Chapter 1: Good and Bad news
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any other characters!
Pregnant
Brooke stared in shock at the pregnancy test in front of her. She couldn't believe it. She, Brooke Davis was pregnant. When she had realized that she was 2 weeks late, she had gone out and brought out 5 pregnancy tests, and each and every one of them had been positive.
As she stared at the last test in her hand, she felt the shock ebb away a little bit, letting a new feeling seep through her. A happy feeling. She had wanted kids for so long, as the reality sank in, she couldn't help but feel a smile creep on her face.
She had Julian had been dating for a little over 2 months, and for the first time in her life, she felt as if she was truly happy, and despite trying to keep her walls up, she had fell for him. Hard. Neither had said I love you to each other yet, and Brooke wasn't even sure that Julian loved her, but that didn't stop her from falling for him deeper with each passing day. And now that she was pregnant with his baby, Brooke couldn't help but close her eyes, and sigh at how perfect her life was at the moment.
And it was in that position that Sam found her.
"Um Brooke? What are you holding? And why the hell do you have such a dorky smile on your face?" Sam demanded as she walked up and snatched up the pregnancy test from her hand, before she could say a word.
"Samantha Walker give that back now," Brooke said, grabbing for the test, but Sam was too fast for her.
"Not before—Holy crap is this a pregnancy test?" Sam asked stunned as she looked in horror at the stick in her hand.
"What do you think, Sherlock?" Brooke asked rolling her eyes.
"You're pregnant?" Sam asked quietly, her eyes glued to the screen reflecting the results.
"Apparently," Brooke said noncommittally, trying to gauge Sam's reaction before she could express her emotions.
"Is it Julian's?" Sam asked taking her glazed eyes off the test to look up at her foster mother.
"Of course it's Julian's," Brooke said defensively, "Who do you take me as?"
"I am sorry. I don't know why I asked that. I am just really surprised," Sam said apologetically, handing the test back to Brooke.
"It's okay. I could read the shock on your face," Brooke said understandingly, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder, "But now that the initial shock is over, what do you think?"
"What do you mean, what do I think?" Sam asked quietly, wondering if Brooke would want to get rid of her now that she was having a kid of her own.
"Well, me being pregnant greatly affects you too. So I want to know what think about all this," Brooke clarified.
"I'll be fine," Sam said putting up a strong face, "I mean I have lived in a foster home before—"
"Wait, wait, foster families? What are you talking about?" Brooke asked confused.
"Well now that you're going to have your own baby, aren't you going to send me away? I mean who would want to deal with a teenager like me, when they're having their own kid," Sam said emotionlessly, looking away from Brooke's face.
"Here we go with the uncertainty again," Brooke said shaking her head, "Sam I told you before, and I am going to tell you once again, I have no intention of letting you go unless you want to leave. You're a part of my life now, and just because I am having a baby doesn't mean that I am going to care any less about you."
"Why? I thought you only took me in because you wanted kids, but now that you're having your own kid, why would you want to put up with me and my bull crap?" Sam asked softly.
"Because I love you," Brooke said simply.
"You love me?" Sam asked surprised.
"Of course I do," Brooke said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I thought that was a given."
"Nobody has ever told me that they loved me," Sam said quietly and Brooke felt her heart break for the girl in front of her.
"Oh honey, I love you. I love you so, so much. You're like my daughter, and no matter how many kids I have, I'll always consider you to be my first one," Brooke said seriously.
"Wow," Sam said softly.
"What?" Brooke asked confused.
"Julian said the exact same thing," Sam said wonderingly.
"What do mean? Did you and Julian ever talk about kids," Brooke asked eagerly.
"No, well kinda, I mean one day we were talking, and I told him how you would want to get rid of me once you have your own kids. And Julian looks at me and says 'Samson, Brooke loves you. You're like her daughter, so she can have eight kids, but she'll always consider you to be her first one', and you basically said the exact same thing," Sam explained, "Oh and he also said that if you ever kick me out, I can always go crash at his place."
"Jeez Sam, nice to know you have so much faith in me," Sam said sarcastically.
"Sorry," Sam said, "But with the kind of life I have, you can't blame me for being uncertain can you?"
"Yeah, I guess not," Brooke agreed, "But now that you know that you have a stable home, can you please tell me how you feel about this?"
"I think it's awesome," Sam said seriously, "I've always wanted a younger brother and sister, so this is great. I am going to have so much fun spoiling that kid rotten, and teaching him or her how to break rules without getting caught."
"Sam Walker, you're going to do no such thing," Brooke said appalled, "I just found out I am pregnant and I am already dreading it."
"Oh don't worry," Sam said rolling her eyes, "I'll am pretty sure your husband will be on my side."
"No, he is—Wait my husband?" Brooke asked quirking her eyebrows.
"Julian," Sam said simply.
"He's not going to be my husband," Brooke said blushing, "We've only been dating for two months and—"
"And you're already in love with him," Sam finished, "And if the way you two act is any indication, then he is just as much in love with you as you are with him. So I will be surprised if you don't have a ring on your finger before this kid is born."
