Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Sorry that it's been a while, but I got caught up in my schoolwork again. God, I hate school. Anyway, I'm here to drop off a shiny new update for you. I hope you like it and thank you to all of those that have been reviewing the past few chapters, it's you guys that keep me updating. So, please, keep reviewing and I'll keep updating. Enjoy.

...WWHT...

"Okay, seriously, Tay," Haley complained, trying to push her sister off of her. She was finally being released from the hospital, and even though it was only a night, it felt like forever to Haley. She had always hated hospitals, ever since she was little and her grandma died when she was sitting at her bedside.

"What?" Taylor exclaimed, keeping a firm grip on Haley's arm. "I'm just trying to make sure that you're okay." Haley rolled her eyes. She understood that Taylor was just trying to be sweet and caring, but she really didn't need help walking.

"And I'm thankful for that, but I think I've got it," Haley told her. Taylor looked at her for a second, trying to decide whether she was really okay of not. Finally, she relented and let go of Haley's arm. "Me and my arm thank you."

"Yeah, yeah," Taylor mumbled. She watched Haley with careful eyes, trying to decide if she needed any help. The doctor had told them all that Haley was perfectly fine, and when she went into her room last night to visit with her, she seemed to be just that, but that didn't stop Taylor from worrying.

"Would you stop worrying?" Haley asked with a knowing smile. She knew her sister much too well, and she could tell that she was completely stressed about the whole thing. "There is nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Well, I'm the big sister," Taylor reminded her as if she that was the perfect reason for her worry. Haley rolled her eyes and moved towards the stairs. "Don't roll your eyes at me."

"Whatever you say, big sister," she laughed as she grabbed the banister and began walking up the stairs. "I'm just gonna go hit the sack. The doctor said I was allowed t sleep for a little bit now if I wanted."

"Enjoy."

"Wake me up if..."

"Brooke calls?" Taylor finished for her. Brooke had left the hospital earlier that morning, claming that she had to meet with her mom for their monthly catch up. Even though Haley tried to act cool, Taylor could tell that she was sad that Brooke wasn't there with her now. She was so used to having the cheerleader with her at almost all times a day lately and it was weird for them to be separated.

"Am I that lame?" Haley asked. She didn't want to sound like a lovesick puppy dog, but she really missed her girlfriend and couldn't wait until Brooke got done with her mom so she could tell her how much she missed her.

"Yeah," Taylor laughed, giving her sister a warm smile. She was more than happy to see her sister so happy and the fact that Brooke was a great girl was a complete bonus. All she ever wanted for her sister was for her to be happy. "But you're just in love, baby. That's the best kind of lame."

"Tell me about it." With one more wink from Haley and a laugh from Taylor, the girls went their separate ways. Haley made it up to her room without trouble and flopped down on her bed. She tossed and turned for a few minutes, trying to go to sleep, until she finally gave in and reached for the phone.

...WWHT...

"I already told you," Brooke sighed, placing her fork on the table beside her plate and staring her mother down. It wasn't that she hated her mother, she really did love her, but she couldn't stand her sometimes. "No."

"But, honey, you two would just be so perfect together," Angela insisted, ignoring her daughter's protests. She had it on good authority that Brooke wasn't seeing anyone at the moment and she had the perfect boy in mind. "Calvin is going to be a doctor."

"That's really great, mom," Brooke responded, rolling her eyes. She didn't know why she didn't just come out and tell her mother about Haley, it would help to avoid this entire conversation. Though, telling her about Haley would no doubt start up a much more unpleasant conversation. "But again, I'm not interested."

"And why not?"

"I'm just not, okay?" Brooke just wished that her mother would drop the subject, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She reached forward and brought her glass up to her lips for a sip before placing it back on the table, letting the cool liquid flow down her throat. "Can we please just drop it?"

"Very well," Angela agreed with a sigh. She knew she'd get Brooke to agree to the date eventually, so she decided she would give up for now. "Tell me then, is there anything else new and exciting in your life?"

"Not really," Brooke said, lying through her teeth. She still didn't understand why she had to be there, it was completely pointless. Her mother and father were hardly ever home, and even when they were they were never at the house. But once a month her mother insisted that they get together and have breakfast in the dining room so she could keep up with her daughter's busy life.

