Chapter 658: 07:00

Sunday, March 12th, Morning

(Raven Hill)

The alarm on the smartphone shook him awake. Reaching over and shutting it off, he looked at his wife. She looked back at him with half-open sleepy eyes. He smiled back at her.

"Going to get the grandkids?" Haley James-Scott asked.

Nathan Scott nodded, "Yeah, it's about that time," he said.

Haley started to move to get out of bed. "Let me make you a sandwich and coffee," she said, sitting upright.

"No need, I'll get something on the road," Nathan said.

"You should be properly fed," Haley said.

"Rachel is probably climbing up the walls by now," Nathan replied.

"I can't see why; they are lovely children," Haley said.

"Too many memories," Nathan said, kissing Haley, "Get some more sleep. Knowing Rachel, the kids will be hyper, and we have a big day tomorrow."

Haley nodded, "Yeah, don't remind me," she said.

"I'm not looking forward to it either," Nathan said.

"How could we fail so badly? We tried everything?" Haley asked.

"Some clocks are broken," Nathan said.

"Did Lucas tell you that?" Haley asked as Nathan started to change his clothes.

"No, Ellie," Nathan said.

"The prodigal niece," Haley said.

Nathan shrugged, "She's a smart young woman, just, well, scared," he said.

"Neither twin chooses to live here," Haley said.

Nathan finished getting dressed; he walked over to Haley and kissed her. "They have their reason, and we aren't them, so we should accept them," he said.

"So, wise, how did this happen?" Haley asked.

"I had a good tutor," Nathan said.

Haley playfully smacked his arm. "Smartass," she said.

"Love you, too," Nathan said.

"I know," Haley said, and they kissed again. She sat in bed and watched Nathan leave to pick up three of their grandchildren.

(Adams Residence)

The buzzing of his smartphone woke him up. He quickly silenced it and slipped out of bed. Noah Adams changed his clothes, grabbed his stuff, ensured he had cash, and snuck out of his bedroom.

Noah carefully snuck down the stairs. Hopefully, everything is right in the world. He wanted to get out clean and not deal with the drama. Noah chose to skip breakfast; he'll just stop at the nearby Scotchman Store and get something.

At the foot of the stairs, Noah slipped on his coat and grabbed his skateboard. He reached out with his hand, barely touching the doorknob when he heard him.

"Chasi, is that you?" an older man's voice called out, "Bella?"

Noah paused and took a deep breath. He steeled himself for what was coming. He could hear uneven footsteps on the hardwood floors. Noah took one more deep breath, swore an oath, and whispered a prayer. Around the corner, his dad, Chase Adams, appeared, dragging a leg and leaning on the wall.

"Who are you?" Chase yelled, questioning, "What are you doing in my house?"

"It's me, dad, your son, Noah," Noah said.

Chase's eyes flared in anger. "Liar! I have no son; my wife couldn't give me a son. I only have two daughters," Chase bellowed.

"Dad, it's me, Noah; remember," Noah said carefully.

Chase changed suddenly and started laughing. "Chasi, are you pulling my leg? What happened to your hair?" Chase asked.

"Dad," Noah said, pained.

"Good, Chasi, I see you're going to practice; when you grow up, you're going to be a pro skater like your old man," Chase said.

"Chase," a woman's voice said; Kristen Adams came around the corner. "Here you are; what are you doing here?"

"Talking with Chasi," Chase said.

Kristen turned to Noah and mouthed the word "go." She turned to Chase. "I see; let's get you fed," she said.

"You're such a good nurse," Chase said.

"I try my best," Kristen said, guiding him back to his room. Noah opened the front door, stepped out, and choked back tears.

(Tree Hill Hall)

The morning came early over Murphy Inlet as the sun's reddish-orange rays lit the water. J.L. "Huck" Burke got out of bed, kissed his wife and four of his five children, then went out for a jog. Huck jogged around the grounds of Tree Hill Hall, then down the hill to the grounds of Murphy House.

As he jogged along the banks of Murphy Inlet, the banks he played, swam and fished on as long as he could remember. Huck jogged by Murphy House proper; he looked up to see his sister Kelly holding up her coffee mug when she saw Huck, which he waved back.

Huck started up the hill to Tree Hill Hall. About halfway up the hill, his smartphone rang. He stopped his forward movement but kept his legs moving. Pulling out his phone, he looked at the screen, LVFD HQ.

