Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize from the show is mine… everything else… I wish!

You Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

Jillian knew part of the reason that she was offered the new living arrangement was because it was Jake's Mother that wanted her there and not Jake himself. It didn't matter whose idea it was, as long as she could hold her baby in her arms and watch her sleep. She also thought that the arrangements might be as so because Jake was afraid to let Jenny out of his own house; she might take her away from him. She knew that he was still scared at the possibility, but she didn't want to tell him over and over again that she would never do something like that to someone she loved as much as she loves Jake.

She must never tell him that. He even said that he moved on from her, how to do that, she wasn't sure, but she knew that she couldn't keep wishing for something that is already gone and buried. But to herself, at least subconsciously, she knew that she couldn't just stop loving someone, even if he said he had moved on. But the way he looked at her told her another story. Jillian knew he was trying his hardest to act like she meant nothing to him; it was obvious the way he went out of his way to not look at her in the eyes.

Instead of going directly to the motel, she stopped by the bookstore only ten minutes short of its closing time. The bookstore had been there for as long as she can remember; the guy running it now was the son of the man who owned it before him; his father owned it before that, and Jillian was sure the line went farther back than that.

"I have wanted to hire someone, now that I'm teaching at the college..." He leaned over the counter. He was a very tall man, Jillian guessed he was maybe twenty-five. His deep brown eyes were hidden behind thick glasses, so thick in fact, that she was unsure where his eyes were focusing while they talked.

"I could hold up the fort on the nights that you teach. It must be hard trying to run a business by yourself."

"It is hard when you have to be here all the time. Jillian, right?" She nodded. "I don't even have the right paperwork for you to fill out, but my classes start next week. I really do need to hire now..."

"See? I'm a Godsend. You can keep the records for my working here and I can get everything to you later."

"This is a bookstore; you need to know quite a bit about authors, books."

"I went to private school; name a book and I've probably read it. Classics, modern, fiction, non-fiction, dictionaries, encyclopedias, do I have to keep going?"

"Nope, I decided you're hired when you said fiction. He reached over the counter and shook her hand. "I hope you realize what you got yourself into." He pointed to the rows and rows of books, new and used, that occupied and cluttered the entire space. "All that is not organized in any way. "

"All you are doing is pumping me up for a challenge. When do you want me here?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

"I'll be here." She left the shop to get to the hotel with a big grin on her face.


Jake and Peyton settled down into a theater, arm rests up, cuddling with a bowl of popcorn. The previews hadn't even begun and the popcorn was half way gone and Peyton was already ripping the top off her favorite movie candy; Snocaps.

"Girl, you know how to pack it in."

"You always said you like a girl that actually eats." She turned and kissed him on the lips. He pulled away and looked at her, with one of those grins that made her melt. He moved in towards her as a couple needed to get pass them on the aisle. Jake laughed.

"Someone is always ruining my game."

"Oh, you have a game now? You barely have enough talent to play ball."

"Oh, really?" He knew that Peyton was just teasing him. He leaned over her and started to tickle a spot on the lower part of her back that drove her crazy. She giggled and thrashed around in her seat, that is until they both realized the whole theater was staring at them.

"It's good to get out, isn't it?" She returned to her previous position of leaning against Jake's chest, her head resting right below his. He played with her hair.

"Yeah, I realize that we spend too much time at my house with my parents and Jenny."

"No, I'm not complaining, I love spending time with you and Jenny."

The movie was beginning and Peyton became still and silent. Jake wasn't sure if he was more nervous with the idea of Jillian staying at his house, or with the fact that he didn't know how to tell Peyton that she was going to be there. Peyton had dropped the subject of Jillian since that last time she mentioned her, and he felt more comfortable that way. He would tell her when the time came for it.

Maybe instead of going home and facing the parents he would just stay over with Peyton. Her father was away again, and usually she would stay in the guest room some nights and he would stay with her on others; his parents understood that it is hard for her to be alone all the time so they didn't mind. Jake needed to get away; all that was ever on his mind had to do with him and Jillian. It would be good to spend some time with Peyton, only thinking about her.

