Author's note: Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter. I know it had been forever since I updated, and I appreciate everyone sticking around, I promise I'll try to make it worth it. So here's another chapter with my beloved Brucas….enjoy! Flashbacks are written in italics.

Chapter 14- Show Me How to Live

Curled up on her bed, her knees pulled tightly into her chest, she looked around her room. The soft peach curtains moved along with the light breeze she could feel dance over her bare arms. The sun beamed through the window across from her bed. She eyed the large oak desk where she'd spent so many late nights writing in her journal. The stack of letters sitting on the edge of the desk, letters from Peyton, Lucas and Haley. But what really caught her eye was the calendar hanging above the desk, Xs marking off day after day, up to tomorrow, the day with the bright red circle around it, the day she goes home.

Brooke remembered how scared she felt sitting in the intervention, so afraid to leave her life and friends behind. Now though, she was amazed that she was ever afraid of coming here because she felt that same amount of fear for tomorrow, fear to return home, fear to go back to the life that she hadn't been strong enough to live before.

'Oh no!' She thought to herself as she rushed back into her private bathroom, leaning over the toilet just in time to empty the contents of her stomach, once again, into the porcelain bowl.

Reaching up to the sink, she pulled herself up onto her knees. Turning on the cold water, she reached out and splashed some cold water on her face.

She tried to breathe deeply, willing her heartbeat to return to normal. She lowered herself onto the cool linoleum floor, welcoming the coolness on her cheek as she laid her head down onto the floor.

The last couple of days had been agonizing. When she wasn't throwing up, she was writhing in bed, wishing she could throw because that would provide her some relief from the pain her body was experiencing.

She heard footsteps approaching, and opening her eyes she saw a pair of hideous nursing shoes coming towards her.

"How ya holding up honey?" Ella, who had quickly become Brooke's favorite nurse, asked.

"I wish I was dead." Brooke muttered.

"Oh now honey, I know this is bad. But I promise you in a few days you'll stop puking your guts out and you'll start to feel much better. This is your body's way of starting to heal, it has to get all the poison out."

Brooke nodded, too weak to reply. Ella bent down and pulled the brunette off the floor and helped her get back into bed.

Brooke curled up underneath the sheets and shut her eyes, praying that this hell would end soon.

Noticing the time, Brooke headed towards one of the meeting rooms on the other end of her floor.

Walking into the room she took her usual seat in the circle, between Ada, an actress who had been in and out of multiple rehab facilities over the past five years, and Whitney, a young mother of three whose husband had found her passed out in a chaise lounge while her kids were swimming in the pool. Thankfully, nothing bad had happened to any of her kids, but her husband had promptly shipped her off, not wanting to put their kids in further danger.

Brooke eyed an empty chair at the other end of the circle, that chair had been previously filled by Jen, a tiny blonde from New York City who got into some bad drug habits with a boyfriend who claimed to love her. Jen had been released the day before, and hearing her talk about her struggles during group meetings had really helped Brooke.

Right before the meeting started, a thin, pale, red-headed girl walked in and sat in Jen's now empty seat. The greenish tinge to her face made it clear that she was going through withdrawal. The girl crossed her arms across her chest and skillfully avoided everyone's glance, it was obvious she was nervous about being in the circle.

Brooke gnawed on her nails as she sat there, eyeing the other girls in the circle. Some looked normal enough, a couple looked like they felt as sick as Brooke, and some just looked sad.

Brooke had been dreading her first group meeting since the day her counselor told her about it. She had never been one to tell people about her problems, even her closest friends had to drag it out of her, and the thought of sitting in a circle and telling her problems to a bunch of girls she didn't know seemed impossible.

The girls went around the circle one by one, stating their name and their problem;

"I'm Jen and I'm a drug addict."

"I'm Ada and I'm an alcoholic."

One by one Brooke watched as they spoke until it was her turn. Looking towards the counselor on one end of the circle, she shook her head.

"It's okay Brooke, you don't have to say anything yet. Just listen for today."

Brooke breathed a sigh of relief. Admitting she needed help was hard enough, but confessing it to this group of people, she just wasn't ready.

"I'm Brooke and I'm an alcoholic."

She couldn't believe how easy those words came to her now. It had taken a while, but she finally realized that being an alcoholic didn't make her a bad person, it just made her a person who struggled more in the day to day than most other people.

