Lose Yourself
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from One Tree Hill!
"Brooke" Chase immediately stood up and walked quickly into the hall when he heard the front door shut. "Hey" he offered weakly.
Brooke however just frowned at him as she took off her coat and hung it up "Not now, Chase" she muttered tiredly.
"Brooke please" Chase pleaded "I really am sorry for what happened to Lucas"
"I don't want to hear it tonight, okay? It's been a long day and I'm tired and I just want to go to bed" Brooke told him as she slipped off her shoes and went to walk up the stairs.
"Well I will come with you" Chase offered as he came up from behind.
Brooke immediately shook her head "I think you should sleep in the guest room tonight" she mumbled.
"Brooke..." Chase trailed with a sigh "Come on, don't be mad at me"
"How can I not be?" Brooke asked in disbelief but quietened down so she wouldn't wake Grace. "Chase you could have killed him!"
"I didn't think he would fall!" Chase argued "I was angry-"
"Chase" Brooke's stern voice cut him off "Please, not tonight, okay?"
"Fine" Chase muttered in annoyance. "Good night then"
"Night" Brooke mumbled before making her way up the stays. The nights events having worn her out.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Grace shouted loudly as she jumped up and down on the bottom of Brooke's bed "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" she shouted with every jump she made "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
"Grace!" Brooke grunted in annoyance "Get off the bed, now!" she scolded sternly.
"But Mom!" Grace moaned as she fell to her knees "I want some breakfast!"
"Gracie it's too early" Brooke muttered tiredly, still annoyed at getting woken up so early. "Go back to bed!"
"But it's boring!" Grace told her mother with a pout "Can't I stay here with you?"
"No, because if you do, you will lay here for about two minutes before waking me up again!" Brooke told her seriously. And it was true, it happened every time.
"No I won't!" Grace moaned as she crawled towards her mother "I promise I wont"
"Gracie" Brooke sighed.
"Please Mommy" Grace pleaded with a pout. "Please please please"
"Urgh fine" Brooke groaned while giving in "Get in the bed, but I mean it. One word and you're out" she told her.
"Okay Mommy!" Grace grinned widely as she jumped under the covers and snuggled into Brooke's side. "I love you" she smiled.
"I love you too baby girl" Brooke smiled as she ran her fingers through her daughters soft brown locks, hoping this would help her go back to sleep for at least another hour.
"What are you doing?" Brooke asked shocked when she woke up to see Chase rummaging through the cupboards in their bedroom. "Chase?" she questioned again when her boyfriend hadn't answered her.
"I'm doing what's best, Brooke" Chase replied without turning around the look at her as he continued to pull out his clothes.
Brooke frowned confused as she slowly sat up, careful not to wake a sleeping Grace next to her and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the suitcase on the floor. "You're leaving?" she whispered in shock as she stood up.
"Just for a little while" Chase told her and finally turned around "I think it's what's best"
Brooke sighed and shook her head "Well what about Grace? She loves you"
"She has Lucas now" Chase told her with a frown "Besides, I will be back. I just think we need some space right now"
"But leaving?" Brooke asked as she walked towards her boyfriend. "So you are just going to run away from this? After everything we have been through"
"That's exactly why I'm leaving, Brooke!" Chase hissed at her quietly "What the hell are we? We either don't talk properly, or we argue. There is no in-between with us!"
"Yeah well it's not just about us, is it?" Brooke asked in disbelief as she pointed over to her sleeping daughter. "What about Grace? She doesn't deserve this!"
"No, she doesn't deserve to live in a house with two people who don't love each other!" Chase accused causing Brooke to take a step back in shock.
"Wh-What? Don't love each other?" she asked stunned and also a little hurt. "Chase..."
"You don't love me, Brooke" Chase told her honestly "Not really"
"Yes I do!" Brooke defended while trying to keep her voice down. "I do!"
"Well when was the last time you said it, huh?" Chase asked and let out a bitter laugh when he saw Brooke's taken aback expression. "You see, you don't even know"
"We don't have to tell each other every day do we?" Brooke argued. "How can you say that?"
"Because it's true!" Chase told her seriously "Brooke, I know that you know it's true. And you also know that there's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone."
Brooke stayed silent as she shook her head, tears threatening to appear in her eyes. "I do care for you, Chase. I really really do"
"I know" Chase nodded and gave her a small smile "But things have changed between us, Brooke, and not just Lucas coming back"
"I know" Brooke admitted quietly. "But you don't have to go"
"I do" Chase told her with a small smile as he zipped his suitcase up. "Look after yourself Brooke Davis" he told her softly before leaning forward and kissing her slowly.
