So...I did something I have never done before and that is personal thank-yous! I didn't give EVERYONE a personal message and I apologize for that...but that would be rather time consuming...

Thanks to Gia for helping me figure this story out and catching all of my mistakes! You have helped me so much with this story!

Sorry it took a while for an update! Sometimes life gets busy...I hope you like the chapter...

whiters- Thank-you for the review!...you do it pretty regularly and for that thank you TONS! It is fun writing about Karen having a baby! I changed it so it's a boy instead of a girl, though. I thought Lucas would have fun with a little brother! I hope you keep up the faith in this story! LOL

awhero- Thank-you so much for reviewing regularly! I LOVE your reviews! I guess there was a LITTLE drama...LOL I hope you keep reading!

flipflopgal- And thank-you for reviewing regularly...I love the feedback! And I LOVE Brucas...especially Brucas sweetness...heehee...

irg19-Thank-YOU for reviewing regularly! I like Lucas being protective of Brooke too...That will keep up, by the way...As for the drama ceasing...

Brucas2006- Another thank-you for reviewing regularly! I'm glad Lucas stood up to Peyton, too! I was hoping to give him some redeeming qualities, since he wasn't a very good person through the first part of the story...

chasitybsp- Thank YOU for reviewing! (You did thank me for posting) And I'm glad you love my story!

FelineMimiDavis74-Brucas will ALWAYS come out on top...no matter what happens on the show...Thanks for reviewing all the time!

justlikebrooke- Thank-you for the review! I don't like Peyton either. Unfortunately, she's a part of the show...and can only cause some good drama! LOL And I don't intend on Brooke being 'fixed' really any time soon. Eating disorders are very difficult to overcome, and it would be just unrealistic she was all better already.

toddntan-You are a regular reviewer that I lost! Where did you go?! I miss you! But, thanks for all your past reviews!

bornagainbrucasfan- You're another regular reviewer of ALL of my stories that is MIA! I miss you, too! Thank-you for ALL of your reviews!

And big thanks to...princetongirl(the girl with little words), BrOoKe DaViS23, KCPreTTyGurL, stefybboh, Saya Asakura, bella, line, B.P.Davis, Dayzsollers, Hannah, KieraCxx, coveras, Lisa, brucasbrathanbaleybrachel, lonesome dreamer, BRUCAS123, IluvBrucas&Naley!!!!!, spamanda, solodancer, Linkie, patto85, Roswell Dream Girl, rippedjeans, Supermel Returns, iamkagomeiloveinuyasha, clanaforeva, Lilrdevil92, ZakiaR...For all of your wonderful reviews!

Finall on with the chapter!!!


Lucas stood over the stove making scrambled eggs for him and Brooke. It wasn't pancakes, but eggs were full of protein, and Brooke needed to get healthy. Although, he was sure there would be complaints from her when she realizes he's not making Mickey Mouse pancakes for her; especially since he used it as a bargaining chip to get her out of bed.

Just as he was dishing the eggs onto a plate, Dan came in through the kitchen door, startling Lucas. He eyed him suspiciously, but then noticed the rather large box he had left on the porch, which made him even more curious.

"Don't just stand there staring, Lucas, come help me with this stuff." Dan ordered, sounding much like the "Old" Dan.

"Yes, dad." Lucas replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. It wasn't every day that Dan Scott showed up with large boxes and even more stuff in the car. "What do you have?"

"Stuff for the baby." He explained, his rough exterior fading away. "I don't want you to come to the hospital today; I want you and Brooke to stay here and set up the baby's room. Now, your mother has done it, and without help, I might add, but, it's no where near what this baby deserves or what your mother wants. So, I have paint and all kinds of stuff. You put the big stuff together and have Brooke work on making it look right; I trust her styling more than yours."

"Well, I don't know when Brooke is going to be coming over." Lucas lied. He was sure his mother wouldn't be pleased if she knew Brooke was staying with him while she was in the hospital. Not that he blamed her at all.

"Don't play that game with me, son." Dan scolded. "You don't think I already know Brooke is here? I was young once, too."

"She's not, Lucas shrugged, keeping his eyes away from Dan's.

