Peyton talks to her dad on the new-fangled web cam. She sits down in front of the computer and asks, "What's going on with the Unabomber look?" Larry replies, "I was going for George Clooney." Mmmm. Yummy. Clooney. Peyton giggles, "Go further." Larry laughs, too. Then he says something about Peyton's not really seeing him like that, because he usually shaves off his beard before he comes home. Peyton tells him to find his razor for the day after tomorrow. So, it looks like three weeks have passed. That means we're five weeks into the Brooke-Lucas relationship. At least we have some sort of timeline. Brooke and Lucas come into the room; Larry jokes, "I see no one uses the doorbell." Brooke makes some sort of comment about how the beard's "working" for "Papa Peyton." Then Larry asks, "What are you guys up to so early?" Brooke's about to spill the beans when Peyton interrupts and says, "Oh, no, you'll find out when you get home." Blah, love you dad, blah see you later, blah web cam out, blah. Brooke wants to know what's going on. Peyton, smiling again, says she needs her and Luke's help with something.
Outside Peyton's house -- maybe around the back -- they take the tarp off a red sports car. Lucas whistles, as he looks at the car he says, "Damn! That's nice." He drools, and then asks if it's her dad's car. Peyton says it is, but that her dad hasn't driven it in a year; she wants to know if Luke can get it to run. Brooke replies, "Of course he can, and he's going to look good doing it, too, in a tight little wife-beater, maybe some grease smudges." Ew. Gushy-girlfriend Brooke has got to go, it's nauseating. Oh, so now Luke can work on a car? But not actually get paid. Keith would have his hide. Peyton grabs onto Brooke, and she asks if Brooke can help Peyton to wash and wax the car. She just wants to do something nice for her dad for when he gets home. Yawn. Blah setting up the tragic circumstances blah. Luke opens the hood and stares at the motor like he actually knows what to do. Good acting, CMM; you didn't even try to turn it on first to see if it actually runs. Luke says, "Okay, I'll go get my tools." Heh, as if.
The Scott doorbell rings, and Nathan answers the door. There stand Grandma and Grandpa Scott. Grandma yells, "Surprise!" Grandpa grouches, "You answer the door in your underwear?" Nathan's stunned to see them. Deb comes to the door quickly saying, "Royal! May! What a surprise." The grandparents start bickering about Royal's dragging May to another "auto convention." Then, Grandma explains that she only agreed to go if they could see Dan on his birthday. But wait! There's a slight problem -- looks like Deb actually forgot that her husband was having a birthday. Oops. Finally, Nathan and Deb invite the Scott grandparents into the house. On the way in, Royal says, "Well, Deb, it looks like you put on a few; it looks good on you." There's nothing like your in-laws's greeting you by telling you you're getting fat. Like obnoxious father, like obnoxious son.
When Deb arrives at Dan Scott Motors, Dan thinks it's to wish him a happy birthday, but really, it's just to warn him that his parents are there. Oh, and to wonder why in the hell Dan hasn't told his parents he and Deb have separated. Dan takes a deep breath and asks, "How'd they take it?" Deb follows Dan into his office and says, "You think I told them?" Pause. "You think I want to be on the receiving end of that? That's your job." He asks how long they're staying. Deb replies that it's just for the night. Wait -- it gets better, Deb says, because Dan's mother is cooking him a birthday dinner. Dan: "Oh, perfect." He sits down: "So what are we going to do?" Deb holds firm: "We are not going to do anything. You are going to go to the house right now and tell them we're separated." Dan doesn't want to do that; he argues that the whole point of counselling is for them to work it out. Why would they tell his parents, and "have them weigh in on the state of [their] marriage?" He adds, "Do you remember when we told them we weren't going to have any more kids? How many times did my dad call you? And now you don't even have the option of hanging up on him." As much as I am loath to admit it, he sort of has a point, although it's never better to lie in any situation; you know that's just going to make it worse. Anyway. Deb reluctantly agrees to go along with Dan's cockamamie plan to "pretend," just for tonight. Dan points out, "Besides, it might be good for us to try to remember what it's like to be a normal family." Because Dan and Deb Scott certainly defined "normal family" up until now. Please.
