A/N: So I know it took me a while to get this posted. Sorry about that! I wrote my super long thank you AN last chapter so I will just say a few words! Thank you so much! And please, leave a review. Also, it would be awesome if you would stick with me in my other stories. Go to my profile and check them out! Thanks Morgan! Only seven more days! Lol
Disclaimer: For the final time, I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters!
Two Years Later:
NPOV
"Do you, Gavin Reed Scott, promise to love and cherish Avery Brooke Smith for as long as you both shall live?"
I watched my son stand at that alter and gaze into Avery's eyes as the pastor asked him that question. I can't believe I'm here. At my son's wedding. To my best friend's daughter. It seems so unreal.
"I do," Gavin answered, smiling brightly at Avery, who was currently trying not to cry.
"And do you, Avery Brooke Smith, also promise to love and cherish Gavin Reed Scott for as long as you both shall live?" the pastor asked Avery.
"I do," she whispered back, a tear falling from her eye. I looked behind Gavin to see my oldest son, Dominic, standing as the Best Man. Behind him, in order, were Kaden, Jackson, Tristan, and Mason. Directly behind Avery was Sadie, her Maid of Honor. Behind Sadie was Emma, Gracie, Ava, and Jana, one of her close friends from cheerleading.
Avery and Gracie just graduated high school a few months ago. Emma, Jackson, Tristan, Dominic, Gavin, and Kaden just finished their first year of college, all choosing to follow Mason to Duke. They all live in the same apartment complex; my boys sharing an apartment, Emma, Jackson, and Tristan sharing an apartment, and Mason living with his girlfriend the floor below them. In August, Gracie and Avery will head up there. Gracie will be taking Gavin's room in the apartment and Avery and Gavin will be moving into their own. Sadie and Ava are a little sad to be losing two more people in their family. But they've already planned to join them at Duke when they graduate high school. And the twins?
Seven months after Brooke told me she was pregnant again, we were blessed with a boy and a girl; Tyler Matthew Scott and Kaelin Makenna Scott. They were only a week early but the birth was hard. I remember after Kaelin was born last, I was pushed out of the room by nurses as everyone started shouting at each other. I heard words like "She's losing blood," and something about Brooke losing consciousness. I was terrified. Our friends tried to comfort me as best as they could. But there was nothing that helped, at least until I got to see Brooke again. Five hours later, I was finally let back in the room, only to see Brooke sitting up in the bed smiling, our twins in her arms. I had never felt as happy as I did then, knowing she was okay and the twins were okay.
"Babe, time for pictures!" Brooke said, nudging my arm, waking me from my daydream.
********
Three hours later, everyone was gathered in the ballroom of the hotel Gavin and Avery chose for their reception. The dinner had been served, cake had been eaten, and bouquet and garder already thrown. Now was the time for everyone to relax and have a good time. The Bridal Party was out on the dance floor, having a good time with their brothers, sisters, cousins, and best friends. Dan and Karen had already gone home, volunteering to take the twins with them and babysit. We all had a feeling that there was something going on with Dan and Karen but were never sure.
I was sitting at a table a few feet off the dance floor, Brooke at my side, Haley, Lucas, Peyton, and Tim all seated around the circular table. I couldn't get the smile off my face as I watched my kids all laughing and smiling together on the dance floor. I looked around the table to see Brooke and our friends all with big smiles on their faces too, watching their children and their friend's children together.
"How did we get here?" Brooke asked suddenly, catching everyone's attention. Everyone was silent for a moment before Time spoke up.
"We drove here B! Remember? We all rode together!" he jested, making everyone laugh and Brooke roll her eyes.
"No Dim! Smartass," she mumbled, "I meant here! In our 30s with amazing kids, two of which got married. How did we get to this place and not kill each other?"
Everyone kind of chuckled slightly, but it seemed like we all went off in our own little worlds, remembering growing up together. Flashbacks seemed to fly in front of my eyes, remembering things from our past that got us to this moment.
"Who would have thought Brooke Davis was this good at pinball?"
"I may not have been inside that school, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't there. It doesn't mean that I don't carry that day around with me like everybody else!'
