A/N: First I want to thank you all for the amazing reviews you have left, I loved getting such feedback. And second, I want to apologize for the delay and this chapter being shorter than usual, I had trouble getting this one out, but, it's here now.

So, I noticed most of you are irritated by Peyton, and although I don't really like to explain a character out of the story, but I feel like I should, I'm not trying to defend her, after all, you could feel about her however you want to feel, she's not supposed to be likable to everyone, I'm just expressing my own opinion... so, while writing her, I imagine her being confused and scared, as it's actually her first time out of her cocoon, she's not used to being around people, or letting go of her emotions for a start, that's why, she gave Lucas and herself a really hard time, and that's why when she finally gave in, she only used her feelings while judging the Brooke and Julian thing, and later on as Lucas told her she's not one with the best judgments, she wasn't trying to push him, she's just trying to find herself and gain confidence. It takes her becoming face to face with a real, big problem at which she realizes she has to use both in order to be able to help the people she cares about (as will be shown in this chapter), let alone the fact that this is set in the 1940s, where I believe people believed in goodwell more than now... or at least it was easier to fool someone or paint yourself as a kind angel while stabbing them in the back, manipulation and sketchy acts were a lot easier in the past.

Maybe I failed at showing this through the writing, or at showing what I'm trying to portray her as, or maybe I didn't and she's still annoying, lol, either way, I just wanted to discuss it with you after reading your opinions about her.

And BTW, I agree with what you think of season 4 about the Keith thing, it was built well, and then it felt like they just wanted to get it over with, I wished we would have seen more of the reactions about it.

Anyway, this story has about 4 more chapters, and as much as I love it, I'm planning another story that I'm excited to share with you as this one ends.

So, enough talking, please read and let me know what you think about it. Enjoy...

19. Long lost father

It was only about twenty minutes between Dan's departure and the moment they entered their house, but to the party of five, it felt more like a lifetime of racing thoughts.

Haley and Peyton thought they held the huge secret of the truth; they thought that both Nathan and Lucas would hate the fact that Dan in reality is their uncle through their adoptive father, but, oh man how far they were from the actual truth! They still didn't even have the confirmation that it is the truth, but judging by the way Karen was crying and never answered any question, it was kind of obvious.

Karen's world was shaken, everything that she has been fighting to protect, to keep her boys away from just clashed and erupted in an awful revelation. All those years, she has been taking all of Dan's shit, showing up just to disturb her peace in exchange of keeping him away from the boys and the disappointment of him being their real father, and now, she can't do it anymore, and it's not even on her terms.

Lucas and Nathan were lost, of course, they have heard a lot of shocking news in the matter of half an hour, but, to think of the slightest chance of what Dan said being true, it just wasn't possible, Karen would have told them, Keith would have told them… it just didn't make any sense.

However, it was the moment of truth. There's no holding back.

As they walked into the house in silence, they all just sat in the sitting room, Lucas and Nathan took the two chairs in front of the couch where Karen sat as if two parties of opposing sides, while Haley and Peyton just followed awkwardly feeling somehow out of place, after all, it was an awkward moment.

"Mom…?" Lucas asked for her opinion on the whole situation, his voice cracked in the process as he saw her looking down and not meeting their eyes which suggested what he feared to be true. "Is it true?" he stood up his nostrils flaring and his eyes taking a darker shade of blue.

"It can't be, right?" Nathan said calmly tugging his brother down once again.

Lucas maybe the one better with words, knowing how to express his feelings, but maybe that's the reason that when it comes to negative emotions let it be angst, outrage, agony or any kind of affliction, Nathan was much better at dealing with it than Lucas, Lucas lets his emotions take control while Nathan usually is calmer as he tries to rationalize the right way out of it.

"I think we should… just…" Haley stuttered awkwardly beginning to take her way out of the room with Peyton following. This was surely a hard moment for Karen, whatever the truth is, she was in an unenviable position and it felt like the respectful thing to do to just let mother and sons handle it for now.

"No, please, stay." Karen finally spoke sniffing as she brought her eyes to the girls coming up with the closest thing to a smile she could master adjoining it with a nod as she drew in air and looked at the two boys in front of her.

She felt like it was all a big tangled web, everyone was affected somehow by the actual truth even if not directly, besides, she knew after she's done Lucas and Nathan will probably be mad that they wouldn't talk to her so it's good to have someone to… hopefully.

"I really wished it never came to this." she started with a sigh, "But, if it were up to me, I wouldn't want you to ever know."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Nathan narrowed her eyes. "It's true? Dan is… is our dad?"

