Chapter 31 First Lady In My Life

The two brothers and their wives sat around Peyton's dining room table late that Saturday afternoon with the family lawyer and Laura's caseworker. Karen and Brook had taken the children, with the exception of Laura, out for the day. The young girl hadn't been feeling well and was currently sleeping in the guest room, having no idea of the meeting going on below. "Let me get this straight," the caseworker said slowly, "Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Scott are the ones who now want to take Laura." All four heads nodded. "I don't know about this. How is it going to make Laura feel?"

"She's been through a lot worse," Lucas said, "plus, we would make sure that Laura understood we want what's best for her. And in the end, it's her choice."

"I don't doubt Peyton or Lucas in their ability to take wonderful care of any child," Haley said in defense of her brother and sister, "but Laura needs individual attention. And she's more likely to get that in a house with fewer children."

"As much as I have grown to love Laura, I think that living with Haley and Nathan would be best," Peyton said softly, her eyes focused on the table. Lucas grasped her hand, squeezing it lightly to offer some kind of assurance and support.

"I don't think this will do anything to hurt your chances of being awarded custody," their lawyer said kindly. "It shows that you're all thinking about what is best for the child. Not many judges would fail to be impressed with that." That prospect helped them all breathe a bit easier but Peyton was still distressed, feeling as though she was somehow letting down the child. They all knew that there would be no trial, Laura's mother had cracked and admitted everything, including the involvement of her husband, who turned out not to be Laura's biological father. After the truth was out, the man barely attempted to make excuses. The only issue following their incarceration was the fate of their innocent daughter. An informal hearing would be held but if the caseworker would approve of the living arrangements, there would be no further question of Laura's placement.

"I'll have to do a field study of your home," the caseworker said, her eyes set on Haley.

"That will be fine," Haley answered comfortably.

"We need to talk to Laura," Lucas said. He stood, pulling Peyton with him. Haley and Nathan were close behind, holding hands as they mounted the stairs and followed the other two to the guestroom. Peyton moved aside, indicating that Haley should wake the sleeping child. The brunette crept quietly into the room; her soft blue eyes falling sympathetically to the tiny girl who was wide awake, curled in a corner of the bed with a book.

"Hey sweetie," Haley said, crawling onto the bed herself and sitting across from the child. "How are you? I heard you weren't feeling well."

"I'm okay," Laura said, her whisper as soft and quiet as a summer breeze.

"I'm glad to hear that." Before Haley could continue, Laura broached a new subject.

"Is Megan here?"

"She's with her grandma," Haley answered with a smile. "Do you like Megan?"

"She's cute."

"I like her too. We'll keep her," she joked lightly, causing Laura to smile. "I was wondering if you were up for a talk. Peyton and Lucas and Nathan are in the den and we wanted to talk to you about some things."

"Okay."

"Okay," Haley mirrored, offering her hand and then leading Laura to the den. Laura crawled up onto the sofa next to Peyton and then looked expectantly at Haley to fill the empty space on her other side. They were silent for a few minutes but eventually Peyton found the words to begin.

"Laura, you understand where your parents are, right?" The little girl nodded solemnly, her wide eyes fixed on Peyton. "They're going away for a long time. And you are going to forget about them," Peyton said firmly, her hands reaching out to take Laura's. "And you're going to have a good life from now on." She paused for a few moments, murmuring reassurances as the small girl began to shed tears. "Next week, a judge is going to decide where you're going to live."

"And we're hoping," Haley said softly, taking over from the now-sobbing Peyton, "that you'd come and live with us."

"We would be honored if you'd become part of the family," Nathan added sincerely, moving to sit on the arm of the sofa next to his wife. Laura's expression was almost blank as she nestled into Peyton's embrace. She turned and whispered to Peyton. After drying her eyes, she climbed out of Peyton's lap and crawled into Haley's.

"I'd like that," she whispered into the brunette's ear. They hugged and were soon joined by an almost-tearful Nathan. Lucas and Peyton quietly exited the room to tend to their own growing family.

Later that evening, Peyton was trying to enjoy the tranquility of her home but couldn't help but distress in the blaring silence. The quiet felt too much like an accusation, a punishment for not being able, ready; for not being enough. The thoughts stung her fragile conscience as she applied the subdued colors to the canvas before her. Maroon 5 blared from the speakers on her computer and blocked her from hearing the door open. She didn't realize there was an additional presence until the person spoke. It was Winifred, her damp curls and pajamas an easy indication that she was somewhere in the process of getting ready for bed.

"Mom—" Peyton jumped a bit before realizing that it was her eldest daughter. Reaching over to turn off the music, Peyton walked over to the waiting girl.

