Author's Note- So, my friends and wonderful readers- this is the last chapter of "Dimples"! I'm so sorry about the huge gaps of time between updates. I was quite the busy bee. Between the last update and now, I graduated from college, got a job and wrote several one-shots that I'm very proud of. This story had always been in the back of my mind, though and within the last month or two, I began writing this last chapter and now it's finally done. I will really miss it.
Please read and review!
(Oh, Lina is pronounced like Lena, as I pronounce Emmaline, Emma-leen.)
-xx-
It's early October in Tree Hill. Leaves are turning color, there's a slight chill in the air and it's a perfect day for Brooke and Lucas to finally get married.
The couple and their family moved down to Tree Hill two years ago, with Lucas taking a job at the high school and Brooke taking her hobby of designing and turning it into a small boutique on Front Street.
Their lives are full of love, full of life, and hectic.
"Mommy, where is my shoe?"
"MOMMY!!! I'm hungry!"
"Mom, do we have any highlighters?"
Three voices pierce the early morning silence and Brooke smiles to herself as she walks out of her bedroom and down into the living room.
There, she is met with the sight of just some of her family. Lina and Maddie are almost four years old, identical in every way. Both have light brown hair, bright blue eyes and their mother's dimples. As they chase each other around the living room, it's clear that both girls are bundles of energy. Vivi, Brooke's eldest daughter is typing furiously at her laptop while the coffee table is strewn with notebooks and textbooks. Vivi is almost 19, a freshman at Duke University.
"Attention", Brooke announces as she makes her presence known. "Firstly, no more yelling. It is too early. Now, Lina- your shoe is under your bed. Why? I don't know. Madelyn, let mommy take a breath and then she'll start breakfast." This seems to appease the twins and they run upstairs toward their shared room.
Thankfully, it is quiet again and Brooke sits herself down next to her eldest child. Not much has changed between the two since Lucas came back into the picture four years ago. They still have an unusually close bond.
"Don't make any noise", Vivi says quietly as she stares at the computer screen.
"Why not?" Brooke asks.
"That was a noise!"
"Viv, take a break. Today is a big day. Can't you get an extension?"
"Yeah, right", Vivi replies sarcastically. "I'll just tell my hard-assed professor that my mommy is finally getting married to the guy she's been dating on and off since she was sixteen and with whom she has three kids. Think that'll get me an extension?"
"Oh, yeah. Especially if you say it with that same sarcastic tone you just used with your mother", Brooke says.
"Sorry. I'm just stressed. Midterms are coming up and this paper is due next Thursday."
Brooke eyes Vivi and then takes the laptop off of her daughter's lap and lays it on the coffee table. "I need you with me today, Vee. Today is a big deal. I'll help you with your paper later, okay?"
"Fine", Vivi says. Her shoulders relax and she turns to her mother. "But how much do you know about the diagnosis of mental illness in children?"
"Next to nothing", Brooke replies, a smile playing on her lips. Vivi can't help but laugh at her mother.
A few minutes later, Brooke and Vivi are still giggling at something and Brooke doesn't notice a small body running into her leg. She looks up and turns to Lucas, who is standing in the entrance to the living room.
"I found this one trying to climb out of his crib", the man says.
"Ryan!" Brooke exclaims as she picks up the small boy and puts him in her lap. "What has mommy said about climbing?"
The blond toddler wiggles in his mother's arms. "No!" he says loudly.
"Exactly. No climbing."
Ryan Nathanial Scott was born 18 months ago, another surprise baby for the couple. The family had just moved down to North Carolina when Brooke discovered she was pregnant. It was stressful trying to settle in, set up a business and get ready to have a baby but Brooke worked it out. Vivi has taken to calling her mother "Super Mama" in the last few years.
"I'll get the kids dressed and prepped", Lucas says.
"Okay", Brooke replies as she gets off the couch, putting Ryan on her hip. "Just play clothes for now. The girls are getting ready here and you'll take Ryan with you to Nate's."
