Author's Note: Hey guys. This will be the final update for a while. Sorry to leave anyone hanging. I was really excited about starting this new one and I wanted to update as much as possible but I had a family situation come up and it looks like I might be away from 10 to 14 days. I won't have a lot of Internet access. I'll be able to check my e-mail from time to time but I won't be able to update. But I have lots in store for this so for those of you that are interested, please just be patient with me. Thanks for all the reviews so far. I appreciate your comments and knowing that you're still interested so many stories later. It means a lot. Take care and I'll get back to writing as soon as possible...

Brooke sighed as she rubbed her aching feet. In fact, ever part of her body was sore. Joints hurt that she didn't knew she had. And she thought working for the paper was tough. Waitressing was no joke. Deb was a good boss, understanding and patient. And with Brooke, she had to be.

There were the five broken glasses and two shattered plates. Then there was the poor customer whose lap she had accidentally dumped peach cobbler in. Not to mention all the orders she had goofed and it had taken Deb a half hour to teach her how to hold a broom and mop. But she had a good heart and she was putting forth an honest effort. That's all Deb could expect.

Brooke looked around the tiny basement apartment. It wasn't much. There was a sofa that let out into a bed. And there was a bathroom a few feet away with a toilet that required jiggling the handle after every flush. And there was a TV but not much more. It was a long way from mansions and walk in closets bigger than most people's apartments. But it wasn't so bad. It was a roof over her head. And Deb was nice. Besides, it was her only option and it had been a lifesaver.

Holding a pillow close to her Brooke thought of home. She thought of her old life. Her friends. Her family. A brief smile passed across her hips when she thought of the good old days that included pricey dinners at five star restaurants and 400 dollar massages. Spas, pedicures and all day shopping sprees. Days that it didn't take a second thought to hop on a jet to Paris.

But those days were long gone. And they'd never return. That had been Brooke's choice. And it was liberating. So what she was working long, hard hours in a small town diner living in her boss' basement? It had been her choice and one she was proud of and didn't regret. It felt nice to choose. Brooke's whole life had been planned for her. She was supposed to live and act and think and be a certain way. The tension had built over years and one day she'd just had enough.

Pinning up her hair, she stripped out of her jeans. The late nights got warm so she was content to sleep in just panties and a tank top. And she was plenty exhausted. The fact that some red polish had chipped on her big toe was slightly unnerving her but she would fix it the next day. A small giggle escaped her lips. What would the girls say back home? Brooke Davis painting her own nails?

Yawning, she turned off the bedside lamp and closed her eyes for sleep. She didn't hear the front door open upstairs. She was blissfully unaware of the stranger walking about upstairs. He opened the fridge and took out the milk, drinking a big gulp straight from the carton, which he put right back on the shelf. He belched loudly, kicked off his sneakers and opened the basement door. His socked feet didn't make a noise on the creaky steps and he knew the outline of the room so well, he didn't bother shutting on the light. Instead, he stripped down to his unmentionables, letting the shirt, jeans and underwear pile up in a heap on the floor. He turned the sheets back and climbed in.

Brooke was fast asleep. Normally it was difficult sleeping in a strange bed but the last few weeks had prepared her for anything. She fell asleep quickly and deeply. She was tired from being on her feet all day and the bed, any bed, felt damned good. Stirring a bit from movement, she rolled over and smack dab into a muscular figure just a few feet away. Her eyes opened briefly, then closed again. Then they opened. What the hell? Brooke used her foot to feel what was next to her. Maybe it was her imagination. Maybe Deb had a dog she didn't know about.

Her foot detected another foot. Not a paw. That ruled the dog theory out. She winced. The owner of that foot definitely could have used a toenail trim. Shuddering, Brooke moved up a hair speckled leg. Nice muscle tone, she thought. Then she used her knee in lieu of her foot. It bumped into something and her eyes grew wide. Holy shit! She had read about it in Cosmo, she had listened to her girlfriends whisper about it underneath the drier at the hairdresser but damn! It was…big. And to think, there were times when it could get bigger.

Brooke's naughty thoughts were interrupted. She sat straight up. She was in bed with a man. A strange man. A strange naked man. Brooke shut on the light and let out a bloodcurdling scream. She hopped out of bed and used all the blankets and sheets to cover herself. The man beside her stirred and let his blue eyes slowly adjust to the light. It took a moment to register the pretty woman he had never seen before screaming her head off in the corner.

"What the…" he hopped up.

"You're naked!" she managed.

He looked down.

"Oh."

He tried to use his hand to cover his private parts but it didn't work.

"Hel-lo!" she pointed, then closed her eyes to alert him to find something else.

He rolled his eyes, then grabbed the pillow, the only other thing in reach he could find. Despite their quick interchange, she was still screaming.

"Do you mind being quiet? There's a cemetery around here and you're probably waking every dead person there."

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Maybe I should be asking that. Who the hell are you?"

"I live here!"

"Since when?"

"Since…" Brooke stopped in mid sentence suddenly feeling very stupid. "Oh God. I'm sorry. Um, you must be Nathan."

"Nathan?"

"Yeah. Deb's son. Sorry. She didn't say you'd be here."

The man smirked.

