I know it's been a while since I updated, but I've been wicked busy with SAT Prep and figuring out my life. Sorry, I'll do my best to update more often. I hope you all really enjoy this story and give me any feedback or advice. Oh and this story is truly all Red Lighting's.

Additional Information: Haley is still an English teacher at Tree Hill High School and Quentin is still alive. I've always loved Q, so I'm going to play it out like he is. Peyton owns her struggling Record Studio, Luke is a basketball coach, Nathan is working on getting into the NBA, and Brooke owns a successful fashion label.

Oh and Emma Chance is a character I'm considering and trying to find a way to incorporate her into the story as well.

Chapter 2

Five Years Later

Emma Chance stares out the window as her ninth grade English teacher drones on and on about Romeo and Juliet. Damn, that book has to be the stupidest book she's ever read. Emma isn't exactly an avid reader, she prefers playing sports with her foster brothers and guy friends. Around school, Emma is known for being a playful cute girl whose everyone's best friend.

The fourteen year old sighs, wondering why her biological parents never even wanted her. According to her file, Emma was dropped off at a fire station with a note and blanket. The note specifically pleaded that whoever adopted her to name her Emma. The first couple to adopt her were the Chances' when they had kids' of their own, they gave four year old Emma back. Since then, Emma's been bounced from foster home to foster home; most good and some bad. Life isn't always easy, but Emma has a plan; when she turns sixteen, she's getting emancipated.

"Emma? Emma Chance," her English teacher's annoyed tone brings the young teen out of her trance and back into her shitty reality.

"Yeah" the young girl with dark curls answered quietly as she tucks a strand a hair behind her ear feeling nervous. English happens to be, her favorite class. Mrs. Scott may be a hard-ass, but she actually seems to really care for her students.

Haley sighs softly; being a young teacher is difficult, especially when her supposed best students aren't paying attention. "Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy?" she asked hoping she doesn't sound as annoyed as she feels. Usually, Emma Chance listens during class, she doesn't raise her hand much, but she listens enough for Haley to feel as though she knows the material.

Emma opens her mouth to answer, but the period bell rings, marking the end of that class. A slight smile tugs on the sides of Emma's cheeks, one Haley glowers at and is almost instantly ripped from the girl's face. Her other students' start to file out of the classroom.

Quentin smiles at Emma, who pokes her tongue out at him. "You ready for our tutoring session today, beautiful?" Quentin and Emma have been friends for several years now, Emma used to live next door with her other foster parents, but she got transferred out last year.

"You know, I do have a name." Emma makes a face, she hates it when anyone calls her beautiful; it makes her feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I know" Quentin answered, rolling his eyes. "I just like giving people nicknames." He knows Emma doesn't like being called beautiful, but she is. She could be the most beautiful girl, he's ever laid eyes on.

Emma taps her chin, thoughtfully. "Hmm, what should I call you?" she asked raising her eyebrows at him with a playful grin forming on her face.

Quentin asked draping an arm over her shoulder, "What about boyfriend?" A part of him isn't joking, a part of him wants Emma to be his girlfriend, but that part of him is kept hidden from the world.

"What about never?" Emma ducks out from his arm and smiles teasingly. "How bout' this, if something comes to mind, I'll let you know."

"I'll see you after school." Everyday after school, Emma tutors him in English and History, but they sometimes play a quick pick-up basketball game.

Emma smiles as she starts to leave the classroom. "Emma, hang back a moment. I think we need to have a talk, sit" Mrs. Scott ordered in a kind, yet stern tone, which causes Emma to feel like a complete idiot. She should've booked it out of there, when she had the chance.

"I gotta get to my next class" Emma answered sounding and feeling nervous, she hadn't meant to day-dream during Mrs. Scott's class.

"I'll write you a pass. Sit down," Emma reluctantly sits, hoping Mrs. Scott won't call her foster parents; it's not like they'd care, but they'd hate to be disturbed. "Is there something going on that I should know about?" Haley asked her eyes becoming contort with concern for one of her favorite students.

