Hi guys! All your amazing reviews pushed me to write this chapter extra quickly! I hope you'll enjoy this, even though this chapter has some drama in it, along with cute Brucas moments... As always, I would be great to hear what you think! ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OTH characters.

Chapter 20

It was another regular weekend evening a week after Brooke had her panic attack. She sat on her bed, slightly detached from Keith, Karen and Lucas, who were surrounding her, and blankly stared at Lucas as he was doing his homework. Lucas had been staying with her every night since the unfortunate incident, holding her to him until she was sound asleep and slipping out of her room quietly after he lay her down and bid goodbye to either Karen or Keith, who would watch over her through the night. On weekends, when Keith and Karen allowed him to stay overnight at the hospital, he would hold onto Brooke for a little longer, and finally settle beside her bed and watch her sleep until he himself drifted off. Throughout that entire week, Brooke remained extremely quiet. Lucas observed that she was still avoiding her emotions, even though sometimes at night he could feel her body trembling in his arms. He knew that Brooke needed to confront her feelings, but knew better than to push her. He therefore didn't force her to talk to him, even when her silence seemed disturbing, but simply provided her with the comfort she seemed to seek in his arms at night. That very day had been just the same. When Lucas finally lifted his eyes from his notebook, he found Brooke distantly looking into space, and even though the sight of her made his heart twitch, he forced himself to remain calm.

"Baby, would you like anything to eat?", Lucas gently put his hand on Brooke's lap and stroked it back and forth with his thumb. Brooke shifted her gaze over to Lucas and was met with his warm, loving eyes.

"I brought you pancakes from the café", Karen immediately lifted her eyes from the newspaper she had been reading and offered. She rose to her feet and quickly set a plate full of pancakes in front of Brooke.

"Come on, baby, have some. You've barely eaten all day", Lucas encouraged her. As he held her in his arms every night, Lucas noticed how skinny Brooke was becoming, and was truly getting worried with how much weight she seemed to be loosing.

"Thank you", Brooke's raspy voice softly said.

"You've welcome, honey", Karen smiled and put a hand on Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke began to slowly eat, taking small bites of Karen's delicious pancakes. Karen happily watched her, glad to see how much the girl seemed to be enjoying her homemade specialty.

"I almost forgot…", Karen got up once again and fumbled through her belongings, finally pulling something out of them. "I brought you some whipped cream!", she told Brooke. Brooke stopped eating and lifted her eyes over to Lucas. As he was met with her gaze, he suddenly saw her long-lost spark fuel back up in her eyes.

"Brooke?", he looked at her with confusion, a smile creeping up his face in reaction to the hint of the mischievous twinkle he so dearly loved to see in those beautiful hazel eyes.

"I guess Deb didn't tell everything after all… ", Brooke mumbled, a tinge of her playful tone evident in her voice, and Lucas finally understood what she was thinking about. He blushed and burst out laughing as he recalled bumping into Deb at the supermarket with Brooke, who cheerfully brought over a box of condoms and some whipped cream for "dessert", not realizing Deb was standing right next to him.

"What are you talking about?", Karen asked with confusion, looking back and forth between Brooke and Lucas. When she saw the mischievous grin on her son's face, her eyes widened, as any mother's eyes would, "Kids, what is this all about?", she demanded to know.

"Nothing…", Lucas replied, not taking his eyes off of Brooke and chuckling at the distant memory.

"This doesn't sound like nothing…", Karen mumbled with displeasure. She wanted to continue interrogating her son about what he and Brooke seemed to know that she didn't, but when her eyes landed on Brooke, any anger she might have been feeling quickly faded away. For the first time since she returned from New Zealand, Karen saw Brooke smile. It may not have been her usual, wide dimpled smile, which could instantly light up a room, but it was there, as was that hazy, yet existent, twinkle in her eye.

