Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.

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Jamie stood right beside the crib, peeking in. She was so tiny, he wondered how she could be considered a human being, Reaching his hand through the bars. He touched her finger. She was soft too, and boy, did she sleep a lot. That's all she ever did! How could everyone think babies were so cute when all they did was sleep and cry? It was funny, when he cried, his mom yelled at him. When Anna cried, Mommy sweet-talked her. Life was unfair. He wondered when she got here. Mommy never told him he was going to be a big brother.

"James Lucas Scott!"

His eyes got big as he pulled his hand back and turned around. He was in trouble now. "Yes, Mommy?"

Haley stood in the doorway, hands on hips. She had told him to stay out of Annas room, so the baby could sleep, and here he was. Truth be told, she thought it was incredibly cute and was having trouble not smiling. "Get out of there, Jamie! She is sleeping."

Jamie scurried out of the bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen, Haley following. "Mommy?" He asked, in his cute voice.

"Yes, Jamie?"

"Why didn't you tell me I was gonna be a big brother?"

Oh great, Haley thought to herself. She sighed, leaning against the counter across from where Jamie was sitting on the barstool. "Listen, Jamie. Anna isn't your sister. She is your cousin. You remember how Aunt Peyton was going to be a mommy, too?"

Jamie nodded. "Well, Anna is Peyton and Lucas's daughter. Lucas is just very...sad right now, so she is staying with us."

Jamie nodded, again thinking. "But, Aunt Peyton is dead, she can't be a mommy when she's dead."

Haley took a deep breath, caught off guard. Oh dear, she thought, this was gonna be harder than she thought.

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Lucas opened his eyes, heavily. God, he hated hangovers. They were the only bad thing about drinking. The light that was pouring through his blinds was making him want to crawl under a rock. Groaning, he turned his head to the other side. This can't be good. He didn't even drink as much as he usually does, but his head told a different story.

"Lucas? Are you awake?"

He groaned, ignoring his mothers question.

"Lucas, wake up, please."

"Stop yelling." He muttered, putting the pillow over his head. It was pulled from him though, and the window had been opened too. Sometimes, he wished his Mom didn't care so much. His mom was standing to the side of his bed, hands on hips. It was the position she used to hold when he used to get in trouble as a kid.

"You need to wake up. I have some stuff for you in the kitchen, to make your headache go away." She said, pulling the covers off of him.

"What is this, Mom?" Lucas demanded, sitting up. "I'm twenty-four, not sixteen."

"This is the first step to your recovery."

"First step to my recovery?" Lucas looked annoyed. "What recovery? I'm not sick."

"oh, you're not?" Karen shot him a glare right back. "You can't stop drinking, Lucas. That's called alcoholism. It's a sickness. And from now on, you won't touch a drink. It's time to get back to normal."

"There is no normal, Mom. Peyton is gone. There is no more normal."

"You'll find a new normal. It's time you became a father." Karen looked at him. She wasn't giving him anymore slack; she wasn't going to pity him anymore. He needed somebody to tell him what to do and she was here for the job. "Andy and Lily are coming back this morning. I know Lily would love to see her big brother."

Lucas watched his mom walk out of the room. He rubbed his, moaning. Today was going to be a long day. No more drinking? He felt like a little kid whose toy had been taken away-not that he wasn't used to things being taken away from him. Putting a shirt on, Lucas walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where his mom had set out some Advil, Tylenol, and various other pain pills with a cup of coffee. Taking one of each, Lucas took a huge sip the coffee and sat down. God, he hated hangovers.

Not just hangovers, life. Life was so freaking cruel, he thought. His pain wasn't going away, it was just lying there in his heart, jumping up right when he thought it was gone. It wasn't gone though, and Lucas doubted the pain would ever be gone. Taking a sip from his coffee, Lucas tried quietly to compose himself. He wasn't going to cry anymore; he was done crying.

"Lucas!" He heard a voice from the front of the house. Looking up, Lucas saw his younger sister come running toward him, with Andy and Karen behind her. Putting a smile on his face, Lucas opened his arms, welcoming her into them.

"Hi, Goober. My, you are getting big!" He gushed. "How old are you now? 10?"

"No, silly," Lilly laughed as she sat on her big brothers lap. "I'm only six!"

Lucas smiled slightly, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long while.

"Lucas?" She asked innocently, playing with his shirt.

"Yeah, Goober?" He said, using her nickname.

"Why do you look so sad?"

Lucas didn't say anything for a moment, not sure what to say. She spoke before he got a chance, though.

"Is it because Aunt Peyton is gone?"

All Lucas could do was nod.

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"Brooke?" Julian called into the store. Sam had called him before she left and Julian knew Brooke would need someone. He had given her a day to have her space, but he was here now. He wasn't sure why, though. He didn't usually do this kind of thing for most girls. But, then again, Brooke wasn't most girls. At least, she wasn't to him. To him, she meant more. He couldn't pinpoint the feeling. He knew it wasn't love; not yet at least. Though, he also knew there was a great possibility he could fall for Brooke Davis.

Brooke came out from the back of the store, a glass filled with what looked like wine in her hand. She glared at Julian when she spotted him, letting him know her mood was sour. "You here to tell me you're gonna leave, too?"

Julian stepped closer to her, shaking his head. "No, I'm not leaving."

"Why not? Everyone else is."

Again, Julian stepped closer. "I'm not leaving."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. You're leaving. Fine, I expected it…" Julian stopped her with his finger, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm not leaving you, Brooke Davis. We'll get through this together."

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The wind was blowing heavily as Lucas walked through the town. He was getting antsy. He wanted a drink. His mom told him to go for a walk, telling him that if he went to a bar, she would find out and he would be considered dead. He knew that she would find out, mothers always had a way of finding out.

"Lucas Scott?" A voice said behind him.

He turned, wondering who else was going to show up. He was surprised to see Dereck, Peyton's brother. He was smiling, and fairly upbeat when Lucas saw him so he assumed Dereck didn't know about Peyton. Great, now he would be the one to tell him.

"Lucas, how are ya man?" Dereck smiled, shaking Lucas's hand

"I've been better. What are you doing here?"Lucas decided not to say anything about Peyton right away.

"I came here to surprise Peyton. I know she moved away from her house so I went to Karen's to see if anyone knew where she was. Everyone gave me weird looks, it was strange. Do you know where Peyton is?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid I do. Come on." Lucas took his arm and lead him to the cemetery behind the church.

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HI. Okay, I wasn't sure whether to put that in this chapter, or the next. But, I didn't have anything else for this chapter as my muse has decided to suddenly stop working, so I went ahead and put it in this one. Not sure what else will be coming, but I promise it will be good! Don't forget to Review!

Oh, and, Bendecida82: Would it be okay if I used your nickname for Brooke? I wasn't sure if you made it, or if it was in the show and I didn't know if I would piss you off by using it without asking, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. So, let me and that'd be great!