"Alright Sam, now that's pushing it," Brooke said lightly.
"No it isn't," Sam said stubbornly, "I know you love him, so don't even try to deny it. And by the way Julian talks about you, I am pretty sure he loves you too."
"Okay so maybe you're right about me. But I don't know about Julian. I know he likes me, but love?" Brooke asked uncertainly.
"Brooke he talks about you all the time. Whenever I meet him at the coffee shop, he always has this story about how wonderful you are. And the way he looks at you. It's so cheesy that I have to look the other way so I don't throw up. So trust me mom, he loves you. He just hasn't gotten the guts to say it yet. In fact, Peyton and I have a wager going on as to when he'll say those three forbidden words to you," Sam said seriously.
"Wagers? I am not even going to ask," Brooke said shaking her head, "Alright, so let's say you're right. That he might love me. But what if he's not ready to be a dad? What if he freaks out and breaks up with me when he finds out about the pregnancy?"
"Brooke he would never do that. He's not that kind of a guy," Sam said comfortingly watching as he foster mother's face went from happy to uncertain and even scared in a span of a couple of seconds.
"I know he's not that kind of a guy Sam. But this is big. This wasn't planned; and we've only been going out for two months. Not everyone is willing to take such a huge responsibility just two months into a relationship. We haven't even thought about the possibility of having kids, and me just springing this on him, might kill this relationship for good," Brooke said in a small voice, because now that she was starting to think about this situation, she was beginning to see how having a baby can have more cons than pros.
"Brooke, Julian grew up with a horrible dad, and he knows how it feels to practically grow up without a father. I am pretty sure he would want to be there for his kid no matter how bad the timing is," Sam said seriously.
"But what if he asks to have an abortion?" Brooke asked horrified as another possibility came to her, "I wouldn't be able to do that. I wouldn't be able to kill my own kid."
"Julian will never ask you to do something that you wouldn't want to do. He's not Dan, Brooke," Sam said firmly, hardly believing that Brooke thought Julian was going to force her into killing their kid.
"I know—Wait, how do you know about Dan?" Brooke asked side tracked.
"I guess I've been spending a lot of time with Peyton and Lucas," Sam said shrugging, "But the point is that Julian would never force you into anything."
"I know. I know he wouldn't do that," Brooke sighed.
"Then what's the real problem?" Sam asked confused.
"I am happy Sam. I am really happy. This is the first time in my life that things are going the way I want them to be. For the first time, I am actually satisfied. And now finding out that I am having Julian's baby, the scenario just seems too perfect. I can't help but feel that this is the calm before the storm. Feeling this happy and at ease with life is a foreign feeling to me, and I am afraid that something is going to happen that will end up knocking me back to the ground. I don't want to go through that again, not after finding out what true happiness is like," Brooke said vulnerably.
"You know that's exactly how I felt. When you took me in and started caring for me, it was all new to me. In all my life, I have never been taken care of. But I loved it, and that's why I was being so rebellious. Because I wanted to see how much you could take. I wanted to test your limits and see if you would throw me out like all of my other foster families. I didn't want to get too comfortable to just being miserable again. But then you proved to me again and again that you weren't going to get rid of me. You made me realize that feeling happy isn't a forbidden feeling. And a person like that deserves their happy ending no matter how sappy it is. I think life has shown you enough hardships, it's time to feel happy again," Sam said wisely.
"Thank you," Brooke said softly after a couple of seconds, a smile slowly appearing on her face.
"You're welcome," Sam said grinning, "I can't believe I said all that stuff. That's so out of character for me."
"You think?" Brooke asked quirking her eyebrows, "I was thinking that you had traded bodies with Haley or something."
"Well don't expect it anytime soon again. This wiseness streak just comes once in a blue moon," Sam said rolling her eyes.
"You do realize that you're the best right?" Brooke asked pulling her foster daughter into a hug.
"And you do realize that you're in love with Julian right?" Sam asked pulling back.
"Yes, yes, I think I am," Brooke said smiling lightly as she acknowledged her feelings out loud for the first time.
"Great, now would you mind repeating that one more time so I can record it?" Sam asked pulling out her cell phone.
"Wait what?" Brooke asked confused.
"Repeat what you just said, I need proof to show to Peyton so I can get my 15 dollars," Sam explained.
"Do I even want to know?" Brooke asked tiredly.
"Not really, just say it will you? I really need those 15 dollars," Sam said urgently, hitting the record button on her phone.
And as Brooke repeated the words to the phone, she couldn't help but feel that this just might be her happy ending. And honestly, she wouldn't want it any other way.
--
Meanwhile…
"Dad what the hell is the big emergency? And why won't Lucas say anything?" Julian demanded as he barged in his dad's suite at Tree Hill's Hilton.
"Julian, about time you got here," Paul said as he appeared holding a glass of champagne, "I have something very important to discuss with you and I am pretty sure it's going to be distressing, so I would advice you to take a seat."
