Author's Note: Don't ask how this came to me, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But I was watching an old episode of OTH and just had this crazy little idea. I have no clue how long this will be, heck I don't really know anything, I just know I am kind of liking the idea and I am hoping you all do to. The only way I will know to continue on with this crazy little number is if you guys leave your thoughts! So please do… I would love to know all of your thoughts.
Chapter One:
"Ellie did you get in to my make up again?" Brooke yells up stairs, her new, now broken, red lipstick in her hand
"What?" The small blonde asks coming slowly down the stairs, her face is covered in the red residue and she is wearing one of Brooke's favorite dresses, which is as well covered. "No… it was Sam." The five year old says quickly
"Oh really?" Brooke asks raising her eyebrows at the small girl "She came back all the way from California, covered you in my lipstick, put you in one of my favorite dresses, broke the lipstick and then went back?" The brunette questions and the little girl thinks for a minute. She places her small index finger to her red lips and then looks back up to the brunette and gives her a small smile
"She's magic…"
Brooke lets outs a laugh before shaking her head "Well you better be magic too because you are in big trouble!" She says in fake sternness as she then proceeds to chase the little girl around the house.
"It was all Sam!" The blonde squeals as Brooke catches her, picking her up and starts to tickle her
"Oh really, because I heard it was you!" Brooke says and continues to tickle the little girl's stomach
"Okay! Okay I surrender, it was me, it was all me… please just let me live!" The little girl pretends to fall limb in Brooke's arms and the brunette can't help but laugh at the small child's antics
"Oh such the dramatic you are…" Brooke teases, plopping them both on the couch. "No more using my make up without asking." She says, looking down at the curly blonde who is still playing dead
"Deal…" Ellie says, opening one eye to meet Brookes "But… now that is it is broken can I have it?" she smiles and Brooke raises an eyebrow again
"Did you break it because you knew I would give it to you if it was?" She questions and the little girl smiles again
"No… why would I ever do something like that?"
"Right…" Brooke chuckles "But the next one is coming out of your paycheck superstar." She says as the little girl shoots up and cheers taking the tube out of Brooke's hand
"I don't have a paycheck…" The blonde shrug, before applying more of the cosmetic to her already covered lips
"Easy there, you don't want to look like you belong on the corner or anything…" Brooke chuckled, taking the tube out of the little girls hand and placing the cap on it
"What is wrong with the corner?" The girl's curls fall to one side as she tilts her head to look up at Brooke
"I will explain it when you are old enough to spell it." She says and lifts the small girl off her lap "Now… I think someone needs a bath… no?"
"If I must…" she says dramatically placing a hand to her small forehead as Brooke shakes her head
"No more soap operas for you okay?"
"Alright, run free… Tutor mom will be here soon" Brooke says as she unlocks the door to her shop.
"I don't really want to go to Aunt Haley's today…" Ellie says placing her small purse on the counter next to Brookes
"And why may I ask not?" Brooke asks, bending to be on her level
"Because… it is full of boys…." Ellie says scrunching up her nose
"Boys are fun…" Brooke tries but realizes how her statement sounds "I mean… there is a lot you can do with them…" She sighs and shakes her head "Okay, let me rephrase, tie them up and make them play dress up, show them whose boss." She says and sends the small blonde a wink. The little girl giggles and wraps her arms tightly around Brooke's neck
"You're a genius!" She exclaims and Brooke can help but laugh as she pulls away "One thing though…" the blonde says and Brooke nods for her to continue
"I'm going to need some rope… and some duck tape."
Brooke laughs again she stands up "Haley is going to kill me."
