A/N: Thanks to my readers for reviewing and Leeese for editing. After a lot of thought, I've decided to cut the story into two parts. There will be a few more chapters before the first part of the story is completed.

Chapter Thirty Seven

The Birthday Bash

As the next few days went by, Lucas continued to mourn his beloved coach and mentor. Keith and Karen believed it was best to send Lucas away for a weekend while Brooke took care of Maddie. When he returned, he admitted that he did feel a little better. It was still hard for him at times. However, he was able to stay strong thanks to Maddie and Brooke. They were really there when he needed them to lean on and cheer him up when he was down.

Soon it was Jamie's birthday. Since he was turning five, he wanted a birthday party with all of his friends. He also wanted a theme for his party. Nathan and Haley were going to allow him choose the theme, but there was one theme that Haley wasn't going to allow: circus. Circus meant clowns and she hated the thought of that person with the creepy face coming anywhere near her. Luckily, he had chosen basketball.

His birthday party was a huge success, thanks to Brooke. She was quite the party planner and had planned everything to perfection. Everyone enjoyed the events that she had planned, especially the birthday boy himself. Brooke was proud of her accomplishment.

Brooke then started working on Maddie's birthday party. To everyone's relief, Peyton wanted Maddie to visit her after her birthday weekend. She figured that they already had plans for her so she didn't want to interrupt them. To Lucas's surprise, she had her own plans for Maddie for her birthday. He couldn't believe that she was stepping up as a parent. He still believed that she was up to something, but his mother encouraged him to trust Peyton.

Like Jamie, Maddie wanted to have a special birthday. Yet, her request was a little different than Jamie's. She didn't care about having a theme, but she wanted a different location. Instead of having it at her house, she wanted to have it at her favorite place to play: the park. Lucas agreed and Brooke started working on getting everything ready for the party with the exception of the surprise that her aunt Haley had already planned for her.

Lucas and Brooke were busy making breakfast when they heard footsteps on the stairs. They knew that it had to be Maddie since she was the only one who wasn't up yet. It was only seconds later when she appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Birthday Girl," Lucas greeted brightly as he gave his daughter a wide smile.

"May I ask how old you are?" Brooke asked playfully as she pulled a confused face. "I forget."

Maddie smiled proudly and held up her hand showing her five fingers. "I'm five years old now."

"Wow, you're getting old," Brooke teased her. "Soon you'll be older than me."

Maddie giggled before she turned to her dad. "Daddy, can I open one of my presents now?" she asked him eagerly. "Please?"

Lucas gave her a wide smile. "Who could say no to that?" He gave his daughter a kiss before he disappeared from the kitchen.

Brooke gave her her breakfast as they waited for him to return with the present. "Are you excited about your party this afternoon?" she asked. "I'm sure you're even more excited about the fireworks tonight."

Maddie nodded. "Are Aunt Rachel and Uncle Owen coming?"

Brooke gave the little girl a gentle smile. "I'm afraid not, sweetie. They made other plans, but they did send you a present."

Maddie was disappointed, but she quickly became happy once she heard that they had sent her a present. She became even happier when she had a gift to open. She squealed in delight when she saw that it was a 4th of July T-shirt. She thanked them before she ran to try it on. Lucas used that opportunity to make out with his girlfriend.

They were able to get a few minutes before Maddie returned into the room. "Can I show it to Jenny?" she asked anxiously.

"Why don't you finish eating your breakfast?" Lucas suggested. "Then you can go and hang out with Jenny."

Maddie grumbled, but obeyed his orders. As soon as she was finished, she quickly cleaned off her plate before she ran out the front door. Brooke just shook her head in amusement. "I've never seen her so excited about getting a present before, especially a T-shirt."

"Well, she loves 4th of July T-shirts," Lucas replied. "I get her one every year and make sure that it's never the same design. And she never knows if I'm going to give it to her right away or not."

"If she gets excited over the T-shirt, it makes me wonder how excited she will get when she finds out her other surprises," Brooke said. "What made you change your mind about getting Maddie a pet?"

Lucas let out a heavy sigh. "It was Whitey's death. He made me realize how life is too short to have regrets. And I'm afraid I'm going to regret not giving Maddie a chance to have a pet. I just wish she still wanted a kitten instead of a puppy. A kitten would be able to take care of itself eventually. And the puppy might scare Jenny's kitten away." Maddie had asked about getting a pet once more since the discussion. However, she had also told her father that she had changed her mind and wanted a puppy instead of a kitten.

Brooke just laughed. "I think you worry too much. Everything will be fine. And Maddie will have another best friend to hang out with."

A few hours later, Brooke and Haley headed to the park to set up for the party. They took the children with them while the fathers went to play on the River Court. Mouth soon joined them. Lucas was quiet as he processed his thoughts. "I still can't believe that my little girl is five years old. It seems like yesterday she was a baby." His friends nodded in agreement. They all had the same thoughts about their children. "I suppose it doesn't help that we all had them young. Of course, some of us were younger than others."

Nathan gave his brother a look. "It's not like we were expecting to get pregnant with Jamie so soon."

Lucas interrupted him. "Speaking of children, have you and Haley figured out a name for my niece yet?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, we are still playing around with names. How did you and Peyton come up with Maddie's name again?"

"Peyton and I came to a compromise," Lucas reminded him. "I would choose the first name if we had the middle name as Elizabeth."

"Peyton really didn't care about the baby, did she?" Jake asked. "Otherwise, you would think that she would try and participate more than what she had. Are you happy that she is finally stepping up as a parent?"

