Hey Guys! Chapter 28! I have to go to "work" (aka the grandparents office) so not too much time to chat! Only to say Thanks SOOO much for the reviews and ENJOY this chapter!

Brooke drove Peyton back to the house after deciding to let her stay for the night. She wasn't sure how Lucas would take it… he'd either understand or get over it. As she drove up she saw Karen's car… that was just great. How was that going to work anyway she wondered. Karen who wanted so much to have a baby and Peyton who seemed to want nothing to do with hers. Hopefully she would change her mind though… the same way Brooke had. She couldn't imagine life without Chloë and Allie now and she didn't want too. The house was dark and cold. Brandon was asleep on the couch and there was food left on the table with a note. "In case you were hungry – Karen" How sweet… not. There weren't even any little hearts drawn around it or anything…

"You can sleep down here in the purple room… that way the girls wont wake up in the morning when they go on their usual morning rampage" Brooke whispered pointing Peyton to one of the downstairs bedrooms. They definitely had enough of them.

"Thanks for this Brooke"

"Anytime… Can I do anything before I go upstairs?"

"No… I think I just want to sleep…" Peyton smiled… still teary eyed and her voice trembling, but it felt good to be here… it was warm and safe and she knew she was where no one was going to hurt her.

"Me too…hopefully alone with my husband… but I guarantee the monsters are in the bed with Lucas"

"You don't mean that though"

"Mean what?" Brooke asked confused. Peyton had been using a lot of sub text tonight and it was giving her a headache… just like old times. It was actually kind of nice.

"When you call them monsters and minions and everything else I have heard you call them tonight"

"Well they are monsters, and they are my little minions but their mine and I wouldn't have any other way" Brooke smiled winking at Peyton. Peyton smiled back and then looked down at her stomach… how could Brooke love Allie and Chloë so much when they had basically totally screwed changed everything she had planned? She knew they were her children and of course she loved them… but when you mentioned Brooke she smiled… that smile that was not because she had to love them, but because she wanted too.

"You've changed Brooke…"

"You too… let me know if you need anything"

Upstairs Lucas, Allie and Chloë were having a pillow fight. She stopped at the door to watch for a second… it was hilarious. Allie and Chloë could barely lift the pillows to hit Lucas and it was non-stop giggling and laughing on both sides. Lucas would knock one down with a pillow and then tickle them until they were laughing so hard they could barely breathe… then they'd come back for more as soon as they could pick up another pillow. The whole bed was a disaster and judging from the girl's pinks cheeks they had been at this for a while… knowing them they had been doing it since they got home.

"Nowa" Chloë shrieked in laughter trying to break away until Lucas finally switched over to Allie who was trying to hit him with a pillow that was bigger than she was

"You asked for it Allie… watch out"

"Ahhhh" Allie giggled struggling to get up but she was laughing too hard.

"Daddy! Do me"

"Your turn? Here it comes…boom"

"Ahhh" Chloë giggled kicking and trying to grab a pillow. Brooke wished she had a camera… she could tape this and send it to Dan… maybe label it something like "This is what your SUPPOSED to do with your children" It would just be too funny.

"Beating up poor defenseless children! Shame on you Broody!"

"Mommy's home… get her" Lucas whispered but the girls were too excited.

"Mommy! Do me!"

"Haven't you had enough tickling from daddy tonight?"

"Nowa" Chloë giggled waiting for Brooke to tickle her.

"Aren't you sleepy?"

"Nowa"

"I am…Look! Its Nip Tuck… let's watch" Brooke whispered pointing to the TV. She was way too tired for a tickle fest tonight… plus she really needed to tell Lucas about Peyton.

"How did it go with Peyton?"

"She's staying here tonight at least… I feel really bad for her Luke"

"Why? What happened?" Lucas asked laying down next to her and pulling her to his chest. She was clearly upset… but didn't want to act it in front of Allie and Chloë.

"The no good bro-ho ran off with all her money to buy drugs"

"Wow…"

"Yea" Brooke sighed sliding closer to Lucas so that there was no space between them. She knew good and well she could have been in the same position as Peyton was… and probably would have been if she hadn't had Lucas.

