A/N: Once more I have to start by giving thanks for all the reviews, you guys. They really do mean a lot to me. It really makes writing that much easier knowing that there are people out there enjoying my work. And also thanks for all those who have put my story as one of their faves. I'm glad you like it so much. Anyway not much to say about this chapter, except to say that it does have Lucas recoving from his shock. I'm a little on the fence on where to go next so bear with me okay?

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The next morning, Brooke knocked on Peyton's door. The brunette had heard her coming and had expected her friend to tell her all about her "ride."

Peyton opened the door, rubbing at her eyes. "Hey."

"Come on, get dressed," Brooke said, pushing Peyton back into her room. "We're going out to breakfast. I'm starving and I don't want to burn the house down before owning it for a full day."

Peyton knew better than to argue with Brooke. Besides, she was a little hungry herself. "All right, just give me a second."

A second turned into minutes and Brooke started pacing outside her door. "If you're not out here in sixty seconds, I'm going in there and you're going in whatever state of dress you're in."

Peyton opened the door, fully dressed. "Ah, you wouldn't have dared."

"Are you kidding me? I probably would have done in fifteen."

The two girls laughed as they made their way to Brooke's car. "So, how was your drive last night?"

"Good."

Brooke gave Peyton a look. "What happened?"

Peyton needed to find some friends that didn't know her so well. "I drove for a bit and before I knew it, I was parked in front of his house."

"Lucas?"

Peyton nodded.

"What did you do?"

"I talked to him." Peyton saw Brooke stiffen up beside her. "I told him about the baby."

"What did he say?"

"Oh."

Brooke turned to look at Peyton. "Tell me that you are kidding."

The blonde shook her head. "No. That's what he said."

"He's such an idiot."

Peyton smiled. "Don't be too hard on him. It was some pretty big news that I dumped on him out of the blue. And besides, he didn't realize that he's was the father at first."

"What do you mean?"

"When I told him I was pregnant, he told me that it didn't change how he felt about me. That he wanted to be there for both of us. Me and the baby."

Brooke whistled. "Way to go, Broody. Too bad he couldn't have said something like that after he realized he was talking about his own kid, huh?"

"I guess." Peyton leaned back in her seat. "I'm just glad I told him."

"Are you worried at all about what going to happen next?"

"Maybe a little."

"Why? You know he loves you. He was willing to be there for a stranger's kid," Brooke pointed out. "He's going to be there for you."

"I know. I'm not worried about that."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about what he's going to do when the shock wears off."

"At least you know it's going to be romantic."

Peyton smiled a little. "Maybe."

-------

Haley opened the door to find her best friend standing on her stoop. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. She pulled him into the house.

"Are you okay?" The concern in her voice made it a little hoarse.

"Peyton's pregnant. With my baby," he said. Whatever he was feeling, she wasn't able to distinguish it from his tone.

"She told you that? When?"

"Last night. She came by and she told me." Lucas clenched his fists. "She told me and I completely fucked up."

"Language, Luke," she scolded softly. "Anyway, how did you mess up?"

"Do you know what I said when she told me? Oh."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Is that your default response?"

Lucas gave her a look. "I know, okay? I just was overwhelmed and it was so much to take and it just slipped out."

"Luke, if there's anyone who understands about feeling overwhelmed, it's Peyton." Haley squeezed his hand. "Go talk to her. Tell her how you feel. I bet you'll find that she'll be pretty understanding."

"Weren't you the one telling me to give her space?"

"I was telling you to give her time to adjust before you started trying to win her back. This is a completely different situation."

Lucas nodded. "I guess you're right."

"So, now that you've thought about it… where's your head at concerning Peyton and the baby?" Haley had to make sure that she didn't just send her best friend on a mission to hurt her pregnant friend.

He looked at her and his face dissolved into a smile. "I'm happy, Hales. Nervous and freaked out and worried, but completely ecstatic."

"Good. I'm sure Peyton would love to hear that."

