Looking For Solid Ground

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Haley hated hospitals, especially the waiting rooms. They always had a way of making her feel so helpless. There was nothing to do but wait, and honestly, she had done more than her fair share of waiting in hospitals over the past two years. Luckily, all the times she had been on the waiting end, things had always ended well. As she paced the floor in the waiting room, she prayed that this one would too. She hoped there wouldn't be any more bad news. She couldn't handle any more bad news.



Haley felt a familiar hand slide into her own, and she allowed herself to be pulled back into a chair.



"You were making me nervous," Brooke replied, holding onto Haley's hand tighter.



"I'm sorry it's just--I don't like hospitals. I haven't been in one since the accident, and I was hoping not to return to one anytime soon.”



"I know hun, and I'm sorry, but I promise this won't end like that one did, ok?" Brooke assured her.



Haley was shaking with nerves next to her, causing Brooke's entire arm to shake with her.



"Hey," Brooke said, taking Haley's chin in her free hand, and forcing her to look her in the eye. "They're going to be fine."



Haley nodded, relaxing a bit. She stopped shaking, but kept a death grip on Brooke's hand. Not that Brooke minded. Truth was, she was scared to death herself. All they knew was that Lucas had found Derek with Peyton, and there was a knife involved. Brooke breathed deeply; they had to make it through this. If they didn't, Brooke didn't know what she would do. She couldn't lose Peyton, she'd been her best friend since they were little. And then there was Lucas. Lucas was her first, well, first everything, not to mention Haley's best friend. This could be the thing that would completely break her.



It was growing late, and they were still waiting. A lot of people were waiting, Haley noticed as she looked around the room: Karen, Dan, Bevin, Mouth, Skills, Fergie, and several others, many of whom were sleeping. Haley felt the small, comforting circles that Brooke had been tracing on her hand with her thumb cease; she turned to find Brooke looking straight ahead, a mixture of surprise and happiness on her face. Haley looked down the hall she was facing.



Lucas was walking towards them with a tired smile. Haley jumped up and ran into his arms for the second time that night. He pulled her as close as possible as her tears fell.



"Oh my God, Luke. I was so scared. I thought I had lost you." she sobbed.



"Hey now," he smiled, pulling away enough to wipe her tears. "Like you said earlier, I'll always be here, exactly where I've always been. You know I can't leave you."



Haley took a moment to look him over. He had several stitches above his right eye, and she could see some more on his arm through his torn shirt sleeve. A decent bruise on his eye that would definitely worsen through the night, and from the look on his face when he breathed, a few bruised ribs seemed to be the worst of his injuries.



"I'm fine," he insisted, noticing her giving him the once over.



"Luke," Karen sighed, as she and Brooke joined them. She pulled her son into a hug. "I'm getting tired of all these hospital visits, so you kids need to stop this, ok? I'm not sure how much more I could take."



The three teens laughed.



"Are you free to go? Do I need to sign anything?" his mom asked.



"Um yea, they said you just need to fill out some stuff at the front desk, and then I'm all set."



"Ok then, I'll be right back," she nodded, and Lucas bent down, allowing his mom to kiss him on the forehead.



"Thank goodness," Brooke smiled, as Lucas pulled her into a hug.



"Hey, Brooke," He smiled.



"Are you ok? There's no like permanent damage or anything?" she asked worriedly.



"I'm fine," he nodded.



"And Peyton?" she asked fearfully. Haley looked at him nervously, praying that the blonde would make it through this.



"She's gonna be ok," He nodded. Brooke let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding, and pulled Lucas into another hug.



As she pulled away, she slapped him on his upper arm.



"What was that for?" He asked, rubbing the sore spot.



"Damn you, and your 'saving people' thing. It's getting old you know that. I agree with Karen, I don't think I can take much more of this."



Lucas laughed, happy that things seemed to be getting back to normal between him and Brooke.



"And Luke," she continued.



He looked at her, noting the serious tone of her voice.



"Thank you," she said carefully. He nodded with a small smile.



"Haley, are you ok?" Brooke asked when she caught sight of her. The smaller girl had grown pale, and seemed to be swaying on the spot.