Haley serves up a storm during the breakfast rush at the café. Who's cooking the food? If Karen's not there, I assumed Deb was doing the cooking, but she was at Dan's work not five minutes ago. Haley's not doing both the cooking and the serving, I hope. As Royal walks through the door, she says, "Good morning sir, table or counter?" See, Haley's still got a job. At least one of the teenagers on this show is responsible. Royal replies, "Um, actually, I'm looking for Karen." Haley says, "Actually, she's in Italy -- cooking school." Royal says, "Good for her." Pause. "How's that boy of hers doing?" Haley looks at him kind of funny, but says, "Lucas is great." Does Royal want to leave a message? Naw, he'll catch up with her the time he's passing by. Haley asks if Royal can tell her who he is. Royal declines, saying he's just an old friend, and then leaves the café. Haley brings a customer a cup of coffee -- but wait, Deb is there; she comes out from the kitchen to see Royal as he's leaving. Now, I'll bet that starts her mind a-wandering about whether Royal's kept in touch with Karen over the years.
Back at Peyton's, the teenagers are fixing the plot device...oh, I mean, "car." Luke says that it's not the battery; it's probably the starter. He's sitting behind the driver's side. Brooke leans in through the window and says, "But you can fix it, right?" Luke nods his head, and says, "Probably." She slides in beside him as he admires the "amazing" car. She calls him "amazing" as well. They make out. She grabs him by the necklace she gave him, which is right up there with Haley's hat in terms of the overbearing props-that- have-meaning part of this show: basketballs, necklaces, and hats. There are far too many accoutrements to keep track of. Anyway, blah smooching blah. Peyton comes out and sees Luke and Brooke making out; she's got a bit of a sour expression on her face. Luke quickly cuts off his kiss, jumps out of the car, and stutters, "I was, ah, just getting started." Under her breath, Brooke says, "Sadly, so was I." Brooke asks what's up, and Peyton shrugs her shoulders. Oh! Wait! Is this emotion? Should I be noticing this? Has Peyton reverted to the old standard maple tree-style response? Should I be shielding myself from the sawdust about to spring forth from my television set? She says, "There's a bad storm."
Back in Peyton's room, she explains that there's a Category 3 hurricane. Did she check the web cam? Yes, but it's down, too. Brooke says that maybe Larry's just turned it off. Peyton pouts: "Or maybe the storm did it for him." Luke says that storms must knock that kind of stuff out all the time. And that's supposed to make her feel better how? Luke says, "But aren't dredging boats huge?" Peyton: "He wouldn't on a dredging boat. Right now, if a storm's headed this way, he'd be on this little tiny transport boat headed back to shore." That's what she's worried about. Luke tells her not to get carried away; just because he hasn't checked in doesn't mean there's something wrong. Peyton's logic? Yeah, that doesn't mean it hasn't, either. And when people have been abandoning/leaving you your whole life -- that's what you'd think; so I don't blame her, but I do think she's about to run outside into the arms of the old oak for some comfort.
On the other side of Scottville, Nathan and Haley are walking downtown, talking about the big "family" dinner tonight. Is it really going to be that bad? Yes, Nathan confirms, it'll be a "massacre." Nathan adds, "My grandma's okay; it's just my grandpa's pretty intense." Haley can only imagine; she's met Dan. Why doesn't Haley come tonight? To the dinner? She giggles. Nathan jokes, "Maybe it'll make everyone behave." Haley says she'll go if he's asking. He asks. So, it's settled; she'll go to the dinner. Oh boy, do you think Grandma Scott has invented some sort of magic recipe for averting disaster?
Royal barrels into Dan Scott Motors, yammering on about wanting to see the manager. Of course, Dan's with a customer; of course, Royal starts going on about how the guy needs to know whom he's doing business with. Blah, all star, blah basketball champion, blah ghosts of the past, blah old battles, blah. The customer, Mr. Miller, says, "No kidding!" Dan sheepishly introduces his father. For heaven's sake, all the guy wants to do is buy a car, not hear about Dan's former triumphs. Mr. Miller asks if Dan played college ball, too. Before Dan can answer, Royal butts in: "Would have, but he blew his knee out in his first year. He was robbed." Dan looks at his father. Royal's got one of those "what?" looks on his face. Blah Dan couldn't close the sale, blah without him, blah he's got a right to brag, blah. Then, Royal punches Dan in the stomach, and says, "Ah, still keeping in shape, good for you." This whole Scott basketball problem isn't an obsession any longer; after three generations; it becomes a legacy of dysfunction. No wonder Nathan's so messed up.
Later that night, Dan helps Deb to set up the table. He also gives her pointers about which subjects to avoid (Nathan's not going to practice/quitting the team). Oh, and Dan's already schooled Keith and Nathan in the same subjects. Deb quips, "Any other lies I should remember I have to tell?" Dan snits, "I'm trying to protect our son from my father, okay?" Grandma comes into the dining room, Dan compliments her, and then she calls him a liar. Heh. Now, it's Royal's turn, and he's all basketball, Charlotte, playoffs, and something about a hope in hell.
