Chapter 21

In the five years that had passed since she graduated high school, Brooke was pretty sure that she had never been as happy as she was now. Actually, she was pretty sure she had never been this happy before. The only period of her life that could actually contend with how she felt now was back in senior year, when she had been with Lucas.

Now, though, her whole life seemed to finally be settling into where she was supposed to be. She and Lucas were having a baby and they were in love and she had her family here in Tree Hill and everything was amazing.

But now that she was only a day away from returning to New York, she was starting to dread the moment she had to leave Tree Hill again. She absolutely did not want to go home and, if it wasn't for the many things she still had to accomplish at Clothes Over Bros, she would seriously consider not going back. After all, she was supposed to be moving back to Tree Hill this week anyway. But life took a turn and she found herself back at square one—Peyton was still in the dark about her and Lucas and she still had to tell her. And the worst part was that she knew her conscience wouldn't let her return home until Peyton was told.

"Brooke, you're brooding."

She looked guiltily over at Haley, who was sitting across from her in the small coffee shop that they had met up in.

"Sorry about that. I guess it just hit me that I have to go home tomorrow."

"Yeah, it sucks," Haley responded, smiling sadly at her. "You just got here a few days ago and now you're leaving again."

"I'll be back again soon, though. And next time I won't be leaving again."

"I hope not. I don't think any of us would be able to handle it, especially Jamie. And especially Lucas. I swear, the last time you left, they would both sit there together and look depressed. They made quite a pair."

Brooke laughed and looked across the room at Lucas, who was helping Jamie pick out a pastry up at the counter. She couldn't help but admire Lucas as he knelt next to the small boy pointing at the various desserts as he waited patiently for Jamie to make a decision. He was going to be the most amazing father.

"So, how's Peyton doing, Brooke?" Nathan, who was seated next to Haley, asked. "I haven't heard that much about her since you came back."

"She's doing pretty well. She's keeping busy with that band I told you about."

"Did she ever tell you how her date went with that Josh guy?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah, how did that go, anyway?" Lucas asked as he took a seat next to her. Jamie scrambled over to Nathan and quickly climbed on his father's lap before becoming preoccupied by his extra large brownie.

"Well," Brooke began, thinking about the long explanation Peyton had given about her date with Josh, "it went great. But it looks like they won't be going on another one. At least not for awhile."

"Wait," Haley said, crinkling her eyebrows in confusion, "it went great but they're not going out again?"

Brooke nodded. She had been confused too when she had talked to Peyton about it the other day. "She told Josh that she doesn't want anything serious and he said that they can take it slowly and just try to stay friends right now. He said he doesn't want to pressure her into anything she's not ready for."

"I guess that makes sense," Haley said. "Josh sure sounds like a great guy though. I'd really like to meet him. Have you met him yet, Lucas?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. But I agree, he definitely sounds like a good guy. I'm glad that she's found someone who will treat her the way she deserves."

Haley looked at him thoughtfully. "You really aren't having a tough time with Peyton moving on, are you Lucas?"

He shrugged. "I've been over her for awhile now, Haley. I really have no reason to be having a tough time."

"I know and I'm not criticizing you for it. I actually think it's great that you can be so supportive of her. It's just that I thought it would be a little awkward to talk about."

"I think it'll be a little bit more awkward once I actually meet the guy, but I guess it really hasn't been too weird to think about so far."

Lucas moved his arm to the back of Brooke's chair, resting his hand on her shoulder and distracting her for the conversation. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as he and Haley laughed over something Nathan had said and moved her hand down to his leg. It was moments like these when she forgot about the outside world and just concentrated on him and her. She wasn't thinking about Peyton or work or Tree Hill or anything else. Looking at him made it so easy to forget all the other things going on in life and that was why she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

His other free hand roamed down to her hand on his thigh and he strung his fingers through hers, his other hand rubbing slow circles on her shoulder. He was talking to Haley but she wasn't quite sure what they were speaking about anymore. All she knew was that she wanted him and that she was leaving tomorrow and that she needed to use all of the rest of her time here in his arms, tucked away from the rest of the world.

And so she slowly edged closer and closer towards him so that soon no more space remained in between. She removed her hand from his and moved it to his back, slipping it underneath the collar of Lucas' shirt, and moved her other hand back to his thigh, resting it on his knee. It was a bit daring to do in front of Nathan, Haley, and Jamie, but she found she didn't really care. She needed Lucas.