Karen gulped, "Yes. Yes he is." She was ignoring the tears cascading down her face, but they weren't going to stop.

"Oh, God." Lucas whined, Nathan grunted and muffled gasps erupted from the two girls standing there.

"What are you saying, mom? How could you not tell us something like that?" Lucas asked with a helpless frown.

"Because it doesn't matter! Dan was never your father, neither of you. Keith was, he has always been."

"Oh, Keith? Our uncle, is he?" He scoffed.

"This man has brought nothing but disaster." Karen glared through her tears as she sniffled, "He has been always a monster, the way he manipulated me, and your mother Nathan! Hell, we were fools enough to fall for it, but who stood up and took it all upon himself to fix things? Who became your true father? Who was there for all your firsts, all your sadness and happiness, your whole life? Loved you just like you're his own even though he never had to… he just did. Isn't that the definition of a father? Isn't that what Keith did?" she was sobbing and gasping between her words.

Lucas nodded, "Right, but real parents, father and mother, wouldn't lie to their sons!"

"Would you really like to know that your- the man who is your birth father is Dan? Why would you want to walk around knowing that? You were never supposed to know."

"I'm sorry, Karen, but you're completely wrong. We would have at least stopped wondering. Do you have any idea how many times we thought about it? About all the possible scenarios it could be. At least we would have taken the shock once and for all!" Nathan said starting to get angry too.

"We were protecting you." She argued.

"We have a right to know the truth." Nathan argued back, "I had a right, and… and you're not even my real parents, neither of you!" he said angrily.

Karen stared back at him for a second before sniffing, "You don't mean that, you're angry and-"

"Yes, I do." Nathan argued with a frown, "You're not, Karen, and you should have told me the truth."

"Nathan," Lucas stood up putting a hand on his shoulder pushing him down back to his chair before turning his glare back to his mother.

"I think I speak for both of us when I say we wanna hear the truth right now. All of it." His voice was stiff and demanding and Karen already knew from the start that this is where it's going anyway.

She nodded, "Sit down," she said and he did with an annoyed look, "You already know what happened with me and Deb back then, we didn't know him, he never stayed in town long enough for us to know who he was, but, he… much like he is now, he knew how to get his way," she gulped, "he was charming," she shrugged with an awkward smile before blinking back her tears, "and against all odds, he got two women pregnant at the same time…" she continued on telling them how it was suddenly revealed that he was Keith's brother when Deb witnessed their fight before Dan skipped town again,

The last fight between the Scott brothers was about the family money that Dan stole and wasted, it was the main reason he came back in the first place, no one knew what he needed money for, but, he got them in debts, he caused their fortune to evaporate he was the indirect reason for their father's death and their mother's health problems until she passed away as well.

Deb and Karen met, and also against all odds, they bonded over the fact that they were both manipulated the same way, and then Keith, as usual, came to clean his brother's mess knowing that those two young women's only fault was trusting the worst guy they could ever trust, he was there for him, and maybe his secret crush on Karen had a role in sticking around until they actually had the babies and he held the boys and was really instantly in love,

He married Karen eventually and Deb was like a sister to both at this point, and everything was fine except for two events that disturbed the balance, Deb's death which Karen thinks she'd never get over, and Dan's return to town.

He wasted no time in showing up in front of them, they were sure shocked, he was back to take over the town, he wanted to be in charge, and as Keith refused to comply Dan made it his mission to tighten life upon their necks and it was easy since he really did take over the town, and so, their deal was to keep his identity secret in exchange of him staying away from the boys, and he gladly agreed.

However, it was his favorite thing in the world to watch them suffer even if slightly because of him, he never stopped showing them he's in control from time to time.

Karen didn't miss a detail as she told the whole story, it was all finally out and in the open, it doesn't matter her own feelings towards this, Dan didn't leave her a choice.

They listened but they didn't like, of course, it wasn't going to sink in easily, it wouldn't, it's not easy to learn that your mortal enemy is actually your father… why?!

"This is… unbelievable." Lucas shook his head with an angry frown standing up, "You had no right." He spat before storming out of the room and then the entire house.

"Lucas…" Peyton called after him attempting to follow but then Nathan's hand stopped her.

He had a frown matching his brother's directed at the older woman, "I'll go." He told Peyton who nodded shortly.

Karen stood up after both boys were gone and sniffed wiping her eyes with the back of her hands and then stood in front of the girls trying to plaster a smile, "Please, be by their sides, they won't forgive me, and I need you to take care of my boys for me." She said putting her hand on each girl's arm and then left as her voice broke before one of them could reply.

