Author's Note: OK, so all I can say is that tonight's OTH rocked my socks right off! I am not a Leyton fan, but Peyton's speech to Lucas was AMAZING! Finally—some good writing from Mark Schwahn! Now if we could get rid of Nanny Carrie. I'll work on it. LOL I'm still liking Lindsey more with every episode!
"What the hell happened to your face?" Nathan asked when Haley stealthily opened the door and slipped outside. It was eight-thirty, and Brooke, Peyton, and the twins were all in bed per Brooke's strict pre-reception orders.
Haley gave him a helpless look. "Brooke Davis happened to my face!" she said heatedly, putting a hand up to touch her blotchy skin. "And do you know why?" she asked in a shrill voice.
Nathan shook his head no and took a step back as a precautionary measure.
"Because I didn't have the nerve to stand up to her and tell her that I didn't want to do this whole stupid slumber party thing! Or the mud masks we had done at the spa today! I am not that girly, Nathan!" she told him with a sigh. "And do you know what the worst part is?" she asked.
"What?" he said quietly, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.
"The worst part is that I can't even be mad at her because she loves Lucas so damn much!"
"How is that bad?" he asked, poised to run like heck if she got even angrier.
"It's not bad," Haley said. "It's just—" She stopped midsentence and walked over to the railing, then looked up at the side of the house. "Is that Lucas climbing up lattice work?" she asked with a laugh.
"Dude!" Nathan said, coming up behind her. "I told you that we didn't need to do any B and E-ing tonight," he told his brother.
"Sshh!" Lucas said on his way up. "Brooke'll think it's romantic!" he explained.
"Will she think it's romantic when you break your neck?" Haley asked dryly.
"It will match my black eye," Lucas said merrily, still working his way up the side of the house. "And don't worry, Hales. I won't tell her about the pizza."
Haley spun around and came face to chest with Nathan. She didn't realize he was so close to her. She looked up at him. "How did Lucas get a black eye?" she asked.
Nathan cleared his throat. "Adam is very agile when you're not expecting it," he said, defending both his brother and himself. He knew it was lame. Two against one. They should have had him.
Haley rolled her eyes. "Did Jake get one, too?" she asked.
Nathan shook his head, then grabbed a paper bag that Haley hadn't noticed sitting on the railing and sat down on the porch swing."Lucas stopped me, then took over, and then Jake stopped Lucas."
"At least one of the three of you had willpower enough to stop it," Haley said sitting down next to him as he handed her the bag. She peeked in and saw two slices of mushroom and bacon pizza in saran wrap. She sighed contentedly then leaned over and kissed Nathan on the cheek. "Oh, God bless you," she said sincerely, opening the bag and taking a big bite of the pizza. Nathan's eyes widened as she moaned blissfully. He had assumed a few days ago that he'd be hearing that noise, but not over pizza. He shifted uncomfortably.
"You OK?" Haley asked innocently, taking another bite of pizza.
Nathan swallowed audibly and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine," he assured her. "So, what's with this juice fast?"
Haley rolled her eyes. "Don't ask," she said. "It might be the death of me," she said dramatically.
"Haley—you're not gonna die," Nathan said with certainty.
"You never know," she said with mock sincerity.
Nathan's eyes twinkled and he grinned. "You've waited waaaay too long to get me into bed," he teased.
Haley's jaw dropped and she gasped, crumpling up her paper bag. She threw it at his chest, and he caught it. She looked down at her pizza and then back up at him. "OK," she conceded begrudgingly. "There is that."
Nathan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, kissing her on her forehead. "Ifthe thought of that won't keep you going, then I don't know what will!"
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Brooke Davis jumped when she heard her window open. She had just dozed off when the noise woke her. She cautiously looked over her shoulder and recognized the build of the figure entering the room immediately. "Lucas?" she asked sleepily, sitting up.
"Yeah, Babe, it's me," he whispered.
"What are you doing here? We're not supposed to see each other until the reception."
"I missed you," he told her.
"Awww," she said. "Come here."
He sat down next to her, and she gave him a light kiss on the lips then socked him on the arm. "You knowingly went against my rules!" she scolded him.
He rubbed his arm. "Oww! What the hell, Brooke?"
"I ask one thing—one thing of you! And you couldn't do it!" She jumped up off the bed, leaving Lucas sitting there and she flipped the lamp on. "I didn't ask you to lift a finger to help with this reception!" she said, pacing back and forth.
Lucas kicked his shoes off and lifted his legs onto the bed stretching them out in from of him. He leaned his back against the headboard and took advantage of the opportunity to watch his wife moving around in a hot pink leopard print nighty, coming down to just below her thighs. If only it was an inch higher, he thought with a grin.
"I let you pick out your own tux! And you risk your pretty little neck climbing up lattice work?" She put her hands on her hips and spun around. "What kind of an idiot did I marry?" she asked then gasped when she finally saw his face. She stalked over to the bed and roughly grabbed hold of his chin, moving it to the side. "One with a black eye, that's what kind! Lucas, what the hell happened to you?"
"Well, I—"
"You're gonna have a black eye at our wedding reception?" she asked in disbelief.
Lucas hung his head shamefully.
Brooke lifted his chin again, moving it from side to side to examine it. Suddenly, he felt her lips gently touch his bruised spot. "I kind of like it," she whispered huskily. "It's very James Bond."
Lucas grinned and pulled her down onto him. "Have I told you how much I love you, Brooke Scott?" he asked.
She grinned at him. "Yeah, you have," she said, reaching down for the hem of her dress. "But now you can show me."
