A/N: Hello all, I'm back again with the next chapter. I'm glad so many of you seem t be enjoying the story. Also I deleted the author's note about the plagiarism so all the reviews from before and to those reading now will all , thanks for reading & I appreciate the reviews!

Against All Odds

We reach across the gap and sometimes against all odds, against all logic, we touch. (Shonda Rhimes)

Peyton stared off into the distance, watching as rescue workers slowly worked on removing the rubble and boards from the fallen structure across the street. The rain had ceased and the night sky seemed clear and calm, a stark contrast to the disheveled city below it.

She and Jake had been lucky; Tric had remained completely in tack and seemed to have no real damage, besides a broken window here and there. It amazed her, the way a tornado seemed to pick and choose, demolishing one structure while leaving the one next to it or across form it virtually untouched.

She turned back to see Jake hanging up his cell phone. "Did you get through to your parents?"

"Yeah," he answered as he walked towards her. "Their both fine and so is Jenny. They said most of the house is okay; the primary damage was to the garage and the living room area but the rest of it held up and they were able to get out of the basement safely."

"That's great," she nodded. "I tried to get a hold of Mitch, and Nathan and Haley but I couldn't get through to any of them."

"Well I'm sure there are still some problems with the satellite signals and the phone lines," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everyone's fine. Did you try Brooke or Lucas yet?" His words came out softly, trying to ease into the subject but knowing there was no easy way to.

"No," she shook her head. "I started to call Brooke but I couldn't. I'm still really hurt and upset with her you know but I said some pretty hateful things to her, and I …" she shook her head frustratingly. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk to her yet but I…"

"You still want to know that she's okay," Jake supplied for her, "that they both are." He watched her nod. "Look Peyton, I know that Brooke and Lucas hurt you but you and I are the first people to know that you can't control where your heart leads you. We've all made some mistakes in this."

"I know that but that doesn't stop it from hurting," she replied.

"I know that but you, Brooke and Lucas have been through so much together. And the kind of friendship you and Brooke have, knowing someone for practically your whole lives, that's rare and it shouldn't be taken for granted. It's important that you work it out."

She sighed before giving him a fake push. "I hate it when you're right." She breathed out deeply. "I'm not sure though if I'm ready to face it all yet though. Maybe you could go check on her for me after you see Jenny, while I go check on Mick." She bit the corner of her lip as she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"How can I say no to a look like that," he smiled before wrapping an arm around her. "Let's go."

The ambulance siren blared as it tore down the street; red lights flashing as it drove up to the hospital. Lucas laid on the gurney, eyelids not yet able to open, as he listened to the sounds around him. He could hear muffled voices and felt something firmly placed against his face. He was aware of everything going on around him but yet he felt so disconnected, almost as if he was floating above it all but unable to look down. There was only two other times he felt like this: the car accident with Keith and the heart attack after Haley was hit by a car. His mind immediately went to the car accident he'd witnessed before his black out and he struggled to open his eyes.

"Looks like he's coming to," a male voice said before shining a light in Lucas' now open eyes. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Broo…" Lucas struggled to speak through the mask. "The baby, pregnant..."

"Sir?" the male voice questioned as the patients eyes closed once again.

The ambulance came to a stop and soon both gurneys were lifted out and ushered into the hospital where there were already attendants waiting.

"What have we got here?" a female doctor approached.

"A John Doe: Caucasian male, early twenties with a head injury," the EMT spoke. "BP 170/80, heart rate 110; he regained consciousness briefly in transport. His vitals seem stable."

"Get him into Trauma Three," she ordered, watching as one of the attendees followed. "And the female..."

"Caucasian, early twenties as well suffering from a head injury, possible broken ribs, puncture wound to the chest and may have internal bleeding," the other EMT answered. "BP is 98/70, heart rate 122, and so far is unresponsive; started an IV in transport. Also, the male mentioned she was pregnant when he regained consciousness."

"Okay," the doctor replied. "Get her into Trauma Four. Call radiology for a cat scan for both patients and order her a chest x-ray and EKG."

The nurse from behind the desk watched as the two gurneys were rushed passed, listening as the patients were referred to as John Doe and Jane Doe, real names unknown. "Doctor," the brunette nurse called as the doctor headed towards her patient.