"Hales?" Lucas questioned. He quickly slid his arm around her, guiding her to a near by chair, as Brooke rushed to get her some water. She returned, handing her the glass carefully.



Haley's hand took it shakily, and she took a slow sip.



"Better?" Lucas asked.



"Yea," she nodded. "I'm sorry you guys," she added, noticing the worried look on their faces. "I guess there's just a little too much excitement, you know?" she gave a weak smile.



Brooke placed the back of her hand against Haley's flush cheek. It was warm to the touch.



"You should get some sleep," she said.



"I rode with you," Haley reminded her.



"We can give you a ride," Lucas offered. Haley nodded, taking another slow sip of water. Brooke took Lucas by the arm and guided him away from Haley.



"Lucas, keep an eye on her will you? She's been having a really rough time, and tonight she just completely broke down. I'm not sure how much more of this she can take."



"It was that bad?" Lucas asked concernedly.



"I've never seen anyone in that much pain," Brooke commented.



"I'll have her stay with me tonight. Nathan's probably passed out somewhere drunk, anyway."

"Sometimes I swear I could kill him."



"Tell me about it," Lucas sighed. "Brooke, could you stay here, and call me if something happens?"



"I was already planning on it.” She replied exhaustedly, “Now I’m gonna have two broken friends. Peyton was just getting over the whole Derek thing from the first go around, now this? She’s going to be so messed up.”



"I know. Do you think I should stay?"



Brooke looked over at Haley, and shook her head. "No, I think Haley needs you more now. There's nothing you can do for Peyton right now anyway, so go help your best friend out, because I miss the old Haley."



"Me too," Lucas replied, giving Brooke one last hug, "Me too."



Brooke watched with a sad smile as he walked back over to Haley, who had been joined by his mom, and the three of them walked out of the hospital. Lucas had a protective arm around Haley as she clung to him for support.





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By the time they had reached Karen and Lucas's house, Haley was out cold in the back seat.



"I got her," Lucas told his mom. "You go get some sleep."



"You're not supposed to be straining," his mom fussed.



Lucas rolled his eyes, "It's Haley, mom."



Karen nodded, looking down at the girl in the backseat of her car with motherly concern. Unfortunately, she knew that there wasn't anything she could do for the poor girl at the moment.



"Ok, I'll be in my room if you need anything."



Lucas nodded, giving his mom a good night kiss. He bent down, slipping his arms under his best friend's body, mindful of his stitches, and carefully lifted her out of the car. He slowly walked up the steps and to the side door that led to his room. He managed to open the door, and entering his room, he turned on the lights with his elbow and closed the door with his foot.



Lucas gently placed her down on his bed. He looked down at her fondly. She was still in her white prom dress, and her hair was pulled up complicatedly. He took off her heels, and pulled the covers over her. He bent down and kissed the top of her head.



"Brooke?" Haley mumbled, groggily.



"Hey, no, it's me-Luke," he responded, squatting so he was eye level with her.



She smiled, "Hey, Luke." Her eyes were still foggy from sleep.



"Hey you.Just go back to sleep, you've had a long day, ok?" He stood back up and walked over to his closet to change his clothes.



"Luke, will you stay with me tonight?" she asked shyly.



Lucas turned to his closet in an attempt to hide the pain that he felt in hearing his best friend sound so lost, "Of course I will, Hales. Anything you want. Just let me change real quick."



"Can I borrow some clothes?" she asked.



He laughed tossing her a pair of his shorts and the smallest t-shirt he could find. They both turned their backs to each other as they changed.



"You decent?" Lucas asked.



"Yep," Haley replied.



Lucas turned to find Haley crawling back into his bed, tiredly. He couldn't help but laugh at how big his clothes were on her. His shorts nearly reached her mid-calf and she could probably fit two more Haley's in the shirt with her.



"Don't tease," she pouted.



Lucas smiled, raising up his hands, "I didn't say a thing."



He turned off the lights, and joined her in his bed. After several moments of silence, Lucas heard Haley's voice.



