A/N: WOW you guys are awesome! Have no fear, I have ALWAYS been a Leyton fan, but I have lot of frustrations towards season 5. Need to channel it through this story. Brent and Marissa are mine.

Looking in the direction of the newcomer, everyone stared in shock, not quite understanding the words he just spoke.

He stood there letting them take in his presence. He was 6 feet tall, had black hair, and dark brown eyes. His captive audience kept shifting their gazes from him to the 3 year old girl he held in his arms.

Peyton took the stunned silence as an opportunity to make her way over to the pair. She took the little girl in her arms and grabbed the man's hand. Moving closer to their audience, she introduced them. "Guys, this is Brent. And this little angel is Marissa." Starting from one side, she introduced everyone else; when she got to Jamie, she motioned him over.

Bending down to his level, she set Marissa on her feet. "Jamie, would you mind taking Marissa to the swings?"

"Sure Aunt Peyton." Kissing her on the cheek, he said, "Welcome home." And then he ran off with his new friend.

Brooke was the first person to break free of her stupor. "Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer! I cannot believe you had a child and didn't even tell me!" she practically screamed, mindful of the little ears that were around.

"What?" she asked, confused. She glanced in Marissa's direction and it clicked. "No Brooke. Marissa is Brent's niece," she explained.

"Oh," she accepted, "but that still doesn't explain –" she was cut off when Peyton took her hand.

"I'm sorry guys," she said to the others, "Brooke and I need to talk." With that, she dragged Brooke into the house.

It was awkward and tense for a few moments before Skillz broke the silence. "Hey man, I was just playin' before. Me and Peyton, we just got this thing –"

"Skillz, right?" Brent asked. Skillz nodded. "Don't worry about it. I was just joking. I know you and Peyton are friends, and I know she's hot." He winked at Skillz, and he relaxed.

Owen approached Brent, "There's food if you and Marissa are hungry."

Meanwhile..inside

"Peyton, what the hell is going on?" Brooke looked down at her friend's hand. "You weren't wearing that ring 3 days ago. What? Did you get married in the last 6 hours?"

"Brooke, calm down. I need you to listen, ok?" The brunette nodded. "Ok, first of all, Brent isn't some stranger I picked up off the street. I met him 4 years ago when I moved to LA. He used to manage one of the bands that signed with Sire Records. We became friends when I started my internship."

"Three months ago, after I left Boston, Mia, the boys and I went to Las Vegas. They did a show in one of the hotels casino. That's where I ran into Brent. He was on a road trip with his buddies. We drank and gambled and drank some more." She paused to look at Brooke. "Then we woke up married."

Brooke digested the information. "So you didn't plan to get hitched," she stated. "But Peyton, that was 3 months ago. Why are you still married?"

"I'll get to that. By the way, I didn't wear my ring because I didn't want you to know yet."

"Well this was a hell of a way to let me find out."

Peyton laughed. "I know. Anyways, back to my story. So we woke up all hung-over and whatnot, only to find out we were married. Obviously it was a drunken mistake, so that afternoon, we drove to LA to get an annulment; we kinda lied and told them we didn't consummate the marriage. They told us it would take at least six months. In the meantime, he helped me set up the label branch out there."

"Two weeks after we filed for the annulment, Brent got a call from his lawyer. Brent's sister had died in a car accident and Marissa didn't have anyone. Her father had abandoned her and her mother when she was a baby."

"That's horrible," Brooke whispered.

"I know. Brent was so devastated. I've never seen him cry before, you know? In all the time I've known him, he was always laid back, always joking. He's always been a notorious playboy. When I first met him, he tried to get in my pants; flirting non-stop until I made it very clear that I had a boyfriend that I adored. After that, he settled for being my friend."

"So I flew out to Seattle with him; it's where his sister lived. He needed to meet with his sister's lawyer to settle her affairs and make arrangements for her funeral, as well as Marissa. His sister had decided that should anything happen to her, Marissa was to go to Brent."

"Unfortunately, Brent's aunt decided to contest the custody. This woman is horrible, Brooke. She's single, works as a librarian, and she doesn't like kids. She wasn't particularly close to her niece and nephew, so I don't even know why she wanted Marissa, but she decided Brent was irresponsible and too young to take care of a 3 year old. He's 26 for God's sake!" Peyton ranted.