Emma decides to play dumb. "What do you mean?" She knows exactly what Mrs. Scott means, but that doesn't matter; it's easier to be dumb in life.

"You haven't been paying attention much these days. I'm a little worried and considering your a...well, I have to ask, is there anything going on at home?"

"No, nothing" Emma answered earnestly. "I've just been distracted about stuff and...I'm sorry, it won't happen again." The young teen honestly wishes she hadn't been in such deep thought about her past.

"Emma, if you ever need to talk to someone." Haley reaches out and touches Emma's hand in a gentle maternal manner. "I'm always here for you, okay?" she asked glancing into Emma's ocean blue eyes with hope.

"Okay," the young teen nods as her cheeks start to burn into a scarlet blush. "Can, I have that pass now?" Having her teacher be her therapist could actually be worse than having a therapist.


Brooke leans against the counter as she watches little Jamie Scott run around her store. He looks more like Haley than Nathan, but a bit like Lucas. Hell. The little boy could be Luke's besides the fact that he considers his Daddy his ultimate hero. Brooke's actually proud of Nathan; he's started walking again and plans on regaining his composure to rejoin the NBA.

For a brief moment, Brooke wonders what her baby Samantha would be like. Would she have had Liam's eyes? Would she have been resilient? Would she have been a little trouble-maker, cutie? All these wonders float through Brooke's mind. Along with an even worse wonder, why her baby girl had to die? Why couldn't it have been someone, anyone else? Why does everything bad happen to her? Why couldn't she have just this one thing?

Jamie glances at his aunt, looking concerned for her well-being. He doesn't know why his aunt is always so sad. "Aunt Brooke, are you okay?" the little boy asked taking her hands and staring into her serious green eyes.

"I'm fine, Jimmy-Jam, but I'd be the worst god-mother ever if I didn't get you another ice-cream with at least three scoops before bringing you home" Brooke said forcing herself to grin kindly as she lifts the little boy into her arms.

Jamie offers his favorite aunt a genuine grin. "You're my favorite" the dark haired blonde whispered in her ear as he rests his head on her shoulder.

"You're mine too, babe."

Matthew struggles to keep up with his very energetic niece. Ever since, he first brought Samantha home from the hospital that day; he and his roommates made a pact to be her family. Rosie took on the role of being her surrogate mother while Todd became her playful uncle. That's how it was for a long time, until Todd joined the Peace Core and is now living in a hut in Kenya. Rosie is currently working at a prestigious, corporate law firm in Charlotte. Matthew is an architect with a company four friends established in their twenties.

For all of a second, Matthew takes his eyes off Sam and onto an attractive red haired woman. In that brief moment, Sam has disappeared. Matthew feels his heart practically leap out of his chest as he looks around desperately. No, no. He couldn't have lost her. All he did was take his eyes off her for a second, not even a second more like a millisecond.

"Monkey! Samantha, where are you?" Matthew demanded looking around for his adopted daughter, sadly. He honestly prays to God, the last time he lost her had to be at least two months ago. Sam wandered off while they were at a Toy Store when Todd was in charge, nearly scared Matthew's former roommate to death.

Sam skips over to the ice-cream cart with excitement flickering in her green eyes. Ice-cream, Ice-cream! Little Samantha Peyton Walker loves ice-cream, especially cookie dough. That's her favorite. Oh and cookies and cream too. Nothing can beat those too. Not even mint chocolate chip. That's Uncle Mattie's favorite flavor, but he doesn't really like ice-cream. Well, not as much as Sam. He likes boring stuff, like reading and being quiet. He likes quiet time, a lot. Quiet time is usually when Sam takes her nap, but sometimes Sam sneaks downstairs to watch her uncle. He hardly ever watches T.V. all he does is work or read some gigantic book.

Looking around for Uncle Mattie, tears start to gather in Sam's eyes. Where'd he go? The five year old sniffles at the thought of being lost, Uncle Mattie was right there and now he isn't. What happened? Where is he? Several tears wobble down Sam's cheeks. "Sweetie," a kind looking woman with a blonde boy around her age stated softly. "Are you okay?" Jamie eyes the little girl looking just as worried as his god-mother.