"Yes Teresa," she said, still walking.

"I know those patients, I went to high school with them," she replied, her concerned eyes looked to the doctor. "Are they going to be alright?"

"I'll do my best to make sure that they are," she gave her a nod before walking away.

Nathan sat in the hospital room, staring at the two toned colored grey and light blue wall. He hated hospitals; he honestly hadn't been able to stand them since both Haley and Lucas ended up in one after the Dante' debacle. As he looked around the waiting room at all the people waiting for news on their loved ones who'd been injured by the tornado it only made him more anxious. Tree Hill General Hospital was a small facility built for a small town with everyday accidents and sicknesses, and Nathan couldn't help but wonder if it was really equipped to deal with a disaster on such a large scale.

He'd just gotten off the phone with his mother, who'd opted to babysit both Jamie and Chris Keller while he and Skills accompanied Haley to the hospital. Although the last thing Nathan wanted to do was hang out with the guy who was sleeping with his mom, he did need medical attention for the wound to his head and there had been no time to argue while his wife lay unconscious.

"Any word yet?" Skills said as he sat next to his weary friend, offering him a cup of coffee.

"Not yet," Nathan answered as he accepted the cup. "How's the head?"

"Seven stitches but I'm fine," he nodded. "I'm just worried about Haley, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Nathan said as he stared down at the floor solemnly. "I tried calling Luke but there was no answer. I guess some of the phone lines are still down."

The sienna man nodded silently. "Look, Nate I'm sorry about the way mine and Deb's relationship came out."

Nathan shot him a warning glare. "Not now Skills; we're definitely going to have a conversation about this later but not now. The last thing I need is more bad news."

"Nathan, Skills." A brunette in scrubs walked towards them. "Did someone call you? I didn't have anyone's number anymore so I didn't know how to reach you guys."

"Reach us?" Skills looked at her quizzically. "You saw Haley? How is she?"

"Yeah, how's Hales?" Nathan looked up at her expectantly.

"Haley is here?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah," Nathan replied. "You didn't see her then?"

"No, I'm sorry." The nurse shook her head. "I can go check and see what I can find out for you."

"I'd appreciate that," Nathan replied, pausing briefly as he remembered what she'd first said when she approached them. "Wait, why else would you need to get in contact with us; is someone else here?"

"Yeah," Teresa said softly. "And it looks like they're both in pretty bad shape."

"They?" the bald young man looked up at her. "Who are they?"

Teresa took a deep breath before answering. "It's Brooke and Lucas."

Peyton arrived at the hotel fairly quickly after leaving Jake's. Even though his parents had assured him that Jenny was alright, both she and Jake had wanted to see her with their own eyes first. It hadn't taken Peyton long to grow just as attached to the little girl as she had been to her when she was a baby and now that it looked like she and Jake were on the road to reuniting for good this time, she wanted to make sure Jenny knew she cared about her.

Peyton quickly parked her car about a block down, unable to get any closer due to the fire trucks, rubble, and yellow tape that seemed to be surrounding the area. As she got closer, her heart seemed to beat frantically in her chest, eyes wide at the horror in front of her. The whole hotel seemed to be demolished, caved in on itself as a crowd formed behind the yellow line and people looked on in fear, while firemen and rescue workers seemed to slowly remove pieces of the structure.

Her feet suddenly increased their speed in an unconscious effort to get there quicker. "Mick!" she screamed as she ran threw the crowd, eyes frantically searching for the father she had barely begun to know. "Mick!" she found herself ducking under the yellow caution tape and running towards the fallen building.

"Miss," a fireman stopped her. "You can't come in here."

"But my father was staying here," her green eyes suddenly began to fill with water. "Where are the residents?"

"I'm sorry Miss but some of them are trapped inside," he replied.

"Wh-What?" she breathed out deeply as the tears started to spill over. "Do you know whose inside?"

"I'm sorry," he said sympathetically.

"But why are they working so slow?" she cried. "You have to get him out of there; you have to!"

"We need to work at this pace to prevent the debris from caving in any more than it is," he replied as she led her back towards the line. "I'm sorry but you have to wait behind the line for your safety. There have been some who were rescued that have already been transported to Tree Hill General."

