Hey Lovelies! Thank you all so much for reading, I'm so blown away by the response to chapter 1! Hope you continue to enjoy. Any thoughts or questions I'm all ears!

…

Peyton swings the Comet into the school parking lot and parks haphazardly in the bay usually reserved for her husband's car. Since Lucas shared a ride earlier with Nathan, she figures the spot is as good as hers for the night. She steps out of her car and finds her eyes sighing as she picks out both of her children's cars also sat in the lot. She wishes they could all co-ordinate their journeys but since learning to drive, both Elliot and Sawyer have found any excuse possible to drive themselves everywhere rather than be driven by their parents. It may be something to do with the fact that neither her or Lucas' cars have much legroom in the back seats, but she doesn't think so.

Tonight, following the gathering at the cafe that Haley put on in honour of Midnight Madness, both her kids had made their escapes purposely before their Mom so that they could drive themselves. And she's not going to ride with them; their driving leaves a little to be desired. It's hereditary, she's aware and even if she weren't, Lucas reminds her often enough. He was so cautious about the kids learning to drive that he made both Elliot and Sawyer learn in Haley's reliable sedan. It was a decision he didn't regret; Sawyer reversed into a truck – because the driver 'was a dick' – and Haley's car had to go into the garage. Sawyer paid her back with countless shifts at the coffee house, as she protested her innocence because the guy deserved it.

By the time Peyton's collected her purse from the back seat, the rest of the group's cars have appeared in the car park. She waits by the gym entrance for them, a soft smile covering her lips as she notes the mostly blue and white attire everyone's wearing in honour of the occasion.

"I am so full." Clay groans, one hand holding his stomach as he strolls over, and the other around Quinn's shoulders.

"You didn't need two pieces of pie." Quinn points out through a laugh. At her side eleven year old Scarlett giggles a perfect echo of her Mom's laughter.

Peyton shrugs her shoulders in Clay's defence, "It was good pie."

"It's always good pie." Logan agrees from behind his Dad. He breaks out the same likable grin as his Dad and grabs his little sister around the middle as she squirms and protests, before throwing her over his shoulder. "I'm taking the short one to get a good seat."

He bounds away, Scarlett still hung over his broad shoulder, her long honey hair flowing down his back. Clay calls after him to be careful, despite knowing that Logan would never let his sister come to any harm.

Quinn squints out at the parking lot, rolling her eyes as she spots Haley who is still angling her car to park. Spacial awareness has never been Haley's strong point.

"You know what, I'm gonna go see if Lucas is around," Peyton says, realising that even with Brooke, Julian and the twins now directing Haley, they could be waiting a while. "Save me a seat?"

"Sure." Quinn nods and pushes Clay lightly on the shoulder, "For the love of God please go and help Haley park that thing."

Peyton shakes her head and checks her watch as she clicks away towards the gym. Already she can hear music throbbing through the building; a dense and beat-heavy song that has Sawyer's fingerprints all over it. Peyton can't help from be impressed when she realises that the PA system's rigged up and a playlist is being broadcast across the entire school campus. It doesn't matter that no one's using most of the classrooms or the cafeteria or the assembly hall; it's all about the atmosphere, Peyton appreciates that.

Reaching the door of the Coach's office she taps her knuckles on the glass and then lets herself in. Lucas is inside, pacing a hole in the carpet as Nathan sits opposite sipping from their secret scotch supply.

"Hey, Coach." She smiles her way inside and he fumbles, dropping his clipboard. She laughs shortly, "Nice hands."

His gaze moves from the hem of her dress down to her feet, "Nice legs."

"Jeez." Nathan throws back the last of his drink and slips down from the desk he'd been propped on. "I'm going to go down to the locker room, don't keep him long, Sawyer."

"It's Scott!" She calls after him, despite knowing it's a waste of breath. Having named their daughter Sawyer, Peyton had expected Nathan would give up using the same nickname on her but he's always stubbornly refused. She turns her attention back to her husband, "How are you doing?"

"Not bad." He nods, "The scotch is helping."

Peyton smirks, and helps herself to a swig straight from the bottle. "Whitey's worst kept secret."

