A/N: Don't own "Halo" by Beyonce either…

Chapter 3: Halo

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound

Peyton watched as Lucas slammed the door. The impact of the slammed door caused windows and glassware in the cupboards to rattle. She hadn't intended to get him that angry, but she felt it was about time someone said something to him. She stared at the door for a few moments deciding whether or not to go after him. She took a step towards the door, when a voice stopped her.

"Tol you daddy sad." She turned on her heel, just as Noah was standing in the entrance of the kitchen, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes. "Is he mad at you?"

Peyton took a couple steps, and bends down to his eye level. "Yeah, buddy. He is."

He was silent for a few seconds. It looked as if he was trying to find the right words to say. "Its ok. I'm not mad at you." He said as he smiled. Which in turn, made her smile.

"Thanks buddy." She kissed his forehead and stood back up.

He began to look around. "Where he go?"

Peyton didn't know what to say. She didn't want to scare him, saying she didn't know. The kids were a little…hesitant when it came to Lucas leaving.

"He went out for a walk, he'll be back soon. Why? What do you need?"

"Juice."

"Oh, ok. Let me get it." She began to walk to the fridge.

"No!" Peyton turned back around to him. "Juice. Make me better." Noah said as he pointed to his heart.

"Oh. I'm sorry buddy, I don't have your medication." She came back over to him and ran her hand through his hair. "When your dad gets back we'll remind him. Okay?" She watched as the little boy nodded.

It had always scared her that both Lucas and Noah had a flawed heart. From what you can tell on the outside, their hearts were far from flawed. "Let's go check on Lizzy." The blond boy nodded, agreeing, as Peyton picked him up and took him upstairs.

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

When they entered the room, Peyton expected the young girl to be asleep on the bed. But as she had further looked around the room, she found Lizzy sitting on the windowsill wrapped up in a blanket. Peyton began to walk over quietly, hoping to not disturb the little girl who seemed to be lost in her thoughts. It was short lived, because the floor made a creak, so Lizzy turned to meet her gaze. A smile graced her lips as she launched herself towards Peyton, who in turn put Noah down just in time to catch her.

Lizzy hugged her as tight as she could, and Peyton returned the favor. "I missed you Peyton…" She said shyly.

Peyton smiled and pulled her closer. "I missed you too Izzy." Peyton could feel the little girl smile onto her shoulder at the mention of her nickname. Only Peyton, and sometimes her dad called her that. Noah sometimes tended to call her Iz. He started to call her that when he could first talk. Then he started to call her Sissy. Not because of the words original meaning, but because he couldn't say his "R's" like in sister.

Lizzy pulled back, and Peyton could tell she wasn't feeling well. She was dangerously pale, and looked completely exhausted. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Peyton asked as she put her hand on her forehead. The girl definitely had a fever. She could feel the heat radiating off of her from an arms-length away. The little girl nodded. "Then why are you sitting at the window?" She hadn't realized the motherly tone she's been using, but to be honest, she loved the sound of it.

"I'm watching daddy." She said simply. Lizzy went back toward the window and sat down with the blanket wrapped around her. Noah was right behind her, as was Peyton. She was right. Lucas was in the driveway playing basketball. He was putting shots down left and right. Not stopping for a split second. It's what he did when he was angry, or just needed time to think. He'd work himself until he couldn't go any longer, or until he thought his problem through. "He's mad at you." She stated, and looked up at Peyton.

"You heard us didn't you?"

"Yep. Well, I heard daddy yelling at you." Lizzy paused then smiled at her. "Don't worry, he can't stay mad at you long." It was true. Brooke always told her that Scott men were born with a soft spot for Peyton Sawyer, and that included Nathan and Jamie too.

Peyton smiled back at her. "Thanks Iz."

She nodded at looked back at her dad. "You should talk to him. He looks like he needs you." Peyton gave her a questioning glance. "He always needs you. Even if he doesn't know it." Another questioning glance from Peyton, and Lizzy giggled a little. "Aunt Brooke and Aunt Haley always says that." The older blond rolled her eyes, smiled and kissed Lizzy's head. Lizzy always had a tendency to ease-drop on conversations.