"And why might she do that?" Haley asks as she walks through the door
"Because I am going to tie all the boys up and make them do whatever I say!" Ellie explained calmly and Brooke tried to hold back her laugh
"Well lucky for you, I already do that… they are tied up in the backseat as we speak." Haley smiles, sending the little girl a wink as Brooke lets out her laugh
"Really!?" Ellie exclaims and Haley laughs and shakes her head
"No but they are playing outside if you want to go yell at them to come inside
"Okay!" Ellie says before running off
"Be careful!" Brooke yells after the blonde and Haley smiles as she makes her way over to her friend
"How are you?" Haley asks and Brooke sends her a small smile
"He forgot her birthday." Brooke says and her friends face falls
"Maybe he didn't have service to call…" the strawberry blonde offers
"And maybe the card got lost in the mail…" Brooke shrugs
"How'd she take it?" Haley asks
Brooke shrugs again as she starts to go through some paperwork "She asked about him, why he didn't call… she runs to the mail box everyday when we get home… I contemplated just putting a fake one in there, but she knows his handwriting like the back of her hand."
"I am not trying to make excuses for him, really, I'm not, but maybe there really is an explanation…"
"I hope there is…" Brooke sighs "Really, for her sake I do, I just know him, or at least I use too… it is always the same."
"Maybe he will surprise you…" she suggest but Brooke just moves about the store fidgeting with things
"Maybe…" She says softy, moving a few hangers around "But probably not."
Haley goes to say something, but the bell on the door rings and the group of children comes bursting in
"Mommy Ellie is saying she is going to tie us up and throw us in the river!" Max, Haley and Nathan's five year old exclaims and Haley turns to shot Brooke a look
"I already put the child lock on the soap operas…" the brunette says placing her hands up
It had been a long day, after finally locking up the store Brooke went and got Ellie from Haley's, she got her feed and bathed and now she was in the process of putting her to bed.
"Do I have to go to sleep?" Ellie questioned as Brooke pulled the covers up over her small body
"Yes, because I need to go to sleep too and I can't do that until you do." Brooke explained as she tucked the covers tightly around the small girls frame
"I could sleep in your bed with you!" Ellie exclaimed sitting up
"You kick me too much." Brooke said simply pushing the little girl back down gently "Now… what book shall we read tonight?"
"Umm…" The blonde though for a moment before looking up to the woman next to her "Can you read me one of Daddy's letters?" She asked with an excited smile and Brooke's heart sank slightly
"Elle, I thought we talked about this…" she started but Ellie cut her off
"I want an old one… one that he wrote to you!" She said, a smile still on her face
"Wait a second… how do you know he wrote me letters?" Brooke questioned with an eyebrow raise
"Because there is a whole big box of them under your bed!" Ellie giggled "My box is prettier then yours though… you don't have glitter or anything on yours"
"Ellie what did I tell you about go through my stuff?" Brooke sighed
"What? I was just looking for Hector…" the blonde smiled innocently up at Brooke who sends her a stern look
"Your imaginary friend knows not to go in my room… if I recall you were in the room when I sat him down and we had that talk about how he needs to ask before he goes in…"
"Hector isn't a very good listener…" Ellie explained and Brooke rolled her eyes playfully
"Yeah, I see that…"
"So will you read me one of the letters?" Ellie asked
"How do you even know they are from your Daddy?" Brooke questioned
"Because his name was in the corner and I know it was his handwriting…" the blonde said simply "Come on… please… just one…"
"How about I read you one of yours?" Brooke offered
"But I want to know what he said to you!" Ellie smiled
"Trust me… you don't" Brooke sighed
"Please…" Those damn blue eyes were staring up at her and Brooke almost gave in
"Maybe another night…"
"When I am older?" Ellie asked in an annoyed manner
"Actually yes… when you can read them yourself they are all yours…" Brooke said as she stood from the bed and knelt down to grab the glittery box under the small bed
"Well I know how to spell cat now, so I bet I will be able to read soon and then I get them…" Ellie declared crossing her arms over her chest as Brooke sat back down next to her
"Whatever you say squirt… now, which one shall it be?" Brooke asked holding the box out to the little girl so she could pick a letter
"Ehhh… close your eyes," Ellie said peering in to the box. Brooke obeyed "Okay! Open!" She said handing the folded letter to Brooke
"Okay…" Brooke said clearing her throat and taking a deep breath. She hated having to read these, but Ellie loved them and the smile it brought to her face was worth it to Brooke, so night after night they did the same thing. Brooke would tuck her in with the intention of reading her one of the many books off her self, but she would always plead for a letter. So Brooke would get the box, and Ellie would randomly pick a letter
"August 24, 2010;
Dear my beautiful baby girl,
I know you aren't old enough to understand any of this yet, and I know by the time you are, this letter will probably mean nothing to you, but if it does then I want you to know that I love you more then anything. It is almost your birthday, you are going to be a year old and I can't believe how quickly it came. I know that Brooke is taking amazing care of you and I guess knowing you are with her has made this just a little bit better. You being with her is what your mother would have wanted… she loved your Aunt Brooke and she loved you too. So do I, I love you both. I know my choices are hard to understand, I know that I seems like I don't care, but I love you more then anything in this whole world and I think about you every single day…" Brooke continued to read, trying her hardest to be strong, she skipped over a lot of the letter, knowing that Ellie was still to younger to fully understand what her father was trying to tell her. He went on tell her all about his travels, all the things he has seen and all the people he has meant. He tells her that when she old enough he wants her come with him. Ellie thinks this is a genius idea and asks Brooke if she would come to. Brooke sighs at the question and tells Ellie she is still much to young to even think about any of this, but in reality Brooke knows the chances of her father ever even coming back to get her are slim to none.
