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 22

Warning: Language!

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." – Martin Luther King Jr.

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." – John F. Kennedy

It was Monday morning and things were definitely not looking up for Elizabeth Davis. Going to work she had been stopped repeatedly by random reporters, people on the street, and admirers who all had the same goal in mind: to bug the hell out of her, or at least driver her mildly crazy. She hadn't known what they were going on about until one of the people had shoved a paper in her face. There in US Weekly in bold black letters was the headline "FAMOUS BASKETBALL PLAYER'S MISTRESS REVEALED." Elizabeth thought she'd be sick as she flipped to the cover story and saw picture after picture of dates she and Nathan had gone on before she had told him to back off.

If only she had done it sooner.

Trying hard not to burst into tears she made her way to her office where she knew a very pissed Lucas would be waiting for her. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised to see him sitting in on the edge of her desk waiting for her.

"Hello Lucas…" She murmured softly. "Come to help me pack?" She asked.

He looked at her confused. "Why would I do that Eliza?"

"I'm your brother's 'mistress' and you made it quite clear before any of this started that you wouldn't tolerate me fucking with Haley's marriage. Well guess what I blew it all to hell." She said impassively.

"I'm not here to fire you; I know that you broke things off with Nate before any of this came out." He sighed. "Nancy called me early this morning, some freak called her on Saturday saying that he was going to spread this to US Weekly. She tried her best to suppress this but you know Us Weekly, they wouldn't give up the story of the year."

She dropped her head in her hands. "I care about your brother and I care about you Luke, I wouldn't hurt your family on your purpose! I didn't want to hurt your family! I never meant for this to happen!" She cried.

He hopped off the desk and went to hug her. "I know you didn't mean it and you didn't hurt my family Eliza."

"How's Haley?" She asked ignoring his obviously untrue statement. "She probably thinks I'm some whore."

Lucas got a faraway look in his eyes before answering her. "Haley's taking this surprising well. I think it's because she's been mentally preparing herself for this for a long time." He said.

She looked up at him in surprise. "What? That's some crazy defense mechanisms she's got going on there."

He shrugged. "As much as I try to play mediator with their marriage I don't try to pretend their relationship. It's never been a particularly stable one; they've always been very different. It was sheer willpower that was keeping them going." He gave her a sad smile. "With Nathan meeting you and falling for you that willpower wasn't needed anymore and their marriage just started deteriorating faster."

"I wish I didn't have to be the catalyst." She said bitterly. "So what's going to happen between them?"

Lucas shrugged again. "Anything can happen, those two are very unpredictable. It'll be a miracle if they stay together."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know." Lucas said thoughtfully. "But I hope—and this may sound strange—that they get a divorce."

She stared at him, eyes wide in surprise. "I figured you'd be pushing them back together."

"I've been doing that for a long time Eliza, for as long as I could remember I've been the driving force in their relationship. Whenever they had a problem, and damn it was often, I'd make sure everything was better again. Maybe that's what went wrong you know? I never let them have a chance to work out their problems on their own, I always stepped in for them so they wouldn't have to see the part of the other that they hated."

"It's your maternal instincts." Elizabeth joked. "You like to mother people."

That brought a smile to his face. "Thanks Eliza."

She nodded. "You look like your world is falling apart, I thought I was the one that needed the cheering up."

"It's just that…Nate and Haley's relationship have been such a constant in my life, it's going to be strange not seeing them together."

"You'll get used it, plus you'll be so occupied with the wedding that you won't even think about it most of the time."

He gave her a pensive look before brightening slightly. "Even if my best friend and brother are going to get a divorce and going to put their lives through hell I'm glad that Nate has you Eliza."

Lucas was really surprising her today. She raised an eyebrow but didn't answer him. "You're good for him. Haley may have changed him into the man he is today, but she obviously wasn't meant to be on the receiving end of it and you are. When all this is done and over with I'll bet we'll all look back on this and laugh."

"Your eternal optimism scares me Luke."

He got up making his way to the door. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Brooke might be coming by for lunch to talk to you."

"Lovely, I'm sure Brooke's going to be furious. She's not as level-headed and calm as you are Luke."

He grinned. "I know, that's why I didn't yell at you. What's the use in me doing it when I know Brooke can do it better?"

He shut the door quickly as she launched her shoe at him.

Haley sat listlessly on their window seat looking down at the city. She was stunned. Her mind was blank, her heart was cold, and everything felt numb. Blissfully numb. She didn't think she could take it if she acknowledged the pain she was feeling.

"Haley please say something." Nathan pleaded. "You're so quiet…and it's freaking me out."

"What do you want me to say?" She asked blankly.

"I don't know what I want you to say! I just want you to have some type of emotion, some type of reaction!"

She smiled slightly. "I don't know whether I should be pissed off, sad, or something else." She admitted.

He looked down at his hands.

"Would you have ever told me if Us Weekly hadn't gotten a hold of the news?"

He nodded. "I took Elizabeth to the park one day a couple days ago and she broke it off. Told me that I needed to get my act together and figure out what I wanted with my life."

