Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill.

Author's Note: It's the war of the grandmas. Karen vs. Victoria. This should be fun.

And a big shoutout and thank you to my IG followers: dianehermans, gypsybarbie26, and kathrynwithak. You all are appreciated.

Chapter 21

The town car pulled up in front of the house. Victoria stepped out and looked around. Their lawn could use a trim. She thought as she walked up the porch steps. As she got to the the door, she didn't see a doorbell. Who doesn't have a doorbell nowadays? She lightly tapped on the door. After a few seconds, Karen appeared and she was surprised to say the least.

"Karen Scott." She greeted her.

"Victoria Montgomery." Karen called her by her maiden name.

"You know it's Davis."

"And you know it's not Scott." Karen said, folding her arms.

Both women looked at each other. High school pettiness truly never faded. Karen, taking the high road, politely asked "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Well, I believe you have something that belongs to me."

Karen knew what she was talking about and she didn't like that Victoria was referring to Sebastian as if he were property. She arched an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

"Yes, and I would like it back. Also, I saw your son last night and he was very rude to me. You should talk to him about that."

Karen smirked. "I'm sure he was justified in whatever he said to you. And the "it" you're referring to has a name; it's Sebastian. And he belongs to both of us."

"I know his damn name! I was there when my daughter gave it to him. You and your son however, wasn't there."

"Victoria, you are a guest at my home and I would appreciate it if you would respect that and lower your tone. And you're right, we weren't there. And I love Brooke as if she's my own daughter, but she should've told Lucas about Sebastian. The both of you could've reached out. We would've been there."

"I'm not quite sure about that. I mean Dan is his father. I've always wondered how a smart girl like you could be so stupid and get caught up with Danny. We all knew what kind of guy he was back then. Just ask Deb." Victoria chuckled. "I guess it's true what they say, love is blind."

Karen took a deep breath, trying to hold onto her patience, but it was quickly wearing thin. "I see where you're going with that; and that's strike two. We were all young and we made mistakes. Surely you know about that, seeing as though you married Ted. But I digress. Now, you can either find some semblance of decency and I can invite you in, or you can continue to stand out here being disrespectful and I can send you on your way."

Victoria squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. "Fine. May I come in?"

Karen smirked; she knew it was killing Victoria to behave herself. "Yes you may."

They got settled in the living room. Karen rolled her eyes as Victoria dusted and smoothed out a place to sit on the couch.

"So, how's Brooke? I've been meaning to visit her." Karen asked.

"She's progressing pretty well. The doctor says that everything internal is healing well. It's just a matter of time as to when she wakes up. I'm surprised that you don't know all of this already. From my understanding, your son has visited my daughter everyday since she's been hospitalized."

"Everyday?" Karen asked.

"Yes, the hospital staff thought he was her husband as many times as he's been there."

Karen filed that one away in her head for later.

Just then, Lily and Sebastian ran through the hallway. Lily was blowing bubbles and Sebastian was bouncing a basketball.

"Mommy, can me and Bash have a snack?" Lily asked as she walked into the room.

Karen gave her a look. "Manners, young lady."

Lily looked at the woman sitting on the other couch. "Excuse me. Hi, I'm Lily. Nice to meet you."

"Hello Lily." Victoria responded as she looked at the pretty little girl. She could see the resemblance of both mother and father in her. She always liked Keith. He was always so nice to her no matter how snobbish she was to him.

Sebastian wandered into the room, looking for Lily. He saw Victoria sitting on the couch.

"Grandma!" He ran to her. Victoria froze up when he hugged her.

"Hello Sebastian." She pulled back to give him a once over. She ran her fingers through his hair and straighten his clothes. She reached in her purse and pulled out a wet wipe to clean his face. "Remember what you're supposed to call me?"

Sebastian thought for a moment. "Bit-Victoria?"

"Good boy." Victoria said, while still grooming him.

Karen sat back and observed, while shaking her head. Victoria was a piece of work.

"And you know you're not supposed to play ball in the house." She said as she took the ball from him.

Sebastian didn't seem to care, all he wanted to know was, "Where's mommy? When is she coming home? Am I going with you?"

Karen saw that Victoria was overwhelmed with the barrage of questions coming from the 4 year old. She reached over and gave the ball back to Sebastian. "How about you both go play outside and I'll bring your snacks out to you." Karen ushered the kids to the backyard.

When she got back, Victoria was still sitting there looking flustered. They both sat there and had a long conversation about their children and their grandson. Victoria let her defenses down slightly and they both talked candidly.

After a while, there was a knock at the door. "Excuse me for a second." Karen got up.

