Peyton was already regretting her decision to show Derek the text message.
"You can't tell me you're not going!" he shouted.
The moment he had seen the message, Derek had stood up. "I'll drive," he offered hurriedly, looking for his keys. Peyton had remained motionless, and stared at him for a second. Then she returned to her drawing.
"Ok, tell everyone I said hi." His shoulders had stiffened at that.
"What are you talking about, Peyton? They're some of your best friends. And you're going to ignore them because of some… some stupid fight? How old are you?"
"Sarcastic beyond my years," she had drawled.
"You can't tell me you're not going!"
Finally, Peyton threw down her notebook and pen and stood up to make her eyes level with his chest. "And why should I? They don't want me there."
"Really?" Derek picked up the phone and showed her the message again.
"Brooke doesn't want me there!" Peyton revised. To Derek, it seemed more like she was arguing with herself now.
"Yeah, just like you didn't want her there when Ian was attacking you, and just like she didn't want to be there. But she still showed up, ready to help you, thinking that she was just going to convince you to go to prom. But even after she was caught and nearly killed, when she got free she could have run screaming from the house, but instead she comes to find you."
Peyton stared coldly, looking betrayed.
"And this is how you repay her," Derek continued, lowering his voice. "Your best friend is in the hospital, your supposed love may be dying, all of your other friends want you there, but you are afraid to go. I guess you really aren't my sister."
It took Peyton a while to speak again. "But, Brooke and Lucas—"
"Would do the same thing if they were in your shoes. They would want to be there for you."
"I'm so, so sorry Haley," said Nathan, rubbing her back. "I should have been here." He said the same thing over and over again, trying to ice over the pain and fear with the continuous stream of his tender words.
She cleared her throat and sat up for the first time since Nathan had come back in from calling Skills, and he saw how ashen her face was. The white contrasted starkly with her bloodshot, teary brown eyes. "It's not your fault," she croaked, then cleared her throat again and sat up more. "You… you couldn't have stopped me from having that nightmare. I was just scared, Nathan, ever since I found out he had HCM I've been waiting for this, and now it's here and I might lose him and…I don't know what to do."
He knew how helpless she felt in this situation. Haley was always one to make everyone she loved stop hurting, to heal them even if it caused her pain. Sitting here, not knowing, not being able to do anything, trapped by each ticking second of the clock; she must have been losing her mind. He wiped a tear from her face. "Hey, hey," Nathan whispered, "We aren't going to lose him. He'll fight it, he'll come back. If I have to go in there myself and kick his ass to make him fight back, I'll do it. But Lucas will be ok, I promise you that."
She gave a humorless laugh. "You seem to be promising a lot of things that are out of your control lately."
"If it'll make you feel better," he shrugged. "Is there anything else? No more nightmares?"
"Just stay with me from now on," she said. Haley still looked a little shaken up.
The cool night air rushed inside to lift Peyton's blonde curls around her head as she rushed into the waiting room. She looked around room; it was empty save for everyone she knew.
Haley and Nathan sat in one corner, huddled together. A few seats away, Skills and Rachel sat next to each other, smiling and playing with Jamie. Mouth was closest to the door, watching Millicent, who was talking to the secretary. Karen sat alone as well, but Andy was walking towards her with Lily by his side. Every person in the room looked up as they heard the swish of the sliding doors, and Peyton was suddenly subject to many blank stares.
Then she felt the warm presence of Derek behind her, and Peyton was reminded why she had come in the first place.
Strengthening, she asked, "How are they?" She could barely choke out the question, and the room stayed silent. Even the secretary at her desk stopped typing.
Without saying anything, Haley rose and crossed the room to hug her friend. They stayed like that for a long moment until Haley pulled away after to look Peyton in the eye. "I'm glad you came. Brooke's fine, but Lucas…He…" She faltered, wiping her worn face with the heel of one hand.
"Isn't," Mouth said simply. Haley gravely nodded.
"We haven't seen Lucas yet," she continued as Peyton listened raptly. They spoke in a low voice, afraid to disturb anyone in this sad, forlorn place. "We don't know when we will be able to. But everyone's been in to see Brooke. I think she's sleeping now. They were on a date—"
"Can I see her?"
