Chapter 28: New Beginning

The time following the accident had been very difficult for Brooke. Losing Chase had been devastating. Despite all of the arguments and hurt that had existed between them in the final years of their marriage, Brooke had still loved Chase very much. Granted, the love she'd felt for him had changed after everything they'd gone through and done to one another, but there was still love there. After all, they had not only a daughter together and had lost a son, but they had also shared some very happy times in the beginning of their relationship. But the difficult times had changed both of them, and they were not able to overcome the truth that their hearts were in different places.

When she looked back at the last two years of their marriage, Brooke regretted the way she'd handled the more difficult times, wishing she'd reacted differently at times, and that she'd been more honest about her feelings. If she'd done so, maybe she could have spared Chase and herself a lot of heartache. When she realized this, Brooke vowed not to make the same mistakes. Even as hurtful as some of her mistakes, as well as Chase's, had been, Brooke was grateful to him for helping her to realize what she'd needed to change, and grateful for the opportunity to start over. And though she was devastated with the loss, Brooke couldn't escape the feeling that a new beginning was presenting itself, and she started to consider that perhaps that feeling was Chase's way of telling her it was okay to move on.

As devastating as Chase's death had been for Brooke, it had been even more so for their daughter. The morning following the accident, when she was finally awake and alert, Ava had been very confused and afraid. She had wanted very much to see her daddy. It had taken everything Brooke had in her then to explain what had happened…and it had left Brooke so heartbroken when she heard her five-year-old cry like she had.

The grief, the anxiety, and the stress of the situation certainly could have been enough to send Brooke into premature labor, especially given the close calls she'd already had early on in the pregnancy. However, Brooke had also been overwhelmed with joy that her daughter had made it through alive. That had been enough to help Brooke allow her body to relax so that she would not risk losing another child by delivering too early.

Even given the stress of Ava's physical therapy and trying to encourage her to cooperate so she could get better, Brooke had maintained a healthy pregnancy throughout the two months following the accident. Finally, on December 15th, two days past her due date, Brooke and Lucas welcomed their first child together. After two months of grief and mourning, Brooke, Lucas, and the rest of their family and friends who had grieved with them, found happiness, assurance, and a new beginning in this new baby boy.

Brooke returned to her bedroom, fully dressed after her shower. She stopped at her dresser on her way out of the room to check her hair and make up one more time. She hadn't done much with her hair or applied make up much really since the baby had been born. She'd been too exhausted. But today there would be company over, and Brooke thought it would be nice for them if she actually showered and put on something other than her sweatpants. As she ran her finger through her dark hair—straightened today—Brooke glanced down briefly. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a photograph that lay on the dresser.

Brooke picked up the photo and she smiled at the faces in it. She was in the center, smiling as she held her newborn son. Lucas stood to her left in the photo, grinning with his arm wrapped around her shoulder and one hand touching their son's head lovingly. Brooke stared deeply into the photograph, directly at Lucas's face. She smiled, admiring the adoration evident in the expression he wore. Looking into that picture and Lucas's face, Brooke recalled that day as one of the best days of her life. It was definitely the best day of her life with Lucas. She remembered every detail of that day clearly….

She'd started feeling contractions just after she'd woken up earlier than usual. Actually, it had been the contractions that had woken her. But she'd known that they weren't strong enough, long enough, or close enough yet to go to the hospital. So she'd waited at home for awhile. Ava had been staying with Chase's parents for the week, so Brooke hadn't had to worry about waking her as she moved around the house. After a few hours, when she'd realized that her contractions were getting stronger—as evidenced by more pain than hours before—Brooke had finally decided to text Lucas to come over.

Brooke hadn't told him why she'd wanted him to come over so early in her text, so she hadn't been surprised that he'd taken his time coming over. Of course, she had been a little irritated with him for taking his sweet time because she had been in even more pain by the time he'd finally gotten there. In fact, she'd been hunched over the bed trying to breathe through a particularly painful contraction when he had entered the room. But her irritation with him had subsided a little when he had immediately jumped to her aide and helped her out to his car.

