Thank you all for reading and reviewing! And kudos to those who picked up on Nathan's new storyline )
"I guess Deb's letting us stay home for awhile?" Lucas asked the next morning, walking into Nathan's room.
"Yeah, she left a note saying to call her at the café if we needed anything. Dad will be in and out today too." Nathan said, turning on his TV.
Lucas sat next to him.
"How's your knee?"
"I can't wait to start rehab and get back in the game."
"I bet."
"How 'bout you?"
"I'm so tired. Like no matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. I felt that way after Keith and I got into that accident…but I was also dealing with a lot of stuff. With Brooke. And Peyton."
"You and Brooke are good together."
"Yeah we are. I panicked a little when she brought up the HCM thing. I should've told her, and everyone else."
"Well, it's Brooke, so it's probably all over school right about now." Nathan laughed.
Lucas chuckled.
"Nate." Lucas said awhile later.
"Luke."
"I am so bored."
"Me too."
"I better enjoy it though, I have to face my mom and Andy Friday."
"Wait, both of them?"
"Yeah, my mom called him."
"That's crazy."
"I know. It's going to be so bad with her, and weird with him because of the whole Dad investigation thing."
"Damn."
"Exactly."
A week later, Dan pulled up in front of Karen's house to drop Lucas off.
"I'll come over tomorrow to go to rehab with Nathan." Lucas said.
"Okay. I think it starts at 2:00."
"Alright…I'll be up around 1ish I guess. See you then."
Lucas got out of the car and started heading up the walkway.
"Lucas, your bag."
"Oh. Whoops." He said, jogging back and grabbing his backpack out of the car. He was so distracted, afraid of what was waiting inside.
"Hi Mom." Lucas said quietly.
"Hello Lucas. I forgot to tell you, Andy will be here tomorrow and he'll be staying with us."
"Okay." Lucas said, pretending Brooke hadn't told him.
"Unpack your stuff and then we can talk."
He headed to his room and put his bag on the floor. He took out his school stuff and put it on his desk, and took out a novel and carefully placed it on his bookshelf.
"I happened to notice all you brought was a backpack so I am assuming you don't need a lot of time." Karen called.
"Right…" Lucas sighed, as he entered the kitchen.
"Sit." Karen said firmly.
Lucas sat down, bracing himself for a lecture.
Karen slammed a book on the table in front of him.
"Living With HCM." He read out loud.
"I needed to catch up on my reading since I've been so out of the loop." Karen said darkly.
"Mom, I know you're really mad at me, and I understand."
Karen waited.
"Is that it?" She asked.
"All I really have to add is that I'm sorry. I should've told you, but I was afraid of your reaction so instead I went to Dad for help…because I knew I wouldn't have to deal with quitting basketball or the cost of medication."
"Lucas Scott, you knew how I would react and you deliberately used the easy way out."
"I know." Lucas sighed.
"Suddenly I have to wonder why my son has decided to live with the father who abandoned him, and when I find out one reason, he still stays there. I look like a fool, trying to figure out what could draw him to this man who alternates between ignoring him and torturing him."
"He's not like that anymore." Lucas insisted.
"I don't care how well he treats you now, I'm talking about last spring, when you should've told me that you have a potentially fatal heart condition."
"I wish I could say something else to make this better, but all I can say is that I'm sorry, and that I was scared Mom."
"All I need to know is why."
"I just told you Mom." Lucas said exasperatedly.
"Lucas you are not getting annoyed with me I hope." Karen said firmly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but I've apologized and explained myself to you, but you want more from me than I can give you."
"Fine. I just need to think about this."
"Dad is paying for my medication, that's all taken care of, and I quit basketball, so I'm pretty good for right now. Dad took me to the doctors after I collapsed, and he recommended I do some exercise-"
"I was talking about the fact that my son has a serious condition." Karen cut him off.
"Mom, I'm going to be okay."
"You don't know that." Karen said tearfully.
Lucas stood up and hugged his mom.
"I promise you I will be safe, I won't keep anything from you now."
"I know sweetie."
"I love you Mom."
"I love you too. However, you're grounded for this week, and the next week you're here."
"Say what?" Lucas said, pulling away.
"You lied to me Lucas, and that merits a punishment."
Lucas sighed.
"I understand. But can I please go with Nathan tomorrow to his rehab session?"
"I suppose. How's he doing?"
"His knee is going to need a lot of work, especially since it was just done healing a few months ago. He's pretty bummed about it."
"I bet."
"Thanks for letting me go."
"He could use someone to be there for him."
"Yeah."
"So, now that we've talked, Brooke and I are going to meet the real estate agent."
"Um…" Lucas was confused.
"She told me all about your new relationship. Congratulations by the way. You two can't live under the same roof, so her parents are paying for her apartment." Karen said quickly, and picked up her purse.
Lucas just nodded.
"Okay, we'll be back in time for dinner, don't go out, watch TV or get on the phone."
"Bye mom."
"Hi Nathan I'm Kelly, I'll be working with you today." The therapist said, greeting them the next day.
"Hey. This is my brother, Lucas." Nathan said sullenly.
