Kindred Souls

One Tree Hill

Chapter One: Anything For A Friend

"It's okay, Daddy's here," Jake Jagielski raised the covers up to the chin of his 3 ½ year old daughter Jenny and kissed her forehead, "Goodnight Jenny." The toddler held her stuffed puppy tight and soon her eyes were closed. Jake smiled and crossed to the door where he shut off the lights. Jenny's Carebear nightlight glowed as Jake shut the door.

ding dong!
The doorbell rang and Jake wondered who it could be. He hurried to the door and opened it . . .

"Hi," a familiar . . . but unexpected . . . face smiled weakly, slightly waving her hand. The pleats in her red, strapless dress swished in the wind.

Jake stared in shock. This was not a person he was anticipating to see on his doorstep.

The girl—whose long, brunette locks and pale, flawless face glimmered in the moonlight—was looking at him nervously, "I didn't mean to bother you but I had no where else to go."

Jake blinked, "Oh, no. Come in." He moved to the side allowing the brunette to follow him in. It was then that he noticed a large, dark blue duffel bag on her shoulder with the Ravens logo on the side. He shut the door behind her, "So . . . what brings Brooke Davis to my doorstep . . . in Savannah of all places?"

Brooke chuckled, "Interesting question, that. I couldn't even begin to tell you how I got here. It's like I jumped in the car and poof. . . here I am."

"O-okay," Jake said.

"I just . . . I needed to get out of there-out of that whole town-and somehow I ended up here," Brooke sat down on the arm of the recliner, the duffel bag falling to the floor.

Jake watched her sit, fidget around, and bounce her knees up and down. She seemed nervous and a little sad, "Brooke, what's wrong? What happened in Tree Hill? Are you in trouble . . ."

Her knees stopped and she looked up. Without a moments notice her sad frown transformed into an extreme fit of the giggles.

"Brooke?" Jake said.

The brunette took a deep breath, "Am I in trouble?" She weighed the words in her mouth, "Hmm. Depends on what angle you're looking from."

Jake raised an eyebrow," Brooke, you're not making any sense. Just tell me what happened."

Her smile disappeared, "Peyton told me what happened when she was here."

Immediately it clicked: Peyton told Lucas she loved him and Lucas broke up with Brooke. Jake's face fell, "Oh, Brooke. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" This time Brooke's laugh was louder and a lot less convincing. And again, just like that, the positive expression was gone.

"I'm having a baby," Brooke's expression contorted into sobs and she covered them with her hands.

Whoa . . . Jake had really not been expecting that.

"Um . . ." He started to say.

"I know I'm horrible, I shouldn't have left . . ." Brooke sobbed, "But I didn't have anywhere else to go . . ."

"No, no–that's fine," Jake said.

"I didn't mean to come and just dump this on you–especially since you've got Jenny to worry about–"

"Brooke, slow down," Jake sighed, "Why don't you stay here the night and we'll talk in the morning." The brunette looked up, nodding, "You can sleep in my room and I'll sleep in here on the couch."

Brooke stood up, grabbing her duffel bag. As she followed Jake down a hall, she said, "Thanks, Jake. This really means a lot."

Jake nodded, silently leading her into a room. On his way out he whispered, "Anything for a friend."

To Be Continued . . .

So this is just an idea I've had for awhile. Any ideas on where it should go?