"I know, babe", Lucas says as he walks towards Brooke and places a chaste kiss on her lips. "Are you ready?" he whispers.
"For breakfast?" Brooke teases.
"You sure are something, Brooke Davis."
"I love you, too."
The couple kisses again, and then Brooke kisses Ryan and tickles him, eliciting a stream of giggles, before handing him to Lucas.
"I'll see you later", Lucas says and then walks towards the stairs. He's smiling brightly. The day seems so surreal to both him and Brooke. Their wedding is finally here and neither could shake the goofy grins from their faces.
When Lucas leaves, Brooke turns back around and finds Vivi hard at work again. Her smile turns into a frown as she walks over to her daughter.
"Vivienne Elizabeth, I swear to G-d", the mother says. "Get your ass off the computer."
Vivi looks up at her mother and smiles. She removes the laptop from her lap and stands up.
"Take a deep breath, Super Mom", Vivi says as she hugs her mother. "Take a bath or something. It's only 8 now. I'll make breakfast."
Brooke kisses Vivi's forehead and smiles. She's beaming almost.
Sometimes Brooke has trouble believing that Vivi is almost 19 already. It's even more apparent now how the two take care of each other. Plus, 19?! Brooke can't believe her daughter has gotten so old and that only means one thing to Brooke- she's gotten old, too.
"You're a doll", the mother says. "Let me know if you need anything."
Vivi smiles softly at her mother. "Relax", she says.
Relaxing is not Brooke's forte and it never would be. Right now, the last thing Brooke can do is relax. It's her wedding day. As she makes her way upstairs, Brooke stops at the door to the twin's room. Inside, Lina and Maddie are all over the place. Maddie is playing with Ryan who Is sitting on the floor. Lina is running circles around Lucas. Brooke can't help but chuckle quietly.
This is her life now. Two hyperactive but kind-hearted twin girls, one amazing teenage daughter who doubles as Brooke's best friend, an adorable and sweet toddler and the best boyfriend in the world who in less than twelve hours, Brooke will be able to call her husband.
-xx-
"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."
The applause is deafening. The hollers are loud and enthusiastic. Almost everyone, including Nathan (who will always deny it) is crying.
As Brooke and Lucas come up from their kiss, the bride begins to laugh through her tears.
"This is unreal", Brooke whispers. She cannot stop smiling and neither can her husband. Husband!
"I love you, pretty girl."
"I love you too, husband."
The couple turns to face forward, to see the faces of their friends and family. Karen is sitting front row with a twin on either side of her and Ryan in her lap. Brooke's parents are astonishingly also there, invited after Brooke rekindled their relationship after the twins were born.
Brooke turns behind her to smile and wink at Vivi, the maid of honor. Both women begin to quietly laugh.
The atmosphere is rich with excitement and joy. As the wedding party begins to recess down the rose-lined pathway, Lucas reaches out and grabs Brooke's hand. She squeezes it in return.
"Thank you", Lucas whispers almost inaudibly.
Brooke turns to him, eyebrow kinked in that famous way. "For what, babe?"
"For giving me a second chance. Or third", Lucas says, smiling slightly as Brooke kinks her eyebrow again. "And thank you for giving me a spectacular family."
Brooke shuts her eyes for a quick moment. She and her husband now begin to recess down the pathway slowly. Brooke opens her hazel eyes to meet Lucas' blue. "People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end, right?"
"That's right", Lucas says. He begins to look around – at the beautiful beach where the ceremony was being held, at his and Brooke's friends and family, at his three children. He looks back to his wife and smiles again. "We are such a cliché right now."
"How so?", Brooke asks, truly curious.
"We found our way back to each other after five years apart, we overcame those odds. We had three beautiful children and I have a great relationship with Vivi…"
Brooke nods slowly. She looks at her husband and smiles, wide dimples appearing in her cheeks. "Want to know something that will make us even more cliché?" she asks.
"What is it?"
"We're going to have another baby."
-xx-