Not taking his eyes off the screen, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. He leaned close to her ear so that she would miss his words.

"I love you, P. Sawyer." He smiled lightly, she could feel it on her face. Looking up at him Peyton smiled.

"Took you long enough, Jagielski. I love you, too."


She was already on the job for two hours the next morning and not one book had been sold in the duration. She had looked around at the books, trying to figure out what kind of system he had going and whether or not he would be up to the idea of Jillian reorganizing it for him. After finding a book that she had wanted to read for a long time, she sat down on a stool and leaned against the counter, waiting for someone to come in and rummage through the mounds of books on display.

The bell on the door sounded, letting her know that someone had entered. She didn't bother to look up, but instead kept reading from her book, sipping on a soda she got from the back.

"All books in that bin are half off today." She had said the same thing twenty times already today for the others who had stopped in.

"Good book." He indicated the book she was reading from. "Is this the first time you've read 1984?"

She remembered him well; Lucas Scott. She was amazed at how little he had changed from when they were kids. She always considered him a friend even though they mostly talked about what they were reading, even at those early ages. She smirked at thinking with all that had happened to both of them, all the time that had elapsed, yet in some aspects, so little had changed about them.

"I've wanted to read it for some time now. It's a little cliché, but I chose Animal Farm as my first Orville book."

"Animal Farm is a classic, you can't live unless you've read it. How are you liking 84 so far?"

"I think as far as books depicting future utopian worlds goes, I'd rather read Brave New World."

"Good choice; me too. I don't think I own a copy of that one, though. Do you think..." He turned to face the rows of books, but turned back toward her to smile and laugh.

"If you want to make an adventure about it, go ahead. But if I were you, I'd choose something randomly."

"Thanks, Jillian." She was taken aback as he started down one of the aisles in search of a book. Confusion written all over her face, she placed a paper to mark her page and made her way down the row after him.

"How do you know my name? I mean, how do you remember my name, Luke?"

"You're Jillian Summers. We went to school together."

"Everyone else has forgotten about me."

"Do you remember that time we had to do that leadership training stuff? Remember, it was at your church, we must have been twelve or thirteen."

"Yeah, and they broke us up into groups and you were like the only guy there."

"We spent most of the time talking about books we were reading."

"How are you and your mom doing? I went into the Cafe the other day."

"She didn't have that when we were younger. How'd you know that we owned it?"

"A little fairy told me. I had a little informant about the happenings of Tree Hill. Catholic school for the most part, was pretty dull." She wanted to add, "that is until my best friend Jennifer and I both got pregnant" but she decided not to.

"Why did you come back?"

How to word this? She didn't know if she wanted to let the whole world know that she was Jenny's mom. Jake told people already; could Lucas know that there was a Jenny?

"This place is most like home." She didn't know what to say. "What kind of authors are you looking for?"

"I come in here every now and again to pick up a few new books to read. Usually I just skim around to find something that catches my eye." He dropped his gym bag to reach a worn book on the top shelf. "Like this one. Alas, Babylon."

"That is a good book. I read it last year while-" She almost added "I was stuck home with swollen feet and an even bigger stomach". That would definitely push it.

"I read it while I was on spring break from school."

"Well, if you give it a good review, I think I'll take it." He picked up his bag passing her slowly, looking down at her and smiling while he made his way down the narrow aisle to the counter. She was confused again. Did her heart skip a beat again? Jillian couldn't help smiling as she followed him.

She rang up the book and handed it over to him. "Are you going to school here now?"

She bit her lip; she wasn't so sure at the moment. "Not yet, but I'm hoping to be registered soon."

"I guess I'll just have to stop in here more often then." He turned towards the door, opening it but stopping in the doorway. "I'll be back to have a discussion about the book."

"I'll be waiting." She was sure she would be.