New chapter is here! It's a nice long one cause you guys had to wait a little quite a while, hope you like it!

For whoever asked, Lucas and Emma are not married. I wouldn't do that to you guys! When they were talking about him being married, it's cause technically he and Brooke are still married, as they separated, but never divorced.

Here we go:

Brooke yawned and re-adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she stood in the queue for the check-in desks at JFK airport. As much as she was looking forward to this holiday, she hated queues.

Amy apparently shared her mothers dislike for standing in long lines, and was leaning on the top of Brooke's big suitcase with a very grumpy expression on her face, her own smaller, pink suitcase standing next to her.

Brooke reached down and ruffled Amy's hair. "It won't be much longer now sweetheart."

Amy just rolled her eyes; she could see the size of the queue herself.

"When's dad gonna be here?" Amy asked, pushing herself up on her arms and looking round.

"Soon," Brooke said, "And the others too. We were a little early."

"Well we wouldn't have been if we'd left when I said we should have."

"You know what we're like Ames, when you and me have to get out of the house it always takes us twice as long as we think, and for something as important as going on holiday it's better not to risk it."

Amy rolled her eyes again but smiled a little; she liked the fact that she and her mother were alike. Her dad always said it took Brooke forever to get ready for anything.

Brooke suddenly saw Amy's eyes light up, and turned to see Lucas and Emma approaching with their bags.

They excused themselves as they cut into the line next to Brooke, and Lucas set down his bag and lifted Amy up, kissing her cheek before he rested her on one hip.

Emma greeted Brooke with a smile. "How long have you been in line?" she asked.

"Not long, but it looks like it's going to take a while."

"You said we were almost done!" Amy said, teasing her mom.

Lucas chuckled at Amy. "How're you doing kiddo?"

"Bored as hell!"

"Ames," Brooke said warningly.

"As…heffalumps. We've been here for forever cause mom made us leave early."

"Well you know with the two of you it's a wonder you made it at all…" Lucas said.

Brooke just rolled eyes.

"Haley and Nathan are almost here by the way," he continued, "We spoke to them in the car."

"Great, well Carrie's on her way and hopefully Jake and Peyton will get here before we get to the front of the line, and then we can all check in together."

Jake and Peyton did arrive in time, a little after Nathan, Haley and Carrie, and smiling their way through the annoyed looks of the people behind them in the queue, they slipped in to join the others. Amy was joined by four more grumpy kids, but Jenny entertained the others sufficiently to allow their parents a little peace as they waited.

To say that they were looking forward to this holiday, would be like saying Brad Pitt was quite attractive, or Hitler was kind of a bad guy. They were all always complaining that they never got to spend enough time together, and now they had a whole chunk of the summer together in one house, which just happened to be a fantastic villa in the stunning region of Umbria.

It had taken a lot of careful planning and studying of schedules to find a time when they could all get away, but eventually they'd worked it out so almost all of them would have two and half weeks at the house.

Carrie had to go back a little early, and sadly Emma could only stay a week before the latest case she'd been working on went to court, but Toby would be coming out for the second week, so at least there'd still be plenty of people around.

Brooke had considered for a while whether to ask John. When Haley had first had the idea they'd only been going out for a few weeks, but by the time it was late May she'd decided it would be weird if she didn't; their relationship was going well, and it might be fun to have him there. He couldn't get away from work though; he was doing his fellowship. Brooke was almost relieved in a way, not because she didn't want him there but…she'd be with such old friends that it might just be easier not to have him around.

Brooke was glad Carrie was going to be there though, especially while Emma was. It would stop her feeling like a seventh wheel around all the couples. That was what was so great about her best friends though, Brooke thought, as Nathan pulled her into a one armed hug as they stood waiting, they were all so close that they weren't segregated into couples. When Lucas and Brooke's relationship had fallen apart, they'd just picked them both up and kept going. And Brooke was pretty sure that if it hadn't been for them, she could never have stayed on her feet.

They eventually checked in, and after another hour going through security, where Nathan was frisked because he forgot he was wearing a belt, and when they had dragged the kids away from the airport stores, they finally boarded the plane.

"Are we near each other?" Haley asked, as she looked at the seat number on her ticket.

"Yeah we are," Lucas, who had orchestrated the mass check-in, said. "In the same two rows."

