A special double chapter for you tonight. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have about the story or the characters. I love reading your in-depth thoughts. I know that a lot of you are reading for brucas, but the Dan and Karen stuff has a lot of little anvils of foreshadowing in it.

Thanks for reading!

A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 23

The Café was bathed in low light, a sign that it was closed to outsiders and customers alike. Dan and Karen remained on the couch, the sounds of Nate and Haley in the kitchen filtering through to where they sat in relative silence surrounding the topic of their son.

Karen patted Dan's knee, noting the warmth and strength that generated through his khaki pants. "It's going to take time," she murmured, seeing the subtle signs of pain lingering in his eyes. Dan had always locked his emotions away, hiding any vulnerability from the masses.

Dan gave her a cryptic nod as he closed his eyes. She had always been able to read him, perhaps better than anyone ever had. "He's got a lot of anger towards me, Kar. And that's not going away with a few dinners and some nice words." Dan hadn't expected a miracle to happen during dinner, but he didn't realize how hard dealing with Luke was going to be.

Karen considered his simple words. Gone was the grandstanding salesman and left in his place was a man with genuine remorse etched across his face. "He's hurt, Dan. He's suffered on so many levels that we'll probably never understand it all. But he also wants a father." Karen had seen Luke stare with hungry eyes at Dan and Nathan over the years. She knew part of him would never be complete without knowing his father.

"The question is, does he want me as a father or does he want Keith?" Dan's mind flashed through all the times he'd seen his brother with Lucas over the years. He had little doubt that his son would give anything to change which brother was his biological father.

Karen sank back into the comfortable sofa. "Keith's been a godsend over the years, Dan" she gently reminded him, not wanting to rehash how his brother had helped them financial and more importantly, emotionally through Luke's life. When Karen was dead tired from working two jobs, Keith had offered to take Lucas off her hands. He had stepped up when Dan had shrugged his responsibility. "Keith's been there for nearly every major event of Luke's life."

Nodding, Dan finally met her eyes. "I hear Luke is playing a lot of roles in Keith's wedding," Dan commented, wanting to move away from the topic of Luke's childhood. He'd known that Karen struggled as a single parent and he'd still let her and his child nearly slip into poverty due to his own childish feelings. Dan knew he couldn't expect Lucas to feel comfortable around him so soon, but it did bother him that his son had to get drunk to have a meal with him. To see his son run willing to his brother's arms bothered Dan, no matter how much he blamed himself for allowing Keith to take his place in Luke's life. Dan could admit that he envied the easy relationship between Keith and his oldest son.

Karen's face fell at the mention of the word wedding. "Do you think you'll get an invitation?" she asked, knowing that Keith would invite her as the mother of his nephew but that it would be awkward if she actually showed up to the ceremony.

He hesitantly reached out and grasped her hand, wanting to prepare her for his news. "I called my mom after we talked to Keith this afternoon," he slowly began, seeing the look of dread already moving over her face. "She and Dad are planning to attend the wedding."

Karen's expression moved quickly from something he'd labeled as regret to something more akin to anger. He rubbed her hand for a moment, before continuing. "Mom is pretty adamant about finally meeting Lucas."

Ignoring Haley and Nate, who were pretty much glued to the order window eavesdropping, Karen stood up and moved toward the front corner of the Café. Dan saw the kids and motioned for them to get away from the window. He waited until he heard the slamming of the back door of the kitchen, before continuing.

He slowly followed her across the room, not wanting to invade her space given the shaky state of their newfound peace. "Karen, it's only natural that they'd want to get to know him…" he tried to explain, picking his words carefully. Karen whirled around, cutting off his meager attempt.

"Where were they when he was five and didn't have anyone show up for grandparent's day in kindergarten? They've had the same opportunities to know Lucas that you've had and you all failed to use them." Karen was upset though she'd suspected that Roy and May would soon become an issue. She had a long, complicated history with Dan's parents, one that might even surprise her ex.

