"Yes...no...wait...hey...whatever you do, don't put me on hold...damn!"

With little success, Lucas was on the line with his newly appointed California based doctor's office. He had some questions about the temporary painkillers and other details of his impending rehabilitation schedule but it was damned near impossible to get through to anyone other than voice mail or the receptionist that sounded like she was 12. Sitting on hold for the umpteenth time was one of the most frustrating aspects for him. The whole thing was stupid anyway, from the meds to the phone calls even up to the actual rehab itself.

"Luke, can I get you something to eat?"

Lucas had no idea what Haley had said to Brooke, but whatever it was, he was eternally grateful as it had made a world of difference. She was still helpful and considerate but had calmed down considerably from her former obsessive compulsive behavior. Haley had cooked enough food to last them for days and afterwards had arranged for meals to be catered. It was agreed Brooke would take care of the lighter day to day household chores but leave the big stuff, like plumbing duty, to the professionals. And Lucas could sleep a little easier knowing the heart defibrillator was safely tucked away in a locked closet.

Even though things had seemingly gotten better with Brooke, it did much to change the way Lucas was feeling. There were still bouts of dizzy spells, headaches and pain and tightness in his chest. He often felt weak or tired, sometimes so much that it was difficult to play with Harmony or Pete. He resented that, being half the man he once was. And even though he appreciated Brooke, he resented her presence sometimes as well. It was just another reminder of his shortcomings.

"No, I can do it myself."

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm already up and I know you were having one of those headaches earlier. I don't mind heating up something for you."

"Brooke, it's cool, okay? I am fully capable of fixing my own meals."

"Whatever", she mumbled, a little miffed at his snippiness. "I was just trying to help."

"Well don't. You don't have to be so helpful all the time", he snapped.

Ouch! His words stung but she was determined not to let it show. The best way to handle the new situation with Lucas was to match fire with fire.

Brooke opened the fridge and pulled out a tray. She carefully arranged perfect slices of deli meat that Haley had cut onto half slices of toasted wheat bread. Getting some garden salad and a glass of the fresh lemonade Haley had also prepared for them, she was ready to eat, setting aside strained pears for Harmony when the little girl awoke from her nap. Brooke almost choked on her turkey sandwich as she watched Lucas uncomfortably shift his weight, trying to maintain a standing position while he threw a quick snack together. It obviously wasn't working out and it served him and his ridiculous male pride right she thought as she smiled.

"Hhhhhmmm, tuna on Ritz crackers. Looks...interesting", she smirked.

"Well I'm sure it tastes better than yours", he lied, trying not to drool too much over her luscious looking sandwich.

"Whatever you say. But you're welcome to what I have. Tuna, chicken salad, turkey, ham...all that's in the refrigerator. There's other stuff too if you want me to heat up something."

"I'm fine I said. Geez, just lay off."

Brooke had had it.

"Okay. What's your problem, Luke? I've been nothing but nice to you since we got here. I've been courteous, respectful, helpful, friendly and so far, when you're not ignoring me, I get nothing but attitude. What gives?"

Lucas sighed as he bit into his cracker and took a sip of water. Damn that lemonade looked refreshing.

"Look, it's not you, okay? I do appreciate you coming out here. I know it's not easy for you. If any of this were under different circumstances, then I'm sure everything would be different. But it's not, Brooke. My mom and the doctors and my brother are all desperate to prove some point that I'm helpless and need a 24 hour nurse/babysitter/housekeeper and that's crazy. You're wasting your time."

"Is that what this is?"

"Yes. I can do things for myself. They need to quit treating me like I'm an invalid."

"Then maybe you should quit acting like one."

"Excuse me?" Lucas asked with a raised eyebrow. "Brooke, you don't even get it."

"Maybe that's true but that's only because you don't give me the chance to get it. Since this has happened, all I ever see you do is pout and have a sucky 'the world owes me' attitude. You're lazy, you complain, you never get up before noon and you expect to one day just roll out of that bed and bingo bango poof, your heart condition is gonna be gone."

"I am not having this conversation with you. You don't know anything about how I'm feeling and what I'm going through right now, okay? And I appreciate you helping and staying here or whatever but that's where it ends. I don't need Brooke Scott's Psychology 101."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"But we may as well at least try to get along. I mean, I'm not going anywhere and you're not going anywhere. Besides, it'll make the time go by faster and who knows, we might even one day, God forbid, become friends again."

"Brooke, we are friends."

"But maybe we should be friends. Get what I'm saying?"