He had been saying something to Nathan, when he stopped in mid-sentence, blinking rapidly as he looked over at Brooke in confusion. She smiled at him casually, trying to act as if nothing was going on in front of her friends, and shrugged. His eyebrows furrowed together and he turned back to talk to Nathan.

She let them continue their conversation, but continued running her hand up and down his thigh seductively. He was barely able to keep his concentration as he spoke.

Then she stretched her neck and moved her face towards his ear, letting her lips linger there for just a second.

"I think it's time to go," she whispered, her voice raspy as quickly pulled back.

His face turned to look at her, a small smile tugging at his lips, and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"You know you two are disgusting, right?"

Brooke laughed as she pulled away from Lucas and turned to look at Nathan, who was mockingly covering Jamie's eyes.

"Shield your eyes, Jamie, you shouldn't have to see this," he said, smirking at them both. "They're bad examples."

"You and Momma act like that all the time," Jamie said, pulling his father's hands away from his face and looking up at them in confusion.

"Not in public, though," Nathan defended as he and Haley shared an amused look. "Seriously, you two need to get a room."

"Yes, we do," Brooke muttered, her voice low and husky as she looked back at Lucas, who was looking at her with the same desire that she was pretty sure she had on her face.

"Oh, come on!" Nathan exclaimed, laughing as he looked at Brooke and Lucas in disbelief.

"Hey, you suggested it," she replied, pulling Lucas' hand back in her own. She laughed at the look of mock terror that covered Nathan's face and shrugged. She wanted Lucas right now and that was what she was going to get. That's just the way it goes with Brooke Davis.

She was playing with his fingers, studying each one as she rubbed the tips of them with her own, much smaller fingers. He'd found that this was something she liked to do whenever they were alone, particularily when they were laying in bed together. She'd done it years ago in high school and he had always thought it was one of the many cute habits that she had had back then. He was glad to see that the habit hadn't died. He looked over at her, her face content as she looked down at the hand. His arms were wrapped around her as she rested against his chest in his bed.

He wasn't sure how late it was. It had been dark for awhile now so he was pretty sure it was sometime past ten. He hated thinking about time he was with her because he knew it would eventually run out. That was the bittersweet thing about them right now—they couldn't ever have enough time. But when she moved back, that would be a different story. They'd have forever then.

His eyes flickered over to his dresser, where the ring he intended on giving her was hidden. Right now, in this perfect moment with her, he knew it was time. He would ask her right now and, even if she said not yet, which he was pretty sure she would because of their current situation, he would wait for her. Because she was Brooke Davis and she was worth it.

Lucas removed his hold on her and sat up.

"Don't go," she said sleepily, reaching her arms back out for him. He smiled as he moved towards the dresser and dug through the drawer.

"Be patient, Pretty Girl," was all he said as he finally found the tiny black box. His fingers closed around it and he pulled it from its spot amongst his socks before moving back to her. She reached out for him, pulling him down on the bed, and he smiled against her lips as he sat on top of her.

"I've got something for you," he murmured as she placed a kiss on his neck. She immediately looked up, an eyebrow kinked.

"A present?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I'm not really sure if I'd call it a present."

She sat up, her face brightened with curiosity and he came up with her. His hand was still closed around the box as they sat on the edge of his bed. He grabbed one of her hands with his free hand and smiled at her, not quite sure where to begin.

"Brooke, I love you…"

"I love you, too," she said, smiling at him questioningly. His grip on her hand tightened, but he found that he wasn't really nervous about this; he just wanted to do it right.

"You know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he continued, looking straight into her eyes. "And I know that I've been a lousy boyfriend to pretty much every girl I've ever been with but this time it's gonna be different. This time it's permanent. I believe that with all my heart."

This was it.

He wasn't sure if he should get down on his knees or just stay where he was. He'd done the knee thing with Peyton and Lindsay, so he decided to skip it this time. This time needed to be different because this time it was for good. This time he had no doubts.

He lifted his hand, his fist closed around the box, and let his fingers slowly open. Her eyes fell downward and widened when she saw the object in his hands.