"I-I…c-ca-an-n-n't finded Unca Mattie" Sam sobbed sadly as she rubs her nose with her sleeve and cries out, looking absolutely broken hearted.

Brooke asked, "Are you lost?" Jamie's never been lost in her care, but Haley's told her countless stories about Jamie vanishing from her side; it's what kids do.

"No, he is" Sam insisted.

"Okay" Brooke replied, taking a deep breath. "Where did you last see him?" The fashion designer can't believe she's doing this, especially with such an adorable little girl.

Sam tries to remember, but she doesn't exactly live here. They were only here to visit some of Uncle Mattie's friends and her Grandfather. He doesn't particularly like her much, but Uncle Mattie is constantly prompting her to mind her manners cause he's old-fashioned. "I don't know" the five year old sniffled.

Brooke nods, understanding this all must be very scary for the poor little girl. "Do you know your Uncle Mattie's last name?" the young woman asked sincerely.

"His last name's same as mine."

"What's your last name?" Brooke is trying her best to keep her cool, but this child doesn't seem to be listening whatsoever.

Sam isn't sure, if she's allowed to give out her last name. "Walker" the little girl confessed shrugging at her own thoughts, Uncle Mattie would want her to find an adult she can trust. He says any adult with a kid seems safe enough.

The brunette is slightly taken aback by that comment, but she brushes it aside as coincidence more than anything else. There can be other Walkers' in the world. Her life can't revolve around Liam Walker, but wait…Liam had an older brother. Brooke squints as she struggles to remember his name. It was a long time ago that they had coffee about her baby. Michael, Martin…Matthew. Right, Matthew Walker. He was different than his family.

While his aunt thinks things over, Jamie being a Scott and rather social butterfly takes a step forward and holds out his hand. "Hi, I'm Jamie Scott" Jamie announced with a warm grin, Brooke smiles down at her godson. Grateful, he's so much like his friendly mother.

"I'm not supposed ta tell strangers my name, Jamie" Sam disagreed folding her arms over her chest and pouting.

"But, I'm not a stranger" Jamie answered softly. "You know my name."

"Oh." Sam thinks about it; his reasoning makes sense, but Uncle Mattie doesn't like it when she gives away their personal information. "Well you can call me, Monkey" the child answered nodding seriously, these people seem nice enough.

Brooke asked laughing, "Monkey?" Never has she ever met such a confident, trusting little girl.

"Cause I like ta climb stuff" Sam answered raising an eyebrow at Brooke, causing Jamie's eyes to widen; Monkey looks a lot like Aunt Brooke. "That's what my fweinds call me."

"Okay, Monkey, I'm Brooke. Do you know your uncle's phone number?" Sam shakes her head, wishing she did, but she isn't good with numbers. "Do you know where you live?" Brooke asked hoping this question will shed some light onto the enchanting young child.

Now that one, Sam knows and loves. "I lib in Charlotte" she announced quite proudly, that's her favorite place in the entire world. That and Disney Land, but she's only been there once and that with Uncle Todd.

Brooke asked quietly, "How'd you get here, then?"

"We took Uncle Mattie's car" Sam answered in a duh sort of tone. How else could she get here? Man, this lady isn't dat smart.

"Okay, do you remember where you were last with your uncle?" Sam purses her lips together and shakes her head; tears start to gather in her eyes. "There, there, baby girl. Don't cry. It's okay, I'm sure we'll find him" Brooke promised rubbing the child's back.

"Monkey!" a lanky and extremely familiar young man finally jogs over to the trio looking exasperated and worried. Brooke eyes the man wondering if she knows him, she has to know him. Yeah, Brooke thinks she remembers him. Something about this guy seems very familiar. Only, Brooke can't place it. "Monkey, you can't run off like that."

"Sowwy, Uncle Mattie" Sam apologized profusely.

