Author's note: This chapter should have been posted a couple of days ago. But a scene in this has been bugging the living hell out of me and I rewrote it like a million times. A big thanks to Cas, for helping me with that scene, and to Hil, who gave me valuable pointers and found me the song. For all of you that reviewed, all 47 of you, I'm forever grateful. I'm sorry that I don't have time to do personal thank you's this time… I know, I suck. But know that I love you all.

The lyrics and title of this chapter comes from the song with the same name by Tim McGraw.

-

CHAPTER 36 – How Bad Do You Want It?

Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?

How bad do you want it?

August 3rd comes and goes and on August 7th, four days after her actual due-date, Brooke seems ready to crawl out of her own skin. For every day she gets more and more feisty and the mood-swings begin to feel like a regular roller-coaster for everyone around her. And it's not that Lucas doesn't feel bad for her. With temperatures of well above 90 degrees the summer heat makes it hard for her. Her feet are so swollen that any other shoes than flip-flops are out of the question and she still has trouble getting any sleep at night.

Still her unstable mood is starting to drive him crazy and he, as much as everybody else, just wishes that the baby would come. But Emma, his unborn daughter, doesn't seem to agree.

Today he has successfully managed to stay out Brooke's way for the entire morning by hanging out at the Rivercourt with Fergie, Skills and Junk. But his conscience finally take over, telling him that she can't help it that she's a little bitchy right now, and by lunch-time he's now back home.

He finds Brooke in their bedroom in front of the computer and she looks to be in deep concentration. The fan on the desk is cranked up to maximum speed and still she wears nothing but a pair of small shorts and her bikini-top.

"What are you doing baby?" he asks carefully, kind of testing what mood she's in for the moment.

"I'm trying to find a way to get this freaking kid out of me before Christmas!"

She sounds irritated and maybe it's stupid to keep going but he has to ask; "On Google?"

"Why not?! I've looked in all the books and magazines that your mom has about pregnancies but they said nothing about it…"

She types away a few commands on the computer-keyboard and he leans in and reads over her shoulder.

"Dance yourself into labor? The wasabi-way?! …Come on Brooke, you can't be serious?"

His girlfriend just sighs and leans back against the back of the chair. She rubs a spot on the side of her belly and hisses; "For the last time! Stop kicking me!"

She looks really tired. The last few nights has been tough on her with the summer heat-wave and little Keith's constant crying, and more than ever Lucas wishes that there was something he could do to make it a little easier on her.

"Do you want me to give you a backrub?" he asks softly but Brooke just sternly shakes her head.

"No. What I want you to do is to help me get this god forsaken baby out of me! Now!"

She looks serious. Not angry really, even though she sounds like she is. More as if she's frustrated and fed up.

He sighs and reaches for the phone and she follows his movements curiously as he dials the number he by now knows by heart. As the signals sound she asks him who he's calling and he hushes her silent. And then Brooke's OB-gyn answers.

"Hi Mr. Shandwick" he says and clears his throat. "This is Lucas Scott. Brooke and I would like to come in and talk to you about inducing labor…"

By the time he hangs up Brooke is smiling like a kid on Christmas morning and she gets out of the chair amazingly fast for someone that should have given birth several days ago.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" she purrs and slings her arms around his neck.

He smiles. "No, but tell me after we've been to see the doctor. I bet you'll love me even more then…"

--

Two hours later they're back at home again and if Brooke is to guess, then she'd say that her blond boyfriend feels no love from her at all. Her mood is worse than ever and she simply stomps into the bedroom.

Lucas lets her walk off and stays in the living room, probably thinking that she needs time to cool off, and she does. And as she slams the bedroom door shut she's glad that Karen has taken little Keith to go see Royal and May because if Lucas' mom saw how she acted right now, she'd probably be disappointed.

She sits down on the bed and when she hears the doorbell, she silently curses. She shouldn't have told anyone the reason why she and Lucas had gone in to see the doctor, because now people were going to think she had great news. But she had just been so exited, and her high expectations of the doctor's visit had kind of had her going overboard a little.

Minutes later Lucas comes into the room, followed by a whole bunch of their friends. Haley and Nathan, both carrying a baby, Rachel who seems to come straight from the beach, and then lastly Jake. They all greet her happily but she doesn't even look up.

She's feeling more and more like a whale for every day that passes, and as Nathan sits down on the chair and lovingly says "Hey fatso..." she just glares at him.

Haley puts down a big take-away cup in front of her.

"I brought you an ice-latte to cool you down. How did it go, hun?"

