Greetings, old Friends. Chapter 13.

A quick recap, as it has been 80 gazillion years since my last update.

Elliot sent Lindsey away, but has kept hold of the letter she left him - still unread. Lindsey however has not skipped town as Peyton has put her up in Larry's beach house. Haley and Quinn took her groceries, Haley more enthusiastically than Quinn however.

At Lacey's insistence Elliot and Sawyer are hosting a party to try and cheer them up, and it seems Lacey has a crush.

And Lucas took Peyton for her breast screening.

Lastly, but most importantly, this is for Kellyyy. To whom I have been the worst, I am sorry I missed your DM, Lovely.

...

Lydia sighs and rolls back on her chair from her desk. She has no inspiration for her latest article in the school paper and although she has no other plans, it's Friday night and she feels that's cause enough for a break.

She slips from her seat and pads out of her room for a drink. On the way she passes by her parents room, surprised to hear them both inside, almost arguing.

Although she knows she shouldn't, she pauses at the door and peers inside. Due to her light-footed nature and ability to keep a secret, no one really knows about Lydia's tremendous flair for eavesdropping. It's probably why she still gets away with it. Her parents never think to close a door or wait until she's out of the house to discuss things. They've always been this way, thinking that she would never listen in. That always makes her feel guilty but she reminds herself that this is just stuff that they would willingly tell Jamie. They had him when they were just kids themselves and he was always around them hearing things beyond his years. Lydia though, has always had to work harder for any kind of information.

Her Dad is pacing the foot of the bed and her Mom is sat at her dressing table, fiddling with her hair. As far as Lydia knows, her Mom isn't headed out so this is probably just to give her hands something to do.

"I just don't understand," Nathan says with a shake of his head and Lydia can tell she's turned up midway through the conversation.

Haley throws her hands up, "I'm not asking you to understand. It's just something I did and I don't want you to go mad."

"I'm not mad." Nathan says, but both of the Scott women watching him know that's not true.

"Nathan," Haley lifts from her seat and stands before her husband, blinking up at him expectantly, "I know you're mad at me, for fraternising with Lindsey-,"

Both Nathan and Lydia take a sharp intake of breath at the mere mention of Lindsey's name.

"But I was just trying to help. Me taking groceries to her means that Lucas and Peyton don't have to."

Nathan pulls a face, "The last thing on Luke's mind is getting a care package for her."

"Maybe." Haley's voice is just a soft whisper, "But if it keeps Lindsey out of the supermarket, the town, anywhere that Elliot may be, then it was worth it."

In response Nathan leans down and presses a kiss into his wife's hair. "Why didn't you just tell me? I had to hear it from Clay and pretend like I knew already."

"I don't know," Haley admits, "I guess I just thought you wouldn't like it. I know you want nothing to do with her. I didn't want to disappoint you."

Nathan frowns, "Hey, you couldn't disappoint me. You're a better person than all of us for reaching out to her."

"I don't know about that." Haley says with a shake of her head, "I think Peyton's probably a better person than all of us for letting her stay at Larry's place."

"Yeah," Nathan's brow creases further, "I did not see that coming. I totally thought Peyton would be the one to chase her out of town."

Lydia steps back from the door, her eyes wide. She knows exactly where Lindsey is.

...

Lucas arches his brow as Peyton reaches to the top shelf of the glass cabinet and pulls down two margarita glasses. It reminds him of a time before the kids and chaos, when Mexican night always came with dirty margaritas. Nowadays they tend to stick with a beer or even just a soda like Elliot and Sawyer.

"We've been stood up." Peyton elaborates, pushing a wisp of hair behind her hair to better see the settings on the blender.

Lucas throws his hands out, "It's Fajita Friday, where are they?"

Peyton shrugs as she pours in the ice, "You know, being kids. I think Lacey's having a party, I decided I didn't want to know too much."

"Ye-ah, maybe I didn't even want to know that." Lucas winces. He knows that he and Peyton were out partying at their age, but it doesn't mean he likes that their kids are now doing it. He can recall all too clearly the trouble they got themselves into.

