September 1st, 2012
Tree Hill, North Carolina
Room 321 at the Westpark Hotel
"Hi, Lindsay." Peyton said, offering up a small smile at the woman, who still looked completely shell shocked.
"Peyton." She said, her eyes drifting down to Peyton's hand, an unfamiliar expression crossing her face when she saw the rings. Sadness? Remembrance? Happiness? Peyton honestly couldn't tell. "Congratulations. How long?"
"A year, October 4th." She smiled, and as Lindsay offered her congratulations again, Peyton decided that she sounded sincere enough, far more sincere than Peyton herself had ever managed to be when Lindsay and Lucas were together. A small blushed swept over the blonde's face as she remembered exactly how awful she had been to Lindsay, the "Man-Face" dig coming straight to mind.
"Peyton, I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly are you doing here?" Lindsay asked, confusion evident in her eyes as she stood, half covered by the door, Peyton still outside with Lilly hidden behind her, and Avery in her arms.
"First of all, you can be as mean as you want to me, I probably deserve it, and I talked to Haley last night. She's really worried about you, and she asked me to come over and talk to you." Peyton admitted laughing when Lindsay groaned and muttered something about Haley minding her own business. "That's Haley for you, never knows when to butt out." They both laughed for a little bit before the awkwardness sat back in. "Anyways, she won't let me back into the house until I talk to you, so do you mind if we come in?"
Lindsay looked slightly taken aback by the invitation, but she nodded and stepped back, letting Peyton and the girls walk into the room. It was spotless, just as Peyton had assumed it would be. Lindsay didn't strike her as the type to make a mess anywheres. It was as she walked into the room though that Peyton actually got her first good look at Lindsay. She was definitely pregnant, and probably three or four months along from what Peyton could tell, but she couldn't be sure because the rest of her body looked incredibly to thin. Probably the result of not having enough to eat.
"On second thought," Peyton said, looking around, "Let me take you out to lunch. It's getting pretty late."
"It's eleven thirty Peyton." Lindsay said, looking at her, one eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"Lilly hasn't eaten breakfast yet." Peyton said, laughing as Lilly made herself visible for the first time, vigorously nodding at Peyton before she turned to look at Lindsay.
"Hi Lindsay." She whispered, looking up at her brother's ex-fiancée.
"Hi Lilly." Lindsay replied, smiling at the young girl. "How are you doing sweetie?"
"Sad." She said, frowning. "What about you?"
"I'm okay, thanks for asking." She said before turning back to Peyton. "Okay, just let me go throw something on, I can drive, if you want." She added hesitantly.
"The car seat's in the Comet, but I can move it, if you want."
Lindsay nodded, and she reached over to the table, picking up a set of keys and tossing them at Peyton. "You know my car, right?"
"Yeah." Peyton nodded, "I'll meet you out there." She left the room, Avery still in her arms, looking up at her, and she quickly grabbed the car seat, and the baby seat, putting that and the diaper bag in the car, and strapping the car seat and Avery into the back, with Lilly next the baby before she let herself into the passenger seat of the car.
It was only a few seconds before Lindsay let herself into car, and then looked at Peyton for a destination. "Frankie's." She said, referring to one of the more casual restaurants on shore. "I'm paying." She added, smiling, rebuffing all of Lindsay's objections.
"So," Lindsay started when they were on the road, "Peyton, your daughter…" She looked over briefly at the other woman, continuing when she nodded. "She's gorgeous, and she's so quiet."
"Thank you and that makes one of them. She's my quiet one, right Lilly?" She smiled when the other girl laughed.
"Twins?" Lindsay asked, looking over at Peyton again, this time with respect, and sympathy in her eyes, along with the confusion.
"Triplets." Peyton admitted. "Avery here's the quiet one. She almost never cries, but her brother and sister sure make up for that. Bailey cries if she isn't in your arms, and I think Brody just does it for fun."
"So you left the crying one's with Lucas and took the quiet one?" Lindsay laughed, and both women were surprised at how easy it was for them to get along, if they tried.
