"I'm pregnant." She says, out of the blue one day as he works on an English assignment and she draws on her bed. She waits a few silent minutes while they stare at each other before finally breaking the silence, "Lucas, are you going to say anything?"

"How? I mean we always…"

"I know that, but I am… and it's there Luke. So what are we going to do about it?"

He stands up from her bed, pacing in front of her closet and rubbing the back of his neck in that nervous gesture he always did. "Peyton…"

When he turns to her after just whispering her name in awe, he sees the tears falling down her cheeks and makes his way to her.

"I can't be pregnant Luke, we're in high school. We just started dating at the beginning of the year, we can't do this."

"Peyton, it's going to be okay, we're going to figure it out." He says, pulling her to him and laying them down side by side.

The following weeks were hard, not being able to tell anyone about anything, and trying to act like everything was normal. It was never an option for either of them to get rid of the baby, both of them knowing that if Karen had made that choice those years ago, there would have been no Lucas. What they were going to do after that was something that they hadn't talked about yet. They knew their options, but didn't want to jump into anything so soon as it was.

"Peyton Sawyer?" The nurse calls out to them and Peyton and Lucas stand up.

"Can he come with please?" she asks with a timid voice.

"He certainly can young lady." She nods, ushering them into a small exam room.

When the doctor came in, Peyton had explained everything but couldn't put any sort of date to anything that gave the doctor an idea as to how far along she was.

"Okay, well, we're going to do an ultrasound then. We may not be able to clearly see anything depending on how early along you are. Either way, we'll get a better idea as to how far along you are, okay?"

The two teens nod with wide eyes at the woman, not knowing exactly how to react to the fact that they were about to see their baby on the tiny screen in front of them.

After some poking and prodding, the doctor let a sigh out and smiled for a moment, "there we are… do you see that, right there?" she says, pointing to the screen. "That is your baby, and the little dot that keeps jumping is the baby's heart beating."

Regardless of how old you are, having a child growing inside you is something that leaves you awe struck. It didn't matter that they were juniors and kids themselves, but seeing that tiny little heartbeat meant something to both of them.

"Can we hear it, or is it too early?" Peyton asks in a small voice.

"Well, right now, I'm putting you at around 9 weeks. We may not be able to hear it at all, but it is definitely there and the baby is right where it needs to be. Why don't you get dressed, and then I'll come back in and talk to you guys?"

After getting dressed, they heard a small knock on the door and sat back down as the doctor entered the room.

"I brought the two of you a few things. First is a prescription for some prenatal vitamins. You can get over the counter kind, but since you are younger, I want yours to have a few more things in there than normal. I also brought you a few pictures from the ultrasound, just to give you some things to think about."

"Things to think about?" Lucas asks, with a furrowed brow.

"You're what, 16 years old, both of you?" she asks and they nod in affirmation, "have you thought about your options?"

"We're not terminating the pregnancy, but we haven't decided if we are keeping the baby or trying to put it up for adoption."

"Okay… then in that case, here are some packets about both situations… being new parents and finding a family for your baby. Either choice you make is going to be hard, you need to know that. But you've got until the end of August to figure it out."

"Is that when the baby is due?" Peyton asks.

"Probably around the third or fourth week in August. That may change as you get further along and we fix your dates. You need to make sure that you are going to the doctor regularly, and if going to your own doctor isn't an option, you know that you can certainly come here. Obviously, you realized that, or you wouldn't be here today."

"Dr. Walker, we know that we're young, but we also know that contrary to what most may think of our situation, we are responsible. This baby will be taken care of, and we will make sure that he or she will get the best situation possible."

The doctor looked over the pair, surprised at being talked to in such a way, but proud of the teens anyways. "I can see that, and I will see the two of you in a few months, unless something changes."

On the ride home, Peyton sat next to him staring at the pictures in front of her. She couldn't help but do it, and he couldn't blame her.

"She's already beautiful, isn't she?" he says, finally pulling up in front of her house.

"She?"