They both exchanged a look but didn't need to speak; after all, there was nothing to say, this was way worse than either of them expected.

And they have already thought it was pretty bad.

XxXx

Needless to say, it was a sleepless night, Karen has locked herself in her room since the conversation, and when Lucas and Nathan were late, both Haley and Peyton decided to wait for them separately each in her own thoughts.

A couple of hours later, Nathan came home without Lucas, and was met by their curious eyes, "He just needs some time." He explained shortly.

"Nathan," Haley called, "Can we talk?"

He locked eyes with her and saw her worried eyes and suddenly was hit by a wave of guilt; he knows he has put her through a lot recently, he nodded and she gave a weak smile and exchanged a look with Peyton who sent her an encouraging look knowing it was time for them to make peace and talk about everything openly after it all being laid out on the table.

They headed upstairs to Nathan's room and once they were in and alone, Nathan let out a sigh, "I'm sorry."

"You should have told me." She wasn't mad, she was just telling him it made her sad that he didn't.

"I didn't want to get you involved."

"You should have known I'd get involved anyway." She shrugged.

His eyes widened slightly, "What did you do?"

She sighed, "Nothing, Nathan… not yet." Her features were uneasy, "I mean, nothing Dan related. The point is…" she decided she was rambling and needed to cut to the chase, "you should have known I would not give up until you came back to your sense."

He chuckled lightly at her way of putting it, "You're not mad?" he questioned looking at her skeptically.

"No, not mad." She shook her head, "I just… want you to let me be there for you."

He smiled; he truly did, he missed her, he didn't even know how much he did until this point exactly where he was reminded of her goodness, her tenderness and just everything about her…

He reached forward and pulled her into his embrace, "I missed you, Haley."

"I missed you too." She said hugging him back.

"I'm sorry, Haley." He repeated.

"I'm not mad, Nathan," she chuckled pulling back to look at him, "It's okay." She reassured.

He looked at her thankfully for a while, before finally letting out a soft chuckle, "She told you, didn't she?"

"What?"

"You knew before tonight, you knew what I was doing?" he asked already forming a smirk at her reaction, "Because there's no way that this is your initial reaction when I still didn't explain myself."

She bit her lower lip guiltily, "Look, don't be mad at her, I was really losing my mind, and I really would have if she didn't tell me." She shook her head trying to explain.

"It's fine." He gave a sigh, "I actually knew this would happen; and actually, I wanted to tell you anyway."

She nodded with a smile relieved that this topic is cleared for both of them, now it's time for the big stuff, "How are you feeling, Nathan?"

He knew this was coming, and yes, if he wants to talk about it, he'd talk with Haley, but… at this very moment, he was tired, his brain wasn't about to start going over it again, just the thought of it is exhausting; he was glad he at least got this pretty light moment on top of the heavy mountain of thoughts inside him, but, to go over it all again, no, not now.

"I'm not okay." He shook his head, "But, I don't want to talk about it now." He gave her a guilty look but to his surprise she only nodded in understanding.

"I know." She nodded, "Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

"Right now…" he reached a hand to tuck a loose strand behind her ear, "I just want to hold you until we fall asleep."

"You got it." She said and they both moved towards the bed, slowly taking positions like a puzzle piece with her head on top of his chest and his arms around her; he was seeking the sense of security he has been missing for so long, and it made him relaxed to find it again, suddenly, he felt it might be possible to overcome this one too.

"I'm glad you're here." He mumbled.

"Me too." She sighed in comfort, "Maybe we could use your time machine to fix everything."

"The only way to do that is, if we use it to go back in time and kill him before he could hurt anyone, or even get to be a father." He gave a humorless smile.

She raised her head and gave him a horrified look, "Don't say that."

He smiled tenderly, "It's only-"

"No, Nathan," she shook her head, "It's nothing. Just like this whole crisis is; it's nothing. And you will get through it and come out even stronger, because, you are who you choose to be not who the destiny determines for you."

He had to admit, he needed to hear such words, he wished it felt as easy as she made it sound. He reached over and put his hand in her hair bringing her closer to plant a kiss on her forehead,

"Thank you." He said and they returned back to their positions; Nathan didn't know how to tell her she was his rock, he didn't know how to tell her she just tamed and nursed his inner wounded monster that was growling in pain and ready to crash everything in his way just out of pain.

He has forgotten how much Haley was able to help him out just by being there, and maybe she could be right, but, he has nothing to do but wait… wait until his mind is working straight once again.

XxXx

Peyton waited thinking that Lucas should be home shortly after Nathan, but, as hours passed, she was getting worried; she knew he wasn't fine and she feared he would do something stupid.

