A Season in Purgatory

Chapter 75

Brooke and Dan quietly entered the ICU room. An ashen Luke lay in a hospital bed, as a series of tubes snaked across his body. A machine behind him beeped erratically, adding to the room's grim atmosphere.

Their reverie was interrupted by a noise at the door. A tall man with grey blending at his temples stepped into the room. "I'm Dr. Fitzpatrick," he said, reaching out to shake both Brooke and Dan's hands, motioning for them to sit in the room's utilitarian chairs.

"We've pumped Luke's stomach with a NG tube, which prevented most of the alcohol and drugs from being absorbed into his blood system. Judging by his blood alcohol content, he's spent a good amount of time drinking this evening."

Both men turned to look at Brooke. She looked at her French Sole ballet flats for a moment before finding her voice. "I'm not sure when he started drinking." She mentally reviewed the night, realizing that it had to be after the confrontation with J.J.. "Maybe around Midnight?" she speculated. She hadn't exactly been paying attention to what was in her boyfriend's cup.

The doctor wrote that information down in Luke's chart. "We're very lucky that you got him here before all that Valium, Oxycotin, and alcohol got into his bloodstream. It might have killed him," Dr. Fitzpatrick informed them.

Seeing a tear fall from Brooke's eye, he took pity on her situation. "By calling 911, she probably saved your son's life." Dan gently squeezed Brooke's shoulder. "I know you didn't want to make that call because you were afraid of getting him in trouble," Dan surmised. "But you did the right thing by calling the ambulance."

The doctor placed Luke's chart back on the foot of the bed. "He's going to feel horrible when he regains consciousness, but he'll probably be released in a few days, depending on his hydration levels and blood work." He paused in the doorway and looked back at Brooke. "You might want to warn your friend that taking Valium with painkillers can be lethal but adding alcohol to pills is just stupid," he stated, knowing that he was preaching to the choir. The girl in front of him obviously didn't have a problem as she was sober.

Knowing that he'd given all the warnings he could, the doctor turned toward Dan. "You need to get him into a substance abuse program," he advised.

Dan nodded. "We've already been in contact with a place,' he replied, not wanting to say more in front of Brooke. He could only imagine the storm that was about to break loose in Tree Hill and he didn't need Brooke warning Luke about what was about to happen. The dark haired girl frowned at his words, knowing a parental end run when she heard one.

A loud noise startled Dan out of his uneasy sleep. He blinked a few times, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He realized that he must have dozed off at the side of Luke's hospital bed, based on the face sized indention on the bed. He'd tried to relax but found it difficult while his son was connected to so many machines. Luke had been moved to a private room shortly after sunrise. Dan was grateful that he'd put Lucas on his insurance policy months ago. Otherwise, his son would be in some dreadful shared room with some loser who had bad insurance. This room at least offered him privacy in these trying times. Dan was happy to get away from the curious stares of the more open emergency room setting. All he needed was to be fodder for the town gossips.

The steady beeps of the machinery behind Luke's bed matched the pounding of his head. Dan tried to block out Karen's distraught visit to the ER hours before. He'd worked so hard to keep her stress free and healthy during this pregnancy and Lucas was doing his best to cause trouble.

Hearing a soft sigh, he turned to look behind him, where Brooke was curled up in the awkward device that passed as a make shift chair/bed. Earlier, a nurse had taken pity on the shivering girl and had brought her two blankets. He stared at the girl as she restlessly slept and wondered what she had to do with his son's problems. And more importantly, why was Luke drinking when Brooke wasn't?

Dan stretched his large frame, trying to work the knots out of his shoulders as he glanced at his watch. He hated keeping vigils in hospitals. Ever since he'd lost Daniel and Deb, he hated being in hospitals. It was nearly 8 AM. He'd already called his parents to warn them about why he'd left the house. However, he was too late to stop Karen from hearing about Luke's condition. She'd shown up in the middle of the night, freaked out to find her only child in a hospital bed. It had taken Karen less than 15 minutes to end up in an examination room herself. Now Dan was getting lectured by another doctor about the health of another family member.