Brooke caught Lucas' eyes travelling over the compact seats, and guessed what he was thinking. "Used to first class?" she murmured to him, as they made their way down the aisle of the plane.

Lucas hesitated and gave a guilty smile. "Business class."

Brooke smiled back. "Yeah, it's been a while since I flew coach."

"Like you ever did!"

Although it was never that obvious, Brooke and Lucas had the most money out of all their friends. While Haley's career as a singer had blossomed, and she was popular, she was by no means a superstar, and with Nathan hardly working they were comfortable rather than very wealthy.

Lucas' salary was incredibly good though, and as he paid for all of Amy's schooling, Brooke had few dents in her considerable earnings. This meant that as well as each being able to afford a two bedroom apartment on the upper east side, they were used to quite a high standard of living.

As this was a trip the whole group was going on though, they'd decided it would be nice to all travel together, and Lucas knew better than to offer to get Jake's families' tickets.

Brooke didn't mind at all, she'd always loved flying and although legroom was crappy in coach, it was more important that they could all be together: Amy might have sent her insane in the airport if Jenny hadn't been there to keep her occupied!

"Here we are," Nathan said, as they arrived at their seats. "Jack, do you want to go by the window?"

The little boy nodded and went to his seat, and Haley sat next to him, with Leyla in her lap. Nathan went into the seat next to her as Jake began ushering his kids into the row of four seats in the middle of the large jet. He and Peyton followed them.

"Are we in this row?" Brooke asked, indicating the one just in front of where the others were sitting.

"Yes," Lucas said, "We have uh…these three, and these two," he indicated two sets of seats just across the aisle from each other.

"Okay, well we'll take these. Aisle or window Carrie?"

"I'll take the window," Carrie said, sticking her bag in the overhead locker and sliding sideways into her seat. Amy went and sat next to her, and Brooke took the seat by the aisle. She fastened her seat belt and then turned, immediately catching Lucas' eye in the seat across from her.

He reached out, his arm spanning the width of the aisle. "Well they certainly squash the seats in."

She pushed his shoulder. "Oh get over it!"

He chuckled. "I'm kidding. It'll be great: nine hours – I can just sleep right through it."

Lucas sighed as he leaned back in his seat, tapping his fingers lightly on his tray table. He glanced to his left at Emma, but she was still asleep, her blanket tucked round her. He looked to his other side, where Brooke was sitting with her headphones on, apparently watching a film.

He screwed up his empty bag of nuts, and tossed it at her, hitting her arm. She turned and raised her eyebrows at him.

He motioned for her to take of her headphones.

"What's up?" she asked with a slight frown.

"I'm bored."

She rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

He shrugged. "Entertain me."

"Luke there are like 10 movies playing, surely there must be something you want to watch."

He wrinkled his nose. "I don't think so. What are you watching?"

Brooke hesitated for a second, a bemused expression on her face. Lucas' tone was the playful one she hadn't heard in a while…since before she started dating John.

"Um, 'Pride and Prejudice'" she said.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "See."

"You'd probably like it! It's along the same lines as 'The Notebook'," she teased him, and Lucas shot her a glare. He had only ever admitted to her that he actually sort of liked that movie.

"Shouldn't you have read it?" Brooke asked.

"I have," Lucas said pointedly, "It's good but…not really my thing."

"Well I think there's one of the Mission Impossibles or something," she said, "If that's more to your macho taste!"

Lucas muttered something and Brooke giggled. She replaced her headphones. "My movies almost over," she said, "I'll entertain you then."

The meals had come when Brooke took her headphones off again. Most people were asleep however as it was a night flight.

"Is it over?" Lucas asked.

"Yup. They didn't kiss though! Rip off."

Lucas chuckled. "Angsty ending?"

"No, they got together, but just kind of stood there looking at each other."

"Well I guess that's still a happy ending."

"I think you've got to have a kiss to seal the deal." She caught his eye, and then hey both looked away.

"So what are we eating?" Brooke asked.

"Who knows."

"Can I have your roll?"

"Why?"

"Cause how wrong they go with bread?"

Lucas peered at the brown roll, studded with seeds. "Looks pretty good."

"So can I have it?"

"No! I want it."

Brooke rolled her eyes, and reached over and took his drink.

"Hey!"

"I'm thirsty," she said with a shrug.

