Chapter 13: All We Know
Chapter 12 reviewers: aracely6, Juzzy88, leyton4ever35, mthorne13, lizzy1234, Lostand1TreeHillfan, jamyj30, SocietyGirl X2, ps, my iTouch always gives me reviewing problems. So no big!
xoxotaylor WAS WOWZA in this chapter. The whole first flashback, was her idea. She asked me for it herself. SO, just so you know YOU GUYS can do that to. PM me, tell me what you want and I'm on it. ReeseHolden got her Naley cause she asked for it. And Taylor got her flashback. It's all good fun here.
Reddevil6394 (I could never thank you enough. You're review was so heartfelt! Thank you so much for being there for me through this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it)
ReeseHolden (Your novel reviews had some competition this time around!! Haha, Red Devil was off by only three sentences. But you always pick up on those "Foreshadowings" I leave hanging around, that no one else seems to pick up on. As you already know, you were quite correct in your thinking.)
Time is a funny thing. It passes quickly or slowly and at times seems endless or too short. The past month and a half has run quickly out of Tree Hills mind.
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It was Saturday October 24th, a week away from Brooke Davis' wedding.
"While still continuing 4-5 feedings of breast milk a day, you can now start to give your six month old a serving of well-cooked, strained, mashed or commercially prepared baby food once or twice a day…blah blah blah…fortified speak will continue to increase as your baby gets older…blah blah blah" Peyton read out loud to herself as she lounged out on the king-sized bed.
She held up her hand and began to count her fingers, having dropped the book. Her eyes enlarged in her head as she stared at the nine fingers in front of her.
"Nineteen days" She whispered to herself. "Not cool man."
She stood up from the bed to go and find Luke in the living room. As she stepped out into the hall, she was taken aback by hearing her name before she even had a chance to call his.
"Peyt, you need to see this." He spoke as he saw her face come around the corner.
"See what?" She leaned over the back of the couch and looked down at him and Elle, who was cradled in her father's arms. "I was going to tell you; guess how many days until Elle turns six months old?"
He shook his head, a look of surprise still plastered over his face. "Hold that thought."
He placed Elle down on the carpet in her signature inch worm stance and waited. "What?" Peyton asked after a minute had gone by. She walked around the back of the couch and crossed her legs as she sat down away from them. Then, Elizabeth began to rock on her knees, the same movement the Scott's had become familiar with over the last month or so. Her right hand went forward, and her weight was transferred. A second hand, and then a knee, and before Peyton knew it, her daughter was at her legs, crawling up into her mother's lap.
"What is this?" Peyton asked lifting Elle onto her hip.
Lucas shrugged. "I wish I knew." He moved up onto the couch and Peyton followed. "I put her down on the floor next to her toys, like always; picked up my book and started to read. Next thing I know the strings on the bottom of my pants are being pulled off and I looked down to see this." He pointed at the blonde infant.
"She's crawling?" He simply nodded. "We're in trouble" She whispered, echoing his thoughts exactly. "What do we do?" Lucas shook his head. "Well thanks for being such a big help husband of mine"
"I don't know what we do!" He admitted.
"Do we tell someone?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Like who?"
"I don't know, a doctor?"
"A doctor?"
"I don't know Luke, is someone besides us supposed to know? Is it important? Does this mark her time here or something?"
"It's important to us, but I don't think we have to tell anyone, especially not a doctor."
They continued to sit in silence. Peyton pulled Elle around in front of her to look at her baby's face. "Wow"
"Yea"
"When did this happen?" She looked up at Lucas, confusion and pure blissful ignorance in her eyes.
He laughed and reached out to hold her knee. "About six months ago"
"Wow" She repeated and pressed her lips to the top of her daughter's head.
---
There was a hand moving swiftly across her abdomen. While it lulled her back to sleep, excitement ignited somewhere inside her heart. Peyton's eyes fluttered open and she saw the blue wall of her and Lucas' bedroom. She knew in her heart, he knew, his hand tracing around her belly button proved that. Was it only last night she had confessed to him that she was pregnant with a child that could ultimately kill her? Did that last part matter?
No. She convinced herself as she rolled over in her fiancé's arms.
Peyton Sawyers nose was now pressed up against Luke's chest and his hand was now warm against her back. She snuggled in close breathing in his sweet scent. His chin squeezed down on the top of her head.
"How ironic would it be if I leapt out of bed right now to throw up everything in my stomach?"
He chuckled lightly. "Why do you feel nauseas?"
She shook her head against him. "Not at all, I'm just saying, you know how in all those movies the pregnant woman and the father are lounging around in bed being all lovey dovey and then she jumps out bed, having been thrown into a fit of "morning sickness"?" He nodded. "No, I was just saying, would that be ironic?"
