It was late morning. Lucas lay wide awake, taking deep shallow breaths, his eyes darting to her every few seconds. She'd tangled herself around him, her legs twisted with his, her head on his chest. He could feel her heart beating steadily against his and it was somewhat soothing and nauseating at the same time. He'd never seen her so distraught as she'd been before she'd clung to him and eventually drifted to sleep. He hesitantly trailed his hand down her defined back, feeling every contort of her spine. She'd lost weight in her two years as a single parent and again he felt guilty for causing her such pain.

She began to stir beneath his touch and he instantly withdrew his hand, he wasn't ready to face her green eyes.

'Hi' She whispered, her voice a croaky rasp. He forced an uneasy smile as she shifted against him, crawling up his chest to place a chaste kiss on his unprepared mouth. She was willing to forget the night before, she had to. Her husband was possessed by haunting demons but she had every faith that he would heal and fight back if given the love and support he so truly deserved. She settled back against him, pressing her lips to his chest, her delicate fingers tracing up his abs. 'What's the time?'

'Er' His gruff voice sounded as he rose his wrist and peered at the watch. 'Just gone eleven.

'We need to go get Izzy- I said we'd meet Nate at the River court at twelve.'

His stomach twisted in knots. 'I think I might stay here'

'No' Her head darted up, gazing up into his face. She knew what that really meant- you go and get our daughter and I'll pack up my things and be gone by the time you both get back. 'No, Izzy will want to see you' She dismissed, slowly sitting up. 'I'm going to take a quick shower- and then we'll go?' She asked, sliding out of the bed, her black camisole falling over her hips as she stood.

'Yeah, ok' He averted his eyes to the ceiling, before she caught him gazing at her legs. 'The river court' He mumbled to himself.

As he stepped onto the tarmac, nostalgia flooded his senses. He recalled summer evenings hanging out with his closest friends, romantic evenings hand in hand with Peyton. The familiarity however did not erase the devastating feeling of loss. Basket ball had been his ambition, his life. Now, like most things in his world, it was a mere thing of the past. The place that used to make him happy, a place of tranquility, a place he sought comfort in was gone. The onslaught of wartime had killed his dreams along with his beliefs.

'Mumma' Isabel raced across the river court, wrapping her small arms around Peyton's legs.

'Hey you' The tall blonde ruffled her daughters golden locks. 'Did you have fun last night? Were you a good girl?'

'Uhuh. I'm playing basket ball with Uncle Nathan' She craned her neck up, pressing her chin against Peyton's waist as she stared up at her gleefully.

'Are you now?'

'Uhuh. He says me and Jamie are gonna be pros'

'Wow.' She smiled. 'Are you going to say hi to your Daddy Izzy?' She unravelled the youngster from her waist and directed her to a serious Lucas. She obediently looked at him, giving him a shy wave.

'Hey' His eyes skimmed over her tom boyish attire. Peyton eyed him, praying he could attempt to have a conversation with their young daughter but she was soon darting back across the court.

'She'll come round. She just needs to get to know you better' Peyton said surely.

'I'm not expecting her to throw her arms around me' Lucas forced a small smile, his eyes glued to the four year old. 'She looks like you when she runs, she's going to have your legs'

Peyton smiled softly. 'You should go over there. She'd like you showing her how to play'

'Maybe later' He nodded, sinking onto the bleachers. '…Peyton I meant what I said last night'

She tensed, ignoring his comment like she'd been ignoring the previous night, her eyes on the three figures on the far end of the court. She watched Nathan lift Isabel into the air, holding her right up above his head so she could take a shot. The ball effortlessly flew through the hoop.

'Peyton?'

'And I meant what I said.' She didn't look at him.

He ran his hand over his forehead and sighed. 'I just want you to be happy'

'Then get it into your head that what I want is you' She kept her gaze on Isabel as she spoke. 'What I need is you, what we need is you'

He stood. 'You don't need me' He argued. 'You've done pretty great without me'

'No, no, no' Her eyes darted to him, a small disbelieving chuckle escaped her. 'I've just about survived without you' She exclaimed. 'Promise me you won't leave, promise me you'll always be here'

He looked down.

'Lucas' She hissed. 'Promise me'

He sucked in a breath- In a moment of harsh clarity, his memory reminded him that he was in fact married, for richer or poorer and in sickness and in health, he was to stand by Peyton Scott 'I, I promise' He complied with her order and nodded reluctantly. She seemed satisfied with his response, her head turning away from him.

'I'll go get Izzy and then we can go home' she announced. Lucas watched her walk gracefully across the court, wondering how long things would last before she came round to seeing he was right- she was better off without him.

'Right Isabel it's bed time, go put your PJ's on' Regardless of her mother's order, she continued to colour. She'd been acting up ever since they'd gotten home and Peyton was losing the will to live 'Izzy now'

'Nu-uh' Isabel shook her head obstinately.

'Uhuh' Peyton nodded.

'I wanna draw more' Isabel mumbled, refusing to stop doing her current picture.

'Well I'm afraid you can't' Peyton walked across the room, putting the colours away and forcefully removing the red crayon from her daughters tight grasp.

'You're stupid' Isabel stood up on her chair, hands on hips accommodating her true Peyton Sawyer pout.

'Don't speak to your mother like that' Lucas' eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

'Izzy get down' Peyton's face twisted in exasperation.