"Brooke? Uh, I think so…" Haley looked cautiously to the secretary, who had been hanging on their every word. Apparently, sitting at a desk on the night shift in Tree Hill General was a very boring job. The woman nodded.
"Room 313, then," said Haley bluntly. Peyton nodded and went to turn back to Derek, but Haley's voice stopped her once more. "I'm glad you came. Everyone is. Even Brooke and Lucas, regardless of whether they say it or not. Thank you." Peyton turned once more and took Haley's hand, giving it a squeeze. Haley smiled, winked, then let go and curled up in Nathan's arms again. Peyton looked back to Derek, who stood at the window where they had come in.
Her older brother motioned down the hall, a silent gesture of belief in his sister. Drawing strength from it, Peyton went to find her friend.
Peyton walked in slowly, not to be quiet, but because she felt like she was intruding. Like she didn't have a right to be there. The room was dark and quiet, and completely empty of any beeping machines or monitors one would imagine in a hospital room.
She saw the bed almost immediately. Brooke was nestled under the covers, her brown hair splayed across her slowly rising and falling chest. Her face was serene and peaceful, and Peyton half smiled, remembering teenage Brooke at sleepovers and trips they had gone on together. She approached the bed slowly, not wanting to break this image. Only once Peyton sat in the bedside chair did she take a breath and began to feel more at ease.
"Brooke," she whispered, "Brooke, are you awake?"
That was a stupid question, her sarcastic inner-self reminded her. Aloud, she said, "Brooke, I don't know if your listening or what, but I'm here. It's funny actually, an hour ago I would have never expected to be here, but I guess I… we have Derek to thank for that. He's been helping me lately, to get through some stuff. To clear my head.
"He made me come here tonight, and I'm glad I did, otherwise I'd still be at home drawing those pictures you hate." She gave a small laugh. "Do you remember that time you got mad at me, because I had just had another of my zillion breakups with Nathan and I was being all moody and drawing? You actually yelled at me, then convinced my dad to take us to the beach, even though I didn't want to go. The water was freezing, I remember, but for some reason we kept chasing the waves. You made me smile, truly, that day, and it felt so good knowing that you were there, that someone was there.
"I—I made a mistake in cutting you out of my life. I just… Lucas broke up with me one day, if you can call it that, and I equated it to you, and suddenly everything was your fault. I focused everything on you, because you were the one solid thing I had. I've missed you so much, Brooke, these past few weeks, and I haven't even realized it because I didn't want to miss you. I walked by Suburban Filth the other day in the mall, and laughed out loud remembering our jail time, which still isn't off my record, by the way." The laugh now turned into a long, shuddering sigh, and Peyton drew her knees up to her chest on the chair. It didn't matter that she was talking to someone that was unconscious; in fact, it made everything easier, because Peyton needed to get this out. "These last couple weeks I've not only missed you but I've felt lonely without you, and seeing you like this, even though I know you're fine, I… I don't want to lose you. I'm sorry Brooke, for everything."
Peyton looked at her former best friend's serene, peaceful face, then stood up and went to the door. She had just set one foot outside when she heard a voice behind her.
"That was a pretty good day."
Peyton whirled and stared, frozen in place by the shock of her best friend suddenly waking up.
"Well, you look like a deer caught in headlights. Albeit a very blonde, curly deer." Brooke opened her eyes and grinned slightly, relaxing her shoulders into the pillow behind her.
"Brooke?" she asked, and Brooke ceased giggling to watch her friend pensively. Peyton recovered herself slightly. Brooke was awake, smiling. Peyton straightened, feeling caught off guard and a little self-conscious. "Uh, did you hear everything?"
Brooke smiled again, rolling her eyes. "Of course. I wasn't really sleeping. I just pretend I am every time I hear the door open because I swear that male nurse is a perv." She raised one eyebrow and glanced towards the door. Peyton laughed as well, though a little uncomfortably. That wasn't exactly the answer she had been looking for, and Brooke sensed that.
