Brooke peeked through the closed curtains before opening the door. Her eyes were red and puffy and she'd not slept at all. Haley came barrelling in and pulled Brooke to her in a crushing hug. Brooke couldn't find the words to explain how she was feeling – yesterday she had everything she'd ever wanted. Her life was perfect. Today it was smashed to pieces and she felt broken.
"Where's Luke?" Haley pulled back slightly. Brooke shook her head sadly and slipped from Haley's grasp onto the bed. Haley's eyes went wide with fury. "He left. To be with HER!" The venom in Haley's voice when she said that word. Brooke shook her head again.
"Not yet, but he will be soon. I broke up with him. I told him to go be with Peyton…and their baby." Haley sank down next to her and placed an arm round Brooke's shoulders pulling her close. Brooke tiredly rested her head on Haley's shoulder.
"But honey why? You were celebrating your house last night, your future the three of you."
"I know but now it's gone. Luke says he wants me and that future. But it's different now. It won't work. Peyton only came back to town for Luke, she'll leave if she doesn't get him. She'll take his baby too, there'll be another child of his that he doesn't know. I can't make him stay with me when his place is with her now." Though she felt the tears in her eyes she wouldn't cry.
"But everything he's done he's done for you not her. She doesn't deserve all the things he's achieved and bought you and Lauren." Brooke's shoulders slumped down, she was utterly defeated.
"Haley I can't fight anymore, Peyton lurches from one disaster in life to another. She'd be a terrible mother doing that. That baby needs Luke far more than we do. He'd resent us eventually. I know he would. This is for the best." Haley shook her head vehemently.
"No Brooke you have to fight for him, you can't just let go. This is what you've dreamed of." Brooke laughed.
"I know. On the way back from the party last night on the radio there was this song. I knew Luke would follow me I knew what I had to say and this song just…I don't know what it was but the words. 'I never wanted the stars, never shot for the moon, I like them right where they are, all I wanted was you.'" Brooke drew a ragged breath trying to fight back the tears.
"Don't walk away Brooke. Not for her sake."
"You know this whole thing where she's waiting and pined for him to come back. I bet he has no idea about the fact she ran off to Savannah with Jake for a while. That she proposed. Some love story, the heroine disappears with another guy."
"So tell him, Lucas doesn't want Peyton. We're not in high school anymore there's no messed up love triangle. There are two people who love each other and want to be together and one blonde bitch who just wants to get in the way and you're letting her."
"If he doesn't want her how is she pregnant?" Haley gasped.
"Are you punishing him by walking away? Is this because he slept with her before anything happened with you, once?" Brooke shook her head.
"It's not revenge Haley, it's not prolonging the inevitable."
"And you think them being together is inevitable." Brooke stood up and turned angrily to her best friend hurt that she was so unsupporting of her.
"Yeah I do actually, call me crazy but I've been here before. I fall in love with him really give my heart away thinking he's doing the same thing when all along I'm a filler until Peyton decides she wants him. Which ironically she only ever wants him when she can't have him." Haley stood up and shook Brooke.
"This is fear Brooke, but you're not kids anymore. This isn't some stupid mistake. He didn't choose you because Peyton didn't want him. He chose you because he fell in love with you and he spent weeks trying to show you that. Now the first hurdle you're running away."
"God you sound just like him so I repeat - having a child with someone else is a pretty big hurdle."
"It wasn't planned Brooke. He's devastated."
"How do you know?" Brooke eyed her suspiciously.
"He came by earlier, just as I was coming here, he wanted advice and to see Lauren, he's with Nate now."
"Since when did you become his supporter – you're supposed to be mine!" Haley smiled softly.
"You don't get it. I'm supporting him in doing what he wants, what is best for him because it's what you want and what Lauren wants and it's the best thing for ALL of you." Brooke visibly shook as her fight against tears continued.
"God I started puttng our stuff in that house, I'm going to have to go get it."
"Brooke honey just leave it a few days and see what happens."
"I can't face it today, but trust me Haley tomorrow I'll get our stuff and it'll be done."
"Hey pretty girl." Brooke spun round to see him. He looked awful. Then again she probably did too. He walked slowly to her and cupped her face in his hand as he wiped the tear she didn't know was there away with his thumb.
"Luke I have to get this done before I need to pick Lauren up." She didn't pull away though. She knew this was the last time she would be alone with him, the last time they'd touch, she wanted to savour it.
"Have you told her what you're doing to us?" She almost fought back that it wasn't all her – it was him too. Him who got Peyton pregnant from some silly one night stand that happened when she was panicking about her daughter turning blue and not breathing properly.
