Two Scared

This can't be happening. It just can't be. Not now, not when he both proposed to and broke up with her best friend only a month and a half ago. It just isn't right.

She can't possibly be pregnant.

But as she looks down at the fourth positive test she's taken she can't deny what she had been trying to deny the last few weeks— she's having a baby. And not just any baby, but Lucas Scott's baby.

She wants to scream or throw something. Does the world hate her?

It's bad enough that she slept with him the day after he and Peyton broke up, but for this to happen… It's just wrong. And now, to top it all off, she has to see Lucas. She can't avoid him any longer. He needs to know that he is going to be a father.

She knows that she has options, but when discovered two weeks ago that she was late, she had thought them over and came to the conclusion that if she was indeed pregnant she didn't want to look into adoption or an abortion. She knew that she wouldn't be able to bear giving her baby up and, even though it seemed silly, part of her already loved this child. As for an abortion, this child hadn't asked for any of this and she didn't have the heart to punish it for her mistake with Lucas.

Mistake.

Is that what it had been?

She had been starting to think that maybe it hadn't been. Lucas has been making it increasingly clear throughout the past month that he is not leaving, that he loves her, and that he's never going to let her go again. But now that a baby is involved, she doesn't know what to think anymore. Everything is just so confusing.

Her hand falls to her stomach and, as a tear falls down her cheek, she is finally starting to grasp the reality of it all. She is going to be a mother, whether she likes it or not, and Lucas is going to be a father. They hadn't intended on this to happen, but it is how things are going to be. They can't change it and part of her wonders if she would if she could.

She loves Lucas and, even though she hates herself a little for it, she wants to be with him. Maybe this baby is what they needed to push them back in the right direction. Maybe this baby can help Lucas further prove that she really can trust him again…

Yes, maybe this baby isn't such a bad thing after all.

But still, she is scared—scared of what this new future will bring and how it will affect her relationship with not only Lucas, but Peyton and the rest of their friends. What will they think of her when they learn that Lucas knocked her up the day after he proposed to Peyton?

She doesn't even want to think about it.

The phone rings but she doesn't pick it up. She just can't talk to anyone right now. Taking a deep, calming breath, she moves from the bathroom and into her bedroom and falls onto her bed. Her hand still rests on her stomach. The message machine from her living room beeps and soon a soft voice echoes into her room, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hey, it's me. I just wanted to check in on you…you know, see how you were doing…I miss you. So much. I never really realized how much I needed you in my life until now… I can't get you out of my mind…I can't stop replaying what happened that night in my head. It was amazing and I really don't think you can deny that…Anyway, I guess I just want you to know that I love you and I'm here when you're ready to talk. Day or night, whenever you need me, I'll be here. I love you, Brooke."

And then the tears are falling and they won't stop. Why does he affect her like this? His rambling message is all she needs to hear to know that she needs to see him right away. She can't let him sit in the dark any longer. And more than that, it assures her even more that he is not going anywhere. For some reason, he wants her, not Peyton, and maybe it is time she accepts that.

She isn't sure she's ready to be with him again, but this baby has makes her start to think that it might be worth it to try again, if only for the sake of their baby. It still scares her to think about being with him, not only because she is afraid of getting hurt again, but because, only a little less than two months ago, she would have never thought that a reunion between herself and Lucas was even possible. It is almost too good to be true.

But she needs to explore the possibilities of a relationship with Lucas. First, though, she must actually see him. And so, with a small burst of courage, she lifts herself up off the bed and into her office, and, before she knows it, she has booked herself a flight to Tree Hill.

888

She remembers that day as if it was yesterday— the day she learned she was going to be a mother. It had changed her life. At first, she had thought that it had changed her life for the worst, then she quickly thought it had been for the better. But now…now she has no idea what to think.

She doesn't know why she is thinking about that day now as she stands in the middle of the completely finished Clothes Over Bros store. All she knows is that she doesn't like thinking about it because, even though many of the memories she and Lucas had shared after that moment had been great, the end result had been the most painful time in her life. And, as tears spring to her eyes, she knows that she still is too much of a coward to even try to think about it for more than a few minutes.

"This place looks amazing!"

Brooke turns in surprise to look at Peyton, who is walking over to meet her, and immedietly puts her emotions in check; she isn't ready to deal with Peyton's questions right now.