"Hey Fred." She quickly consulted her watch, "what are you still doing up?"

"I heard you down here."

"I'm sorry. I'll turn down the music. I'll come up and tuck you in—"

"Mom, You did the right thing."

"Thanks for saying that, sweetie. I know it's hard for you to understand—"

"I understand you think it's your fault you decided not to take Laura. I liked Laura, but we didn't need another person in the house."

"Fred—"

"You can't blame yourself for not being able to do everything."

"Thank you," Peyton answered quietly, suddenly appreciating the subtle sensibilities and sensitivities that were taking hold in her young daughter. She put her arms around Winifred and they hugged, the daughter offering support to the mother who had so often served as the rock, the foundation of her own personality. Peyton stepped out of the embrace but kept her arm around her daughter and led her out of the den and up the stairs to her bedroom.

"What are we reading?" Peyton flopped onto her daughter's bed and crawled under the covers, holding them back and waiting for her daughter to snuggle beside her. For the next hour, mother and daughter took turns reading from a battered copy of Anne of Green Gables. Once Winifred fell off to sleep, Peyton crept quietly from the room and looked in on the other three sleeping beauties before continuing to her own bedroom.

"I was wondering where you'd disappeared to," Lucas mentioned unobtrusively, not actually looking up from his book as she appeared in their bedroom.

"I was just getting a pep talk from our daughter."

"She's a good kid."

"I was thinking the same thing." They ended the conversation as Lucas continued to read and Peyton prepared herself for bed, changing clothing and setting out things for the next day. It wasn't until they were in bed with the lights turned out that she finally ventured into the territory of the day's happenings. "Did we do the right thing?"

"I think we did, Peyt," Lucas said gently, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "We have four great kids of our own and one on the way. They still need our attention."

"I know," she said softly, "but it still hurts."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered back, not knowing what to do or say to take that pain away. His arms snaked around her, holding her close to offer support and a shoulder to cry on. The household of Lucas and Peyton Scott remained unchanged and fairly uneventful for the following week while Haley and Nathan Scott ran through the gamut of lawyers, judges, caseworkers, and other professionals involved in the adoption of Laura.

Uninspired by her current work and nursing a bad case of cabin fever, Peyton was in the kitchen waiting for her sons when they got home from school on the last Thursday of the month. Winifred was already home, working on her homework, when Ryan walked through the kitchen door and dropped his book bag in the same place he normally deposited it.

"Hey mom."

"Hey Ry. How was school?"

"Okay."

"What did you do?"

"Mom, it was school," he said pointedly, reaching into the refrigerator for an apple.

"I'm sorry," Peyton said in mock defense, "Humor me. What did you learn today?"

"Dogs die," Ryan said bluntly, then continued when his mother looked upset with his answer. "We finished Where the Red Fern Grows. You asked."

"My mistake," she muttered as she watched her son prepare his afternoon snack. He was getting too old, she decided silently; she wasn't old enough to have a son who could prepare his own snack, was she? She noticed then that Ashton hadn't come through the door with his brother. "Where's Ashton?" Ryan shrugged,

"He was with me at the end of the street. He didn't go with Jared."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No."

"Go check on Gretchen. She's taking a nap. Watch her until I get back." Peyton pulled on her light blue, wool coat and ran out into the chilled afternoon. She walked through the yard and looked through neighbor's fences, looking for her youngest son. There was a park at the top of Haley's street and Peyton could see that her son was occupying one of the little wooden forts that dotted the play area, each one connected to the next by shaky bridges, netted walkways, or some other child-friendly structure.

Walking through the fallen leaves, Peyton made plenty of noise as she approached the young boy. He saw her through the wooden slats and she could see from his tear-stained cheeks that he had been crying. She climbed the wooden ladder and sat next to her son, her legs dangling from the small platform.

"I was worried when you didn't come home."

"I'm sorry," the small boy offered with a poorly masked sob.

"What's wrong, kid-o? Why are you crying?"

"I hate school."

"That's a strong word."

"I can't want to go back, mom. Please don't make me go back." He broke down once more into tears, shaking his head as he begged to be allowed to never go back to school. Peyton pulled him into her arms and rubbed his back reassuringly, trying to offer whatever reassurances came to mind.

"Hey, don't cry. We'll work it out, okay? Let's get home, where at least it's warm. When your dad gets home, we'll all sit down and talk about school, okay? Ashton's tears continued but he took Peyton's offered hand and walked with her to their own home for a cup of cocoa and one of his grandma's famous cookies.

The title is from a song but I'm not sure of the artist. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as always I'd loved to knowwhat you think!