"But he could be in there?" tears streamed down her face in full force now. "Oh God, what if he's in there?" She suddenly felt the vibrations of her cell phone. "Hello?"

"Peyton," Skills' voice traveled through the phone. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she paused briefly. "Mick's hotel was hit really badly and I'm not sure if he's still inside or at the hospital. I was thinking about just waiting there anyways. I don't know." She paused briefly. "Is everyone else okay?"

"I'm afraid not," he said sadly. "You might want to get down to the hospital as soon as possible baby girl. Lucas is here and it seems like he'll probably be okay but…"

"But what?" she questioned. "Skills, what is it? Is someone else hurt?"

"Yeah it's Haley and Brooke," he shook his head even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Look, Haley's pretty up in the air and Brooke, well its bad. Teresa's a nurse here now and she said… well, she's not sure if Brooke's going to make it."

Peyton in took a deep breath as the cell phone dropped from her grasp in what seemed to be slow motion.

Jake turned the corner, finally making it to Brooke's street. He'd been to Lucas' first but found the house completely empty and untouched. He'd tried both the numbers Peyton gave him for them but got no answer. It was as if one side of her house had been ripped off by sheer force. As he pulled his truck up to her house he immediately saw the damage and hurriedly jumped out.

"Brooke," he yelled as he came around to the now open side of her house. "Brooke, are you in here?"

There was what looked like a piece of a wall with boards and various items strewn across the broken structure and into the yard, tilted over some debris. "Brooke?" His eyes noticed the slightest movement.

"Uhh," he heard a male voice groan. "I'm kind of stuck."

"Lucas?" Jake questioned as he immediately began to clear the miscellaneous things off the fallen wall.

"No, it's Owen," he grunted as he began to push against the wall as Jake pulled it up from his side.

"Do you think you can slip out now?" Jake said as he struggled to hold up the wall.

Within a minute, Owen managed to pull his torso out before rolling his body out the rest of the way. "Thanks man," he breathed out heavily as Jake dropped the wall back to the ground. "Where's Rach?"

"What?" Jake looked at him quizzically.

"Rachel?" his eyes were wide in fear. "She was with me before the tornado hit and she was in bad shape. She lost a lot of blood."

"I didn't see anyone else," he shook his head before he began trying to weed through the remains of what used to be a house.

"Rachel!" Owen yelled as he began moving around some of the rubble. "Rach, can you hear me?"

"Rachel!" Jake yelled as he picked up a small piece of wall. "Owen," he yelled as he saw a flash of red hair. "I think I got something; it looks like the pipe burst too."

Owen immediately flew to Jake's side as they tossed away the wreckage that covered her. "Oh my God," he immediately picked up her damp body and carried her out to the grass where there was less clutter. "She's blue." He looked back at the man who'd just rescued him. "I don't think she's breathing and I don't know CPR."

"Here," Jake tossed Owen his cell phone as he knelt beside her and started chest compressions. "Call 911." Jake tilted her head back as he breathed into her.

"Yeah," Owen said as soon as the operator picked up. "My friend, she's not breathing. We need an ambulance at…"

Nathan stared down at the floor, surrounded by Deb, Skills, Chris, and Junk. Junk had arrived about a half hour after everyone else, letting them know that Fergie was admitted to the hospital as well. Peyton, who was currently visiting Lucas' beside, had volunteered Jake's parents to watch Jamie so that Jenny could have a playmate to keep the kids' minds off of everything as well as freeing up Deb to be with her son. They all looked up as a doctor approached.

"Mr. Scott," a male looking to be in his early forties approached them.

"Dr. Robbins," Nathan stood up. "How's Haley?"

"She is stabilized but she's still at risk," he explained. "We ordered a lumbar tap…"

"What is that exactly?" he questioned.

"A spinal tape; she tested positive for bacterial meningitis," Dr. Robbins answered. "In rare cases, it can be caused by Epstein Barr. Now, we've started her on antibiotics and she's been moved to the ICU."

"Can I see her?" he couldn't stop the worry that came through his voice.

"Of course," he nodded. "I'll take you to her."

