Title: Things Unspoken
Author: Jayta
Rating: PG18 - may contain some coarse language
Show: One Tree Hill
A/N: Okay, I've figured out a few things during this chapter. I've decided that this takes place near the beginning of Season 2 and that Dan did not have a heart attack after the one-night stand.
A/N2: Thanks so much for all the reviews. I appreciate them all. I especially appreciate the ones that include critique and not just the standard. 'Good job. Update'. Thoughts and stuff are appreciated on the work at hand D
Chapter Three: No Turning Back
Oh hell no. He exhaled, gritting his teeth as he willed the weighted steel bar above his head. He is not going to worm his way into my life again. I am in control. No more 'daddy dearest' breathing down my neck. I've got everything under control.
But do you? asked a quiet voice.
Letting out a deep breath, he dropped the bar back on the waiting hinges. "Of course I do," he answered out loud.
His relationship with Deb and Nathan may have been in a state of dis-repair; but there were ways around that. There were options.
It was not his fault that Nathan had gone soft; and somehow found consorting with Lucas...comforting. No, he blamed that pseudo-wife his son had picked for that. Nathan would not heed his warnings and he would learn the consequences soon enough.
And Deb. Her problem, she would say, was that he was controlling and full of himself. But as much as he wanted order and told people exactly what he thought, his wife had her own share of control issues. She had always expected him behave in a certain way, at certain times, and bow to her every need. It was simply baffling.
There had actually been a time where he would have done anything and everything to get her back - that was of course before that night. Not after what she had done.
Of course once the information got out, sympathies would still turn to her. After all, he was a 'bastard' to many people, who were less fortunate than him. That was what he had found - those who went without could easily judge and think themselves superior in some way.
It was, however, in no way his fault. He could not be blamed for his wife's disgusting urges. He had been a devoted and loving husband.
'Then who is to blame?' a scathing voice accused.
"Hey Dan? Are you home?"
Dan turned around, tightly gripping the towel now draped around his neck, to face the least welcomed visitor. "Keith."
>>>>>>
"So what do you think of the place?" Royal gestured to the wide open space of the small two-bedroom bungalow. He had found it through an old friend. "I think it's a definite find," he said, happily. "Yup. A real find."
Karen raised a bewildered brow at Royal's chosen surrounding. She felt like she was living a bad flashback. The floor was covered in shag and the walls were wallpapered a god-awful puke green.
"So?"
"Um," she paused, searching for the right words. Covering her mouth with her hand, she stifled the many unpleasant words that came to mind and tried to find a diplomatic way of explaining how she felt about his new home. "It's a fixer-upper?" she said cheerfully.
Karen hoped that might satisfy.
He laughed heartily. "The shag carpet is ugly as hell. But," he stomped his feet, "that is definitely hardwood underneath. I'll tear it up and sand it down, and it will be as good as new."
Karen slowly nodded, still unsure that this was the best place he could have invested his retirement money into. But still, she couldn't bring herself to sink his dreams. The smile on his face seemed almost child-like in a way. It was the first time she had seen that old twinkle in his eye, as well. "That'll be a lot of work there," she said thoughtfully. "Are you thinking of getting Dan or Keith to help you out?"
"Dan? Work with his hands?" Royal scoffed at the notion. His boy was a suit if he had ever seen one. "Plus he'd go insane at the concept that he couldn't run things. Nah, I'll probably end up doing most of the work myself. Besides, he doesn't even know I've found a place yet."
"Royal, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Renovating a house is a lot of work."
"Hey," he growled. "I may be old, but I'm not that old."
"Still, maybe you could ask Keith to help out a bit?"
She worried about Royal. It seemed like he was throwing himself into this whole new living situation without thoroughly thinking everything through. At least with Keith on the job site, he could keep an eye on him.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm not saying this to wound your all too healthy, but fragile male ego," she breathed, rolling her eyes. "Besides it'll take a lot of help to modernize this place."
"Are you offering," Royal asked, raising a mischievous brow.
"I-I don't know about that," she stammered. "I don't know how much help I'd be in that department."
Karen shifted uneasily at the thought of spending even more time with Royal. She was already pushing it, talking with Royal without Lucas knowledge. And if she began redecorating his house...Definitely not a good idea.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking about the labor," Royal said quickly. "I think I'll need a woman's touch to help freshin' up the place. May was always the one to do it, but since she's..."
He knew it was hitting below the belt, but he saw no other way to get close. Karen was the only way he would ever get to know his grandson. He had lost so much time because of pride and bowing to Dan's demand not to make contact.
"Oh, I don't know," Karen fumbled, as she began nervously playing with the necklace around her neck. "I don't know how great an idea that would be."
"C'mon Karen," he said softly, taking her hands in his. "Don't make an old man beg."
