Disclaimer: I only own the storylines, all rights go to their rightful owners.
This isn't a long chapter like you are probably used to, it's more of just a filler chapter.
Three hours of sleep, two gallons of water, a large number of little white pills... and Jamie's head was still bursting. He wanted to be at home—in the bed, under the covers. But, he wasn't, currently, the teenager was walking into the only hospital in Tree Hill.
He didn't know Keith, had never met him—but he did know Lucas and Lily, and despite the current hangover he was experiencing he knew he had to be here.
Jamie caught a glimpse of himself through one of the large windows as he walked down the long hallway, normally he never left the house without a pair of jeans on or something that made him halfway preventable. But, today he wore one of the many shirts he had bought at a footlocker, a pair of jogger pants, and shoes whiter than the floor.
He barely recognized himself as he strolled, and apparently same went for his family as he cut around the corner to find most of his relatives sitting in a waiting room.
"How is he"? Jamie asked immediately as he approached his parents who sat next to Lucas.
The sound of Jamie's hoarse voice made his family jump.
"Erm—they are running tests," Lucas said as Jamie sat down across from them. "We haven't even got to see him, Deb is with him. They are running brain scans, I mean you name it they are back there doing it".
"Just out of curiosity who made the judgment call that nanny Deb was the best person to have back there with him"?
"The doctors," Nathan told his son. "She was there when he woke up, she is a familiar face—they haven't told him anything yet. As of right now he is in good spirits and joking, happy—so until they have an idea of how he might respond she is his support companion".
"So, he doesn't know about Karen—or Lily"?
Lucas shook his head. "I tried Lily, but she didn't answer. Did you see her last night at that party"?
"I did," Jamie said. "She threatened to feed my balls to a dog—I believe her exact words where... you know, the kind that foams from the mouth".
Lucas's eyes grew wide at the threat his sister had handed to his nephew.
"I'm going to go get some coffee," Haley said, standing up—her exhaustion getting the best of her.
Haley walked away leaving the three Scott men alone.
"How do you think uncle Keith is going to act once he finds out what happens—".
"Brooke"? Lucas asked.
Jamie quickly turned around to find Brooke walking in carrying a to-go tray with coffee mugs, with Madison next to her carrying a large square box from the café. He immediately felt nauseous at the sight of his ex, especially after their festivities from the previous night.
"We brought coffee and donuts," Brooke said as they sat them down on the table.
"Thanks," Lucas said, awkwardly looking up at Brooke.
"It's no problem, the food and drinks here are horrible. I have had quite a few cups of coffee from this hospital, ironically they seem to get worse with the years instead of better" Brooke said as she sat down next to Lucas. "Don't look at me like that, I'm here for Keith not you".
"What about the kids"? Nathan asked. "I thought you stayed at Luke's with them"?
"I did until Peyton got there," Brooke said. "She and Jake are going to keep them entertained for the day".
Madison slowly, awkwardly—and unsurely sat in the seat next to Jamie. She didn't bother looking up at him, but if she had she would have caught him starring at her.
But, she didn't—so she didn't.
"We are still waiting on news," Lucas told Brooke looking at her. "I—erm, Deb texted Nathan around seven but we haven't heard since".
"I'm sure it takes time," Brooke told him, as she sipped on her coffee.
Nathan looked from Brooke and Lucas to his son and his former girlfriend. Jamie was quickly reaching stalker status the way he was looking at the back of Madison's head who sat next to him, flipping through a magazine.
Brooke has her eyes on the television up in the corner, though he couldn't be sure she was actually watching the show that was playing. Lucas, however, seemed to be worse than the teenager as he looked at his old high school girlfriend, just don't ever tell Brooke that the word "old" was used in a sentence about her.
"Brooke, hey when did you get here"? Haley asked as she rejoined the group that had grown significantly since she left.
"Just a few minutes ago," Brooke told her.
"Did I miss anything"? Haley asked Nathan as she sat next to him.
"You could say that" Nathan snickered.
