Don't let me Go – chapter three
Brooke was so glad to be flopping herself down into her own bed, it had been a long couple of days, whether it was Ruthie arriving on their doorstep or helping herself and all of her boys adjust to the idea of having another kid in the house and helping Ruthie adjust not only into the lives of the Baker clan but the idea of her being thrown into a house that was predominantly filled with males who she just happened to be petrified of hadn't really helped the adjustment period. But thankfully after an afternoon of some family bonding time Ruthie seemed to be adjusting and joining the antics of the Baker family, she soon was running around high off icing from the cupcakes that Haley had suggested they make together with the boys and to the surprise of Brooke the shy little girl that clutched desperately onto her neck refusing to let go turned into Julian's little girl, loud and giggly, the little girl was certainly warming up to them all but Brooke was a tiny bit jealous that now she had to share Ruthie's affection with her boys. She put her head down on her pillow and looked to her husband who face planted the bed in exhaustion, she laughed and put a hand in her hair "Well they are all out" he said with a smile as she moved forward and placed a kiss on his temple
"I love you" she said cupping his face in her hands and kissing him hard on the lips, he smirked and turned onto his side
"What was that for?" he asked rubbing his fingers down her soft gorgeous face
"Julian Baker you are the most amazing husband in the world, all you do for me all you give to me, I am so grateful that I found you and that I get to spend the rest of my lifetime with you, so Julian Andrew Baker I love you and your heart" she said with a smile as he moved over to where she sat, wrapping his arms around her torso and kissing against her smile
"I'm just giving you exactly what you deserve Brooke Penelope Davis Baker" she loved how delicately the syllables of her name fell off his lips, how delicate the words he chose to speak to her sounded, She headed towards the buttons on his half open shirt, unbuttoning one as he kissed her neck, Brooke moved onto the second button when an incredible screech, the screech of the little girl who was sleeping in their upstairs bedroom. Julian quickly jumped off her and ran up the hallway with Brooke following quickly behind him at the speed of lightening.
"Mama" a scared little head popped out of a doorway as they ran past, Brooke came to a halt and walked towards the door which she pushed open to find both of her boys looking curiously frightened at her
"Everything is fine my little men" she said picking Davis up and putting him on her hip, Jude was watching her intently from where he lay on the top bunch of their bed, she knew that something was going on with Ruthie but her boys were scared as well and she was their mum which meant that she needed to comfort them, she knew full well that this family could only function with a foster child in the house if she kept the lives of her little boys as normal as possible, that was the only way that it could or would ever work.
"BROOKE" Julian yelled down the stairs
"Okay boys mama has to go and check on daddy and Ruthie now, everything is fine"
"Are you coming back mama?" Jude asked with such desperation in his tone that his mum's heart literally broke; she walked over and kissed his cheek
"I will be back in a minute" she said over her shoulder as she walked out of the bedroom and darted up the stairs, she expected that her husband would be in the room with Ruthie trying to calm her down and settle her but instead she found him standing outside the doorway of the crying little girls bedroom "What's going on?" putting a hand on her back
"I tried to go in and she screamed louder" Brooke could see that his eyes were a little watery like he was contemplating how all of that afternoons hard work had been erased she kissed his cheek and walked into the bedroom turning on the light so the little girl knew who she was and didn't freak out about the figure moving towards her, she turned back around quickly to face her husband
"Julian go and sit with the boys for me" she said with a smile as she sat down next to the crying little girl, she didn't want to push her luck so she just put a hand on the knees of the little girl who had crawled up into a ball under the covers of the duvet but to her surprise as she placed her hand on her leg the little girl crawled out of the blankets and into Brooke's unsuspecting arms "What's wrong?" she said as the little girl wrapped her sobbing body around the brunette, Brooke placed her chin down upon the crown of the little girls head
"I had a nightmare" the little girl said between sobs as she grasped tighter and tighter around Brooke's neck
"It's all okay baby, everything is going to be okay" she said in an attempt to soothe the little girl as she rocked backwards and forwards.
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Haley turned around as Brooke walked into the café walking out the back with the little girl around her neck and returning five minutes later without her, her tired eyes sat down next to Peyton and in front of Haley. "So I'm guessing the cupcake making didn't work then" Haley said with a smile as Peyton turned to face her
"The cupcake thing worked really well, she was hanging out with the boys and having a fantastic time, she even let Julian read her a bedtime story but she woke up in a panic, screaming and crying and well Julian tried to go into the room to calm her down and she refused to let him even into the room"
"Oh man no wonder you look tired" Haley said grabbing a cup and pouring a lot of coffee into it
"It was just a nightmare but it was scary enough for her to keep herself awake all night, I mean every time we both fell asleep she would be awake again within five minutes. If she can't trust and be left alone with Julian this just isn't going to work and that sucks because I so want this to work for her"
"One day at a time honey just one day at a time" Haley said as Peyton put a supportive hand on her best friends back
"Hey I don't know if this is a good time to ask you, or if it is a good time to have Ruthie in a big group of us but Lucas and I wanted to have a barbeque with us all tonight actually and if you're up for it we would really like you to come"
"I don't know it just depends on how the boys are, how Julian is and how Ruthie is with them; if she isn't comfortable with them then I don't know how she will do in a whole group of people" Brooke said putting her head in her hands and groaning "What made me think I could do this?"
