A/N: I am aware that in other stories and even in this one i sometimes write characters differently, but i don't do it vindictively, i do it because it's the way i'd like to set the story out. with that said, here's my new chapter, it's going to be a little bit angsty for a while, but not forever of course! thanks for the reviews and support everyone- they're always wonderful!

Imagine a future moment in your life where all your dreams come true, you know?

It's the greatest moment in your life and you get to experience it with one person, who's standing next to you? Who's it gonna be?

Brooke.

Brooke rested her head against the hospital chair and closed her eyes, she felt exhausted. She felt wonderful and smiley and happy as well but the overwhelming feeling right now was exhaustion. Walking up the stairs was now a total effort- seriously, why had she bought a house with stairs?! And why was the maternity level of Tree Hill Hospital on the third floor? Stupid elevators that were out of order; this was a hospital, shouldn't there be elevators that work in a hospital?! The sounds of the nearest nurse desk surrounded her and she leant on Luke's shoulder, tracing the tattoo he had on his wrist slowly, over and over. She let out a sigh of contentment and shifted slightly to glance around them. Several people were reading old copies of US Weekly and another couple just older than Lucas and herself were sitting laughing quietly together. She smiled, today was a good day. She nestled into Luke's chest and yawned slightly.

"So you think you ate enough this morning?"

She looked up and chuckled, "you asked me this already honey, I ate plenty."

"And you took all the vitamins I left out?"

"Lucas, you watched me take them!"

"But you were being so sick last week and I don't want you to be-"

"It's part of being pregnant sweetie!"

"I feel responsible," he said pouting.

She smirked, "you didn't do it alone."

His blue eyes lit up and he met her hazel ones in amusement, "well, that's true."

He traced the lines on her hand with his finger and then leant up to kiss her. She caught his face in her hands and kissed him back softly before pulling away and fanning her face, "wow, is it hot in here?"

"Well," he began with a smug look on his face.

"No," she said rolling her eyes, "no offence baby but I mean like a million degrees; I'm boiling."

"Ok, well what can I do?"

She clutched her stomach, breathing in and out loudly to cool off and he watched her concerned. "I knew I should have brought a fan."

Brooke laughed aloud, "what?! Since when would you have even known to bring a fan?"

He shrugged, "I googled what you might need."

"You are far too organised for your own good Mr Scott."

"I like to be prepared," he said firmly, pouting at her.

She smiled and touched his face, "I know you do baby, but I have done this before."

"Oh babe, don't remind me," he said guiltily.

"Sorry! That's not what I meant though honey. What I meant was that you don't have to worry about every little thing- I know what feels normal and what feels bad." She felt herself cool down and reached out to fold her hands in his, "I'll let you know what's really bad ok?"

He looked apologetic for a second and then squeezed her hand, "sorry babe- I just wanna make sure you're ok."

"I know Luke," she touched his face smiling, "but I'm fine! Look, see?" She moved his hand to her stomach, "baby and me are right here and happy."

He smiled widely, "I can't believe our kid is really growing in there."

She leant her forehead in to touch his, "better start believing it sometime soon broody."

"Miss Davis?" They both looked up, Lucas' arm wound round his girlfriend and the nurse smiled down at them, "we're ready for you now."

"Great," Brooke gathered her bag and Vanity Fair up and stood slowly, Lucas slid a hand around her waist and she leant into him contentedly.

They had been home in Tree Hill for two weeks and Brooke was in the hospital for her ten week scan. It was the middle of November and Lucas had wrapped her in about a million scarves and coats before letting her leave the house. She had felt like a walking snowman but had appreciated the gesture. Just having him with her every step of the way was a wonderful feeling.

"In here please," the nurse smiled warmly at them and Lucas helped Brooke up onto the chair. "Doctor Lewis will be here in a moment."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, no, just a healthy baby," Brooke said nervously. Lucas squeezed her hand tightly as he sat down next to her.

The nurse nodded, "I'm sure everything will be fine Miss Davis." She closed the door gently.

"Thanks, I hope so," she added quietly.

"Worrying isn't healthy pretty girl," Lucas said lightly. She looked at him crossly for a second, about to retort that he was measuring her food intake and he really couldn't pester her about worrying- and then relented, he was right. She gazed around the room, staring at the plastic body parts and the baby photographs on the far wall. All the mom's to be and new moms smiled widely at the camera- and she realised how huge they all were.

