Disclaimer: I don't own anything

--

Peyton looked at herself in the mirror. It was six o'clock on Saturday; she was getting ready to go to the party. She was wearing a dark green halter dress that went just below her knees with simple black heels. Her curly blonde hair was left down and she wore a simple silver necklace.

Jack had just called her and told her they were over, and she guessed she should have been more upset. But, the truth was, she was relieved. After everything that had happened, she was glad he was gone. He wasn't who he was when they first started dating. When she had met him during college he was sweet and took care of her, he didn't act like this.

However, tonight she would have to tell Nathan that Jack was gone. She was sure he would throw it in her face that he was right. Sighing, she went to the bathroom and put on her make-up before she had to leave.

--

"Okay, girls," Nathan said to Lindsey and Paige as he drove the way to his older brother's house. "Please, be on your best behavior, okay? Don't do anything to embarrass me tonight, alright?"

"Same goes for you, Dad," Lindsey said. "Please don't embarrass me. The entire town is going to be there tonight, which means that if you do anything embarrassing I will certainly hear about it on Monday."

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. "Did you hear me, Paige?"

"Yeah, Daddy, I heard ya." She answered, quietly.

Nathan scowled at his youngest. She was usually more upbeat, excited for Brooke's parties. She was always the first one ready to go, an hour earlier then they had to leave. Today, he had to push her to get ready.

They walked inside, they were the first ones. Nathan had offered to show up early so they could help set up. Lucas agreed without hesitation.

"Hey guys!" Brooke greeted as they walked into the door, taking off their jackets and setting them on the coat rack.

"Hey Aunt Brooke!" Lindsey greeted, giving the older woman a hug.

"Hey, Linds!" Brooke said, she turned to Paige and picked her up. "Hey little girl, how are you?"

"I don't feel good," The young child replied.

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows together in sympathy as he felt his daughter's head. "Oh, wow," He said. "Paige, you're burning up," Nathan took her from Brooke, as Paige rested her head on his strong shoulder. "I'm gonna take her upstairs, if you don't mind." Nathan said to Brooke.

She nodded, while rubbing her soon-to-be nieces' back.

--

Peyton walked up the steps and awed at the house, it was gorgeous, it wasn't too big and it wasn't too small. She was following an older couple walking into the house. Lucas was at the front, greeting people as they came in.

"Hey," She greeted, giving him a hug.

"Hey," He said.

"Congratulations. I hear you're going to be a daddy." She smiled.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm a little nervous."

She smiled. "You have a right to be. Hey, do you know where Nathan is, I need to talk to him"

"Um, Yeah, he's upstairs in the first bedroom on the right, Paige isn't feeling too well, so he's up there with her."

Peyton nodded, gave him one last smile before walking up.

She found Nathan sitting on a chair on the side of the bed where Paige was sleeping.

She smiled at the sight before sitting next to him.

"Hey," She whispered. "How is she?"

"She's got a high fever, and she's coughing a lot. I tried to get her to eat something but she wouldn't. I noticed some bruises on her arms and asked her where they came from. She told me she didn't know. She started bleeding the other day, I was in my office and she came in with a bloody nose. She didn't know where that one came from either. She said it just started bleeding."

She stood up, "Come on, I'll drive you guys to the hospital."

"Are you sure? You'll miss the party."
"I'm sure. I think they might be more upset that you'll be leaving then they will be if I do."

He nodded and stood up, taking his daughter into his arms.

--

"Lindsey can stay here tonight, you guys go, don't worry about a thing." Brooke said to Lucas and Nathan as they climbed into Peyton's car, Paige in Nathan's arms.

Nathan nodded. "Thanks, Brooke."

Lindsey stood next to her, a worried expression on her face.

"Be good," Nathan said to her.

"You too," She replied.

Peyton gave her a small smile as she pulled out of the driveway.

--

Nathan sighed as he stared down at his eight-year-old daughter in the hospital bed. They had hooked her up to an IV and had run some tests, now they were waiting for the results. Peyton and Lucas had gone down to get some coffee for the three of them, leaving him alone with his daughter. Lindsey had been calling non-stop since they reached the hospital, wanting to know what was wrong with her sister. He smiled at the thought. Usually, she was mostly annoyed with her younger sister, instead of caring about her.

He ran a hand through Paige's hair, brushing it out of her face. She resembled Haley so much; he thought he was staring down at Haley after her accident again.

He pushed the thought away. He pulled up a chair and sat down, picking up a magazine off the side table. He put it back after looking at two pages of non-stop celebrity babbling.

The door opened and Karen walked in.

"Hey," She said, sitting in the chair next to him. "Brooke told me where you were when I got there."

He nodded. "They don't know anything yet, they're still waiting for results."

"She's gonna be okay,"

"I know. I just…I'm worried about her. She's only eight."

Karen took his hand in hers as the door opened and Dr. Bailey walked in.

They stood, each waiting impatiently.

"Yes, doctor?" Nathan said.

He walked over. "Have you guys ever heard of ITP?"

Nathan and Karen shook their heads.

The doctor continued. "Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura is when there is a low platelet count in the bloodstream. Platelets are blood cells that help the blood clot and stop bleeding. For reasons unknown, the immune system in a person with ITP marks platelets as foreign, and removes them from the bloodstream. In children, treatment isn't particularly necessary; even if they're platelet count is very very low. Most children have mild bleeding symptoms and can recover in a couple of months or so."

