How to Save a Life

Chapter 21 –

*about a month and a half later*

"So, how does it feel?" Julian questions as he and Brooke walk hand in hand out of the doctor's office, allowing themselves to become reacquainted with the warm spring air.

The harsh month of winter had come and gone, and not only was the frigid weather behind them, but so were the stressful and painful tensions and memories. The winds calmed, the skies opened brightly, and a positive outlook on life had been restored. There had been a silent, mutual agreement to try and bury the past behind them and start fresh.

So far, the new optimistic attitude has been been working. Brooke and Julian have reached a point in their relationship where a kiss good morning and goodnight have become a regular routine. Brooke has assimilated to life with having Julian around all the time, and though he does currently live in the same house as she and Colton, he still only resides in the guest bedroom. Brooke knows that they've already been together for close to two months, and soon enough, she knows they will have to take their relationship to the next level. She's just not sure she's completely ready for that yet, and she knows that Julian completely respects her wishes. He'll take as much time as she needs and right now, she's comfortable.

In response to his question, she holds up her newly un-casted arm as if it's a prized possession, scrunching her face up in a way Julian finds adorable. "It feels weird," she giggles. She's had the cast on for far too long, in her opinion. "But I'm just glad it's off," she lets out a satisfied, relieved sigh. With that cast on, she'd been restricted from doing so many things; she'd just about gone stir-crazy.

"Me too," Julian nods in agreement, looping his arm through hers as they walk towards the car. "Because maybe now you'll stop whining about not being able to do anything," he teasingly says.

"Well I can't promise anything," Brooke jokes. "But maybe if you let me drive to pick Colton up from school, I can consider."

Julian chuckles and shakes his head. "Not a chance. You heard the doctor…Start off with basic things to get your arm and wrist used to activity again. Driving is about as far from basic as you can get."

She lets out a frustrated groan, though she knew that would be his ultimate answer.

"Sorry, baby," he replies, kissing the side of her head before retreating towards the driver's seat.

"Hey, Colt. Can I come in?" Julian asks, standing in the open doorway of the boy's room.

Colton looks up from the book he's engrossed in, places it down beside him on the bed, and nods. "Sure."

"So whatcha' reading?" his curiosity questions.

Colton rolls his eyes playfully with a sheepish grin. "Is that even a question, Julian?" He picks up the book next to him and holds it up to Julian's view.

"Ah, of course," he smiles. It's Ravens. "You sure do love that book."

"Mhmmm. Sometimes people say I really shouldn't be reading it, but come on, I'm almost nine!" he exclaims

Julian grins. "That is very true."

"And besides, I like reading about my mom and dad from before I was even born!" he tells him fascinated. His mind seems to trail away from the book when a thought occurs to him. He puts the book down again and looks towards Julian with a serious expression. "I have a question."

"Sure, buddy. What is it?" He's become accustomed to Colton's questions. The kid is always asking about anything and everything.

"Well…" he begins as he furrows his brow in concentration and thought. "Are you and my mom gonna get married?"

Julian's eyes widen at the unexpected question. Colton has always been the one to throw obscure questions out at him, but this one…well it just takes the cake. Completely unexpected. "Um…" Julian stammers, his throat suddenly dry. "Uh…"

Seeing Julian's hesitance, Colton steps back in. "It's just 'cause my mom and dad always used to kiss…and you kiss my mom now. Does that mean you're gonna be my new dad?"

"Colton," his voice is shaky as he begins. "You see, your mom and I care about each other a lot. And I care about you a lot, too. But it's a bit more complicated than that."

Colton looks on intently as Julian tries to explain the situation the best he can. Julian knows that it's probably just confusing him even more, so he'll just stop while he's ahead.

"Okay," Colton replies slowly with a shrug. "Well, Julian, if you do become my new dad…I wouldn't mind," he tells him seriously.

Julian smiles at him and gives a determined nod. "Thanks, Colt. That means a lot."

Colton smiles, glad he's made Julian happy. He then gasps, remembering something. "Hey, Julian! You know what?" All of the sudden the conversation switches gears.

"What?" Julian laughs, not too surprised at the change of subject. He's learned that Colton always likes to ramble on about different topics.

"Mom's birthday's next week."

Julian nods in acknowledgment. He's known this for a while and has been wracking his brain trying to find the perfect gift. "Yes it is."

"Whatcha' getting her?"

A smirk finds its place on Julian's face as he leans closer to Colton. "Well if I tell you, you have to promise you won't say anything."

Colton is instantly drawn in with interest. "I promise! I'm really good at keeping secrets."

Julian knows this is far from true. In fact, when he and Colton were first getting to know each other, he'd practically told Julian his whole life story. "Is that so?" he teases.

Colton bobs his head up in down, anxious to hear what this secret is.

"Well, okay," Julian succumbs, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. When he's done he sits back, waiting to see the boy's reaction.

Colton's blue orbs widen in response. "Really?" His voice rises in excitement as Julian nods. "That's awesome!"

"Hey," Julian walks downstairs and finds Brooke sitting at a desk in the corner of the room, seemingly deep in concentration.

She picks her head up from what she had delved her attention to and gives him a smile. "Hi," she speaks softly. "What's my boy up there doing?"

"Reading."

Brooke stifles a laugh. "Not surprised."

"And what are you doing?"

"Well I'm attempting to sketch something…but it's a disaster," she sighs inwardly, running an aggravated hand through her brown locks.

"I doubt that," Julian tells her in a comforting, reassuring manner that makes her blush. "Let me see." He begins walking closer to the desk, laughing as she tries to cover up her work but ends up terribly failing in attempt. "Oh, come on," he insists, eyeing the dark charcoal pencil marks adorning the page in the worn out sketch pad. "That looks great. I may not be the best one to say something like this considering I don't know much about fashion, but I'm sure girls all over the world would love to wear a design like that."

She spins her chair around to face him, reaching out to hold his hands. "Thanks," she mumbles kindly.

"And besides, you're just getting back into things. I'm sure in the next week, you'll start liking your stuff again, too."

"I guess you're right," she mutters, staring back down at the sketch. "I missed all this," she says, gesturing to the desk's surroundings.

"Oh yeah?" he questions, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. He places it down on the desk in front of her. It's the key to the store. "So what do you say? I can see it now, 'Clothing Designer Brooke Davis Makes a Comeback into the Fashion World,'" he speaks as if reading a bold newspaper headline.

She grabs the key and squeezes it in her hand. There's nothing holding her back now.

She picks her eyes up to meet his gaze. "Think I can do it?"

"I think you can do anything, Brooke," he tells her with confidence, leaning down to give her a kiss. "And I think you know that, too."

Anonymous reviewers:

Caroline – Thanks for the review! :)

Okay, am I the only one getting extremely sad that there's only FOUR episodes left of the show? :'( So sad! I hope everyone sticks around on fanfiction for awhile, even after the show is gone!

Please review! :)

-Melissa