His shoulders slumped at her words, knowing that Karen was right. Dan had created and perpetuated this situation. His parents, much like Lucas, were innocent victims of his decisions. Dan had insisted his parents keep their distance from their first born grandson. "They are going to meet at the wedding Kar. Unless you tell Luke he can't attend, they are going to run into each other. The question is, how can we make this less awkward, for Luke's sake?"

Karen's body seemed to shrink protectively inward, as if expecting an onslaught. "We can't just let them ambush him at the weeding," she concurred, making her way back to the sofa suddenly drained by an impossible situation. "Luke's been so unpredictable lately; I'm not sure how he'll react to Roy and May." She worried about hitting him with too many changes too quickly, but things were rapidly spinning out of control.

He sat down next to her, careful not to sit too far away on the small couch. "I think that I'm responsible for his recent attitude," Dan admitted. He stared into her blue eyes, which were so similar but not exact replicas of their son's. "Have you caught him drinking again?" he casually asked, digging for information about his son's alcoholic binge tendencies. The bottle of vodka from earlier that night still bothered Dan.

She leaned her head back against the faded blue fabric and shook her head. "He's never really come home drunk before. But I'm obviously out of the loop on that," she admitted. "I'm just worried about what he's doing when he's out of my sight." Karen's mode of parenting was based on the "keep them close" theory, which had worked for years. But now that he was older and could drive it was getting harder and harder to manage his free time. Adding Brooke to the picture just complicated the situation further.

Dan sympathized with her concern, especially in light of the empty vodka bottle he'd found before dinner. "It's hard with kids these days."

Snorting, Karen turned to face him where he lounged at the end of the couch. "Do I need to remind you how much you drank after games?" Memories of warm summer nights, buzzed on the beach washed over her. Nights that eventually created her son. Dan's intense blue eyes met hers and he knew she was remembering that summer. He was grateful to see a slow, sensuous smile cover her face. "We did have a great time back then," he admitted, meeting her smile with his own. It was nice that they could occasionally look back at the past and not dwell on the sadness and the brutality of their choices.

Karen shook off the cobwebs from her past and fought to forget the nights she spent in his arms. "The stakes are higher now, Dan."

His large frame relaxed against the back of the sofa, liking the way the lumpy furniture conformed to his body. Some how it made him feel better in a sea of turmoil. "Higher than getting pregnant?" he gently asked, not sure if he should risk reviewing the past and killing their current good will. He liked being in a good place with Karen. He felt like he could finally lower his defenses and not be so antagonistic all the time.

"STD's…AIDS…I think those are worse than grandbabies," she argued. Dan laughed at her words. "I'd rather Lucas and Nate avoid getting any of those." The idea of his sons being old enough to have their own babies was powerful. "Where have all the years gone? It seems like only yesterday that Daniel was born…" his voice trailed off, pain lingering at the thought of his youngest son.

Karen's heart lurched, seeing the stark pain so clearly etched on Dan's face. Her ex had always defined the word 'stoic', but she could see how sad Dan grew at the mere mention of Daniel's name.

She reached out and grasped his hand, gently squeezing it in support. "Do you want to talk about him?" she quietly asked, knowing that Dan didn't tend to talk to even his few close friends about personal matters. Karen simply could not fathom losing a child. She'd had so many problems when she was pregnant with Luke…it had always been her greatest fear during her pregnancy that she'd have a miscarriage. Losing a baby or a child wasn't something she thought she could bear.

Dan's breathing constricted, as feelings of grief and remorse washed over him. "Um…I don't usually talk about it," he muttered, not trusting his voice even as he trusted her. Karen continued holding his hand for support. "That's a long time to hold all those feelings inside," she said, encouraging him to open up.