"P. Sawyer, I'm so sorry too, and I've missed you so much." Her tone and eyes suddenly became much softer, taking Peyton in with a serious, loving note. "It was my fault, all of this. I went about my relationship with Lucas the wrong way, I should have talked to you—"
Peyton interjected with a short bark of laughter at this, stopping Brooke midsentence. Playing with the fake flowers on Brooke's bedside for a moment, Peyton bit her tongue and looked down. "Brooke, I don't own Lucas, especially since we weren't together, even though I felt that we were. I just blamed you for him 'breaking up' with me." She looked up suddenly. "And I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Brooke said, adding a touch of finality to her words. "Can we just… be us again? Just Brooke and Peyton, together?" She sat up in bed.
Peyton grinned fully. Brooke had forgiven her, and she had forgiven Brooke. They were one unit again, attached at the hip. Best friends, like they had promised each other.
"Hoes over Bros?" Brooke asked, holding out one bandaged fist.
Peyton tackled her in a hug, pinning Brooke to the bed. They were a messy tangle of limbs and brown and blonde hair, just laughing. Together.
"Karen." The soft New Zealand lilt in Andy's voice made Karen look up. Gratefully, she accepted the coffee he offered. He sat down next to her to share in her deliberations.
Karen remembered when Lucas had had his heart attack four years ago. She hadn't had anyone back then, save for the child that was growing quickly in her stomach. Keith was gone, Andy was gone, and Lucas might as well have been gone. Karen had lost all her strength in that moment, for in that moment she'd had no one to turn to. Everyone had their own issues and problems after the state championship and that night. She hated being alone.
So tonight, when she had received the news and they'd made their flight to the hospital, Karen recognized the fear setting in. It was the same situation, Lucas might die, I…I can't do this. She had withdrawn into herself, barely speaking to Andy or even Lily, the light of her life. It was going to be the same as last time, with no one to fully understand her.
But it wasn't the same. Andy was here, and he wasn't offering advice or sympathy. He merely offered a never ending supply of silent support, and care. Her daughter, Lily, was here too, to curl up in her mother's lap to make her feel better, to twirl on the waiting room floor to make Karen laugh.
They were here, and she was eternally grateful for it.
"How are you?" He asked tenderly.
"I want him to be ok," she said, surprising herself with the sudden comment. Andy looked at her, tearing his eyes away from a particularly interesting piece of wall. He studied her face.
"That's the magic of second chances. You don't always get them, but when you do, you have to take advantage of it. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's for a reason. Life gives us a second chance so that we can fix our mistakes, whatever they may be." Andy's usually smooth voice faltered for a moment here, and Karen looked up from the tile she had been studying. He coughed slightly, and his tone became more down to earth. "Lucas will be ok; he'll get his second chance."
Karen never took her eyes off Andy. Her face remained completely motionless. "I'm sorry." Suddenly, every look he had given her over the past weeks made sense, every unfinished conversation had meaning. This was her second chance.
"For what?" He laughed slightly.
"Everything," she breathed in reply.
Whatever his next question was, it was stopped by her lips against his mouth in a full kiss. For a moment, his body was shocked and stiff, but soon his emotions took over and he placed one hand behind her ear. When they finally pulled apart, Andy's look was questioning but loving.
"This is my second chance, Andy. Ever since Keith died, I never thought I could have another one, but you came back, and I'm not alone anymore. I've got you, and I didn't realize it until now."
For a response, Andy just kissed her again. This time, Karen relaxed into his arms, relieved. She wasn't alone.
Millicent didn't really know Lucas Scott. Well, she knew him through Mouth. Mouth hade often told her stories of the infamous Rivercourt basketball games, and all the fights Lucas, Skills, Fergie and Junk had often gotten into over the years for defending Mouth against some bully. Millicent knew how close the four friends were, often reminded by seeing them hangout together in their apartment.
She knew Lucas through Brooke, too, though to a lesser extent. Until last December, when Brooke had moved back to Tree Hill and Millicent had come along, the only time she had ever heard of Lucas Scott was when she had accidentally stumbled over a few letters in Brooke's desk. Brooke had come in an instant later, snatched the letters from Millicent's sight, and put them in a small box. When she had asked, Brooke simply said that, "They were for someone I lost." When she asked if Brooke was going to send them, Brooke just shook her head.
