Slowly Lucas walked over to his car and opened the door. He winced when it opened a little too loudly as he climbed in the driver's seat, careful not to make any extra noise. His breathing was rapid and heavy as he nervously tapped his long fingers against the wheel. Deliberately he had parked his vehicle in that very spot. It was perfect for surveillance. On the other side of the street sat Derek's Chevy. Lucas checked his watch. It was a little after three in the morning. Soon the bartender would be leaving TRIC and when he did, Lucas would secretly be watching. The plan had been to follow him wherever he was going. Lucas had no idea where that was but hopefully, somehow, it would lead to Peyton.

The seconds ticked away. They became minutes and Lucas was growing impatient. His mind was all over the place? Where the hell was Derek? Had he noticed Lucas' car? He shook his head. That couldn't be it. Besides, the guy wasn't that smart, not nearly half as smart as he thought he was. Obviously Derek was hiding something and Lucas was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of it.

It had been a plan he had kept secret. There was no need to let Larry or the others in on it just yet. He wasn't even sure what he would find. But he had to try. So he had found out when Derek would be working that night. In the middle of the evening, he had moved his own car in a spot where he could inconspicuously watch everything. He would wait quietly for the moment when Derek would make his exit. Lucas would tail the car to wherever he was going. He'd had a feeling about it, like it was the right thing to do even though the planning stopped there. He had no idea what he would do once they reached the final destination but he was prepared for anything.

Resting his head against the back of the seat, Lucas yawned. Mentally, emotionally and physically, he was exhausted beyond belief, far more tired than he had let his friends and family onto. Peyton's disappearance had taken a toll. It was all he thought about. Morning, noon and night, one half of his mind was focusing on clues and leads, taking the next steps to finding her. The other half of his mind was tormented with loneliness, grief and guilt. He missed her horribly. Even though he had no idea where she was, somehow he still felt incredibly connected to her energy. Sometimes it was as if he could still hear her, still feel her. He closed his eyes as the lids began to grow heavier and heavier…

Lucas ran as fast as his feet could carry him. When he made it to her front door, all he could do was literally collapse after knocking several times. He heard the footsteps and she opened it, shock on her face as she knealt down beside.

"Lucas! Oh my God! What, what happened to you?"

He could barely catch his breath as Peyton helped him stand and ushered him into the house. They made their way up the stairs and to her bedroom where she got him a glass of water and waited for him to speak. What a difference a couple of hours made. Earlier in the evening, they had been commiserating at Wrightsville Beach. It was supposed to be the fun summer before senior year, when everyone would be together having fun. But it wasn't to be. Brooke was away in California, but not before she had rebuffed Lucas' romantic advances. Haley was supposedly still on tour with Chris Keller, Gavin DeGraw and The Wreckers. A surly Nathan was on his way to High Flyers camp. Jenny was missing, kidnapped by a vengeful Nikki, and Jake had run off to find them. In an instant it was just the two of them.

To complicate matters even further, Ellie, the woman Peyton thought was stalking her had showed up at her doorstep claiming to be her birth mother. Peyton had phoned her father, Larry, immediately where he was out to sea. He was supposed to deny the tale and calm her fears. Instead he seemed stunned, speechless, promising to explain everything the very next day when he'd hop the next flight back to Tree Hill. She'd had no one to turn to, to cry to…except Lucas. It would be just the two of them that summer and a special bond had formed that night on the sand underneath the moonlight as the waves crashed in. Peyton told him everything and he listened intently and without judgment, holding her as she cried. It would always be their special moment. He drove her home that night to make sure she arrived safely. Now hours later he was back, anxious, scared and covered in black soot.

"Fire", he managed to spit out.

"Fire?"

"There, there was a fire at the dealership. Dan's dealership."

"What happened? Lucas! Did you see the fire? Is anybody hurt?"

"It wasn't an accident", he blurted out.

Peyton's green eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean not an accident?"

Tears clouded his eyes as he looked away.

"You know how he is. Everybody does. It's like all he does is hurt people, intentionally make lives worse. How can somebody do that? Peyt, I ask myself that question everyday. Then I realize, whether I like it or not, he…he's my father. We're flesh and blood and that makes me sick. It hurts when I think of the things he has done and what he's capable of. I, I used to wish he was dead."