"Well call the hostess for another drink."

"Too much hassle, and it'd piss her off."

"I never thought I'd see the day when Brooke Davis was turning down an opportunity to order paid servers around."

"Hey! I only ever did that with my nanny, when I was like eight."

"And shop assistants."

"That's what they're there for!"

"Well what are air hostesses there for then?"

"I dunno…save us if the plane crashes."

Lucas rolled his eyes derisively.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Well if we had to land on water or something, wouldn't you rather have them on your good side?"

He chuckled. "Good point."

"So have you still not found a movie you want to watch?" Brooke asked, as she deemed that there was nothing else edible on her little tray.

"I don't know, I was thinking of watching Spy kids…"

"Luke!"

"What! I really like movies where kids are secret agents."

"Yeah, like Agent Cody Banks, I can't believe you made me watch that."

"It was cool!"

"You wanted to be a secret agent when you were eight didn't you?" Brooke asked with a smile.

Lucas gave an exaggerated shrug. "I don't know, I wouldn't have minded being James Bond…"

Brooke laughed. "Nu uh. You couldn't pull it off."

"I so could!"

"You're not British."

"So? I can be suave."

Brooke burst out laughing again. The guy sitting in front threw her an irritated look over his shoulder, before leaning back against his pillow. Brooke bit her lip, still smiling but looking guilty.

"Now look what you did."

"Oh Luke that was totally you're fault. You shouldn't make jokes like that."

"I could be James Bond!"

Brooke just grinned, shaking her head.

"Well I'm still gonna watch Spy kids."

"We should probably be going to sleep," Brooke said.

Lucas frowned slightly and looked around the plane at everyone else with their seats tipped back. "I don't feel sleepy."

"We're going to be really tired tomorrow."

"We can sleep later."

Brooke looked at him for a second and smiled. "Okay."

Brooke sighed happily as she lay on the dark blue patterned covers of her double bed in her bedroom of the Villa di Amelia.

It was three in the afternoon. Italy time. Which meant it was nine in the morning as far as she was concerned, and she hadn't slept since the night before last. Or something like that.

As Haley had graciously reminded her, the point of taking a night flight is that you sleep through it and beat jetlag. But Brooke had always been bad at sleeping on planes, and she and Lucas had not shut their eyes once, eventually watching 'X-Men 2' as well as 'Sky kids 3', for want of something better to do.

It was a weird experience sitting watching a movie on a tiny screen in front of you with headphones, while someone else watched the same thing next to you. Especially as Lucas was always laughing at the crappy jokes, and Brooke had to remind herself that they were actually watching the same thing.

Then when the flight had landed there had been the tiresome ordeal of baggage reclaim, where they had all spent the whole time trying to stop Jack and Amy from climbing onto the conveyor belts, and then the car hire desks where inevitably the two Chrysler Voyagersthey'd booked were not there, and they almost had to squash all thirteen of them in to two Ford Puntos. Luckily their cars were eventually located, and especially luckily for Brooke and Lucas Nathan and Jake offered to drive, so they didn't have to risk falling asleep at the wheel.

Now they were finally at the house, which, as Haley had said, was gorgeous, all cool stone floors and decorated in rustic shades of red and ochre, with dashes of Provencal blue.

They'd sorted out their bedrooms and now Brooke was just lying here on her bed, with Amy next to her, tired out from the long trip. She was just closing her eyes again when the door opened slightly, and Lucas stuck his head round it.

"Hey pretty girls." He smiled at them both as Brooke looked up at him. "Sorry to wake you, but if Ames sleeps all afternoon she won't go to bed tonight."

Brooke pushed herself up on her elbows, narrowing her eyes at him. "So why don't you wake her up?"

Lucas chuckled and came fully into the room, sitting on the end of the bed.

"Well if you sleep afternoon you won't get to sleep tonight either."

Brooke heaved a sigh, knowing he was right. Amy shifted in her sleep, and her eyes opened. She blinked at Lucas.

"Hey baby girl. I just came to let you know Jake's playing soccer outside with Jenny and Jack, if you wanted to go and play."

Amy pushed herself up into the same position as her mother. "Um, okay."

"That's my girl. You can have an early night later."

Amy nodded vaguely and slipped of the bed, heading out of the room still looking a little dozy.

Lucas turned to Brooke.

"Have you got an activity for me too?" she teased.