"Crisan! Mommy!" Allie shrieked pointing to the TV all excited. They knew how much Brooke liked Christian so every time he was on they had to inform her.

"I see… Christian's bare butt, nice"

"We should probably make them stop watching this at some point" Lucas laughed shaking his head… this was probably going to scare them for life… one day they'd be in therapy talking about it… his hope was just that they were too young to remember it.

"Probably… just not tonight, I'm too tired to deal with those damn Wiggles"

"Allie, Chloë… lets go get in your bed"

"Nowa… daddy" Allie cried climbing over to Brooke and getting comfortable in her arms… then she was followed by Chloë.

"This bed"

"Big bed"

"Yea daddy… big bed" Brooke whined taking the girls side.

"Am I that out numbered?"

"Yep… Ok girls… go hug daddy… knock him off the bed and so it sounds like we're having sex… should creep Karen out enough"

"Lets tickle mommy instead"

"No!" Brooke whined but it was hopeless

Karen listened to the screaming and giggling coming from Brooke and Lucas's bedroom. Why couldn't she, Andy and Brandon have that? They didn't care that it was past midnight, or that this was probably making Allie and Chloë that much more wired for the night. They didn't have schedules or rules that they went by and had to follow… they just made it up as they went, Ate when they were hungry, slept when they got tired, and had fun together. Most people would find this totally crazy… claiming that it was going to mess Chloë and Allie up in the long run. That they needed structure and discipline… and maybe most kids did. But with the way Brooke and Lucas were raising them it didn't seem to be a problem. Both girls had manners, and listened and were so far ahead of where they should be for their age it was crazy… all because Brooke and Lucas did things their way, without worrying what other people thought… or even if they cared for that matter. Karen had always brought Lucas up as a perfect gentlemen… he had his set routine everyday, he did what he was told, no questions asked, that is until he met Brooke. Karen had first seen the difference when she had gone to Italy the first time in the E-mails he would send her telling her what he had been doing. Lines like "Mom, there is this girl… and she's perfect" or "Last night I went out… and had fun" She had just assumed it was Peyton until she got back and met Brooke. In some ways she felt like Lucas deserved better than Brooke… but on others she thought maybe Brooke deserved more than Lucas. Which she guessed was why they were so happy together… Everything was open and honest. When Brooke was pissed… she said so. When Lucas was upset, he told her. For some reason she and Andy couldn't find that balance and she didn't know why.

The next morning everyone slept late… really late. In fact when Lucas looked at the clock at 1:14 he was the first one up…His back was killing him from sleeping ½ way off the bed all night… between Brooke, Chloë and Allie there was just no room, well there would have been if they would have just slid over. The phone was ringing off the hook… he had ignored it for the past 3 hours hoping whoever it was would just stop calling but decided to answer it finally once he was totally awake.

"Hello?" Lucas yawned into the phone.

"Hey man… Brooke there?"

"Felix… go away"

"I just need some legal advice" Felix pleaded… which was something Lucas had never heard him do before. He must have really been in some kind of trouble to beg at Lucas. But Lucas didn't really care… if Felix wanted Legal advice he could call a lawyer… not Brooke.

"She's asleep"

"I'd be asleep if I were married to you too-" Felix laughed and Lucas hung up. He wasn't in the mood for his snide comments today… he dealt with them almost every other time he called begging to talk to Brooke.

"Who was that?"

"Felix"

"Kill me… Oww my back" Brooke whined sliding over to Lucas's chest. The girls had some how managed to end up asleep at the end of the bed so she could at least lay next to Lucas now.

"Mine too"

"This has got to stop"

"We've been saying that for ever" Lucas laughed looking down at the sleeping toddlers. They looked so innocent like that…

"Yea… but it makes he feel better when we do… come her Kitty" Brooke said taking the cat from beside her and laying it on her chest to pet her. As soon as she did the cat spazzed out and jumped down. Psycho cat… yet another reason why she liked dogs so much better.

"What's the cat's problem?"

"It lives with us… hey what are you doing today?"

