A/N: So how excited are we about tonight's episode for OTH! So one of my new year's resolutions was to stop LP-ing spoilers and watching videos from youtube for the up coming eps and by golly it has been so hard!

Chapter Nine:

They say that when a tragedy occurs everything in that very moment cease to exist as it becomes pointless and time stands still as the hands of the clock refuse to move. Peyton Sawyer was the main test subject of this scientific fact.

The bright plain white walls blinded the couple as they walked in, the smell of the bleached hospital floors burnt the inside of their nostrils, the florescent lights brought an oncoming headache, and the depressed looking people walking around in gowns broke their already fragile heart. This is one of the many reasons why Peyton Sawyer hated hospitals.

"Peyton, Julian."

The familiar voice drew their attention away from the nurse's station that sat in the middle of the third floor. They ran towards the friend to both.

"Brooke…"The best friend's engulfed each other in a rib crushing hug. "Where is he?"

Peyton noticed her tear stained face and it was a mirror of how hers must have looked.

"Room 101." She chocked out and her voice came out raspier than usual. "Elle hasn't left his side…and he still hasn't woken up, yet."

Peyton didn't ask what happened, of course she wanted to know, but right now she just had to make sure her boy was still breathing. Her leg's traveled towards the door and stopped her body leaning against the frame.

She looked at the picture before her, her daughter sitting uncomfortably on the hard hospital chair her head resting upon the bed with her hands wrapped around her brother's limp hand and her son lying motionless on the bed. It was just then that the memories of her and Lucas played through her mind of both times he was in the hospital. The twins looked just like their mother and father had all those many years ago.

"Elle?"

The sound of the very loving voice caused the young blonde to stir in her seat; her back aching from slouching from hours on end as she turned her head towards the side to see the woman's figure.

"Mom?"

Leighton quickly stood from the chair and ran into her mother's arms. The sudden sound of a sob escaping Peyton's lips frightened the young girl. It wasn't very often that she heard her mother cry, or if ever, but the sound of heartbreak scared the living hell out of her.

"I'm so sorry, mom."

Peyton held onto her daughter, as she mumbled apologies into her chest, and stroked her long blonde hair. Her vision becoming blurry and finally when she couldn't see her son anymore she whipped away the tears. She took the seat her daughter had currently occupied and grabbed onto Preston's warm hand.

***

Lucas was stunned by what the doctor had just informed him of. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't talk, and most of all he couldn't believe it. He should be happy that his child doesn't have his medical history, but does that mean his wife lied to him? The woman that preached about nothing more than honesty, could she be a hypocrite?

"Are…are you sure?"

He was finally able to ask the MD. The doctor flipped through the small file that hung on the side of the door once again while nodding his head.

"Positive. All the tests came back negative for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy also known as HCM."

His beeper suddenly went off as he excused himself from the father. Lucas took a couple of deep breaths before he entered the room again.

"Hey, Linds, can I talk to you for a sec?"

He tried to play off his demeanor as calm and was glad that it had worked as Lindsay walked towards him without hesitation. She followed him out of the room and into the hospital's emergency exit, the stairway.

"I know we thought that Eli didn't have the heart disease, but it's not your fault. It's Dan's and we'll get through this, together."

She finally spoke after they had stood in silence for five minutes. Her echoing finally subsided in the empty staircase. His glaring caught her off guard neither of them paying attention to the opening door.

"You lying little…" he didn't finish the end of his sentence, the explicit word dying on his tongue. "Eli doesn't have HCM!" he stated matter-of-factly his voice rising with each syllable. "What? Were you going to convince me that my son has this damned sickness and give him pills for something he doesn't have? Do you know what that could do to him?"

Lindsay was speechless and now a new voice echoed through the empty fire escape.

"Münchausen syndrome by proxy." It was Julian who spoke to the duo while dialing a number onto his cell phone. He needed to make a call to inform the director; he needs to take some personal time off for family. The two other people along the steps gave him a 'how do you know that?' look. "Did a movie about it that made it to Sundance. Lindsay you should have portrayed the mother…" his face turning serious for a second. "You know you should probably really get some psychiatric help for that."