She's still pouting, not wanting to talk about their crappy experience at the doctor's, and instead Lucas is the one that answers.

"No change. Brooke is nowhere closer to giving birth than she was last week... And they don't want to induce her. At least not until next week. Apparently it's best if it starts naturally…"

Rachel sighs and jumps up to sit on the desk, and in a way the action annoys her, because the possibility that she could ever just 'jump' up like that with this huge belly is slim next to none. And lately it feels like her body will never go back to normal.

"I wouldn't sit on that if I were you Rach" she mutters bitterly. "It'll just break under your fat ass and then Karen is gonna come after you."

Lucas frowns at her behaviour, looking at her as if he thinks she's being childish, but Rachel just laughs it off.

"Hah! I understand that its hard being as heavy as you are at the moment Brookie... But there's no use being a bitch. Your ass has always been bigger than mine, pregnant or not. Just admit that you're in a foul mood because the damn baby won't come out."

"No I'm not!" she bites back, even more annoyed that Rachel knows her so well. "I just don't want you to break Karen's furniture."

Lucas comes over and stands behind her, rubbing her shoulders gently to calm her while whispering; "Lay off it Brooke... you know she's right..."

And his comment makes her let out an irritated sigh. "How come all of you keep telling me how I feel and what I'm doing wrong? If you're all so damn smart, then why not help me come up with a solutionfor this, huh?"

Her voice is harsh and all of her friends look a little surprised by her sudden outburst. Only Lucas seems calm as he keeps rubbing her shoulders in circular motions. He's used to this by now.

Haley watches her with sympathy written all over her face and it all becomes too much. She should have had her baby days ago. She should be sitting here with a newborn baby on her arm, in normal clothes, not sit here like a freaking whale wearing a tent, and sweating in the summer-heat.

"Okay you're right Rachel!" she angrily bursts out, now with her bottom lip trembling. "I HATE this, okay? I'm tired of being pregnant and I fucking hate you for looking perfect in that slutty bikini. But you don't have to rub it in my face, alright?!"

Now Rachel looks seriously hurt. The redhead opens and closes her mouth as if she had wanted to say something but then decided against it, and Lucas' hands stop.

"Brooke" he says to get her attention, and she looks up at him, already feeling guilty. The look in his eyes holds nothing but love, but she still knows she is being unfair. Neither he nor anyone else of her friends is responsible for this situation, and being mean doesn't help her at all.

"I'm sorry..." she whispers, and he bends down and kisses her. She still feels like crying though and he sees it.

"The baby will come soon. It's just taking a little longer than we thought, okay?"

"But I want it to come now..." she whines. "Why can't it just come out?"

Haley gives James to Nathan and comes over to her, squatting next to her chair.

"Hunnie" she says softly. "Don't be sad... Maybe we can all sit down and try to think of a way to get the labor started. Maybe there's a natural way to induce this?"

"I bet if you two just did what you usually do, it'll happen right away..." Rachel giggles, suddenly back to a more happy demeanour. "Just keep screwing like rabbits and the baby will pop right out!"

She can't help but smile. Count on Rachel to always think of sex, but Lucas huffs behind her. "Uhm, Rach... I don't think that's the best way. Brooke is supposed to take it easy."

"Yeah, but if you would just give her a really awesome orgasm, then..."

Haley blushes and Lucas interrupts; "No Rachel."

They all go back to silence. Rachel pouts but everybody else seems deep in thought, and then Haley says;

"I heard there's some special tea that's supposed to speed things up... I think its raspberry..."

Jake shakes his head. "Nope, Niki tried that, it doesn't work. But I heard that you can run up and down stairs."

Hopeful, she looks up at Lucas. Stairs is good. There's plenty of stairs around. But her blond brooding boyfriend looks stern. "Hell no, Jake. What if she falls, huh? Brooke can hardly put her shoes on herself..."

"But..."

"No Brooke."

God, why was he being so overprotective? She looks at Haley for help but a confused Nathan butts in.

"Why don't you just push?" he asks, shrugging his shoulders with one baby on each arm. "I mean, that's what you're supposed to do later anyway, right? Just push really hard and maybe that'll get things started..."

She just rolls her eyes at this, but when she thinks about it then maybe it isn't that stupid. So she tries. Squints and pushes the hardest she can, until Lucas sees what she's doing.

"Brooke! Don't do that!"

"Why not?!" she snaps back. "Come up with a better idea then!"

His face softens again and he really seems to think, and when Haley says; "Long walks are good I've heard", he quickly agrees.

"Walks! Walks are good. We can walk all you like baby."