"Very funny." Peyton rolled her eyes good naturedly, "No, I mean Haley is over there this morning and my brother is there all the time actually, so I'm sure they could have handled them all just fine, but Avery's the youngest, and the only one who got Lucas' HCM, and it's just hard, letting her out of my sight sometimes." She looked up at Lindsay and was surprised to see no judgment in her eyes, just sympathy.
"I don't know what I'll do if he's sick." Lindsay said, putting her hand just over her stomach as they waited at a stoplight. "Probably have a mental breakdown."
"He?" Peyton asked, looking over at her. The information had taken her by surprise. It didn't look like she was anywhere's near far enough along to be able to know the gender.
"Yeah. My little boy." She was smiling, and Peyton had to smile along because she remembered those days well. The days when it was just you and the baby, no one else in the world could encroach on your time with your kid, and you were the only person in the world who could always be there.
"How far along are you?" Peyton asked, her jaw dropping when she heard the answer.
"Eight months."
"Congratulations." She tried to keep the shock concealed, and she figured that she did an okay job of it.
Lindsay pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and they all got out. There was no wait at the place, seeing as it was just noon, and they had ordered their food before they had even been there for ten minutes.
"So, Peyton." Lindsay asked, a small smile on her face. "You talked to Haley."
"Yeah." Peyton admitted, "She told me that you were having some problems, with your job and everything."
"It's no big deal. We'll be fine." Lindsay said, though her lies were about as convincing as if they had never been said at all. They both knew that she lying, and that she had no money, no job… no way to take care of an infant.
"Well, I know that you're having a really hard time finding a job, and I just wanted to know if you'd be open to taking a job at the label." That caught Lindsay's attention. She knew that she was barely making it now, with just her, and she desperately need the money. "It's more of a PR job, and you'd being doing a lot of interviews and setting up interviews and publicity, and promoting the artists. Would you be at all interested? I know that an editor does a lot of PR once the book is in stores, and I think that you'd be really good for the job."
"I would be really, interested, if you're serious." Lindsay said, after she took a minuet to digest the information. The food had already come by that point, and Lilly was eating her burger and Avery was drinking a bottle that Peyton had made for her, but neither Lindsay nor Peyton were paying attention to the food.
"I am completely serious. 48 weeks a year, with benefits, and it pays 67,000 a year. What do you think?"
"You don't care that I don't have a place to live or that I'm about to go on maternity leave?" Lindsay asked, skeptically. "Or that I was engaged to your husband?"
"Past is past, and about the maternity leave, I figured that we could work something out. Maybe I could give you a few weeks, and then you could bring him in to work with you? I know that at least Avery'll be coming in with me."
"That sounds amazing, actually. But what about my living arrangement problem? I can start as soon as I find a place, but I don't know when that'll be."
Peyton took a deep breath before continuing, this was the part that she couldn't believe that she was actually doing. "Actually, we have two extra rooms, at our house and Lucas and I wanted to know if you'd be interested in taking them."
"No. Peyton, I couldn't take advantage of you like that. We both know that Lucas wouldn't let me pay rent, and that would be too much."
"I can understand if you don't want the rooms because it's to awkward Lindsay, but if your not taking them because you think we're just being charitable, then don't do that. It would actually be a big help to everyone. There are four kids in our house right now, and I can't do it by myself, even when Derek's helping its really hard. I don't know about Lucas, and having another adult in the house would really be a great help."
"Peyton, are you serious, or is Haley paying you to do this or something? Because I honestly don't think that I can deal with this being a joke. I honestly have nearly nothing to my name. I won't be able to help with anything, money wise for a little while." Lindsay was nearly crying by this point.
"Then you're going help with the non-money related things for awhile. We've got the fiscal stuff worked out already. You can help cook and clean and watch kids. Come on, let's go back to the hotel and grab your stuff, and then I have some errands to run, and then you can come back to the house with me." Peyton smiled reassuringly at Lindsay. "I just have to make a really quick call to Lucas. Meet me in the car." She smiled at her, and then carefully, as if one wrong move would break her, handed Avery over to Lindsay. "You be good, okay baby." Peyton whispered to her daughter before she pulled out her phone and walked away.
