Haley nervously tapped her fingers against the countertop.

"So…what do you think?"

Nathan wiped his mouth.

"Delicious, babe."

She rolled her eyes with a playful smile.

"Not you, Nathan. It's your job, honey, as the boyfriend to love everything I do, say, or make. I was talking to your mother."

Deb held up her hand as she chewed the last forkful of food in her mouth.

"Those were good."

"Really? You think?" Haley asked with an excited smile.

"Really. Actually, they are more than good. These are pretty great, Haley."

"Great enough to maybe, quite possibly be added to the menu?" she asked hopefully, fingers crossed.

Deb grinned.

"You bet. Give your recipe to the a.m. cook and Deb's Den's newest breakfast entrée will be called Haley's Homemade Blueberry Pecan Waffles."

Haley jumped up and down for joy, hugging both Nathan and Deb.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The celebration was short lived as the doors opened and in walked Brooke. No one had seen or heard from her in days.

"Hi", she said solemnly.

Deb smiled warmly.

"Are you here for work this morning?"

"I'm sorry, Deb. I, uh, well, I came to tell everyone good bye."

Deb closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she hugged the young woman she had briefly taken to heart and treated like a daughter.

"Oh honey. I am so sorry to see you go. I mean that. The place won't be the same without you."

"Thanks", Brooke nodded.

"I am going to miss you beyond words but I know you're going to be okay. You're a strong girl, Brooke, and a good person. You have a good head on your shoulders. Everything is going to be A okay. You'll see. And no matter what, always know that I love you and I'm here for you."

"I love you, too, Deb", Brooke hugged her again.

Deb fought back tears as Nathan and Haley looked on.

"Well, I have some business to attend to in the back. I'll let you kids say your good byes."

Brooke took a nervous breath.

"So I guess this is really it, huh?" Haley asked as she noticed the mammoth engagement ring back on Brooke's left hand. "This is really farewell?"

Brooke gave her a sad smile.

"I guess so."

The two girls embraced.

"Well, I second what Deb says. It sucks to see you go but I guess you're doing what you have to do and what you feel is right. I can't hold that against you. So, take care, Brooke and good luck with everything. I really mean that."

"Thanks, Haley."

Both carefully eyed Nathan, unsure what his reaction might be.

"When are you leaving?" he mumbled, shoving his large hands deep in his pockets.

"Soon. A couple of hours actually."

Nathan nodded.

"Then have a safe trip, I guess. Hope everything works out for you."

Brooke ran up and wrapped her arms around Nathan, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for everything, Nathan. I am so glad we met. You both are great friends and I just wanted to thank you for taking me in and taking care of me. I love you guys so please just take care of each other…and Lucas. He's um, he's really going to need you both."

"Good bye, Brooke."

"Bye, guys."

She turned to walk away but something inside Nathan wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Brooke, wait up."

"Yeah?" she turned around.

"Don't go."

"Nathan, I have to go."

"No, you don't. Tree Hill is your home now. You love it here. You have a whole new life, Brooke. And what about my brother? He doesn't need Haley and me, he needs you. Lucas is so in love with you and I know you feel the same way about him."

"Of course I do. I won't lie to you, Nathan, but it is complicated."

"What's so complicated about it? All you have to do is be honest with yourself."

"But Nate…"

"What did you tell me when I first went to you for advice about Hales? You told me to follow my heart. Yeah, it was complicated for me too because I was afraid of getting hurt. Add Daytona and Lucas in the mix, it was pretty scary but you helped me get through all of that. Look, I know where you are right now and it's a pretty crappy place to be. I've been there, Brooke, you know that. I had a whole other life in South Carolina because I was so busy running from my family and my problems and myself even. I created another life and it was fine for a while but in the end it's not what I wanted. It wasn't home. Nothing was right until I came back and faced my demons."

"That's what I'm trying to do. You just said so yourself that building the new life was nothing more than an escape route. In order to make it right, you had to come back. Well, that's exactly what I have to do, Nathan."

He shook his head.

"You're not getting my point. The locations and the logistics have nothing to do with it. It's about heart…where mine was, where yours is. It was about what I wanted for me and for the first time living my life for me and not a bunch of other people. You taught me that, Brooke. It was you who showed me the way. I just don't understand why you can't see it for yourself."

"The pressure is unreal…the pressure to go, the pressure to stay. I can't even think straight right now. I feel like I'm being pulled in a thousand different directions. I have no clue what to do. Because of me and the mess I made, a lot of people are hurt. I can't ignore that and while I can't fully repair all the damage, I'm gonna try to fix what I can. I'm sorry but going back to New York right now feels like the best decision."

"For who? For you? For Luke?"

"Yes. For everyone."

"If you go, you'll regret it."

"I don't know. Look, Nate, I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what the future holds. I hope I don't regret my choice but if so, I've given all this a lot of thought and I'm prepared to deal with it."

"But why? Why even put yourself through the bullshit? Why put Lucas through it? Going back for your parents is just dumb and you know you can't live for your friends. If they were real friends, they wouldn't expect that of you anyway. And that Killian guy? Yeah, you might love him but we both know you're not in love with him, at least not the way you're in love with Lucas. How fair is that to him? How fair is it to anyone to marry a guy you're not even into?"

"Listen, Nathan, I have heard all this before but my mind is made up. I'm sorry. All I want and need now is your promise to always look after your brother."

Haley sighed.

"We will but who will look after you?"

Brooke didn't even attempt to stop the tears.

"I, um, I have to go. Sorry. I have people waiting for me and we have a plane to catch."

"Did you at least tell him good bye to his face?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I owed him that."

A horn beeped from outside.

"Looks like your ride is ready", Nathan observed.

Brooke looked out the window.

"Yeah. I've got to go."

She took one last look at Deb's Den. Life in Tree Hill flashed before her eyes. Brooke smiled sadly and fondly as she remembered her first night there arguing at the door with Skills. She thought about saintly Deb taking mercy on her poor soul when she was too broke to pay for a meal and the kind woman giving her a paying job and a safe place to rest her head. Brooke wanted to laugh out loud as she took mental inventory of all the items she had accidentally broken from glasses to the dishwasher. She would miss the customers, especially the regulars, good tippers and bad tippers, annoying and easygoing. Brooke would miss Christina and Skills and everyone else she worked with. That small space in front of the juke box was where she had taught Nathan to slow dance and the table beside it was where she had sat with Lucas so many nights sipping soda while they enjoyed long talks and stole sweet kisses. The place had changed her life and as much as it killed her, it was time to part.

"Good bye, Brooke."

Haley managed a small smile and Nathan waved.

"Later, guys."

It was good bye to her friends, good bye to the Den, good bye to her new life in Tree Hill and good bye to happiness as she knew it.