"I still say sex is the key. If you wanna get it on right now, then we can just wait in the other room."

"Or play a really hard game of basketball…"

"I say try the tea…"

She keeps switching her attention from one person to the other, all of them exited now to get their own point across, and she nods to all the suggestions they're coming up with. Especially Rachel's. At least sex was fun.

But Lucas finally seems to get enough, because he interrupts them all with one final and stern "No!" and when they all fall silent again he sighs.

"Listen" he says and pulls his hand through his hair tiredly. "It's been a long day and both Brooke and I need some quiet time. Why don't we all just meet up and hang out later? And we can all try to come up with a little more realistic option until then."

Haley nods and takes Joshua from Nathan. "Sure Luke. And Brooke, don't worry. It'll be okay. We'll think of something."

She ushers Nathan on by pushing him lightly and when they start leaving Jake follows too. Rachel shrugs and finally hops off the desk. And when she passes Brooke she whispers; "Call me and tell me how the sex was."

Lucas gives her a last look of death and then the redhead disappears out with the rest.

Brooke leans back in the chair and rubs the side of her belly. And watching her boyfriend massage his temples she realizes that this is eating away at his energy as well. He must be so tired of her constant whining but he hasn't complained once.

"Come here…" she says and pats the bed beside her and he instantly looks worried.

"Not now Brooke… please? I mean it; it scares me to sleep with you right now. I don't want that to be the reason that your water breaks…"

But she pulls him down to sit beside her anyways and laughs. He's so cute when he worries like this. And she really doesn't understand why he's so bothered by the sex-issue. Wouldn't that be a great story to tell Emma when she was older? That she was finally born because her daddy was so amazingly great in bed…"

"Just cuddle?" she says and flutters her eyelashes, and when he still hesitates, she pulls out the old pout-trick. Jutting her bottom lip out and looking at him with big innocent eyes.

"Not the pout…" he mumbles and pulls her to him. "You know that I can't say no to that."

And as he kisses her, and his teeth softly tug at her lip that's still in pout-mode, she smiles. Of course she knows, why else would she ever do it?

-

His hands roam Brooke's naked skin and he realizes that he has no clue how this happened. One moment she was tricking him with pouty lips and beautiful innocent eyes. And now she's moaning naked beneath him with that huskiness in her voice that always has him going on overdrive.

He still has his boxers on but that's about it, and when she pulls at them he freaks out and pulls back.

"Wow Brooke, hold on… this was not the deal… just… don't do that…"

Her hands are dangerously close to making him lose his head totally, her fingers now dipping under the boxer-shorts elastic waistband, and he involuntarily moans.

"See…" she whispers with her wonderful raspy voice in his ear. "You like it…"

Of course he likes it. There isn't a single fiber of his being that doesn't like this. Her lips and hands make it impossible for him to think straight and he meets her kisses with a hunger equal to hers. Why was it that all the books he had read about pregnancies said that girls often lost their appetite for sex when pregnant? Brooke certainly hadn't…

"At least let's go slow" he breathes and pins her arms over her head so that she can't touch him and make all this turn into even more frenzied passion. "At least just let's take it easy…"

She nods, but then another moan slips from her and there's a dangerous twinkle in her eyes.

He lowers his head and attacks her neck with open-mouthed kisses, already knowing he's losing the battle.

Again.

-

"I knew she'd get you" Rachel laughs an hour later when she arrives into the house just on time to bump into him as he comes out of the bathroom with a towel draped around his hips.

"So is she in labor? Did it work?"

He just huffs grumpily and nods towards the livingroom where Brooke lounges on the couch eating a sandwich.

"Thank god, no."

"So it can't have been that good then, right?"

He just rolls his eyes at the stubborn redhead and walks towards his bedroom to get some clothes, and he can still hear her when she talks to his girlfriend.

"What's wrong? Didn't you come? Was that it? I thought you said Lucas was good in bed…"

Brooke laughs in the distance and at first he frowns, but then she says "Rachel, cut it out okay… Lucas is the best I ever had, undoubtedly. I guess it just didn't work… Now move your fat ass away from the TV. I wanna watch this."

He smiles. The best, huh? At least that's nice to know.

-

The next day they have lunch at Nathan and Haley's house with Jake and Peyton. Brooke tries really hard to behave better than she had yesterday but it's hard. And it doesn't get better with Peyton sitting right across from her, trying to come up with advice.

As said before, she likes the fact that she can actually hang out with the blonde girl nowadays, but since Jake came back into Peyton's life the girl seemed to think she knew it all about babies and everything surrounding that subject, just because of the time she had spent with Jennie.

