After three uneventful days in Tree Hill, North Carolina, Jenny Jagielski let out a deep breath, boredom setting in. The last three days Jenny and Peyton had been inseparable as mother and daughter explored the town, driving by locations from stories.

Still, it hadn't been what Jenny had expected, she felt detached from the memories Peyton shared, and it still felt empty somehow.

Jenny admitted to herself she had been looking for something that the last three days had not given her. The only place that really had been interesting was the river walk, and listening to her mom talk about the time they'd spent there, and the place where Peyton had realised she was in love with Jake.

They'd driven by their childhood houses though Jenny didn't get to go inside as they had long been sold. Jenny had no memories of her paternal grandparents, her grandfather bailed when her dad was little and her grandmother passed away the same year as him. Her mother's dad worked out as sea and Jenny only sees him every few years and could count on one hand her memories of him.

From the side of her eye Jenny watched her mother, she hated thinking it and would never admit it but she wondered sometimes about her other family. Peyton was Mom yet Jenny sometimes wondered what it would be like to look into someone's eyes and see her own, most people assumed Peyton was her biological mother yet Jenny was aware of the truth of her birth.

Peyton had married Jenny's father, Jake, days after her eighteenth birthday, and had adopted Jenny when Jenny was only three years old after her biological mother lost her parental rights. Jenny did not remember Nicki, had never even seen a picture of the other woman. The thirteen-year-old was aware Nicki had struggled with drugs and alcohol for years which eventually lead to Jake gaining sole custody, and not long before the accident had agreed to let Peyton adopt Jenny.

The last Peyton had known about Nicki was the other woman was in jail, though that was nine years ago and Jenny assumed her biological mother was out there somewhere in the world living a life. Perhaps she'd even had more children.

It hadn't been Nicki that Jenny had called Mom though, it had been Peyton who had been by Jake's side when Jenny was little, helping when she was sick, changing diapers and going to all the doctor appointments, answering her cries when Jenny had woken up during the night.

Peyton Jagielski was the only parent Jenny remembers ever having, she loves her mom yet she still ached for a connection to where she came from.

And to Jenny's disappointment she wasn't finding it in Tree Hill.

"How long is this gonna take?" Jenny rolled her head back, leaning the back of her neck against the seat of the comet.

At the side of the road Peyton kicked the gravel, "it shouldn't be too much longer, why don't you come wait out here with me?"

Jenny sat up straight, eyes wide, "do you not see the gator invested water to your right?"

"Its fine, Jen" Peyton chuckled, used to it from her youth, "just don't go swimming in the river"

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" she sighed, "everything here is sooo slow"

"Four more days" Peyton smiled and then her eyes lit up at the sight coming down the road, "hey I think that's the tow truck now"

"You could just buy a new car" Jenny quipped.

Peyton pointed her finger at her daughter, "hey, do I need to wash your mouth out?" she moved closer to the comet, lifting her hand up to her eyes to watch the slow approach of the black tow truck. It parked in front of the comet, and Peyton placed a smile on her face as the door opened, relief pouring from her body.

And then a familiar voice came, hovering in the hot air between them.

"Whoa, déjà vu. I can't believe this thing's still running" Lucas Scott stood before Peyton, a friendly smile on his face.

Her smile froze, Peyton felt a tremble in her hands, "hey, stranger. I didn't expect you to come to my rescue"

"Again" Lucas chuckled.

The familiarity had Jenny sit up on her knees, watching the tall, blonde stranger who glided towards the car, his eyes on her mother.

"So, what brings Peyton Sawyer back to Tree Hill?"

"Passing through" Peyton placed her hands on her hips, "here for a few days"

"Mom?" Jenny when curious, her single word had the two adults turn to face her.

Peyton dropped her hands, letting them hang back to her side, she smiled at her daughter, "it was Jenny's idea. Jen, this is Lucas Scott"

"Hi"

Lucas stepped forward hand out, "Hi, Jenny. I went to school with your parents, played ball with your dad back in the day"

Jenny took the hand and relaxed as the older blonde continued to send his friendly smile her way, she kinked her brow "you knew my dad?"

"And you, though you were a lot smaller back then" Lucas let the girls hand go, his eyes went back to Peyton, "where is-"

"Hey, kiddo, why don't you wait inside Lucas' truck, get out of the heat" Peyton cut in and waited until her daughter was out of ear shot, she lowered her voice, "its just the two of us now, Jake passed away"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. He was a great guy"

"It was a long time ago, not that it hurts any less"

Lucas lowered his eyes, "yeah" and they fell into silence, Lucas snapped back to the present, "anyway, you join Jenny and I'll get the comet hitched up and get you back to the garage"

"Thanks, Lucas" Peyton quickly joined Jenny, ignoring the s=odd look her daughter wore until she couldn't anymore, "what?"

"That's the first time we've met someone who knew you or dad, like a friend"

"Just remember I haven't seen anyone from Tree Hill in over ten years" Peyton leant back and closed her eyes, "they don't really know me anymore".