Lindsay shot daggers into the man's eyes practically telling him to shut up and get the hell out. Then it hit Lucas, Peyton must be here already. Julian walked out back onto the main floor of the hospital after his phone call, without saying another word. It left the two previous people alone; they stood in silence for another ten minutes.

"You're son almost got hit by a car. And you're not worried about him one bit."

Lindsay dared to make the first move,

"Of course I am, but my eldest son just got hit by that very same car and he's in a hospital bed right now fighting for his life and you don't seem to get it or care."

"He's not my child, Lucas. They're not my children so they're not on my list of priorities, here."

"But they're mine. My children, Lindsay, and here I stupidly thought that you were going to care about them because they're part of me. Sixteen years they've been in our lives you'd think they would get some sort of compassion by you."

"Do you think if the roles were reversed then Peyton would care the same way you said that I should?"

She thought he would hesitate before answering, but he didn't. A second later the words were flying out of his mouth.

"Yes she would. Because Peyt would know that if it was something I cared this deeply about than she would make damn sure she cared about it, too."

He didn't say another word to his wife as he walked past her the door slamming shut behind him.

***

"I'm sorry." A nurse walked in disrupting the small family as she took the patients vitals. "Only one person at a time is allowed."

Peyton looked towards her daughter giving her a look. Leighton hesitated, she didn't want to leave her brother, but she knew her mother needed to stay. She walked sluggishly out of the room and back where the rest of her family was, her head bowed down. Arms pulling her into a hug and she took a breath of the familiar cologne.

"Dad."

Her head shot up and looked into the brown chocolate eyes of her second father, Julian Baker. Leighton's arms wrapping around the man's midsection instantly while she clung to him fiercely. Lucas watched the scene unfold before his very eyes as his daughter called another man father and as the rest of the group's eyes were on him. He walked away and towards the room that held his son, Preston.

He leaned against the door frame, very much like Peyton had earlier and just stared. Feeling eyes on her Peyton turned and stared back. Of course she'd had a many conversations with this man, but it had been years since she truly looked at him. He'd aged nicely she noted, but her thoughts suddenly went back to the lying body on the bed as she tore her gaze away from Lucas.

"He'll wake up, I promise. His mom's a fighter. He's got survival in his blood."

Peyton had finally let a smile reveal itself at Lucas' words as they calmed her.

"His dad's a fighter, too. Two cardiac arrests and still kicking. He gets half of his survival instincts from you."

The same sad smile played on his lips just like the one that played upon hers and at that very moment all Lucas could think about was holding her in his arms. They were allowed to do that right? They needed to comfort one another because they were both going through the same thing. Not knowing when their son would open his eyes again. He bent down in front of her and took her free hand in his.

"I'm holding you to that promise, Lucas Scott."

Her sorrowed green eyes met with haunted blues and at that very moment there was an understanding that Lucas would do his best to keep that promise. They sat with comfort; of course Lucas on his knee and Peyton on the hospital chair wasn't actually comfortable, but the comfort in their souls.

"Tell me what happened. I was afraid to ask anyone let alone Elle. Just asking her to relive what happened is enough to cause a breakdown between the two of us."

He was dreading the very moment she asked that question, he sat down on the chair next to hers, and so began the detailed process that his sister and nephew had given him along with the encounter of a sad little girl taking her anger out instead of holding it all in.

"At least she doesn't keep it bottled up inside. That has to be good."

Peyton couldn't help the last comment slip from her mouth. She didn't have any hateful feelings towards the brunette boy; but of course he wasn't her favorite person at this very moment.

Half an hour passed and the same nurse who had previously claimed that only one person was allowed in the room was so moved by the picturesque scene that she quietly checked the vitals and left without saying a word. Peyton's head resting against Lucas' shoulder, her hand still clung to her son's and the father of her child's arm wrapped around her shoulders, their eyes closed as they were in a deep slumber.

