Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

…..

Peyton stared outside the window, sipping the cup of coffee she had just made. The shelves were all put up; everything was ready to hold the stock that was supposed to come in today. She had stayed up all night getting everything ready, and she was tired. But she had to put the stock on the shelves in alphabetical order once they got here, she wanted the store to be ready by Thursday, and it was Tuesday.

Lindsey had stayed with her through the night, helping her put the stuff up. She was planning on leaving at about one, but Peyton wouldn't let her. She didn't want anything to happen to her. Lindsey assured her many times that she'd done it a billon times, but Peyton had just moved here and didn't know how safe it was. After Lindsey fell asleep on the mattress Peyton had bought, Peyton called Karen next door and let her know where her granddaughter was.

Peyton heard feet shuffling and turned to see Lindsey walking towards her.

"Good morning." Peyton greeted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. Thanks for letting me stay over."

"You're welcome. Coffee is on the cashier table" Peyton pointed to the table to the side, where a mug of hot coffee was resting.

Lindsey nodded and walked over, taking the drink.

"I called your grandma after you fell asleep."

"I figured."

"We'll go over for breakfast in a little while"

Lindsey nodded again.

"Still upset at your dad?"

She nodded again. "I just don't understand how he can be gone so much."

"Well, if you ever need a person to vent to, I'm here."

"Thanks."

"And if you're nice, I might even give you a job."

"Really?"

"If you're nice."

…..

Two hours later, Peyton was piling the cds, which had come an hour earlier, onto the shelves. She and Lindsey had walked over and had breakfast, Lindsey stayed with her grandmother and Peyton returned to working on her store.

She had just finished the 'b' section when the door opened.

She turned to see a very angry Nathan walking in.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Did you even think of calling?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm gonna guess we're talking about Lindsey."

"Damn right we are."

She sighed. "She needed someone to talk to. I was there."

"You could've called."

"I did. I called Karen considering she was the only phone number, I knew"

Nathan shook his head and began to walk away.

"My dad died when I was eight. My mom died a year before." Peyton told him. He turned around. She continued. "I grew up with my Aunt who had never gotten married. I know what it's like to grow up without any parents-"

"Lindsey and Paige have me."

"Do they, Nathan? Because that girl that came in here last night, didn't seem to think so."

"You know what? You don't know me, and you don't know my family. SO don't judge me."

"You're right, I don't know you. But I do know what it's like to grow up without a dad. And it's not fun. Give them their dad back. When Lindsey came in here, she was so mad at you because you're never here. And maybe that's not true, maybe you are here. But somehow Lindsey is getting the idea that you're not. Maybe you should fix that."

"Maybe you should stay out of other peoples lives." He turned and walked away. Peyton shook her head and returned to the shelves.

….

Nathan kept the scowl on his face as he walked the rest of the way to the river court. Lucas and Jake were there already, shooting hoops. It was Tuesday, they're annual basketball day. The three of them got together on Tuesdays and played basketball, so they wouldn't lose touch with all the business they do. If one of them is gone, they rescheduled the missed game.

They stopped shooting when they noticed Nathan walking towards them.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

Nathan shook his head. "You hear about that new music store going in?"

They nodded.

"The woman-Peyton-let Lindsey stay over without calling to tell me where she was. then, when I went over to tell her to call next time, she yells at me!"

Nathan sighed and took the ball from Lucas's arms, throwing it into the net.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"Because I'm not home anymore! I am too home! Where do you think I am right now?" Nathan shook his head once more and began playing against them.

Lucas shook his head, not saying what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Nathan to grow up and be a man, but Nathan doesn't take criticism well and Lucas didn't want to make trouble. He joined in on the game and the three played for over two hours, before calling it quits.

…

Lucas Scott, Nathan's older brother, walked into the apartment he shared with his fiancée, Brooke Davis. He and Brooke met in college, they were friends first but things escalated when her boyfriend of two years broke up with her. They'd been dating ever since-five years. He proposed to her last year in May. He knew it was along time to wait to marry someone, but he and Nathan's parents, Dan and Deb Scott always fought when they were kids and had gotten a divorce when he was ten and Nathan was nine. He knew what a divorce could do to kids and he didn't want to do that to his kids. He didn't want to rush things.

"Hello? Brooke? I'm home!" He called into the house.

Brooke walked in from the kitchen, smiling. "Hey babe." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her, holding her close.

"Mmmmh. As much fun as making out with you right now would be, I have something to share with you." She took his hand and led him into the kitchen, where there was a cake, with a baby on top of it, on the counter. He smiled and walked over, dipping his finger into the icing, tasting it.

"I love cake. Thank you for buying this." He smiled and kissed her once more.

"What makes you think I bought it?" She asked.

"You can't cook."

"True." She paused. "Did you notice anything…special…about the cake?"

Lucas studied the cake once more. Nope nothing special. "Nope."

Brooke huffed, jamming her finger into the baby's head. "It's a baby, Lucas!"

"Yeah, I knew that…"

She huffed again and threw her hands up into the air. "Men." She walked out of the kitchen area and went into the living room to watch TV. Lucas, confused as he was, walked after her.

"Brooke?" He sat down next to her.

"What?" She snapped, her eyes fixated on the movie that was playing.

"What's wrong?"

"You."

"Brooke…"

"Why do you think I bought a baby cake for Lucas?"

He thought for a moment.

She huffed. "Lucas! For Christ's sake! I'm pregnant!"

Lucas's mouth formed and 'o' at the news. Pregnant. He was going to be a father. He smiled. "Really?"

She nodded. "I went to the doctor today, I'm two months!"

"That's great Brooke. But, you do know you won't be able to drink anymore, right?"

She pouted and wrapped her arms around him, after licking the icing off her finger. "Please don't remind me of that torturous fact."

Lucas laughed. "We're gonna be parents, Brooke."

"You think we can do it?"

"I know we can."