She was pacing his room and checking to see any sign of him through the window every once and a while, and then eventually, she noticed a shadow on the porch, she let out a sigh of relief realizing he's sitting out there, she wondered if has been there for a while, but she decided to join him,

She raced down the stairs and then softly opened the front door not to scare him; he had his back to her but didn't make any movement indicating him acknowledging her. She moved forward and then sat next to him.

"Hey," she uttered softly, he still didn't move but at least he didn't push her away.

"Have you ever wondered how different your life would be if one small detail was different?" He asked and she could hear the sorrow heavy in his voice.

"As a matter of fact, yes." She answered, "I always wondered what if my dad didn't die."

"How different do you think your life would have been?"

"Well, for a starter, my mom wouldn't have met Dan." She started, "I wouldn't have been so closed up, and maybe I would have met you earlier."

"How do you know it would have been a better life?"

She frowned, "I don't." she shrugged, "But, it's all a supposition that is not going to happen… it's all in my imagination, it has to be better."

"That's how it used to be for me." He said finally turning his head to look at her, "And I thought it's gonna be this way forever. I mean, after all this time, I made peace with never getting to know who my father is; he clearly didn't want to know us, so, I was fine with that… but… he's been there all the time, and he's been doing all he could to make sure we're not happy, nay, making sure that we suffer." He let out a humorless laugh, "I've been recollecting everything he's ever done, and… and I can't understand, Peyton, he sent people to assault me."

She already was forming tears seeing the lost look in his eyes, "He's horrible, Lucas; he's the devil."

"He's my father." He stated as if he didn't hear her.

"It doesn't change anything, Lucas."

"But, it does." He argued. "It does, it changes everything."

"Not you."

"Especially me."

"Luke," she had big horrified eyes now; she was scared, he was scaring her, but she was scared for him, not of him. She cupped his face forcing his crazy eyes to focus on hers, "You were raised by your mom, and Keith, he's your father, he's the one who taught you the right from the wrong. You have lived your whole life knowing you're a man with honor, you told me so yourself, remember? You can't just think you're someone else just because you learned who your real father is."

He squeezed his eyes shut in pain for a mere second before opening them once again with a dark glare as he pulled his face away letting her hands drop to her lap, "You don't even know me."

It ached to hear it because she knew it was true; it has been three days, only three days since the morning of Nathan's court day, three days through which all events erupted and the world turned upside down for them, she didn't even get to spend a proper amount of time with him, she didn't get to share stories, or to feel this shiver she's always read about when at a first stage of the relationship. They were just thrown into the events, just like that, even them getting together wasn't normal, hell, not even the period where she liked him and he liked her, it was always strange and abnormal.

And now, being inside all the mess, she is realizing just how much he could use her support, but, how can she even do this? Peyton has always been on her own, she never had friends before Haley or Brooke, let alone a boyfriend, this was all new to her, she was as bombarded as he was if not even more. But, there, right at this moment, when he said she doesn't know him in such a bitter way, something snapped inside her, she knew there's tons of things to figure about each other, and maybe he knows about her more than she does about him, but, that doesn't mean she can't be there, that doesn't mean her feelings for him are any less,

She frowned, "You're right." She said and he looked at her not expecting her to agree, "Maybe I don't know things about you, Lucas, but, I think I have seen and been through enough to confidently say I know you."

She took him aback, she actually sounded confident, and after having decided that being stone-cold is his best shelter, he suddenly felt like crying, he refused to though, but, he was feeling fragile at the moment, however, he chose to argue,

"We didn't even speak before."

"Yes, because I was running away." She blinked as she admitted, "I always ran away from your eyes, Lucas, because they spoke, they told what I was refusing to see or believe, and they were sincere." She said knowing that he'd need to hear that, "Luke, you're the most honest man I have ever known."

"But, he's my dad, Peyton!" he said almost whining.

"So what?"

"It's his blood running through my veins, it has to count for something, it has to!"

"So, you think that suddenly after living your whole life being just fine and turning into this kind-hearted, honest, graceful, handsome young man, you'll suddenly pick on an evil side in you just because you learned your father is evil?"

"I don't know. It has to count."

"But, it doesn't. " she sighed, "I basically spent half of my life with the man… and I…" she started confidently but then trailed off thinking about it, now that she came face to face with this fact, she wondered what's his impact on her life; could she be evil without knowing it?