"What about Peyton?" she questioned, having to think of the girl's name for a few moments. She wasn't good with names, she just knew she had curly blonde hair and had been Brooke's best friend since they were five. "How is she doing?"

"Uh, she's doing good," Brooke answered, raising an eyebrow at the question. She wasn't sure why her mother was asking about her friend, she had never done that in their past meetings. "Why?"

"No reason," she answered as she cut her fruit up and brought a piece to her mouth. She eyed her daughter, trying to decide what was the best way to go about asking the question. If Brooke was fighting this hard to avoid being set up, then she was obviously seeing someone. "So, are you sure you're not seeing anyone?"

"For the hundredth time..." Before Brooke had a chance to finish her sentence, she heard her phone ringing in her pocket. She looked at her mother to see if she was allowed to answer it. When she saw her mother nod her head and get up to bring some dishes into the kitchen, Brooke took that as a yes and pulled out her phone. She flipped it open and smiled when she saw the name 'Baby Girl' flashing on the screen. She quickly hit the talk button. "Hey, baby."

"Tigger," Haley cheered, more than happy to hear her girlfriend's voice. It had been driving her crazy to be away from her for so long and she was surprised at how much better she felt now that she heard her voice. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Well, you're my Baby Girl, aren't you?" There was nothing that could make her feel better than talking to Haley. Just hearing her voice made this meeting with her mother that much more bearable.

"That's what I've been told," Haley replied with a smile and giggled. "I was just trying to take a nap, but I couldn't stop thinking about you so I thought I'd give you a little break from your breakfast from hell."

"Aren't you just the sweetie pie?" Brooke laughed. "How'd things go at the hospital? Any trouble after I left? None of the hot nurses tried anything on you, did they? Cause they'd need a doctor after I got through with them." She felt terrible that she couldn't stay with Haley at the hospital the whole time, but if she canceled on her mom, it would definitely look weird.

"There was this uber fine one," Haley began. "But she wasn't a nurse. She just kind of showed up in my room after I woke up. I think she said her name was Brooke or something. I can't remember, but I know she was fine."

"I think I remember that one," Brooke laughed, playing along. She loved when Haley got all cute like this, it was times like these that she couldn't figure out how she had ever missed her all those years. "Oh no wait, I think you're talking about me."

"Of course," Haley giggled, turning over on her side so she could see the picture of her and Brooke she had put on her nightstand. "You're all I ever talk or think about, don't you know that by now?"

"Yeah, I do," Brooke answered honestly, knowing the feeling herself. She wasn't used to this feeling. It was like she almost couldn't stand to be away from Haley for more than an hour at a time. "I'm so glad that you called. My mother is driving me crazy. She keeps trying to set me up with one of her friend's son. He's going to be a doctor."

"Well, I'm gonna be a journalist, so beat that, sucka." Brooke's heart almost at the adorableness that was her girlfriend. The biggest smile imaginable appeared on Brooke's face and she wished beyond anything that she could see Haley's face right now. She could just picture Haley trying to look tough, with her lips purged and her eyes narrowed.

"God, I love you."

"Everyone does," Haley commented, a slight blush creepy up on her cheeks even though Brooke wasn't there. It was just something about Brooke that always got Haley nervous. "So breakfast is really that bad?"

"No, I guess it could be worse," Brooke answered, unaware that her mother had come back into the room. Angela saw that her daughter was on the phone and judging by the tone of her voice and smile on her face, she was obviously talking to someone special. She folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe to listen. "I could have to wait all day to see you."

"When are you gonna be done again?"

"I'm not sure," Brooke answered, playing with the end of the tablecloth. The material of it reminded her of one of Haley's shirts. The patterning was completely different, but it felt exactly the same. "Hopefully soon. I can't wait to see you, though. Just thinking about you is driving me insane."

"I know the feeling," Haley commented with a smirk. She hugged the pillow that was in front of her and snuggled further into it, pretending it was Brooke. As sad as it sounded, she felt like she couldn't sleep without Brooke beside her. "But we'll see each other soon enough, right?"

