Chapter 12! This chapter is mostly finding out what everyone in Tree Hill has been up too since Brooke and Lucas saw them last. I figured I needed to play catch up. So please don't kill me if this chapter isn't as good as the others. LOL Its leading up to the next chapter which is going to be drama filled! LOL! I love some Drama... Anyway! Hope you like! Please review
Brooke and Lucas drove towards Tree Hill. Brooke was going insane she was so bored. Emma was watching Dawson's Creek The Series Finale on their portable DVD player, every once in a while they would hear her yell or mutter something like "Stupid Pacey" or "No! She can't die" under her breath. Austin sat in his car seat beside Emma talking baby talk to his bear. Brooke had tried to get them both to play with her but neither of them wanted to stop what they were doing.
"Lucas...I'm bored" Brooke whined finally giving up on Austin who simply refused to do anything but hug his bear
"I know..." Lucas laughed seeing her frustration. She didn't do well with car rides.
"Are we there yet?" She whined louder, putting her feet on the dashboard
"No...Your worse than Emma you know that? Listen to the radio or something"
"There's nothing to listen too... How much longer?"
"30 minutes maybe?" Lucas laughed
"I can't take this! Stop... I gotta pee"
"Again... worse than our 3 year old" Lucas complained pulling into a trade mart
"Ok grouchy, you take Austin and I'll take Emma, Come on baby... stop torturing yourself. Joey is going to end up with Pacey no matter how many times you watch it" Brooke laughed pulling Emma out of her car seat
"But it mights change" Emma said hopefully.
"And Hilary Duff might actually be liked by more than a bunch of 8 year olds... Come on lets go potty" Brooke felt bad for the little girl. She had spent her whole life watching that show only to have it end a way she hated.
Brooke walked into the gas station leaving Lucas outside with Austin.
"I get cany?" Emma asked as she made her way towards the candy section
"Sure... a sugar rush is just what we both need" Brooke laughed
"Hey! Your that lesbian!" A guy yelled from the check out
"Excuse me?"
"Remember me? Bob? I picked you up in Farmville one day when your car broke down? You almost threw up in my truck?" the man asked
"Right, you tried to ask me out! Wow, how did you recognize me?" Brooke asked in amazement
"What are you talking about? You look the same as you did what was it, 4 years ago? I never forget a pretty face. So is your girlfriend here?"
"Oh, um Peyton... right, We broke up" Brooke laughed nervously. It was crazy how things like this happened, at the time she had thought she would never see that man again and yet here he was
"Right... So are you with someone?" Bob asked winking at her, just as Lucas walked in
"Yea... married, 2 kids, the whole 9 yards... could you excuse me? I really have to pee" Brooke said pointing to Lucas
"Yea go ahead" Bob said and then turned to Lucas
"So that's your wife? Tell me... are you really a man or are you one of those cross dressed thingy ma bobs?" Bob asked Lucas who was putting Austin up on his shoulders
"What?"
Brooke and Lucas finally got back on the road after Brooke had spent as much time procrastinating in the gas station as possible.
"45 minutes... how can anyone manage to spend 45 minutes in a gas station Brooke?" Lucas laughed
"Brooke can do anything she wants as long as she puts her mind to it... oh great now I am talking to myself in 3rd person! See what the boredom has done to me? Our kids are going to have to come and visit me in a mental institution."
"You're going to be in an institution because you are bored?" Lucas asked. Car rides with Brooke Davis left nothing to be desired. They were down right miserable.
"No! Because I am going to go insane and kill you! Then I will plead insanity and they will lock me up far, far away!" Brooke said leaning her seat back
"Mommy! Yours squashing me" Emma cried
"Sorry"
"You know we would already be there if we hadn't stopped" Lucas laughed
"Lucas... really not helping... How much longer?" Brooke asked getting even more restless
"20 minutes, tops... Your cranky" Lucas laughed
"I hate staying at your mothers... we can't have sex, or raise our children the way we want or walk around in our underwear or do anything fun..." Brooke whined
"Its only for a week Brooke..."
"Someone just kill me now and put me out of my misery..."
Brooke sat back in her seat seeing the frustration on his face. For all she knew he hated car rides and staying at his mothers as much as she did, she just never really cared to ask. It did make the time go by faster fighting with him though. Emma and Austin weren't helping matters either. They were her kids... they were supposed to be whining and bored on car trips so that they would keep her entertained. Instead they acted like perfect little angels in the small backseat doing their own things leaving her to well, be bored.