Lucas shrugged exaggeratedly. "Nate and I might try out the pool. And if you happened to feel like a swim…"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll get up."

Lucas smiled and stood up and Brooke sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. "I hope you know this is all your fault though."

"Hey! I wasn't the one who was watching X-Men at 5 am!"

"Yes you were! And it was 11 in the morning Italian time."

"Yeah, why were they all making fun of us – we were just adjusting to the local time earlier."

Brooke nodded. "Although, we probably shouldn't have been playing pictionary at 6 am then."

Lucas waved this away with a smile. "Whatever." He headed to the door. "See you outside."

Lucas and Nathan looked up at the fiery late afternoon sun as they stood outside in their board shorts, flip-flops on their feet to protect them from the hot tiles.

Lucas turned to Nathan and they both grinned. Simultaneously their eyes turned to the enormous swimming pool that lay about twenty feet from the house.

"Race you," Lucas said, and the words were hardly out of his mouth before Nathan was slipping out of his flip-flops and sprinting towards the pool. Lucas chased after him, and they leapt off the side into the clear blue water, breaking its perfect stillness and sending great splashes into the air.

Brooke and Haley shook their heads as they came out of the large doors that led outside, having witnessed the race. Brooke was still feeling sleepy, but it was too beautiful outside to stay indoors.

"Like little boys," Haley said.

Brooke turned to her with a look. "Hales, they are little boys."

There was a sound behind them and they both turned to see a real little boy, Jack, run out past them towards the pool, and leap in just as his father had done.

"No running on the deck!" Haley cried, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Worth a try."

The two followed his path, walking sedately towards the pool. Nathan had just lifted Jack onto his shoulders as they came to a stop at the edge. He wolf whistled, and Lucas turned, smiling as he saw them.

They were both standing in bikinis, their feet somehow impervious to the scorching ground. Brooke's was dark emerald green and a brown pendant hung round her neck. Lucas also recognised a blue and black friendship bracelet on her ankle she'd had for years.

Haley was in a pale pink bikini, and rolled her eyes at Nathan's grin.

"Are you coming in?" he asked, and Haley shrugged. "Sure. Is it cold?" She stuck her foot in. "Yes," she answered herself.

"It's fine," Lucas assured them.

Brooke wandered round the edge of the pool, looking in.

"I promise, it's fine once you're in," Lucas said to her, but she just smiled in reply.

"Chicken."

She raised her eyebrows at him, but continued to walk round, stopping at the other end, where the water was deepest. Lucas was about to swim over there and tease her further for her hesitancy, when she stepped to the edge and did a perfect dive into the water.

She swam a few stroked underwater and came up near the others, her hair streaming smoothly down her back. She smiled at Lucas, as if to say 'were you going to say something?' He just shook his head at her, muttering "show off".

They all got out of the pool after a little while, wanting to enjoy the many sun-loungers. Lucas grabbed a pile of nearby towels, although it was so hot they didn't really need them.

He tossed one to Haley, and Brooke stretched out a hand too.

"You're getting too skinny Brooke," he said as he handed her the towel, brushing his thumb over her slightly protruding hipbones. "You gotta eat more."

"Well I'm sure that'll be no problem here."

"Mm," he agreed, grinning, "I'm looking forward to some really good thin crust pizza."

"Oh yeah. I was thinking of the ice cream though, it's so good in Italy."

"Well whatever, as long as you eat," He placed a hand on her stomach as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "It's practically concave!"

She relaxed her arms, her stomach going flat again, and rolled her eyes at him. "Like you can talk, skinny ass," she said, as she settled herself on a lounger.

"Hey! I eat like a pig."

"I'm not gonna argue with that," she said with a smirk, and he threw his towel at her.

She giggled and brushed it off, lying back and closing her eyes. She groaned. "I need sunglasses." She turned her head to one side and squinted at him. "Please?"

He was about to refuse, and then stopped. "Actually I want mine to. Okay, where are they?"

"They should be on my bedside table, thanks Luke."

"Sure."

She watched as he headed back into the house. Whatever she'd said about his skinny ass, he had definitely bulked up. A career as a pro-athlete meant his shoulders in particular were much wider than when they'd first been together, and she could see the muscles in his back.

She leant her head back and sighed, closing her eyes.