Luckily, the doorbell rings to save them from actually having to have a conversation. Keith arrives, and his mother gives him a huge hug. Royal says, "Ah, look what the cat dragged in." Keith takes the high road: "Good to see you too, Dad." They shake hands. Keith walks around the table and wishes his brother a half-hearted happy birthday. May encourages everyone to hurry up and sit down, because dinner's almost ready. She asks "Danny" to pour the wine. Keith says, "Amen to that." Pause. "Mom, you're going to need to set another place at the table. I invited a guest." May starts showing everyone where she wants them to sit. Haley and Nathan arrive. Royal introduces himself like they've never met before, and he approves when Haley plays the game the right way. So many secrets! So many lies! Blah, Nathan's looking more and more like his old man, blah gets his good looks from the Scotts, blah.
The doorbell rings again, and it's Whitey this time! Gotta love that Woda; he's a thorn in Dan's side on a consistent basis. And you know, I'll bet he and Keith cooked this up just because it would be uncomfortable, and that makes me love both of them that much more. Woda hugs May, and raises the mood in the room. I guess they're all good friends from way back. Nathan turns to Haley, smiles crookedly, and says, "Glad you came?" She smiles back, nods her head, and says, "Yeah." There are so many skeletons at the dinner table that I'm afraid of what's going to happen when the bones start knocking and then topple right over.
Luke and Brooke are still trying to fix the car. It looks like the girls have cleaned it up nicely. Brooke turns the engine once, and nothing happens. Luke fiddles with something, and asks her to turn it again. Lo and behold, it works! Brooke calls, "Peyton, come check it out!" Peyton's face is ashen when she comes outside. Brooke sees that she's totally upset and asks, "What is it?" Peyton cries, "I just got a phone call. It's the storm. My father's transport is missing; there are three guys missing." Pause. "They recovered a body." Luke: "What'd they tell you?" Peyton answers, "I have to go see if it's him." Well, for the sake of my sanity, let's all hope that it's not him. I couldn't stand how morose Peyton would be if she actually ended up a bloody orphan.
Back inside the house, Luke says, "Are you sure you shouldn't call your grandmother?" Peyton's sure. She doesn't want to upset her; besides, she says firmly, "It's not going to be my dad." Brooke says, "Of course it's not." Rah! Rah! It's not Peyton's dad! Rah! Go-o-o-o Team! Yawn. Peyton wants them to get on the road; it's a four-hour drive. Brooke hesitates; she's a bit skittish about driving for four hours into a bad storm. Peyton says that by the time they get there, the storm should be gone. Luckily for Brooke, Luke says that it's probably good if someone stays by the phone. Brooke, the big baby, immediately offers to be the one to stay in the nice, warm, dry house and wait by the phone. Luke steps into his angel wings again and assumes his saint pose. Brooke insists that he go with her, considering that she sucks in a crisis, and he doesn't. Is she sure? Absolutely. Brooke hugs Peyton, tells her that she loves her, and then gives Luke a kiss. Blah, he's the best, blah. They're off.
The birthday dinner's in full swing. Of course, the conversation trails its way back to basketball, Royal asking Whitey how the team's doing this year. Dan masterfully steers him away from Tree Hill basketball and back on track with NBA basketball until May insists that they leave the sports talk until dessert. Whitey gives Dan a high-eyebrow look when Dan doesn't reveal what's really going on with the team, but he rolls with it. Royal ignores his wife's suggestion, and starts asking Nathan what he's averaging these days, wondering if he's beaten Dan's score yet. May says, "What did I just say?" Royal bites off her tongue by bitching, "I'm just asking the boy a question, May." Good thing the women at this table know their place. Yawn. No one's saying anything except Royal. Nathan masterfully answers, "Why don't you ask my dad?" Whitey has an incredibly cute, amused look on his face. God bless Woda. He's actually enjoying this, I think. Dan quietly says, "Twenty-four points a game, wasn't it?" Royal starts drifting back down memory lane, blah, Dan's star, blah rising, blah Carolina, blah knee, blah. Royal asks, "How are your knees?" Nathan answers, "No worries." Haley jokes, mid-bite: "He's got great knees." Everyone chuckles. Then, Royal says, "'Course now Danny takes after his old man; never let adversity stop him. Too bad Keith takes after his mother's side of the family." May smiles and says, "Good for him." Keith jokes, "I'd drink to that, but I need a refill." He also needs to return his paisley shirt to the early '90s. I mean really, why do they always make Keith look like such a redneck. It's an awful thing to put a handsome man inside such an ugly shirt. Thankfully, May stops all this nonsense by saying she'll need to see to the cake. Whew! They made it through dinner. Haley says, "I'll go do that, Mrs. Scott." She stands up and asks Nathan if he wants to help. He does -- anything to get out of that room, I'm sure. Dan polishes off his glass of wine, and Deb looks like she's about to implode.
