Lucas slid the t-shirt over his head, inhaling the sweet soft detergent.

It smelt like home.

He was free to go home.

He grabbed his watch and wedding ring from the plastic bag and slid them back onto their respective limbs. Taking a second to appreciate the silver glint of his wedding ring and everything that it resembled.

The last twelve hours had past at a tortuously slow rate. He'd been beside himself, pacing back and forth in the small cell.

Knowing she was out there, that Nathan and Brooke were probably with her now, completely infuriated him.

The only thing in life that Lucas Scott had ever properly strove for was Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, without her nothing else mattered, needless to say, his trapped form was becoming even more restless with every passing second.

He'd been surprised yet blissfully relieved when he'd been told that seeing as this was a special circumstance they'd managed to prioritise his release and that he was free to go.

He'd asked if they meant now and the officer had just smiled and patted him on the back announcing that yes, he was a free man.

Lucas stepped outside the building and inhaled. A few more steps and he'd be through the large raw iron gates and free at long last.

The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

He could see Erin waiting, along with her Aunt Haley next to the SUV.

She was wearing a little white summer dress that made her hair look even blonder and her eyes ever greener. No matter what the situation that little girl could and would always be able to brighten his day. Happiness surged through him. She looked every bit like Peyton, especially now that she was getting so tall.

He watched her run around the car, he could hear her giggling as his best friend finally caught up to her and tickled her sides.

'Gotcha' Haley chanted, tapping her nose. Then she leaned forward and whispered in her niece's ear. 'Look who's over there Erin'

The six year old looked.

Her face lit up with pure elation and she instantly sprinted from her aunt's embrace.

Lucas stepped over the threshold.

He was Free.

A second later Erin was in his strong arms and he was swinging her around and throwing her into the air.

She laughed and it fueled his own laughter. He was going to be a proper father again. He'd be able to tuck her into bed and make pancakes with her. He'd help her with her homework and take her to the park.

'Oh Erin' He held her head to his shoulder, kissing her golden head over and over again. She pulled back and looked at him, grinning and he was quick to notice what was so different. 'Wow, hello gappy' He inspected the missing hole where her two front baby teeth had been.

She put her teeth together and stuck her tongue through the remaining hole, proudly demonstrating the wonders of her mouth.

He laughed. 'Did the tooth fairy visit you?'

She nodded and held up five fingers. 'You got 5 dollars?!' He exclaimed. 'Woah, you're rich'

'I didn't know if I should bring her?' Haley spoke, looking at him questioningly but unable to conceal the jubliant smile on her face. He let Erin down and instigated a hug from Haley. She reveled in his closeness.

'Thank you for getting me out of there'

She shook her head dismissively 'Michael came forward, told them he'd lied in court. I'm so sorry Luke' She was apologising for everything. For not being there as much as she perhaps could have. For not trusting him, for not being the friend he'd needed. At the end of the day, he new, logically she'd done all she could. She'd have never been able to change what had gone on, she'd helped in freeing him, he new she'd been on the phone and yelling at people for the last twenty four hours and for that he'd always be eternally grateful. 'If you don't think it's a good idea, if you'd rather, I can stay here with her until you get back.' She exhaled into his ear.

He pulled back, his hand naturally slipping into his daughter's 'She has to come' Lucas shook his head dismissively. He knew this was going to be hard but he couldn't block Erin out, she needed to see her mother just as much as he did. 'Have you told her?'

'No, just that you're coming home now' Haley put her hand on her hip and looked down uneasily. 'I thought you should be the one, I didn't know how' She admitted.

He crouched down. 'Erin. Baby'

She smiled at him and he couldn't help but laugh. She really did look happy, happier than he'd ever seen her.

'Erin' He repeated, taking her little hands. 'Before we go home we're going to go on a little trip'

He understood the frown that formed on her face. She'd had enough of being lied to. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home with him, to her house and her room. She didn't want to go on a trip.

'It's ok, we are going home. We just need to get Mummy first'

Her mother wasn't something that was mentioned much any longer. At the beginning there had been frequent promises that she'd be home soon, but then as time went by Peyton's existence was a subject that diminished. Like hundreds of people in the world, she'd become lost.

Erin looked at him disbelievingly.

'Do you want to do that? Then we can all be together again' He tried to relieve her inevitable doubt, tried to restore her confidence in him. 'I promise sweetheart'

He'd known this was going to be difficult but contemplating a conversation was a little different to executing it.