"Nathan, this was wrong."
"Honestly? It feels like you're dating my brother and not me."
"Nathan, it doesn't matter anymore because I love you.
"Ladies and gentlemen! May I please present to you the new King and Queen of Tree Hill!"
"Brooke's pregnant."
"You hurt my B. Davis; I will beat your ass!"
"Well, I would hope I had my boyfriend and father of that baby to help me! But I guess that's too much to ask."
"The father was running late. I'm sorry. Hi, I'm Nathan Scott!"
"Say hi to Daddy, Baby Scott!"
"She says it's her fault the baby died! She said she deserves to feel this pain!"
"Molly Erin Scott, I love you!"
"Brooke, please stop shutting me out. I'm hurting just as much as you. I need you right now."
"Of course, you would go into labor at my dead daughter's funeral!"
"And when you sleep, there is always that moment when you're in a really deep sleep, that you mumble my name and I love it when you do that."
"Because, face it Brooke, you've always been everything to me."
"Nate, maybe they're right. Maybe we can't do this on our own. Maybe we do need help."
"I need you in my life forever. I want you for the rest of my life. So please, will you marry me?"
"Daddy! Look, I'm naked!"
"Mommy says she likes it when we wear outfits like this. She says we look like Daddy when he was our age!"
"Oh, so he's my son now? When they're good, they're your kids. But if they're bad, they're mine? That's not fair!"
"Yeah but we've got something that they didn't know about; a love like no other."
"We have some great kids Nathan Scott."
"You girls remember that night Nathan, Tim, and Luke stayed home with Mason when he was a baby so we could have a night out?" Haley asked with a laugh, bringing me from my memories.
"Oh my God, that was hilarious! We get back to your apartment and there is just crap everywhere! Toys, clothes, dirty diapers laying on the coffee table!" Peyton said laughing, making us all remember the first night we babysat for Haley.
"Yeah and these three are all passed out all over the living room, Mason just playing quietly by himself in the playpen!" Brooke said, rolling her eyes at us guys.
"Hey, you two weren't that much better than us!" Tim said, pointing a finger at Peyton and Brooke.
"Yeah, I seem to remember one night after the boys were born, you two said you could handle five babies on your own so Tim and I could go out with the team. And not even two hours later, you were blowing up our phones, asking us to come back home and help you!" I said laughing.
"Hey Nate, remember the night Whitey threw us off the bus back in junior year?" Lucas asked, bringing up the really old memories.
"Ha! That was hilarious! Thing, Thing 1, and Thing 3!"
"Yeah man, he was the third!" Luke joked, making everyone laugh.
"I still think one of the best times was when Peyton broke the board game over Nathan's head that one night!" Brooke told us, making Peyton turn a deep red.
"I was upset, I'm sorry!" Peyton squealed.
"Yeah, I think you almost gave me a concussion that night!" I said jokingly, rubbing the top of my head for more effect.
"Keep talking Nate and see what happens!" she threatened with a laugh.
"Just don't slap him again like you did after Brooke got pregnant with Molly!" Tim said.
"Oh my God, I forgot all about that!" Peyton said with wide eyes. Everyone joined in their laughter. After a few more minutes of going down memory lane, the DJ announced that it was time for the father/daughter dance. Tim stood from his seat and joined his daughter out in the middle of the dance floor. Gavin came and sat in Tim's seat that was next to Brooke's.
"You ready for our dance Mom?" he asked, watching Avery dance with her father to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."
"You know I'm gonna cry right?" Brooke asked, a tear coming to her eye.
"That's okay," he mumbled, not taking his eyes off Avery.
"Hey, you never did tell me what song you picked for our mother/son dance!" Brooke said quickly as Avery and Tim were walking off the dance floor. Gavin stood, grabbed his mom's hand, and ushered her to the dance floor with a smirk on his face.
"It's a surprise!" he said with a laugh right before the song began.
"Oh my God!" Brooke mumbled in embarrassment, her head falling to Gavin's shoulder as Clay Walker's song "'Fore She Was Mama," began.