Nathan followed the doctor through the automatic door, walking down the long corridors filled with victims from the tornado and nurses and doctors attending to them. He stomach almost dropped as they passed the room Dan died in. If she was in this part of the hospital, he knew she was in trouble. As he slowly entered the room, he was almost startled by how pale she looked and the oxygen tube in her nose.

Haley breathed in deeply as soon as she saw him, a small smile gracing her features. "Hi…"

"Hi," he exhaled a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding as he brought the chair next to her bed and sat down. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"Well my neck's a little stiff and the headache's a pain but I'm okay," she answered. "I've had flu's that made me feel worse. How are you? How's Jamie?"

"Jamie's fine," he answered as he reached over to take her hand. "He's with Jake's parents, visiting Jenny. They started you on antibiotics…"

"I know," she interrupted. "Dr. Robbins explained everything to me."

"You're going to be okay Hales," he almost convinced himself with the confidence of his last phrase.

"I know," she gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "But if I'm not…"

"You will be," he cut her off.

Haley just nodded. "Do you remember that time we went out to that football field and you made it rain for me."

"How could I forget?" Nathan smiled at his wife genuinely.

"You remember what you told me then; that if anything happened to you, you wanted me to know how happy I made you," her chestnut orbs looked duller than usual as she stared up into his ocean of blue. "I want you to know how happy you have made me. How honored I am to be your wife…"

"Haley," he shook his head. "Don't you dare try to tell me goodbye."

"I never could," she shook her head as tears began to well in her eyes. "Always and forever, no matter what happens Nate, I want you to know I love you so, so much."

"I love you too Hales," he held her hand tighter as he brought it up to his lips, kissing it tenderly. "You're going to be okay Hales."

"I'm so scared Nathan," tears flowed over the brim of her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. "I-I…" she reached her hand up to her head. "Nate..."

"Haley," he said anxiously as he watched her body began to shake and convulse. "Hales!" He ran to the door. "Somebody help! My wife…"

Within a few seconds Dr. Robbins was attending to her. "She's seizing."

Nathan felt himself being pushed back as he whispered, "Haley…"

Peyton stood at the window, looking out at the road below and the ambulances whizzing passed, albeit carrying more victims of the tornado. If someone would have told her two days ago that she'd be unengaged to Lucas, on her way to reconciling with Jake, and waiting for three of her best friends, two of whom she'd been fighting with, to awake in a hospital she would have told them they were insane. Yet here she was, waiting in her ex-fiancé's room, and praying for him, Brooke, and Haley to be alright. She turned away from the window and sat in the chair by the bedside of a man who'd become such an integral part of her life she couldn't imagine it without him.

"Brooke," the groggy voice of Lucas called. "Brooke," he opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey," Peyton put a hand comfortingly upon his. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Peyton," he looked a bit surprised to see her. "I didn't expect…it's good to see you."

"You were expecting Brooke, its okay." She paused briefly, "She's in ICU Lucas. They won't tell us much because none of us are technically related to her and they haven't been able to reach Victoria or Richard."

"I doubt Victoria will be back anytime soon after what she did," he sat up. "How long have I been out?"

"Several hours I guess, I have only been here about an hour and a half." Peyton shrugged. "They told Nathan you have a mild concussion but otherwise you're okay."

"And Brooke?" he questioned. "They won't tell you anything?"

"Only that its bad. Teresa's a nurse her now, go figure; she said she'd try to find out more but all that she could tell us was Brooke looked…" she shook her head as she forced back tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what I said to both of you."

"I know you are Peyton," Lucas replied. "I'm sorry too. I want you to know I never cheated on you, Brooke's pregnancy…"

Peyton held up her hand. "Nathan explained it to me." She shook her head wearily. "I'm surprised he had the time." Her green eyes squinted at him for a moment. "What did you mean about what Victoria did?"

"Brooke's attack," he couldn't stop the anger in his voice. "Victoria set it up."

"What?" her face scrunched up in disbelief. "That sick bitch; I can't believe she'd do that to her own daughter." She exhaled deeply. "What she must have been feeling and then I go and say all these horrible things to her." A stray tear rolled down her cheek. "What if she doesn't make it Luke? What if she dies thinking I hate her?"

"She knows you don't hate her Peyton," Lucas replied. "She was trying to get to you when… never mind."

"When what?" she questioned. "Lucas, when what? When she had this accident… oh God, this is all my fault; I did this… how could I do this? She has to make it Luke; I don't know how I'd live with myself if we all lost her or if she losses her baby. Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"You're going to calm down and get me a doctor so I can be released," he placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "And then we're going to go force someone to tell us what's happening with Brooke, okay? She's going to be fine."

"You're right," she nodded. "They're all going to be fine." As she walked towards the door, her only wish was that she believed herself.

Owen and Jake stood side by side as Rachel was pushed into the room and the doctors immediately began working on her. Jake had managed to keep her alive until the EMT's got there and took over. Owen made his way to the doorway, watching as nurses and doctors surrounded her, as he willed the young woman he'd meet so many years ago to wake up.

"So, you gonna buy me lunch or what?" the young red head lifted an eyebrow flirtatiously.

"Does that kind of thing usually work on the guys you pick or did you come up with that just for me?" Owen gave an amused laugh.

"You tell me?" she smiled mischievously. "I will tell you a secret though; I usually get what I want."

"I bet," he smiled. "What's your name?"

"Rachel," her eyes were full of life as she looked up at him. "Rachel Gatina. What's yours?"

"Owen Morello," he answered.

The sound of a loud beep seemed to pull Owen from his memory.

"She's in fib; push one of epi," a gray haired doctor said as she hovered over the red head, "and 300 of Amiodarone. Keep compressions going."

An older brunette man pushed passed Owen and quickly began to assist. "She's hypothermic," he said before turning to the first doctor. "Try a continuous bladder lavage with warm fluid."

"Still on asystole," a nurse called.

"We're losing her," the gray haired woman yelled. "Charge to 300…"

"My parents pretty much suck," Rachel lay back against the couch. "Sometimes I wonder why they even bothered to have a kid; they just go on their trips while they shove me in another boarding school."

"When do you leave?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"In two weeks," she glanced up at her boyfriend with sad eyes. "I don't want to lose you Morello."

"You won't baby," he replied. "I promise."

"What's her temp?" the female doctor called.

"Up to 84 now," a nurse replied, "And climbing."

"You lied to me!" he turned away from her. "I can't believe I trusted you."

"Owen, I'm sorry." She stepped closer to him, placing a hand against his arm. "I love you."

He pulled his arm out of her grasp. "Do you realize what you did little girl? You made me some sort of pedophile!"

"I wasn't such a little girl when you made love to me," she fired back.

"No, you were just a liar." Owen shook his head at her disgusted before walking out, slamming the door behind him.

"Push one more round of ACLS drugs," the female doctor commanded.

"Rachel, you have to fight this." Owen stared at her pale body. "You have to fight for our daughter."

Jake turned to him curiously but said nothing.

"We've got a heartbeat," the nurse nodded. "Temperature rising."

"Good, get her to the OR for her leg," the woman said before going over to Owen. "I've got to meet them in surgery but I think the worst is over. I'll let you know when she's out of surgery."

"Thank you," he nodded with a small smile. "Thank you so much." He turned to Jake. "And thank you, she never would've made it without you finding us."

"Don't mention it," Jake replied. "Let's just hope everyone else is this lucky."

It had been hours since they had any news on anyone. Fergie had been in surgery for hours with no word from the doctors since. Haley had slipped into a coma after her seizure and once Nathan was allowed to go back in, he'd been sitting at her bedside ever since. Rachel seemed to come through her surgery alright but as of now she had not woken up. Teresa had managed to find out that Brooke was still unconscious and that so far she was stable. She still required additional surgery but they were waiting for her to become stronger before she went under the knife. Also with her being pregnant, they called in a fetal specialist to be there to ensure the safety of the babies; Brooke Davis was pregnant with twins.

"I keep hoping we'll get some kind of sign that everything's going to be alright," Lucas spoke to no one in particular. "That Brooke, Haley, Rachel, and Fergie will all come through this alright; that my unborn children will be alright."

