"Brooke, you're crazy!"
"Why? I just wanted to throw him a little party!"
"Brooke, there is a beach full of kids out here, this does not classify as a little party!" Peyton says, scanning the beach to see a lot of Jamie's friends and a lot of kids that she didn't know.
"But it is tradition, Peyton! We always have to throw an end of the summer beach party. Don't you remember all the fun we had? We would go swimming and you and Jake would—"
"You and Jake would what?" Lucas says coming up behind the two women with Katie on his hip.
"Nothing… this is insane, Luke… how did you not stop her."
"Yer kidding, right? It's Brooke." He says with a raised eyebrow at his wife of ten years. "Besides, a lot of them are kids from the basketball team and swim team… and a lot of their parents are here anyways. It isn't going to get out of hand."
"Yeah, I can't believe some of these kids brought their parents. We definitely did this the right way." Brooke says with a confused look on her face.
"Brooke." Peyton says in a warning tone.
Putting Katie down to run around in the sand, Lucas puts an arm around his wife, pulling her close and whispering in her ear, "Why do I have a feeling that you were a lot wilder in high school than what you've told me?"
"Oh shut up." She says, turning in his arms and planting a sweet kiss to his lips that quickly turned into something more.
"Dude, you two better quit that, or I'm going to have another pseudo niece or nephew on the way." Brooke says playfully shielding her eyes and looking annoyed.
The two of them pull apart with shy looks to each other and blushes on their face before turning back to Brooke, whose eyes were nearly bugging out of her head. "You're PREGNANT?!"
"WHAT? No!" Peyton says, her eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell made you think that?"
"You just… I was saying… about another niece and then you two got all gooey eyed and blushy. Are you sure you're not pregnant?"
"No, Brooke, I'm not pregnant. Trust me."
"Well, that's a relief." She says, taking the arm of her best friend and telling Lucas to go enjoy the party so she can enjoy her best friend.
"What do you mean that's a relief?" Peyton says, mock hurt.
"It would just be crazy. Four kids! I mean, I know the two of you are all mushy in love still, but four kids is over doing it a bit, don't you think?"
"We're not having another baby, Brooke."
"Well, why not?" Brooke questions, seemingly upset.
"Are you joking? One minute you're upset because you think I'm crazy for possibly having another baby, and now you're mad that I'm not planning on having another one?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, you and lover boy need to start working on your own family and stop spoiling my kids."
"I don't think that's going to happen any time soon."
"I've seen the way Michael looks at you Brooke, he's in love with you, and you know it."
"Yeah, but I don't know how this is supposed to go." She says with uncertainty, stopping to face her best friend.
"What do you mean?"
"I just… I've dreamed of that guy and I feel like he's the one, but I don't know where to go from here, and I don't know how he feels about the future or anything like that."
"Something tells me that you two aren't going to be waiting much longer to take things to the next level. I think you're both ready for it. He's so in love with you it's kind of nauseating."
"Oh God, this coming from a woman who still fantasizes about her husband after ten years of marriage."
"What can I say… the man is wonderful."
"Oh, I know… trust me, I've heard… don't you remember that night I—"
"Brooke! That isn't what I meant!"
"No?"
"Yes, Lucas is good at… that part, but he's an amazing father, and he's the best friend, aside from you, that I've ever had."
"And you call me nauseating…" she says, and the two start turning back to the crowd and walking in silence.
The bonfire went on all night, the kids and parents running around playing volleyball, swimming, and talking with each other. It may not have been the wild night that Brooke was used to from when she and Peyton were in high school, but it was fun all the same.
Later in the evening, Jamie came up to thank her for all that she did before they left for the evening.
"No problem kiddo… you know I love you."
"Yeah, but you still didn't have to organize this huge blowout."
"Your aunt Peyton and I used to do this before the start of every new school year when we were younger, so I thought that I would let you in on the craziness."
"You and Mom were crazy when you were my age, weren't you?"
"Not too bad."
"yeah, that's not what Dad says."
"Eh… Don't listen to him, he's crazy." She says, smacking him lightly on the shoulder before plopping down in the sand and gesturing for him to do the same. "So, are you going to tell me what's taking you so long with this Riley chick?"