As the two if them arrive in the kitchen, Nathan reminds Haley, "I warned you it was going to be intense." Haley groans, "Oh! 'Insane' is more like it." Haley picks up a flat spatula and starts fiddling with the icing on the cake. There's irony in that. Nathan says, "You know, there's a door right there. We could sneak out and no one would even notice." Now that's tempting. Haley asks, "How often do your grandparents come to town?" Nathan says, "A couple times a year -- why?" At first, Haley doesn't say anything, but Nathan insists, "She's got that look." Meaning what? The look that says Haley wants to tell him something, but doesn't know if she should tell him or not. Haley waves the spatula around in front of him, and says, "No, I don't! And you shouldn't know that look yet." What is it? And that's all it takes for Haley to spill the beans? One look from her boyfriend? So, she tells Nathan how Royal dropped by the café, and how she thinks he and Karen have been keeping in touch. Nathan says, "Does Lucas know him?" Haley answers, "No, they've never even met, but your grandfather asked about him." Nathan says, "That doesn't make any sense? My grandpa acts like my dad's the second coming; why would he visit Karen?" Haley shrugs, she doesn't know, and that she doesn't want to start anything. Nathan says, "You know what? My family's so screwed up, nothing new would make a difference right now. Don't worry about it."
Melancholy music plays in Peyton's melancholy car as she and Lucas make their melancholy way to Hilton Head. Luke's driving, because he's the man, and the saint, and Peyton shouldn't be trusted to control a motor vehicle in her grief. Yawn. He asks if she's warm enough. She's okay, but she does think she should probably get the heater fixed in her car. Luke laughs nervously, and then offers up Keith's services. For free. At the garage where Luke's supposed to work part-time, but he's been spending too much time with Brooke. Peyton nods her head. More free body work on her car is just what she needs right now. Does she want to stop for coffee? No, she's fine on that front too. Could Luke coddle her any more? Peyton turns and looks longingly at him. Blah, thanks for doing this with me, blah google-eyes, blah staring at each other blah. Luke says, "That's what friends are for, right?" The road leads them to a bridge that's being worked on by a rather large crew of men. Luke stops the car, and they both get out. Blue lights are flashing, and it looks like the bridge is standing straight up -- apparently, it's out because of the storm. One of the workers tells Peyton that it'll be up in the morning. She freaks out a bit, and tells him that they have to get across the bridge. St. Luke calmly asks if there's another way around. Worker Bee tells them that they could take a ferry, but that the channel's too rough, and the ferries aren't working, either. What should they do? Well, the bridge may be open in the morning at 6 AM; they can stay in a local motel until then. The Worker Bee walks away. Peyton and Luke get back in the car -- and isn't it the worst not to be able to get to the place you want to go? Oh. The. Tragedy. Yawn. Could there be any more stumbling blocks until we get to the scene where the two of them make out? Hell, even I could cut the sexual tension with a chainsaw.
Dan blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Royal takes this as a sign that dinner is now over, and that he has free rein for the basketball talk. Everyone, including Dan, tries to avoid the question of how Nathan's doing on the team this year. Keith takes a sip of whiskey as his father says, "Will somebody around here tell me what's going on?" Royal turns to his grandson: "Nathan?" No response. Then he turns to Woda, who says, "Nathan, I think you'd better take this one." Nathan slowly says, "I quit the team, Granddad." Of course, Royal explodes. Of course, Dan tries to make it into something it's not -- that is, he says that Nathan didn't exactly quit, but that he's just taking some time off. I don't know if that makes it better or worse. Deb honestly looks like she's about the burst from the pressure as she says, "No, he's not. Please stop lying, Dan." Royal continues, "Were you ever going to tell me this? I mean, that's a hell of a thing to keep to yourself." Now, here's where the Scott family genes really don't help much, as Nathan smart-mouths: "You're one to talk. I know you visit Karen. What's that about?" Haley whisper-shouts, "Nathan!" Royal -- from the old school of parenting -- says, "That's none of your damn business and I guess somebody's [ahem, read, Haley] got a big mouth." Nathan exacerbates the situation by telling his grandfather to shut up. And holy crap would I have ended up with a smack if I talked to anyone like that. Royal decries Nathan's mouth, and rightfully so, until Deb cuts in and says, "Back off, Royal. I've had enough of your crap. Nathan is not the problem." And we'd all better cover our heads because those skeletons I mentioned? Yeah, they're about to rain down on this dinner table, spreading dust, and bones and old scores like you've never seen them before.