Suddenly the door flew open and Peyton walked in, carrying a baby. "I thought I heard you in here!" she said with a grin. "Thank God! I get bored when it's just one of the babies and I up this late. Jake usually gets up with us at night," she told them. "Where is my husband?" she asked.
"He's at my Mom's house with Jenny," Lucas told her as Brooke struggled to sit up gracefully. It didn't work. With a sigh, she finally just pulled the sheet up to her waist.
Peyton sat down at the foot of the bed with the baby, making it clear she wasn't going anywhere. If Jake couldn't be here, neither could Lucas. She grinned at both of them. "So, excited about the big day?" she asked brightly.
Brooke and Lucas sighed at the same time. Clearly their plans had been foiled for tonight.
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"Good night," Brooke told her husband, opening the door for him. Her eyes narrowed when she heard laughing. She stepped out onto the porch. "Haley!" she exclaimed accusingly.
Haley jumped up and swallowed nervously. "Oh, hey, Brooke," she said weakly.
Brooke looked at Nathan and then back to Haley. "Care to explain?" she asked.
"Well," Haley said with an anxious laugh. "I was hoping for a pardon since…Lucas was here, too."
Brooke crossed her arms. "Haley, you do as I say, not as I do," she scolded seriously, then looked at Nathan. "Good night, Nathan," she said as if she was dismissing him.
It was clear to Haley that Nathan was trying very hard not to laugh. "Good night, Brooke," he said, walking down the front steps.
Haley followed Brooke into the house. "I'll call you tomorrow," she told him, shutting the door behind her. It flew open less than a second later.
"No she won't!" Brooke said. "She's grounded."
And with that, the door slammed shut.
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When Lucas and Nathan walked into the living room and Lucas' Moms' house, Jake and Jenny were watching a movie. "I can't believe she just walked in like that when I was trying to…" suddenly he realized Jenny was in the room and cleared his throat. "Do my husbandly duties," he finished.
Jake cleared his throat and looked at his daughter. "Jenny, you're going to see things tonight and hear things tonight that can never be repeated," he told her.
Jenny's face wrinkled in disgust. "Dad, are you talking about sex?"
"No," Jake said quickly. Then, "Well…possibly."
"Look, has there been anyone since mom?"
"What?! No!" Jake said, realizing that while the question was entirely inappropriate for his daughter to be asking, it still deserved an answer.
"Then that's all I need to know," she said, turning her attention back to the television.
Nathan and Lucas took seats, and the four of them continued to watch the movie in silence.
"Uh, I gotta run to the store. I need my Mountain Dew," Jake said about fifteen minutes later.
Jenny's eyes widened knowingly. "You're going to see mom!" she accused.
"Am not," Jake said sheepishly.
Jenny pointed her finger at her father. "Are, too! You have that look in your eyes."
"What look?" Jake asked.
"The one that you always get just before you say, 'Hey, Jenny, watch the babies while your mom and I go in to make the bed,'" Jenny said in a deep voice, mocking Jake's.
Jakes face reddened.
"And P.S., Daddy, it doesn't take an hour to make the bed!"
Nathan grinned and nodded his head. "An hour? Impressive."
"Dude," Jake said, holding an arm out to Jenny. "The daughter? Not in front of her!"
Nathan's face immediately straightened. "Sorry, Man."
"It's OK," he said, standing up. He looked down at his daughter. "Now, if you're done interrogating me, I'm going to the store now," he repeated.
"Great," Jenny said standing up. "I'll go with you."
"No!" Jake said quickly.
Three sets of eyes flew to his face. "Real smooth, Man," Lucas said with a grin.
"It's too late for you to be out," Jake told Jenny, fleeing the room.
And more importantly, fleeing his super-intuitive daughter.
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Jake sighed, leaning against the headboard. "Why do we have to be included in this?" Jake asked. "We're already married."
Peyton grinned at her husband. "We're doing it for Brooke," she reminded him. "It's her reception day."
"I know," he said, looking down at little Peyton. "I just can't stand to be away from you or these little guys," he said sincerely. He looked at the clock. Ten minutes was up. "Time to switch," he said.
Jake and Peyton quickly switched twins. When they'd first gotten home from the hospital, it had been a tricky move for them, but after all these months, they'd finally mastered it. When they'd finished the swap, Jake kissed little Jake on his forehead. "I miss getting up with them at night," he said.
"Them?" Peyton asked knowing, one eyebrow cocked in amusement.
Jake gave her a wide grin. "OK, so my favorite part is how…appreciative you are when we finally get them to sleep again," he teased, looking back down at the baby.
"I'm appreciative that you snuck over to see us," she told him, her voice husky.
His eyes flew to hers and he saw her eyes darken. He laughed anxiously then quickly stood up with the baby. "Let's get these little guys back into their cribs," he said. "I only have a few minutes before I have to be back."
Grinning, Peyton stood up, too. "That's all I need," she assured him.
Jake moaned and shifted the baby to one arm. He used the other one to pull his wife to him, being careful of the baby in her arms. His lips came hungrily down onto hers.
Laughing, she pulled away. "Jake, I know we've gotten really good at handling the babies, but I don't think we've gotten good enough to hold them and do what I have in mind," she teased.
He laughed and headed for the bedroom door. They needed to get the twins back to their nursery. He opened the bedroom door and Brooke was standing there, arms crossed and the toes on one foot tapping. "Busted," she alleged.
Jake looked over his shoulder at his wife. "It was nice knowing you," he said dramatically. He heard his wife wince.