Victoria looked at the time. "I really should be going." She said as she gathered her things. She had reached her vulnerability quota for the day. They agreed that Sebastian would stay with Lucas until Brooke woke up. They didn't have much of a plan after that. It would be up to Brooke then.

Karen opened the door to Nathan and Jamie standing there.

"Thanks a lot for letting him come over." Nathan said.

"No problem at all Nathan." She looked to Jamie. "They're playing in the backyard." She smiled as he took off running to the back.

"It's like you're running a day care. I don't know how you do it." Victoria said as she walked to the door.

"Mrs. Davis?" Nathan was surprised to see her here.

"Another Scott. This town is full of you people." Victoria quickly forgetting that her grandson was also a Scott; and so were the other two children in the backyard.

Nathan looked confused. "It's nice to see you too Mrs. Davis. I'm actually on my way to go visit Brooke right now."

"Give her my regards." "I'll talk to you later Karen." And with that, Victoria was gone.

Nathan looked back at Karen. "What was that about? I didn't know you and her were such good friends." He chuckled. "Wait until I tell Lucas." He laughed again.

"I wouldn't say we're good friends, but we have to be cordial now because of Sebastian. And speaking of Lucas, do you know where he is? He didn't come home last night."

"I'm not sure; maybe he's with Peyton."

"I thought so too, but then I hear that he's spending a lot of time with Brooke."

"What do you mean?"

"He's visited her everyday since she's been in the hospital."

Nathan just sighed. His brother loved making his life complicated. He wondered if Haley knew this. If not, he was sure going to tell her. "Well, I'm about to go see Brooke. If he's there, I'll tell him to call you." Nathan promised.

"Thanks. And don't worry about Jamie, he's fine."

"I'm sure he's having a good time already." He said as he heard the kids playing in the backyard.

...

The town car drove through the streets of Tree Hill, as Victoria sat back and reflected on her conversation with Karen. Contrary to popular belief, she does love her daughter. How could she not? Brooke was just like her in some ways; bossy, headstrong, dedicated. Sure, Victoria had her flaws. She didn't always tell her daughter that she loved her or that she was proud of her; but she had to have known, right? Surely her lack of approval, encouragement, and acceptance wouldn't lead Brooke down a path of looking for love in all the wrong places. And finally finding true love but being hindered by the insecurity of not being enough; and ending up pregnant at 17.

Okay, so Victoria could've handled things better with her daughter. But at least she was there when Brooke needed her most, during her pregnancy. That's more than her father ever did. The comment Karen made about Ted still stung a little bit. She despised her estranged husband. His ability to appear and disappear out of their daughter's life whenever he wanted. Oh, but dear old Ted always provided financially. Throwing money at any problem was his favorite pastime. I mean, why spend time when you can spend money.

Victoria believed she was the better parent; because even though she antagonized her daughter; at least she was there. She pushed Brooke to be better. And that's why she's a fashion mogul at age 22.

Victoria looked out the car window. She saw a girl who looked to be no older than 16, selling drugs from the side of an abandoned building. This town was full of undesirables. That's why Victoria felt that she, Brooke, and Sebastian belonged in New York.

Speaking of, her phone rang and a New York area code flashed across the screen. It was Clothes Over Bros Headquarters.

After about 10 minutes, Victoria hung up and re-routed the driver to her daughter's store. The board members were getting antsy about their investments on the new fashion line that has yet to be seen. They still haven't had any communication with Brooke. And they panicked when Victoria suddenly left without an explanation. They scheduled a meeting for tomorrow and insisted that she be in attendance; they even paid for her flight back.

When she arrived at the store, Victoria was happy to see a decent amount of people shopping inside. The atmosphere was inviting and Millie seemed to have a real knack for getting things done.

"Millicent."

Millie looked up at the mention of her name. She saw Victoria standing there and a chill went down her spine. What was she doing here?

Victoria noticed Millie's reaction, but she didn't have time to revel in her misery; she was here for business. She pulled Millie aside to explain the minor details as to why she needed a look at the financial books. Millie gave her the key to Brooke's office, hoping that she wouldn't regret it later.

As she looked through the books, Victoria was surprised the store was actually turning a profit. She made a few copies of the profit margin, the supply and demand spreadsheets, and a few other important documents for the meeting. That would make the board members happy and buy her and Brooke more time. Victoria huffed loudly. This little trip turned out to be more stressful than she originally planned. From finding out about her daughter's attack, to tracking down her grandson, and still trying to keep the company running smoothly; she felt like she was putting out little fires everywhere. Her phone buzzed; a travel itinerary confirmation notifying her that her flight leaves in a few hours. She hated that she had to leave with her daughter still in the hospital, but duty calls.

