The doctor wasn't aware of the confusion, and other emotions, that statement caused. Haley and Nathan both looked at Peyton, wondering why she hadn't told them. Brooke looked at the doctor incredulously, wondering how she could have possibly been wrong about this. She had been so sure. Audrey just stared at the doctor, waiting for him to take her back to get tested. She wanted to get this over with so she could come back to the waiting room and wait for news on Justin. She wasn't sure how this was going to affect things between them, since she was now openly his sister's sister. Well, they were actually broken up anyway, so maybe it just wouldn't matter.
Part of her really wanted to go to him and tell him to forget Logan, she wanted him. But she wasn't entirely sure that was completely true, and she had told him she would give it a try. So she was going to keep her word. She was pulled out of thoughts of Justin and Logan by the doctor clearing his throat, wondering who was going to go with him to get tested. Audrey stepped up, as did Peyton and Haley, just in case Audrey wasn't a match and one of them was. Someone needed to call Lucas, though, and Nathan needed to have a talk with Brooke, so he decided to stay in the waiting room, so he gave Haley's hand a squeeze before gesturing that she should go.
Waiting until the others left the waiting room, Nathan held his tongue for the moment, staring hard at Brooke, who was doing her best to look anywhere but him. Sighing, Nathan rubbed the back of his neck when they were alone in the waiting room. "You told me my brother's kid was my own? How the hell do you make that kind of mistake, Brooke?" he demanded. He honestly didn't understand the woman in front of him. She was so infuriating. He wanted to hit her and hug her at the same time. He knew she needed comfort. She was feeling what he had been feeling times two, with both of her kids in the hospital right now, and he really was glad he didn't have to face what she did. But he still only felt little sympathy for her, with all the lies she told.
Staring at the floor with her arms wrapped around herself, Brooke didn't know what to say. She hadn't known for sure that Kristine was Lucas's and not Nathan's. For some reason, all these years her gut had told her that Kristine was Nathan's child, so she hadn't bothered to get a test done. She had just assumed she was right and told Nathan he had a daughter. She didn't understand how she could be so wrong either. "I honestly thought she was yours. The timeline fit better with when we had sex. I'm so sorry Nathan. I should have had a test done, but I believed I was right. You could have had a test done, too, you know. To be sure, instead of just believing that this kid was yours," she let her emotions get the better of her as she added the last bit.
Shaking his head, Nathan decided to just drop the subject. He had nothing more he wanted to say to her anyway. He turned away and walked to the other side of the room, pulling out his cell phone to call Lucas. "Hey, you might want to get home. You have a daughter. Yeah, you're finding out sixteen years too late, but hey, better late than never," he tried to lighten the mood before he had to reveal the real news. There was a pause as Lucas responded. "You know? About Kristine?" he forgot about Audrey for a moment, and was cut off by Lucas's response. "Well, you have two daughters. Kristine and Audrey. Kristine has been in a car accident. She's pretty bad. She needs a kidney, and soon," he paused and let the information sink in.
Instead of listening to the rest of the conversation, Brooke walked away and sat down, wondering just how mad Lucas was going to be with her. Then she thought about Peyton. The blonde would certainly be mad at her too. Even though it had happened years ago, Peyton always did know how to hold a grudge. She just couldn't believe that Peyton had kept it quiet that Lucas was Audrey's father. She didn't understand why. Peyton and Lucas should still be together, raising their daughter together, since he had known about her. But instead Audrey was living on her own and Peyton and Lucas were broken up. It just didn't make any sense.
Before long, Peyton, Haley and Audrey were back. Haley sat by Nathan on the other side of the room, shooting angry looks at Brooke every so often. Peyton took a seat next to Brooke, and Audrey sat on Peyton's other side. It wasn't long before Justin's doctor showed up, and Brooke stood and walked over to meet the doctor. Audrey came over too, and since Brooke didn't know that she and Justin were broken up, she let her. "He's out of surgery, and seems to be doing alright. We won't know for sure until he wakes up, though. But you can sit with him for a while if you like. Just two of you, please," she said, glancing at Peyton who had stood up and was hovering nearby.
Nodding, Brooke held up a finger to say that she needed a minute, and then turned to Peyton. "Please let me know if something happens with Kristine. Or if one of you end up being a match," she requested, assuming that Audrey would be coming into the room with her. Peyton assured her that she would get a nurse to find her if they heard anything, and then let the two of them follow the doctor. They were led down a few hallways and stopped at the door to the room. "Talk to him. It might help bring him back. He's still under, but I'm a firm believer that they can hear you, even in this condition," she said before she got called to do something else, allowing the two women to enter his room.
When the two entered the room, Audrey froze and let Brooke walk up to his bed. She thought she would be able to handle seeing him like this, but she really didn't think she could handle it. It was different than she ever expected, seeing him in the bed, hooked up to all these different machines, listening to the beeping that determined whether or not he was alive. "I'm sorry," she said, then turned and left the room. She halted outside the door, leaning against the wall and sliding down until her butt hit the floor. She didn't think it would make her break down like she did, but something about all of it smacked her in the face with the fact that she may never see his warm brown eyes again, and that wasn't something she could face yet.