Peyton swallowed hard, fearing what might come out of his mouth next. Then she relaxed. She knew Lucas and she knew he was a good guy. He'd never hurt anyone.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"Somebody, somebody tried to kill him. Dan was working late and he was alone. They set the place on fire and left him there. I, I went in. I smelled the smoke and it was so hard to breathe and I saw these flames, these raging flames and it felt so hot…"

"Slow down", she rubbed his arm. "It's okay."

"I couldn't leave him there. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't walk away. He was unconscious in his office when I found him so I pulled him out."

"You did the right thing."

"Did I? He opened his eyes just as I dragged him out to safety. Why now does it feel like I should have let him burn?"

Peyton sighed.

"Are you hurt? Are you burned? Do you want to go to the hospital?"

He shook his head.

"I'm okay. I got a few blisters on my fingers and a cough and my clothes are dirty but it's alright. I'm fine. I'm gonna be fine."

"Okay. Um, you can stay here as long as you need to, you know that."

"Thanks", Lucas nodded before pausing for a bit. "Peyton?"

"Yeah?"

"It was Deb?"

"What?"

"She did it. She set the fire. I didn't see her do it but we were the only three people there. I went to the dealership to spy on him and I saw her go in. She was wearing all black and a hood. Deb came back out a few minutes later and she looked really upset. Next thing you know, the place is on fire and she just calmly drives away like nothing happened. She tried to kill him, Peyton and even if she didn't, she knew the building was burning and she just left him there to die."

It was a hard pill to swallow. Peyton didn't know what to do or say or think?

"What are you gonna do about it?" she finally asked.

"Nothing. I, I can't tell anybody. I mean, hopefully he'll be okay but this has got to be a secret. I can never let anyone know. Never."

"You just told me. Why?"

He looked right at her.

"Because I trust you."

Lucas sat straight up with a jolt. He rubbed his eyes and cursed out loud, realizing that he had dozed off. Focusing ahead, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't too late. Casually strolling to his car was Derek. Lucas gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other firmly on the ignition. It was time.

"Lucas don't!"

He screamed out loud. Turning around quickly, he saw Brooke crawling beside him from the back seat.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to stop you from doing something incredibly stupid."

"Brooke! I don't get it. What, what the hell? I mean, where did you come from?"

"I've only been hiding in your backseat for like the last hour, hel-lo."

"How did you get back there?"

She gave him a look.

"Is that question really necessary? Not to bring up the past but um, the first time you and I were formally introduced was when I hid in the backseat of your car. At least I'm dressed this time."

"What are you doing back there besides trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Lucas, I know what you're up to and I can't let you do it. I know you plan on following Derek tonight."

"I didn't tell anyone. How did you know?"

She shrugged.

"Because I know you. I know you'd do anything to help Peyton right about now. I understand that and I'm with you on it but not this way. I mean, we're dealing with Derek here. It isn't safe and it isn't smart. You're by yourself presumably unarmed, no telling where he's going."

"I don't care about that", Lucas responded stubbornly. "I have to know."

"Please."

"I'm sorry, Brooke. You might think this is stupid and it probably is. You might think it's a little dangerous and yeah, it's probably that too but it's a chance I'm just gonna have to take."

"But Lucas…"

"It's Peyton, Brooke. It's Peyton. What if he has done something to her? What if she's hurt or scared? What if he knows something? Yeah, it's a lot of what ifs but I won't be able to live with myself if I don't at least check things out. Time is running out. The longer she's gone, the better chance we have of bad news. I have to go tonight, right now."

"Fine but I'm going with you."

"Brooke, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"It's not safe."

"It's safe enough for you."

"Brooke…"

"There he is", she pointed ahead. "Go! He's leaving."

Without further hesitation, Lucas cranked the car and slowly pulled out after Derek. With an anxious Brooke by his side, they tailed behind in the moderate late night after club traffic, careful to keep a safe and subtle distance.

"Where the hell is he going?" Lucas questioned out loud as they left the city limits.

"Do you even know where he lives?"

"Who the hell really knows anything about this Derek character?"

They continued driving for miles. Lucas tried to stay far enough behind but as the number of cars on the road late night began to dwindle, it became more and more noticeable. Out of nowhere, Derek braked to almost a complete stop in the middle of the road before screeching off at record speed.