Lucas shook Kelly's hand.
"Okay, well usually I would have you use both hands to support yourself as you walked along here, but you have a cast. How did you injure yourself again?"
"Car accident." Nathan said simply.
Lucas helped Nathan walk along the bars, gripping his arm as support. Nathan kept walking, but was very distant and unresponsive to Kelly's positive advice.
"God she was annoying." Nathan said as soon as they got into the house. Dan had to return to the dealership, which was ready to reopen, so he dropped them off.
"You didn't even try to like her."
"Nope."
"Nice. That was…an interesting session."
"I wasn't really into it."
"Really? I had no idea." Lucas said sarcastically.
"Look, I don't need some perky therapist cheering me on. I just need a little time to get myself together."
"Nathan it's okay to need help, that's her job."
"Well she sucks at it."
"You didn't even give her a chance."
"Lucas, I don't need a shrink. And I don't need some cheerleader pretending to be a therapist."
"Nathan come on, this is important. You need to be able to play in a month when your cast comes off."
"I will."
"I know it's painful and it sucks."
"Not really."
"I went through this last year, I didn't want to do anything at all at first."
"Well, I want to get back in the game, but Therapist Barbie will try to baby me."
"Look, Nathan…"
"I'm fine, Lucas."
"You can talk to me, you know."
"I'm fine. Just lay off."
"Fine." Lucas said, grabbing his sweatshirt.
"Where are you going?"
"Home." Lucas said, slamming the front door.
Nathan wanted to go after him, but he was already in a bad mood, and his knee was killing him.
He slowly made his way upstairs to the bathroom and studied his face in the mirror.
Rehab had been hard that day, he was still a little flushed and he was tired.
He glanced down at the sink, where the bottle of painkillers was. Gently, he picked them up and stared at them. Then he grabbed a few and took them with a swig of water.
He wiped his mouth and returned to his bedroom, turning off the light.
"Lucas, you're back." Karen greeted him.
"Yeah, hey."
"How was the session?"
"Um, okay."
"Not so good?"
"Not so good." Lucas agreed.
"Why?"
"Nathan is having a tough time admitting that he needs help. But he'll get over it; he is really working hard though.
"Good, good. Andy's here."
"Great." Lucas said, following Karen into the living room.
"Lucas, good to see you." Andy said, shaking Lucas' hand.
"You too. Congratulations by the way."
"Thanks. So I hear a lot has changed since we left."
"Yup."
"I'm going to check on dinner. We're eating early tonight." Karen said.
"Okay Mom."
"So, Lucas…your feelings on Dan have certainly changed." Andy said after a moment.
"Yeah they have. So I hope you'll put an end to that whole investigation, it's much better this way."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"If you say so." Andy said dismissively.
"I do." Lucas said firmly.
"How's your new living arrangement?"
"Great. I love it." Lucas said happily.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I get to see my mom all the time, but now I also get to see my Dad and Nathan a lot more. Plus, I really got to know Deb this time."
"Your mom said you and Nathan are practically glued together now."
Lucas laughed a little.
"I don't know about that, but we're pretty good…usually…"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Nathan's just having some trouble with rehab after the accident and it's getting him down." Lucas said quickly, not really wanting to talk to Andy about his personal problems with Nathan.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, fine."
"Are you okay? It sounded like a nasty crash."
"It was, my car is completely messed up. A car hit the driver side and it sent the car into a pole on my side."
Andy winced.
"Yeah." Lucas said.
"You two are extremely lucky."
"Trust me, I know. It could've been a lot worse, especially since my heart-"
"Lucas, why didn't you tell your Mom about that? I could've helped you."
"My dad didn't care last year what would happen to me, so he let me play basketball, and he could pay for my medication too, without my mom knowing."
"That was extremely stupid."
"I know. Two near blackouts and one actual one later, I know."
"Sounds serious."
"I'm taking it easy." Lucas said, wanting the subject to change.
"Dinner time!" Karen called out.
Lucas got up, eager to have a normal conversation. The doorbell rang, and Lucas went to answer the door.
"Hey sexy." Brooke greeted him.
"Hey." Lucas said happily, kissing her.
"Your mom invited me over for dinner."
"I guess she wanted to surprise me."
"Did I surprise you?"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be grounded. Now we have a lovely double date with my mom." Lucas laughed.
"Exciting Saturday night. How are you feeling?"
"A lot better."
"Good."
"Shall we?" Lucas said, sticking out his arm.
"We shall." Brooke said, linking her arm into his.
Brooke and Lucas went into the dining room to have a nice, quiet meal with Karen and Andy, where they glossed over all the current issues and talked about wedding plans.
"That was actually nice." Brooke said later that night. She and Lucas were on the porch steps, looking at the stars.
"Yeah, I'm excited for my mom's wedding." Lucas said, putting his arm around Brooke.
"She deserves it."
"Yeah."
"Do you and Andy still get along?"
"It's going to be weird, having him as a step-dad. I'm still getting used to having my real dad in my life…and not hating him."
"Lucas, I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks Brooke." Lucas said, kissing the top of her head.
"Anytime." Brooke said, snuggling into his arms.