Brooke hesitantly pulled out of the kiss and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "You are coming back though, right?" she asked quietly into his ear.
"Yeah" Chase nodded "Of course"
"Good" Brooke smiled as she pulled out of the hug "Because we were friends once, right? There's no reason why we can't be again"
"Exactly" Chase smiled before walking over to the bed and leaning forward and pecking Grace softly on her forehead "Love you Gracie" he whispered before grabbing his case and walking out of the room. "Bye" he said one last time.
"Bye" Brooke replied with a small smile as she watched him leave the room. She ran her hand over her face sadly and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. Where to go next?
"Ouy" Peyton grunted tiredly as she felt something kick her leg from under the covers. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped loudly when she realised who she was sleeping next to. "OH my god!" she jumped in shock and sat up quickly but her head soon regretted it. "Oh my god!" she whispered to herself as she placed one of her hands on her pounding head. She slowly got out of bed and quickly put her clothes on. "Nathan!" she shouted once she was suitably dressed "Nathan!" she repeated getting annoyed "Nathan Scott! Get the hell out of my bed!"
"Wh-What!" Nathan jumped up in fright and looked around panicked and confused of his surroundings. He glanced around the room puzzled but turned to look to Peyton in shock when he realised what he did last night. "OH my god!" he grunted as his head hit back against the pillow.
"You think?" Peyton shouted at him sarcastically "Nathan get the hell out of here!" she hissed at him angrily. "I can't believe you got my drunk last night!"
"What!" Nathan argued "Peyton, I did not force those drinks down your throat!"
"You may as well have!" Peyton bit back coldly "Asshole!"
"Great" Nathan chuckled bitterly "So I take it this is all my fault?"
"Yes!"
"Oh grow up, Peyton!" Nathan sneered at her coldly as he sat up and put his shorts on. "We had sex last night, so what!"
"So what? Nathan!" Peyton gasped in shock "I can't believe you just said that!"
"We were two consenting adults! Peyton for gods sake we are 22 years old and we have had a one night stand, this happens!" Nathan argued seriously as he placed his t-shirt over his head.
"Yeah maybe for you!" Peyton hit back "But I actually have standards!"
"Well apparently not" Nathan smirked.
"Oh, well what about Haley?" Peyton challenged and smiled when she saw Nathan's eyes immediately widen. "Yeah, I thought so"
"Look" Nathan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair frustratingly "I think we can both agree that last night was a mistake, right?"
"Absolutely" Peyton answered without hesitation.
"Okay" Nathan nodded "So there's no need to tell anyone about this, is there?"
"So you want me to lie?" Peyton asked while shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well it's not exactly a lie is it? We just won't mention it to anyone"
"It's still classed as a lie" Peyton argued.
"Fine" Nathan muttered "So it's a lie, so what? Would you rather tell Haley about this? How do you think she would feel, huh? You are supposed to be one of her best friends"
"Hey! Don't do that!" Peyton hissed at him angrily "Don't put all the blame on me!"
"I'm not" Nathan defended "But I do think we should keep this quiet. Imagine how awkward and complicated things would get if anyone else found out about this? Especially Haley"
"Yeah" Peyton sighed as she put her head in her hands tiredly "I see your point" she grumbled.
"Good" Nathan nodded as he slipped on his jacket. "I will see you around" he mumbled as he made his way towards the bedroom door.
"Yeah" Peyton replied "Whatever" she sighed before sitting back on the bed. What the hell had she done?
"Daddy! Daddy!" Grace shouted loudly from her place on the swing "Push me higher Daddy! Higher!" she screamed loudly with a wide smile.
"Okay, okay princess" Lucas chuckled as he continued to push her high. "How high do you want to go?" he asked with a grin. "Up to the clouds?"
"Higher than the clouds Daddy!" Grace giggled. "Higher than the sky!"
"How about the sun?" Lucas smiled as he continued to push her.
"Higher!"
"Higher than the moon?" Lucas asked with a smirk.
"Yes!" Grace laughed as she continued to swing high in the air.
"Lucas, be careful" Brooke warned hesitantly as she slowly approached the duo.
"She's fine, Brooke" Lucas laughed as he turned his head to see the beautiful brunette walk towards him.
