Part 24

The white coated doctor went over to the sink in the room and washed his hands before joining two other doctors at the foot of Brooke's bed. "Well it would seem that you are doing remarkably well considering, Miss Davis." The doctor said having inspected the progress of Brooke's healing wounds.

Brooke was being helped back into her gown by two nurses. The doctors had basically stripped her naked, removed the couple of dressings she had on her back, side and thigh and 'ummed' and 'ahhed' together for several minutes. Poking and prodding at her as if she didn't exist as a person.

While she tried not to roll her eyes at them, or think too hard on how her body now looked, she knew it wasn't pretty. Ian Banks had enjoyed using that knife on her, and while most were shallow cuts that were healing and won't leave much in the way of scars, there were more than a few that would be permanent reminders of what she had survived.

She had been asked if she wanted to speak with a plastic surgeon but what she looked like right now strangely didn't matter to her very much. There was no one in her life she needed to be perfect for, no one to impress with her looks, or her body. So she had said no and would wait and see how well she healed before she would give a thought about reconsidering that.

She didn't think that her friends would care too much about what she looked like now. Peyton, she knew, wouldn't care at all.

That wasn't strictly true.

Brooke was positive Peyton would care it was just that the blonde wouldn't see her as damaged goods, wouldn't view any of the scars as flaws needing to be fixed. And that was enough to give her the confidence and strength not to care either, at least for now.

After scribbling a few notes in her file the older gentleman looked over at her again as the other doctors left the room, moving on to their next victim she assumed. "Well, I'd like you to stay in at least one more night and tomorrow we can discuss when to release you if you think that would be acceptable."

Brooke blinked. "Um, sure, that'd be okay."

He nodded, put her folder down and left to join his colleagues.

One more night and then she would be leaving? Was it really that simple?

"Looks like things are going well then." Maggie said as she adjusted the covers at the brunette's waist. "You should be getting home soon."

"I guess." Brooke replied softly still somewhat dazed at the prospect of getting out so soon. Did she really only have one more night to get through in here?

"Are you okay Brooke?" The older woman asked having expected a more jubilant reaction from the young girl after having become aware of how much she hated being in the hospital. A fact most of the staff in the unit were perceptive of, not that Brooke had ever tried to hide her aversion to the place.

And with the majority of the staff being female they all had a great deal of compassion given the circumstances surrounding her stay, and tried their best to make her time with them as easy as possible. But they knew the only thing that would make the young girl truly happy was getting to go home.

Brooke felt a smile form as it hit home that it was almost over for her. She turned to the nurse and tried to explain. "It's just it was beginning to feel like I was never going to get out of here, you know? I can't believe it."

Maggie placed her hand over Brooke's and returned her smile. "Believe it." She said before she too left the room.

Brooke looked around the room as a giddy feeling began to spread through her, she was going home soon. She couldn't wait to tell Peyton at visiting.

She was coming home.

She wanted to scream she was so happy, but she settled for squirming about in the bed and thumping at the mattress with her heels.

After a few seconds of acting like a five year old she sighed happily but couldn't stop smiling, and when she caught sight of something sitting on the unit beside her bed she couldn't hold back the laughter as she reached for it.

Things were definitely looking up.

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"So you just sit there and I'll fix you some tea, okay?" Peyton says guiding Haley into the kitchen and helping her sit at the counter before placing the doughnut box in front of her in the hopes that it would help remove the scowl that seemed to be a permanent feature with her friend right now.

Tough crowd! The blonde thought to herself as she began searching for the horrible green tea the pregnant girl had taken to drinking. She shuddered as a memory of having tried the drink surfaced in her mind, just how anyone could willingly drink it was beyond her. But if it would get her back in the good graces of her friend then she'd even consider drinking it herself.

She just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Taking a peak over her shoulder as she pulled the packet out of the cupboard she noticed Haley leaning over the box inspecting its contents.

She grinned as she set about making the tea, maybe Brooke had been right after all and Haley wouldn't be too upset with her.

Haley watched the blonde with a frown as she lifted the doughnut she'd been eyeing, it had been a while since she'd last indulged in such a treat. At the very start of her pregnancy she had been overly worried about putting on too much weight, conscious of her height and not wanting to over strain her body more than necessary. Now she was at the stage where she no longer cared about adding an extra pound here or there. She already needed some help when she tried to stand from a seated position and getting in and out of bed wasn't as easy as it looked either.

But on the up side it wouldn't last for very much longer, and then she'd be able to see her toes once again. She missed them. She gave them a wiggle and looked down, but no, she couldn't quite see them unless she leaned to the side slightly.