"Well…" she cleared her throat, "maybe I'm a little closed up, or a lot, and I was actually mean to you… I might have caused some complications with Nathan's case by leaving… I don't know, but that was unintentional, does it still count? I guess so… well, actually scratch that, he does have an effect, but only if you have lived with him, Lucas, and you didn't, so, you are nothing like him and… and… why are you smiling?"

He was looking ahead of him while listening to her ramble and couldn't help but break a smile glancing over at her being this anxious over it, "Because you just went from convincing me I'm a good person to your own self-evaluation."

Her cheeks reddened for no obvious reason, "I'm sorry. All I'm saying is that, you're being silly, you're not going to change, Luke, you're a good person… and… and frankly, I think Dan is the one we should feel sorry for! He's the one who missed on having two great sons, and he's the one who everyone loathes! But, you have everything one would need, Lucas, a caring mother, a supporting brother and a handful of great friends who care about you… while he-"

"And you."

"Huh?"

"You say I have everything, but you forgot the most important one; you."

Once again, he said something to cut through her train of thoughts and managed to rush the blood to her face, and the problem is he wasn't even smiling, he was serious, "Well…" she cleared her throat, "I didn't…anyway, what I was saying is that, when you think about it, Dan is only doing all of this, running after money and power because he has nothing else to care for, he didn't even try to have anything else!"

"I know that, Peyton." He sighed, "It's just hard to understand that after finally knowing who my father is, it turns out to be the one who wants me gone."

"Well, don't take personally, I believe he wants everyone gone." She said with a frown earning a soft chuckle from him, "What?"

"That's the thing about you," he said looking at her questioning eyes, "you are clueless, Peyton, and you don't even realize it."

She narrowed her eyes, "Are you calling me stupid?"

"No," he shook his head, "I'm calling you…" he paused searching for the right word, "…pure. Sometimes it's like you have no clue how the world works."

"Or maybe I'm just sly or malicious."

"No," he shrugged, "You're not."

"Well, even though I don't like how you're describing me… but it got you smiling." She said with a shrug.

"Right," he nodded, "And being honest, I didn't know you could… or anyone for the matter." He sighed, "Maybe I don't know you either after all."

"That could be true." She nodded with a smile, "So, how about you go and get some rest now and then start thinking sensibly tomorrow?"

He shook his head, "I don't want to."

"Lucas, you must be tired, besides, it's a cold night; you must be freezing."

He shrugged, "I just… I don't want to, Peyton."

"What do you want then?"

He smiled faintly, "I want to get to know you."

She mirrored his smile, "We have all the time to do that."

"I'm not sure we do."

"I'm not planning to go anywhere, are you?"

"No, but… life doesn't go as planned." He shrugged and her smile faded.

"Luke…"

"Will you just stay with me tonight?"

"Of course I will." She said while her insides bursting with worry due to his words, she didn't know if it was just the shocked talk, or if he's planning something that he's not letting her on.

He fell into silence beside her leaving her to her train of thoughts trying to figure out what is going on in his mind. One thing stuck in her mind though; something she has been thinking about for a while, she realized how quickly but definitely, Lucas is becoming the one persons she could rely on not hurting her after her mother, she sure has trusted Dan at one point, but, he was never as close as a family member should, she chose to keep things from him in order to avoid a bigger evil.

She reached her hands behind her neck and he looked at her in confusion at the movement, she undid the clips around her neck and landed the thin metal in her balm while he watched, she picked up the charms between her fingers,

"I got those with my mother; they are the last memories I have of her." She explained as he nodded with realization, "I always thought they kept us closer… connected." She smiled and then picked up the star-shaped one, "This was mine." She said handing it over to him, "I want you to have it."

He slowly shook his head; this was obviously a big deal to her, it has an emotional value, he can't just take something like that, "Peyton, I-"

"No, I mean it." She persisted, "You say you want to know me, right? Me too, and I want to feel closer to you." She said offering a small smile, "Consider it a lucky charm." She shrugged one shoulder.

He looked from her to the charm and then back to her eyes again, "Can I take this?" he asked referring to the crescent-shaped one.

She shrugged handing over the other one instead, "Alright. Why though?"

"Because it's you." He said taking it and flipping it in his fingers, he looked at her feeling her perplexed look, "There's only one moon, but there are numerous stars." He explained and her lips broke into a breathy smile. He suddenly stood up, "Do you wanna take a walk?"

"Now?" she asked standing up as well in surprise.

"Yeah." He shrugged offering her his hand.

She shook her head at him but put her hand in his, "Let's…"

It was past midnight but, they still walked together in the empty streets as the cold fresh air and each other's company brought a good mood turning into a state of euphoria making it hard to contain their echoing giggles and waves of laughter in the silent night.