Peyton laughs back at him and blends the mixture. She then salts the glasses and pours one each.

"Have a drink," Peyton suggests, sliding a glass across the counter towards him with a grin.

Suddenly a night in alone with his wife doesn't look so bad.

"I suppose we could-," Lucas trailing his fingertips up her arm seductively but is then interrupted by a thrashing sounding knock at the door.

Peyton holds up a finger as though just remembering something, "That'll be Brooke, she wanted to borrow the giant jenga stuff for The Games."

Lucas sighs back at her a little, knowing that Brooke has never just popped to theirs for two minutes. She always stays for a little gossip, for a drink, or maybe a quick plate of their dinner. He doesn't ordinarily mind at all; she's one of the family after all, but tonight was looking like one of those rare nights he and Peyton would be spending alone.

...

Lydia bikes over to the rivercourt, faster than she thinks she's ever biked anywhere before. In fact, ordinarily she would avoid cycling all together. Two wheels is not a lot of balance; trucks drive by really, really fast; and the seat is so uncomfortable.

When she reaches the court she's greeted by Davis and Jude sporting identical looks of confusion.

"Hey, Diddy-Lyddie." Davis says, almost through a laugh, "Are you lost?"

Beside him Jude inclines his head, "Yeah, what are you doing here?"

Lydia rolls her eyes as she dismounts her bike - thankfully without falling. "I'm not lost, I'm looking for Elliot, I thought he'd more likely be here than at home."

"He was here, a while back." Jude says, confirming she was right to try the court. "He had to go, he and Sawyer are throwing a party tonight."

"And he said we're not invited." Davis scoffed, obviously less than impressed with this snub.

"Oh," Lydia falters then. She doesn't know the protocol on delivering runaway mother's locations. Should it wait until after a Friday night party?

Davis stutters a laugh, "Oh?"

"Yeah," Lydia shakes her head, "It's just that, well, I've found...her, I know where she is."

Jude and Davis share an identical look of puzzlement.

"Um, who, exactly?" Davis asks, pounding his basketball against the asphalt.

Lydia rolls her eyes dramatically, "Lindsey! The only 'who' that we're looking for."

Jude frowns up at her from his spot on the grass, "Were we supposed to actually be looking for her? Because like, I think I was just planning on staying the hell out of it."

Davis raises his hand and nods, "Yes, I vote for that idea; staying out of it."

The twins laugh together as Lydia sets her jaw, "This is not funny. You guys, she's here. She's in Tree Hill."

"How do you know?" Jude asks, his interest piqued slightly.

Lydia struggles with herself a moment, never wishing to have to explain anything more than once, knowing that when she finds Elliot she'll have to repeat everything, "I overheard my Mom and Dad sort of arguing about it."

Davis narrows his eyes, "Arguing?"

"Yeah," Lydia feels embarrassed but she's not sure why. Parents argue all the time, she guesses, she just doesn't like admitting that hers do it too. "Mom went over to Lindsey and took her groceries, my Dad was pretty mad at first; he didn't get why she would help Lindsey out. Mom said she did it to make sure that Lindsey didn't go out into town and run into Elliot."

"So where is she?" Jude asks, never liking an unsolved mystery.

Lydia shifts her glance between the boys, "She's at Larry's beach house."

The boys both stare back at her in disbelief until Davis begins to chuckle, "Why would Larry let Lindsey live there? That, that makes no sense."

"Peyton actually offered Lindsey to stay there." Lydia explains.

"That makes less sense." Jude muses, "But none of this makes any sense so what the hell; sure, why not."

Lydia rolls her eyes, "But do I tell him?"

The boys share a look and Lydia can tell they're doing that twin thing where they have a conversation with each other without actually saying a word.

Finally Davis turns back to her and shrugs, "It's what he wanted, I guess."

"And Sawyer," Jude reminds her, remembering how adamant Sawyer was to be kept up to date.

