Forsaken

He is in a surprisingly good mood, according to Haley at least. He can't help but feel slightly bad about it because most guys would be feeling pretty low less than twelve hours after their girlfriend broke up with him. But, even though he does feel bad for hurting Lindsay, he feels good about their breakup. In fact, there is little regret in his mind.

His time with Brooke last night had also been extremely productive. Going there, he hadn't imagined that she would have been able to get through every page of that scrapbook. Actually, he thought that her getting past the first page would have been enough. But she surprised him and in a way he surprised himself. They'd made it through the whole scrapbook and even though Brooke had been in tears by the end, and he found himself tearing up as well, the progress they made was amazing.

They hadn't talked much after looking through the scrapbook. She'd fallen asleep only a few minutes after they were finished looking through the scrapbook, and he followed quickly after. He had woken up in the early hours of morning and carried her to her bed before returning to an empty house. Lindsay had packed up quickly and left a note explaining that she'd already booked a flight back to New York. After that, he made his way to his bed and fell asleep.

Now, as he sits in front of his best friend and takes a sip of his steaming coffee, he lets out a content sigh. Haley smirks at him over her own coffee.

"Are you going to tell me what happened last night or am I going to have to force it out of you? Cause you know I will."

Lucas grins. "Oh, I definitely know you would."

"So? What happened? I mean, Lindsay broke up with you last night, yet you're sitting in front of me looking more at peace than you have in years. It must have to do with Brooke, right? Oh my God, did you get back together?"

He stops his friend before she can go any further. "No, Haley, we're not back together."

She looks relieved. "Good. Not that I don't want you to get back together, but I just don't think you should rush into anything. You're both still so fragile, especially Brooke."

He agrees with Haley, even though he wants more than anything to jump right back into Brooke's arms and never leave. But he doesn't want to rush things this time and more than anything, he doesn't want to pressure her into something she isn't ready for. Just like he'd promised himself three years ago, he'll wait until whenever she is ready. It doesn't matter how long it takes.

"What happened then?" Haley insists.

"Well, I went over to Brooke's house so that I could give Lindsay some time to pack and I brought that scrapbook you, my mom, and Brooke had made throughout her pregnancy and we looked at it together."

Haley raises an eyebrow. "Luke, that's huge."

"Yeah, I know."

"How'd she do?"

"It was tough, but she made it through. She said it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be and I felt the same. I could look back on most of the memories in that book and smile. Sometimes it was actually hard to be sad."

"That's because that book only holds good memories," Haley says. "You can choose to look at them and be sad, but let's face it, every single picture in there holds a memory that you will always hold close to your heart. It doesn't matter what happened after those pictures were taken, all that matters is that specific moment. And if you just let yourself live in that memory instead of breathing in the present, then you won't be able to resist being happy."

"I think you're right, Hales. This is definitely a good thing."

"You're both finally moving forward, Luke," Haley says, looking at him softly.

He nods. "Yeah, I think we are."

Haley's hand reaches across the counter and rests on his. "I'm proud of you, you know that?"

He chuckles. "Why is that?"

"Because even though Brooke's leaving managed to almost completely break you, you got over it and forgave her and let her back into your life without a second thought."

"I could never have stayed made at her forever," he admits. "I love her too much."

Haley smiles gently. "I know you do, Luke. It's all over your face. In fact, you look like a lovesick puppy right now."

He laughs as he takes another sip of coffee. "Good to know…"

A comfortable silence overtakes them for a moment, both enjoying their Saturday morning coffee together. He's happy to get to spend time with his best friend, especially since they've both been busy lately and haven't been able to properly hang out since Brooke returned. And today he'll be spending quality time with Jamie for the first time since what feels like forever. The thought of spending a day with Jamie makes him smile; he's missed that kid like crazy.

"Uncle Luke!"

Lucas turns around and greets his nephew, who beams up at him. Nathan is right behind him, walking without the crutches now.

"Hey, buddy," he says, ruffling the blonde boy's hair. "You ready to spend a day with me?"

Jamie nods eagerly. "Yeah. Can we play basketball at the River Court?"

"Sure. Whatever you want to do and we'll do it."

"Can we go visit Aunt Brooke at Clothes Over Bros?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Haley pipes in, sending Lucas a knowing smile.

"Actually, Brooke's not working today." After their late night last night, Lucas had made Brooke promise to take a day off from work. She'd been there practically non-stop ever since it opened and it was time she got a break. "But we can go see her at her house."

"Okay!" Jamie says excitedly.

"Jamie," Haley says, "go get your jacket and you guys can get going."

"Luke," Nathan says as Jamie disappears up the stairs, "Haley told me about you and Lindsay. I'm sorry, man."

