WOW Sorry I've been MIA...so much has been going on that I've barely had time to sleep! So here's a chapter! Hope you enjoy it!


Chapter 4: Fear

A few weeks have gone by and things seemed to be going okay. I have still had some nightmares, but my main concern has always lied upon my family. They seem to be adjusting and enjoying themselves here in Mexico so I feel content. I have not let the phone call I received from the CIA leave my mind. I haven't heard anything else but that doesn't mean there still is no threat for me to worry about.

"What are you doing? We are going to be late!" Brooke walked in a little flustered and grasped her hair in her hand.

"Zip me please?" She asked sweetly and I noticed she was not wearing a bra.

I ran my fingers up her bare back as I zipped up her dress.

"Naughty boy." She turned to face me letting her hair fall along her shoulders as she quickly kissed me.

"Get dressed! This is Maddy's first recital and she's excited. Come on. Scoot!" She smacked me on the butt and hurried out of the room.

I did as my wife asked and started getting dressed. I put on my dress pants and my blue button down shirt and fixed my hair. I looked like a happy father and was I ever. Madelyn loved playing the piano and it was something she was extremely talented at. I walked into the kitchen where my little princess was eating a bowl of cereal and Brooke did some finishing touches on her hair.

"Momma stop, I look fine." Maddy batted Brooke's hand away and I winked at her.

"I know baby girl, but I just want to make sure." Brooke leaned over and started giving sloppy kisses on the side of Maddy's face.

"Alright my lovely ladies, let's get going." I held my hands out for the both of them and they took each of mine.

I decided I would drive us today instead of having one of my drivers take us. It was a beautiful day and the sun wasn't beating down on us too hard.

"Oh honey, can you stop here first? I need to get something for Maddy."

"What is it Mommy?" Madelyn asked craning her neck to see where we were.

"Well you know Mommy's friend, Elena?" Brooke turned to face Maddy in the backseat.

Maddy nodded and her smile grew bigger across her face.

"Well she made something for you and she isn't going to make your concert so I figured we would stop by first to see her."

Maddy jumped up and down in the backseat as I parked the car outside Elena's store. I cut the engine off and slid out the keys. I held my hand up to my two ladies and got out, went to let my sweet daughter out then my beautiful wife who rewarded me with a tender kiss on the lips.

"Come on Madelyn…we don't want to be late, so let's be quick." Brooke held out her for Maddy and just as I was about to take Brooke's hand, my phone rang.

"You both go on while I get this call." I said to her kissing her forehead and winking at my daughter.

She nodded and Madelyn and Brooke skipped off to see Elena. I didn't recognize the number calling and then it worried me that maybe it was the CIA again.

"Hello?" I questioned.

"Señor Scott."

My blood froze as I immediately knew the man the voice belonged to.

"Degrachi." I couldn't breathe right but I kept my entire focus on the two most important people in my life through the store window as they laughed and talked with Elena.

"You know…you are a hard man to track down. After my capture I knew you would disappear from me but you should know that I would always find you and your lovely family."

My hand gripped tighter around the phone as he mentioned my family.

"Believe me when I say if any harm comes to my family, I'll have your head mounted on my wall." I hissed at him.

His thick accented voice began to mock me as he laughed.

"You still have something that I want Mr. Scott and I aim to get what I want."

"Did killing my partner and then torturing me not explain enough to you that I don't have what you were seeking all those years ago?" I tried to keep my voice down and my eyes on my family but it wasn't working.

If Degrachi could contact me via phone then he knew exactly where my location was as well.

"Oh but Mr. Scott your partner Sawyer did know more."

I shook my head, no this is a lie. This is all lies. Peyton never lied to me; she never kept secrets from me. We were partners and we trusted each other completely.

"You're lying and when I find you, I am going to kill you myself!" I let my words sink in to tell him I am not joking around.

"We'll see about that. By the way that's a lovely dress your wife is wearing."