"That would be ironic." She moved her face from off his chest and looked up into his eyes. He couldn't help but smile as they in took each other's faces. He lightly kissed her forehead and then clung to her back more securely. "How far along are you?" He whispered, their eyes meeting once again.
"About six weeks the doctor said" He continued to look at her, but his mind was somewhere else. "Are you doing the math?"
He raised his eye brows in surprise. "Vegas?"
"Yes Vegas." She took two fits full of his shirt and placed a kiss on his neck, arching up to meet him.
"Isn't it great; that this new life of ours comes from when we got back together?"
"It's your fault."
"My Fault!?" She pulled back to look at his face.
"I told you I didn't bring anything and you said, it's fine, I'm still on the pill…"
"I can live with the consequences." She crossed her arms, pushing up against him. "And I take full responsibility."
He sighed heavily into her ear. "I want you to keep me updated. Like I've said, if having this baby mean's losing you. It's a scary thought Peyton."
"I'm going to be fine. I promise. Everything's going to be fine." She offered him a sweet smile and placed her lips on his. As she began to pull away, he worked his hands into her hair and their faces were pressed closer together, if possible.
They moved against each other's lips and allowed their hands to travel over each other's body. Luke's hands came to rest on her stomach and she smiled, once again, against his lips.
---
"So watch this." Peyton instructed as she laid Elle on the floor.
The tall teenaged blonde has just entered the office and came to stand outside of the plastic gate to look down at the mother and daughter squatting on the floor. "Watch what?" Peyton raised her eye brows and looked up at Ryden as Elle began to crawl towards her. "Would you look at that? When did this start?"
"Saturday morning. She's pretty much gone pro since then." Peyton watched as Ryden leaned over the pen and lifted Elle into her arms as she demanded to be picked up.
"Sweet stuff." She swung Elle around gently. "I never heard stories about when I was a baby. So make sure you remember things like this. I'm sure she'll want to hear it one day."
"Will do." She placed a hand on Ryden's shoulder and gave her an apologetic smile.
Over the last month Peyton had become very protective and parental over the fifteen year old. Ryden's esteemed guardian had come into talk to her last week about the amount of hours the girl had been putting in. As it turned out Ryden had been putting in 20 hours each week since she started. She worked during her frees without an expectation of being paid and had even spent weekends going to coffee houses and open mic nights around town searching for new bands to sign onto Red Bedroom Records. While Ryden never spoke much, she loved spending time with the six month old who was currently cradled on her hip. She had also offered her service as a babysitter twice since being hired by Peyton.
"How was your weekend?" Peyton asked as she walked to sit down at her desk. Ryden remained standing, playfully bouncing the child in her hands.
"Good; I have something for you actually." She moved Elle onto her right hip and reached a hand into her should strap bag. She pulled out a CD case and tossed it onto the wooden desk.
"Someone's been doing her homework." Peyton rolled her chair over in front of the CD player.
"I have" Ryden couldn't help but let excitement waver into her voice.
The music began to play at an Elle appropriate level and the two listened. Ryden, having heard it many times before, turned her attention to Elizabeth, secretly keeping her eyes on Peyton's face, hoping for some sort of reaction. It was the first set she'd ever shared with her boss before. Ryden wanted the first CD she handed over to say something about her musical taste and what she thought about the business she had so eagerly gotten herself into. She swayed to the beat smiling at the small baby, who reached out to touch her face.
"This is really good Ryden"
The teen smiled, having felt that she'd done something great for once. "Thanks, I think"
"Where did you find them? What's they're name?" Peyton asked, turning it down a notch so that she could hear the girl's response.
"Uh, you know that coffee shop on the corner of Dawson and 5th Street" Peyton nodded. "It was an open mic night and I heard that they preformed there a lot, so I decided to check up on them. Their name is Thirteen Lives to Change."
Peyton smiled and then turned back to the player, turning the volume back up to finish off the song. "I'll take a look at the rest of the CD, but if there other songs are just as good as this one, you might have helped sign Red Bedroom Records fourth band"
Her green eyes lit up. "Really!?"
The older woman nodded; secretly overjoyed that she had made Ryden so happy. "Really. You did great. But now, I have to ask you something." Ryden's eyes enlarged, as if she was being put on the spot. "How did you get all the way to Dawson Street?"
"Bus." She explained coolly, but Peyton's mouth dropped open.
"That's like a 40 minute bus ride Ryden. How much did it cost?"
