One man; a phone call; two plane tickets; three women.
"Hello?" Brooke Davis picked up her phone, expecting to hear the voice of the lady from the adoption agency.
"Hey, it's me."
"Hello?" Lindsay Straus didn't bother looking at the screen. She was too tired and planned to get rid of whoever was calling, as quickly as she could.
"Look, I'm at the airport with two tickets to Vegas."
"Hello?" Peyton Sawyer turned away from the window where she had been watching her friend record a new song. This was the call she'd been waiting for.
"Do you wanna get married tonight?"
Brooke pulled the phone away from away from her ear to check her caller ID, 'me', was in fact, Lucas Scott. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Could you repeat that?" she asked after a moment.
"I'm at the airport, there's a flight leaving for Las Vegas in half an hour and I've got two seats. Do you want to come with me, and get married tonight?" Lucas repeated slowly.
"Get married? You and me? But… Why?"
"I love you Brooke."
"I love you too Lucas, you know that. But not like… What about Peyton? Lindsay?" her mind was going a hundred miles an hour, this was completely insane… Wasn't it?
"I want you to have all the things that you want. And I know, right now the thing you most want is a baby. The adoption agency doesn't think you can be a single mom, they don't think you're capable. But they don't know you. I do, and I know, that no matter what the circumstances, you would be an amazing mom. You were to Angie, and you would be to any other kid lucky enough to be put into your care. It's so clear to me that you are supposed to be a mother. I want to help you get there. If you had a husband, they would look at you in a better light, and you'd be one step closer to your dream."
"Luke that is… That's a beautiful sentiment, thank you. But I don't think… We can't get married just so I can cut through some red tape and adopt a baby. That's wrong. Isn't it?"
"I don't think so." Lucas replied, leaning back in the plastic chair. "It would make you happy, and you would be able to help some deserving child that needs a loving home. Everybody wins."
"And what about you? What would you get out of it?"
"I would get to be there, seeing you happy, helping you – if you ever needed it – to give that child stability and love and whatever else it needed. So what do you say Brooke Davis? Do you wanna marry me tonight?"
"Luke… I don't understand what you're asking me."
"It's simple Linds. I love you, and you love me. You said you always would. So this should be a no brainer for you."
"But we tried that once before. We had the church, I was in the dress, all our friends and family were there…"
"And you said no. But I said yes. I've been saying yes the whole time, waiting for you to change your mind. I need you to do that now, for me. For us."
Lindsay leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples as she processed Lucas' words. Too much. This was all just too much. She had so much going through her mind right now and here Lucas was, just pouring more in.
"I do love you Luke, you know that. And I'm sorry that I lied and told you I was seeing someone. I thought that would help us both to move on, but it didn't. It's not. But whether we love each other or not doesn't change things. That doesn't erase the major problem that we were facing back on our wedding day, and it doesn't make things any easier. If anything, it's probably making things harder."
"What problem? I don't have a problem, except that the girl I love refuses to marry me, even though we had it all planned out, and we were ready to do it. What problem is making things hard for you Lindsay? Tell me what it is and I'll-"
"Peyton,"
"Peyton… She's not- you don't need to worry about her. She knows how I feel about you, and she won't stand in our way."
"I know that. She won't intentionally stand in our way, but her feelings are there, and I know that no matter what you say to me, you will always feel something for her. I can't be with you and keep you from your comet Luke. That would kill me."
"How many times do I have to tell you that was a work of fiction? It doesn't mean anything!"
"You can say that, she can say it. But I don't believe either of you. I know you Lucas Scott, and I know that I am not the one you've been waiting to return to you. I'm not the one to reawaken your life or your beliefs. So please, just stop this."
"Linds-"
"Please Luke. Don't call me anymore. The book is done, I'll have the office fax you a list of names to edit any future works, but I'm done."
She hit the end button and dropped her phone onto the seat beside her, letting her head fall back against the headrest
He would never know.
She wasn't going to tell him that she'd thought she was having his baby. Because even though it had been a false alarm he would somehow use that as an excuse for them to be together, he'd claim it was a sign or something. And she didn't have the strength to fight against him much longer.
"I won't tell him. He doesn't need to know." She told herself, resting a hand on her stomach. Lucas Scott was out of her life now, but she would always have the memory of what almost was.
"Don't joke with me Luke, I can't take that." Peyton begged, gripping her cell phone tightly n her hand. She was shaking. Seventeen words turned her knees to jelly. It was a good thing she was already sitting down.
"I am not joking. Peyton, I'm seriously sitting at the airport, and I'm waiting for this flight to take off. I want you on it with me,"
"But… I'm working. Haley and I are in the studio, and Mia's going to call soon with this guy who knew Ellie. And you keep telling me that Lindsay is the one for you. You said you hated me."
"I apologized for that. If you need me to do it again, I will. Every day for the rest of our lives if that's what it takes. Mia can leave you a message if we're in the air when she calls and Haley… Well, she'll understand this. Trust me."
"I'm sorry Lucas, but you're gonna have to help me out a little here. What happened to make you decide to ask me this?"
"Haley told me to make a decision. Which, I've always known I had to do, so I've finally done it. I choose you Peyton. I love you, and I don't want to fight it anymore. You are what I've been waiting for. You give me direction, meaning. Because of you I believe in love." He explained, running a hand over his newly shorn hair. "You said that every night you dream about that day in L.A., and you always say yes. Well, I'm asking you now; will you come with me now and marry me?"
"I want to Luke. I do, I swear…"
"So?"
"How long do I have?"
"Twenty minutes," he told her, glancing at his watch, and allowing himself to get just the tiniest bit excited. She was at least entertaining the idea.
"What are the gate and flight numbers?"
"I'll meet you out the front of the airport; don't worry about any of that. Just get here."
"I'll be there." She replied, jumping up out of her seat, trying to think of a way to explain to Haley without losing too much time.
"I love you."
"I love you Lucas." She told him, before shoving the phone in her pocket and grabbing her stuff.
"Haley!" she had so much to do and such a short time to do it in.
But this was going to happen; finally she would have her happy ending with Lucas Scott.
I watched this episode again today and it got me thinking, that I'd done this wrong. At least part of it. Because every single time I watch Gilmore Girls and Luke's daughter shows up I end up screaming at the tv because I cannot believe that Anna didn't tell hm. It drives me crazy. So I can't understand why I would have had Lindsay do the same thing. But that's all fixed now.