Her eyes travel around the store. Tonight is the opening party and she can't wait to finally reveal it to all of her friends. The only sore spot of the evening is the fact that Victoria will be there, no doubt going on and on about how this store will never possibly make it. But it will be worth it because all that matters is that she has finally set up a store in the place where C/B started. It's perfect.

"Thanks, but I thought I told you to wait for tonight so that whole place could be a surprise."

"Yeah, you did," Peyton says with a smile, "but I figured since I'm your best friend I could get special treatment."

Brooke smirks. "Hmm, sure. I guess it's okay, though. This place is going to look even more glamorous tonight, so you'll still be a little surprised. Although, I was actually hoping Lucas could be the first to see it, since it was his mom's place and all."

"He hasn't been able to stop by?"

She shakes her head. "He's been busy."

Actually, she is starting to think he is avoiding her, which isn't a comforting thought since she had been thinking that they had been starting to make some good progress as friends. But she doesn't want Peyton to know that.

Peyton seems distracted as she looks at Brooke with narrowed eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," Brooke says reassuringly. She knows that Peyton can see right through her, especially now when, before Peyton stepped into the room, she had been in such a vulnerable state.

"Are you sure? You seemed kind of distracted when I came in here."

"I'm fine, Peyton," Brooke says, this time more firmly. "Really."

Peyton nods slowly and puts a hand on Brooke's arm. "Okay. But if you ever need to talk about…well, if you need to talk, I'm here."

That's what everyone says and Brooke's thankful for it, but it never really makes her feel better nor does she ever take anyone up on their offer. She should, but she doesn't.

"I know. Thanks, Peyton."

888

When Lucas walks into his home, Lindsay immediately bombards him at the door, a look of irritation on her face.

"Lucas, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you on your phone, but you haven't answered."

"What's going on?" he asks as he falls onto the couch. He has had another long day. Practice had been exhausting for both the coaches and the players and now all he wants to do is relax.

"Brooke's opening for Clothes Over Bros is in less than a half hour!"

"Oh…"

He had forgotten about that. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't have much of a desire to go. He wants to be there for Brooke, he really does, but he knows that Victoria will be there and, ever since his talk with her the other day, he's been hesitant to see Brooke. It isn't that he is actually going to stay away from Brooke like Victoria had asked him to, but it is more of the fact of what Victoria had said about him ruining Brooke's life.

It seems to him that that's all he ever does to Brooke— cause her pain. And sometimes he wonders if she would be better off without him. In fact, that is the one thing that encouraged him after Brooke left—that maybe she would be happier without him in her life. Apparently, though, she hadn't been, and that shook Lucas up more than he thought it could. Brooke had been a wreck for the last two and a half years, just like him, and he feels responsible for it. So really, he is avoiding her out of guilt, which only makes him even more of a coward.

He knows that Brooke doesn't blame him for anything. In fact, she probably blames herself, ridiculous as that is. But his talk with Victoria had reminded him of a time when he promised Brooke that he would never let her go again. And yet he had. Once again, he let her go and he didn't chase after her and now more than ever he regrets that decision. Because if he had chased after her, then they could have faced their pain and loss together, instead of facing it by themselves and dying a little each day because of that.

Lindsay lets out a frustrated groan, interrupting his thoughts. "I told you this morning that you need to try to be home by six so you have time to get ready. I swear you have the memory of a gold fish."

"I'll just be fifteen minutes," he mumbles as he stands up and heads to his bedroom to get ready.

He isn't looking forward to tonight, but he knows that he needs to be there for Brooke. There's one more reason he's been avoiding her, though, and that is that he still loves her. There's no use in denying that fact anymore.

And he's scared of that because he's spent these past two years trying to erase his feelings and trying to move on. It had been hard, but when he started dating Lindsay six months ago, he thought he had accomplished his goal. But now Brooke is back and he is back to square one.

Lindsay is an amazing girl and he loves her, but he doesn't love her like he loves Brooke and that is a problem because he very much wants to be with Lindsay. With Lindsay, things are not complicated. Their history is not full of love triangles and pain and that in itself is breath of fresh air for him. It's just easy with them and he doesn't want that to change.

That's why he knows that he and Brooke can't be together again—because not only does he not want to hurt Brooke again, he doesn't want to hurt himself or Lindsay. They've already experienced enough pain to last a lifetime and being with Brooke again would most likely bring more pain.

