His Mother's Last Wish

Author's Note: Glad you're all enjoying, I think this should be a little more on the Naley side with this chapter. Still some L/P interaction, no worries. Enjoy.

Chapter 6: Can We Be A Family?

She didn't want to go home, not back to Nathan and her miserable life. But here she was, in the back seat of Lucas's car on her way back home. Well, it wasn't really home – home was where the heart was, and her heart certainly didn't feel like it was there anymore. She would've liked to scream, get out and run back to the safer days of high school and tutoring. Even to just go back a few years when she and Nathan were still so buried in their love. She would give anything to be there now.

"Hales, do you care if I crash at your place again?" she loved that he was back, that he would stay at her house. Things with Nathan wouldn't get out of hand if Lucas was there, he wouldn't dare try that. Then there was the fact that Nathan loved Lucas, and loved having him back, he wouldn't wreck their relationship like that.

"No, totally cool. Mikey loves you anyway,' she smiled at him, thinking of her children who had no idea who their father was. They still idolized him, still saw him as a hero when Haley could barely stand the sight of him.

"Peyton has to get up early for her aunt, so it's just easier if I stay with you."

"No problem. Are you at least gonna stay for a late dinner, Peyton?"

"Uh, well I was gonna go back to the hotel, but I can stay if you need me to…"

Peyton wouldn't dare leave if Haley needed her there, because she was worried about the small girl who'd had no solid figure to turn to with this problem for years.

"Thanks," Haley smiled gratefully at the one friend who's friendship had always been a constant, whether she was miles away or not.

They stepped into the Scott household to see Nathan helping Mikey in the driveway with a basketball that was almost bigger than the little boy.

"Alright, this is it…game point, Mike. Shaq's comin up behind you, you ready?"

"Let's go!"

"Alright, break!" Nathan swiftly snatched his son from the cement, flinging him over his shoulders and running to the basket with the same speed from high school. Mikey dunked the ball as they ran around shouting.

"Hey…where's Tara?"

"She fell asleep watching some cartoon a little while ago, so we decided to come outside so we didn't wake her up. She should still be asleep…" he smiled at his wife, but Haley didn't dare meet his eyes.

Peyton was having trouble accepting the information she'd received. Nathan still seemed so perfect, she was finding it more and more difficult to see him in a bad light.

"Hey," Lucas threw out, walking past his brother and nephew.

"How's Karen doing, Peyton?" Nathan pulled her aside before she was able to make entrance to the house.

"Eh…off and on. She was happy for me and Lucas. You and I have to talk later, Nathan. Maybe not today, but we will talk," she gave him a threatening look and it was confirmation enough to him that she knew. And that she was even more protective of Haley now than she had been in high school.

He was worried, he was going to lose people when this news got out, and it's not what he wanted. He didn't want their marriage to be this way, and he wasn't sure when it had gotten so bad, just over time he hadn't been able to hold up the good boy masquerade, he had reverted to the person he was raised as, he was reverting to his father. And he truly did despise himself for it, but he didn't know how Haley was ever going to forgive him for it.

It was hours later that Nathan had already made his exit up to their bedroom, but Haley couldn't force herself up there just yet. In fact, when she got the chance she liked to make it seem that she would fall asleep on the couch downstairs, but with Lucas staying she couldn't reveal her life. It had taken a while, but Peyton had been convinced to stay, and was now going to share a bed with Lucas for the night. The last time she had accomplished that was when she had walked into his hotel room drunk at the Classic of senior year.

"So you guys have everything?" Peyton knew Haley was stalling for time, so rather than watching her making an ass out of herself she grabbed her friend by the arm, pulling her to the other room.

"Haley, if you don't wanna go up there just tell Lucas what's going on."

"I can't do that…don't you get it? They're brothers, it would wreck everything, and I won't have sophomore year of high school re-enacted in my living room. Just let me do this for now, Peyton. Lucas can't know. So, I'm just gonna go to bed now, night," she flashed a smile before making her way up the stairs.

The blonde just shook her head, not fully comprehending the whole situation. It was all a little more overwhelming than she thought it would be.

Lucas was already laying comfortably on the pull-out bed, he was flicking through a few news channels, but Peyton could see his lack of interest in them. She had to wonder how she had gone from the most screwed up to the one who had to see everyone else's problems.

"So…back to this, huh?" he laughed at her comment, watching every inch of her slide under the covers and stay behind the invisible line between them.

"Cooties?"

She giggled and nodded like a five year old. He shook his head acting like he totally understood, she liked him in this mood.

"You tired?" he questioned the girl next to him, watching her yawn.

"Nah…I wish Haley had given us some more blankets though. She keeps this house freezing…"

"I could warm you up," he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively while she stuck a finger down her throat to mimic gagging noises. "Fine then, freeze," he rolled over in mock-spite, laughing when she threw herself over his side to look at him.

"You know I liked you today," she told him happily. Her long fingers made designs on the side of his white t-shirt. He couldn't get her to meet his eyes, but he watched her anyway.

"Good to know. You'll have to tell me the days you don't like me."

"I never don't like you…but you just…"

"I just?" he prodded as she took a pause in her words.

"You reminded me of the old Luke today," she finally looked over to make eye contact with the boy she had known for so long.

"What? I am…" he flipped back over to prop himself up on his elbow. She did the same before she attempted to explain her words.

"You're not. The old Luke…my Luke…he hated suits and dressing up. He was so full of life and had so much passion for books and writing and basketball and girls. He had a lot of passion for living. He would never run away for ten years without telling anyone. The boy I fell in love with has been gone for years, Lucas."

"The boy you fell in love with left when Brooke Davis entered my life, let's just put it that way."

"So you let her destroy you?"

"I didn't let her. It was inevitable, I loved her so much and then all of a sudden she dumps me, she wasn't even willing to let me try…" he didn't know what else to say, he felt awkward explaining his time with Brooke to a girl they had constantly fought over.

"What about me?" she whispered, wishing she could take the question back as soon as it left her lips.

"You didn't destroy me. You helped create me, you were everything. And that guy, I think he only existed with you," the glow from the tv was the only source of light between them, but he could still see the water that filled her eyes.

"Well…if that's the honest truth…I'm glad I bring that out in you. And I'm glad you let me see that part of today, it reminded me of high school…it reminded me of us…" she wasn't sure where all of this was coming from, but here it was. Out on the table in front of them and even she wasn't sure what she was trying to do with all of this information.

He didn't know how to respond to that, so instead two simple words seemed to cover the matter.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For today. For all of this, I don't know a lot of people who would do this for me. You're probably the only one. And I'm glad I have that in my life."

"You don't have to thank me for it. You were such a huge piece of my life, even if I hated you there's no way I could push you away. You'll always be in my heart, ya know? It's hard to just get rid of you," she winked at him watching him avert his eyes bashfully.

"I do. It's the same here."

"Good, as long as it's reciprocated…did you wanna call Brooke sometime soon?"

"Way to kill the mood, Peyton," he teased watching her look away. "Yeah, I'll give her a call."

After a few beats of silence he heard her voice in the dark again.

"Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not leaving you, you know that, right?" she kept her tone low. The TV shut off from the sleep timer, but neither moved. He could barely see her, only hear her breathing. "I'll be here, even when she's not anymore…"

"I know," she could hear the crack in his voice, but didn't call him on it.

"I love you too much to let you go through this alone," he knew what she meant, he knew she wasn't making any advances toward him. She was genuinely letting him know that she cared, that she always had. Even when he hadn't seen her, he carried the picture, and thought of her when the nights were just a little too long in the lonely apartment.

He thought of her more than he meant to, he had always cared too.