Her stomach churned as she felt herself pulled closer. There was no way she could possibly refuse. His personality was as disarming, as it could be strict and demanding. "All right," she sighed, giving into those big puppy dog eyes. "But you have to promise that Keith will be helping you out. I won't have you dying on me, too."
"Yes m'am," Royal grinned.
>>>>>>
She had to drop off a casserole for her mother at Mrs. Daley's house. It wasn't an unusual request. Her mother, though flighty as she was, was thoughtful in that kind of way. Old Mrs. Daley had been under the weather lately; and as she was in her late eighties, she had trouble getting around. Actually it felt good, doing something for someone in need. "Oh, you don't need to get up," Haley said, grabbing her coat. "I'll show myself to the door."
"Tell your mother how much I appreciate the casserole," Mrs. Daley said softly. "Such a simple delight for such an old woman."
"I'll definitely pass that on to her."
Once out the door, she couldn't help noticing a beat-up black Accord just up the street. It would not have bothered her, except the car struck her as oddly familiar, in an unfamiliar part of town. As she drew closer, Haley confirmed the old car was indeed Karen's car. She recognized the basketball stickers on the car's bumper, as the ones she and Lucas had plastered unbeknownst to Karen when they were eleven.
What's Karen doing in this part of town during the day?
Haley thought it weird, but nothing to brood over. But then, two houses down, she witnessed Karen leaving a small beige house. Nothing strange about that, except the man escorting her to her car was none other than Nathan's grandfather. Royal Scott.
What had she seen? She couldn't understand this at all. Karen had minimized her relationship with Royal when confronted by it. Had she been lying?
>>>>>>
"Hey Luke!" Nathan jogged to catch up to Lucas who was just about to get into his truck. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Yeah," Lucas nodded slowly. "What's up?"
"I just thought you might want a head's up," he breathed. "Royal's moved into town."
Lucas frowned. The name had become very familiar in the past few days. It almost seemed odd that he hadn't heard it for the first sixteen years of his life, and now it was becoming a regular part of his vocabulary. "Dan's father is moving back into town?" he said, surprised.
"Uh yeah." Nathan began playing with the straps of his backpack. He had been unsure of how to approach the subject. He knew by Lucas' last reaction to his conversation with Karen about his grandparents that it would be something Lucas would want to know. "i just thought you should know," he said awkwardly.
His grandfather was back in town. A guy whom he'd had no contact with, let alone had heard anything about was moving back into town. It shouldn't have affected him. It didn't. He frowned. Yes. It definitely didn't. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."
"S-so, are you okay with this?"
"What's there to be okay with?" Lucas shrugged casually. "Why should I care whether another person moves into Tree Hill?" he said non-chalantly. "Alert the town hall! We've got to change the sign to say that the population just went up by one person."
"You're upset." Nathan could read it in his face. Plus Lucas was never big on sarcasm. That was his schtick.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're upset," he sighed. "And I don't blame you. But I just want to say that Grampa didn't seem adverse to acknowledging you when he came here last time. So at least he's got that in his favor."
"What are you talking about?"
"He came to see your mom while he was here last time."
"And I'm supposed to feel good about a guy who has ignored me for the past sixteen years and then out of the blue decided to wonder how I am at the last family gathering?" he asked irritably. "I have no say in where he lives."
The more he thought about it, the more it got to him. Lucas could not believe his own grandparents hadn't had the decency to even bother to try to get to know him. He shook his head. What could he expect? His own father hadn't acknowledged him until he forced his hand by joining the basketball team and almost nearly dying in a car accident.
Like father like son.
"Hey Luke?"
"I gotta go," Lucas breathed, sliding into his truck. "I can't talk about this anymore."
Nathan moved towards him, to try to press the subject, when the truck roared to life. Before he could say anything else, the dust from the spinning tires was all that was left of Lucas, as his estranged brother drove off.
This was definitely going to change a lot of things for a lot of people - including him. And there was no going back.
>>>>>>
"You look like someone ran you over with a Mack truck," Deb said, placing a mug on the counter. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"Thanks, but it's nothing you can do anything about," Keith sighed, shaking his head.
Deb furrowed her brow, curious as to what could possibly have Keith so upset.
"Dan."
She nodded and smiled sympathetically. "So I'm guessing the ceasefire has ended?"
"I don't know if there really ever was one," he groaned, plopping down onto the stool in front of Deb. "I don't know why I thought I could have a mature conversation with him."
"Well, can you blame him?"
Since their one night stand, Deb had been expecting some sort of aftermath. It never came. May's death had come shortly after, which seemed take up a lot of Dan's energy; as well as Nathan's sudden marriage. It was a lot to digest. But she never held her breath when it came to Dan just forgiving and forgetting. Deb knew that there would be consequences. She just didn't know what they would be - not yet.