"I guess I can see what you decided." Haley said bitterly. "Looks like our family isn't important enough."

"My family will always be important to me Haley. When little Luke is born I'll be in his life every step of the way, he will never think that I don't love him." He said fiercely.

A tear slipped down her cheek. "Well at least that's settled." She rested her head one the window pane. "Why don't you love me anymore?" She asked softly.

Nathan closed his eyes painfully. "I love you Haley, I always will love you. You're my first love, the woman who changed me, the mother of my child, but we've been growing apart for so long. You noticed it Hales, don't deny it. You were always out touring; I'm always away at basketball games. We're two different people."

She nodded. "Then this was inevitable wasn't it?"

"Yes Hales…it was."

"Do you love Elizabeth?" She asked.

"Don't do this Hales…"

"Is that a yes?"

"I care about her a lot."

"So you're throwing away your marriage for a girl you don't even love. You're amazing Nathan Scott." Haley laughed coldly. "Fucking amazing."

"I'm taking a chance, yes, and if you find that foolish I can't and won't change your mind."

"I should call the lawyers then." Haley decided. "Get the papers drawn up and set us a court date for the custody hearing."

"Yes." He got up. "I'll pack a bag and be out of here by lunch."

"Going to live with your mistress?" She asked. She couldn't help it.

He stared at her. "No, my penthouse."

She blushed, embarrassed. "Alright."

"I'm sorry Hales."

She looked at him. "Yeah, me too."

Elizabeth came back from her one hour lunch to see Brooke waiting for her and inwardly she groaned. "Let's get on with it Brookie." She said tiredly.

Brooke held up the newspaper that was lying on her desk. "Are you proud of this?" She asked. "Because I sure don't see a lot of remorse on your face."

Elizabeth stayed by the door but closed it so anyone passing by wouldn't get it on their screaming match she knew was about to happen. Brooke had a way of automatically putting her on the defense. "What the hell Brooke! What do you want me to do? Walk around all day with a frown on my face wearing black?" She yelled. "Nathan likes me, oh my god big damn deal! People get divorces all the time Brooke!"

"Not Haley and Nathan! If you hadn't come along and messed everything up they wouldn't be getting a divorce right now!" Brooke insisted.

Elizabeth let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Brookie you're seriously delusional. Those two were having problems before I came along because if they were really all that great together why is it that Nathan was pursuing me? I wasn't the running after him Brookie, he was doing all the chasing."

Brooke looked at her with wide eyes. "I didn't know that." Brooke murmured softly.

"Of course you didn't because you didn't bother to even ask! You've been so wrapped up in your new life with your new friends you don't even give you own sister the benefit of the doubt!" Elizabeth was breathing hard now, obviously aggravated.

Brooke at least looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry Eliza…but you know I just thought the worse…I don't want you to get hurt."

Elizabeth snorted. "Right, I'm sure. That's why you came here yelling at me on your high horse. Please Brookie save that garbage for someone who's a lot stupider than me."

"I really am sorry…"

"Save it Brookie…this has not been a good day and you're just making it worse." Eliza said sighing.

"Has everyone been really nasty to you?"

"Between the dirty looks I got on the street, the phone calls from Nathan's fans, and random family members coming to chew me out I starting to think Nathan Scott isn't worth all the trouble."

"I was hoping that wouldn't happen." The smooth baritone voice said from the door. Elizabeth jumped and whirled around from her stance to see Nathan standing in the now open door.

"Didn't I lock that damn door?" She grumbled.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Luke gave me a key." His eyes made their way over to Brooke who was giving him a disapproving glare. "Brooke, stop with the self righteous act."

"Nathan you're divorcing your pregnant wife to date MY YOUNGER SISTER, I have a right to be slightly pissed about that!"

He snorted. "Brooke, I think my brother wants to see you. Something about a court date or something." He said.

"Don't you dare dismiss me you oaf!" She shouted.

"BROOKE!" Elizabeth finally shouted. "I'm fine okay? Go visit your fiancé and get all lovey-dovey or something!" She growled.

The two sisters stared at each other before Brooke huffed loudly and stormed out of the room.

"Sorry about that…" She said slightly uncomfortable now that they were alone. "How was Haley?"

He sighed running a hand through his short black hair. "Pissed, sad, numb…I don't know how to explain it."

"So…" She sighed. "This is stupid."

He grinned. "I was wondering if you would go out with me tonight."

She glared at him. "Talk to me once you're divorce has gone through."

His smiled just grew larger. "I'm already divorced in my heart Eliza, isn't that what truly matters? A divorce is just paper."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Wouldn't it be stupid for us to go out when the papers are just waiting for you to slip up and be seen with your 'mistress'?"

"I don't care Eliza…I'm not ashamed of my feelings for you. Are you?"

"Of course not…I just don't want to be viewed as the hateful whore who ruined New York's favorite married man's marriage." She said bitterly.

He watched her silently, eyes sad before answering. "Eliza…I want to explore what we have…I know that it'll be hard because of my status here in New York…but please just give this a shot." He pleaded softly.