The two started to carry the baby stuff into the baby's room. It didn't take long for them to finish, and much to Lucas' pleasure, Brooke hadn't emerged from his room once. After they finished, they stood in the kitchen and Dan barked out more orders for Lucas. It was as though he was making up for all the years he didn't act as a parent towards Lucas.

"You have a lot of eggs here, Lucas, are you that hungry?" Dan eyed him; loving to watch him squirm as he lied about Brooke being there.

"Um, yeah, very." Lucas nodded his head.

"Lucas, I thought you said you would come get me when the food is done, it's been forever!" Brooke voice boomed as she made her way from his bedroom to the kitchen. When she noticed Dan standing in the center of the kitchen, she froze in her tracks. It took a few moments for her to realize she was only wearing a white t-shirt Lucas let her wear. She tried, without success, to pull the shirt further down her bare legs, but it wouldn't go any further than just past the curve of her bottom.

"Hello, Miss Davis." Dan smirked. "You look lovely this morning."

"Um, Hi, Mr. Scott." Brooke struggled to keep a calm composure. "I should go put some clothes on."

"Oh, don't mind me." He stopped her. "I was just leaving. Don't worry, Lucas, I won't tell your mother, but I will if you don't have this stuff done."

Lucas' cheeks were a deep shade of red as he nodded to Dan and watched him leave. As soon as the door closed, the let out the breath he was holding ever since Brooke walked into the room. He was sure Dan would blow up more than that. Dan was, after all, known for having an explosive temper.

"Oh my god," Brooke was the first to speak, "I thought I was going to have a heart attack. He seriously did nothing. He really is changing."

"Too bad it took my uncle dying and my mom having his child to do so." Lucas rolled his eyes. "Anyway, these eggs are done if you're ready to eat. They might be a little cold, though."

"Eggs?" Brooke whined. "I thought you said Mickey Mouse pancakes." She plopped onto the chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and started to pout.

"You are so hot when you pout." Lucas teased. "And I decided eggs were much healthier than pancakes."

"And grosser." She sighed. "Fine, give them to me."

"Demanding, are we?" Lucas laughed, setting her plate in front of her. "Do you want me to feed you too, Miss Davis?"

"Would you do that?" She eyed him, a big grin on her face. "Because that would be so awesome. I kind of always wondered what being fed would be like."

"You are not right." He shook his head and sat at the table with her, squirting ketchup onto his eggs.

"Ew, Lucas, ketchup on your eggs?" Brooke scrunched up her nose and watched Lucas fork the food into his mouth.

"This is the only way to eat eggs." He replied, food still in his mouth. "Want to try it?"

"Uh, no." Brooke started eating. "So, what stuff do you have to get done for Dan?"

"We. We have to get done." Lucas told her. "There's a ton of baby stuff we have to put together and use to make the baby's room perfect."

"What?!" Brooke exclaimed. "That's so awesome! This is going to be way too much fun. Is there paint and stuff?"

"Yeah," Lucas laughed at the way her eyes lit up. "Too bad we aren't talking to Peyton; she could do some amazing mural on the wall or something." The words left Lucas' mouth before he could stop them. The argument with the curly haired blond the previous night still weighed on his mind, and he still didn't want Peyton around Brooke if she was going to be selfish. But, she had always cared for Karen and before the break up, she was very excited and encouraging with Karen's pregnancy.

"Yeah, too bad." Brooke's body slumped, and her gaze fell to the table. Lucas immediately felt guilty for making Brooke feel bad. He immediately wanted to take his works back. "No, not too bad." She shot up. Before Lucas could react, she was in his bedroom getting dressed. "I'll be back in just a little bit!" She called as she exited the door.

"Brooke!" Lucas called after her. "You didn't finish your eggs!" He sighed, knowing where she was going and knowing there was no way to stop her. When Brooke was on a mission, it was best to stay out of the way.


There were pieces of a crib lying all over the bedroom floor with Lucas sitting in the middle, trying to figure out how to put them all together. It was times like these he missed Keith the most. He wanted his uncle to be there with him, putting his son and Lucas' brother's crib together.

