The next morning, Brooke awoke to a pounding headache as she pushed herself off Nathan and Haley's couch. Her brown eyes, squinting as the sunlight came through the window, searched the apartment.

It sounded like the couple was still asleep, so she knew that she could sneak away. The many nights she spent with random guys, and the mornings after where she had to leave without them waking, seemed to be paying off now.

She quickly gathered her stuff, fighting off the aching of her head, and scrawled a note to two of her favourite people in the world. She slipped into her shoes and left the apartment, the door closing without a noise. Once safely outside, she made her way into the parking lot, searching her purse for her keys.

After finding the right key, and unlocking the doors, Brooke slid into her car and started the ignition. She backed out of the parking lot, her eyes watching the road as she searched her purse for her cell phone. Finding it, she pulled it out and flipped it open, dialing the number of Rachel's home phone.

Cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder, the brunette leaned over a bit, messing with the radio. "I know you don't care," Brooke said, speaking to the answering machine that had picked up, "but I stayed over at Haley's last night. I'm on my way home now, so whomever you've got in the bedroom better be gone when I get there."

She flipped the phone closed and tossed it back into her purse, her eyes focusing now on the radio. Certain that she had control of the car, she leaned a bit closer to the buttons, switching from one station and back again.

By the time she'd looked back up at the road, seeing the black truck headed straight towards her, it was too late to move back into her lane. The last thing Brooke heard was the breaking glass and the deafening sound of her scream.

----

Lucas, still unable to drift into a decent sleep, had decided to head down to the River Court. He was headed over to Haley and Nathan's to see if his brother wanted to go play some basketball, even though he'd already been shooting hoops for about an hour, when he heard the sound of squealing breaks.

He stopped in the middle of the crosswalk, his blue eyes searching the street for a brief moment. It didn't take him long to recognize the Volkswagen Bug, practically wrapped around the truck that had hit it. He ran over, faster than he thought possible, as the man climbed out of the bigger of the two vehicles.

"I didn't even see her," the man explained, watching Lucas try to pry open the driver's side door. When he'd gotten closer, his worst fear had been practically shoved into his face; there was Brooke's limp body, leaning heavily against the steering wheel, a large gash on her forehead.

The blonde, ignoring the other man, finally pried open Brooke's door. "Call an ambulance," he hissed to the guy, his arms wrapping carefully around the brunette's body. A sick feeling rose in his stomach as her head, just as lifeless as the rest of her, rolled against his chest.

With her in his arms, and the other guy calling for some help, Lucas made his way to the side of the road. He carefully laid Brooke down onto the ground, almost like he would a porcelain doll, and he raised a hand to her already bruised cheek.

"Brooke," he called out to her, the pain in his voice obvious as he tried to wake her. After a few, excruciatingly long minutes, the sirens could finally be heard, quickly approaching the accident site. Lucas lifted his head from Brooke's chest, where he'd been listening intently to her heart beat, and glanced over to see the other guy approaching.

"Is she okay, man?" he asked, nodding down towards the brunette. Lucas looked down at her, his hand slipping into hers. "I'm not sure," he said softly, his voice laced with heartache. He could see the guy shifting his feet beside him, obviously worried about the whole situation.

The ambulance and police car finally showed up, pulling to a stop near the wrecked vehicles. The paramedics raced out, another two pulling the gurney out of the back of the ambulance. Pushing Lucas aside, they checked Brooke for vital signs. Happy with the results they got, they quickly and carefully lifted her onto the gurney that had appeared behind them.

Then the questions started, directed more towards the other person who had been in the accident. After answering a few of his own, Lucas was permitted to leave. The ambulance had already left, racing towards the hospital, and the blonde knew he had to get there to be with Brooke when she woke up. Who else was going to be there?

----

A few hours later, Brooke slowly awoke to the brightness of an unfamiliar room. The scent of cleaning supplies hit her nose, causing a wave of nausea to pass over her. Then, as the room slowly came into focus, she realized she was in one of the hospital rooms.

She lifted her head slightly, fighting the dizziness it caused as she looked down at her right hand. The tubes coming from it, and the identification bracelet just proved she was there. But what, she wondering, had happened to bring her here?

Then, as if it hadn't been there before, Brooke felt a strange warmth against her left hand. Even in her drugged state, she didn't need to look over to see whose hand the heat came from. She had felt that same touch so many times, and longed for it some many times, that it seemed like a dream.

"Hey Cheery," came Lucas's voice from her left, just as she suspected. The brunette's eyes closed heavily, trying to fight away the emotions running through her body now. What was going on? She gently tugged her hand free from the blonde grasp, finding it a bit easier to think without the feel of him touching her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, noting the hoarseness of her voice. She cleared her throat gently, wincing a bit as a searing pain coursed through her head. Brooke reached up, gently feeling the bandage wrapped around her head. Perfect, she thought to herself.

"I told you I'd save you," Lucas said, breaking her thoughts. This caused her to open her eyes and, a little to quickly, look over at him. Fighting another wave of nausea, Brooke kept her eyes on Lucas's face. She could see the fear and worry in his eyes, though they still held the same loving look he'd always had when he looked at her.

"What happened?" she asked, knowing she didn't have the energy to fight him right now. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Brooke's face. "You were in an accident," he said, his voice soft. "The other guy is fine and said that his insurance company will pay for everything. You, on the other hand," he said in a softer voice.

He leaned forward again, brushing his fingertips lightly over the bruise on her otherwise perfect cheek, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "You're pretty beat up," he finished, his eyes locking on Brooke's. She was the first to break the connection, her eyes looking out the window instead.

"What were you doing there?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice light. Lucas leaned back in his seat again, letting his hand rest on the bed railing. "I was headed over to Haley's when I heard the crash," he said point blankly. "I pulled you out of the car to make sure you weren't de-" His voice broke as he tried to speak that one word.

Clearing his throat, he looked around the bare hospital room. "I don't think you'll be in here for too long," he said after a few awkward minutes of silence. "From what they would tell me, you just had a concussion and they wanted to make sure you were okay."

Brooke gave a slight nod, her eyes looking over towards the door. A sudden pang of loneliness washed over her as she found herself wishing for her parents. Feeling the pain killers start to kick in again, she looked over to Lucas as he stood up.

"I'd better get going," he said as he walked over to the door, "you need your rest." Brooke's hand lifted, as if controlled by someone other than her, and she reached out though she knew she couldn't touch him. "Stay," she said weakly, her hand falling back down to her side. "You know how I hate hospitals."