A/N - I've gone through the chapters and fixed some typos and grammar. Plot's still the same. 5/20/08

Chapter 36:

"Lucas, can you come up here for a sec?" Brooke yelled.

Lucas dropped the screwdriver he was holding and groaned. They had a good Christmas with thier friends and families with lots of presents and parties. Now, it was the week after Christmas and Brooke had made good on her intent to start furnishing her house. She had gone shopping several times with Peyton, Haley and even his mother and had bought everything from furniture, to linens, to silverware. She was intent on making the place liveable by the time she had to fly back to California in a week and a half. Unfortunately for him, Nathan and Jake, they were recruited in helping her assemble all the furniture that she had delivered that day. Nathan and Jake had since abandoned him, making up lame excuses about having to be somewhere else. Unfortunately for him, he had no such luxury as she had already known he had nothing else going on.

He lumbered his way upstairs, dreading whatever task she was going to assign him next. He just hoped that it would be quick and they could get back to his house soon. He was seriously exhausted. He found her in the master bedroom with her hands on her hips staring at the bed intently. She had put on the sheets and pillows she had bought on and he had the feeling that he was supposed to tell her how nice they were.

"Wow. Great job, babe."

"Don't sound too excited now," Brooke said, seeing his lack of expression. "Try it out."

Looking at her uncertainly, he walked over to the bed sat at the edge and jumped up a bit.

"What do you think now?"

"Nice. Bouncy." Honestly, he didn't know what else to say, it looked and felt like any other bed to him.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to him and straddled his lap. He was caught a little off guard as she began to kiss him and that actually caused them both to fall backwards onto the bed. It didn't stop her from kissing him though so he went with it. When she finally pulled back, she smirked at him. "Now, what do you think of the bed?"

"Good...bed," he panted, still trying to catch his breath from that kiss.

"I thought you might like it," she said into his mouth.

The kissing had escalated when she pulled away again. He groaned at the loss of contact and tried to pull her back to him but she shook her head at him.

"We should stop. You're all sweaty and you're going to get my nice new sheets all dirty."

He looked at her like she had grown a second head. He couldn't even formulate a sentence, he couldn't believe that she was stopping them now. She had started it in the first place. "Baby, tell me you're joking! Please. You cannot start that...and then tell me we're not going to do anything anymore! Are you trying to kill me?" he accused.

Brooke smiled and leaned down to whisper into his ear. "Of course, I wouldn't do that. I just thought that we could take a shower first and clean each other up a little first"

He breathed a sigh of relief and then got up from the bed. She let out a shriek and started giggling as he lifted her up with him in a rush to get them into the bathroom.

Hours later, they were both snuggled deep in those new sheets. She was in her favorite position, under the crook of his arm, with her head resting on her bare chest. She could feel his heart beat start to even out while he was tracing circles onto her back, watching her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How much I love you."

"I love you, too."

"It's crazy how everything can get so flipped around in a little over two months, isn't it?"

"I've got no complaints. As long as I have you, everything is the way is should be."

"I believe it now. You and me, I mean. I know that this is it for me. It was hard for me to understand how you could be so sure without anything concrete to base it on. and I don't really have anything to point to and say that's what changed my mind. I just do. In my heart and my head. I guess that there are just going to be somethings that we can't explain."

"You don't know how much I needed to hear you say that. I've never doubted that you loved me, just like I never doubted that you're the one for me but that didn't stop me from being scared. I could tell you weren't completely sure yet. I was scared that you may never get there. I know that it took a lot for you to get to this point, andfor you to say it, it means everything, Brooke."

"I'm glad that I'm here too, Broody. You're pretty worth it."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"Yeah, but it's nice to hear it from other people too!" she giggled.

He just smiled and pulled her in closer, kissing the top of her head.

"Seriously, though. Thank you for fighting for me, for us."

"I told you, I would do it for the both of us until you were ready."

"I know, but words can only do so much. You backed it up, too. Not too many guys would be able to put up with me after everything we have gone through."

"We've had a few rough patches but we're worth it, you know? I would have done whatever it took, Brooke. Seriously."

"Before I came back home, all I could think about is what did I do to deserve all these bad things from happening to me. Now, I can't help but think, what did I do to that I'm so this happy. I feel kind of guilty. I mean, my parents died and I'm happy."

"They wouldn't want you to live in the past, Brooke. Your parents loved you. They would want you to be happy."

"I know."

"You make me happy too. I hope that you know that too."

He could feel her nod into his chest. "Broody?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when I freaked out on you when you called me 'Cheery' again?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I wouldn't mind if you called me that anymore. I kinda miss it."

He was caught a little off guard by that. It had been on the tip of his tongue so many times but he couldn't bring himself to say it again for fear that she would have the same reaction as the day of the funeral. He looked down and lifted her chin so that she was looking up at him. She had a small smile but he was looking directly at her eyes. In them, he saw all the confirmation he needed. She could never hide her feelings in her eyes. He gave her a gentle kiss.

"I've missed it too, Cheery."

They both smiled and she rested her head back on his chest. Even though it seemed like such a little thing, it felt like the last barrier she had put up had come down. She had opened herself up to him completely again and he couldn't be happier. He made a silent vow to never take it for granted.

"It feels like everything is how it's supposed to be now, huh?" she asked, as if she was reading his mind.

"Yeah, it does. Everything's perfect."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They soon fell asleep entangled in each others arms at peace with knowing that whatever they had to face in the future, they were in it together.

The End