"Lieutenant Burke," Huck said, answering his phone.

"Jim, you're being ordered in," the chief on the other side said.

"Which half and what company?" Huck asked.

"The Rescue and day half," the chief said.

"Okay, I'll be in, maybe a little late, if the officer could hold," Huck said.

"Okay, Jim," the chief said and ended the call. Huck started running again and headed directly towards Tree Hill Hall proper. Huck entered the kitchen and saw his wife, Chastity "Chase" Burke, at the breakfast bar.

"Hey, Lover," Chase said. Huck smiled, walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I got ordered in," Huck said.

"Where and when?" Chase asked.

"The Rescue and day half," Huck said.

"So, what are you going to do?" Chase asked.

Huck shrugged, "Shower and go in," he said.

Chase kissed him. "Be careful, you big lug," Chase said.

Huck smiled; they separated, and he headed to their bedroom; Chase returned to making breakfast.

(Dr. Perry's Residence)

Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself with a towel. Looking in the mirror, she ran her hands over her wet blonde hair, smoothing it out. Reaching the counter, she picked up a towel and dried her hair. Dr. Ashton Perry, MD, looked at herself in the mirror as she dried her hair.

That was when her smartphone rang; Ashton looked down at it, sitting on the counter. The screen read Tree Hill Hospital. Ashlyn sighed and answered the phone.

"Doctor Perry," Ashton said.

"Ash, it's Meggy," the voice said on the other end.

"Hey, did they call you in?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, it's about the player you treated at the game," Meggy said.

"Which one?" Ashton asked.

"The broken hand," Meggy said.

"How is she doing? Did you treat her?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, and you were right; it was a boxer fracture," Meggy said.

"I thought so," Ashton said.

"I'm with Doctor Kelso, and we have some questions," Meggy said.

"Yeah, ask away," Ashton said.

"They are of a serious face-to-face nature," Meggy said.

Ashton sighed, "I just got out of the shower, let me finish dressing, and I'll be right in," she said.

"Oh? Just get up?" Meggy asked.

"Out of the shower; I'll see you when I get in," Ashton said.

"I'm in the ED," Meggy said.

"Alright," Ashton said and ended the call. She sighed, looked in the mirror, then out the bathroom door to her bed. Shaking her head, she returned to drying her hair; duty called.

(First Baptist Church of Tree Hill)

There was a parking spot free just a short distance from the building. Fallon parked her G-Wagen, shut the engine off, sighed, and exited. Smoothing down her coat, she looked around and walked to the church. Fallon wore modest clothes for the services, as she wanted to fit in, but she dressed nicely.

As she walked to the building, a few people waved to her. Fallon recognized a few, and others she figured were just being nice. There were a few women that gave her the stink eye. Fallon is used to it; it's jealousy, some because she's young, others because they knew she's rich. The darker ones are because she's child-free, not by her choice, and others because they knew she had a relationship in the past with the minister. That was the past, and we'll forget them, and she would've used a stronger word, but not here.

Fallon walked into the building and found people settled in the vestibule. Looking around, Fallon saw one woman she knew, the reverend's wife. The woman looked up, saw Fallon, smiled, then excused herself from her conversation. The woman walked over carrying a baby boy, followed by two tween or nearly tween girls.

"Fallon, I didn't expect to see you," Kiley Howard said.

Fallon shrugged, "You know I always come to services when I'm in town," she said.

"That's the point; I didn't know you were in town," Kiley said.

Fallon shrugged, "I came in to see Keni cheer at the state championship game," she said.

"I thought so," Kiley said with a laugh, "Well, Cale will be glad to see you."

"Me too," Fallon said.

Kiley smiled, and the boy of the family looked at Fallon and reached out. "Hi, Tristan," Fallon said. Kiley beamed at Tristen, then looked at her girls and nodded. The ten and seven-year-old came over to Fallon.

"Auntie Fallon," Amber, the older girl, said and hugged Fallon's leg.

"Auntie Fallon," Dakota, the younger girl, said and hugged Fallon's leg.

"Amber, Dakota," Fallon said and hugged the two girls, "You're getting tall, Amber, getting your daddy's height."

"Yeah," Amber said.

"Okay, let's let Auntie Fallon go; we'll see here after the services," Kiley said.

The girls let go of Fallon. Fallon smiled and looked at Kiley as she herded the two girls toward the front. Fallon nodded and went to find a seat in the back.