"How's the boy?" Lucas asks, knowing that Peyton will have not long left Elliot.

"Acting like a Scott." Peyton grins. Their boy was pacing a hole in the cafe floor not an hour ago, a paperback loose in his hand and a practised squint across his face. Leaning against the desk, Peyton stretched her legs out before her, crossing them at the ankles, "So, you must have the name of that Captain written down around here somewhere."

Lucas denies it, instantly, but she knows him better than that. She turns her head to the desk behind her, pretending to look for it. Really she doesn't want to see it, not yet; she's too afraid that she won't see her son's name on the sheet of paper. She's scared that despite all of his hard work he may not have made it.

Reaching out, Lucas coils his hand around her wrist and pulls her back, "Hey, hey, hey."

Her eyes dazzle back at him, "Now I'm afraid of what you don't want me to see. It's not bad news, is it?"

"Shhh," He coaxes and leans in to press his lips against hers. She closes her eyes and slips her arms around his shoulders, he knows exactly how to make her feel better.

…

Sawyer slips out of the girls' locker room and makes towards the vending machine down the hall, her fingers tapping against her thigh in time to the beat thudding through the halls. She's not really thirsty, if she's honest, but if she stays amongst the gossiping girls, she may do something she regrets.

As she presses the selection for a bottle of water, a voice drifts over from across the hall, "Hey, Sawyer, right?"

She flicks her gaze up to meet the sloppy grin of Griffin Lowe, one of the Ravens. She rolls her eyes and turns back to the machine that's not dispensing her drink. For good measure she gives it a short kick.

"Here, let me." Griffin offers and punches the glass twice with the side of his fist. The bottle drops and reluctantly Sawyer collects it from the drawer.

Still he stands there, eyeballing her. She sighs deeply, "What do you want, Griffin?"

"There's a party at mine tonight." He tells her, spinning a coin in his hand, "You want to be there."

She scoffs, "And when exactly did you become an expert on what I want?"

"Come on, it'll be fun; team bonding." He cuts a practised grin.

Sawyer squints her eyes, "Team bonding? I didn't realise that you were on my team. No one told me you're a cheerleader now."

She unscrews her water and takes a sip. She has nothing against Griffin really, she doesn't even know him. He's been in Elliot's class for as long as she can remember and she knows they're not exactly friends, but her brother doesn't like Cheetos either so it's not as though she can go on his opinion.

Griffin chuckles a little, and hangs his head, "I better get back to the locker room but I'll see you tonight?"

"Will you?" She shoots back, her eyebrows arched. If her best friend Lacey were here she'd be spitting with anger at the way Sawyer's being such a 'closed-off bitch'; she can almost hear Lace's voice screaming in her ear.

Checking her out one last time, Griffin grins and then strolls away, back down the hall. Sawyer watches quietly, wondering softly.

"Who was that tool?" Sawyer jumps at the sound of another voice, one that she knows well, belonging to Logan.

She turns on her heel to see him stood leaning against the girl's restroom, a light scowl in place of his ordinary smile. Sawyer rolls her eyes, "He's one of the players, didn't the uniform give him away?"

Logan smirks a little and pushes back from the wall to move towards her. "He seems like an idiot, Sawy."

She scoffs, "So do you in the right light."

He can't help but smile back at her, he loves her sharp tongue. Behind them the door to the ladies room opens and Scarlett bounds out, excited to be out so late in the evening. Logan grins and holds his hand out to her but she runs to Sawyer instead. Scarlett can't wait for the day that she's a cheerleader.

"Hey, Girly." Sawyer runs her hand over Scarlett's long hair, "Tell your brother he's a silly idiot."

"You're a silly idiot, Logan." She obliges with a grin as Logan pouts.

Sawyer laughs, her green eyes sparkling up at Logan's dark brown, "You better go get your seats, you don't want to miss me perform."

Logan can't help but agree.

…

Elliot sits in his usual corner of the locker room, leaning forward with his elbows rested on his knees and a paperback in hand. He's not really reading though, despite enjoying the book. His eyes are flicking between the page and to the door, waiting for his Dad and Uncle to arrive and announce the Raven's Captain.