Her head nodded and she sucked on her bottom lip, her fingers fiddling with his freshly ironed t-shirt.

He lifted her back into his arms, he wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight. He had two years of her childhood to make up for and he was starting now. 'Let's get going then shall we?'

'She's definitely Peyton's?' Nathan peered through the viewing window. There were several children in the creche but their eyes homed in on one in particular, the one that certainly resembled Peyton. She was the smallest child in the room and the only one with a head of gold curls.

'We did a DNA test, it's positive' The nurse explained.

'Is Ian the father?' Brooke bravely asked the one question that had been plaguing them since they'd been informed of this unknown life. Nathan hadn't been able to come down here alone. He'd told her in a frenzy and Brooke had sat glued to her chair in silence for ten minutes before getting up and saying they had to go and and see the mystery baby.

'The police took him away before we could decipher that but we're assuming that at the moment'

'That bastard' Nathan cursed, his temple burning with anger.

'Can we go in?' Brooke crossed her arms over herself.

'Of course. She's not a happy little girl, she's such a sweet thing but not surprisingly she's been sobbing for her mother for the last two days'

'Brooke' Nathan shook his head uncomfortably when she reached for the door handle.

'Nate she's an innocent child. She's Peyton's child. Regardless of who the father is, she's Peyton's' With that said the defiant brunette walked into the nursery area leaving him outside. He watched closely.

It wasn't what you'd describe as a successful meeting. Sawyer cowered away from her and began to cry. Needless to say, the little girl wasn't use to strangers. In fact she'd only ever been in the presence of her mother and the man she'd been taught was her father. Since being taken away from all she knew and watching her mother being fussed over by lots of doctors, she'd been inconsolable.

Nathan sighed. He didn't know how Lucas was going to take this. He knew without a doubt he'd take this child and bring her up as his own but he knew that however brave and moral that was it would damage him immensely. Every time he'd look at this little girl he'd think about Ian Banks.

It was an impossible situation, a situation that Nathan was still struggling to fathom himself, a situation that in his eyes was in no way rectifiable.

The sterile smell of the unfamiliar hospital was a smell that would always stay with Lucas.

He couldn't say hospitals were his favourite of places to be but at least in Tree Hill, the local A & E was a place he was accustomed to, he'd been there too many times but the well known surroundings bought some comfort and led him to have faith in the Doctors.

The purpose of their visit together with the foreign environment immediately made him mistrust anyone. The doctors weren't capable, nothing was right.

'Peyton Scott' He said shortly. The nurse at the front desk looked up, her eyes narrowed unwelcomingly. 'Peyton Scott' He demanded rudely.

'Luke' Haley shunned. 'I'm sorry' She addressed the woman and pushed Lucas aside. 'Could you tell us where Peyton Scott is please?'

'Are you family?'

'Yes. Her husband, daughter and sister in-law' Lucas tapped his foot impatiently, gesturing to each person with a patronizing glint in his eyes. He'd waited long enough. Two years was long enough.

The woman's face immediately softened. She knew the story, everyone did. The media had been a nightmare over the last couple of days, anyone that came in demanding to see Peyton Scott had more often than not turned out to be some creep wanting to get his story.

'I'll need to see some proof of identity'

Lucas held out his ID and the lady smiled regrettably. 'Ok Mr Scott, I'll have a doctor escort you both up to intensive care'

'Intensive care?' His face blanched.

'She's stable, but her doctors will be able to tell you more. Just hold on one moment please'

Lucas glanced at Haley and she forced a high spirited smile. 'She's ok. I told you I spoke to Nathan briefly earlier. She's stable'

The unknowing, the uncertainty was too much.

Erin's sniffles played as a welcomed distraction.

He lifted her up. 'It's alright darling'

It had been a long day of travelling. Their flights had been delayed for a couple of hours and the six year old was over tired and overwhelmed and in a scary place. She settled her head on his shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth, a habit she'd quickly reverted to when this nightmare began.

'Mr Scott?' The man smiled. He had a friendly face, a face that reminded Lucas of his great Uncle Keith. 'I'm Doctor Fields. I've been treating your wife. It's good to meet you'

He nodded blankly.

'Would you like to come with me. I'm sure you're eager to see Peyton. She's awake.'