Suddenly Lucas narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Wait a minute. You knew." His voice was accusatory.

Haley looked surprised. "What?"

"You knew that she's was pregnant with my baby, didn't you?"

"Why would you think that?"

Lucas gave her a look. "Lots of reasons. But mainly because you weren't surprised at the news. You were surprised that she told me."

Haley nodded. "Fine, yes. I knew. But you can't be angry at her, Lucas. She needed friends and-"

"I'm not mad at her. I'm a little annoyed at being the last one to know, but at least she didn't purposely hide it from me like you did with Nathan."

"Hey! That's unnecessary."

Luke nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"I'm only forgiving you because you've had quite a shock, Lucas Scott." Haley smiled. "You're going to be a dad!"

"I know! I can't wrap my head around it sometimes and it all feels surreal, but then I think about it… And I know how perfect this is." Lucas sighed. "Don't you see? This is proof that we're meant to be together."

"Whoa, back up there. You have to think about what's right for Peyton and the baby, now," she said. Haley wondered why Lucas always had to make everything more complicated that they needed to be. For everyone. "You need to be there for her and that's it. She doesn't need anything else to think about right now."

Lucas nodded, even though he was fully intending to ignore that certain piece of advice. Peyton and he were having a child together. It was only right that they be together, too. And he was going to make sure that was how it was going to be.

-------

Brooke watched as her friend moved the food on her plate around with her fork. "Where's the girl that nearly ate Nathan and Haley out of house and home last night?"

Peyton shrugged. She had been hungry when she had ordered, but felt the nauseous the second the food was placed in front of her. "I don't know."

Brooke was all concerned. "What would you like? Anything, just name it."

Her friend gave her a grateful look. "I'm just not hungry right now, Brooke. Although, some saltines crackers might be nice."

Brooke called over a waiter and demanded he bring a plate covered in saltine crackers. The waiter nodded vigorously and scampered off to do her bidding. Peyton laughed as Brooke turned to her, all serious-like.

"Okay, your crackers are on their way. Now tell me. What's on your mind, P. Sawyer?"

"Lots of things," she replied honestly.

"Like what?"

"Like how is Lucas going to react when it all sinks in. Like how's it going to be for the next thirty-two weeks. Like what am I going to do for a job… I can go on and on."

"Well, I don't know about the first two, but I can help you out with the last." Brooke took a small bite of her breakfast. "You know how you were telling me about all that was wrong with your last job?"

"Yeah…?"

"And how if it had been YOUR label you would do it right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because, Best Friend, I am helping you start your own label! Do you hear me? I want to invest in your label!" Brooke's dimples were as deep as canyons.

Peyton blinked. "Jesus, Brooke, that's really generous of you. Way, way too generous, actually. And completely crazy! Why would you want to throw your money away like that?"

"A- I think you would be great and I believe in you. B- Have you seen the stock market lately? This is actually the safest bet for an investment."

"You're serious. You're going to give me money to start my own label. Brooke, I can't let you do this. It's too much."

Brooke shook her head. "I'm rich, Peyton. Obscenely so. I have loads of money that I don't know what to do with. And I think you could do wonders. I really do. So, please, do me a favor and at least think about it?

"I'll think about it, I promise." Peyton hugged Brooke hard to her. "I don't deserve you, Brooke Davis. I love you."

"I love you, too. Besides, I had to do something to stay in the running after Haley's apparently amazing pot roast last night."

"In the running for what?"

"Godmother."

Peyton laughed and just held on tighter. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Thank God you never have to find out."

-----

Lucas left Haley's house with every intention of finding Peyton. That's when he realized that he had no idea where Peyton was. He called the one person he knew that could tell him without a doubt where the blonde was. Brooke Davis.

"Oh." That's how the brunette answered the phone.

"So she told you."

"Yeah, smooth."

"Well, in my defense, Peyton tends to just springs things on me with no build-up."