"We should probably go shopping…Considering Christmas is in like 2 weeks and we haven't bought the first thing" Lucas sighed running his fingers through Brooke's hair as they laid there. He really didn't want to go shopping… or get up for that matter but he guessed it was better to do it this way instead of ending up like last year where they had only had a day to buy everything they needed.

"A whole day shopping with me! I know you're just so excited!"

"You have no idea… what should we do with the girls?"

"Leave them here with Peyton and your mom?" Brooke asked. She would have much rather taken them with her… they were actually a lot of fun to shop with. They sat in the stroller and gave Brooke fashion advice…but since she had Lucas did need to buy their Christmas presents she assumed it would be wrong to take them with her.

"Sounds good to me… I've gotta stop by Nate's first. He got James this basketball thing and cant figure out how to put it together"

"What time?"

"2:00" Lucas groaned looking at the clock. It was already 1:30. He could already tell today was going to be a waste.

"Good luck with that one"

After Brooke woke up the girls and left Lucas to shower (Alone for once) she went downstairs where Peyton and Karen were talking. Although the closer she got the more it seemed like fighting… not all out yelling, but smart comments coming from each side. This was just what she needed today… to listen to the 2 of them go at it like a married couple. At least Haley was here… maybe she'd decide to break things up, but probably not. She'd probably take a side and make things 10 times worse. As usual leaving Brooke to break it up. Well not today… today she had a list of way more important things she had to do… 1 that she had to take care of now or else the stress of worrying was going to kill her.

"Allie, Chloë that's Peyton! Say Hi" Brooke said excitedly taking the girls over to Peyton who had retired on the couch with her pencils and sketchpad. She was sort of hoping Peyton would see how cute and adorable they were and offer to watch them for the next 10 minutes while she finished up some stuff.

"Hey Allie… Chloë" Peyton smiled and gave the girls a little wave. The girls waved back and Chloë climbed into the couch to see what Peyton was drawing.

"Mommy, hol me"

"I cant Allie… I have to go take a shower, I bet Yaya or Haley will hold you though"

"You ok Brooke?" Peyton asked. Brooke didn't have her usual cheery tone in her voice that she usually used with the girls.

"Yea… I'm fine"

"Hey Hales… I'm off to your house" Lucas said jogging down the stairs with his wet spiky hair and a towel still around his neck.

"Thank you… Nathan cant do jack when it comes to this stuff… take the girls with you, I told James they were coming"

"Jame!" Chloë shrieked but Allie was still on her 'hol me' topic. She looked a little flushed… Brooke figured she was getting a cold or something…, which was probably what was wrong with her too.

"Daddy… hol me"

"Hold on… What time do you want to go shopping?"

"Um… I'll call you k? I've got a few little things I have to do at school and then I need to take Erica and Mouth something…" Brooke lied. She felt bad about doing it but she had her own agenda today that she wasn't exactly ready to tell Lucas about. He'd understand hopefully when she did decide to fill him in but for now it was easier to leave him in the dark… along with everyone else.

"Ok… Let me know…" Lucas said kissing her and then picking up both the girls

"I will… love you, Bye babies! Have fun with James! Corrupt him… all that fun stuff"

Brooke stood smiling and waving in the doorway until they were out the door and then started back upstairs to take a shower before anyone could stop her. In fact she pretty much ran. On the way up she heard Karen start to something to her but she just ignored it. She was already starting to feel the guilt from lying to Lucas… why couldn't she just tell him what was going on? She knew why… because she wasn't even sure what was going on yet. Her head was really spinning now… maybe a hott shower would help, or a cocktail… she'd try both if she got the time. The bathroom was still steamy and smelled like Lucas's Axe Body wash when she walked in. That helped a little… that is until she opened the cabinet and dug back behind her tampons and other girly things for the box. The site of it made her want to puke and her stomach turn. She wasn't even sure why she was torturing herself like this… it was just going to cause her more stress than she was already under from school… which was most likely what was wrong in the first place, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Peyton sat on the couch trying to get her artwork situated, but it was hard. Brooke and Lucas's couches were so damn fluffy you could barely get up… even if you weren't 5 months pregnant. Karen was still in the kitchen doing dishes while Brandon played the Playstation 2. Every once in a while she saw Karen give her a death glare from the corner of her eye. She should have never brought up the topic of not wanting the baby… why had she even gone there with Karen? Of course Brooke and Haley were very understanding but Karen was so against this she wouldn't listen to anything. Times like this she wished she had her mom here. Yea she had Elizabeth but that wasn't her mom.