Dan took a few steadying breaths, wondering how they'd gotten to this topic of discussion. "I feel like it's my fault. That I pushed too hard for another baby…" he started, voicing thoughts he'd refused to acknowledge for years. "Um, Deb and I were having…issues. I was working all the time and she wasn't very happy. I thought a new baby would help our family." Dan had always ignored the problems in his marriage, preferring to gloss over them and paint a glorious picture of his marriage for Nate. He was aware that it was revisionist history, that he and Deb had issues that were leading to divorce, but he couldn't bring himself to snatch away the last happy memories that Nate had of his family. How could he destroy the images that Nate held of a time he was too young to really remember clearly?

Karen actively listened, knowing how rare it was for him to share his fears and doubts. "Did Deb not want another baby?" Karen was always curious about why they'd waited 8 years to have another baby. She and Dan had always wanted a big family. It was obvious why she, as a single mother, had stopped after Lucas, but she'd always wondered why Dan didn't have more kids.

He shook his head in response to her question. "She didn't feel like she was fulfilling her goals by staying home. She didn't want to stop working again. But I kept pushing her, refusing to accept no for an answer. I just figured that another baby would…" his voice dropped off as he stared off in space.

Karen was shocked at the ravaged look on Dan's face. "Another baby would what?" she prompted, fascinated by this insider view into a women who had supplanted her in Dan's heart.

His shoulders hunched up, knowing that he'd never told anyone. "I thought a new baby would make me feel better about not being in Luke's life. That I could fill that hole up with another child," he whispered, slowly looking up to see her reaction.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. Part of Karen was stunned that Luke's absence in Dan's life had provoked such a power response. She'd rightfully focused on what his absence had done to her and her son, but she'd not considered how that decision had affected Dan and his family. Her childish, vindictive refusal to allow Dan joint custody had repercussions beyond her and her son.

Dan looked away, focusing on the occasional pedestrian on the sidewalk outside the Café's large bay window. "I pushed her to get pregnant and I ended up killing them both." Dan proactively wiped his eyes, not wanting Karen to see him break down.

Losing that battle, he abruptly stood up and moved away from her, fighting to control the tears from dropping. Karen watched him, feeling the need to offer him some kind of comfort. She moved up close behind him, stretching her small frame so she could lay a hand on his broad shoulder. His muscles were tight under her hand, and she could tell from his shaking frame that he was crying.

"It's not your fault, Dan," she murmured, sensing he needed some absolution. Her words soothed him on some level, but increased his guilt on others. "It is my fault, just like with Lucas. It's all mostly my decisions and my fault." His back was still toward her, so she gently turned him around to face her.

Reaching up, she gently wiped away a tear from his tanned face, realizing that after all these years she could still have empathy for him. "It's not your fault," she repeated, this time in a stronger voice. "We've all made bad decisions, Dan. But they didn't impact Daniel's health."

Her words filtered down through the layers of his brain, the layers of defenses he'd built up over the years around his heart. He reached out suddenly and pulled her into his arms, engulfing her into a bear hug. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair, sinking into the comfort of her arms. For the first time in nearly 8 years, Dan Scott felt relief and forgiveness for the sins he carried. It had been too many years since he'd felt the warmth of a female body, the comfort another human could provide.

Karen remained still at the onset of the hug, unused to such intimate contact with the father of her son. She was stunned at how easily years of hate had melted away with a few gut wrenching conversations.

Eventually, she brought her arms around his warm body, scared at how safe she felt being in the shelter of his arms.

A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 24

"It's beautiful out here," Nathan awkwardly stated, taking in the girl next to him as much as the fall scenery around them.

Haley and Nathan meandered around the quiet streets of Tree Hill, ice cream cones in hand, strolling along as if they hadn't just witnessed the most bizarre dinner of all time. After being summarily dismissed from the Café by Dan, they had made their way to the main strip of town. Having convinced Nathan to stop by her favorite ice cream
store, Haley contentedly tended to her cone as they leisurely walked through the streets.