"Yeah, don't forget to ruin her day with it too." Davis adds, helpfully.

Lydia looks back at them desperately, "When do I tell them though? They're throwing a party tonight, right?"

"That's our excuse to go!" Davis exclaims excitedly, he wants for nothing more than to go to a real high school rager, like the kind he's sure Sawyer is capable of putting together.

"Davis." Jude berates. He can see how serious this whole thing is and how it should overshadow Davis; desire to party.

In response Davis shakes his head, "Okay, sorry, but seriously, Lyddie doesn't want to sit on this all night. The sooner they know the better and a party will help; it's a distraction."

Jude narrows his eyes at his brother's logic but to his surprise Lydia is nodding along.

"I need to just do it already." Lydia says by way of agreement.

...

The trio of Lydia, Davis and Jude, having pulled their bikes up onto the porch, pause in front of the door to their cousins' house, suddenly nervous.

"Are you sure the party's here?" Jude asks his brother, as the house before them is suspiciously quiet. There is some music playing inside but it's not particularly loud and it doesn't appear that there are many people inside.

Davis shrugs, "It's early. Most parties don't start until like, eleven or midnight."

"And you'd know that, right?" Jude mocks his brother, knowing that he's never actually been to a real high school party.

"Guys." Lydia cuts through their bickering, takes a deep breath and presses the bell. "It's better the party hasn't started yet."

They wait in an nervous silence until the silhouette of a figure grows behind the glass and the latch is clicked. The door is pulled open and the music from inside greets them warmly, but the face is one they hadn't been expecting.

"Uncle Lucas!" Lydia cries out in surprise, unable to hide her shock.

He chuckles and frowns back at his niece, "Yes. I do live here."

Beside her she can feel a similar sense of confusion drifting from the boys. She assumes Lucas and Peyton must have found out about the party and put a stop to it. That's okay, it's better almost, except that she didn't count on her Aunt and Uncle being here when she spoke to Elliot and Sawyer.

"You're here for your Mom, right?" Lucas asks and Lydia blinks back at him, only to see he's looking at the twins. "She and Peyton got talking about The Games and she's drunk my share of the Margaritas. Sorry if it's made your dinner late."

He steps aside to let them inside and they move forward in a haze. This is not what they anticipated at all.

"Brooke!" Lucas calls down the hall before padding back towards the kitchen where the unmistakable sound of Brooke's cackling laughter can be heard. "The boys are here for you!"

Now that they're alone Lydia turns sharply to the twins, "What is going on?"

"Beats me." Davis shrugs, "But I think Mom's drunk."

"Thanks, Sherlock," Lydia rolls her eyes, "About the party though, I'm thinking they found out and now your Mom and Aunt P are drinking the alcohol instead?"

"I don't get it," Jude says with a shake of his head, "Lacey literally just posted on Instagram reminding everyone to come. Look,"

He holds his phone up to Lydia who frowns at the picture of a flyer that is clearly Sawyer's handiwork. She scrutinises the image and then her jaw drops. "You idiots!"

"Hey!" Davis moans.

"Look at the address!" Lydia hisses, "Look at the damn address!"

The boys go to reread but she realises that will take longer than her just telling them what they've missed.

"The party's at the Beach House!"

"What party?" Lucas' voice is crisp but weighted with an authority that tells the kids they need to confess.

...

Earlier

...

Lindsey pauses and presses a bookmark into the book that she hadn't really been reading. She'd picked up the familiar novel from Larry's bookshelf to try and give herself a distraction, surprised to find one of her favourite books amongst the manuals, fishing and cookery books. She suspects that it may not belong to Larry himself, knowing that the family make use of the place in the summer too. A ripple had run through her at the thought that maybe it was Elliot's and he may share her love of Dickens. Then she had reminded herself that even if that were true, it didn't matter if he didn't want to see her. Nothing really did.

As she sets the book down on the coffee table she's startled by the sound of a car engine roaring down the usually quiet winding street. Her stomach lurches at the noise which she notes to be distinctly vintage.