Despite the pain she had been in, Brooke had even found herself amused with Lucas as he'd panicked about getting to the hospital on time. Brooke remembered he had been sweating bullets by the time they'd reached the hospital. But once they'd arrived, Lucas had calmed down. And he had been very calm and supportive as her coach during labor and finally, after 12 hours, as she'd delivered their baby…

She breathed heavily as she rested back on her pillow after pushing again. She'd been at it for nearly an hour and she was exhausted.

"Good job, Brooke," the doctor praised her. "You're doing excellent. I can see the baby's head now. You're almost there. I think a couple more big pushes should do it, starting on this contraction coming up."

Lucas had looked over at her then, and he could see how tired she'd been. He'd done his best to encourage her.

"I know you're tired, Brooke," he'd said. "But you're almost done. You just have to push a little bit more, and then we will have the baby. You can do this…just keep squeezing my hand; squeeze as hard as you need to."

Brooke took Lucas's hand again when he'd offered it, and when she felt the pressure of another contraction, she'd began to push again. She'd continued until finally her son had been born.

"Congratulations, it's a boy!" The doctor had been smiling as he'd announced the baby's birth and as he'd held the baby up for Brooke to see.

Brooke had smiled with tears in her eyes as she'd watched the doctor laid her son on her belly. Lucas had been grinning from ear to ear as the nurses had helped him to cut the umbilical cord. After the nurses had taken the baby away to clean him up and assess him, Lucas had looked backed at Brooke and kissed her lips.

"He's so beautiful, Brooke," Lucas had said. "I'm so proud of you."

Brooke had still been smiling as she'd kissed Lucas's lips again.

"Here you go, momma," a nurse had spoken as she'd carried the baby, wrapped in a soft blue blanket, over to Brooke and Lucas. She had carefully laid the baby into Brooke's arms.

Brooke had been overwhelmed with joy and relief the moment she had held her son in her arms and had felt him breathing.

"Hi there, handsome," she'd whispered to the sleeping newborn.

After admiring her son for a few minutes, Brooke had looked up at Lucas and smiled.

"You want to hold your son, daddy?"

Lucas hadn't stopped smiling yet, but he'd nodded and held his arms out to receive the baby. Brooke's smile had grown as she'd passed her son to his father. The baby had stirred a little as Lucas moved him closer to his chest.

The best part of that moment for Brooke was when Lucas had placed his pinky in his son's hand, and the little boy had wrapped his tiny fingers around Lucas's one finger. Brooke had known then that she would never forget that moment…watching Lucas cry as their son had held his finger. It hadn't been only a special bonding moment for Lucas and his son, but Brooke had felt it had been a special moment for her as well, for she had fallen in love with Lucas all over again in that one moment.

Brooke's focus returned to the present as she continued to admire the photograph in her hand. In it, Ava sat next to Brooke—to Brooke's right—in the bed with her, as she'd still had a cast on her leg. Ava, too, was smiling widely with bright eyes, so happy to finally have a baby brother.

The photo was brand new, developed with the others from that day only yesterday. But the day, the event that the photo had captured, had occurred three weeks prior. These last three weeks with a newborn, as well as an energetic five year old had kept Brooke too busy and too exhausted to get the photos developed sooner, even with all the help from Lucas.

Lucas had been over every single day since they had brought their son home from the hospital. He even stayed over a few nights a week so that Brooke could catch up on sleep. The two of them had discussed moving in together when the baby was born, but they had agreed that it would be better to wait until they had spent some time actually dating. Although, whenever Lucas did stay over, Brooke found it more and more difficult to keep from asking him to stay more often…like forever maybe. Things felt right when he was around. Life felt better with him around. Brooke felt happier.

Busy as they both had been, Brooke had finally gotten around to getting her photos from that day developed. Actually, she'd asked Lucas to get it done for her while he'd been out running other errands. She'd wanted to have the pictures developed so that she could share them at the party today.

"How'd I miss this one?" Brooke asked herself as she turned away from her dresser, photo in hand.

Brooke sat down on her bed and reached for the large, red photo album that sat on the shelf beneath the drawer of her night table. She groaned as she lifted it with one hand—it was heavy, filled with photos of her life throughout the past few years.

"Geeze, is there even any room left in here?"

Brooke wondered if it was time to start a new album. As she flipped the back cover of the album open, Brooke found that there was still one space left. She smiled as she slid the photo inside. She then pulled all the pages back at once, and she focused on the first page. An old picture caught her eye before she reached for the front cover of the album. She placed her fingers over the photo, her thoughts reminiscent.