But Brooke didn't know that Millicent had seen the address on the envelopes. Lucas Scott, 1982 Burnette Drive.
Then, when she first arrived in Tree Hill, she asked Peyton about Lucas. Peyton had replied with a surly look, so Millicent tried Haley, the girl she had met recently and was becoming quick friends with. Haley had responded with a quick, monotone, "Lucas broke Brooke's heart in high school, then they fell in love. But things happened, life got in the way, and now Lindsey's here."
And that was the most she could get out of anyone.
Millicent had met Lucas briefly at the wedding, coming as Mouth's date. Her overall impression of him was that he didn't seem right at all for Brooke. She tried to talk to Mouth about it, but he seemed very stony at the wedding, and even upset at seeing Lindsey walk down the aisle to stand with Lucas.
All in all, it led back to the fact that she really didn't know Lucas. Since he was the one in the hospital, why was she still here? As she leaned against the wall of the empty hallway that led to the bathrooms and ran a hand through her hair, the answer came around the corner.
Mouth's face was already apologetic, before he even fully saw her. Striding over purposely, he took a deep breath.
"Millicent, I'm sorry—" His tone was strong, like he wanted to get everything out.
"I'm here for you," she suddenly said. "For you. And… and you're here for me." She looked utterly confused, like two and two were no longer adding up to four. Millicent's brow furrowed, and she looked down, as if she was trying to figure out some difficult problem. "I'm here for you, and you're here for me."
Now Mouth looked confused too. "Yeah, like I said. Like I promised."
She looked up suddenly. Her brow was still furrowed, but Millicent's eyes were crystal clear. "I'm sorry." She rolled it around in her mouth, nodding as if the apology had a mild, pleasant taste. "Hm. I never should have doubted you, Marvin, because somewhere I knew that you would be here. And you are, so I'm sorry." She knew she wasn't really making too much sense, but she saw the light in Mouth's eyes and knew that her message had gotten across.
"I'm sorry too," he exclaimed happily. This is what he had been hoping, waiting for. Mouth hugged her and took her hand, then walked a beaming Millicent back out into the waiting room.
The whole of the waiting room brightened when Mouth and Millicent came out, hand in hand, beaming. Everyone sitting there realized the reason for their happiness, and the couple hastened embarrassedly to sit back in their seats next to Nathan and Haley.
Haley just gave them an understanding smile, but Nathan leaned across his wife and tapped Mouth on the shoulder. "Good job, man," he said, nodding, "It's good to see something come out of tonight." Mouth laughed.
This time Haley looked up. "Three things, actually." She looked to Peyton, who had made up with Brooke, then Karen and Andy, who sat across the room with Lily in their laps.
"That's true. Wow, what's with all the apologies and reunions tonight?" Nathan mused to Haley, laughing for the first time tonight. Haley smiled as well. Even though the situation was grave, and scary, she still marveled in the fact that everyone was together, and there was so much love.
"I guess everyone just needs to feel sane for tonight," she said in agreement. Haley glanced over to Jamie, who was sitting with Skills and Rachel. They seemed like a family, almost. Rachel had her head thrown back, a wide grin on her face, laughing at something Jamie had just said. Skills was chuckling as well. Wordlessly, she got up and walked over to the three.
"So what did she do then, Jame?" Rachel was asking.
"Well, Aunt Brooke was kissing Uncle Lucas in the guest room, and she was acting all funny. Then Uncle Lucas said something that made her mad, and she didn't kiss him for a few minutes, but they were laying on the bed and talking. Luke was rubbing her leg, then Uncle Skills came upstairs and yelled."
Rachel leaned back, laughing again, and Skills grimaced. "Oh, I remember that. All you guys at the party set me up so that I would walk in on Brooke and Lucas on Haley's birthday."
Jamie nodded eagerly. "And then, Aunty Brooke—"
"Ok, bigears," Haley interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think Aunty Brooke wants you telling all of her secrets."
