He waited for her to come out of the bathroom, hearing her every now and then through the door as he sat there. She needed her space, and he got that, but it was hard hearing her, knowing that he was feeling the same way that she was.

He finally couldn't take the waiting anymore, and knocked quietly on the door, "Peyton?"

Getting no answer, he let himself in and found her sitting on the floor with her back up against the wall, her head in her hands and her face hidden from view. When he said her name again, she looked up, tears still in her eyes, and he took a seat next to her, letting her lean over onto his shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just... I get it. I remember all that from when I was little. I blamed myself for what happened to my mom, and then I turned everyone away... even my dad. I just didn't know that it hurt him so bad when I did that, you know?"

"How long did it take you?"

"I don't even know."

They sit in silence for a while, her tears stopping and just a few sniffles heard here and there.

"I didn't think it would be this hard... I mean, I thought that today was a good day."

"It was! Luke, it really was, but maybe it is too early to be thinking about moving..."

"How about we buy the house, but we wait to move into it until Jamie is ready?"

She nods, thinking about something else entirely, "I think we need to get him in to see someone..."

"Like a shrink?"

"Yeah... he needs to talk to someone if he won't talk to us. I know that we were against it at first, but..."

"I'll call first thing in the morning... which is not too far off of right now, so why don't we try to get a little sleep..."

"Yeah, okay..." she says, motioning for him to help her up after he stands next to her.

"Peyton, you are really amazing for being here with me, through all of this. I couldn't do this without you, you know that?"

"Well, seeing as how you weren't the one in the bathroom like a blubbering idiot, I can see that I'm a great big help to you."

"No... every time he's needed comfort these past few weeks, it's been you... you've been the one he has run to, not me."

"Luke, I'm--"

"No... don't be sorry. I love that he trusts you that much. I love that you love him enough to be there for him. He needs you just as much as he needs me, Peyton, and a lesser woman would have ran right when the phone rang... you didn't."

"I wouldn't."

"I know." he says, lifting the covers back again, laying down on the bed and putting his arms around her and shutting his eyes, "I love you."

"I love you too."

When Lucas finally woke up, it was not because of an alarm or the sun, but the sounds of tiny feet walking into the guest bedroom that they were staying in. When he opened his eyes, he saw blue ones just like his staring back at him, wide and frightened.

"Are you leaving me now?"

He sits up in bed quietly, pulling Jamie up to sit with him, "What?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Jamie, what are you talking about, buddy, you haven't done anything wrong."

"It was my fault."

"Jamie, it was not your fault. We don't blame you for anything that happened, and you didn't do anything."

He glances over at Peyton's still sleeping form and then turns back to Lucas, "Is she mad at me?"

"Why would she be mad at you?"

"Because I yelled at you guys last night."

"That's okay, Jamie, you were upset, and we understand that... in fact your Aunt Peyton and I were talking and we think that we are going to hold off moving into that new house for a while."

"But why?"

"Well, we think that you might need to stay here a little longer."

"This house is sad..."

"It isn't all sad, is it?"

"No, I guess not." he says, leaning against his Uncle.

Lucas grabs hold of him and moves over so he can lay down in between him and Peyton, "We still think it might be good to stay awhile.... and we were going to go talk to somebody who can maybe help you with your nightmares, too. Would that be okay?"

"Can't I just talk to you and Aunt Peyton?" he asks, confused for a minute.

"You can always talk to us, but we want you to talk to someone else about it. It's a special doctor that helps kids with nightmares."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Will you and Peyton come with me?"

"I'm sure that we can do that."

"Okay." he says, pulling the covers up and around him.

When Peyton woke up an hour later, she had small arm across her neck and gently plucked it off, turning to see that the small arm was attached to her soon to be nephew who was currently sleeping practically on top of her fiance.

She didn't know when he had come in, but knew that this was a good thing, remembering the things that he said last night. He still trusted them and needed them, and that was going to be important in the coming years.

"Aunt Peyton?" he says, following her into the kitchen without her knowledge.

"Yeah, Jamie?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Jamie, it is okay... your Uncle Lucas and I aren't going anywhere, so you don't need to worry about a thing, okay?"

"Yeah... can I have cereal for breakfast?"