"How can you possibly be reading right now?" Joe Judd drops onto the bench beside his best friend and pushes a hand through his dark hair, a nervous habit he's had for as long as Elliot can remember.

Shrugging, Elliot bookmarks his page and sits it down on the bench. "I'm not. Not really."

Joe nods; he and Elliot have been friends since kindergarten, he knows that the book's just a prop, something for Elliot to do with his hands. The darker haired boy claps his hand on his best mate's shoulder and takes a deep breath, "El, you're gonna be fine. Midnight Madness is like, cheerleading or something; just a pep rally at a weird time of the day. It always feels kind of dumb to me."

Elliot's gaze shifts as the door to the locker room opens, but flicks back when he sees that it's only Griffin, one of the other Ravens players. Well, more than just another player; Griffin Lowe is Elliot's main competition for the Captain spot.

"Ignore him." Joe advises, as Griffin starts telling everyone about his weight training routine.

Elliot rubs at his temples, "Kind of hard to, considering the volume."

"Yeah well, as much as it hurts to say it, we need him on this team." Joe points out. He's right, Elliot reluctantly agrees; Griffin is a great player. He just happens to be an asshole at the same time.

Swallowing thickly, Elliot thinks again about the Captaincy. More than anything else, he doesn't want Griffin to be Captain.

"Will you quit worrying?" Joe nudges his shoulder, "You'll make me nervous for the Madness."

Elliot arches his brow, "I thought you said it was dumb?"

"True. But aren't dumb things usually the things we get nervous about?" Joe shrugs.

With a squint, Elliot grins in his friend's direction, "That's the most profound thing you've ever said."

"Jeez, really?" Joe winces, "That was in no way profound and that was the best I have? Maybe I should read some of those books of yours?"

"Scott." Griffin's clipped tone cuts over Elliot and Joe's conversation. "Shouldn't you be warming up on the sidelines? You cheerleaders go on in five minutes."

Rolling his eyes, Elliot forces his chin up to greet Griffin with a heavy look, "Lowe."

"Oh, no, wait." Griffin coils a grin across his lips, "that's your sister. Man, she is looking hot tonight."

Clenching his jaw, Elliot tells himself not to react; it's just locker room talk. He has no idea why Griffin insists on the trash talk with his own team though, not least on Midnight Madness, a pep rally.

"She said she'll be at my party later." Griffin falls down into a seat on the bench opposite, "Hopefully she'll wear a skirt."

Joe catches Elliot's gaze and tells him silently to let it go. They both know what Griffin is like and he isn't worth it.

"I'm kidding." Griffin says finally, holding up his hands. "Well, not about her being hot but no hard feelings, Man."

Elliot watches carefully as Griffin holds out his hand for him to shake; a truce. Around them the locker room stills. There's been a rivalry between the two boys since they both joined the team, although no one quite knows why. Elliot denies his Dad and Uncle's theory that it's because they're so alike though.

Chewing on the inside of his cheeks, Elliot reluctantly realises that he's going to have to shake Griffin's hand, so as not to be rude or the one causing a problem. As he goes to lift his hand the door to the locker room opens and his Dad and Uncle step into the room.

…

Peyton squeezes past a group of students towards her friends who are already on their feet in the stands, ready for the madness to begin. She waves over to them and they all shuffle along a little to make room for her.

When she's within ear shot of them, Brooke calls over to her from behind a smirk, "Someone's been kissing the coach."

"Ew, Mom!" Davis groans from the stand below, turning to show a full face of disgust. "Don't say that."

Shrugging easily, Brooke grins, "Can't help it if it's true."

Peyton rolls her eyes largely as she reaches her best friend but there's a smile lurking at her lips too, "Maybe it is."

"I knew it!" Brooke gasps happily and claps her hands together as the lights dim and the music begins to build. "Oh, this all makes me so nostalgic; making cheerleading routines, locker room hook-ups and sneaking into the see the boys showering. High School was so fun!"

"Brooke." Peyton warns lightly as both Davis and Jude whirl around wearing identical glares. Peyton can't help from laugh a little at that.