"Whatever you say, Broody. Anyway, what's up?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"Do I know where Peyton is?" Brooke repeated the question so Peyton could answer it for her. Peyton nodded. "Actually, I do."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that she gave you permission to disclose that information to me." Lucas knew immediately that wherever Brooke was, there was Peyton. "Now, did she give you permission to tell me where she is?"

"Oh no, she and I are going shopping today and I will not have you ruining with some drama nonsense. If you want to see her you're just going to have to wait until tonight."

"Fine. Just do me a favor and tell Peyton that I'm sorry for what I said and that… Well, I can tell her the rest when I see her in person."

Brooke hung up the phone. "He says he's sorry for being a jackass."

Peyton shrugged. "I'm used to it."

-----

That night after dinner with Brooke, Peyton had decided to take a walk along the river. She used to love doing that and she hadn't gotten a chance to do it yet since she had been back. Her mind was a mess of thoughts. Peyton couldn't believe that she was actually really considering taking Brooke up on her offer. Starting a record label was such a huge step, and sure she had made some connections when she was in LA, but still. All the cards were stacked against her. The chances of her label making were… well, about the same as Brooke's fashion line becoming as big as it is. Or Lucas's book being on the New York Bestseller List. Or Nathan actually making it in to the NBA.

Okay, so those were not good examples. Everyone in their little group had succeeded so far. That just meant that someone had to fail. And that someone was obviously her. Granted, Peyton thought, she did fail miserably in LA. So, maybe it was her turn to succeed?

Peyton shook her head. Brooke's excitement was infectious. Every time Peyton allowed herself to think (even for a second) about actually doing it, she got all giggly. But was now really the time? She was pregnant. She should be focusing on that and not starting a label. On the other hand, what else was she going to do for income?

She sighed. She wasn't going to make the decision tonight, so she might as well put it out of her head. It was doing her no good to dwell on it when there was no possible resolution to be had right then. Her hands went to her stomach. Where her baby was. She couldn't help but smile every time she thought about that. She wondered if it was a boy or a girl. She wondered if the baby would have straight or curly hair. Wondered if the baby would have her green eyes or those intense blue eyes that his (or her) father had.

Lucas. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of him and she wondered if there was a way she could make it stop doing that. She was glad she told him. It had been an albatross around her neck ever since she found out she was pregnant with his child. All thing considered, the confession went pretty smoothly. No yelling, no insults, no throwing of things whether verbal or otherwise. She had told him and then she had left. She had to admit to herself that it was a pretty cowardly act on her part to just take off without letting him recover first. But she knew she wouldn't have been able to handle sitting there, on his bed, in silence while he let the news sink in. She wanted him to be sure of what he was feeling before they talked about it. And hopefully the night helped him come to a decision. One that he would, no doubt, want to share with her.

And he had when he called Brooke that morning. She was convinced that after Brooke told him what they were going to be doing all day that he would've found a way to run into them. But he didn't. And while a small part of Peyton was pleased that Lucas honored Brooke's wishes, a bigger part felt disappointed that he didn't. She pulled out her cell phone and checked for the hundredth time if it had somehow spontaneously turned off. It hadn't it. Then why hadn't he called? Peyton couldn't come up with a single answer to that question that didn't make her want to cry out. She tried to push all those unhappy thoughts away. She had been prepared to raise her baby alone. She just didn't really think it was going to be a possibility.

As she looked down at her phone, checking to see if she had any messages, she bumped into someone standing there, looking out at the water. Peyton looked up to apologize and found Lucas looking down at her, smiling.

"I knew you'd come here." He seemed so sure of himself.

"Oh yeah?" She tried to sound annoyed, but she could help but enjoy the fact that he knew her so well.

"Yeah. You had to clear your head."

"And other than stalking me, why are you here?"

Lucas stretched. "I just needed some fresh air after spending the entire day cooped up in my room writing."

"I'm happy to hear that you're writing again."

"Yeah, me too. And it's all thanks to my returning muse." He grinned at her and she had to look away to keep him from seeing her smile.

