Larry glanced over to the passenger side of his car. The sun's reflection cast a beautiful, almost angelic like glow across the face of his only daughter. It was hard to peel his eyes away and keep them on the road. She actually had a smile on her face and at that one moment, despite the tragedy and turmoil of the past, Peyton Sawyer looked so innocent and at peace.

"What?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing. I, I was just thinking back to when you were little. On Sundays when it was hot, you, me and Mom would go out for ice cream, then we'd take long rides along the coast," he sighed with fond remembrance of happy family times from long ago.

Peyton closed her eyes.

"I remember," she said softly. "Butter pecan was her favorite. We'd um, we'd have the best times, the three of us."

It was a lifetime ago when they had a family and they were normal. Since Anna's death, it seemed like little had been normal. Staring absently out the window as the car maneuvered slowly down the residential street, Peyton finished the rest of her double chocolate chip ice cream cone. She was tired, exhausted even, feeling like the weight of the world rested on her tiny shoulders. After all the drama and heartache of the last year…the school shooting, the ordeal with Derek…the aftermath had now proven to be the hardest part. Peyton was tired of not being herself anymore, tired of fighting with Lucas, tired of struggling to prove a mute point to all her friends. A quiet Sunday alone with her dad, walking by the docks, driving on the coast and eating ice cream had been exactly what she needed.

"Come on, honey," Larry said as he parked and stepped out of the car.

He offered his hand to his daughter and she gladly accepted it. They slowly walked to the door of their house but Larry stopped them two steps short of entering. Tears filled his eyes and he desperately, gallantly fought them back.

"Dad, what's wrong?" she asked, confused.

He said nothing. All he did, all he could do was hold her tight. He stood there for what seemed like an eternity, his baffled daughter locked inside his strong death grip of an embrace. Finally they walked inside to a not so empty house.

"Peyt…"

Peyton looked around the living room. Karen, Lucas, Nathan, Haley and Brooke were sitting before her, along with a strange bearded man, whom she had never seen before.

"What's all this?" she eyed the small crowd skeptically. "What's going on?"

"Hello, Peyton," smiled the bearded man as he approached her, extending his hand.

"Who are you? How do you know my name? How did you get in my house?"

The questions seemed to tumble out of her mouth. She was apprehensive and rightfully so, considering everything she had been through.

"It's okay. My name is Dr. Henry Pelsinger. I work at a wonderful hospital just about an hour from here. Your friends and your father asked me to come down here today to be with them when they talked to you."

Peyton shook her head. Something didn't feel right.

"Look, everything is okay. And even if it wasn't, I don't need to talk to you. You shouldn't have come."

"Peyton…"

"Dad?" she backed away, her eyes staring helplessly at her father.

Larry looked at Peyton, then at Dr. Pelsinger. Suddenly pangs of doubt and guilt swept over him. Maybe they were doing the wrong thing, or at least going about it the wrong way. How could he ever go through with it, with her looking at him like that? Glancing over at the mantle was a smiling, beautiful picture of his late wife, Anna. She was his, their, special guardian angel. Through that picture she was willing him strength and so was Lucas who gave him a nod of encouragement.

"It's okay, honey. Dr. Pelsinger is only here because we called him. He is here to help you."

"But I don't need any help."

"Yes, Peyt. Yes, baby, you do. It took me a while to finally realize that. I'm your father and I love you. It's my job to protect you. I think this is best."

"What the hell are you trying to do?" she asked defensively. "I mean, what is this? Are, are you trying to put me away?"

"Peyton, let everyone go around the room and have a chance to say something to you. Then we will discuss our plan," Dr. Pelsinger gently suggested.

"Screw that," Peyton furiously shook her head. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear from any of you. How could you do this to me? Lucas?"

Lucas took a deep breath as he looked up.

"I love you, Peyt. You know that. You've got to know that by now. And I want to be with you. I want us. You are a wonderful friend and a wonderful girlfriend. You complete me, you make me happier than you'll ever know. But this…whatever is going on with you…it isn't you, Peyton. And you know what? That's not your fault. It still doesn't take away the fact that you need help, real help. More help than me or Larry or space has been able to give you. I want you to be happy, I want you to get better. Babe, I want you to be okay again."

"No, Lucas!" tears streamed from her eyes. "You don't get it. I'm sorry, okay? It was an accident. It was a mistake. It…"

"It was a cry for help," he finished softly. "I'd do anything in the world for you. Your safety, your happiness, your well being means more to me than my own. I'd risk any and everything for you and right now I'm willing to risk you being mad at me, if it means helping you out in the long run."

"You're full of it, you know that? You make me sick, Lucas. I'm not listening to you. All you've done since the moment I met you is complicate my life more."

She was crying but her growing anger was more than evident. The harsh words tore at his heartstrings much like the knife she had attempted to stab him with. For a split second he began to second guess himself as well but the doctor was right there for backup. He had warned them all that she would most likely react by crying, yelling, accusing, manipulating.

"Karen…" Dr. Pelsinger nodded.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Peyton spat. "This is none of your damned business. Don't you have cakes to bake or something? Just take your son and both of you get the hell out of my house!"

Karen swallowed hard.

"Peyton, I know you are very angry. You have the right to be upset, sweetie. I'm only here for two reasons. I care about you and I care about Lucas. You have been through a lot and it has taken a devastating toll on you. I want you to get better. Lucas wants that, too. I am also here in support of my son, the son that loves you more than anything. We are only doing this because we care."

