A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Thirty Five

Brooke heard the doorbell ring and hurried to answer it. She was relieved to see that it was Nathan. She gestured him to come into the foyer. He did with a grim look on his face. Brooke grew worried, but she also remained hopeful. "How did it go?" she asked him hesitantly. Her conscience had gotten the better of her. So she told Nathan about Clay's visit. He promised that he would talk to him.

Nathan let out a heavy sigh. He paused for a few seconds before he gave her a wide smile. "After a long discussion, I finally convinced Clay to back off for awhile. He won't be bothering us anymore." Brooke let out a relieved sigh. "I can't believe he tried to blackmail you." He then thought for a moment. "Actually, I can. He seemed really desperate for money when I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad you told me what he was doing."

"I knew you would be better to tell than Lucas," Brooke replied. She knew Lucas would do something rash whereas Nathan would try and talk to Clay. "Do you really think he will back off?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I do," Nathan assured her. "I threatened him that I would turn him over to the F.B.I. if he didn't. I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place. I should have known that I couldn't reason with him."

"Why didn't you just turn him in?" Brooke asked.

"Because he has a wife. And he's still my friend," Nathan replied. "Although, he is really close to becoming an enemy."

"Please don't cause trouble," Brooke begged. "I don't know if I can take any more of all this drama with Dan's former employees."

Nathan sighed. He had forgotten that she was pregnant. He knew she didn't need any more stress. "I'm sorry, Brooke. I didn't mean to worry you. I promise that there won't be any more talk of Clay or the drama that we went through." Brooke gave him a look. Nathan knew that he had to correct himself. "Ok, we'll stop talking about all the drama you and Haley went through."

They then turned to see Lucas coming through the front door. They greeted each other as Lucas came over to them. "Hey, I didn't realize you were coming by today. Is everything ok with Haley?" he asked his brother.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, Haley's fine. I just came by to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I don't get to see you two very often since you don't live in Tree Hill. I would have brought Haley, but she's volunteering at the library today."

Lucas tried not to laugh as he asked, "You were waiting until Brooke's parents left the house, weren't you?"

Brooke gave him a look. "My parents aren't that bad. They may be overprotective, but they love me and their grandson. Besides, they're better now that we have talked to them, right?" Lucas hated to admit it, but she was right. They had backed off after their conversation. "And they have moved out and into their own place now. So you should be happy."

After the conversation between parents, daughter and son-in-law, Keith and Karen had started searching for a house. They knew that it was time to give their daughter and son-in-law some space. As they looked for a house, they became closer to Lucas. They started to get to know him as more than just Dan Scott's son and they found him to be a kind and caring young man. They also began to understand why Brooke chose him.

"I'll be happier when our son makes his grand entrance," Lucas replied. Brooke had to agree. Lucas then changed the subject to basketball. His wife disappeared into the kitchen, not wanting to listen to the conversation.

After the day was through, Lucas and Brooke cuddled up in their bed together. Lucas noticed how quiet Brooke was. "What are you thinking about?" he asked her. He didn't let Brooke answer as he added, "I'll tell you my thoughts if you tell me yours."

Brooke didn't want to play his game. "Lucas, you have to promise me something." Lucas could from her tone that she was being serious. "If I do get pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, you have to promise me that you will choose to save Jayden over me."

Lucas interrupted her. "Brooke, don't talk like that. Dr. Copeland told us that the pregnancy is going great. So there is no reason to worry." Brooke was about to object when Lucas continued with what he wanted to say. "You and the baby will be fine."

Brooke wasn't convinced. "Just promise me that if something goes wrong, you'll save the baby first. I know you don't want to talk about it, but we have to. Because it's a possibility that it might happen."

Lucas sighed. He could tell that his wife wasn't going to let go of the subject until he made his promise. He hated to think that something would go wrong and he would end up as a single father. He didn't want to lose Brooke or Jayden. "I don't want to have to choose between you and Jayden. I don't want our baby to grow up without both of his parents."

Brooke knew how he was feeling. She was feeling the same way. She let out a heavy sigh. "I know you don't," she said as she looked at her bulging belly. "But Jayden deserves a chance to live. And I'm willing to sacrifice my life for his."

"So am I," Lucas replied. "But it shouldn't be at the expense of losing you." Brooke wanted to respond, but her husband was too fast for her. He took her hands into his. "If something happens to you during delivery, I'm going to demand to Dr. Copeland to do his best to save both of you. Because I'm not going to decide between you and Jayden. It would be impossible to." Brooke understood his reasoning. He then gave her a comforting smile. "Besides, I don't believe that there will be any complications. You will have this baby safely and three of us will start our lives together." Lucas's words were comforting to Brooke and she managed to smile in return.

The days passed quickly as Brooke and Haley prepared for their double baby shower. However, they quickly turned the job over to the three grandmothers. They knew that they didn't need the stress. Neither of them wanted to go into labor before their scheduled due dates. So they focused on getting their nurseries ready for their sons.