Keith and Anna had finally convinced Karen to go home and rest before she harmed her baby. Dan smiled at Anna's persuasive cajoling. She could convince an Eskimo that he needed more snow in winter. Dan just wished that Anna could do something for his wayward son.

Dan was secretly grateful for Karen's absence. He needed some time to think about what they were going to do Luke and how they were going to get him help. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. Karen would have to wait a few more hours. He needed to make sure the boy was stable before he could leave Luke's side.

A warm touch snapped Dan out of his stupor. He looked down and saw Luke's hand on top of his. Looking at his son, Dan watched as the boy's eyes blinked then slowly opened. He squinted at Dan in confusion for a moment. "Where. . ."

Dan shook his head at his son. "The doctors said that you should rest your voice," Dan gently said, shocked that Lucas had his hand on his. Luke had spent months ducking any physical touch from his father. Dan had tried everything from fist bumping to back whacking, to no avail. His son vehemently recoiled from every gesture that Dan attempted. "How do you feel?" Dan softly asked.

Lucas attempted to shift his weight on the bed, testing his muscles while he thought of an answer. His head was pounding and everything hurt. "Sore," he rasped out. His throat and nose especially felt raw.

Dan nodded at his assessment. "They had to put a NG tube down your nose so they could pump all the alcohol and pills out of your stomach," he informed his son.

Lucas actually looked sheepish at those words. "Not on purpose," he croaked out. Dan gave his hand a quick squeeze of support. "I know…but we are going to have to have a long talk when you get out of the hospital."

The younger boy tried to shake his head, but winced at the pain the movement caused. Dan leaned behind the bed and turned one of the room's lights off, which lowered the bright glare directly above Luke's head.

His son looked appreciatively at the older man and shifted to find a more comfortable position on the hard hospital bed. "S'okay. I won't do it again," he rasped in reply. Even in Luke's addled state, he knew that he was in deep trouble. Karen had forced him to go to some alcohol program for teens at the hospital for two months for just hearing that he'd been drinking. Luke knew the results of landing in the hospital due to drinking would be much more serious.

He looked up at Dan and saw something akin to deep concern etched on the older man's face. It was one of the few times in Luke's life that he saw something close to genuine emotion and involvement on his father's face.

Hearing those words, the same words that slipped out of Karen's parents after their drunken binges, Dan nodded absently at his oldest son. The cycle of hereditary weakness was so obvious to him. Nothing Karen had ever done with her parents had made them stop drinking. Dan feared that if they didn't do something drastic, Luke would spend the rest of his life lost in a gutter with a bottle of booze. He gently grabbed Luke's hand and held on to it, wanting to have some tangible link to his estranged son.

"We have to get you some help, Luke," Dan urgently began, making eye contact with his son. He knew the boy wasn't completely coherent, but he had to make an attempt to tell his son how much he needed him, how much he needed to repair the past. "We need to get you sober and off all those pills and then find a way to deal with all the pain you have. When I look in your eyes, I don't see an angry kid, I see a hurt little boy whom I created," Dan admitted to his son. Luke stared at him in confusion. There was a tone that he'd never associated with Dan before. A tone of repentance that he'd thought Dan Scott in capable of.

Dan leaned closer to his son. "I take full responsibility for the past. You didn't ask to be abandoned and I can't realistically expect that I can fix all that pain. But I need to find a way to help you," Dan pleaded, hoping that his son could comprehend what he was saying. Dan had wanted to tell the boy this for months, but the distance between them made such confessions nearly impossible. Luke was so openly hostile to Dan that he rarely found a moment to open up to his son and share his thoughts and feelings. It was interesting that Luke's walls and defensiveness mirrored Dan's tendencies to keep people away. For all Nathan's attitude and swagger, he was much more willing to let people in and to share his thoughts and feelings. Luke had definitely inherited his father's lack of openness.

