Sam bolted upright in her bed as she heard a loud clap of thunder roar and shake the house. She jumped quickly out of bed and ran into the living room where she found Brooke and Julian on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey there, Sampson!" Julian greeted. Brooke turned and smiled warmly at Sam before asking, "how are you feeling, sweetheart?" "I'm ok...but THAT just freaked me out," she replied. Brooke laughed softly and said, "Yeah, I know, but we're keeping a close eye on it. So far just some really strong storms in the area, but nothing to be worried about." Sam looked around the living room and asked, "Hey, wasn't Jamie supposed to come stay the night with us?" "Yes, but with you not feeling well and the weather getting so crummy today, we decided to take a rain check on that until next weekend. Jimmy Jam was NOT happy about it," Brooke said with a chuckle. Sam laughed too and sat down in the living room with Brooke and Julian.

"Sam, I made homemade chicken and noodle soup. Are you ready to eat something? It's been a while and I think you will feel better once you eat a little more." "Um...sure," replied Sam.

Brooke smiled at Sam and got up to begin fixing the table for the three of them. She poured a bowl of soup for each of them, but filled Sam's bowl with more broth than the others. She set out crackers and toast. Brooke poured Sam a small glass of sprite. The only soda Brooke kept in the house was sprite and it was only for when someone had an upset stomach. Brooke hated soda and thought everyone else should as well. She always eyed Sam disapprovingly when she ordered it at restaurants. BUT...Brooke felt like she could compromise with letting Sam have soda sometimes and just not keeping it in the house. It drove Sam crazy at first, but she had finally gotten used to drinking other things and was surprisingly OK with it now.

The trio moved to the table just as another bright flash of lighting flooded through the windows and a thunderous boom shook the house. Sam froze in her place and looked uneasy. Brooke took notice of this and placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's ok, sweetheart. This house is built on a beach and is meant to withstand hurricanes. We will be just fine in these thunderstorms." Sam smiled sheepishly at Brooke, a little bit embarrassed to be showing her nervousness. Storms had always frightened Sam. She had been alone in storms as a younger child and had been filled with terror each time. She had no one to comfort her or hold her until it passed. She was relieved to have Brooke and Julian now.

Julian broke Sam out of her thoughts by tussling her hair and saying, "Yeah, kiddo, we got this. I once lassoed a bull in the Junior Ranger Rodeo...I can lasso a tornado too if I need to." Brooke and Sam cackled with laughter as Sam snarkily replied, "OK, Pecos Bill!" Brooke lost it at that moment and fell into a fit of laughter. Julian smiled proudly as Sam simultaneously grinned and rolled her eyes.

Sam sipped sparingly on her soup, not feeling up to eating much. Her stomach still wasn't fully back to normal and the weather outside continued to roar which unsettled her even further. "Honey, try to get in at least half of it. It will help, I promise," Brooke encouraged. Sam nodded and continued to sip slowly. Julian tussled Sam's hair again, bringing smiles out of all three.

Sam felt her phone vibrate and picked it up to check it. Brooke took notice, but didn't say anything until Sam began typing a response. She sat up and firmly (but still kindly) said, "Sam, no screens at the table, ok? Whatever it is can wait until we are finished eating." Sam looked up at Brooke and replied, " Ok...but...um...well...it's just Jack. His brother is being really mean to him and he's scared." Julian stepped in and asked, "what does he mean by that? What is his brother doing?" Sam teared up as she said, "he's been drinking a lot and he gets really mean when he drinks and sometimes his brother hurts him."

Brooke took on a grave tone and said, "Sam, give me your phone." Sam looked hurt and confused, "But, Brooke, I..." "Sam...hand it to me." Sam handed her phone to Brooke. Brooke began to type a response to Jack herself:

"Jack, this is Brooke. Do you need help? Do you need us to send someone to you?"

Jack's response came quickly:

"Yes."

Brooke placed the phone in Julian's hands as he read over the messages. He stood up, "OK. I'll go. You both stay here. The weather is too dangerous for you to come out with me." Brooke nodded solemnly before saying, "Be careful, Julian. I love you." Brooke hugged Julian tightly before stepping aside and allowing him to be on his way. She picked Sam's phone back up and replied to Jack once again:

"Jack, Julian is on his way to pick you up. If you can, pack a bag quickly. You will stay with us tonight. He will be there in 5 minutes. Look for him."

