Hey guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who hasn't given up on me after the heartbreak of the last chapter. I know I usually update a little bit sooner, but it took me awhile to figure out where I wanted to pick the story up from and what emotional place I wanted the characters to be in. I want to reassure everyone that even though Brooke and Lucas are now going to end up together, this fic is not going to turn into a romance. It has and always will be about Brooke as a mother, and what her children go through. There will be some Brucas, but that will always be the secondary focus. Just a warning, this is a fairly intense chapter. It would have been pretty unrealistic to have everyone just bounce back after Peyton's death. But I promise, this is as intense as it will get, and after this chapter, people will start to move on. Enjoy!

Sam woke up with a start, her heart pounding and her face soaked in a nervous sweat. She drew a shaky breath, and started to lean over to get a drink of water, when she bumped into someone lying next to her. She glanced down with a look of surprise, which soon changed to sympathy as she realized that Chelsea was curled up in her bed for the fourth time that week, her thumb in her mouth and her stuffed lamb clutched in her free arm. Sam got up and got her drink of water, then slid back into bed, putting her arm protectively around her little sister. "Someone has to protect her," she thought sadly. "Mom sure isn't doing a great job of it."

It had been three weeks since her Aunt Peyton had been ripped away from their family, and everyone's emotional wounds were still open and raw. Lucas hadn't left his house since the funeral. He spent all of his time taking care of Sawyer, rarely putting her down as though he was afraid she would leave him, too. Nathan, Haley, Karen, and Andy had all taken turns staying with him and going shopping, making sure that Sawyer's needs were met and that Lucas didn't forget to take care of himself. Sam was desperate to spend more time with her beloved uncle and make sure he was alright, but Brooke's behavior made it difficult to do so.

Sam would never forget the first time she saw her mother after Peyton's death. Nathan had driven the young girl to his house, where everyone was gathering since Lucas was still at the hospital with Sawyer. Sam had burst through the front door, wanting nothing more than to run straight into her mother's arms. But when she saw Brooke sitting on the couch, she stopped cold. The woman sitting there looked like her mother, but it…wasn't her. Brooke's warm hazel eyes were cold and lifeless, and although she was looking at Sam, it was like she was seeing right through her.

"Mom?" Sam had said timidly, taking a cautious step toward the couch. Brooke stared at her daughter for a moment, but turned her head away.

"Go play with your sister," Brooke said, her voice sounding almost robotic and completely devoid of emotion. Sam looked up at Nathan in confusion and hurt. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a gentle kiss on top of the head, before nodding at her to go find Chelsea.

Sam felt a tear slip down her cheek and onto Chelsea's soft black hair. Since that horrible day, Brooke's behavior had barely changed at all. She still fed her daughters, made them take baths, ordered them to clean up their rooms, and got them to school on time. But the questions about how their day had gone, the warm hugs and the tender goodnight kisses had all disappeared. It was like losing Peyton had drained her ability to feel any positive emotion whatsoever. Brooke's attitude since Peyton's death had frightened Chelsea so much that she came running to her sister every time she had a problem. Sam assumed that this particular evening, the little girl had suffered from a nightmare, and run to her sissy's bed seeking comfort. Something that Sam could completely understand, since she had woken up from a nightmare, too. She had been waking up from nightmares every night, in fact.

Sam sighed and wiped her eyes, not wanting to wake Chelsea with her tears. Besides, she had to get back to sleep. Tomorrow was the final day of cheerleading auditions, and she had to be perfect. She wasn't just trying to make the squad for Brooke anymore, although she was secretly hopefully that making the squad might make her mom happy enough that she started to snap out of it. No, she had to make the squad for Aunt Peyton, who had worked so hard to get her prepared for her tryout. Sam wanted her to be proud, wherever she was now.

The next day, Karen picked up Lily and Chelsea from school and drove them to her house, just as she had for the past three weeks. She usually picked up Jamie as well, but Nathan had picked him up early for a dentist appointment. Before school had started, the mothers of the three younger children had worked out a schedule for after school care for their brood, but Karen had noticed that Brooke was not dealing with Peyton's grief as well as she should. As far as Karen knew, the young woman hadn't even cried yet. So until Brooke started to deal with her pain, Karen had subtly volunteered to take all the younger kids every day until dinner time. Sometimes she took them over to see Lucas, who, though still in a bad place in terms of his own grief, felt his heart lightened a bit each time he saw his nieces and nephew.