Their wet bodies rubbed against each other as Lucas held Brooke's hips, his thumbs over the edge of her bikini as they backed inside.

"I'm so glad you could come out here," Brooke giggled, as Lucas lifted her and she wrapped her legs round his waist.

"Yeah? Me too." He chuckled and leant in to kiss her neck. She giggled again and lifted a finger to her lips, her other hand on the back of his neck.

"My parents are probably back."

Lucas glanced around him, looking up at the ceiling. Brooke's parents house in California was very much like her one in Tree Hill. He had never been there before; Brooke herself had seldom visited them there. It was the summer before their last year at NYU and her parents had asked her to come out, probably correctly realising that once Brooke left college she would most likely turn her back on her parents for ever.

Brooke had insisted Lucas come too, she had been living with him for the past semester, and there was no way she was spending any of the summer without him.

That evening her parents had gone out, and they had taken advantage of the one thing Brooke missed about her old life with them: her own pool and hot tub.

They were also both a little tipsy from the pitcher of Margaritas Brooke had made.

"They won't hear us," Lucas said. "We'll be quiet."

"Yeah, sure," Brooke giggled. "Just make sure we get to the bedroom before you take my bikini off, okay?"

He met her eyes, and she could see his were burning with the passion she so easily recognised. "I'm not making any promises…" he murmured, before his lips met hers.

She opened his mouth with her lips and ran her tongue over his, pulling his head closer to her. He pushed her against the wall, his hands on her ass, and broke the kiss to trail his lips down her neck.

"Come on, we gotta go upstairs."

"Or we could go back outside," Lucas whispered, his lips barely leaving her skin.

She paused and then grinned, running her fingers through his hair and lifting his face. "Okay."

He raised his eyebrows and she nodded. He grinned, and let go of her with one hand, supporting her on his opposite hip as he carried her to the backdoor, opening it and slipping out.

The stars cast a low light on the pool they had just left, and Lucas closed the door behind him. Brooke was kissing his ear, and he pressed her back against the wall, his bare chest touching her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair again, keeping them entangled at the back of his neck as she kissed him firmly.

"Mm, I love you I love you," she whispered, intoxicated on passion more than liquor now.

Lucas grinned as he pressed his lips against her neck, pulling back to look into her eyes. He just smiled as he leant forward, slowly, his lips just grazing hers before moving in again, their noses brushing over each other. "You're my world Brooke," he murmured. "You mean everything to me."

Her kiss became more urgent, and he could feel her smiling against his lips.

His moved one hand up and undid the bow at the top of her bikini as he continued to kiss her. She held the back of his head as he broke the kiss and lifted her a little higher, his lips moving over her chest as he let the front of her top fall. She undid the back with one hand, pulling it off and throwing it on the ground.

She leant her head back as his lips continued to move, her breathing becoming a little heavier.

When she began to tug on the top of his shorts he moved her away from the wall, turning and laying her down on the thick grass of the lawn. She kept a hold of his neck, pulling him down on top of her.

"Your parents' bedroom isn't up there right?" he asked, in between kisses.

She shook her head smiling. "It's at the front. So you can take these off."

"Here you go."

Brooke opened her eyes to see Luca standing above her, holding out her sunglasses.

"Oh, um, thanks." She took them from him, a little flustered by how far she'd let her mind wander.

He frowned slightly. "Do you want some sun stuff? You're looking a little red."

"Um, yeah I think Hales has some." She touched her cheek, which did feel a little hot, though probably not just from the Sun.

"Wow this looks delicious Hales."

Haley smiled as she set the enormous dish of pasta down in the middle of the table. "It's really not very special, but I hope everybody likes sundried tomatoes."

Jack made a face and Haley gave him a pointed look. "Just try them."

She took her seat and Lucas began ladling pasta onto plates and passing them round.

It was their first proper meal altogether. Dinner the previous evening had been a scattered affair as they had all gone to bed at different times, tired out by the long day of travelling. At lunch the kids had eaten earlier than the others, and most of the adults had decided just to have bread and ham and cheese out by the pool. This evening they were eating out around the large iron table on the terrace, a beautiful green tablecloth that Peyton had found covering it.

"Ames look at the stars," Brooke said, as she passed round the plates, "There are way more than in New York."

Amy tipped her head back, as did Jack. "Oh wow!"

