"What time does lunch get served around here?"

Lucas just shook his head as he watched Gordon breezing around the house in his silk robe and pink slippers lodging complaint after complaint about his ever growing hunger.

"I am absolutely starving! I'm about to steal Harmony's strained sweet potatoes. Aren't you starving, Judas?"

"Famished, man", Lucas shrugged since it was better to agree than not.

"Fine", Brooke said. "I will cook."

All four adults, three children and the dog stared at her blankly.

"What?"

"You want to make lunch for us, Diva?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Because you suck! Girlfriend, you know I love you and you possess many talents but kitchen duty ain't one of them."

"Gordie, that's rude. And I'll have you know that I have been practicing and I have gotten better. Now let's do it the democratic way and vote."

"Fine but before we vote, may I enter into evidence exhibit A, the time Miss Thang over there tried to make me chicken and when I bit into that leg the damn thing was so burnt, it was nothing left but charcoal skin and bone. I guess she fried the meat right on off. Then had the nerve to say it was a Cajun recipe. Whoo child!"

Lucas cringed as he remembered the chicken incident and many more of Brooke's culinary mishaps.

"Okay. All those in favor of me making lunch, raise your hand."

Brooke's poor arm felt so lonely in the air by itself and she shot Lucas a "you got exactly ten seconds to put that arm up" look. Reluctantly, his hand raised.

"Oh come on, dude", Nathan whined.

"What? I have to live with her and I'd prefer not to be stabbed in my sleep."

"All those who oppose, raise your hand."

Nathan, Gordon, Haley and even the boys raised their hands.

"Jerks", Brooke mumbled.

"Sorry, Diva. You know we still love you anyway but every time I try one of your little creations, I end up having the trot and that would not be a pleasant thing with these small ass non ventilation having bathrooms. Anyway, I nominate Little Mama."

There were no objections and within the hour Haley had whipped up grilled salmon and sautéed spinach. Everyone immediately dug in.

"Compliments to the chef", Gordon grinned, rubbing his stomach. "That was great, Mary Poppins. Can't wait to see what's in store for dinner."

"Dinner?" Haley laughed. "Thanks for the compliments but I doubt we'll be here for dinner. We have to get back to Brentwood."

"I'll bet you do", Gordon smirked.

"Excuse me?"

"Nathan, I hope you like Pina Colada."

Nathan looked confused and Gordon and Brooke giggled at a very embarrassed Haley.

"I'm not even gonna ask", Lucas said, shaking his head as he went to answer a knock at the door.

He opened it and was surprised to see who was on the other side.

"Peyton! What are you doing here?" he hugged her.

"Hey Luke", she said quietly. "You feeling better?"

"I'm living and that's enough for me. How are you? Where's Jake and Jenny?"

Before Peyton could respond, the others noticed her presence and she was greeted with hugs as she forced a smile. She had come because she needed to see Brooke. She had no idea it would be a full house with Nathan, Haley, the kids and Gordon of all people.

"Pey, I am so glad to see you. How long are you going to be in town?" Brooke asked as she hugged her friend.

"I don't know."

"Are Jake and Jenny flying out?"

"I don't know."

Brooke noticed the strange, worried look on Peyton's face.

"Hey, P. Sawyer you sure everything is okay? You look upset. Talk to me."

"I…I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure. I left Jake and Jenny but other than that, everything is good."

The room seemed to stop as everyone stared at her dumbfounded.

"Pey…Peyton, are you joking?"

"No. No, I'm not. So…how's Malibu?"

Nobody dared moved. It just didn't seem right. Peyton without Jake and Jenny was like peanut butter without the jelly or soup without the spoon. One thing didn't make sense without the other.

"Um, why don't we put your things in my room?" Brooke offered, gently nudging the blonde to privacy.

Once in the bedroom, Peyton plopped down on the bed trying her best to ignore the fact that her best friend's jaw was nearly dropped to the floor.

"The place is pretty awesome, Brooke. I like it. Even the moose head isn't that bad."

"Yes it is that bad but forget the moose head. Peyton, hel-lo! You can't just show up and drop that bomb and forget everybody to forget you ever said anything."

"Well, I came to see you because I didn't know where else to go. I didn't expect everyone to be here."

"What happened?"

"We broke up", she shrugged nonchalantly. "It's over."

"What do you mean, over? It can't be just over. You're Peyton and Jake…and Jenny. You guys are like the three musketeers or something. Wait, does Jake even know where you are?"

"I didn't tell him."

"Peyton!"

"What? I couldn't. I…I just didn't want him following me out here and…"

"Okay. Don't say another word. Sit right here and I'll be right back."

Brooke went back into the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Haley asked.

"I don't know but I plan to get to the bottom of it all. Trust me, this is gonna call for major reinforcement", Brooke sighed as she opened the freezer. "Guys, just hang tight. I'm gonna go see what happened."

Brooke returned to Peyton in the bedroom with two spoons and a gallon of cookies and cream from Ben & Jerry's.

"Okay…spill."

"Nikki showed up at our apartment the other night", Peyton began.

"Great. What did that ho bag want?"

"Her claim was to see Jenny but what's it about every time she decides to breeze in our lives every few years or so? She just wants to cause trouble."

"What happened?"

"Jake saw her and immediately went ape shit. They start yelling. Jenny gets upset like she always does whenever Nikki comes around. It was just a mess. Anyway, after she left, Jake and I were talking and he said he wants to terminate Nikki's parental rights."

"Good. Jenny's better off anyway. Think Nikki will fight it?"

"Probably. It's not just that, though. Jake…well, Jake if he can legally get Nikki permanently removed from the picture, Jake wants to get married and he wants me to adopt Jenny."

"Pey, that's great!"

Peyton looked away as a tear managed to trickle down her cheek.

"Peyton? Aw, Pey, what's the matter, hon? Why are you crying? You love Jenny."

"I love Jenny with all my heart."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I love Jake. I really do. We're happy. The three of us have been together forever it feels like. And I have been content and satisfied with our situation but now…I don't know. Jake wants everything to be so, so formal and legal and…"

"Permanent?"

"Well…yeah."

"But wasn't it always? I mean, did you ever consider leaving them?"

"Of course not."

"And you guys have been engaged for like a hundred years. Didn't you actually plan on marrying the guy?"

"Eventually."

"I'm sorry, I don't see the problem. You love Jake and Jenny, they adore you. You guys get married, Nikki drops off the face of the earth and everybody is happy, right?"

"It…it's not that simple, alright?" Peyton said through teary eyes. "I'm scared, Brooke. Oh God, I am so scared."

Peyton broke down and Brooke automatically reached out for her. They had always been there for one another through good times and bad. Usually it was Brooke who was the basket case…the dramatic and emotional one always needing to be bailed out of some sort of dilemma. And Peyton was always the rock. The calm voice of reason. Now in a strange twist of fate, everything had changed. The roles had been reversed and what had seemed like the world's most perfect family, was now on the verge of being destroyed forever.