A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.


Chapter Twenty Nine

Lucas could see that the men were getting impatient. He hoped that Peyton would get back soon. He didn't even want to think about if Julian would carry out his threat. He was relieved when they finally heard a car pulling up outside. He held his breath as Julian looked out of the window. He saw him frowning and waited for the fireworks.

Julian waited until Peyton walked into the door. "Where the hell is Brooke?" he demanded.

Peyton was quiet for a moment before she spoke. She did her best to stay calm. "Brooke's blood pressure was really high. The doctor was concerned about the baby. So she is staying at the hospital for a few days."

Julian looked at her hard. "You're lying," he replied as he studied her. "I know you too well, Peyton. Where is Brooke?" he demanded.

"It doesn't matter. She broke her promise," Owen reminded him. "So that means that she will become a widow and single mother. The only problem is that we'll have to wait until nightfall. Tie them up in the other room and make sure that they don't cause trouble."

Julian forced Peyton into the kitchen as Ian did the same with Lucas. Xavier followed them in and helped them out with tying them to two kitchen chairs back to back, with Peyton facing them. They then gagged them with tape before Julian and Xavier went back into the living room. Ian stayed behind to guard the hostages.

"You do realize that we have to punish Peyton too, right?" Owen whispered to Julian. He didn't want Peyton to overhear. Julian nodded. "How do you propose that we do it? After all, she is your ex-girlfriend. You know her weaknesses best."

"Before we do anything, I'm getting my money back," Julian told him before he marched over to Peyton and ripped off the tape. "Ok, I'm getting impatient with you. Where the hell is my money?" he demanded.

"What are you going to do if I do tell you?" Peyton asked. "Hunt this person down and demand your money back? What if he or she already spent the money?"

"If he or she did, they will end up in my debt until I get my money back," Julian replied.

"What's so important that you have to have that money?" Peyton asked.

Julian gave her a look. "Because it won't be fair for you to keep it if you weren't going to use it for your wedding."

"You'll just to have to deal with your loss," Peyton replied. "Because you're not going to get it back from me or the person that I gave it to."

Julian glared at her before he told Ian to put the tape back on. He then went back into the living room where they quietly started to discuss their plans. Both Lucas and Peyton tried to listen to what they were saying, but Julian and the others made sure that they wouldn't hear.

The minutes ticked by slowly for the prisoners. All Lucas could do was to stare at the wall and let his thoughts wander off. He thought of Brooke and their future life together with their baby. Even though he wanted a son, it didn't matter to him anymore. He just wanted both Brooke and the baby to be healthy. Even though things didn't look good right now, he knew that he would get out of this alive. He just had to wait until Nathan and Agent Hargrove returned.

Julian only let Lucas and Peyton out of their restraints when it was time for lunch. They let Haley out as well. At first, she was confused when she only saw Peyton. But Lucas and Peyton both gestured her not to ask about it. So she kept her mouth shut. Lucas and Peyton were also allowed to go to the bathroom then, before they were tied up and gagged again. Lucas then knew that it wouldn't be long before it would be dark.

Once the sun started setting down, the men quickly went into action. Owen roughly pulled Lucas up from the chair as he turned to Julian. "You stay here with the two troublemakers. We'll take care of this one."

Lucas didn't have a chance to do anything as he was pinned down by Nick and Jason, who had arrived after Peyton and Brooke had left. They held him tight as Owen put a hood over his head. Nick and Jason then dragged Lucas out of the apartment. Lucas struggled to get away, but the two men wouldn't let him go.

A few minutes later, he could feel that he was being put into the back of a van. He didn't even want to know what their destination was. He just wanted to get out before they reached it. However, he soon found that he wasn't the only one in the back of the van. He then realized that they were there to make sure that he wouldn't escape. He knew that it would be a long road trip.

It seemed like forever before the van completely stopped. It was only a few moments before he was pulled out of the vehicle. As he felt the smooth ground, he could recognize it as a road. Then he could hear the leaves crunching underneath his feet, knowing that they were going off the road.

He was then forced to stop. He was relieved when the hood was taken off of him. It took him a minute or two for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he then noticed that they were out in the middle of nowhere. Owen then tore off the tape as Ian held up his gun and pointed it at Lucas. "Any last words?"

Lucas glared at him as he nodded. "Yeah, I do. Go to hell," he exclaimed angrily.

Ian just laughed as he cocked the gun. Lucas closed his eyes, ready to have his life extinguished. His last thought was of Brooke and his unborn child before he heard a gun go off. He was surprised, but relieved when he didn't feel a bullet go through him. As he opened his eyes, he felt his captors release him. He then managed to finally get the tape off his hands. He then saw Ian lying dead beside him from a gunshot wound.

He wondered who had shot him. He doubted that it was one of his own men. He then jumped as he heard more gunshots in the distance. Even though he knew that he should run in the opposite direction, he was dying to find out who had saved him. He had a feeling that his rescuer needed his help. He ran through the woods and followed the sounds of the gunshots.

When he arrived at the scene, he saw that Nick was already dead and Jason was falling down to the ground as Lucas's rescuer was putting his gun down. To Lucas's complete shock, he saw that it was Dan. He was at loss for words as Dan looked at him. "You saved me?" he asked as he walked over to him. "Why?"

"Because you're my son too," Dan replied. He suddenly groaned out in pain as he grabbed his stomach. He then collapsed on the ground.