"Oh momma," Jamie groaned, as if Haley was being ridiculous, "Rachel just wanted to know the funny stuff Brooke did with Uncle Lucas. I was making her laugh."
Haley snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure you were."
Rachel laughed again and stood up to talk to Haley. Jamie started babbling to Skills about how his daddy was the best basketball player in the world. Skills looked very offended.
"Crazy night, huh?" Rachel asked, looking around at everyone.
Haley murmured a quiet agreement, losing herself in space again. "Yeah," she finally said aloud, "Everything seems different."
"Mm-hmm. Too bad it wasn't a party, then you could throw a drink in my face, or something. At least that would be the same." Rachel shrugged. She knew that Haley was hurting right now, and she was trying to cheer Haley's bleak demeanor.
It worked. Haley gave a small laugh, rolling her eyes. After a moment, she said, "I really am sorry about all that stuff. Most of the time you knew me or had drinks flying in your face, I was pregnant and hormonal, but that's not really an excuse."
"It's ok. That stuff pretty much happened to me at every high school party I went to. No big deal." She shrugged, glancing around the waiting room. "Well, except the part about Nathan. I deserved that one."
"Yeah, it was justified," agreed Haley.
The hushed tones of the people in the room melded together in the background, one indiscernible Frankenstein mass made up of different conversations. Rachel watched a doctor walk by in the long silence between her and Haley.
"God, this place is like a funeral home."
The smile melted of Haley's face, and she grimaced as she remembered her dream from earlier. "Yeah, don't say funeral." She ran a hand through her short brown hair.
Just then, the same doctor that walked by came up to them and cleared his throat to get Haley's attention. Rachel turned to her one last time. "Well, it looks like you're up, tutor girl. Are you going to be ok?" Her brown eyes were serious.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Haley dismissively, waving a hand. "Don't corrupt my son, ok?" she gave a nervous laugh, obviously trying to calm down to talk to the doctor. "Thanks, Rachel." Rachel easily read her surprised tone: Haley was mildly stunned that Rachel was so caring.
"There's more to me than my good looks. You're just lucky I showed you." The redhead gave Haley an encouraging pat on the shoulder, pushing her slightly towards the doctor. Then she sat down with Skills again.
"You ok, Rachel?" He asked concernedly. He balanced Jamie on one knee.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks, Skills."
"Hey, that's what I'm here for." He gave a quick wink.
A few feet away, Haley stood completely alone with the doctor. "Mrs. Scott?" The doctor standing in front of her looked different than the rest. He was old, for one. But he had kinder eyes, softer, grayer, than the hard steel of the other doctors around. He watched Haley with a sad understanding as she nervously pushed her hair back again.
"Yes?" For some reason, Haley felt the strangest sense of dread, just by the way he said her name. Her knees threatened to buckle, but she stood resolutely. God, she wished Nathan were right here next to her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. It was the same as her nightmare: the doctor, the situation, all of it.
"You can see him now."
The very first sensation Lucas felt when he opened his eyes was strange. There was a warm pressure up the left side of his body, but it was oddly comforting. At first, he just laid there, not registering anything about his environment, just the darkness and a sense of complete peace.
But after a few minutes, the world lost its hazy dream state; everything suddenly felt more real. Regaining a modicum of control over his mind and body, Lucas looked down.
Brooke was curled up next to him, asleep with her head over his heart and one arm placed protectively across his body. Her brown hair looked life a fan, splayed over her back. He smiled, watching her chest rise and fall and the pulsing vein in the porcelain skin of her exposed neck. With seeing her, his mind snapped into clarity and he realized what he was doing here. The fight. Ugh, that had been a mistake.
Not jumping in for her, he would do that any day, but allowing the guy to get the better of him.
As soon as Lucas remembered what had happened, the pain hit. It was a deep, dull, throbbing pain that crushed his body, strongest in his chest. He grimaced, his mind swimming in confusion once more. The room was dark, but the sterile walls and floor still shone. He dimly registered the fact that he was in a hospital, on a bed with stiff, starched sheets. The girl in his arms shifted slightly.
But wait: surely, if Brooke was in here, everyone else would be too? There weren't any doctors either, and Lucas couldn't hear anything outside. So why was only Brooke in his room? Glancing at the window on the door, he found his answer.
