Brooke smiled as she relished the pleasures of "normal" life. It was a brisk Monday afternoon and even though she had played hooky from work, she'd been up since six, as Harmony had decided to wake up for good at that point in the morning. Brooke fed, bathed, and dressed her, sterilized and made bottles, made breakfast for herself, washed dishes, vacuumed and now was on laundry load number three. It was nice to have a staff at her beck and call at any hour of the day but sometimes Brooke would fall into her "domesticated" mood.
As she cleaned the kitchen she watched Lucas working on the lawn. He had never quite gotten used to the hired help and was always up for doing chores himself. It was nice to have a quiet "family" day, especiallywith not so many more to look forward to. It was nice not to have to worry about meetings, conferences, publicity, or crunching deadlines.
Brooke could remember a time back when Mondays were hectic for a different reason in the Scott household. For starters she'd rise around nine, utterly tired from the late night before. Then it would be off to Sascha Naj for the day, expensive lunch downtown, with plenty of gourmet coffee breaks in between with Gordon. After much overtime, Brooke would put in a few hours at her exclusive "members only" gym, then head off to the loft for a late dinner with Lucas if he was in town.
Sometimes she would travel with him for away games but she much preferred the times when he played at the Garden. She loved to arrive early at the arena and watch the team practice. Then they would go back in the locker room to prep and right before game time, the Knicks would file out to the delight of the crowd. Brooke found it nearly impossible to contain the mile wide smile on her face or the overwhelming pride in her heart as she watched, Number 3, the man she loved more than life. He would play his heart out, just like he had in college and just like he had at Tree Hill High. She would cheer loudly from the stands just as she had for him in high school. Then after the game and his shower and the post play interviews, and making their way through mobs of rabid fans, they'd share a late dinner and go home and make love for hours. It was Brooke's policy from day one that they "celebrate" after every home game…win or lose. It had been a sideshow and one they hadloved but it was funny how the course of a couple years could change everything. They had traded in the jet set celebrity status for midnight feedings and getting spit up on.
"Luke, would you please stop it?" Brooke laughed, hands on hips and trying to keep a serious face.
"What?"
"You know what."
"I'm just trying to teach Harmony something new."
He was trying to teach her to sit up on her own, which the four month old was not quite ready yet to comprehend. Lucas, who could be entertained by his daughter for hours, was determined. He'd put her in the upright position, steady her, let go and within seconds she would tumble right over. There was a safety pallet of pillows and blankets so it wasn't hurting her but still. How could Brooke even pretend to be angry as father and child would burst out laughing every time Harmony fell over? She loved it when the three of them could sit around playing and just being goofy. She wondered how much of that would change once the divorce finally went through.
"Do you want Harmony to go to college?"
"Excuse me?" Brooke asked.
"When she's older. You know, do you expect her to go to college?" Lucas repeated.
"I don't know", Brooke shrugged. "She can do whatever she wants. College is great and everyone should have an education. You know that's very important to me but I don't want to push her. In my case, I loved college. It was great being away from home and meeting new people and partying all the time. I even liked going to class. I had fun and I was doing stuff that I liked but look at you and Nate. I mean, I know you both love basketball and obviously you're great at it but I saw how much Dan pushed both of you…especially Nathan. Did it pay off in the end? Sure if winning and lots of money is everything. What I'm trying to say is, that's why it's so important to me that Harmony always make her own choices. We're her parents so it is our job to tell her what to do until she's old enough to decide but when that time comes, I'll take pride in knowing we raised her right and she'll make good choices in life. I only want the best for her. If she wants to go to college, I'll totally support that. If she wants to get a job then that's fine too. Even if she wants to be a Paris Hilton and lay around for a while and spend our money, I think I would be cool with that, too. Now I don't want her to end up a spoiled brat with zero responsibility for the rest of her life but I do want her to do whatever makes her happy. Why do you ask? Do you want her to go to college?"
"Not necessarily. I'm like you, you know, whatever she wants. Lots of people don't go or don't finish and they end up okay. Look at my Mom. But I've been thinking lately about everything. I was looking at our books and stuff with my lawyers. The house and the furniture and the cars and all our major expenses like the boat and the plane were paid in cash and in full. My accountant has made some good investments and I know you have stocks and mutual funds and all that stuff. In our accounts between us we have about 60 million or so."