"Hello group," the counselor started, after everyone took their turn introducing themselves, "because Brooke is heading home tomorrow, she gets to start off today's meeting. Brooke…,"

"If you told me three months ago that I'd be sitting here talking to you all without even one bit of nervousness, I'd never believe you. But now, you've all come to be great friends and allies. I have a drinking problem. I'm going to struggle with that everyday, I know that. When things get bad, I'd rather be numb than deal with them. But I've learned here, with the help from all of you, that being numb is no way to go through life. I wish I could say that I know I'll be fine tomorrow, and for all the days after that, but that's just something I'm not sure of. I have friends who love and support me, and I know that they'll be there for me everyday. I also know though, that they can't understand how I feel and why I feel the need to drink. Whenever I feel like that though, I know I can go to an AA meeting and there will be people, as understanding and willing to listen as all of you, that will help me through it. So thanks for being here and for supporting me. Now though, it's my time to walk out of here and start supporting myself."

Brooke sat down and looked around the circle, tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision. Everyone clapped for her. A few even had tears of their own lining their eyes. Brooke smiled at the circle, at her allies, at her friends and she knew, she was ready.

ooooOoooo

"Lucas Scott, I'm here to pick up Brooke Davis."

The nurse at the check in table smiled at him, "Of course, you can head right down to her room."

Lucas nodded in thanks and made his way down the hall towards her room. Looking down at the bouquet of flowers in his hand, he remembered the first time he walked down this same hall, with similar flowers, nervous for what was waiting for him in room 108.

Reaching out, he knocked softly on the open door. When no response came he peered in and looked around the room.

When he saw her his heart broke a little bit. She was curled up underneath the covers of her bed, gazing out the window.

"Hey there Pretty Girl." He said softly, not wanting to break her from her trance too abruptly.

She sat up slowly, a small smile forming on her lips.

"I'd hardly say anything about me is pretty right now."

While withdrawal had come and gone a week before, Brooke still felt tired and run down. She had not spent anytime primping since she'd checked in.

Lucas made his way over to the bed and sat down next to her. Searching in her eyes he prayed to see that flicker again, that flicker that was the essence of Brooke. Sadly, he wasn't met with a flicker, but instead sadness. He took the sadness though, over the empty look she'd had the weeks prior to the intervention.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay. Just really tired. Apparently overcoming alcoholism is no easy task." She tried to laugh as she spoke, but couldn't find the strength.

"I think it's all that bravery that is wearing you out too. You doing this is incredible Brooke, it really is."

She thought for a moment and then nodded; she had been feeling kind of brave these days. She had spoken for the first time in her group meeting the other day and even though it had been hard, she was met with nothing but enthusiasm from the other members.

"How's everybody doing?" She asked, not wanting to focus on her anymore at the moment. After all, everyday was all about her in this place.

"Everyone is good. Haley and Nathan are back home, up to their usual bickering. She called me the other day complaining because she finally made Nathan do the laundry, only after he complained that his 'whites were not white enough,' and he of course got a brand new red sock in with the whites and everything came out pink. Apparently most of the whites were Nathan's t-shirts, so she's been making him wear one of the pink ones everyday."

Brooke laughed, for the first time in weeks, at that anecdote. Lucas felt his heart soar at the sound of her laugh, and looking at her, saw just the tiniest flicker in her eyes. He knew she'd come back to him soon.

Peering into her room, he saw her standing in front of the window.

She wore a thin white cotton dress that fell just above her knees and a pair of silver flats. Her hair was piled messily atop her head.

He couldn't help but smile, it used to be rare for Brooke to be so dressed down, but since being in rehab it was a regular occurrence. He had to admit, as amazing as she looked all done up, he really loved the way she looked all dressed down. She just seemed more comfortable in her own skin these days.

"Knock, knock." He called into her room.

"Hey you!" She smiled, rushing over to him and allowing him to wrap her in a tight hug.

"These are for you." He said, handing her the bouquet once they broke apart.

"Awww, thanks. They're beautiful. I actually just had to throw out the ones you brought me last week, they were starting to wilt."

He had come every weekend, without fail, as soon as her first two weeks were over. Sometimes he would bring Peyton, or Haley, but when one of them couldn't make it, he made the trip alone. Brooke knew she would probably never admit it to him, but his commitment to her had really helped with her progress.