And to be honest, Peyton probably did know better about babies and what they needed. Hell, they all probably knew that better than her, but none of them had been so pregnant that it felt like they would burst at any second. And none of them had a baby stuck inside that refused to come out.

Maybe Jake sees her frustration because he puts his hand over Peyton's on the table to kind of silence her, and then he smiles.

"Hey Brookie…" he whispers just loud enough for her and Peyton to hear. "I have an idea…"

Five minutes later Peyton does her best interpretation of faking a panic attack over her rapidly progressing relationship with Jake. Lucas, Nathan and Haley do their best to calm her, and during the chaos Jake grabs Brooke's hand and pulls her with him out back.

She giggles and they reach the stairs.

"Now you run up and down. I'll be right behind you."

She laughs loudly now, because Jake looks like a happy kid on Christmas, eyes full of mischief. And she does what he says. Starts going as fast as she can, even though 'running' might be exaggerating since she feels as though she's big as a house. After just being at it for a couple of minutes she feels like she's been running a mile, and then she suddenly hears Lucas' voice.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

Crap.

"Uhm… we… I mean I was just…"

She looks up at Lucas, feeling slightly guilty once she sees the worry in his eyes, but he turns to Jake instead.

"Are you fucking crazy? Huh? Didn't I tell you yesterday that I really didn't want her to do this? What if Brooke would've tripped?"

Jake hangs his head, looking guilty as well.

"I just wanted to help, man… Brooke helped me out with Peyton and I… I just wanted to…"

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't give a shit about what I think. Why don't you try your idea next, Nathan? I bet Brooke would like to go a quick one on one with you down at the River court."

She sighs and glances apologetically towards Jake and Nathan, before treating Peyton to a half-smile. At least they had tried. And twenty minutes later, when she sits comfortably rested against Lucas' chest in the living room couch back home, she reaches up and rubs her boyfriend's cheek.

"Luke, don't be mad at Jake and Peyton… they just want to help out…"

He's the one sighing now, even pulling away slightly from her hand.

"I know they are… But can't you see that I'm worried? I don't want anything to happen to you Brooke. You heard what the doctor said yesterday. It's better if it happens on its own. You're not supposed to force these things."

Guiltily, she nods. Maybe he's right. But then what the hell should she do? She has to get the baby out somehow.

-

It takes a couple of more hours and then Lucas is officially driving her mad. Utterly and completely insane. So at eight o'clock she tells him to go do something other than to stalk her around the house. Play ball, go for a jog or maybe even… Yes!That's it!

"Baby…" she says and caresses the nape of her boyfriend's neck as they sit on the hammock out back. "Why don't you go let off some steam? You and Nathan should go out with the boys. Grab a couple of beers… Get really drunk…"

Just as she expects Lucas instantly shakes his head but she sticks with it. Flutters her eyelashes and tries to be as cute and reassuring as possible.

"I'll be fine, really. I'll just stay with your mom and baby Keith. Karen and I have been talking about working on our scrapbooks for weeks and who knows when I'll get time to do that once Emma is here? And it's been so long since you had a night out with the guys."

He seems a little sceptical towards her sudden change of demeanor but as usual she wins him over in the end. And at nine she waves him off to a night at Blue Post with his brother.

It's evil, but once she closes the door behind him, she actually breathes out. The worried and over-protective side of Lucas can be very tiresome. Karen sees her sigh out and actually laughs.

"A little too much Lucas-time today?"

She rolls her eyes and laughs too.

"Oh my god Karen… you have no idea…"

-

It's been forever since Lucas was at a bar and even longer since he went to the Blue Post. And what had first seemed as a stupid idea, one that he just went along with to please his hormonal pretty girl, now actually seems to be fun.

Nathan had been happy to have an all guys night and they had gotten both Skills and Fergie to come along as well. Now they're all seated on the barstools lining the bar and they're all clutching their second cold beer. And he feels horrible in a way when he hears himself say:

"God, I really needed to get away from Brooke…"

Nathan laughs loudly and chunks down the Heineken in deep gulps.

"Man, I never thought that you'd admit it. Brooke has been a major pain in the ass the last week."

"Yeah, I know…"

He takes a sip of his own beer and leans against his elbows. "She can't help it though. She's so tired of being pregnant. And I know she's really nervous about the delivery."

It's weird to sit in a bar, filled with college-students and drunk truck drivers and talk about the fact that he's soon becoming a father, but the guys doesn't seem to mind. They probably know that he needs it. Hell, they've spent time around Brooke lately too.