Lucas blinked at his father's words, trying to comprehend why he was telling him this. Dan had never cared about him and now everything he did was just to make Karen happy. Yet, he couldn't place the earnest look on Dan's face or the way he searched Luke's face for some kind of reaction or emotion. Luke turned away to face the wall, unable to handle the intensity of Dan's inquisitive stare. He was having problems comprehending all the things that were going on around him. "Tired," he finally said, hoping that Dan would go away or at least be quiet for a few minutes. The truth was that he couldn't think of anything to say to his father. Dan was saying everything he'd ever wanted to hear and Luke felt completely numb.

Dan sat back in his seat, realizing that the moment was over. He'd said what he'd needed to say and that was a good first step, he thought. The boy was in no shape for a prolonged conversation in the dark. He watched as Lucas drifted off and then looked down at their intertwined hands. He surreptitiously looked around, making sure that they were alone, before looking down at their hands. He'd never noticed how similar their hands were. Long, strong fingers with wide palms. Hands that were made to hold and shoot a basketball. Sighing, Dan leaned forward and brought his free hand up to brush a few errant strands of blond hair from his son's forehead.

"I love you, and I don't want to lose you," he softly said, cupping the boy's forehead with his hand. He knew that Lucas had drifted off and his words were lost, but he still felt the need to say them. Dan had wanted to tell his son that he loved him since he was a child, but the moment was never there. And Lucas had grown so hostile to Dan that telling him seemed like a losing battle. The boy would probably laugh at him and scoff at Dan's feelings. It made him vulnerable and Dan didn't like having his feelings placed in the hands of his reluctant son.

But the thought of losing his son reframed Dan's thoughts about Luke. He needed to tell his son before it was too late. Before the boy drank himself into a grave or left for college. Either way, time was short. He'd never get a better chance to admit that he loved his son. Hearing a soft sigh from Luke, Dan slowly released his face and sank back into his chair.

Lucas kept his eyes closed, hoping that his father would assume he was sleeping. He slowly exhaled, fighting the urge to look over at Dan to see if he was watching him sleep. Instead, he relaxed into the bed and replayed the words his father just said to him. It made Lucas uneasy being around this version of Dan. He could deal with the bombastic salesman and pushy sports dad, but this …tender version freaked Lucas out.

Luke had been under the assumption that everything that Dan was doing was to ingratiate himself back into Karen's life. The idea that the man truly had feelings for him was more than Lucas could handle right now. It muddied the waters on what he thought was a black and white situation. So much of his childhood was lost, blown to bits by bitter indifference. Was it possible to regain something with his distant father? Or was it all just an act to placate his mother. Sighing, Luke shook all those thoughts out of his head. His body ached and his mind was too tired to process all this information. He needed time to get better and then get distance from his father in order to process what the man had confessed this night. Only with time and distance could Lucas start to dissect what was said tonight.

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Knocking lightly on the door, Keith motion Dan toward the deserted hallway. Anna smiled at her brother in law and handed him a large cup of coffee. "This might taste a bit better than the hospital coffee," she added, noting the lines of concern wrinkling his forehead.

Dan took the cup gratefully, having had his fill of the tepid liquid the hospital tried to pass off as coffee. "I appreciate you both stopping by to see Luke," he cautiously began, knowing that his brother always grew terrorital over the subject of Lucas.

Keith's eyes narrowed at his brother's words. "I think you know that I'm always going to be here for Luke," he said, carefully letting an aggravated tone slip out. Keith was pleased that Dan was making an attempt to be part of his son's life but six months of attention was not what Keith would call total dedication.

Anna sensed the direction this conversation was going and put a gentle hand on her husband's chest. "We're all concerned about Luke, Dan. We want you to know that we'll do anything to help out during this trying time." Her words had the magically affect she wanted, and both Dan and Keith took a step back and dropped their shoulders for a moment. "It really is all about Luke," she carefully added.

"Not really," Dan added, watching as Anna and Keith turned to stare at him. "I asked you both to stop by because I wanted to talk about Brooke." He watched as their eyes moved toward the door, absolutely sure that where Luke was, Brooke was not too far behind.