I dropped the phone as Brooke and Madelyn walked out of the store together. I looked around and that's when I noticed we were not alone.

Panicked, I looked towards Brooke and she knew something was wrong. I saw as her hand gripped tighter around Maddy's hand as she held her gift in her hand. Elena had made her a crocheted quilt with a black and white design and music notes in different shapes.

I heard the sound of tires screeching and I knew something horrible was about to happen.

"BROOKE!" I reached for my gun I always carry on me and turned towards the car that came to a stop.

I fired my gun twice killing the driver but then the passenger started firing back.

I heard Madelyn and Brooke both scream. I wanted to turn to make sure they were both okay, but if I took my eyes off the men I would be dead. I fired at the other guy shooting him down. The moment I turned my back to run towards my wife and daughter, I heard another car in the background but it was too late for me.

"LUCAS!" Brooke screamed as I felt two bullets go into my back.

I fell to my knees.

"Señora!"

I heard Elena call out signaling for Brooke and Madelyn to come inside but then Elena was shot as well. Tears escaped my eyes.

"DADDDDDY!" Maddy screamed as she started to run towards me. Brooke wrapped her arms around her and held her back as Brooke's face was covered in tears.

I turned around so I could see where the other shots came from and I saw one man charge towards me. With the strength I had left I aimed my gun at him and shot him right between the eyes.

"Brooke, run!" I screamed and again I was ambushed by more men as another shot me in the arm and then twice in the chest.

My whole body went numb and I looked over to see if Brooke and Maddy had gotten away but there were too many of them.

"DAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDY!" Her screams made my ears bleed.

"Maddy." I whispered because I couldn't move as the blood poured from my chest.

"MADELYN!" My wife screamed into the air.

I looked over and saw her trying to fight off the men who were prying our daughter from her and she fell to her knees as she was shot three times in the chest.

"BROOKE!" I blacked out.

My entire body was aching. I couldn't move. I tried opening my eyes but it was too painful. I was lying on my back and I felt…cold. Open your eyes. I struggled to open them and when I did the sun was blazing into my sight. I coughed and then I heard a small whimper. I turned my head towards the sound and I couldn't breathe.

I reached my hand out and I couldn't reach her. My wife. My beautiful wife was face down on the ground, her head was facing me and a dark red pool of blood poured slowly from her mouth.

"No." I said and I tried moving closer to her but it was impossible.

"Lucas." She coughed and hot tears started to pool up in my eyes.

"Brooke, don't you dare leave me." I choked on my words.

"She's gone." She was finally able to move and her hand met mine.

I clasped my hand around her small one.

"It's not over…you and me are going to survive this."

It almost seemed like an eternity before I finally heard in the distant background sirens blaring as they got closer. I dragged myself as much as I could towards Brooke and I was finally able to brush the hair from her face.

"Why…why did this happen?" Her words were barely audible and I began to cry.

"Don't speak Brooke. You need to save your strength. Please!" I was begging her to try to save all her energy to make it to the hospital.

I looked past Brooke and saw Elena dead staring at me. Her eyes were blaming me for this whole ordeal and it was my fault. One of friends we have met here is now dead because of me. Our daughter is now gone because of me. Brooke is barely alive because of me. All of this happened because of me. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

"Stay with me." I said to Brooke as I faded away.

Peyton and I have been partners for a little over a year now and we've gotten to know each other very well over the past few months. We have so much in common that it makes me enjoy my job more than I did before.

I was putting my shoes on as I sat on the bed when Peyton walked out of the bathroom trying to clasp a locket around her neck. Peyton was a beautiful woman with a guarded heart. That was something I discovered the moment I met her.

I finished putting my shoes on and walked over to her.

"Do you want me to help you?" I reached for the locket and she snatched it away. I stepped back as I felt I offended her.

"I am sorry, it's just…this is a very personal item and I don't ever let it out of my sight."

