Hi everyone! Long time no update I know and I'm sorry for that. It was hard putting chapters together since my last post between writers block, school, friends and family to deal with as well. For those of you who continue to read my story I thank you, and as a reward I'm posting 2 new chapters back to back. Here's chapter 10, where we find out what Peyton's response to Lucas's Vegas proposal is. Enjoy!

"I've got two tickets to Vegas. Do you wanna get married tonight?"

"What?!" she gasped.

"I know this is pretty sudden Peyton, but I couldn't wait another second to ask you. We've already lost so much time and I don't want to lose any more. I want to make this right. I want you to know that I can't live without you because you're the most important person in my life. I love you. Please marry me."

The tears of sorrow that Peyton had shed were now turned into tears of unfathomable joy as she climbed out the window and buried herself in Lucas's arms. He held on to her more tightly than he ever had as his heart swelled ten times its normal size.

"I love you" she whispered. "I love you so much and yes I will marry you. Yes, yes, a million times yes!"

Lucas laughed as he pulled her close and his lips met hers. They kissed forever. Their love was as pure and intense as it had been the first moment they locked eyes when Peyton had almost run into him with her car. Now they had overcome all these hurdles and were going to spend the rest of their lives together with nothing and no one in their way.

Forgetting all about Vegas and the rest of the world at that moment Lucas and Peyton backed slowly to the front door, Peyton blindly searching for the knob with her free hand and then finally finding it they entered the house. Without coming up for air he lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

Back at Brooke's House

"So Brooke what's the big news that you wanted to share with us?" Mouth asked.

"Well, I was going to wait until Peyton and Luke came back so they could hear it too, but since you're all here and they're off getting freaky somewhere—"

"Ew!" exclaimed Mouth, Skillz, Nathan, and Haley in unison.

"Oh stop you now it's true. Anyway, my big news is that…I want to adopt a child. I want to become a mom," she beamed.

"Brooke that's amazing!" Haley shouted.

"Yeah Brooke Haley's right that's incredible," said Nathan as he smiled at her.

"I know isn't it? I can not wait to get the green light from the adoption agency."

"Look at you, our B. Davis all ready to ride the mama train," said Skillz. "You'll make a kick ass mom."

"Thank you Skillz."

"And you know this kid is gonna have a great uncle Mouth to take care of him, or her, and give them great advice right?"

"Absolutely. I expect nothing less."

"Haley and I get dibs on Godparents," Nathan smirked.

"Hell yeah!" Haley chimed in. "Do you know how excited Jamie is going to be when I tell him that he's gonna have a new cousin? He's going to love it!"

"Oh let me be the one to tell him! I'll surprise him one day after school."

"You got it," said Haley.

"Speaking of surprises," Skillz intervened, "What did Owen say when you broke the news to him?"

"Owen?"

"Yeah. I mean you did tell him you was plannin' on adoptin', right?"

"Well…not in so many words, no."

"Brooke you have to tell him about this. I mean shouldn't he know?" Mouth asked.

"Well— "

"How serious are you guys anyway?" Nathan inquired.

"Uh—"

"Is he going to be a part of the child's life?" Haley wondered.

"Whoa, whoa. One at a time here people," Brooke said. "I could use another drink. How about you guys?"

"Brooke we don't want to freak you out honey, we just want to help you."

"We'll be here for you every step of the way. Whatever you need," said Mouth.

"Look ma I'm not tryin' to scare you or nothin', but maybe the idea of you bein' a mom will freak the dude out. Maybe it won't. But you gotta talk to him and see where his head is at."

"Thanks you guys, I really appreciate this. I guess there's someone I need to see."

"What are you thinking Peyton?" Lucas asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Well I'm hoping that this isn't just a dream."

"Oh this is definitely real," he said as he pulled her in for another kiss.

"I'm so happy Luke."

"Me too."

"I never thought this would happen again, you know? Me…you…in a bed…" she chuckled.

He held her tight and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm so grateful that it did, and that we're here in this moment."

"So am I. I can't wait to be married to you Luke. Brooke is gonna have to call me P. Scott instead of P. Sawyer from now on," she smiled.