Standing, she peers out of the window and sees the car slam to a stop outside the house. A familiar head of blonde hair steps from the vehicle and slams the driver's door.

Subconsciously Lindsey runs a hand through her hair; Peyton always brings out a distinct insecurity in her.

She hears the scratch of a key in the lock and feels her hackles rising. She knows that this is Peyton's house - technically it's Larry's but in his absence it's essentially Peyton's - but naively maybe she'd expected for her to at least knock. That alone makes Lindsey dread the reason for the visit all the more.

"Peyton?" She calls out, as she hears the sound of the door being kicked shut.

In response there's a noise like a firework exploding and the sudden drop of a swear word, "Shit."

Lindsey's eyes go wide as she rushes towards the sound. But her shock is not at the mess of a gallon of cola exploding all over the kitchenette but at the sight of a certain other blonde Scott woman stood before her.

It's not Peyton visiting the beach house, but her daughter.

Sawyer.

The teenager stares back at Lindsey with eyes full of shock and fury.

Lindsey's first thought, rather than sheer panic, is marvel at how Sawyer is the absolute image of her mother. She saw her at Haley's cafe previously but she'd been ashamedly distracted by another face at the time; the one of her little boy. Now that Sawyer has her full attention she can appreciate how every inch of the girl is her mother's reflection. Instantly this girl of seventeen makes Lindsey feel as unconfident as Peyton always has.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sawyer greets, none too warmly. Her green stare so piercing, and so like Peyton's.

Lindsey is frozen. This is not how this was supposed to go.

"Is Elliot with you?" Lindsey asks, her voice shaking. It's the first thought that occurs to her. She doesn't know what she wants the answer to be, but she knows she needs to ask.

"No." Sawyer says and seems to gather herself somewhat, "And he sure as hell won't come now, knowing you're here."

Lindsey tries not to show any hurt in her face but she doubts she succeeds. She knows that Sawyer's lashing out but her words still hurt her. She's always been ridiculously over sensitive.

"Why are you here?" Lindsey asks in finally a thankfully level voice. She now notices that it's not just the one bottle of drink that Sawyer brought in with her; there are a couple of crates down at the door as well as the exploded gallon bottle of soda.

She suspects maybe Sawyer is here to throw a party.

"I asked first." Sawyer returns. "And I'm allowed to be here anyway, it's my Grandpas house."

Lindsey nods firmly, "I was just staying here a while, out of town."

"Not far enough out of town." Sawyer retorts. "Elliot told you to go, why aren't you gone?"

Her voice quivers and Lindsey finally recognises the fear beneath the girl's cool exterior.

"It's complicated." Lindsey ventures, unconsciously wringing her hands together.

"It's not." Sawyer says defiantly, there are tears in her eyes but an edge back in her voice, "It's easy. You need to leave, now. You can't be here, you shouldn't be here. Go."

Lindsey falters, she desperately wants to call Peyton to help her explain her way out of this. But she can't, she knows. Instead she has to fight her own battle.

She thinks of what Haley told her; they all need to believe she's here for Elliot and know that she won't run. She needs to stand her ground now and show Sawyer that that's true.

As she goes to form her argument though, Sawyer has seemingly had enough of words and launches the remains of the exploded cola drink towards Lindsey. A shower of sticky brown liquid falls over Lindsey as she gasps in shock. She blinks rapidly to try and stop it from pouring into her eyes and frantically rubs her hands over her face.

"I really meant it when I said leave." Sawyer says, her voice shaking clearly now.

Lindsey, trying hard not to cry grabs her keys from the counter and storms out, leaving everything she brought behind her. She needs to get away from Sawyer before she says something the girl could use against her or Sawyer does something worse than shower her in Pepsi.

Sawyer stands shaking until she sees Lindsey stutter her car off the property and drive away. Once the car's out of sight Sawyer lets the tears come. She's never been so scared and angry all at once. Never in a million years did she think Lindsey would still be in Tree Hill. Never did she think that she would be staying at her Grandpa's house. Never did she think she would run into her on her own, unprepared.

