It has been four years since that night at the river court. Four years since we promised to always be friends. Four years. It seems like so much longer.

That night was perfect. A perfect way to say goodbye. There was love, laughter, and closure to four memorable years. Everyone was at the party. Nathan and Haley, the golden couple and recent parents of James Lucas, my godson. Peyton and Lucas, the brooding soul mates. Bevin and Skills, the cheerleader-jock combo that was anything but typical. Mouth, Rachel, Junk, Fergie, and Chase. And me, Brooke Davis. We celebrated our graduation from Tree Hill High, our passing into the world of independence and responsibility. We were leaving behind tragedy, sorrow, and our pasts.

What none of us expected, however, was the cliff that awaited us as we started down this new path of our lives.

When the clock struck twelve, the reality that senior year was officially over finally sank in. With it came sadness and excitement, hesitation and joy.

Peyton and I boarded a plane to Los Angeles later that day, with our final goodbyes to the people that had become our family. Peyton clung to Lucas, crying and saying that she should just stay with him. Of course, the internship was her dream and she had to go. I hugged Haley and Nathan, stealing Baby James to say goodbye in my own special way.

"Now, James, I want you to know how much Auntie Brooke loves you and that I left a picture of me by your crib, so make sure you demand to see it everyday so you don't forget me, okay? And I will always be there for you, no matter what. When your mommy and daddy are annoying, you can come and see Auntie Brooke. As with my duties as your godmother, I will teach you all the important things that your parents don't think are appropriate, like how to flirt your way out of paying for drinks, how to work your sexiness that you are sure to have inherited from your mommy and daddy, and where to get a fake ID." James smiled up at me and grabbed a lock of my hair. "You see, you're already a heart breaker! You'll have girls falling all over you! I will call you every night Baby James. Don't do anything I wouldn't do" I said before giving him a few kisses on the forehead.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see a slightly annoyed but amused Haley and a laughing Nathan. "Brooke, stop corrupting my baby! It's bad enough that Nathan made it so that James will only fall asleep to rap music!" she said with a smile on her face. I laughed, handed James to Peyton and turned back to Haley. "You are amazing Haley James Scott. What am I going to do without you all summer?" "Well," she whispered, "you will obviously fall into a deep depression and pine for me every day." We shared a final hug as Peyton moved in for her turn.

"So, Brooke Davis, will you sign this for me?" Lucas asked me. "What?" I reply. "Well, When you are famous, I want to have the first authentic Brooke Davis signature" He said with a smile. "Well, I will, but only if you send me a personally sign copy of your novel when you finish." I quickly signed the paper and gave Lucas a hug. He whispered in my ear "You are an amazing person, Brooke. I'm gonna miss you so much, Cheery." "I'll miss you too, Broody."

I glanced at my watch and see that it was time for us to go. I finally turned to Chase and with tears in my eyes said "I love you, Chase. Don't forget about me, okay?" "Forget about you? Not possible, Brooke, not possible" he said before wrapping his arms around me and giving me a sweet but loving kiss. When we broke apart, I squeezed his hand and turn to the group. Tears threatening to stream down my face, I went over to where Peyton was grasping Lucas for dear life. "Come on P. Sawyer. LA is waiting for us. Let go of Scott number 1 and grab your bags" I said with my best attempt at a smile.

Just before we left security to go to our terminal, we turned around and waved goodbye. I almost ran back to the group, but Peyton held my hand and we walked to the gate and the next chapter of our lives

If only we had known that getting on that plane would be the worst mistake of our lives.

"Peyt, wake up, the plane is shaking!" I hissed while pulling on the sleeping blonde's arm. We hit a large air pocket and the plane started to drop, finally waking Peyton. "What the hell?" she said, looking around at the panic erupting around us. The yellow oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and the last thing I remember was grabbing Peyton's hand

When I woke up, I could hear distant screaming. The only thing I could think about was how much my head hurt. I turned to the right and suddenly remembered the plane and the turbulence. "Peyton!" I screamed, shaking her arm, "Peyt, please wake up!" Slowly, she lifted her head, exposing the large bruise over her right eye. "Peyton, stay with me, okay? The plane crashed, we have to get out of it. I smell smoke!" I said while unbuckling both of us. I saw our luggage strewn around and decided to grab everything, just incase.

We slowly shuffled to the opened emergency exit and jumped onto the beach below. I grabbed the bags and helped Peyton walk down the beach, away from what used to be the plane.

A group of other passengers, or I suppose survivors, had started a bonfire and were gathered around it about a half mile away from the crash site. I could see that some others had bags with them and were using them as chairs. Peyton and I finally reached the fire and sat down on the sand, exhausted.