"So…" Haley said dragging out her one word sentence. She wasn't sure what to say to Peyton, anything might push her over the edge, she just didn't know

"Haley… you know you can talk to me" Peyton laughed.

"I know… I know, so it's some crazy cold weather out there huh?"

"Seriously…so what's up with Brooke? She was acting… weird"

"You know Brooke… its Christmas, the Christmas nazi as Nathan refers to her as has to make everything perfect… look how decked out this place is" Haley sighed rolling her eyes at the Chirstmas stuff that was scattered from one end of the house to the other. Brooke had kicked Lucas out of the house one day and she had spent the whole day… just her and the girls decorating together.

"I see that… I was blinded when we drove into the driveway last night"

"Nathan and I are lucky we have a Tree up…"

"Yea…" Peyton laughed looking back at her pad. Finally some inspiration! It was perfect.

"So you need to see James… he's gotten so big! He tortures Allie and Chloë too, its hilarious, poor girls"

"Just like his daddy huh?"

"Pretty much" Haley sighed shaking her head and laughing. Peyton could see the same proudness in Haley when she talked about James that Brooke had with her girls.

"Haley… I have to tell you something, I know this is probably way out of line but… I think I might know why Brooke's acting so weird"

"Why?" Haley asked even though she wasn't sure she should have.

"The phone rang early this morning and I answered it… it was Felix"

Lucas was totally stumped when it came to the basketball toy. Why did they have to make assembling children's toys so damn complicated? Not that it mattered. Chloë, Allie and James were having more fun in the boxes then anything else. He felt bad for Nathan though… he was trying really hard to be a good father lately, almost too hard it that was possible. James was almost more spoiled than Allie and Chloë… and in a bad way. Lucas was starting to see how Nathan must have been when he was younger… luckily Haley was there to even everything out… unlike Deb who had always been away on business.

"Maybe it goes like this?" Nathan asked jamming one of the nails into the side.

"Face it man… its hopeless, and shouldn't you have waited until Christmas to give him this thing?"

"Probably… but he always wants to make slam dunks like me and he can with this, so I figured the sooner the better… poor Kid"

"He looks pretty happy with Allie and Chloë in the boxes" Lucas laughed watching the 3 toddlers in the corner of the room laughing and giggling in the big box. He and Brooke could have a fortune if they just bought the girls boxes.

"He's just trying to seem happy… deep down he's crying"

"I'm sure he is man…Hey, what did you get Haley?"

"Some damn bracelet thing that was way too expensive… She's just going to return whatever I give her so I figured she could return something nice… what did you get Brooke?" Nathan asked throwing the hoop down and giving up… it was hopeless and Lucas had a point. James was having a great time in the boxes.

"Nothing yet… I don't know what to get her, I go through this every year!"

"Get her jewelry"

"I cant… the problem with her is if she sees something she wants she buys it, so she has everything she wants" Lucas sighed. This was impossible. Some how every year Brooke came up with some really great unique present for him… and he couldn't think of anything!

"Sucks for you man…"

"Tell me about it, maybe I'll take her somewhere"

"Somewhere warm… and take Hales and I while your at it, we can leave the kids with Dan, he'd love it" Nathan laughed. That would be interesting… they probably wouldn't have kids by the time they got back if they left them with Dan. With all the hits he had out on him… it would be a disater.

"Right… but I could take her somewhere, and you guys could watch the girls"

"Hey! How about no"

"Dude… my girls have baby sat for you for like an hour!" Lucas laughed pointing over to the boxes. That was definitely one of the perks of having twins… if worse came to worst they could entertain each other.

"Leave them with Mouthica"

"Mouth and Erica?"