Lucas then saw that he had been shot and was bleeding heavily. He knew that he had to call an ambulance, but he didn't have his phone. And they were miles away from nowhere. He then heard footsteps and was relieved to see that Nathan was running up to them. Nathan was the same when he saw that Lucas was ok. "I managed to kill Xavier, but Owen got away in the van," he told him as he noticed Dan lying on the ground. He rushed over to him and bent down next to him. "Is he ok?"

Lucas wished that he could answer that. "I don't know. We have to get him to the hospital," he said. Nathan pulled out his phone and gave it to him. He made the call while Nathan tried to keep Dan awake.

It wasn't long before all three were at the hospital. The doctor quickly checked Lucas and Nathan over and concluded that they were healthy. However, Dan was rushed up to emergency surgery for the gunshot wound. So they were now in the waiting room, waiting anxiously for the results.

They weren't in there long when Lucas felt a sudden urge. "I'll be right back," he told his brother before he hurried to the bathroom. He didn't know whether he wanted to be there or not when they heard about Dan.

Nathan just nodded as he heard footsteps. He looked up and locked eyes with his wife. He let out a relieved sigh as she ran to him, tears in her eyes. They embraced each other in a tight hug, never wanting to let each other go. "Thank goodness you're alright," he exclaimed happily. "I was so worried that Carrie would make you deliver the baby early. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you or our son. Thank you for coming home to me."

Haley gave him a smile. "Always and forever," she replied as Lucas came back into the room. He and Haley exchanged smiles as they embraced each other in a tight hug. "You are the best brother-in-law ever."

"I couldn't agree more," a familiar voice said as she and Deb came into the room. It was a happy reunion between the Scott family members. Brooke embraced her husband in a tight hug before she gently hit him. Lucas gave her a confused look. "Next time you have a plan, please clue me in on it. This was the longest day of my life. I hated not knowing what was going on back in the apartment."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get stressed out because of the baby," Lucas replied as Brooke embraced her best friend in a hug. "Speaking of the baby, I ran into Dr. Copeland and he said that he is willing to do the ultrasound right now."

"What about Dan? Don't you want to stay in case the doctor comes out?" Brooke asked him.

Deb could see that Lucas really wanted to go. She then gave out a suggestion. "We'll come and get you if we hear any news," she told them before they dashed off. Deb then turned to Haley. "Maybe you should get checked out too."

Haley gave her a look. "Are you kidding me? Carrie came in to check on me every single day. According to her, your grandson is doing just fine." She then gave them a reassuring smile. "And I am too now that I'm reunited with my wonderful husband and my family."

"I'm never letting you go again," Nathan replied as he embraced her in another tight hug. Just then, they turned to see the doctor walking towards them. "Hey, how is he?" he asked him concerned.

"Your father's out of surgery," the doctor told him. Nathan wondered what his next words would be. "We did everything we could, but I'm afraid he's lost too much blood. All we can do now is make him comfortable. I'm sorry."

They thanked him as they looked at each other. Nobody knew what to say at first. It was quiet as the doctor left. Nathan was still trying to get over the shock. "I can't believe it," he said. "He saved both me and Lucas from getting killed by his own men. And he is the one who ends up dying."

Haley looked at him surprised. "Dan saved you both?"

Nathan nodded. "Owen and those guys took Lucas to the woods. Their plan was to shoot him and leave him out in the middle of nowhere so the murder couldn't trace back to them. If it wasn't for Dan, Ian would have shot Lucas."

Deb couldn't help but smile. "I always knew that he loved his family more than his work. He just didn't know how to show it, especially to Lucas." Nathan couldn't help but agree with that. "I'm going to check up on him."

"We'll be there in a little bit," Nathan told her. His mother nodded before she left them. Nathan was then quiet as he became thoughtful. Haley looked at her husband curious. "It isn't fair. Just as he has been trying to make amends with his family, he has to die."

Haley sighed. "Yeah, I know. But thanks to him, his family lives. We will be able to raise Jamie together. Brooke won't be a single mom. He may have done some awful things, but we will make sure that he lives on by the good deeds that he did. Because good deeds out weigh the bad ones."

Nathan sighed. "I'm not sure Lucas will see it that way."

Just then, Lucas and Brooke came back in with smiles on their faces. Haley smiled in return. "So are you having my niece or nephew?"

Neither parent said anything at first. "Actually, we decided to wait until we have our big party. After all, we're going to have a lot to celebrate including your belated birthday," Brooke told Haley.

"I can't believe that I missed my own birthday," Haley exclaimed. "But I guess it will make the celebration more fun when we have that party."

Nathan suddenly spoke up. "We might want to wait to have the party for a little while." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "The doctor did everything that they could, but it wasn't enough. Dan is dying."

Lucas was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry, Nate. I know how close you are to him," he replied. "At least, he won't be in any pain anymore." Nathan knew that he had a point. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take Brooke here back to the apartment so we both could get some rest."

Haley made a face. "You might want to find a hotel room tonight. Jake made a mess when he was fighting Julian off." All three were surprised to hear that Jake had come to Peyton's rescue. "It's a long story. Jake promises you that he will pay for all of the damages."

Brooke gave her a comforting smile. "That's ok. We were thinking about moving anyway. We really didn't want to raise our baby in an apartment," she told her. She and Lucas then exchanged smiles. "Besides, I don't think we'll be thinking about the mess tonight anyway."

Nathan wasn't in the mood to push Lucas into visiting Dan. So they gave the lovebirds permission to leave for the night. They then held each other close as they headed to Dan's recovery room.