Title: Kingdom for a Kiss

Disclaimer: We have no affiliations with Warner Bros. Television Production, One Tree Hill or Tollin/Robbins Productions. Nor do we own any name brands or cars mentioned in this. pause Well, we may own a car, but not the company.

Summary: Nine years ago, Brooke Davis left Tree Hill. Now she's come back to raise her daughter in her childhood home. There's only one person who has been there for her all along, but what will it take for her to realize he's all the home she needs?

Author's Note: This fanfiction is a joint effort between myself Summer, Indian Summer and Joan bibleboymary4ever. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and will help the second chapter come faster! This fanfiction will be centered around the relationships between Lucas Scott, Brooke Davis and Nathan Scott. The character Elissa Natalie Scott is all ours.
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Nathan slipped quietly down the hall, being sure not to wake Brooke or Elissa. He had become accustomed to waking early after years of living with Haley. As a student, and later as a teacher, she had always insisted at being the first in the school building. However, he also knew from experience how much Brooke enjoyed her time in bed and how hard it was to get Elissa to sleep.

As he passed Elissa's room, he noticed the door was ajar. He poked his head in and saw her content sleeping form, her dark brown hair spread across the pillow and her blue eyes, the only remnant of her Scott blood, tightly shut. Nathan couldn't help smiling to himself. From the day she was born, Liss was the only person who had loved him unconditionally, no matter what. Nathan would always value that.

He softly shut the door and walked down the steps to the foyer. After quickly scribbling a note to Brooke, he grabbed the keys to his Escalade and walked out of the house.
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Brooke's alarm rang shrilly and she groggily turned to shut it off. She got out of bed and, stretching her arms out, pulled her robe off its hook.

She walked down the hall yawning until she reached Elissa's door. Sitting down on her daughter's bed, she lightly stroked her hair. "Elissa Natalie, sweetie, it's time to wake up for school."

Elissa wrapped her arms around Brooke's waist, but her eyes remained shut. "Mmm, Mommy, I don't wanna get up."

"I know you don't; I didn't either. But you have to go to school and I have to go to work. Besides, Uncle Nathan promised he'd make your favorite dinner tonight."

Elissa's eyes flew open. "Frozen pizza?!"

"Yep and rocky road ice cream for dessert!" Brooke stood up and turned towards the door.

"Does he know to get the kind from Haagen Dazs?"

"Of course," Brooke replied. "That's the only kind worth getting! We've all been sharing it since you were still in here." Brooke rubbed her stomach as she offered her daughter a dimpled grin.

"Okay," Elissa flashed her dimples back at her mom. "I'll get up." She bound out of bed and Brooke left the room.

"Oh, Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?" Brooke poked her head back into the room.

"Wear your black skirt? With that pink stripey shirt? And I'll wear my black capris with my pink sweater so we can match!"

"Okay, babe. Waffles or eggs for breakfast?"

"Waffles, please!"

"Great, I'll go tell Margaret. Get dressed and pack your backpack."

Brooke's brown hair swished behind her as she exited and the two began their day.
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Grocery shopping for Brooke and Elissa was different than what Nathan was used to. When it had just been him and Haley, the food had always been bland- cottage cheese, salad, and tofurkey.

Brooke, on the other hand, had given him a long shopping list, consisting of everything from Lucky Charms to taco shells to frozen pizza. As Nathan wheeled his cart down the frozen foods aisle, it bucked under his grip, a too-tight front wheel squeaking as he fought the resistance.

"Can't even control a shopping cart, huh?"

Nathan turned at the voice, a familiar tension creeping into his shoulders. Lucas stood with his back against a freezer door, his eyebrows raised as he took in Nathan.

"Lucas," Nathan greeted, offering his half-brother a small nod. "How are you doing?"

Lucas exhaled sharply as he studied Nathan. "The better question would be how Haley is doing. You know, your wife?" Lucas' eyes narrowed as he met Nathan's gaze. "Or did you forget about her when you were looking after my ex?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Someone's gotta look after her, Lucas. And I didn't forget about Haley."

"You forgot to tell her about your kid," Lucas said, looking pointedly at the box of Lucky Charms in Nathan's cart.

Nathan frowned. "My kid? And those are Brooke's." He gestured to a box of Cocoa Puffs. "Those are Elissa's."

Lucas ignored the second half of Nathan's comment. "When Brooke shows up with a kid who looks a hell of a lot like you... yeah."

Nathan's eyes widened, understanding suddenly dawning on him. "Elissa's not my daughter, Lucas." He paused. "She's nine. Think about it."
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Haley leaned back to pick her two tote bags out of the backseat. A purple marker rolled onto the ground and she groaned in frustration. She really hated Nathan's Porsche Boxster and silently cursed him for taking both the Escalade and the Mercedes Station Wagon with him.