"I'm not sure if you would call her a parent," Nathan said. "After all, she gave up her parental rights to Lucas. She even gave him her blessing to allow his next wife to adopt Maddie as her daughter." He turned to his brother with a smile. "Is that going to be Brooke?"

Lucas tried not to laugh. "We're nowhere near that stage in our relationship. Even if we were, I'm not going to talk about it with my buddies." He changed the subject and his friends didn't mention it again.

A half-hour later, the Scott family and Maddie's friends surrounded the birthday girl as she blew out her five candles with one breath. The guests applauded and cheered as Maddie started opening her gifts. She kindly thanked the person that had given her the gift after she had unwrapped it.

Lucas wasn't happy when he saw that Maddie had received an extravagant gift from Rachel and Owen: a red Ramshackle Playhouse. However, he could see that Maddie was thrilled to have one to play in in the backyard. She and her friends were already enjoying the gift by playing in it.

"Gee, I wonder how you are going to top that," Haley teased him as she noticed the annoyed look on Lucas's face. He turned to her as she gave him a wink. "Do you want to get the birthday girl while I get Mia?" she whispered. She wanted to make sure Maddie couldn't hear her.

Lucas nodded in agreement. It took a few minutes before the children were able to get rounded up and sit at the table again. Maddie couldn't wait to find out what other two surprises that awaited her. He then persuaded his daughter to close her eyes.

Once she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe who was standing in front of her or what she was holding in her arms. She embraced her idol in a gentle hug as Mia gave her a wide smile. "Happy birthday, Maddie. This little gal is for you," she told her as she gently handed the Chihuahua over to the birthday girl. Maddie was speechless as Mia spoke again. "You can thank your dad and Brooke. This is their gift to you. I just helped them find the right puppy for you." Maddie quickly thanked everyone as she and her friends started playing with the puppy.

Lucas and Brooke watched fondly as the two new best friends ran around chasing each other. After the adults calmed down the children again, Mia sang a couple of songs. The birthday party continued with cake and ice cream. After a few hours of fun and fireworks, they arrived back at the house. Poor Maddie was so exhausted that Lucas had to carry her into the house. Brooke was right behind them with the new puppy.

Maddie opened her eyes for a few moments as she noticed the dog items in the kitchen and den. "We got all the items that your puppy needs except for a collar and the tags. After all, we believe that you should name her. Do you have a name for your new friend?"

Maddie nodded. "Her name is Lola."

"Well, I think it's time for you and Lola to get into bed," Brooke said. "Does the birthday girl want me to read her a story tonight?" Maddie nodded as she said good night to her dad. Brooke gently gave the puppy to her before she started to head to her bedroom.

Brooke and Lucas then turned to each other and exchanged smiles. "Well, you certainly made your daughter's dream come true. How are you going to top it next year?" Brooke asked as she wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck. "A cell-phone? Or perhaps a car?" she teased him, knowing perfectly well that wasn't going to happen.

Lucas laughed as they drew closer. "She isn't getting either one of those until she is close to her teen years especially the car."

Brooke just gave him a smile. "Well, I'm going to check on Maddie. I'll be back in five minutes." She then gave her boyfriend a loving kiss before she left him. To her surprise, Maddie was still awake, snuggled up to Lola. They exchanged wide smiles as Brooke came over to them. "Did you have a great birthday?" she asked.

Maddie nodded. "This is the best birthday ever," she declared. "Next year, I want a brother or sister."

Brooke tried to think of the best answer for that request. "Well, you do know that your dad and I would have to get married first before that would happen, right?"

"Aunt Rachel told me that it doesn't have to happen that way," Maddie told her. "She told me that it could be the other way too."

Brooke knew that she would have to have a talk with her best friend. "That's true, but your dad and I would rather wait until after we get married to give you a brother or sister." She then realized that she was talking as if they were planning on getting married and having a future together. The truth was that they hadn't even discussed it because it was too early in their relationship. "That's a long way off though. So why don't we talk about it another time? It's time for you and Lola to get to sleep."

"But I don't want to go to sleep," Maddie protested. "Then it won't be my birthday anymore."

Brooke gave her a gentle smile. "No, but this is the only the beginning of your adventures of being five years old. After all, you have Lola to take care of now. And you'll be entering kindergarten soon. And you're going to be a cousin again. So your birthday may be ending, but you'll have plenty of fun coming up." She then kissed her good night before she left the room.

Lucas met her in the hallway. "Did you hear what she said?" Brooke whispered. "She wants a brother or sister next year for her birthday."

Lucas nodded. He had overhead that part of the conversation. "I can't say that I'm surprised," he told her as they went back down to the first floor. "She has been wanting a sibling for years, but she knew that it couldn't happen unless I met someone else. I'm sure she is a little jealous that Jamie is the one who is becoming an elder sibling instead of her."

"What do you think we should do about it?" Brooke asked.

Lucas sighed. "Maddie understands that it takes time to get the happily ever after part, but I don't think she realizes how long it takes or the obstacles that a couple overcomes to get there. But she believes in 'People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end'."

Brooke gave him a wide smile. "Well, there is nothing wrong with a little girl who wants a happy ending for her dad."

Lucas thought about it for a moment or two before he realized that she was right. They were about to kiss when they heard Maddie calling their names, telling them that Lola had an accident on the hallway carpet. Lucas groaned as he turned to Brooke. "We can still take Lola back, right?"