Dan shifted uneasily for a moment. He and Karen had discussed what to do with Lucas, but Brooke's unhappiness seriously concerned him. "She was absolutely sober when they brought Luke in. In fact, the doctor said that had she not called 911, he'd probably have overdosed." Dan let those words sink in for a moment, touched at the look of concern on Anna's face. She definitely had a great maternal instinct.

"While Karen may think she's the anti-Christ, I think something is really wrong in her house," Dan admitted, knowing that it was past time he took action in this matter. "She's spent most of this year staying in my guest room and when she's not staying there, she's usually sneaking into Luke's room. Haley mentioned that she's stayed with her a few times, so it's obvious that she's avoiding that house."

Anna raised an eyebrow at her brother-in-law, shocked that he'd done so much research on the subject of Brooke Davis. Deciding that he seemed genuinely worried for the girl, Anna decided to share her own concerns. "She's not eating much of anything and when she does mention home, you can tell she's terrified of the place."

Dan leaned back against the wall for a moment, contemplating the possibilities. "It has to be the step-father. She's always at our house when he's in town and she avoids events at the club when she knows her mom and step-father will be there," he said, mapping out the complex relationships of the country club set in Tree Hill.

"Or it could be the step-brother," Anna injected. "She tends to change the subject every time he is mentioned."

Dan ran a massive hand over his eyes, trying to get some mental clarity. "I had this idea that I would simply move Brooke into my house. She stays there all the time and then we'd know she was getting meals and had a safe place to sleep," he concluded. "However, I'm going to have to move Lucas and Karen into one home so I can take care of them. I can't do this split house thing any longer. It's not good for me and it's definitely not good for Karen and the baby."

Keith looked over at Anna in surprise. It wasn't like Dan Scott to go to great lengths to help another person out, especially if there wasn't something in it for him.

Ignoring his brother's skepticism, Dan looked over at his sister in law and brother. "I was hoping that you two could take Brooke in. We know she can't live under the same roof as Karen and yet she's really seems to like Anna."

Sighing, Keith thought about the idea for a moment. He was newly married with a wife and baby. Their new house was being renovated in spurts, as money and time allowed. The last thing he needed was a troubled teen in his barely finished guest room.

"Of course we'll take her in," Anna firmly replied, reaching out for Keith's hand. She knew they had a lot of commitments between work and family, but she'd never refuse a person in need. "I'll talk to her later today and set things up." Having spent a life time moving from place to place, Anna appreciated that a safe haven could work miracles for a person in trouble.

Smiling, Dan spontaneously reached and hugged her, surprising everyone in the hallway. He wasn't a man prone to public displays of emotion but knowing that he was about to drop a bomb on Lucas, he wanted to mitigate it by taking care of his girlfriend.

Keith frowned at his brother's actions, knowing a Dan Scott preemptive strike when he saw one. He was never one to give without taking something away. "Are you sending Luke back to counseling?" he asked, concerned about his nephew's condition.

Dan cautiously moved them down the hall slightly from Luke's room. "Karen and I have discussed it and we'll probably do something more drastic than counseling," he admitted, not wanting to show his hand before firm plans were made. Keith always tended to get involved in things that were none of his business.

"What's more serious than intense counseling?" Keith questioned, getting a really bad feeling about this. Dan was simultaneously edgy and evasive. Anna turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.

"Take a look in that room, Keith. That boy is barely alive because he's got a problem with alcohol. Are you going to sit around and watch him kill himself like Karen's parents?" Dan was getting irritated. He hadn't slept in day and half and the last thing he wanted was a fight with his brother.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "What aren't you saying, Dan?"

Dan shifted uneasily under his brother's penetrating stare. "We are considering a treatment program," he hedged, still unwilling to share what he and Karen discussed. "Chris gave me the name of a guy who specializes in these kinds of programs."

"They have programs like that in Tree Hill?" Anna curiously asked, realizing what the source of Dan's discomfort might be.