"How come there are more here?" Jack asked.

"Cause of all the light pollution in Manhattan," Brooke said with a ironic smile. "All the lights of the city are so bright it's hard to see all the stars," she explained.

"Oh. That's sad," Amy said.

"So does everyone think we'll be able to stay up long enough tonight to play a game or something?" Jake asked, as they all began to eat.

"Ooh I wanna play charades," Haley said, "But I'm actually pretty tired already."

"See!" Brooke said. "You can't beat jetlag."

"Well I didn't have a nap this afternoon, unlike some people."

"It's called a siesta," Brooke said pointedly. "I'm being European!"

"Sure. I still can't believe you guys didn't sleep for the whole flight."

"What did you do?" Jake asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Watched movies, talked, played pictionary."

"Oh we should play that!" Peyton said excitedly.

Lucas shook his head. "Brooke sucks at it."

"I do not! You suck at guessing."

"Can you even play with two people?" Carrie asked.

"Well it kind of removes the competitive element," Brooke said, "Cause you just draw what you like. But it's more fun, if you chose hard stuff," she said pointedly.

"How is 'The Graduate' hard?" Lucas said incredulously.

"Exactly! You'd think you could guess it."

"Well I would've if you could draw."

Brooke pulled a shock faced at him and the others laughed. Lucas just chuckled and she threw a pea at him.

"Hey, don't give the kids any ideas!" Haley said warningly.

Jack grinned and picked up one of his peas, but Haley promptly took it out of his hand.

"Sorry," Brooke said sheepishly. "Jack don't do it buddy, it's not big or clever."

Lucas grinned as Brooke had to apologise, and she shot him a glare.

"How about we just watch a movie or something?" Nathan suggested later as they began clearing the plates. "We can play charades or something tomorrow night."

"Yeah sure, there's a whole stash in the living room," Jake said.

Haley lifted Leyla into her arms, rubbing her back. "Kids, why don't you go chose one?" she suggested, giving Jack a gentle push towards the house.

Jenny, Amy and Jack ran in and headed for the living room.

"One we'll all like!" Nathan yelled after them.

Lucas looked down at Amy in his arms. By the light from the TV he could see that her eyes were closed. "I think it's time you went to bed baby girl."

Amy shook her head roughly. "I'm not sleepy."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah you are, you're falling asleep already."

"I was just blinking."

He smiled at this excuse. "Come on, it's way past your bedtime." He stood up, lifting Amy to her feet.

She groaned, and buried her face against his leg.

"You should go to bed Ames," Brooke said, "Then in the morning you can go swimming."

"Give your mom a kiss," Lucas said, gently pushing Amy towards Brooke.

Amy sighed and relented, going over to Brooke who pulled her up into her lap and kissed the top of her head, hugging her tightly. "Night sweetheart."

"Goodnight mom."

Lucas came and took Amy's hand, and Brooke flashed him a grateful smile before he led her upstairs.

"You should go to bed soon too Jen," Peyton said.

"Can't I just see the end of the movie?"

"Are you gonna go to bed straight after?" Peyton asked.

Jenny nodded quickly and Peyton smiled. "Okay."

Lucas came back into the room a little later and headed back towards his chair. He paused by Brooke as he passed her, laying a hand on her shoulder for a second. "She's asleep," he whispered.

Brooke caught his fingers and gave them a light squeeze as she turned to look at him. "Thanks Luke."

"What are you reading?" Lucas asked, dropping down to a crouch to look over the back of the sofa at Brooke.

She held up the cover of the book at him, then returned to reading.

"How come your inside? Tanned enough already?"

"Too hot."

"Very Monosyllabic today," he commented.

"Book's good."

He chuckled and stood up. "O-kay..."

Lucas opened his eyes as a shadow fell briefly over his lounger. Brooke was moving the head of the neighbouring lounger, and then lay down on it.

"Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Somebody got more talkative."

"I just finished an awesome chapter of my book!"

He smiled and nodded slowly, his eyes closed again against the glare of the sun.

"It was so good, you know those books where you just can't stop thinking about it. So it's all going round and round in your head. I mean, why did the priest have to leave without - "

Lucas stopped her. "You know I haven't read it Brooke, so I'm not gonna have any answers," he said with a smile.

She pouted at him. "Well you should read it; I need someone to talk to about it."