Luke," she said suddenly, "you realise I'm not going to be pretty for very much longer right?"

He chuckled, "what?"

"Well I'm just warning you in advance; I'm going to get all big and red and hot all the time and I'm going to be cross and sweaty and oh god my feet are gonna swell up again and I'm not going to be able to fit in any of my favourite dresses and oh god what if-"

"Brooke!" He put a hand to her mouth, "stop it! You would look beautiful if you weighed twenty stone and I will handle the crossness and anything else you literally throw at me ok?"

She pulled a face, "really?"

"I promise!"

"You can't take that back now, you've said it and I'll hold you to it."

"I expect you to," he said softly, kissing her hand.

"Good morning Miss Davis," Doctor Lewis bustled into the room reading the chart as she did so and then looked up and smiled brightly. She held out a hand, "and you are?"

"Oh uh, Lucas Scott," Lucas stood up to shake her hand and she smiled again before sitting down next to Brooke.

"How are you feeling today? Any nausea Miss Davis?"

"A little," Brooke reluctantly admitted and Lucas shot her an accusing look.

"You said you were fine!"

"Lucas relax! And please call me Brooke, Doctor Lewis."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you felt sick," Lucas muttered.

"Let it go Luke!"

"Alright you two," Dr Lewis interrupted in amusement; they both looked at each other in surprise and then chided fell silent. "Brooke, I'm going to put a little gel on your stomach- it might feel cool."

Brooke felt goose bumps and suddenly a whole lot of nerves and reached for Lucas' hand again. "Will we know if everything is ok today?"

"As far as possible yes, today we will have some answers for you. Alright, try and relax Brooke."

She bit her lip and Lucas sat up close to her and nervously kissed her shoulder. His breath caught in his throat suddenly when a beating sound filled the room. "Oh my god is that it? Is that our baby's heartbeat?"

"Uh huh- and if you look here at the monitor," Dr Lewis gestured, "you can see the head here and two arms, legs over here..."

"Oh my god," Brooke murmured softly.

"I know," Lucas whispered, "when will we know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Dr Lewis peered intently at the screen for a second and Brooke held her breath until she turned round and smiled, "you can relax Brooke, everything looks fine. I can't give you a precise answer for the sex now, but at your 20 week scan I can give you a specific answer if you want to know." She wiped the gel away and Brooke sat up.

"Will we want to know?" Brooke asked Lucas, smiling widely.

"I don't know," his eyes danced, "but we found out everything else the surprise way and that was perfect; we could leave it and be really truly surprised."

She pouted, "but if we knew it was a girl we could buy a room full of pink things!"

"And if it's a boy we could get a really cool crib with a basketball hoop attached!" Lucas' face lit up and he began dreaming aloud, "and tiny basketball shorts and a jersey!"

"What if he wants to play golf instead?" She asked innocently, "or hockey?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows, "please, he's a Scott, he'll play basketball."

"Easy there, that ambitious tone has got many a Scott in trouble before," she said teasingly.

He scowled and then unable to stay mad he chuckled and reached across to touch her stomach, "whether it's a boy or a girl, they'll be perfect."

"So no pressure then?"

He shot her a look, "you know what I mean."

Doctor Lewis wrote something on the chart and then frowned, "Miss Davis, it says here in your history that your son was tested for HCM last month?"

Lucas' head jerked up from staring at her stomach, "what?"

"He did but he was cleared," Brooke said quickly, squeezing his hand to reassure him.

"Are you sure? He was ok?" He searched her face in concern.

"Yeah the doctor at the time was wonderful; he ran every test under the sun." She turned to look at Doctor Lewis, worry spreading across her pretty face, "but oh god, could our baby be affected too?"

Doctor Lewis frowned, "was Jayden tested for a particular reason? I see that he stayed in hospital for several days. Does it run in your family? It doesn't mention anything under you..."

"Yes-" Brooke swallowed, "I-" she bit her lip and glanced at Lucas.

"He could have got it from me," Lucas said in a strangled voice, "I have HCM."

"I see." She folded her chart slowly and then smiled quickly, "there is no need to panic just yet. We can do all the necessary procedures and there is no reason why your son or daughter shouldn't be perfectly healthy."

