'Peyton?' A sweet voice called out, 'Peyton, sweetheart, can you hear me?'

Peyton frowned and opened her eyes, to a bright light.

She squeezed her eyes shut immediately, to shield them from the brilliant white light.

'Larry! She's okay, she's awake!' The woman said excitedly.

Peyton's eyes popped open at once, as a hundred questions popped into her head.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the light she realised that she was in the hospital.

Her Dad rose from his seat and took her heavily bandaged hand in his own, 'Hey Baby-Girl.'

'What happened?' Peyton asked as she looked to her Dad for answers.

Larry shook his head, smiling, 'You and Haley were messing about in her Dad's garage with some ancient appliance, and you gave yourselves a nasty electric shock.'

Peyton didn't say anything in response, she was too confused. She had no idea why her and Haley would be in Jimmy James' shed.

She wasn't even sure where Haley's parents lived, as far as she knew they were still travelling.

'Honey, you should get some rest,' the female spoke up again, 'Sweetheart, we're so glad that you're alright.'

Peyton turned to face the woman and when she did she did a double take.

'Are you okay, Sweetie?' The woman asked, reaching over and brushing Peyton's curls out of her face.

Peyton recoiled and pulled away from the woman sharply, tears building in her eyes.

'Baby, what's the matter?' Larry questioned, beginning to panic.

He didn't receive a verbal response; instead Peyton shook her head and tried to scramble out of bed.

'You need to stay in bed.' Larry ordered, 'It's okay, just calm down, we'll get a nurse.'

'Stay with her, Larry, I'll get the nurse.' The woman offered.

As she left the room, Peyton began to relax.

'Honey, you've had a traumatic experience, just calm down, you're okay now.' Larry tried to soothe his daughter.

Peyton was still shaking slightly, 'Is this some kind of joke?'

It frightened Larry to hear her voice tremble in fear, and to see tears cascade down her pale cheeks. 'You're safe here, you don't need to worry about anything.'

Peyton didn't reply, but she allowed her father to pull her into a one armed hug.

Her mind was racing at a million miles per hour, the only explanation was that she was being punk'd or she was dreaming. Before she could question her father, the tall blonde woman returned with a nurse in tow.

'It's good to see you awake, Peyton!' The nurse greeted as she entered the room, 'I hear you're a little bit distressed?'

'She's very upset.' Larry clarified.

'Okay, well that's understandable.' The nurse, Amanda said softly, 'Are you in any pain?'

Peyton shook her head, defiantly.

'Hmmm, perhaps you're worried about your friend Haley?' Amanda asked.

Peyton gasped, realising she hadn't asked about Haley. 'She's okay, right?'

Amanda gave a grim smile, 'Well she's not awake yet but she's going to be fine.'

'That's great news.' Larry confirmed.

Amanda smiled warmly, 'Peyton, what's the last thing that you remember?'

It was a moment before she replied, 'I was at Lucas and Lindsey's bachelor-bachelorette party, talking to Haley about her and Nathan, she's convinced she wants a divorce, but no one believes her, what about Jamie? He's only five, he doesn't want to see his parents split up-'

The room's three other occupants looked a little stunned.

Larry turned to Amanda, 'Is this normal? Could she have concussion?'

'Perhaps,' Amanda faltered, 'We didn't think that the head wound was that substantial but I'll get a doctor.'

Larry took Peyton's hand, and the blonde woman followed suit, grasping Peyton's other hand.

'Wh-What's going on?' Peyton stammered, shaking once more.

'Don't worry, Baby-Girl,' Larry soothed, 'we're here, you've got me and your Mom.'

At that last word, Peyton's assumption had been confirmed.

She'd woken up in hospital, after an accident that made no sense to her, and by her side stood her Mom.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Haley moaned softly as she roused from her deep sleep.

'Haley Bob! You scared us!' Lydia gushed.

'Mom? What's going on?' Haley groaned as she went to sit up.

Jimmy folded his arms, 'You, little lady, need to stay out of my tool shed, you and Peyton are too curious for your own good.'

Haley frowned, 'This is so weird, why was I in the tool shed?'

'Beats me, honey.' Jimmy laughed, 'I think you mentioned something about Jake's birthday.'

Haley looked at her father like he was a madman, 'Jake Jagelski?'

Jimmy and Lydia exchanged looks of confusion.

'How many other Jakes do we know?' Jimmy chuckled, 'Did you bang your head, Doll?'

Haley's eyes widened, 'I must have done.'