"Make sure your brother doesn't get into any trouble while I go talk to your dad." She playfully said, knowing full well that they'd be perfect angles while unattended.

Peyton watched as the little blond girl nodded and smiled evilly to her younger brother, who in turn stuck his tongue out at her. She took one last look to the kids and began to walk downstairs, not missing Noah's comment, "Just wait 'til I get older then you." Peyton laughed at herself before her mind drifted back to Lucas. She had no clue what she was supposed to say to him. It was her fault he is like this, but she couldn't find a way to fix it.

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

She took a deep breath before opening the garage door, which led to the driveway where Lucas was. She cautiously made her way out of the garage into the sunlight. She had to squint her eyes to see Lucas, as he continued to make shot after shot. Peyton didn't think he had seen her yet, but she knew he knew she was there. She decided to wait for him to speak. It didn't take him to long.

"What do you want, Peyton?"

She wanted him to let her in. She cleared her throat, "Noah needs his medication." She watched as he went for another basket, but he missed. The ball bounced away from him in the opposite direction. She heard him sigh in frustration.

"That's not what I meant." He turned back around and looked right at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "You ever wonder why the kids don't call you Aunt Peyton?"

The question was out of the blue, and Peyton was confused as to where he was getting at. "What?"

He turned back around to get the basketball. He walked back to where he was shooting at before. He shot a few times, the ball bouncing back to him each time he made it in the basket. "Noah, and Lizzy." He continued to make shots. "They call everyone else Aunt or Uncle. Uncle Skills, Aunt Brooke, Aunt Millie, Uncle Chase, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Haley… Need me to continue?" He sets down the ball by the hoop, and slowly walks over to Peyton. Starring into her eyes as he gets about arms-width away. "Don't you ever wonder why they don't call you their Aunt?"

"Not really…" She faded as the statement left her mouth. Of course she noticed that, and so did everyone else. She was never hurt by the fact, she was just curious. She watched as his look changed. His eyebrow kinked; the expression he got when he didn't believe her. "Sometimes." She admitted.

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

Lucas smiled softly at her admittance. "They love you- more than an aunt or uncle." His smile grew just a little, "They think of you as their own mother, Peyt." Hearing this made her heart soar. She'd heard that from Brooke countless amount of times. "They may not call you mom, but you're the closest person they have to a mother figure." But hearing this from Lucas just made it seem truly real. "Your just about the only constant woman in their lives that have always been there for them."

"What about Haley and Brooke? They're always there too…"

"You mean the world to them, Peyt. You're their best friend." He looked at her shyly. "You mean the world to me." He admitted, his cheeks turning slightly red. Her heart continued to soar even higher than she thought possible, just before it crashed and burned. "You're my best friend." She shouldn't think that she meant any more to him then a friend. Friend. The word itself made her sick to her stomach. She put on her best fake smile, and hoped he wouldn't notice.

Lucas noticed, but showed no signs that he did. He's gotten so much better at closing himself off to others, especially to her. He saw the small smile she unconsciously had on her face when he told her how much she meant to him, and he noticed the smile quickly fade when he called her his best friend. He wanted to take the last statement back, but he meant it. She was his best friend. She knew him like no one else. Of course you could bring up that Haley was also his best friend, but only knew him to a certain level. Peyton meant everything to Lucas, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Come here." He couldn't stand the look of pure hurt on her face. He was positive she was trying to hide it, but she was never good at hiding her feelings, with him anyway. She was an open book, his favorite book to read.

Peyton gave him a smile. She couldn't help it. As much as she was hurt right now, about a lot of things, he looked so innocent with his arms spread wide waiting for her to step into them. She stepped in his embrace, her arms snaking their way around his waist. She laid her head on his chest sighing in content as his arms wrapped her body, one hand on the lower half of her back, and the other on the back of her neck, bringing her as close as possible. Peyton closed her eyes, breathing in his musky, and a little sweaty, but gentle scent while listening to his heartbeat. Its what she always did when he hugged her like this. It wasn't often these two found themselves in such an intimate embrace, but neither complained. "Why'd you tell me all that?"