"Oh god Luke," Brooke looked at him desperately, wishing he could fix this, do something.

"Is this a serious concern?"

"Please try not to get ahead of yourselves; even if you baby is born with HCM you are living, breathing proof of exactly how little it effects every day life."

Brooke was silent, staring at her hands as she touched her stomach gently. Lucas turned to look out of the window, attempting to absorb everything he was hearing. Doctor Lewis dropped her gloves in the bin and came to sit back down in front of them. "Do you have any questions?"

"When will we be able to know if our baby's in the clear?" Lucas' voice was hoarse and he ran a hand through his hair slowly.

"I'll be able to give you a call sometime this week," she said softly.

He reached for Brooke's hand again and to his surprise she pulled her own away. "It's fifty- fifty right?" She asked quietly.

"That depends if you believe in odds Brooke," the doctor said softly, "personally I don't."

Brooke exhaled hard, blowing her fringe out of her eyes and trying to compose herself.

Doctor Lewis stood up and moved towards the door, "you can't start drawing conclusions yet though- i'll run the tests as quickly as I can. I'll be back in a minute with some more information."

Brooke nodded mutely, tears pricking behind her eyes and she couldn't look up as her doctor left. Finally they were alone in the room and Brooke let out her breath slowly, "oh god," she whispered.

Lucas edged his chair closer to the chair and rested his elbows on the armrest, "you wanna tell me where your head's at?"

She clutched her face briefly and then shook herself, "where's my skirt?"

He reached for it wordlessly and handed it to her; she pulled it on and then stood, "I have to meet Haley to check the dresses for Saturday."

"Brooke-"

"Please Lucas, I need to get my head round this and- and I can't talk about it right now."

He stood up swiftly and pushed the chair away, "you can't leave like this Brooke, we have to deal with it."

"Why? You know how to deal with it! You've had years of dealing with it! And I- I've had about ten seconds to absorb the fact that our baby could suffer from a potentially serious heart condition!"

His face turned ashen as he stared at her, "you're blaming me?"

"No! God, no, stop it! This is not about you Luke, this is about," she paused from pacing the room and ran a hand through her hair, tugging at a knot, "this is about the fact that if it's a boy- there's no way I'll ever let him set foot on a basketball court! And- and if it's a girl, she'll never take dance classes because I'll be terrified that while I'm waiting for her outside everyone else will be crowding round her because she's collapsed on the floor and I'm not there! Our child will never be able to lead a normal life Lucas and- and, god!" She dissolved into tears and Lucas suddenly strode towards her and caught her up in his arms. Brooke shook her head and pushed against him, "no don't!" She pulled away, "I can't breathe!" She stepped backwards, feeling faint, "Lucas, I can't-" she made to move away completely but he ignored her suddenly and pulled her back towards him.

"Brooke stop it!"

"Luke!" She attempted to wrestle out of his arms but he held firm and finally she stopped lashing out and rested against his chest heavily, tears streaming down her face.

"Everything was ok," she gasped into his tee shirt, "we were ok... We were safe."

"Shhh, it's ok," he stroked her dark hair gently, muttering soothing words, "it's ok, just breathe. We'll get through this Brooke, we always do."

She sighed and tightened her hands round his back, "I just want everything to be ok Luke."

"And it will be, I promise."

They stood for a long time, clinging on to each other, drawing strength from one another. Finally Brooke pulled away, "we have to get back. You have to finish your speech-"

"We don't have to go tonight Brooke."

"No we should, it's your mom Luke. She's getting married and that's amazing- we should be there with her to celebrate."

"You don't have to- she'd understand."

"No come on Luke- how often do really wonderful things happen? This is important- and I love your mom, I don't want to miss this. Besides, it's only the rehearsal dinner- I can go home early if things-" she swallowed, "you know just in case I get upset or something," she finished quickly.

Lucas swallowed, this wasn't fair. Doctor Lewis re-entered the room and smiled at them both, "alright, Brooke I want you to continue on your supplements, you need to remember to stay hydrated, at least eight hours sleep a night-"

"I know what to do," Brooke said suddenly. She didn't want to hear all the instructions right now, she wanted to get out of the room and out of the hospital as quickly as possible.