XxXx

The next day was a lot quieter, it seemed like all hysteric reactions from the night before have died down and all was left was silence. Neither Nathan nor Lucas were willing to discuss anything again, even though Nathan didn't talk about it, at least not with Haley as he has talked briefly when he followed Lucas, but, it seemed like it was time for everything to settle in their minds, no words were needed.

Karen didn't leave her room, at least not while they were in the house. Haley and Peyton have knocked on her door respectively to check on her and she dimly said not to worry about her and reminded them –as if needed- to stay by the boys' side.

It turned out that Lucas only didn't want to rest in his home, as he walked the streets with Peyton, they finally came by her house, and they spent the night there, needless to say, she lost him as soon as his head hit the pillow like a little kid.

He only went back home to change, and then, also without much words, the four of them left to the club.

The club… Dan –their father asked them to shut it down or else he will hurt Mouth. This was obviously a matter they needed to discuss, and it certainly was the subject that Dan wanted to distract them from by dropping his bomb last night. So, rational thinking, it's what they are supposed to be focusing on.

So, without even getting the proper time to let it sink in, they had to go deal with urgent real problems.

It was too early still to take the decision of canceling or closing for the night, there was a lot of work awaiting them when they got there anyway, so, instead they had to postpone any decision making until after the night is over.

They don't know if it was the nagging thought of this place being closed or it was in fact a busy night, but it seemed to them all that no one has had time to rest or exchange more than three sentences with on another all day long.

It was a distraction for sure, but also, no one could really forget their friend being held up somewhere by Dan Shaw or Scott or Don or whoever the hell he is!

At last, when the night was over, it was time…

With a knowing look, both Lucas and Nathan sighed before heading to the counter and calling for Skillz to join them. And then naturally Haley and Peyton followed.

"Alright, what's going on?" Skillz asked; he didn't speak about it, but he knew something was up the whole day, they only gave a brief explanation that Nathan is back now and said that they need to talk before they started getting tasks to do all day.

Nathan took a deep breath, "Dan."

"What did he do this time?"

"Father us?" Lucas said with a humorless chuckle under his breath.

"What?"

"Well, yeah, one of the things he did is that he turned out to be our father." Nathan said sending Lucas a glare for his lack of help.

"Who?"

"Dan."

"He's what?"

"Our father, Skillz, he's our dad, the long lost dad who tricked our moms and fled." Lucas snapped with a huff.

He stared between them all with an opened mouth for a while, "Dan?"

"Yes. Dan, the same one who's ruining everything. Have you seen Mouth?"

Skillz frowned and processed the sudden change of topic, "No… not since… the day before…"

"He's not home." Lucas shook his head, "I checked, and asked the neighbors, they didn't see him." He sighed, "He's not lying."

"Who's not lying? What happened?"

"Dan, he has him." Nathan explained, "And he wants us to close the club within a week or else he's going to…"

"He's going to what?"

"I don't know, okay? But, he is going to hurt him."

"Do you think he's hurting him? Like now?" Haley asked with a doubtful horrified look.

"He's not feeding him ice-cream." Peyton shrugged.

Lucas turned to her, "Do you have any idea where he could have him?"

She shook her head, "I know nothing about… this kind of work of his, Luke."

"I know… but, maybe you know his places or his assets, something like that."

"No, he wouldn't have told me if he has."

Skillz was still processing the information looking between them, "So, Mouth is in danger now." He stated, "Why? Why him?"

"No idea."

"So, what do we do?"

"I don't know…" Nathan shook his head.

"He's not gonna win." Lucas said with a frown.

"Do you have a plan?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"Not yet."

"Unless you do, then yes, yes he is winning, Lucas."

"I thought that's why we're having this conversation." Lucas frowned, "To come up with something."

"What can we possibly do? Fight him? He's an army of men and we're three! He's already way ahead."

"Are you suggesting we give up?"

"I'm being realistic."

"What happened to the plan of bringing him down?"

"Look how it turned out." He gave a humorless chuckle, "He knew I was lying, and… and he let us play this game while he turned around and brought someone else in the picture, it's not about you or me now, he's brought our friend in it… we are not risking his life, and he knows that."

"I'm not saying we risk his life, Nathan, I'm just-"

"Anything we do will risk his life."

Lucas threw his hands in the air speechless and turned around biting his tongue; of course he doesn't want to risk Marvin's safety, but he also can't just give up without at least trying, and Nathan's negativity is just irritating him at the moment.

"We have a week, right?" Haley tried to interfere.