Haley looked at her husband, slightly confused—at first. She looked back and forth between the two former couples, and it instantly clicked.
"This is going to be good," Haley said, sitting back into her seat.
"C'mon, Deb—the doctors aren't in here" Keith pleaded. "Just tell me what the hell is going on".
Deb rolled her eyes her ex-brother-in-law, she looked down at him as he laid on that sat outside the large machine that was going to take Magnetic resonance imaging, also known as an MRI.
"Okay, I will give you a little hint" Deb said smiling as she leaned down close to Keith. "Do you see that big dark window over there, by the door"?
"Yeah"?
"That's where your doctors are and they can see and hear everything" Deb teased him.
"You know how badly I hate not knowing what is going on".
"So you have said" Deb groaned. "Repeatedly, numerously, and to any hospital staff that you have came into contact with".
"Not everyone".
"Keith, you told the janitor and demanded he get you out of here".
"He looked like a stand up fella" Keith said shrugging. "And I hate hospitals. And hospital gowns—I am naked under this robe".
"Maybe that's why they brought you down here, to take a picture of little Keith".
Keith looked up at Deb who was adjusting the small white sheet they did allow him to keep wrapped around him, although it felt more like paper than a blanket. She was teasing him, laughing and smiling, she wasn't the Deb he remembered.
All Keith knew was that he was in a hospital and had been in an accident, he had heard the words brain injury and coma passed around a few hundred times but the rest was a mystery. Although, Keith owned an auto mechanic shop he had never been stupid, it wasn't taking him long to piece together one bit of information after another.
Some time had passed, and at first he thought it had been a week or a month, maybe a few at most but he couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps his first initial thought had been wrong.
"Deb" Keith said taking her hand to stop her from adjusting his blanket. "How long has it been"?
Deb looked up at him, slowly, as if for the first time she didn't want to since he had first opened his eyes. But, she wouldn't admit that out-loud.
"Keith—".
"The Botox isn't working" Keith told her with a hint of a smile. "I can tell it's been a while just by looking at your crows feet—how long has it been"?
"Alright, Mr. Scott are you ready"? A nurse said stepping into the room. "Miss. Lee—if you could step outside".
Saved by the bell. Or the nurse.
Deb have Keith a soft squeeze on his hand, before she followed the nurse outside and into the small room where the doctors sat.
"He is very persistent isn't he"? Doctor Lafferty asked as he looked up at Deb.
"Yes, and we can't—I can't keep lying to him so I hope by the time he comes out you have a plan" Deb told him, harshly.
"We have to make sure he can handle it—hearing that kind of news could put him under a great deal of stress".
"He is going to start asking for Karen, I'm surprised he hasn't already" Deb told the doctor. "He has a teenaged daughter and has spent the better part of two decades lying in a coma—figure out some damn answers because I won't keep lying to him".
"You're not lying to him" Doctor Lafferty told her as he slowly stood up. "You're simply not giving him all the pieces to the puzzle right now, which medically speaking is in his best interest".
"Medically speaking getting out of my face is in your best interest".
"Will we get to see Uncle Keith"? Sawyer asked excitedly as she walked through the car garage looking back at her mother, and the man who was holding her hand.
"I don't think you will get to see him today," Peyton told her daughter.
"But, why not"? Lydia asked tugging on her soon to be former aunts arm.
"Well, because he is just waking up and—".
"From a nap"? Davis asked as he ran around Peyton and Jake in circles, as they continued to walks.
"Sort of like a nap" Peyton explained to them. "But, not really".
Jake chuckled at the blonde he was walking next to as she struggled to answer the many children's questions, but he could easily tell this wasn't her first go-around with the kids.
"If Keith can come back from the dead does that mean our daddy can, too"? Jude asked.
And suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore.
Peyton and Jake froze as they looked at the twin who was standing just a few feet in front of them.
Peyton had dropped Jake's hand and she pushed her palms together, pressing the tips of her index fingers to her lips. She knew how the difficult time Jude had with his father's death.