Stealing quick glances at Haley, Nathan considered the best way of asking her out. He'd wracked his brain, trying to find the best opportunity to ask her out but the constant stress of the night had won out. He'd yet to find a way to cross the boundary between their tutoring relationship and what he hoped would be something a lot more personal.

"That was an intense dinner," Haley commented, staring up into Nathan's startling blue eyes. She finished the last of her cone and fused with the left over wrapper until Nathan's hand slid around hers, grabbing the offending paper and tossing it into the nearest trash can. She watched in admiration as his body uncoiled from his impromptu jump shot. He turned and caught her staring at him from behind. A sly smile covered Nate's face as he recalled how she'd caught him staring at her form earlier in the kitchen that night. "I guess I'm not the only one who likes to stare," he gently teased, enjoying the red flush that appeared across her checks.

Haley gave in to her embarrassment only for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders. She knew when she'd been caught in the act. "What can I say? You have great form from behind."

Sensing a momentum change in his direction, Nathan picked up her hand as they made their way along the semi deserted main street of Tree Hill. "Would that form be good enough to get you to go to the movies with me, once I'm ungrounded?" He uncharacteristically looked down at his feet, unused to be so uncertain around a girl.

Haley stopped in the middle of the sidewalk for a moment, letting Nathan walk a few feet in front of her before he turned and finally looked her in the eye. Haley smiled at him and drew him closer to where she stood. When they were little more than a foot apart, Haley gave him a sly, slow nod. "Yes, I'd love to go see a movie with you."

Nathan grinned at her. It had taken him weeks of rote speech rehearsals to work up the courage to ask Haley out. And she'd finally accepted. Fighting the urge to kiss her right then and there, Nate settled for grabbing her hand and walking down the street. It was just a date, but it had a lot of potential.

The occasional overhead street light blurred by as Brooke maneuvered her car through the sleepy residential section of Tree Hill. She looked over at Lucas, who sat slumped in her passenger seat, the very picture of contemplation. She refocused on the road, turning up the radio to help mask the silence that had descended over Lucas since they'd left the library.

Luke leaned his head against the side of Brooke's car, not particularly caring where they were going. His stomach was still growling, a result of too much vodka and Dan in one night. The sound of Dan Scott's voice jolted him out of his seat. Luke spun around to
check the back seat of the car, before a hand on his shoulder gently spun him around.

"It's the radio, Luke. It's just a commercial for the dealership on the radio," Brooke said, soothing him as she deftly navigated the empty streets near her house. Her heart clenched at Luke's panic at the mere sound of his father's voice. Turning down the volume, she blocked out Dan's promises of great bargains and deeply discounted year end models. "Talk to me, Luke," she gently cajoled, hoping she could jolt him out of the melancholy that had taken hold of him.

Sighing, Luke looked over at her and knew that he could trust her. In a world turned upside down, Brooke was turning out to be an oasis of sanity for him. "That man has never had five minutes to spare for me and now he's every where," Lucas explained, pointing to the now silent radio as proof of his omnipresent yet absentee father. "It's like everything in my life is changing and I don't have a clue what's going to blindside me next," he revealed.

Brooke leaned back into her seat, knowing his pain all too well. She lay awake at night in fear of her step-father and what lewd comment or action he'd make next. She leaned her head over toward his and gently traced his tense jaw line. "There has to be more than these dinners that's got you so tightly wound about your parents," she said, knowing that Luke's emotions were like an onion, layers of deep feelings beneath layers of silence.

The car pulled up into her spacious driveway and he watched as Brooke carefully parked the car. He turned to face her, taking her hands in his. "I found this stupid photo album six months ago," he started, not sure why this was such a big point for him. He looked up and saw her very encouraging eyes, so he continued on. "It was a book of pictures of Dan and my mom when they were younger."

Brooke's head tilted to the right a second, realizing the growing importance of such an album. "You'd never seen a picture of the two of them together and happy, have you?" she gently asked him. He shook his head and continued to hold her hand. "My mom has this hidden stash of Dan stuff that she's been hoarding over the years. I'd never seen a single picture of them together before that album. And the next day, I went to look for it and it was gone." He leaned back against the car seat, not sure why those pictures upset him so much.

