A/N: Thanks for the reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leese.

Chapter Twenty Five

The Worst Day Since Yesterday

Haley walked into the café and exchanged smiles with Karen as she walked up to the counter and grabbed a stool. "Thanks for letting Jamie spend the night at your house last night. I really appreciate it. I needed a break from running after an energetic five-year-old."

Karen gave her a comforting smile. "It was no problem. You know how much Keith and I love having our grandchildren around. Especially since our children are all out of the nest now." There was a short pause before she spoke. "Speaking of children, am I going to be a grandma again anytime soon?" she asked as she gave her a wink.

Haley sighed as she asked, "How did you find out?"

Karen gave her a smile. "I've been through it three times. I can recognize the signs."

Haley knew that was true. "Please don't tell anybody else yet." Karen gave her a confused look. "I want to wait until I'm past the first trimester. I'm a month and a half along. Nathan and I would tell everyone sooner, but we want to make sure that we don't lose the baby this time."

"I'm sure that you won't," Karen assured her. However, Haley wasn't convinced. So Karen tried to put Haley's mind at ease. "But if you really want me not to tell anyone, I promise that I won't say anything to anybody, even Keith, until you're ready to tell people."

Haley smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, Karen. I know that there are rumors going around already about me possibly being pregnant. And I would rather those just be rumors for now." She then changed the subject. "As repaying you for this favor, I'll clean up and close the café for you." Karen immediately agreed. Haley then started wiping tables down when she noticed a camera in the corner of the room. She frowned, wondering when that was put there. "Karen, did you have that camera for long?"

Karen gave her a confused look. Haley then gestured her to the camera. Karen turned around and frowned. "That's funny. Keith and I never asked anybody to install a camera in here." She and Haley exchanged looks as Karen realized her mistake. She barely had time to recover from the surprise when she saw that Haley was getting ready to storm out of the café. Karen didn't even have to ask about where she was going. However, she knew that she was going to stop her. "Haley, calm down. I know that you're furious at her. I am too. But we need proof before we accuse her of spying on us."

"Even if we did get the tape, what good that will do?" Haley asked her. "Do you really think that the judge will give Lucas another chance at the trial just because we found out that Peyton was spying on us? No judge would go for that."

"No, but it would certainly prove that Brooke didn't tell Peyton about Lucas," Karen told her.

Haley didn't say anything for a moment before she spoke. "Actually, I already know that she didn't." Karen looked at her curiously. "I never trusted Peyton. Even though Brooke admitted that she knew Lucas's secret, I know that she wouldn't tell Peyton."

Karen gave her a gentle smile. "I know that she didn't either." Haley looked at her surprised. "You weren't the only one who was up all night thinking about the argument. I called the hotel where Victoria was staying at, but the receptionist told me that both she and Brooke had checked out this morning."

Haley frowned. "You don't think that we ran them out of town, do you?" she asked her.

"Well, I think that they are keeping their distances from us for awhile," Karen replied. "I think that is best for now. Especially for Lucas." She then let out a sigh. "I just hope that he will be able to talk to someone about his feelings. Keith said that he was mostly quiet the whole way home from the station."

Haley was concerned. "Wow, that's really bad if Lucas doesn't want to talk to Keith."

Karen nodded. "I'm really worried about him. Do you think that you could try and talk to him?"

Haley was worried about her best friend herself. "I'll see what I can do," she replied. "I'll stop by tomorrow morning and talk to him." They then heard the door opening and turned towards the entrance to see Nathan walking in with Jamie. They exchanged greetings as Nathan and Jamie joined them at the counter. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," Haley said.

"Well, I wanted to show you this," Nathan replied as he gave her a piece of paper. Haley looked at it as Nathan explained the sheet to his mother. "It seems that my basketball players and cheerleaders are sending a petition around to ask the judge for a retrial. They didn't think that it was fair on how Peyton was awarded custody of Maddie."

"Is that why Maddie is moving?" Jamie asked them.

His grandmother and parents turned to him. Haley frowned as she asked, "Who told you that Maddie is moving?"

"Chuck, he heard it from his mom," Jamie replied. "Chuck said that they are heading back to Charlotte."

Nobody knew what to say at first. They had a feeling that Peyton was going to do something like this. They just wished that she wasn't taking Maddie along with her. Nathan gave his son a comforting smile. "Well, we're going to make sure that Maddie stays right here with us," he assured him.

Jamie's eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked eagerly.

Nathan nodded. "You got it, buddy. Just don't tell anybody that we're planning to do this, ok?"

"I promise," Jamie told him. He was willing to do anything to make sure that his best friend and cousin stayed in Tree Hill.

