Karen was watching TV when Lucas came in the door from his dinner date. She watched him take a deep breath and look at her uncertainly. "Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Karen turned off the television and turned her full attention to her son. By the expression on his face, she could tell it was bad news. "Lucas, Honey what is it?"
Lucas' eyes filled with tears. "I lied to you."
Karen sighed. "What did you lie to me about?"
Lucas stared down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at her. Tears were making tracks down his cheeks. "I have HCM Mom. I lied to you about my heart condition."
"Oh Lucas, why? Why would you lie to me about something like that?" Karen cried as she moved to sit next to him.
"I couldn't bear to give up basketball." Lucas whispered brokenly. "I'm so sorry Mom."
"What does the doctor say? Don't you need to be on some sort of medication? How have you been paying for that? I haven't seen it on my statements." Karen asked.
"Dan was paying for the meds." Lucas winced as he told her. "He got mad at me and refused to pay anymore."
"Dan knew about this?" Karen shouted, standing up.
"He figured it out." Lucas flinched.
"Lucas Eugene Scott! Where have you been getting the money for your pills if Dan cut you off?" Karen demanded with her hands on her hips.
"I haven't been taking them." Lucas whispered.
"Oh my God! You've been playing basketball every day! You were running around here with Summer! You could have had a heart attack! You could have died!" Karen sank down on the couch in horror.
"I know." Lucas cried.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Karen asked.
"Summer and Neil." Lucas confessed. "They convinced me that I needed to tell you. Actually, I decided to quit basketball because of Summer."
"What do you mean?" Karen asked, trying to stay calm.
"When Summer and I first met we started telling each other about ourselves. It just slipped out. She's been trying to get me to tell you. She even mentioned coaching so I could stay in the game." Lucas informed her.
"What happened that caused you to tell me now?" Karen asked.
"This morning Summer's dad, Neil, found her looking up HCM on a medical web site. She asked him to teach her CPR and what to do in case of a heart attack." Lucas replied. "After dropping Summer off at the class, he met with the chief cardiologist, Dr. Thornton. He agreed to see me personally. He thinks that if I take my meds and limit my play time, I can finish my senior year as a Raven. I wouldn't be able to play in college or anything, but I would love to at least finish what I started last year. Then maybe I'll look into doing what Summer suggested and coaching."
"If this doctor decides that you can't play after all, what will you do?" Karen questioned.
"Then I'll tell Coach that I have to quit and I'll walk away." Lucas shrugged.
"Will you really?" Karen was skeptical.
"I went to dinner tonight and told Summer that I was in love with her and that I would do what I had to in order to be with her for as long as I could. I said – I said that I didn't want her to mourn me like you were grieving for Keith." Lucas whispered brokenly.
"What did she say?" Karen asked hoarsely.
"She said that she was in love with me too. That was why she took the class. So she wouldn't have to stand by helplessly if something ever happened." Lucas recalled with a fond smile.
"Does her father know that you two feel so strongly about each other?" Karen smiled.
"He was sitting right there. He's really great. He asked me to call him Neil." Lucas grinned.
"I'm so happy for you Lucas. But if you ever do anything like that again, you'll be grounded until you're forty." Karen declared sternly. "Do we need to call to make the appointment?"
"No, Neil made it for 11:00 tomorrow morning." Lucas informed her.
"I'll get Deb to work at the café." Karen told him.
"OK, I'm going to bed. I'm kind of tired." Lucas said, standing up. He leaned over and hugged her. "Thanks Mom, I love you."
"I love you too Lucas." Karen replied softly.
Lucas smiled and left the room. Karen picked up the phone and dialed Deb. She was going to have a busy day ahead of her.
Karen and Lucas stood at Whitey's office door. It was late in the afternoon, but he was there. Even in the summer, that was where everyone in Tree Hill knew he could be found. Lucas knocked and stuck his head in the door.
"Coach? You got a minute?"
Whitey looked up from the playbook to see his star shooter and his star shooter's mother. "Come in." He invited.
The two sat down in the chairs across from his desk.
"Now what can I do for you?" Whitey asked.
"We need to discuss Lucas' senior year with the team." Karen started.