May wants someone to explain to her what in the heck is going on. Deb takes this as her cue to tell the truth: "Dan has been riding Nathan for the past six years about that damn game." Dan interjects, "Deb, stop it." She ignores him: "Riding him so hard that Nathan took drugs just so he could measure up." Now it's Royal's turn to interject: "Drugs!" Deb carries on: "Until he had to be rushed to the hospital. He could have died because of this insane pressure to put a ball through a hoop." Deb stores up her energy and really goes in for the kill: "But none of that is my son's fault, Royal." Don't worry. I have an umbrella to protect me from the bone hail descending like mad. "It's your son's." Now, wait for the kicker -- Grandma Scott pipes up: "Danny, you of all people! How dare you! You know how much you hated it when your daddy bullied you to be better!" Royal shouts, "I never bullied him!" May continues, "And when you wanted a way out, I gave you one. All these years, I protected you, I lied for you, and now you're doing the same thing to your son." Royal: "What lie? What are you talking about?" May: "In college, his knee injury. It wasn't permanent. Danny quit. And I helped him." It's raining bones, hallelujah it's raining bones, yeah, yeah. And so that's what's been haunting Dan all these years -- not something out of his control, but a decision of his own making, his decision to quit. Not his body giving out before he had a chance to show his true potential. Now, doesn't that just change everything?
It's okay, take a deep breath. We've got a few minutes of commercials.
Well, this just puts Royal over the edge. He barks, "What do you mean, he quit?" Dan snaps, "It's not like that, Dad." May snits, "Stop it, Dan! It's time the truth came out." Royal waves his hands around and yells, "Will somebody tell me what in the hell is going on here?" May says, "You were on the road when Danny hurt his knee. We lied!" Royal turns to his son: "You told me it was a degenerative knee condition --" Dan says, "It was Dad, it was --" Royal continues, "You looked me in the eye and you told me that." Keith just smiles and shakes his head as he watches his family fall apart before his eyes. May says, "He was never going to be the star that you wanted him to be; you just couldn't see that. The boy had two choices: fail in front of you, or quit. Either way, he lost." Nathan rubs his forehead. Royal bitches, "So you just quit without even being man enough to own up to it." Dan attempts to defend himself: "There's more to the story, Dad --" Royal doesn't give him the chance, though; he just gets up and leaves the table. Nathan takes this as his cue to get out while he can: "Come on, Haley, I'll take you home." Deb looks devastated; well, actually she looks pissed -- really, really pissed. Whitey gets up and says, "I can show myself out. Thank you May, thank you Deb." He puts a hand on Dan's shoulder and says, "Happy birthday, Danny." Now that's also ironic. May tries to talk to him, but Dan also leaves the table. In quintessential "mom" fashion, May gets up and says, "Well, I guess I'll do the dishes."
Peyton and Luke arrive in a dank motel room to wait out the storm. Peyton takes off her coat slowly and says, "Okay, let's just try and get some sleep. I want to be at the bridge right when it opens up, at 6 AM." Luke says, "We'll be there at 5 AM." Aw, he's so supportive. Yawn. It's raining heavily outside. Peyton starts giggling. She says, "We're in a hurry to find out if my dad's dead." Pause. "It's kind of surreal." Luke sits down in a chair and admits that it's pretty messed up. Peyton gets all sad and philosophical: "You know in dreams, when you keep trying to get some place, but you never get there?" Luke knows. She continues, "I wish I could wake up." Me too! Me too! Me too! Oh, and shut up, Peyton. Stick to drawing. Speaking really isn't your shtick. Luke says he thinks they should try to get some sleep. Can she? Peyton nods, and then lies down on the bedspread of the dirty motel bed. Ew. I mean, really, ew. When my best friend and I drove across Canada, we stayed in all kinds of motels like this -- one of them was so gross that it had stains all over the carpet and walls, and there was dried blood on the pillows. I would so not be lying down on the bedspread. At least you know the sheets might have been washed a couple of times. I mean really. Luke offers to sleep on the floor. Peyton tells him not to be stupid. He turns off the light and lies down beside her on the bed. The pillow talk goes something like this: Peyton, I just wish there was something I could do or say to help you through this. You already have, thanks Lucas. Ah, goodnight. Ick.