Jude clenches his jaw, "Mom. Please. Don't."

Reaching over, Brooke squeezes his cheeks, "You look adorable when you pout like that, Judey."

"Mom!" He pulls away from her, his cheeks aflame.

She only laughs and turns back to Peyton, "Teasing boys never gets old, does it?"

Peyton arches her brow in amusement; her best friend never changes. And she wouldn't have her any other way. As a drum beat rolls through the room, Brooke reaches out and grasps Peyton's hand in anticipation and Peyton's sure that she has hold of Julian's on her other side. Peyton covers her face with a smile; she really loves how excited her friends are for this.

Along the stand she can hear the clear voices of Quinn, Clay, Haley and Julian all calling out their support for Sawyer as the cheerleaders appear. Peyton picks out Sawyer pretty easily; her blonde curls are loose and wild, a little like Sawyer herself. A broad smile covers Peyton's face, this is it; the beginning of the season. From now on it means spending her Friday nights in slightly smelly but nostalgic gyms, cheering on her family as they do the things they love. Sometimes, like tonight, she'll have her friends with her in the crowd and other times she expects she'll be alone in the crowd; everyone is busy and travelling around the district for high school basketball games isn't a commitment they can all keep to religiously. For her though there's no question of where she'll be. During basketball season she lives and breathes the Tree Hill Ravens. And she adores it. Seeing the enjoyment it brings Luke, Elliot and Sawyer makes all the travelling, all the game talk and all the heaps of blue and white laundry worth it.

She remembers the day Elliot came back from his first day of little league basketball and the way her usually quietly little guy spoke so animatedly all through dinner about his new team. Similarly she can recall both hers and Lucas' surprise the day that Sawyer told them that she'd joined the cheerleading squad, a pretty little proud smile across her lips. She could tell then that they were in love from those first moments.

"Look how cheery our girl is!" Brooke nudges Peyton in the ribs. "I can hardly believe she's your daughter sometimes."

Peyton rolls her eyes but she doesn't mind the comment, she loves that her daughter has a sunnier outlook than she had as a teenager. Raising her hands to cup her mouth, she calls out her daughter's name and feels a blush cross her chest when Sawyer winks back happily.

…

Lucas surveys the faces of his team; boys that he can barely believe are now seniors in high school, just a year away from college. Not only is his little boy sat opposite him in his usual crook of the room, but the faces of his childhood friends are there too. Lucas has known Joseph Judd since he was a smiley kindergartner who took a square of his comfort blanket with him everywhere. He recognises Griffin Lowe too, recalling how he'd pushed Elliot one Sport's Day back when they were little kids running for medals to show off to their parents. And now, suddenly, they're seventeen years old and almost all grown up. For Lucas, high school could almost be yesterday, almost. He can so clearly remember how it felt to sit in this very same locker room, all those years ago, feeling on the edge of everything.

"Midnight Madness." Lucas speaks finally in his crispest tone. "Tonight we are introducing our team to the school and the community. They have all come out in support of you. From right now you represent this team in everything you do. Congratulations, you're a Varsity Tree Hill Raven."

Beside him, Nathan crosses his arms and takes a step forward, "You wear your names on the back of your jerseys. Soon those names will be familiar to everyone sat out in that crowd tonight. Your actions on and off the court represent this team, this school, and even this town. Remember that. I do not want to have to haul one of you off this team for doing something really dumb. You're all good players, that's why you're here."

"But being a good player isn't enough." Lucas warns, continuing in the same tone as his brother, "We want great players. Great players are made of more than talent; they take hard work, dedication, team work. We want a team of great players. That means putting the hours in, balancing your studies and your social life with basketball. And more important than that, it means treating every person in this room like they are your family."

Nathan nods in agreement, "No man left behind. If someone's struggling, we all struggle. That applies on the court and off the court. And our door is always open too. From now on, if you need anything, you look to the faces in this room. Trust us on that. We're not going to wait until the end of the season for you to realise that what we're saying to you tonight is right. Don't waste this time being an idiot, this is the last year that you're all going to be together. Make it count."