"Yeah, I say we calm down and think." Peyton agreed.

"I'm up for that, I'm just saying we need to sort out our priorities and be realistic."

"And you think I'm not?" Lucas glared.

"Hey!" Skillz stood up glaring at both, "It ain't time for this. You're both right, we have to think rationally, and of course we're not going to cause any harm to Mouth."

They both took deep breathes and sat down again.

"Brooke?" Haley narrowed her eyes, and everyone's eyes drifted towards the entrance to watch an awkward Brooke with Millie standing there, "Where have you been?" she said in a tender welcoming tune; Haley and Skillz were oblivious to the whole Brooke drama, only Lucas, Nathan and Peyton knew about it.

Lucas looked at Peyton questioningly and she shook her head indicating she doesn't know what it's about or why she's here.

"I… we're sorry to barge in like that." She said proceeding forward and avoiding Lucas' eyes for as long as she can. "Millie says she can't reach Mouth, and I thought Skillz is usually here after the night is over." She explained.

"True." Skillz nodded, "And Skillz just knew where the boy at."

"Where is he?" Millie asked.

Lucas sighed, "Come over. Join us," he said and Brooke looked at him wide-eyed, "It's a long story." He said giving her a nod.

For some reason, as he saw her standing there, and as Peyton has been telling him, he felt like there is something familiar; she didn't look like a villain to him, and maybe it is because he experienced what's way worse by Dan, but, this was Brooke, a life-long friend, and the way she looked at him right now didn't indicate any treason; Brooke had a habit of misjudgment, even if she usually denied that, but he knew it, in fact, he was one of her unfortunate choices once himself.

Anyway, even if he wants to hold it against her, it was neither the time, nor does he have the energy to do so at the time, so, for the sake of his mental health, Mouth's safety, Peyton's judgment, and their friendship, he's letting it slide.

Brooke seemed to have gotten the message, and since no one else said otherwise, she figured they either don't know, or there's something bigger going on, so, she took her way towards them with Millie.

"What's going on?" she asked looking at them to notice tired or pale faces.

They exchanged looks before briefly telling her what happened and just like Skillz did, and like they did when they heard, she was stunned, and Millie was horrified, she may have not been with Mouth for long, or even have been actually together, but… there was something, and it was going well, it just can't end right there, he can't just be taken from her.

"What does this mean?" she asked with teary eyes trying to compose herself in front of the group of half strangers.

"It means we have to think. Quick." Nathan sighed.

"You don't know anything about that, do you?" Lucas addressed Brooke who gulped and shook her head frankly.

"No, no, I don't. I wouldn't know." She was brushing off an accusation, wanting to clear her name and herself. Brooke wanted to explain everything right then and there, but, she was feeling numb; she wondered if she still has to do anything with it even though Dan has dropped interest in her since the trial, but, still…

Julian was still showing up at her door without getting any response, and she was aching about it for some reason, and losing her friends too… it was too much too sudden, and she was losing control of her thoughts. But, right then and there at this moment, it seemed like things were fine just for the sake of rescuing Mouth, and honestly, she'd take what she has if it means a little bit of sanity or familiarity of having friends around.

"Why Mouth though?" Haley asked bringing everyone's attention to her, "I mean, why specifically? He could have kidnapped me, Peyton, or even one of you two." She said making a point, "We all already are opposing him, why bring in a new party?" she questioned.

"Maybe it was hard to get to any of us." Peyton shrugged.

"No, she has a point." Skillz said thoughtfully. "Out of all of us, Mouth and I are the only ones who had no direct contact with him at all."

"But he did." Lucas said, "Not a direct one, but he overheard him with Chris and told us."

"Yeah, but that's not enough!" Peyton said, "He already took Chris to his club, it's not like this move is still in action."

"Right." Brooke nodded, "Then, it's something else. Maybe he came across something else. Wasn't he helping with the investigation? Maybe he found something."

"He would have told us if he did," Lucas frowned, "But… he did say that he has a theory…"

"He did." Millicent agreed, "He told me he has something in his mind and he needed to make sure of it."

"He didn't tell you what it is?" Nathan asked her.

"No, he didn't." she shook her head, "But, he said if he was right, it would turn all tables and…"

"What?"

"And that it might bring along trouble." She continued, "For you." She added looking between Lucas and Nathan.

"Well, what could turn tables for us more than Dan being the long lost daddy." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he might have been on this one." Nathan nodded.

"But Dan already told you so himself, why keep Mouth?" Skillz said.

"Simply because he interfered, because he was after him."

"Not exactly."