"I haven't yet. I will do soon – but for now she just thinks the house isn't ready." Her voice seemed raspier and thicker than normal and she knew it was unshed tears clogging up her throat.
"Don't tell her, forget it all of it. Just stay." The desperation in his words broke her heart.
"Peyton and your baby need you."
"I don't want Peyton. I never really did you know that, we've covered this. I thought you believed me." She looked up at him through her tears and saw his own. She pulled him into her embrace.
"I do…I know this isn't what we planned. But this is real life Luke, we need to forget the happily ever after and make the best of the hand we're dealt. Your life is with her now. We both know that baby doesn't stand a chance without you." She felt his grip on her grow stronger.
"I can't let you go." I don't want you to. The words screamed in her head but she couldn't open her mouth to say them.
"I'll always love you Luke." She tried to extricate herself from his embrace but he just held her tighter.
"Then why are you leaving me?"
"Loving you isn't enough." She gently pushed him away from her. Her eyes locked on his. "We're just not meant to be." She moved away from him but before she went from the room his hand closed around her arm and pulled her back close to him.
"I'm the guy for you Brooke Davis – one day you'll realise that too. I can wait." If she'd thought the last 17 hours had been bad hearing that broke her heart. She knew he'd be waiting forever. She could never commit herself to him knowing that his child would lose out badly, he'd lose out too.
"Luke it's over. Nothing will change that." Once again she forced herself away from him, it was getting increasingly difficult to do so. If she didn't go now she wondered if she'd ever find the strength to do so. She held her head high as she walked to the door. She opened the red door and stepped onto the porch as she turned to close the door behind her she took one last look at him. He looked as devastated as she felt. He looked up at her as if he felt her gaze on him. He almost smiled at her.
"I'll never be with her Brooke, baby or no baby. I'm going to fight for you." As a tear slipped down her cheek she closed the door. She rested her head back against it resisting the urge to go back inside. She pulled out her cell phone and pressed her speed dial.
"I really need you."
It had been almost three weeks since the housewarming party from hell, three weeks since Peyton had showed up and as far as Brooke was aware there was still no appearance of the baby. Luke had inundated her with phone calls and messages and e-mails. She'd ignored each and every one. She was simply unable to listen to him and she felt more lost than she had in her life. Eventually she'd have to talk to him, if for no reason other than to make arrangements for him seeing Lauren. Lauren was questioning what was going on and why Lucas hadn't been around and she just didn't know how to answer her. She'd given him her absolute everything, and now it all seemed so broken. For her she just didn't see a way back.
"Hey you." She glanced up, the café unusually quiet to find Haley there.
"What are you doing here?" Haley shrugged and settled herself at the counter.
"I decided to get lunch here today."
"What can I get you?"
"Just some pie. How are you doing?" It was now Brooke's turn to shrug.
"Aside from the permanent nausea, the lack of sleep and therefore bone deep exhaustion, the non-stop crying, I'm okay." Haley reached out to hug her but she backed away, disappearing into the back to get some clean plates. The crash thundered through the café.
"Brooke?" Haley rushed through to the back, there she found Brooke laid unconscious on the floor surrounded by broken crockery and blood. "Oh my god." The waitress had followed Haley and followed her barked order to call an ambulance. It felt like a lifetime that she waited to hear the siren, she tried to rouse Brooke to no avail so settled for gently squeezing her hand. Two paramedics filled the small kitchen area.
"What's her name?"
"Brooke, Brooke Davis she's 23 years old." As one of the EMT's placed a line in the other turned to Haley.
"Can you tell me what happened to her?"
"I, I don't really know, she was fine a few minutes ago she came back to bring the clean plates out front and there was a crash I came back here and found her like this. She's been under a lot of stress though, maybe she tripped or something I don't know." The EMT that had been tending to Brooke turned to the other.
"We need to get her in now, I'm not happy with this amount of blood given that there are no obvious wounds."
"But the broken plates…" Haley interjected. The EMT shook his head.
"I can't see where any of these pieces could have cut her for this amount of blood. We have to get her to hospital – do you work here too?"
"I'm family."
"Are you coming?" Haley nodded and followed them as they rushed Brooke to the ambulance and sped to the hospital. As she was rushed through the doors and doctors pounced on her Haley felt drained as she watched them rush Brooke away from her. She looked down and saw her friend's blood on her clothes and hands. She went to the bathroom to clean up before remembering she was supposed to be back at work, a quick call to the principal before calling Karen and asking her to go to the café, she briefly mentioned Brooke being ill but knowing how bad stress was for her neglected how bad things were. Then she called Deb asking her if she'd be able to collect Lauren from school. Part of her felt she should call Lucas, but he'd only question her as to why Brooke wasn't getting her or calling him herself and Haley wasn't sure if telling him what had happened was wise just yet. So phone calls made Haley was left to sit in the waiting room alone, desperately hoping for some news. It seemed like a lifetime she waited, her head shooting up the second she heard footsteps, but they were never for her.
