A/N: I wish I owned OTH but I don't… this is the second of 2 updates..I hope you like!
Chapter 14-Runaway
"Are you ready to go home, Tigger?" Haley asked
"You have no idea, Tutor Mom, I am so sick of this bed" Brooke complained
"Well when you get home, it is straight to bed" Peyton said
"Yes Mom" Brooke said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"And the fridge is fully stocked, cause we all know how well Lucas can cook" Karen said
"Yeah even when we were going out, the extent of his culinary expertise was reaching into the take out draw" Peyton said jokingly
"Hey!" Lucas said offended, as he walked into the room
"Just in time, Bro, Brooke just got discharged" Nathan greeted
"And remember your OBGYN appointment tomorrow" Haley reminded the expectant parents.
"How could I forget, Tutor mom, you have reminded me 5 times this morning already" Brooke said
"We want to make sure that Baby Boo inside of you is healthy" Peyton said
"Ok, ok can we just get going?" Brooke said, attempting to get up from the lying position
"Let's go" As Nathan and Lucas grabbed an arm each, and pulled Brooke out of bed and guided her into a wheelchair
"Is this necessary guys" Brooke asked, determined not to be treated like an invalid.
"Hospital policy" the group chorused
"Yeah, yeah" she said grumpily
Peyton took the handles of the wheelchair and removed the brakes.
"Let's go, B.Davis"
The group shuffled out of the room behind the wheelchair clad Brooke.
As they reached the car park, Lucas, who had remained relatively silent on the trip between the room and now, piped up
"Hey Nate is it ok if I take Brooke for a bit of a drive in your hire car?"
Nathan, Haley and Peyton all exchanged glances. They didn't exactly know what Lucas was up to, but he seemed sincere enough.
"Sure" Nathan said throwing Lucas the keys, who caught them easily.
"Ok, I will have the car back soon"
"Do I have any say in this?" Brooke asjed
"No not really, but it's a surprise" Lucas said mysteriously
"A surprise? I love surprises!!" Brooke said clapping her hands.
"I know that you do" Lucas said quietly, that only Karen, who was standing next to her son, heard.
"Ok, we will take Brooke's car back to her apartment" Peyton said
"Bye!" Brooke yelled as Lucas took a hold of the wheelchair and rolled it in the direction of Nathan's car.
"Bye, Tigger" Haley called back.
"What ever he is up to, it better be good" Peyton said to the group
"Knowing my son, it is" Karen said smugly
"Come on, let's get out of here" Peyton said pulling Haley towards Brooke's sky blue car
"Where are we going, Lucas?" Brooke asked
"You'll see"
"Come on, Lucas; please tell me p-l-e-a-s-e?" she whinged
"5 more minutes" Lucas said as he sped past numerous apartment buildings. The former couple remained silent. Brooke felt like an eternity had past before Lucas stopped in front of a newly rendered building, and put the car into park.
"We're here" he stated
"Where exactly is here?" Brooke asked
"Wait" Lucas said as he unfolded the wheelchair out of the car boot
He wheeled Brooke to the building and stopped in front of the doors. A man in a ruby suit opened the door for the pair.
"Good Morning, Mr Scott" the gentleman said
"Good Morning, Arthur" he replied
"Mr Scott?" Brooke asked
Lucas remained silent as they proceeded to the lifts in the foyer
Again, awkward silence consumed the expectant parents, Brooke curious to see what Lucas was up to.
A ding signalled the lift opening up to the foyer
Lucas moved the wheelchair into the lift and pressed number 5 on the panel
"What are you up to, Lucas Scott?" Brooke said, cranking her neck upward to see Lucas' face.
"You'll see" Lucas said observing the familiar glint in her eyes returning, if only for a brief second
The doors opened and revealed a corridor of doors. Lucas pushed the wheelchair along the corridor to the very end door labelled "5023". He put the brakes on the wheelchair and fished around his pocket for a moment, producing a shiny set of keys
Lucas unlocked the door, and it swung open easily
He unlocked the brakes and pushed Brooke into the apartment.
"Luke I don't understand" she said moving her head from side to side
He continued to push Brooke into the apartment to reveal 2 bedrooms, and bathroom and finally Luke stopped in the lounge room, which would be the entirety of Brookes apartment.
Brooke looked around in amazement.
"Wha-Do-Luke" she stummered
"This is for our baby girl, Brooke. I told you I want to be involved as much as possible, so got my real estate agent to look around for apartments that would be suitable for me. For us." He exclaimed
"For us?" Brooke asked manoeuvring the wheelchair to look at Lucas
"Move in with me, Brooke. I know that you are comfortable, but the place you are living in now, it can barely hold you, let alone a baby too" he said trying to persuade Brooke.
Brooke looked around the apartment. It was so spacious, new, appealing. But the same old doubt plagued her. Could she trust him?