Brooke grabbed her hand to calm her down. "So what happened? Obviously Marissa's here."

"Yeah. The lawyer said that Brent would have a better chance of winning if he was married. If not, then custody would most likely be appointed to his aunt. He argued that his aunt wasn't married, but the lawyer said that the judge would probably side with her because she's older and she's a woman."

"That's ridiculous. Men can raise babies too." Brooke said, Jake passing through her thoughts.

"That's what I said. But anyways, I talked to Brent and I suggested that we stayed married for Marissa's sake. We argued for a while, but in the end, I pointed out that it wasn't about us, it was about Missy."

"Missy?" Brooke cut in.

"Yeah, it's my nickname for her. So as I was saying, we finally agreed to stay married. We called Brent's lawyer and told him to stop the annulment. Then we told Brent's sister's lawyer that we were indeed married. He didn't believe us at first, so we had a copy of our marriage license faxed over. From there, the court hearing took 2 days, but needless to say, we now have full custody of one Marissa Anne Miller."

"Wow." Brooke sat there absorbing everything. "Ok, so now what's the deal with you and hunk-o-licious? How long are you guys staying married?"

"You and your names, Davis. I don't know how long we'll be married, but I do know that we both take our drunken vows seriously. Despite the way this marriage came to be, it's very much real."

"As I said before, Brent's a playboy. But he told me that as long as we're married, I was the only one he'd be with. I told him it wasn't necessary, you know? It's not like we're in love or anything; but he said he took marriage seriously; not that he ever planned to get married mind you."

"So are you gonna tell the others?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know, Brooke. It's not really any of their business. Besides, I don't need anyone undermining my marriage. Brent and I are committed to this for as long as we're married."

"Ok then. I guess that's settled," Brooke said. Looking out the window, she caught sight of the man that would be around for a while.

"I have to say, P. For a guy that you married while plastered out of your mind, he sure is a good catch. How's the sex?" Brooke asked, blunt as always.

"Brooke!"

"What? You know you want to tell me."

Peyton thought about it for a moment. Then she looked at Brooke slyly. "Let's just say it's so good, that no matter how drunk I was, I can't believe I don't remember our first time."

Brooke squealed and grabbed onto her arm. Together, they made their way back outside.

They were just in time to hear Brent being interrogated. "So…Brent, what's your last name?" The question came from Skillz.

"Miller," Brent answered.

"How long have you and Peyton been married?" Haley this time.

"3 months."

"3 months? Where did you and Peyton meet?" Skillz again.

"Whoa, whoa! Guys, enough with the third degree." Peyton intercepted. "Look, I met Brent 4 years ago in LA. His sister recently passed away, leaving behind her 3 year old daughter. See that beautiful little girl over there?" She pointed at Marissa. "That's her and she is now in our care. That's all you guys need to know, so quit bombarding my husband."

At the word 'husband', Peyton accidentally caught Lucas' eye. The look in his eyes was one she couldn't quite place. Quickly looking away, she drifted off to find some food.

"Ok people," came Brooke's voice, "eat up, and then we'll cut the cake."

XXXXXX

Peyton Miller. Peyton Sawyer Miller. Peyton Elizabeth Miller. These names ran through Lucas Scott's mind like a broken record. Nearly 5 hours earlier, Peyton had surprised everyone with her return, and then proceeded to shock them when they found out she was married.

Lucas had stood in the background while the greetings and introductions were being made. He had barely managed a nod when Peyton pointed him out to Brent. He was too busy trying to identify the dull ache that had started in his chest. Peyton Sawyer had left Tree Hill six months ago, and returned married.

In the weeks following her absence, Lucas had taken Haley's advice and re-evaluated his life. He even spent some time on Andy's boat when he went down to Australia to visit his mother. He hadn't seen them in so long and he cherished the time spent with his baby sister. After a week of getting nowhere, it was Andy who pointed him in the right direction.

The water always had a calming effect on the young blond. Even back home, he'd sit on the beach for hours watching and listening as the waves crashed against the rocks. Floating out here in the middle of the ocean on Andy's big boat was no different.