"Does anyone have any idea where we are?" I asked, wondering what if anything people remembered. "No one at this fire does so far, but I think there are still people alive on the plane and there is a smaller group getting fire wood and exploring" a man in his mid twenties answered before turning to talk to a middle aged couple beside him.

"Brooke, what are we going to do? What about Lucas and Nathan and Haley and Chase?" Peyton quietly asked me as we were setting up our own sleeping area. "Well," I started, trying my best to sound sure of myself, "I'm sure that the airline received a distress signal or something, so it shouldn't be long before they find us. And I'm sure that Lucas and Haley and Nathan and Chase are together right now, worried about us." Peyton appeared to be convinced, but I was not.

My headache continued to worsen as the night wore on. Peyton slept fitfully to my right, but at least she was resting. I grabbed one of my suitcases and began to search through it. I came across a picture of our graduation day. We were gathered around Nathan and Haley holding Baby James in their hospital room. I could no longer hold back the tears. Silently, I wept for hours until the sun started to rise. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, hid the picture in my purse, and turned to wake up Peyton

We spent seven months on that beach. It felt like years. Looking back, I remember it as at least a year. Peyton and I had changed on that beach. Remaining the same people was not an option.

The day that we were rescued, I did not know how I was supposed to feel. I had been waiting for that day for so long, looking at the photograph every day and thinking about what I'd say to my loved ones. And yet it didn't seem like reality.

In the helicopter, I was nervous. What if my friends couldn't remember me? What if I couldn't remember me? What was going to happen when we reunited after such a horrible experience?

Peyton must have sensed that I was freaking out. She took my hand and said "You are my best friend, Brooke Davis. I love you and we will get through whatever comes our way just like we have made it through everything in the past. Don't worry about it. You worried enough on the beach for the both of us." Then she turned back to look out the window. I could tell she was excited about seeing Lucas again. I closed my eyes, hoping to rest like I hadn't for more than half of a year.

Those of us that lived to be rescued, and there weren't many, were brought to LA. Our families and friends waited just one hundred feet away as reporters forced us to answer unimportant questions and surrounded the bus. It took over an hour to move that small one hundred feet to our loved ones. Peyton and I held on to each other the entire time, ignoring the persistent reporters and their microphones shoved in our faces. The only question that either of us answered made me smile, however. One woman grabbed Peyton's arm and asked if we were sisters. Peyton smiled and said "Yes, why, did you want to adopt us?" I had to laugh at the look on the woman's face.

We finally reached the glass doors that separated us from our families. The others from the beach burst through the door and ran to their loved ones. Peyton's dad was there, and he slowly approached us, pulled us into his arms and cried. My parents were, of course, not there. I didn't expect them to be.

Over Daddy Peyton's shoulder, I saw the people from my picture. The family that I had waited to see for seven long months. I froze in place, wanting to move toward them, but unable to. Peyton stood next to me, refusing to take this step without me. I started to cry, something that I hadn't been able to do since that first night on the beach. As I fell to the floor, I saw my friends moving closer. And then I was pulled into a hug. I could tell it was Haley because she was crying, too. I clung to her as the frustrations and terror of my time on the beach hit me full force. Peyton joined in on the hug, smoothing my hair and saying comforting things.

When my breathing evened out from hysterical sobs to slight whimpers, the three of us stood up. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and saw that Nathan was holding who could only be James. The baby was pointing at me and clapping, struggling to get out of his dad's grasp. I smiled a real smile for the first time, and grabbed my godson. He laughed and held onto my hair as Haley came up behind me. She said "We showed him your picture every night and told him stories about his Auntie Brooke." I simply gave her another hug.

Haley took James from me so I could greet the rest of my family. I saw that Peyton and Lucas were holding each other and occasionally kissing as I stepped forward to hug Nathan. He wrapped his arms around me and said quietly, "It's good to have you back, Davis. Haley was going crazy without you. She and I didn't give up, even when the search teams wanted to."

Lucas and Peyton had walked up to where Nathan and I were hugging and we switched. I let Lucas bring me into a warm hug. He sighed and said, "Peyton told me that you kept her alive. Thank you. And I'm really glad that you're back, Brooke." I pulled away and gave him a small smile. "It's good to be back."

I looked around, and was disappointed that Chase wasn't there. Haley stood to my left and said, "He really wanted to be here, but they said that this was for family only." "Then how did…" I began. "You're my sister, Brooke" she said with a smile, "blood be damned.

Our homecoming was better than I could have hoped for. Not that I hoped to be stranded for half a year and then reunited with my family on national television, but hypothetically if I had, that was better than I could have dreamed.

But nothing was the way it had been seven months before. Nothing would ever be the same.