"Peyton Scott. Boy does that sound good."

"Sounds perfect."

"Yeah, just like you."

"Just like us."

Brooke entered the double doors of TRIC and spotted Owen wiping down the surface of the bar with is back towards her. Even in the midst of doing a simple task he still managed to look gorgeous. Get your mind out of the gutter and just talk to him already. Fidgeting with her hands and biting down on her lower lip Brooke exhaled and began to walk towards him.

The clicking of her heels broke Owen out of his concentration as he turned around to see Brooke slowly approaching him. A smile crept across his lips as he went to greet her.

"It's a little early for a martini, don't you think?" he asked grinning at her.

"Yeah, but I hope it's not too early to say hi to my boyfriend at work."

"Never. Hi," he said as he leaned over the bar to gently kiss her. "What's up? Is everything Ok?"

"Everything's great. Couldn't be better."

Owen noticed in Brooke's expression that there was something that she wanted to tell him, but wasn't sure if she should. He decided to make her talk. "Brooke, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Yeah, there is something I want to discuss with you. Something important to me."

"Ok sure. What is it?"

"Well, for a long time now I've been thinking about my future, and what I want to be able to have one day that will make me feel happy and complete. One of those things includes being a mother, and as of recent, I've been offered that chance."

Owen was shocked. Brooke already wanted to be a mother? This was the last thing he expected her to be telling him.

"Um…Owen?" Brooke said to break him from his trance. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah yeah, you want to be a mother."

"And?"

"And…that's great. Really." He took his cloth and began wiping down the counter again.

"You don't seem too thrilled with my plans."

"I never said that. I said it was great."

"You didn't have to outright say it Owen. I can tell by the tone in your voice that my wanting to adopt a baby makes you uncomfortable."

"Brooke it's your life. You're free to live it the way you choose."

"Ok, but just because I want to make this change in my life doesn't mean that I'm cutting you out of it."

"Well, I appreciate you saying that, but once this baby comes things are gonna change between us."

"They'll only change if you let them. I still want you to be a part of my life Owen. That will never change."

"Look, Brooke I don't mean to reign on your parade here, but I'm not sure that we can go on with something this huge standing in the way. As much as you want them to be things won't be the same."

"I can see that you obviously wouldn't want to have any part of this child's life."

"What part would I play Brooke? Daddy? I mean come on but cut me some slack here. We've been dating for only a few months now. This whole baby thing just took me by surprise, that's all."

"I see. Well I'll tell you what; you won't have to worry about my huge plans standing in the way because now I see exactly where you stand. The reason I came to talk to you about it in the first place was because I thought you could handle it. Clearly I was wrong." Stinging him with her last words Brooke turned around and began to walk away. Panicking, Owen threw his cloth on the counter and ran around it to try and catch up with her. "Brooke! Brooke wait!"

Not stopping for a second Brooke whipped her head around and yelled, "Why should I?! Won't I just get in the way?!"

"Oh come on that's not fair!" Owen panted as he chased her down the stairs of the entrance. "I'm just trying to be honest with you about how I feel about this!" Brooke came to a halt and turned to face him. "Oh yeah? Well let me tell you how I feel Owen. You were being completely insensitive to my feelings and only thinking about yourself. I never asked you for anything but support in my decision, but I guess that was asking for too much." Without saying another word, she hopped into her car and drove off, leaving Owen standing in the TRIC parking lot all alone.

Lucas and Peyton were sound asleep after making love a second time. It was as it they were the only two people on the planet and nothing else mattered. They were, in a sense, the only two people, until they heard the front door open and shut from downstairs. Their eyes instantly opened and they heard a voice. "Peyton? Peyton are you here? It's me."

She frantically turned to Lucas and whispered, "Oh crap Luke we have to get dressed!" Wrapping the bed sheet around her body she ran to the door and said, "Uh Derek?! I just got out of the shower. Can you give me a few minutes?"

"Yeah sure."

"Thank you!" She shut the door behind her and ran back towards the bed where Lucas was already half dressed.

"Oh my God Luke I'm so sorry. It completely slipped my mind that Derek was going to come home eventually."