"Luke?" she whispered, barely audible. Her voice was shaky.



"Come on," he replied, turning on his side to face her, allowing her to snuggle into him as he wrapped his arms around her. Haley breathed deeply, for the second time that night, feeling safe. It wasn't the same safe that she had felt with Brooke, but it was comforting none the less.





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Brooke took a shaky breath. She was sitting in the most uncomfortable chair ever, hunched over awkwardly, so she could rest her head on the hospital bed. But she realized it would all be worth it, if only the blonde whose hand she was holding would open her eyes.



It was four in the morning, and after finally receiving official news from the doctor that Peyton would be okay, Brook had managed to sweet talk one of the interns into letting her stay with her blonde friend as long as she didn't touch anything.



She was brought back to reality when she noticed a faint tugging on her hand. She sat up quickly, looking at Peyton as she fought waking up.



"Hey Pey, come on. It's me, Brookie. You gotta wake up for me now, ok? Just open those eyes, and I swear I'll never talk bad about your music again."



"Liar," Peyton groaned, as she slowly opened her eyes.



Brooke threw her arms around her, "Thank God. The doctor said you were ok, but I couldn't trust him. He looked like he had no idea what he was talking about. He had to be like 12, I swear."



Peyton laughed as she carefully sat up, "It's good to see you too Brooke."



"How do you feel?"



"Drugged."



"Well, I've always found that to be a rather good feeling," Brooke said with a smile.



"Why do I get the feeling you aren't joking?"



"Because you're my best friend, and you know me better than anyone else in the world," Brooke replied giddily.



Peyton looked at her lap uncomfortably, "Best friend?"



Brooke bit her lip nervously, "Well, I know you're still pissed at me, and you have every right to be. But, I mean, well, a wise girl told me this once, and I guess I'm telling it to you know, 'I might not be your best friend, but you’re still mine'."



Peyton smiled, "That girl seems like a genius."



"I don't know, are geniuses broody?" Brooke teased.



Peyton laughed with a nod, "I've missed you."



"I missed you too."



Peyton covered her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn.



"Hey, blondie, you need to get some sleep. If the nurse comes in and sees you awake, she's gonna kick my ass," Brooke said honestly.



"Brooke, where's Lucas?" Peyton asked, ignoring Brooke's last comment. "He must be so upset. Prom seemed like such a big deal to him. I tried calling him when Derek wasn't looking, but he saw me. The last thing I remember is Derek lunging at me with a knife. Can you tell Lucas, that I didn't mean to stand him up?"



Brooke looked at her with an amused expression.



"What?"



"Lucas saved you," she informed her.



"Seriously?" She asked with a smile. "I must have been knocked out when he got there." Her smile suddenly faded, "Wait, why isn't he here? I mean not that I'm not that glad to see you here, but he's not hurt is he? Tell me, he's ok," Peyton pleaded.



Brooke smiled at her lovesick friend, "Calm down lover girl. He's fine--nothing a few days rest won't fix. He'll be here in the morning. He just needed to bring Haley home. She had a rough night last night, and she just needed some time with her best friend."



Peyton nodded knowingly, "She's missed you, you know? Haley, I mean. She told me how she felt like her whole world was falling down around her, but you were the one she knew she could count on. Then when she went to turn to you, you weren't there." Peyton eyed Brooke as she attempted to avoid her gaze. "What happened Brooke? I know you're crazy about the girl. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she had replaced me as your best friend."



"I know. We talked about it last night. I feel so horrible about everything," Brooke admitted. "But it's just, she's Haley, you know? She's always been this wonderful spirit. She's like perfect. And to see her so hurt and broken, I couldn't take it. I was being selfish, and I pulled away because it hurt too much to see her like that."



"Did it ever cross your mind, that what she needed was her good friend, Brooke Davis, to help her put the pieces back together?"



"No," Brooke looked at her like a little kid being fussed at for eating the last cookie. "It's just, she's just so innocent and pure and above all this, above all of us, you know? She shouldn't have to be going through all the stuff she's going through. It's not right, and it makes me so mad sometimes."



"Why do you guy's do that?"