"Right," Brooke answered with an affirmative nod. "But until then, you need to get some sleep, missy. My little Tutor Girl needs to be well rested if she's going to help me pass my history test." Angela's eyes perked up at the implication of gender and she raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. That she was not expecting.

"I'll try, but it's hard without you with me." She sounded like a baby, she knew that, but she really didn't care at the moment. That was another great thing about dating Brooke; she never had to worry about being something different than what she really is.

"Aw, baby," Brooke sighed, now missing Haley more than ever. There was nothing she loved more than holding Haley. "I'll be there to cuddle with you when I'm done breakfast, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Yeah, okay," Brooke repeated in a teasing tone. "I think I better leave you to your sleep, huh? I love you, baby."

"Love you, too." The girls said their goodbyes and both hung up. Brooke smiled at the phone as she slowly closed it, happy thoughts of Haley running though her head. She was brought out of her trace by the sound of a throat being cleared behind her. She jumped up and brought a hand to her chest to calm her heart.

"God, mom," she cried, turning around to glare at her. She was so surprised at the sound that she didn't even realize that her mother could have overheard any of her conversation. "You scared me half to death. When did you come back in?"

"Around when you were complaining about breakfast," she answered, her face completely unreadable. Realization that her mother had heard her conversation finally hit Brooke and her eyes widened in panic. "Who is she?"

"Huh? Who is who?" Angela shook her head and pushed herself out of the door, walking further into the room. She pulled her chair out and sat back down in it, and leaned her elbow on the table and eyed Brooke.

"You're little girlfriend," she explained with a wave of her hand, nodding her head to where Brooke's phone was on the table. Brooke felt her heart drop to her feet. She didn't want her mother to find out about Haley for a reason. Angela Davis was not an open-minded kind of person. If there was one thing she wouldn't tolerate, it was gays.

"Please, can we not start with this?"

"What is her name, Brooke?" she asked again, her voice much more stern this time. Brooke looked at her helplessly before sighed in defeat.

"Haley," she whispered just loud enough for her mother to hear her. She saw that her mother was about to say something and quickly continued. "Her name is Haley James, she's not rich and she's not a cheerleader. She's worked at Karen's Café as a waitress for more than two years now and she has the highest GPA in our grade. She tutors kids in almost every subject and I love her more than anything."

"Well," Angela replied, surprised at Brooke's little outburst, especially the last part. She didn't think that her daughter would ever be as foolish as to fall in love with someone, and someone that wasn't rich at that. "She sounds like a lovely girl."

"What?" Brooke asked, not believing that her mother wasn't freaking out about this. For a moment she actually considers the possibility that aliens abducted her mother and replaced her with this pod person.

"She sounds lovely," Angela repeated with a tight smile. She didn't know what had gotten into Brooke while she was gone, but she was certainly going to straighten this whole thing out. No daughter of her's was going to be seen with a poor girl. "I'd really like to met her."

"You would?"

"Of course," she laughed. "Why don't you invite her and her parents over to dinner tomorrow night? I'd really like to met them as well." Brooke eyed her mother for a moment, trying to decide whether she was serious or not.

"Uh," Brooke stuttered. "Her parents aren't really around a lot, Karen practically raised her." Brooke had never even meet Jimmy and Lydia James, but she hated them. They were much worse than her own and that says a lot.

"Then invite Karen to come along too," Angela told her. Without waiting for an answer, she took on more sip of her drink before standing up. "I have to meet up with your father, so you're free to go." She walked around the table until she was standing beside Brooke and bend down to kiss her on the hair. "This was fun. We should do this more often."

"Yeah, a blast." She didn't even notice her mother leave nor did she hear the front door click shut. She just stared straight ahead, not believing the conversation that she has her mother. Her mom knew she was dating Haley and she didn't have a problem with it? Had she just invited Haley and Karen over for dinner? There was definitely something going on and Brooke had a really bad feeling about the whole thing.

...WWHT...

Sorry, if that's not good. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to take this next but I think I have a few more ideas for this story before I bring it to an end. Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks.