okay?" Laura nodded. Jake stood in the hallway, listening for them and keeping an eye on Ryan. The little boy had been silent after sharing his tiny part of the story. After getting Laura cleaned up a bit, Peyton all but carried her back to the living room and sat down next to Lucas.

""I don't think you've been properly introduced. Lucas, this is Laura. Laura, this is Ryan's dad Lucas."

"Hi there," Lucas said kindly, not sure what else to say. It was a strange situation. Not one he resented, but one that confused and worried him.

"I'm sorry," Laura said, her eyes cast down immediately.

"You're gonna have to stop apologizing," Peyton said playfully. "We just don't do that around here. As long as you're honest, you have nothing to be sorry for. Okay?" Laura nodded. Lucas grimaced inwardly; Peyton was already attached. He knew his wife and he knew that she became hopelessly attached to kids. Why couldn't she be normal and fall in love with dogs or cats? No, not his wife. She fell hopelessly in love with most children in her path and had absolutely no desire for a dog. He wasn't worried about keeping Laura with them; he worried about what would happen when someone came to take her away.

The title comes from "What if She's an Angel," a song by Tommy Shane Steiner.