Nothings bigger than love – chapter five
Lucas drove the comet back into town, he had spent the whole morning doing jobs and now he was heading home, he wondered if his wife had stopped pacing yet, it really wouldn't surprise him if she hadn't she couldn't hide it she loved and cared for the girl that had shown up on their doorstep that morning, so did he, but in a completely different way, he knew the bond that Peyton shared with Jenny and the bond Peyton shared with Jake, he cared for and loved Jenny as any of the teens who were friends with Jake in high school did, he was their friend and that made Jenny important to them all. The sight of Jenny at six o'clock that morning had made him so excited but it also made him dig up a feeling that he had tried so hard to bury down in his mind, this feeling of guilt, he felt guilty for not staying in contact with a fantastic guy, who in the start of all the madness that was his high school life and through all the hardship was there for him, Lucas felt guilty for not being there for him and for his daughter, and while he didn't want to admit it to Peyton sometimes he felt guilty for taking Peyton away from Jake and Jenny, he loved her and he loved their life together and truly believed that they were destined to be together but sometimes that feeling of guilt arose from him. Right now that guilt was at its peak, he saw the look on Jenny's face and the look on Peyton's face, that I've been missing you my entire life look and it just hurt him inside, he supposed that's why he had decided that all his jobs had to be done today, so that Jenny and Peyton could have some time together, he wouldn't give up this life for anything but the least he could do was give them some time to talk and re acquaint themselves with each other again. As he drove up the road he decided that he needed to get these thoughts out of his mind so he leant forward and put in one of the car mixes that Peyton had made for the many trips that they had planned on making, he sped up but then came to a sudden halt, before pulling to the side of the road. He jumped out of the car and ran after the crying blonde who he had sworn was at his house, he stopped her and turned her around, her eyes were puffy and red "Hey are you okay?" he asked her as her lip quivered and she threw herself into his arms, Lucas was shocked at first, he knew this girl but she didn't really know the first thing about him, he could be a psychopath but he threw his arms around her nevertheless "It's all okay, everything is going to be okay" he soothed, swaying from side to side, he didn't know why he was doing this, it always worked on Sawyer and it seemed like it was working on Jenny too. He didn't force her to talk, he just swayed and let her cry on his shirt, she wasn't tall enough to cry on his shoulder, Eventually he had convinced her to come back to the house with him and then helped her into the comet, they sat in silence for the first five minutes of the twenty minute trip and then Jenny had turned to Lucas.
"This Is Peyton's car isn't it?" she asked as he turned and smiled at her, just glad that the silence had ended, he was the sort of person that liked to talk about their problems instead of just letting them stew, well most of the time.
"Yeah it is" he said looking to the dash and then back at her
"You wrote a book about it, dad read it you know" she said looking over at it "He loved it, and he told me that one of his greatest friends from Tree Hill wrote it" she had managed to make both of the adults she had come across this morning speechless "Dad told me about you" she said as Lucas gulped
"Oh yeah?" he said, his voice going up an octave
"Not bad stuff good stuff!" she said recognising the worry on his face "He told me how when he was scared of introducing me to the world you convinced him too and that you were a really a great guy" she said with a smile that matched Lucas' who now felt really guilty for not staying in contact as they pulled into their driveway.
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They walked into the house and Peyton was standing with an anxious look on her face, she had put Sawyer to bed and then gone to check on Jenny but was alarmed to find that the girl and her backpack were missing from the spare bedroom, she had felt like throwing up and if Lucas didn't have the car she would have thrown Sawyer into the comet and driven to find her, instead she sat at home stressing out completely and totally. A look of relief hit her as the blonde girl walked back into their beach front home, she immediately walked over to the girl and wrapped her in her arms as Lucas smiled and again made himself disappear.
"I'm really sorry Peyton" said a muffled Jenny who was held rather tightly in Peyton's grip, Peyton wasn't ready to lose her again.
"Stop apologising to me, I love having you here and I am so very glad that you came here today and I am in no way trying to force you out, it is just that I know and I have seen with my own eyes how much your dad loves you, I also know how much it hurt your dad when he didn't have you and he didn't know where you were. I witnessed that pain and that pain killed me so there is no way that I will purposely cause that pain Jenny, not ever" she said as she began to get choked up, as she again re-lived the past she tried so hard not to play.
"I can't breathe" she said as Peyton released her realising that the more she got into the speech she had just made the tighter she held Jenny, when Jenny composed herself she smiled at Peyton "I am glad you called him"
"Really?" she said shocked at the teenager's response, although thrilled to hear it she remained cautious
"Sort of, I mean I'm just glad that you care enough about him to do that" she said, clearly she felt it was her duty to protect her father and Peyton was glad to hear it.
