Equal But Opposite Reaction
By: Sari
Disclaimer: No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.
Summary: AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.
Part 7
"Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half." - Plato
Brooke watched Lucas sleep silently not really worried about the day to come. She knew she should be, she had been warned enough about Dan Scott and his control issues, but she couldn't force her mind to focus on her nervousness it was more concerned with the giddiness she had been feeling since her admission to Haley about her growing feelings for Lucas.
He stirred next to her and she smiled slightly, glad to see that he was waking up. She had been so worried last night until Nathan and the doctor had both explained that something was up with his medicine and they were just keeping him for observation.
"Hey Brooke…" He murmured.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been asleep for years." He said pulling himself up into a sitting position.
"Good, the doctor said you've been stressing yourself out and that along with your medication not being strong enough caused you the mini stroke."
His eyebrow rose. "I had a mini stroke?"
She nodded and her eyes filled with tears. "You have to take it easy for a couple weeks Mr. Scott, I'm not letting you put yourself in the hospital again."
"I'm sorry I scared you."
She smiled wiping her tears away. "You said that yesterday and I know it's not your fault." She switched subjects, now that she knew he was going to be okay she didn't want to dwell on the what if's.
"Nathan and Haley went home." She said. "Nathan said to tell you that he's signed up for the AA classes and Haley's going to find them a marriage counselor."
Lucas closed his eyes in relief before opening them again and grinning. "They're not breaking up."
"No, I guess they're not."
She watched him watch her and grew uncomfortable with the soul searching stare he was giving her. "What is it?" She asked.
"Are you still mad about Nancy?"
"I wasn't mad, I was jealous."
"Jealous of what exactly? I'm your boyfriend—not Nancy's, I think about you every day—not Nancy, I want you to come home with me—not Nancy." He insisted.
"Its new relationship insecurities, I have a load of them you should probably get used to me getting mad for no reason for at least the next two months." She joked.
"Hey, hey, hey don't pass this off as a joke Brooke I'm serious." He said. "I don't want you to be jealous of Nancy. We're close friends that's all we ever have been and all we ever will be. Once you get to know her you see that Nancy thinks of me as the little brother she never had and I think of her as the older sister I never had. What I feel for her is purely platonic."
Brooke nodded. "Okay, I'll try not to be jealous of her but I can't help it she's Nathan's publicist so chances are she'll see you more than I see you."
"I see her in the office and all we do is work. If I see her anywhere else you'll probably be with me, but Brooke listen to me, Carmen Elektra could walk in her right now and I'd only have eyes for you. I want to be with you, not anyone else."
"How do you know that already, we've barely been together 2 weeks?"
He grinned and kissed her passionately. "I have an instinct about you Brooke Davis." He murmured.
She smiled and pulled away settling into the hospital chair before breaking the next set of news to him. "So your parents are coming for a couple days." She said nonchalantly.
He dropped the glass he had just picked up and it shattered on the floor causing Brooke to jump and glare at him. "What in the hell? Why are they coming up here?" He asked.
Brooke glared at him again while cleaning up the mess he made. "They're your parents! That's a solid enough reason for me."
"Brooke I don't think I have to explain to you that if the doctors want me to get better my parents shouldn't be here. My mom and dad can't be in the same room together without going for each other's throats and Keith is just stuck in the middle." Lucas groaned. "I hate having to play referee between them!"
"Luke your parents can't be that horrible."
"Your right, they're worse." He muttered. "Plus it's too early for you to go through Dan's lie detector test."
She blinked hard at that. "His what?"
"Dan put one of the girls I dated through a lie detector test because he though she was dating me for my money." He said.
She looked at him with wide eyes. "And he TOLD you that?"
"No I heard it from Nathan who didn't find out until the police department called the house and he answered the phone." He sighed rubbing his eyes. "Dan has never once liked any girl I've dated and he usually takes it upon himself to make sure I'm dating a girl that's up to his standards so he sabotages my relationships. I don't want that happening to us so maybe you shouldn't be here while he's here."
She looked at him incredulously. "You think I'm actually going to be scared of your father?"
"I didn't say that, but we haven't been dating long enough for you to want to torture yourself with dealing with him. Trust me when I say that after a couple of minutes with him you won't want to worry yourself with dating me."
"Let me worry about that. I want to meet your parents a whole lot more now by the way." She said smiling.
"Brooke…" He started.
"Luke, I have an instinct about you too. So if I have to deal with the father from hell then I will." She said convincingly.
"The father from hell?" The voice asked from the door. "That must mean the big bad Dan Scott is coming to visit us."