'Bout ten years old, hide and seek
I found me in the closet
Ready or not I stumbled on
And opened up that box of
Yearbooks, letters, black and whites
A hundred, maybe more
Next thing I know my brothers and me
Got 'em scattered on the floor (Yeah)
Everyone at our table and all our children started laughing as they clapped and shouted for Brooke and Gavin.
"I can't believe you chose this song! It's embarrassing Gav!" Brooke whispered, a slight blush coming to her cheeks as she saw us cheering for them.
"It's perfect for us Mom!" Gavin laughed. The song isn't a slow song, but for some reason, Gavin decided to keep dancing slow with his mother. It fit somehow.
There was one of her, flippin' the bird
Sittin' on a Harley
And a few with some hairy hippie dude
Turns out his name was Charlie
Her hair, her clothes, her drinkin' smokin'
Had us boys confused
I'll never forget the day us nosey kids got introduced
To Mama, 'fore she was Mama
In a string bikini, in Tijuana
Won't admit she smoked marijuana
But I saw Mama, 'fore she was Mama
"That is so Brooke!" Haley laughed as Lucas whistled at them. I just sat back in my chair and watched them while listening to the lyrics. The song did fit them. It was pretty funny if you ask me!
We put that box right where it was
And never said a word
But growin' up got hard just tryin'
Not to picture her
In anything but aprons, dresses
Mini-vans and church
Oh and Daddy would have whooped our butts
For diggin' up that dirt
On Mama, 'fore she was Mama
In a string bikini, in Tijuana
She won't admit she smoked marijuana
But I saw Mama, 'fore she was Mama
"I have never been to Tijuana!" Brooke shouted from her spot on the dance floor. Of course, the entire ballroom erupted into laughter.
We laugh and hang it over her head
Right above her halo
Her face turns red when we bring up
That tie-dyed Winnebago
She runs and hides and still denies
That hip high rose tattoo
She burned that box of forget-me-nots
When she found out we knew
About Mama, 'fore she was Mama
In a string bikini, in Tijuana
Won't admit she smoked marijuana
But that was Mama, 'fore she was Mama
And there's that one down in the Bahamas
But that was Mama, 'fore she was Mama
As the song finished, Gavin twirled Brooke in a circle before leading her back to our table. Brooke quickly took her seat next to me while Gavin grabbed his wife's hands and lead her back to the dance floor.
"I can't believe he did that!" Brooke muttered, taking a sip of her wine.
"The look on your face was priceless!" Peyton giggled.
"You looked great babe!" I whispered in her ear as we turned to watch Gavin and Avery dance together again. They had already done their first dance to Keith Urban's "Making Memories of Us," but Gavin said he wanted to have another first dance with her, surprising her with the song he chose. The opening chords to "When You Say Nothing At All," by Keith Whitley and Alison Krauss came on. I looked over at Brooke to see tears springing to her eyes. This was our first dance at our wedding. Gavin caught my eye and waved at me. I nodded my head, standing and leading Brooke to the dance floor. And few moments later, Peyton and Tim and Haley and Lucas joined us.
I'm not gonna lie, none of us were ever really fans of country music. But when Brooke and I were going through our hard times after Molly Erin died, we heard this song and it made so much sense to us. The chorus;
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
Speaks the truth about our relationship. We've known each other for so long that we can read each other like that. Looking deep into Brooke's eyes as she searched mine for words we didn't need to say but chose to anyways.
"I love you Nathan Scott," she whispered.
"I love you too Brooke Scott," I whispered back, leaning down to capture her lips with mine.
"To the moon and back," we whispered together.
BPOV
So now you know why I said it was a long, winding road of heartache and betrayal. But we made it. We survived our youth. It was hard, and unhappy, and tears, and broken hearts, and guilt, and regret. But I get it. That's what youth is all about.
It's tears and shouting, music and love, sex and fear, broken hearts and alcohol, messy and sad, beautiful and scary, all rolled into one. All we were ever trying to do was survive it. I think we did a pretty damn good job.
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Let me know!
And one more quick note! In about a week or so, if you have this story on alert, you will get an email saying it was updated. Don't ask any questions, just click the link for it and check out the surprise I have in store!