The girl shrugged. "Like ten bucks"
The woman shook her head. "That's what I pay you an hour for working here. Listen, that's far and I don't want that lady from the shelter coming back down here to yell at me because you've been traveling all over the state looking for talent." Ryden's face fell. "So the next time you're going on a road trip, let me know, and I'll drive."
She smiled. A genuine, happy smile. "Okay" She approached Peyton and handed Elizabeth over to her. "So how's Lucas' heart?"
Peyton sat down in the office chair across from her and raised her shoulders slightly. "Well he went and got everything cheeked out like I asked him to and the doctor gave him a golden ticket, so that was good."
"But…?"
"I'm still pissed that he wasn't taking his meds"
---
She couldn't help but slam the door. Anger had boiled high under her pale skin, the entire ride home being nothing but a constant nag of "damn that man" & "why the hell would he do that!?"
She dropped the bag of prescription meds on the kitchen table and walked to the cabinets for a glass. She filled it high with water, took a quick sip and slammed it down on the counter. Peyton tore open the bag, found Lucas' heart meds, twisted off the cap and poured two into her hands. She closed the tablets into her fist and lifted the glass into her left hand. She stomped down the hall, her infamous black heels clicking with irritation. Their bed room door was ajar and the light was on, so she stepped her foot through and immediately saw Luke reading, a pillow perched behind his back. He smiled at her momentarily, before taking note of the look of disapproval she had prevailing on her ever so cheery face.
"Take this." She held out the pills and dropped them into his hands.
"Peyt-wha"
"Now!" She half yelled and shoved the glass of water into his face. He dropped the pills into his mouth and accepted the glass of water in front of him. He turned and placed the glass on the nightstand only to be roughly pushed back onto the bed, Peyton hovering above him, her knees on either side of his waist. "Why haven't you been taking your pills?"
He looked up at her, confused. "I ran out, I hadn't gotten a chance to pick up the prescription I'd filed for."
"How long?"
"How long what?" He questioned.
"How long have you not had them? How long have you not been taking your medication?"
He shrugged into the pillow his head rested on, and glanced up at her. "I don't know; a week?"
She hit his chest roughly. "A week!" She screamed. "Are you serious Lucas?" She got off of him and began to pace around the room. She stopped suddenly and then stood over him, hands on her hips. "I have to believe that those pills are what keep you alive; keep you here, with me and your daughter. I don't know anything about what they do for you; all I know is that you're on a schedule. A tight schedule and you take that medication twice a day, every day. Do you hear me?" He didn't get a chance to respond as she continued her rant. "And if those doctors tell you to take that medicine every day, to keep you alive, why haven't you been doing so?"
"I-"
"No" She yelled. "Do you want to die Luke?" Her arms crossed and she slouched into herself. "I don't want you to die. Luke I think it's really, funny, that you would just- ugh. Are you serious?"
"Peyton" He yelled, finally getting his words in. "I haven't been doing any strenuous activity. I've been sitting on my ass every day. Writing, or feed my kid. I didn't need the meds, so I put it off."
"For a week."
"Yes Peyton, a week"
"No, I don't care if it's not basketball season and you're not running around with the team. What if Elle or I had an accident and you needed to help us, but oh, Mr. oh so not active didn't take his heart meds and now he's gone into cardiac arrest and is passed out on the floor. Thanks for being such a big help Luke. Activity isn't the only thing that gets your heart racing. What if we'd been having sex? Huh, I could have killed you and I wouldn't even know it." He rolled his eyes. "And you think I'm joking!? I am not joking Luke this is serious and I'm tired of looking like a joke whenever I try to tell you something important. You are going to take you pills, in front of me, everyday. Do you hear me? And when you're running low, I am driving you to the pharmacy and waiting in the car while you pick up your heart meds. Do you understand?" She sat down in the office chair and swiveled her back to him.
He was silent, which made her angrier. Just before she was about to break into another rant, he whispered, "Peyton" She didn't move. "I love you"
She swirled back to look at him. "It takes no love whatsoever to say "I love you". And you haven't been showing me or you daughter, your "love" by not taking your medication"
"I'm sorry Peyt" He got off the bed to pull her into his arms, but she stood up quickly and backed away.
"No. I'm too angry right now. Please don't touch me." She left the room and took a seat at the kitchen table stealing a chips-ahoy cookie from the box.
Luke stood in the hall for a moment, ready to confront her, but instead entered the nursery across the hall. Elle was sitting up, her back pressed into the rails on her crib. She held her hands out towards her father and demanded to be lifted up. Something had obviously been bothering her, she normally slept through everything. Maybe Peyton's yelling and slamming things around had woken her up. Now he felt bad because he had been the cause of his daughters stress. He leaned over the crib and lifted Elle onto his hip.