"Peyton it's alright, don't be sorry. Tonight was perfect."

"I don't want it to end like this," she gently whispered.

"Hey, hey. This is not going to end, Ok?" He took her face in his hands. "I'm never going to let you go ever again."

"You promise?"

"I promise. And you know what let's forget about Vegas. Let's have a real wedding in a church where all our family and friends can watch us take our vows. We're going to do this the right way."

"Luke I love you so much." Barely finishing her sentence Peyton closed the gap between their lips as their kiss deepened. Lucas kissed her back hungrily with an intense passion. Before they wound up back in bed Peyton pulled back. "Luke, Derek is going to wonder why it's taking me so long to get dressed." A chuckle erupted between the two.

"Alright I'll get out of here, but I'm gonna come back for you tomorrow to bring you home where you belong."

"You better," she grinned. Before leaving he kissed her hands and made his way out the window. Looking down she quietly warned, "Be careful Luke!"

"I will be, don't worry!" he replied. Climbing down safely, Peyton watched him get into his car and drive off, her smile contagious and unbreakable.

Nathan and Haley were parked outside of Jamie's school waiting for him to come out.

"I can't wait to see his face when he spots the two of us together. He's going to be so happy."

"Jamie's not the only one whose happy right now Hales." Nathan placed his hand over Haley's. "I feel like I finally have my life back."

"We're going to be Ok Nate. As long as I know that this is what you really want."

"Of course it is. Look, I realize how much damage this incident with Carrie inflicted on our family. Nothing like that is ever going to happen again."

"Ok. I believe you."

"You sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"If you don't I could always give you a little reassurance," he said as he planted kisses along her hand and up her arm.

"Nathan Scott are you trying to seduce me? In public?"

"I want everyone to know how crazy I am about my incredibly hot wife."

He leaned in to kiss her until she put her hand up against his mouth. "Not now. We can continue this later after I put Jamie to bed."

"Oh now you're just teasing me."

"It's part of my charm," she smiled. "Besides I don't want to scar our son for life by having him see us make out in the car like a couple of crazy teenagers."

"Well, that would explain how he got here," Nathan smirked.

"Speaking of, I see him coming out. Let's go get him."

"Let's."

Nathan and Haley knew that Jamie would be elated by the sight of both of his parents coming to pick him up from school. They hadn't been together in Jamie's presence for a long time.

Getting out of the car, they approached their son as his eyes widened at his dream come true. "Mama! Daddy!" he exclaimed as he ran towards them.

Catching Jamie in his arms, Nathan held him tight and kissed him. "Hey son. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too Daddy. You too Mama."

"I've missed you as well sweetheart. How was school?"

"School was the same. Boring. I can't wait to go home. Will Daddy be coming with us Mama?"

"Yes he will."

"And I'm gonna be there everyday until you're old enough to move out."

"Really?! You Promise?!"

"I promise. You're mom and I are always going to be together, and even though sometimes we get mad at each other it doesn't mean that we don't love each other."

"Or that we don't love you," Haley said.

"I'm glad you're coming back daddy. Can we play basketball when we get home?"

"Absolutely. I'd love to."

"After homework Mister," Haley said with a stern look on her face.

"Ok Mama. Then I can show Daddy my jump shot. I've been practicing," Jamie beamed.

"Alright hotshot let's see what you can do."

Holding Jamie's one hand while Haley held the other, the Scott family walked back to their car and drove off.

TRIC

"Brooke? Brooke it's me. Please call me back. I really hated how we left things today. I still love you, I want to work this out. Please get back to me as soon as you can."

Brooke's house

Brooke's cell phone rang on her kitchen table as she entered from the spare room. Picking it up, she saw she had a missed call and voicemail from Owen. "Now he wants to apologize, how convenient." Glancing at her phone in deciding what to do, she began to wonder if maybe she was wrong in feeling angry with Owen. After all having a baby would make a difference. But, how much of a difference would it really make? Brooke would still be the same person, or would she? Would she change? What would happen to her? What was she thinking? What was she doing?

End of Chapter 10

Please R&R!