Lucas is laying on the couch watching Jeopardy. Karen walks in the door w/ her hands full of shopping bags.

K: Merry Christ(stops and looks around)LUCAS!

L: (Jumps) WHAT?

K: What have you been doing all day?

L: Watching TV.

K: What about the list that I left for you to do? We have people coming in less then an hour and a half. I have all these gifts to wrap and I need to take a shower.

L: Mom, relax. I'll get it done.

K: (Grabbing the remote control out of his hand and shuts the TV off.) Get up.

L: Mooom. Come on. I was watching that. All that is left is final Jeopardy.

K: Lucas. Look at this house.

L: What? You get to go out shopping all day and I get stuck here cleaning?

K: Yep. I'm not the one that is being punished. And now it has snowed about 2 inches, so you get to scoop the driveway and sidewalk before people get here.

L: You mean before Nathan and Deb get here?

K: I thought you told me that you would be OK w/ this? I wanted to cancel and you said no.

L: I know.

K: It's too late to cancel now. I expect you not to cause any problems tonight.

L: Me? What about Nathan?

K: Nathan is not my son, you are. You crabby today? It's Christmas.

L: No. I'm fine.(Not exactly telling the truth. He thought he was ok w/ Nathan coming, but now that the time of arrival was approaching, he was having second thoughts.)

K: (walking over to her son and giving him a hug.) Merry Christmas sweetie. I appreciate what you are doing tonight.

L: (realizing that he was taking his bad mood out on Karen, he returns the hug.) Merry Christmas mom.

(the phone rings)

L: Got it. Hello?

H: Hey Luke. Merry Christmas.

L: Hey Haley. Merry Christmas to you too.

(Karen grabs the phone.)

K: Hey Haley.

H: Karen? Merry Christmas.

K: Merry Christmas.

L: (trying to grab the phone back) Mom, what are you doing?

K: Chores. Go.

L: Fine.

H: Luke can't talk?

K: No. He has work to get done before you get over here.

H: That's why I was calling. What time?

K: 5:30 ok?

H: Sounds good.

L: (yelling from the other room) Tell her to come early and help me clean.

K: No.

H: (laughing because she heard him on the background) Tell him that I would love to help out, but I have some more shopping to do. Karen, what should I get Nathan?

K: Wow. I don't know what you should get him. (Just then Lucas walks in the room)

L: How about a kick in the...

K: LUCAS!

H: What did he say?

K: Nothing. He's just being a scrooge today.

H: Great. Tonight should be fun.

K: No he's going to be a perfect angel. Right? (Looking at Lucas)

(His cell phone rings.)

K: Don't answer that. You have work to do.

L: (taking it out and looking at caller ID)

Mom, it's Brooke.

K: I don't care if it's santa claus. You had all day to get this work done and you sat on your butt. Now you are going to get some work done.

L: 2 minutes?

K: NO.

H: I'm going to get going. I have to figure out what I'm getting Nathan.

K: OK. And I have a son to argue w/.

L: Hello?

B: Hey, sexy.

L: Hi. Merry Christ...

K: (Grabbing the phone and covering the receiver.) Lucas, I told you not to answer it. What is your deal today? say goodbye and that you will talk to her later. (Hands the phone back to Luke.)

L: (glaring at his mom) Brooke I gotta go.

B: OK. Everything OK?

L: Yeah.

B: What time tonight?

L: 5:30. I will see you then. Bye.

B: Bye.

L: (hangs up the phone.) Happy? (Looking at his mom)

K: Lucas, why are you being a ... you know what, it's Christmas, I'm not going to fight w/ you right now. But I really wish you would get over whatever mood that you are in right now.

L: (turns around and walks to the door.) I'm going to shovel.

K: Great. Luke?

L: What?

K: You OK?

L: Fine. (Still not telling the truth. An hour and 15 minutes and his brither would be sharing his favorite holiday w/ him. Luke shuts the door and Karen shakes her head as she hopes that they get through the evening w/o any majpr problems.)

(Keith,Karen, Luke and Haley are sitting in the kitchen finishing up some last minute things before Brooke, Nathan and Deb show up.)

Keith: Nice game last night Luke.

L: Thanks.(Still dreading Nathan in his house and was not in the mood for conversation.)

Ke: It got a little close in the 4th quarter until Nathan hit those 3's.

L: Nathan, our hero. (Sarcastic)

(Keith looked at Karen and she just shrugged and shook her head. She was trying to understand how hard all this Nathan and Dan stuff was for Lucas, but she was really getting tired of his attitude and mood swings.)

H: (quietly) You OK Luke?