...

It was getting late, when Sam decided to pack up for the night. She had been standing out here all day working, and she couldn't go back to Jason empty handed. She can't explain why she does the things that she does for Jason. Love, maybe? She was stupidly and dangerously in love with him. Even though he had a girlfriend, Sam was certain that she could give him more than that wannabe singer ever could. But she was okay with being his little secret for now.

...

Nathan shifted in his chair and yawned. He had been by Brooke's bedside for most of the day. There was the occasional leg stretch and a quick food run but other than that, he had sat there faithfully. He must've been getting tired because he thought he saw Brooke blink her eyes. He had stared at her and even called her name to see if she would respond.

She didn't.

He texted his wife to update her on what was going on. Haley told him to continue to talk to her, even if he wasn't sure that she could hear him. So, he did. He talked to her about everything. He talked to her about how Jamie, Sebastian and Lily were like the three musketeers, and they don't know how they ever let their kids go this long without knowing each other. He talked about his basketball contract negotiations and about his upcoming shoe endorsement. "The shoe thing is a secret. I haven't even told Haley yet, so you're getting exclusive info."

Nathan yawned again. It was getting late, and hospital visiting hours had ended a short while ago. Nurse Allie came by to take Brooke's vitals and she told him he could stay past visiting hours if he promised not to cause a scene like his brother had done. Nathan was confused as to what she was talking about until he put two and two together. It was no coincidence that he saw Mrs. Davis earlier today at Karen's house. And the little tidbit about Lucas coming here everyday; it was all the makings of an explosive showdown between his brother and Brooke's mom.

Nathan began nodding off. He was so sleepy, he wasn't sure if he was blinking or if Brooke was blinking. He tilted his head back; all he needed was a quick nap.

...

Karen lay on the couch in the living room, watching as Sebastian finally drifted off to sleep. After a day full of excitement from seeing his grandmother again to running and playing around the backyard with his cousins; he was having a hard time winding down. Lily and Jamie had fallen asleep after watching the movie. They both were snuggled down in their sleeping bags on each side of him. Karen watched as Sebastian tossed and turned and she wondered if that was normal for him. She knew how much he missed his mom. He blinked his eyes as he drifted off further.

...

Beginning of Dream

Clothes Over Bros Office, New York

"Mommy can we play abc game?" 3 year old Sebastian asked as he pressed his face against the window overlooking the city.

Brooke smiled. She had been teaching him a lot of things, hoping to get him ready for pre-school next year. She was glad that he was so excited to learn. That was definitely one of his father's traits. She stopped to think about Lucas every now and again. She would think about where he was, what he was doing, and if he ever thought about her.

"Mommy!" Sebastian brought her back into the present.

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out a little."

"Z is for zoned." Sebastian said enthusiastically.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh. "Yes it is, but we have to do the alphabet in order. Are you ready?"

With a quick nod of his head, they began.

"A is for?" Brooke asked.

"Apple!" Sebastian squealed.

"Good job. Okay, B is for?"

Sebastian looked around the office until his eyes landed on his mother's desk. "B is for Book."

"It sure is. You know, B is also for Brooke."

Sebastian burst into a fit of giggles as if it was the funniest thing his mom ever said. "Mommy that's your name!" He said hilariously. His laughter was infectious so Brooke couldn't help but join in. She picked him up and she sat in her desk chair with him on her lap. "What are we sitting in?"

"A chair."

"Okay, and what does chair start with?"

"C."

"Good job." She hugged him and twirled around in the chair as they both laughed.

"So this is what you're doing when you're supposed to be working?!" Victoria barged into the office.

End of Dream

...

Sebastian woke up yelling. "Mommy!" He looked around trying to remember where he was.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Karen asked as she sat up on the couch. Sebastian began sucking his thumb. "I want mommy." He said as a tear fell down his face.

She held her arms out and he fell into her embrace. She rocked him back and forth, assuring him that everything was going to be okay. Karen had been around Sebastian for a little while now, but tonight was the first time she felt like a grandmother. Rocking him and consoling him like only a grandma could.

...

"Sss..."

She saw herself holding him, sitting in the chair.

"...Seb..."

They were twirling around.

"...Bastian..."

The hustling and bustling sounds of New York City below mixed in with her son's laughter.

"Sebastian."

"Sebastian?"

"SEBASTIAN!!!"

Nathan was jolted awake by what sounded like Brooke's voice. He looked over and there she was, sitting straight up, breathing erratically.

"Brooke, you're awake!"

Brooke looked around trying to figure out where she was. "Where's my son?" Her heart rate began to accelerate, all of the machines around her beeping wildly.