Disclaimer: I do not own OTH or any of it characters places or such. I am simply borrowing them.
AN/ Here is the next chapter. I wanted to get this up as soon as possible. I probably won't have the next chapter up until early part of next week. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me. Thanks for all the reviews and all of the encouragement. Please don't forget to review for this chapter.
As always suggestions are welcome!
Karen felt her knees go weak at the doctor's words, " I have some bad news". Lucas reached out to steady his mom and gently sat her back down in the seat. The doctor sat on the table in front of Karen and looked towards her.
"Is my brother…?" Lucas asked as the rest of the group also sat down
"Nathan is still alive." The doctor looked from Lucas to his mother, "Ms. Scott, the bullet hit your son's lower spine and the trauma has caused him to go into a deep coma."
"Will he walk again?" Karen asked
"Ms. Scott, right now we are not sure if your son will ever wake up. The kind of coma that he has slipped into can last days, week, or even years. Right now, he is being kept alive by machines."
"You don't think he will ever wake up?" Karen asked frightened at the thought of losing one of her children
"Only time will tell. What Nathan needs now is love and support. I can tell just by being in this room with you that he has that. "
"Can I see him?" Karen asked
"Yes, you can see him. You can talk to him and hold his hand. If he has any chance of coming back to us, he is going to need some help"
"Thank you" Karen said as the doctor stood
"I will be checking in on your son. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to have one of the nurses page me."
"Thank you, Doctor" Lucas said standing to shake his hand
"I am sorry there is not more that I can do." Dr. Jenkins said before turning and leaving the room.
The group sat quiet and stunned. No one said a word. Meredith moved herself from Peyton's lap and walked over to her mom.
"Mommy?"
Karen raised her head and looked into her young daughter's eyes
"Mommy, is Nathan going to be okay?"
"I don't know sweetheart" Karen said lifting the young girl on to her lap and wrapping her arms around her, "I don't know"
"Mommy, I want to see Nathan. He always makes me feel better when I am sick. I can make him feel better now that he is sick," Meredith said
"Meredith, I don't think you want to see Nathan right now. He is asleep," Lucas said trying to reason with his sister.
"He is asleep?"
"Yea, he is asleep"
"Can I see him when he wakes up?" The girl's questions brought tears to everyone's eyes. The innocent child didn't understand and only wanted to see her older brother
"Yea, Mimi, when Nate wakes up, you can see him" Karen replied choking back tears
"Hey ladybug. Why don't you come home with me and Peyton?" Jake asked standing from his seat and walking towards Karen and Meredith. "Max is staying with us and he could use someone to play with"
"Can I go, mommy?" Meredith turning her body to face her mom
"Sure"
"Okay" Meredith said jumping off her mother's lap. She turned around, hugged Karen and planted a kiss on her right cheek, "I love you mommy"
"I love you too sweetheart"
Meredith walked over and grabbed Jake's hand as they walked out of the waiting room towards the hallway.
"We will take care of her as long as you need" Peyton said leaning down to hug Karen.
"Thank you"
"Call if anything changes" Peyton said hugging Lucas
"I will" Lucas said returning the hug
"We are going to head home, Karen. I know you want some alone time," Lydia said as she, John, Anna and Larry stood.
"Thanks guys. I appreciate you being here"
"Call if you need anything and we will be by tomorrow"
"Okay"
"We are going to leave too," Theresa said standing with Skills, Mouth, Erica and Trent.
"Call if you need anything, mom" Skills said as he leaned down to hug Karen
"I will. Trent, I never said thank you for what you did today"
"It was my pleasure, Karen. I am sorry that I could not do more" Trent replied
"You did what you could."
"We will see you tomorrow," Mouth said as the group left the room
Brooke looked towards Sam and Chris, "Would you like to go back to the house?"
"No, if it is okay. I think we would like to stay here" Chris replied
"Of course it is okay." Karen replied looking towards the two newest members of the family
Haley still sat in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest. She had heard the grim news that the surgeon had said, but had yet to process what it might mean. She didn't want to think about Nathan never waking up, never being able to hear his voice, his laugh or seeing his smile again. She couldn't think about it. She couldn't think about anything.
The rest of the group met downstairs in the parking lot. They all wore sad and tearful faces.
"I can't believe this is happening" Theresa said breaking the silence
"They have been through so much already. This is just another tragedy that they didn't need" Anna replied
"Do we know what happened in that café?" John asked looking towards Jake
"No" Jake replied
"The only thing that we can figure out is that there were only two shots, two bullets. One got Nathan and the other killed Andy Hargrove." Trent answered
"I am sorry, who are you?" Larry asked eyeing the young man that he didn't know.
"I am sorry with everything going on, I didn't get introduce myself. I am Trent Williams, I am Theresa's older brother and an FBI agent"
"You were sent to get Andy Hargrove" John asked
"Yes, Jake told his Sergeant, Reynolds about the situation at hand last night and I was sent down here this morning. I was supposed to be undercover and just fit in with the group as Theresa's brother visiting from Jersey. I never got the chance to see Andy until I found him on the floor inside the café"
"Do you think that Nathan is going to wake up?" Peyton asked the group in general trying to get off the subject of the man who caused the current situation
"Nathan is strong. He has a lot of people who love him. We are all worried about him, but we have to pray and hope that he will be okay" Anna said putting her arm around her daughter
"Haley is the one that I am worried about" Skills said, "She didn't say a word the entire time we were up there"
"She won't speak to me either" John added
"I think Haley is scared. They have finally found there way to each other and now it is seems like that chance is being ripped away" Erica said
"Yea, I think you might be right" Peyton replied
"Peyton, I am hungry," Meredith said as she tugged on Peyton's right hand.