"So, ok I thought of something to make you un-bored" Lucas finally said. He hadn't planned on telling her this until they were in a bigger space but he figured maybe now would be as good of a time as any.
"Please god tell me" Brooke laughed
"Well Royal called yesterday and since we are going to be in Tree Hill for Emmy's birthday he wants to throw her a party"
"Really? That's so nice! Wait... how is this supposed to make me un-bored?" Brooke asked hearing the tone in his voice... the tone he used right before he was getting ready to tell her some bad news
"Well he wants to throw it at Dan's and remember those basketball parties? It would most likely be a lot like that" Lucas said as they passed the sign saying "Welcome to Tree Hill"
"The catch... why is there always a catch? What the hell let him throw it. We are going to throw her a party when we get home that will be 100 times better" Brooke said proudly. She and Peyton had planned the whole thing right before the whole Peyton/Jake/Lucas drama.
"Are you sure?"
"Why not? I mean how bad could it be?"
"I loved those parties! Remember when I dared you to kiss Peyton and you 2 were gonna do it but she turned you down? You know why she turned you down? Because she knew that I loved you! How awesome is that? Wow...I'm not bored now!" Brooke giggled
"And yet somehow I just got very uncomfortable" Lucas laughed
"Yea, yea! Oh My God! That was when I was trying to hook Peyton and Nathan back up because I wanted you... well actually I just wanted to sleep with you. God I cant believe I remember that! I can't wait until Emma and Austin get to go to parties like that! They were so much fun"
"Like I said... your idea of getting un-bored has a strange way of making me very uncomfortable" Lucas laughed
"Yes I love you too Broody"
As they drove into Karen's driveway Karen, Keith and Nick were waiting on the front porch.
"Where are my grandbabies?" Karen shrieked running towards the car
"Hey Karen, Keith" Brooke smiled. The sight of Karen, Keith, and Nick sitting in the rocking chairs on the porch was priceless. They were the perfect definition of a small town family. They looked perfect on the outside but were full of baggage and emotional issues on the inside.
"Come here Emma! Give Meme a big hug! How are you?"
"Bad, Joey ended ups with Pacey again! She is neber going to learn" Emma said hugging Karen
"Ah, Your mother is still letting you fill our head with that I see... Now go inside with Keith... I want to talk to your daddy" Karen smiled
"Mom... Emma take Bella with you" Lucas said handing her the dog.
"Austin! Come see Meme"
"Mama..." Austin cried as Karen tried to un-hook his car seat
"Yea he is going through a "I want Mommy and only Mommy" Phase right now" Brooke lied pulling little Austin out of his car seat. The truth was that Austin hated strangers and to him Karen was a stranger.
"Oh... yea Nick did that with Keith for a while! Now Lucas... come give your mother a hug" Brooke heard Karen say as she took Austin into the house. If she knew Karen like she knew she did then she probably wouldn't see Lucas for the next 4 hours, So that left her, Emma and Austin to fend for them selves which she really didn't mind. She couldn't wait to see Haley and Nathan. Living in Chapel Hill had made her realize what a good friend Haley had been to her and it made her miss her.
"Hey Keith, Hey Nick" Brooke said hugging them both
"Hey Brooke! Hey Austin, Wow... he has gotten so big" Keith laughed
"So has Nick! He is bigger than Austin"
"Karen feeds him non-stop..." Keith said rolling his eyes
"Bring him in... he can play with Austin and Emma while I unpack"
"Yea... you probably wont see Lucas for a while" Keith laughed following her inside the small house
Brooke took Austin into the den and sat him on the floor with Emma and Bella who were playing fetch.
"Where's daddy?" Emma asked throwing Bella's ball again
"Meme kidnapped him, but that's ok we are going to go see Aunt tutor girl and Nathan in a minute"
"Natan!" Emma squealed in excitement.