"Oh shit, I think he saw us", Brooke gripped her seat.

Lucas could not speak. He tried to keep up but was unsuccessful as Derek lost him on a dark, country road.

"Fuck!" he pounded the dashboard.

"What now?" Brooke asked softly.

He thought for a minute.

"I don't know. I'll try this road to the right and if we don't see him, we'll head back."

She nodded, both dejected. He was beginning to lose hope until Brooke whipped her head around.

"Look! Over there in all those bushes! It looks like his car. Kill the lights."

He did as he was told, pulling over on the dirt and gravel shoulder.

"It's him", he took a deep breath, opening his door.

Brooke followed suit.

"What are we gonna say?"

"We are not gonna say anything", he looked right at her. "It's dark as hell and we're in the middle of nowhere. It's too dangerous for you to be out here and I mean it. Brooke, get back in the car. Lock the doors and keep your hand on the ignition. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, drive to Larry's."

"No. No way. We shouldn't split up."

"Brooke, this is not up for discussion. Just do what I told you to, okay? You shouldn't be out here."

"Neither one of your asses should be out here", said a third, unknown voice.

Lucas and Brooke gasped and jumped as they saw a figure approaching them. He pulled Brooke to safety behind him, picking up a tree branch that had been blown down by the wind.

"Stop where you are", he commanded.

The person kept coming and when Lucas finally saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the branch.

"How are you gonna defend yourself with that flimsy thing? It would probably break before you finished swinging."

Brooke marched up and smacked him.

"Nathan Scott!"

"Ouch. That hurt."

"Good."

"What the hell was that for?"

"For scaring the holy hell out of us, you moron."

Then she hugged him.

"Now what was that for?"

"Because I've never been so glad to see you."

"What the hell is going on?" Lucas asked. "Dude, how'd you find us?"

"I followed you. You were so busy tracking Derek you weren't even paying attention to who was tailing you."

"I kind of told him what you were up to earlier", Brooke admitted.

"I thought it was stupid and dangerous so I kept my eyes on you all night. I was hoping Brooke could talk some sense into you, then I see both of you peel off after Derek. It's dumb but nobody could stop you. I guess I can't blame you either. If it was Hales we were talking about…man, I don't even want to think about it. So I'm here and I've got your back, both of you."

Lucas nodded and they bumped fists.

"Okay. Here we are. We know that jackhole is somewhere around here. I'll stay in front. Nate, you get behind, Brooke, walk in the middle."

They crept into the grass, not making a sound as they tried to find their way around in the unfamiliar darkness. Soon they came to what looked like an old abandoned house.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Nathan asked.

"Hell no", Brooke put her hands on her hips. "There's no way anyone lives there. The place looks condemned. It's too creepy, even for someone like Derek."

They walked around the perimeter, trying every which way to open doors. It was impossible. The old house had been boarded and pad locked. There was seemingly no way in or out.

"Let's check the back", Lucas suggested as the others followed.

It was the same. There was a door and they tugged on it but it was no use. There were no signs of anyone, Derek included. Dejected, the three headed back towards the road. It was dark and not even the moon could cast light on the soft dirt in front of the back door, the dirt that yielded two sets of footprints…a larger and a smaller pair.

"That was useless", Brooke muttered when they were back at the cars.

"So he just disappeared, too?" Lucas kicked at the tire, frustrated.

"It's definitely his car. I checked inside and around but he's gone, man", Nathan said.

"I'm gonna sit out here all night."

"The hell you are, Luke. Come on, bro", Nathan pleaded.

Brooke put a sympathetic hand on her ex's shoulder.

"Lucas, let's go home. Come on. We'll look tomorrow."

He stared up at the full moon and he wanted to scream, to cry, to tear his hair out. He felt so close.

"Yeah", he finally sighed. "Tomorrow."

The three drove off in their two cars and when it was quiet again and the headlights had disappeared, only then did Derek emerge from the shadows. The whole time he had hidden in the brush he knew like the back of his hand. It was his territory, his secret hiding place and they'd never get in. They'd never get to her. But those nosy, meddling assholes with their sidekick Barbie bitch had come a little too close for Derek's comfort.