Brooke and Peyton exchanged irritated glances. They were both furious at Tim but what else was new? Normally as a personal assistant it would be Peyton's job to take care of flight and hotel bookings but Tim, so excited about L.A. had insisted on handling all the travel arrangements. As to be expected, he had made a royal mess out of everything.

First class, non stop to Los Angeles. Brooke's wishes were more than clear. They always flew that way. Thanks to Tim, somehow the girls found themselves in Coach with three different layovers. By the time they arrived in LAX, the awards show was supposed to send a car to take them to the hotel but the three were getting a little agitated seeing they'd been waiting for almost an hour.

"Brooke? Brooke Davis, is that you?"

Brooke turned around and recognized Andrea Merrick, one of the junior writers for Soap Opera Digest.

Andrea had written a piece on Brooke over a year ago when Brooke first joined Guiding Light.

"Andrea, hi. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise. You look great and congratulations on the nomination."

"Thank you and your magazine for giving it to me."

"Well what are you up to today? The show isn't until tomorrow night."

"Nothing much", Brooke sighed. "We're just tired, cranky and hungry waiting for the damned car to get here. Someone, and I won't name names to protect the guilty, was supposed to make arrangements but we've been waiting over an hour. I swear, good help is so hard to find these days."

"Yeah", Tim agreed. "Tell me about, it Peyton. One of these days you are so going to get fired."

Peyton shot Tim an annoyed glance.

"Shut up before I stuff you in my bag and send you on a ride on the luggage concourse", she threatened.

"Are you guys at the Hilton?" Andrea asked.

"According to the itinerary."

"Well, so am I. I have a limo waiting out front. Grab your stuff, I'll give you guys a lift."

"Really?" Brooke asked. "Oh Andrea, thanks! You're a lifesaver. We really appreciate it."

"Yeah, thanks, Andi", Tim winked.

"Not you", Brooke said. "Tim, you get to take a cab."

"A cab?" he whined. "Oh come on, Brooke. The Tim can't be seen getting out of a taxi at the Hilton. I have a reputation to uphold in this town. I'm trying to holler at Susan Lucci later. What a MILF! If she sees me in the back of a cab, I might lose my one and only chance."

Peyton rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Just make yourself useful", she said, handing him her bags.

Brooke and Andrea followed suit giving Tim their suitcases as well as he struggled to follow them out to the car. Once inside, the ride was quick and smooth. At the hotel, Brooke and Peyton enjoyed a cocktail at the bar before heading up to their respective rooms. Brooke had a grand suite and she smiled. At least she had a little bit of star power left. It was a single, complete with a king sized bed, refrigerator, and a four star bathroom with a Jacuzzi that adjoined to the miniature suite next door. Peyton happened to be the occupant of that room.

Enjoying the down time and the silence, Brooke slipped into a hot, relaxing bubble bath and enjoyed a nap in the softest thread count sheets she had ever slept in. It was still early when she woke up and after watching some television, Brooke opted to go to a nearby gym alone. After a decent workout on the treadmill for over two hours, she ran into Peyton.

"Hey you. Dude, I have been looking for you all over. I'm starved and I found a tasty little Japanese steakhouse around the corner. What do you say?"

Starving, Brooke showered and joined her friend for dinner. The alcohol was plentiful and the food delicious. It was the first time Brooke had been able to relax. Her mind ventured away from the anxiety and pressure of the awards which had been weighing in heavily. They didn't get back to the rooms until half past midnight and Brooke knew she should try to get some sleep.

A big day was ahead. Awards shows were always a big deal. It was a literal who's who of daytime stars and all eyes would be on Brooke. Her work situation had been the topic of all the hot gossip columns and everyone had an opinion on Savannah and her coma. With Peyton and Tim at her side, Brooke knew she would have to dress fabulous, put on her best smile and face the reporters, her fans and her peers.

But Brooke was too nervous and excited for sleep. She tossed and turned but to no avail. She ended up alone in the hot tub posting a commentary on the official site. In the Felix days, the site was nothing more than a formality that Brooke paid little or no attention to. But in the darkest days when it seemed she only had Lucas, Peyton, Tim and her parents for support, it had been the loyal fans who had come through. They still loved Savannah and had bombarded CBS with letters and petitions to end the coma storyline.

At three in the morning she was still wide awake. Brookee had the urge to call her mother. Sometimes she just needed to hear her voice but she knew it was late and he didn't want to wake her, especially with the three hour time difference. She knew Peyton was sleeping and she wasn't quite desperate enough to want Tim's company. Checking the time again, she picked up the phone.

MEANWHILE…

"What the fuck?" Lucas mumbled as he sat straight up in bed.

It was six in the morning and his telephone was ringing. Who the hell would be calling his room at such an ungodly hour? No one ever did this unless there was bad news so he desperately tried to fight that dull sinking feeling that was churning in the pit of his stomach.

"Hello?"

"Luke...it's me."

"Brooke, where are you? Is everything okay?" Lucas sleepily asked.

"Hi babe. I'm in L.A. Um, everything is fine."

He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank God. You scared me half to death!"

"I didn't mean to. Sorry, I'm just bored and I missed you."

"Yeah? Well, I miss you, too. So how is California?"

"The same although I wished we hadn't flown out a day early. I don't see what Tim's big rush was."

"Sleep in tomorrow, God knows you need the rest, babe. Or go see the sights. Although I've never been to Hollywood before, I'm sure there are lots of cool things to check out. Go buy a star map or something", he joked.

"You know what I really want to do?"

"What's that?"

"Spend the weekend with you."

Lucas chuckled.

"Believe me, that sounds like a wonderful idea but with your schedule and mine, we probably won't get to see each other until maybe next Wednesday or Thursday."

"True...or we could be together in a few hours."

"What?"

"I'll put the airline ticket on my credit card. Just show up at the New Brunswick airport ASAP and catch the next flight out."

Lucas laughed.

"Brooke, you are nuts!"

"Maybe but I'm dead serious."

"Brooke Davis!"

"What?"

"Look, I know you miss me, I miss you, too. And I know you want to be together, Brooke. I want that now more than anything but we can't right now. We can't just throw this together spur of the moment."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?'

"Well..."

"I'm waiting."

"Brooke..."

"Luke, come on. You are no fun! Quit being such a stick in the mud. It'll be great."

"I can't afford it. The money..."

"Don't worry about the money, I told you I'll take care of it."

"That's expensive. I don't like you spending all your money on me."

"It's my money and if it makes you feel any better, next time one of us wakes up in the middle of the night and decides to fly half way around the country on a whim...then you can pay!"

Lucas burst out laughing.

"Baby, I have finals coming up. You know I need to study."

"And you're super smart and you're gonna ace finals. No excuses...bring your books with you."

"Brooke...", he whined.

"Lucas...", she whined right back.

He sighed heavily.

"Fine but if I flunk right out of college, you're going have to explain to my parents and Dan Scott and Karen Rowe can be pretty freaking intimidating."

Lucas just shook his head and chuckled to himself. He couldn't believe what he was about to be talked into.