He just shrugs. "It was for the best."

Nathan nods thoughtfully. "At least now there's nothing standing in between you and Brooke, eh?"

Haley laughs at this, but Lucas just rolls his eyes. Jamie marches back into the room a second later and immediately starts pushing Lucas out the door.

"Come on, we've got to go see Aunt Brooke."

Lucas waves goodbye to his brother and sister-in-law before heading over to the door and taking Jamie's hand.

"Have fun," Nathan says with a suggestive smirk.

Lucas just smiles. "Oh, we will."

888

Ever since she woke up, she hasn't been able to keep from glancing through the scrapbook every so often. It's only noon, but as she lies on her couch, her eyes scanning through the pictures, this is the third time that day that she's gone back to it. She isn't sure why she can't keep away, although if she had to guess, she'd say it is because these pictures bring her back to some of the best days of her life. It's easy to get lost inside the memories and forget about the real world. Besides, she can only assume it's good that she is able to comfortably go through something that can potentially ruin all the progress she's made.

Still, she'd be lying if she said it doesn't hurt at all. Over the last few hours she has sometimes found her mind wandering into the dangerous territory of 'what if'. She has mostly been able to avoid this, but sometimes, when her mind is at its weakest, she slips into the depression that she had been in the past two and a half years. But then she quickly throws all of the bad thoughts out her mind and resumes thinking about the good ones. She knows that in order to fully move forward, she has to go over both the good and the bad times, but she still isn't ready to think about some of those memories yet. They're simply too painful.

At the sound of a knock at her door, she's pulled from the pictures once again. Setting the book on the table, she goes to answer. She's not surprised to see Lucas standing there smiling happily at her, but she is surprised to see their godson with him.

"Hi, Aunt Brooke." Jamie looks up at her with a shy smile. She hasn't spent much time with Jamie ever since moving back and now with him standing right in front of her, she realizes just how much she has missed him. She immediately pulls the little boy into her arms and he giggles in response.

"How's my favorite godson?" she asks as she pulls away.

"I'm your only godson," Jamie corrects.

"Hence you being my favorite," she says with a grin. "But even if I get any more godchildren in the future, you'll always be my favorite."

Jamie smiles. "Good, cause you'll always be my favorite godmother…even though you're my only godmother."

"Thanks, J. Luke. So, what are my two favorite Scotts up to today?"

"Actually," Lucas says, "Jamie and I are heading over to the River Court to shoot some hoops, but Jamie wanted to stop by here first to say hi."

"You should come with us!" Jamie says excitedly.

She wants to, but Lucas told her earlier that he and Jamie hadn't spent much time together in awhile and she doesn't want to intrude.

But Lucas nods in agreement. "Yeah, you've got a day off so you might as well make use of it. Wait, you are going to take a day off, right?"

He's looking slyly over her shoulder to make sure that she isn't doing anything she shouldn't be, but it doesn't go unnoticed by her. She follows his gaze to the open scrapbook and notices the worry that comes over his face.

"Yes, I'm definitely taking a day off. And I'm fine," she adds, knowing that he is probably worried about her emotional state after looking through the scrapbook without him.

A small amount of relief washes over his face and he smiles. "Okay…So what do you say?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to interfere with your uncle-nephew day."

"No, you won't," Jamie insists. "We both want you to come, don't we, Uncle Luke?"

When she turns to look at Lucas, he is smiling softly down at her, his eyes probing into hers gently. "We really do." His voice is so soft that she can barely hear him and the look in his eyes as he stares at her is enough to make her weak in the knees. She hasn't seen him look at her like that for a very long time and she has missed it so much. It's a look that he used to wear everyday when they were together— pure and unadulterated love. Her heart beat quickens as she smiles back at him and she wonders if he can see the effect that look has on her. She wants to be with him so badly right now and she's pretty sure now that he feels the same way.

"O-okay," she stutters out. It's hard for her to control her emotions when he makes her feel this way. "Just let me get ready."

"That'll take awhile," Lucas says as he grins challengingly at her.

His joking manner manages to calm her down and she playfully swats his arm. "Shut up. Come wait inside and I'll be ready in ten."

As she goes to get ready, she feels the excitement of spending the afternoon with Lucas finally hit her. Even though they have been hanging out with each other a lot lately, most of the time it had only involved serious conversations that left them both drained. Today, though, they can just have fun. And, after last night, that's exactly what she needs.

888

They walk down the riverwalk with Jamie in between them. The little boy licks at his ice cream silently, his free hand in Brooke's. After taking him to the River Court to play basketball, Lucas and Brooke had taken him for a late lunch and then ice cream afterwards.

