After a tough choice, Brooke has a talk with Jamie.

Set after Season 5 Finale, slightest bit of AU, oneshot.

I don't own anything you recognize, c:

Hope you like it!

Brooke had always prided herself on having a dominating presence

She had always attracted attention and gotten respect and carried herself with a sort of confidence that made her seem a lot bigger than her slender frame actually was. But now, as she looked up into the mirror still hanging on the wall across from her, she had never looked smaller.

She was sitting on the floor of her room, surrounded by half packed boxes and scraps of newspaper and rolls of tape. The simple black dress was completely fantastic, and Brooke felt suddenly unworthy of wearing it and looked over to where her dresser had been, hoping to see something she could put on. But she ultimately wasn't surprised to see the drawers hanging out and empty.

It had all started when Lucas Scott had come back into her life. He had altered her concentration and forced her to spread herself to thin. He had been, after all, the one that inspired her to adopt and that might just have been the thing that had broken the straw on the camel's back. Don't get her wrong – she had loved it. But it had been bad for business. She had been forced to spend less and less hours working and more and more taking care of the baby. Eventually and unsurprisingly, her store in Tree Hill had folded.

That hadn't been the worst part, though. Even without that store, Brooke had had enough money to continue running Clothes over Bros from Tree Hill, except for when Tree Hill had had nothing left for her in it. She had woken up one day to find a hurriedly scribbled note on her bedside table from Peyton. She was going to Las Vegas with the bane of Brooke's existence, Lucas. Brooke was suddenly without support, without roommate, without best friend, without Peyton.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Brooke had called on her mother. She had stifled her pride and apologized for firing the woman, and within the next hour, Brooke had the choice of buildings for a new store in Paris, London or in Las Angeles. And though London might have been closer to Tree Hill than Las Angeles – Was it? Brooke still didn't know – it wasn't in the same country and wouldn't feel close. So, Brooke had chosen the California location.

She was moving.

Brooke felt her steady, determined-to-get-all-the-packing-done persona fail, and set her elbows on her bent knees, seconds later dropping her head to rest on them and feeling the tears fall for the first time since she'd talked to her mother about leaving Tree Hill. That is, if you didn't count the tears she'd actually shed during that conversation.

She didn't know how long she sat like that, with her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. All she knew was that the thing that roused her from her fit was the slamming of her door.

Brooke hurriedly rubbed at her eyes to wipe away any access makeup when she heard feet running up the stairs even before she heard the voice. "Brooke!"

"In my room, Jaimmers!" She called back, thankful that her voice didn't sound like she had just been crying.

He appeared a moment later, pushing her door open just enough to stick his head in and peering over at her. "Brooke," He said again, finally entering and walking over to her. "Brooke, mommy said that I have to come say goodbye to you. But why would I say bye to you if I just got here?"

Brooke was going to kill Haley. Wasn't it the mom's job to tell their kid that someone close to them was moving? "Well, Jaime, sweetie, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Like vacation? Where? Can I come with you?"

"Oh, Jamie…" Brooke sighed sadly, pulling Jaime into a hug. Over his shoulder, she saw Haley's dark hair disappear down the hall. She wondered for a moment how much Jamie had seen or had heard, and then just closed her eyes and tightened her arms around Jamie.

"I'm moving, Jamie." She said when she had pulled away, though kept a hand on his arm.

Jamie's face fell. "Oh. So it's not like vacation?" The sad look didn't change as he continued speaking, the reality of the situation settling in on him. "Are you gonna be the new girl, Brooke? We have a new girl in our class at school."

"I'm going to be the new girl."

"Everyone's going to like you, I know it." Jamie both assured and promised her, playing with a balled up piece of newspaper. "Everyone likes the girl at school, and you're at least twelve times more better than her." He held up ten fingers.

Brooke didn't tell Jamie that he was in kindergarten and that he'd soon realize that that sort of thing only happened in kindergarten. That anytime after that, being the new person was the worst thing that could possibly happen to you and that you didn't automatically like the new person, no matter how nice of an 'old' person you were. It just didn't work like that, and Brooke would know the best of all. "Thanks, kiddo."

"Where, though? Where are you going?"

"Las Angeles." She said, hating the way it sounded. For as long as moving to Las Angeles had been a dream for her, it had quickly become a nightmare.

"Are you excited?"

"I should be," Brooke admitted, verging on bitter. "It's a good place, Jamie."

The little boy looked down at his tennis shoes. They were the ones that Brooke had bought them for him.

--

"Look, Brooke! They have racing cars and they light up when I walk!" Jamie almost yelled, running down the rows of shoes and stopping before his godmother where she was standing and looking in a foot mirror at a tall pair of shoes with straps that worked their way up her calves.

"Really?" She asked, trying to match his excitement and crouched down to his level. He nodded, tapping the shoe off his hand to show her how the lights flashed blue and orange. "Well how many pairs should we get?" His face had split into a huge smile as he rushed back to get the box.

--

Brooke still held that memory as one of the best from her 'career' of godmothering. And that was saying something, because it had been a great time.

"Brooke?" Brooke looked up. Jamie's head was still down, and she didn't miss the drop of water that splashed onto the bare hardwood floor.

"Jamie?" She asked softly back.

"Is Las Angeles very far away?" He looked up and indeed; tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Brooke bit her lip. "You can't ride your bike there, for sure, but if you ever, ever need me Jamie? I can be here before you finish the phone call." She reached out and pulled Jamie into her lap.

Jamie grew silent and leant his head on Brooke's shoulder. She smiled sadly and let her head fall onto his. "Brooke?" He asked suddenly, breaking the silence. His voice seemed clear again. Brooke made a sound of acknowledgment, not trusting her own self to speak. "Will you come and visit me sometimes?"

Brooke let out a chocked laugh. "Of course, Jamie." She closed her eyes against the tears. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away."

"Horses like me," Jamie said, quite seriously. "They'd never try to keep you away." He was all big eyes and energy again as he leaned away from her and looked up at her face. "Remember that time at the petting zoo?"

"Yeah, Jamie. I remember the petting zoo."