Brooke walked over to Sam and embraced her. "It's ok, honey. We will make sure it is."

The storm outside raged harder than before. As he was making his way to Jack's house, Julian could barely see through the blinding rain and the bright flashes of lighting. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and concentrated on the road with everything he had. Julian could feel the wind pulling at his truck as he drove on. Panic rose up in him, but he stuffed it and kept going. Before long, Julian pulled up to the curb outside the home of Jack's brother. He saw Jack sprint out with his very drunk brother yelling behind him. Thankfully for Jack, and Julian too, he was too far gone to even walk a straight line, so he would not be able to catch up to them.

Jack jumped into the passenger seat of Julian's truck. As soon as the door closed, Julian began driving away before glancing toward a distraught Jack. "I'm sorry, Buddy. We will help you get this all sorted out, ok?"

Jack just nodded and looked down at his lap. Julian hurt for the younger boy and wished he could find words that would bring comfort.

Back at home, Brooke was worried sick as the storm worsened. She knew Jack's house was only minutes away, but with this weather, it could take an eternity. She wanted nothing more than to have Julian, with Jack in tow, safely back in her home. As she continued to pace, the hair raising sound of a weather alert blared through the television. Sam's stomach lurched as she felt like she would throw up again. She ran to the bathroom. Brooke, wanting to follow Sam, but also needing to hear the alert, moved to stand in front of the tv.

"Tornado Warning for Tree Hill effective until 7:45 p.m. If you are in or near the town of Tree Hill, take cover immediately."

Brooke's legs felt like jelly as she went to the bathroom to check on Sam. She found Sam sitting on the side of the tub. "Sam...I need you to come and get into the stair closet." Tears sprung to Sam's eyes as she cried, "Brooke, I'm scared." "It's ok, honey, remember what I told you about this house?" Brooke offered. Sam looked up at Brooke, "But what about Jack and Julian?" "They're almost back, they're ok too." Brooke wasn't sure about that and she was terrified herself, but she knew she had to keep Sam calm. "Come on, honey, grab a blanket and let's go hang out in the closet for a bit," Brooke said trying to distract Sam from the seriousness of everything.

At that moment, the door opened and Julian and Jack ran inside, both soaking wet from head to toe, looking as though they had seen a ghost. "Get into the closet, now!" Belted Julian, long gone was his resolve to remain calm. All four ran into the closet and shut the door behind them. Sam hugged Jack quickly before bearing down into Brooke's arms as the loudest sounds she had ever heard began to swirl around them. It sounded a bit like someone was mowing the grass with a very loud lawnmower that just kept getting closer and closer. They heard banging and booming as everyone huddled together: Brooke holding Sam tightly as Sam squeezed Jack's hand and Julian leaned protectively over all of them.

Finally, all went still and quiet...perfectly still and quiet. Darkness surrounded them. Julian broke the quiet by saying, "stay here, let me check everything out." He opened the closet and walked out, relieved to find everything in the house intact. Not one broken window or any damage to be seen. He opened the outside door and looked around. He saw debris and garbage everywhere he looked, but most buildings had only minor damage, if any. Julian walked back to the closet and called everyone out. "Looks like it was a tornado, but not a very strong one. Some damage, but mostly just lots of things blown about. It will take some time to clean up for sure."

Brooke breathed a sigh of relief as did Sam and Jack. Brooke walked to flip the switch to their home generator, which turned their lights back on. Julian chucked, "of course you do, Brooke Davis." Everyone laughed softly...still a little stunned by the events that had just transpired, but greatly relieved that all was well.

Brooke walked up to Jack and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "You're soaked, Buddy. Why don't you go into our guest bathroom and have a shower. Julian will go grab your things out of the truck for you. When you come out I'll have you a nice warm bowl of soup to eat, ok?" Jack smiled gratefully at Brooke. "Thank you, Ms. Davis." Brooke nodded and patted his shoulder again.

Jack went off to take his shower, Julian headed down to the truck to grab Jack's things, Sam sat down on the couch to catch her breath, and Brooke grabbed the phone to begin calling to check on everyone else in Tree Hill.

Brooke talked with Haley and Nathan, Lucas and Peyton, and Mouth and Millie. Everyone was fine and Brooke breathed a sigh of relief as she filled a bowl of soup for Jack.

What a night in Tree Hill, but even through it all, there was much to be thankful for.