"There are two other people we're counting on to make this team the best it can be; your Captain and Vice-Captain." Lucas sees the boys' attention peak at the mention of the very word 'captain', he knows that's what they're all waiting on. "In my hand are two jerseys belonging to the new Cap and Vice. The owners of these jerseys have been chosen carefully, to lead the team and lead by example. Don't let us down."

Lucas flicks his glance to his brother who nods almost invisibly.

"Every member of this team is important." Nathan picks up, "Without everyone sat in this room, we wouldn't be a team. So with team spirit, I'd like you all to join us in congratulating your new Captain and Vice-Captain."

Lucas passes one of the jerseys in his hand to Nathan and they each unveil the fronts of the uniforms, showing the C and VC emblems printed on the chest. They turn them slowly, Lucas with the Captain's jersey in hand, and Nathan with the Vice. Shamelessly, Lucas' eyes are fixed on his son. He feels a swell in his chest as Elliot breaks into a full and consuming smile as he reads the name Scott on the Captain's jersey.

Throwing it out to him, Lucas smiles too, "Well Done, Kid."

Nathan does the same with the Vice jersey, passing it to Griffin Lowe with a sincere nod. The decision was one Lucas and Nathan had argued over; Luke wasn't - and still isn't - a fan of Lowe but Nathan sees a little of himself in the kid. Lucas gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that like him and Nathan, Elliot and Griffin can learn to get along. He knows that if they were to work together, they could build a great team.

After swapping his jersey, Elliot stands and holds out his hand to Griffin to congratulate him. Lucas nods over the exchange, hoping this is the start of a great season.

…

Sawyer pulls herself up out of the splits following the end of the cheerleader's Midnight Madness routine and cheers with the rest of the squad, trying to raise the anticipation of the room even higher. She catches her Mom's face in the crowd, stood next to her Aunt Brooke who's screaming her name loudly, her Mom winks at her and Sawyer tucks away a smile. Despite any impression she may give, Sawyer loves cheerleading. Her Aunt Brooke, having no daughters of her own, passed her passion down to her goddaughter. Sawyer likes choreographing more than anything else - she likes putting anything to music - but she also enjoys being a part of her Dad and brother's world. And although she would never admit it out loud to a single soul, she likes her cheerleading outfit too.

The doors at the far end of the gym are pushed open and her Dad and Uncle Nathan step inside to crazy applause. Her Dad looks serious as ever but Nathan's grinning boyishly, that happens about every time he's near a basketball court though. The butterflies that never showed before her own routine suddenly begin to squirm in Sawyer's stomach, she's so nervous for Elliot.

She hasn't seen much of her big brother all day. Back at the cafe she did steal him away for a couple of minutes to the rooftop to wish him luck but he was quickly pulled away from her by her Uncles. In those few minutes though she'd been able to read him perfectly and so she knows how worried he is. Personally she doesn't get it but they've always been kind of different in that way. Sawyer loves cheerleading but she doesn't care whether she's Captain or not, as long as she's doing it. Elliot though, aches to live up to the name on the back of his jersey, worried that people will judge him against them. Sawyer supposes they will compare him to them, people are dumb like that, but she wishes he didn't let that get to him. Because its important to him though, its important to her too.

Her Dad clears his throat across the room and greets the room with a practised half smirk. The music cuts and he steps forwards to give a short speech to the Ravens supporters.

Sawyer knows every word of it my heart already. Usually her Dad gets her Mom or Elliot to read over his stuff but on this occasion, with a speech, he chose Sawyer. And she was quietly honoured. She's not the grammar perfectionist that Elliot is, nor does she have the creamy compliments of her Mom. But she is honest and she can work a room pretty well.

She mouths along with him, unable to stop herself and she catches her Uncle grinning at her for it. She pokes her tongue out in his direction but his gaze has already moved away. He's frowning towards the exit of the gym, the creases in his brow deepening as he squints. Sawyer copies his action and swivels her head towards what he may be looking at. All she sees though are a few people stood by the doors, listening to her Dad as he speaks.

Shaking her head, she tears her eyes away, back to her Dad who's nearing the end of the speech. Sawyer's butterflies begin to dance more ferociously in the pit of her stomach; in a moment the new Captain is going to be announced.

