Annie's OTH love, xoxotaylor, aracely6, Juzzy88, ReeseHolden, A Amanda A, jamyj30, courtneylovejason

Chapter Eighteen: Also Means to Add

"There are more people here than I expected?" Brooke whispered into Sam's ear. Their simple black attire matched them perfectly to the other thirty or so attendants. Most of the people wore short sleeves, the hot summer sun beating down on their backs. Two thirds of the group was high school aged, while the other third was direct family and friends of the nurses who worked at the woman's shelter. All stood together, shoulder to shoulder, some gripped at each other's hands and some faces looked down towards the grass. Only one stood off to the side and that man surprised Peyton Scott more than anything.

Dr. Tallure had hidden off in the shadows of a nearby tree. When he saw Peyton glace his way, he simply nodded in response. She stood towards the front of the assembly, a blonde child cradled upright on her hip, her waist embraced by a tall, masculine, figure. The sandy blonde haired man, holding her so protectively, stared off into the ventures of the other side of the cemetery, his mind elsewhere. Dr. Tallure, like the others, stayed for the duration of the funeral.

"Hey" Lucas cooed into Peyton's ear after he'd turned to look at her pale face. "Don't cry anymore. She doesn't want you to be upset." Shrugging him off, she clung to Elizabeth tighter, not wanting anything to ever happen to her baby girl.

"Mrs. Scott" Dr. Tallure had opened the door to Ryden's medical room. "Can I talk to you for a moment, out here?" He motioned towards the hallway.

Peyton squeezed Ryden's hand softly and traced the teen's fever ridden forehead. She stood with Dr. Tallure in the hallway, closing the door behind her. "Have you decided anything?" She asked. "How were her test results?"

A sigh escaped from his throat and her heart sank in that one notion. "We're going to start her on a higher dose of steroids which she will receive through her IV. We hope this will kill off the cancerous blood cells and help get us started on a clean path towards producing white blood cells; Then we will talk about cutting her open for a bone marrow transplant. But," Peyton stepped back. "There is a chance this steroid will work against her."

"Meaning?"

He sighed again. "Meaning that it would strengthen the cancer and we would lose her." Her finger's rose to touch her lips and she closed her eyes. "As much as it seems like I'm not doing anything, I am. I really want Ryden to be able to pull through this."

She nodded solemnly. "Me too"

"As I've explained before, we classify cancers in stages. Stage one being the start and so on and so forth. Depending on the type of cancer, some can carry out for more stages."

"The final stage being…a recovery?"

Dr. Tallure shook his head. "No, the final stage being" He paused. "The final stage meaning we would lose the patient. So we try to work our hardest to get our patients out of the "stage ladder"."

"How many stages does leukemia have?" She asked, resting her back up against the door.

"Five"

"And what stage is Ryden at now?"

His glance dropped to the floor. "She's at a four, borderline five." He deadpanned.

"Now is the time where we would like to gift people the opportunity to say any last words to Ryden Calhoun, or share any missed memories." The priest moved from the platform, leaving an open mic.

At first people sparred glances at each other, wondering who knew Ryden well enough to say anything? Many of the high school students had been ushered their by parents or friends whose parents had forced them to go and in return dragged their friends along so they would not have to be there alone. A gangly brunette moved from her spot in the crowd and walked up towards the mic, looking back at her adoptive mother who was gleaming with a pride filled smile.

"Hi, my name's Sam and I am a friend of Ryden's. I would just like to express my adoration for the situation, though sad and heartbreaking. It has given me a new outlook on life and helped me understand things from a different view. Ryden was the only girl friend I'd ever had and I'm really happy I was given the opportunity to meet her. While we didn't have anything in common, and there were many school years between us, we made a good team and." She paused, locking her eyes on Peyton's, though darkened by the blonde's sunglasses. "And I'm really going to miss her." She nodded down at her mother's best friend and stepped from the stand.

Lucas gently rubbed Peyton's side and she dropped Elle into his arms before moving towards the podium. She reached out to adjust the mic before looking out over the crowd. "I'm Peyton" She looked down to her hands, wrapped firmly around the mic stand. "Peyton Scott, and I am friend of Ryden's. I hired her at my office because I could see that she had potential and just need a chance. So I gave her the opportunity I wished I had when I was her age. And that's where we started off. She was a stubborn, creative, hard working girl that I'm glad decided to draw in a sketch book outside my office. I knew details of what a cruddy life she'd lived, but I put that aside, because it wasn't pity I felt for this girl, no." She pulled the sunglasses from her eyes, revealing a stream of tears from her blood shot eyes. "It was love. And I'm not going to cry and beg and wish that it had been me in her place, because she wouldn't want that. And she would want me to live out my life to the fullest, with a creative mind set, so that's what I'm going to do." She stepped down and stood beside Luke in the front row, pulling Elle back into her arms.

"Is there anyone else who would like to say anything?" The priest asked from his spot off to the side. It was quite so he made his move back towards the small stage.

"Wait" A new voice called out. And a man from the middle of the chaos walked forward, people moving out of the way, making it easier for him to maneuver.

This face was new to Tree Hill. He was a tall, older man, around Karen's age. He had a curly light blonde hair and an aged face. He stood in front of the assembly and his eyes locked on Peyton's.

"My name's Nicholas Calhoun." Peyton's heart stopped, and she reached down to grip Luke's hand. "And I was Ryden's father."

"You're still her father." Sam yelled from her spot next to Brooke, who placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from saying more.

"Ya, just because she's dead doesn't mean she's still not your daughter." Nathan shook his head at his wife who crossed her arms in aggravation.

Peyton just stared wide eyed at the man in front of her. All she knew of him was that, he'd given Ryden life and disappeared after his wife died.

The man backed off the stage, sparing one glance into the open coffin, and walked off towards the parking lot.

Ryden had become unresponsive. After being put on the higher dose of steroids, she'd slipped into a comatose like state. She stared off into space, not returning the small squeezes of the hand that Peyton sent her every so often.

And as quickly as it had started, it ended.

Ryden fell.

Her heart rate, her cheery smile, and her green eyes. They fell.

There was nothing left, but her body.

Dr. Tallure gave his sincerest apologies and Lucas wrapped his arms around Peyton as she cried and begged.

The guests filtered out and gave their regards. Only a few wished to place a hand amongst Ryden's cold skin and say good bye.

Short and sweet, I'd like to think. But what do you think?

Next is the Epilogue And the final chapter of DH!

But good news all, DH will be followed by In Every Second of Everyday. A full length fanfiction I've been working on for some time now. If you are interested in finding out about this, very different, Leyton fanction, send me a PM. I promise I wont disappoint.