"Excuse me, did you come in with Miss Davis?" Haley jumped up at the voice and nodded. "And you are?"
"Her sister-in-law and best friend."
"Are there any other family members?" Haley felt like the doctor was questioning where the man who made them sisters-in-law was and she needed an appropriate response.
"Someone had to get her daughter."
"Well Miss Davis had what's known as PV bleed, we've managed to stop the bleed and we'll be running some tests shortly but I can take you to her if you wanted to see her, she's awake now." Haley nodded not caring what exactly a PV bleed was only that it had been stopped. All she wanted was to see for herself that Brooke was okay. She stepped into the room as the doctor told Brooke she'd be back soon to test her.
"You scared me so much." Haley clutched her friend tightly against her.
"I don't know what happened." Before either could say anymore the doctor returned with a portable ultrasound machine.
"Well Miss Davis normally with a PV bleed we could expect problems with either the cervix or the placenta so I just want to do a scan and see how things are doing." She wasn't completely sure she'd heard right.
"Placenta? Well that's not caused it, I can't have a placenta in me I'm not pregnant." The doctor looked up sharply at her.
"Miss Davis we took blood tests earlier you're definitely pregnant. You didn't know." Brooke slowly shook her head.
"I've been going through a lot lately and the stress and tiredness I just thought it was all down to everything."
"Well you're pregnant Miss Davis, now I really want to get a look at what's happening, it might not be good news." Brooke was too stunned to even understand what was happening. She shifted slightly as she felt the cold gel hit her stomach. When she'd received her scans with Lauren the screen had always been positioned so that both she and the person doing the sonogram could see it. This time she couldn't see. Haley squeezed her hand tightly. The doctor made some noises before finally taking the doppler away from her stomach and placing it down. "Well Miss Davis I've got good news and bad news, the good news is that everything seems perfectly fine, the bad news is that means we can't explain why there was a bleed, it may be down to the stress you mentioned so I'd like to keep you in overnight to ensure there is no more bleeding and then I'd like you to have one weeks bed rest. If there's no more bleeding after that then I'd advise only returning to work on light duties. Unfortunately some women do have several PV bleeds in pregnancy with no rhyme or reason to them."
"Okay."
"Would you like to see your baby?" Brooke nodded feeling the entire thing was surreal. The doctor turned the screen so all three occupants of the room were able to see the tiny speck that was her baby. "Miss Davis I would say from this that you're roughly between 8 and 9 weeks gestation. I'll contact your ob-gyn and arrange an appointment for you tomorrow before you're discharged." With that the doctor was gone leaving Brooke and Haley together. Both sat in a stunned silence for a while before Haley spoke.
"I've no idea what the hell is in the water round here but there's pregnancy galore." In any other situation Brooke might have laughed with her, Peyton, Karen, Haley and now she was pregnant. It was certainly very odd.
"To think I was always worried about being like Deb before, now I get pregnant to the same man who got someone else pregnant just a few months ago. Haley what am I going to do?" She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face. Haley reached over and hugged her tightly.
"It'll be okay Brooke. This isn't the same as with Dan, Karen and Deb. Lucas loves you, you already have one child together and now another on the way. This is the future you both mapped out. He'll be thrilled."
"I can't tell him." Haley recoiled at her words.
"No Brooke, Lauren was different, he was different then the entire situation was different. I'm not lying this time and unless you plan on disappearing from Tree Hill right now he will found out."
"I don't know what words to use. I don't think I can see him, he'll think that it changes things…" Haley cut her off.
"Brooke it does change things. You said that you wanted him to have everything you never gave him with Lauren, well now he can and still be with you. You can still have the future you wanted."
"It's not that easy Haley." Haley stood and walked to the door.
"It is that easy Brooke – you're just making it much more complicated. Call him and get him here, you tell him Brooke or I will this time."
"Haley wait." Haley paused halfway through the door. "I'll tell him – I swear but just wait just a day or so not here wait until I'm home. Will you do that for me? Will you keep Lauren tonight just so I can talk to him properly not here, like this." Haley turned to her friend.
"Sure I can do that Brooke. As long as you mean it when you say you'll tell him."
"I swear."