Skills nods seriously and mutters: "Hell, I'm not blaming her, man… that shit's gotta hurt… bad…"

He knows this. And he can't help but answer that he'll be happy one the delivery is over. When he does both Skills and Fergie nods again, but Nathan is the only one making a funny face.

"You should know though, that Brooke's mood will only get worse after she's had the baby. Bro, I'm telling you…you have a fun couple of months to look forward to."

Nathan chuckles sarcastically and he feels confused.

"Worse mood? What do you mean?"

"Brooke wants to be hot, right?" Nathan asks with an eyebrow raised. "Nice outfits, great shoes… hair all shiny and perfect? Yeah… try convincing her that she looks beautiful when she's just given birth, she has breastmilk and baby-puke all over her shirt and she's a hell of a lot more tired than she is now… Believe me Luke, its freakin' impossible…"

Another sip of the beer and he's starting to not like the direction this conversation is taking, especially when his brother ads: "It's hard with Haley, and you know that she's not even half as concerned with her looks as Brooke is."

The worst part is that what Nathan says makes perfect sense. He's even noticed it on his mother, the way she seems so tired and worn, not even having time to get out of her pj's on days when his baby brother is extra cranky.

"Oh, and then there's the complete lack of sex of course" Nathan smirks, seemingly almost satisfied with his own statement. "You might have been blessed with a horny girlfriend up until now but that'll change, I'm sure. Haley had a c-section and she's still not letting me… yeah, you know…"

He blinks. "And Brooke is pushing a 8 pound baby out through…"

Nathan doesn't get any further because he stops him with a frantic wave of the hand. He's feeling scared now, because up until now he hasn't really pictured the baby coming out that way.

"Enough, alright? I get it" he mumbles. "No sex."

Nathan laughs again but he just lets out a nervous sigh. Then he downs the rest of the beer in one go and orders a third one.

-

Are you hungry?
Are you thirsty?
Is it a fire that burns you up inside?

How bad do you want it?

It's eleven o'clock and Brooke knows that she's annoying the life out of her boyfriend's mother. She knows this because Karen has been trying to go to bed for an hour, but she just keeps talking and talking, knowing that she's going to be bored out of her mind when Karen goes to sleep.

"See, then I tried running up and down the stairs" she keeps yapping when Karen yawns for the forth time. "But it didn't work. I mean, Jake just wanted to help… And your son, being the cautious person that he is, got all mental… You should have seen him, Karen. One could have thought I was trying to perform a c-section on myself or something."

She sighs and rolls her eyes for extra effect and Karen laughs. The response is all that she needs to keep going. "You see Karen… that is what's wrong with soon to be fathers these days... they're so over-protective. Lucas is even scared of having sex with me!"

Karen blushes slightly and clears her throat.

"Well, he's a little worried probably…"

"Why? I'm not sick. I'm just pregnant… and all these hormones keep making me want to do it all around the clock."

Karen blushes even more and stays quiet.

She has realized by now that convincing Lucas to go out with Nathan might have been a bit hasty, because now she suddenly wants him home. Even if he would probably freak out if she tried making out with him again, the prospect of having him entertain her would sure beat staying up alone, watching reruns of Sex and the City.

But it seems to be her only choice. Karen is yawning again already and since Emma constantly pushes against her ribcage, sleep is nowhere in sight.

In a last effort to keep Karen awake, she start reciting Rachel's idea of getting Chase to sleep with her by using role-play but now Karen looks horrified.

"Thank you sweetie, but that is enough. I really don't need that mental picture…"

She laughs at Karen's facial expression, but when she notices her putting away the scrap-book stuff, her laugh turns into a pout.

"But Kaaaren…" she whines. "I don't want to stay up alone…"

She gets no response this time and she pouts more, because this night is really not going her way at all. Lucas is out drinking and having fun and Karen is about to ditch her as well. Although, come to think of it, Karen really looks tired… and without thinking she takes a good look at the woman in front of her and says "You know, you really need to get out more Karen. You're starting to age…"

It takes her about half a second to realize that she has just severely put her foot in her mouth, and Karen looks at her and glares. Apologetically she makes a scrunched face and whispers "Hormones…" in an effort to smooth things over a bit.

But Karen sighs deeply before mumbling: "Alright, this baby has to come out now! For the sake of world peace…"

Then Lucas' mother gets up and walks over to the refrigerator. Curiously and somewhat nervously she follows Karen's movements, and she can't help but look a little dumbstruck when the older woman puts down a bottle of Tabasco in front of her.