His alone time was interrupted when a can of beer was shoved in his face. Grabbing the beverage, he popped the top and made room for his mother's boyfriend.

"What are you doing here, Lucas?"

The question surprised him, mainly because it was pretty obvious, "I'm sitting here, enjoying the weather." It came out as more of a question.

"I don't mean now, in this moment. I mean, why aren't you at home?"

"I just needed to clear my head. I'm trying to figure out if I want what everyone else is telling me I want."

"Peyton?" Andy guessed. Lucas nodded.

"Forget about everyone else, Luke. What do you want?"

Lucas looked at him like he had two heads. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be here, now would I?"

Andy chuckled and sipped his beer. Looking at the young man before him, Andy decided to help Lucas on his journey.

"Close your eyes, Luke."

Lucas looked at him skeptically. "Go on, do it," Andy urged. He tilted his head back to rest on the chair and closed his eyes.

"Good. Now clear your mind and relax. Focus on the sound of the water."

It was silent for a few minutes as Lucas did as he was instructed. Andy continued in a softer tone.

"Now I want you to imagine yourself lying on a big bed; you're in between the stages sleep and consciousness. Your eyes are closed, but you know the sun is high in the sky, blazing in all its intensity. You know the window is open 'cause you can hear the birds chirping. Your nose picks up the scent of fresh coffee. All of a sudden, the bed dips beside you, and you can feel someone jumping on the bed. Suddenly, the motions stop and you can tell the person just plopped themselves down beside you. You open your eyes to see a little girl, probably 5 years old, looking at you. What color are her eyes, Luke?"

"Green," the boy answered immediately.

"Open your eyes, Lucas." He did as he was told. He took a minute to absorb what had just taken place. When he looked up, Andy was smiling at him sympathetically.

"Your heart knows what it wants, Luke. Your head just needs to catch up."

The next day, Lucas booked a flight back to Tree Hill. He threw himself into writing his second book and spent his time coaching and hanging out with Jamie. Whenever he saw Brooke, he'd ask how Peyton was, and he always got the same answer. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and before he knew it, nearly half a year had passed since Peyton had left; he started to wonder if she was even coming back. By the time he finished his second novel, Lucas Scott had no doubts that Peyton Sawyer was the one.

He had resolved to fight for her when she got home, no matter how hard she made it, but all of that was shot down when her marriage was revealed. Did you really expect her to be single? A voice whispered in his head. I don't know what I expected; but marriage? Definitely not that. Lucas answered back.

His mental musings were interrupted by the door opening and closing behind him. Nathan sat in the chair beside him.

"Hey big brother. What are you doing out here?" It was later in the evening and the sun had just set. A cooler breeze was now blowing, and everyone had drifted inside the house. Jamie and Marissa were passed out in Peyton's old room, and Angie was snuggled up in her own bed.

Lucas let out a sigh as he leaned forward in his chair. "Just getting some air. It was a bit stuffy in there."

The brothers sat in silence for some time until Nathan decided to broach the topic he wanted to talk about since he came outside.

"So…Peyton…wow." Good one, Nathan.

"Yeah," was all Lucas managed.

"How you doin', Luke?"

"I don't know, man," the blond replied, "I don't think it's sunk in yet."

Nathan was about to reply when Lucas continued. "I mean, married? She's married, Nate! She went on tour and came back with a husband. I finally realized who my heart is with; who it's always been with, and when I decide to do something about it, I can't. What am I supposed to do, Nathan?" His voiced cracked near the end, and Nathan thought his brother was going to cry.

"You let her go, Luke." Nathan simply said.

"What?" Lucas didn't understand how it was that easy for Nathan.

"You let her go," he repeated. "Peyton has had to watch as you and Lindsay paraded around town, holding hands and being all lovey dovey. When she found out you were engaged, she accepted it and let you go because she wanted you to be happy. It's time for you to do the same."

"I let her go once, Nathan. I don't know if I can do it again."

"You didn't let her go, Lucas. You walked away from her when she didn't give you the answer you wanted. And from that moment on, everything you felt for her, you shoved deep down in your heart and you didn't let yourself feel it for a long time."

The younger man stood up and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You know I'm right, Luke. After everything that's happened, you owe her this much."

Making his way back inside, he didn't see the tear that fell from Lucas' eye.