A/N: Sorry I haven't updated, part of me feels like I'm just not capturing Tree Hill characters right. It's been a while since I watched it... although I also don't have time to rewatch it lol So I guess, it is what it is.
Thank you for the Brooke storyline ideas though - especially a certain one that will be in a few chapters time. ;)
Fate – Part Ten
"I'm so glad you're here." Haley tells me for the tenth time and I giggle while continuing to cut the vegetables, sneaking some carrot.
"I want all this Haley." I admit quietly.
"What?"
"A family… to be a wife and a mum." I look through the glass doors to see Nathan and Jay laughing at something Jamie must have said.
"You will."
"How do you know?" I look over to her unsure.
"Because you have a big heart Brooke Davis, you will be an amazing mum. And I've seen the way that man looks at you, you'll be his wife." She sends me a wink and I nod gently.
"Yeah?"
"Trust me. It's been a few hours and I'm swooning at the looks he's giving you." I giggle over at Haley.
"So I take it you approve?" I tuck some hair behind my ear, turning to grin at her hopefully.
"Oh do I ever." We giggle before she suddenly turns serious.
"You know you'll have to see Lucas while you're here." Haley tells me gently.
"I know."
"What changed? I hate what they did to you but you all were friends when we split after high school. I should have asked before now but…" I think about how to reply as Haley tilts her head over at me.
"We all fell out of touch and it didn't bother me at all. You and Nathan… I missed having in my life so I reconnected. With Lucas and Peyton, it didn't bother me we never kept in touch. I've grown as a person since then and I'm more in touch with myself. I'll never forget what they did to me… twice. I don't really know why I ever forgave them… the pressure I guess. To keep the peace in our group and she was my best friend. She always needed me, always having some sort of drama. But she wasn't a best friend; a best friend wouldn't get with my boyfriend behind my back. I was so use to be treated like shit by my parents who were supposed to love me that I figured that was how it's meant to go."
"Wow. That makes complete sense. I get it Brooke… and now you have Jay, who I doubt will ever treat you in a bad way. He worships the ground at your feet. Trust me when I tell you, you shouldn't be treated like shit from anyone. I hope Jay can prove it to you." Haley reaches out to squeeze my hand.
"It was more than a love triangle and betrayal for me Haley, I didn't have any love at home either. You can't know what it's like… to grow up feeling like you don't deserve love. That all that will happen when you love someone is to get hurt. You're parents are amazing and you had Nathan from such a young age. I was so lonely, my heart always hurting."
"Wow. This is the first time I've actually hated Lucas… but I can't really. I've known him my whole life… I hate what he did to you though. I'll keep the visits with him to a minimum. You're my best friend though Brooke, only you."
I wink over at her before looking back over at Jay.
"What?"
"Nothing." I scrunch my nose up and her hands find her hips.
"I don't know how Jay will handle meeting Lucas. He hates what he did; he's a good man though. I know he wants to punch him and give him a piece of his mind. He won't, but I still don't know what to expect."
"And what else?"
"Everyone seems to love Peyton more than me… what if?" I shrug, eyes glossing over.
"Absolutely not."
"Doesn't matter, we aren't seeing her." I shake my head and look down at the vegetables.
"You should, for that reason alone."
"Why?"
"So you can see he has no interest in her."
"Haley, you get why I'm insecure about this right?"
"Of course, but not everyone loves Peyton more than you. In fact I would guess it's actually the opposite. You're pretty damn loveable Brooke Davis. Jay honestly loves you."
"I don't know."
"It will put your mind at rest, and then you can finally completely trust him. Otherwise this will play on your mind. You're his whole world Brooke; no one can replace you or be better in his eyes. It's so obvious."
"Haley…" I trail off unsure about her suggestion.
"I'm going to invite Peyton to Jamie's birthday party. It's done, settled."
"Fine." I sigh.
"But talk to Jay first, tell him your worries."
"Then he would try harder to show it's only me he wants… I want to see his honest reaction. Is that crazy?" I bite my lip worried.
"No, it sounds like you have been hurt too many times."
"Dinner is so good Haley." I moan as I shovel more food in.
"Don't expect this from me." I turn to Jay and he chuckles.
"You don't need to cook, you're perfect how you are." He picks my hand up to place a kiss on my knuckles and I just shake my head at the perfect man in front of me.
"So Jay, Brooke says you're a detective?" Nathan asks between bites of food.
"Yeah, that's right. I love it."
"And before that?" Haley asks smiling at us.
"I was in the military." He nods over at Haley, the look in his eyes stopping that line of questions.
"You're a cop?" Jamie looks over at Jay and we get ready for the questions that will likely come next.
"That's right." Jay smiles over at Jamie.
"Do you have to wear that blue uniform?"
"Only sometimes. I'm a detective so we generally just wear normal clothes." Jamie puts more food in his mouth and I lean over to whisper in Jay's ear.
"You really should put that uniform on at home… so I can rip it off you." I place a gentle kiss on his cheek before pulling away with a satisfied smile, Jay clears his throat awkwardly and Haley just laughs.
"So you chase the bad guys?"
"I do, we make sure they get locked up."
"Have you ever gotten hurt?" Jamie's question is so innocent but we all pause.
Jay looks over to me unsure how to respond; he knows I worry about his line of work.
"Yeah bud, I have." Jay finally answers honestly.
"But you do it to stop them hurting people?" Jamie's head is leaning on his hand, his face thoughtful.
"Yeah."
"Dad… if I don't play ball I might become a cop. Is that okay?" Nathan smiles down at Jamie.
"Whatever makes you happy son."
"So you grew up in Chicago?" Haley asks ruffling Jamie's hair.
"Yeah, except my time away with the military."
"Do you like it?" Nathan asks.