Avery was strapped in and all looked well enough when Peyton got back into the car, the same smile plastered on her face that was always there after Lucas told her he loved her.
"Lucas good?" Lindsay asked, knowingly.
"He's great." Peyton said, smiling despite the awkwardness in the car. "He says hi, and he can't wait to see you."
Lindsay smiled, saying nothing, and Peyton was incredibly thankful for that because there was pretty much nothing that she could have said that would have made the situation any less awkward.
"So, do you have any names picked out yet?" Peyton asked, changing the subject.
"Not really." Lindsay admitted.
"Lucas and I didn't pick out names until the morning I went into labor. Brooke came in and forced us to do it, or else we probably wouldn't have had it done, so don't worry about it. You still have about a month until you're due?"
"Two weeks, if I go to term, but my mother and my grandmother and all my aunts and my sister all delivered early, so I'd say about a week." She admitted again, "I really don't know what I was going to do, and I can't thank you enough Peyton."
"Don't worry about it Lindsay. And we have a ton of infant stuff from the 'lets, so don't worry about stuff like that either." She couldn't believe how this day was going. And even more than that she couldn't believe how well she and Lindsay actually got along, as long as they weren't fighting over Lucas.
"Thank you." She said, as warmly as Peyton had ever heard it said, "And I was thinking about names. I have like five picked out."
"Well, let's hear them." Peyton laughed, pulling into the parking lot of the mall. "And well we pick out a name for him, he needs some stuff for his room."
After more than a fair bit of protesting on Lindsay's part and some major convincing and private thoughts on how backwards this entire situation was on Peyton side, Lindsay and Peyton, along with Avery and Lilly, finally made their way into Babies-R-Us.
"Well, for first names I was thinking Keegan, Rowan, Colby, Colm, Bryce, Cooper, Caden, and Carson…"
"That's a pretty nice list." Peyton laughed, grabbing a cart as they walked towards the back of the store, towards the nursery section. "I love Keegan and Rowan. Colby's a nice name, but I knew a guy in LA named Colby and he was a total ass. Colm's pretty cool. Really unique. Brody was almost Bryson, so I like Bryce, Caden reminds me of Camden, Carson's okay, I guess, and Nathan had an Uncle Cooper who had an ongoing affair with Rachel Gatina when he was like thirty and she was seventeen." By the time Peyton was done commenting on Lindsay's name choices they had determined that Lindsay had nothing for the new baby, and they had picked out nearly an entire wardrobe, as well as new toys and a few things thrown in for the Scott babies.
"So we like Keegan, Rowan, Bryce, Colm and Carson?" Lindsay asked, clarifying.
"I like the other names too… Personal stuff really."
"No, those were my favorites too. I liked Cooper, but I have no interest in angering Rachel."
"Don't let Rachel scare you. She's not that frightening, just really intimidating." Peyton said, laughing as she began to move the cart towards the check out. She didn't get much to decorate the nursery mostly because she knew that Lucas and Nathan were probably here earlier today for stuff.
The bill wasn't awful, at least not in Peyton's mind. Four hundred dollars for a completely new wardrobe was fine, and it was about a thousand dollars less than what Brooke would have spent if she was given the chance, which Peyton explained to Lindsay at least four times before Lindsay made Peyton promise that there would be no baby shower from Haley if she took this without complaining. Peyton nodded along, promising her even though they both knew that Haley was near unstoppable when it came to stuff like that. But Lindsay did look like she felt awful about leaning on someone, especially Peyton and Lucas, so much, so Peyton resigned to at least have a talk with Haley about a shower.
Peyton laughed as they got back into the car, she and Lindsay deciding that they would head back to the hotel, grab her stuff and then they would head home. To Lucas. Peyton sighed, tiredness seeping though her system as Lindsay drove back to the hotel, and seeing as she was doing such a selfless thing, she decided to reward herself by letting her mind wander off on its favorite subject, Lucas. She smiled to herself as she pictured her husband in her head, and then again as she remembered last night, and all the other nights when they both thought the other was sleeping and they both lie perfectly still, content to be in each other's arms.