"You most certainly may have cereal for breakfast!" she says, nodding her head and reaching for a bowl for him.

"Will you watch cartoons with me again?"

"James Lucas Scott, there is no one that I'd rather watch cartoons with than you..."

"Really? Not even Uncle Lucas?" he asks, wagging his eyebrows in a silly suggestive way.

"Nope... you are my main man when it comes to cartoons. Uncle Lucas is boring and old... he doesn't appreciate them like you do."

She finishes getting his cereal and they eat in the living room watching some cartoons together until Lucas comes back in after grabbing a shower and calling Jamie's pediatrician and then the special psychologist that she recommended.

"What do you say we go swing by the park for an hour or so, and then go chat with that doctor I was telling you about Jamie?"

"Is it a nice doctor?"

"He seemed really nice on the phone, and he said that me and your Aunt Peyton can come in with you until you feel like you can talk to him on your own."

He thinks for a minute, "Okay..."

So they got ready for their day, and hung out at the park for a little while, with Peyton and Lucas finding their younger jungle gym personalities and chasing each other and Jamie around. When they got back to where they had placed their bags, ready to head off to the doctor, an older woman stopped them.

"I have to say, that your little family was just too fun to watch..." she says, obviously not knowing the dynamics of the family she was speaking to, and then looking up to Lucas and Peyton, "and your little boy is just the cutest thing!"

Peyton smiles at the woman in a kind gesture, but the two adults just held their breath for a moment while finishing gathering up their things. Jamie hadn't said anything, so they thought that it best to just not talk about it, "Let's get over to that doctor then, all right Jamie?"

"yeah..." he says, not as energetic as he was just a few minutes later.

When they got to the doctor's office, it put them a bit at ease. There were toys all over the waiting room, a tv with some video game systems hooked up. There weren't a lot of people in the room, but it seemed just more inviting than anything.

The doctor stepped out just ten minutes after they had arrived, bending down and offering a hand to Jamie before acknowledging Lucas and Peyton.

"Dr. V., It's nice to meet you guys..."

"It's nice to meet you too. Jamie's pediatrician recommended you, and we can see that you run a great place here." Lucas says, extending a hand to the man.

"Well, we like everyone to be at ease when they come here." he says, and then bends down to speak with Jamie, "Hey Jamie, why don't you go play some video games or something for a little while so I can talk to your Aunt and Uncle a little while.... we'll come get you when we're ready."

He shrugs, silently turning and taking a spot on the floor to play one of the video games in the waiting room, as Lucas and Peyton are taken into another room with the doctor.

"So, how are you two holding up? Lucas, you told me a little bit about the situation, but tell me more. What makes you think that Jamie needs some more help?"

"He blames himself."

"Okay... and what does he blame himself for."

"Apparently, when they were driving that night, the last thing that Jamie remembers was them arguing right before the crash."

"And when did he tell you that he was remembering?"

"He had a nightmare last night, and Peyton heard him calling out in his sleep."

Turning to Peyton, he gestures for her to continue.

"When I got in there he was screaming and thrashing around, so I tried to wake him up, shaking him and saying his name. He didn't realize that I was in there until I held him up to me to get him to stop."

"What was he screaming?"

"He was screaming for his mother."

"And you went in there?" the doctor asks, in a way that Peyton takes offense to.

"I was supposed to let him just lay there screaming?!"

"No... no... I just... Mrs. Scott."

"It is Sawyer... we are not married yet."

"Oh, I see."

"Haley and Nathan knew that I was planning on proposing soon, so when papers were drawn up, they included Peyton's name with my own to become Jamie's legal guardian."

"Okay, and how close are the two of you to Jamie?"

"I was there when he was born and lived with Haley and Nathan while we were working through undergrad. I have a sister his age, so I was always there for both of them. Jamie and I have always been really close. Even when I moved to New York, I still came home nearly every other week to see them."

"And Peyton?"

"Lucas and I started dating seven and a half months ago, and I met Jamie and Nathan and Haley about two months after we started dating. We've gone on vacation together, and they've come and stayed with us in New York. His mother and I grew very close in this short time."

"Peyton is the one that Jamie goes to... she's the one he runs to if he's scared." Lucas says, taking her hand in his.

"Why do you think that is?" the doctor asks, curious himself.