She should call Elliot. She should call her parents. She should call off the party. She should do something responsible and grown up. But she doesn't. Instead she stomps back to her car and carries on unloading the party supplies. She will not let Lindsey ruin everything. She's here for a party and she's now in the mood to get good and drunk.

...

"We are so late," Joe comments, driving towards the party with Elliot in the passenger seat, "Sawyer is going to go off."

"Nah," Elliot shakes his head, "She wanted to set it all up, she probably won't even notice we're not there yet."

Joe shrugs and then throws his friend a coy smile, "Sawyer might not notice but Lacey sure will. That girl has got it bad for you, and is not subtle."

Elliot can't help but grin back. He doesn't know how he feels about Lacey; he's known her since she was a little kid and he's never really noticed her before. Not in that way anyway. But she's sweet and pretty, and bubbly. Maybe he'll see how tonight goes and maybe even take her on a date sometime. He's sure Sawyer won't mind. It's nice to have the distraction from the whole Mom drama. Lacey may have been onto something with this party idea.

"You like her!" Joe marvels and then laughs, "This could be great night."

Feeling suddenly nervous, Elliot tries to shrug the idea away, "Nah, tonight is just everyone having some fun."

"Dude, what part of making out with Lacey doesn't sound like fun?" Joe questions as he takes the turn towards the Beach House.

"Yeah, alright." Elliot rolls his eyes.

Joe finds a space to park that isn't too far from the house and they amble towards the picturesque property that's been decorated in fairy lights and a smattering of teenagers.

As they approach the porch Lacey rushes at them, taking the wooden steps two at a time, her arms flailing to get their attention despite her outfit being eye-catching enough. She's in tiny denim shorts and the pinkest, glitteriy-est top Elliot thinks he's ever seen, her hair is in long braids and her face has glitter painted all around her eyes, in case, he assumes, the top wasn't enough sparkle.

"Elliot!" She calls out and Joe turns to him, his eyebrows shot up to his brow at how keen Lacey seems.

"Dude," He mutters with a shake of his head and offers a short wave to say he's leaving them to it.

"Lacey," Elliot stutters a laugh but his smile drops when he reads her anguished expression when she's upon him. Her hands clasp his arms and her eyes are wide and searching. "Lacey, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to be the one to tell you this but Sawyer is beyond drunk so I feel like I've got to." Lacey says desperately.

Elliot frowns and indicates for them to take a seat on the porch steps in the relative quiet away from the centre of the celebrations.

"Sawyer's drunk?" He asks for clarification. He's been to enough parties with his little sister in tow to know that it's highly unusual for her to drink too much. She doesn't like the feeling of not being in control, in fact she hates it.

"Yeah." Lacey chews on her thumbnail and turns her big doe eyes to him, "She, um, I mean, when she got here she, um, God, I don't think I should be the one to tell you this but I think that you should know and everything,"

"Lacey, please just tell me, whatever it is." Elliot requests. He hates things being drawn out; he prefers things direct and to the point, as clear as possible. That, and Lacey is making him worry a little.

"It's," She glances down to her knees and looks a breath away from crying, "Okay, so when Sawyer got here she found your, I mean, she found that Lindsey lady here. She's been staying here, I guess? And I'm so sorry, Elliot, I am."

He tries to process what Lacey's telling him, but he can't. He can't believe that it can be true. There's no way that his Grandpa Larry would let Lindsey stay here...would he?

Elliot feels betrayed. He and his Grandpa have a special kind of relationship; they take fishing trips together, and enjoy the quiet, they just get each other. He can't believe that his Grandpa would do this and not take the time out to tell him or even call him at all.

"Elliot?" Lacey's voice drifts back to him and he wipes a hand under his nose, ashamed that he feels so upset. "Sawyer's a real mess about it too. I'm so sorry."

At her comments he frowns, wondering what happened when Sawyer found Lindsey and why she didn't call him. Why hasn't she told him what she found?