'No'

'Now'

'I'm hungry'

'No you're not, You've just had your dinner. Get off the chair'

'No, I'm not going to bed' The four year olds high pitched screech cut through the air as she stomped her foot unhappily. 'I hate you' a red light flashed in her normal blue eyes; an unmistakable anger masking her small features. Her words were like a kick to the stomach. Peyton's stern face fell.

Lucas had heard enough 'Go to your room' He growled, his chair screeching as he stood, the crayons toppling over and clattering across the floor. Isabel shook with fright, her eyes widened fearfully. The loud noise froze them all. 'Now' She didn't need to be told twice. She whimpered as she slid off her seat, fleeing from the kitchen in tears.

'Luke' Peyton's large eyes met his. She knew he had every right to, but he'd been gone so long that it felt strange to hear him discipline their child and she didn't agree with him scaring her. She drifted to the door but he caught her arm.

'Where are you going?' His voice shook, his face etched with innocent confusion.

'To see if she's ok' Peyton snapped.

'She need's to learn' He pulled her back into the kitchen.

'Yes but she's not a solider Lucas, you scared her'

'Do you always let her speak to you like that?' He fired back, ignorant to the distress his remark would cause. The last thing Peyton Sawyer needed was him testing her ability as a mother.

'She's only four plus she's tired and confused. Her Daddy, who's like a stranger to her has just come home. The, the last thing she needs is you frightening her' Peyton breathed defensively. Her chest grew tight as she tried in vain not to break down. She yanked her arm free from his bruising hold and crouched down to pick up the crayons that had fallen during his outburst. 'I know...I know I'm not good with her but...' Her emotions caught up with her and she trailed off, falling onto her knees and cradling her head in her hands. It was no good, she felt seemingly responsible for their child's behaviour. This was the part where he was meant to tell her differently and convince her that she was in fact a great mum but he just stood there, watching her as a strangled sob escaped her quivering lips.

'I'm... sorry' Lucas awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

Peyton dragged her sleeve across her wet nose and sniffled, wiping her eyes frantically. 'It, it's fine' She mumbled, wishing more than anything else that he'd wrap his muscular arms around her. But he didn't. She scrambled to her feet with a sudden urgency, taking a deep breath. 'It's fine' She repeated, her voice no longer shaky as she set the pot of crayons back on the table. 'I have to go see to her' She pushed past him with a sudden conviction, her feet carrying her as fast as they could, anticipating him following her. But he didn't. She slowed as she reached the top of the stairs, the unmistakable sound of her daughters cries making her own tears arise. She swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath before opening the closed door.

'Sweetie?' She edged into the dim room, her eyes on the shaking mess of blankets as she approached the bed. 'Baby, Are you alright?' Her voice calm and soothing.

'I don't like him, I, I want him to go back to the war'

Her vile words made Peyton feel sick, the thought of him leaving again was beyond her comprehension 'Isabel' Peyton frowned, pulling the covers back. 'Don't ever say that, ever. You hear me?' She shook her small shoulders in frustration, ignoring the small twinge of guilt as she regarded the youngster.

The little girl looked up at her with wide blue teary eyes, feeling awful for her mothers anguish filled tone. 'I'm sorry mumma'

Peyton sighed, sinking onto the single bed. She was becoming increasingly aware of the great impact Lucas' arrival home was causing on her little girl. Her whole world as she knew it had been disrupted in the space of an hour. Instead of having her Mummy all to herself she now had to share her with this man, whom she was to call daddy. Peyton wasn't naive, she knew Isabel. She wasn't fond of change. Her upbringing so far had been anything but constant and she herself could relate to that more than anyone. Thinking back to her early years made her feel queasy. She remembered her initial emotions following her mothers death. She remembered her father's consequential distance and coldness. She remembered the day when they'd finally established some sense of normality, when they'd finally got over her mother's death and he bought home a knew woman and yet again her world had shattered before her. He'd always asked if she was ok with him dating, made sure she was happy, but Peyton Sawyer, even at the tender age of ten put others before herself. If he was happy she would pretend she was too. She'd never had that constant love and care that she'd truly deserved and even now, after all this years, she felt an awful insecurity of returning to a life of unhappiness. She never wanted that for Isabel.

She lifted her small form onto her lap, cocooning her in a protective embrace. 'Baby, I know it's going to take a bit of getting used to but your Daddy loves you very much and he's just adjusting to being back at home'

'What's adjusting?'

'Getting used to being back with his family, he's been away for a long time. He really wants to be your best friend. You two used to be inseparable' Peyton smiled, an image of a two year old Isabel asleep on her Daddy's lap invading her mind.

'What's inseparable?' Isabel hiccuped.

Peyton smiled softly, stroking a curl out of her daughters face. 'You were never apart. From the moment your Daddy walked in the door you wouldn't leave his side'

'I don't remember' She sniffled, shifting herself onto Peyton's lap. 'Daddy scared me'

'I know baby, but he didn't mean to. You have to do as Mummy and Daddy tells you ok?'

'Ok' She took a shaky breath '...I'm sorry mummy. I don't hate you. I love you lots' She threw her arms around Peyton's neck.

'I love you too'. She closed her eyes tightly clinging onto the small child, trying to gain some strength. She hoped with all her heart that her reassurance was enough to make Isabel trust in Lucas. It would be a start at helping them rebuild a father daughter relationship and it would be a start at making them a proper family again.