"Yes Nathan... Now watch your brother and make sure he doesn't eat anything toxic" Brooke laughed
"You can just put them in the playpen" Keith said putting chubby little Nick down into the playpen
"Yea, Austin kinda thinks that is jail. He absolutely hates it... He'll be ok with Emma as long as he has his bear" Brooke laughed seeing Austin's eyes get big at the sight of the playpen
"Right... so how are things with you and Lucas? You know Karen is asking questions about you 2 a mile a minute right now, praying that there is something, anything wrong with you 2 so that he will need her again" Keith said rolling his eyes
"Yea I am sure she is but she isn't going to find anything" Brooke laughed
"Damn it! Couldn't you 2 have made something up? That woman is going insane with him gone"
"Sorry but Lucas and I have done enough lying the past couple of days... She's your trouble now" Brooke laughed
"Something about little boys and their mommy's" Keith smiled
"I hear ya... I don't know what I would so without that one there. Don't forget about little girls and their daddy's though. Emma has a boyfriend at school and I thought Lucas was going to kill him"
"He's a good dad isn't he?" Keith smiled
"The best"
"I don't know where he got it from though" Keith laughed
"I do"
Karen and Lucas walked down the sidewalk passed all the little shops towards the café. Lucas watched as Karen fidgeted with her fingers. She did this whenever she was nervous or excited, just like Brooke.
"What's wrong?" Lucas finally asked not being able to take the suspense anymore
"Nothing! Nothing, I've just missed you is all. It's strange not having you around. Don't you want to move back?"
"Not really" Lucas laughed
"Don't you want to give your brother a big brother?" Karen asked half joking, half seriously.
"Mom... even if I were here I wouldn't see you like I use too... I have 2 kids and a wife and school, if you don't remember" Lucas said trying to steer her in another direction
"Oh a mother doesn't forget when her son has kids and a wife... especially at the age of" Karen started but Lucas broke in.
"Mom... I didn't come here to do this with you" Lucas said quietly. He hadn't come here to hash out his life choices with his mother. Even though he knew that that was the only reason she had brought him on this walk.
"I know... I'm sorry, pre wedding jitters... I am just taking my frustration out on the world. Ok new subject, how was your birthday? Did Brooke make it special, like I use to?"
"Do you want me to lie and say no?" Lucas laughed
"Please...I'm kidding, I am sure it was great. Now tell me everything you did. I have never missed a second of any of your birthdays before now and I need to know every second of this one" Karen begged.
"You don't want to know" Lucas laughed. He wasn't about to tell his mother about him and Brooke's Hotel night.
"So I guess that answers my next question. Have you and Brooke decided to be mature adults" Karen said trying to laugh but Lucas could tell she was faking it. She sometimes wondered if she would have hated any woman that he married or if it was just Brooke.
"Guess so" Lucas laughed
"Your quiet... Something wrong?" Karen asked hopefully
"Not really... It's just weird being here. In Chapel Hill I have no history. No one knows about Dan or all the drama that Brooke and I went through. You know? We aren't judged there, being here just makes me feel kind of uneasy"
"Because it's you're high school drama coming back to you... It always seems worse than it really was. That's why most people try and get away from where they went to high school." Karen laughed
"My High School drama was bad if you don't remember....We're probably not going to move back here after we graduate you know," Lucas said quietly
"I know... You have to move on. But a mother can hope right?" Karen said letting out a faint laugh
"Hey... you have 17 years with Nick"
"17? Try 30. I am home schooling that boy! I thought it was enough with you to have the sex talk but apparently not so Nick isn't going to be around any girl but me" Karen said loudly as they entered the Café.
"He is going to end up gay you know" Lucas laughed
"Well so be it! I knew I should have been worried when you had a best friend that was a girl... all the signs were there. And if Brooke hadn't sweet talked me that day we met then I probably would have gotten rid of her a long time ago but"
"Mom..."
"Let me finish... I am glad it was Brooke. She may not be the most mature, or the most sensible, or have the most common sense. But she makes you happy. And she makes those kids happy. And that makes me happy. Don't you tell her I like her though," Karen smiled
Brooke opened the door to Nathan and Haley's apartment. She never knocked when she was in Tree Hill and she was pretty sure she wasn't going to catch Nathan and Haley in some comprimizinf position since they were after all Nathan and Haley. The apartment was a disaster. Toys everywhere along with clothes and shoes
"Tutor girl!" Brooke yelled
"Brooke! Oh My God! Hey! Sorry about the mess... No time to clean" Haley screamed grabbing Brooke and hugging her
"Hey! Don't worry about it, ours is messy too...Wow is that Amber? She has grown so much!" Brooke said seeing the freckly brown haired baby walking towards them
"Yea, she and Nathan just got home from the basketball court. He's teaching her young. Come here freckles! Say hey to Aunt Brooke!"
"Where's Natan?" Emma asked looking around the room
"Hey Emma, wow Brooke she looks more like you than ever. Look at that long brown hair! Sweetie Nathan is changing, he'll be out in a minute. Where is Austin?" Haley asked out of breath.