The next morning, Lucas and Maddie were having brunch when they heard a knock at the door. Maddie instantly got up from her chair and ran to the door. "I'll get it," she told him. Lucas was right behind her. Maddie was ecstatic when she found Brooke standing there. She embraced her in a hug as Lucas stayed quiet. "Daddy says that I have to go live with Mommy."

Brooke gave her a gentle smile. "I know. I heard," she replied. "But that doesn't mean that I won't stop by and visit."

Maddie was happy to hear that. "Want to play tea party with me?" she asked her.

Brooke knew that she and Lucas needed to talk. She could tell that he wasn't willing to wait. "Why don't you go and start without me? I'll come up in a little bit," she promised her. "I need to talk to your dad first."

Lucas waited until Maddie went upstairs before speaking. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here after that stunt you pulled," he said as he headed to the kitchen. "I never should have trusted you with that secret."

Brooke couldn't believe that he was against her too. She followed him as she tried to defend herself. "Lucas, do you honestly believe that I would tell Peyton your secret? I would never betray a friend's trust like that." Lucas didn't say anything. So Brooke knew that it was safe for her to continue. "I was betrayed too, remember? My husband cheated on me with her. Why would I help her after that?"

Lucas could think of a couple of good reasons. "Because you wanted to get close to me so that I could feed you information about Maddie? Is it really a coincidence that you arrived right before Peyton did or was it on purpose?"

"I was just as surprised as you were when I found out that she was here," Brooke exclaimed. "She never told me much about her past. All I knew was that her parents had died and she had nobody else. She never mentioned that she had an ex-husband or a child."

Lucas nodded understandingly. "I see now. You were clearly pissed at Julian for betraying you, but you still loved him," he said. Brooke was about to protest when he continued with his theories. "So you decided to call up your old mother-in-law and ask for her help. You thought that if you could reunite Peyton and Maddie, Julian would come crawling back to you, right?"

Brooke knew that she was losing the battle. "Lucas, I understand that you're upset about losing custody of Maddie. But I swear to you that I was never on Peyton's side."

"Then why did you come here?" Lucas asked her.

"Because I came here to start a new life for me and my baby," Brooke told him.

Lucas didn't want to hear anymore. "That's bullshit. Just admit the truth. Because I'm sick and tired of your lies about your past with Julian and Peyton. You were lying about everything, weren't you?" he demanded. Brooke was about to respond when he continued. "I bet that you weren't even pregnant." That hit Brooke hard. She was speechless at first. That gave Lucas time to finish what he wanted to say. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Brooke wanted to respond, but she was too hurt to say anything. She held her tears in as she walked out of the kitchen. As soon as she was out of the house, she headed to her car. She then saw Haley coming out of her house and was walking towards her. She really wasn't in the mood for another lecture from her.

Just as she was about to slide in the driver's seat, Haley reached her first. "Before you say anything, I want to apologize for my actions. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I was just pissed off that Peyton got custody of Maddie. The whole family was. We shouldn't have judged you so quickly. I'm sorry."

Brooke could tell that the apology was sincere. She gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Hales. I needed that after what I just went through."

Haley could see that her friend was upset. "Did you have a fight with Lucas?"

Brooke sighed. "It was more like World War Three. And I lost big time." Haley felt sorry for her. "It wouldn't have been so bad if Lucas hadn't accused me of faking my pregnancy."

Haley was shocked. "Don't worry about it. I'll set his ass straight," she assured her. She didn't let Brooke answer. Instead, she marched up to the house and opened the door. She had barely walked into the front hall when she heard noises from afar. She frowned as she wondered what was going on upstairs. She hurried up to the second floor and followed the noises down to the nursery.

She was surprised to see that Lucas was making a mess. Yet, she knew that it was to vent out his frustration. "Wow, you're lucky that this is your house. Otherwise, you would be arrested again. What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Lucas exclaimed angrily. "I'm doing a little remodeling."

Haley nodded understandingly. "That's too bad. I really liked the old setting." Lucas didn't respond. "Well, I have some good news. Your supporters have convinced us to keep fighting for Maddie."

Lucas frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"There is a petition going around to ask the judge to give your trial another chance," Haley replied. "Nobody thought that it was fair on how Peyton got custody of Maddie. So we've been working on contacting Victoria to see what she can do. We want to do it as soon as possible so Peyton doesn't take off with Maddie." Lucas gave her a confused look as she began to explain. "Apparently, Julian and Peyton are planning to move back to Charlotte. And they want to take Maddie with them."

Lucas wasn't surprised. Instead, he was frustrated. "Well, that explains why she called and wanted to talk about the custody arrangement," he replied. "But getting the judge to try to start the case up again is so much better. Just don't get Victoria as my lawyer."