Doctor Lewis nodded and smiled quickly, "then I'll be in touch and see you in four weeks."

Brooke gave her a brief smile and Lucas wrapped an arm round her waist as they headed out of the door, "try not to worry Brooke- it's not good for you or the baby," Doctor Lewis called after them. Brooke turned and met her eyes and gave her the ghost of a smile, how ironic.

They stepped into the newly working elevator and Brooke stared up at the numbers silently as they travelled downwards. Lucas glanced at her and then up to where she was looking, wondering how best to get her to talk to him. When Brooke turned to say something she saw his own eyes set as he gazed at the top of the doors and she changed her mind, looking at her feet instead. She wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault- that there was no way they could have changed this- but she couldn't form the words, even as they came to her. As the doors opened she reached out her fingers and caught his hand, wordlessly he laced his fingers through hers and they walked through the busy lobby together. It was raining as they stepped outside and she felt strangely comforted by it, she loved the rain. Lucas pulled her closer and they walked in step to where his car was parked. He opened the door for her and as he did so he bent down and kissed her softly, she kissed him back and then slipped down into the car, shaking out her wet hair.

He reversed carefully and narrowed his eyes in concentration as he pulled onto the main road. Brooke watched the rain sliding down the window and then turned to face him in the car, "I like Ava for a girl," she said quietly, "or Juliet."

Lucas found her hand and held it tightly, "I like Juliet."

"Or Ophelia," she added.

"Little bit tragic don't you think? What about Olivia?"

She rolled it around in her head and then nodded, "I like it."

"Sylvia?"

"You said Ophelia was too tragic and you're suggesting Sylvia?"

He shrugged, the hint of a smile on his face as he indicated to change lanes, "I used to read you her poetry."

"I know you did honey," she said softly, "it was very romantic if you ignored all the ones about how depressed she was."

"It's not depressing, it's pensive and deep and-"

"Depressing!"

He pouted, "fine. No Sylvia."

She smiled, "what about Violet? Viola?"

He raised his eyebrows, "is the letter V particularly 'in' this year?" He teased.

"No, I just like it is all," she said crossly.

"I like Violet," he said in an attempt to placate her, "or Rosalind or Helena."

"Now you're just naming Shakespeare characters!"

"You started it!"

"Ok, ok," she curled her legs up under her and thought for a second, "you get three names and then when the day comes- we'll," she hesitated and brushed at her face quickly, "we'll decide together," she finished quietly.

He reached over and took her hand, "ok," he thought for a moment, "I like Olivia, Rose and... Jennifer."

"Good names," she said nodding seriously, "what if it's a boy?"

"William, Christian and Oliver. What about you?"

"If it's a boy, Caleb or Sebastian."

"Oh man, you're gonna try and make the kid cool before he's even had a chance to decide aren't you?"

She raised her eyebrows, "please, he's gonna be my kid baby- there'll be no decision in it- it will just happen."

He chuckled and pulled into the drive, slowly rolling the car to a stop and twisting to face her, "and if it's a girl?"

Brooke considered for a second and then smiled, "Ava, Juliet or Virginia."

"I like those," he said smiling at her, "they're very beautiful names."

"Yeah," she said faintly, before staring at her hands for a moment, "Luke-"

"Don't Brooke- just try not to think about it ok? He or she is going to be happy and loved no matter what remember?"

She nodded, biting her lip, wishing she knew now and that she didn't have to wait god knows how long to find out if her baby was ok.

"Hey," he leant across the gap in the seats and touched her face, "we're gonna be ok here pretty girl, just have a little faith."

Brooke clutched his hand and then kissed his palm, "you're right. Come on then broody- you've got a speech to write."

They clambered out of the car and she wrapped her scarf tightly round her, praying that somehow they'd figure it out, just like Luke had said they would. She realised Lucas was already at the front door and was standing looking back at her on the drive, "come on babe- you have to eat something!"

Despite herself she chuckled and rolled her eyes; at least this time, no matter what, she and Lucas would face it together- and she'd be eating a whole lot in the mean time.

Most of our life is a series of images. They pass us by like towns on the highway. But sometimes a moment stuns us as it happens. And we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever.

Please don't hate me for the angst- I just imagine Sophia doing it and then get carried away- I promise things will be resolved in the right way for BL.