Lucas can't deny that today has been one of the best days he's had in awhile. Just spending time with Brooke— focusing on just having fun instead of all of their other problems— is refreshing. As he looks over at her, he can tell that she, too, is content. There's a look of peace on her face, something he hasn't seen on her for awhile now.

They find a bench near the water and sit down. Brooke pulls Jamie onto her lap and teases him by trying to lick his ice cream. Jamie pulls away before she can get to it and laughs.

"Too slow," his nephew teases.

Brooke grins as she sticks out her own cone. "I'll let you taste mine if I can taste yours."

Jamie's face scrunches up in disgust. "Ewww, that'll just spread yucky germs."

She shakes her head with laughter and eyes Lucas playfully. "Yup, he's definitely Haley's son."

Brooke and Jamie continue their rambling, but he just quietly watches. He has forgotten how amazing Brooke is with Jamie. He realizes that he hasn't even seen them interact for years, yet she's only gotten better with him.

And then his thoughts stray to the inevitable.

She would be such a great mother. She was a great mother. It's not fair that she barely got to experience it. They should be sitting here right now with their own son. He should be spending the day with Brooke, Jamie, and Garrett.

Sometimes moments like these will just hit him and he'll sit and brood for hours about what should have been. But he can't really do that now, not with Brooke and Jamie sitting right next to him, and especially not when Brooke is so happy.

And so he tries to force his mind drift back to happier thoughts of better time. But it's no use; sitting here and knowing that he and Brooke shouldn't just be godparents, but parents as well, is too much for him and his mood is dark once again.

888

He can't stop pacing. His mind's a mess, plain and simple. He just doesn't understand how this can be happening. One moment Brooke comes in crying her eyes out, the next she's bleeding and they're on their way to the hospital.

"Lucas, stop. You're making me nervous."

He pauses for a moment to look over at Brooke, who is lying surprisingly calmly in the hospital bed in front of him. The moment they'd gotten to the hospital, the doctors had taken her away from him to take a series of tests. A couple hours after that—which felt more like days to him—she was admitted into a private room. Now they are waiting for the test results to come back to figure out exactly what is wrong. The only thing that gives him any bit of relief is the fact that the doctors have assured them that the baby is alive.

"Sorry," he mutters, taking a seat next to the bed. "How can you be so calm?"

She just shrugs. "I have to be strong for him," she answers simply. Her hand absently mindedly strokes her stomach. "Anyway, we need at least one of us to be sane if we're going to survive this, and since you're obviously not going to take that role, then I have to."

But there's something about the way she's speaking that tells him that she really isn't as calm as she's trying to make herself out to be. And then he realizes that he has no idea why she came home crying. His hand reaches to clasp hers. His mother is meeting Haley and Nathan outside the hospital, so now, before they all gather inside Brooke's room, is the best time to talk to her about whatever happened.

"What happened before you came home, Brooke? What happened that could have caused you to be such a mess?"

At this, she visibly tenses and removes her hand from his. "Did you know Peyton's in town?"

Suddenly everything seems to be clear and he can only hope that what Brooke's about to tell him doesn't involve a screaming match caused by his former girlfriend.

"What did she do?" There's anger in his voice, but he can't help it.

"We ran into each other on the street." Her eyes are void of any emotion and this worries him. "And she accused me of being a whore and a hypocrite." She is practically whispering now and it breaks his heart to know how Peyton could have torn her up so much. "She said I should have never gone after you…that I should have kept my feelings to myself. And then she said that you're settling for me."

Lucas wants to strangle Peyton right now. She knows how much her words can affect Brooke. She knows how much Brooke cares about her, and yet she tears her down, not caring what mess she leaves behind in her wake.

His hand intertwines with hers again. "Brooke, you know that she's wrong, don't you? She's wrong about everything. I'm not settling for you. If anything I was settling for her. I love you more than anything else in this world and I know that you know that. She's blinded by her anger and is trying to plant these thoughts in your mind to make you feel bad, to scare you off."

A spark of emotion flares in Brooke's eyes: disappointment. "I know. I just wish our friendship hadn't come to this again. I love her, Luke. She's my best friend, my sister, even. What if she can't get over this? What if I lose her forever?" She's crying now, and he puts a comforting hand on her arm.

"Brooke, don't worry about this now. Things will work out, they always do. Let's just concentrate on the baby, okay?"

She nods slowly. "Okay."

The doctor walks in a second later and Lucas immediately forgets all thoughts of Peyton. Brooke's hold on his hand tightens.

"Mr. Scott, I'm Doctor Reid." The older man sends Brooke a tender smile. "How are you doing, Brooke? Is the pain gone yet?"