Scowl firmly back in place she bit into the frosted doughnut in her hand as a cup of tea was placed in front of her.

She looked at the blonde as she sat down across from her and tentatively met her gaze. "So." She began knowing the blonde was unlikely to want to start a conversation. "How is Brooke?"

Peyton was an enigma to her sometimes, the blonde could be so open and blunt with her opinions at times but then she would go and do things like last night. It worried her on several levels because if Peyton didn't feel she could tell Nathan and herself what was really going on what did that say about their friendship. Didn't Peyton trust them enough to let them know?

Haley knew Peyton wasn't as outgoing as Brooke was but at the same time she also wasn't the recluse loner she viewed herself to be. She just had to be able to trust you enough to let you see that side of her. It was a side that was almost always there whenever Brooke was around, but after their falling out it was seen less and less.

Even dating Lucas finally, didn't appear to have given her that care free attitude that had been so prominent in the Peyton Haley had first gotten to know and become friends with.

There just seemed to be a part of her that was missing, whether through her own choice or not that part of her had gone, replaced by a more cautious, hesitant side that didn't really fit with how Haley had always thought of her.

"She's…" Peyton replied not knowing how exactly to answer that, she had thought Haley was going to lecture her on what she'd been thinking leaving the way she had last night. She hadn't even considered that they'd be calmly discussing Brooke's progress.

"She's not good." Peyton began as she played with the silver ring she wore on the thumb of her left hand. Brooke had bought it for her on her fifteenth birthday and she hadn't taken it off since.

Haley watched Peyton frown and after the silence began to stretch she reached over to place her hand over the blondes to refocus her attention.

"She… I guess she's having trouble sleeping, nightmares I guess." Peyton says blinking back some tears.

"Is that why you where there last night?" Haley asks delicately, not wanting to upset her friend but needing to know what was going on.

Peyton nods.

"Yeah. I think Shannon, the nurse, wanted Brooke's parent's to be there for her." She explains. "Like they give a shit." She added bitterly to herself.

"But they still don't know anything about this do they."

"Nope." Peyton responded blowing out a breath. "They haven't called back, I don't know where they are right now and Brooke hasn't mentioned them so…" She trailed off with a shrug unsure of what else she could do in the situation.

Given the circumstances she wished that once, just once, Brooke's parents could actually do the right thing and be there for their child. But as that had never happened before why expect miracles now.

"But she has me and Nate, and you guys too. So it'll work out." Peyton says not wanting to dwell too much on absentee parents. She didn't want Haley to bring up her father at the moment, not after Karen had informed her that Larry was expecting her call.

"And she certainly had Nathan didn't she."

"Haley!" Peyton says with a start sitting up straighter in her seat.

She had no idea why Haley had brought that whole incident up right now but she didn't like it, not one bit.

"It's just…" Haley says in an attempt to explain as well as halt the gathering furry that was growing in the eyes across from her.

"At the hospital yesterday the three of you looked so… I don't know… comfortable with each other." Haley begins trying to explain what she was thinking. "Made me feel like an outsider watching you like that."

"Hales, you're not an outsider Nathan adores you and Brooke and I consider you one of our best friends." Peyton responds not liking the disheartened tone her friend had used.

"The whole Brooke and Nathan thing meant nothing, Nathan loves you Hales." She continued as she tried to reassure Haley that she had a loving and loyal husband. She hadn't given very much thought as to how that video had effected Haley, she had been more concerned with the fact both of her best friends had shared something together and neither of them had every thought to mention it to her.

"But, then why were you so upset that they got together? I know watching it on-"

"It wasn't that, I'm not surprised that they got together, the truth is I was always more shocked that he'd asked me out in the first place. I would have thought he'd have been more interested in Brooke." Peyton says cutting Haley off, not really wanting the images of her two best friends in bed together playing in her head again.

"I love Nathan Haley, but we were never right for one another." She continues, knowing just how true that was. Luckily for both of them they had called things off and not long after that he had met Haley, and as they say the rest is history. She wasn't sure what would have happened had the both of them still been dating at the time, she hoped Nathan would have been smart enough to know the difference between what he had with her and what he could potentially have with Haley.

Would he have broken things off with her, or would he have carried on with the relationship while he knew his feelings were changing or would he have let Haley slip away from him without ever following his heart. Because Peyton could see just by the way he watched his wife sometimes just how in love with her he was.

It made her happy things had worked out the way they had. Was she upset that Brooke had slept with Nathan and neither of them had ever thought to mention it to her? Yes. But was she surprised that it had happened during a drunken night at a party after she'd once again stormed out having told him they were over? Again. No.