Brooke immediately got the importance of the situation. "You feel that your mom has hidden those pictures from you, just like she's hidden the details of what happened between them?" she conjectured, knowing that she was always right when it came to the motivation of scorned women.

Luke's nodded at her words. "It's like she's hiding something from me. Also, I have this nagging feeling about the accident."

Brooke's brow furled for a moment, trying to place his words. "Oh, the accident you had sophomore year, right?" He nodded at her words, still lost in the haze of his family's past. "I just have this nagging feeling that something happened that no one told me about."

"Well, let's review what you know," Brooke suggested. "It was a car wreck on Main street, you ended up in the hospital for a few weeks, and your uncle was driving," she summarized. Though she wasn't friends with Lucas during that time, Tree Hill was a small town. Everyone knew everyone and a life threatening accident was a prime topic of conversation for all the town's residents.

Lucas pondered her words and then nodded in agreement. "But there are strange contradictions in the story I know. First, Keith was seriously banged up. If he was in and out of consciousness, how could he have carried me to the emergency room?" Bits and pieces of information Lucas had gleaned over the months were floating around in his head, begging to find some logic in this distorted puzzle.

"Maybe he got someone to help you to the hospital, therefore both saving you and not totally responsible for taking you?" she proposed, seeing some of his confusion. Luke shook his head. "And how could he perform CPR on me if he was that hurt?"

Sighing, Lucas slammed his hand against the dashboard in frustration. Brooke's heart ached at his pain and confusion, knowing that the accident was just a diversion from the drama surrounding Dan. She reached out and took his hand and gently kissed it, a plan already forming in her mind.

"Why can't we just go down to the hospital and get your records from that night?" she asked, thinking the best way to clear up a foggy situation was to go directly to a neutral source with a ton of official records.

Lucas shook his head at her words. "I already thought about that. They won't give records to a minor without an adult's signature," he revealed, having anonymously inquired about that a few months ago. "Besides, the minute I try to get those records, the entire town will know and my mom will know I went behind her back." Tree Hill was impossibly small. The nurses who worked at the hospital also tended to take lunch breaks at Karen's Café. "There's no way I'll ever get those records without my mom finding out."

A slow smile crossed Brooke's face at those words. "Do you really feel you can't ask you mom for the truth?" she inquired, wanting to make sure there were no other options available. Luke's face grew even sadder. "I don't trust my mom anymore, Brooke. I know she's been hiding things from me about my family and the accident, and after the Dan stuff, I don't trust her judgment." It about killed Lucas to say those words, but it was the truth. For the first time in his life, he didn't trust his mother's decisions not to hurt him.

Nodding, Brooke grabbed her keys and her purse and moved out of the car. Luke followed her somewhat uncertainly; knowing that he still had to get home before he got grounded again. Brooke took his hand and walked toward the front door of her house. "Come inside for a few seconds and I'll explain my plan," she said. If Luke wanted the truth, then Brooke would get him those medical reports. It was as simple as that.

Laughing, Brooke threw open the door as Luke's hands traveled over her body. Sighing, she realized that she'd managed to snap him out of the depression that had possessed his mind and body the past few hours. Hearing a noise to the side of them, her face immediately fell.

"Brookie." Trey's words carried through the massive marble entryway of the house, causing Lucas to immediately sober up and remove his hands from his girlfriend's body. He noticed that Brooke's small body immediately tensed up and the joy she'd had just seconds ago was gone.

Lucas watched as a formally dressed man in his mid forties walked over toward them, clearly sizing up his new guest. An uncomfortable silence descended upon the room.

Next:

Lucas meets the evil parents
Brooke's mom is less than thrilled with the particular Scott boy in her entryway
Brooke gets some scary news and turns to someone for help