"Brooke, hunnie… If Lucas asks, you did not hear this from me. But let's just say that Lucas didn't want to come out on time either… and I convinced him that it was time by spoon-feeding myself some of that."

Karen wiggles her eyebrow in the direction of the bottle but she just looks at Karen and shakes her head incredulously.

"No way… Crazy much? I'm not drinking that!"

Karen however looks very serious.

"Listen Brooke… You're hormonal and cranky and… well, apparently horny too. Everything is tough right now and… and I understand sweetie, I really do. I mean I was just pregnant myself, remember? And I really don't want to be mean when I say this, but I think we're all very tired of your mood-swings by now… Too tired…"

With a final sigh and a warm and caring smile, the older woman that she feels connected to in so many ways, unscrews the bottle's lid and puts it down and puts it down next to the bottle.

"Do as you please, Brooke, but if I were you I'd drink some of this. I assure you that it works a lot better than running in stairs…"

Karen points towards the bottle again but she just shuts her mouth tightly and shakes her head.

"Fine, have it your way" Karen smiles gently one more time and rubs her back soothingly. "Good night, hun. I'll see you in the morning."

Then Lucas' mother leaves the room. And she just sits there for a while eyeing the bottle on the table in front of her. It sounds like a freaking ridiculous idea, actually drinking Tabasco, but Karen had said that it made her go into labor when expecting Lucas, so it should work right? And wasn't that what she wanted? To go into labor?

Slowly she reaches out for the hot sauce and turns the bottle in her hand. She remembers one time in Junior year when she made Vegas drink shots of this mixed with tequila and he had survived so…

She might as well try it. She had after all tried everything else.

Closing her eyes and talking a deep breath, she lifts the bottle to her mouth and takes a swig. It tastes kind of tomato-like and surprised that it's not more spicy she takes a bigger one. And that's when her entire insides start burning.

She swallows out of pure surprise and starts fanning her mouth frantically. She starts coughing and then her eyes tear up as well.

Wow, maybe this wasn't so smart after all…

-

It's close to 2am when Lucas comes home. He stumbles into the hallway and tries to be as silent as possible when he kicks off his sneakers, but his balance is off and he grabs for the wall, bringing down half the rack of coats. Cursing silently he decides that he can clean it up in the morning. He's not in the best shape to do it now anyway.

He had no intention of getting this drunk. When Brooke suggested that he'd spend the night with Nathan in a bar he had just figured that they'd grab a beer or maybe two, and then be home again before midnight. But then, after Nathan started with all the stories about tiny babies that couldn't do anything for themselves and about Haley being all depressed half the time, he simply freaked out at the concept of being a father and kept the drinks coming.

Before midnight he was already drunk, and now, two hours later, he sure isn't the tiniest bit more sober.

Silently he tiptoes into the kitchen to get a glass of water before going to bed and when he flicks the light on he doesn't even have the time to think before he hears himself yell;

"Oh my god Brooke! Is it time? Is the baby coming?!"

His heart is almost on a stand-still in his chest because his girlfriend is sitting on the floor with her back leaned against the fridge and the wet puddle surrounding her on the floor has to be her water that has broken.

He rushes to her side and he rambles on and on, without giving her a chance to cut in. Why the hell had he drunken himself into a stupor? Now he wouldn't be able to drive her to the hospital. Should he call an ambulance? A cab?

"Are you in pain, baby? Why didn't you wake my mom up? Why didn't you call?"

His voice is slurry and if he doesn't concentrate and squint a little then Brooke's form divides and becomes two. She however looks back at him as if he's crazy and even in his drunken state he recognizes the irritation on her face. She opens her mouth and he prepares himself for the scolding that has been almost a daily habit lately; the one where she said he was being overprotective and ridiculous for worrying. But instead she mutters:

"What the hell are you rambling about, Luke?"

Confused and wobbling a little, he points to the puddle she's sitting in.

"Your… your water broke…"

Brooke angrily shakes her head. "I wish! But I'm not that lucky, okay?"

He might by in an intoxicated state, but he bets that even if he was sober, he would still not understand what was going on here.

"Then why is the floor wet?"

She lifts an enormous glass from the floor beside her and mutters: "I spilled, alright? I was so thirsty and so tired so I decided that I'd sit down here while I drank the water. And then I accidentally spilled it out and couldn't get up…"

She glares at him, looking angry but at the same time embarrassed. And extremely cute.

