The messages Brooke gets from Dean make little to no sense after that, but at least there are messages. That's all Brooke cared about. Messages meant he was alive and well. A few came about his dad, but as soon as she asked if they had found their father, Dean changed the subject and then didn't mention him again. So, she figured, either something had happened and he didn't want to talk about it, or she had misunderstood somehow.

And then she gets a call from Karen, asking if she knows where Lucas is- him and Keith were supposed to pick her up an hour ago and neither of them are answering the phone. She doesn't, but she calls both Lucas and Keith as soon as she hangs up with Karen, and when they don't answer she tries Haley. Haley answers the phone, but shes sniffling before she even greets Brooke, so Brooke starts the conversation.

"Are you okay? Where are you? What happened? Do I have to kill Nathan?" She rattled off, starting a list of torture methods to take out on Nathan if he hurt Haley and- hey, maybe she should call Dean and ask for help on that, he seems to know a lot about that sort of thing, and he would totally be down to help if he found out Nathan hurt Haley in any way and-

"Lucas and Keith were in a car accident. We just got to the hospital. Brooke, it's… he's…" Haley managed to get out, before she was blubbering and Nathan took the phone. Brooke had a small and quick conversation with Nathan, grabbing her car keys and telling him to call Karen and tell her she'd be at the airport to pick her up in a few minutes, and then she hung up.

The next part of the night is an hour of screaming and crying in the lobby, Karen and Keith arguing, and then the group of them move into the family waiting room and sit in silence for three more hours. The silence probably would have continued if it weren't for the buzz of her phone from an unknown number.

I'm in the hallway. Come get coffee with me? Xx

She couldn't help the little pull at the corner of her lips before she excused herself and walked out into the hallway, grinning as her eyes filled with tears at the sight of Dean in front of her. She took off in a speed walk down the hallway before she practically leaped into his arms, holding him close and tight and letting out a little sob into his neck. Dean sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her tight.

"We've gotta stop meeting in hospitals, Broo." He said with a little sad smile, before he kissed her lips gently.

"Last time, this was your fault. I am in no way responsible for making you come to the hospital this time." She said, before she looked up at him, a little confused. "How did you know I was in the hospital tonight? I meant to text you earlier but I just… Keith's in a terrible place and I've kind of just been sitting with him to try to take care of him and I lost track of time."

"Haley texted me, or well, Nathan texted me. But Sam happened to have my phone, and I had this one on me, so he forwarded the message and here I am." He said with a shrug, rubbing her back. Brooke sighed and kissed his lips gently.

"You're the greatest boyfriend on the face of the planet. And remind me to give Nathan a huge hug when I go back in there, for getting you here." She said, looking up at him and biting her lip a little. "You didn't have to come, though, you know. I'm fine. I'm not the one hurt."

"I know." Dean answered, giving her another little smile, brushing her hair out of her face with the hand that wasn't rubbing her back. "But I know how close you and Lucas are. He's like your best friend. And I knew you'd be spending the whole night cooped up in that bleachy smelling waiting room reading shitty magazines and waiting for word on him, so I figured I could at least come keep you company while you did those things. Considering you came to me when I needed you."

Brooke grinned up at him and kissed his lips again softly. "Greatest. Boyfriend. Ever." She said before she took his hand and squeezed his wrist. "And I believe you mentioned something about coffee?"

"Yeah, I think I did. My treat."

After being in surgery all night, Lucas ends up being okay. That's what the doctors say, at least- in a coma, but okay. Dean stayed with her all night, coming back from their coffee run with enough for everyone, though Karen and Keith don't drink their cups. He sat up with her and rubbed her shoulders and cuddled up in the chair with her even though under normal conditions he wouldn't in public; but then again, he's never been this serious with anyone like he is with Brooke.

Brooke ends up falling asleep curled up on him in the uncomfortable hospital chairs after they get the news that Lucas pulled through the surgery and is being moved into a room on the ICU floor for overnight observation. First thing in the morning he'll be moved to a recovery floor. She seems relieved by the news, and there's a complete switch in the atmosphere of the room as they all relax and gather their things to either follow the nurse to somewhere they can stay in a few moments, or head home for the night. Brooke, however, curls up on Dean and goes to sleep almost immediately. This leaves Brooke, Dean, and Keith alone in the room together. Dean tries to go to sleep for a while, but the chair is so damn uncomfortable that he gives up on that, before he glances over at Keith.