"No, but it was creepy," Keith explained distractedly. "He didn't even raise his voice. It was like he went out of his way to be polite. And that is what has got me worried."
"But what can he do? Really?"
Keith raised a questioning brow. "Of all people, you have to know what Dan is capable of."
"I know," Deb sighed, pouring coffee for another customer. "But he's signed the divorce papers. At least that's something."
"But it won't end with the divorce papers, if I know Dan," Keith sighed. "And I do."
"Well he can't hurt me or Nathan more than he has already," she said wearily, knowing that wasn't quite true. "I am wondering if your mother's death has changed something? Or may the fact that your father is back?"
"One can hope. I guess."
"Don't say that with such confidence, Keith," Deb said wryly.
"That's because I know my brother too well."
>>>>>>
"Aw, c'mon. Don't do this to me," Karen breathed, leaning against her steering wheel, as she listened to the engine stall while she turned the ignition. "Don't die on me. C'mon girl, start."
She had to run errands on the other side of town after visiting Royal and she should have known better than to push it. Her car was making funny noises at the start of her day, and now it had completely died on her. And what was the hilarious thing was that Keith was now living somewhere else and she had no one to call for a tow.
As she began to laugh, while on the verge of tears, someone slapped the roof of her car, startling her.
"Having a little car trouble, little lady?" Dan said, leaning over with a smirk on his face.
"What did I do to deserve this?" she muttered under her breath.
"Now is that the way to talk to a good Samaritan here to help?"
"Go jump in the lake, Dan."
"You're close to hurting my feelings, Karen," he chided. "I may not choose to give you a boost."
"I'd rather chew nails."
"Are you really in the position to be refusing help?" Dan sighed, resting his arms against the edge of the window. "I mean, you're eventually going to have to call my autoshop anyways. If you haven't forgotten, it is mine now. So either way, you're going to be asking me for help in some shape or form. Why not just make it now, instead of sitting here for another hour waiting for a tow truck?"
Karen could not believe she was in this position. Here is where she wanted to kick Keith's ass for not allowing her to pay him back for Lucas' medical bills. Then she wouldn't be sitting in her car, in the middle of the day, forced to accept Dan's help. "What are you doing here anyways?" she sighed. "Just prowling around for helpless women, now that Deb's left you?"
"Ouch!" He pretended to flinch. "You're still as feisty as ever," he chuckled. "Is this how you treat everyone who tries to help you?"
"Just boost my battery, will you?"
Dan waggled his eyebrows. "Oh, that would sound kinky, if it weren't coming from you." He paused a moment and then shook his head. "No, wait. I'm wrong. Yes it does."
"God, Dan if you don't shut it, I'll shut it for you." Karen pushed against her door, which Dan was still leaning against, causing him to stumble backwards.
"You have anger management issues, Karen. Did you know that?" Dan laughed, while regaining his balance. "I'm just trying to be helpful."
"You stopped being helpful or any kind of decent when you graduated high school." Folding her arms across her chest, she watched as Dan pulled out a set of jumper cables from his trunk. "It's amazing how one person can change so much in a summer," she said warily.
"For someone who refused me any access to the child," he said darkly. "You're really quite self-righteous."
"And I'm glad I did," she declared. "You've proved with Nathan and even with Lucas now, what a pathetic father you would have been. At least his life wasn't completely ruined because of your obsession with the past."
Dan spun around and glared at the woman he had once shared a piece of himself with. Disgust and anger were written on her face. She knew exactly what buttons to push. Moving towards her, he stopped mere centimeters from her. "How can you come to any conclusions based on half-truths?"
Her heart was racing as she locked eyes with his. Those dark bitter eyes seemed to penetrate hers, as if daring her to look further, search beneath the anger for the 'whole truth' that he so blatantly proclaimed she did not know. He said he would come back for her and their son and he didn't. Instead he came back with a wife and a child. What could I possibly not know?
He caught himself. On the edge - prepared to justify himself - a place he swore he would never be again. Things were the way they were. He was the way he was. No turning back. Nothing more than to deal with the present and hope that the future would not be as miserable.
Turning away, he popped the hood on Karen's car and connected the cables to the battery - both to hers and to his - and turned her ignition. He kept his focus on the job at hand. There would be no more discussion.
Karen was left unsettled. He had never seen Dan just turn and walk away from a fight. Not with anyone, but especially not with her.
"There," he said, as the engine roared to life. "You're good to go."
She turned to thank him, out of politeness sake, but he just breezed passed her with cables in hand. Quickly unhooking the cables from his car, he jumped into his car and sped off, leaving her speechless.
What the hell just happened?