I watched her as she held onto the locket as if her life depended on it.

"I understand."

"Lucas?"

I wasn't sure if I was still dreaming.

"Lucas!"

I still saw Peyton's face but it was a different voice.

"Peyton?" I questioned and it hurt to talk as I realized I wasn't dreaming anymore.

"Lucas, honey, no, it's Haley." As she grabbed my hand, I knew instantly that it was her.

"Hales?" I tried to open my eyes but it hurt too much.

"Sssshhh Lucas…you're in the hospital and you have lost a lot of blood. You need to rest."

My eyes shot open and I sat upright in the bed.

"Where's Brooke? Where's Maddy?" It hurt to talk, it hurt to move, breathe, everything hurt.

"Lucas, please lay down!" Haley scolded me.

"Haley, where's my wife and daughter?"

I heard the door swing open and Nathan walked in looking a complete mess. He looked at Haley and she nodded. She left the room as she caressed her stomach protectively.

"Nathan, what the hell!"

He sat next to my bed and forced me to lie down.

"Lucas, what do you remember?" He asked me sternly and quietly.

"I…I…don't…I mean…" I tried to remember, the last thing I remember was dreaming about Peyton and her locket…and it was Madelyn's piano recital…and…

"Degrachi."

Nathan tensed and jerked out of his chair.

"Luke, the police want to have you arrested and put on trial. You killed a cop." Nathan began to pace as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Nate they were coming after me because of Degrachi. He fucking called me. He knew about Brooke and Maddy. He came after my family, Nathan!" I started to get dizzy.

"Well you're going to have to answer a lot of questions that I am sure you are not ready for. The head of the police department wants you hanged for this."

"I remember their faces, each and every one of them…" My heart stopped as I remembered.

"Brooke…where is she?"

All the color in Nathan's face drained and I knew…she was dead.

I began to cry.

"She's…she's not doing so well Luke. She was shot three times in the chest, one of the bullets pierced through close to her heart, and another pierced a lung. She's holding on but barely. The doctors don't understand how she's still breathing." Nathan was very protective of Brooke, he always has been and that's why I loved my brother. He was willing to do anything for my family just as I would for his.

"Anything on Madelyn? Anything?" I was beginning to feel the pain that I programmed my body to sustain and it was taking a toll on me.

I sunk back into the bed and the pain vibrated and coursed through my entire body and then that's when I started coughing up blood.

"Damn Luke, rest. You need your rest. You can't fight this, please just rest and I'll do what I can to find Maddy. I promise."

Nathan called for a nurse and I was trying to object but she shot me full of morphine.

"I need to see Brooke…I…" I drifted off into a deep sleep.


Everything felt heavy. I wasn't sure if I was sleeping or dead. It felt like I was sleeping but I couldn't feel anything. Is this what dead is? Feeling relaxed but not able to move? I felt something warm but was I really feeling that?

"Brooke, honey?"

That voice sounds so familiar. Why does it hurt to breathe? I wanted to say something, anything but it hurt to try and speak. Open your eyes. I demanded myself.

"Brooke?"

I tried moving but it wasn't working. Am I dead? Then the feeling of reality sunk in and my entire body ached. I was able to open my eyes but barely. The first thing I saw was this machine…it….was it helping me to breathe? Oh my God, what has happened to me? The light of the room was blinding and I could barely make out Haley sitting beside me.

"Oh sweetie you've opened your eyes. Don't try and speak okay? You still aren't able to breathe on your own." Haley squeezed my hand and this time I felt it.

I used my free hand to give her signs. She looked over at my hand and knew what I was asking of her.

"Lucas is in the other room. He's…he's able to talk but he's still in pretty bad shape."

Tears started to form behind my eyes. Lucas hurt is something that I could never deal with. I signed again and this time tears came to Haley's eyes.

"Tigger you need to get some rest."