Lucas looked hopefully at Brooke. He could always tell when she was thinking something through, a look in her eyes signalling that her mind was working a million miles an hour. Funny after all these years, he could still read her, he thought
"I appreciate the gesture, Lucas but I can't" Brooke said finally
"Ohhh" Apparently he couldn't read her as well as he thought
"Can you please take me back to my place?" she asked quietly
"Sure" he said Lucas' hopes and dreams for a reconciliation fading with each step he took out of the apartment.
Karen walked into Brooke's apartment. She was still amazed at the small apartment that Brooke had been residing in. It's not that she thought Brooke was a snob by any means, but Karen had formed a close bond with the brunette the last few years, and thought Brooke deserved more then this.
"How could we let it get this far?" Karen said sitting down on the rather lumpy couch
"You know Lucas and Brooke, Karen. They hurt each other as much as possible until they realised they did it all because they love each other too damn much and too scared to admit it" Peyton said, chucking Brooke's car keys on the kitchen bench
"I know, I just wish Lucas wouldn't have taken after his father so much" Karen said disappointingly
"Lucas has always been running, that's what he's good at" Haley said as she set down Jamie on the floor and turned on the television to Power Rangers.
"What do you mean, Hales?" Nathan asked
"Well, when he was with Brooke the first time, he cheated on her with Peyton. Then after dating Anna, he realised what he didn't have, and told Brooke at the last possible moment that he loved her before she left for the summer. Then when Brooke slept with Chris, even though they weren't officially together, Lucas was so enraged that he almost erased Brooke from his life forever. After the finally got together, he kissed you again, kept it deliberately from Brooke, until it all blew up at the wedding. Brooke let him free to be with Peyton, which gave him another excuse to keep running. And finally, 8 and half months ago, when he bedded Brooke again, Lucas ran like a scared little boy when he realised what he did. He got scared. He runs." Haley finished, taking a seat next to Karen.
"You're amazing do you know that?" Nathan said, leaning down to kiss his wife
"Nah, I have known Lucas most of my life, Nate. Now that it seems that Lucas has stopped running, Brooke wants to" Haley said thoughtfully
"Like I said, he takes after his father" Karen said picking up a purple care bear from the ground
"Speak of the devil" Peyton said as the apartment door opened.
Lucas walked in, wheeling a solemn looking Brooke.
"Hey where did you two go?" Peyton asked
The two remained silent, Brooke looing downcast, and her eyes not moving from a spot on the floor. Lucas looked equally perturbed, brooding more than usual.
"Hey, P.Sawyer-Jagielski, can you help me to the bedroom, I'm kinda tired" Brooke said pleading to Peyton through her eyes
"Sure, B.Davis" Peyton replied, curious to the sudden tension within the room.
Lucas moved out of the way, and Peyton turned the wheelchair toward the bedroom.
Soon as they were inside the room, and Peyton had closed the door, Brooke erupted in tears.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Peyton said kneeling down to her level
"I—just—can't—do—this" she sobbed
"Do what?"
"Be around him. It hurts so damn much"
"Just try and let him in Brooke" Peyton asked
"I just can't Peyton, he wanted me to move in with him, but I don't trust him." Brooke wailed
"Maybe you should try"
"No, trust is a precious commodity, Peyton. It took me a long time to forgive him the first time, and now he wants to shack up with me, when he is still engaged to someone else? I don't think so" Brooke said stubbornly
Peyton helped Brooke into bed, and covered her with blankets.
"That's where you went? To his apartment?" Peyton said, putting the pieces of the puzzle together
"You knew about it?" Brooke asked, the hurt evident in her voice.
"No, but I guessed considering I don't think the best place to raise a child was the deluxe suite at the Hilton"
"He thinks he can ignore everything else and play happy families with me" Brooke said in disbelief
"Fair enough. Don't worry about this too much, Brooke. It might affect the baby"
"Ok…" the best friends lapsed into a comfortable since. Peyton climbed into Brooke's bed and gave Brooke a hug
"Do you remember when it was easier, when we used to spend hours in your room dancing to the Spice Girls, and trying on make up?" Brooke reminisced
"That's before I realised that the Spice Girls were another manufactured band and that we both looked like clowns wearing make up you stole from your mother" Peyton said dryly
"Borrowed not stole" Brooke reminded her best friend
"It was so much easier before boys" Peyton said
"Me I was always boy crazy" Brooke said glibly
"Amen to that"
"Hey Peyton?"
"Yeah?" Peyton said, staring up at the roof
"Can you stay here tonight?" Brooke asked timidly
"Course I can"
Peyton watched as Brooke's eyes fluttered open and close before she fell into a deep slumber. Even when she was asleep, it looked like Brooke had the world on her shoulders. Peyton wished with all her might that she could help resolve that, but she knew only one person could. The heart is a fragile thing. Break it too badly, it might never recover, Brooke knew that better then anyone else.
She got up from her lying position as quietly as possible, and slipped out the door.