He did and simply nodded at her, quickly looking away.

"We used to have fun together? Remember? God, I know it seems like a hundred years ago. Hey, do you remember the night of senior prom when Tim and Nathan stole the keys to the beach house? We had that wild party and Dan and Deb and Whitey and half the cops in Tree Hill showed up. I was scared shitless and no one was saying a thing and one of the officers asked Nathan if any of us had been drinking and no sooner than he could lie and say, 'no sir', poor Haley puked all over Dan's shoes."

Lucas did remember. Often memories of the good times would sneak into the back of his mind. A tiny grin made its way to his lips before he could stop it. It was his first real smile in a long time.

"Oh God! What is that? Could it be a grin I see? Is Lucas Eugene Scott, the original brooder, actually smiling?"

"Maybe", he answered, trying in vain to hide the saucy grin forming across his lips. "But don't get used to it or anything."

"I'll try not to. Here, why don't you have a sandwich?"

Lucas licked his lips. The delicate, pink ham looked so appetizing on toasted wheat with the crust cut off just like he liked it.

"If you insist, then I guess I'll try it. Wouldn't want to hurt your feelings or anything seeing that you're so sensitive and all."

"Sure", she laughed knowingly. "We wouldn't want that now, would we? That would be pretty cold, even for you, Scott."

Lucas smiled another real smile. When it wasn't terribly awkward and when he wasn't in a foul and depressed stupor, having Brooke's company around didn't seem so bad after all. For one minute, one brief minute, everything was okay again. Then he moved and felt the sharp and shooting pain, biting his lip in the few seconds it took to catch his breath. That was reality or at least his new one. He wasn't the same Lucas Scott as before. He couldn't be happy and relaxed and optimistic all the time. The injury as well as the divorce with Brooke had changed him forever. Like a deadly parasite, it was as if the very life had been sucked out of him.

The shrill screams of their daughter interrupted the silence. It was Brooke who went to get the little girl from her room. Harmony was fresh from an early afternoon nap and along with a little lunch, was eager for the attention of her mother and father.

"Can I feed her?" Lucas asked before Brooke could put her down in her high chair.

"Sure", she smiled.

From the minute Harmony had been born, Lucas had always been content to rock her to sleep or feed her or change diapers. Brooke placed the child in her daddy's arms and instantly her little face lit up. She smiled and put her small hands on Luke's mouth. Both mother and daughter giggled as Lucas pretended to bite them. A few seconds later, Brooke handed Lucas the spoon and pears.

"Okay Harmony are you gonna be good or does Daddy have to do the whole 'airplane' deal just to get you to eat?" Lucas asked his daughter.

"Da-da", the little girl responded.

Lucas dropped the spoon as he and Brooke looked at each other dumbfounded.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"I…I heard", Brooke grinned as happy tears formed in her eyes.

Their daughter had spoken their first word and the parents were in awe. Brooke ran to get the video camera, firing it up as the two prodded and practically begged the ten month old to say something else. It was to no avail as Harmony was apparently camera shy and more interested in sticking her hands in the pears and smearing them all over her father's face.

"It's no use", Brooke sighed as she turned off the camera.

"Yeah but who cares, right? At least we got to hear her. Maybe we'll get her second word on film or something."

Brooke shrugged and returned the camera to its rightful place before heading back to the kitchen area. She sat and finished her lunch while Lucas played with and fed Harmony.

"Well, I'm gonna go out and walk the dog", he said as he stood, handing their daughter back over to Brooke. "I guess I'll see you around. Thanks for the ham sandwich. It wasn't half bad."

"Thanks, I think", Brooke joked. "I'll take that as a compliment anyway even though I just pulled stuff out of Haley's neatly assembled Ziploc baggies."

He placed a kiss on Harmony's cheek.

"Da-da."

"Brooke, she said it again!"

"I heard her", Brooke smiled. "Of course she'd wait until I put the camera back up."

"She's got a stubborn streak."

"You think? Gee, I wonder where she got that one came from."

Lucas gave a sheepish shrug and she nodded and smiled, watching him disappear outside with the dog. His moods were day to day but at least they had made some sort of progress. He had actually smiled for once and been genuinely nice to her. Still it seemed just when she was on the verge of breaking through, something had made him pull back. That had been the case for the past year. Whenever they seemed to actually be getting somewhere, something would happen to cause one of them to take a cautious step backwards. Now it was like he couldn't open up, couldn't relax long enough for that wall to be broken down. In more ways than one, Brooke could identify with that herself but she would gladly take what she could get.