Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

A/N: Hey guys. Hope this update was quick enough for you. Thanks again to all readers and especially reviewers. Love you all and hope you enjoy.

…..

Peyton looked over curiously as her door slowly crept open. "Hello?" she called out when nobody appeared. Maybe it was Nathan, she hoped, but was disappointed when Haley poked her head in.

"Hey," Haley spoke quietly. "I wasn't sure if you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you if you were."

"Wide awake," Peyton replied, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Haley said in the same quiet tone. "I also didn't know if you'd want to see me."

Peyton took in the girl's nervous demeanor and smiled sympathetically. "Come on in," she said, sitting up more.

Haley nodded and entered anxiously, the tension in the small hospital room growing instantly. "How you feeling?" the brunette asked.

Peyton shrugged. "Seen better days," she responded.

"Yeah. So, they umm, arrested Damien a little while ago."

"Yeah, I heard that," Peyton said. "That's good. Hope the charges stick."

"Me too," Haley agreed. "Who knew he was that crazy, huh?" she added.

"Yeah, who knew?" Peyton said dryly. A few times she and Haley had discussed how Damien had pursued them both and how the look he got in his eyes sometimes creeped them out. But neither girl had expected this. "I hear Luke had a heart attack?" she questioned.

Haley nodded. "Word spreads fast," she said.

"It's Tree Hill," Peyton answered as though that explained it. "Is he ok?"

"Relatively," Haley said. "They went in and repaired the damage to his heart, but they're running a bunch of tests to find out why it happened in the first place."

"God, I hope so," Peyton returned. "I mean, wow, he's our age," she added with awe. "I hope they find the problem. I'm kinda worried about him," she said earnestly.

"Me too. He's just resting now."

"Good. He needs to keep up his strength."

"That he does," Haley agreed. "I hear you're getting surgery too?"

"Yep, tomorrow. Damn bullet found its way in but needs help finding the exit," Peyton said sarcastically. "Must be male."

Haley chuckled at the jest, surprised Peyton could joke about it so soon. Or at all. But as soon as the laugh escaped her lips, she choked on it. Tears sprang to her eyes—tears she couldn't hold back, no matter how hard she tried. "Peyton, I'm so sorry," she cried, shame overwhelming her once again.

Peyton nodded, knowing she referred to her accusations against Nathan. "I know," she replied. "Me too."

Haley shook her head at Peyton's reply. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she told the blonde. "You knew he was innocent and you stuck by him."

"No, not for that," Peyton countered. She'd never be sorry for that. "For the way I treated you, and for not even…considering the possibility that something else was going on. We were friends. I should have paid more attention and known that you wouldn't…"

"How would you have known?" Haley rebuffed. "Peyton, there was no way you could have guessed. I'm the one who should have seen it. The clues were all around me but I was so dead set on believing it was Nathan…"

"What were you supposed to think?" Peyton answered. "I mean, from what you've seen of Nate, he's been nothing but an ass."

"I know, but still…"

"And technically, he is the one who…" She cut herself off mid-sentence just before the words 'raped you' came out. She couldn't say Nathan raped her, but neither could she say Haley hadn't been raped. It really was one jumbled mess.

Haley understood the blonde's struggle for the right words and saved her the trouble with a joke she could only hope Peyton would find amusing. "Well, I suppose if it had to be one of them, I'd go with Nathan."

Peyton smiled sincerely at the girl. "I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Haley."

Haley smiled back. "Thanks."

"Brooke tells me you stopped the same thing from happening to me," Peyton said. "I don't even know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem like enough."

Haley hushed her instantly. "If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened in the first place."

"You don't know that," Peyton refuted. "Finding out that Damien is the one who held Mouth at knife point, months ago, just to get hold of that video to use against Nathan," she marveled. "Well, just shows how far back this really goes. How long has Damien had this hidden agenda?" she asked aloud. "It was just a matter of time before he snapped, and I don't think anyone could have seen that coming."

"Even still," Haley said, Peyton's gratitude toward her not sitting well with her. "You don't have to thank me. Anyone would have done the same."

"After I'd been a royal bitch to them for the last few months?" Peyton scoffed. "I think not," she disagreed. After a few moments, she glanced at the other girl and asked, "Were you scared?"