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

"I-I'm trying to let you in." Lucas said simply. He knew what she wanted; she always wanted, no needed him to open up. She just hugged him tighter, as if saying a silent 'thank you'.

Lucas didn't know how long they stood there, but figured it was about time to break the silence. It's something he wanted to tell her since he got here. He tightened his grip on her just a little, and placed a delicate kiss on the top of her head, leaning his head down so his lips barley touched her ear and whispered, "I'm sorry."

She tensed slightly, but immediately relaxed as he started to rub her back. "For what?" She mumbled into his shirt, eyes still closed.

When he felt her tense, he did the one thing he always did when she was tense; he began to rub delicate circles against her back. He remembers when she told him that her mom used to do that when she threw tantrums as a child. "All sorts of things." He mumbled into her hair. If his lips weren't so close to her ear, she doesn't think she could have heard it.

She nodded into his shirt. She understood where he was coming from. "It's okay." Peyton felt him shake his head in response.

"No, no it's not." He stepped back out of their embrace, but keeping his hands on her waist, and hers on his chest. Neither wanted to let go just yet. "I shouldn't have left a year ago…I should have called you- like I promised I would. I should have taken better care of the kids- or came home when I knew I needed help. I-I just wish that I could take it all back."

"Luke-"

"And I sure as hell shouldn't have yelled at you like I just did. You didn't deserve any of it. They're my own problems and I have to find a way to deal with it." Lucas finished with a breath. "I'm sorry." He said as he gazed into her eyes.

"Lucas-" She sighed. He still didn't get it. "I want you to be able to come to me, for anything. Keeping to yourself hasn't worked for you." She watched as he nodded and looked down ashamed. She gently lifted his head back up with her hand. "I want to help you change that."

She watched as Lucas nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll try." She gave him a sad smile. "I promise." He said matching her smile.

"That's all I'm asking." Peyton still hasn't stepped away from his embrace, and smiled at the thought. "Okay, how about we go inside. I can make lunch while you take a shower." She smirked up at him, "Your sweaty, and you kinda stink."

"Well, you never minded before." He replied huskily into her ear, as he put his arm around her shoulders, leading her into the house.

She unintentionally shivered, and blushed. She couldn't think straight, making every sarcastic remark she could have said fly out the window. She cursed him inwardly, while pushing him and smacking him lightly on his shoulder. She was smiling of course on the outside, but at the same time she was wishing she could slap that silly, but beautiful smirk off his face. Tossing a teasing glare towards him, she made her way into the house, hearing him laugh a little as she sprinted up the steps and through the doorway.

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

"I checked on Lizzy before I went outside. She's burning up." Peyton said once he got inside.

"Yeah, she hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days because of the new medication the doctor put her on." It seemed both his kids drew the short straw when it came to illness. Lizzy had inherited asthma from Lindsey, while Noah inherited Lucas' HCM. The only difference was Noah's heart was in worse shape then Lucas's. He needed to go to the hospital every month to get a check-up, and have blood drawn. Of course Noah was a big sport about it. Lucas knew the only reason he was so good was so the doctor would give him a lollypop at the end of the procedure.

"Which reminds me-" Lucas turned around and walked towards the door and began digging around in his coat pocket, quickly returning with a bottle of pills and a sippy-cup. "Noah, come in here for a minute." He called up the stairs. A moment later Noah comes running into the kitchen smiling at Peyton then turning to his dad.

"Yeah daddy?" Lucas had his head stuck in the refrigerator looking for some juice.

"You need to take your medicine little-man." Lucas said as he pulled out a bottle of apple juice. He turned toward towards the nearest counter and he begins to pour the juice into the cup.

Peyton took out the pill from the bottle that was sitting in front of her and walked it over to where Lucas was standing. He turned around, almost running into her. She blushed at his closeness and gave him a shy smile. She handed Lucas the pill, which he then dropped it into the cup murmuring a 'thanks' in response, inwardly smiling at the slight redness in her cheeks.

She went back to the table and sat down. Lucas began to shake the cup until the pill dissolved. When she sat down Noah began to climb on her lap. Peyton lifted him up and shifted him on her lap so they were both comfortable. Lucas walked over to them, smiled and gave Noah his cup placing a delicate kiss on his forehead.