There was a paper sign on the door, and the lights shining from outside let him read the letters backwards. "Do not disturb, no visitors." Lucas looked down at the brunette in his arms, and saw the white hospital wristband on the arm that she had draped across his body, and he put two and two together: Brooke had snuck out of her room, and into his.
Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with a rush of gratitude for his pretty girl, his Brooke, and he smiled. Lucas planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
Her eyelids fluttered slightly, having been awakened by the small movement. Lucas grinned wider as her hazel orbs drank him in.
"Lucas?" she whispered, still sleepy. Her eyes were half-closed. Brooke scooted closer to him, curling her head into his neck and lying back down.
"Mm-hm."
"Are you ok?" The cautious question was not unexpected, and Lucas paused for a moment before answering.
"If you'll lay here with me, I'll be fine."
Her sigh of relief came out of the darkness. "Thank god," she murmured, and he felt her lips press his in a long, mournful kiss.
"I promise, I'll be fine," he repeated, feeling her fall onto the pillow next to him. "So, good morning, or night, or whatever the hell time it is in this place."
"I think its morning. At least, it was about three-thirty A.M. when I came in here."
This brought another smile to his face. "You snuck out." It wasn't a question, really.
He felt her shrug. "I didn't want you to wake up alone," she said. Lucas smiled at the sweet sincerity of her voice. The spoke quietly, for the velvety darkness made them feel alone together.
"I'm glad you're here," he finally decided, "It makes everything tolerable. Without you, I'd be suffering right now. But I can't even feel it." As if on cue, the crushing pressure in his chest lessened hugely. They traded a long glance, and then Lucas said, more rationally, "You—you're not hurt anywhere, right?"
Brooke held up her bandaged hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine, just a cut. You're ok, you sure?" Her breath hitched, and Lucas saw the anxiousness in her eyes. She put her hand on his face, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. Her fingers moved delicately over the rest of his face, and she winced with sympathy pains as she traced the bruise on his eye and the cut on his lip.
"I'm fine, pretty girl. I promise." He hugged her tighter again, to reassure his girlfriend, and Brooke released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"I was scared," she confessed without any prompting. "I was in the ambulance, with you, and the EMT's kept telling me you would be ok, that you were going to be fine, but I didn't believe them, because you weren't waking up. I knew they were lying, because whenever they thought I wasn't looking I could see the fear in their eyes as they did CPR or whatever. I was so helpless; all I could do was sit and wait, while the life flowed out of you. I couldn't help you, I couldn't do anything." Brooke buried her head in his shoulder again, as if she was ashamed. Lucas rubbed her back, and he felt the wetness on her cheeks.
Lucas lifted her chin so that he could see her. "Hey, hey, like I said, I'm ok. I'm here now, we both are. No more tears." He obligingly wiped a tear away, delicately fingering her smooth skin. "No more crying, because I'm ok and I always will be."
Brooke gave a sort of sob-laugh combination, wiping the fresh tears that had jumped to her eyes. "Look, here we are and the guy in the hospital bed is comforting me." Regaining her composure with a smile, she looked at him again. "You saved me, Lucas, you know that? Even if it was a stupid, boneheaded thing to do, you jumped into that fight for me. You rescued me."
He ran one finger over her left hand that laid on his chest. "I promised I would."
For a few minutes, all was silent. Lucas and Brooke were at peace in this warm, comfortable safety. Outside, the world didn't matter. Time was frozen, and it was only them. The velvety darkness enveloped the couple on the bed, wrapping them in silence. Lucas traced each of Brooke's fingers again and again, as if he was looking for something to say.
Finally, he spoke up. "So, you're not mad at me, right?" he asked tentatively. Brooke's eyes remained closed, and she kept her left hand over his heart and her head in the crook of his neck.
"Mad?" she replied sleepily. "Actually, I'm beyond furious. I just think murder in a hospital is redundant."
For the first time, Lucas laughed out loud, enjoying the refreshing feeling, even though it hurt his chest and face. The sound blew away the hazy fog that surrounded his brain. She smiled as well, showing the famous Brooke Davis dimples for the first time tonight. She accepted Lucas's kiss on the forehead.