"So, why aren't you hurrying back to write some more?" Peyton asked playfully. She leaned on the rail, looking out into the water.

"Because we need to talk about some things."

She didn't turn to look at him, instead studied his profile with her peripheral vision. "You're right, we do."

"I'm so sorry about how I responded to your news, Peyt. I can't take it back, and that sucks, but I can try and do better next time."

Peyton looked at him. "Next time?"

"Yeah, the way I see it, we always mess up everything the first time around. So how about we just say that was just the dress rehearsal for the real thing?"

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." He took both of her hands in his. "Please, Peyton, tell me again."

She blushed. "Um, I'm pregnant and you're the father."

Lucas took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. When the kiss ended, he looked straight into her eyes. "I'm so happy, Peyt. I can't wait to have our child with you."

Peyton was glad to be in his arms because she didn't know if her legs had any strength in them. "Wow, that was definitely better than just saying, "oh.'"

He smiled and held her. "I meant every word. This isn't the way I would have thought it would happened, but it doesn't matter. I can't imagine anyone I would rather have carrying my child."

"That's some very nice sentiments, Luke, but all I wanted to know is if you were going to be there for me and the baby."

"And I am going to be there. Every step of the way, I promise."

"That's all I needed to hear. Thank you." Peyton, feeling like she could stand on her own again, pulled away from him. "I can't believe you kissed me."

"I'm not going to apologize. You told me never to apologize for kissing you, remember?"

She nodded. "I remember a lot about that day."

"Yeah, um. I have to apologize for my behavior. It was totally uncalled for and I'm sorry." Lucas turned to water. "There's no excuse for how I acted towards you and you really didn't deserve it."

"No, I didn't. You hurt me, Luke. And I know that you're going to say that I hurt you, too. And you're right, I did. But it was never intentional. And it was! You may have not consciously meant it to be, but it was."

He took a step backwards. She was angry and that's not what he wanted. "Okay, fine. But I am sorry. Really sorry. I hate that I hurt you and I want to make it up to you. I'll be the best boyfriend in history if you'd just give me the chance."

"What are you talking about?"

"We belong together. Everyone knows this. Even fate is trying to show us this." Lucas pulled her close to him again. "I want you back, Peyton."

"But Lindsey-"

"Lindsey and I broke up, you know that."

"Yeah, TWO days ago. There is no way I'm going to be your rebound. I deserve better than that!"

"My rebound? She was my rebound from you. I broke up with her for you. How could you think, even for one second, that you would be a rebound for me?"

Peyton was aware that she was still in his arms, but she still didn't break away. "I don't know. Can't you see that maybe this is a little too sudden?"

"We've wasted so many years being apart, how can you say that this is sudden?"

Her mind was racing. "And how long before I do something that pisses you off and you leave me? Because that's what you did. You left."

"My heart never did." He looked at her imploringly. "If you believe nothing else believe that I've never stopped loving you."

And then he kissed her. A deep fervent kiss that only they could share. The kiss lasted a while and when they broke, they were both breathless.

"I love you," he said. She could feel the need behind his words. The need for her to believe him. And she did. She knew he loved her.

"I love you, too," she responded quietly. But then she broke away from his embrace. She looked at him sadly. "But it's all too much for me right now. You're too much."

And with that she walked away from him, leaving him with his own words.

He watched her leave with a heavy heart. It saddened him that she hadn't just fallen into his arms like nothing happened. But he wasn't discouraged. He had vowed to fight for her and he was going to. He had hurt her badly and he needed to regain her trust if he had any hope of getting her back. All he needed was hope that they belonged together and she had given him that, in spades.

He knew that she loved him and that she wanted him in her life. That was a start. He was going to do whatever he needed to do to make her want to be with him again. Unfortunately, he didn't know how. Well, maybe he'd come up with something after a good night's sleep. As he walked back to his house, he was sure of one thing: that Peyton's days as a single woman were numbered. He was going to win her back.