Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Peyton was still feeling shaky from her encounter with Lucas when Jake arrived.
"Hey Peyt, what's wrong?" Jake asked, noticing her fragile state. Peyton felt her eyes well up with tears. She didn't think she had the strength to tell him.
"Lucas wants some sort of custody arrangement with Lauren." She finally got out between sobs.
"Okay, that sounds fair, what's the problem?" Jake asked. How could Peyton explain to him that her worst fears were coming true?
"She's my daughter Jake! I raised her!" Peyton cried.
"Peyton, I'm sure he only wants every other weekend or something, its not the end of the world." Jake said with confusion. Peyton knew she was sounding paranoid but she couldn't help it.
"He's not Nikki and he's not Dan, Peyton. Lauren will be safe with him." He added softly. He looked so concerned for her. It was driving her crazy. She shook her head to clear it.
"You didn't hear him Jake. He sounded like Dan. He was mean and cold and I didn't know him." Peyton said, feeling a cold chill run up her spine at the memory.
"Hey, come here, it'll be okay. He was probably just frustrated. It's a tough situation for everybody. Give him some time to cool down." Jake said soothingly. Peyton curled up in his arms and felt safe.
"So, I was thinking about a spring wedding. I know its cliché and all, but its probably the soonest we could be ready." Jake said with a smile.
Peyton was torn. One part of her was saying YES! She wanted to marry Jake and tomorrow felt like too long to wait. However, another part of her thought they were rushing things a bit. That sounded silly to her since they had been together for years, not counting when they were kids.
"That sounds great. I'll call the church tomorrow and get a date booked." She said with a small smile.
They spent the rest of the evening hashing out details. Finally Peyton realized it was getting late and Lauren still hadn't come home.
"What time did Jenny say she'd be home?" Peyton asked Jake.
"She said she wouldn't be super late, probably 1am or so." He replied, glancing at his watch. It read 1:47am.
"Maybe she crashed at my house." Jake said. Peyton went to the phone to call.
"Hey, I'll just head home and check it out. I'll give you a call." Jake offered. Peyton nodded. She was fiddling with her hands. She couldn't sit still. She began pacing and alternating between watching the clock and the door.
Finally after the minutes began feeling like hours, the phone rang.
"Please God let her by safe,." Peyton prayed before answering.
"Hello?" Peyton answered.
"Its me, she's here, they're asleep. I'll uh, have her call you in the morning." Jake offered.
"Nah, its okay, just tell her to come straight home after practice tomorrow." Peyton said. Hanging up she felt all the tension drain out of her.
Lauren was usually so responsible. Peyton didn't know how to deal with this new, rebellious Lauren. Then again, she and Lauren had never really fought before. The got along better than most teenagers and their mothers. At least Peyton thought so. Maybe that was why she was so afraid of Lucas wanting to spend time with Lauren. Maybe she was scared of the influence Brooke could have over her daughter. What if Brooke tried to punish Peyton by mistreating Lauren or worse tryed to be "fun". Peyton had too many memories of the "fun Brooke" and she didn't want her daughter exposed to that.
Knowing she was too wound to sleep she decided to go for a drive. She drove down by the River court, over near the high school, past Jake's house and finally ended up on Lucas's street. She saw the lights on in his house and decided to stop.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, seeing Peyton standing at his door. Peyton wasn't entirely sure why she had stopped, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
"I'm sorry, come in. Brooke's in Paris, Charity's still out and I'm an insomniac." Lucas joked, holding the door open for her. Peyton smiled and walked in. She could immediately see Brooke's taste in the decorations.
Once they were settled in the living room, Lucas asked once again,
"So, what's wrong?"
Peyton bit her lip. She had just wanted to see him, she didn't really have anything to say to him.
"Jake and I are getting married." She blurted out. Why did she tell him that? Part of her was hoping he'd react with jealousy. She was horrified at that thought, as if he would care anyway.
"Wow, Congratulations. I didn't know you guys were that serious." Lucas said slowly.
"Well, we weren't." Peyton admitted.
"Jake wants to though, and I love him, so we're getting married this spring." She finished with a smile.
"So you didn't want to get married?" Lucas asked. Was it Peyton's imagination or was there a brief flicker of hope in his eyes?
Standing in the doorway, Brooke watched the scene unfolding between the two of them.
"Well, well, well, good thing I came home early. Who knows how many more children you would have had, had I stayed the full two weeks." Brooke said, her silky voice sounding dangerously calm.