Then there were hurried footsteps in the hall, and Lucas and Brooke had an instants warning before all hell broke loose.
The door burst open, and over a dozen people spilled in. Brooke jumped in shock, and Lucas held an arm around her waist protectively. Haley, Nathan, Jamie, Karen, Andy, Lily, Rachel, Mouth, Skills, Millicent, Peyton, and Derek all piled in, along a few doctors.
There was chaos for several minutes.
"Lucas!"
"Haley?"
"Uncle Lucas, Aunt Brooke!"
"Rachel, what are you doing—"
"Ms. Davis, where have you been!"
"What's wrong, tutorwife?"
"Mom, I'm fine…"
"Are you ok?"
"What happened? Nathan?"
"Oh my gosh…"
The couple on the bed remained quiet, and eventually the dust settled and the room calmed. Brooke, naturally, was the first to speak.
"Hey, everybody," her tone was somewhat embarrassed, "I was just giving Lucas here some CPR…" There was a small murmur of nervous laughter in the otherwise quiet room.
Jamie elbowed his way up to the bedside and put his little hands on the rails. He seemed to be the most at ease. "Aunt Brooke, what's CPR?" Everyone smiled, including the three or four doctors who had come in. The doctors moved about, understanding the crowd and therefore allowing it before they ran their tests.
Brooke looked from Jamie to Haley with a kinked eyebrow. She gave Haley an unholy smile. "Well, it's what your parents do after you're asleep, and then they go upstairs…"
"Oh, haha, THAT'S enough," Haley cut in sarcastically, giving Brooke a fake glare, much to everyone's amusement. Brooke responded with a 'bring it on' look: a smirk and raised eyebrow. Haley stuck her tongue out.
It seemed that seeing Lucas alive and considerably well had lightened everybody's mood; if anything, it was complete nervous relief. Karen, laughing shakily, made her way to the opposite side of the bed and pulled Lucas into a hug. Brooke moved off slightly, giving the family their space. Lily came over as well, and Andy put a hand on Karen's back. Lucas pulled his younger sister into his lap and kissed her on top of her head.
"But really, Luke, you're ok?" Mouth asked kindly after Karen and Andy had let him go. Lucas grinned.
"I'm fine," he insisted, for what he knew would not be the last time tonight. The group relaxed a little.
"That's good," Nathan said. He seemed to be the calmest, most confident adult of the group, and his tall figure stood resolutely in the back. "Haley had a nightmare about you dying and nearly threw up; thank god you didn't actually drop, man, because they would have had to give her a room here." Haley just rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the chest as she accepted his one arm hug apology.
"Ok, folks," came the deep, commanding voice of the lead doctor, "We're allowing visitors this late, or rather, early, because this is a special case. But, we need to run some tests now, so we need everyone to clear out for a few minutes and let us do our jobs, then I promise you can come back in. C'mon, let's go." He motioned everyone towards the door and they filed out slowly, still talking seriously. The doctor looked back to Brooke on the bed, who was watching him with an angelic look on her face. "You too Miss Davis."
Brooke pouted and made to get up, but Lucas grabbed her hand. "She's staying," he said firmly, but the doctor looked dubious. "She was a part of this, she should be here." Seeing his determined face, the doctor relented.
"Ok, but you'll have to get off the bed, Ms. Davis." Lucas kept hold of her hand, as if it was his last lifeline, like he needed to hold on to her. Brooke pulled the chair close to the bedside.
Lucas underwent a series of checks: his blood pressure was taken, he had some blood drawn, and the doctors checked his eyes. Then, they had him lift each limb to make sure his nerves and muscles were working, and he was asked to read a paragraph to check his coherency. Eventually, the doctor made his final notes on the clipboard.
"Well, you certainly seemed to have bounced back, Mr. Scott. Your vitals are strong, and you are definitely stable. However, we would like to talk to you about how this how situation came about."
Brooke's hand tightened on Lucas's.