Nathan walks Haley to her front door. He apologizes for putting her through that evening. She says that it's okay -- it helps her to understand him. Nathan leans on the railing and says, "You know, growing up there were certain things that were just carved in stone." Haley sits beside him. "The main one was that Dan Scott would have been a pro if he didn't pull out his knee." Nathan looks at Haley: "So, all this time he's just been feeding me this line of crap --" Haley looks back at him. "About how great he would have been, and how I'd never be as good as him. The bastard." The sky opens up, and Haley reaches her hand high into the air to tug slowly on a silver lining: "At least you know the truth now, right?" Nathan shakes his head: "I just don't know what to do with it." Nathan sighs, Haley hugs him, kisses him, and then says goodnight. Blah, she's there, blah, if he needs her blah. Just as she's about to go into her front door, Nathan says, "Remember how I said my family's so screwed up nothing new would make a difference?" Yeah. "I was wrong." With that, Nathan walks down the stairs and out into the night, and for once, Haley doesn't run after him.
Dan sits in his study drinking a glass of whiskey. Nathan arrives. Dan looks up and says, "Do you want to hear my side of it?" Nathan snarks, "Why should I believe it?" Pause. "This whole time you've been riding me, you've known exactly the way I feel. Now that that's in my head, it makes it that much worse." The ice cubes in Dan's glass tinkle as he turns his chair around to face his son: "I was a great player Nathan." Pause. "In high school. But when I got to Carolina, I knew it just wasn't going to be the same." Blah, Royal couldn't see it, blah hard on May too, blah. Apparently, Nathan's grandmother came to Dan and pleaded with him to walk away, so he did. But wait! He wanted it back -- the dream, the success in his sport -- but it had all fallen apart. "Worst decision of my life." Dan continues, "It felt good to get out from under my father. And after a while, I realized I wasn't playing for him at all. The game meant the world to me." Dan looks at his drink. "So, I tried to get back into it. Rehab, running, but it was too late. My knee never responded; it was over for me." Nathan: "So that gives you the right to hammer me all the time?" Dan: "I know I'm hard on you, I know I push you -- but I'm trying to save you from a life of regret." Blah, he will regret it, blah. Holy crap, for a show that started being about two brothers, it's quickly turned into a show about fathers and sons. Blah, Dan pushes him, blah wants Nathan to be stronger; blah wants to save Nathan from himself, blah, so he doesn't turn out like Dan, blah. Nathan stoically says, "Well, you're safe then, Dad, because I'll never be like you." Ouch. And it burns! My eyes! They burn. Nathan's standing up for himself; he's not screaming, he's just quietly asserting his unhappiness. Holy Moses! Nathan and Dan sort of had a mature conversation.
In the hotel, neither Peyton nor Lucas is sleeping. She's playing with a bracelet. He turns his head and says, "Hey? What you got?" Peyton fiddles with her silver charm bracelet, holds it up in the air, and then reads, "'To my heart, love Daddy.'" She turns to Lucas and continues, "He gave it to me for my last birthday." Only as of last episode, he had missed her last birthday, so he had given her oil paints to make up for it, but whatever -- maybe he had shipped this to her in the mean time? Or maybe the writers are careless and can't remember what's happened from episode to episode and are convinced we're just as dumb. Ha! (Insert evil maniacal laughter here). They don't know it's my job to pay attention to the details. Buggers. Anyway. Blah, Peyton's worried, blah what if it's him, blah Luke reassures her, blah she doesn't know what she'd do, blah. Blah, blah, blah bonding. Peyton: "Why is it that every time things are going well, something terrible happens?" Spoken like a true pessimist. Lucas quietly says, "You don't know that it has." Only he drags out the word "has" like it sounds like "haaazzzz." He makes the words as long as the stare he's giving her. I'm trying not to fall asleep, this scene is so boring and typical. Lucas tells her to keep the bracelet close to her heart. I'm hoping that it slips, bores down deep, and that Peyton wakes up almost bleeding to death and Luke has to save her. As farfetched and ridiculous as that sounds, it's far better than what's going on here. Can they just get to the dead body already so we can all know that it's not Peyton's dad so they these two can make out and we can just keep moving on -- because the faux tragedy every other episode with Peyton and Luke is getting hella tired. Peyton rolls over and tries to sleep.