"Yeah. So?"
"Is that enough?"
"Enough for what? Damn Luke, I'd say that's a nice piece of pocket change. What the hell do you plan on doing?"
"No it's not that. Let's say neither one of us wanted to work again. Once everything is divided our properties and material things add another 40 or so million to that 60, not to mention what we're gonna clear this year. Sure we can live very comfortable lives but what about Harmony? Is that enough for the rest of her life? And what about her kids? I know it sounds crazy but I really think about stuff like that, Brooke. I grew up poor with a single mom who sacrificed and struggled for everything we had. We made it but it was rough. I never want that for our child or our grandchildren."
"Luke, that's really sweet but I don't think that's something you should be worried about. We're more than fine financially and we will be even after the divorce. And no matter what, Harmony will always be okay."
"I don't know", he shrugged. "It's just that..."
"Just what…"
"You know. Like if something were to happen to me and maybe I couldn't play ball anymore."
"Well, if you'd take the stupid test like we've all been begging you forty ways to Christmas…"
"Brooke, don't start."
"You're fine, Lucas", she said, patting his back. "Don't worry about it. We've done well for ourselves and it's all going to be okay. I promise."
Lucas smiled at her and turned on the television set.
"Okay enough about that. What's on tonight?"
He flipped through the hundreds channels on the satellite searching for something half way interesting to watch.
"Crocodile Hunter!" Lucas exclaimed. "That dude rocks."
"Luke, I know it's your favorite show but sorry my house, my remote", she grinned evilly.
"That's unfair."
"So is life but oh well. Besides possession in nine tenths the law."
"Fine but no Lifetime crap", he scowled.
Harmony cooed appreciatively as he began tossing her high in the air and bringing her down. That was her new favorite game along with Peek A Boo.
"Careful Lucas. She just ate. She'll puke all over you."
"No she won't. She's fine. You love your daddy don't you?"
Harmony responded by throwing all over his face and tee shirt. Brooke gave him an "I told you so" grin as he went upstairs to change. She cleaned up the baby and continued watching the tube. She was bored of the whole reality show thing and the only program that remotely interested her was the Lakers playing against the Phoenix Suns on ESPN. Brooke cuddled Harmony close as the starting lineups for both teams were introduced.
"What are you watching?" a freshened up Lucas asked as he reappeared and took a seat on the couch.
"The game is on", she said. "Do you mind?"
"No. No it's cool."
They watched the show in silence, cheering Nathan with every sunk basket and openly jeering the officials with every missed call against L.A. Brooke secretly reminisced about the good old days. She could look over at Luke's face and in his eyes and see right away that affection he harbored for his sport.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah", he answered after a minute. "Everything is cool."
He draped a blanket over his wife and daughter as they finished watching the game and eventually drifted off to sleep right there on the couch. He watched Brooke and Harmony for a while just hoping everything would be okay. His eyes finally closed taking him to a dream land where everything was perfect. It was the good old days again. There was no gossip or rumors or back stabbing or politics. There were no invasive photographers leaping out of bushes. And he and Brooke were a family, a team and not just two good buddies biding their time until paperwork from the state of New York told them their union was dissolved. None of that insanity existed. Everything was perfect...just the way it was supposed to be.
-------
"Harmony, don't you go and get Mrs. Patterson all dirty", Brooke said to her daughter.
It was a real pleasure to watch the nanny and baby together. They were quite the pair and their uncanny bond sometimes made Brooke a little jealous. They sat at the kitchen table, Mrs. Patterson holding her with one arm and trying to balance a spoon full of strained carrots in the other hand.
"Oh she'll be alright, Mrs. Scott."
"I don't know. You should have opened the creamed bananas maybe. That seems to be her favorite."
She just smiled and kept right on. While Brooke had a temporary babysitter, she decided to venture across the way and see what Lucas was up to. He had planned to go to an antique car show but instead she found him in the small storage shed located behind the guesthouse.