He looks torn apart; literally and figuratively. There's cuts and scrapes all over his face and hands, he's got a few bandages over them but most of them are open- he must have been in the car accident with Lucas. And he hasn't moved much all night. He's been picking at his sleeves, the hem of his shirt, his nails, cracking his knuckles, but he hasn't shifted in his seat once. He hasn't gotten up to walk around since Dean got here. And Dean knows exactly what he feels like.

"Hey, Keith?" Dean said, quietly. He didn't want to wake Brooke, she needed to sleep. But he didn't need to speak loudly to be heard in the room; they were the only three left inside, with a muted television and a closed door. You could have heard a pin drop. Keith's head lifted a little to meet Dean's eyes before he quickly looked back down at his hands. "I… I don't know what happened, alright? I don't. But I know that look, and you're blaming yourself for the accident. You can't do that, alright? Unless you drove sideways and made that car hit Lucas, it wasn't your fault."

There was a long silence after that. Dean thought that maybe he'd overstepped, but Keith still hadn't moved. He swallowed hard, but showed no other acknowledgement of Dean's words for a few minutes. Until he raised his head to look up at him and sighed.

"I… It was one beer, I've… I can drive after one beer. It was with dinner, I didn't even finish it, I wasn't… I wasn't drunk driving. I wasn't." Keith said, quietly, letting out heavy huffs of air out, and Dean felt like he was trying to convince himself more than Dean. "I don't… I don't know who was in the wrong. I don't know if I ran the red light or if the other guy did. I don't know, I don't… I thought the light was green, I wouldn't have gone otherwise, but I don't… I don't remember, I don't…" He was starting to ramble, and he leaned over, tugging at his hair.

"Woah, hey, calm down." Dean said, almost lurching forward, forgetting about Brooke for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her waist. She nuzzled into him a little and sighed and he looked at her for a second before he looked over at Keith. "Listen. Keith, you love Lucas like he's your kid. I saw that just from the little bit I've been here. You would never, ever put him in harm's way intentionally. If the light was red, even if you weren't completely paying attention, your subconscious would have kicked in and you would have stopped. I know from experience, I've stopped shit like that from happening to me and my brother all the time." He said, quietly. "It's not your fault. Karen's upset. Nobody knows what happened. Police will get the traffic report and truth will out. And Karen will be sorry for what she said to you. But you have to understand that she's a mother and her son almost died." He said, quietly.

Again, Keith was quite for a minute before he looked up at him and gave him a little smile. "You're too smart for your age, kid."

"Well, I am a little older than the kids you're used to being around. But only a couple of years." He said, flashing a smile at Keith before he shrugged. "And I… me and my brother go through a lot of shit. Pep talks like these are nothing. If I had to actually cheer you up, that'd be a trainwreck. But making you realize that this wasn't your fault? Kind of my specialty." He said.

Keith looked at him for a moment before he shook his head and stood, walking over to pat Dean's shoulder softly before heading towards the door. "You should take Brooke home. She's exhausted, she needs a bed. And she needs you to stay with her. Don't put her in bed and skip out of town, alright? Stay with her until morning. She'll appreciate it. I'll appreciate knowing you're watching after her." Keith said, which made Dean nod.

"Yessir." He said, and Keith looked over his shoulder, smiled, and closed the door behind him on his way out. Dean looked down at Brooke and shook her shoulder gently, before he sighed and lifted her, carrying her down the hallway carefully. She nuzzled close to him again, wrapping her arms around his neck and mumbling to him softly.

"You're the greatest boyfriend ever, Dean. Really." She whispered, before she cracked an eye open to look up at him with a little smile. "Will you come back with me tomorrow to see Lucas and Karen for a little bit?" She asked, burying her face back into his neck.

He nodded, but what he didn't say was 'I'd do anything as long as you asked me to do it'. He didn't have to, though, for two reasons. One, he was pretty sure she was already asleep again. Two, she already knew that was the case.