"Okay," Peyton said kneeling down in front of the child that had asked the question, secretly wishing he had asked his mother, but grateful at the same time he hadn't. "When I was a little girl... not much older than you were when your daddy died, my mommy died".
"I thought she died when you were a teenager," Sawyer said, tilting her head.
"That was my birth mother, I was adopted when I was born by Larry and Anna, she was my mother. She raised me—built forts with me in the living room, hosted the best slumber parties—when I was little she died. I used to close my eyes really tight and pray and pray she would come waltzing through the door. But, she didn't. Jude, losing a parent so young—out of everything I have been through in my life was certainly the hardest. But, the circumstances between Keith and Julian were and are very different".
"But, Keith is Lily's dad, right"? Jude asked arching an eyebrow. "So, it's possible"?
Peyton slowly shook her head. "No, honey," she said brushing her fingers across his cheeks. "It's not possible, Keith never really died. Your daddy did, your mom was standing right in front of him when it happened. I know that this is so confusing for you, I really do. If I could bring your daddy back for you and your brother and your mom, I would. In a heartbeat, but I can't".
"So, he will never come back"? Jude asked.
Once again Peyton was forced to shake her head, slowly, as though she didn't want to answer him.
Because she didn't.
"I can share my daddy with you," Sawyer said softly stepping forward. "But, I have to warn you he is a mess right now".
Peyton couldn't help but crack a small smile at her daughter.
"But, he makes the best double chocolate brownies with nuts ever—but it's also all he knows how to cook," Sawyer told Jude.
"I like brownies," Jude told her. "Davis is allergic to nuts, though".
"I'm sure Luke would have no problem taking the nuts out," Jake told the little boy.
"And I'm lactose intolerant".
"So, you make it with almond milk," Jake said throwing his hands to the side making the kids giggle. "I know I only just met you, and no one can ever take the place of your dad, but from the looks of it you have enough men in your life and more than enough people who love you".
"I guess your right".
"Oh, I am," Jake said kneeling down next to Peyton. "Your dad may not be able to teach you how to play ball, or help you study, or teach you to drive but you won't miss out".
"Does that mean you can teach me to drive"?
"Erm—sure," Jake told him. "If you want me, too. One day. About ten years from now".
"In the comet"?
"Keep dreaming" Peyton said smiling pointing her finger at him. "No one touches my car".
Haley could feel the small strokes Nathan was making up and down her back, as she had her feet tucked beneath her with her head resting on his shoulder.
The couple sat in the waiting room, that had been prayer on Sunday in Church quiet since Brooke and Madison arrived. But, that was about to end when Haley looked up to see her daughter running side by side with her cousin, and the twins—Jake and Peyton following closely behind.
"Daddy," Lydia said diving knees first into her father's lap.
"Oh," Nathan groaned as his daughter hit his most prized possessions earning a small snicker from everyone around. "Hey there princess" he managed to stiffen out of his mouth.
"How is Keith"? Jake asked as he sat down.
"Still running tests" Lucas told him. "For now that's all we know until the doctors come out or Deb texts something".
"Sawyer wanted to come to be here for you," Peyton told her soon to be ex-husband as she sat next to Jake. "So, once they all woke up we decided to come—I hope that's okay".
"Of course that's okay," Lucas said tickling his daughter on her sides earning a small squeal. "Thanks for coming," he told Peyton and Jake.
"Jake has a big car"! Sawyer told her dad. "It's huge and you should hear his stereo system".
"What do you know about a stereo system"? Lucas asked his daughter.
"More than you—yours is simply dreadful".
"Remind me why mom wanted to hire that tutor in England to help her speak"? Lucas asked Peyton.
"I have no idea," Peyton said shrugging. "She talks like a cross between Emily Blunt and Whoa Vicki".
Sawyer looked at her mother, unamused, which only made Peyton laugh harder.
"I'm starving," Haley said stretching sitting up straight. "I'm going to go see if the cafeteria has anything".
"I will go with you," Brooke said as the two stood up.