"Yea but to me they've become one person… joined at the hip, almost as bad as you and Brooke!" Nathan said shaking his head in disgust.

"You need therapy man…"

"You're telling me…"

Brooke stared at the back of the box reading it over and over again. "Quick and easy digital read out… Pregnant or Not Pregnant" was written in big bold letters across the top. Wow… amazing. If they could make the damn pregnancy test digital then why the hell couldn't they make it turn any faster? Again she wasn't sure why she was taking it. She didn't feel pregnant at all… in fact she hadn't had cravings or out of whack hormone changes… or anything like that for that matter. She was late… but that always happened when she was stressed out, even in high school. But if she was so sure then why were her hands trembling? Finally after what seemed like days the timer beeped and Brooke slowly picked up the test and turned it over so she could see the "Digital read out". "Not Pregnant". Brooke felt a rush of relief come over her… she was all stressed out because that damn cat had done the same thing this morning that Karen's cat had done when she was pregnant with the girls… Psycho cat. She checked the test one more time to make sure she was seeing it right and then looked down at the box. "Over 99.9 accurate" That was good enough for her. She had never felt so relieved in her life… and she never thought the words "Not Pregnant" would look so awesome on that little stick thing.

"Brooke… are you ok in there?" Karen asked knocking on the door. She hadn't realized how long she had actually been in there. She had taken a shower first, and then dried her hair and gotten dressed. After that it had taken her 20 minutes to get the nerve up to take the test… a good 2 hours in the bathroom and they were probably wondering what had happened to her.

"I'm great…" Brooke smiled tossing the test into the trashcan before opening the door.

"Ok… well I'm starting Dinner and Andy's coming up, any requests?"

"No… not really…"

"Ok…Anyway Peyton was asking where you were, she's downstairs. Look at this mess! I swear you and Lucas were definitely soul mates when it comes to your cleaning habits! How many towels does it take you 2 too…" Karen paused as she stood back up from picking up some of the towels off the floor.

"Too?"

"Brooke… what's this?"

"Karen… please don't freak out… its no big deal, look its negative, see it says N- shit…" Brooke shrieked searching for the word 'Not'. It wasn't there anymore… just the word pregnant. Now she was starting to feel sick…

"Brooke…"

"I swear like 3 seconds ago it said 'Not Pregnant'… where did the not go?" Brooke whispered staring at the test. Well this was just great…

"Brooke… are you pregnant?"

"What? No… Its probably Lucas, he gets bored sometimes and takes those things… Damn him! I told him he needed to be safer"

"Brooke…"

"Kidding… Look, The cats getting fat so I gave her the test… It said not pregnant seriously like just a minute ago when it hit the 3-minute mark. 99.9 accurate my ass… how is it accurate if it cant make up its mind?" Brooke asked still fascinated and pretty pissed off that now she was back a square 1. Assuming she wasn't… but there was still that chance.

"The cat… so you wouldn't mind if you and I went and met Erica at the hospital for a few blood tests"

"I think we better"

"Me too… Haley… Peyton we'll be back, if Lucas calls tell him I took my daughter in law out… just the 2 of us" Karen yelled grabbing both of their coats and pocketbooks. She wasn't surprised… but she could tell from the look on Brooke's face that she was. She had gone completely white and had the start of a few tears in her watery eyes.

Lucas walked into the house with the girls to find only Haley and Peyton sitting boredly on the couch watching TV. He had tried Brooke's cell but hadn't gotten an answer… and now he knew why… it was sitting on the counter next to her keys by where Brandon was coloring. Karen wasn't anywhere in site either… and since her car was gone he assumed maybe she had gone to the grocery store since something was cooking and Brandon was still there.

"Mommy" Allie and Chloë both yelled running into the house a head of Lucas. They hadn't seen her all day and from what Lucas could tell they were seriously missing her.

"Oh hey… Karen and Brooke went somewhere… they said they'd be back later" Haley yelled from the couch.

"Ok? Did they say where?"