"You're lucky, Lucas", Karen told her son, as she couldn't help but smile either, "This time you're off the hook", she told him, yet at that moment, all Lucas could care about was Brooke's lovely smile returning to her face. His mother could have grounded him for life for all he cared, because that smile meant that his cheery was finally starting to come back to him…

"Are you ready? O.K…. One, two, and up!", Dr. Goldstein supported Brooke as she lifted herself onto her feet as Lucas helped pull her up from her other side. Standing on her feet for the first time since she woke up, Brooke softly groaned.

"Are you alright?", Dr. Goldstein eyed his patient intently. Brooke bit her lower lip and nodded. Her weak legs were sore and aching and her stomach and ribcage were hurting her slightly as well, but she was determined to ignore her pain and prove to herself and to Dr. Goldstein that she was getting better. She knew that only that way she would be allowed to leave the hospital soon.

"Brooke, are you sure you're O.K.?", Lucas asked her worriedly as he saw her face slightly contort with pain. He knew that Brooke was still in a very fragile condition, and didn't want her to push herself too far.

"I'm fine", Brooke replied and forced herself to stand straight. She took a deep breath, pushing her pain away and, supported by Lucas and Dr. Goldstein, took a wobbly step forward. The two men from either side of Brooke looked at her apprehensively, but seeing that she was alright, advanced along with her across the room, over to the window. Once she reached the window, Brooke let go of Dr. Goldstein's hand and held onto the windowsill, leaning on Lucas' body for support.

"Do you want to lay back down?", Lucas looked at Brooke caringly, attentively examining her for any sign of increasing weakness, which would give him the legitimacy to carry Brooke back to her bed.

"No", Brooke shook her head and softly said. She leaned her head against Lucas and sighed. Standing up straight wasn't as easy as she hoped it would be, but if she gave in now, she would prove right Dr. Goldstein, who continuously told her she was still too weak to return to her house.

"You can stay this way for a little longer, but not more than ten minutes, alright?", Dr. Goldstein instructed the couple. He was satisfied with the improvement in Brooke's physical condition, yet knew that she still had to be extremely careful. He looked at both teenagers nodding their heads at him and added, "I'll come back later, Brooke. In the mean time, think about what I talked to you about earlier, alright?", Dr. Goldstein asked Brooke and in response, Brooke turned her head away from him and rested it on Lucas' chest again, facing away from him. Dr. Goldstein sighed as he thought about the conversation he had with the girl earlier that day. Brooke seemed to be getting a little stronger, but she still refused to talk about what had happened to her, or to see anyone other than Lucas, Karen, Keith, himself or the head nurses. Dr. Goldstein therefore thought it was time Brooke saw a professional psychologist, who could help her deal with the traumatic events she refused to confront. Upon gently suggesting the idea to her, Brooke refused so strongly that Dr. Goldstein immediately backed away, knowing he couldn't afford upsetting Brooke in her fragile condition. He knew that sooner or later, though, Brooke would have to come around and accept his suggestion, as her denial mechanism couldn't last forever. Dr. Goldstein cast Brooke one last glance and, seeing her settled comfortably in Lucas' embrace, smiled and walked away, leaving the young couple behind.

"What are you thinking about?", Lucas looked down at Brooke and questioned, rubbing her shoulders gently as he noticed her intense gaze. Brooke remained silent for several moments, the only sound coming out of her mouth was shaky breaths. Just when Lucas had given up and thought she wasn't going to reply, she sighed.

"I just want to get out of here and go home already", she plainly said, not moving her gaze away from the window.

"I know, baby", Lucas replied softly, hugging her just a little tighter, "But it's gonna take a bit longer… I think Dr. Goldstein wants you to talk to someone who could help you out before he lets you go", Lucas chose his words extremely carefully, not wanting to upset Brooke, yet her body suddenly stiffened and she pulled slightly away from Lucas, still leaning on him for support, but not as closely anymore.

"I'm not crazy", Brooke told him defensively, her tone slightly angry.

