Part 9

The car ride to the hospital was mostly silent, with no meaningless conversation and no radio on. Lucas sat up front beside Nathan, who was driving, while Peyton and Haley sat together in the back.

All four of them were thinking about what had happened in school that morning. It was hard to believe that Peyton had been accused of hurting her best friend, but it was common knowledge around school that the two girls had a falling out and were no longer friends.

Peyton sat staring out the window watching buildings pass by, Haley was holding her hand but it wasn't making her feel any better. In fact she wasn't sure things could get much worse at the moment.

"Shit!" Nathan says from the front.

Just had to think that didn't I! "What?" Peyton asks leaning forward and looking over Nathan's shoulder. "Great!" She sighs leaning back into her seat dejected.

In front of them, on the roads lining the hospital were at least three news vans, one even had a large dish on top.

"It'll be fine Peyton." Lucas says turning in his seat to look reassuringly at her.

She ignored him and looked at the car roof instead even as Haley squeezed her hand, it wasn't going to be fine and she was really beginning to hate that word. What the fuck did it mean anyway? Everyone keeps saying it, I'm going to be fine, and Brooke's going to be fine. Fine meaning what? That I'm going to wake up tomorrow feeling all sunshine and smiles? It's not going to happen, so stop pretending it is!

"Okay so what do you want to do Peyton?" Nathan asks causing her to look at him. He was turned around in his seat watching her, meaning he had parked the car.

Peyton shrugged and looked at the building that held Brooke inside.

"Go see Brooke." She replied as it was the only thing she wanted to do right now and the only answer she could give.

"Right, so let do that then." Nathan agreed and opened his door and got out. The others quickly followed.

As the group got closer they could see reporters standing around the main entrance to the hospital and guys holding cameras on their shoulders.

"Come on, we'll go this way." Nathan said keeping Peyton out of the reporters' views and herding them towards the accident and emergency bays at the side of the building.

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"So which way again?" Lucas asks as they come to a bank of elevators.

"She's in ICU, its two floors up on the left." Peyton responds quietly.

Awkwardly they waited in silence for the lift doors to open. The ride remained the same and the three friends followed behind Peyton as she walked towards the doors that would take her to Brooke.

As Peyton walks towards the entrance to the ICU ward she frowns seeing a hospital guard standing outside the door.

Slowing as the others come up beside her she walks over to a side room that was used by relatives of the patients in the unit.

"You guys can wait in here." She says pointing out the chairs. The room was fairly comfortable with soft chairs, a drinks machine and a table full of magazines. At one end there was a stack of blankets, used when a patient was in an unstable condition and the family didn't want to be far away.

Haley nods as she Nathan and Lucas enter the room and take seats together.

"Are you going to be okay?" Lucas asks.

"Sure, see you in a bit." Peyton says turning away and going over to the door with the guard watching her wearily.

Peyton pushes the call button next to the door.

"I'm sorry Miss but there's no visitors allowed." He middle aged man says politely.

Just as Peyton was about to ask what he was talking about the door opened and a nurse came through.

"It's okay Rodger. Peyton, nice timing come on in."

Peyton eyes the guard for a second before following Shannon through the doorway. Shannon had been the nurse on duty when Brooke had first been brought to the unit and was aware Peyton was a good friend of hers.

"How is she, and what's with the guard?" Peyton asks as they walk further down the hall that would take her to Brooke's room.

"We've had some reporter trying to get in since last night. She's been asking all the staff questions about your friend, even though we told her we're not permitted to discuss patients. I don't think she took the hint." Said the nurse.

Peyton sighed thinking that they were going to have to put up with a lot of crap from the media for a while to come.

"And Brooke's doing really well, as you know the chest drain came out yesterday morning, her lungs seem clear, which is good. The doctors have looked at her cheek and are happy that it'll heal on its own just fine. And she's opened her eyes a few times this morning." She finishes with a grin, reflected back at her by the young blonde beside her.

"She's awake." Peyton asks excitedly, it was the best news she could have gotten today.

"No, not yet Peyton. But she is becoming more aware of her surroundings so any time from now. If she opens her eyes with you there's a chance she probably won't remember it when she is fully conscious okay." The nurse explains as they reach Brooke's door.