Peyton didn't mind staying with the guys but it became clear as Brooke passed her that she was not staying. Brooke grabbed Peyton by her elbow and drug her along with her.
"Ow," Peyton complained as the three turned a corner. "What was that for"?
"Did you tell your husband it would be a good idea to confess his undying love for me"? Brooke snapped. "What kind of wife are you"?
"The kind that is shacking up with the new guy," Haley said smiling.
"I'm not having sex with Jake and do we really have to talk about this here"? Peyton asked.
"Of course not," Brooke told her. "But, don't think for five seconds we aren't going to talk to about this".
"That's great, baby" Nathan told his daughter as she and Sawyer danced in the middle of the waiting room.
"The talent show is in a few weeks and we are going to dance"! Lydia said proudly. "But, we can't come up with a—what's it called"?
"A routine" Sawyer said. "We always just wing it".
"I can help you," Madison told them.
"But, you play basketball"! Lydia told her.
"Yes" Madison said. "But, before that, I was in ballet and a dance studio. I won a few solos, state championships before I completely converted to basketball".
Madison stood up and walked over before playing a small tune off of her phone. "Try this".
The three girls danced for a few minutes until Lydia and Sawyer got the hang of what it was that Madison was teaching them. The four men in the room weren't really paying attention to anything but their phones, Nathan and Lucas would glance up every few seconds to make sure none of the kids had run off but none of them were the least bit interested in the dancing the three girls were engaging in.
Well, all except Jamie—who didn't take his eyes off of Madison for a split second.
"Wow, Maddie—you can really dance," Lydia told her older brothers, former girlfriend.
"It's them Latino hips," Jamie said standing up and walking past Madison whispering "they move around like a cyclone" low enough for only her to hear.
Madison watched, angrily, as Jamie walked away. She didn't know if it was a sex joke, or just a joke—or even if it was a joke. She didn't even know why she was mad, at first, but she was. She quickly excused herself and stormed off after Jamie.
Madison caught up with Jamie as he stepped inside the elevator.
"What the hell was that"? Madison asked walking up to Jamie as the doors shut behind her.
"What was what"?
"You can't break up with me and then have sex with me and then—you have to stop. You're making everything harder for me because I still love you".
"Do you really think I don't love you"?
"Let's recap—you took my virginity and then broke up with me—".
Jamie scoffed. "You really think that low of me"?
"You broke up with me over something I said before we ever had sex—".
Jamie wanted to punch a wall, he was a lot of things but he wasn't a pig. He knew that he thought she knew that but apparently, she didn't. That hurt.
"When you said that—at that time, I was so caught up in being with you. It didn't even hit me what you said until after we had sex, all I was thinking about was being with you" Jamie said his voice breaking. "All I wanted was you—to be with you, but after when we were laying there that's all that was going through my head. If I wanted to just lose my virginity I would have gone to someone like Sasha or—I didn't have sex with you just go have sex. How could you even think that of me"?
Madison paused, she didn't have an answer. Of course, that wasn't Jamie.
The blonde in front of her didn't wait for an answer instead he reached around and pressed a button to the garage floor. The elevator slowly started to move—Madison looked at Jamie the whole time until the elevator quickly halted and the lights shut off.
Madison didn't mean to let out a small scream but she did, and she felt two arms wrap around her waist.
"It's okay," Jamie told her. "It should come back on any second".
But, the didn't and they wouldn't.
"What the hell"? Brooke asked as she stood in the cafeteria of the hospital, in the dark.
The room was empty except for the three women and one cafeteria worker who looked just as confused as they were by the sudden power outage.
"I hate the dark—why is it dark"? Brooke demanded as she wrapped her arms around her body.
"We are with you—how would we know that"? Peyton asked putting her hands on her hips.
"The lights are off in the hall, too," Haley told the pair as she walked to the doors and pushed, but found the doors wouldn't budge. "They are locked".
"What do you mean they are locked"? Peyton asked as she walked over and pushed on the other side of the door. "We just walked in here".