"Yeah, I bet it's a girl."

Peyton smiles at that, allowing herself a moment to be happy about the thing that was going to change them forever. "I don't want anyone to know about it."

"This isn't something that you can really hide Peyton, you know that right?"

"Well, I plan on hiding it for as long as I can. This has to be our choice Lucas. This can't be your mom or Keith or any of our friends. If it's only us that knows, then we can figure it out on our own."

"If that is what you want, then we won't tell anyone."

She nods before getting out of his car and making her way to the front door, turning back to wave at him for a moment before stepping inside.

It was surprisingly easy the next few months to keep everything hidden. Everything had an explanation that couldn't really be argued with. She didn't visibly gain any weight even though she swore that her pants didn't fit her right any more. No one questioned it, and they didn't have any slip ups.

The doctor was pleased at every appointment, commending the young woman for staying healthy and making sure that she was doing everything that she was supposed to, and the due date was moved back a week, which meant that by the end of the school year she was going to be around six months pregnant. Lucas was convinced that they would be found out, but the doctor even said that while the baby was growing just the way it should be, Peyton didn't look pregnant at all.

When the summer came, it came in a whirlwind, with so many things taking everyone away. They were never so grateful to have everyone gone at the same time. Brooke was off in California, Haley was on a rock tour, Nathan was at High Flyers, his mom was in New Zealand, and her father was at sea. Thankfully, he had taken a longer trip that was going to keep him away all summer long.

"When are we going to meet with them?" Peyton asks, sitting on the couch at Lucas' with her feet on the coffee table, sporting a tank top and shorts that was a rare comfort to her these past few months as she kept her pregnancy hidden.

"Didn't you say that we were supposed to go down there by three o'clock?"

"Oh, yeah… I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."

"Peyton, you know that we can try to figure this out."

She looks up at him from her spot, knowing that he was just trying to make her feel a little better, and knowing that their decision was the right one.

"Given recent events, I have come to realize that what we decided was the right choice."

He sits down next to her, placing a hand on her cheek to get her to turn to face him.

"Are you sure?"

"I am. Are you?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I think about it and I think that we could be okay, and then other times I think about it, and I realize that my childhood would have been so much easier if my mom could have provided more for me, you know?"

"Luke, you're talking to someone who just found out that she was adopted two weeks ago. I'm pretty sure that I've had my fair share of issues with this recently."

When Ellie started coming around and then dropped the bomb on Peyton about being her mother, Peyton took it upon herself to research the thought. She didn't want to call her dad, knowing that he would come rushing home, and knowing that would lead to a lot more than what he had even bargained for. She found out the truth and that solidified she and Lucas' choice. If she hadn't been given to a pair of loving, caring parents, then she may not have made it as far as she had.

Sometimes she questioned that idea though. Had she really come that far?

"Three o'clock then." Lucas says, kissing her quickly on the lips before standing up to make them lunch.

She casually rested a hand on her stomach then, feeling the flutters underneath her hand. Getting pregnant when you're a Junior may have not been something that she had strived for, but she thinks that the way she and Lucas have handled it was admirable.

Save for a few missed days of school for being sick, no one knew. She kept in loose tops, thankful that it was the style, and thanking the powers that be for a small frame. She may have looked a bit different, as if she had put on a couple pounds, but nothing that would make anybody look twice, which was what helped them hide it so easily.

Later in the day they met with a couple who lived an hour away from Tree Hill. She couldn't have children but wanted them badly, and he was a very successful businessman who spent most of his time working from home.

"Lucas and Peyton?" Joanne says, opening the door to the young parents.

"Joanne Baley?" Peyton asks, confirming what she really already knew from the pictures and the writings that they couple had sent the adoption agency.

"That's me! Come on in you two, I've got some sweet tea waiting for you in the living room."

When Richard Baley came into the room it was with that same warm greeting that they were met with at the door. "I apologize for not getting to see you at the door. I had just a few things to get finished for work tomorrow."