Her Dad snaps his eyes up at the crowd as they applaud his words and then he holds his hand up to politely quieten their cheers. He grins at their enthusiasm and indicates to the wide banner covering the door to the boys' locker room. The banner, which is Sawyer's handiwork, depicts a Raven in a jersey and shorts, scoring a basketball. She winces a little knowing that any second it's about to be torn in two.

"I would like to introduce you all to your Tree Hill Ravens, and your new Captain…" Her Dad pauses for dramatic effect and Sawyer curses him lightly for it. She hates waiting for things. "Elliot Scott!"

Sawyer breaks into a wide grin as her brother runs through the banner looking sheepish but thrilled all at once. The music crescendos and the crowd erupts into cheers, the loudest of which come from her friends and family.

"Hey!" Nathan's voice rips across the moment, sharp and cutting. Sawyer turns towards him as he starts to run across the gym floor, his face painted with a kind of thunder that she's never witnessed on him before. The whole room stops and the lights go up just as the door at the far end of the gym slams closed. Nathan cries out again in a frustrated tone, "Someone stop her!"

He reaches the doors and hauls them open before disappearing through them as the room watches on, bewildered. A few people trickle out after him but it seems like they have no idea what's made the assistant coach so mad. Her Dad throws his arms out with confusion as the crowd begins to whisper. Slowly the rest of the team begin to dribble through from the locker room, wondering what the hold up is.

Sawyer steps towards her brother and throws him a sad smile for having his moment ruined, "Congratulations, El."

Elliot grins, "Thanks, ET."

She rolls her eyes at the use of the nickname and slugs him lightly on the arm as Joe jogs up to them. "Hey, no fighting! There's enough madness in this place already. I heard Nathan's busting some kids for drugs as we speak."

"Drugs?" Elliot arches his brow as Sawyer frowns.

She's not convinced Nathan would go so crazy for a kid taking drugs and she's not even sure there were any kids over by the door, just some scattered parents, but crazier things have definitely happened at Midnight Madness. As the gym quietly begins to descend into chaos, Sawyer sees her Dad throw his clipboard to the floor in frustration, she can't help but think that maybe Griffin's party might be just what she needs.

…

Peyton hugs her steaming mug of coffee in her hands and flicks her glance over at Nathan who's stood on the other side of the kitchen whispering lowly to Haley. The whole gang are gathered at Clay and Quinn's following Midnight Madness, anxiously waiting on Nathan to explain his freak out at the gym. The kids are in the family room, fighting sleep with the distraction of a movie - save for Elliot and Sawyer who have headed out to a party - whilst the adults are in the kitchen waiting on Quinn to finish putting Scarlett to bed.

"I don't see why this couldn't wait until morning." Brooke yawns, slipping into the vacant seat beside Peyton and checking her cell for the time, "I mean I know it is morning already but I need sleep. I'm not like Elliot and Sawyer anymore, I can't stay out all night and party unfortunately."

"This is hardly a party, Brooke." Nathan says tautly as he leans over the table reaching for a spoonful of sugar.

With an arch of her brow, Brooke looks up at him, "What is this, Boytoy?"

He shakes his head simply and disappears into his coffee cup. Clearly he's not going to say anything until Quinn's back downstairs.

Peyton taps her fingernails on the tabletop impatiently until Lucas covers her hand with his own and stills her with a glance. She's panicking and not trying to hide it.

On the drive over from the school, Lucas told her that he thought Nathan must have seen a journalist. She can't bring herself to agree though. She knows the team well enough and they seem like great kids, she can't see that a journalist could find a juicy story there, nor can she imagine Nathan acting so madly over an article. Rarely has she ever seen Nathan act so shaken, save for a few meetings with Dan Scott which of course is completely excusable, the whole thing has left her with a queasy feeling in her stomach.

"Okay, I'm here! Scarlett's asleep. What's the crack?" Quinn says breathily as she pours herself a tea and looks pointedly to Nathan.

Realising that he has no more excuses to hide behind, Nathan takes a deep breath. Clay claps him on the back for good measure and the younger Scott brother throws him back a dark look.