'We'll let you sleep, hon.' Lydia smiled, as she placed a kiss on Haley's forehead.

Lydia and Jimmy quietly exited the room before they expressed their concerns.

'I'm sure it's the medication or because she's tired.' Jimmy told his wife.

Lydia nodded in agreement, 'It's just so disconcerting, Jake and her are joined at the hip, how could she forget him?'

'She didn't forget him, she must have just been confused.' Jimmy assured her.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Only once Peyton had settled back into a comfortable slumber that her parents left the room.

They were both concerned even though the doctor had assured them that medically Peyton was in no danger and shouldn't suffer any lasting damage. He had suggested that the confusion was due to her drowsiness and perhaps a small bump on the head but was nothing to worry about.

Peyton had pretended to go to sleep when she grew weary of the tension and worry in the room. In reality her mind was too busy to rest and sleep.

When she was finally alone she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Nothing was making any sense, in fact the more Peyton found out about her surroundings the more bizarre things seemed. Besides the astounding fact that her mother seemed to be alive and well, Peyton had discovered her 16 year old reflection in the mirror and it appeared that Haley was her best friend.

Desperate to find out more, she began to rifle through her bedside cabinet. Inside she found clothes, toiletries and her mobile phone.

She grinned as she clutched to silver phone, it was the only thing in the room likely to tell her anything.

Flipping it open, she was surprised to see a photo of herself with Haley and Jake as her wallpaper. Jake. Her breath caught in her throat and her green eyes sparkled with excitement.

After reading through the very few messages that were in her inbox, Peyton discovered that she and Haley had arranged to meet to dig out a treasure from Jimmy's shed, the date read 2003. Other than that, Peyton discovered nothing substantial.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

When Haley re-awoke hours later, she was alone in her room. It took her a moment to remember her surroundings and the previous events of the day, when she did, she laughed it off as an odd dream.

Heaving herself up, she made her way to the bathroom. Still groggy from her sleep, she approached the sink first to splash her face with water. When she lifted her head to face her reflection, she screamed in surprise.

'Are you alright in there, dear?' A nurse called through the door.

Haley took a deep breath, 'I'm fine, sorry!'

In truth, she wasn't fine. She was shocked to be looking at her sixteen year old self.

'This is ridiculous!' She cursed herself. Never before had she not been able to find a reasonable explanation for a situation. Right now she was stumped.

When she returned to her room she met a familiar curly blonde.

'Peyton?' She ventured.

'Hey,' she smiled softly, 'how are you doing?'

Haley shrugged, 'I'm a bit confused actually.'

Peyton narrowed her eyes, 'Do you remember what happened?'

Haley bit her lip and shook her head.

Peyton slumped a little, 'That makes two of us.'

'What's the last thing you remember, Peyton?' Haley asked curiously.

'I don't remember anything about the accident, in fact I don't remember much at all.' Peyton told her friend.

'Me neither.' Haley admitted, 'Like, I didn't know we were best friends.'

Peyton's eyes widened, 'Ditto. I know we were friends, but things are really different in my head.'

'Peyton, will you tell me what you do remember, like your most recent memories?' Haley requested.

She hesitated momentarily, 'Okay, but bear in mind that I hit my head, I remember being at this party, and offering to kill Lindsey for you.'

'Lucas' Lindsey.' Haley whispered.

Both girls looked at each other in shock.

'Hales, what's the year?' Peyton asked.

'I thought, I mean,' Haley faltered, 'Okay, I was pretty sure it was 2008,'

Peyton sighed heavily, 'Me too! This is totally weird right? It's like we've been flung back in time or something!'

'I'm scared, Peyton.' Haley admitted.

Peyton frowned, not sharing her friends fear, 'Of what?'

'Well first, girly, you are scaring me, you don't seem bothered about this and you're bouncing off of the walls with happiness! What self respecting adult would want to go back to being sixteen?' Haley raged.

'Hales, I don't know how and I don't know why, but in this crazy warped universe, my Mom's alive! My Mom, Anna, she's here and she's older, the crash never happened, or something, I don't know, but she's alive!' Peyton gushed.

'Oh, Peyton.' Haley said in a hush whisper, unable to say anything else.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Two days later the girls met again at Peyton's house, their parents finally convinced that the pair were sane enough to be left to their own devices.

'Peyton!' Anna called up the stairs, 'Haley's here!'

Peyton beamed from ear to ear, anything that involved her mother caused her to smile madly. She jumped from her bed to meet her friend in the doorway.