"Oh, that's okay, we understand." Lucas says, sitting down next to Peyton on the sofa.

"So, tell us about the two of you…" Joanne says, the smile reaching her eyes as she asks.

"Well, I'm about six and a half months along, and we just found out that the baby is a girl. She should make an appearance sometime in late August-"

"We know about the baby, Peyton. We want to know about the two of you. What are your plans? What are your interests?" Richard says to her softly, meaning every word.

Lucas and Peyton shared a look before telling them about plans that they had for the future. It was as if they were just talking to their own parents about it, sharing openly all the dreams that they had.

"And what made the two of you decide on adoption? It seems like you have good heads on your shoulders, you could make it work."

"I just found out that I was adopted. My birth mother had me at a younger age, and knew that she wouldn't be able to raise me the right way and follow the dreams that she had." She starts, pausing for a moment to keep her emotions in check. "Lucas and I… we've thought all along that maybe we could do it, raise her ourselves. But after I met Ellie, I realized that she gave me up to such a wonderful pair of parents who took such good care of me. We feel like we might be cheating her out of what I had. It would be selfish of us to try to raise her and try to still get through high school and get into a good college. It's not fair to her."

"Can I ask you something?" Joanne says, lowering her voice to Peyton and letting her eyes meet the younger girl who nodded in her direction. "Do the two of you want to keep her?"

A few tears fell then, and Peyton reached up to catch them before looking over to Lucas.

"More than anything… but we know that it would be better to have her with someone who can give her more time and more love… we're too young to do this on our own." Lucas says, placing his hand in Peyton's and squeezing in reassurance.

The Baleys continued to ask some questions, talking about themselves and what they wanted to give to a baby, and how they wanted to have a family. They were a great couple and didn't seem to pass any judgment on the teenagers. In fact they commended them for their choices and responsibility, which put Peyton and Lucas at ease. After they met, it was decided that the Baleys would become the adoptive parents of the little girl they were having. Knowing the circumstances, the couple insisted that the adoption be an open one. Lucas and Peyton could come see their daughter whenever they wanted, and they would try to send updates as often as they could.

It was one of the easiest decisions they could ever make in the moment, but when the day finally came, it proved to be one of the hardest things they could ever do.

"Come on Peyton, you can do this…" he says, wiping at her forehead and squeezing her hand.

"I can't do this anymore Luke, I'm too tired." She sighs out, leaning back against the pillow again.

"Yes you can, you can do this. You have to do this, Peyton. Don't you want to meet that beautiful baby girl?"

Tears sprang to her eyes at his words, and she knew that he was right. She could do this.

When she finally came out, the nurse brought her over to the proud parents for a moment and Peyton's tears overflowed. "Sawyer."

"Is that her name?" the nurse asked softly.

Peyton nods dreamily as she looks at the little girl in the nurse's arms.

"Well, I think that Sawyer wants to see her mommy." She says, holding the tiny baby out towards Peyton, who was fervently shaking her head.

"Luke." Peyton pleads.

He steps in then, knowing what she needed from him.

"There is actually a couple in the waiting room waiting to meet their daughter."

"What about the name?" she asks, pulling the bundle back towards her.

"Her name is Sawyer Elizabeth Baley. Her adoptive parents wanted us to name her, but I think that they should see her now."

With a look to a tearful Peyton who was clutching Lucas' hand, the nurse stepped out of the room to clean the baby off and get her out to her adoptive parents.

He leans down then, kissing her cheek. "You did it."

She smiles for the first time all day and nods as he then moves to kiss her forehead.

"She was beautiful."

"She was."

"Lucas?"

"We did the right thing…" he says, caressing her forehead, and wiping away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks not realizing the tears that he shed as well.

"I didn't know that the right thing was going to hurt this much."

He pulls her to him as much as he can until another nurse comes in to check on Peyton and make sure that everything was okay.

A few hours later, while the pair was sitting together, waiting for a doctor to say that they could go home, they heard a small knock at the door.