-x-

For a second Peyton thought she'd heard wrong, "I'm sorry, did you say two weeks? We're meant to be leaving in a couple of days"

With a slap on the bonnet Lucas shook his head, "not if you're planning on her being your ride" he gave a chuckle, "look, I can lend you a rental while you two are in town, it is the least I can do for an old friend"

Resigned to her fate Peyton looked away from her beloved car, her head still slightly shaking, "sure, thanks"

"If the parts come in early I'll make sure she's my priority" Lucas assured Peyton, "hey, seeing you're in town you should stop by the café sometime, most Saturdays a bunch of us meet there. I'm sure Brooke would love to see you" Lucas wrote down his personal number onto his business card and added Brooke's too, "here take this"

From the back of the shop a high-pitched voice called out, "DAD!" Peyton froze as a young girl appeared in the doorway, her long dark hair in braids, big warm eyes looking to Lucas with childlike anger, "we were meant to leave hours ago"

A confused Peyton looked between the girl and Lucas, surprised that she looked around the same age as Jenny. Lucas read the confusion and then turned his attention to the girl.

"I am with a client"

"Sure, whatever, it's meant to be your day off" the brunette girl rolled her eyes.

Lucas slowly too a breath, his hand went to rub the back of his neck, "give me thirty minutes and we will be out of here. Actually-" Lucas looked to Peyton, "why don't you go meet Peyton's daughter Jenny, they're in Tree Hill for a couple of weeks and she's around your age"

"Peyton?" a dark brow lifted, "like Peyton from high school?"

"Yes, the one and the same" Lucas smiled, he motioned to the girl, his eyes on Peyton, "Peyton, I don't think you ever actually met Lily, she was born after you moved to Savannah"

"Right, Lily" Peyton took a deep breath, "its nice to meet you. Jenny's out front if you want to go meet her, she thinks Tree Hill had been boring so far"

Another roll of the eyes from Lily had Peyton smile, "she's not wrong there" and then she glared again at Lucas, "fifteen minutes" before turning around and walking away.

The silence was awkward, Peyton looked to the ground then finally at Lucas, a million questions in her eyes, "she calls you Dad?"

"Yeah, it's a bit weird sometimes" Lucas shrugged, "but I try to give her as normal as a life as I can and when Lily asked if she could call me Dad I couldn't say no"

"What happened to Karen?" Peyton's tone was already sympathetic.

"Blood clot" Lucas felt the familiar emotion tighten his chest, "Lily was only six, it's been just the two of us ever since"

Peyton recognised something inside Lucas and her heart squeezed, her brain thumped, she wanted to stay silent yet the words slipped out, "it never goes away, the pain of losing them. If it wasn't for Jenny… I don't know what I would have done after I lost Jake, I thought I had lost my family and then I looked into that little girl's eyes and I knew… I knew I had to keep going for her" she gulped, "and Lily is lucky she has you".

-x-

"What are you reading?"

Jenny looked up at the voice, surprised to see a girl around her own height sitting on the counter, legs kicking back and forth, "uh… it's the Mediator series" Jenny held up the cover of the book, "Meg Cabot. About a girl who sees ghost"

"Haven't read it. You're Jenny, right?" the brunette lifted her brows, her eyes friendly yet her face held a hint of boredom.

"Yeah…"

"I'm Lily. So, you and your mom are trapped in Tree Hill, huh?"

"Uh…"

"I just heard my dad say your car won't be ready for two weeks, there goes your summer plans huh, don't worry Tree Hill isn't always so boring" Lily kicked off from the counter, landing on the ground, "the bonfire is next weekend, that's pretty cool, and the carnival is here in town, we're going there tonight" Lily rolled her eyes, "if dad ever leaves this place"

"Lucas is your dad?"

"Well sort of, kinda my dad but technically not my dad, he's not my real dad I guess, most people know that so I don't usually explain it"

"My Mom's not my real Mom either, well she's not fake but-" Jenny stopped and took a breath, "technically I'm adopted, she married my dad when I was little. Is Lucas your stepdad?"

"Brother, actually" Lily shrugged, "its not as weird as it sounds. Our mother had him when she was a teenager, and then had me when he was a senior. Our biological fathers were brothers, so he's technically my cousin too. But my father Keith died when my mother Karen was pregnant, he pretty much raised Lucas with her before that, anyway she died too, so five years ago my brother pretty much inherited me but I've never really had a dad and Lucas is the only parent I have so… he's my dad" she shrugged her shoulders.

"And I thought Tree Hill was boring"

"You stick around here long enough and the drama finds you" her eyes bugged out as she popped her lips before adding "and I didn't even mention that Keith was shot. BY HIS BROTHER. Lucas' real dad"

For a second Jenny's heart skipped a beat, she struggled to follow Lily's story and wondered if she could trust what the other girl was saying.

"You should come with us to the carnival, if you want" Lily added on, effortlessly circling the conversation back around.