Lucas looked over Brooke's shoulder and smiled. "Hey Nance."
"Hey Lucas. Hi Brooke, nice to see you again."
Brooke smiled slightly seeing her wanted to make her throw up. "Likewise."
"So what's this about Dan Scott coming here?" Nancy asked sitting down in another chair.
"Nate must have told him and my mom about me being in the hospital so I'm guessing that's why they decided it was time for a visit." He smiled. "I was just telling Brooke that if she meets my dad she'll probably want to run for the border."
Nancy clucked her tongue sympathetically. "Poor Brooke, you haven't been with Luke that long have you? His father is an all around monster to those he doesn't like and since you're going out with him, he won't like you."
"I think I'll handle myself." She said bitingly.
Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Well here's a hint anyway, tell Dan how successful you are with your magazine and he'll back off. It gives him less of a reason to think you're a gold digger."
"Thanks, but like I said I'll handle myself." Brooke said.
Nancy shrugged. "Don't say I didn't try to help." She turned to Lucas and pecked him on the cheek. "I have to get back to work, call me when you get out of here." Looking over at Brooke she decided to say something to her as well. "Brooke, I think we need to have a chat. Why don't I drop by Filly later on today…I know you'll probably have to catch up on the work you missed."
Lucas looked confused at Nancy's words to Brooke but let it go. "Bye Nance."
Brooke smiled. "Goodbye Nancy."
"Okay what was that?" Lucas asked when Nancy shut the door.
"That was me not liking her, and Nancy noticing it." Brooke said. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will be resolved after today."
-
Lucas sighed to himself; he had sent Brooke home after the doctor had gave him the okay to leave it wasn't as if he didn't want her there but he felt guilty about pulling her away from her job two days in a row. He also had the pending visit of his parents on his mind. He didn't want to deal with them, every time they came to New York they would plead with him to move back to Florida, complain about how he was living his life, or pick on his latest girlfriend. Well that last one was all Dan but that was how he was, Dan didn't make excuses for his personality.
He drove to the office, in dire need of something to take his mind off his parents' arrival but the universe seemed to be working against him because his cell phone rang right as he was getting out the car and he would bet anything it was either his mom or Dan.
Sure enough, when he looked at the caller ID it was his mother. "Hey mom!" Lucas said with forced happiness. "I've been told you guys are coming up to see me."
"Yes, well Nathan said that the doctor said you were running yourself ragged and that's why you relapsed." Karen said accusingly. "I thought you said you were going to take it easy!"
He rolled his eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry okay? Work gets out of hand sometimes and I can't help but run myself ragged that's what being an agent is about, stretching yourself thin so your clients are happy."
"Not so thin that it sends you to the hospital! Lucas Scott don't you try that excuse with me."
"Look I know you're worried about me but you don't have to come up here. I have Nathan, Hales, Brooke, and Nancy all watching out for me like a hawk." He said.
"Who's Brooke?" His mom asked curiously.
"My girlfriend…mom it's not that big of a deal okay so no coming up here!"
"Dan's worried about you." Karen said. "Worried enough to actually have a civil conversation with me."
"Well isn't that a milestone." He muttered. "I'll call him and tell him I'm fine too, so can you promise me you won't come up here?"
"Why are you so against seeing your mother? Was I that horrible to you as a child?" Karen asked.
Lucas immediately shut his eyes guilt flooding his heart. "Mom I didn't say that." He murmured. "But if you come then so will Keith and Dan and I don't want to hear them complain about how I'm living or who I'm seeing. If you want to save me the stress then convince them to leave me alone."
"I haven't seen you in over a year." She protested.
"I have some vacation time coming up in a month or so, I'll visit you then and to make it up to you I'll even drag down Nathan and Haley."
"Are you sure you'll be able to get Nathan and Haley?" She asked doubtfully. "They're even worse when it comes to visits but at least Nathan calls more often."
"Mom, Nathan and Haley won't refuse me okay? I'll even throw in a call a week until I get there." Lucas said smiling.
"Alright, I'll talk to Keith and tell him we're not going." She said defeated.
Lucas mentally cheered. "Thank you mom, I love you."
"I love you too, as rotten as you are to me." Karen said joking,
"Bye mom."
"Bye Lucas."
Lucas sighed and hanged up the phone, leaning his head against the back of his chair. He loved his mom but his step father and father were way too much to deal with on a good day, and if they came up to see him it would definitely not be a good day. His phone rang again and Lucas mentally steeled himself for the caller. He sighed in relief, it was only Nathan.
"Hey Nate." Lucas said.