Joanne Baley was at the door with her husband, carrying a small little bundle of pink.

"Are we interrupting anything?" she asks quietly.

"No, not at all." Lucas says from his spot in the chair next to Peyton's bed.

"We just…we knew that you didn't get to hold her, and we wanted to make sure that you did. You deserve it for bringing such a beautiful little girl into the world."

"I wouldn't want to cross any—"

"Peyton, Lucas, we meant what we said about this adoption. We know that if circumstances were different and the two of you were a little older that you would have your daughter with you. We don't want you to think that we are taking her from you. We want you to understand that we're keeping her for you." Richard Baley says, putting an arm around his wife as he looks down at the baby and back up to the two teenagers that brought her to them.

"Now… I think that Sawyer would like a moment with her birth parents, if that's okay with you."

Peyton nods eagerly, putting her arms out to take the little girl.

Once in her arms, the baby seemed to settle in, and Peyton couldn't help but smile down at the little girl. "She's beautiful."

"We'll give the three of you a minute." Joanne says, backing out of the room.

The pair seemed transfixed for the next few minutes, watching the tiny little body take in air, move her hands about, and open up her newly discovered eyes.

It was Lucas who finally broke the silence, "She's going to have your hair."

Peyton laughs at this and pokes a loving finger at the baby's nose, "and your nose."

"Definitely your chickeny little legs…"

"She'll have your smarts though."

"Your wit."

"Your eyes."

"Nah… she's going to have your eyes."

She looks up at him with a watery smile before taking a moment to pull the little girl close to her chest, whispering into her daughter's ear. "Sawyer Elizabeth, you will always be a Scott at heart, and we will always love you. We do love you, but we know that you are going to do so much better with your new parents than you could with us. You were not a mistake, but you were a miracle, and we love you."

As the tears rolled down her cheeks the baby opened up her eyes, seemingly looking up at her mother and father for a split second before closing her eyes and settling back in to sweet slumber.

This was how the Baley's found Lucas and Peyton just fifteen minutes later.

"Are the two of you sure about this?" Richard asks, looking down at the would-be family.

Peyton just extends her arms out in a gesture that tells them the baby is theirs.

"We know that you are going to be good to her, and we know that we couldn't give to her what the two of you could."

Joanne nods as she takes the little girl with such a gentle grace as if she was meant to do it. "We'd like to send you pictures and updates if you'll let us. Maybe every other month or so, just so you know that she's okay. We want the two of you to know about her life, be a part of it."

"It would be wonderful to be able to see her grow up that way." Peyton says with a smile.

"We'll take good care of her, you know that."

"We do." The pair says almost in unison.

And with that, the new family leaves the young couple in the hospital room alone.

"What do we do now?"

"What we gave her up for. We get the grades, we get into a good school, and we live out our dreams."

"That isn't selfish of us?"

"It would have been more selfish for us to keep her, Peyton, we both know that."

They sit for a moment in silence, each taking in the events of the day, and thinking about the days to come.

"This isn't what I saw happening… you and me and a baby… I saw that… but not between Junior and Senior year." She says, breaking the silence and the tears with a small laugh.

"It will still happen. Because the second we get out of college, I'm going to marry you Peyton Sawyer, and we are going to get all those dreams that we set out for."

"Really?"

"It's what I believe with all my heart, Peyton."

She lets out a sigh, looking toward the door and then back at Lucas. "Then that's what I believe to."

---

Okay, so this is the first of a new series that I'm writing, but I promise you that I'm writing and finishing the whole thing before posting a single chapter. This is totally inspired by my watching of Ally McBeal reruns and Life Unexpected, but it'll be totally different from either of those shows, so don't think that you can guess what's going to happen, cause I'm thinking you won't!!

For those of you faithful readers who are still waiting on an update of …and It Lasted Through The Years, it IS coming. It is just a slow process right now, because I kind of lost touch with the story for a bit. I'll update soon though, I promise!!

Read and Review and let me know what you think.