"Make sure you drink it all buddy. Okay?" The young boy nodded in response, lent back onto Peyton's shoulder, his head falling on the side of her neck and began to drink his juice. He looked back at Peyton as a smile grazed his lips. He loved that his kids were so attached to Peyton, and he loved that in turn, Peyton was so attached to his kids. "I'm gonna go take a shower." Peyton smiled back and nodded as Lucas made his way up the stairs.

Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light

I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
To pull me back to the ground again

Lucas came back downstairs forty-five minutes later showered and cleanly shaven. He walked into the kitchen and noticed Noah and Lizzy were sitting at the table with grilled cheese, fries, and a glass of milk in front of them. Peyton was over by the stove, a spatula in one hand and her cell phone in the other. She looked a little tense, as she seemed to be having problems talking to someone from her record label, someone by the name of John?

He shook his head; it was none of his business. He turned his attention to his kids, who had yet to notice him. Lucas smiled went over to Lizzy, and wrapped his arms around her, and planted a couple big sloppy kiss against her cheek. This caused the little girl to erupt into giggles.

"Daddy, I'm-tryin…to-eat." Lizzy said in between laughs.

Lucas bent down to her, and Noah's eye level and looked at their plates. "Mmm. That looks good." He looked over at Noah as he was just finishing off his sandwich, and turned back to Lizzy. "Can I have a bite?" He asked innocently giving her the puppy-dog look.

Lizzy sighed and rolled her eyes at her dad's silly antics. "Okay." She said. "But just one." She added, sounding as threateningly as she could. She held the sandwich up to his mouth as he took a huge bite. The little girl immediately retracted her hand and squinted her eyes at him. "Daddy! That was a big bite."

"Well, you did say one bite. You never said how big." Lucas smiled as he watched her pout. He leaned over a placed a delicate kiss on her forehead, which got a smile in return. He knew all was forgiven.

Feels like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
The risk that I'm takin'
I'm never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

"Ughhh!" He turned his head to Peyton and saw her slam her phone shut and put it on the counter, then rubbing her temples tiredly. He cautiously walked over to her, leaning on the counter directly behind her.

"Something wrong?" It was pretty much the stupidest question he could have asked.

"No. Everything is just peachy." She bit sarcastically.

"Ok. Let me rephrase that, what's wrong?" He gently grabbed her elbow, turning her around so she was facing him.

She's biting her lip, debating whether or not to tell him. It's really not a big deal, but she doesn't want to lay her problems on him when he's got his own to deal with.

She turns around quickly, breaking contact with him in the process. Peyton turned back to the stove to scoop the sandwich onto a plate, handing it over to Lucas. "You need to worry more about yourself, and eat." He gave her a squint before putting the plate on the counter behind him, leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed in front of him stubbornly.

"I won't eat until you tell me what's bothering you."

She gave him a sigh and a roll of her eyes. He can be so stubborn sometimes. She didn't think he was serious because of all the noise his stomach was making, but the look in his eyes makes her doubt herself.

"Fine. Where do you want me to begin?" She mirrored his body language, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smirked in victory. "At the beginning."

There's that smirk again. It gets her heart pounding every time. "Damn it." She mumbled under her breath.

"Okay." She took a breath, hoping to calm her heartbeat. "John. He's my old boss from Sire Records. You remember right? The internship I took after senior year?" Of course he remembered. They dated for four months prior, but broke up the night before she left. They never once said the three words they so badly wanted to say. They both admitted it was nothing serious and afterward stayed as friends. "Well John, he showed up yesterday at the studio and gave Mia the option to sign with him. And at first I thought it was a bad idea because I know how he treats his artists, but then he started saying how I'm keeping her from reaching her potential for fame. I have such a small label, and less hook ups than he has. Then I started thinking that it's a good idea for her, career wise anyway." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Then he called me and told me to make my decision by tomorrow, and I just don't know what to do."

"Well did you ask what Mia wanted to do?"

