When I wake up, I'm clearly in the hospital, hooked up to plenty of monitors and completely confused.

"You scared us, Peyton."

"Karen?"

"Hey sweetie. You're okay, the baby's okay, and for the time being, Lucas is okay too."

I sit up with a start and she coaxes me back down, "Did they take him off the medicine?"

"Peyton, they had to. And right now, they are monitoring everything very closely. He's going to be okay."

"You don't know that."

"No, but I know my son. He won't walk out on you Peyton, it's against his blood. He can't upset you or hurt you, so he's not going to leave us this way. He's going to fight through this."

"Have you seen him?"

"They won't let anyone see him, it's another risk of infection."

I nod and the tears start coming freely. "Karen, I need him."

"I know you do sweetie, I know you do…."

True to his previous word, Nathan is with me months later when I decide I'm feeling up to going baby shopping again. There are so any things that we still need, and I know that waiting for Lucas to get better to help me with all of it isn't really going to help.

He was slowly getting better, or so the doctors say. It took him three weeks to get over the supposed cold that he had. It was three weeks that we weren't allowed to go in and talk to him. Now he's still in the hospital because they are worried that it could happen again.

"So, what do you think about this one?" Nathan asks, showing off a bright blue patterned stroller and car seat system.

"Nathan, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, so I don't want blue." I say, it coming out sounding more frustrated than I want it to be.

He visibly shrinks at my words, and I'm forced to realize just how harsh they did sound coming from me. "Okay, I was just trying to help."

8 Months pregnant and hormonal gets the best of me, when my tears start. This wasn't what it was supposed to be… Luke and I were supposed to be doing this together, not me and Nathan. I know Nathan means well, and I know that I need to get this done, but it seems like it's all just slipping away from me now.

"Come on, we're done for the day." Nathan says, pulling me in for a hug and guiding me to the front of the store.

"Nathan we still have stuff to get…"

"I know, but today isn't the day. You still have a while, so it's fine."

As we get into the SUV, I turn to look at him from my seat and I'm amazed at this man. "Thank you, Nate."

"Well, I told you once that I'm going for best Uncle, so how am I doin'?"

"I vote you a hundred times over."

"All right, well, we're going to Dairy Queen, cause my niece or nephew wants some ice cream!" he says pulling out of the driveway.

"And that just clinched your title." I say with a smile.

It's the next day, when I'm visiting Lucas that again tells me that Nathan Scott would get that title if there was one to get, because Brooke Davis walks through the door with a smile and a bag full of something I don't know about.

We told Brooke about everything after we decided to share everything with each other. Lucas convinced me that regardless of outcomes, I needed my best friend's support. Of course Brooke moved right back to Tree Hill after that, saying that no job was going to keep her away from her P. Sawyer now Scott.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her as she starts moving things around the room and plugging in her computer.

"Well, Nate called me last night, and he decided that since I'm the pro shopper of the group that I could figure everything out. So I dug around, called some people and I now have all of the catalogs you could ever want having to do with baby stuff, and every website you could possibly find dealing with the same."

"Brooke…"

"Not done yet, best friend, you can't interrupt." She says, pointing her finger at Lucas and I as she says it. "I have everything broken down into categories so you don't have to see the same thing like fifty times, and that includes the nursery furniture. Karen is footing the bill for that, Naley is taking on the necessities, and I've got all the clothes covered."

"That's not…"

"Nope! I know it's not necessary, but we figured that you weren't going to go for having a baby shower, so this is what you get instead. So you two have fun picking out everything and let me know what we need to get. "

It's Lucas' turn to be thankful now as he picks up one of the catalogs and turns to Brooke to thank her, "Brooke, you don't know what this means to us…"

"I do, that's why we're doing it. Now get shopping."

It takes a few days of us pouring over the catalogs before we have figured everything out for the baby. There were some arguments and there were some disagreements, but it was all settled and Brooke was coming by later to pick up all of our ideas.

"So, now that's over with, do you want to start working on names?" He asks me, still with a smile on his face.

"Nope, I'm done for the day."

"Well, can I throw some your way to think about for a little bit?"

"Should I be scared?" I say, raising my eyebrow at him.

"I want the baby to have some of Keith if it is a boy, whether its his first name or middle name, I'd like that… and I think that we should do the same for your mom, for Anna."

"Lucas, I don't know what-"

"Don't decide anything now, I just want you to think about it, okay?"

I nod before kissing him on the cheek and moving to get my things to head home for the night.

"You're leaving me already?" he asks, sheepishly from his spot on the bed.

"Me and baby have had a long day, so I need to get out of here, but I'll be back tomorrow after work."

"My sugar mamma can't take the day off to be with me?"

I smile, walking back over the kiss him on the cheek before telling him another goodbye.

When I get outside, another problem awaits me.

"Mrs. Scott, how's he doing?" the doctor asks me.

"Shouldn't you know that?" I counter, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I know that we've talked about all of this, but you're sure about your decision?"