"Nathan, huh? Do I look like that dweeb in the all the pictures?"

Brooke frowned. She hadn't spent a lot of time in the upper portion of the house and she had hardly glanced at Deb's photographs. Come to think of it, Nathan did have darker hair.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Nathan's brother."

Brooke shook her head.

"Yeah right. Deb doesn't have any other children. Try again, scum bag!"

Lucas chuckled.

"Are you kidding me? I am Nathan's brother. Half brother. We have the same dad."

Brooke frowned.

"I don't believe you."

"I have a key", he fished it out of the pocket of his pants. "See? How would I get this?"

"You, you could have robbed Deb on her way home from the Den."

"Are you drunk? That's real original. Look, I have a spare key and I crash here all the time. Now Deb definitely has not mentioned you to me. You're the one out of place here."

"Excuse me?"

"How do I know you didn't rob, Deb?"

Brooke's mouth opened.

"How dare you accuse me! That's it, buster!" she reached for the wall phone a few inches away. "You see this? This is a telephone and I am using to dial 911. And then you can tell your pathetic little story to the cops."

Lucas watched her dial the three numbers

"Unfreakingbelievable", he mumbled.

"Hello? 911? Yes, I'm at 1032 Grape Wood Street…"

"Great Wood", Lucas corrected.

"Great Wood, I mean. Yes and I'd like to report a break in. This crazy, flasher intruder guy is in the residence and I'd like him arrested immediately. Yes…okay…yes…thank you."

Brooke hung up.

"They're on their way?"

"As a matter of fact, they are."

She folded her arms and stared at him defiantly. He went to put on his pants and she grabbed a nearby dustpan and raised it over one hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't move", she commanded nervously. "You stay right there until the police arrive. And no funny business!"

"What?"

"I mean it. Don't make me crack your head open!"

Just seeing her with a dustpan as a weapon was enough to make him laugh.

"I was reaching for my pants."

"Huh?"

"My pants. Can I at least put them on?"

"Oh."

She nodded and turned her head, stealing a glance or two at his beautiful nude form as he put on jeans. A few minutes later, Tree Hill's finest had arrived.

"Anybody home?" a voice asked. "This is the Tree Hill Police Department. We received a call about an intruder."

"Down in the basement!" Brooke yelled.

Two officers walked downstairs.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?"

"Yes! Right there. That man broke into this house and climbed into my bed, naked as a jaybird, mind you. And he refused to leave. Says he is the brother of the house owner's son but that isn't true. I called him on it and he made up another lie saying he was the stepson or brother or whatever."

"Is this true, son?" one cop asked Lucas.

"I have a key, Officer. This chick is delusional and she should be the one arrested."

"Whatever", she mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Lucas began to laugh.

"Something amusing, sir?" the other officer inquired.

"As a matter of fact it is. In fact, my life is just one big, goddamned joke. Trust me. Shit like this only happens to me."

"Obviously someone isn't being truthful and it's our job to get to the bottom of it…"

"Brooke!"

The cop was interrupted by someone calling Brooke's name. The voice came from upstairs. It was Deb.

"Deb! Down here! I'm in the basement!"

Deb hurried down the stairs.

"Are you okay? What on earth is going on here? I come home and there's a squad car in the drive with lights on and my front door is wide open."

"Ma'am, are you the owner of this house?"

"Yes sir…Lucas, honey, what are you doing here?"

"You know him?" the officer questioned.

"Yes. He is my son's half brother. It's a long, complicated story. But I don't understand what the problem is here…"

"We got a call about breaking and entering from this young lady here…"

Brooke's jaw was on the floor.

"I…I didn't know. I woke up and this strange man was in bed with me naked and you never mentioned Nathan's brother before."

"In bed with you? Naked?"

Lucas took a deep breath.

"Things didn't work out so much at my parents so I came here to crash for a while. I thought it would be cool. I used my key. I didn't know someone else was living here."

Deb chuckled as she put her head in her hands.

"Okay. I think we have a huge misunderstanding here. Um, this is Brooke. She's new in town and she's working for me. She's also renting this room. It's a fairly new situation so we hadn't really told anyone yet. And Brooke, this is Lucas. He is Nathan's half brother. They share the same father. Lucas has been like a second son to me and he does have his own key. He has come and stayed here before. Oh my. I guess I should have told you about each other…"

The cops rolled their eyes.

"Looks like our job is done", they said on their way out.

"Sorry", Brooke said meekly.

"It's okay. Look, Brooke you're renting the room. Lucas, you still need a place to stay. Why don't you come up and crash in Nate's old room for the time being until we figure something out?"

"Okay", he nodded, reaching for his clothes.

"Deb, I'm sorry", Brooke began.

"It's okay and I'm sure in the morning we can all laugh about it. No harm done."

Deb headed back upstairs.

"I forgive you", Lucas said to her.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I forgive you."

"You forgive me? Ha!"

"Aren't you going to apologize for calling the police?"

Brooke thought about it for a second.

"Uh, let me think about that one. No. I'll apologize to you right after you apologize to me for being a jackass."

Lucas eyed her and gave a wink before he walked up the stairs.

"Don't bet on it anytime soon, sweetheart."