Lucas came to a sudden halt when he heard that noise, he looked to the unconscious girl in his arms and then to the band on his finger. It was like somebody pushed him, he ran so fast and he pushed the elevator button over and over again until the doors opened. "Where the hell are Brooke and Sawyer?"

Ashlyn stirred against his chest and he just held on tighter, "Its okay, I got you." He repeated it over and over in his head until it seemed that it was going to be all right. He watched as her chest rose and fell in a solid rhythm. The doors opened and there he saw what just about killed him.

Everyone was shocked as the gunman slowly stepped outside; he set down his gun and slowly got on his knees waiting for the police to come to him. As the room slowly cleared, there in the middle was four EMTs working on Brooke, and Haley was covering her mouth and sobbing against one man as another held Sawyer.

"Nathan?" Lucas asked as he saw his brother's frustrated face through the three-inch space when he walked out of the elevator.

"Lucas!"

Lucas opened the door and both boys froze, "I… you were with… where's Brooke and Haley?"

"Lynnie? Oh God," He ran his rough palm across her forehead. "Luc, man, what happened?" Then he saw him from behind Lucas stepped Dan. "You son of a bitch!" Nathan lunged forward and was caught by Lucas' glare.

"We've got to get her help, she's not good," Lucas told him. "We don't have a lot of time."

Nathan turned back and saw Jack sitting and knowing he couldn't walk Nathan hesitated.

"Would you stop being a girl," Jack laughed. "Go. Save your sister."

"Jack…" Nathan hesitated.

"He's right Nate, we don't' have time." Lucas said already walking

down the hall with his sister still in his arms.

Nathan looked to Jack, "I'll be back, I promise." He ran to catch up to Lucas. They walked in equal strides both pushing faster and faster as the walked. As the hallway ended they could hear the noise coming from outside and they could almost feel the sun's ray's.

Nathan was the first to stop when he saw Haley crying alone with Sawyer. She was trying to catch her breath and Sawyer was crying against her shoulder.

Lucas followed in suit when he saw her. The white sheet only covered the bottom half of her body. Her could clearly see his face and he could see her wound that was bleeding. The tears stung the back of his eyes as his legs turned to jelly.

Nathan moved to take Ashlyn from his arms, "Lucas," He said softly. "Luc, let go, okay? I'll take her." And slowly he did as he was told; he transferred her from his arms to Nathan's.

Nathan watched as his brother walked slowly to his wife, he knelt down on one knee and kissed her forehead. He slowly brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one before just holding her hand. His smile was broken with the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. Lucas pushed the strands of falling hair out of her face and he kissed her lips as she lied on the floor. Lucas just needed one last moment where he could be intrigued by her beauty. Nathan knew what he was doing, he was holding on, Lucas Scott was holding it together, and holding on. With everything that he had.

Nathan felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Dan.

"Nate…" Nathan ignored him and walked to where Haley stood.

She looked up and tried to smile but couldn't and Nathan understood that, he wouldn't smile either, not now. They watched, not in some sick and creepy way, but in a way that in ten years they could look back and remember that they were here, and the pain they felt- it was real.

The reporters were there waiting for the last ones the leave the building, they were waiting for the Scotts, for not one had been seen the whole day. Dan was the first to be brought out, with his head down and his hands behind his back, and even some swore they saw tears streaming form his eyes.

Then when the doors opened out came a stretcher with Brooke on it and Lucas on one side and Haley on the other holding Sawyer, and trailing behind was Nathan still holding his sister tight to his chest. All had tears in their eyes as the watched Brooke fade away as the sheet was brought over her head. Nathan cried as he handed his limp sister to a doctor and waited for a response.

"Nathan," Haley urged standing next to him. "She needs to be looked at. It'll be fine." Haley stood next to the stretcher, "Nate, you can still hold her hand."

Slowly Nathan set Ashlyn down on the stretcher. He lets her headrest softly and took her hand and didn't let go. "Ash," he whispered. "I'm right here." Nathan looked to the paramedics. "She has HCM."

As they stood their deciding who'd ride with Ashlyn to the next hospital Nathan saw Jack's family and his pregnant daughter wrap her arms around his neck.

