Pulling her Comet over to the side of the road, Audrey got out, and ran toward the wreckage. She couldn't believe she had just witnessed an accident, let alone one that involved people she knew. She recognized Kristine's car, and she had been able to tell that there had been someone in the passenger seat, but she wasn't sure who it was. She just knew she probably needed to get Kristine to the hospital, and fast. The impact had been directly on her side of the car, and the other vehicle had been driving way too fast. He must have not seen the stop sign at all.
Reaching the car, Audrey noticed the passenger getting out, and she ran over to Justin. "Oh my God, are you okay? Is something broken? Did you hit your head? Can you even hear me?" she asked, trying to do the once over without touching him or hurting him further. She saw him shrug before he pulled her into a hug, assuring her that, for all intents and purposes, he felt fine. "We need to get your sister out of the car. I don't think she's as okay as you are," she turned to the car and looked inside.
Letting out a gasp as she realized Kristine wasn't even conscious, she hurried to try to get her out of the car. She didn't know if they should wait for an ambulance, so she just got Justin to grab her feet and help her get Kristine into the back of the Comet. She walked over to the other driver, calling the police and leaving Justin to wait with Kristine's car. She also called Nathan before she headed over to the hospital. She ran in to get some orderlies to get Kristine out of the car. They were wheeling her in and asking for a parent when Nathan came rushing into the emergency room.
Leaving Nathan to fill out the paperwork, Audrey went to call Brooke, knowing that she deserved the truth. She also called her mother, because she knew that Brooke would want Peyton there, and, to be honest, she wanted her mother there as well. It wasn't long before both Brooke and Peyton showed up, and not long after that, Justin was brought in by ambulance. He allowed himself to be examined, with Brooke hovering nearby asking the doctor questions.
Eventually, Justin was released, and he and Brooke re-entered the waiting room. Peyton was sitting next to Haley, but she stood when she saw Brooke, and walked over, giving Brooke a hug. Haley bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. She knew Brooke would need Peyton right now, and it wasn't like Peyton wasn't allowed to have other friends. She would be a pretty crappy person if she tried to make her choose. Besides, Brooke had no other friends in the world, and when both your kids are in a car accident, and one is in surgery, you need all the people you can get.
It was a few hours before the doctor came out about Kristine. Brooke and Nathan both stood and walked up to the doctor, with Haley following behind Nathan. "Kristine is in a very precarious place right now. Her kidneys were both ruptured in the crash, as well as her spleen, which we took out. She's going to need another kidney soon though, or she won't make it. She's been put on the donor list, but if anyone wants to be tested, I'll be sending a nurse out shortly to take you back," he said before he disappeared.
Turning to Nathan, the fear was evident in Brooke's eyes. It was visible in Nathan's, too, but he chose to turn to his wife, still not completely comfortable talking to Brooke. So Brooke turned away from the couple and walked over to her best friend. Peyton, who hadn't been close enough to hear, stood up and hugged Brooke, rubbing her back and asking her what was going on. "She needs a kidney, Peyton. If she doesn't get one she'll die. My baby girl could die," she managed to say before dissolving into tears.
James was at home watching the little ones, and Nathan and Haley discussed it and decided that they would let him stay there. If no one here was a match, they would call him and have him get tested, but if someone was a match there was no need to get him worried yet. They didn't want the little ones to know what was going on yet either. They didn't want to explain it if Kristine ended up being okay. They really didn't want to explain it at all, to be honest. The little ones had grown quite fond of Kristine. It was going to break their little hearts that she was hurt. It would break them even more if she died. They just hoped that that didn't happen.
While Peyton hugged Brooke, Audrey went over to Justin and gave him a hug. She rubbed his back as she held him. He wasn't very reactive, she noticed, pulling back to look at him, and it was then that she noticed that his eyes had rolled back into his head, and he would have fallen had she not reacted quick enough to catch his weight. "We need a stretcher, and a doctor," she yelled, trying to stay strong and keep herself from crying. She needed to stay strong for her mom, because Brooke needed Peyton, especially now that both of her children were in the hospital. She helped the nurses get Justin on the stretcher, and then they wheeled him away.