"Peyton?" Lindsay called, snapping the blonde out of her thoughts. "Where were you? Anyways, we're here." Peyton looked around and saw the familiar hotel surrounding her. She could nearly pick out Ellie's room in the near darkness, and she knew that if she looked she would be able to find Ian's old room. She frowned, forcing any thoughts of Psycho Derek out of her mind, and she hurriedly got out of the car, smiling quickly to Lindsay.
"Okay, I'll meet you back at the house then?" She asked, smiling again when she saw Lindsay nod. "Cool." She turned around, grinning as she saw Lilly already out of the car, and she leaned into the car, pulling Avery and her car seat out of the car and grabbing all the things from the trunk. She quickly got both kids and all the things back into the car, and then started the car. She was about to pull the car out of the driveway when she heard the small "Thanks." From where Lindsay's room was. She smiled to herself before pulling the car out and beginning the drive home.
Lucas was waiting outside for her when she got home, and he immediately ran to the car as it pulled in, kissing his wife quickly and welcoming her home before he turned to the trunk, unloading it. "So, how it?" He asked as they, along with Lilly, tagging behind them and Avery in Peyton's arms made their way up the step's and into the house. Darkness was approaching Tree Hill quickly, but even through the pale light Peyton could see the worry in Lucas' eyes.
"It went fine." She replied, nonchalantly. "I figured she needed some time alone to pack, and she'll be over in about an hour I'd guess. Where's Haley?"
"Jamie has the flu." Lucas muttered distractedly. "Is she…okay?" He seemed hesitant to ask.
"Lucas. It's fine to be concerned about her, I'm not going to bite your heard off. And yeah, she's okay. She's about a week away from having her baby, but other than that…" Peyton shrugged. "She doesn't seem like she's getting enough to eat though, so I'm going to get everyone changed for bed, well dinner, if you'll make dinner." Peyton smirked as he obediently nodded, and she kissed him quickly to show her extreme gratitude.
"Brody and Bailey are in their cribs, resting, but I'm sure that they wouldn't mind a visit from their mom." Lucas said, laughing, and Peyton shook her head before she scooped Avery back up and walked upstairs, depositing Avery in her bedroom before she walked quietly to Bailey's room.
Peyton opened the door quietly, just incase her little girl was asleep, and happily found that her eldest daughter was indeed awake. "Hey baby girl." She cooed, picking the blonde baby up and kissing her quickly before she moved them both over to the rocking chair, savoring this time with the small infant. It still amazed her how different each of the three babies were, even at this age. She sat with Bailey in her arms for a few minutes, just rocking her before she remembered that she had two other kids to dress before Lindsay arrived. She carefully got up and moved to the changing table, where she pulled out a clean diaper and quickly put it on her. Pulling her back onto her hip, Peyton then walked over to the closet, looking through the piles of clothes before she found the onesie that she was looking for. It was one of a set that Brooke had made, all three fleece sleepers, all three striped. Bailey's was a pink and fuchsia striped, Brody's a green and orange striped, and Avery's a blue and violet. She quickly dressed her daughter and then grabbed her blanket from her crib, bringing Bailey into Brody's room with her.
She picked Brody up much in the same way as she had Bailey, except that she placed Bailey back into the crib once Brody was out of it. She then slowly walked to Brody's changing table, dressing him quickly and then playing a quick game of peek-a-boo with the small boy, loving every tiny infant smile. She laughed as she pulled him off the table, putting him on one hip, Bailey on the other and they walked into Avery's room. Avery was the quickest to change; no extra bonding time was needed, but Peyton playfully kissed her anyway, dressing her in the sleeper and grabbing her, her blanket, and her brother and sister's blanket's and heading downstairs, leaving Avery in the playpen that she had set up in the living room while she quickly returned upstairs for the other two babies. Once all three kids were in the play pen she called Derek to help her get them into the kitchen. As he always did, Derek rolled his eyes when he saw what she wanted, and then, once again asked her why she couldn't just put them in the kitchen in the first place. And just as always she says that she doesn't like leaving them alone for that long.