"Yeah. I mean she said she wanted to stay with me but-"

"I wouldn't blame her." Teasingly looking her up and down, causing her to blush. "Look Peyt, I'm so proud of you; you know that?" She nodded her head. "I know you're proud of Mia too, and that all couldn't have happened without you. You helped her create the rest of her life. You handed her, her dream. If you hand her over to John, he'll take that away." He walked to her, putting his hands on her shoulders making sure she was looking at him. "Be selfish for once, and I know you can make Mia into the star she could be. I believe in you Peyton and if Mia wants to stay with you, I know she believes in you too."

She nodds her head and wraps her arms around his waist. He does the same, but one of his hands ends up on the back of her neck pulling her closer. She smiles, a classic Lucas Scott hug. "Thank you."

"You never have to thank me." She pulls away and notes the seriousness in his tone. She nods again and looks behind her, pointing at the untouched plate of food.

"I told you my problem, now how about you eat that food before it gets cold." She kinks her eyebrow at him, knowing deep down that he loves when she does that.

"Yes ma'am." He grabs the plate and takes it to the table, sitting next to Noah while Peyton goes and sits across him next to Izzy.

They spend the next half hour or so at the table talking, well the kids doing most of the talking telling Peyton everything she missed in the past couple of months (all the good things anyway…).

After they finished lunch, they decided to watch a movie together since Izzy was still not feeling very well, and Noah was getting tired. They decided to cuddle up in the living room, Izzy on the couch with Peyton and Lucas right below her laying on the ground with a pillow underneath his head. Noah had decided that since Iz got to lay with Peyton that he would lay with his dad. So he laid right on his chest, curling his knees making him fit perfectly. Lucas smiled as he kissed his sons head. Noah was born pre-mature, and was so small Lucas could have sworn he fit in the palm of his hand. To this day he's a lot smaller than the rest of the kids his age, but it doesn't matter because the doctor said he'd be able to grow as tall as his daddy one day.

About half way through the movie; Brooke, Haley, Nathan, and Jamie made there way through the door. Peyton was the only one awake, so she put her finger to her mouth to shush them quiet. Haley came over to Peyton telling her that she and Brooke were staying for dinner, leaving no room for argument. Then she cautiously got the blanket from another chair and laid it on Lucas and Noah, smiling to herself as she walked out of the room to get dinner started.

Nathan had taken Jamie outside with him in the pool so he wouldn't disturb them. Brooke was the only one who came over to sit with Peyton, who was still stroking the little girls hair unconsciously.

"Did you talk to him?" Peyton nodded. "We'll what did he say?"

"He still blames himself for what happened, and everything with Lindsey is just making it worse." Brooke doesn't know what to say to that. It's killing him, she knows that much. All the guilt he's going through is making him sick.

"So what are we gonna do P. Sawyer?"

"I don't know B. Davis. I just don't know…"

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

A/N: I started a new story a couple weeks back; it's called "The Girl he Left Behind". If your bored, please check it out. There is only one chapter so far, but I'm slowly getting the second one done. It is really depressing and stressful to write, which in turn makes me depressed. So that's a reason why I can't write it that fast. But if you like Lucas/Leyton angst, check it out. You won't regret it. The first chapter may be confusing, but it's the perfect prologue to the story. (The story does pick up it's pace and eventually get a lot more dialogue in the second chapter. I should change the rating to M soon…)

!!!!!!!!!! P.S. This is most likely different than anything you will ever read…The story is written in "Deaths" POV. Just thought I'd throw that in there….!!!!!!!!!!!

------Preview of Story. Chapter 2: Whiskey Lullaby. Deaths POV is in italics and *.

He never wanted it to come out this way. He can't keep doing this, bringing her down with him. It's his problems he needs to sort out, not hers. He's being selfish by being unselfish…if that makes sense. In his mind it does. And that's what's breaking their relationship, what's breaking him. Things have been tense in this house for about two weeks when his contract at the publishing company was dissolved. Now, he finds out there was a boating accident involving his mother, sister, and (almost) stepfather Andy.

*Lets just say I was busy that day…*

They found them dead three days later.

Review if you would like too. Sorry it took so long. I don't have any excuses, but this is longer than the others cause I felt like you guys deserved a longer chapter. I had to speed up the ending because I didn't want to drag it on anymore…but thanks so so much for the reviews I've been getting. They mean the world to me. :)