'Man, I've been wanting to see you for days!' Peyton revealed.

'Same here! We have so much to talk about!' Haley said, as she entered the bedroom, 'Oh my gosh, Peyton!'

Peyton laughed aloud, she'd been expecting the reaction, hers had been similar when she'd returned from the hospital.

Haley stood in awe, taking in the décor. The room was light and fresh, painted a mint green colour and photos adorned the walls, along with Peyton's sketches. There was another notable difference, that Haley saw immediately, all of the art showed joyful, happy scenes, far from the designs she was used to Peyton producing.

'Peyton, this is, I don't know what to say!' Haley gushed.

Peyton's eyes glistened, 'Hales, my life is like a fairytale, just look at how happy everyone is in these pictures!'

Haley faltered for a second, 'By everyone, I assume you mean me, you, Jake, and our parents?'

Peyton shrugged, 'Okay so I haven't exactly worked out where everyone fits into this world, but so far so good, I like what I see!'

The girls flopped down on the bed, Haley was confused, whilst Peyton was too wrapped up in happiness to question what was happening.

'Listen, Girly, I know you're on cloud nine, but don't you miss our lives?' Haley asked.

The blonde's face twisted, showing how torn she was, 'Certain parts I miss like hell, like Brooke for instance, I don't think we're friends here.'

'I miss my boy.' Haley sighed, her voice breaking a little.

'Oh, Hales,' Peyton said, engulfing her friend in a hug.

'What are we going to do?' Haley sobbed.

Peyton glanced at a framed photograph on her bedside cabinet, 'We're going to go and see Jake, get the low down.'

Haley wiped her eyes, 'That's a good idea.'

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

When Jake opened the door, Peyton felt a shiver go through her, even though she'd run from him into the arms of Lucas, they'd shared something unique.

'Hey, guys!' He said warmly, 'Can I trust you not to set fire to anything or flood the place?'

'Ha ha, so we had a little dealing with some electronics,' Haley laughed, as she entered the house.

Peyton followed sheepishly, locking eyes with the gentle giant as she passed.

'Jenny's asleep upstairs,' Jake explained as they all sat down, 'Did you want a drink?'

Both girls declined, desperate for some answered.

'Okay, promise not to freak out?' Haley asked.

Jake shrugged, 'That's your job, Hales.'

'We're struggling to remember some stuff, since the accident.' Haley explained.

'What, both of you?' Jake questioned.

The girls only nodded.

'Pretty strange, but okay.' He complied.

Haley glanced to Peyton before pressing on, 'I've been wondering, what made us friends? Like why just us three, why don't we mix with the guys from the river court, or the jocks?'

'Are you guys alright?' Jake asked, clearly disturbed.

'Could you just tell us?' Peyton pleaded.

'Sure,' Jake agreed, sending a smile to Jake, 'Okay, so we are all friends because Goldilocks over here felt sorry for us, I think.'

The girls both frowned.

'Okay, so you and me,' Jake pointed to himself and Haley in turn, 'We pretty much kept ourselves to ourselves, we mixed with some kids, like you were pretty close to Lucas Scott, but we never had best friends. Peyt, you were different, you've always had loads of friends, for a while you were best friends with Brooke Davis-'

'What happened?' Peyton demanded.

'You drifted, I guess, she changed, growing up made her chase boys and worry about how she looked, you weren't so worried about those things.' Jake explained.

Peyton nodded, taking it all in, a little annoyed with herself for throwing away such a good friendship.

'What about me and Lucas?' Haley enquired.

Jake hung his head, 'I don't know if you want to hear this, really, are you sure you don't remember?'

Haley shook her head, 'No. Come on, Jake, you have to tell me.'

'We must have been about nine years old at the time, I'm not quite sure, but Lucas lost his uncle, they were really close. He just pushed everyone away and started to act out.' Jake told the girls.

'Lucas? Is he okay?' Haley gushed, 'What's he like now?'

'You guys are freaking me out.' Jake admitted, 'Have you got amnesia or something?'

'Unofficially, maybe.' Peyton muttered, 'How did Keith die?'

'You remember Keith then?' Jake said sounding slightly happier, 'He ran a red light, he was running late to pick up Lucas, I think he blamed himself.'

Peyton visibly paled and Haley sat open mouthed.

'And Lucas now, well he got his act together, he's still got a temper mind.' Jake the shocked pair.

The confessions were interrupted by a wail from Jenny and Jake excused himself to comfort her.