"Chase…"

Brooke stared down at the picture of Chase and herself, and she remembered the day it was taken, six years ago, just a few weeks after their wedding…

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

Brooke spoke to Chase with her eyes closed as he led her by the hand somewhere that had yet to be disclosed to her.

"Not yet," He had answered. "I'll tell you when. It's a surprise."

"Okay…but why are you surprising me? It's your birthday."

They'd stopped walking then—not but a few minutes since they'd started walking, which had had Brooke thinking they hadn't left the house.

"Why did we stop?"

"Because it's time," Chase had replied. "You can open your eyes now."

Slowly, Brooke had opened her eyes. And she had discovered that they were still in the house. They'd walked from their bedroom upstairs to the living room downstairs. And when she'd opened her eyes, Brooke had discovered that her husband had lit every candle in the room, and he had put a blanket down on the floor, along with a picnic basket.

Brooke had felt her jaw drop a little at the sight, at her husband's surprise.

"I thought we could stay in for dinner tonight," Chase had spoken then.

Brooke had glanced at him and noticed the grin on his face.

"It's beautiful, Chase," she had said. "And sweet of you, but again I ask…why the surprise for me? It's your birthday. Shouldn't I be surprising you?"

"Well," Chase had spoken as he'd reached for her other hand. "I know that you haven't been feeling well lately because of the pregnancy, and you've been busy and exhausted from getting ready for the baby, so I thought I would do something for you instead. And that gorgeous smile of yours is the only thing I wanted for my birthday."

Of course, Brooke's smile had widened with Chase's flattering words and his thoughtful action. She'd leaned in then and had kissed his lips.

After a few minutes of kissing, Brooke had pulled away and had placed a hand on Chase's face.

"Thank you," she'd said softly.

Chase had smiled back at her then, and he'd said, "Anything for you, babe."

And again they had kissed.

It was one of Brooke's favorite memories of Chase, of her time with him. It had been a time when they'd been happy and in love. Before Chase's death, before the divorce even, Brooke had often thought back on that memory and others and wondered when that thoughtful, loving person had been lost.

But that last day with Chase, in the hospital room, Brooke had realized that Chase had not strayed as far from the person he'd been as she'd thought he had. She'd realized, perhaps for the first time, that Chase had been as hurt and as changed as much from the death of their baby son as Brooke had been. Ever since that day, since that realization, Brooke tried to remember only the good times they'd had together, and to think less on the time she and Chase had spent hurting one another.

Despite all of the pain she and Chase had caused one another, Brooke missed him. She knew that she would always miss him. But after months of mourning his death, and several more months prior mourning the death of their marriage, Brooke decided it was time to move on. It was what Chase would want her to do.

Still looking down at the photo, Brooke smiled a tiny smile.

"Happy birthday, Chase," she whispered to the photo before reaching up to wipe a tear from her face.

Brooke turned the page in the photo album. She didn't notice her small daughter appear in the bedroom doorway, her hair made up in pigtails and wearing a blue denim jumper and white tights. The cast on her leg from the accident had been removed only a few days after her baby brother's birth, and now she only had to wear a brace on her leg while she finished physical therapy.

After staring at her mother in silence a moment, Ava entered the bedroom quietly.

"Hi, Mommy."

Brooke looked up when she heard her daughter's voice, and she smiled instantly when she saw her approaching the bed.

"Hey, baby," Brooke said as Ava began to climb up on the bed. Brooke tried to wipe away the rest of her tears quickly before her daughter could notice them.

"What's going on?"

"'Nothin," Ava answered. "Just…seeing what you are doing."

Brooke moved her arm so that her daughter could cuddle next to her.

"Oh, I'm just looking through some old pictures."

Ava stared up at her mother's face, an expression of confusion, Brooke noticed, upon Ava's tiny face.

"Mommy, you're crying."

Brooke shook her head. "No, honey, I'm not. I was before, but I'm not now."

"How come you was crying?"

Ava turned the next page in the photo album.

"Hey," she said, pointing at a photo of Chase and herself at age two. "This is one of me and daddy."

Brooke smiled, watching Ava survey the remainder of the photos on the open pages.