Nathan nodded, trying to take all of the information in.

"Now," The doctor continued. "The high fever is from a virus. This with the ITP is making Paige very sick. She'll need to stay here for a while until her platelet's can come back up."

"But, you said treatment wasn't necessary," Karen reminded,

"No, it isn't, but her immune system can drop so we'd like her to stay here for awhile, at least until her fever goes down and the virus goes away. We'll see what we can do then." The doctor gave them a nod, before walking out as Peyton and Lucas walked in.

"What'd he say?" Lucas asked.

Nathan told him what the doctor said, skipping the big words, of course.

"So, she'll be okay?" Peyton asked.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine. She just needs her rest."

"I'm gonna go call Brooke." Lucas said, walking out of the room.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee, it may be bad, but I'm in dire need of a cup." Karen said, smiling leaving the two alone.

"Here," Peyton handed him the second cup she was holding after they left. "I brought you this."

He nodded as he took it. "Thanks. For everything. You didn't have to take us."

"I wouldn't have been able to have a good time at the party if Paige was in the hospital and I didn't know what was wrong."

His mouth twitched. "Well, Thanks anyway"

"You're welcome," She said, "So, guess who has some happy news,"

"What?"

"Jack and I broke up."

He smiled. "Finally. You came to your senses."

"Actually, he broke up with me just the same."

He nodded. "At least one of you was smart enough to end it."
She smiled slightly. "So, the conversation we had…earlier. Was that a bet?"

He chuckled. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"What happens if I win?"

"Well, If you win then we sleep together and you get that."

She slapped him. "No, If I win then you have to…Buy me something really expensive."

"Seriously?"

"No, let me think about it for a while."

He laughed. "Ok, if I win, then you have to watch Lindsey and Paige while I go on vacation."

"Haven't you been on enough vacations?"

"Maybe."

"I don't agree with that. Pick another prize."

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Ok, how about if I win, then you have to…put another section of Britney Spears in your store,"

"Ouch, that's gonna hurt."

"And what do I have to do?"

"Well, if I win, then you have to go on vacation with your daughters."

He furrowed his eyebrows together. "Really?"

"Yeah, you go on vacation all the time alone, Why not take your daughters that love you very much?"

"But what do you get out of it?"

She shrugged. "The joy of seeing Lindsey and Paige happy, I guess."

He laughed. "That was cheesy."

"Shut up."

Paige groaned from the bed, opening her eyes. Nathan and Peyton immediately stood up, walking to her side.

"Daddy?" She whispered.

"Hey, Bumble Bee," He said, "How ya feel?"

"Better, I guess." She said, looking around. "You took me to the hospital?"

"Yeah, you must have been sleeping pretty hard."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"You have a condition that is called ITP. It has something to do with platelets."

"What are platelets?"

"I don't know, the doctor used big words,"

Peyton laughed. "Hey, Paige."

"Hi Peyton," She replied.

"Oh no! Daddy!" She cried. "Did I miss Aunt Brooke's party?"

"It's okay, Sweet Pea," Lucas said, walking in. "Brooke will throw one just for you. She's on her way over right now, with your sister."

Paige nodded. "I want it to be a Hello Kitty party."

"Brooke would love that." Lucas told her.

"Hey, look who's awake!" Karen said, standing next to Peyton.

"Hi Grandma! Brooke's gonna throw me a Hello Kitty party!"

Karen smiled. "That's great. I'm sure she'll be excited to do that."

A few minutes later, Brooke and Lindsey were running into the hospital.

"Aunt Brooke!" Paige cried as she gave the older woman a hug. "Uncle Lucas says you will throw me a Hello Kitty party."

Brooke looked to Lindsey, confused. Lindsey grinned, shrugging. "Uhhh…sure I will definitely throw you a Hello Kitty party."

"Yeah!"

"Why am I throwing you a Hello Kitty party, again?"

"because I missed your party, today!"

"Oh, Paige," Brooke exclaimed, sympathetically. "Then I will definitely throw you another party. Just for you."

"Can you throw a party for me?" Lindsey asked.

"What kind of a party?" Brooke asked.

"A kind of party a guy would go to…?"

"No!" Nathan exclaimed, from his chair, "No party for Lindsey!"

"Oh don't listen to him!" Brooke said to her. "I will throw the best party for you and we will have the guys lined down the street!"

"Brooke!"

"But!" She said. "I get to pick out the outfit,"

"Brooke!"

"What, Nathan?!"

"You are not throwing my 12-year-old daughter a party to meet guys!"

"Why not? She's twelve! I was doing a lot worse than dating when I was her age!"

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What were you doing, Aunt Brooke?" Paige asked

"Uhhhh…"Brooke fumbled with her words. "Things you are too young to know."

Peyton walked in with another round of coffee.

"Hey, Peyton?"

"Yeah, Paige?"

"What's worse than dating?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aunt Brooke said that when she was Lindsey's age, she was doing a lot worse than dating. So, what's a lot worse than dating?"

Peyton glanced at Nathan, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Maybe you should ask your father"

"Dad?"

"Drop it, Paige. You can found out when you're older."

"But, I want to know now!"

"Can I tell her?" Lindsey asked.

"No!" Nathan exclaimed. "She doesn't need to know right now"

"When will you tell me?"

"When you're fifty," Nathan answered.

Paige frowned. "Meanie."