ok, I hope this isnt too confusing, but the story kind of jumps back a few years, and then forward again. Sort of like past and present. I hope you enjoy it and please R&R!

Chapter 2: This is for keeps

-10 years earlier-

"Lucas I got in. I got in" Brooke screamed as she ran across the hall and fell into his arms. She wrapped hers around the back of his neck as he held her there for a minute. She smiled as he continued to stare in her eyes. "now we can be together" she continued to smile, her big dimples showing as radiant as always.

"darn, I was planning on dumping you when we went to college" he smirked

She stuck her tongue out at him. "so not funny" she whined

"I'm so happy for you" he smiled again as he pulled her in close. He looked deep into her hazel eyes and smiled. She leaned up into him as he pressed his soft lips against hers. Just then she felt a searing pain at the temple of her head. She backed away as she pressed her finger against the pain.

"are you ok?" he asked concerned

"yeah. I just got a slight headache" she said softly, still rubbing her finger against the side of her head. "I'll see you third period" she smiled as she turned to go to the bathroom. Once inside, she quickly ran to the nearby stall and began puking. The pain in her head had caused the nausea. Once she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet. She walked up the sink and began to splash some water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. This hadn't been the first time she felt like this. She had just hoped that it would eventually go away. Unlucky for her, it didn't.

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"hello again Ms. Davis." Dr. Klebold said as he entered the room.

She smiled at him, scared out of her mind. After the feeling didn't go away for 3 weeks, she decided it would be a wise idea to see the doctor. But now as she was sitting there, she was scared shitless. She fidgeted with her hands as he began to speak again.

"well, we have your test results" he faintly smiled at her, indicating some not so great news. "I'm sorry to have to give you this bad news at such a young age"

She knew it. Of course it would be bad. That was the story of her life. When things seemed to be going great, everything turned to shit. She had just gotten accepted to college, with her boyfriend none the less, and now she was sitting in the doctor's office, awaiting some news that would probably forever change her life. She knew something was wrong. By the way her body had been feeling lately, it just didn't seem normal. Now all she had to do was wait to hear the worst of it.

"it seems that there is a cancerous cell attached to your left ovary." the doctor replied. He just spit it out there like she was just another statistic. He didn't care how it was going to impact her life. He was just doing his job.

She breathed in heavily, hoping what she had just heard was not real. The look on his face told her otherwise. She, at the ripe old age of 18, had ovarian cancer. "what does this mean?" she asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"well, we can perform surgery to try to remove the cancer cells"

"try?" she questioned him

"well with every surgery there is a chance that we wont get every cell Ms. Davis. But, after the surgery is complete, we will have follow-up checks to see that they all have been removed and that the cancer hasn't spread to more parts of your body."

She looked at him, trying to hold back all the emotions she was feeling.

"now with every surgery there are complications. Since the cancer is located on your ovary, there is a chance of losing the ovary, depending on how big the cancer cell is. This may also leave you with some difficulties in conceiving." he replied again, so monotone. She swallowed hard as she looked back up at him. "would you like to schedule your surgery now or?"

"I guess" she smiled faintly

"how does next Monday sound?"

"fine" she said sadly

"alright then. I'll put you in the schedule" Put me in the schedule. I was just another sorry case for him to try and help. "if you have any other questions or concerns you can always call" he replied

She hoisted herself up off the chair and made her way to exit. She smiled once again before thanking him and leaving. Once inside her car, she couldn't hold it back any longer. Tears began to fall freely from her eyes. The idea that everything was fine and normal an hour ago, and had somehow turned so ugly, she just couldn't comprehend. She wiped the escaped tears from her cheeks as they fell. It was no use, they just kept coming. She cried so hard, she didn't think she would ever stop.

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Lucas heard a faint knock at his door. He set down The Scarlet Letter and walked to the door.