"Hey… I never said that!", Lucas tried to soothe Brooke, but her body remained stiff and uncalm, "Nobody thinks you are crazy, Brooke, I promise", he told her honestly, yet her tension remained. Despite Lucas' desire to convince Brooke that people were simply concerned about her, he decided to remain silent, as he feared to upset Brooke even more. He gently stroked Brooke's rigid back, which only softened up moments later, when her exhaustion took over and her legs gave out. Brooke practically fell against Lucas' body, yet he was quick to grab onto her and pull her back up before she hit the ground.

"Are you alright?", Lucas eyed Brooke with concern. Brooke nodded and rested against his body, unable to maintain the tension of her body. Lucas lifted her in his arms and was about to carry her back to her bed when Brooke suddenly put her hand on his arm.

"Luke…", he looked down and was finally met with her eyes, "Can we stay here for a little longer?", Brooke pleaded with him, and as Lucas looked into her hazel eyes, to which he could never refuse, he sighed and nodded.

"Alright…", he agreed, "But just for a bit, babe", he made his condition. Brooke nodded, sealing their deal, and turned back to face the window and stare at the beautiful river that coursed in front of her. Lucas adjusted her in his arms, and even though he was now carrying her entire weight, his arms didn't feel the slightest bit tired, because that moment was perfect. With Brooke's body calmly pressed to his, with her little hands clenching his sleeves, with her peaceful breaths synchronizing with his, he couldn't ask for more. Lucas kissed Brooke on the top of her head and joined her in staring at the breathtaking view. They remained that way until Lucas felt Brooke's body grow heavier in his arms, and as he looked down at her, he noticed that Brooke had fallen asleep.

"I love you", Lucas whispered to her, and even though Brooke was sound asleep, he somehow thought he saw her lips form the smallest of smiles.

The gentle tap on Brooke's door that Monday evening caused Lucas to lift his eyes from the girl in his arms to the direction of the door. Brooke was sitting across his lap, the side of her legs and body leaning against his frame, and her head resting on his shoulder, tucked into the crook of his neck, as he idly rubbed circles on her back.

As the door slowly opened, Lucas glanced down at Brooke and smiled when he realized that the soft knock and the creaking of the opening door didn't wake her up. He looked back up and was soon met with Haley's warm brown eyes.

"Hi Hales", Lucas greeted her quietly, not wanting to disturb Brooke's sleep.

"Hey…", Haley stood in the entrance of the room and fidgeted as she hesitantly looked at her once bubbly friend looking like a balloon whose air was sucked out. Even though Lucas kept telling her and Nathan that Brooke wasn't ready for visitors yet, she couldn't resist the urge to see her friend anymore. "I know you said I shouldn't come yet, but I just had to see her", Haley said apologetically as she saw Lucas tighten his grip on Brooke's body, which seemed to have tensed up slightly in Lucas' arms. Lucas nodded understandingly as he gently stroked Brooke's stiffened body and Haley took a few cautious steps into the room. "How is she doing?", Haley asked compassionately, looking at Brooke with her caring eyes.

"She's getting better", Lucas said in an encouraging tone and smiled at Haley, so to let her see that he meant what he said.

"I'm so glad", Haley said with relief, "I just can't believe…", she began, but her voice cracked. Her eyes fell to the floor as she took a deep breath, and when she raised them again, they were filled with tears. "I can't believe what he did to her…", Haley's lower lip quivered as she spoke and several tears escaped from her eyes. It was taking everything she had for Haley to keep from bursting out sobbing, but she managed to control herself. Haley took a deep breath and wiped away her tears as she looked at Brooke nestled safely in Lucas' arms. Seeing her friend in front of her made everything that happened more real to her, and she just couldn't help but let a few more tears drip from her swollen eyes.

"Don't cry, Hales…", Lucas gently said. He wanted to wrap his arms around his dear friend, and if they weren't occupied with Brooke's body, he would have done so.

"I'm sorry, it's just awful…", Haley quietly said, forcefully restraining the sob that almost escaped from her lips. She wiped away a few more tears and forced a smile onto her face. "I didn't mean to be such a baby, Luke, I'm sorry…".