"He's coming... Come on baby... Your bear will be ok in the car" Brooke laughed
"No" Austin cried trying to open the door
"Wow... Just like Lucas... You two have really programmed those children to be mini you's haven't you?" Haley laughed
"Apparently... Let me go get him, hold on"
"Natan!" Emma yelled running towards Nathan
"Hey Emma Kate..." Nathan laughed calling Emma by her two abbreviated names
"Hey Nathan, What's kicking? Still soap opera obsessed?" Brooke laughed pulling Austin into the room
"No... Haley made me get a job. Plus Amber here only likes The Wiggles"
"You gotta teach them young Nathan! My children have never watched those shows... Watch this. Austin? Do you like Teletubbies?" Brooke asked bending down
"No" Austin said shaking his blonde hair from side to side
"Why not?"
"Gay" Austin giggled
"See? But Austin isn't much for TV like Emma. He would rather have Lucas read to him" Brooke
"Haley wont let me teach Amber certain words" Nathan whined
"What? So I don't want her to turn out like Brooke...big deal" Haley laughed
"Haha, Funny"
"Where's Lucas?" Haley asked
"Meme napped him" Emma giggled
"I see" Haley laughed
"Knock Knock! Grandpa is here Amber" Dan said from the doorway.
"Hey Dan" Haley smiled
"Oh I didn't know you had company... Hello Brooke" Dan smiled
"Danny boy! How's it hanging?" Brooke laughed. She was too shocked to do anything else. Since when were Nathan and Haley letting Dan into their lives?
"Dan I got the present... oh Hello Brooke" Deb smiled
"Hey...um Haley can talk to you for a minute?" Brooke asked yanking Haley into the kitchen
"Hello, You must be Austin...Wow Dan doesn't he look like Lucas?" Deb asked trying to pick up the little boy
"No... Mama" Austin screamed with tears running down his cheek
"Ah! Tutor girl! Don't you move... I am going to get Austin and then you and I are going to have a long talk!" Brooke said running to the den
"I just tried to pick him up"
"Yea he is afraid of strangers... Come here baby" Brooke said picking Austin up and taking him to the kitchen
"Well... you would think that she would teach that child some manners" Deb said embarrassed
"Mom... Amber cries when you pick her up too... it has to be the fake tan" Nathan laughed
Brooke sat Austin on the table with her in the kitchen
"What the hell is he doing here?"
"He wanted to be part of Amber's life! Brooke we weren't as lucky as you and Lucas were with Royal giving you all of that money. Dan and Deb buy her presents and clothes and things she needs." Haley shot back
"Sorry, but he is Dan. You see what he did to Nathan and Lucas. Do you really want him around your daughter?"
"We do what we have to, to get by... It'd not that bad Brooke, he's changed... some... a little" Haley lied
"If you say so... Well I am going to go. I don't think Lucas really wants him around Emma and Austin. He would actually probably kill me. Call me later and we can shop ok?" Brooke asked hugging Haley bye.
"Brooke wait... I need to tell you something. You might get caught up in this tomorrow at the lunching and I thought you should know. Dan has gotten a court order for Karen to get a paternity test on Nick. He wants to see it, actually hold the results in his hand. They are serving it to her tomorrow." Haley whispered
"Wow... are you serious? That sucks..."
"Nathan told me. Look you can't tell anyone..." Haley begged
"Not even Lucas? Because you know I tell Lucas everything plus 1"
"You tell Lucas, Lucas tells Karen, I get busted"
"Look I really have to go... Karen us cooking a dinner lord help me. I'll talk to you tomorrow at the lunching ok?" Brooke asked grabbing Austin
"Brooke... don't tell, please"
"Come on Emmy... Lets go" Brooke said pulling her away from Nathan
"Is he weally my Granpa?" Emma asked pointing to Dan
"We'll talk about it with Daddy when we get to Meme's... Lets go. You can play with Nathan tomorrow" Brooke said taking her hand
Lucas sat on the front porch with Nick waiting for Brooke to get back. It was weird holding Nick. It was weird having a brother that wasn't Nathan in general. He wasn't sure if it was because he had never had a brother that he had known as a child, or it was the fact that he had a son that was the same age as Nick. It was just strange. Nick was a chubby baby with blonde hair. Not blonde hair like Austin's which was long enough to brush and for Emma to pull. Nick almost had no hair at all and what he did have was so blonde it didn't even show up. He was a quiet, awkward baby. Instead of talking he just grunted, probably because he never had to talk. Everything was given to him without him having to ask, unlike with Austin who if he really wanted something he had to talk over Emma to get it.