Seven heads turned to the entrance with questioning eyes at the new voice who decided to join them standing by the door.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas spat.

Julian's eyes lingered on Brooke for a second almost wanting to rush over and ask her to give him another chance for what would be the millionth time, but instead, he sighed and took a step forward shifting his eyes to Nathan,

"Dan sent me to find you; he says he's expecting you tomorrow as you still work for him." He said and then let out a sigh, "But, that's not why I'm here."

"What are you doing here then?" Nathan asked already expecting an answer; but, it can't be that his talk to him gave a result that quick, can it?

"I know where your friend is." He said this time looking between them all.

"And?" Lucas asked with a frown.

Julian sighed, "Look, I know I'm not your favorite person, and yeah, you're not mine either, but, I'm actually here to help." He said glancing over at Brooke for a split second, but it didn't go unnoticed by the rest of them.

"You." Haley scoffed. "You're here to help! Why? Did Dan bite you? But then again would you even mind?"

Julian sent her a glare but answered calmly, "You're not the only one who's allowed to cross the fence, James, are you?" he said and could actually feel Nathan's look analyzing him while trying to figure if he's being real, well, not just Nathan, but he knows better than them.

"Why should we believe you?" Peyton asked him. She knows it in her guts, she knows he's doing it for Brooke, and it's adorable, but then again, after last night, after what she has seen and witnessed, and after seeing Dan's true colors and hidden secrets, she couldn't just give in and believe him, at least for Lucas… in order not to hurt him even more.

Julian gave a side smile looking at her, "I'm following your steps." He smirked and she gave him a glare, well, probably everyone gave him a glare so he sighed, "Maybe I just want to help."

"So, we're supposed to just believe that this is not a scheme from Dan?" This time it was Brooke who asked with a raised eyebrow and his head quickly snapped towards her being surprised that she's addressing him, "Like it always is?"

"No." he whispered looking at her and shook his head, "No, it's not a Dan thing. Not this time."

"Let's say we believe you," Nathan said moving the topic forward, "How could you help us?"

"Now, we're talking." Julian nodded, "I know where your friend is; Marvin."

"So what? You're Dan's shadow, of course, you'd do." Lucas pointed.

"No, not this time. I didn't know anything about this one." He told them catching their attention, "But, I did find it out, and I saw him."

"Is he okay?" Millie asked him; having been there for the whole story of Julian and Brooke, she had no problem believing he's really helping them; in fact, she was half-hoping half-expecting that he'd be turning against Dan soon for Brooke since she wasn't letting him in and yet he kept coming back.

"He's… as good as he can get." He said and they all had their glares ready, "He's kidnapped!" he stated the fact, "By Dan."

"Oh my God." Millie wailed silently crying.

"And, I know what Dan asked you to do… but, in fact, he has no intention of letting him go anyway."

"What? What are you saying?" Lucas asked with narrowed eyes.

"He's planning on killing him, no matter you do what he wants or not." He shrugged.

"What?"

"Oh my God!"

"That son of a bitch!"

"Why are you telling us this?"

Julian rolled his eyes, "Again, I am helping you."

"Are you no longer his man?"

"I am, as far as he's concerned. But, I'm planning on getting out of service." He said and could still see the doubt in their eyes, "It's your choice to believe me or not, but, that's the truth, I'm getting out either way…"

"Did you talk to him?" Millie asked Julian.

"Yes. Briefly. I didn't have much time." He told her for a second showing some kind of sympathy towards her before facing the rest once again, "I snuck in there; Dan doesn't know." He elaborated.

"So, you could help us get him out?" Nathan asked him.

"This… I mean, it could happen, but, it needs a plan. He's well-guarded."

"Wait a second, why would Dan want Mouth dead?" Lucas asked looking at him doubtfully.

Julian stared back at him for a moment, "Because Mouth knows a big secret about him…" he mumbled.

"What secret?"

Julian looked at Nathan then back at Lucas; he didn't know why it was hard for him to tell them, why it felt like such a heavy task, it's not like he cares, because he doesn't. But, maybe, it was recently brought to his attention that Dan gave them a lot of trouble, with his own help, so maybe letting them in on another one while he's quitting 'Dan' felt wrong,

"Well…" he cleared his throat, "It's Mouth who told me about this. Dan doesn't know that I know…" he began.

"Know what?"

"That Dan is the one who killed Keith."

Will Dan's surprises ever stop? Is he literally responsible for everything bad that has ever happened to them? Maybe tomorrow they would learn that he's responsible for the war, maybe he funded Hitler!

The surprises continue, and the rage grows to feed the never-ending hatred…