The day Peyton died, Lucas died too and as much as he loved his daughter, the thought of her was too much for him to bear and in the end, he ended up taking the easy way out and Brooke was left to clean up the mess.
She loves her life, she has two wonderful girls, and while neither are technically hers, they feel like they are. They have both made her life so much better, they have given her a reason to wake up, a reason to continue living.
Sam thought she was crazy at first, for taking Ellie in when Lucas showed up at her doorstep. She had been trying her hardest to help him through everything, but he was too broken and she, no matter how hard she tried, couldn't fix him. She wondered sometimes if that is why she ended up taking Ellie for him, because she felt it was the only thing she could do.
Sam was a huge help though. Brooke was a mess for awhile, and while she tried to keep it together as best she could, she was hurting just like everyone else. Sam was gone now though, off to this amazing art school in California. Brooke sill remembers Sam's graduation, she had Ellie in one hand and her camera in the other and Sam couldn't have been more annoyed by all the pictures. The day she left Brooke cried like a baby in the middle of the airport. She didn't think she would be able to handle Sam leaving too, but the small girl in her arms helped get her through that, just like she had helped get her through everything else. Sam calls every day, she emails and writes, she sends Ellie all kinds of cool things from random thrift stores and little corner shops and it always makes Ellie's day when she receives them.
Brooke loves both of them more then anything. They are her family and as far as she is concerned, as long as she has both of them she doesn't need anything else.
"Aunt Brooke?" Ellie snaps Brooke out her trance "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Brooke sighs, folding up the letter before placing it back in the box. She stands up and puts the box back under the bed before lending over the bed and placing a kiss on the small girl's forehead. "Good night, I love you baby girl"
"I love you too" Ellie smiles as Brooke goes to the door to turn out the light "Aunt Brooke?" she questions
"Yeah?"
"I bet my daddy loves you too," Ellie smiles "I bet my mommy does too"
"Well I love them, almost as much as I love you." Brooke says sending a wink to the blonde before she turns out the light "Sleep well princess." She says before shutting the door with a sigh. She lends against the door once it is shut and closes her eyes. She takes a long deep breath and tries to hold back the tears that want nothing more then to slip out. "God Peyton… I miss you." She whispers shaking her head, wiping the few tears the slipped. She took another deep breath and pushed her self off the door. Moving about the hallway collected the few toys that were scattered. She wade her way down the stairs and just as she was making her way to the toy bin there was a knock at the door. Sighing, she flipped her head, trying to get the hair out of her face before maneuvering the toys in her hand to be able to grip the knob of the door. That is when her heart froze, the door opened and she was pretty sure she was about to pass out
"Hey…" his voice was soft and she almost didn't hear it
"What are you doing here?" Maybe it was because of the shock, or maybe she really was a little pissed about this, she really didn't know, but they were the first words to come out
"I'm here for to see my daughter…" he said and she huffed
"It's about time Lucas."
Well that's the first chapter… please let me know what you thought, I know this storyline is little out there, but I hope you all still enjoyed it.