"Okay enough with the suspense already. Will you just tell me what the hell is going on?" Julian asked impatiently.
"Alright, 'The Ravens' have been cancelled," Paul said simply.
"What? What are you talking about? How can the Ravens be cancelled? We just had our last meeting two days ago, everything seemed fine then. What happened?" Julian asked stunned.
"Dixon quit. He said you guys were being ridiculously uncooperative and that he's had enough, so he left," Paul explained.
"We were being uncooperative? He was the one who wanted to twist everything in the book. And what does Lucas have to say about this?" Julian asked appalled.
"I called him after Dixon left, and he said that he would rather not have the movie made than have a director who doesn't understand the material. I made it very clear to him that if Dixon leaves, the movie will be cancelled, and he said he was fine with that," Paul said shrugging.
"But what if we get another—"
"Director? Yeah that's what Lucas asked in the beginning too. But it's too late for that now. We would never be able to make the movie within our deadline with a new director. So, that's out of the question. It's either Dixon or nothing. Lucas chose the latter, and since he's the writer, he gets the last word," Paul said firmly.
"This is unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. I worked so hard to get this movie started, and it's all for nothing?" Julian asked aghast.
"That's showbiz Julian. You make some and you break some. That's life," Paul said unaffected by his son's distress.
"But—"
"Wait, I am not done yet," Paul said interrupting his son, "I also have some good news for you."
"Good news? I don't think anything you'll say next will be good news," Julian said rolling his eyes.
"Oh no, this is really good news," Paul said smiling for the first time, "I have just gotten an offer from the author of the teen series 'Gossip Girl' and she wants you to make her series into a movie."
"The author of Gossip girl wants to make her series into a movie?" Julian asked stunned.
"Yeah, I was surprised too. I mean off all the talented producers in the world, she went off and picked you. But who was I to refuse to such an amazing deal. So, I signed you up. Gossip girl is your next official project," Paul said proudly.
"You signed me up? You signed me up without asking me about it?" Julian asked angrily.
"You should be thanking me son. By this time next year, you'll be one of the biggest producers of Hollywood. Your career is made from this film. You should be jumping up and down from joy," Paul said, not understanding why Julian looked so angry.
"You signed me up, without even asking for my opinion? I don't believe this. How the hell could you do that?" Julian raged.
"Excuse me for wanting you to become the best. Producers would give anything to be in your position right now. I did you a huge favor, I don't know why you're being such an ass about it," Paul said aggravated.
"Where do we make this film?" Julian asked, ignoring his dad's comments.
"Hollywood of course. You leave for LA in a week," Paul said shrugging.
"I am not going back," Julian blurted out.
"What do you mean you're not going back? You're not going to spend your entire life in Tree Hill are you? You can't succeed in show biz sitting in this remote town. And anyways, you have a meeting with the crew of the film in a week, so you better start packing," Paul said turning away.
"I am not 15 years old again Paul. I don't have to do anything you tell me to do. I don't want to leave Tree Hill, and you should have talked to me before signing me up for a film like that," Julian said firmly.
"Well it's too late for that now isn't it? I have assigned you to be on that film, and unless you get your act together, I will have to fire you, and I can promise you that if I fire you from my firm, you are not getting a job anywhere," Paul said sternly.
"You can't do that. I am your son," Julian said appalled.
"Like you said Julian, you walked out of me 8 years ago, to me you're just another head trying its luck in Hollywood, and I am going to treat you like that," Paul said.
"But—"
"It's because of that girl isn't it? Peyton's friend, the one you're dating. She's the reason you don't want to leave?" Paul asked quirking his eyebrows.
"Maybe, but that's not the point—"
"Then what is the point Julian? I never thought I'd see the day where you would put a girl over your career," Paul said contemplatively.
"She's not just a girl. She means a lot to me," Julian said quietly.
"Peyton meant a lot to you too, but you moved on didn't you. I am sure you'll move on from this one too," Paul said, waving his hand as if it was no big deal.
"Yeah but—"
"No buts Julian. This is it. This is the movie of your career, the movie that will make my firm the most popular in Hollywood. So it's either the girl, or the end of your career," Paul said firmly as he walked towards him, "You have one week to make your decision. These are your plane tickets. I hope to see you or your resignation letter in my office in LA next Monday."
A/N: Well here we go, my newest Brooke/Julian fic. I just got this idea while reading some of the rumors and I just had to write it! So, what do you think? Good? Crappy?
I tried set up the main setting for the plot, and I hope I got your interest as well.
So tell me what you think? Should I continue this? Or delete it as a bad try?
Next chapter: Julian drops the bomb on Brooke. Seems like her happiness was indeed a calm before the storm.
I don't know how well I portrayed the conversation between Paul/ Julian, but I really hope it was realistic!
So please, please, REVIEW! And I'll try to update ASAP (promise!)
Also, if anyone here is reading my Leyton fic Too far gone don't worry, I will be updating that one very soon as well!