***

The remaining people who couldn't be kicked out of the hospital even if a security guard threw them out were Leighton, Chris, Brooke, Julian, and Nathan. After much 'arguing' on who would stay Leighton had finally won the battle while Karen and Haley took Lily and James home.

Through all the concerns and worries the young girl managed to finally drift off to sleep, curled up next to her godmother who played with the golden locks. Once the adults were sure that the teenager was dead asleep, they thanked Peyton for that, Julian began to tell them of the incident in the staircase.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. Cinderella's wicked step mommy is really e-val?" Chris said pointing towards Leighton when he mentioned the fairytale princess then scrunched his face up when the name Lindsay slid of his tongue and finally his eyes bugged out of his head when he said evil. He brought both his hands up together and drummed his finger's together just like Mr. Burns in The Simpsons and gave his best diabolical laugh of moi ha ha ha. "E-val."

Brooke rolled her eyes. Out of all the serious that had just occurred Julian didn't think he would laugh, but Chris' sarcasm did bring out his smirk. Nathan on the other hand did laugh, but some part of him wondered if Julian was telling the truth.

"Come on, man. Why would she lie about something like that? We all know how Luke feels about it."

Nathan asked skeptically.

"Maybe she's insecure." Brooke responded. Nathan arched his eyebrows. "Oh come on, Nate, you know why. She's feeling threatened by Elle and Pres…" She really wanted to say 'It's Lucas and Peyton for god's sake' but didn't.

Suddenly the lady of the hour came striding into the waiting room.

"Where's Lucas?"

Neither of the group responded, but Julian stood handing over a card.

"Here, I grabbed it from the nurse's station."

"What's this?"

"Someone who can try and help you out with your problem. Try being the key word here."

Lindsay read the name and right above it the telephone number in big block letters read psychiatrist. She grabbed the business card and ripped it in half before shredding it into little pieces that cradled in the middle of her palm and blew them into Julian's face.

"Okay so maybe I was wrong; alcoholism is a problem. You defiantly got a mental illness going on here."

Julian said whipping his face clean of the couple of shreds of paper. Lindsay satisfied with what she had just done started to walk off

"E-val…"

But stopped and turn to give the death glare at the use to be musician who was colliding his fingertips together.

"What did you say?"

"Huh, Evolution is a good movie."

Chris put extra emphasis on the letter 'e' and Lindsay huffed out of the room and in search of her husband.

"Man she's scary."

Chris stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."Brooke laughed. "Man you should have seen your face. It looked like you were going to pee your pants."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh as he and Julian looked at each other and back at the two people opposite of them and mimicked Chris' facial expression perfectly when he'd seen Lindsay.

"Chris Keller thinks you're being immature."

He began to refer to himself as the third person again.

"Oh yeah, well Chris Keller looked like a scared little girl."

Nathan laughed.

"What about when Chris Keller practically pissed his pants."

Julian joined in.

"What about when Chris Keller looked like this."

Brooke mimed the musicians face just like Nathan and Julian had only adding a quivering bottom lip that earned her a high five from Nathan and the best Chris Keller impersonator ever award.

***

Peyton was brought out of her light sleep, but it wasn't Lucas' mumbling or snoring that woke her, it was her hand; well more like what was underneath her hand.

"Preston? Kiddo, can you hear me?"

Her son's hand began to move underneath hers. She began to shove the man beside her gently and when he didn't wake up she gave him a sharp nudge causing him to yelp. Lucas finally opened his eyes and at that same time his son's lids began to flutter open.

He tried to speak, but his dry throat prevented him from saying any coherent words. Lucas quickly grabbed a cup of water and held it to Preston's mouth. After his thirst was quenched he looked at the two people staring back.

"Mom, dad."

A/N: So that's that chapter! What do you think?? Like?? Push that green button and let me know :D