Intensely, rain splattered to the ground. It fell against the car windows as they drove through Tree Hill. The water blended together looked like a smeared painting. Lucas sat with his head rested against the window watching the world pass him by. It had been three weeks since the shooting. Several of those days he spent in the hospital recovering from his heart attacks.

Ever since his encounter, dream, or whatever with Keith, Lucas felt so much better emotionally. He felt like he could make it through the darkness and find the sunshine. Sure the days would be hard, but if he circled himself with his friends the burden would be much easier. He smiled lightly thankful for his friends. Maybe he could have them over sometime soon to watch a movie or something, something that would bring them back to old times.

The doctors gave Lucas strict instructions he was to do nothing but rest. The only place he could visit was his bed and the furthest place was the couch in the living room, and any other place then that was out of the question. Any other time it would be easy to have his friends over but right now, his mother was lost in a fog of grief and he no desire to bombard her with anything unnecessary. She sat by his side at the hospital everyday but never said a word. She sat by the window and stared off to the sky.

Lucas, even though Keith gave them something to talk about, could not muster the courage to talk to his mother. Every time he went to open his mouth, his throat closed up and his mouth went dry. He wanted to tell her about Lily, whatever it was but he did not know how to start it off.

Meanwhile in the driver's seat, Karen sat there speechless. She had put her son through a lot within the last fourteen days and had no idea how to fix it. She had said a lot of nasty things and wished every moment she could take them back. She cried at night and asked Keith to come back so she could fix the pain her son and her felt. All through the car ride, she longed to say something, anything but she could not think of any appropriate words.

For the last two weeks she had experienced more pain then in her entire life. Karen used to think Dan ditching her and their unborn son was the most heartbreaking thing that could ever happen. Oh, to be in high school again where the trifle heartbreaks hold nothing in comparison to the biggest one in her life. She had lost the man she loved most and almost lost the other one who was sitting next to her.

Karen could try to pretend she did not notice how much she saw her only son hurting. She could easily hide under the mess of her own grief and not bother to reach out to him. Lucas was a strong kid, she raised him that way but she could tell he was crumbling. Over the past weeks when she did look over at him, she saw him look away. His eyes would bury down to the ground, ashamed.

Why would he feel ashamed? It wasn't his fault his uncle and almost father was killed but yet, that is what Karen told him. That it was his fault. She was full of horrible emotions that morning. She had just buried her fiancé the day before, something she was hoping he would have to do, not the other day around. She had refused to talk to anyone, but when she saw Lucas that day all her anger boiling inside of her like a volcano erupted. She had spat out some outrageous accusations.

Karen could not help hating herself at that moment. How could she not? The look on his face, his already heartbroken face, seared right through her cold heart. Mothers hate when someone hurts their children, but in those moments she was the one delivering the hurt. How could she possibly say those things to anyone, let alone to Lucas?

They pulled up to their little house. Karen turned off the engine of her little sedan. The two sat in complete silence staring out the windshield watching the rain beat against it.

Finally, Lucas cleared his throat. "Mom, I had a dream about Keith and he told me to tell you something." he spoke slowly careful not to hurt his mom more then he already had.

Karen looked over at him with gentleness. He did not dare to make eye contact with her, which broke her heart, but he continued;

"He told me to tell you to pick Lily."

It only took her five seconds to figure out what Lucas was talking about. When she did put the puzzle pieces together, tears filled her big olive green eyes. Lucas, not knowing of her reaction, continued. "Of course, he didn't explain to me what that meant, but he told me to tell you."

As the silence grew and tears sprang down Karen's face, Lucas turned to make eye contact with his mother. He was surprised to see her face full of tears that were slowly tracing down her face.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you." He spoke regretting his choice to tell her. Keith said it would give them something to talk about. Maybe if his timing was a little better, they would have had much to talk about. Lucas turned his head and tried to open his door to excuse himself from another possible altercation. After all, he had a bit too many in the past month.

"Lucas." she spoke softly. It truly was the first time he heard her say his name since before that horrible day. He stopped fidgeting with the door. Everything in him halted to hear what she would say next. He even managed to look her in the eye.

"Your father and I were going to tell you after the basketball game that night but, you know." Karen slowly explained. She could not believe this great moment of joy could be robbed by such darkness. "I'm pregnant and her name is going to be Lily."

I probably could have streatched that on for some more interaction but that will be in the next chapter. Once again, sorry about the once in a blue moon updates. I wish I could spend more time on this but there are other things in life that have been fighting for my attention and time. : )

Review, I wanna know what you are all thinking. It's kind of nerveracking seeing that many people are reading but having no idea what their thoughts are. Whether they are good or bad...I wanna know. Bring on the reviews! : )

Much Love, : )