She smiles and Lucas is glad that this doctor is so warm and friendly. He's calming and they both need that now more than ever.

"Yes, I feel pretty numb," she responds.

Dr. Reid nods. "Good, good. Well, I've got the results back from your tests."

"Is everything going to be okay?" he asks, suddenly feeling the panic set back in. He can't bear the thought of losing either one of them.

"I wish I could say yes," Dr. Reid says with a sigh, "but at this point we can't know for sure. We do, however, know what the cause of this problem is. This is a case of placenta abruptio. What that means is that the placenta has separated from the uterus, meaning that basically all of the oxygen and nutrients being transferred to the baby from your body are either partially or completely cut off. In this case, the placenta did not completely separate from the uterus, but it was enough to cut off most of the supply of oxygen to the baby."

"So what does that mean for us?" Brooke asks.

Somehow he already knows the answer.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to perform an emergency c-section."

Lucas' head falls into his hands. This isn't good at all. It's way too soon. "There's no other options?" he asks in defeat.

"No," Dr. Reid replies, "I'm sorry. It's for both the safety of Brooke and your child. We were lucky that your bleeding stopped earlier, Brooke, but it is very possible that a further tare could result in more bleeding, and this time it isn't ensured that it will stop. If that happened…well, it wouldn't be good for either one of you."

Lucas lifts his head to peak at Brooke, who is frozen in her spot, her eyes rigid with fear. "I'm only 29 weeks. What are his chances of making it?"

The doctor sighs. "It'll all depend on his lung capacity, so until we see him I can only give you an estimate. I'd say the odds are 50/50. It will be a rough start for him, that's for sure, but I've seen baby's bounce back from worse. I will tell you this, though—you're son's chances of surviving are higher out here than in there. If we don't get him out within the next few hours, he won't survive."

He feels as if his whole world is falling apart. How can everything have been so perfect this morning and now, twelve hours later, their son— and possibly Brooke too— is fighting for his life. He squeezes Brooke's hand, letting her know that he is here for her, but she has tears in her eyes and it is an obvious struggle for her to keep her emotions in check.

And suddenly anger takes over his mind. He has no idea why this happened, but he does know that Peyton sent Brooke home a complete mess. If the stress Peyton put on Brooke had anything to do with this, he doesn't know if he will ever be able to forgive her.

"Doctor," Lucas calls just as Dr. Reid turns to leave, "what caused this?"

"Placenta abruptio is a strange thing, Mr. Scott. Oftentimes, it's hard for us to fully diagnose it until we operate and even then it can remain a mystery. Brooke's blood-pressure levels are normal, so it most likely wasn't due to stress or any unhealthy habits. My guess is that it is just a freak thing, although we will know more soon."

"So it wasn't stress?" For some reason he needs to hear it again, so that he can know for sure that it wasn't Peyton's fault.

"No, I really don't think so."

He glances over at Brooke who looks relieved. She must have been thinking along the same lines as him. He isn't sure how to feel about this, though. Right now, as bad as it sounds, he just wishes he had someone to blame for this mess—it's easier to have something or someone to blame instead of having no idea why it happened.

"We'll get you prepped for surgery right away, Brooke. You should be in the operating room in less than an hour."

Lucas doesn't even realize until after the doctor leaves what his words mean—in less than an hour, their son will be here. In less than an hour, he will be a dad and Brooke will be a mom. That in itself would be an awe-inspiring thought if not for the fact that, in less than an hour, their son might be dead instead.

A/N: I'm sort of basing what happened to Brooke and Lucas off of the experience of a family I know. I got a lot of the facts about placenta abruptio from them, but also from my anatomy and physiology class at school and of course the internet. If there's anyone out there who sees anything wrong with any of the medical stuff I put in here, please let me know! I like to know when I'm making mistakes :D. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

hopefulsoul: I hope this chapter answered your question from your last review, but to make it clear— Garrett died after the pregnancy. Thanks for asking!

Lena: I'm really happy that you're enjoying the pace of this story. I wanted to make it as realistic as possible and I just didn't think that Lindsay would stay with Lucas when it was obvious that his heart was still with Brooke. And I really wanted to make Brooke a bit more courageous in this story, so I'm glad you're liking that aspect. She's done running away now and so she's going to face her fears, even though she knows it's going to hurt. In some areas, she's not completely ready, but in others, like the scrapbook, she is. And she'll only get stronger from here. And yeah, Peyton was a bitch. There's no use in denying it. But it wasn't her fault, as much as it may have seemed like it at first. I'm sure there a lot of you out there wishing that it was, though :D.