She grabbed the two bags and her stray marker as she got up out of the car. A familiar navy blue station wagon swerved into a nearby spot, but the likelihood didn't immediately hit her. Haley walked determinedly into Tree Hill Elementary, trying her hardest not to think about Nathan.

A few parking spaces down, Brooke was losing her patience. "Elissa! You can't just not go to your class. It's the beginning of the year! I have to go to work and you have to get your education."

Elissa gave her a pointed look. "You were the one who told me you didn't learn anything important until you started university. Besides, you could just take me to work with you."

"No!" Brooke unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over to undo her daughter's. "No, you are going to school and you are going to like it." She opened her car door and motioned for Elissa to follow. "Come on!"

Elissa exhaled dramatically and grabbed the pink backpack she had gotten the day before. Swinging one strap over the other, she let her mother lead her into the school.

Brooke dropped Elissa off at her fourth grade classroom, giving her a quick hug before she wandered back down the hallway. She passed the various classrooms and saw the children grow smaller and more frightened. Brooke couldn't help but feel a little sad when she saw a blonde haired father hug his crying kindergartener. She bit her lip remorsefully as an angry voice entered her thoughts.

"What, so stealing my husband and coming to my home isn't enough? Now you have to drive my car and stalk me at my workplace?"

The blonde haired father looked up abruptly, obviously surprised to see his daughter's teacher so angry.

"Save it, Haley. Not everything revolves around you." Brooke flipped her dark brown hair. "Since you obviously need to know everything about me; I'll have you know I was dropping my daughter off at school."

As the crowd grew thicker, several other parents turned around to eavesdrop and one covered her son's ears.

Haley narrowed her eyes. "Oh, I see. In between screwing my husband, you've made an attempt to be a good mother. Funny how you couldn't do that without my husband."

"He's your husband; not mine. And if I were you, I'd be trying to hold onto him instead of just giving up."

Brooke passed through the various parents and students as the clack of her high heels faded into the crowd.
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Nathan watched as understanding flooded his brother's eyes. Lucas shook his head. "No. Brooke told me she wasn't-"

"Brooke lied, Lucas." Nathan shook his head. "You treated her like crap, basically accused her of sleeping with every guy in Tree Hill. What did you expect from her?"

"Not for her to lie about whether or not I have a kid!" Lucas said, his voice oddly high.

Frustrated, Nathan ran a hand roughly through his hair. "You hurt her, Lucas. She wasn't thinking. But come on! Why do you think she disappeared right after that?"

"Come on, Nathan," Lucas mimicked, his voice rising, "You're my brother! You should've told me!"

Nathan shook his head sadly, letting his eyes meet Lucas'. "We haven't been brothers in a long time, Lucas."

"Still! You should've told me. I had a right to know!"

He was nearly shouting now. Nathan glanced around, taking in the people who'd stopped to stare. "Listen, Lucas," he said quietly, "Lets just get out of here. We can talk it over. Talk to Brooke."

"Why should I believe anything either of you say anyway?" Lucas shouted, opening a freezer door and slamming it shut.

"Luc..." Nathan trailed off as he watched Lucas storm away. Leaning his head against the freezer, he sighed. "Brooke's going to kill me."
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When Nathan returned to Brooke's after work, the air was thick with tension. He ascended the stairs to the sitting room silently, and by the time he reached the top, he knew she knew.

Her back was to him but he could tell by the way she was gripping her coffee mug so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

"Hi?" he ventured, unable to mask the guilt in his voice.

Brooke turned toward him slowly, her eyes hurt and betrayed. "I got an interesting phone call from Lucas a few hours ago," she started softly, raising her gaze to meet his.

"Oh." Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"It seems you ran into him at the grocery store," Brooke continued, her voice quivering slightly. "Do you know what he told me?"

"Um..." Nathan bit his cheek nervously, casting his gaze on the floor.

"It's okay. I'll tell you," Brooke said, the calmness of her voice unnerving Nathan. "He told me that you told him Elissa was his daughter."

"Yeah. Um, I'm sorry, Brooke. I didn't think-"

She shook her head, standing up. "No, you didn't," she said, walking over to him slowly and squaring her shoulders, "If you had, you would've realized there was a reason I hadn't told him in the past nine years."

"Brooke..."

She shook her head slightly. "See, Nathan. My relationship with Lucas was one of the hardest times in my life. It's not something I like to think about." A tear slipped down her cheek as she leveled her gaze to his. "Elissa's the one good thing I have from that, the one good thing that wasn't Lucas' to take. And now... that's all changed."

Nathan gulped as she turned and walked away, leaving the room gracefully. "I'm sorry," he said softly as she disappeared from view, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to."
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