Skirting the waiting room where her family was, Audrey left the hospital and started walking towards the scene of the accident, and her car. She texted Logan while on the way and asked him to meet her at her house in about twenty minutes. She wanted to explain everything to him, so she decided instead of waiting, she'd call him and tell him while she walked. She told him about the accident, about Justin breaking up with her, and why, and she told him about her newly discovered sister. He listened, making comments and staying silent when she needed him to. She made it to her car and then requested that he meet her at her place before getting off the phone so she could drive.
They arrived at her apartment at the same time. He pulled her into a hug as soon as she got out of the Comet. They walked to her door and she unlocked it and let them both inside. They took their normal places on the couch. Audrey was on one end, and Logan was on the other, with her feet in his lap as he rubbed them. They sat and talked for a while before Logan convinced her to go back to the hospital. She knew she needed to, but she was still nervous. He had reminded her of her strength, though, and helped her believe that she could do this. She wanted to ask him to come with her, but before she got the chance he told her that there was no place he'd rather be than with her.
So they drove her Comet back to the hospital. Audrey entered the waiting room with Logan following behind her. Peyton immediately ran over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Where have you been? I thought you were back in the room with Brooke, but when I found her to tell her you were a match, you weren't in there. I tried calling your phone just a few minutes ago, but it went straight to voice mail," she said, looking at her daughter with a mixture of curiosity and worry. Audrey pulled out her phone, realized it was dead, and showed her mother, but didn't answer her in any other way. She was trying to process the fact that she was a match.
As she was processing, Logan came up and took her hand, giving it a slight squeeze to let her know he was still there. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out whether or not she was going to give her kidney to her sister. Yesterday she would have never imagined herself in this situation, but now here she was, and she had a very big decision to make. If she was honest, she had known the whole time what she would do. There was only one thing she could do. "Alright, let's tell the doctor that I'm ready to be prepped for surgery," she finally said.
Before anyone could say anything else, another voice spoke up. "No," it came from the doorway. No one had noticed his arrival, since Audrey had been the focus. Lucas stepped further into the room. "Wait until they find out if I'm a match. If I'm not, then you can do what needs to be done. Until then I'm not letting my daughter take the risk," he came forward and hugged Audrey. He turned to his brother and sister-in-law, but could tell that Haley was going to yell at him, and Nathan looked pretty peeved, too. So he decided to avoid them completely, though he didn't ignore them like he was actively ignoring Peyton. "Where do I find the place where they'll test to see if I'm a match?" he asked
Being the only person in the room that Lucas was actually talking to, Audrey led the way, leaving Logan with her family. Peyton immediately gestured for him to come over. She wanted to get some information about her daughter. He slowly made his way over to her, but he spoke before she could even ask. "I'm not going to tell you anything, Peyton. She can tell you what she wants to tell you. I'm not going to interfere myself. I won't tell you anything she doesn't want you to know," he said with a shrug. He knew her intentions were good, and she just wanted to know about her daughter, but he just wouldn't betray Audrey's trust like that.
When the two returned, Audrey sat next to Logan, and Lucas sat on her other side. Peyton was still on Logan's other side. Lucas looked over at Audrey. "So why did you finally decide to tell everyone that I'm your father?" he asked her, trying to keep his tone neutral and, in a way, let Nathan and Haley know that it hadn't been his decision. He would have loved to tell them, but Audrey wouldn't allow it. Audrey explained the situation, telling him what had happened while he had been away, and then following that with the car accident, then the problem with Kristine's kidneys. She finished and there was silence for a moment as Logan and Lucas both processed it all.
Finally fed up enough that she couldn't hold her tongue anymore, Haley stood up and walked toward the group of blondes and Logan. Nathan tried to hold her hand and pull her back, but she pulled her hand out of his grasp. "Why did you never see fit to tell us that you have a daughter? That you have Peyton's daughter? Why was that information kept secret? You know I love her already. I would love to have her as a niece. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, running her hand through her hair and then planting her hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.
Before Lucas could respond, Audrey spoke up. "Don't be mad at my dad, Aunt Haley. He would have gladly told you. He wanted to tell everyone. It was me who wouldn't allow it. So you shouldn't be mad at my mom either. She just tried to do her best by me all my life. It took me a long time to realize that, but I finally have. I've also realized I should be proud to be the daughter of both my parents. They're pretty great. I only wanted it kept secret because I wanted things to keep being the same in that way. I'm not good with so many big changes all at once," she admitted. "Now, I'm going to go check on Brooke and Justin. Let me know if something happens regarding Kristine," she added before leaving the room.
A/N: I know some of you don't like the fact that Kristine could have been Nathan's daughter, but I did mention that Brooke and Nathan sleeping together happened before Nathan and Haley were married. Kristine is older than James. In fact, and I don't remember if this has been specifically mentioned, or if I've written it wrong in the past, but James should be in the grade below Kristine and Audrey. I hope that answers some questions, and I'm sorry for any mistakes I made in the past. Please review and let me know your thoughts. Also, next chapter will have a Peyton/Lucas interaction. They may be getting back together. You shall see.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.