"We're discussing the best treatment for Luke before this situation escalates and we'll let everyone know when we have a decision," Dan decisively said, cutting off further conversation by walking off toward Luke's room.

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The incessant beeping noise broke through Brooke's restless sleep. She rolled over on the miserable chair bed thing and silently cursed hospital furniture. There was a crick in her back that would probably take her masseuse a month to work out. She looked over at Lucas and was shocked to see him staring back at her.

Rushing to his side, she tenderly brushed a hand across his check, relishing the feel of his skin on hers. "Hey Broody," she whispered, grateful that he was still alive.

"Hey, Pretty Girl," he croaked out, grimacing as he tried to sit up in order to get closer to her. She motioned for him to lean back and then gingerly crawled into bed, cautiously minding the wires and tubes that were connected to him.

Hearing a sniffle, Lucas looked down and saw tears coursing down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked, confused by the sadness he saw in her eyes. Of course, he was pretty sure that there was some kind of drug in the IV connected to his since he was having trouble staying awake.

"I called the ambulance," she admitted, knowing that it was always a mistake to involve adults in your problems. "Now your parents are going to be all over you." She could only image the aneurism that Karen was having.

He frowned at the truth in her words. Dan was already camped out at his bedside and he was shocked that his mother wasn't there, as well. "Dan was talking up a storm earlier," he revealed, not going into details about what his father confessed. It would take Luke months to figure out Dan's actions.

Looking down at her, he gave her the best hug his limited mobility would allow. "I know you did what you had to do," he sleepily replied, his voice raspy and low. "It was a stupid way to avoid reality."

Brooke's heart clenched, knowing that her relief would trump her anger for the time being. She was emotionally numb and physically exhausted. She was desperate for solitude yet she was trapped in a chaotic ICU ward in a hospital because of his actions. But Lucas was alive, and for tonight she'd be grateful instead of incensed. "I need you, Lucas," she quietly said. "But I can't go forward with plans until I know that you can handle the stress."

His heart clenched at the fear he saw on her face. He'd screwed up so much lately that he didn't blame her for questioning him. All he wanted to do was love her as much as she loved him. He knew that he couldn't count on anyone else but Brooke and he didn't want to ruin what they had. "I'll be better, Cheery."

She watched as his eyes slowly dropped and knew he was falling asleep. "I hope so," she replied to no one, snuggling into his body. She felt safer being next to him, and that always meant she'd be able to sleep this night. But she had a nagging feeling that this was the calm before the storm. It remained to be seen what the day after the storm would reveal.

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Anna followed Dan down the hall way, wanting to check in on her nephew before she headed home. She nearly plowed into Dan's back as he suddenly stopped in the door way to his son's room. Anna leaned around Dan's massive shoulders and paused, seeing Brooke curled up next to Lucas in a tiny hospital bed.

"I hope your decision to help Lucas doesn't rip them apart," she casually mentioned, realizing that Dan's options in Tree Hill were limited. "They need each other."

He looked at his son and then down at his sister-in-law. "They are extremely co-dependant, which might explain the cycle of teen angst that Lucas seems to be caught up in."

Anna heard Karen's influence in Dan's words. She couldn't blame the man, he'd been through hell the past day and she could read the fear that was carefully hidden behind the mask he tended to wear. "It doesn't mean that they aren't invested in each other," she quietly said. "It doesn't mean that they can't figure out a better way to cope."

He nodded absently at her words, before sinking into the chair beside his son's bed. Dan just needed time to make sure that both kids were safe.

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Again, sorry for the delay. No excuses but I've had two relatives with heart procedures and a brother in law who was deployed overseas, leaving me with a lot of family obligations.

I'll try to be better about updating. I want to finish this story and give it the ending it deserves, even if OTH is long retired in moth balls. Thanks for reading. I appreciate the patient. It's always interesting to see if people are still interested.

Next up, two weeks later, we'll see what Brooke has to say to Lucas and what Dan and Karen have been planning.