"Where is Sawyer?" Elliot asks abruptly and Lacey gapes momentarily shocked by his sharpness.

"I guess she's inside." Lacey manages to which Elliot jumps up and heads for the door.

He hears Lacey calling after him but doesn't look back. He wrenches open the front door and the sanctuary of his Grandpa's home comes into focus; the kitchenette which is usually immaculate thanks to Larry's practical order of things is littered with bottles, chip packets and spillages; the lounge area is full of bodies, and a couple are even making out on the couch. When he spots the familiar framed photo he has to swallow down a lump in his throat; it's from a summer when he was a kid and he's holding aloft a huge carp with Larry smiling proudly behind him.

Shaking his head, Elliot scans the room for Sawyer but it's clear she's not there and so he stalks through the rest of the house until he finds her leaning over the veranda overlooking the ocean.

"Hey," He sidles up beside her but has to nudge her shoulder to get her attention.

She turns and her green eyes take a moment to focus and take him in. "Elliot."

He sighs at her drunken demeanour.

"Guess what?" She asks, her voice laced with a bitter undertone. "You will actually never believe this. Never. Never in a million years."

"Lacey told me." He says slowly, "She told me Lindsey was here."

Sawyer looks a little put out that her guessing game has been ruined and then shakes her head, "Right. Yeah. Here, in Grandpa's house. And she was just reading a fucking book, chilling out like, like she's at a retreat or something. Like she's doing nothing wrong! So I threw a load of Pepsi over her, right over her head and everything. Then she finally left."

Sawyer seems satisfied with the conclusion of her story but Elliot feels a rising anger.

"What gave you the right?" He asks. He hates that she did that. He hates that she's drunk. He hates that he didn't know any of this.

She turns, offended, "What? We are talking about the same person right?"

"She's my..." He falters, she's his what? His mess, his problem, his..., "She's my mother. Right? Not yours. She's my decision. It's not up to you. Or Gramps. Or anyone. How dare you, Sawyer."

Sawyer stares back at him, shocked, and feels the hot, quick threat of tears in her eyes. "What? Elliot?"

She cries out but he's already gone, storming back inside the house. She covers her face with her hands and shakes with tears. They've never really fought before, not properly, and she hates it. More so though, she hates Lindsey for causing all of this.

"He's an asshole."

Sawyer jumps and drops her hands, to see Griffin Lowe now stood at her side.

"I mean, I know he's your brother and all, but he can be a real asshole." Griffin continues, "Looks like you guys had a fight?"

She falters for a moment, "Yeah, yeah we did."

"You okay?" Griffin asks, his eyes looking to her concerned.

"Um, no." She replies honestly.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No." Her answer is firm and causes him to laugh for some reason.

"Tequila it is then." He offers and she thinks he might be right.

...

Lucas expertly navigates the dark beach roads as Peyton sits beside him, fretting.

Lydia and the twins had reluctantly explained about the party that Elliot and Sawyer were throwing at the Beach House, filling the two parents with dread. They'd left Brooke and the kids without much of a goodbye to head straight down to the house to find out what had happened. Peyton had tried to call both the kids endlessly but neither of them were answering their cells.

"They are going to hate me for this." Peyton says, her voice full of fret.

Lucas reaches out to squeeze her hand, "You were doing what you thought was best. They will get it."

"Will they?" Peyton questions, clearly not so sure.

"Of course they will." Lucas says firmly. It doesn't matter that he wouldn't have done what Peyton did; he sees that she needs him to assure her right now. "They are good kids."

Peyton nods, "They don't deserve this."

"People don't get what they deserve." Lucas says, a little darkly. "But we'll do whatever we need to do to get them through it."

"Oh God," Peyton's attention strays from the conversation when her Dad's house comes into view. Every light is on, the street is a mess of cars and music is screaming from the walls. Teenagers are scattered everywhere; drinking and smoking.

"Right." All at once Lucas' demeanour changes from parent to teacher mode. He pulls up, cuts the engine and pulls a scowl to his face.