"Hey, man." Nathan entered the room. "You, uh, having problems?" He teased, noticing the mess Lucas had made.

"This is much harder than it looks." Lucas laughed. "You should do this. You'll need the practice for when you have to put the crib together for your baby."

"Nice try, Lucas." Nathan laughed. "I already have ours together."

He kneeled down next to Lucas and started to help him figure out all of the pieces and where they went. It wasn't long after, that the crib was completely put together. The two stood back, admiring the work they just completed, together.

"We're a good team, Nate." Lucas beamed. Right before Nathan came over, Lucas was dwelling on not having his uncle, but as he stood there staring at the crib, he realized that just because Keith was gone, it didn't mean he didn't have anybody to be there and help him.

"Duh," Nathan shook his head. "You didn't realize that when we were on the same basketball team?" He patted Lucas on the back. Nathan never wanted a brother while he was growing up, but now, he wouldn't give his brother back for anything in the world.

"Where's Haley?" Lucas asked.

"Well, she can't really be around paint fumes with being pregnant, so after you called and I told her about this whole baby room thing, she sent me and stayed home. She wanted to come, though." He added the last part, knowing Lucas was thinking she wasn't there because of him.

"It kills me that she doesn't want to be around me." Lucas sighed. "I know I made a mistake, but I really want her back in my life. Like it was before."

"She does, too, Lucas." Nathan sighed. "I think she's over it. I just think she's gotten to the point where she's too bullheaded to make up with you. She realizes you're only human, but I think she holds you to a higher standard than most, so when you do stuff to make her realize you're human, she gets overly upset over it. Plus, she's pregnant and very much more bullheaded than before."

It went silent as Lucas mulled over Nathan's words. He could understand Haley holding him to a higher standard than most people, because he did that to Haley, too. She was, after all, his best friend. He had never met anyone like Haley. Haley always seemed to know exactly who she was, from the minute he met her, and he had never met anyone like that. Most people searched to find themselves for most of their life.

"Where's Brooke?" Nathan interrupted Lucas' thoughts. "I know she stayed here last night."

"Honestly?" Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know."

"Did you guys have another fight?" Nathan sighed, knowing the tumultuous relationship the two had. "I swear, you guys fight more than Dan and my mom did."

"No," Lucas laughed while shaking his head. "I told her it was too bad we weren't still friends with Peyton because she could paint a kick ass mural on the wall and she just took off. I'm guessing she went over to Peyton's, but I can't be sure. I wouldn't put it past her, though."

"Nah, Brooke's always been pretty brave." Nathan shrugged. "How's she doing, by the way? She looks a lot healthier now. And definitely happier."

"Yeah, she's doing good." Lucas nodded. "But, I'm kind of forcing her to do good. I am there making sure she eats three meals a day. And, if I don't think she ate enough, I make her eat more. I'm surprised she hasn't told me to leave her alone yet." He laughed. "I'm enjoying spending time with her, though."

"Brooke's a great person." Nathan smiled, thinking of memories he had of Brooke. "I'm very impressed by how you've been this past week. I've never seen you so dedicated towards something, but I'm glad you chose Brooke to be dedicated to."

"Well, she's worth it." Nathan nodded, agreeing with Lucas. "Do you think you can take over by yourself for a while? There's something I want to go do."

"Yeah, sure, man."


Brooke was nervous to knock on the familiar door, but forced herself to do it anyway. A shocked Peyton opened the door for Brooke, staring at her and trying to read her expressions. Brooke giggled nervously.

"Listen, Peyton, I um, know we haven't been exactly talking lately, but there's something I want you to do." She paused, trying to read Peyton's face. "Um, it's not for me. It's for Karen. We're trying to get the nursery perfect for the baby, but, I don't think that will happen without your artistic abilities all over the walls." Brooke stood back, praying Peyton wouldn't kick her ass and instead agree to do the job.

"Really?" Peyton asked, skeptically. "Are you sure Lucas wants me there?" Lucas was Peyton's first concern, but she needed Brooke to think she cared for her as well so she added "And you? You want me there?"