As Karen set the girls down at the kitchen table with milk and freshly made chocolate chip cookies, she wrinkled her brow in concern as she looked over Chelsea. The tiny girl, who was usually so full of life and exuberance, seemed tired and pale, almost fragile even. Karen wasn't surprised to see a change in the child, considering that Lily had been decidedly more subdued since the funeral, but she was a little alarmed at the drastic level of change she saw.

"Lily," Karen said, as her daughter chugged down the last of her milk. "Why don't you go in the living room and put on some cartoons, okay? I'd like to talk to Chelsea."

"Okay, Mama," Lily said agreeably, giving Chelsea a tiny smile as she left the room. Lily was only six, but she too realized that something was wrong with Chelsea, and she knew her Mama could fix it. Mama could fix anything.

Chelsea looked at Karen, her eyes full of confusion. Karen smiled at the little girl, and sat down on the chair next to her.

"Chelsea, you seem pretty tired," she said gently, reaching her hand out and stroking the girl's hair. "Are you feeling alright?"

Chelsea shrugged, looking down at her hands, which she had folded tightly in her lap. "I'm fine," she whispered.

"You don't seem fine, sweetheart," Karen prodded. "Have you been having trouble sleeping at night?"

Chelsea looked up at her, surprised that this woman she had known for such a short period of time was so insightful. She nodded slowly, biting her lip to stop it from trembling.

"Have you been having nightmares?"

Chelsea's lower lip slowly protruded as she nodded again, tears filling her brown eyes. "I miss Aunt Peyton," she whimpered, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her face.

"Oh baby, I miss her too," Karen said softly, picking Chelsea up and holding her on her lap. "It's okay to miss her, sweetheart. But if you're having nightmares and not sleeping, you need to talk to someone. Have you told your Mama about this?"

Chelsea shook her head more vigorously this time, burying her face in Karen's shirt. "Mama don't care anymore," she mumbled, her voice muffled against the cotton fabric.

"Sweetheart, of course she cares!" Karen said, her voice filled with shock as she titled Chelsea's face up toward hers. "Your Mama loves you and your sister more than anything in the world."

"Not anymore," Chelsea sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her fist. "She don't smile at me anymore, and she don't hug us, or kiss us, and she don't read me night-night stories. I tried to ask her 'bout Aunt Peyton and heaven once, and she yelled at me to go to my room."

Karen said nothing for a moment as she hugged Chelsea tighter to her body. She was torn between wanting to go over to Brooke's house and hold her surrogate daughter much like she was holding her surrogate grandchild, and wanting to go over there and beat some sense into her behind. Karen knew how close Brooke and Peyton had been, and she knew that next to Lucas, Brooke was probably in the most pain out of any of them. However, she couldn't help but be furious at Brooke for allowing her grief to get so out of control that she would hurt her own children. Brooke knew better than anyone what it was like to be neglected and ignored by her parents, and Karen was beyond put out that she would allow Sam and Chelsea to feel unloved for even a fraction of a second.

"Honey, I want you to listen to me," Karen said carefully, brushing Chelsea's hair back from her tear-stained face. "When people lose someone they love, like we lost Aunt Peyton, sometimes they forget that they still have other people to love. They miss that one person so much, that they forget all the other special people in their life. Your Mama hasn't stopped caring about you, Chelsea. She just…forgot about caring for a little while. But I promise you, we're going to remind her, okay?"

Chelsea looked up at Karen, her eyes shining with tears and a glimmer of hope. "Will Mama kiss me again?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Karen said reassuringly, thinking to herself that if Brooke didn't start kissing this child, she would be kissing the floor while Karen paddled her butt. "And don't forget, there are lots of other people to give you kisses, too. You have Sam, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Haley, and Uncle Andy and me."

"I love you, Aunt Karen," Chelsea said, snuggling up to the older woman.

"I love you, too," Karen said tenderly, giving Chelsea the promised kiss on top of the head. "Now, what do you say we go watch some cartoons with Lily? I'll take you home a little early today so I can talk to your Mama."

As promised, Karen drove Chelsea home around 5:30, feeling pleased as she heard Chelsea chattering away in the backseat to Lily. She only hoped that she could keep her promise to the little girl, and manage to talk some sense into Brooke. She had been wracking her brain all afternoon for just the right words to say for the emotionally devoid young woman she thought of as her daughter.

When Karen opened the front door of the Davis house, however, she was met with a Brooke who looked anything but emotionally devoid. In fact, she looked more furious than Karen had ever seen her.

"Is she with you?" Brooke demanded, storming over to where Karen stood and looking over her shoulder.