Carefully, they make their way downstairs, and into the kitchen, and Peyton's surprised to see the table already set, all eight places. She puts each infant in the tiny supported high chairs, kissing each one softly and then sets to work making dinner with her husband, though she focused more on measuring the formula for the three infants and making Easy Mac for Lilly. Neither of them spoke while they were finishing up, but every once and a while she would be surprised by a kiss, and that kiss said it all. How thankful he was for what she was doing, what a good mother she was, and how much she loved him and he, her. As soon as the table was set with all the food and the bottles were in the fridge, Peyton ran upstairs, changing quickly into a pair of flannel Ravens pants and one of Lucas sweatshirts. She took one quick look at herself in the mirror before she headed back downstairs, the door bell ringing when she was halfway there. She half ran into the kitchen, anxiety building in the pit of her stomach, as she ran into the kitchen, and straight into her husband's arms. "I love you." He whispered fiercely before he followed her into the living room, frowning slightly when she pushed him back into the kitchen.
Peyton once again took a deep breath before opening the door. "Hello, Lindsay, come on in." She smiled warmly, taking the one worn bag out of her hands and laying it down next to the door before she led them both into the kitchen. Peyton had to smile at what they walked into. Lucas was sitting on the floor, his back against the fridge, a blanket underneath him, and all three kids around him. Avery was lying on the blanket at his feet, Bailey and Brody were both in his lap, squirming. Lucas looked up when he saw the two women walk in, and he waited for Peyton to grab Avery and Bailey before he got up, surprised to see that Peyton had handed Avery to Lindsay.
"Hi Lindsay." Lucas said, awkwardly. As far as he knew Peyton didn't let anyone touch Avery, besides him of course.
"Hey Lucas. Your kids are beautiful. And Avery at least is so well behaved." It was unbelievably awkward in the kitchen at that moment, but the three knew to ignore it. There really was no way to get around it, only time would heal it.
"Thanks. Peyton said you met Avery. This," He to the little boy in his arms, "Is our son, Brody Keith."
"And this is Bailey Elisabeth." Peyton finished, smiling at Lindsay, walking over to the fridge and taking out the bottles with a free hand. She handed one to Lucas and then put the other two on the table. "Here," She said, holding out Bailey. "Avery doesn't eat well, you can feed Bailey." The two switched infants and in no time they were fed and the babies were back in their infant carriers.
"Derek, Lilly. Dinner!" Lucas called, and nearly immediately both came running down the stairs, Lilly with a slight smile in Lindsay's direction, and Derek with a polite introduction, and a small smile that had both Lucas and Peyton curiously reeling. And that was how the rest of the night went. Lucas and Lindsay talking about as little as possible, Peyton trying to include her, but feeling more than a bit lost, Lilly acting as if nothing was weird, and Derek smiling at Lindsay as if there was nothing better in the world. It wasn't normal, but it was Tree Hill.
A/N: Okay. So here's what I decided on for Jake. I'm bringing him in for a very small amount of time for a very specific reason, and then he'll be gone. Hmm. What else? Oh, Lindsay and Peyton. Mostly, Peyton feels guilty for the wedding and Lindsay's job, and she her being a new mother, Lindsay being pregnant really is making her feel worse about her situation, and that's she wanted to help her. Also, I always kind of thought that Lindsay and Peyton would get along pretty well if Lucas wasn't a problem, and the way I see it he isn't. Peyton trusts him and his love for her, and Lindsay can clearly see that he is taken and very, very happy with his wife. As for Lucas' happiness in general. Peyton saves him. He isn't happy go lucky, but he's not overly depressed either, in my mind mostly because he has so much going on. It's like Peyton pulls him out of his depression, and what's going on keeps him out. Oh, and I think I'm going to skip about a month between now and the next chapter, which means that the bay will already be born. Review please, and I would love help with Lindsay's baby's name!