"Because of the belly?" he asks gently, even though on the inside he's laughing his ass off. The worry is lessening by the second now that he knows that she's not in labor. And when she hisses that none of this is funny and that she'll literally smack him in the face if he doesn't help her up, the inwardly giggle turns into a fullblown attack of laughter.

"This is hilarious" he gets out. "How long have you been sitting here?"

But Brooke doesn't have the time to answer because right then Karen appears in the doorway.

"What is going on in here?!"

His mother sounds angry too and she gives him a disapproving look when she sees him sway drunkenly. Brooke rolls her eyes from her spot on the floor.

"Lucas though I was in labor and freaked out. As usual!"

She holds out her hand to him and with his help she finally pulls herself up from the floor with great effort. Her clothes are soaked and he tries to pull her in for a hug which she refuses. It's not until coming home and seeing her that he realizes that he doesn't care about Nathan's horror-stories. Sure, the next couple of months would probably be rough, but so what? They had each other and between them they should be able to handle both school and a screaming infant.

After all, he has the world's most amazing girlfriend. And even if she's a bitch at the moment and a complete pain in the ass, he still feels like the luckiest guy on the planet.

"I love you…" he slurs, grabbing for Brooke again and completely ignoring his mother. But Karen just sighs tiredly.

"I never thought I'd even think this, but right now, right in this very moment I can't wait for the peace and quiet when you two crazy kids to off to college…"

He notices that Brooke looks at Karen apologetically and he tries to shoot off a winning smile in his mother's direction as well.

"I'll clean up the water mom" he says, "Don't worry…"

And now it's his mother's turn to look amused.

"Luke, you smell like a brewery. Go brush your teeth and go straight to bed. You, Brooke, you go change those clothes and then you follow Lucas. I don't want to hear one more sound from your bedroom tonight, understood?"

Brooke mumbles a silent "Yes Karen" and he chuckles. He's eighteen years old, rather drunk and about to be a father any day now, and still his mother sends him to bed as if he's still a small child. She must be reading his mind because she leans up and kisses his forehead.

"You'll be grown up soon enough…" she whispers. "But you'll always be my little boy. Now go to sleep."

"Okay mom" he whispers back and gives her a squeeze. "I love you."

He does. Strangely enough more than ever in this moment. His mother has always been his rock and safe haven. She has sacrificed so much for him and lately he has realized that he wouldn't even be half the person he is if it wasn't for her. Without his mother he wouldn't stand here today, watching his pregnant girlfriend wobble into their bedroom. Because without her guidance he wouldn't have had the maturity and the strength to persuade Brooke into doing this with him. To keep their baby and to trust him.

"You know that, right?" he articulates a little more clearly, "that I love you, I mean."

His mother nods and smiles.

"I know, son. And I love you too. I love you and Brooke and my unborn granddaughter. But if you don't go to sleep right now, I will give you your very first ass-whopping. Okay?"

He laughs all the way into the bathroom and five minutes later he crawls into bed next to Brooke and she lets him snuggle against her.

"Ew…" she mutters "You smell like beer…"

But it can't be that bad because seconds later she kisses him, snuggling even closer. He roams the inside of her mouth with his tongue for a moment or two, but then he pulls back and has to ask.

"Ehm… baby, why do you taste like Tabasco?"

She pouts and rolls her eyes.

"It's all your mom's fault! Do you know what she did to me? She…"

He wants to listen, he really does. But even before his beautiful girlfriend finishes the sentence his eyes are closing and he drifts off to sleep.

-

They all sleep in on Sunday morning and when he finally gathers the strength to open his eyes it's almost lunchtime. He has a pounding hangover which he instantly blames his brother for, and al he wants is another calm hour in bed with Brooke.

Brooke however is restless and irritable and shuns both his touch and even company. He tries to entertain her but nothing is working and at five o'clock in the evening Brooke finally agrees to go for a walk. She's testy and he feels helpless and the thought of at least getting out of the house even for just a little while seems better than staying indoors and possible getting her even more irritated.

Rachel and Mouth walk in through the door in the kitchen at the same time that they're about to leave and they decide to all go together.

"Nathan and Haley are at home with the twins" Mouth says and pats Brooke's shoulder empathically. "We can head over there and try to think of a good plan…"

Brooke just huffs and puts her feet into her flipflops. And then she walks out through the open door and he silently follows. She waddles down the porch-steps and the second she sets her foot on the grass, he hears her go "Uh-oh…"

"What Brooke?" he mumbles, feeling so tired that he could probably fall asleep while standing up. But then he hears both Rachel and Mouth gasp.