Lucas and Karen had remained, while Nathan and Haley had left to pick up James.
"Is she ok?" Lucas said immediately as he saw Peyton
"She's torn up inside, Lucas"
"How am I supposed to help with that?" Lucas said defensively
"Dude, are you serious?"
"What? What's going on?" Karen asked looking between her son and Peyton
"You haven't even told your mother?" Peyton screeched
"What Lucas?" Karen said looking directly at him.
He motioned her outside, and glared at Peyton on the way past
"Let's go for a walk"
Mother and son walked out the apartment, and onto the busy New York street.
"What was Peyton talking about, Lucas?" Karen said as soon as they had stepped foot outside.
"Look, Ma, I was going to call you but with Brooke being in hospital" Lucas said,
"What was Peyton talking about Lucas? What have you done?" Karen asked, trying to prepare herself
"Rachel and I…"
"Rachel and you what? You better not have gotten married already, Lucas. Keith and I would be so crushed" she said in a monotonic voice.
"I know how you feel about Rachel, Mom"
"I am fine with you being with Rachel, Lucas I just think that Brooke is your soul mate"
Lucas stopped in his tracks. It was a rare for his mother to keep her opinions to herself, but when it came to his love life, she had never shared her views with Lucas.
"Your think I am meant to be with Brooke" Lucas asked slowly
"Of course, Lucas. You and Peyton were too much alike; you clearly loved her, but nothing like when you were with Brooke. And Rachel, well she is a step up from Jenny's sorry excuse of a mother" Karen said frankly
"Mom! How the hell did you find out??" Lucas asked horrified
"Tree Hill is a small town, Lucas. People talk."
Lucas was speechless. When he has hooked up with Nikki so many years before, he was hurting. Hurting because he had screwed everything with Peyton and Brooke. Never in a million years could he think that his mother would know one of his most shameful secrets. Only in Tree Hill, he thought
"Lucas just tell me what's going on"
They sat down on a park bench, Lucas' nervously taping his foot on the pavement.
"I'm not engaged anymore" Lucas croaked out
"What? What about the baby Lucas? You know how it was growing up being called all those names! What are you going to do?" Karen pleaded
"There's more Ma" he said taking a deep breath
Karen's face paled, and she grasped to the park seat.
"Rachel isn't pregnant with my child"
Karen breathed a sigh of relief
"Gee Mom don't be disappointed or anything"
"Sorry Luke, but I wasn't completely sure Rachel was pregnant in the first place" Karen said earnestly
"She is" he replied quickly
"Who's the poor soul who knocked her up then?" Karen said
"Cooper"
"Oh Boy, Deb is going to hit the roof" Karen replied slightly laughing
"Well she doesn't know, so maybe you could keep this for yourself" he suggested
"Ok Luke but you know how the truth can't stay buried for long"
He remained silent, unable to hide the fact that he had been lying to Brooke ever since he had gotten into town.
Karen observed her son. For so many years, it was just the two of them against the world. Now she feared that Brooke would be in the same situation. Lucas, however looked like he was holding back. Only a mother could tell when her child is lying, and this was one of these times.
"Lucas, what aren't you telling me?" Karen asked
"Nothing!" he said his voice raising an octave
"Lucas" she said sternly
"Brooke doesn't know that Rachel broke the engagement off"
"Of course she doesn't" Karen said as she stormed towards Brooke's apartment building.
"Mom, listen"
"No you listen Lucas. You only get one chance for true love in a life time, Lucas. Think of all the time you have wasted when you could be living happily ever after with Brooke" Karen exclaimed
"That's what I am trying to make it right now"
"I think it is too late, Lucas" Karen turned and walked away from her son, for the first time in her life, she was ashamed of him.
"Hey B.Davis, I'm going out for some groceries, you want anything?" Peyton said as she entered Brooke's room.
"Cookies n' Cream ice cream…with devilled eggs!! Brooke said with glee
"Ew…Brooke"
"I can't help it, that's what I'm craving!" she said
"Ok, ice cream and devilled eggs coming up" Peyton said as she grabbed her bag and jacket.
"Don't be too long the Dawson's Creek E! True Hollywood Story is on soon"
"I can't wait" Peyton said sarcastically
"Bye P.Sawyer- Jagielski" Brooke sing songed
"See you soon, B.Davis"
Brooke lay back on the couch, and flicked between channels. She knew being on bed rest was going to be boring, but this was ridiculous. She had seen the same Friends episodes about 5 times, knew the words to "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie, and knew more about plastic surgery she ever thought possible.
Chiming from the front door interrupted another episode of 'The Hills'.
"Come in!" Brooke called, cranking her neck to see who the visitor was.
"Brooke?"
"Rachel? What the hell are you doing here?"
A/N: I hope you all liked it! I would love to get to 100 reviews before my next update! Give me the good, bad, what you like, didnt etc. Thanks, Lydia