"My mother died when I was around his age, and after we told Jamie, I shared that with him. He asks me about it, and if certain things that he is feeling are okay, and how I worked through it... I think he knows that I understand it."

"And you and Haley had grown close?"

"Yes."

"So, even though you were a newer addition to the family, he still viewed you as that... family."

"Yes." she says, realizing that he really did see her as that.

"How did Jamie react to the news that the two of you were going to be his guardians?"

"He seemed okay with it. He asked us if he could still miss them even though we were going to be like his mom and dad now."

"Did you explain the situation to him in that way?"

"No... we told him that we would do everything for him just like a mom and a dad would, only we would be his Aunt and Uncle."

"And he seemed okay with that?"

"He asked us when we were all going to move to New York, so I viewed it as him being okay with the situation."

The doctor laughs at the statement, agreeing that it seemed like Jamie was at ease with the people that were going to be taking care of him. "So, what made you decide now to bring him?"

"We were considering buying a new house in Tree Hill, and brought him to see it, and he seemed excited. Then last night, like we said, he had a nightmare and told us that it was his fault. We think that he's starting to remember bits and pieces from the accident. When we were trying to comfort him, he turned us away, claiming that he didn't need us and that he wanted Nathan and Haley. Then, this morning, he made sure that we weren't going to leave him. He seemed scared that by turning us away last night, that we were going to walk out on him...." Lucas says, trailing off.

"We're just worried that there is more going on up there than what he's sharing or going to share with us. He's a great kid, and we're worried that as he starts remembering more of this accident, he is going to become more and more scared, pulling away again." Peyton adds after Lucas.

The doctor gets up, and walks to the door, calling for Jamie to come into the room. When he comes in, he sits next to Peyton in one of the chairs lined up in front of the doctor's chair.

"So, Jamie... I've been talking with your Uncle Lucas and Aunt Peyton, and I've got to say... you are one lucky kid to have such a cool Aunt and Uncle."

"I know... they are pretty cool." he says, smiling in their direction, but not letting the smile reach his eyes the way it normally does.

"So you are glad that your mom and dad chose them to take care of you?" he asks, knowing that the boy would say yes based on what was already discussed.

"Yeah... my Uncle Luke has been there since I was a baby, and Mama says that Aunt Peyton was the best thing ever for Uncle Lucas, so I like her a lot too."

"Well, that's good." he says, laughing at the boys verbal skills, very advanced for his age. "Can you tell me about your mom and dad?"

"ummm..." he says, searching for words and looking over to Lucas and Peyton.

"How about this," the doctor says, after seeing Jamie struggle with this task, "How about you tell me one thing that you think your dad did better than anyone else and one thing that your mom did better than anyone else?"

"Daddy played basketball better than anyone..."

"Really? Even better than Michael Jordan?"

"Probably... he was really good. And he is the point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats... so he's really famous too."

Laughing again, Dr. V. asks him about his mother.

"Mama sang better than anyone else. She and Aunt Peyton were working on recording an album together... Aunt Peyton gave me a CD of the songs they did so I can still hear her sing to me."

"Well that was really nice of her."

"Yeah... she's always trying to make me feel better."

"Are you sad a lot?"

"Sometimes." he says, hesitantly, not wanting the adults to see that he wasn't okay.

"That's okay... to be sad, Jamie."

He looks up with a guilt in his eyes. It was as if he was afraid to feel sad for losing his parents, still blaming himself for something that was out of his control.

"What makes you sad? That they aren't here with you now? That you miss them?"

He doesn't say anything for a long time, just playing with the hem of his shirt in a nervous action.

"No."

"Okay, then why are you sad?"

"Cause it's my fault..."

–

Okay, so Jamie's got a lot to work through, and we are going to get a better glimpse into what happened leading up to the accident... I hope that's okay with all of you. I love all the feedback that I'm getting, as it really does mean a great deal to me. Thank you all so much for reading this. I am having a GREAT time writing it, and it just seems to be that my fingers are doing the walking and then I look back over what I read and I'm like "okay... that works... hope they don't kill me out there in fic land."

More Leyton happiness will eventually be on the way as well, but just as the beginning of their relationship went slow... expect this developing engagement into marriage to be slow too... can't give away too much right off the bat.