Peyton nods as the nurse walks off towards the nurse's station where all the monitors for the patients are held so they can respond as quickly as possible if an alarm should ring.

But she is going to wake up soon, if not now maybe tonight. Peyton thinks with a smile as she moves to the seat next to her friend and gently lifts her hand into hers, then leans over to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey Brooke, have you been looking for me? Well, why don't you do us both a favour and open those gorgeous brown eyes for me huh?" Peyton says as her eyes water. It was so hard to believe that soon, very soon, Brooke would be awake beside her.

Getting no response from the brunette other than the fluttering of eyelids Peyton moves her mouth to Brooke's ear.

"Don't worry B I'll be right here when you wake up, so just take all the time you need to okay. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

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"Okay so do any of you know who that little shit from the hallway was?" Nathan asks still angry about what had happened at school earlier.

Haley shrugged having no idea who he was.

"I'm not sure, but I think he was Andy's brother." Lucas says although not completely sure himself.

Andy Jackson had been in their team for a few years but had graduated last year, he'd never been a regular in the team as he'd never been very good.

Nathan grunted, he didn't care who the guy was related to, if he saw him again he was going to show him a thing or two about mouthing off about friends of his.

"Calm down Nate, okay?" Haley says feeling the tension in Nathan's arm grow.

Nathan stared at Haley and then at Luke before taking a few breaths and standing.

"I just can't get my head around how anyone could think that, let alone say it!" Nathan says running his hand through his hair.

"Hey come on, no one is going to believe that!" Haley says trying to help.

"No? What if that's what the whole school is saying? You saw what Peyton wrote on Brookes dress, so did everyone else at Prom." Nathan says with worry.

"So? That doesn't mean a thing Nate, you know as we as I do Brooke left the Prom grinning like an idiot." Haley says causing Lucas to raise his eyebrows.

"Don't you see Haley? It doesn't matter what I think or what I know, everyone is going to question if Peyton was involved." Nathan tries to explain.

"You are kidding right?" Haley frowns, how anyone could think Peyton had anything to do with what had happened to Brooke was beyond her.

"She was hurt in Peyton's house, and it was Peyton that was there." Lucas says quietly.

Haley looks at her best friend as if she didn't know him.

"I can't believe you just said that!" She says angrily standing up. "If Peyton ever heard you say that… and in case it's slipped everyone's minds, Brooke was raped." She continues allowing Nathan to pull her into his body.

Nathan looked at his brother.

"Peyton would never hurt Brooke, I'm just worried about what all the speculation and rumours people are throwing around right now is going to do to her." Nathan says pulling Haley closer. He'd do anything to protect Peyton from things like earlier happening again, he just wasn't sure he'd be able to.

But he was going to try his best.

"She did hit Brooke at the party Nate, everyone there saw that." Lucas said with concern.

"What exactly are you trying to say Lucas?" Haley asks pulling back from her husband, her eyes watery.

"Nothing." Lucas defends himself. "Just what everyone else will be thinking or saying. I mean how many kids were at that party? How many saw what was on Brooke's dress? Peyton was acting weird that night, I mean she wanted to leave right after you guys left. She wouldn't let me into her house, next thing I know is Nathan's telling me both of them are at the hospital and Brookes hurt." He continues.

"Peyton had nothing to do with this! How dare you imply otherwise Lucas, you're supposed to be her boyfriend!" Haley says ardently.

"I'm not trying to say Peyton did this to Brooke I'm onl-"

"Funny, because it pretty much sounded exactly like that was what you were trying to say Lucas." Comes a voice cutting him off.

The three friends turn around to see Peyton standing in the doorway with tears running down her face.

Haley and Nathan are shocked into silence, both wondering just how much the blonde had heard. But by what she'd already said they guess she had heard more than enough to know what they were talking about.

"Peyton…" Lucas pleads feeling guilty.

"Save it." She says with a shake of her head.

"I just came to let you know… she's awake."

And with that she turned and disappeared back through the ICU doors.

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AN/ Okay, don't shoot me!! But really look /\ she's awake, so okay you haven't read that part yet but see it's happened :) what more do you want??