L: (Shaking his head yes.) I'll be back. (He gets up and heads to his room and shuts the door behind him. He grabs his headphones and puts them on. The last thing that he wanted to do was sit and talk to Haley about what was bothering him. What was he suppose to say? "Hey Haley, I hate your boyfriend. I wish he was dead." That would have went over like a ton of bricks. He hit play on his CD player and hoped that the music would put the thought of Nathan out of his head for little while. Brooke knocks on the door. No answer. She slowly opens the door and sees her handsome boyfriend lying on his back on his bed w/ his eyes closed. She closes the door and walks over and sit next to him on the bed. The movement of the bed made Lucas open his eyes.

B: Hey good lookin'. I'm not disturbing you am I?

L: (Smiling) Never. (Sitting up and kissing her.) God, I really needed that.

B: You Ok? You didn't sound very happy when I called you earlier.

L: Mom was just on my case about getting things ready before my so called "brother" came over.

B: Not looking forward to your company tonight?

L: (Laying Brooke down on the bed and laying down next to her.) I was looking forward to seeing YOU. (Lucas and Brooke begin to kiss again.)

K: (Opening the door to Lucas's room) Sweetie, I need to you yo run down to the basement and grab...(stops when she sees Lucas and Brooke. They sit up on the bed as fast as they can.)

L: (trying to regain his composure.) What did you need me to do mom?

K: Brooke, I didn't know that you were here yet.

B: (Fidgeting w/ the fringes of her scarf that she had not even had a chance to take off yet.) I think that you were in the bathroom when I got here.

K: I see. Hey Brooke, Deb and Nathan just got here, why don't you go say hi, I need to talk to Lucas for a sec.

B: Ok. (Leaving the room)

K: (Shutting the door as Brooke leaves and leaning back against it w/ her arms folded across her chest. Lucas was still sitting on his bed, trying to avoid his mother's stare.)

Luke, I'm trying to cut you some slack and I'm trying to stay in the Christmas spirit here, but your attitude today and now what I just walked in on...

L: (Interupting and a bit irritated.) God mom, we were just kissing, you didn't walk in on anything.

K: I know that when I opened this door, my 16 year old son was lying on his bed w/ his girlfriend, kissing her. Not OK Luke.

L: I wish that you would not make such a big deal about every little thing that I do. It's not like we were going to have sex.

K: Glad to hear it.

L: It's not like you didn't do the same thing when you were my age. Hell, you had sex in high school. You can't deny it, I'm living proof.

(the tears started to form in Karen's eyes. She had no idea what to say to Luke. She opened the door and walked out.)

L: Mom...(throwing himself back on his bed.) Saying to himself: real nice jacka**. (Luke gets up and heads to the kitchen. Everyone is looking out the window, except Karen, she was no where around.)

Ke: There has to be 4 inches of snow out there.

N: Looks like you got your wish for a white Christmas mom.

D: It's beautiful. If it keeps coming down, we might all get stranded here.

L: Oh no, Keith's truck will make it through anything.

(everyone turned around to find Luke standing in the kitchen.)

N: Yeah, we'll get home.

(both boys looking at each other thinking the same thing. There was no way that they would be sleeping under the same roof.)

D: (trying to break the silence.) Merry Christmas Lucas.

L: Yeah, you too.

(Karen walks out of the bathroom and w/ one look in her eyes, Luke could tell that she had been crying.)

L: (Quietly) Mom, you ok?

Ka: (Not looking at him.) I need ice from the freezer in the basement.

L: (reaching out to grab her arm.) Mom, I'm sorry.

Ka: (pulling her arm away and looking her son in the eyes.) There's that word again Lucas. PLease get the ice.

(Luke leaves to go to the basement. Haley and Keith both sense the tension between Lucas and Karen. Haley follows Luke and Keith goes to Karen who was cutting up vegetables at the kitchen counter.)

Ke: What's wrong?

Ka: (tells Keith what happened.) You know Keith, it's the first time since he was six that I wanted to spank him.

Ke: (Smiling at the thought.) I think he is a little big for that.

Ka: I don't know what has gotten into him lately.

Ke: He's a teenager.

Ka: Yeah. Let's just try to enjoy the night.

(Haley and Lucas in the basement)

H: What was up w/ you and your mom.

L: Not too much, she walked in on me and Brooke kissing in my bed and I pretty much called her a **** for getting pregnant w/ me in high school.

B: (Her mouth hits the floor.)YOU WHAT?

L: Not exactly in those words, Haley. But I might as well have. I really don't want to talk right now, OK?

H: OK. (Turns and walks upstairs and Luke follows behind her.)