'There we go sweetie' The middle age nurse put the glass of water back on the side. Peyton had been awake for a little over an hour now. A doctor had been and went, he'd checked her over, prodded her here and there and spoke so gently as though she might brake at any given moment. She'd been a little hazy, still drugged up and sleepy, so hadn't responded for the most part and couldn't really remember much of what he'd said now. 'Do you want anything else honey?'

Peyton tried not to look at her, she didn't know if it was simply the blue attire and the gentle voice, but this woman reminded her painfully of Grace, so much so that she had found herself trying to ignore her presence all together. She'd frantically asked about Sawyer's whereabouts but once informed that she was in safe hands she'd remained quiet. Not that it mattered. The woman had gone on to ramble about Brooke and Nathan and how lovely they seemed and that they'd gone down to see Sawyer just a short while ago.

Peyton had swallowed hard at this. She hadn't expected anyone to be here as of yet. In fact she'd half been expecting Ian to walk in at any given moment.

'Where, where's Ian? The man who bought me in?' Peyton asked groggily, she was still so tired and her mouth felt like sand paper.

'Well he's in custody of course. You're safe here Mrs Scott, he can't hurt you here'

Custody.

He was gone. She was free from harm.

She couldn't quite believe it.

She cherished that wonderful feeling but was wary about letting it wash over her.

She was no longer under reign of a deranged man. She would no longer be manipulated into doing things she didn't want.

Want. She'd be able to do what she wanted. That concept alone was hard to get her head round.

It was while she was trying to digest all this that Brooke and Nathan slipped into the room unheard.

She was oblivious at first.

The tubes that were hooked up to her and her aching body had her stiffly settled in one position, her face directed away from the door.

'I'll give you three a minute. You just push that button I told you about if you need anything at all Peyton' The nurse broke Peyton's chain of thought and her bleary eyes slowly drifted over to the two nervous visitors.

Despite her knowledge that they were here in the hospital, her fuzzy vision had her thinking that it was simply a clever optical illusion. It wasn't until Brooke's distinct raspy voice filtered through the room that she believed it was actually them, that they were definitely here before her.

'P Sawyer' Brooke gushed.

Peyton didn't feel what she'd been anticipating. The prospect of seeing the people she loved again had been her one and only dream. But she didn't feel a great sense of relief, instead she felt numb. She wanted to disguise herself. She didn't want to be seen, not by these people. Not by her friends. She didn't want their pity.

However, she forced a bright smile in an attempt to mask the broken shell that was now Peyton Scott. 'Brooke. Nate.' Her voice was thick and rusty, the unfamiliar sound only heightening their nerves.

'How, how are you feeling?' Nathan took himself and Brooke over to the two chairs at the side of her bed, surprised that his legs didn't give way as he went.

'I'm okay' She answered gruffly.

It was uncomfortable, horribly uncomfortable. Neither one of them knew what the best thing to say or do was. It's not something you learn at school- how to converse with a person that's been held captive for two years.

'Blondie' Nathan scorned gently and then swallowed thickly because he realised that she wasn't blonde anymore and that perhaps she'd be offended and hurt by the affectionate nickname. 'Peyton' He readdressed. 'You don't look fine'

'I'm going to be okay.' She looked at her plaster cast arm. 'I fell down the stairs' She divulged distractedly. She wouldn't be the vulnerable girl, she wouldn't. 'It was stupid' She muttered.

Nathan and Brooke shared a look of concern and disbelief.

'You didn't fall down the stairs honey... but you know that, right?' Brooke frowned, her lips pursed together. She was using every last bit of self-restraint to stop herself from crying.

Peyton's eyes rolled toward her best friend and even in her state she managed to stare her out. 'I fell down the stairs' She dismissed.

Nathan cleared his throat. 'We don't have to talk about what happened right now. All that matters is that you're safe'

A troublesome silence blanketed the room.

There was only one question, one thing Peyton wanted to know and it took several minutes of cumbersome silence for her to pluck up courage and ask it.

'Where's Lucas?'

'Well, er' Brooke began but her voice ceased to work when she regarded the lone figure standing in the door way.

Peyton followed her gaze. She was sure her heart stopped beating for a moment.

'I'm right here'

A/N I'm mean right?! I make you wait sixteen chapters for actual Lucas/Peyton interaction and end it right there! Well I figure you can wait a teeny tiny bit longer! I want to dedicate a whole chapter to them reuniting. I just wanted to say a major thank you to you guys. I know I don't voice it but you're reviews and kind words have been awesome and so encouraging. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Emera.