"He doesn't care, Peyton. Well, he doesn't really know, but I'm sure he won't care." Brooke gave her a reassuring smile. "He actually is the one who gave me the idea. Peyton, your drawings would just make this baby's room perfect, and I don't think it would be right without them. I realize we're not talking right now, but I just thought that maybe we could put everything aside, just for this one day, and do this for Karen."

"Yeah, okay." Peyton nodded at her. All she needed to hear was that Lucas suggested the idea and she was ready to go. "But, under one condition." Brooke's face turned solemn. "You have to promise that we are going to start rebuilding our friendship after this."

Peyton's friendship with Brooke meant a lot to her, and she missed her tons. She wanted that feeling she got when she was around Brooke back, even if it meant facing the boy she was completely in love with and knowing he didn't reciprocate those feelings. She also knew the way back to Lucas was through Brooke. The two weren't together, and she was sure Brooke's love for Lucas was nothing compared to what she felt, if Brooke even loved Lucas at all. After all, she probably just slept with Lucas while he was with Peyton to get revenge.

"Peyton," Brooke sighed, turning away from her. "I'd really love to just say yes to that. But, I don't know."

"You can say yes, Brooke." Peyton pleaded. "You can say yes because I promise to never hurt you again, and I know you'll never hurt me again. We can get back to being friends again." She meant what she said, too. Every time she had hurt Brooke she didn't mean it, but it always happened. She and Lucas was a force of nature, and it was only a matter of time before he changed his mind again and came back to her. But this time, she wanted to make sure Brooke wouldn't get hurt in the process.

"Why, Peyton?" Brooke turned back towards her. "Why do you want to be friends with me? After what I did to you, why?"

"I've already explained that to you." Peyton sighed, starting to feel defeated. "And after last night, talking to Lucas, I've realized that there really isn't anything between us anymore. He's done with me. And, I'm okay with that."

"You are, really?" Brooke questioned, eyeing her suspiciously. Peyton claimed to be over Lucas once, and it turned out to be a lie and ultimately the demise of their friendship.

"Well, as much as I can be right now." Peyton sighed. "But, he loves you Brooke. I can tell by the way his eyes light up when he's talking about you." Peyton tried to cover up the bitterness she felt and knew was portrayed in her voice. "I've known it all along. He never looked at me the way he looked at you." This she knew to be true, even though admitting it and voicing it were the hardest things she's ever had to do. Of course he wouldn't look at her the same way though, he was infatuated with Brooke's body, in Peyton's opinion.

"What?" Brooke snorted. "I'm sure you were just seeing things, Peyt. Lucas doesn't look at me any differently than anyone else." She tried to cover up the excitement in her voice, but Brooke's eyes sparkled with the thought of Lucas looking at her differently from everyone else.

"That's not true, Brooke." Peyton looked towards the ground, forcing herself to admit this out loud. "And I was so jealous of that before. But, now, I know it's because you're a great person, Brooke. He'd be an idiot if he didn't look at you that way or if he didn't still love you." She was trying hard to convince Brooke that she wanted to be friends again, which meant, she had to flub the truth a little bit. Sure, she thought Lucas was infatuated with Brooke so much he believed he was completely in love with her, but she didn't believe he truly loved her.

"Whatever, P. Sawyer." Brooke laughed. "Are you coming or not?"


Lucas stood outside Nathan and Haley's door, contemplating the words he was going to say to Haley. Before, he could knock, Haley swung the door open, her hand placed on her hip. He smiled sheepishly towards her, then shrugged his shoulders. Haley gave in to him, before he had to say anything. She reached out to him and pulled him in for a hug.

"I was wondering when you were going to come crawling back to me." Haley teased when she pulled back from their hug.

"If I would have known that's all it took, I would have done it a lot sooner." Lucas followed her into the house. "I do want to explain some things before you go on and forgive me for everything, though."

"Good, because I need some explanations." She told him. "But, before you start, I just want to tell you I am sorry for acting like this. I know you didn't mean to cause all of the harm you did, but none of the harm was directed towards me so I shouldn't have been so harsh with you."

"Yeah, but I kind of deserved it." Lucas sighed. "I'm an idiot, Haley. I should have learned my lesson the first time. But, I don't regret being with Brooke."