The nurse came then to take the people who wanted to be, back to be tested. Audrey and Peyton stayed behind because they weren't related, so it wasn't likely that they would be a match. If no one related to her was a match, then they would get checked. Haley went back with Nathan to give him moral support. Which left Brooke to go with the couple. She trailed a few steps behind them, not wanting to intrude on them comforting each other, but wrapped her arms around her middle as she continued to sob quietly. She wanted to get this test done so she could go find out what was happening to her son.
In the waiting room, Audrey leaned into her mother, more for her own sake than for Peyton's. She knew her mother needed it. She tried to remain strong for her, but she ended up breaking down and crying, and Peyton wrapped her arms around her teenaged daughter and cried with her. "It's okay, baby girl. Let it out. I know he means a lot to you, and I know you were just starting to get on good terms with her. It's okay to cry," she said as she rubbed her back in the way she had since Audrey was a little girl. It always brought comfort to the teenager, even though it had been years since her mother had had reason to rub her back in this way.
Audrey cried in Peyton's arms until Haley and Nathan came back from being tested. She wiped hastily at her tears, and sat up in her own seat, breaking out of her mother's embrace when she heard them come back into the waiting room. Haley came down and sat next to Peyton, giving her a hug, while Nathan just started pacing. As soon as she finished hugging Haley, though, Peyton got up and stopped Nathan's pacing to give him a hug. She knew he needed it too, even if he'd never admit it. He did hug her back for a long time, and the tears didn't fall from his eyes, but Peyton knew that was only because he was trying really hard to restrain them.
When Peyton felt that Nathan was going to pull away, she gave him one last squeeze. "She's going to be fine, Nathan. Someone will be a match, and she is going to be just fine," she tried to reassure him. He nodded and then broke the hug, going to sit next to Haley. Peyton took her own seat on Haley's other side, just as Haley took Nathan's hand, squeezing it tightly. She also leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, just trying to give him comfort. She knew what he was thinking. He had just gotten to have his daughter in his life, and now he might lose her? It wasn't fair. She just had to make it through this. He wanted to have many, many years with his daughter, not less than one.
A few minutes later, Brooke re-entered the waiting room. Audrey moved over a seat so that she could sit next to Peyton. "He might have a brain bleed. They're doing a cat scan right now, then they might have to cut open his head to fix his brain," she told Peyton what she understood of what the nurse had told her when she asked about her son. "How could this be happening, Peyton? Both my kids, in a car accident fighting for their lives. I could lose both of them. I can't lose them, Peyton," she started sobbing again and Peyton pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back the same way she had been rubbing Audrey's minutes before.
It was a couple hours before they heard from another doctor. Kristine's doctor came back into the waiting room, with a heavy look on his face that made them think there was no good news at all. Brooke, Nathan and Haley all got up and walked over to him. He shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. None of you were a match. We've still got her on the list, though, and at this point we'll accept anyone who wants to be tested to see if they're a match," he said, and Brooke nodded, walking over to Peyton to let her know. "Wait, Mr. Scott, I have something else to say to you," he added before Nathan and Haley could walk away.
Eying his wife with a curious look, Nathan stayed put, wondering what this was about. Haley was also wondering what was going on. She had no idea so she just shrugged at Nathan. Neither of them was expecting what actually happened. "Well, I know you said you were her father, but the blood test disagrees," he began, consulting his clipboard. He showed them the results, but they didn't really understand them. "If anything, I'd say you were her uncle. There are some matching genes, but not enough for you to be her father," he explained some more, but neither Haley nor Nathan understood what he said. They had already got the gist of it anyway. "So we should test her real father, if he's in the area," he finished.
Pausing when she heard what was said, Audrey just froze, a million thoughts going through her mind. She did have a sister. Kristine was her sister. Lucas was Kristine's father. She knew that part of her shouldn't be completely surprised, because Brooke had lied before. But she was completely thrown for a loop. She wanted to mention that she was Kristine's sister, so it was likely she was a match, but at the same time, she really didn't want to admit that information yet. "Her father's out of town. But you can test me," she paused still trying to decide if she wanted to make her announcement. "I'm her sister," she finally said, much to the shock of everyone in the waiting room.
A/N: I forgot to write authors note last chapter, but thank you for the reviews of the last two chapters. And someone showed concern with Kristine being Nathan's daughter, so I hope you like this ending. Even though it is a bit of a cliffhanger. I must admit this, or something similar to this, had been in my mind since the beginning. I hope you guys are still reading, and please review. It really helps me when you do.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.