"She told you?"
"We have been best friends since the third grade, she can't keep anything from me."
"She's just a friend."
"Sure." She says, not sounding convinced.
"Aunt Brooke, she's just a friend."
"You know, you may not be Peyton's biologically, but you did pick up a few things from her… being really bad at lying to me. So, tell me what's really going on."
"After me and Emily broke up, I thought that it was a good idea, trying things with Riley. Then we kept talking and I thought that it might ruin everything with her."
"Don't you think it could make things so much better though."
"Aunt Brooke?"
"Jamie?" she asks back in the same tone.
"Can we just enjoy the last Saturday before school without all the drama?" he asks, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"And what do you suggest we do, Jamie Scott?"
"I vote that we go for a swim!"
"I could go for that."
They put the rest of their things down and Brooke grabbed Katie from Peyton before running down to the shore with Jamie. Baley was off with one of the younger siblings of one of Jamie's friends playing volleyball and having an absolute blast.
"He's going to be a junior this year." Peyton says with a far off tone to her voice as she leaned back on her husband's chest while they lay on their blanket set in the sand.
"I know, and Baley's going to be in second grade… that's crazy." He says, shaking his head.
"Then Katie's going to be in Kindergarten… they're getting way too old too soon. I miss it when they were little. It was easier."
He waited a beat before asking the question that was lingering in his mind after their earlier encounter with Brooke, "Peyton, do you want another baby?"
She sighed, looking up at him and then back to where she could see Jamie, Brooke, and Katie playing in the water, "Would you be mad if I said that I was okay with what we have?"
"Really?"
"Unless you want another baby… but I think that I am more than okay with the little family that we have now. We've done pretty good for ourselves here Lucas Scott."
"We have, and I think that you are right."
"You do?"
"Well, I was thinking the same thing. If you wanted to, then I would be on board. If you didn't want to, then I would be on board with that too."
"One of the many reasons why I love you, Luke."
"Well… we don't have to stop the baby making practice, do we?"
"Oh, that is definitely not something that we are going to stop. You're really good at that part of the deal."
"Another reason why I love you, Peyton Scott."
They laugh about it for a minute, sharing a few chaste kisses while watching their family run around celebrating the last weekend of the summer.
Monday, of course, came way too soon, and the kids were not too happy with the early morning wake up call from both parents exclaiming that it was the first day of school.
"Seriously, do the two of you get some kind of sick pleasure out of this?"
"Of course we do! We get you and your sister out of the house during the day… it's a dream come true for both of us."
"Mom, I love you, but please get out of my room."
"You know the rule on the first day of school, Jamie Scott. I don't leave until you are up out of your bed and in the bathroom ready to take a shower. I see that bathroom door shut and then I can leave you alone."
"Mom!!" he says, trying to wrap his pillow over his head to keep out her talking and the morning sunlight that was currently invading the room after she pulled the curtains open.
Peyton took this opportunity to walk further into the room, a clean room considering he was a teenage boy. She sat down next to his bed, so he was facing her at eye level when she whispered, "Jamie… come on my wonderful son… time to get up."
At this, he smiled, remembering when he was younger and was given the instruction to wake her up. Lucas had always assumed that he would run in and jump up and down to wake up his aunt. Jamie and Peyton knew though, that he would crawl into bed and whisper "Mom" to her in the softest, sweetest voice until her eyes fluttered open. She did the same in calling her his son, eliciting a smile from the boy.
"You ready for today?"
"Yeah…"
"Honestly?"
"It's a big year… hard."
"You've got Scott genes, so I don't doubt that you'll be wonderful."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You up now?"
"Yeah, Is dad making breakfast?"
"Yours and your sister's favorite!"
He smiles again before sitting up in bed. Knowing that he was in fact awake and going to get ready for school, Peyton walked back out of the bedroom and down the hall into her daughter's room.
"Baley, are you up?"
"Yeah."
She opened the door to see the little girl playing with her stuffed animals, dressed and ready for her first day of second grade.
"You excited?"