"It's O.K.", Lucas softly said and smiled at Haley reassuringly. When he felt Brooke tighten her grip on his shoulders, he pulled her small figure closer to him and looked at Haley apologetically, "But I think it's still a bit too soon for visitors, Hales…", he gently told her. He hated to send Haley away in her apparent upset state, but he needed to think of Brooke's wellbeing first.

"Yeah, O.K….", Haley had noticed how Brooke's body grew tense from the moment she had entered the room, and certainly didn't want to cause her any harm. "Take good care of her", Haley's gaze lingered on Brooke for a few more moments until she forced herself to smile at Lucas, "Bye", Haley quietly said.

"Bye, Hales", Lucas smiled at her encouragingly and watched as she left the room. He felt bad for basically shooing her away, but when he felt his neck suddenly becoming damp, all of his previous thoughts were replaced with concern for Brooke. He looked down at her and saw tears flowing freely from her half-open eyes.

"Hey…", Lucas sat Brooke up on his lap and when she looked away from him, adjusted her so she was straddling him, thus facing him, "What is it, baby?", he asked her in his softest voice, holding onto the small of her back with one hand while cupping her cheek and wiping her tears away with the other. Brooke just shook her head and sniffled as more tears fell from her eyes down her face.

"You can tell me anything, Brooke", Lucas tried again, rubbing Brooke's cheek with his thumb, "Why are you crying?", he carefully asked, looking at her intensively. Brooke remained silent for several moments. She was crying because she was confused. She was crying because she suddenly realized how much she longed to return to her old life, with Haley and all her other friends. She was crying because Haley's tears set something off in her and made her think about what had happened to her again. She felt vulnerable and weak and perplexed, but she didn't know how to tell Lucas all that. It wasn't one thing that made her cry, it was everything, and all Brooke could think about at that moment was how to make her tears stop. She finally lifted her eyes to meet Lucas', and as she stared at the sea of emotions in his ocean-colored eyes, only one thing came to her mind.

"I miss you…", Brooke quietly said, staring at his eyes with tears in her eyes and breaking his heart into pieces. As Lucas pulled her slightly closer, Brooke's eyes slipped away from his.

"I'm right here, baby…", he told her. Brooke still stared down in between the two of them and Lucas suddenly felt guilty for leaving her side all those nights, after she would fall asleep. "Do you want me to talk to my mom and see if I can stay with you here all night tonight?", he asked, hoping to ease her pain slightly.

Brooke shook her head. She knew that Lucas spent as much time with her as he could, even missing basketball practices in order to be with her. She did wish he would never leave her side, but that was not what she meant. Still avoiding his eyes, Brooke took his large hand in her smaller one.

"I miss you, Luke", she repeated and placed his hand on her inner thigh. She was so at loss and confused at that moment, that this was the only thing she could think of to take her mind off of all the painful things that seemed to fill it up. As Brooke pulled Lucas' hand up her thigh, her body tensed, suddenly reminded of the last time a man had touched her so intimately. Flashes of Dan's aggressive strokes of her body invaded her mind and she involuntarily whimpered. Lucas froze in his place and looked up at her with concern, and Brooke, determined to push the disturbing images away from her mind, tried to continue pulling his hand towards where she was violated in the worst possible way, but Lucas wasn't cooperating.

"Brooke…", he uneasily said, looking at her with sheer concern as she cried and struggled with his hand. He understood she was trying to make the pain go away, but that was definitely not the way.

"Please, Lucas…", Brooke begged him, and Lucas could feel his eyes fill with tears at the sight of her so lost and broken.

"Brooke, I love you, but we can't… You need to heal before we can do this", he told her, not only talking about the physical damage Brooke had to overcome, but also the emotions Brooke needed to confront before he would feel O.K. with touching her so intimately. "Brooke…", his hand tensed up as she managed to slightly pull it up her thigh. He gently brought his hand back down, to her lower thigh, and gently stroked it, trying to show her that his refusal had nothing to do with the way he felt about her.