At the same time there is a part of him that knows that there doesn't have to be pain with him and Brooke. They can be together and just be happy—most of their time together senior year and the months while Brooke was pregnant with Garrett proved that. The problem with him and Brooke was that something always came in the way, whether it be Peyton or the terrible loss of their son. But maybe if he and Brooke took another chance, things would turn out differently. Maybe they would get a chance to finally be happy…

He quickly shakes the thought out of his head. He can't be thinking about being with Brooke again, not when he is with Lindsay. Lindsay means the world to him and he truly does love her.

He just hopes that someday soon his love for Brooke will fade and he will love Lindsay the way she deserves to be loved. Otherwise, he doesn't know what he will do…

888

So far the night is a success and Brooke is happy with the response she is getting from everyone. Many of her employees from the New York office are here, as well as other well-known designers and clients and they are all praising her for her most recent success here in Tree Hill.

Her friends are completely surprised at how different the store is from Karen's Café, but they all like it. The only person she hasn't seen is Lucas. She hasn't been able to spot him anywhere the whole night and she isn't even sure if he is coming. Lindsay is no where in sight either and she hopes that they're just running late. She wants Lucas' approval more than anyone's.

She makes her way over to Peyton, Jake, Haley, Nathan, Skills, Mouth and Millicent who are all huddled at the bar. Mouth and Millicent are talking animatedly about something and Brooke smiles as she notices how comfortable the two of them are together. She mentally reminds herself to set them up sometime time in the future. Jake, Nathan, and Skills are talking basketball, while Haley and Peyton send her encouraging smiles.

"Have you seen Lucas at all?" she asks as she reaches them.

"No," Haley says, "but Lindsay called and said they're running a little late. They should be here soon."

She dreads to think about the reason why Lucas and Lindsay are running late. Back when she and Lucas were dating, them turning up late was normally caused by one thing and the thought of Lucas and Lindsay doing that makes her sick to her stomach.

"Bitchtoria at one o'clock," Peyton mutters and Haley lets out a snort. Brooke's mother is walking through the crowd towards them with a sneer on her face.

"Hello, Peyton," Victoria says with incredibly forced modesty. She looks quickly at Haley. "And you're Bailey, right?"

"Haley, actually," Haley quietly corrects.

Victoria ignores her. "I have to say that the response here is better than I expected. But then again, everyone is always excited about the prospect of a new business venture. In the end, though, they almost always fail."

Brooke wants more than anything to glare at her mother and tell her off, but she is surrounded by important business acquaintances and for the sake of her business keeps her mouth shut.

"I'm confident that this store will be successful," Brooke says.

"Hmm, of course you are."

Victoria glances around the room airily, her eyes narrowing as she focuses on something. Brooke's eyes follows her and smiles when she sees that Lucas is finally here. Her smile turns into a frown as she sees Lindsay by his side, her hand in his, and she suppresses the jealousy that now fills her body. She hasn't actually seen the two of them together as a couple yet and it is not a fun sight.

Across the room, he catches her gaze and smiles. Her smile immediately returns, all thoughts of Lindsay temporarily gone as she thinks only of how handsome he looks tonight.

888

The atmosphere in the room reminds him of the party that was thrown for him by the book company that night in New York, when he first learned his book was being published. That in turn simply reminds him of the portion of that night that he spent with Brooke, leaving a small smile on his face. The pain brought on later as a consequence of that night didn't even matter; it is still one of his favorite memories.

Beside him, Lindsay and Haley are talking quietly, while Nathan and Skills tell Jake about the Raven's most recent nightmare practice. Lucas is trying to listen, but he is distracted by Brooke, who is standing a few feet away from him, talking to a fancily dressed women who he guesses is some sort of fashion designer as well.

She looks so happy tonight and he's knows it's because C/B is one of the things that Brooke takes most pride in. He hasn't seen her smile the way she's been smiling tonight for so long and it makes him happy to know that she's happy. That is enough for him.

Brooke is soon out of his sight as she disappears through the crowd and so he wanders off towards the end of the bar and orders a drink.

"Having fun?" Peyton asks as she takes a seat next to him.

He smiles lightly, taking a sip of the drink the bartender has just put in front of him.

"I guess so. Brooke's really done a great job with this place."

"I know. It's practically unrecognizable."

He nods slowly, looking for Brooke again, but he can't find her. When he turns to look back at Peyton, she is smiling at him knowingly.

"You're looking for Brooke, aren't you?" she asks.

He takes another sip of his drink and looks down at the counter, not feeling like answering.

"So how are things with you two, anyway?" Peyton continues. "Last I heard, you haven't talked too much since you first saw her."