"Nate?" Lucas asked still teary-eyed. "You can go man…"

Nathan shook his head, "No, we'll all ride. I can't loose you, not now."

It was late at night by the time they finally each saw a doctor. Nathan was still waiting to outside of the room for Haley, who insisted she went in alone. When the door finally opened it was the nurse who came out and looked at Nathan with heavy eyes.

"Your wife would like it if you came in now." Nathan followed the nurse into the room and found Haley lying on a bed with a hand wrapped around the metal bar.

Nathan took her hand off the bar and securely wrapped him hand around her tiny little hand. "How's it going?"

"Nathan," Haley said. "I need to tell you something."

"Hales…"

"We're pregnant." Haley was looking for something, maybe for him to be mad, or maybe for him to be shocked but he simply looked up and kissed her hand.

"I know."

"You do?" Haley asked back. "I just didn't tell you, because you know, we finally found Ashlyn, and you were getting happy, and Lucas…"

"Haley. Lucas found your test in his garbage and told me." Nathan smiled and took his free hand and placed it on top of Haley's hand, which so happened to be resting on stomach.

"Ah hem!" The doctor that was waiting so patiently stepped out from behind the curtain.

Haley's cheeks turned a bright shade of red, and Nathan just smiled at the doctor.

"Evening Doc."

"Mr. Scott." She pulled out her clipboard and started writing things down, "Okay, well Haley your tests came back clean and the baby is doing wonderful. If you don't have any questions, I am done here. You are free to go as soon as you are ready."

"Thank-you so much," Haley said as she shook the doctor's hand.

Lucas watched as they injected his sister with some kind of pain reliever that would make everything better. It had been a long day since he arrived at the hospital, he had called his mom, he had called Brooke's parents, he had made sure he was in the room when Sawyer was looked at, he called the police station about Dan's trail, and he himself had be questioned by five police officers. So, here he sat just waiting for something else to go wrong.

Nathan and Haley took Sawyer back to the hotel where Haley would spend the night. After everything that they had been through both men thought that it would be best if Haley slept on a real bed, and she insisted that Nathan stayed with her or she wasn't going to stay at all.

He felt her flinch from underneath his hand; he skimmed his hand over her hair, "Ashlyn?" A small smile formed on her face and slowly squinted her eyes open. "Hey. You've been out for a couple hours, how are you feeling?"

She cleared her throat, "Is it over?"

Lucas ignored the tear in his heart and slowly nodded at her, "Yeah, Dan's in jail. As a matter of fact Nathan and Haley are having a baby."

Ashlyn mustered a smile, "That's great. Where are they? I want to congratulate them." She started to sit up and Lucas stopped her.

"At the hotel with Sawyer."

She twisted her face, "And where's Brooke?"

Lucas looked to the floor. Somehow telling Brooke's parents she was dead was a lot easier than telling Ashlyn. Her question was filled with hope, Lucas couldn't take that away from her, and he just couldn't be the one to crush her.

Lucas ran his hand over her sheets; he flattened them as he prepared himself for what he was about to do.

"Did something happen?" Once again her face strained. Just like that she felt her eyes moisten with tears. "Luc?"

He looked up, his own eyes filled with tears, "Uh huh, something happened." Lucas didn't want to tell her, he hated always being the one to bring the crap news. He ran a hand through his hair and he spoke softly, "Honey, they did everything that they could, but by the time they even saw her… it was too late." He moved closer to embrace her as she cried.

She was crying hysterically, "How?" Lucas just held her tighter not wanting to give away anything that shouldn't be given.

She shoved Lucas away, "HOW!?"

Lucas bit his bottom lip, "She was shot."

"No… god, no… Lucas," She cried for him. Lucas wrapped his arms around her tender body. "Oh, God… Luc what are we going to do? This is my entire fault… I'm so sorry. Sorry Luc, I am so sorry…"

"Its not your fault," He sobbed along with her. "I don't want to ever hear that again, okay?"

"But, if I just would have…"

Lucas kissed her forehead, as they both cried, "No This is not your fault." He kissed her head again, "I need to be okay with this, don't beat yourself up, this is not your fault, nor will it ever be. Brooke wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this."