"I don't care if you look like Mama, you are so Daddy's girl."He kissed the top of her head and carried her over to the rocker. He positioned her on his chest, bringing her legs around him. Her head dropped against him and he lovingly ran his fingers through her short hair. "So I did something dumb." He admitted. "I haven't been taking my medicine; the same medicine you're going to take to keep you healthy. And your momma is very angry with me." Elle yawned and the grip on his shirt tightened. "I didn't mean it baby." He cooed. "From now on I'll do everything in my power to be here with you. And I don't want you to be angry at me too okay?"
"I'm not" Peyton's voice answered from the doorway. He looked up and half smiled at her. She slowly approached him and took a seat on his knees. "You're a stupid idiot, but I'm not as angry as I seem." He nodded. "Tell me when you're running out, okay? And I'll go pick it up after work, okay? Because I need you here, for the both of us."
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"Peyton!" A dark haired woman burst in through the office doors, tears streaming down her face. "I can't do it Peyt!"
"Sweetie, what's wrong?"
"I can't do it Peyton. I can't get married." The blonde stood up, Elizabeth still in her arms.
"Brooke, go wait for me in the studio. I'll be right there." She half smiled at Ryden. "Can you play the last song on that CD for me? Then change it to whatever you want when it stops. I'm going to take that home with me anyway." The teen nodded and walked towards the player, quickly changing the song. Peyton carried Elizabeth into the studio where she sat down facing Brooke. "Now start over B. Davis. What's going on in that head of yours?" Brooke merely shook her head.
Her eyes met Peyton's and she half smiled. "Can I hold my baby girl while I explain?"
The mother rolled her eyes and handed Elizabeth off to her god mother. "Now start talking."
Brooke huffed. "Well Sam and I were arguing about something or whatever, and she was way out of line, so Julian came in and was all "Sam don't talk to your mother that way" and she backed off, but then later, she was going at it again and I had control of the situation, but Julian thought that he had the authority to send Sam to her room and take away her laptop for being disrespectful. But that's my job, so I got angry at him and he started talking about equality and all that shit and we just started arguing. Now he says we can't be married if I'm not going to give him any responsibility around the house. And I said fine, I don't want to be married then, because there's nothing for you to do. And then I came here."
Peyton blinked. "Wow."
"Yeah"
"Brooke why don't you tell me why it bugs you that Julian would want to have some ownership over Sam?"
"Because he's not her father."
"But won't he be her father after you two get married?"
"Not legally, no" Brooke kissed Elle's head to cool her steam. "We're not even getting married."
"Don't be ridiculous, of course you're getting married." Peyton paused. "Do you still love Julian?"
The brunette nodded. "With all my heart."
"And you still want to marry him?"
"Of course."
"Then why are we sitting here?"
The woman shrugged. "I don't know, I thought you'd be able to help me solve my problems."
"It sounds like you already did." The curly blonde listened. It sounded like nothing. It sounded like nothing, in a studio. And the door was open to the office. Silence? No, was it supposed to be this alarming? Was Ryden changing the song? How long had it been quite?
"Well I guess I just needed someone to rant to. So, thanks for being here for me." She held Elle's tiny hands in hers, and lightly bounced her up and down on her knees. "I feel so dumb right now. It's probably just prewedding jitters. Seeing how the big days only a week away. Oh my god Peyton, are you ready to be my maid of honor. I don't even know if I can make it down that isle. Holy crap this is so, wow. I never thought I would get here…"
While Brooke continued to rant, Peyton waited, listening to the silence in the other room. Ryden.
"She would have changed the song." She stood up quickly and moved towards the door.
"What Peyt?"
"She would have changed the song as soon as the other one ended." Peyton moved into her office, not seeing the morbid blonde anywhere. "Ryden?" She called. Her black Converse were barely seen poking out from behind the desk. "Call 911," She was yelling franticly at Brooke before she had even collapsed at the girl's side. Her pants were soaked and her body was turned on its side. Peyton reached out to touch her neck, feeling for a pulse. She was too inexperienced to know what to look for.
Who called it?! Ryden's sickly, I told you she was. So what's up with that!?
&THAT EPISODE LAST NIGHT!? I think it sucked, but that's just me. They should have mixed up the stories a bit, instead of playing each of them all the way through. Kinda dull If you ask me. The whole time I was worried about Leyton baby & Peyton. But whatever. Mark can kill off his stars, I'm okay with that. Just let me know when its over!
Next Chapter: Ryden's story. Brooke's WEDDING! Yay!