"I'm flying Mommy!" Grace told her loudly with a wide smile.
"Yeah I can see that baby girl" Brooke smiled as she watched her daughter swing up and down.
Lucas grinned as he stopped pushing for a moment and took a step towards her "How's my baby?" he asked with a smile as he let his fingers drift under Brooke's shirt and onto her pregnant stomach.
"Your baby is fine" Brooke smiled as she wrapped her arms around Lucas' neck. "So is your wife"
"Good" Lucas grinned as he leaned forward and kissed her softly "I love you Pretty Girl" he told her with his boyish smile after he broke away.
"I love you too, husband" Brooke smirked before leaning in and kissing him again.
"Lucas! Lucas!" Lucas grumbled tiredly as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself back in a hospital bed and sighed when he realised it was all just a dream. However, his smile reappeared when he realised who it was who was calling his name. "Lucas!"
"Hey Grace" Lucas smiled as he slowly sat up.
"I'm sorry" Brooke told him with a cringe as she entered the hospital room "I told her not to wake you up, I only went outside for 10 seconds and look what happens"
"It's fine" Lucas smiled as he turned his attention back to his daughter "And how are you?" he asked grinning "Well enough to wake a sick man up I see?" he teased.
"Yes" Grace smiled "You were snoring!"
"I do not snore!" Lucas defended.
"Yes you do!" Grace argued.
"I do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not" Lucas smirked.
"Do too!" Grace argued back more forcefully "I heard you!"
"Yeah well don't tell anyone!" Lucas whispered in her ear causing Grace to let out a giggle.
"Okay" Grace smiled "Our secret!"
"Good" Lucas chuckled as he looked back over at Brooke who was standing at the foot of the bed while Grace went and played with some of the plants that were on the window ledge. "Hey" he smiled softly.
"Hi" Brooke smiled "How are you?"
"Okay" Lucas nodded "I'm feeling a lot better after a good nights rest"
"Good" Brooke replied "I'm glad"
"Yeah" Lucas agreed "And the doctors said I can be realised this afternoon if my test results come back okay, could even be in a couple of hours."
"Really?" Brooke asked surprised "That's great" she told him honestly.
"Yeah it is" Lucas smiled. "I wasn't expecting to you see you here though to be honest" he admitted. "Not that I'm not pleased to!" he quickly carried on "I mean, I think it's great, you know that I want to spend time with you and Grace, right?"
Brooke smiled at his rambling "I know" she told him "And we had nothing else to do, since it's the summer, Grace doesn't have pre-school and I didn't have to go into work straight away today so I thought we would drop by for a little bit"
"Thank you" Lucas smiled. "Really, I am grateful"
"I know" Brooke told him as she walked over to the window where Grace was trying to pull out the plant from it's pot. "Don't do that" she laughed as she lifted up her daughter from behind "Silly girl" she smirked.
"Hey!" Grace gasped "I'm not silly!" she defended.
"Yes you are" Brooke teased as she kept a hold of her "Tell Lucas how silly you are!"
"I'm not silly, Lucas!" Grace told him with a gasp and shook her head furiously while trying to hide the smile that was creeping onto her face.
"Oh really?" Lucas laughed and raised his eyebrow slightly "Your mother seems to think you are"
"Well my Mommy is the silly one!" Grace giggled.
"Oh so it's like that is it?" Brooke asked in mock shock "Fine, let's play it your way Gracie" she smirked before she began to tickle at her sides.
"Ah! Mommy Stop!" Grace gasped in between laughs. "Stop!"
Lucas chuckled from his place in the bed as he thought back to his dream. As much as he wished it was real, the reality wasn't as bad either.
"You look like hell" Rachel laughed as Nathan slowly walked into Brooke's store.
"Gee, thanks" Nathan grumbled tiredly as he walked over to the counter and rested his body against it. "My head is fucking killing me"
"Yeah I can see that" Rachel chuckled as she stood at the other side of the counter "Rough night last night?" she asked suspiciously.
"Yeah something like that" Nathan grunted as he looked around the store where there was just a couple of people about. "Where's Brooke?" he asked confused "Wasn't she supposed to be working today?"
"You haven't heard?" Rachel asked surprised.
"Heard what...?" Nathan trailed confused.
"Lucas and Chase got into an argument last night and apparently things got heated. Lucas ended up in hospital" Rachel told him much to the surprised look on Nathan's face. "Apparently he is fine and it was just a concussion" she shrugged.