"Daddy is in lots of these pictures," Ava noted. She finally looked up at her mother.

"Is that why you were crying, mommy? 'Cause you were thinking about daddy?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah. But remember, it's okay to cry sometimes when you miss someone. That's all I was doing…missing him."

Ava looked away briefly and she spoke quietly.

"Daddy's never coming back."

Brooke stared at her daughter. It wasn't a question, she knew. It was a statement, a statement that expressed understanding from the five-year-old.

"No," Brooke responded as she closed the album and placed it on the bed to the opposite side of where Ava sat. "He's not coming back. But that is because he is in a better place now, remember?"

"With the angels?"

Brooke nodded. "Yes, with the angels. And he's always going to be looking out for you, for all of us. He is our own guardian angel now."

Brooke offered her daughter a smile, and Ava returned with a tiny smile of her own. After another brief silent moment, Ava looked back up at her mother and spoke.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Are we all gonna be a family now? You, me, my baby brother, and Lucas?"

Brooke considered the suggestion. The thought of family, of a new beginning for all of them, brought a smile to Brooke's face.

"Yes, honey. I think we will be a family now."

"Good. I like having a family."

Brooke nodded and spoke softly. "Me too."

She sighed then and stood up from the bed.

"Okay, kiddo. Shall we go join our family downstairs?"

"Yeah! Let's go."

Ava stood up on the bed, grinning. Brooke chuckled as she took her daughter into her arms. She kissed Ava's cheek before carrying her out of the room.

Brooke set Ava down when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Ava reached for her mother's hand. Brooke chuckled and she walked with her daughter down the hall to the living room. All of their friends and family were sitting in various places around the room.

"Hey, nice of you to join us ladies," Haley said when Brooke and Ava came around the corner.

Brooke smiled.

"Sorry," she said, releasing Ava's hand. "I got preoccupied."

Brooke glanced at Ava when she let go of Brooke's hand and opened the sliding doors that led to the patio and backyard before stepping outside. Brooke looked over at her friends again, and she smiled when she noticed Peyton there, seated next to Haley.

"Hey you," she said, stepping closer to the couch as Peyton stood up to hug her. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, B.," Peyton said while embraced with her friend.

When they pulled away from one another, Brooke and Peyton smiled at one another some more. It felt so great having her best friend back. Brooke was so grateful that Peyton had found it within her to forgive Brooke and be her friend again. She had really needed Peyton's friendship to help her get through everything that occurred over the past few months.

"I'm so glad that you were able to make it up to visit, Peyton."

Brooke looked then to the man who walked up next to Peyton.

"You too, Jake," she finished. "How are you?"

With a nod, Jake answered, "I'm good. Thank you for having us."

Brooke nodded. "Anytime."

She looked away then, to the others who were in the room. She scanned the room, searching for the other men in her life. Brooke noticed when she looked through the patio doors again that her godson was outside in the yard, running around the swingset with the girls. Brooke turned around to face the kitchen just as Lucas came around the corner with his mother. He was holding their three-week old son in his arms.

Brooke smiled at Lucas, and he beamed at her when he caught her gaze.

"There you three are," she said as she moved closer to him and him to her. Brooke looked over at Lucas's mother and smiled. "Hi, Karen."

Karen smiled back. "Hello, Brooke."

"I took mom in to show her his nursery that we finally finished," Lucas explained. "Plus, this little man needed a fresh diaper."

Lucas looked back at Brooke and kissed her lips. He looked back at their son, then, smiling, and he said, "He's just waking up."

Brooke grinned as she stared down at the tiny little boy in Lucas's arms. Just as he started to open his eyes, Brooke took the baby from Lucas.

"Hey there, handsome," she whispered to him. She rocked him gently while she stared at him, amazed by the brightness of his blue eyes and the tufts of chocolate colored hair atop his soft head.

"What a beautiful boy you are," she spoke gently, continuing to rock him. "Chase Andrew Scott. Mommy loves you, Drew."

Brooke kissed his forehead. Her friends watched her bond with her son from a few feet away. After a few minutes, Peyton smiled and spoke up.

"Well, hey, are you two going to pass that little guy around, or are you going to hog him all day?"

Brooke smiled as she walked the baby over to her friends. She gently placed the newborn in Peyton's arms.