Peyton watches and realises she should do something similar. She composes herself momentarily and then follows him as he paces towards the house.

Inside he storms to the music station and aggressively pulls the plug as Peyton tries not to focus too much on the mess and possible damage caused.

"This party is over." Lucas says loudly, his brow frowning over the kids who all recognise him as the coach.

Instantly bodies begin to scatter and make their way home, or perhaps onto another party.

Going against the grain, Peyton moves through the house, looking for any sign of Elliot and Sawyer.

"Coach!" A familiar voice calls to Lucas and both parents turn to see Joe Judd, Elliot's best friend, beckoning them to the bathroom urgently. "I just found her in the bedroom,"

Peyton and Lucas rush to the bathroom where they find Sawyer leaning lazily against the toilet, heaving and moaning.

"Oh God," Peyton rushes forward and pulls her blonde curls out of her face, "Come on, Baby, throw it all up."

"How much has she had?" Lucas asks Joe, although it's clear it's too much.

"I don't know, Coach. She was drinking with Lowe. She fell on the steps out back and I brought her in here to try and get her to sober up or throw up." Joe explains succinctly.

Lucas nods, his heart breaking at the sight of his little girl in such a state. Lucas pushes his hand back through his hair, "Okay, okay. And where's Elliot?"

Joe sighs and Lucas can tell that he's not going to like the answer. "He took off. I think Lacey went after him."

At that Peyton glances up, desperately, her glassy green eyes searching her husband's equally desperate expression, "What do we do, Luke?"

"Um, can you call him, Joe? See if he answers for you?" Lucas instructs before crouching down in front of Sawyer. He holds her chin in his hand as Peyton quite literally holds her up in a seated position. "Sawyer? Sawyer." Lucas sighs and pulls her eyelids up a little to check her pupils. "We need to get her home."

"No answer from Elliot." Joe interjects.

"Okay," Peyton nods, "Thanks, Joe. For looking after Sawyer and everything. You can get off now, we got it from here."

He nods and retreats from the room, knowing that Sawyer's in safe hands now.

Peyton lets Sawyer lean back against her and strokes her hair, "Baby, come on, we're here now, you're going to be okay, just bring it all up if you need."

"She's not responding at all." Lucas tells his wife flatly, causing a tear in Peyton's eye.

Just as Peyton's about to ask again what they should do, Sawyer's whole body weight slumps back against her chest.

"Sawyer? Oh God," Peyton cries out on realising she's passed out. She helps as Lucas lies Sawyer down flat and tries to wake her.

Lucas' brow is pinched but determined, "Sawyer Scott, come on, you're scaring us now."

"Sweetheart!" Peyton cries as she shakes her little girl to try and inspire her awake.

Dipping his head, Lucas listens for his daughter's breaths and presses his fingers to her wrist for her pulse. Peyton's eyes widen in shock that he could possibly think this is that serious. She's just drunk.

"Luke?" She asks breathily.

"Just checking." He sighs, sounding just as terrified, "Look, I know her heart sounds okay but I don't want to chance it. I think we should get her to the Emergency Room."

Peyton stares to him, dumbfounded, "But you've never had an issue with your HCM while drinking? Right? I mean, I know its a drug and all, but, oh god, what if she's taken drugs too? Can that have an effect?"

"I don't know," Lucas said, already slipping his arm under Sawyer's knees and shoulders to lift her, bridal style, "But I am not taking any chances."

Sawyer had been formally diagnosed with HCM a little after her fifteenth birthday, although they'd had their suspicions since the incident in Nathan and Haley's pool years before. Lucas had taken the news the hardest, feeling responsible for inflicting this upon his daughter who could only have got the gene from him.

It scared them every day, terrified them, but never as much as right now, when their daughter was passed out drunk, not showing any responsive signs.

...

So, Sawyer's in trouble and Elliot is missing. Lacey had such good intentions, bless her!

Thanks for reading, hopefully it won't be as long for an update next time!