Brooke finally drove up and parked letting Emma run to the swing set and carrying Austin to the front porch to see Lucas.
"Hey Handsome..." Brooke said kissing him
"No" Austin said pointing his finger at Nick
"Looks like Austin is jealous" Brooke laughed snuggling next to Lucas in the porch swing.
"Dude... come here" Lucas said pulling Austin over with him and Nick
"Wow... who knew that our baby boy had a jealous streak" Brooke said as Austin cuddled up to Lucas trying to push Nick off.
"Austin... he can sit with us too" Lucas laughed
"I am going to go and offer my help in the kitchen. Pray Karen says no so I can come back out. Emmy is swinging, you want me to take Austin with me so you can bond or whatever with Nick?"
"And let him think I chose Nick over him?" Lucas asked
"Whatever... Have fun" Brooke laughed kissing both her boys on the cheek before going in to help Karen.
Brooke walked through the small house spotting every place that she and Lucas had either made out or had sex when they were younger. Surprisingly there weren't that many. Car's and hot tubes were more their style.
"Hey Karen...Need any help?" Brooke asked once she got into the kitchen
"No... but you can sit and talk to me if you want" Karen smiled
"Sure"
"So is Lucas still outside with Nick?"
"Yea... and Austin. He wasn't quite ready to share his daddy with another boy." Brooke laughed
"You should have brought him in and let Lucas continue bonding" Karen said coldly. It wasn't that she hated Brooke like Lucas thought she did. She just didn't agree with most of the things that she did. Including raise her family.
"Tried... Lucas wouldn't let me. Turns out he wasn't quite ready to let Austin think he had to share his daddy with another boy"
"But he does" Karen said putting the chicken into the stove.
"But not in the same way. Lucas worries with Austin. That's his son. They have their own little special thing going on kinda like Emma and I do. Doesn't mean he loves him anymore than Emma; I mean that girl is his life. It's just different."
"But what I am saying is Austin has to learn to share Lucas with Nick" Karen said trying to make Brooke see her point
"I don't think it's that Austin needs to learn to share, he's a baby. That's his daddy. Nick has a daddy. It's Lucas that needs to learn that Austin is going to get mad at him and yell at him. Dan did a number on Lucas and Lucas is scared to death that he isn't good enough."
"I think it is just that your children are spoiled" Karen laughed
"Yes they are, and we admit to spoiling them rotten. But they have manners, and they don't yell or hit or be mean to other kids."
"I just think that Austin needs to learn that he isn't the only boy in Lucas's life" Karen smiled
"You say that because he is your son and so is Lucas, obviously you favor them over Austin and you should, they are your sons. But Karen, Emma and Austin are always going to come first over everyone with him, and with me. Maybe it's you that needs to learn to accept that. Now if you don't need anything I am going to go back outside" Brooke said leaving Karen alone in the kitchen.
Brooke walked back outside to find both Austin and Nick asleep on Lucas.
"Hey husband... wow you look like a baby magnet" Brooke laughed sitting next to him
"They finally gave up fighting... it was interesting I have to say. Nick is bigger than Austin so he had more weight to push around but Austin is 2 months older so he was smarter" Lucas laughed
"Your mom is pissed off at me"
"Really? And why is this?" Lucas asked putting his arm around Brooke
"Long story..." Brooke said laying her head on his shoulder
"I want to sit too" Emma whined crawling up in Brooke's lap
"So Emma tells me you guys saw Dan" Lucas said readjusting so his arm could still fit around Brooke and she could leave her head on his shoulder
"Yea... He was at Nathan and Haley's...he tired to tell her he was her grandpa"
"It's weird being here? Isn't it? I mean I didn't think it was going to be; we have only been gone for like 3 months."
"Makes me feel nauseas" Brooke laughed
"Or that could just be the smell of my moms chicken"
"She does make some lousy chicken... how does that happen when she cooks everything else so well?" Brooke giggled
"I don't know... I don't want to think right now..." Lucas laughed
"Ok... what do you want to do?"
"I just want to sit here with you and swing" Lucas said quietly
Spoilers: The wedding! Brooke and Lucas have finals. Emma, Austin, and Brooke's birthday... and more! PLEASE REVIEW!