Nodding, Haley admitted she had been. "You?"

"Yeah," Peyton also acknowledged. "But then I saw Nathan and, even though I was pretty out of it by then, I knew everything was gonna be ok. At least, until I woke up here and Nate was nowhere in sight. After that I got worried again, but everyone keeps assuring me he's fine so I guess I just have to trust that for now."

"You haven't seen him?" Haley questioned curiously. The last time she'd seen him, three days ago, he'd been right by his girlfriend's bedside, begging for someone to help her. Peyton had even woken up momentarily and spoken to him. Of course, that was right before she'd started seizing so she may not remember that. Clearly she didn't.

Peyton shook her head. "He's having a hard time with all of this," she re-uttered what Brooke had told her. "I think he just needs some space to sort everything out and clear his head. But once he does, he'll come around," she said confidently. "Doesn't help that he's thinking the worst," she added.

"What's the worst?" Haley asked. What could be worse than what she'd gone through?

"He thinks Damien raped me," she revealed, sending Haley's thoughts back to that room, to Damien's taunting words.

Flashback

"How much did you give her?" Nathan asked when Peyton's only reaction to Damien's touch was to sigh sleepily. In the few times that he and she had taken liquid X together, she'd never reacted like this.

"Not enough to cause any damage," Damien replied.

"You sure about that?" Nathan challenged. "I think you gave her too much. She never falls asleep with it."

"Oh, I'm sure she does eventually," Damien returned patronizingly. "But you should have seen her an hour ago. A real firecracker. Of course, you missed it because you were late, but no worries, I'm more than happy to provide you with an encore presentation."

End of Flashback

"Didn't he?" Haley asked reluctantly. "I mean, Damien said…"

"He was lying," Peyton shot out harshly. "And the stupid DNA test they insisted on taking is gonna prove it."

Haley opened her mouth to comment on that, but then the door swung open and a chirpy Brooke popped in.

"Good morning," she said, hoping she sounded more cheerful than she felt after trying unsuccessfully all last night and this morning to reach Nathan.

"Did you talk to Nathan?" Peyton asked before even saying hello.

Brooke shook her head regretfully. There went postponing the subject for a while. Of course Peyton wanted to know immediately. "His mom said he wasn't talking to anyone right now."

"Anyone, or just her?" Peyton scoffed. "Because you know he's still pissed at her…"

"No, P.," Brooke cut off. "He wouldn't come to the phone."

"Oh," Peyton responded despondently. "Well, did you try going right there?" she asked. "Cuz sometimes face to face works better with him."

"Not yet," Brooke said.

"But you're going to? When?"

"I don't know, Peyton."

"Brooke, he needs to know I wasn't raped."

"Yeah, about that," Brooke began. "I thought maybe we should wait until we know for sure before we go telling him something that might not be true."

"Brooke, I'm sure," Peyton said with a quirked brow. "He's probably driving himself mad thinking about this."

"Just the same, I think we should wait for the DNA results, just in case your memory's not as clear as you think it is."

Peyton stared at her best friend a moment before putting a bright smile on her face. "Oh, I didn't tell you? I already got them," she said, silently praying the brunette didn't see right through her.

"You have?" Brooke questioned doubtfully.

Peyton bobbed her head. "Yeah, this morning," she told her. "Looks like we got a beef with the Trojan company."

Brooke didn't respond for a long time, just stared at her friend suspiciously.

"Well, don't look so glum," Peyton remarked gleefully. "This is good news."

"Yeah," Brooke agreed. If it was true.

"So you'll tell Nathan then?"

"I thought they said the results would take a couple of days."

Peyton shrugged her shoulders. "Guess they weren't busy," she said glancing over at Haley, who just gave her a look and turned away. She was grateful for that. "So?" she returned to Brooke.

It took a moment, but finally Brooke nodded. "Yeah, ok," she conceded. "I'll drop by Nate's tonight, after I leave here."

"Brooke," Peyton began to protest.

"Take it or leave it, Blondie," Brooke said. "I'm not leaving here till I have to. Not with surgery coming up tomorrow."

"It's minor surgery," Peyton said.

"No such thing," Brooke denied. "Those two words shouldn't even be in the same sentence."