"The lights are out in the town, too," Brooke said as she glanced out the windows.
"It's the middle of the day how can you tell"? Peyton asked.
"Well, most restaurants keep their lights on—what is going on"?
"I'm trying the front desk" the lady behind the counter informed the trio with the phone pressed to her ear.
"Doctor Lafferty"? Lucas asked looking up as he sat with his daughter in his lap, in the dark waiting room.
"Can you two come with me"? He asked.
He didn't need to be more clear, he meant Nathan and Lucas.
"Do you care to watch the kids"? Nathan asked looking at Jake. "The girls should be back any minute".
"Sure," Jake told him.
The brothers quickly stood up and followed the doctor through the hall.
"What the hell is going on"? Nathan asked the doctor in front of him as they made their way through the chaotic hall.
"There was a car accident, the car hit the electrical pole—all power is out for a few blocks," Doctor Lafferty told the brothers.
"Is everyone okay"?
Doctor Lafferty nodded. "They are sending them to the hospital in the next town over," he said. "But, they are awake and responsive—right now they are trying to safely evacuate them from their vehicle. We have another problem".
"Another—we"? Lucas asked, already uneasy about the conversation.
"We recently have a new system in the hospital, it's a good system if there ever was a lockdown situation. All the doors immediately lock, it's a safety precaution" Doctor Lafferty explained. "You have to flip a switch to secure all the rooms, when the electric kicked off that switch must have been flipped and we can't flip it back and unlock everything until the electricity comes back on".
"That means—"? Lucas asked.
"No one can go in and out of the hospital, any doors that were shut—are automatically locked we do have a couple of employees trying to pry some of these doors open but we have patients locked in their rooms right now—including your uncle".
"What"?
"Keith is inside the MRI machine, and there is a button that we can press on the machine that will help him exit the machine—but we have to get in the room first".
Lucas and Nathan stopped behind the doctor who was gesturing towards the room that two large men were currently attempting to open.
"Come in here," Doctor Lafferty told them.
The brothers followed him inside a small room where Deb sat behind a desk.
"We were lucky enough to have the door open," Doctor Lafferty told them. "We need you three to try to keep him calm—and whatever you do, don't shut that door, this red button will allow you to communicate with him".
Doctor Lafferty left in a haste, probably to tend to the chaos amongst the hospital.
Lucas leaned over and pressed the red button "Keith"?
"Luke"?
The sound of his uncle's voice after all these years nearly sent Lucas to the ground, but he settled for the seat next to Deb as Nathan stood firmly in front of the door so that it wouldn't close.
"How are you doing in there"?
"I'm not going to lie—I could really use a beer right about now".
Lucas smiled. "I'll see what we can do about that".
A/N so, this chapter is probably not the chapter I promised and it took forever to get out, I have been sick and in the hospital getting CAT scans and MRIs and being picked and prodded with needles. So, I am so sorry.
I did make a mistake when discussing when Peyton told Brooke, so we will just blame that on it being almost 2 decades and Brooks mind. LOL. It has been so long since I watched those particular episodes it kind of all got confused in my mind. LOL. But, it has been 17 years in the story since that occurred and that's a really long time so, we will just blame the time on it. LOL.
Speaking of Brooke, maybe because she is my favorite character I put some of her treats into Lily, I never realize that until someone said it. That is so true.
As for Jamie and Maddie, I hope I further explained their break it up better. Jamie is not the type of guy who would just have sex with a girl and then break up with her, especially Madison. He was very much caught up in their moment.
Nathan and Haley Do switch sides a lot, it really depends on what is at hand.
But, onto the next chapter because if I keep talking I'm going to get too much away.
Lily will show up, stuck in traffic
Jamie and Madison will be stuck in a elevator.
The girls are stuck in the cafeteria, and there will be a few big talks with that.
Jake will be with the kids.
Nathan, Lucas, and Deb will be with Keith.
Again, so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out and it kind of trailed in another direction but being stuck in a hospital this came to my mind and wouldn't leave. .