"hey" he said softly, smiling wide upon seeing her face. She smiled faintly as she made her way into his room. She sat down on the bed and waited for him to join her. As soon as he sat down however, she immediately got up and began pacing. He watched her intently, knowing she would tell him whatever was on her mind when she was ready to do so. She paused, looked at him, opened her mouth to speak, but then began pacing again. How was she suppose to tell him the news? There was no easy way to do it. She couldn't say it. She couldn't face him when she told him the news. She walked over to him, kissed his cheek softly and then walked to his desk. She grabbed a piece of paper and pen and began scribbling on it. He continued to watch her intently.

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-10 years later-

Lucas opened the door to the apartment as Sophia bounded through it. She flew her stuff down on the floor as she ran to the couch and immediately turned on some cartoon. Lucas couldn't remember what shows she was still into. They were always the same.

It had been exactly 3 years since Brooke had passed away. He knew Sophia didn't remember the day, she was still too young. But today, Lucas found it very hard to keep going. At first, everyday was hard to keep living. He could close his eyes for a second, and he could see her. The outline of her beautiful figure, and those oh so sweet dimples of hers. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume that she wore everyday. But as the days went on, he found it a little easier to keep going. Except for today. Today would always be hard, as far as he was concerned, no matter how many years went by.

He needed something to remember her, something to remind him of her. He smiled at Sophia as she continued to watch tv, and made his way to the bedroom. He opened the closet door and reached up to the top shelf. There he unveiled an old box. He brought it down and placed it next to him on the bed. He opened it and revealed a bunch of letters. He smiled at the abundance of them. He remembered the first time he knew about them. She had brought them to his house, crying because of what happened with Chris. A whole box full of love letters, just for him. He was the only guy that ever had her heart, and for that, he was indebted to her forever.

He fumbled through the letters until he came across 4/13/2007. It would have been in the middle of their senior year, after they had gotten back together of course. He picked it up and tried to remember what this letter would have been about. He opened the envelope and pulled out the yellow parchment.

Lucas

You always told me I could come to you for anything. Well, I'm taking you up on that offer. I started these letters to express how I felt about you, but now they're an easy way to tell you things that I cant say to your face. I know you're sitting right across the room, but this is something that I need to write down.

These past few months have been amazing. And we were ready to move on and live our lives together. Bur today, I found out some news that broke my heart. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. But the truth is, I haven't been doing so well for a few weeks. So today I went to the doctor's.

The news is not good Lucas. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, and trust me, it hurts me a lot more than it hurts you. Ok, here goes nothing. I have cancer Lucas. Ovarian cancer to be exact. Next Monday I go for surgery, and I need you because I'm so scared. I cant do this alone. And the hard part is, as if the cancer wouldn't be hard enough, I might not be able to conceive since it is located on my ovary. I wanted to bring you the kids you talk about in your future. And it hurts me that I might not be able to do that. I know in my heart you will continue to love me, because you are such an amazing person, but I hope that you can forgive me for causing yet another problem in our lives.

Love you with all my heart

Brooke

Lucas couldn't help but laugh as he reread this letter. She was asking him to forgive her for something she had no control over. But that was Brooke. She always wanted to please everyone around her, no matter how much she may have hurt herself in the process. Lucas could remember this day very well. She had given him the letter shortly after she had written it. She sat down on the bed and waited for him to read it, a few tears escaping her eyes as he did so.

After he had finished, he folded the letter back up and looked at her. He stared into her eyes and then wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and held her close, telling her it was all going to be okay. And it was, for a while. The greatest gift to have come from all of it, was Sophia. Brooke had been able to conceive, and they were given a beautiful baby girl. Although Sophia would never remember her wonderful mother, Lucas would make sure she would know her.

Lucas folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope and back into the box. Every year he would come to this box and read a letter, sometimes more, just to remind him of the love of his life. How she had poured out her heart and soul in letters for him. Sometimes he would read one when he was just having a bad day. Whatever the reason, the box provided him with that last remains of his wife. His pretty girl. The woman he loved, and always would.