"Why don't you get one of the others to. Hales has probably read it already."

"She hasn't, so you're my best bet, literature major!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll start it later."

Brooke clapped her hands. "Awesome! But not till I'm done," she added quickly. "You're gonna love it Lucas I swear."

Lucas just smiled and shook his head.

Carrie and Emma sipped on their tall glasses of lemonade as they sat outside on the deck overlooking the pool. A woven awning stuck out a little way from the house, protecting them from the strong Sun, but the air was still warm enough that they were both in tank tops and skirts.

The doors from the house opened and Peyton came out, her sandals flapping against the tiles. She slipped her sunglasses down and took a seat next to the others.

"God I love this weather."

Emma smiled. "Mm, me too."

Carrie glanced at the other two. "The only thing that would make it better is if we all had skin like Haley."

The three of them, two blondes and one redhead, all had pale creamy skin, that burnt easily in the Sun. Of course this didn't prevent them from lying outside or swimming in the pool for hours, but it meant they weren't quite so care free as Haley, who was playing in the pool with the kids at that minute. Her skin had turned a golden brown in the past few days, and even though she had tried to persuade the others that tanning was still damaging your skin, and she really should be as careful as them, they were still a little jealous.

Even more so of Brooke, who, even though she had porcelain skin most of the time, it was tanning light brown in the Sun rather than the painful red Carrie's of Carrie's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Peyton said. "She's so lucky. She even gets almost blonde hair in the Summer."

"Which as we both know is a huge asset," Emma said with a grin.

"Pft. Whatever."

They both laughed at Carrie.

"You get freckles though," Peyton conceded to her.

"And they suck!"

"No I love them, they're cute."

Carrie just shook her head, scrunching her nose, which had a light spattering of freckles on either side. "At least it's not as bad as my cousin, she gets them all over her face; she just turns into one big freckle."

Brooke came out at that minute. "Hey guys," she smiled at them, then frowned. "Why are you sitting under there?"

They just glared at her.

"Has anybody seen my - " Brooke question trailed off as she came into the large living room and caught sight of Lucas sitting on the couch. "Lucas!"

He looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"You have my book!"

"You told me to read it."

"I specifically said don't start till I'm done!"

"Well it was just lying around and you said I would like it so…"

"Luke! No, you have no idea how addictive that thing is!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Don't be silly."

"Well give it back, I wanna read it."

Lucas held the book to him. "No. I'm reading."

"See!"

He tried for a response but just stuttered. "Just let me finish the chapter," he begged.

"No, you'll just want to read more."

Lucas knelt up on the back of the couch, facing her. "Please Brooke!" he clasped his hands together, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

Brooke hesitated, and then relented, rolling her eyes. "Fine. But just one more chapter."

He grinned. "You're the best."

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up."

"Luke!"

Lucas flinched as Brooke once more burst into the room. "You must have read at least three more chapters by now. It's so my turn!"

"I'm almost done!" he said quickly, although he was quickly in the middle of a chapter.

"Give it to me!"

He shook his head and she reached over the back of the chair, grabbing at the book. He whisked it away from her just in time, jumping up and running out of the room. She chased after him, and he ran outside, sprinting round the pool.

She caught up with him as he tried to weave in and out of the loungers and reached for the book, but he held it away and so she jumped on his back, slowing him down while she swiped for it.

He was laughing, holding her up on his back with one hand, the other holding the book away from her. She lunged for it and managed to grab it, but before she could get away he had grabbed her, tickling her stomach till she was forced into submission.

"Luke, stop!"

"Give me the book!"

Her sides were aching with laughter and then suddenly she was hit by a moment of inspiration. "Stop or the book gets it!" She yelled, flinging out one arm and dangling the book over the edge of the pool.

Lucas stopped dead. "You wouldn't."

Brooke raised an eyebrow dangerously. "You know I would."

"Brooke it's our only copy…"

"You wanna take the risk?"

He stood still.

"Go back inside," she ordered.

"Brooke…" he pleaded. "Just one more chapter?"

"Back inside! It's my turn."

"Can I have it later?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Maybe."

He pouted and she shot him another look, shaking her hand that held the book as a reminder. He turned tail and tramped back inside, and Brooke grinned before positioning herself on a lounger and lying back to enjoy her book.

