Thanks for the kind words on the first chapter. I'm not completely sure which direction its going pairing wise. Jeyton is my all-time favorite OTH couple, but lately Peyton as a character has been frustrating. So I'm trying to figure out what works best, and what people like best, and what feels right to me. I hope you like this chapter, its short, next chapter should be longer. Carrie

"Tutor-Mom!" Brooke called out as she entered Nathan and Haley's apartment. "Tutor-Mom, I need to talk to you." She called out again when Haley didn't immediately appear. She needed to tell someone about Jake's return to Tree Hill.

"Sshhh." Haley hissed as she came into the living room. "James is asleep finally." She glanced at her watch wondering how much time had passed without her realizing. She frowned. "You're early, you're never early."

Brooke sighed dramatically and flopped down onto the couch. "I need to talk to you before Peyton gets here."

Haley groaned and lowered herself tiredly onto the couch. "Do I even want to know what's going on?" She knew that things had been too quiet in Tree Hill lately.

"Jake Jagielski's back in town." Brooke told her, and waited for Haley's reaction. When Haley was quiet, she pressed. "I saw him and Jenny at the café."

"Ok." She wasn't quite sure what Brooke was getting at, what the big drama was.

"Are you being dense on purpose? Jake is back in town, Jake and Peyton had a very intense thing. Peyton is with Luke right now." She connected the dots for Haley.

Haley leaned back and rested her head on the back of the couch. "I really didn't' see Jake and Peyton together." She had been in New York when Jake had returned from Savannah the first time. "But you know Peyton and Luke are pretty solid. Do you really think that Jake being back in town can mess that up?" Luke and Peyton had gone through a lot to finally be together, and they seemed happy. It was what they both said they'd always wanted.

"Peyton really loved Jake. She was lost without him for a long time. And she loves Jenny…And Jenny's really sick Haley, its why Jake's back here." Brooke lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Oh my G-d that's horrible." She immediately looked towards the room where her little boy lay sleeping. She couldn't imagine what she would do if anything bad ever happened to him. "Is she going to be ok?"

"I don't know, I don't think Jake does. He really didn't go into a lot of details, and I didn't press. Jenny looked ok, I guess." She really didn't know what a sick baby would look like.

"Wow." She murmured. "I just, I can't even imagine. Poor Jake. Hold on." She got up and went in to quietly peek on her son. Just to reassure herself that he was healthy and perfect. "Ok." She said when she returned to her spot next to Brooke on the couch.

"Do I tell Peyton?" She asked Haley quietly, unsure of what she should do.

Haley sighed. "It's a small town. And if you ran into Jake, chances are Peyton will too. I think she'd be hurt if she knew that you knew Jake was back and didn't tell her." Jake being in Tree Hill didn't have much of a chance at staying a secret.

"So I tell her." She had known deep down that telling Peyton was probably the best move, but she'd needed to hear someone else say it too.

"Tell who what?" Peyton asked from the doorway. She had stopped at the video store on her way to Haley's. She was in charge of choosing the DVDs for their girls night. She'd picked up a couple of chick flicks for Brooke and Haley and an indie film for herself.

"Umm." Brooke looked to Haley for help. Haley just shrugged and gave her a look that clearly said 'just tell her.'

"Brooke?" Peyton questioned as she closed the door and came further into the apartment.

"Jake's back." She blurted it out.

Peyton's eyes widened in shock and she actually took a step backwards. "You saw him?" Brooke shook her head yes. "How did he look?" She asked quietly. She never believed that Jake would return to Tree Hill. She closed her eyes as images of Jake filled her head.

"He looked…you know..good…tired." Brooke struggled to answer, not sure what Peyton was looking for in terms of answered. Peyton looked shell-shocked.

"Did he have Jenny with him?" She needed to know about the little girl she loved and missed with all her heart. She watched as Brooke and Haley looked at each other and then looked anywhere but at her. "What?" She asked fear immediately overtaking her.

"Maybe you should sit down." Haley suggested gently.

She shook her head no, and stayed where she was. "What's wrong with Jenny?" She whispered.

"She's…she's sick, Peyton, that's why Jake came back here." She moved to hug Peyton, knowing how much the news would hurt her.

"No." She whispered through tears that were already threatening to fall. "What?" What was Jenny up against, she wondered desperately.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask Jake." Brooke held her tighter

Peyton pulled back and wiped her cheeks quickly. "I have to go." She handed the movies to Brooke and left without another word.

"Peyton!" Brooke called after her, but she didn't respond or turn around. "That went well." She said sarcastically to Haley as she flopped back down on the couch.

"You did the right thing Brooke." Haley told her hugging her tightly. "It'll all be ok." Everything would work out the way it was supposed to. It always did.

The short drive to Jake's house was a blur. All she could tangibly remember was leaving Haley's house and knowing that she had to go to him. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.

He answered the door quickly before the person could knock again and maybe wake Jenny up. Before his mind could even comprehend what was going on or he could react, she was in his arms holding him tightly. "Peyton?" He should have expected her, should have known that Brooke would tell her. He brought his arms around her hesitantly.

"She's going to be ok, right?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"She has to be." Was all Jake could say. She had to be, because Jenny was his whole life, without her what did he have?