Forever and A Day | one tree hill

twenty-four.

"Hey, Scott."

Valentina looks up to see Coach Durham standing on the sideline. She passes Sophia the ball before heading over to the sideline.

"Uh, your mother called," Coach Durham says, "It's your father."

Valentina's brows furrow, "Is he okay?"

"He's in the hospital. He had a heart attack."

Valentina isn't sure how to react. Her father hadn't talked to her since that practice. He'd been icing her out and so Valentina had been icing him out as well. She was worried about her dad, but she knew her father would berate her for visiting him in the hospital and not practicing for the playoff game.

"Oh," Valentina states.

"If you want to leave practice-"

"I don't," Valentina says, "You know my dad, Coach. He'd want me to be here."

"I know what Dan would want," Coach Durham says, "But what do you want? He is your father, and this is just a game."

"This game means a lot to me. And my teammates. So, if you don't mind, I'd prefer to be here, with my team," Valentina says. Her Coach stares at her a moment before relenting. She nods toward the court and Valentina takes her place back in the play.

Practice continues for two hours after that and following its conclusion, Valentina drives to the hospital and sits in the parking lot. She stares at the building, unsure of whether or not she should go in.

She thought about calling Peyton, but she knew that she was having a girl day with Brooke, so she didn't want to bother her.

Valentina sighed as she unclicked her seatbelt and opened the door to her car as she headed inside the hospital. She heads over to the front desk.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the lady asks.

"I'm looking for Dan Scott?"

"Are you family?" the lady asks as she begins typing into the computer.

"I am," Valentina states. The woman looks at the screen and then at Valentina.

"We're only allowing in immediate family," the lady states.

"I'm his daughter," Valentina states, "My name is Valentina Scott. I um I just look more like my mom."

The lady clears her throat, "Dan Scott is in room 741."

Valentina thanks her before she heads over to the elevator and pushes the button to the seventh floor. She steps out of the elevator and as she approaches the room, she finds Haley and Nathan standing in the hallway, talking softly to themselves.

Haley notices Valentina and she steps away from Nathan as she hugs Valentina.

"Oh," Valentina says as she hugs Haley back.

"Sorry," Haley says as she looks at Valentina, "I just – I felt like you needed that."

"I'm okay," Valentina responds, "But thank you."

Haley offers her a smile before she walks back over to Nathan, and he wraps an arm around her shoulder.

"So, um is this a bad time to ask you both to show me your left hands?" Valentina says, feeling awkward as she stands before her ex-girlfriend and her younger brother who were now supposedly married.

Nathan and Haley share a look before holding out their respective left hands and Valentina's eyes widen as she notices the rings on their fingers.

"Holy shit," Valentina says softly as she takes Haley's hand and looks at the ring, "Is this real?"