"Right, so, I guess I was just looking out at the crowd whilst Luke was doing his thing," Nathan begins unsteadily, his eyes cast downwards. "And I saw this face and I wasn't sure, I mean I'm still not sure, what I saw but…I think it was her,"

Lucas swallows thickly, "Her, who?"

Peyton knows before the words the words leave his mouth. She knows, as soon as Nathan's sharp blue eyes snap up to meet hers. She knows who he saw.

He takes a moment to answer and when he does the name rings in Peyton's ear, "Lindsey. It was Lindsey."

Every eye in the room falls over Lucas and Peyton, watching and worrying over their reaction. Peyton doesn't move; she takes a deep breath in and out and forces back any tears that might be threatening in her eyes. Next to her she can feel Lucas tensing up. She turns her gaze to see his jaw locking and his eyes storming.

"You think you saw her?" Lucas asks tightly. "Or you saw her?"

Running a hand through his hair, Nathan rolls his shoulders, "I don't know, man. It's been so long but, it looked like her."

"Then you're not sure." Lucas clarifies through a nod, squinting his eyes darkly.

"Luke," Peyton's voice is notably soft against her husband's.

She squeezes his hand and looks to him desperately. This is their nightmare come true; the thing that's kept them awake at night on-or-off for sixteen years. She's imagined this moment a thousand different ways, created the scenario hundreds of times over in her mind but never has she come close to capturing the emotion that she's feeling right now. She feels empty and full all at once; about to lose everything but prepared to fight for everything and everyone she loves.

"Lucas." She says more forcefully, trying to temp his gaze back to her.

Instead he stands from the table and runs his hand along his stubbled jaw, "Why would she come here? After all this time of not giving a damn about him? It wasn't her, Nathan. You have to have been mistaken. It wasn't her, okay?"

"I'm pretty sure, Lucas." Nathan says thickly. "I mean, why would someone run off like that unless they have something to hide?"

Haley reaches out for her husband's hand as Brooke and Julian move their eyes back and forth between Lucas and Peyton. Clay and Quinn share a look, more than anyone else they can appreciate how the two blondes in the kitchen feel.

Peyton reaches out for Lucas' hand, "Come and sit down. Please."

Lucas turns back to her and her heart constricts at the glaze covering his eyes. "Peyt,"

"She's back." Peyton says slowly in a brittle voice. She knows that Lucas wants to deny it, and she does too, but something inside her knows that Nathan is right about what he saw. Lindsey's here.

Exhaling largely, Quinn sets her coffee cup down on the table and move towards the cabinet. She reaches up and produces a bottle of whiskey, "Coffee isn't going to cut it for this conversation."

Julian finds some glasses by way of response and together they begin to pour and pass the drinks out. Lucas takes the first one and swallows it down in one large gulp. Peyton watches him carefully and ignores her own drink.

"It's good for shock." Clay tells her, nodding to the drink.

Softly she shakes her head, "One of us has to drive home."

"I can give you a ride." Julian offers simply.

Lucas holds his own glass out for a top up causing Peyton to scowl over at him, "Drinking isn't going to make this go away, Lucas."

"Neither is not drinking." Lucas shoots back a little sharply before remembering himself. He sighs and glances to her sideways, "I'm sorry. How can you be so calm about this?"

She rolls her shoulders and tilts her head, "I don't know. Because I'm scared?"

"Come here, Blondie." He pulls her towards him in a one-armed hug and presses a kiss to her curls. "It's going to be okay."

"It is?" She asks lightly, her lips feigning a smile.

Lucas slips his hand around hers and brings it to his lips, lying a kiss over her knuckles. She looks back at him, over their hands and looks right into his red rimmed eyes. "He's our son, Peyton and she can't change that, not now."

…

Thank you so much for reading :)

Just a quick question, would anyone happen to know if Lydia would be in the same grade as Davis and Jude? I know that the OTH timeline is crazy as it is but I've worked everyones ages out as best I can, the only thing I'm not sure about is the American school system. If someone could help me out with that I'd be hugely appreciative.

Lexie :)