"Yeah, I like school."
"Oh, I know you do… you get that from your daddy."
"I do?"
"Yeah, Daddy's a nerd." She says, knowing full well that the statement is going over her daughter's head, but not knowing that her husband was leaning against the door frame when she said it.
"Excuse me?" he says, and she jumps at the unexpected sound.
"We were just talking about you, Daddy!" Baley exclaims, running over to her father.
"I heard. And breakfast is ready downstairs if Katie hasn't eaten all of it already."
Baley runs down the stairs quickly, leaving her parents still in the frame of her doorway, gazing at each other like they always did.
"I'm a nerd?"
"Yes."
"Really?" he says, inching closer to her so their noses were barely touching.
"umhmmm… but I like you that way."
"Be glad you're beautiful Peyton, otherwise I'd be mad at you for that statement..." he says, leaning in to capture his lips with hers, deepening the kiss until their hear a low groan and steps past them in the hallway.
"Seriously… Aunt Brooke is right, you guys are ridiculous. Ten years and you're still all mushy."
"That's love."
"Yeah, and the mushy declarations, the hugs, the looks, and the sweet little kisses are enough. In fact, I like that, and I never complain, but seriously… Dad, you… ewww… it's just not okay this early in the morning and in the middle of the hallway." Jamie says, trying to sound as logical as possible.
"Well, in two years, you won't have to deal with it anymore cause you'll be off in college."
"Yeah, but Baley and Katie and whatever future Scotts the two of you have planned are in for a lifetime of shielding their eyes, and I just assume that as the oldest, I should be the one to inform you that the two of you are too old to be doing that in public."
"Public, meaning our hallway… in our house… that we paid for?"
"uh… yeah." He says, not to sure of himself when Lucas put it that way.
"Okay...well, when you pay the mortgage, you let us know and we'll stop. " he says, laughing and turning to kiss Peyton square on the lips.
Jamie sighs before walking down the stairs to join his sisters for breakfast, again leaving Peyton and Lucas alone in the hallway.
"We are kind of bad when you think about it." Peyton says with a smirk on her face.
"Is it so wrong?" he says, shrugging.
"That you still make me blush like a teenager… I don't know. Maybe we could tone it down a bit around the kids?" she says, placing a hand on his chest, moving her finger around the muscles she found there in a seductive way that has him nearly glaring at her.
He kisses he again there in the hallway, letting the kiss linger longer than necessary. Pulling back he shakes his head and watches as her eyes slowly open in that droopy, sexy way that was only Peyton. "Nah, I'm thinking we're good."
They laugh at that and she hits him on the chest before both of them make their way downstairs to the kitchen, where they have found that they gained two children from the last time they were down there.
"Good morning, Riley! Good morning Tucker! Are you excited about the first day of school?" Peyton asks, greeting the two children that had become a fixture in their house over the past few months.
"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Scott. Yeah, we're excited."
"Their mom had to go in to work really early this morning and she didn't have time to make breakfast, so I told her that she could bring Tucker over for our first day of school breakfast. Is that okay?"
The Scotts were made aware of Riley's situation that summer, finding out that her sunshiny disposition came from overcoming a lot in her short life time. She had been adopted at two years old when her adoptive parents had found out that they weren't going to be able to have children. Of course, eight years later, the miracle that was her little brother was born much to everyone else's surprise.
With miracles can come some costs, because soon after finding out that she was pregnant, they found that her husband had cancer. An aggressive type, he was gone within the year. Between medical bills and raising two children, Riley's mother had to work very odd hours and long hours to make ends meet, so the Scotts understood completely when they started to hang around more. In fact, Riley often babysat with Jamie when she could or when Jamie wasn't available because of practices or games. It worked wonderful because Baley found a great friend in her younger brother, Tucker, and it only allowed Jamie and Riley's friendship to grow closer.
"That is more than okay, we always have room at the table." Peyton says with a smile.
"Thank you Mrs. Scott."
"You're never just going to call me Peyton, are you? Mrs. Scott makes me sound too old."
"You—" Jamie starts and Peyton gives him a look.
"Don't you start Jamie Scott, I am not old."