"You checked yourself out of the hospital before Haley or I could see you, Haley is pissed off about that." Nathan said getting to the point.
"Tell Hales that I'm fine, the doctors think I'm fine, and I must be fine because Brooke left me alone." Lucas said smiling. "I got the 'rents to stay in Florida."
Nathan laughed. "How'd you pull that one?"
"I told her that we'd visit her in a month." Lucas said bracing himself for Nathan's temper.
"Who's we?"
"We meaning you, me, and Haley." Lucas said.
"YOU VOLUNTEERED ME TO GO BACK TO THAT HELL HOLE?" Nathan yelled.
Lucas winced. "Nate, it's not that bad."
"Yes it is. My face has been plastered all over the news for the past couple of weeks Luke. It's one thing to have them calling me and sending their disapproving words over the phone but having me listen to them for god knows how long face to face? It won't happen."
"Hey you brought that upon yourself!" Lucas protested.
"And I'm paying for it! But it'd be torture to subject myself to dad and your mom!" Nathan shot back.
Lucas sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Nate I'm sorry okay? Better down there than up here right? You were going to have to deal with it anyway. Plus it's a month from now maybe they'll forget."
"Forget? Are you kidding me? Karen's still hounding on me for that fling I had a year back when Haley and I were separated."
Lucas laughed loudly. "Any hounding you got for it was well deserved Nathan, don't even try to deny it."
Nathan sighed. "If you weren't my brother I'd hate you."
-
Brooke looked up from the spreads in front of her when her secretary knocked on her door. She had been busy for most of the afternoon rushing in layouts for Filly's next print since she had been absent most of today and the day before. "What is it Leslie?" She asked her secretary annoyed with the interruption.
The younger woman blushed nervously. "There's a woman out here that says she spoke with you earlier about coming by. Nancy McAllister?"
Brooke sighed. "Let her in."
Brooke watched the overly confident woman walk into the room and seat herself directly in front of her. Not missing a beat she immediately opened her mouth to speak. "Okay Brooke, lets get right to the point because I have other things to do besides deal with this insane jealousy you feel towards me."
Brooke raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.
"Lucas and I have been friends for almost 5 years now. I owe a lot to him and he owes the same to me. I don't like him in any other way than as friends. I don't want to like him in any other way than friends. Frankly the prospect makes me sick, it'd be like incest but not really if you get what I'm saying." She said smiling slightly. "We have history that will never go away and I'm not going to break off my friendship with him just because you don't like me and feel threatened by my presence. Luke is a good man, he wouldn't cheat on you and if he did then I'd help you beat him up because that isn't like him."
"When we first met I was probably rude to you and I'm sorry. I get protective over him because his relationships have sucked the past couple of times and with you glaring me down like you was about to fight me it didn't look like you were any better. I've had cat fights with his girlfriends before and when I didn't like them they usually didn't turn out to be good for him anyway." She continued.
"But I figured you were just misunderstanding my relationship with him and I apologize if I projected the belief that I liked him anymore as just a friend. Now I like you, and I think you're good for him so I was hoping that we could just start over." She finished.
Brooke was impressed, the woman hadn't backed down at all. Something that Brooke really admired in people. "Alright." Brooke said. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way to tell me this. My jealously runs rampant sometimes and I let it go for no reason when it came to you."
Nancy smiled amicably brushing off the apology. "Hello, my name is Nancy McAllister. I'm Nathan's publicist and Lucas's long time friend."
Brooke smiled right back already feeling as if the girl in front of her would be a powerful new ally even if her relationship with Lucas didn't work out. "Nice to meet you Nancy, my name is Brooke Davis executive editor of Filly magazine and Lucas's newest girlfriend."
"Now that we have that out of the way how about I take you out to lunch tomorrow? We can even invite Haley along and whoever else you want to bring. It'll be a girl's day out." She said happily.
"Lunch would be fine." Brooke said.
"Good, now I would love to chat but I have to be on my way. Nathan's problems do call!" She exclaimed, and with a hasty goodbye she made her way out the door leaving Brooke smiling at her hyperactiveness.
Brooke settled back in her chair and shook her head ruefully. "Well" She thought to herself. "At least I got that issue cleared up."
TBC
A/N: This chapter is a good 400-500 words shorter than all the other chapters AND I've rewritten it about 2 times but I'm tired, give me a break. This chapter was just a filler chapter anyway, the next chapter will be set one month later. I just was making sure you knew why they would be going to and be in Florida the next couple of chapters and why Brooke and Nancy are going to be actually on speaking terms. Gotta love those necessary bridge chapters! Reviews are my drug keep them coming!