"Okay, Missy, let's go home and get you something to eat" Peyton said walking towards the car.
"See everyone later." Jake said, "Trent, you coming home with us?"
"Yea, by nice meeting you." Trent said walking behind Jake
The rest of the group said their good-byes before walking towards their own vehicles
Upstairs, in the waiting room, Karen was debating whether or not she really wanted to see Nathan. She knew that she wanted to see him, she just wasn't sure if she wanted to see him in the condition that he was currently in. Karen stood and started walking towards the door that would lead her to the hallway. She turned around and looked at her oldest son, "I am going to see you brother."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Lucas asked standing to his feet
"I will be okay. I think someone else needs you more right now," Karen said indicating with her right hand, the young woman in the corner. Even with her own worry and pain, Karen had been well aware of Haley's worry and pain. She knew the young woman loved her son very much, it was not just a friendship love, but something much more.
Lucas followed his mother's direction and knew what she was talking about. He too had been keeping an eye on Haley the entire time they had been waiting. Haley was doing something that had he had only seen her do a couple of times before, blocking everything out so that the pain could not get to her. Lucas had seen her do it when her grandmother had died in that very hospital. He had been the only one to get through to her then and it seemed he would be the only one now. He stood to lose his brother and she stood to lose the love of her life. A love that she had fought for.
Lucas turned back to face his mom and nodded. "Come get me if it gets too hard"
"I will honey" Karen said before walking out into the hallway and towards the nurse's station
"Can I help you?" One of the nurses asked
"I am looking for my son, Nathan Scott"
"He is in the second room on the right. The doctor just left so go right on in"
"Thank you" Karen said as she turned from the station and followed the directions to Nathan's room. She stood outside the door for a few seconds taking a deep breath before pushing the large door open.
Lucas stood from his seat and walked slowly towards Haley. He sat down in the seat closest to her and leaned forward so that he could see her face. She didn't acknowledge him. Haley's eyes were open, but the life that Lucas had seen in them at the rivercourt was gone.
"Haley" Lucas softly spoke. Haley didn't make any movement, "Hales…" Still nothing. Lucas sighed before standing and kneeling in front of Haley. "Hales, talk to me" Lucas pleaded with his long time friend. This time, Haley moved her head to look at him, but didn't say anything. "Come on" Lucas said standing and grabbing Haley's hands. He gently pulled her hands until she began to unfold her legs and stand. She stumbled a little bit, but Lucas caught her. She laid her head against his chest and let out a huge sigh. "Come on, let's go for a walk" Lucas said pulling away from Haley and taking her right hand in his own. "We will be back," Lucas said to Brooke as they left the waiting room and walked towards the elevator. He needed to get Haley out of this place, if he was going to have a chance to really talk to her.
Karen gasped at the sight of her youngest son as the door fully opened into the room that held the bed he was laying in. There were machines everywhere, most hooked to Nathan in different parts of his body. The only sounds that could be heard were that of the heart monitor and the ventilator, but helping to keep him alive. Karen slowly walked toward the right side of the hospital bed and pulled one of the two chairs closer to the bed. She sat down in it and stared at her son. He looked so lifeless. His skin was extremely pale; his lips a faded shade of red and his eyes were closed not revealing the blue eyes that she knew were there. She quietly reached over to the bed and took Nathan's left hand in her own two fragile hands. The doctor had said that they could talk to him. Karen wasn't sure whether or not he could hear her, but she needed him to know how much she loved him.
"Oh, Nate" Karen began as tears threatened to fall down her face, "Oh my boy. Nathan, please wake up. We love you. We want you to stay with us. You can't leave just yet. You have so much life left. So much that you haven't done or seen, people who love you very much. Nathan, please wake up." Karen's plea was met with silence. Karen laid her head down on the bed and let the tears flow freely down her face.
Haley and Lucas walked out of the hospital into the late evening darkness. Lucas led Haley to a bench to the left of the doors and took a seat; Haley sat down next to him.
"Hales, are you okay?"
Haley looked at Lucas as anger flashed through her eyes, "AM I OKAY! Of course, I am not okay. Nathan is lying up there in a hospital bed in a coma. A coma that he may never come out of and you are asking me if I am okay. What is wrong with you Lucas?"
Anger. It was the reaction that Lucas was sure would be met with his question. Haley was mad at him for his question, but at least she had spoken and was showing some emotion.
"Haley, I know that you are not okay, okay. I am just worried about you. You have spoken a word since we left the café until now."
Haley looked at Lucas. She knew that after all these years that he could read her almost like a book. There was not a lot she could hide from him. She knew that he knew exactly what she was doing. He knew she was hiding.
"I have been listening" Haley replied
"You have been hiding." Lucas replied back
"Okay, I have been hiding" Haley said knowing it was no use to lie to him.
"Haley, I know you are scared. We are all scared and I know that you are worried. You just have to believe that Nate is going to wake up and that he is going to be okay"
"How can I? Nathan is up there lying in a hospital bed, he may never wake up and if he does he may never walk again. Do you know what that would do to him? He could never play basketball anymore or run on the beach."
"We have to think positive. He needs us to think positive. If he is going to wake up, he is going to need all the love and support that he can get. Haley, he loves you and I know you love him"
"Of course I love him. I want him to get better, but I am not sure if I am that strong. Nathan has always been the strong one"
"You are that strong. Hales, we have been through some hard times before and we have always come out on top. Yes, I know that Nathan has always been the strong one, but right now he needs us to be strong for him. He can't do this by himself."
"I don't if I can be strong, Luke" Haley said as tears came to her eyes, "I am so scared I am going to lose him" Lucas pulled Haley into a hug and began rocking back and forth
"It will be okay, Haley. It has to be" Lucas said as tears finally fell down Haley's face