Whitey looked at them both, dreading what was to come.
"Coach, I have a heart condition. I have HCM." Lucas confessed.
Whitey felt his own heart drop. This was just further proof that life wasn't fair. Lucas Scott was one of the best kids that Whitey had ever had the pleasure of meeting, much less coaching. His talent for the game aside, he had never met anyone who was more of a thinker than Lucas. His friend Haley might have better grades, but there was depth to Lucas that made him forget that Lucas was only in his teens.
"I'm sorry to hear that Lucas, more than you can know." Whitey replied to him.
Karen spoke up. "Lucas' cardiologist thinks there's a way for Lucas to still play his senior year."
"I'm listening." Whitey leaned forward.
"He can play for fifteen minutes every game. He has to pay attention during practice to what his body is telling him. No pushing himself. He's not allowed to do more than a couple of sprints during practice, and that's only if he's feeling good. As long as he does that and takes his medication, he's cleared to play. He'll have bi-weekly appointments with his cardiologist once the team begins practice." Karen explained.
"I understand if it's too much." Lucas said softly, looking down at his hands.
"Lucas, you are one of my very best players. Son, you're the best shooter I've ever seen. I would be a fool to not use you. Even if it was fifteen minutes a game." Whitey smiled. "But you and I will make a deal. You feel the slightest bit dizzy or light-headed, any pounding or pain in your chest, or if you start wheezing, you stop what you're doing immediately and tell me."
"Deal." Lucas grinned. "Thanks coach."
"You take care of yourself son." Whitey told him as they all stood. "You realize we're going to have to tell the team something."
"The truth works as well as anything." Lucas replied with a shrug.
"Good man." Whitey nodded his approval. "You want to or should I?"
"It'll probably be better coming from you Coach." Lucas told him.
"I'll take care of it at the first practice."
"Thanks Coach." Lucas smiled softly at him before leaving the office with Karen.
Whitey waited until he knew that they were gone before he sat down in his chair and cried.
Lucas took a deep breath as he and his mother walked across the school parking lot.
"You OK?" Karen asked her son.
"Yeah, it was just hard." Lucas replied.
"You've had a long day, let's go home." She told him as she wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Hey there Skywalker!" A voice shouted across the parking lot.
Lucas and Karen turned to see Neil and Summer walking towards them. Well Neil was walking Summer was jogging in her heels and leaping into Lucas' waiting arms. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth. Lucas gave as good as he got while their parents stood to the side and watched, bemused.
Finally Summer pulled back and grinned. "I missed you today."
"I missed you too my Lady." Lucas told her softly as he lowered her to the ground, but kept his arms around her. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Getting registered for this year. I decided to forego private school. Tree Hill got some good reviews. The most prominent being Lucas Scott goes here. What did the doctor say?" Summer asked.
"He said that as long as I take my pills and see him every other week I can play fifteen minutes every game. We just saw the coach and he agreed." Lucas grinned.
Summer squealed and hugged him close again. "I'm so happy for you!"
"I owe it all to you and your dad." Lucas whispered in her ear. He looked up at Neil. "I can't thank you enough." He told the older man.
"It was my pleasure Lucas. You deserve the chance to finish your career here. I'm only sorry that we can't get you through college as well." Neil replied.
"This was more than I had even hoped for. Then maybe I'll take Summer's advice and try coaching." Lucas told him.
"I'm sure you'll do well at whatever you try Lucas. Now why don't we all go celebrate? My treat!" Neil offered.
Lucas looked at his mother with begging eyes.
Karen laughed. "Why not? I'm Karen Rowe, Lucas' mother."
Neil smiled. "Neil Roberts, I'm lucky enough to have fathered Summer. I have to tell you how impressed I am with your son."
Karen blushed. "Thank you. Summer is wonderful as well. I'm glad that they found each other. I've never seen Lucas so happy. I also want to thank you for looking out for him."
"It was my pleasure. He's a great kid and I'm glad I could help. He's done wonders for Summer."
Lucas laughed and offered his arm to Summer. "May I escort you to dinner my Lady?"
"Yes you may, Skywalker." Summer replied imperiously as she looped her arm through his and they walked haughtily towards their cars.