"Who? Do what?"



"You and Lucas. You put her on this pedestal. She's just a person. Yes, she may be a better person than the rest of us, but she's human none the less. And humans have problems, they go through struggles. And when they go through struggles, they need their friend's there to help them."



"Yes ma'am."



Peyton smiled, "Sorry about the lecture. I guess I kind of feel bad about it myself. Lucas and I were so caught up in each other that we never realized she was hurting." She let out another yawn.



"Yea, but hey, enough of that, you're the one who's hurt right now. So my attention is on you, and you need to relax and get some sleep, you got that?"



Peyton nodded, allowing Brooke to help her lay back down in the bed, her eyes slowly closing.







+++++++++++OTH++++++++++





"Good morning sleepy head," Lucas laughed as he brought a tray with a plate full of pancakes, two glasses of orange juice and syrup over to the bed. He sat down next to Haley and handed her a fork as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.



"Morning," she grumbled. She stretched lazily, taking the fork from him. She poured the syrup over her pancakes, and brought a bite up to her mouth.



"Wait a sec, did you make these?" she asked Lucas nervously.



He laughed, "No, my mom made them before she left to go to the cafe."



"Good," Haley replied, bringing the pancakes up to her mouth. She closed her eyes in bliss. Karen's pancakes were a gift from Heaven.



"I resent that," Lucas replied. "I can make some pretty mean pancakes."



"If you count the ones you just pop into the toaster, then sure, even you can't screw those up," she teased.



Lucas laughed as he started into his own pancakes, "True."



After a few minutes of eating in silence, Haley turned to Lucas, contemplating a question.



"What is it Hales?"



Haley cursed herself for being so easy to read, "So...what exactly happened last night?"



Lucas nodded, putting down his fork. He knew this question would be coming, but he was hoping it would have at least been after he had had time to figure it out himself.



Lucas took his time turning in the bed to face Haley. "Well, I called her again like you told me. And once again, she didn't answer. So, I just figured that for the first time in your life, you were wrong," he said with a smile.



Haley gave him a look that told him to be serious.



"Sorry," he mumbled. "So, I went hang out with Skills and Fergie and Bevin for a little while. Then, my phone rang and it was Peyton. But, it was weird, because it sounded like she was far away, like she wasn't holding the phone to her mouth. Then I heard her scream, and I heard her say Derek's name. Then her phone went dead, and I just knew he had her. I took off, and went straight to her house. Thankfully that's where they were, because if he had brought her somewhere else, I don't think I would have gotten there in time," Lucas paused, taking a second to shake that thought out of his head. When he started again, his voice was shaky and Haley couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes for fear of the tears she knew would be there.



"He had her tied to this chair. And her dress, it was white, and probably was so beautiful before. But when I got there it was stained this sickly red color from her blood. Her head was just hanging limply down on her chest. When I saw Derek, I just lost it. I didn't care if he had a knife--he could have been holding a freaking bazooka for all I cared--the only thing on my mind was that I was gonna kill him. I can't remember the exact details, we fought for a while, the knife going back and forth between us," he closed his eyes. "I guess I just kind of blocked that part out. All I remember after that is being in my hospital room, talking to the police. That's what took so long last night. They must have had a million different questions. All I had was one. I kept asking if Peyton was ok, but nobody could answer me. Then when they finally told me that she was going to make it, I ran to the bathroom and threw up," he laughed slightly at this.



"I've never been that scared, you know? Well, except for when you were hit by that car. I mean, you scared me to death, literally. I had a heart attack for heaven‘s sake," he said, trying to lighten the mood.



Haley smiled weakly, not exactly seeing the humor in that last statement, but not wanting to upset Lucas.



"Any word on Peyton?" Haley asked.



"Mm, yea," Lucas replied, after taking a sip of his juice. "Brooke called, saying that she woke up this morning at around four. We can go to the hospital whenever you're ready."



"Can we stop by the apartment first, so I can take a quick shower, and change?" Haley asked.



"Yea, of course, just let me clean these dishes first. I'll never hear the end of it if I leave them in the sink, dirty."