Peyton tried hard to convince her to go right away, but Brooke refused until Peyton finally gave up, having no choice but to be satisfied until after visiting hours were over. "Fine," she said. "You two know each other, right?" she said, finally conceding that Brooke wouldn't change her mind.

"Somewhat," Brooke replied before greeting the other brunette in the room.

"Hey," Haley responded with an awkward smile. None of her run-ins with this popular girl had ever gone well.

"Hi. Hey listen," Brooke began. "I'm really sorry about…everything."

As she had done with Peyton, Haley brushed off the apology. "Don't be," she said. "It was a really messed up situation," she added simply.

"Yeah, I'll say," Brooke agreed. "I hope they fry his ass."

It was a comment all three girls could agree on.

"Well," Brooke added with a dubious smile. "Even more than Nathan and Lucas already did."

Haley chuckled at the comment. "First time I ever see them work together," she joked back.

Brooke had to agree. Even in basketball, though playing on the same team, they'd worked against each other. Well, mostly Nathan worked against Lucas, but that wasn't the point. "Maybe it's the first step to brotherhood," she said next.

Both Haley and Peyton smiled at the prospect.

"Yeah, maybe," Haley said with a wistful smile. It was what Luke had wanted all along. Maybe now Nathan would finally be receptive to the idea.

"You know what the real lesson for Damien is here, right?" Brooke said.

"Mess with a Scott, you get hurt?" Peyton guessed.

"Nope," Brooke denied. "Mess with people they care about, you get burned."

Another comment none of the girls could refute.

…

The next day rolled around and two nurses came in to bring Peyton to the surgical floor. The surgeon had already been in last night to explain the procedure to her in detail, telling her that she would need to walk on crutches for the first little while, but that her leg should heal within four to six weeks following the operation.

"Ok, we're all set," one of the nurses said. "You ready for this?" she asked as they wheeled the bed from its corner.

"As ready as I'm gonna be, I guess," Peyton replied.

"Don't you fret now," the other nurse said. "Dr. Benton is one of our finest surgeons so you'll be up and walking in no time."

"Thanks," Peyton replied with a weak smile. "I hope so. Hey, do you know if those DNA tests have come back yet?" she asked.

The nurse gave her a sympathetic look. "Not yet, dear. It takes a few days."

"It's been that," Peyton argued lightly.

"Well, sometimes the lab gets backed up," she was told. "Another day or two and they should be here."

Peyton nodded appreciatively before being wheeled out into the corridor, where they were met with her parents and friends. They all gathered around her to wish her well on the surgery. She had to smile at their concern.

But still, there was only one person she wanted to see. And he still wasn't there. "Did you tell him?" she asked Brooke.

Brooke shook her head. "His mom said he was sleeping," she told the blonde. She'd gone over to Nathan's as Peyton had asked her to, but Deb Scott wouldn't even let her inside, claiming her son was asleep and needed his rest. What kind of excuse was that? Even when Brooke had told her it was important, she hadn't conceded. "I'll keep trying," she said upon her best friend's forlorn expression.

…..

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when she woke in the recovery room a little while later.

Like a few days prior, her parents were hovered over her, smiles on their faces. Obviously the surgery had gone well.

She looked past them to where Brooke stood in the corner. The two friends' eyes locked and Brooke shook her head apologetically at Peyton's silent question.

He hadn't come.

Her parents' cheerful chatter about how she was going to be running marathons in no time rang in her ears, but she couldn't bring herself to even smile at their enthusiasm.

Only one thing mattered to her right now and he still wasn't there.

Four days she'd been in the hospital and not once had he come to see her. She'd thought surely he'd come on time for her surgery. Everyone else had. Wasn't he worried about her at all? Didn't he know she needed him?

She pulled the covers up to her neck and turned away from the three in the room.

She didn't try to stop them from leaving, simply closed her eyes, effectively shutting them all out. What did any of it matter without Nathan?

…..

"Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer?" Dr. Green approached them when they exited Peyton's room. "A word?"

Larry and Ellie both nodded, not bothering to correct the misstatement of Ellie's last name, but going off to the side where the doctor led them.

"The surgery went well as you know," Green started with.