Peyton crossed her arms. She couldn't believe it.

"Not you too," she motioned over at Nathan.

He shrugged and sighed.

"I guess I'm kind of like the last person you'd expect to be a part of something like this."

"Yeah because it's total bullshit," she rolled her eyes.

"You need help, Peyton. A lot of bad stuff has happened to you. It's really messed you up. So what if you don't have all the answers? It's okay. But there are a lot of people here who care about you, including me. You don't have to go through this alone."

"I can't believe you. I can't believe any of you…"

"Look, it won't hurt to at least talk to someone, get your feelings out. Peyton, this isn't an ambush or an attack against you," Haley began. "We're on your side."

"Sure feels like it," the blonde muttered sarcastically.

"We are," Brooke finished. "I can't pretend to know how bad this must be for you but it is bad. It's really bad. I totally get that. But you can beat this thing. If anyone can, it's you. You can take your life back from losing both your moms, from losing Jake and Jenny, from Jimmy Edwards, from Psycho Derek, and from everything that has ever hurt you. This might seem like a sucky way to do things but right now, it's the only way. You might not understand it now, but one day you will and one day you'll really appreciate it. You're gonna be fine, Friend, just fine. I know it and I'll be here for you. Team Sawyer all the way, right?"

"Screw you, Brooke. I don't need your lame ass pep talks. You probably want to get rid of me so you can have Lucas back."

"Peyton…"

"Whatever. I don't care. You can have him right now in fact because at this moment, I am officially through with all of you. You suck. You are like the worst friends and the worst boyfriend and the worst father ever!"

Dr. Peslinger took his cue.

"Everyone has had the opportunity to voice their opinions. You in turn, Peyton, have responded. It is quite obvious and understandable that you are feeling very emotional and vulnerable at this time. Some of your experiences have traumatized you. Pretending it never happened and trying to deal with it on your own doesn't work. It never works, Peyton, but I don't have to tell you that. Only you know what's going on in your life, what you're dealing with, what you're feeling. I have no ulterior motives…I am a doctor. I help people. It's what I do and it's what I love. The people in this room love you and they only want what is best for you."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"A 30 day inpatient treatment program at my facility for starters. It is a safe and clean place. The staff is very knowledgeable, very personable, very friendly. In no way do I want you to associate it with your experience being kidnapped when you were locked away. I give you my word it will not be like that. You will receive the initial psychiatric evaluation which will tell us where you, we, stand. After that, the appropriate treatment regimen will begin. We focus on a lot of group therapy, occupational therapy, individual counseling. It would be beneficial for you. I think you should give it a chance."

"No way. Look, I don't blame you and if you're trying to help, then that's fine but I don't need you. I guess nobody here believes that but I don't care anymore. I don't want you. I'm an adult, okay? I am 18. I don't have to do this, I don't have to stand here and listen to any of you. And I'm not a little kid so I damn sure don't have to go with you to your stupid hospital just because my dad says so. You guys have a choice…you can leave or I can leave right now because as far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over."

"Actually, baby, you can't do that," Larry said in a flat voice.

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, honey. We figured you would do this. There was no other way."

Peyton felt her heart begin to race as she turned to the doctor.

"What does that mean? What did you guys go and do? What are you talking about 'no other way'? What the hell are you up to?"

Dr. Peslinger pulled out a form and handed over to Peyton.

"This is what we call an involuntary admission. A petition to the court was made by your father, Larry Sawyer, a few days ago. The county magistrate signed this adult custody form this morning. It allows us to commit you up to 24 hours against your will. Pending the first evaluation, you can be released. Since honesty and open communication is the basis of our course of therapy, I will tell you that the chances of that happening are very unlikely. After 48 hours, you can receive the services of an attorney if you so choose to go to court to overturn the ruling."

"What? You're locking me away? You went to court behind my back?"

"Peyton, I…" Larry rushed towards her.

"Lucas," she had tears in her eyes and voice. "No! Don't! Baby, please! I love you, Lucas! You said you love me too!"

"I do love you, Peyt."

"No! If you loved me, if you really loved me, you would protect me! You wouldn't let them do this to me! Please! I can't go there!"

They all cared about her and it tore them up to see the fear in her eyes, hear the desperation and pain in her voice.

"Peyton, please come with me. I am here to help you, not hurt you. Let's make this as easy as possible," Dr. Pelsinger said in a gently yet firm voice.

She wanted to run, to scream, to throw everything in the goddamned house. But in the end, all she could do was go with him. It was a conspiracy. They had all plotted against "crazy Peyton" and won. They watched in silence as she followed the physician out to his car. Larry, overwrought with emotion, went upstairs alone but Lucas couldn't just let her go, not like that. He took off in a sprint, headed towards the cream colored sedan before it took off.

"You're gonna be fine, baby. You'll see. It's gonna be okay. You'll get help and you'll get better. I'll always be here for you. As soon as I'm allowed, I, we'll all be up there in a couple of days to visit you."

Peyton gave him an icy stare, eerily resembling that inhuman look in her eyes the night she almost killed him.

"Don't bother. You've done enough, trust me."

"Peyton, I…"

"What you love me? You're doing this for me?"

"Well, yes."

She smirked shaking her head as the car slowly pulled away from the curb.

"I will never forgive you for this. I will never forgive any of you."