"Wow…" Peyton spoke softly. "He is so tiny."

Peyton glanced up at Brooke. "He looks just like you, Brooke."

Brooke smiled again and glanced down at her son.

"You think so?"

Haley and Nathan stepped up next to Peyton and Brooke to see the baby, each of them holding one of their three-month old twin daughters.

"I think he looks like Lucas," Brooke said.

"He does," Haley agreed. "He's got Luke's eyes, and his chin even, I think."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, but he's got your nose and lips for sure."

The infant started to wriggle and fuss a little.

"And hey," Peyton said as she bounced the baby gently. "He is whiney like you too!"

Brooke chuckled. "Gee, thanks. What do you think, Luke?"

Brooke turned around to look at Lucas, but Lucas was gone. No, not gone…just not directly in sight. She glanced down and her jaw almost hit the floor when she found him down on one knee.

"Lucas," she gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I, um…" Lucas swallowed, seemingly nervous. Brooke watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "I sort of thought that I might ask you to be my wife."

Brooke was speechless, which was okay at that point, as Lucas did not seem to be finished.

"I wanted to do this the day that Drew was born, but um…I wasn't sure how I should ask you, or if it was even the right time for you. So I've spent the last three weeks trying to figure out when the right time might be. Then, I realized that there never seems to be a right time for you and me; that you and I, we determine the right time when we actually do, rather than plan. So I decided to quit planning on how to ask you or when to ask you, and just ask you."

Lucas paused to take a deep breath in. Brooke still stood speechless in front of him as he continued.

"I don't have a grand old speech prepared like they do in the movies and in television. But I do love you. I love you and Ava, our son, and Ellie more than anything in this world. We are family and we always will be. But I want to make it official. You are my best friend, Brooke. But I really want you to be my wife."

"If you'll let me, I want to be with you and take care of you for the rest of my life. Many people say that you can't ever forget your first love. And I certainly haven't forgotten my love for you. It's always been there, Brooke. Even when we were just friends, deep down I've always felt it there. It will always be there. So…if you will have me, I would love to be your husband, Brooke Davis."

Brooke was in tears as she, along with the rest of her friends, listened to Lucas's proposal. As he opened up the tiny box revealing the oval cut diamond inside, Lucas asked her again.

"Brooke Penelope Davis…will you marry me?"

She didn't even have to think about it. She knew the answer already. It was the easiest decision she'd had to make all year. Maybe that was because she had finally learned to listen to her heart, and she realized that she did deserve to be happy again and to get what she wanted. And being with Lucas, her first love, her true love forever…was everything she had ever wanted. So she said yes.

They celebrated after dinner. After the kids had all fallen asleep in the den watching a movie and the baby had been put down, the adults poured some wine and gathered around the kitchen counter for a toast.

Lucas poured a glass of wine for everyone. He took his glass then and stood next to Brooke—his fiancé. His brother was the first to raise his glass in a toast.

"Here's to my brother and my future sister-in-law," Nathan spoke. He smiled at both of them. "Congratulations on your new son and on your engagement. It's about damn time."

Lucas, Brooke, and the rest of their friends chuckled. Everyone raised their glasses, clinked them together, and took a sip.

"Thank you, Nathan," Brooke said after swallowing her sip. "Now I would like to make another toast to a friend of all of ours, a father, and someone whom I hold very close to my heart."

Brooke watched as her friends' expressions turned a bit more somber in remembrance.

"I'd like to toast to Chase, on what would have been his 24th birthday."

Lucas raised his glass next to Brooke's and said, "To Chase."

"To Chase," Haley mimicked.

She was followed by Nathan, Karen, Peyton, and even Jake, all in unison as they raised their glasses to toast.

"Happy birthday, Chase," Brooke said just before she and her friends clinked their glasses together.

Can't wait to read what you all think. I hope this chapter was worth the wait =) It took me awhile to write this one, even a couple rewrites, adding in some flashbacks. After making Chase act like a jerk throughout most of the story, I wanted to show the nice side of him. And of course, to give you all the brucas conclusion you've been dying for! And there is still a little bit more to come in the epilogue! So please review while I work on writing that. I appreciate all of you who read every post and all reviews Thanks guys!

-Maureen