"Mr. Scott, I heard your friends tell you about Ventricular Tachycardia while they were in here. I'd like to tell you that it's not a chronic disease, nor hereditary; it's just a name for a one-time attack or condition or episode. It's simply extreme heart palpitations caused by outside influences on your body and you were just at a higher risk because of your HCM. If the right steps are taken, none of this should ever happen again."
"What can I do then?" asked Lucas blandly.
The doctor studied him. "Lucas, you need to take you HCM medication. If you are going to play basketball or go on runs, you have to take it. It was obvious from test results obtained while you were unconscious as well as testimonies from your family that you haven't been." Lucas looked at Brooke questioningly, and she shrugged and shook her head.
"I just thought that if Lucas wasn't playing, then he would be fine," Brooke said, looking back at the doctor intently. Lucas nodded slightly, focusing on the edge of the bed.
"As long as Lucas's heart rate is up, he must take those pills, regardless of whether it's the world championship basketball game or a highly competitive game of poker." The doctor took a deep breath, and when he next spoke, his tone had become much more friendly and positive. "Now, other than that, you should be fine. Of course, we will keep you for a few days because the most vulnerable time is right after something like this. Because your vitals are strong, I should think that you'll be back to your normal life very soon. Just keep taking those meds, ok Luke?"
Lucas agreed and nodded. He retightened his grip on Brooke's hand, and she stroked his skin with her thumb. One by one, the doctors said goodbye and left, allowing the others outside to come back in. The moment they reentered, the somber mood disappeared, and everyone was smiling again. Their smiles looked somewhat false, Lucas thought, and he realized what they were thinking.
"For the hundredth time, I'm going to be ok! Officially this time!" he announced in exasperation, and everyone grinned. Lucas fell back onto the pillows, and Brooke sat with him again.
Another hour of talking and laughing found everyone lounging in the room. Lily and Jamie had climbed up into the bed with Lucas and Brooke, and both kids were sound asleep. Karen and Andy sat on the foot of the bed, Rachel reclined on the counter, and everyone else relaxed in chairs. What a sight they all were, at five AM, a baker's dozen of people crammed into a hospital room, everyone half-asleep, splayed across doctor's chairs and beds and countertops: It was hard to keep from laughing.
"Sooo," Nathan said, "I vote Haley gets everyone coffee and donuts!" He turned the swivel chair to face her, grinning.
Haley shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, buddy, that money comes out of your wallet," she yawned.
Seeing the brunette yawn made about half the other people yawn as well. Rachel hopped off the counter. "I vote that we realize Brooke and Lucas are going to be fine, go home and get some sleep, then come back here when we aren't zombies."
"I second the motion," Millicent said, standing up. Instinctively, Mouth followed suit.
Sleepy murmurs of agreement echoed around the room. Everyone gradually stood up, going to the bed to give Brooke and Lucas a hug, as if they were leaving a Christmas party. Karen, who had become much livelier since Lucas had woken up and declared himself fine, was one of the last out of the room. After hugging Lucas, she said, "I'll come back in a few hours, and bring you guys some real food, ok? Karen's Café secret recipes, I promise." She gave them each a kiss.
"Thanks, Karen," Brooke said. Karen smiled back at her and Lucas as she reached the door. She gave a little wave, then switched off the light and left.
They were alone again, at last, in the darkness. Lucas fell back onto the pillows, then pulled Brooke down until she was resting on his shoulder again.
It didn't take long until they were both on the verge of falling asleep. Both Lucas and Brooke had gone through a lot in the twelve hours since their date, and the exhaustion was physically pressing on them. Closing their eyes seemed to be the best feeling in the world at that moment.
Lucas's voice came one last time out of the darkness. "You know how you said I rescued you?"
"Yeah…"
He took a breath and smiled. "Well, you rescued me back, just by being here tonight, staying with me. You have no idea how much I healed when I woke up and saw you there. You rescued me, pretty girl."
"…I promised I would."
You know I can't kill off Lucas ;P (At least not yet) Like a lot of people said, he is kinda important to Bl. But kudos to the people who called it and hoped that it was a nightmare of Haley's, I hope I'm not THAT predictable. Anyways, thatnks for reading, and review please!