"Chelsea? Of course she is, she's right…"

"Not Chelsea, Samantha," Brooke interrupted. "She knows she is supposed to come home after school to get dinner started and to watch her sister. I swear to God, when I get my hands on her…"

"Okay, Brooke, let's not jump to conclusions," Karen said, a little perturbed at the anger flashing in Brooke's eyes. "I'm sure Sam isn't doing anything wrong. She's probably studying with friends, or maybe she had to stay after school."

"Oh, and that's supposed to make it all better?" Brooke said sarcastically. "I should calm down because she might be in detention? If that's where she is, she is going to be in a world of trouble. I warned her about getting in trouble in school like she did last year, and I…"

"Mom!" Sam called, running into the still open front door. "I'm sorry I'm late, but…"

"Where the HELL have you been?" Brooke yelled, shoving her way past Karen and the younger girls and approaching her eldest with a menacing look in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Sam took a step back and shot a nervous glance over towards Karen. "I know I'm supposed to come home straight after school, but I…"

"But what?" Brooke screeched, closing the gap between them. "I don't care where you were and what you were doing! There is no excuse for not coming home on time, young lady! I give you a roof over your head, clothes, and food, anything you ask for. And all I ask for in return is that you come home and help me out a little. Since when do you think you're allowed to be so irresponsible?"

"Irresponsible?" Sam said incredulously. "I've been nothing but responsible but lately! I've been taking care of myself, taking care of Chelsea, cleaning, everything! You're the one who's being irresponsible! You've barely even looked at us since Aunt Peyton…"

Brooke's eyes narrowed dangerously, and before anyone in the room knew what was happening, she had grabbed Sam by the arm, yanked her toward her, and smacked her so hard on the rear end that the sound reverberated through the house.

"How DARE…don't you EVER…say something like that…," Brooke couldn't even form a cohesive thought, she was so angry. But before she could bring down her hand a second time, she felt an iron clad grip close around her wrist.

"BROOKE PENELOPE DAVIS!"

Karen's glare and tone were so icy, they actually sent chills down Brooke's spine, and for a second she loosened her hold enough that Sam was able to pull away. The teenager gave her mother a look that was a combination of hurt, fear and fury. Sam reached into her bag and pulled something out. Throwing it across the room, she turned and fled to her bedroom.

"Samantha Nicole!" Brooke yelled, starting to go after her.

"You stay right where you are," Karen ordered, tightening her grip on Brooke's arm. She looked around, and noticed the guest bedroom across from the kitchen. "Actually, you get in there and wait for me."

Brooke stared at her in shock. "Are you serious?"

"You bet I am," Karen ground out, giving Brooke a little push toward the bedroom. "Go. Now."

Brooke's expression changed from ferocious to the same bland expression she had been sporting since Peyton died. She turned and went slowly to the bedroom, and Karen waited until she had closed the door before turning to the little girls. Chelsea's lower lip was quivering, and Lily's eyes were opened so wide, they looked like they might pop out of her head.

"Girls," Karen said softly, kneeling on the floor in front of them. "I need to talk to Brooke for a little bit, okay? Can you go play up in Chelsea's room for a while? Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. I just need to talk with Brooke so she feels better."

Both of the girls nodded, and Lily took Chelsea's hand and started to pull her upstairs. "I hope Aunt Brooke doesn't sass Mama," she whispered conspiratorially. "She has her spankin' face on."

Karen overheard her daughter's comment, and while it ordinarily would have struck her as funny, she knew that Lily's words weren't exactly inaccurate. Karen was so determined to put an end to this nonsense that she would spank Brooke, if that's what it took. She really and truly hoped it didn't come to that, though. She sighed, and went over to the guest room.

Opening the door, she was frustrated to find Brooke sitting on the edge of the bed, staring emotionlessly at the wall like nothing had happened. She saw a chair sitting over by the wall, and she dragged it over to the bed, sitting down in it so she was face to face with Brooke.

"Brooke," Karen began, "I know that you're in a lot of pain right now, which is why I haven't said anything before this. I wanted to give you some space to heal in your own way, but your girls are hurting. You've been neglecting them, and they need their mother."

"I haven't been neglecting anybody," Brooke said, without a bit of defensiveness. "I've been feeding them and taking them to school."

"There is more to being a mother than feeding your children, Brooke," Karen said, a little hint of steel coming through her voice. "You know that better than anyone."

"The girls are fine," Brooke said, sounding a little too unconcerned for Karen's taste.