Neil offered his arm to Karen. "Shall we?"
Karen chuckled and accepted his arm with her hand. "I believe we shall."
They were all sitting at a corner booth in the café finishing up dinner when the door opened and Dan walked into the restaurant. Neil and Summer noticed how Karen and Lucas stiffened immediately.
"Let me guess – Vader?" Summer whispered.
Karen choked on her water as Lucas laughed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. "I love you." He told her.
"Of course you do." Summer shrugged coquettishly.
"What do we have here?" Dan asked. "I don't believe we've met. Mayor Dan Scott."
Summer breathed heavily into her hand while the others tried to keep a straight face. Dan shot her a strange look.
"Dr. Neil Roberts." Neil introduced himself shaking Dan's offered hand.
"Ah, the new chief surgeon at Tree Hill Hospital." Dan observed.
"Yes." Neil stated.
"And who is this young lady?" Dan smiled.
"Summer Roberts, girlfriend of Lucas Scott." Summer introduced herself politely, trying not to let her resentment show.
"I'm sure that you could do better than this – boy." Dan stated. "I've got a son about your age, Nathan. You two should meet."
Summer grabbed Lucas' leg when he tensed in anger. She smiled sweetly. "No thanks. I'll stick with Skywalker here. I'd be scared that Nathan would be like you. Slime clogs the pores you know."
Dan narrowed his eyes. "You should learn some manners young lady. Perhaps you ARE with the right person."
"Of course I am." Summer grinned. "Skywalker is the best guy in the world!"
"Skywalker?" Dan asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"Sure." Summer replied with a shrug. "His father turned to the dark side and rejected he and his mother. He grew up to be twice the man of his father, couldn't be turned evil like his dad was, and saved the universe."
Dan clenched his jaw. "You should watch your tongue young lady."
"No, you should watch yours." Neil retorted in a voice made of steel. "You were the one who came in and disrupted our dinner. Is there a purpose to your presence?"
"I was coming to talk to my ex-wife." Dan growled.
"She's over there Dan." Karen pointed out. "And she has my pity."
Lucas smiled internally at his mother's words.
"Dan what do you want?" Deb asked from behind him.
"I was going to let you know that Nathan was back from High Flyers." Dan told her. "Though I don't know why I bothered."
"Is he home?" Deb asked.
"He's at the house that I own which you're living in if that's what you mean." Dan grumbled.
Deb grinned. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean – his home." She turned to Karen.
"Get out of here. I can close up." Karen told her with a smile.
"Thanks Karen." Deb told her before going to the back room and grabbing her purse. A moment later she was out the door.
"There, you delivered your message, you can leave now." Lucas declared as Dan remained standing in place.
"How's the heart?" Dan smirked.
"It's great. I'm taking good care of it." Summer smiled sweetly at Lucas before kissing him tenderly.
"Does your mother know about your condition?" Dan continued, trying to get a rise out of his disowned son.
"Yes she does. She also finds it disgusting that you could blackmail Lucas for his medication." Karen glared. "But then I've known you were a monster for a long time now. I believe that it's time you left Dan."
Dan smirked and turned towards the doors.
"Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" Summer called behind him with an innocent smile.
Dan scowled at her before leaving the café.
"How in the world did Lucas ever become such a wonderful young man with that as a father?" Neil asked.
"He never even met Dan until he was in high school. He was raised by his uncle Keith. Keith was the antithesis of Dan." Karen explained with a tear in her eye.
"I'm sorry to bring up painful memories." Neil offered.
Karen smiled and shook her head. "You didn't know. Thank you for defending us. He's never pleasant to encounter."
"He's a piece of work alright." Neil frowned. "He'd better watch himself around Summer. Is his son as bad?"
"Not really. Nathan and I were even getting along last year, but then something happened and he told me that we weren't brothers anymore right before he left for High Flyers." Lucas informed them.
"What's High Flyers?" Summer asked.
"Elite basketball camp. You can only go by invitation." Lucas explained.
"Why didn't you go?"
"I wasn't invited." Lucas shrugged.
