Chapter 32

"Today Could be the Best Day of Your Life"

Nervousness filled the air as everyone gathered in the courtroom to hear Lucas' fate. Lucas sat in between Brooke and Haley; each girl holding one of his hands, while Dan, Deb, and Nathan sat behind them. Lucas had butterflies in his stomach as he waited for the proceeding to begin. He found himself holding his breath as the bailiff announced the beginning of the proceeding.

"All rise," the bailiff said in a thunderous tone. "The honorable Amy Thomas presiding." The judge entered the courtroom and nodded at the bailiff before sitting down. Once she was seated the bailiff said, "You may be seated."

There was a long silence in the courtroom as the judge looked over some of her notes. Brooke squeezed Lucas' hand tighter as the judge began to speak. "I have reached a decision regarding the custody of Lucas Eugene Scott. It was not an easy decision for me to make, but I feel that it was the right one."

Lucas felt like his chest was going to explode as he listened to the judge speak. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he could feel the sweat running down his forehead. He couldn't remember a time when he felt this nervous, and he hoped that he would never feel this way again. He looked into Brooke's brown eyes, and he felt a little better knowing that she supported him through all of this. He managed to give her a weak smile.

"Lucas has been through his fair share of pain and heartache, and then some in his young life," the judge stated. "He made some poor choices in dealing with his pain, but I think that it's time we look past it. I feel that Lucas has suffered enough punishment, and for that reason I'm awarding Dan and Deb Scott full custody."

Relief filled the air as the judge laid down her decision. Lucas felt the pressure melting away, and he knew that his life would be changing for the better. He smiled as he hugged Brooke, but their celebration was short lived as the judge began banging on her gavel.

"Order in the court…order in the court," the judge shouted. Once everyone was quiet the judge began to speak again. "I am awarding the Scotts full custody, but there is one stipulation. The family must meet with a court appointed therapist once a week. We will meet again in six months, and based on the progress I will decide if the sessions will continue or not."

There was another long silence, but then the judge looked at Lucas and smiled. "You are a very special young man, Lucas," she said. "You have overcome the obstacles that life has handed you, and I believe that you are stronger because of it. I wish you the best, Lucas, and I hope everything works out for you." She banged her gavel one more time as she rose to her feet. "Court is adjourned."

"All rise," the bailiff instructed. Everyone stood up and watched as the judge exited the courtroom.

As soon as the judge was gone Lucas approached Dan and smiled. Dan pulled Lucas into his arms and held him tight. Lucas felt like a little kid again as he was wrapped in his father's arms, but it felt so right. Dan knew that he should have done this a long time ago. He was hoping that this moment was the beginning of their new life as father and son.

Deb approached Lucas with a big smile on her face. "Congratulations, Lucas," she said as she pulled him into a hug.

"I guess I should be saying the same to you," Lucas replied.

"We're glad to have you back."

"It looks like you're stuck with us," Nathan said as he and Lucas bumped fists.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Lucas responded with a smile.

Lucas had just finished packing his things at the James house when Haley entered the room. She looked depressed as she plopped down on the bed. "Why do you look so down?" Lucas asked as he sat down next to her.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually going to miss having my best friend stay here," Haley admitted.

"As much as I'm excited about going home, I'm going to miss being here too."

Haley's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah; I mean who doesn't like living with their best friend…especially when it's you, Hales."

Haley started to blush. "You're going to make me cry, Luke."

"Don't cry, Hales."

"I'm going to miss you, Luke." Lucas started to laugh and Haley gave him a confused look. "What?"

"You're making it sound like I'm moving away forever; I'm just moving a couple of blocks away. It's going to the same as it's always been."

"I know, but I like it better this way."

A wicked grin spread across Lucas' face as he began to tickle Haley. He knew she was very ticklish and he loved to take advantage of her weakness. Haley started screaming for him to stop, but he refused to let up.

"I take back every nice thing I ever said about you," Haley yelled in between laughter.

The first thing he did when he returned home was unpack his things in his room. Lucas never thought he'd see the day where he'd look forward to moving into Dan Scott's house, but that day was today. There was a knock on the door, and Lucas looked up to see Nathan standing there.

"I thought you could use some help unpacking," Nathan said as he stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"I could always use some help," Lucas responded. He noticed Nathan looking glancing around the room as if he was looking for something. Lucas realized that he was looking for pills. "Don't worry, Nate; I'm clean."

Nathan nodded his head. "I know…it's just that you really scared me that night when we confronted you. I want to make sure that it never happens again."

Lucas sat down on his bed and Nathan sat down next to him. "I was really messed up for awhile," Lucas admitted. "I depended on those pills just to make it through the day, and I will always be ashamed of it. I don't ever want to go back to being that person."

"I promise that I'll do everything I can to make sure that you don't go back to being that person."

Dan stood in the hallway and listened to the conversation between Lucas and Nathan. He was proud of his two sons. He ended their conversation when he knocked on the open door. "Dinner's ready," he said when he had the attention of both boys.

Nathan rose to his feet and extended his hand to Lucas to pull him up. "You don't have to ask me twice," he said.

Lucas hesitated to stand up. "I should probably finish unpacking," he said. "I'll eat later."

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, but Mom made your favorite."

Lucas grabbed hold of Nathan's hand and let him pull him up. "In that case…unpacking can wait."

The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song "The Chronicles of Life and Death," by Good Charlotte.