"Nope… The Thorn birds just started Luke, Nathan's on his way to watch… it's a 2 day marathon. Just warning you we might not leave"

"Why don't you watch it at your house?" Lucas asked but it seemed like he was being totally ignored. Even the dog was on t he couch watching that damn movie.

"We don't get this channel… Allie, Chloë… come watch your first taste of a TV movie/series thing"

"I want Mommy" Chloë cried giving up her desperate search for Brooke.

"Me twoo"

"She'll be back later… You guys wanna help me cook?"

"Nowa" Allie whimpered grabbing hold on Lucas's leg. They had only been up 5 hours and they were already whiney and tried from playing all day.

"You wanna color with Brandon?"

"I wan Mama"

"Go gets hwer" Allie instructed handing Lucas back his car keys

"She'll be back…you wanna read?"

"Big book?"

"Yea… come on, I cant read by myself girls, come read with me" Lucas said pulling both the sleepy girls into his arms to take them upstairs.

"Okay"

Erica moved the ultra sound across Brooke's stomach while Brooke stared at the ceiling. This sucked… and the more she thought about it the more she knew she wasn't pregnant… Karen was just being weird. Brooke knew her body and the only thing wrong with her was a stopped up nose, she hoped. She wasn't ready for another baby… not ever, much less now… not when she was this close to being finished with school. And she almost had the girls potty trained, which meant no more diapers… not to mention the fact they slept through the night!

"Damn… Brooke how late did you say you were?" Erica asked. This wasn't helping. She had asked Brooke this like 12 times and she had told her every time she didn't know! It wasn't like she kept a little calendar…

"I don't know… does it matter? I don't keep track of it… it kinda varies"

"Well maybe you should keep track"

"Why?" Brooke whined sitting up to look at the screen that Karen and Erica both seemed to be so interested in.

"Because it looks like your about 20 weeks pregnant"

"What!…" Brooke shrieked pulling the screen closer.

"Yea…"

"No… See I haven't gained any wait… at all! I haven't had cravings or mood swings or Erica that's not funny"

"I'm not kidding… and that happens… you had twins last time so it was double everything… double the weight gain, double the hormones, cravings… this happens a lot to people who have multiples first, the symptoms are milder and so they don't catch them. We had one lady who came in here 7 months pregnant and didn't know it" Erica laughed… clearly enjoying this. Karen seemed to be too… at least she was smiling. Brooke wasn't… maybe she was still in shock, or maybe she was just too pissed off at her body for being such a crack whore when it came to these things… either way she wasn't happy.

"Someone just shoot me now"

"Wanna know the sex?"

"What? In the words of Allie and Chloë… Nowa, because I'm not pregnant" Brooke insisted. Somehow she thought if she ignored it, it would go away… kind of like her messy house before the maid or Karen came…

"Really? Then what's that?"

"Um… Food? That kicked my damn cat this morning which explains the spazz out… damn it! Karen this is all your fault"

"What? How?" Karen laughed. Brooke couldn't see how she was finding this at all funny. She was the one who freaked out at the slightest mention of them having another baby.

"You're the one who is always making me tell you I'm not pregnant and that I wont be! You jinxed us"

"You can pull your shirt down now… I'm going to go print this up for you"

"Brooke… smile" Karen whispered still looking at the screen. The freaky thing was that in 8 more weeks that baby would be the same age that Allie and Chloë had been when they were born. That really freaked Brooke out… so much so that she was sure she was going to throw up there for a second.

"Smile? Karen… do you know what this means? Do you know how hard I worked to get where I am in school right now? To get the girls where they are now? Karen I love my girls but I am not ready for another baby…I cant have another baby, at least not now… I don't have the time or the patience or anything for that matter! Lucas and I aren't made of money… another baby costs money and lots of it! I think we are still paying medical bills from the last 2! I don't have the energy to get another baby where the girls are now… and still be raising them. Don't get me wrong, I've loved every second I've had with those girls and I wouldn't trade it for anything"

"Brooke… You are being given something right here that a lot of woman would give anything for. Maybe you should think about that… I understand if you cant have It Brooke… if you and Lucas decide against it I wont judge you… but if you do, then make some good come out of it… ok?"