Brooke lifted her eyes to meet Lucas' and his affectionate gaze was immediately met with hurt from her side. Even though she couldn't deny that she wasn't ready for what she tried to pull off, she felt rejected by Lucas. As Lucas picked up on the pain in her eyes, he tried to hug her, but she pushed him off.

"Brooke…", Lucas tried to appease Brooke, but she was so hurt that she wouldn't let him. She suddenly felt as if Lucas was repulsed by her, knowing that she slept with his father.

"Get away from me…", Brooke hissed, moving off his lap.

"Come on, Brooke…", Lucas tried to hold her hand and make peace with her, but she jerked away from his touch.

"I said- get away from me!", Brooke raised her voice and began sobbing. She had never felt so rejected in her entire life.

"Brooke, please!", Lucas begged her, but she wouldn't have it.

"No!", she shouted, and rose to her feet, beginning to walk over to the other side of the room. Without anyone to support her, it was an extremely hard task, and Brooke found herself suddenly overtaken by pain and hardly able to keep herself stabilized. Lucas immediately rushed over to her and tried to steady her, but Brooke stubbornly pushed him away from her.

"Get away from me, Lucas!", Brooke shrieked at him and wobbled over to the opposite side of the room, wincing in pain as she went. Lucas could be patient towards her with anything, except for when she was hurting herself. Angered by the sight of her determined to push herself, despite her evident pain, Lucas marched over to her and grabbed her arm.

"That's enough, Brooke", Lucas said. He had had it when he saw her crying tears of pain.

"Lucas, back off!", Brooke screamed and tried to release herself from his powerful hold of her arm.

"No! I will not sit back and see you hurt yourself!", Lucas replied and practically dragged Brooke's resisting body back to her bed.

"Oh, so now you don't mind touching me?", Brooke hurtfully asked Lucas as she struggled to break free. Her resistance was starting to cost her as she couldn't help but double over slightly from pain, yet she continued fighting Lucas with all her strength. Lucas stared at her, amazed and angry by the way she stubbornly insisted on jeopardizing her fragile body with her unnecessary fight.

"Stop it!", He demanded as he seated her on her bed. When she kept struggling against him, he held her down to the bed, "Pretty girl, stop it!", only after he completed his sentence, did he realize what he had just said. He let go of Brooke, who froze at the mentioning of her traumatizing nickname and put his hands to his face in sorrow as he watched the color drain from Brooke's face. "Brooke, I am so sorry… It slipped…", Lucas apologized, mortified by what the two words seemed to do to his girlfriend. He looked at Brooke apologetically and worriedly as she sat on her bed, tears silently falling from her eyes. "Brooke…", he tried to reach out to her after several minutes of tense silence, but when she lifted her eyes to meet his, they were full with resentment.

"Lucas, get out", Brooke wasn't yelling this time, but her tone was as sharp as a knife. Lucas stared at her with hurt in his eyes, pained by her request to push him away after they seemed to be doing so well. "I mean it", she said after he just remained in his place and stared at her. He was going to continue arguing with her when Karen stepped into the room.

"Is everything alright in here?", Karen quizzically looked at both Brooke and Lucas, sensing the tension in the air. Lucas glanced at his mother and turned his attention back to Brooke.

"Brooke, please…", he made yet another try, but this time Brooke burst out crying so hard, that Lucas was completely taken aback.

"I told you to get out!", she cried, extremely upset. Her whole body was shaking so hard that Lucas knew he had to agree to anything just to make her stop.

"Lucas, why don't I stay with Brooke?", Karen gently suggested and Lucas nodded and began walking out. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he couldn't afford to cause Brooke all that tension. As he stepped out of the room, he looked at Brooke through her window, and as he saw his mother approaching her and pulling her into a big hug, he slammed his fist into the wall with frustration. He was angry because just when things seemed to be going well, everything seemed to go wrong. He was angry because Brooke was no longer his cheery or his pretty girl, and now he wasn't even sure she was his girlfriend anymore. But he was most angry because the girl he loved was crying, and it was all his fault…

AN: Okay, please don't hate me for this sad ending. I promise that Brucas will be back together soon enough! This is all for now! ;-)