Again they both nodded with relief. "Thank you, Doctor," Larry said. "That's good news,"

"It is," Green agreed. "But there's something else," he said. "And it's not good news, I'm afraid."

"What is it?" Ellie questioned anxiously.

"The DNA results are in," the doctor revealed. "I'm sorry to say that the semen matches the swab taken from Damien West."

….

"Sweetie," Deb said as she tapped lightly on her son's bedroom door. "Phone."

"I'm not here," he answered evenly, not surprising Deb in the least. It was the same thing he'd had her say to all callers and visitors for the last four days.

"It's your father," she told him, also not surprised to hear the creak of the mattress as he stood and rushed to the door. His father was the only one he'd speak to these days and she knew why. Because he was providing the information he desperately needed to hear, but couldn't bring himself to go to the hospital to learn.

He took the phone from her hand and brought it to his ear. "Hey, the surgery go ok?" he asked immediately, visibly sighing in relief at the reply he received. "And Lucas is ok too?" he asked next. A few moments of silence as Nathan listened went by before he spoke again. "Kay," he said. "Thanks, Dad," he added before hanging up and giving Deb back the phone.

"Sweetie, don't you want to come downstairs for a while?" she asked as Nathan headed back to his room. "You can't hide out in your room forever. It's not you," she said of her usually outgoing son.

"I'm not hiding," he denied though his steps didn't falter.

"At least come down to the sitting room where Coop and Jess are," she suggested. "You know they're only here for one more day. They can't leave their girls with her mother indefinitely."

He knew that. Cooper, in an attempt to draw him out of his room, had already told him yesterday that they had to leave in a few days. He hated leaving at a time like this and wished he could stay longer, he'd said, and have that dinner they were supposed to have. But he couldn't, he'd explained, and he hoped Nathan understood. Nathan had simply nodded and told him it was fine. "I'll catch 'em tomorrow before they go," he said.

"Honey, don't you want to visit with them for a little while?" This was Cooper—the uncle Nathan looked up to so much and usually wanted to spend time with.

"I'm tired," Nathan said.

"Ok," she conceded, though she knew it was just an excuse. He was shutting everyone out and that worried her. If it was just her, she'd understand. That had become his habit with her. But not with everyone else, particularly Cooper and Jess, even Brooke, one of his best friends. But what could she do about it? She couldn't force him to talk to people. "Then just let me change your bandage and then you can rest."

"I got it," he mumbled in reply.

"Honey, the wound needs to be cleaned out daily, and the bandage changed…"

"I know," he said impatiently. "I've been doing that."

"It must be hard to do it on your own," she said. "Why don't you let me help you?"

"I said I got it, Mom," he snapped before shutting his bedroom door and relocking it.

….

She was staring ahead blankly when Larry and Ellie went back in her room a few hours later.

"Sweetheart," Larry said as he and Ellie went and sat by her bedside. "Ellie and I have something we need to talk to you about."

She didn't respond, simply continued to stare out in front of her.

"It's about the DNA test," Ellie stated. "The results are in," she added, surprised that that didn't get a reaction from the younger blonde.

She and Larry exchanged glances when her facial expression didn't change. It almost seemed like she didn't even hear them.

"Honey," Larry began again, taking her hand in his, caught off guard when Peyton turned to look at him, her eyes lifeless and vacant. He took a deep breath. His baby girl had been through so much in the last few days.

The truth. That's what he and Ellie had decided to tell their daughter. Well, more like he'd decided that, concluding that it was best to be honest with her. Ellie wanted to lie to her, but he insisted they do it his way, and because he was the one with the legal rights, she had backed off, acknowledging that she really had no say in the matter.

He glanced over at Ellie and then back to Peyton. He'd been so adamant earlier, his decision made, but now, as he looked at his daughter, already hurting so badly, he couldn't do it. Right or wrong, he put a smile on his face and looked his precious girl in the eye and said, "You were right. The semen matched Nathan's DNA, not Damien's. You weren't raped."

He glanced at Ellie again, who smiled in understanding and appreciation. Peyton didn't need that on top of everything else. And then they both turned back to Peyton.

They expected she'd be ecstatic that what she claimed to have known all along was now confirmed by the tests, but were taken by surprise when she didn't react at all. No change in her expression whatsoever, not even the tiniest of smiles.