Peyton smiled "Would you like to go through some photo albums with me?" she asked, which made Jenny match her with an excited grin.
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They spent the evening telling stories to each other about their lives, Lucas had made them dinner while Jenny played with Sawyer, Peyton put Sawyer to bed before they decided to watch a movie, Jenny reluctantly chose 'Bring it on' after Peyton's enthusiastic persuasion to do so and Lucas' begging for her not to. Jenny sat with Peyton on the couch, Peyton's arm over her shoulder as Lucas sat on the arm chair in the corner smiling on at the girls while trying desperately to avoid watching the movie that they had selected, he was thrilled when his mobile rang.
"Hey Haley" he said walking out of the living room onto the decking of their small home "You just saved me from having to watch Bring it on, you are officially my hero"
"So I have been keeping something from you for like a week now and I am way to excited to keep it any longer, and anyway it is more for Peyton so I think I can tell you, If you promise that you won't tell her until it actually happens"
"Let me guess what it is Hales, you got a call from Jenny Jagielski"
"How did you know?" Haley asked truly confused about how her best friend had managed to read her mind.
"I heard your scream all the way from my house" he joked "She is here Hales, she showed up on our door step this morning"
"Oh this is so exciting, isn't this exciting?" she asked and Lucas could tell that Haley was jumping around, he laughed when he heard Nathan enter the room clearly taken back by the sight he saw as she said away from the receiver "Don't look at me like that"
"Haley earth to Haley" he said with a smile as she laughed "Tell me a story"
"Today I was out to lunch with Brooke and I went up to get something to drink and when I went to sit down I wasn't looking and I sat down at the wrong table and started talking to this person that I thought was Brooke" she said as Lucas laughed and she began to giggle "It was this old guy and I swear he nearly had a heart attack, I apologised really quickly and moved back to my table and Brooke was laughing so hard that I was sure that she was going to wet her pants" she said finishing off her story, it was a thing they did now, they would call each other whenever they had a spare moment and did everything in their power to make the other laugh in the short amount of time before one of them had to go and do yet another day to day activity, Today was Haley's turn and it had definitely worked on him. As she went to tell him another he noticed someone walking up the path to their house, he smiled and then turned his attention back to his best friend on the other end of the phone
"Hey Hales I have to go" He said lifting himself off the railing and walking to the small path
"Love you Luke, give my girls a kiss for me and take lots and lots of pictures please"
"Love you Hales" he said with a laugh that made Haley weary
"Dude I'm not kidding"
"Have to go Haley, I'll call you back and tell you a story tomorrow and what have we talked about with this whole Dude thing" he said before finally convincing Haley to hang up the phone. "Man" he said walking up to Jake and shaking his hand, he had the similar wide smile going on for him as well.
"Hey dude" he said with a laugh, teasing him for the conversation he had overheard. Lucas laughed and brought him inside.
"How is it possible that this movie is STILL going?" he said walking into the house as his wife stood up still unaware of Jake's presence
"Luke there is no need to be aggressive be be aggressive" she said dancing over to him before seeing Jake and practically leaping at him "Jake" she said as she stood on her tiptoes hugging him.
Jake laughed "Well, well if it isn't Peyton Sawyer, I mean Peyton Sawyer Scott. I do believe that you have something of mine" he said with a smile
"Yeah she fell asleep during Bring it on"
"That's my girl" he responded unusually proud of the fact that Peyton presented to him
"How about a beer Jake?" Lucas asked still unable to tear the smile away from his own face, it was so nice to see his old friend, just looking at him reminded him of their friendship, he felt like he was back at school.
"Sounds great" he said also smiling
"Where is the beer Peyton?" he asked searching the fridge up and down practically frantic about the whole idea that there was no beer in the entire household
"What beer?" she asked really not one hundred per cent sure what he was actually talking about.
"The stuff that when I was writing the shopping list you said we had"
"I never said we didn't have beer, I said we needed it" she answered him
"I said do we have any beer and you said yep"
"No you said do we need any beer and I said yeah" she said as he went over to the bench and picked up his wallet
"You're a pain in the ass" Lucas said with a laugh "Okay I'm going to get some, you are lucky that you're so darn pretty" he said kissing her cheek and walking out the front door.