"The reason why Luke stopped treatments before was because he couldn't live his life the way he wanted to, he wants to be home, so whatever needs to be done to get that to work, needs to be done."

"Mrs. Scott, you are aware that if this next course of treatment doesn't work, your husband won't have much time left."

I nod, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing me cry again in front of him. He had pulled me aside a week ago to tell me that the drugs they had him on before he got sick were not working anymore, leaving us with only two more options. Stop everything, or try one last thing. He agreed that he would approach Lucas as this is just another part of the treatment, not explaining to him that this was something entirely different. He wanted to be home, but I couldn't bear the thought of him knowing that it wasn't working yet again.

When I get home that night, it's a new record for me. I made it into my pajamas before curling up with one of his shirts and crying myself to sleep. This is of course how Haley finds me the next day.

"Peyton?" she says, coaxing me out of my sleep with a whisper.

"Haley, what's wrong?" I ask her, sitting up as she continues to lounge on Luke's side of the bed.

"Nothing, girly… Nathan wanted to come by and start painting, so I've got to get you out of the house for a while, can we do that?"

"I told Luke that I was going in to work today, and then coming to visit him."

"And something tells me that it's the last thing you want to do today… including going to the hospital."

My lip starts to quiver when she says it, partially because she's so right and partially because I can't believe the thought had actually crossed my mind.

"I've got that covered tonight, cause you're going over to our house for movies with Brooke while Nathan puts together furniture after his paint job."

"He doesn't need to do that."

"It's totally okay… Skills and Mouth are coming over in a bit to help him too. It's going to be some guys day. No protest on the hospital?"

I look up to her with fresh tears in my eyes, "I don't think I can do this much longer, Haley. I can't watch him go through this, and I can't put myself through this."

"Peyton, he's getting better."

The simple tears turn into sobs at this point, and there's no controlling what is coming out now, "No! He's not! The doctor has to switch treatment, and this is the last chance… this is it, and he can't know about it, and I can't handle much more of this!"

She holds me for a while, and I can hear Nathan come in and ask if we're okay. I don't even know what she says to him, but the next thing I know, Nathan is laying me on the bed of the guest room in their house. "Nathan?"

"It's okay, you fell asleep… and you need some more of it too, so sleep for a little bit, and Haley will have some lunch ready for you when you get up."

I don't answer him, but welcome the rest that envelops my body as I fall into another fitful sleep.

The night goes by and I'm grateful for everyone that Luke and I have in our lives. We have this wonderful family that we created on our own, and I couldn't see it being any better than that. There were times when I thought about that too, knowing what Lucas and I have, and knowing that regardless of anything, that baby is going to grow up with a lot of love around him or her.

"I know that I haven't been around much, but as you can see, it's getting harder for me to get around by myself. That, and Lucas isn't doing too well. I can't fight for him, and I know that. It's up to the Gods or whatever the hell is in charge of all this stuff. Now, if you are in cahoots with the big guy can you tell him that the whole 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger' thing is a little played out by now? I know that He can throw more my way, but I'm thinking that I can't handle much more. I need Lucas, but I know that I've got so much support around me that I will be okay…."

I pause for a moment to look at the weathered stone in front of me, even looking past it towards the stone in remembrance of a man that had so much meaning in my husband's life. That's when the hormones and the week catch up with me.

"So… is it selfish of me to say that I just want him to stop suffering?" I say on an already shaky breath, "Is it selfish of me to want it to stop so he can not have to deal with it, and I can move on either way? God, whatever is going to happen needs to just happen. Let him die or let him be a miracle… just let it happen."

I don't know then if I'm talking to my mom or that higher beings, because in my mind it is a blur. I knew that Lucas couldn't continue on in the state he was in, and I had finally realized through Lucas constantly telling me and through the actions of our friends… we would be okay.

The next month or so goes by so quickly that I can't remember most of it. Lucas was still up and down, but he assured me that he wasn't in any kind of discomfort. I believed him though, because I could see it in his eyes. Maybe my realizations were matched in the man that I loved. I visited every night until the night my water broke.

It was Nathan and Brooke in there with me when I had the baby, Beth Anna Scott… my baby girl. A day later, I was able to walk down and let her meet her father, who I had never seen so happy.

"How are you?" he asks me from his bed as he holds the baby.

"I'm good…" I say in that still dreamy state that is brought on by either a lack of sleep or the fact that I was so mesmerized at the little girl that I didn't think was ever going to be a possibility.

"She's perfect…"

"She is, isn't she… I think we did good."

Luke laughs a bit, not wanting to wake the now sleeping baby in his arms. "I love you, Peyton."

"And I love you, Lucas Scott…"

THE END

Okay, so I know that you guys want to shoot me right now, but I couldn't really write an ending to this that I was happy with. It was like I was back and forth between letting them get this happily ever after and not… so I'm letting you decide for yourselves if he lives or dies. Tell me what you think, but I guess you'll have to concoct your own ideas in your head, cause this baby is WRAPPED!

Now… onto my other fics that I have half written!