"Really?" Karen said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you know that Chelsea has been having nightmares? She's been waking up in the middle of the night, scared to death from losing her Aunt Peyton, and Sam has been taking care of her, since you've apparently been too preoccupied to do it. Haley says that Sam has been looking exhausted in all of her classes, probably because she's been picking up the slack for you."

"I've had things to do," Brooke said tightly.

"No, I don't think you have," Karen said sharply. "I don't think you've been doing anything. I don't think you've been doing your job as a mother, and I certainly don't think you've been dealing with your grief. You've stopped caring about your friends, your girls…I think you've even stopped caring about Peyton."

Brooke stopped staring at the wall, and turned a stunned glare toward Karen. "How dare you accuse me of something like that?" she hissed. "Peyton was my best friend in the entire world. She meant everything to me, and you're accusing me of not caring about her?"

"And how do you think Peyton would feel about how you've been acting?" Karen challenged. "How do you think she would feel, knowing that when she died, she left three little girls without a mother instead of one? Do you think that would make her proud to be your friend, Brooke? Do you think that would make her happy? Because I'll tell you something, young lady, she would be as ashamed of you as I am!"

"Don't you dare tell me how Peyton would feel!" Brooke yelled, jumping to her feet and storming towards the door. But Karen was quicker, and she grabbed Brooke's shoulder and turned her around, leaving barely two inches of space between them.

"Brooke," Karen said firmly, placing her hands on both of Brooke's shoulders. "I know how much you miss Peyton. I know that for many years, she was the only person in your life who gave a damn, and I know that her death has left a tremendous hole in your heart. But you are not the only one who has lost someone. Lucas is raising a newborn on his own. I've lost my future daughter in law. Samantha and Chelsea and the rest of the kids have lost their aunt. We will all miss Peyton forever, but sooner or later, we have to let her go."

Brooke shook her head wildly. "No," she whispered. "I will not let her go."

"Brooke," Karen said gently. "Peyton is gone. She's not coming back. But the rest of us are still here, and we need you. So let her go."

Brooke stared at her for a moment, her eyes full of an emotion Karen couldn't quite place. But all of a sudden, Brooke's face crumpled, and she fell to her knees as she began to sob.

"Peyton," she choked out, burying her face in her hands. "Oh my god, Peyton!"

Karen let out a huge sigh of relief through her own tears, and she sank to the floor next to Brooke.

"Okay," she whispered, wrapping her arms around the young woman and holding her tight. "Just let it out. Just let her go."

A half hour later, Brooke's tears were spent, and she was leaning against Karen's shoulder as the older women stroked her hair.

"I've really screwed up, haven't I?" Brooke whispered, her thoughts drifting to her daughters for the first time in weeks. "The girls must hate me now."

"They do not hate you," Karen chided. "They miss you, and they need you. You just need to talk to them as soon as possible, so your relationship doesn't sustain any more damage."

"I've never gotten so angry at Sam," Brooke murmured. "I've never spanked her in anger before, either. And after all I've put her through these past few weeks…"

"She will forgive you," Karen said gently. "But you need to go talk to her. Why don't you go on up there, and I'll fix Chelsea and Lily something to eat?"

Brooke nodded slowly, allowing Karen to help her to her feet. They left the guest bedroom, and as they headed through the living room, a wad of clothing on the floor caught Brooke's eye.

"What is this?" she said, leaning over to pick it up. When she realized what she was holding, she felt her heart skip a beat.

"It's a cheerleading uniform," she said softly. "Sam…she must have gone out for the squad. That's why…oh no, Karen," she said, giving the other woman an almost pleading look.

"It'll be alright," Karen said, giving Brooke a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "Now you just have something else to be proud of her about. Just make sure she knows that."

With another nod, Brooke trudged up the stairs, and knocked softly on Sam's bedroom. When there was no answer, she opened the door slowly. Her heart was practically in her throat, she was so ashamed to speak to her daughter, but it quickly sank to the bottom of her stomach. It only took her a few seconds to assess that the bedroom was empty, and the window was open. Sam was gone.

Whew, that was even more intense to write than the last chapter! Btw, if anyone is interested in what Chelsea looks like, check out a photo on of Ariel Gade, the little girl in the movie Dark Water. I thought that kid was adorable, and she makes the perfect Chelsea in my mind. Coming up next: Healing! I promise! No anger, no punishments, no yelling. Just comfort and mending of relationships, and hopefully the next few chapters will have some lighter stuff. Hope you guys enjoyed-please take the time to review if you get a chance!