"Peyton, did you hear what your father said?" Ellie prodded.

"I heard," she said dully. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm really tired," she said, laying down fully and closing her eyes, leaving her parents with no choice but to either sit there silently or leave the room.

…

Meanwhile, Keith chuckled as Luke nearly devoured the burger he'd snuck in for him. "Now remember, your mother thought it was for me so not a word," Keith warned with amusement. "She'd have my head if she knew I was sneaking in food to you."

"My lips are sealed," Luke replied between bites. He'd always known his mom was a great cook, but this was possibly the best burger he'd ever tasted in his life, and compared to what they'd been serving up at the hospital, it was practically a feast. Well, a small feast, he thought as he popped the last bite in his mouth. "Any more?" he asked hopefully.

Keith shook his head. "Sorry, kid. Didn't want to push it. You're still recuperating, you know."

"Which is why I need my strength," Lucas argued lightly. "Don't know how that can happen with the slop they're feeding me."

"Healthier than a greasy burger, I'm sure," Keith replied with a laugh.

"Sure, if you actually risk eating it."

Keith chuckled again before looking at his nephew and turning serious. "So, HCM huh?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. Mom's pretty freaked out."

"What about you?"

"A little," he admitted. "Won't be able to play basketball like before. Apparently I inherited it from the Scott side so you and Nathan will have to be tested too."

"How do you know it's from the Scott side?"

"Dan told me yesterday," Luke revealed. "He's got it too; has known for a while, ever since his heart attack last year."

"And he didn't say anything?"

"According to him, he didn't realize it could be passed down. I don't know if I should believe that or not."

"Well, Danny's a lot of things," Keith said. "But I don't see him knowingly risking his family's lives. At least not Nathan's, his pride and joy. I think you can believe him on this one."

"Yeah."

"So he been coming around a lot?" Keith asked him.

Lucas nodded. "A few times. We don't really talk much. Guess he's waiting for me to thank him for signing the consent form, but hope he's not holding his breath."

With a deep sigh, Keith said, "Well, your mother and I are certainly grateful he was here to do it. Otherwise…well, I don't even want to think about that."

"Doesn't make up for seventeen years of neglect," Lucas stated flatly.

"I didn't say it did. He saying that?"

"Nah," Luke denied. "Not out loud anyway. But he's probably thinking it."

"Never know what goes on in that brother of mine's head."

"He said he wants a chance to get to know me," Luke stated.

Keith nodded in acknowledgment. "And what you think about that?"

"I don't know. I mean, I think I got a better deal with you as my stand-in dad," Luke said, bringing a warm smile to Keith's face. "But then I think about how my mom lied to me about when I was younger, how he did want to be part of my life but she wouldn't let him."

"Your mother did what she thought was best for you," Keith defended.

"I know that," Luke admitted. "But the fact is, he didn't completely abandon me like she said. He did come back and tried to fight for joint custody. If she would have let him, I could have grown up knowing my father, my brother. I could have maybe protected Nathan from him or…"

"Now hold on, Luke," Keith protested. "Protected him from what?"

Luke's mind went back to four days ago, outside the school, where he and Haley had stopped their friends from further beating on his half brother. Or more so, Nathan's words that had followed that.

Flashback (chapter 100)

"Keep talking if you want me to let these guys loose on you again," Luke threatened. "I won't stop them next time."

"Oh, what a threat," Nathan jeered. "Big brother's not gonna protect me next time. Like you ever fucking have. Was this all a set up too? So you could show up and pretend to be a hero? Fuck you, man. I don't need you to save me."

"Yeah, I could tell by how well you were fending them off on your own," Luke returned sarcastically.

"Fuck you," Nathan repeated. "I've had worse beatings than this. Where were you for those? When I couldn't even catch my breath cuz it hurt so bad? Where the hell were you then? Out conspiring against me, that's where. Pouting cuz you think you somehow got screwed, like you weren't the lucky one all along."

Taken aback, Lucas stared at his brother a long while before finally responding. "I tried to help you, Nathan. You wouldn't tell the authorities the truth about what our father was doing to you," he said, instinctively knowing he was referring to Dan. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Gee, I don't know. Give up, I guess," Nathan returned hotly. "Not that it matters anymore," he continued. "Since it's all good now. Yeah, me and my dad fixed everything without your help."