"Alright…" She said sighing. "I'm such an idiot." She added as an after thought.

He smiled. "Hopefully you'll be my idiot sometime soon."

Brooke met a nervous Lucas outside of the courthouse later that day. He was going to be a character witness for Nicole, and with this act he'd be severing any chance at becoming friends with Jake again. Even Brooke was at risk though she was there on the guise she was supporting her two best friends Jake and Peyton.

"Have you talked to Nikki yet?" She asked as they walked inside.

"Yeah, she and Serena were here an hour early. Nikki's lawyer is pretty confident that they're going to get the joint custody."

Brooke nodded. "Nikki's a good person, I'm sure she'll get it."

"Brooke! It's good to see you! I didn't think that you'd show up!" Peyton said happily, hugging her best friend. "And you brought Lucas as well! Thank you for coming!"

Lucas shuffled his feet uncomfortable before answering. "I'm actually here because I'm testifying as a character witness."

Peyton looked confused. "I don't remember our lawyer saying that he was calling upon you…and frankly I don't think that makes much sense, you haven't spoken to Jake in ages."

"That's because I'm not testifying on your behalf." Lucas replied.

Her eyes widened in understanding before darkening. "So then you're here to support Lucas?" Peyton asked.

Brooke sighed. "Peyt, I'm here for you okay? Stop freaking out."

Peyton smiled gratefully. "I'm sorry, I'm at my wits end right now."

Jake came up behind Peyton blatantly ignoring both Lucas and Brooke. "They're about to start, we should be going in now." He informed her.

Lucas rolled his eyes at Jake's rudeness. "That is why I wasn't going to ever testify in his behalf." He muttered.

Brooke squeezed his hand and they went inside. It took a while before Lucas was actually called to the stand and after being sworn in, Nikki's lawyer took his time before beginning his round of questioning. (A/N: I may be in Law Studies right now, but I won't even pretend I know how a real custody hearing goes so don't bash too badly on the court scene.)

"Mr. Scott, how long have you known Ms. Green?" He asked.

"I've known her since high school, so about 8 years."

"And in those 8 years how did Ms. Green act?"

"Do you mean personality wise or things she actually did?" Lucas asked confused.

"Both, if you would be so kind."

"Well when I first met Nikki she was what you'd call a wild child. Actually all of our friends were like that since when you grow up in a rich family there weren't really any boundaries placed on you. Nikki was a free spirit and she was one of my good friends."

"So when is it that her behavior started to change?" The lawyer asked interrupting Lucas.

"When Jake and Nikki got together all of us were a little surprised. They weren't exactly the 'ideal' couple. Jake was down to earth and in high school terms 'not on the same caliber' as us and Nikki was well…an airhead. When she got pregnant she was bitter and angry at Jake basically saying it was his entire fault for everything. Then when she had Jenny she abandoned her. Only returning to terrorize Jake's life for a couple of weeks and then take off again."

"What do you mean by take off? Where would she go?" The lawyer prodded.

"When Nikki's parents learned that she wasn't going to give the baby up for adoption for have an abortion they sent her to boarding school immediately after Jenny was born. She came back whenever she was on break or something. After awhile Jake got sick of it, and Nikki got accepted to UM so I guess they drifted apart."

"And when did you happen to run into Ms. Green again?"

"I had been having some health problems and I decided that I would go down to Florida to see my parents. I invited along my girlfriend—now fiancée—and some of my friends including Jake and Peyton. Nikki sought us out after hearing from Serena Mills that Jake was in town."

"What happened to make you change your feelings towards Ms. Green?"

Lucas locked eyes with Nikki before he spoke. "It was 6 years ago that I had seen Nikki act like that, I figured that people can and do change. Especially when situations change and new opportunities open up for them. I can relate to it myself because I've change a lot as well. When Nikki approached us in the hotel that day I knew that she wasn't the same air headed, vindictive, life-wrecker that she had been before. She had matured into someone that wanted to be apart of her child's life and couldn't have that chance because her daughters current providers weren't giving her the time of day. I said I'd give my support to her because Jenny shouldn't have to grow up without ever knowing her biological mother."

"So you would recommend that Ms. Green receive joint custody of Jenny?"

"Yes I would, she's not a danger to Jenny or anyone else. It would only be doing Jenny good to have one more person who cares for her as deeply as Peyton and Jake do."

The lawyer smiled, obviously pleased with Luke's testimony. "Thank you Mr. Scott, no further questions."

After being cross-examined by Jake's attorney Lucas was allowed to step down from the witness stand and he crossed the room to sit by Brooke.

"That was grueling…" He whispered.

She grinned before kissing him quickly. "You did wonderful."

After almost an hour of deliberations the jury was ready to read his verdict.

"I find…" He started off. "That Mr. Jagielski has had in the past a reason to doubt Ms. Green's actions, but from the testimony I heard today and a review of how Ms. Green has been living her life the past few years I do not see any reason why Ms. Green should not be allowed to see her daughter. With that said, I am granting Ms. Green joint custody of her child. A trial date will be set later on this month to work out exactly how this will work. Thank you all for being here."

TBC