"Stupid camp people. Although, if you had gone, we wouldn't have gotten to spend the last month together." Summer smiled suggestively.
"High Who?" Lucas grinned.
"Alright, who wants pie?" Karen asked, standing up and heading to the counter.
"Me!" Summer exclaimed.
"Is it good?" Neil asked.
"Is it good? IS IT GOOD? Dad, she makes Wolfie's dessert look like pig slop." Summer declared.
"I suppose that's a 'yes' then." Neil chuckled.
"Me too Mom." Lucas laughed. He turned to Summer. "You're going to give her a big head, you know that?"
"As long as she keeps making pie like that, I don't care." Summer grinned.
Karen brought out four pieces of pie.
Neil took a bite and his head jerked up to stare at Karen. "Summer wasn't kidding. This is excellent! Dinner was wonderful, but this – this is amazing!"
Karen blushed and took another bite of her own piece of pie. "Thank you. I'm glad that you like it."
"So what are you two planning for tomorrow?" Neil asked.
"I thought we might go to the beach." Lucas stated.
"Sounds great. Don't forget to take your meds before we go." Summer reminded him.
Lucas looked at her curiously. "I wasn't planning to. Why?"
Summer grinned at him and her dark eye twinkled madly. "Because I'm wearing my new bikini and I'd hate for you to have a heart attack."
"I guess you'd just have to practice your mouth-to-mouth technique." Lucas flirted.
"Guys, we know your in love and all that but can you tone it down around us?" Karen requested.
"Sorry Mom. Sometimes I can't help myself. She's too amazing." Lucas smiled, never taking his eyes off of Summer.
"Well try." Karen retorted.
Neil glanced down at his watch. "I hate to eat and run, but I've got to be in the OR at 6:45 tomorrow morning."
"Thank you again for helping Lucas." Karen told him warmly as he stood up.
"I'll catch a ride with Dad. What time are you picking me up tomorrow?" Summer asked, rubbing against him suggestively.
"Not early enough." Lucas told her. He brushed her hair behind her ear. "Why don't I pick you up at 5:30. I want to see the first rays of the sun on your face."
Summer felt her knees weaken at the sheer romance of his words. "I'll see you then." She whispered before reaching up and tenderly kissing his soft lips. "I love you."
"I look forward to seeing the sun rise on your face, but the sun can never set on my love for you." Lucas told her softly as he brushed his fingers across her cheek.
"Alright Casanova, stop before you send us all into sugar shock." Karen grinned. She had yet to figure out where her son got his gift with words.
Lucas smiled tenderly down at Summer. "Goodnight my Lady."
Summer ran her hand down Lucas' muscular chest, stopping over his heart. "Take good care of this for me." She told him gently. "It's the most precious treasure in the world."
"It is yours." Lucas declared, holding her hand to his chest for another heartbeat before raising it to his lips and delicately kissing her fingers.
Summer smiled at him once more before turning and walking out the door with her father.
"Laying it on a little thick there weren't you?" Karen asked as she began to clear the dishes.
Lucas continued to stare out the door as the Roberts drove away. "I want to make everything beautiful for her. I would do anything she asked, just to see her smile." He confessed softly.
Karen's eyes filled with tears. "I'm happy for you Lucas. Don't ever let her go."
"Never." Lucas whispered. "I never knew love until Summer."
"He's certainly a charmer." Neil observed as he drove towards their home.
Summer looked up at the stars laid bare by the convertible. "Isn't it ironic?" She asked softly.
"Isn't what ironic Sweetheart?" Neil asked.
"That a guy with the purest most beautiful soul suffers from a physically bad heart?" Summer replied dreamily. "I've never known that love could be like this. I feel as if my own heart is going to burst out of my chest whenever he's near."
"I don't know that I've ever felt what your describing for anyone. The closest I could come would be the day that you were born and I held you for the first time. Lucas is a very special young man." Neil told her. "Don't let him go."
"Even if he doesn't make millions?" Summer teased him.
"All the money in the world doesn't mean anything if you lose the one who loves you more than life." Neil reminded her. "You and Lucas have found each other early. Never take what you have for granted. Never let go."
"Never." Summer whispered.