"Oh Brooke" Peyton said as Haley quickly crossed around the bench, both of them attaching themselves to Brooke's side
"You are doing a great job Brooke Baker, let's remember that Ruthie only arrived on your doorstep yesterday morning, it's going to take longer than a day for her to adjust to this life and it's going to take longer than a day for you guys to adjust to life with Ruthie so don't panic, just take a step back and take a deep breath" Haley said as she played with Brooke's hair
"You don't know what that little girl has seen or what she has been through, you took a little girl who was clearly petrified of men and in a day made her semi comfortable with none the less a man, Julian is a great guy, a loving guy and pretty soon Ruthie is going to get that but until then don't lose the belief in your own abilities Brooke, you one of the most incredible people in this whole damn world" Peyton said as Brooke turned to her and smiled, wrapping her arms around Peyton's neck before turning and doing the same to Haley
"I feel like I have my own personal cheer squad going on here" she said with a smile
"I still have my Ravens outfit" Haley said in full seriousness as Peyton laughed next to her
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"Hey babe we are home" Brooke yelled as she walked into the house with Ruthie attached to her hand as Julian walked out from the hallway wearing a white singlet that revealed his buff arms and a tool belt around his waist, he smiled as he walked into the room and Ruthie let go of Brooke's hand heading towards the pile of toys in the corner as Brooke smirked at her husband "What are you doing?" Brooke asked as he walked towards her
"You know just some handy work around the house" he said with a smile as she walked towards him feeling his bicep "Wait, what time is it?" he said quickly checking his watch and looking to his wife "I've got to go and pick up the boys from school like now" he said disconnecting his tool belt as his wife looked at him like she had a great idea "What is going on in that head of yours Mrs Baker?"
"I'm going to go and pick up the boys" she said throwing her handbag back up on her shoulder as Julian looked at her
"Nah I'll do it, there is no point you and Ruthie having to pile in and out of the car just to pick up the little rascals" he said looking around for his car keys, she took them from his hand
"Well you don't have to worry about that because Ruthie is going to stay here with you and I am going to go and pick up the boys" Brooke said with a smile as Julian looked at her as though he was questioning the idea of this plan, Brooke gave him a consoling peck on the cheek a gesture that was meant to tell him that everything was going to be alright before she walked over and knelt down next to little Ruthie "Hey pretty girl" she said pushing the curls back that covered the little girls face behind her ear "Now I have to go and pick up Jude and Davis from school so that they can come home and play with you"
"Can I come too?" she asked looking up at Brooke with her big green eyes
"You can if you really want but can I tell you a secret?" she asked as Ruthie nodded and Brooke leant in to whisper into her ear "Now Julian is going to stay here and he is going to be here all alone and that might make him sad, so you could come with me or you can stay here with Julian and play with all these new toys and books that we got you" she said leaning back " So do you still want to come with me or do you want to stay here with Julian?" Brooke asked knowing that Julian was standing right there behind her anxiously waiting for the answer to the question exactly like his wife was
"I'm going to stay" she said looking to Brooke who smiled widely and then back down at the toys she was playing with. Brooke tried not to get too excited but when she stood up and turned around to her husband they both shared this look and then silently danced so to not draw attention to the excitement that they were both experiencing
"Hey Julian we are going to go around to Luke and Peyton's tonight for dinner" Brooke said as she walked out towards the door, more of a statement than a question, it was like out of instinct she made this plan in her head as soon as Ruthie made the decision to stay.
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They had to park outside on the curb due to the many cars piled into Lucas and Peyton's driveway, they had also decided that it was probably a better idea to park outside the gate so that if they had to make a great tired kids escape they could do it with ease. As Brooke stepped out of the car and headed towards the bar doors of the car she heard car doors slamming and looked up with a smile "It seems like you had the same idea that we had" Brooke said as Nathan stepped out of the car waved and smiled at them before sliding the minivan door and letting the kids get out.
"It's like a clown car" Julian said lifting Ruthie out of the car and putting her on his hip as Brooke helped the boys get all the things they wanted out of the car "and Mary Poppins' handbag all at the same time" he said watching as all four kids and Haley hopped out of the car. The boys quickly raced to the side of their friends as Julian and Nathan walked ahead, Julian holding Ruthie and Nathan holding Sammy. Haley walked up towards Brooke and connected one arm around her friend's waist the other one around her daughter Isabella on her hip.
"Looks like the cupcake theory worked"
To be continued