Sorry it took so long. i had a lot on my plate.. tell me if you like this. i decided to make thi s alittle longer then i first thought it would be. not like SO much longer, but a good length. i got some ideas left in me :) Review and let me know what you think!

It had been three hours. Probably the three longest hours Brooke had ever had to wait. She sat there in the waiting room, waiting for Lucas to come out of surgery. She just kept replaying that image in her head, over and over. She wiped away a tear and looked over at Haley and Nathan. They were sitting there, both of them. Just staring off into space.

"This is my fault Hales." Nathan looked over at her.

"Nathan, no its not." she grabbed his hand. "You can't think that."

"Dan was trying to shoot me. And Lucas...he...he pushed me out of the way."

"Lucas loves you Nathan."

Before Nathan could say anything else a doctor entered the room.

"Is my son out of surgery?" Karen asked immediately.

"No, I'm sorry Mrs. Roe." the doctor answered. "They are trying very hard with Lucas, however he lost a lot of blood. They are trying to repair everything."

Karen nodded unhappily.

"What about my mom?" Nathan asked.

They doctors stood their silent for a minute.

"When the paramedics came, they said she still had a pulse. They said their was still a chance."

"I'm sorry Nathan. There was just to much damage."

"But they said there was a chance." Nathan's voice cracked.

The doctor just nodded his head.

Nathan turned his head and tried to hide his tears. How could this be happening? Why was this happening. He didn't say anything to anyone, he avoided eye contact with them all. He just picked up his pace and walked right out of the hospital.

"Nathan wait!" Haley called trying to go after him when she felt a tug at the arm and saw it was Brooke.

" I think he needs to be alone Haley."

Haley had tears streaming down her eyes and Brooke brought her into a warm hug as the two girls cried as well as the rest of the people in the room.

"There is one more thing." the doctor spoke up.

"Yes?" Keith asked.

"Dan Scott has just come out of surgery, we are waiting for him to wake up. But it looks like he is going to survive."

Everyone was to shocked to say anything, of course Dan was alive. That smug son of bitch just doesn't die. He just doesn't die.

- - -

Nathan sat on the end of his bed looking at a picture of his mom and him, when he was just a little boy. She looked so beautiful, so young. So happy.

Of course the police wouldn't let him in through the front door, the downstairs being inspected and blocked off, because it was indeed now a crime scene. There was a way he could get in te house by using the drain pipe.

Nathan sat there tears brushing his cheeks, as he looked down at what was now the only thing he had left of his mother. A damn photograph.

He stroke it gently and just replayed that image of earlier in his head over and over.

"Mom." He cried out before laying down on his bed and screaming into the pillow.

- - -

Peyton and Jake ran in the room, as soon as they herd the news they came rushing.

"Brooke!" Peyton called out, seeing her best friend sitting on a chair, hugging her knees, staring off into space.

"Brooke." She repeated sitting down next to her rubbing her shoulder.

"His heart stopped... Twice." Brooke whispered.

"Is he.."

"No. He pulled through Peyton. Lucas is...alive."

Peyton saw Brookes hands starting to shake. And tears continued to fall from her cheek.

"Brooke that's great. He's going to be fine."

Brooke nodded and leaned on Peyton's shoulder and continued to sob.

They were disrupted by Nathan, finally coming back.

"Nathan, he's okay." Jake told him.

Nathan nodded and walked past them, right into his brothers room.

Haley, Keith, and Karen were all in there. Haley was staring down at her best friend, as Keith and Karen continued to talk to the doctors.

"Nathan." Haley smiled.

He walked up behind her looking down at his unconscious brother.

"How's he doing."

"Not as good as we'd like. But were pretty sure he'll recover quickly.

"Pretty sure?" Nathan asked.

"Well Mr. Scott nothing can be certain in a hospital."

"Well that is your job isn't it? Saving people. Making sure there okay."

"Nathan." Haley nudged him.

"Were doing our best Mr Scott."

"Well I know I'd feel a lot better if you were more then pretty sure about my brother's condition. This town already lacks in its police department, I hope it just doesn't suck as bad in this hospital."

"Nate." Keith looked at him.

"They had him wondering around here for months. And they did nothing! They searched for a while, then gave it. Some great fucking safe environment. Now thanks to that were here. My brother is lying in a hospital room and my mom is dead. Gone. Forever. Not coming back. And I'd appreciated if the same thing didn't happen to my brother. Sorry if that's to fucking much to ask."

With that Nathan took another look at his brother and walked past the doctor, nudging him as he did so and flung the door open and walked right past Brooke, Peyton, and Jake again. Out the door, he had just entered.

Haley bent her head as a tear fell from her cheek.

"I'm sorry." she whispered to the doctor.

He just nodded and left them alone.

"Poor Nathan." Keith shook his head.

"I don't know what were going to do."

"Who, you and Nathan?"

"He's so angry. So hurt. He's, he's not ready for this."

"Ready for what?"

"A baby."

- - - -

Nathan sat on the bench bouncing the ball up and down, again and again. Hours and hours it had been.

"You could set some sort of a record doing that." Brooke called out from behind.

He looked over and the saw her walking up.

"Hey Brooke sorry I was just about to go and check on Lucas. I'll catch up with you later." getting up and ready to walk away

"I was just there. Sadly, no change." Brooke told him. "So there is no excuse for you now."

"What?"

"Come on Nathan. It's been three days since Lucas has been hospitalized. And you've been avoiding everyone, and everything. Even Haley."

Nathan just stared at her.

"You know she came to me crying last night."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She was hurt you weren't letting her in. Hurt that she was afraid she couldn't help you. She was to afraid to say anything. Afraid to upset you. Or hurt you any more.

"Haley's never the problem." he mumbled.

"She thinks she might be...in the way."

"Its just hard Brooke. I..I don't know what to do. My mom is dead because of him. And that sick bastard gets to live. I don't know how I can live with that."

"You don't"

"What?" he asked looking over at her.

"You fight like hell to punish him Nathan. You fight like hell."