"And Brooke is there now?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah" Rachel nodded "She wanted to see how he was before coming to work"
"Figures" Nathan muttered while shaking his head.
"Oh come on, Nate. Give the girl a break, Lucas is in hospital" Rachel told him seriously. "Surely you can't be mad at her for wanting to see if he is alright?"
"It's just another reason for Lucas to try and get close to her again" Nathan grunted "So he may have been hurt, but I am sure he will be milking Brooke's company while he recovers"
Rachel rolled her eyes "Brooke is a big girl, she can look after herself" she told him. "So I will ask again, what did you get up to last night?" she asked with a smirk "Because from the looks of things I would say that you didn't get much sleep..."
"Shut up Rachel" Nathan huffed "I just had a late night, that's all"
"I bet you weren't alone" Rachel smirked "Was it Haley?"
"No!" Nathan quickly jumped in annoyed "It was nobody! I had a late night with the boys, end of story!" he defended.
"Sure" Rachel laughed before turning her attention to a customer who was approaching them.
"Oh thank god" Lucas smiled as the doctor explained to him that he would be able to go home in an hour or so. "Thank you" he told him with a smile and the doctor nodded before leaving.
"Well that's good news" Keith smiled from his place by the window.
"Yeah it is" Lucas smiled "It's great"
"I'm glad you are okay, Lucas" Brooke told him softly.
"Thank you" Lucas told her appreciatively and nodded towards his daughter who was sitting on the foot of the bed looking through random magazines. "Thanks" he repeated again telling Brooke that he wasn't just referring to her words.
Brooke nodded her head with a tight smile before looking down at her watch "Oh shit" she grunted as she quickly stood up.
"Mommy!" Grace gasped "You said a bad word!"
"I know, I'm sorry baby" Brooke apologised quickly as she hurriedly grabbed her bag and jacket.
"Are you leaving?" Lucas asked surprised at her sudden movement.
"Sorry" Brooke quickly told him apologetically "But I was supposed to be at the store an hour ago!" she said as she picked her daughter up off the bed. "Rachel is going to kill me"
"Well what about Grace? Is she going with you?" Lucas asked curiously.
Brooke nodded "Yeah, she would normally stay with Nathan or Chase but those are two different long stories" she muttered.
"Well I can watch her" Lucas quickly cut in causing Brooke to halt immediately.
"What?" Brooke asked surprised "Uh, Lucas, you are in a hospital bed" she said with a small laugh.
"I know, but I'm getting released soon, and Keith will be here, right?" he asked looking over at his uncle.
"Yeah" Keith nodded his head.
"I don't know Lucas..." Brooke trailed with a frown "You are obviously tired and when you do get released I'm sure all you want to do is go home and rest"
"Brooke" Lucas told her seriously "Please"
"But-"
"Please" Lucas repeated pleadingly.
Brooke glanced at her daughter who was struggling to zip up her coat by herself then back to Lucas' pleading face. "Okay" she sighed loudly and Lucas smiled widely. "But you will be here too, right?" she asked Keith, still unsure about leaving her daughter alone with Lucas so soon, not just after his accident but since returning to Tree Hill too.
"Of course" Keith nodded. "Brooke she will be fine"
"Okay" Brooke repeated before turning back to Grace "Will you be okay here with Lucas and Keith?" she asked softly "You have your coloring books and crayons right?" she asked motioning to Grace's bright pink bag.
"Yes" Grace nodded with a smile, happy that she wouldn't have to go to work with her mom.
"Okay" Brooke said once again before looking back at Lucas "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, really" Lucas smiled "Brooke it's fine"
"Right" Brooke nodded as she leaned down and kissed Grace's forehead lightly "You be good for them, okay?" she warned seriously.
"I will be" Grace grinned and nodded her head.
"Great" she smiled while standing up "I will come pick her up later, I won't be too long. So just let me know if you are still here or back at Keith's place, right?"
"Of course" Lucas smiled.
"Good" Brooke nodded "Okay, well bye" she finished before leaving the room.
"So Grace, what would you like to do?" Lucas asked with a grin. He was surprised that Brooke was letting Grace stay with him, even though he knew that the main reason she probably did agree was because Keith would be there, but that didn't even matter to him. Brooke was slowly letting him into their lives and he was so happy and grateful for that.
A/N: What did you think? I hope you all liked it. Please review and tell me! I love reading them.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it really does mean a lot.
Sara x
