All His
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Pairing: Keith/Karen,
Dan/Karen
Rating: PG
Spoilers: All pre show
Notes: For the
LiveJournal FirstLines1000 Challenge #19.
“I'm not fighting
with you right now," Dan says, his voice calm, his eyes anything but. “I’m
going out with the guys.”
“Well, I’m
fighting with you,” Keith says, grabbing his brother by the arm. “And you’re
damn well going to listen to me.”
Dan wrenches his
hand free of Keith’s grasp, putting some distance between them. “We’ve had this
discussion,” he says. “More than once. And my decision’s not going to change.”
“Karen is
pregnant,” Keith reminds him, unable to believe what his brother is doing.
“With your kid. You owe her-”
“I owe her
nothing.” Dan’s voice is cold, but there is an almost mocking gleam in his eyes
that makes the hair on the back of Keith’s neck stand on end. “Karen and I are
over. I would have thought that would make you happy.”
Keith frowns, not
because he’s unsure of what Dan means, but rather the opposite. “What?”
“Karen. She’s all
yours.” Dan takes a step closer to Keith, his face darkening with fury, eyes
glittering with malice. “C’mon big brother, it’s hardly the first time you’ve
had to make do with my cast-offs-”
Anything else that
Dan might have come out with is lost when he falls to the ground, courtesy of
Keith’s fist making contact with his chin. Keith stands there, looks down at
Dan as, stunned, he stares up at Keith. One hand goes to his swollen lip, to
the trickle of blood making its way down his chin, and Keith steps over him,
because if he doesn’t, he knows he’ll beat his brother to a bloody pulp. “She’s
too good for you,” he mutters, and he doesn’t care if Dan hears him or not.
He’s not sure
where he’s going until he gets there, and even then, he stands at the door for
a long moment before stepping inside. For an instant, he doesn’t think she’s
there; then he sees her, sitting in the bleachers, her head in her hands. She
looks utterly miserable, and a fresh wave of anger at his brother surges
through him.
Dan had told him
earlier tonight where he was going, what he was going to do, and Keith had
pleaded with his brother to change his mind. Karen doesn’t deserve to be left
behind in Tree Hill while Dan goes off to live the high life at college. She
doesn’t deserve to have to raise a kid on her own, sacrificing her own dreams,
while Dan goes off and chases his. She deserves better than the life that Dan
is handing her.
Of course, she
deserves better than his jackass brother, which is part of the problem.
Another part is
that Dan had been closer to the truth than Keith cares to admit.
Pushing those
thoughts aside, this being neither the time nor the place, he makes his way to
her side, sits down beside her. He doesn’t say anything, isn’t even sure if she
knows he’s there until a harsh chuckle escapes her. “I was wondering if you’d
show up.”
He looks at her
curiously, because her head is still in her hands, then shrugs. “I figured you
might still be here,” he says. “Guess I don’t need to ask how you are?”
She laughs, but
when she looks at him and he sees her tear-stained face, her red eyes, he knows
it’s anything but funny. “I’m pregnant Keith,” she tells him flatly. “And as of
about an hour ago, the life I had planned out for myself doesn’t exist anymore.
So tell me, how do you think I am?”
“Pretty angry,” he
allows. “But I’m not the Scott you want to yell at.”
He spoke mildly,
but her face registers chagrin, and she drops her head. “I’m sorry,” she
mutters, looking away from him. Her head whips back around when his hand finds
hers and he squeezes gently.
“I’m sorry too,”
he tells her. “That my brother’s an idiot. I tried to talk some sense into him
you know. And then when that failed, I punched his lights out before I came
here.”
Her jaw drops, and
he shrugs. “He deserved it.”
He thinks the next
sound from her is supposed to be a chuckle; it’s more like a sob. “I had so
many plans Keith,” she whispers, staring at the Ravens pennant hanging from the
ceiling. “We were going to go to college, we were going to get out of here… and
I have no idea how I’m going to do this on my own.”
Keith lets out a
long breath, knowing what he wants to say, but equally knowing that it’s not
his place. So when he hears his own voice saying, “You’re not,” he’s just as
surprised as she is.
“What are you
saying?” she demands, eyes narrowed, and he shrugs again, because it’s so
simple, so clear to him. He knows exactly what he wants to do.
“Look Karen, Dan’s
made it clear that he doesn’t want to know. But this kid… it’s gonna be my
nephew or niece… that makes me involved too.” Her eyes grow wide and slightly
moist as he talks, but he doesn’t stop, because he’s afraid that if he does, he
won’t have the courage to see this through. “And you’ve got every right to tell
me to get lost, and I wouldn’t blame you if you did, but I just want you to
know… whatever you need, if there’s anything I can do…” He sighs again, shaking
his head. “You’re not alone Karen.”
Tears spill down
her cheeks and she wipes them away with a self-conscious giggle. “Boy,” she
says dryly. “Did I ever choose the wrong brother.”
He doesn’t say
anything, because he’s often thought the same thing. Instead he slings his arm
around her shoulders and offers to drive her home, an offer she accepts. And as
he drives, he thinks of Dan’s angry words.
“Karen. She’s all
yours.”
Not yet, he thinks to himself. But maybe someday.