'Poor Luke, I can't believe I abandoned him. I hope he's still friends with all of the river court guys. I wonder if Nathan's life is the same, oh God, I wonder who he's dating?' Haley gushed.

The brunette turned to her friend for a response to see that her eyes were shining with tears.

'Peyton, what's wrong?' Haley asked.

'Don't you see?' Peyton questioned, 'Keith took my Mom's place, because she didn't die, Keith did.'

'Are you sure that it's not just a coincidence?' Haley said softly.

Peyton shook her head, 'Come on, Hales, it's exactly the same, someone had to go.'

'So you think that the only thing that's changed is Keith and your Mom have swapped places?' Haley questioned.

'What about all of the other stuff?' Peyton frowned.

'You heard what Jake said, everything he told us directly resulted from Lucas losing Keith or you not losing your Mom.' Haley rambled.

Peyton frowned, 'You've lost me.'

'Okay, so me and Lucas aren't best friends, that's because he pushed me away after Keith's death.' Haley began, 'You and Brooke aren't close because you didn't need her to perk you up, and therefore you didn't cling to each other. Instead you found your own friends in me and Jake and I think you chose us.'

'I chose you?' Peyton repeated.

'Well, I'm guessing that due to circumstances, you have a pretty sunny outlook on life and you saw two lonely people in Jake and I, so you took pity on us and took us on as best friends.' Haley concluded.

'I can't believe you just worked all of that out.' Peyton groaned her head spinning.

Haley shrugged, 'They don't call me tutor girl for nothing.'

'Man, my head hurts.' The blonde sighed.

'Do you have a headache?' Jake questioned as he descended the stairs, a dopey Jenny in his arms.

'Yeah, but they said I might get them from time to time.' She said waving a hand to dismiss the issue.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Peyton and Haley had headed home after Peyton began to feel ill, much to the disappointment of Jake, who missed his friends. Haley too was a little frustrated as she was desperate for more information from Jake.

Haley walked Peyton right to her door, slightly worried by Peyton's sudden switch from perky to quiet and sullen.

Anna Sawyer appeared at the door before either girl could knock, 'Peyton, are you okay?'

'Yeah, really, it's just a headache, like the doctors said I'd have.' Peyton tried to dismiss the issue.

Anna pursed her lips, 'I think you should get to bed, sweets.'

Haley could see in Peyton's eyes just how much she loved any interaction she had with her mother, even if she was telling her to go to bed.

'Yeah, I'm pretty tired.' Peyton yawned as she headed towards the stairs.

Both Anna and Haley watched as the curly blonde disappeared to the upper floor.

Anna turned to her daughter's friend, 'I'm so worried about her, she's not herself.'

'I think the accident just shook her up a little, she's looking at things a bit differently.' Haley tried to explain.

Anna nodded, 'You're probably right, you usually are, Haley. How have you been since the accident?'

Haley shrugged, 'I just want everything to go back to normal, I can't wait to get back to school.'

'Haley James, you are every mother's dream.' Anna smiled, 'Thank you for walking her back, do you want a ride home?'

The brunette smiled warmly at the woman she'd never had the chance to meet, 'No thanks, Mrs Sawyer, I think I'll enjoy the walk.'

'Okay, Haley, but how many times, call me Anna!' She called after the young girl.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

A few hours later, Anna went to check on her daughter, taking with her chicken noodle soup and cocoa.

'Hey, Sleeping Beauty,' Anna said softly as she nudged Peyton's shoulder.

'Hmmm?' Peyton murmured, still drowsy.

'I brought you soup, Angel.' Anna tried to rouse her daughter.

Peyton smiled before opening her eyes.

'There she is, are you feeling better now?' Anna asked as she perched herself on the bed.

'Much better.' Peyton assured her.

'Chicken noodle did always have that effect on you.' Anna mused, 'You know, when you were younger and home sick from school, I'd always keep you home an extra day so that I could enjoy the fact that I had a beautiful healthy kid. You always appreciate health better after you're ill.'

'I remember,' Peyton whispered, 'I haven't thought about those days in years.'

'Me neither, kiddo, but I can't wait for the next one, when you're all better.' Anna smiled. 'How about it, I keep you off an extra day, we can something together.'

'That sounds great.' Peyton beamed, her eyes shining.

'Let's just keep this between us though, the conversation I had earlier with Haley tells me she wouldn't agree.' Anna chuckled.

Peyton joined in with her mother's laughter, 'Yeah, that's Haley.'

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~