Brooke didn't love Nathan, well she did, but not like that. Brooke would flirt with him sometimes but she loved him as a brother more than as a potential lover. That had always shocked her a little, why Brooke had seemed so unaffected when he had started dating her best friend. Peyton had been worried that Brooke would have become jealous and that it could have hurt their friendship, and that was the last thing she would have wanted. But that had never happened.

But Peyton got it now.

Was Brooke aware of her feelings for Peyton back then? Maybe. But that was something she would have to talk over with the brunette, and Peyton had no intention of revealing to Haley just why Nathan's closeness to both her and Brooke was something she never needed to worry about. That was Brooke's place not hers.

Peyton grinned at her friend. "You know he never asked me to marry him, you date him for two seconds and the guy's so head over heals in love with you he marries you without even telling anyone first!"

They both laugh at that.

"You didn't even put out! And he still married you!" Peyton says quickly before moving out of the way as a doughnut was thrown in her direction.

"I can't believe you just said that." Haley says offended but couldn't help a smile from forming on her lips.

"Yeah, well, just remember Nate told you to play nice so no more food fights young lady." Peyton say waving a finger at her friend before taking her seat back just as Hale's phone goes off.

Haley pulls out her phone expecting it to be Nathan calling to make sure she hadn't killed Peyton yet.

But it wasn't.

"Who is it?" Peyton asks as she watches Haley look at her cell with a frown.

More than a little puzzled at the name on the screen Haley turned it to face her friend.

"It's you." She added.

Peyton raised an eyebrow at that then did a quick pat down check of her pockets to see if she could find it while Haley answered the call.

"Hello?" She asked tentatively having no idea who was on the other end of the call.

"Have you killed her yet?" Came the reply.

"Brooke? Is that you?" Haley asks recognising the voice instantly.

"Yes." Brooke answers slowly having thought it was obvious. "So, what kind of state have you left my girl in? Does she need hospital attention, because I know people who could help with that?"

Haley shares a grin with Peyton even though the blonde had no idea what was being said, only that it was Brooke that was calling. But that was enough information to produce a smile from other girl.

"I'll have you know that I haven't harmed a single hair on her head." Haley says.

"Not from lack of trying." Peyton says loudly for Brooke to hear.

"Oh, has Haley been a bad girl." Brooke asks with a laugh.

"No!" The pregnant girls says into the phone before handing it over to Peyton who was currently fidgeting in her seat in an effort not to reach out and just take the phone out of her hands. "And it missed you by a mile Blondie." She adds to Peyton with a playful glare.

"Hey Brooke." Peyton says to the brunette.

"Well P. Sawyer, guess what you left here?" Brooke asks.

"My bra?" Peyton replies innocently causing Haley to spit the mouthful of tea she had just taken a sip of across the counter.

"Besides that." Brooke responds with a laugh.

"My phone?" Peyton says taking another guess with a grin.

"Yes, clever girl and aren't you glad because I've got the best news!" Brooke says unable to hold back a squeal in excitement.

"Yeah?"

"Guess when I might be getting out!"

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"Excuse me?"

Nathan was in the middle of scrapping off yet another flier from the side of a bus stop and didn't pay much attention to the voice coming from behind him.

He was taking this side of the street while Lucas was working across from him as the made their way down the road. Luckily Skills had turned up with a few friends to help out so progress was being made but Mouth had yearbook work to get done in school and could help.

But they were making quick work of it, a few more streets left to go after this one and they'd be done.

Not soon enough. He thought as he finally managed to rip the last part down.

"Excuse me?"

"What?" Nathan asks sharply as he turns around to meet the owner of the voice only to be met by the glaring of a red light shining from the side of a camera.

This can't be good.

"Do you know Ian Banks? Why are you taking his picture down? Did you put it up in the first place?" Came the questions from a very well dressed dark haired women who he was shocked to realise he vaguely recognised.

Nope, definitely not good.

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AN/ Argh… Wish I could say when the next part will be up but I'm soo swamped right now I won't even bother to guess (it's not like I'm ever right to begin with!). I'm also away this weekend. :( And I haven't even had the time to reply to all the awesome reviews the last chap had.

Sorry about that, but give me a day or two and I'll get that done, you guys are amazing and I very much appreciate each and every one of you that takes the time to do that.

Of course I love all my readers, reviewing isn't a must people.

So hope everyone enjoyed that, no Breyton still, but we are getting closer… honest! Also no barney between the girls, who could stay mad at Peyton? Besides Brooke, and I'll explain why that was at a later date.

Next time.