Lucas arrived to a seemingly empty house. It could have been worse, he supposed. An irate Dan could have been lurking in the shadows but either way, there was no sign of Nathan. Cursing, Lucas continued looking around, calling out his younger brother's name. A cold chill met him in the living room whose back door opened to the beach. The January weather made him shudder and sure enough, sitting outside without a hint of a jacket was Nathan.

"Dude, you're gonna catch pneumonia."

Nathan smirked.

"That's the least of my problems."

He was still wearing dress pants and shoes, his white shirt unbuttoned and tie loosened.

"You okay?"

Nathan shook his head.

"No."

"Stupid question, I guess. Sorry, dude."

"It's okay. I just feel bad for bugging you. I know Brooke must be pissed and you have your own life and stuff with basketball…"

"Man, don't worry about all that. I'm glad you called. You need me and I'm here, just like if the situation was reversed, I know you'd have my back."

"True but we both know it would never come to that because you'd never make a mess out of your life like I have."

Lucas sighed.

"I'm not perfect, you know? None of us are. And no one's blaming you, bro. This is just a fucked up situation that just got worse over time somehow. If you need help, there's no shame in asking. I can't imagine how bad this is for you and I won't even pretend to. But I'm your brother and I'm here for you no matter what. And for the record, Brooke isn't mad. She understands. Actually, she's with Megan now."

"What?"

"It was her idea. She felt bad. I know Megan must be going through a lot, too and Brooke figured she had no one else to turn to so she asked me to drop her off in Charlotte."

Nathan nodded.

"That's nice of her. I…I hope she's okay. I tried to call but I'm the last person she wants to hear from. Maybe I should have figured that one out when she got all sledgehammer happy on me."

"You really kept all that stuff over the years?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Nathan shrugged.

"I don't know. I couldn't exactly throw it away. I probably should have and I tried to a few times but some stuff…you just can't get rid of."

"I know, man", Lucas sighed. "I know. So what now?"

"Who knows?"

"You guys getting a divorce?"

"Probably. It's inevitable, dude. Honestly, I can't see it any other way."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Like shit. If you'd asked me that a couple of months ago, I would have been relieved but now…I can't explain it. Everything is so messed up. I have no idea how we got this way, how it got so bad. Looking back, it was a mistake to marry her, Megan, I mean."

"But you did."

"I know. Because I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought it was best for everyone. Look how that turned out…"

"Who could have known, man? But if you still love her…"

"I don't know, Luke. I don't know what I want or what I'm gonna do. I don't even know how to feel anymore. This is crazy. You should have seen her. Man, I have never seen someone that mad before. It was insane. And she had every right to feel that way. Who could blame her?"

"Only time will tell, I guess. I don't know, maybe this is what you needed. Not in the form of all the drama but a little time away never hurt anyone. You and Meg will be separated and you have some time off from the game. It'll give you a chance to put some stuff into perspective."

"I guess. I just don't want to deal with it. But you have to."

"I know. I feel bad for hurting her. I really do. You know Meg is a good person. What did she ever do wrong, besides love me? It's not fair. She never deserved any of this."

"You're right."

"She hates me right now and she has every right to. In time, whatever happens between us, I hope she gets past that but I…I just don't want it to stop me from being able to see my kid."

"It won't", Lucas reassured him. "Meg isn't like that. Yeah she's angry and she's hurt but she'd never hold the baby over your head. She knows you're going to be a great dad."

"Let's hope so because I sure fucked the 'good husband' thing up…twice."

"Don't beat yourself up. It won't change anything. You can't look back. You have to go on. First of all, you need to get yourself together. Then you need to be there for your child. And you have to figure out a way to make amends with Meg, whether you guys divorce or not. Then the Haley thing…"

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"What does she have to do with this?"

Lucas laughed in spite of the situation.

"Are you on crack, Nate? Everything! Haley has everything to do with this."

"What am I supposed to say? Huh? Lucas, what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. You could talk to her…"

"I don't think Chris Keller would appreciate that."

"What does he have to do with anything?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to laugh.

"They are playing house…"

"That's just what the papers say."

"I don't see her denying it. Besides, Haley might be the cause of everything but I can't deal with her just yet. I've got so much other bullshit to take care of before I even begin to think about her. And she's got her own stuff going on with her life and her music…and her baby. I need to handle my own things with Megan but I'm man enough to not go stepping in on someone else's territory. That's the difference between me and that skinny punk bitch, Keller…respect. Haley can't fix this, Luke. No one can."

"You can", he said quietly.

Nathan looked at his brother.

"How? What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"For now? I know it's lame and easier said than done but you can rest and relax. Give this a few more days to blow over. And when the time is right, you need to talk to your wife and figure out where you go from here."

"You're right", Nathan rubbed his tired eyes just as Luke's cell phone rang loudly.

Lucas pulled it out and checked the caller ID.

"It's Dad."

Nathan rubbed his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I'm not answering it."

"Good."

"Has he been blowing up your line?"

"I don't know. When Megan kept hanging up on me, then refused to take my calls altogether, I kind of just turned the damned thing off."

Lucas stood up.

"Well, it's cold out here and I'm starving. You officially look like crap so why don't we do this? You head upstairs and take a shower. I'll find us something edible to eat in here. After we eat, we'll take it from there. Sound good?"

Nathan nodded.

"Thanks, man. Thanks for coming."

"That's what big brothers are for", Lucas winked as his phone rang again. "Damn! I might have to follow your lead and turn mine off for a while."

"What the hell does Dad want now?"

Lucas glanced down.

"Hold on…it's not, Dad. It's Brooke."

He pressed the "send" button to take the call.

"What's up, babe?"

Nathan stuck around, trying to figure out what was going with the other end of the line. He studied his brother's face.

"Is Megan alright?" he mouthed.

Lucas waved a hand in front of him to quiet him so he could better hear Brooke.

"Yeah…okay…how…what do you mean…calm down…Brooke…you're where…alright…what did they say…how is she…what? Okay, okay. We'll be right there. Just hang tight, okay?"

He flipped the phone shut. Nathan could see the panic in his older brother's face.

"What is it, man? Did something happen?"

"We have to go, Nate. Grab you jacket."

"Luke!"

Lucas, faced his brother with ragged breath and a painful expression.

"Megan is in the hospital."

"Hospital?"

"She went into labor. Apparently she'd been having contractions all day."

"What? What do you mean labor, contractions? The baby isn't due for another two months."

"I know…that's why we have to go."