"I've been busy."

"That's what Brooke said."

He take a deep breath; he's not in the mood to discuss Brooke with Peyton, especially with Lindsay nearby, and so he decides to change the subject.

"How's the wedding planning going?"

Peyton sends him a look. "If you don't want to talk about Brooke, you can just tell me. I won't bother you about it anymore."

He grins. "Thanks."

"And the wedding planning is going great," Peyton says with a smile. "Thanks for asking."

He's about to respond when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my daughter," an icy voice says.

He turns around to look at Victoria, who is glaring at both him and Peyton. She is the last person he wants to deal with tonight, but he has to let her know that he is not going to follow her orders. He may be scared of all that he is feeling for Brooke, but he will not stay away from her.

"I was invited tonight personally by Brooke," he says, his eyes narrowing. "And for the record, I'm not going to stay away from her."

Victoria sneers at him over her drink. "Why don't you try to be selfless for once and leave her be. Her life would be so much simpler if you never came along and I'm sure she agrees with me."

"Brooke started Clothes Over Bros because of Lucas," Peyton says and Lucas sends her a grateful smile. "So, really, if Lucas hadn't come into her life then Clothes Over Bros wouldn't be here, would it? And you would be without a job."

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Peyton," Victoria says as she looks Peyton over with raised eyebrows. She turns back to glower at Lucas. "If you cared anything about Brooke, you would leave her alone."

Without another word, she turns to leave. Lucas watches her go, reminded of all that he had been worrying about earlier. He downs the rest of his drink, grimacing as the burning alcohol runs down his throat. Victoria's put him in the mood to get nice and drunk.

"Don't listen to her, Luke," Peyton says as he orders another drink.

"She's right, though."

"No, she's not, and you know it. Brooke would never change having you in her life and she definitely doesn't want you out of it. That's why she came back, anyway—so that you could be in her life again, whether it's as a friend or more. She needs you, Lucas. That hasn't changed at all these last few years, believe me."

Brooke has appeared once again and he stares at her for a moment before turning back to Peyton.

"All I ever do is bring pain into her life."

"That's not true. You two were so happy together during senior year before I screwed that up. And then when you got back together three years ago, you were even happier. You both bring out the best of each other and I've never seen her happier than she was with you. And yeah, people get hurt, but it happens. Pain is a part of life. But don't think for a second that Brooke blames you for all that pain because I know for a fact that she doesn't. She doesn't blame you one bit, so stop feeling guilty about it. Besides, you should know better than to actually believe Victoria. She only cares about the business, not Brooke."

He knows that she is right, mostly at least. Blaming himself now will only make matters worse and he knows by now that life with Brooke is so much better than life without her. They both need each other in their lives and he won't cause her more pain by removing himself from her life.

"Thanks, Peyton," he says gratefully.

She grins. "No problem."

Peyton is soon whisked away by Jake and Lucas finds himself alone again. He feels a bit better now after hearing Peyton and it puts him in a much better mood. He watches Brooke again and he wants very much to take her aside and just talk, but he knows that she's busy.

He moves back towards Lindsay and Haley, who are still deep in conversation, before slipping past them and into the backroom, eager to get away from the crowd for a moment. He turns the light on and looks around the crowded space. Tons of clothes scatter the small room, but a couch sits in the corner. He sits down, reveling in the quiet, and closes his eyes.

"Bored?"

His eyes spring back open at the sound of the raspy voice. Brooke is standing at the doorway, an amused smile on her lips as she stares at him.

"A little," he answers honestly. She quietly closes the door and walks over to the couch, sitting next to him.

"These types of parties aren't your thing," she states.

She knows him too well. "Nah, but the bar was a nice touch. It kept me from having to suffer through one of Lindsay and Haley's boring intellectual conversations."

She grins. "It'll be gone by tomorrow morning. This couch is actually going in its place."

He takes a sip of the drink that is still in his hand. "Hmm, too bad."

"So," she says, "I saw Victoria talking to you earlier. Was she giving you a hard time?"

He chuckles softly. "Your mom still hates me. I don't think that will ever change."

"Well, if it's any consolation, my mom hates just about everyone so you're not alone."

They both share a laugh before a comfortable silence takes over. He is glad that they can be so at ease with each other. When she first returned, he hadn't been sure they would ever be able to return to a normal friendship, but luckily it seems more possible each time they are together.