"It's okay, princess." Matt kisses the top of her head and smiles warmly. "Just don't scare me like that again, okay?" he asked cupping her face with his hands ad staring into her dark green eyes.

Sam nods feeling sorry for herself and the trouble she's caused her favorite person in the entire world. "I won't...not ever" the child promised wrapping her arms around her uncle and crying on his shoulder.

Matthew glances over at Brooke and feels his eyes widen, slightly. He never thought he'd meet up with Brooke Davis ever again, especially not with a little boy who looks around Samantha's age. Matt frowns, wondering if this is Brooke's little boy. The kid doesn't look much like her, but appearances can be deceiving. "Brooke Davis?" Matthew asked, of all the freaking people in the entire world. He had to bump into Brooke Davis.

"Matthew Walker" Brooke answered happily with a pleasant grin. The last time, she saw Matthew had to be about six years ago, right before she went into labor.

"The one and only."

Brooke applauded, "wow, just...you've gotten so big. I mean, you were big before, but look at you! You're wearing a suit and...wow." Growing up, Matthew was a skinny kid with no muscles and a kind heart.

Matthew agreed, chewing on his lower lip. "Yeah, it's been awhile."

"Five years" Brooke corrected with dismay in her tone, she thought Matthew would be there for her after baby Samantha died, but he wasn't. He never once came to check up on her, not once.

"Who's this little guy? Your son?" Matthew asked sounding hurt; if this is Brooke's son, then this really isn't fair to Samantha. If Brooke wanted a boy, the least she could've done was pretend like she cared.

"Oh no, do you remember Haley and Nathan?" Matthew nods as he stares at the little boy, who doesn't look anything like what he remembers Nathan. He remembers Nathan Scott having dark hair with blue eyes. Maybe the boy has his eyes, but that's about it. "Well, this is their son, Jamie" Brooke announced feeling a twinge of jealousy for Haley and Nathan.

Matt grins, James happens to be his middle name. This kid looks pretty adorable too, with his blonde cropped hair and red cape. "That's a nice name" the young man complimented the boy who puffs out his chest proudly.

Jamie replied, "Thank you." His Momma taught him to always be polite, especially when a person says something nice to you. That's just common sense.

"You're only saying that cause it's your middle name" Brooke murmured as she reaches over and gently ruffles her favorite nephew's dark blonde locks. God, he looks so much like Lucas; it's crazy.

"Well, it's sill a nice name" Matthew chuckled kindly as his gaze shifts downward to his beautiful Samantha. "I guess, now you know who this little monster is then, huh?" The young man tickles his adopted daughter's side, smiling as laughter erupts from her lips.

"Yeah" Brooke said forcing herself to smile as she slugs his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me you had a kid?" The dark haired woman's tone is full of genuine agony and heart-wrenching pain; Brooke believed she and Matthew were friends.

Matthew demanded, "What?"

"I know you and Ty were brothers, but come on Matt" Brooke said frowning with dismay at Matthew, whose brow wrinkles with confusion. "Once upon a time, we were friends. It wasn't even that long ago."

"Brooke..." Matthew pauses and ruffles Sam's hair. "Princess, why don't you play over there with Jamie?" Sam smiles brightly as she takes Jamie's hand and drags him away. "Brooke, she isn't my kid." Brooke gathered that when Samantha didn't call him Daddy, but she's still confused as to what happened.

"What did Tyler knock up another girl? He would do that." Brooke struggles to keep the hurt from enveloping in her tone. She always had it in her heart that Tyler was special, especially since he treated her like a queen. After he found out she was pregnant, he gave her cash to get rid of "it." He called their child it. No, Brooke knew he wasn't worth it after that. But, it still hurts that he had another child all those years ago.

Matthew looks rightfully shocked, he thought Brooke knew right off the bat that this was her daughter. "Tyler only ever knocked up one girl" he replied softly as his eyes flicker over to Sam and Jamie, who're running around the park benches; giggling with delight.

"Matt" Brooke warned, unsurely.

The young architect cleared his throat and stated, "Brooke, that little girl over there...that's your daughter."

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