"I love it… the city life and the people are great. Chicago's home."
"There's a lot of crime there though, isn't there?" Haley asks concerned and I send her a questioning look.
"Yeah, unfortunately." Jay shrugs.
"Bet there's never a dull day for you then."
"Never, it's always crazy. Things popping off." Jay's chuckling with ease and I reach up to scratch the back of my neck looking down at my food.
Conversation picks up again before Jamie goes off to bed, Haley and I begin to take everything inside and clean up.
"If we have to clean all this up, I'm grabbing our wine." Haley laughs at me while I make my way back outside, I stop at the doorway enjoying how Nathan and Jay are getting along so well.
"Man, you must have some crazy stories. The life of a Chicago cop." Jay chuckles at Nathan nodding his head.
"Yeah… chasing perps along rooftops, dodging bullets. High speed car chases get my heart pumping."
"Along roof tops dude?"
"Yeah, this one perp misjudged the last jump though and missed… wasn't a pretty sight."
"How often are you in a gun fight?" They grow more serious, Nathan genuinely curious.
"Seems like everyday."
The bluntness in which Jay speaks of these horrors momentarily stuns me, reminding me the dangers he constantly faces and runs towards.
He sounds as if he doesn't think twice running into situations that could end his life.
"Dude." Nathan nods towards me and Jay turns suddenly in his seat, his eyes softening.
"Brooke, I-"
"I just came for the wine." I pick the bottle and glasses up before returning inside quickly.
"Brooke, what's wrong. You okay?" Haley asks concerned as I come back into the kitchen.
"Yeah, fine." I shrug before busying myself with the dishes.
"Babe." Jay's arms come around my waist from behind and I still, blinking back tears completely embarrassed by my freak out.
"I'm sorry if what I said upset or scared you Brooke."
"I'll give you guys a minute." Haley excuses herself to join Nathan outside.
"I just worry about you… I love you so much it scares me." I whisper as he turns me around to cup my face.
"I know baby, but I'm good at my job and the unit has my back. I will always come home to you."
"You can't promise me that." Tear fill my hazel eyes.
"I am anyway. Look, I'll be careful of what I say."
"No Jay, I want you to be able to share this with me. You love your job and if it's important to you, it's important to me. It was just a shock… I want to know everything about you. Keep telling me, I can handle it."
"I love you." He whispers as his lips meet mine softly.
"I love you too." I whisper against his lips before joining them again, our slips moving slowly against each others.
"Come on, let's clean up." He pulls away to start rinsing dishes and I just take them from him and put in the dishwasher.
"Morning beautiful." I smile waking up to Jay's kiss on my forehead before I stretch out in bed with a sigh.
"Morning… wait, what time is it?" I sit up suddenly looking over at the clock.
"Crap, I promised Haley we'd look after Jamie while she's at work." I jump from the bed, pulling my hair back into a messy bun and racing from the room.
"Jamie." I sigh in relief seeing him at the kitchen counter eating breakfast.
"Hey Aunt Brooke."
"Where's your mum?"
"She went to work, told me to eat and not wake you up." I nod my head as I sit next to him, reaching over for some food off his plate.
"You excited for your big race?" My smile is big and excited as I turn to face him.
"Yeah." His tone is flat as he looks disapointed.
"Yeah? It's going to be fun." I reach down to scoop him up and twirl him around, making my way to the couch to drop him down.
He laughs as he bounces a few times; I lean over the back as I look at him.
"Do you want to race?"
"Yeah!"
"Then why are you sad buddy?"
"It's supposed to me for me but no one is letting me do anything." He crosses his arms, wearing a pout.
"Well that's not fair. What colour do you want it?"
"Blue like the ravens. But they want red…"
"I agree with you, blues way better… so let's go with blue." I wink down at him.
"Really?"
"Really. If you let people walk all over you Jamie, you will keep doing it. It's you're life, take a stand." My eyes move up to lock with Jay's as he watches us quietly, leaning against the wall.
"I'm glad you're my godmother." Jamie looks up with a toothy smile.
"Me too buddy, let's go get some paint. I'm sure Jay would help us with it." I hold my arms out and he jumps into them.
"I'd love too." Jay tells us as Jamie wraps his legs around my waist.
"I'll even make you a suit."
"Really?"
"Of course honey."
"Looking good little buddy." I ruffle Jamie's hair before leaning over to rub blue paint off Jay's face with a giggle.
"How about some lunch?" They both put down their brushes to follow me inside.
"Is that my suit?" Jamie jumps up onto the chair with excitement.
"Sure is." I show Jamie the design as he pulls his sandwich closer to him.
"Do you like it? I'm going to get the supplies this afternoon so I can make it."
"You'll have time to make it?" His blue hopeful.
"Of course. I'm Brooke Davis." My hand finds my chance as I smirk down at him.
"Brooke Penelope Davis." He leans his elbows on the table leaning closer to me.
"That's right." My hands cup his face as my forehead leans against his gently.
"Penelope?" Jay smirks over at me and I send him a playful glare.
We eat in silence for a few moments before Jamie looks up thoughtfully.
"Do you and Jay sleep together like mummy and daddy?" Jay coughs up his mouthful and my eyebrows raise.
"Umm... yeah we do." My eyes flicker to Jays as I answer the question.
"But you're not a mummy and daddy?" He chews his sandwich thoughtfully.
"No buddy, at least not yet." I look over to Jay at the 'not yet' and he smiles.
"Why not?"
"We're not ready yet." I shrug simply.
"Oh… do you love each other? Like mummy and daddy?"
"Yes, very much."
"Will you get married like mummy and daddy then?" I look to Jay unsure how to answer the question.
"I hope so little man." Jay tells him quietly.
"Yeah, one day." I agree with a smile, unable to contain my glee.
A/N: Review :)