"You in here, Scott?" she asked.
"Yeah. Come in."
"Wow it's dusty in here", Brooke coughed. "What are you doing?"
"I came in here to look for a tire jack and I came across this."
In his hand was first jersey he had ever worn for the Tree Hill Ravens. The black patch he had stitched over the name "Scott" still remained.
"I haven't seen that in a while", she said. "How'd it get in here?"
"Who knows? We're always moving stuff around. Bet it's been a minute since you've seen this too", he said, throwing a garment at her.
Brooke's eyes widened as she stared at her old cheerleading uniform.
"Oh my God! This is so cool. I feel like we're back in the gym with Whitey. I wonder if it still fits", she said, slipping it on over her jeans and sweater much to Lucas' amusement.
"It fits", he laughed.
"You bet your ass it does! Remember this?" she grinned. "If it's action that you're craving, go and get yourself a Raven. We said go! Ravens. Go mighty Ravens. If you really want to score, gotta dig a little more. We say go, Ravens, go mighty Ravens!"
How could they ever forget the chants of the mighty Raven cheerleaders?
"I remember", he said fondly. "Man, this brings back a lot of cool memories. You don't even know, Brooke. At the time maybe it didn't seem like it but looking back now, that was probably the most fun we had. You and I had just started dating and so had Nathan and Haley. Nate and I were just starting to act like brothers. And Peyton and Mouth and Jake and Skills and Fergie were all there. We would play on that River Court for hours."
"It was an amazing time, I guess. Living in Tree Hill was quite the experience. I miss those days too sometimes. It's incredible how fun it can be when you're just a carefree kid having the time of your life."
"You used to cheer for me in school but remember you'd come down to the River Court all wrapped up in a blanket huddled up with Mouth?"
"Mouth was a sweetheart."
"I miss that, Brooke. Just the feeling of doing my thing on the court in front of my girl."
"That was a long time ago Lucas", Brooke nervously laughed.
"You know, there's a home game coming up in a few days against the Celtics. Maybe you and Harmony could come."
"I don't think so…"
"Why not?"
"The press will be more interested in what me and the baby are doing rather than what's going on down on the court. I don't want people clamoring just to get photos of my child."
"What if you sit VIP in the box seats? It's pretty private up there and it ain't courtside but the view is still great. You could have your own security with a private entrance and exit."
"I don't know. I mean, I haven't been to a game in forever and Harmony has never watched her Daddy play. I guess it could be fun…"
"It will be fun. Now come on. What do you say, Brooke?"
"You really want us there?"
"More than anything."
"Then we'll be there", Brooke smiled.
And that's exactly what happened. As the Knicks warmed up on the court, Number 3 glanced up to box seats and saw a radiant Brooke along with Gordon cuddling his baby daughter. He couldn't help but laugh out loud as the trio were matching pink shirts…Brooke's said "Diva", Gordon's read "Classic Diva" and Harmony was "Baby Diva".
The Knicks won by 22 points with Lucas leading the stats as usual with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists. After the game, reporters flocked to him asking the usual post win questions.
"So Luke, after the incredible season your team enjoyed last year winning the Championship and the amazing start of this year, it seems New York could be pledged for a repeat. How do you feel about being on top of your game?"
"It's the best", Lucas answered breathlessly. "I love the fans and this game and I think everybody can tell that I pretty much live for it. I'd love to win another title and that is the plan and it'd be even sweeter if I get to play my little brother for it. I'd love to relive the emotions of that win last season. Next to the birth of my daughter, that was the greatest night of my life ever."
"Speaking of your daughter, she was on hand to watch the game tonight. What do you think little Harmony has to say about her Daddy's MVP performance this evening?"
"I just hope she's half as proud of me as I am of her. It was cool having her here for her first NBA experience and I hope she had a good time."
"I'm sure she did on this terrific night at the Garden. Thanks for talking to us, Lucas. Back to the studios…"
Lucas grinned as he looked up at a smiling Brooke, a waving Gordon who was obviously desperate for some TV airtime and a sleeping Harmony. All in all, it had turned out to be a pretty terrific night.