"Ready to go?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

She smiled up at him and it was all he could do to not bend down and plant a kiss on those gorgeous lips of hers. That flicker had returned to her eyes weeks ago and it was rousing all sorts of urges inside of him.

Hoisting her suitcase off the bed, he reached out for her hand and they started down the hall together.

"I've already filled out all the paperwork, so we can just go."

He nodded, "Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to?"

"I said everything I needed to say in group yesterday. And then last night I said good bye one on one to a few people. I don't want to look back on today and be sad Luke, I want to look back instead and remember it as the day I started over. No time for tears."

Lucas smiled; she really had come back to him. Squeezing her hand, he led her out the front door and to his car.

The four hour drive home was quiet. Not an uncomfortable quiet though, but rather that quiet that only old friends and lovers can share. Being together had always been easy for them, and despite all the turmoil around Brooke going to rehab, the usual ease between them had returned.

ooooOoooo

"A little higher on your end Hales." Nathan directed his wife who was perched atop a ladder.

"Remind me again why Peyton and I are up on these ladders while you, Mr. Six Foot Three Basketball Star is directing us from the ground?"

Nathan smirked, "I couldn't resist Hales. After all, I get a direct view right up your tiny little skirt."

Haley tried to glare at him, but couldn't resist laughing, and by the looks of it neither could Peyton who was perched atop a ladder on the other side of the 'Welcome Home Brooke' banner they were trying to hang.

After about half an hour more of decorating and present arranging (the group had learned early on that the way to Brooke's heart was always through presents) the group of friends sat down in the living room to wait for Brooke and Lucas to get home.

"I'm sorry, I know we said we wouldn't talk about this," Haley started, "But did you search the house for any bottles?"

Peyton nodded, "Yeah, Lucas and I did a walk through the other day. We even poured out the rubbing alcohol. It's all long gone."

"You looked everywhere?" Haley prodded, "Even through her closet and all her drawers?"

"Everywhere. And I can almost guarantee that Lucas went through the house again last night after I left. This house is bone dry."

Haley finally accepted the answer and sat back, laying her head on Nathan's chest. He knew that she was still apprehensive so he reached out and gently rubbed her arm, just letting her know he understood.

Less than an hour later they heard a horn beep and everyone hurried to the entryway.

Minutes later Brooke walked in, beaming from ear to ear, with Lucas in tow.

"Welcome home."

"We missed you."

Everyone spoke at once. Brooke just smiled and started hugging each friend. Once she'd hugged the last one, she stepped back, "There had better be presents."

The whole group laughed and made their way into the living room for cake and presents, two of Brooke's favorite things.

The afternoon proceeded without problem. The friends all caught up and just enjoyed being together once again. While they all knew that some heavy conversations and that some possibly difficult situations might arise over the coming weeks, they were all happy to just sit back and have fun as a group for the first time in a while.

ooooOoooo

"That was fun."

"Yeah, it was." Brooke nodded in agreement as they cleaned up the remains of her welcome home party. "I swear though, that banner is a little crooked." She took a step back and eyed it.

Lucas just laughed, the whole group had been told, multiple times, by Peyton and Haley about their trials and tribulations with the sign, and how Nathan and Jake just stood there directing.

After picking up the last piece of wrapping paper, Brooke stood up and looked at Lucas.

"Bed?" He asked.

She nodded apprehensively. "Actually, can we talk about something?"

"Of course." He went and sat down on the couch, Brooke followed his lead.

"One really important thing I learned in rehab was that I have to learn how to be there for myself, and how to be enough for myself. Once I have a good handle on those things, sobriety will be much easier."

Lucas nodded, not sure where she was going.

"That being said, I want you to keep staying here, with me, at least as long as you can. But for right now, all I can let you be is my friend. Anything beyond that I'm just not ready for. Is that okay with you?"

"Brooke, of course. I don't expect anything from you, well anything other than you getting all better. I will always be here. And when you're ready, well then we'll talk."

Brooke smiled, "Lucas Scott, are you sure I'm worth the wait?"

Sitting back he looked at her for a minute, thoughtfully. He slowly then started to nod, "Let me just make sure."

Reaching his hand in back of her neck he slowly pulled her towards him, their lips meeting in a tender kiss.

The kiss didn't last more than a minute, but in that minute she got her answer, she absolutely was worth waiting for.