Deb is sitting by herself in a dark living room when Dan comes in carrying some blankets and a pillow. He says, "You can sleep in the bedroom. I'll sleep out here tonight." Deb looks at her husband and asks, "Has it ever once bothered your conscience that our entire relationship is based on your lie?" When Dan's knee stopped his college career, they both dropped out. He says, "We both dropped out to raise Nathan." He snaps, "Don't rewrite history." Deb lets out a sarcastic laugh: "Oh, so you're the only one who can play that game?" Dan squints at her. Deb continues, "I thought I knew the man I was choosing to spend my life with." Dan tries to be sincere: "The injury was real, Deb." Is he trying to convince himself or her? He says, "And yes, I decided not to rehab it, at first. By the time I changed my mind, it was too late." He sits down and continues, "I did it in service of you and Nathan. Now I know how you'd hold it against me for not telling you." Deb looks at him like he's the Devil, real and true, sitting there on her couch. I'm always amazed at the range and depth of human emotion -- how you can go from loving someone so much to hating them in the span of one television moment. Dan continues, "But did you ever think that maybe I did it to protect you from it all?" Is Deb really buying this load of crap? His knee blew out so he couldn't play basketball; it's not like he had cancer or, hell, even like he was telling Deb he had another son, for goodness's sake. Deb's not buying Dan's crap: "If that's what you need to believe." Dan tries again: "It's the truth." He's the boy who cried basketball. No one believes a thing Dan says these days. Deb: "The truth? In this house?" And with that, she walks away, leaving Dan by himself on the cold couch with the cool realization that all the lies he's built up around him have now finally come to the light. How can he start to live again now?
Lucas comes back into the hotel room. He's raided the vending machines. Peyton's under the blanket now. Ew. He tosses her a pop, and says that she should probably eat something. Peyton says, "After my mom died, my dad couldn't cook, so we lived on frozen pizza." Holy crap, I know exactly what she means. My dad did the same thing after we lost our mom. He would latch on to something my brother and I liked to eat, and that's all he would buy. To this day, he still thinks I love blueberry yogurt when I haven't eaten it in years. Anyway, Peyton continues, "I could live on pizza. He'd buy these cheese pizzas, and we'd put our own toppings on -- pickles, bologna, pineapple, whatever." Luke says, "That's nasty." Peyton says, "No, actually they were really good." She laughs. "I think he did it mostly to make me laugh, and to make me forget for a little bit." The alarm goes off. It's 4:45 AM. Luke takes a deep breath: "Are you ready." Peyton admits that she's not, but says she wants to go anyway. They put on their jackets and head outside into the cold, dark morning of death. Yawn.
The morning, May's in the kitchen making breakfast when Deb comes downstairs. She asks, "Scrambled or fried?" Deb replies, "I think nobody's going to be that hungry." May says, "I'm glad you stood up to Royal the way you did, Deb." Deb gets a cup to pour a cup of coffee while May's talking: "I didn't mean to hurt Dan, but this lie over the years has gotten so tiresome, I did what I thought I had to do." Deb smiles as she says, "That's what we do." It's a bonding of the Scott wives. At least Deb has one ally; you know it's only going to get worse between her and Dan. Deb smiles at her mother-in-law and says, "I'm glad you spoke up." Dan comes into the kitchen at this point, and ignores both of them. That doesn't stop May; she puts her hand on her hip with some real Southern attitude and says, "Son, one day you're going to realize I did you a favour. Your daddy's going to get over this eventually, but if you let history repeat itself, your son may not." Dan says quietly, "I'm going for a run." And with the same determination mixed with a bit of disillusionment and denial, May turns to Deb and says, "Oh well, I think I'm going to scramble these."
Nathan runs into his grandfather in the hallway. Royal stops him and, although it's hard for him, says, "Listen, Nathan, whatever you're going through, I'm sorry about your dad." Nathan turns around and says, "I understand why he did it, Grandpa. He must have really loved you, you know that -- cause anything seemed better than disappointing you." Royal heads upstairs wondering how his grandson got so damn smart.
Peyton and Luke are in the coroner's office. They lift the sheet. Strange twangy music plays in the background. Peyton looks at the body. Luke puts his hand on her shoulder. She says, "It's not him!" They embrace.
Once outside, Luke tells her that she did "good." Peyton admits that she thought her chest was going to explode. Lucas calls Brooke, who for some reason answers, "Peyton's Place." Which is strange, because I'm assuming Luke called her cell phone and not Peyton's house, but whatever. Luke tells her the good news, but Brooke already knew, because someone called to tell them that they made contact with Larry's boat, and that Larry is fine. Luke tells Peyton the good news. She jumps into his arms. Luke tells Brooke that he and Peyton are headed home. Brooke says, "Love you." Luke says, "You too." Like it's no big deal! Holy crap. They just said the "love you"s. That takes most teen dramas about six angst-filled episodes to actually get through, but whatever; it's like hyperspace sometimes on this show, time moves so fast. Peyton's happiness is short-lived; she notices that she must have left her bracelet in the hotel. Luke, jumping into Super Teen mode, says, "Okay, let's go!"
