Lucas had been awake for around half an hour. He wasn't normally the kind of person who could lie in bed after waking but this morning he had incentive. The darkish blonde hair splayed across his chest tickled when his chest rose and fell but he wouldn't move from this position for anything. He had never forgotten how alive he felt waking up with her but this time it had a new intensity. This wasn't just his high school girlfriend in his arms any more, it was his future wife, the mother of his kids.

That thought brought a huge smile to his face and he shook his head in disbelief. How had he ever thought he could have all this with someone else? He had never been the most clued up when it came to matters of the heart but that was dumb beyond reason, even for him.

She shifted slightly in her sleep and he held still so as not to wake her. He wanted to hold onto this for as long as possible. He had spent so many mornings watching her sleep but he would never grow bored or restless, these really were the most perfect moments. He had spent whole mornings tracing the pattern of freckles on her back and neck, finding patterns like little constellations. She didn't know about that, it was just his special thing. He leaned his head down and lay a gentle kiss on the freckle that graced her delicate shoulder, one of his favourites.

He wasn't naive enough to think that things would go back to the way they were before, there was an awful lot they needed to talk about, to apologise for. He had absolutely no doubt that they would get through it though and he couldn't wait for their future.

As his thoughts shifted to marriage and babies he was surprised to find the door to his bedroom being flung open. He immediately put his finger to his lips to silence whoever came in, he didn't want to wake Peyton yet, it had been a long night. His face lit up when his baby sister ran in.

"Lils," he exclaimed in a loud whisper. "What are you doing here?" He was desperately trying to cover up anything that wasn't hidden by the sheets.

Lilly looked strangely at Peyton and Luke just as Karen made an appearance at the doorway.

"Lilly, what did I tell you about barging in?" Karen asked while smirking at the sight before her.

Lilly ignored the question, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Luke, who's that?" She asked, pointing at a still sleeping Peyton.

"I'll explain in a minute," he chuckled "would you mind meeting me in the kitchen in five?" He asked his mom.

"Sure sweetie, see you in five"

As Karen and Lilly made their way to the kitchen Luke extricated himself from Peyton without waking her. He threw on some boxers and a T-Shirt and made his way through to the kitchen, where the smell of pancake was wafting from. He smiled at the thought of his mother's cooking.

He grabbed Karen in a hug as soon as he made it through the door, he had missed her so much.

"It's so good to see you mom, why didn't you tell me you were coming back"

"It was a last minute thing honey, I wanted to make sure you were alright after the break up." She gave him a smile before adding, "I can see now that you are. Sit your butt down and have some breakfast"

He first grabbed hold of Lilly and gave her a tight hug, making her squeal with laughter.

When they were sitting eating Karen asked what had been on her mind.

"So, you and Peyton huh"

Lucas grinned widely.

"Yup, should never have let her go in the first place. Can I just say that you didn't exactly look shocked when you saw us together"

"What can I say, I wasn't. It was only a matter of time before you found your way again, I had complete confidence"

"What happened to Lindsay?" asked Lilly. There was silence at the table for a few seconds.

"well, Lindsay and I decided to break up Lils. We decided we didn't want to be together after all," he said awkwardly.

"Who is the girl in your bed," she asked in an innocent voice.

"That's Peyton, my new girlfriend. Or my old girlfriend depending on how you look at it," he said with a small smile.

"But I don't know her," she said with a small pout.

"You'll get to know her sweetie, and I promise you will love her. She is an artist you know, she can draw anything you like."

"Anything?" she asked suspiciously.

"Anything."

"Even an alligator? Because you told me you could draw me an alligator but it looked like a sea lion, Luke."

"I promise, she is much better than me Lils. You know that drawing mom has of you as a baby? Peyton drew that. She was one of the first people to hold you when you were born and she drew that picture in the hospital."

"Really?" Lilly exclaimed enthusiastically. "That's awesome, I bet she could draw a great aligator. How come she knew me when I was born but I don't know her?"

"That's a long story, but you'll meet her as soon as she wakes up."

Peyton was slowly waking up. She didn't open her eyes yet, stretching out her aching body under the unfamiliar blankets. Memories of last night were flooding back and she smiled lazily. She reached over to the other side of the bed, expecting to come in to contact with him but coming up empty. She sat up slowly taking in her surroundings. She could smell the pancakes coming from the kitchen and winced a little. Sure, they smelled good but Luke had definitely not inherited the cookery gene from his mother. She would be forced to claim she wasn't hungry although her stomach was grumbling loudly.

She threw her dress back on and made her way to the kitchen where she could hear voices talking quietly, probably for her benefit.

As she opened the door she was both surprised and delighted to see Karen and who she could only assume was Lilly.

Karen immediately stood up and pulled her in to a warm hug. She didn't want to let go, she had missed this woman almost as much as her son.

"It's wonderful to see you Peyton, you look well," Karen exclaimed releasing her from the hug.

"You too Karen, I didn't know you were coming back today," she said with a genuine smile. Her attention was then caught on the little girl staring curiously at her. She was the female version of her brother, same eyes and blonde hair, she would break hearts.

"You must be Lilly," she said a little nervously. "Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen you, you've grown so big."

Lilly was delighted with this, she wanted everyone to know she was a big girl now.

"I'm starting school soon!" she said brightly.

"Wow, I bet you're the biggest in your class, and the smartest if you are like your brother."

Lilly just grinned at her in response.

Peyton finally turned her attention to Lucas who was waiting patiently for her to acknowledge him.

"Good morning," she grinned shyly, sitting down next to him at the table. He leaned over casually and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"Good morning, sleep well?"

She blushed slightly thinking about how little sleep she'd had.

"Great thanks."

The rest of the morning passed like that, a family eating breakfast. This may be the most normal thing in the world to a lot of people but it was something Peyton had so rarely experienced. She was so glad to back in the embrace of the Roe/Scott family she was almost teary eyed. Lucas held her hand at the table as they chatted about normal every day things and she couldn't remember ever feeling happier or more at home.

She left for work that morning with a smile on her face and a promise to meet him for lunch. This was going to be a great day.

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