"How exactly did it happen, Lucas?" Haley questioned. "One minute you hated her because of the whole sex tape thing with Nathan, and then all of a sudden you're in love with her and cheating on Peyton with her."

"Well, it was kind of the hate that started it." Lucas shrugged. "She came over to my house and wanted me to talk to Peyton for her and we ended up getting into this huge fight. She threw stuff at me, destroyed my room, then the next thing I know we're laying naked in my bed."

"Okay, gross." Haley laughed. "But, I still don't get it."

"Me either, really." Lucas shook his head. "All I can say is that I was using all that hatred to blind the fact that I did still love her. Ever heard the expression a thin line between love and hate? At that point I hated her so much, I needed her. That really doesn't make much sense, but, I don't know."

"No, that doesn't make sense." Haley shook her head this time. She would never understand the inner workings of Lucas Scott.

"Then I found out about her eating disorder, and I knew that I had to quit hating this girl, and just love her." Lucas sighed. "She's so broken and I knew I had to quit masking my love with hate and show her just how much she means to me. She deserves the best, and I'm trying to give that to her."

"She does deserve the best, Lucas." Haley set her hand over Lucas', which was resting on the bar. "I just wish you could have realized all of this in a different way. Peyton didn't deserve what you did to her."

"I know, Hales. Peyton is a great person…and a great friend. It just took me too long to realize that. But, in a way, I'm glad I had that relationship because if I hadn't, I would have never realized my feelings for Brooke ran deeper than for Peyton. I would have always wondered what if it had been Peyton and not Brooke. You know?"

"Yeah, I know." Haley smiled, thinking for a moment. "I really missed you, Luke."

"I missed you, too, Hales."

The two leaned in for another hug. Lucas started to laugh when he realized how much harder it was to hug Haley than before. The large bump on her stomach stood as a blockade between the two.

"Wow, Hales, this baby is going to be a ten pounder." He joked, rubbing her belly.

"Tell me about it." She sighed while rolling her eyes. "A soccer player, too. Feel this." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her tummy where the baby was moving.

Lucas gasped at the feeling beneath his hand. The bulge from where the baby was sticking a part of itself out started at one side of his palm and moved smoothly across it until he could no longer feel it. He pulled his hand back to see if he could see anything. He stared down at her belly and jumped when he saw that same bulge streak across her stomach in a wave like motion.

"That looks like something off Alien." Lucas laughed. "Wow. That was pretty cool."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you felt it kicking into your ribs all day long." She frowned.

"You love it." Lucas teased.

"Yeah, I do." Haley sighed. "I just hate the uncomfortable feeling that comes along with it."

"Haley, come over and help us with the baby room, please?" Lucas begged her. "Things just wouldn't be the same without you. I think Brooke even went to get Peyton, if you can believe that."

"I can't believe that, actually." Haley rolled her eyes. "Lucas, I really would love to, but the paint fumes and me being pregnant, I don't think it's good for us."

"How about you just stay out of the room and we'll open all of the windows. We'll find something for you to do in the kitchen."


The atmosphere at the house was light as all of these friends laughed, while painting walls or putting together a swing for the baby. It seemed like forever since the last time they all were together. Even Rachel, with much demanding from Brooke, was at the house, happily decorating baby Keith's room.
Haley stayed out of the room, only peaking every so often to get a glimpse of what it might look like. Her job was hanging baby clothes on hangers and folding clothes to put in dresser drawers. The rest were in and out of the bedroom, sometimes helping to paint the walls a baby blue, sometimes helping put the dresser together.

Peyton stayed in the room the whole time, putting her artistic abilities to good use on the baby blue walls. She relished in the company of her good friends, almost forgetting about the past week and what it had done to her. Every once in a while she was able to catch Lucas' eyes and he would give her a small, reassuring smile that would get her heart doing somersaults in her chest. But even more than the smiles from Lucas, was the feeling of once again belonging to something. It was like before, when none of them had betrayed the other, and they were just happy to be around each other.

When the day was finished, and the final touch ups of the room were finished, the six stood back, reveling in the sight of the room. Peyton's paintings added the perfect touch. On one wall, there was a picture of Keith wrapping his arms around Karen who was holding a baby. There were angel wings attached to his back, even though he was wearing normal clothes, and a halo discreetly sitting above his head, giving the picture that he was their guardian angel.