She used my nickname which means it's pretty bad. I signed again and a large frown appeared on her face.

"Do you not remember what happened?" She pulled my hand into both of hers and held onto it tightly.

I closed my eyes trying to remember and then as the pain hit my chest; it all came back to me.

The men were reaching for my daughter and I refused to let them take her not without me putting up a fight. My husband was lying on the ground and my daughter was being ripped from my hands.

"MADELYN!" I screamed as I saw it coming. The men took her from me as I heard the gunfire and I could feel it ripping through my skin.

I fell to my knees as everything went cold. The last thing I saw before everything went black was the look on my daughter's face.

Then I couldn't control what began next. I began to have a seizure. I felt my whole body convulse and watched as Haley panicked. I began crying because I felt like there was nothing I could do. I felt like I had no control of my body. I was scared and I haven't felt this way since the day Lucas came home from the military.

"Hello?" I held the phone in my hand as I brushed my sleeping daughter's hair.

"Mrs. Scott?"

I sat upright immediately as I knew the tone was one I should be concerned about.

"Yes?"

"We are calling on behalf of your husband, Lucas Scott."

I clutched my arms around my daughter as I was dreading what the man on the other end of the phone call was going to tell me.

"We want to inform you that your husband was injured pretty badly and he is relieved of his duties in the military but he is safe and doing well."

I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or worried. Injured? Relieved of his duties?

"Can I speak to him? Where is he?" I didn't want to panic and scare Madelyn but this was Lucas…my Lucas.

"Mrs. Scott, your husband is fine and he is in the hospital recuperating in a facility overseas, but I assure you he will be home soon."

Two weeks later….

I had asked Nathan and Haley to watch Maddy while I met Lucas at the airport and brought him home. I wasn't sure what I was going to see when I saw my husband who has been gone for about two months. He was in the hospital for nearly two weeks and I was unable to speak to him during that entire time.

I fiddled my fingers as I waited in the lobby of his flight's gate. The last time I was this nervous was our first date.

Passengers started exiting and it was like waiting forever…then I finally saw the love of my life.

He was wearing a dark pair of denim jeans with a blue button down shirt. His arm was in a sling and his face still had visible, healing bruises. I couldn't find my breath as I have never seen him like this before. I've never seen my strong, loving husband beat up or in physical distress.

When our eyes met, it was like the first time all over again. I wanted to cave, my knees wanted to buckle underneath me but I found every ounce of strength in me to run towards him and I gently threw my arms around him and held him close.

"It is so great to see you pretty girl." His free arm wrapped tightly around me and I couldn't help the tears that flowed down my face.

"I've missed you so much." I tightened my grip around him almost forgetting about his injured arm.

I pulled back from him placing my hands on each of his cheeks pulling him in for a kiss. I began to shake.

"What's wrong?" He asked me.

"When I got that phone call, I thought, I thought the worst had happened, I thought I had lost you."

His grip around my arms tightened and he pulled me close.

"Pretty girl, I could never leave you."

"Help please! Someone!" Haley's screams echoed through the room as I couldn't find my breath. Was I dying of shock at the realization that my daughter may be dead?

"Brooke!"

I heard Nathan's voice grow closer to me. Then a man appeared before me who I assumed was my doctor. He stuck a needle in me and then my body started to slowly relax. I watched as he checked all the machines that were hooked up to me. Tears started rolling down my face as I looked at the horror all over Nathan and Haley. What was happening? What has happened? Why would something like this happen to us? Why would anything like this happen to anyone?

"She will be fine but she needs to be stress free. You shouldn't tell her anything that will upset her." The doctor was whispering to Haley and Nathan.

"She was asking about her daughter. She has every right to know."

I started to drift off into a sleep but I wanted to know what has happened to my daughter. I wanted to see Lucas. I was trying to fight the sedative he injected me with but it was overpowering me.

"Maddy." I drifted off to sleep.


Thoughts? Let me know!