It was a beautiful day in Tree Hill, the sun was shining, and the sky was a brilliant blue. The birds were singing a chirping lullaby; kids and teenagers alike were out sunning and playing. But Payton Sawyer, she was on the bathroom floor, gracing the porcelain thrown with her presence. And her breakfast.

"Oh god. Kill me. Kill me now, make it fast." Payton prayed. It had been her mantra for a few days now and it was getting old, fast.

"Payton!" Lucas, Payton's husband, shouted. "Are you going to eat lunch?"

At even the mention of lunch Payton's stomach revolted. All she could manage was a muttered "ughggh" before more of her breakfast came up.

"Hey, Payton?" Lucas appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. He immediately went to her side. "Are you okay?"

He held back her hair and stroked her back as she tried to quell the ever-present nausea. Payton glanced over at him, looking pretty much like hell.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just give me a second." She took a few deep breaths. When she didn't feel the need to empty her stomach she got up, steadied herself, and brushed her teeth. Lucas continued to watch her, concerned.

"Payton, you should go to the doctor. You haven't been feeling good for days."

Payton looked at him through the mirror and a rush of love surged through her. They had only been married two months, but it felt like forever, in a good way. She loved him so much it hurt. She had always loved him, even when she was a teenager and things were falling apart around her. Every morning she woke up to his face, and every night she fell asleep to his face. She never got tired of seeing him.

"Maybe I will. I have some work I have to do today." She turned around and hugged him close.

"It's Saturday, stay home with me. Gets some rest. You need it." He kissed her neck. "You've been working too hard. Give yourself a break, Mia will understand."

"I'm supposed to be producing Mia." She protested. If anything Payton loved her work as a producer and she loved Mia just as much. She was dedicated to the point of a workaholic.

"Come on." He kissed her neck again, and lingered. "Stay home."

Payton sighed. "Okay, fine you win." She smiled at him. "You always win. One of these days I'm going to win."

Lucas chuckled, "Fine with me." Lucas kissed her solidly on the lips, and Payton tried to squirm away. She held up her hands in front of her face like a shield. "Stop! I'm sick, you might get it."

"So you'll go to the doctor?"

"If I don't?"

"I'll kiss you again. And again. And again. And ag-"

"Okay." She laughed. "I get your point."

"So?" He raised an eyebrow.

She gave a defeated sigh.

"You win."

"I always win." And with that he gave a wolfish grin.

*************************

"You are defiantly pregnant."
Payton looked at the doctor, completely stunned.

"Are you sure?"

The doctor nodded. "You're about 15 weeks along."

Payton shook her head, trying to deny what she was hearing, but couldn't. She and Lucas had always been pretty good about using protection; there had been that one night….

"Oh god. Why didn't I notice earlier?" She asked aloud, really asking herself not the doctor.

"It really isn't that rare. A lot of woman just don't realize their pregnant until later on in their first trimester." The doctor said, obviously trying to make her feel better. It didn't work.

Payton didn't know what to think about being pregnant. She had always like children, other people's children. They were amazing little beings. But she had never given much thought about having her own. Now she was faced with a huge life altering event.

"What do I do next?" Payton asked, with a slight waver in her voice.

The doctor looked at her sympathetically, like he had probably done thousands of times before on other expectant mothers. "It is really up to you. If you go through with this pregnancy we would do an ultrasound soon because you are far enough along. Just to check and make sure everything is okay."

If I go through with the pregnancy. Oh god.

"Okay. Thanks." She and the doctor said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

********************

On the drive home Payton was in a daze. She was scared, and happy, but mostly scared. She put her hand to her stomach, noticing for the very first time there was a slight bump there. How on earth had she not known she was pregnant? Almost 4 months pregnant! Had she been that careless with herself? Was Lucas right, was she working too much? Lucas! Holey crap, Payton thought. What would Lucas think? She didn't doubt that he would be happy. He loved children, we had even discussed having children. We both wanted them. But we both agreed right now we should get ourselves settled and accomplish our dreams first.

Truth was Payton wasn't afraid of what Lucas was going to think, she knew he would love the fact that they were going to have a child. Payton was scared. Scared of this baby. Scared of the future. Scared of what was going to happen. Because most everyone is Tree Hill knew her history. People around her tended to get hurt or die.

And who says history won't repeat itself?