New chapter, woo woo! As I said before, it's kinda a cutesy one. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's day/Up with being single/kill all happy couples day. Except I can't really say that anymore because I am now one part of a slightly sickening couple (cheesy grin). Sorry.

Back to BL…

Lucas opened his door and smiled at Brooke and Amy outside. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey daddy! Look I got new - "

"Shoes! I can see that," he smiled, "And a new polo shirt."

"Uh huh! And the skirt's new too. And we got a jumper and pyjamas too!"

Lucas chuckled, meeting Brooke's eyes for a second. She looked up innocently, smiling a little. "Wow. Why don't you go show Emma?"

"Okay!"

He turned to Brooke once Amy had run past him. She gave a little shrug. "What?"

He continued to look at her and she cracked. "Okay so we went a little overboard. But the new designs were in and she just looked so gorgeous in everything and you know how I get with Ralph's kids' line…"

"The shoes are converse."

"Well we passed them on the way back and they go so well with the polo…"

Lucas rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "They're pink."

"I know it's not the most practical colour for a child's shoe but Luke, come on! They're so cute! And anyway, I had to get pink because she wanted black, like Jenny, and I'm not having my daughter turn into a rock chick."

"She's not going to turn into a rock chick!" he said laughing, "She just likes having stuff that Jenny does."

"And you don't think that's worrying! I'm not having my kid thinking Peyton's kid is cooler than her."

Lucas laughed again, shaking his head. "Brooke Jenny's six years older, of course Amy thinks she's cool. I don't think it's any reflection on their respective mothers'."

"It'd better not be. Cause I'm cooler than Peyton, right? At least fashion wise?"

Lucas gave a half nod, not wishing to fuel Brooke's crazy competitiveness.

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "That'd better be a yes. I'll see you next week." She hugged him briefly. "And maybe…don't buy her anything this weekend."

"Or how about the next month?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

"I meant you!"

Brooke gave a half nod, mimicking Lucas. "Yeah, we'll see how that goes…"

Lucas smiled, and shut the door shaking his head.


Amy yawned as Lucas pulled her covers up round her, tucking her into bed. "Do you want a story?"

"No, talk to me."

"Okay. What about?" Lucas asked.

"Talk to me about Mommy."

"Baby Mommy can tell you about herself."

"No. I want you to tell me," Amy sat up and crossed her arms.

Lucas sighed, but smiled, and sat down on her bed. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about when Mommy was younger."

"You've heard about all this."

"No I haven't! And I wanna hear it again. Please Daddy!"

"Fine. Mommy was a cheerleader."

"Was she a nice cheerleader like Torrance? Or more like Valerie from Sabrina?"

"Uh…if I knew who they were…"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"She was nice," Lucas said. "She even talked to the dorks," Lucas said chuckling, thinking of Mouth. "Because your mom learnt how to be herself, and be happy with that. And so she should be, cause she's pretty amazing Ames."

Amy grinned.

"She always says I should trust myself, and not worry about what other people think."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. It can be tough to do that when you're growing up. But you'll always have us here to help you," he said, squeezing her shoulders.

"Was Mommy good in school?" Amy asked after a second.

Lucas laughed, "Not really. But she got better."

"Cause aunt Tutorgirl helped her get into college."

"Yeah, because Aunt Haley helped her."

"Were you good in school Daddy?"

"Yes I was," Lucas said, grinning, "So in school you've got to be like me."

"Do I have to play basketball?" Amy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if you don't want to," Lucas laughed at her expression, she looked so like Brooke when she did that. "You can be a cheerleader if you really want."

"Good."

Lucas smiled at her, pulling her onto his lap, "Try not to be too much like Mommy though," he said after a minute, laughing.

"Mommy was head cheerleader," Amy said proudly. "And you were the captain of basketball."

"That's true, in our senior year."

"Were you Mommy's boyfriend?"

"For most of the time," Lucas said chuckling; he and Brooke's relationship had always been a little on and off.

"Did you love her?"

"I still do baby, just not in the same way."

Amy made a face, and Lucas laughed. "I know, what does that mean right?"

"Did you break up with her because of me?"

Lucas looked down at Amy quickly. "No. We broke up because we had some problems, it was nothing to do with you."

Amy didn't believe him. "Would you give me up if you could still be with Mommy?"

Lucas frowned, "No sweetie."

"So that means you love me more than Mommy."

Lucas smiled at her logic, "I love you more than anything in the world baby."

Amy paused, and then decided she was satisfied with this answer. Lucas smiled at her as she settled her head against his chest, closing her eyes. After a few minutes he felt her breathing slow down, and her stroked her hair, tucking a dark brown lock behind her ear.


"So, you know whose birthday is coming up?" Carrie asked Brooke as she sat in her office on Monday morning, twirling round on one of her chairs.

"Um…no?"

"Brooke!"

Brooke glanced up distractedly. "Carrie shouldn't you be at work?"

Carrie shrugged. "I'm taking the morning off. What? I'm the boss, I can do what I like."

"Uh huh…"

"Anyway, you really don't know whose birthday it is soon?"

Brooke sighed and leant back, realising she wasn't going to get any work done for the next hour or so. "Um…"

"It's Lucas' Brooke! The father of your child?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Yeah, I should think so. God." Carrie rolled her eyes grinning. "Anyway, Hales called me yesterday because she wants to throw a party for him because you know he never makes a big deal out of his birthday. I think really she just wants something to do cause she's getting bored of not working but that's just my theory, anyway - "

"Hang on, wait. Hales called you?"

