Chapter Fifteen

October 5th dawns bright and cold. Lucas is gone for two days in Charlotte for book signings and appearances. He refused to go until my doctor assured him that I was at least a week and a half away from my due date. I wake up and dial his number.

"Hey baby." he answers.

"Hey, yourself. How did the signing go?" I ask him, smiling.

"Good. I missed you though."

"You're gonna be back tomorrow morning though, right?" I ask

"Yep. So what are you going to do today?" Lucas asks.

"I dunno. Probably call Nathan and bug him to keep me enterained." I laugh.

"Okay. I gotta start getting ready, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

I smile. "I love you too, Lucas."

I hang up and call Nathan and Haley's house. Half an hour later, Nathan is over at the house and we're getting ready to go for a walk. "You must be feeling pretty good today if you have the energy for a walk." Nathan tells me. "Yeah, it's weird. I slept really good last night. The baby wasn't moving around like crazy." I tell him. I grab my keys and we head out the door. We walk around downtown and stop in the cafe' for breakfast. "Hey mom!" I call as we walk in the door. "Hey Peyton!" Karen says. I hug her tightly. "Hey Nathan" she says as she hugs him too.

Nathan helps me up into a chair. "You know, I'll be thrilled when I can get into my own chair." I laugh.

"So Lucas is coming back tomorrow?" Karen asks.

"Yep." I say, taking a bite out of my oatmeal. "I woke up feeling pretty good and decided to take advantage of the weather and get out of the house."

She smiles. "You know, Keith keeps jumping every time the phone rings. He always thinks it's you or Lucas calling to say you're in labor." she tells me.

I laugh. "Yeah, well you'll be getting that call soon enough."

After we leave Karen's we head over to the river court. We sit on the bench and talk.

"This is still pretty wild. You and my brother, having a baby." Nathan says.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It just seems like yesterday we got married. And pretty soon, we're gonna have this brand new little person in our lives." I agree.

"You know, back when we were dating, I always thought that it would be me and you that had a kid." he chuckles.

"Nathan, we could barely stand each other when we were together. But you know what, I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything in the world. You've been there for me through some really tough times. You and Lucas both, and I can't thank you enough for that." I tell him.

He hugs me. "I'm sorry for how I was back then. You deserved a lot better. "

"Yeah, you were. Haley did a good job though." I tease him.

We get up and start walking back through town to get to my house. Suddenly, I stop. "Hey, you okay?" Nathan asks, concerned. "I don't know, I'm just a little short of breath." I tell him. I grab onto a newspaper machine to try and keep my balance. "I'm calling the hospital." Nathan says, worried. "Nath-" My eyes roll back in my head and Nathan catches me before I hit the ground.

Nathan dials 911 frantically. "I need an ambulance. My sister in law collapsed. She's nine months pregnant. Please hurry!" he shouts.

Three minutes later and ambulance comes and rushes Nathan and I to the hospital. It's pure chaos, people trying to take my blood pressure, start an IV, take my pulse, and Nathan is filled with fear.

As soon as we get to the hospital, they take me straight into the emergency room, leaving Nathan alone in the waiting room. He dials Lucas number but doesn't get an answer. "Shit." he mumbles as he starts texting. Lucas is in the middle of a book signing when he gets a text. "911. It's Peyton. Call back NOW!" He excuses himself and runs outside and calls Nathan back. "Nate, what's up?!" he asks, panicked. "Peyton's in the hospital. We were walking and she collapsed. She was unconscious when they brought her in. Nobody will tell me anything." Nathan says, crying. Lucas hangs up the phone and his agent drives him to a small airfield with a private jet ready for takeoff.

45 minutes later, Lucas arrives at the hospital and rushes into the emergency room to find Nathan. "Where is she? What's going on? Where's the doctor?" he says, out of breath and panicked.

My doctor approaches him. "Are you Lucas Scott? Peyton Scott's husband?" he asks Lucas.

"Yes, what's going on? What's wrong with my wife?" Lucas shouts.

"Peyton has something called preeclampsia. When she was admitted her blood pressure was extremely high. We're monitoring her very carefully, and we're starting a drug through her I.V. to try and help. We'll know within a couple hours where to go from there." the doctor tells him.

"What happens if the drug doesn't work?" Lucas says, expecting the worst.

"We're going to have to deliver the baby, or we could lose both of them. We're going to move her up to maternity now, if you want to follow." the doctor tells him.

After the doctor walks away, Lucas completely breaks down. Nathan hugs him and just lets Lucas sob and scream.

After a few minutes, Lucas starts making phone calls telling everyone to get to the hospital right away.

Karen, Keith, Brooke, Haley, and Derek all arive within a few minutes of each other and Nathan fills them in while Lucas goes in to sit with me.

He opens the door and his breath catches in his throat.

He sits down next to my bed and takes my hand in his. "Hey, baby. It's me. I'm so sorry Peyton. I shouldn't have left you. I should have stayed right here with you." he whispers.

He wipes a few tears away with the back of his hand and chokes back a sob. "You gotta get better honey. Because I can't lose you. Not you or the baby."

After a while, Nathan comes in and sits down nex to Lucas. "How is she?" he asks. "No change. Just waiting for a miracle." Lucas tells him. "Lucas, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let her go out and push herself like that." Nathan says. "Nate, it's not your fault. The doctor said that this would have happened no matter what. It just happens. If it weren't for you, she might not be here right now. You saved her life." Lucas tells him. "I just want her to be okay."