"Why not?" Haley asked. "You and I both know that it wasn't her fault that you got upset. Dan was the one who provoked you. And I don't think that you would be able to afford another lawyer." Lucas hated to admit it, but she was right. "So where's Maddie?"

Lucas frowned. "What do you mean? She should be in her room."

Haley shook her head. "No, she's not there. She probably went next door to Jenny's or my house."

"Even if she did, she knows that she shouldn't go without permission," Lucas replied as he went to Maddie's bedroom. "Maddie, are you here?" he called as he saw the empty room. There was no answer. So they walked into the room and looked around. Haley suddenly froze as Lucas started checking the usual hiding spots, completely oblivious to the scene in front of him. He was about to say something when he noticed Haley's worried face. He then turned to see what she was looking at. His heart instantly sank.

While Lucas and Haley were dealing with their crisis, Brooke was driving her car to her destination. After Haley had gone inside, Brooke decided to leave and head back to her temporary home. She really didn't think that Haley could convince him to apologize to her. Yes, Haley was his best friend. But he could be so stubborn at times.

Brooke hated that she was leaving without saying good-bye to Maddie, but she knew that Lucas didn't want her around her. She also didn't want to see Maddie upset as she would have to explain and didn't want the little girl to stress out even more.

She still couldn't believe that Lucas had accused her of faking her pregnancy. He had seen her eat more than she should be eating. He had watched her excuse herself when she had to go to the bathroom. He was there to comfort her during her miscarriage. She then started to tear up as she thought of the miscarriage. Even thought it had been almost two months, she still felt the pain of the losing her baby. It was hard at times. She didn't want to admit it, but it had been a little harder when she found out that Haley was pregnant. She was happy for her friend, but she was also sad that she wasn't going to have a baby.

Once Brooke reached her destination, she quickly parked the car in the driveway before she climbed out. Her hostess was there to greet her. She could see that Brooke needed some cheering up. However, she didn't know how she could do that. "I'm sorry that Lucas and his family are giving you such a rough time," Lindsey told her.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Brooke replied as they walked into the house. She loved her house. It looked so warm and inviting. Of course, Lucas's house was too. But it was nice to be in a different house for a change. "Lindsey, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you letting me stay in your guestroom," Brooke said as she collapsed on the couch. "I would have asked Jake, but his house is right next door to Lucas's house." Lindsey nodded understandingly as she joined her on the couch. "I won't be here for long," she promised. "It's only until I figure out where I want to live. My girlfriend Rachel volunteered her guestroom, but I knew that I would be just a third wheel."

Lindsey gave her a comforting smile to set her worried mind at ease. "It's no problem, Brooke. Even if it is temporary, it's nice to have a roommate. I get pretty lonely sometimes with only my fish to keep me company."

"I don't know how you or Deb Scott has managed it," Brooke said as Lindsey laughed. "I'm serious. I know Tree Hill is safe, but it would creep me out at night to be home alone. Have you seen those horror movies?"

"That's why I'm always out and about at night," Lindsey replied. "I mostly attend the games at the high school, but I sometimes go out to the mall or Tric. I always meet cute guys there."

"Do you have a boyfriend now?" Brooke asked her curiously.

Lindsey shook her head. "Haley keeps telling me that I should date, but I never have time to do it." There was a short pause before she spoke again. She wasn't sure if she should ask, but she was willing to try anyway. "Do you think that you will ever get back to dating again or is it too soon to be asking about that?" she asked curiously. Even though Haley had called the matchmaking off, she was going to slowly push it through anyway.

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it much lately. My mind has been on the trial."

"I don't think about it a lot either. I have my students to take care of." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Speaking of my students, I don't suppose you saw the petition." Brooke gave her a confused look. Lindsey went over to her work bag that was in the kitchen and pulled something out. She then handed it over to Brooke as she joined her back on the couch again. She glanced at it as Lindsey explained what it was for. "Some students are banding together to ask for signatures. They want the judge to give Lucas another chance to prove that he deserves custody of Maddie. Do you want to sign?"

Brooke sighed. "I don't think that my signature would matter. No matter what I say, Lucas believes that I'm just a lying bitch. I tried everything that I could to prove to him that I'm not. I don't know what else I can do to show him that I'm on his side." Lindsey did her best to comfort her as they heard a cell-phone. Brooke recognized it as hers. She checked her phone and saw it was a text message from Haley. She wondered if Haley had convinced Lucas to apologize. She doubted it, but she wanted to check anyway. She gasped as she saw the words on the screen. She nearly dropped the phone as she processed what had happened. "Oh my god! Maddie ran away!"