Nathan shows up at Haley's house. It must be early, because he hasn't even had breakfast yet, and Haley's already doing homework. Nathan sits down and says, "Grandma's making breakfast; show starts at 9." What teenager gets up before 9 AM on a Sunday to visit with his girlfriend who herself is already up doing homework? Does real time not exist for anyone on this show? Haley passes; she had enough fun last night. She turns around and says, "You know, I've been thinking: now that you know the truth about your dad, you're free. I mean, he's been lying to you all this time; you don't have to listen to him anymore." Nathan wishes that were true. Now, more than ever, he has to beat Dan; he has to go back, just to prove he can beat him for the last time, once and for all. "It's the only way I'm ever going to be free of my dad." And then he leaves, almost as quickly as he got there. I wonder how far apart they live from one another?
Peyton rushes back into the hotel room. Luckily, she finds her bracelet under the pillow. Her absolute relief turns to tears. Luke comforts her, but Peyton keeps on crying. Oh, yeah, then they start making out. Pulling clothes off, making out some more, lying down on the bed, making out, making out, and making out. Well, St. Luke's not so bloody saintly now -- he's a two-timing, hormonally charged teenager -- thank goodness. The other stuff was getting a bit tired. Blah bare chest, blah, making out, blah de smooching blah. Wait! The music stops as Peyton's hair gets caught in Luke's necklace. He says, "Brooke." She says, "What?" "Brooke gave me that necklace." And that ends that. Luke says they should get going, and Peyton agrees with him. Only she lies there for a second, clutching Brooke's necklace to her chest thinking one of two things: (a) she really loves Lucas and is sad because she wants him, or (b) she's a crappy-ass friend for making out with the boy her best friend is going out with. You guys can interpret it whichever way you choose. I'm going with a combination of both.
The breakfast table feels just as uncomfortable as the dinner table -- maybe even a little more, seeing as all the skeletons have joined them for a tasty bit of scrambled eggs. Keith's there, too. Royal asks, "How's business, Keith?" He says it's steady. Royal continues, "I know I've ridden you a lot, son, but I hope you know I think you're a good man." Keith smiles, and then he snarks, "That's great, Dad. The first nice thing you say to me, and it's really just a dig at Dan." Royal starts to defend himself, but May steps in to ask if they can't all just eat their breakfast. May says that Dan had forgotten to open their present from her and his father. Dan puts down his fork and opens the box. Inside, there's a beautiful quilt of all his basketball stuff; it's really lovely. May says she couldn't bring herself to throw it out, she insists he still has a lot to be proud of. Only Dan looks kind of mortified, sort of stunned and kind of confused after the night that they all just had.
After breakfast, Dan's helping Deb in the kitchen. He puts a dish in the sink and says, "It's almost over, Deb." She sighs, "Thank God for that." Dan tries to make peace by thanking her for "not throwing gas on the fire." Deb just looks down at the counter. This causes Dan to say flippantly, "Are you okay?" Deb keeps her eyes away from him and admits that she's not at all okay: "All this pretending and lying, I can't really hold it against you -- " He interjects with a short, curt "Deb." She continues, "-- because I realized I've been doing it, too." She leaves the room. And Dan sits there thinking his life just can't get any worse.
On the ride back home, Luke tries to talk to Peyton about what happened, but she stops him. She says, "Don't. It was stupid, okay, you're with Brooke now." Luke says, "Yeah." Peyton continues, "We got carried away; it didn't mean anything." He looks at the road and asks, "It didn't?" Peyton replies honestly, "Of course it did." They look at each other and then look away.
May hugs Deb, Nathan, and Keith, while Dan helps Royal with their bags. Dan expects his father at least to shake his hand, but Royal just walks away. The car drives off, leaving quite a mess for the Scotts to clean up. Deb removes Dan's hand from her shoulder and goes inside. Keith leaves, and so does Dan, leaving Nathan staring after the car.
Somewhere in the distant future, Nathan's back on the team. He sees Haley in the hallway, and then walks back into practice.
Back home now, Brooke runs out and hugs Peyton. Then she hugs Luke, trusting both of them, not knowing anything about what happened. And I bet the two of them feel just terrible.
But not that terrible, because week Luke and Peyton carry on a crazy, clandestine relationship without telling Brooke. They make out here, there, everywhere, and Haley gives Luke shit, rightly so. But wait! There's a car accident, and the last scene has Dan carrying Lucas into the hospital, because I guess there were no ambulances around and he didn't have a neck injury or anything. But I guess I was wrong about Dan's life not getting any worse, because now he might just have to acknowledge that Luke's his son. Sigh.