The next wall had a group of six people painted on it, all with angel wings or halos, portraying them to be guardians. The six people were the six friends who now stood in the room. Each of them was looking towards a different area of the room. Lucas watched over the crib while Brooke watched over the swing. Nathan and Haley watched over the rocker and Peyton and Rachel stood watching over the door and window.

The next wall was Lucas' favorite. In it, Lucas stood facing away from them so only his back could be seen. In his left hand, he held a basketball rested against his hip, while his other hand held the hand of a toddler boy, meant to be little Keith. They appeared to be walking towards a basketball court that could only be the Rivercourt.

The last wall was an array of pictures, all of them representing anything the child could want to be, or just want in life. A basketball, football, soccer ball, baseball, guitar, piano, microphone, books, pens, pencils, anything that any of the six could think of was thrown on the wall.

In that moment while, they all stood staring at the room; they couldn't help but feel that the moment was perfect. That all was right with the world. This little boy would have amazing opportunities with these people around, even though he'd already suffered a tremendous loss.

"Wow." Haley whispered, breaking the silence in the room. "Peyton, will you come do our nursery, too?"

"Of course, Haley." Peyton laughed.

"Who's hungry?" Rachel broke in, trying to lighten the serious mood that took over. "I'm starving and Lucas you better be paying for dinner since we did all this crap for you today."

"Oh yeah, I will." He smiled. "Brooke's making dinner." His smile grew wider as he eyed the brunette, who turned to him in confusion. "I'm just kidding, Brooke, I would never expect you to actually cook."

"Good, Broody, because all of the domestic stuff is so on you." She giggled a little then winked at him. "Let's order a pizza because I am starving."


After everyone left, Lucas and Brooke laid in his bed, exhausted from all of the day's events. Neither bothered showering to get the paint off them. They did change the paint stained clothes they had on though, not wanting to smell the paint all night long.

"This was a great day." Brooke smiled a true and genuine smile. A smile that reached her eyes and lit them up and showed off her dimples, more than they could ever be shown off.

"Yeah, it was." Lucas agreed. His hand accidentally nudged Brooke's, so he took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers. He wasn't sure if he should be doing it, but it just felt right. And as he held her hand, he couldn't fight the force that was making him bring her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

"Lucas," Brooke turned on her side, making sure her hand didn't leave his. Their hands stayed suspended between the two bodies, who were both on their sides staring at each other. "I love you, Broody." She forced it out of her mouth before she lost the courage to do so.

"I love you, too, Pretty Girl." Lucas leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Both teenagers noticed the spark that ran through their bodies when his lips touched her skin.

"I don't know if I have said this yet, but thank-you. Thank-you so much for helping me. If I couldn't have experienced today because of what I was doing, I would have been so angry with myself." A lonely tear slid from her eye.

"Brooke, you don't have to thank me. You deserve this from me. You've deserved this from me from the second I met you and I only regret that I didn't realize it before. You mean everything to me, and I wouldn't stop at anything to save you."

Brooke smiled with his words, remembering right after Keith's death the conversation they had about saving each other. This time she knew he meant it, and she didn't know why. Before, she was so skeptical of his feelings, now she was so sure what he said was real and meaningful.

"Well, I want you to know that it means a lot to me, that you mean a lot to me. I know I haven't really told you in the past week how I was feeling, so I just wanted to say thank-you and that I love you."

"You have no idea how happy you make me by saying that." Lucas grinned, not being able to hold it back.

"Well, I'm glad it makes you happy and please just remember that I said it because who knows how long I can keep doing good. It's only been a week, so maybe its too soon to believe I am doing better already."

"Brooke, you're a fighter. You won't give up that easily." Lucas reached over and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Besides, I'm going to be right here the whole time, making sure you're doing okay. Even if you mess up I will still be right here, rooting for you."

Brooke scooted closer to Lucas and he wrapped an arm protectively around her. She snuggled her face into his chest, taking in his scent as if it was the last time she would ever be in that position. She wanted to remember everything about that day.

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