He had two loves of his life. One was his wife. The other was his brother. Love, Nathan knew, was a tricky thing. It could make you happier than you'd ever been in your life, and it could break you just as easily. He loved his wife, but the pain when she'd left and the bitterness accrued in her absence came awfully close to hate. And he loved his brother. There was the love that you were supposed to have for brothers, the familial kind, the safe kind, and then there was the kind he had for Lucas. What they shared wasn't safe, and it certainly wasn't familial, but it comforted them both to know, to feel, that the other was always there.

Just before Tyler turned two and a half, Tree Hill was struck by another tragedy. Nathan had been home from school because Tyler was feverish and had been up all night, crying. Karen had finally suggested that it was an earache and Nathan had taken him to the doctor. Now Tyler was sleeping peacefully, Nathan having forced pink, gooey medicine down his throat. Ty's hair was stuck up in sweaty tufts but his forehead felt cooler, for which Nathan was relieved.

His sense of calm was short-lived, though. When he tried to flip to the basketball game all he found was "Breaking News." There was a picture of students running out of Tree Hill High in terror and cop cars surrounded the scene. "At Tree Hill High today, we've received word that a student pulled a gun," reported an on-site newsman with a microphone. Nathan leaned forward to hear more. "Although police will not release the name of the student, there is talk that it was Jimmy Edwards, a loner who recently declared his disgust at the superficiality of high school. Most students have made it out of the school safely though a shot was heard about ten minutes ago. Police are working to gain control of the situation. We advise that you stay in your homes. Students will be released to parents and the school has said that there will be psychologists on campus in the following weeks. Stand by for more breaking news coverage."

Nathan's first thought was, "Thank God I didn't go to school today." His second was, "Lucas did." That was all it took for him to jump off the couch, buckle a still sleeping Tyler into his car seat, and take off for the high school. As he pulled up he saw caution tape keeping people away from the school. Behind it, a tense crowd of people waited for news of their children, their classmates, their friends. On the edge of the crowd he saw Karen, and near her, Dan. He jumped out and ran over. Dan was arguing with a cop, their raised voices audible from a distance.

"My sons are in there!" yelled Dan. "What do you mean, you can't do anything!"

"I'm sorry, Mayor Scott. We can't go in until we have a handle on the situation. Who's to say that there isn't more than one gunman, or that he won't start shooting students if we corner him?"

"But he already shot someone! We both heard it!"

At this point, Nathan was close enough for Karen to see him and she ran to hug him. "Nathan! Thank God you're all right!" Hearing her, Dan stopped mid-argument and turned, his angry face relaxing slightly when he saw his youngest son.

"Nathan." Dan stepped up and laid a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, son."

"Where's Lucas?" Nathan asked Karen desperately, needing to hear that he was safe.

Pain flashed through Karen's eyes as she slowly shook her head. "We don't know. We think he's still inside."

As his worst nightmare came true, Nathan saw his short time with Lucas flash before his eyes. Why had he been such a dick to him all those years? But now, Lucas, his Lucas, could be hurting somewhere, and he had to help him. "Tyler is in my car. Can you watch him?" he said quickly to Karen. "Don't worry. I'll go get Lucas."

As he raced off he heard Dan scream, "Nathan!" behind him, but that frantic cry just made him run all the faster.

The school hallways were dead. That was a morbid phrase, thought Nathan, as he ran through them. Backpacks had been abandoned all over the floor and it took concentration not to trip and fall. Where could Lucas possibly be? Let's see, it's about fourth period…And suddenly, he knew. Luke would be where he always was during his lunch break – in the library, reading. His rejoice at being so close to finding his brother plummeted to despair as he entered the library doors, making sure to close them silently. There was a trail of blood across the floor, leading to an alcove behind the bookshelves. The alcove that Lucas always sat in, because as he had once admitted to Nathan, "No one bothers me there. It's just me and my book and I can fall into the world created by the author's words." That was Lucas, though. Give him a classic and he would be oblivious to everything surrounding him in no time. He crawled over to the alcove, wanting to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The sight there confirmed his fears.

Lucas sat huddled in the corner, breathing, but just barely. He squinted at Nathan through blurry, heavily-lidded eyes and tried to smile. "Hey…"

"Shhh," admonished Nathan. "Just focus on breathing, Luke."

Luke's leg was drenched in blood that had dripped down to form a puddle around him on the floor. He had ripped off his t-shirt and attempted to quench the wound but there was too much blood. The t-shirt was soaked through. Nathan knew that it was dangerous to leave the library and that it would be painful for Lucas, but they didn't really have a choice. Lucas was losing way too much blood.

Quickly, Nathan whispered his decision to Lucas and was rewarded with a jerky nod. He wrapped his brother's arm around his shoulders and supported his back and his knees. Luke leaned his head against Nathan's chest. Although Nate tried to move as carefully as possible, Luke winced in pain and his gasps for breath nearly made Nathan stop and give up altogether –anything to not be the one hurting his brother any more. But he knew Luke's only chance lay outside the school, and because of that he kept moving.

It was the bang of the library door as it slipped from his shoulder that told Nathan this was only going to get worse. Almost immediately, Jimmy Edwards appeared at the end of the long corridor. He was pointing a gun straight at the boys. Nathan slowly walked forward, trying to get as close as possible to the doors behind Jimmy in case he had to make a run for it.

"Stop right there!" screamed Jimmy. The fear behind his anger made Nathan take a slow step forward, then another. "I said, STOP!" Jimmy yelled again, and this time Nathan did. "I have a gun aimed at your head!" added Jimmy, waving that gun around. "Does that frighten you, Mr. Hot Shot? Not so in control off of the court, are you, Nathan?"

"I'm more afraid for my brother," came the calm, but harsh, reply. Nathan hoped that Jimmy wouldn't hear the trembling in his voice. "He needs medical attention. You hurt him badly, Jimmy. He could die."

"I didn't mean to." Jimmy spoke softly, barely above a whisper. His voice was just as fearful as before, but less cold. "He was my friend, you know."

"He still is your friend, Jimmy. But he needs to get to an ambulance, now." Nathan's voice was surprisingly understanding –Lucas had taught him that – but firm.

"No. I don't think he'd want to be my friend anymore. Not after what I did." Jimmy was close to tears.

"Jim…my…" breathed Lucas slowly. He reached out an arm to pat Jimmy's hand, but was too weak, and it fell to his side, hanging limply.

With Lucas' words, Jimmy seemed to make a decision. "Okay, go. Don't let him die." He waved the gun in the air as though motioning Nathan on.

"Jimmy…" began Nathan.

"Just go!"

Nathan rushed past Jimmy and carefully maneuvered his brother through the school doors, out into the bright sunlight outside.