It was awkward for a moment, neither one quite sure on what to say to the other, it had been so long since they had last spoken and the last time they spoke it had been so emotional and heartbreaking that Peyton was scared that if she opened her mouth to speak she would burst into tears right there in front of him, so she chose to speak to him about something that really didn't need to much emotion "Do you want some of the most delicious food on the planet?" she asked him, he just looked thrilled that the silence was over
"hit me" he said, it seemed like the only logical thing he could manage, he too was feeling awkward around Peyton but he was mainly feeling awkward for feeling awkward around Peyton.
"Okay" Peyton said with a skip in her step before getting two spoons and heading towards the fridge pulling out two small jars.
Peyton handed one of the jars to Jake and he examined it before looking up with a smile "Baby food?"
"Ah yeah" she said in a mocking matter of fact tone, as though to laugh at the stupid question
"Wait" he said coming to a realisation "Do you have a baby or does this stuff just float your boat?"
"Well it definitely floats my boat but follow me" she said heading up the hallway with Jake cautiously following her, they approached the closed door
"Peyton Scott are you trying to get me into a bed?" he said momentarily forgetting his awkwardness
"Totally" she joked before opening the door, only turning back to indicate for him to be as quiet as possible, Peyton lead him over to the crib, she herself put her hand in and stroked the sleeping little girls head "This is Sawyer Brooke Scott" she whispered to him
"Well she certainly inherited your bed hair" he said as she jokingly slapped him
"That cut deep" she said pretending to be upset by his statement
"I'm kidding Peyton, she is absolutely gorgeous" he said as he put his hand into the crib and stroked the little girls head.
"I know isn't she the bees knees" Peyton whispered enthusiastically
"Okay I wouldn't have sent you back to Lucas if I thought he would turn you into a bigger nerd" he said before Peyton got all teary eyed and awkward around him all over again, and she thought that the awkward stage was over after her baby food bit. He recognised this "This is ridiculous Peyton" she looked up at him "So we haven't talked since that night in Savannah before Nathan and Haley's wedding, so we left it on the terms that we left it on, We were friends before we were.." he gulped "Lovers! And like I tell Jenny at some point we have to live our lives, I am happy with my life and I can tell by just looking around that you are happy with yours, I can tell that I made the right decision, so right this very minute I want my friend back"
"I want my friend back too" she said as she got all teary and choked up, Jake walked over to her and again they hugged
"Now can we stop being awkward around each other" he said as she nodded against his shoulder. "Thank you so much for calling me" he said an arm over her shoulder as they left the babies room
"I know how much that girl means to you Jake; it wouldn't have felt right not telling you"
"She is my whole world Peyton; do you get what I am talking about?"
"But what about you Jake? Fair enough she is your world but who is taking care of you?"
"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself Peyton"
"Bull crap. Who else?"
"I am socialising, I have friends" he said with a smile on his face as they sat down on the couch
"I'm not kidding. Yes I know that she is your whole world, I totally get that, I have known that for well forever Jake and I have and always will commend you from your intense strength, seriously having Sawyer has made me realise how fricken amazing you actually are but who is there at the end of the night when you are sick to death of the world, when they argue with you or cry and you just want to crawl up in a ball, who is there then Jake? Who then?" she asked with a seriousness in her tone
"I understand what you are saying but I have been doing this forever Peyton, I'm used to it all"
"You know my dad did it too, he sacrificed his love life and a lot of that happiness for me, and it wasn't just me he lost the love of his life but Jake I hate the idea that you are all alone"
"I have been with girls, and I've had girlfriends. Don't smirk at me like that Blondie. At the moment I just don't have time for that, I have Jenny four to five days a week and the days left over I take on extra shifts or I do gigs or stalk boys that show interest in her, One day you never know I might find the woman of my dreams, well the third one if I count you and Jenny, But I am not unhappy. Why would I be unhappy when I have so many amazing people in my life and such an amazing life at that?" with that intense conversation over Lucas walked in with a smile that Peyton recognised as the 'I have beer' smile. Jake had lifted up Jenny and put her into Peyton and Lucas' spare bedroom, they had decided that it was way too late for Jake to drive all the way back to Savannah that night and that he would stay and leave tomorrow morning when Jenny was awake and they had a chance to talk. And after a few beers with Lucas the two boys set up the couch for Jake to sleep on for the night.