"What the hell is that Brooke?" Rachel breathes and points, and he follows her gaze. Brooke looks equally stunned, and as he watches the liquid gushing out of her, he hears her mumble:

"I think my water just broke…"

-

"This is insane…" she mumbles while her brain tries to grasp what is happening. As soon as they walk out the door, like right when they take ONE STEP onto the porch or whatever, her water breaks. And Lucas looks at her as if he just feels like screaming.

Actually he does.

"I TOLD YOU SO" he yells half hysterically. "I told you that a walk was the best option. But did you listen to me?! NO!"

She just stands there with a laugh bubbling in her chest and water dripping out of her, and she watches her boyfriend run back into the house and yell stuff to his mother, who he seems to have forgotten isn't even at home.

"Would you grab my bag?" she asks Mouth silently and nods towards the door. "Lucas put it in the hallway days ago but I'll bet he's in there looking for it as we speak."

Mouth laughs and goes in to get it. And suddenly she grasps for Rachel's hand and breathes in between clenched teeth. Because suddenly the tiny cramps from before is a hell of a lot stronger.

Although still not as bad as she would have thought. If this was as painful as it got, then bring it on. She could certainly get through a couple of hours of this.

But even so, this is ridiculous. She's tried everything the last couple of days. Everything from running in stairs to gulping down freaking Tabasco, and the only thing she needed to do was go for a walk? God, Haley will never let her forget this…

Lucas comes out again, followed by a still giggling Mouth, but Lucas is not giggling, not at all. He looks pale as he takes the quick steps down to the lawn and he grabs her shoulders with shaking hands.

"Are you okay pretty girl? Is it painful? Should I call an ambulance? Do you want me to carry you?"

She smiles.

"Breathe Luke."

He tries to open the car door for her and help her inside but he can't get the door open, and she leans a little towards him. "Are you nervous, babe?" she asks and he nods silently.

It's probably the understatement of the year. He seems a lot more than a little nervous. As he tries to get the handle to work she notices how his hands tremble.

"Are you sure you're okay Brooke?" he gets out and pulls in a deep breath. And now she laughs.

"I'm okay Broody. But are you?"

He's growing paler by the minute and she's getting worried that he'll start hyperventilating. He finally gets the door open and moves to help her inside, but instead she wraps her arms around his neck.

"You know what" she whispers. "You need to breathe… and I need a pair of shorts that aren't soaked with our baby's swimming water…"

He closes his eyes and takes another shaky breath.

"So… what Brooke? You… you want me to get you a change of clothes?"

"No."

A soft kiss and he relaxes a tiny bit more. The pain in her lower back is returning and she wants him out of the way before she cringes, so that he won't get even more nervous.

"Mouth, give Lucas some coffee while I change. And Rachel, could you come with me?"

Lucas looks skeptical at best, and she realizes that her redheaded friend wears a matching scared expression.

"But what about the baby?"

"Lucas…" she cups his cheek and kisses him again to take her mind of the dull cramp that keeps spreading to her belly. "If she has been dead set on not coming out for the last 5 days, don't you think she could wait while I change into a pair of pants that wont get the whole car wet?"

She doesn't wait for his response. She just heads back into the house and once she's out of view she grabs the wall and lets out a deep breath. Shit, these contraction things kind of hurt, didn't they?

Rachel follows close behind her.

"What do you want me to do Brooke?"

"Just call Haley and ask her if she wants to come to the hospital… and then grab me my red shorts. I'm gonna go take a shower."

-

Lucas slips into the driver's seat and on the third try he finally gets the key into the ignition. He turns it and the car starts up. Still, he can't help but wonder how the hell he's going to be able to drive.

Brooke sits in the front seat next to him while Rachel and Mouth are crammed in the backseat with the bags. He has no clue what Brooke has packed but it sure seems to be half the house. She is showered and changed and she looks calm, but the lines on her forehead and the way she keeps squinting, tells him she's in pain.

"Brooke…" he says silently when he gets up on Olliander Street. "Are you sure you're okay? Tell me if you need anything…"

His girlfriend clenches her teeth almost unnoticeably.

"Maybe you could drive a little faster? I'd hate to have our daughter in the car…"

Beads of sweat break out on his forehead and he pushes the gaspedal further down into the floor. His heart is beating twice as fast as usual and he wants to stop the car and get out and throw up at the side of the road.

Brooke is about to have their baby.

He's about to be a father.

And he's never been this scared in his entire life.

---

Author's note: Next chapter is the birth. :D

Tell me; How bad do you want it? LOL. Review and tell me.

Big love to all.

/Lynn