As Lucas entered the house he passed Carrie, who was standing by the doors, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She appeared to have just come outside, and Lucas smiled at her as he went in. She nodded to him, and then looked back at Brooke with a bemused expression.

Carrie had not in fact just come outside, she had fixing her sarong in the threshold of the door when Brooke's squeals had caught her attention, and she'd witnessed the whole scene.

Now she watched Brooke lie engrossed in her book, wondering what it was all about. She heard a sound behind her and turned to see Haley coming out, also in a bikini.

"You going for a swim?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "What's up?"

Carrie hesitated, and then said, "Nothing, I just…when I came out, Brooke and Lucas were out there kind of…"

Haley raised her eyebrows higher. "Kind of what?"

"Not like, doing anything," Carrie said quickly, realising what Haley thought she meant, "Just…I don't know – being kind of flirty."

Haley narrowed her eyes. "Like how flirty? Their usual, a bit touchy-feely kind of thing, or…?"

"Well I think she was trying to get her book, you know that one they've been arguing over? And then he was tickling her…it was probably totally innocent - "

"Well it's hard to tell with them sometimes," Haley said. "Although I would've thought, this week, with Emma here…"

Carrie nodded. "Yeah, I know. But they probably don't even realise what they're doing. I mean, that's just how they are with each other. It sort of makes you wonder though, if maybe they still have feelings for each other - "

"Well yeah of course," Haley said, and Carrie looked at her sharply. Haley backtracked. "I mean, I just think…they'll never be totally over each other…"

Carrie looked away and nodded slowly, but cast another glance at Haley.

There was suddenly the sound of Brooke's voice from down by the pool. "Are you guys coming down here or what?" she called, having apparently caught sight of them.

There was a moment's pause. "Yeah," Carrie called back, and the two of them walked towards the pool.

"Is the book still good?" Haley asked, as she approached Brooke.

"Yeah. I'm having to constantly beg, borrow, and steal it off Lucas though!"

Haley chuckled, and Carrie glanced over her shoulder from where she stood by the pool steps.

Haley mulled over Carrie's words as she slipped into the cool water of the pool, and began to swim. She shouldn't have said anything when Carrie had mentioned the possibility of Brooke and Lucas still having feelings for each other, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. It had always been Haley's opinion, and it grew stronger every day, that Brooke and Lucas Scott would never be over.

Lucas walked quietly through the house. It was late evening, and most people had gone to bed. Nathan and Haley, their kids fast asleep in their room, were sitting out on the balcony where Lucas had just come from, enjoying a glass of wine in the cool evening air.

He entered the living room and smiled as he saw two shadowy figures in the low light: Brooke and Amy were curled up in the large squashy armchair by the fire, Brooke's arms wrapped round Amy's small frame.

He quietly padded over to them, and leant on the arm of the chair, watching them both and listening to the soft sound of their breathing.

He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Brooke's ear, his fingers lingering to stroke the soft tendrils.

Brooke shifted slightly and he froze, withdrawing his hand slightly as her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," she said, giving him a soft smile. "Just careful, if Ames wakes up now she'll never get back to sleep. So don't start playing with her hair."

Lucas bit his lip guiltily, and Brooke smiled slightly and looked down at her daughter.

"Want me to take her up?" Lucas asked, and Brooke looked back up at him and nodded. "Thanks, yeah."

Lucas bent down and gently gathered Amy up into his arms, rubbing her back lightly as she stirred a little. Her head flopped against his shoulder and he waited for Brooke to stand up before the three of them headed upstairs.

Brooke followed Lucas to Amy's bedroom and leant against the doorframe as he laid her down in the bed, tucking the covers round her and placing a kiss on her forehead. He sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Amy's hair, and turned a little to meet Brooke's eyes.

She smiled at him softly, and he smiled back before he stood and went to the door. Brooke looked back into the room with her hand on the door handle, and whispered, "Night baby girl," before she closed it behind them.

Outside Brooke's room Lucas lifted a hand to her cheek, cupping it as he tipped her towards him, pressing his lips for a moment against her hair. Her hands found his sides briefly, and then he stepped back. "Night Brooke."

"Goodnight," she whispered, and turned into her room.

Okay so this was like twice the length of some chapters, so I think it deserves lots of reviews! I hope you guys agree : )

More of this soon: what'll happen when Emma's gone off on a plane home?