After minutes both of their crying had softened and Lucas was helping lay back down, "Just try getting some sleep, okay?"

As Lucas backed away Ashlyn grabbed his hand, "Just till I fall asleep," she squeezed his hand. "And be here when I wake up," She sniffled away the tears threatening to fall. "Be here forever, okay?"

Lucas moved closer and smiled at her, "Ashlyn, get some rest, I'll be here when you wake up, and I'll be with you forever."

Ashlyn lowered her head, "It wasn't Dan was it?" Her voice cracked. She started playing with her hands and on instinct she went to grab her sweatshirt, but remembered she wasn't wearing one.

Lucas lowered his head also, he thought about lying and saying yes, but no matter who shot Brooke somehow Dan would be at fault. Lucas noticed her go for her sweatshirt that wasn't there. He saw her start twisting around her wrists and then he remembered what else he saw, her tattoo. 'If you're a bird, I'm a bird.' Words like that seem to stay put in his mind, it was her way of saying that I'm just like them in everyway and every lie. Lucas Scott couldn't have his sister be a liar.

He raised his head and gave her hand a light squeeze, "No, he did not shoot that gun."

Through her sorrow and through her tears she scuffed at him, "But in so many ways he did." She let out a frustrated sigh, "…in so many ways I shot the gun." Lucas was about to protest when she put both hands on top of her head and shut her eyes, "When did we get so bad?"

Lucas rested his chin on his hands and watched her, "Sweetie…"

"Just say it," she said.

"We aren't bad," he told her. "We are getting back to where ever someone once called us normal. This, I mean Brooke, it's a bump," He stuttered at her name, "no it's huge, but we'll get through this. Someday, we will look back on this day and we're going to know that we made it." He felt the warm salty tears trickling down his cheeks he looked and saw her eyes filled with what seemed to be the size of the ocean, "And on that day, we're going to be okay. We're just on this road and it's taking us back home."

Ashlyn looked away at the wall, at something other than her crying brother. She let the thoughts run in her head.

Brooke was dead. Her so-called 'Mom' was dead. Every mother figure that she ever had in her life was dead. Every little person that used to make her strong is dead. She was adopted. It took her two mothers, maybe it was God's way of saying, "Hey Ashlyn, you've got to figure this whole life thing out on you own." Two moms dead. One somewhere in California. One at a hotel room mourning for the lose of something great. A dad who is in jail. But in everyway she still had it all- she still had her brothers.

Maybe God wasn't kidding when he told her two count them twice.

"Luc," She whimpered. Reaching for her hand and once she got it she pointed to the window, "It's raining." A fresh little stream of tears trickled down he cheeks. Ashlyn let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Lucas shut his eyes trying to male a barricade to stop the tears and it didn't stop a single tear from escaping and rolling down his cold face.

"Ye…" He took a deep breath, "yeah, it's raining."

Ashlyn laid her head against Lucas' shoulder and shut her eyes, she let her tear soak up the shirt that he was wearing.

"Hey Luc?"

"Yeah?"

"She's must be in heaven," Ashlyn's breathing slowed down. "She's just got to be there, right?"

Lucas nodded and rubbed her arm, "She is." Lucas kissed her forehead and she laid against him with her eyes shut, "She's right next to your mom and their dumping out this rain."

Dear Whoever Listens at This Time of the Night,

It's me, Ashlyn. You know that one that you keep tearing apart? Yeah, that girl. Its been along time since you've heard from me, hasn't it? Yeah, I'd say that I am sorry but I'm not. Anyways, please don't think that I am here to beg for Brooke back, because I know that you can't do that. Sometimes, I think, you only take and never give. But, can you just let her read this, or tell her something for me. Here it goes (no laughing): Brooke, I love you. I love everything that you ever did for me and all the stupid things that I never did for you, I am sorry. I am so sorry that you can't be here and watch your son grow and become a man just like his father and my brother. I am sorry that you'll never be able to hear him talk or see Haley's baby. But you want to know what makes me so sad, that fact that you never got to tell Lucas that you knew where I was the whole time, but I'll do that know. Don't worry. Brooke, I love you.

With Every Once of Love I Have,

Ashlyn.