End of Flashback

"He finally admitted it," Luke said.

"Admitted what?"

"That Dan has beat him. He didn't mean to, just kinda blurted it out in anger, but…"

"What?" Keith asked, clearly stumped. "You're telling me that Dan has actually hit Nathan?"

"Yeah. Pretty bad sometimes too," Luke said, surprised by Keith's reaction. "You didn't know?"

"First I hear of it. I don't exactly spend much time over at Dan's," he said. "Nathan's practically a stranger."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't realized that his uncle had no idea. "Yeah, I guess. Just thought maybe Mom would have mentioned it."

"She knows?"

"Well, not really. She just knows what I told her," Luke replied. "At first I only suspected that it was happening and she made me tell the cops," he admitted. "Of course, Nathan just denied it so they didn't do anything."

"You should have told me, Luke," Keith said.

"Why? What could you have done different?"

"I would have…I don't know…something. Let me ask you this, do you really think that if I knew that was happening that I would just let it go?"

"No. I just didn't think…"

"How long has it been happening?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. Probably a while, but Nathan just kept on denying it so…"

"I'll kick his ass for this," Keith muttered.

"Nathan's?"

"Dan's. Son of a bitch, he knows better. After what we went through with our old man…damn it, he knows better."

"You, uh, might want to talk to Nathan before you go after Dan," Luke said, worried about what Keith might do. Not for Dan's sake, but for Keith's. At Keith's questioning look, he explained. "Nathan said something about he and Dan fixed everything. Not sure what he meant by that."

Keith nodded, rage coursing through him at the news he'd just learned. Damn, he should have spent more time with his nephew—his other nephew—and seen what was going on. He should have known that Nathan's own aggression probably had something to do with his home life.

"So you hear about me and Haley?" Lucas asked, changing the subject.

Keith put on a smile for Luke's sake and nodded. "I did," he said. "About time you two get your acts together."

Lucas smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "She's been there the whole time," he said. "I don't know how I missed it, Keith, but I love her. I really love her."

"I know you do," Keith responded. "I suppose sometimes it just takes a major catastrophe for people to open their eyes. You're lucky. Some never do."

Lucas agreed with him. Even with everything that had happened, he felt lucky. Then his smile faded as he proceeded to tell Keith of how Haley was blaming herself. "I just wish she didn't feel so responsible," he said softly. "None of this was her fault."

"She knows that, Luke," Keith said. "It's just going to take her some time to process it."

"Yeah. Hopefully not too long," Luke responded.

"Guilt," they heard from the door as Whitey stepped in. "One of the most powerful emotions us humans can feel," the old man continued. "It can eat you up inside, tear you apart. Oh, the things it can make people do," he mused.

….

He held the newly-sharpened razor blade in his hand as he unwrapped the bandage from the opposite arm.

His mom offered to help clean it. Every day she offered. Three or four times a day, actually. But he never accepted.

He didn't deserve it. Not her help and not to get better.

He deserved to hurt as he'd made everyone else hurt.

A bottle of whiskey lay beside him—his usual method of drowning out pain. He'd snuck it up to his room three days ago with that exact intention.

It remained unopened. Why should his pain be lessened in any way?

His face and body still ached from the brutal beating the Rivercourt gang had inflicted upon him four days ago.

He welcomed it. Pushed aside the pain meds the doctor had prescribed. He should feel every bit of that beating. He'd had it coming.

His arm stung from the burns he'd received in the boiler room. Blisters already formed—probably quickened by the prescribed salve he didn't bother to apply. Why should he? The sores served as reminders of the truly horrible person he was.

But it wasn't enough. He deserved to suffer more.

He lifted the blade to one of the blisters, piercing through it, groaning in satisfied agony as the pain shot through him and blood oozed down his arm.

The tears that fell from his eyes had nothing to do with the physical damage he was inflicting.

He moved on to the next blister, same thing all over again. And then the next and the next, repeating the process until none remained untouched and, finally, hiding his handiwork under a fresh, new bandage.

…

AN: I know, not what you guys wanted, but the story's been planned to work this way forever. I'm sorry. Hope you're not too mad at me.