He smiled lightly, opening the box and revealing his mother's ring. "I want to marry you, Brooke. I've never felt more sure about anything in my life. And I know that I've done this before with Peyton and Lindsay, but this time it's different. I'm not sure I can explain it…it just feels right. I have absolutely no doubts about us, Brooke. You're the woman that I am going to spend the rest of my life with. We're already starting a family together and you're the only girl I could ever imagine having one with. Everything about us is right and I know that we've still got a lot to deal with, but I just know that this is how it's meant to be."

He took a deep breath. "Brooke Davis, will you marry me?"

She was looking at him with wide eyes, a small tear slowly falling down her cheek. He brushed it away with his hand, letting it linger there as her face fell into it.

"You know that I want to," she murmured as his thumb slowly rubbed her cheek, "but…"

"Peyton," he said, nodding in understanding. He knew that it wouldn't be likely that she'd say yes yet; there was still too much going on with the whole Peyton ordeal.

"I'm not saying no," she said, removing her face from his hand. "And I'm not saying someday."

He raised in eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

Her lips twitched into a small smile as she looked back down at the ring. "I'm saying yes. Of course, I'll marry you. I know that we've got this whole Peyton issue, but I can't say no, not when this feels so right. I'm going to be selfish for once and do what my heart is telling me to do."

He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. She said yes. She wanted to marry him. It was the most amazing feeling, second only to when Brooke had told him she was pregnant.

"Really?" he asked, looking at her intently. He needed to know that he had heard her correctly.

"Yes, Lucas," she murmured, bringing her hand up to his face. "You're the only guy I ever imagined marrying."

Grinning from ear to ear, he eagerly took the ring from its case and took Brooke's left hand into his. There were tears in her eyes as she looked down at the ring in amazement. He slowly slipped it onto her ring finger, admiring how perfectly it fit.

"Lucas, it's beautiful. It… it looks so familiar."

"It was the ring Keith gave my mom when they got engaged," he said, looking at her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked back at him. Another tear fell down her cheek and he could tell how overwhelmed all of this was making her.

"I…I can't even believe it," she muttered, wiping the tears away. "How did you…?"

"My mom gave it to me when I went to see her after I broke up with Peyton," he explained. "I kind of told her how I felt about you then and she gave it to me for safekeeping. She said to give it to you when we were ready." He laughed lightly at the memory. "We weren't even together, but she was already planning on me proposing to you. I guess Mom knows best."

Brooke smiled at him through her tears, the look on her face showing the immense gratitude that she was feeling.

"This means so much to me."

"Mom said you're the only girl she can imagine wearing it, besides herself. She says it's what Keith would have wanted."

Brooke's smile stretched even wider, the dimples that he loved so much showing more than ever. The tears were still falling freely down her face and he pulled her close to him, rubbing her back slowly as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Sorry," she said as she pulled away and laughed through her tears, "it must be the hormones."

"You can cry all you want, Pretty Girl" he said, smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I've wanted this for so long," she murmured.

He pulled her back to him, gently kissing the top of her head. It was almost as if he was in a dream. He couldn't believe how amazing his life was going right now. He was getting married to Brooke and they were having a baby… It was perfect.

"Luke," she said, pulling away once again, "now we've got another huge announcement to tell Peyton."

He grinned guiltily and shrugged. "She'll get over it. Eventually, anyway."

She laughed, wiping away the few remaining tears that fell down her cheek. "I won't be able to wear this in New York," she muttered, looking down at the ring.

"You can wear it when you come home," he said, pulling her hand into his own and rubbing the ring gently with his finger. It looked and felt so right there. "You can wear it forever when you come home."

She smiled, her eyes piercing his. "I can't wait."

He grinned back at her. "Me either."

And he couldn't. He would count down the days until she came home to home to him because only then would he feel complete. Until then, he would think of her every second of every minute and until she was back in his arms again, he would not be whole. Because she was his pretty girl and she was his everything.

A/N: Fluff, fluff, and more fluff! Another filler sort of chapter, but it was fun to read, right? Just what we all need after tonight's episode, which once again contained no Brucas. But we'll get some eventually. Until then, we've got fan fiction :D. Anyway, thanks so much for all your amazing reviews for the last chapter. I couldn't reply to most, but I really just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate them.

Until next time, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review.