A/N: Here is the new chapter. It's a little different and I had no idea what I was going to do with it so I just sat and typed this up. I'm not sure if I like it though, but I will leave it to you reviewers.
Chapter Eighteen: Another Life
"…Get the crash cart, she's coding…"
"Help my daughter, please!"
"…Charge to 350…"
"Charging…"
"…It's not working…"
"Someone get them out of here!"
"…Charge again, 350…"
"Charged."
"…Still flat line…"
"I'm calling it…"
Grace watches the scene around her. She sees herself on the table, bloodied clothing and doctors all around her. Outside of the room she spots her parents. They both had tears in their eyes and her mom looked like she was desperately clinging onto Lucas.
It didn't take long for the scene in front of her to change. Now she was in the waiting room. Sam was clinging to Derek. Brooke and Julian were next to their daughter. Peyton and Lucas walked in and took a seat. She also spotted Nathan, Haley, Jamie and every other person she could think of, including Lily and Karen.
"Big family."
Grace looks at the man next to her. He was wearing blue jeans and a brown jacket.
"You can see me."
The man smiles at her.
"It's my family."
"I know. They used to be mine."
Grace looks at the man indifferently. She watches as he points to Karen and Lily.
"Lily's my daughter and Karen was the love of my life. Lucas was my nephew, Nathan's my nephew. I know Brooke and I know Peyton. And I know that you're my niece."
"You're Keith," Keith nods his head. "But you're dead. Does that mean I'm dead?"
"Not yet."
"What does that mean?"
Keith shrugs his shoulders.
"I really don't have an answer for this."
Grace turns to Keith fully.
"So, if I'm not dead then what am I doing here and how come no one can see me?"
Keith grins at Grace.
"You ask a lot of questions."
"Yeah, well I seek a lot of things."
"Come on, I want to show you something."
The scene changes around them again.
~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~
Brooke walks into Grace's hospital room and sees Lucas sleeping on the vacant bed and Peyton was by Grace's bedside holding her hand.
"How's she doing?" Brooke asks gently.
Peyton looks up with tired eyes.
"I don't know."
"What did the doctor say?" Brooke asks as she sits down beside Grace's bed.
"She's in a medical induced coma. The bullet hit her lung and it collapsed. I don't how long she'll be like this," Peyton takes a breath. "How is Sam holding up?"
"She's sitting with Derek in his brother's room. Bradley's going to be okay though. The bullet hit his ribs and didn't do any more damage so he got lucky."
Peyton nods her head and turns her face towards her daughter.
"I just need her to be okay, you know? I just got her back. I don't want to lose her again," Peyton turns back to Brooke. "Who would do this? Who would bring a gun into a school?"
"Are you forgetting our senior year in high school? Sam and Grace knew him when they were younger. It was revenge or something like that. Sam isn't really isn't talking right now."
"Why is it always revenge?" Lucas asks as he turns in the bed.
Peyton looks at her fiancé and sighs.
"I hate revenge."
Lucas sits up and bed and looks at his daughter sadly.
"Don't we all?"
~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~
"Why exactly are we sitting in the hospital church right now?" Grace asks as she looks around.
Keith takes a seat next to his niece.
"People come to sit here and pray, hope that their loved ones would be okay."
Grace glares at Keith.
"That doesn't explain why I am here right now!"
Keith points to the front of the room where a little girl with blonde hair is kneeling and silently crying to herself.
"Do you recognize that girl?"
"No," Grace responds while looking away.
"I think you do. Eight years ago you came here after what happened with your foster parents. You came here and plead to god to change your life. You plead that you would do anything to have parents even if your parents were your biological ones."
"What's the point?"
"You have your parents now Grace, what are doing about that?"
"I don't understand."
Keith stands up and holds out his hand.
"There's something I want you to see."
~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~
"I know you are in a coma, but you have to wake up when the doctors pull you out okay? I lost my Uncle Keith, Grace, I lost him and I can't take losing anyone else in my family especially you, my daughter," Lucas bows his head. "You changed my life the moment you stepped onto my doorstep, but it was an amazing moment. I got to be a dad and I only hope that I'm as good as my Uncle Keith was to me as I am to you. Baby, you have to wake up okay, because we need you, your mother and I need you."
Grace wipes the tears from her eyes.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because you still feel like you're not loved don't you?"
"Maybe," Grace says softly.
"Come on."
The scene in front of Grace changes again. Now they were in the cemetery.
~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~
"I don't know what to do mom, I wish you were here. I don't lose her and I know that if I do I'm going to blame myself. I shouldn't have given her up in the first place, but I was scared. I was thinking that maybe you could get a deal with the big guy up there and ask for my daughter to be fine and alive…The doctors want to pull her out of the coma and I'm scared that she just won't wake up."
Grace turns to Keith.
"I don't want to watch anymore."
"Just wait."
"I just want her to call me mom and Lucas dad and I want her at the wedding. She's my maid of honor and I need her to be there. Just please help me."
Grace lowers her head.
"I never called her mom. I was too afraid to, but I wanted to. God, I really did. I love her and I love Lucas. I don't want to die. Help me," Grace pleads as she grabs onto Keith's arms.
"Okay, but you'll be in pain."
~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~
"She's been doing fine on her own since we brought her out Mr. and Mrs. Scott. It's really common for patients to sleep for awhile after we bring them out of the coma. It's only been two days, but she should wake up soon."
"Thank you Doctor Riley," Lucas says as he holds out his hand.
The older man shakes Lucas's hand and walks out of the room.
Peyton walks over to her daughter's bed and grabs her hand.
"Come on baby, open your eyes for mommy. Come on."
Peyton feels a twitch in her hands and gasps.
"Lucas, she's moving her hands."
Lucas quickly moves over to Grace's other side and grabs her hand.
"You squeezed your mom's hand now open your eyes sweetie."
Grace squeezed her hands again and Lucas and Peyton smile. Slowly her eyes flutter open.
"There you are," Peyton says with a smile.
Grace closes her eyes and then opens them again.
"Mom, dad, what's going on?" Grace questions softly her throat hurting while doing so.
"It will be okay, baby, I'm going to get your doctor," Lucas says before quickly leaving the room.