"These are the times I wish your mom were here," Deb turned to him. "She always knew the right thing to say, no matter what the situation. She'd get us all through this and help me get through to Nathan."

"Get through to Nathan?" he peered at her. "About what?"

"It's not as pressing as everything else is," she shook her head. "So they're waiting for her to become more stable for surgery?" Deb shook her head. "How does that make sense?"

"I guess they want to make sure she's strong enough for it," Peyton answered. "Plus Teresa was saying something about authorization since they couldn't reach her next of kin or emergency contact. It's this big legal thing."

Jake reached over to hold her hand. "I don't understand that."

"Policies and agendas," Skills shook his head.

"Yeah, it's just the hospital's way of covering it's ass in case something happens and they can't…" Owen trailed off. "I'm sorry man." He placed a comforting hand on Lucas' shoulder. "She's going to fight for those babies. When she told me she was pregnant, she was so happy."

"She told you?" Lucas looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, early yesterday." He laughed. "I think she was trying to let me down easy."

"That's my girl," Lucas smiled sadly.

"How did you get information about Rachel?" Peyton asked.

"When we brought her in she wasn't breathing so I was there for most of it," Owen answered. "Then I kind of let them believe she was my wife."

"That's a good idea," Junk chimed in. "Maybe someone should lie."

"Lucas tried that but Teresa kind of ratted us out by accident," Peyton replied before they all fell silent.

"Why the hell won't they tell us anything? Those are my children in there. Why don't they understand that we are Brooke's family?" He stood up, frustratingly rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. "I can't wait anymore. I'm going to find some information." Lucas stood up and began striding towards the automatic doors.

Peyton looked over at Jake, her green eyes blood shot from all the tears she'd shed.

"Go ahead," he nodded before watching her hurry to catch up with Lucas.

They already knew where Brooke was located from Teresa's help and walked down the crowded halls as if they were meant to be there.

"How many people do you think call off their weddings and sit around with her new boyfriend and try to break into his new girlfriend's hospital room in less than twenty four hours?" she asked as they sped walked down the hall.

"I'd guess two," he replied with a wry smile as they approached her room. "Let's go."

"Hey," a male voice belted. "What do you two think you're doing?"

"I'm going to see Brooke and my kids," Lucas replied. "I need to see how she is since you people won't tell me anything."

"I've tried to reach the patient's family…" the doctor started but was cut off by Peyton.

"We are her family," she yelled. "He's the father of her babies and she has been my best friend since we were eight years old and her parents have never been there for her, ever. Please, please tell us what is wrong with her."

The doctor nodded in sympathy. "She has a hairline fracture of the pelvis, temporalmandibular joint damage…"

"What exactly is that?" Lucas questioned.

"Basically an injury to the joints and ligaments of the jaw, sort of the way whiplash occurs to the back and neck," the doctor explained. "Her heart echoes also showed traces of cardiac tapenade, which means he pericardial sac surrounding the heart has filled with an excessive amount of fluid. Now surgery is something we must perform but we were waiting for a maternal fetal specialist to assist in making sure the babies are as safe as possible."

"Were," Lucas repeated. "That means who ever that is, is here now?"

"Yes," he answered. "And her emergency contact has just filled out the proper forms so Miss Davis should be heading into the OR already where they are prepping her. If you'll excuse me…"

"Thank you," Peyton nodded. "She's going to be okay, isn't she?"

"I'll do everything I can," he replied before walking away.

"I wonder who her emergency contact is." Lucas turned to Peyton.

"It's me," a familiar female voice called from behind them. "Hello my boy. I'm glad you are both alright."

"Karen," Peyton gave her a small smile.

His brows furrowed at the brunette in front of him. "Mom?" Lucas immediately walked over to her open arms. "I'm so glad you're here. I can't lose her now."

"I know; It's going to be okay Lucas," she hugged him tightly. "They're going to be okay."

He felt so comforted by his mother's presence and her words, hoping against all odds that her being there was a sign that everything really was going to be alright. That somehow he'd get his miracle.

Shonda Rhimes wrote, "At the end of a day like this when so many prayers are answered and so many aren't, we take our miracles where we find them. We reach across the gap and sometimes against all odds, against all logic, we touch… against all odds it happens."