"I'm not sure my Mom-"

"She can come too. Keep Dad busy" Lily lifted her brows, "or do you have something better to do? Yeah, thought so"

"Like, I guess, if she says yes"

"She will" Lily waved away Jenny's concerns, "why wouldn't she? It's not like you are asking for a tattoo"

When Lucas and Peyton joined then ten minutes later Lily was the one to ask, her big brown eyes looked straight at Peyton unblinking, the older blonde let her lips part, making a sound from her throat and trailed her eyes between both Jenny and Lucas who waited for an answer while Lily kept her gaze straight on Peyton.

"Tonight?"

"She has to come with us, Jenny can't miss out and she can come on all the rides with me because Dad never does. Please" Lily tilted her head, "if you're worried about leaving her with some guy you haven't seen since high school you can come too"

"Well," Peyton paused, "I guess… Jenny if you want to go?"

Lily snapped her neck around to look at Jenny, a small smile on her face, and the blonde girl smiled back, "I really want to go, Lily said there are fireworks"

"Yep, totally, there are fireworks" Lily lifted her delicate chin. Faced with the two teenagers and having three set of eyes watching her Peyton simply smiled and nodded as she gave her consent.

-x-

Later that night Lucas stood with his arms full, the designated handbag for the night as he held the girls various stuffed toys and bags while he and Peyton waited by the lines as Lily and Jenny rode the roller coaster.

"Thanks for tonight" Peyton said into the waiting silence, "I know I seemed reluctant, I thought it might all be a little awkward but it's been good and it's the first time Jenny's really smiled since we got into town, so thanks"

"No problem" Lucas shrugged, his eyes still watching the roller coaster go around, "I know how tough the single parent gig can be, especially at this age. All the emotions"

"Lucas Scott, are you implying girls are more emotional?"

"I'm not implying it, I am stating it" he looked at Peyton, "I can go from being that girl's favourite person to her worse enemy in seconds"

Peyton chuckled, "well I think you are doing great with Lily, Karen and Keith would be really proud"

"They were good role models, not that I always made it easy for them especially the last couple of years of high school" Lucas smiled, "anyway, Jenny's great too, you're not that bad at the parenting thing either"

"I don't know, she has me questioning it sometimes. To be honest, since Jake died, we've moved around a lot, I guess I was reluctant to really make a home again without him, and though it felt like the right thing I am starting to think it wasn't right for Jenny, so this is kind of our last hurrah before settling down for good"

"Ever thought of moving back here?"

Peyton looked away from Lucas, unable to answer while looking into his blue eyes, "too many memories. There's a couple of towns we've narrowed it down to"

"Anywhere exciting?" Lucas asked.

Peyton gave a wave as the roller coaster zoomed above their heads, she laughed, not answering "I love seeing Jenny smile, she has Jake's smile" her eyes still on the roller coaster.

Turning from Peyton to the blip which held their retreating daughters Lucas frowned before turning back to Peyton, "I know its crazy but I was actually thinking Jenny looks more like you than either Jake or Nicki"

"It's the blonde hair" Peyton brushed it off, "she takes after Jake's mom"

"Anyway, you're doing a good job, don't worry about that" Lucas was nudged by a group walking by them, it was enough to distract him and Peyton watched the others keep walking without an apology, her eyes then trailed to a nearby stand.

"Hey I'm just going to get a couple of drinks, you want anything?" and she was already walking away as Lucas called back his answer.

-x-

The car ride home was full of chatter from the backseat, Peyton was starting to regret all the sugar she'd allowed Jenny to consume yet hearing the girl's laughter made it worth it.

They were nearly to the motel when Lily started begging to allow Jenny to have a sleepover, and though it was clear Lucas was about to cave Peyton remained silent.

Lily's mouth dropped open in shock, "what? You've never had a sleepover?"

"It's not that weird, you know"

"No, it is totally weird" Lily frowned until she noticed Jenny's awkward expression, "I mean, we should fix that"

From the driver's seat Lucas glanced at Peyton, "sorry, Lily is a bulldozer sometimes"

"I haven't noticed" Peyton gave a tight smile yet remained a sweet tone, "I guess I've always been a little overprotective of Jenny"

"But you know my dad" Lily butted in with confidence, "and he's not a nutjob or a crazy killer, what's the worse that could happen, I pierce her ears?"

"There will be no ear piercing" Lucas said sternly which caused Lily to roll her eyes once again.

"Okay, fine, just boring stuff then. Come on, she's only in town for two more weeks, come on Aunt Peyton, you don't mind if I call you Aunt Peyton, do you?"

From behind her Lily placed a hand on Peyton's shoulder, smiling sweetly and Peyton had a sinking feeling she was losing control and being manipulated, Peyton took a breath, "what if you spend the day tomorrow with us instead?" Peyton looked to Lucas, "if Luke doesn't mind"

"Of course not, Lily would have just been stuck with me at work all day anyway"

"Okay, then I can pick Lily up from there around ten?"

"Great" Lily answered, sitting back into her seat, "fantastic" she leant closer to jenny and whispered, "she's warming up to me, trust me girl, you'll get your sleepover and that piercing" and Lily winked.

Peyton watched from the front seat and saw something strangely familiar between the girls as she watched them, then she realised what it was. That devilish sparkle, the gleam of a conspiracy between friends, it was all a little bit Brooke Davis.

-x-