"I don't think you're old, Peyton." Riley says, trying out the name that she had insisted Riley use.
"Well, thank you."
They ate together, talking about what was in store for them this year in school, what was exciting them about the upcoming year. Lucas finally looks up at the clock and realizes that he should probably get going if he wants to get to school early to make sure everything was set and in place for the day's classes.
"All right. Are you two walking?" he says, gesturing between Jamie and Riley.
"Yeah, we can just walk. It's a nice day." Jamie says, shrugging his shoulders.
"I've got to drop Tucker off to the before school program, so I'll just meet you there?" Riley tells Jamie, standing up and telling her brother to finish up his food and put his plate in the sink.
"Don't worry about him. I'll drop him off with Baley this morning. You and Jamie walk. It's your first day not on the bottom of the totem pole Riley Fox, don't you want to be the only sophomore to walk in on the arm of a Varsity Junior?" Peyton says, gesturing for Tucker to finish his breakfast and not failing to notice Riley's blush at her last comment.
"Okay, well, if you guys are walking, then I'm out." Lucas says, leaning down to kiss Peyton, but pausing right before doing so.
She looks confused for a moment, but the confusion turns into a smirk when Lucas turns to Jamie, "Is it okay if I kiss my beautiful wife before I leave for the day?"
Jamie rolls his eyes, "Come on, Riley, let's start walking." He says, before walking out of the kitchen.
"What was that about?" she asks once they hit the corner and turn towards school.
"Nothing."
"It makes you totally weirded out, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Them kissing in front of you."
"No… I mean… yeah. They just… they do it all the time." He says being teenage boy dramatic over the whole situation.
"How long have they been married?"
"I think about ten years? They got married a few months after my parents died, so when I was six. Yeah… ten years."
"Were they like this then too?"
"Yeah, I remember my mom always telling my dad about Uncle Lucas' new girlfriend. He couldn't stop talking about her. I told you this…" he says, turning to her with an expression that read as confusion across his features.
"You told me some of it, but it's nice to hear again. It's romantic."
"Romantic? That's my Aunt and Uncle."
"It has a lot to do with you though, you know." She says, catching him off guard. "They would have gotten married eventually, but they loved each other and you enough that they wanted to do it sooner. All that happened made them stronger. You helped them be stronger together."
"I never thought of it that way."
"You're a boy."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You just don't get it. I love your parents… or… your aunt and uncle—"
"My parents…" he says correcting her because that was all he saw them as in regards to this particular situation.
"I love them. They talk to each other and care about what they are saying. They steal those looks when they think nobody is watching. They always kiss and say I love you before leaving to go somewhere. It's not only romantic, it's just nice."
"Nice?"
"I wish I had that back, Jamie."
"I'm—"
"Don't tell me you're sorry. I'm just saying that you're lucky to have that in your life, so don't take it for granted."
He considers he thoughts for a moment, letting them mull around in his brain as they walked.
When they finally got to school, just before the bell rang he turned to her, muttering an apology and then telling her she was right.
Her simple, "I know.", in reply was it. He was in love with Riley Fox. The simple way she said it, just how his parents would end an argument with each other, just hit him in such a way that it left him speechless. Without another word between the pair, she smirked and turned away from him to walk to class.
Maybe all those things that Lucas said were true, about finding that person where everything just clicks with. Maybe it was that simple. Simple never worked though. His parents didn't have it simple in the beginning or the end. Lucas and Peyton really didn't have an easy go at it near the beginning of their marriage. Riley was his best friend, a year younger than him, and she was… Riley.
--
Okay, I put a little more Leyton in this one in hopes of keeping people happy. I'm thinking that the next chapter is going to be a lot of Leyton, maybe Leyton going away for a bit for something like that. I don't know, but I'm sensing that you want more of that. What else do you want? Also, I really want to develop the whole Riley and Jamie relationship, and we're just going to say that you are going to see some similarities between them and the show's Leyton relationship. Not all the same, but there will be some things.
So yeah, tell me some things that you want. Next chapter is going to be set halfway through the school year, so get excited!
Review and tell me stuff!!