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He lay awake staring up at the roof, he felt his wife stir beside him and he found himself looking at the clock, it was two in the morning and in all likelihood Sawyer would be awake in about three hours. "What are you doing?" she said as she put her tired head on his chest as she looked up at him with her sleepy eyes
"I'm sorry Peyton" he said looking down at her
"What for?" she said her brain unable to make the connections that she usually made in connection to what her husband was talking about
"I feel as though when we started dating I didn't really think about Jake, I was just happy that we had coordinated ourselves together, I didn't worry about it then but I can't help thinking that I took you away from them, from Jake and Jenny, I feel that you lost out on knowing Jenny as she grew up because you were scared that I would be threatened" he said continuing to look up at the roof as his wife sat up
"Lucas Eugene Scott me not knowing that girl or not remaining in contact with Jake had nothing at all to do with you, well that it not true" she said as he looked at her like she had ripped his heart out "But it wasn't anything you did" she said trying to clarify "It was the fact that I was still so madly in love with you and that I was embarrassed that I had hurt Jake, It wasn't because of you Luke, it wasn't your fault" she said leaning up and kissing him "But I love you for caring"
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The next morning had gone by so fast, they spent some time just sitting and talking but as it began to get closer Peyton dreaded having to say goodbye to them, and Jake was in Sawyer's nursery talking to Luke so Peyton took the opportunity to talk to the girl.
"Sit with me" said Peyton sitting down on the couch "Now, you are always, always welcome here, in fact I would love it if you came and visited me, I have let you down Jenny. I disappeared off the face of the earth from you and I shouldn't have, I am so incredibly proud of what you have become and I promise to make more of an effort with you and for you. But don't ever underestimate the love that your dad has for you, and I know from experience if you have got a problem or your falling to pieces that your dad's a fantastic person to be around, he will always be there to break the fall and pick up the pieces, you have to promise me you will take care of him for me, Okay?"
"Okay"
"Now give me a hug" said Peyton standing up as Jake walked out of the nursery declaring that it was time for them off
"Go thank Lucas please Jenny" said Jake walking back into the living room "We should probably hit the road if we want to get home in time for her to go to school tomorrow"
"I'M HAPPY TO STAY LONGER" yelled Jenny down the hall
"Come on you goof" said Jake pulling Peyton into a hug
"You take care of yourself sexy single dad Jake, You have done an amazing job with Jenny, you should be proud. And don't put your life on hold, okay! I can't stand the idea of you sitting alone in your living room eating a sad TV dinner when Jenny isn't there"
"I like TV dinners"
"Promise me you will take care of yourself Jake"
"I will. And to you I say good luck raising that gorgeous girl of yours, what she doesn't know yet is that she has the most incredible woman taking care of her, a lovely, generous, caring, funny, loving and artistic woman. Please don't be a stranger Peyton; I have missed you so incredibly much."
"If you make me cry..."
"I hope you are the happiest and most content girl in the world, because you deserve that and more Peyton Sawyer"
"If I raise Sawyer at least half the way you raised Jenny then I know that she will be okay, even if she has a mum like me and a goof for a dad. Cause you are doing the greatest job with that girl Jakey J" she said before they again hugged as Jenny walked up the hallway with Lucas holding little Sawyer Scott.
"You ready to go dad" said Jenny as she walked out with Lucas and Sawyer
"Yeah baby" he walked up to Lucas and held out his hand "You take care of these girls" he said as they shook hands." Bye gorgeous girl" he then said kissing Sawyers head.
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They had pulled up on the side of the road at a coffee cart across from an isolated beach, the cold air made sure that there were limited amount of people on the beach; in fact there was less than ten. Jenny sat leaning against the boot of the car staring off into the vast mass of ocean in front of her, Jake smiled as he joined her, knocking her hip with his and sending her flying, she laughed and then went back to her original position as her dad passed her a drink.
"So baby girl are you going to tell me what sparked this sudden adventure?" he said turning to her and smiling
"I don't want to tell you it is embarrassing" she said moving her sunglasses from the top of her head to over her eyes
"Jenny Jagielski" he said using his stern father voice that he saved for special occasions
"It was mums wedding, You two were being so nice to each other and I had this hope inside of me that that meant that you might get back together and we could be a family" she said before wiping a tear away from just under the black lens of her glasses.
"Jenny" he said his voice strong as it always was except it wavered ever so slightly, unsure on how to approach this topic "I will always love your mum because she gave me you"
"But you two will never get together" she said squashing her own dreams and turning back to reality "it is okay I get it, Mum did some pretty horrible stuff to you when I was a baby, I really totally get it"
"I love you kiddo, but next time you want to have an impromptu trip to visit Peyton or any out of town friend, Let me come with you" he said as she nodded and he threw his arm over Jenny's shoulder and dragging her in so that her head rested on his shoulder.
"I love you daddy"
"Right back at you" Jake said before kissing the top of his daughters head.
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Chapter finished, Story incomplete!