On that day, Lucas and Nathan took care of the restaurant since the girls were at the club. Andy offered to help and they accepted it. By now, they were used to having him around. They could see that their mom was very happy with him. That was all that mattered to the Scott brothers. They weren't surprised when Andy asked their permission for him to marry their mother. Both Lucas and Nathan gave him both their permission and blessings. Andy asked her that evening and she accepted his proposal.

A few weeks later, Peyton had her bachelorette party with Brooke, Haley and Millie as her guests. Even though Haley was due any day, she still wanted to attend. She insisted that she was feeling up to going to the party. So Nathan didn't want to argue with his pregnant hormonal wife.

Brooke was just the opposite. She wasn't feeling well. She hadn't been all day. She had a headache that didn't seem to want to go away. She did her best not to show it. However, Haley could see that her friend wasn't in the mood to party. "Brooke, maybe you should go lay down," she suggested. "You don't look too good."

Brooke didn't feel like arguing with her. She went to the guestroom and lay down on the bed. She tried to take a nap, but her headache became too much to bear. She finally gave up and climbed off the bed. As her feet touched the soft carpet, she started to feel some stomach cramps. She took some deep breaths, hoping that the cramps would decrease. But the method didn't work. Instead, they became worse. Brooke walked over to the door, struggling with each step. She was relieved when she reached the doorway. She knew that her friends were just inches away. Before she could call out, she started to feel the room spin. She then collapsed into darkness.

As soon as Nathan parked the car, Lucas jumped out and headed towards the entrance of the building. He hurried through the parking lot and through the hospital double doors, narrowly missing bumping into a couple of people. He quickly excused himself as he continued onto his destination. He ran over to the front desk, relieved to see that nobody else was in line. The receptionist turned to him as he caught his breath.

Lucas tried to remain calm as he spoke. "I'm Lucas Scott. I got a call that my wife had fainted and was brought here. Her name is Brooke Scott." Before the receptionist could tell him where Brooke was, he heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and saw Haley, Peyton and Millie. "What happened?" he asked as he embraced Haley in a tight hug.

"Brooke said she wasn't feeling well. She went to lay down in the guestroom. The next thing we know, she's on the floor," Peyton told him as Nathan and Jake joined the crowd. "It's all my fault. I should have noticed that she wasn't feeling well."

"It's okay," Haley replied as Nathan wrapped his arms around his wife. "She didn't want to ruin the fun for the rest of us." She didn't want to admit it, but she was also blaming herself. She had to keep reminding herself that this had come without warning. "We've already called her parents and your mom. They are on their way over here."

"Did they tell you anything yet?" Lucas asked her anxiously. He knew it was a long shot, but he wanted to ask anyway.

Haley shook her head. Lucas then went over to the receptionist to find out some answers. Nathan then went to help his wife into the waiting room and into one of the chairs. "How are you feeling?" Nathan asked her as they sat down. "Is Jamie hanging in there?"

Haley nodded as Lucas came back into the waiting room. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. "They had to rush Brooke into surgery," he told them. "And that's all the receptionist will tell me. She told me that Dr. Copeland will tell me the rest as soon as he can."

Haley could tell that he was really worried. She gave him a comforting smile. "Brooke and Jayden will come out of this just fine," she assured him. Lucas wished he could believe that. He knew Brooke was strong, but he didn't know if the baby was since he was six weeks early.

Soon, the grandparents arrived and chased Jake, Peyton and Millie home. They promised that they would call them with any news. Haley grew restless of the chair and decided to take a walk to the cafeteria. Deb went with her while the others stayed in the waiting room.

As soon as they returned with drinks, Dr. Copeland arrived. Everyone held their breaths as he spoke. "As you may know, Brooke developed pre-eclampsia, which led to eclampsia. So we had to do a C-section right away. I'm happy to say that your baby boy was born healthy." Lucas let out a relieved sigh. "And he is doing fine for a little guy who was born six weeks early. He's in the NICU if you want to see him."

Everyone was relieved to hear that Jayden was fine. However, there was still the matter of Brooke. Karen was the one to speak up first. "What about Brooke?" she asked anxiously. "Is she alright?"

Dr. Copeland didn't respond for a moment. "The surgery went fine, but I'm afraid that Brooke has slipped into a coma." Lucas's heart almost stopped. "I'm hopeful that she will wake up. It is just the matter of when."

"Can I see her?" Lucas asked him. He wanted to check on Brooke before going to see Jayden.

Dr. Copeland nodded. "You can all see her, but it's probably best if it's one at a time." He was about to lead Lucas to Brooke's room when Haley stopped him. He turned to her, ready to hear what she had to say.

"I think my water just broke," Haley announced as she looked down at the puddle beneath her feet.