But there is still an elephant in the room and even though he doesn't like to talk about it and he knows that she definitely doesn't, they need to. They can't move forward in their friendship unless they do. And so he takes a deep breath and breaks the silence.

"Do you think about him a lot?"

Her head turns to look at him, her expression solemn. She knows exactly who he's talking about. "Everyday. It's impossible not to."

"I know…" It's so strange enough to be talking about this out loud with her, but it feels right. "Have you thought about going to see him?" he asks hesitantly.

Her eyes narrow and she looks away. She takes a long, steadying breath and he can see a tear fall down her cheek. She stands up.

"I can't."

And then she is walking away, back out towards the party, and he jumps up to follow her. She can't run away from this; they need to talk. He reaches for her wrist before she can open the door.

She doesn't meet his gaze; her eyes are looking down at the floor, tears falling freely. His hand tilts her chin up so that she is looking at him and then he wipes away the tears with his hand. He looks at her softly while she struggles to hold back a sob.

"Why?" he asks, his hands now gently cupping her face.

She doesn't say anything for a moment. "I'm scared."

And then he pulls her into his arms and she's sobbing into his chest. His hands run through her hair and all he can do is whisper any words of comfort he can find. It's hard when he needs the comfort too, but it's good that they are doing this; this talk is long overdue. And it feels so good to have her in his arms again. Words can't even describe how right it feels.

It's a few minutes before she calms down. She removes her head from his chest and looks up at him with watery eyes. He smiles softly at her, removing a stray hair from her face, and places a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It's going to be okay, Pretty Girl."

She tenses at his words and he realizes the slip of his tongue. Slowly, she detangles herself from his arms.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, moving away from him and into her office. He follows her and watches as she fumbles around the drawers in her desk looking for something.

"You don't need to be sorry. This is good, Brooke. We need to talk about this."

She pulls out a compact mirror, looking herself over and freshening up her makeup. A few minutes of silence later she snaps the compact shut and brushes past him. "I can't do this right now, Lucas. Not now. Not with everyone outside."

"I know." He follows her back to the door. His hand reaches for hers and their fingers automatically intertwine. "But we do need to talk about it soon."

"Don't you think I know that?" she snaps and he is surprised at her animosity. "I have to go, Lucas." Her voice is now soft and defeated. "I'm sorry."

He lets go of her hand and she quickly makes her way back into the party. Now as he watches her, her smile is wary and forced. She is not happy anymore and he thinks that maybe he should have waited for a better time to talk about their son. She was genuinely happy earlier and he took that away. But they had to talk about it eventually and it is best that they started sooner rather than later.

And so he doesn't regret it because he knows that it will only get better from here. At least he hopes so…

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially the little Brucas at the end. I feel like it might be a little choppy in some parts and I don't think it's my best writing, especially since I didn't have a lot of time to go over it, but I wanted to get it up before I had to go out. Please be sure to leave a review and thanks for reading!

I've got a couple of responses to some anonymous reviews:

austingirl76: I didn't really make it too clear that Lindsay and Brooke already knew each other, so I understand your confusion! Lindsay was Lucas' editor during the time Brooke was pregnant with their son and so she and Brooke met quite a few times because of that. Thanks for asking!

Lena: I know that I shouldn't pick favorites, but I'm going to have to say that you are my absolute favorite reviewer! Seriously, you're reviews are just amazing (and super long, which I love :D). I'm really glad that you're enjoying this story so far. As for review, I can see why you don't like Lindsay! For some reason I have more tolerance for Lucas' girlfriends than I do for Brooke's boyfriends, so I actually liked Lindsay on the show, just not the fact that she was with Lucas. If it makes you feel any better, Lindsay and Lucas won't be together too much longer…And things will definitely be getting brighter for BL soon, but they've still got a ton to work through, as glimpsed in this chapter. And as for the show, I completely agree. I was so upset after I watched it, probably more than I should have been, and I decided I just couldn't take it anymore. I don't really understand how Mark can expect most Brucas fans to faithfully watch the show when he doesn't even give us friendship scenes. It's like he doesn't want to give us any hope, which is just mean. Fan fiction is pretty much the only Brucas we're getting right now and that's one thing I'm definitely grateful for. I just wish the show could give us a little more, but since that doesn't seem possible, I'm happy to stop watching. Anyway, thanks so much for not only reviewing for this story, but for all of your reviews for All for Love. I appreciate each and every one so much and I'll be honest, reading your review is what inspired me to write this chapter so fast! So thanks!!!