"Uh, yes?"

"And not me? Her best friend and ex-wife of said birthday boy?"

"Yeah, I think that might be why."

Brooke sighed. "Is she still on that?"

"Brooke it's no big deal Haley just…I don't know she feels uncomfortable about the whole subject - "

"It's been years!"

"Yeah I know, but it's only recently that you've kind of been hanging out and stuff and I think she still thinks that you're not really over him and - "

"That's so ridiculous! Surely the very fact we have been hanging out shows I'm completely over him."

Carrie held up her hands. "Hey! I didn't say anything, I'm just defending Hales. You know, it's difficult for her with her and Nate…being so great and everything - "

"Well Peyton and Jake are happy together but that doesn't mean Peyt gets all awkward around the subject of Lucas."

Carrie sighed. "Don't worry about it Brooke, it was nothing. Anyway, she just mentioned the idea to me, see what I thought, and when I said I was seeing you she said I should tell you about it."

Brooke waved her hand. "Fine. Sorry. Okay, so what's the plan?"

"Well Haley was thinking maybe a black tie party – dinner and dancing that kind of thing. We could rent a club for an evening…"

"Sounds great. Is it gonna be like a surprise or…?"

"Yeah, why not? Haley can call Emma and she can get him there."

"Okay. Well what do you need me for?"

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Brooke you're an awesome party planner and you know it. And we want you to be involved. So…I don't know, call me later with some ideas?"

Brooke relented and smiled. "Fine. Ooh do you think we could get Woody's at short notice?"

Carrie grinned. "I'm sure you could." She hopped off her desk. "Speak to you later, bye babe."

She left the office and Brooke turned back to her work, but then rested her chin on her hand distractedly. Party planning for Lucas… She smiled happily and grabbed her phonebook.


"Mommy how about that?" Amy asked, tugging on Brooke's hand and pointing to a dark blue shirt in the window of Hugo Boss.

"You think your Daddy would like that?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you, duh."

"Well it's your present Ames."

Amy considered for a moment and then shook her head. "No, it's boring."

"Okay, well how about we go to Melrose and see if there's anything down there."

"Okay! Can we go into Barney's on the way?"

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "And which section would we be going to?"

Amy shrugged slowly. "I don't know…men's wear I guess…but if we happened to pass through children's wear then…"

"Ames…you just had a whole lot of new clothes the other day."

"That was in the sale!"

"So? There still clothes."

Amy pouted and Brooke laughed. "Sorry kiddo, Dad's orders."

"Ugh. And when I'm buying him a present and everything!"

Brooke chuckled and took her hand as they crossed the street.

"What are you getting him, Mom?" Amy asked as they walked down Melrose Avenue.

Brooke tipped her head on one side. "I don't know."

"You could get him a book. Daddy likes books."

Brooke laughed. "Yeah, I remember."

"Or…some cufflinks?" Amy continued to reel of suggestions.

Brooke thought about it as Amy stopped at another window. She hadn't gotten Lucas a proper present in years; the previous few years she hadn't really seen him around his birthday. She'd had such a good track record with him before it would be a shame not to get him something special now.

They went in the store and Amy looked up and around at all the clothes on display. Brooke wandered to a wrack of ties, keeping one eye on her daughter.

She ran her fingers down the smooth silk of a dark green one. She was sure to think of something.


Brooke sat up and rubbed her eyes as she heard footsteps outside her door. It opened a second later and Amy padded in, approaching her bed and lifting up the covers before crawling in next to Brooke.

She didn't say anything but just snuggled up next to her mother.

"Hey sweetheart, bad dream?"

Brooke felt her the movement of Amy's chin up and down against her side. She wrapped an arm round her. "Okay, go to sleep baby girl."

Amy closed her eyes and Brooke dropped a kiss on her head, before closing her own too.

Brooke wrapped her arms round herself as she wandered down the hall of Lucas' house. It was kind of nice in the dark…all quiet…

She realised in the silence her feet were probably making way to much noise, and slowed to a creep as she passed Karen's room. The house was freezing and she shivered as she stopped outside Lucas' door, kicking herself for leaving her bed in only a tank top and a pair of his boxers.

She opened the door a crack and slipped in, closing it gently behind her.

When Karen had first offered Brooke a room for spring break, Brooke never actually thought it would be an actual room. More just, permission to sleep in Lucas' bed for the week. She should have guessed that while Karen was totally fine for them to be shacking up when they weren't together, now that they were it was strictly opposite ends of the house.

Obviously, Brooke was always one to see these rules more as guidelines…

"Lucas?"

Lucas rolled over, opening his eyes blearily. "Hey babe, you okay?"

Brooke nodded and sat down on the side of his bed. "Shove over."

He obliged and she climbed in to bed next to him, wrapping an arm round his middle. "I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore."

He chuckled. "C'mere." He wrapped his arms round her and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep pretty girl."


So a little bit of fluff. A short interlude…amidst the fluff. And vague 'when the hell are they going to get together' angst.
Anyhoo, you know what you gotta do. But just in case, review!

Next up: Uh, you can maybe guess. And if not…er, surprises are cool!