A/N: I am such an idiot. I thought that I had posted this chapter a long time ago and I didn't, so here it is now. Thanks to all who've been so great with their reviews. Hope you enjoy this update.

Chapter Seven

"So where's Saylor now?"

Brooke fell into the couch and turned on the TV at the same time, cradling the phone against her ear as she sighed.

"She's napping."

"Every bone in my body wants to kill my brother right now. Is that wrong?"

"I'd almost be with you, but you and I being in jail… probably not such a good idea if we want to keep the kids happy."

Nathan semi-laughed.

"That's true. Listen, I was thinking..."

"That's never a good thing." Brooke idly flipped through the channels while Nathan talked.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. I was thinking, and I thought that maybe talking to someone about all of this, maybe getting some advice, would be a good idea."

"Duh Nate. Why do you think I call you?"

"I thought you called me cause you love hearing my voice." Nathan joked.

"Sadly no, I call you because you're cheaper than a shrink."

"Ouch." Nathan feigned hurt but laughed, "Well, just as cheap as me, but far better at giving advice… my mom."

"You want me to call your mom?"

"Yes."

"Lucas probably doesn't want her to know Nathan. At least not yet. I can't do that."

"When Lucas abandoned his family to be gay in St. Louis he forfeited all ability to dictate who knows and who doesn't. Bottom line, my mom loves you. She would want to help you right now."

"I can't Nathan." Brooke insisted, "I can't go to your mom with this. It just feels wrong and besides, what's she gonna know about losing your husband to men?"

"Nothing because when she and my dad divorced it definitely wasn't because he was gay, but still, she's all knowing. She'll know how to help."

"I love your mom Nate, but no." Brooke wasn't budging on this issue. It wasn't her place to tell a mother her son was gay. If this kind of thing was happening to one of her own children, then she'd want that child to tell her, not the soon to be ex wife of her child. It just wasn't right for her to be the one to break it to Karen.

"I figured you were going to say no." Nathan sighed into his end of the phone, "Which is why I've already called her."

"What? Nathan!"

"She doesn't know about Lucas yet. I just told her you were going through some rough times and you could use some motherly advice. She should be…"

The doorbell at Brooke's house rang and Brooke's eyes went wide.

"Right on time."

She could hear Nathan's grin on the other end of the telephone and she wished she were there, to slap it right off of him.

"You're dead Nathan Scott. I'll call you later."

She hung up on him and hurried to the front door before the bell could be chimed again. If she had any luck at all, Saylor will have slept through the first one.

"Karen!" Brooke smiled widely as she threw the door open to her mother in law, "You didn't have to come."

"When Nathan told me that you and Lucas were having problems I knew I had to come. Sweetheart, what's going on? You two were so happy last time I saw you."

"I know…" Brooke ushered Karen into the house and closed the door behind her.

With a guest present, the house's state of dishevelment was bathed in a whole new light. She could just imagine what Karen was seeing. It was a mess. Kids things were strewn everywhere. Toys all over the floor. She herself had changed back into her pajama's when she came home with Saylor and now, she was sure she looked as if she'd only just rolled out of bed.

"Nathan made it sound serious. First, just tell me, is everyone ok?"

Brooke made a motion of picking a few things up and throwing them into one large pile instead of several small ones while she attempted to speak.

"We're all fine. Just a rough patch really. I mean… this isn't really something I should tell you honestly. You should be talking to Lucas."

Karen grabbed Brooke's hands so that she couldn't continue to clean up and she led her to sit down on the couch.

"Brooke, just tell me what's going on. Your well being is just as important to me as my sons and right now, I think you need me more."

The honesty and caring she saw in Karen's eyes burned deep into Brooke's heart. She tried to hold back but it all hit her at once. The immensity of everything. Lucas's confession. His departure. Vaughn's anger. Laney's withdrawal. Tavian's confusion and Saylor's feelings of abandonment. She broke down into tears and immediately found herself being cradled in Karen's arms.

"He's gay." She cried steadily, "Lucas says he's gay and he left. He moved to St. Louis. Didn't even tell us except for a couple of notes for the kids and now it's all messed up. We're getting a divorce. Vaughn is angry. Laney won't talk about it. Tavian is so confused. He doesn't really know what's going on except that his dad is gone and may not come back. Saylor refused to go to pre-school this morning because she said that Friday, daddy dropped her off and never came back and if I take her and drop her off, what if I don't come back? I don't know what to do or how to talk to them. I don't even know how to deal with this myself and I'm rambling, I'm sorry. You just found out your oldest son is gay and I can't shut up… Karen?"

Her mother in law was staring at her as if she had just grown an extra eye in her forehead.

"I'm sorry he hurt you." Were the first words from Karen's mouth, "I am so sorry."

"Oh no… don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Brooke wiped away her tears and frowned, "Are you ok? I… I told Nathan that I thought Lucas should be the one to tell you but he called you and told you to come over here without me knowing."

"I'm glad you were the one. I… I'm just a little shocked I guess. I'm sorry Brooke. I'm supposed to be helping you and here I am sitting here like an idiot with my mouth hanging open."

"No, no. It's understandable. You're doing better than I did when I found out. I just got angry."

"It's just… it's one thing if he's gay. Fine. It's a life choice or… destiny or whatever theory the world is going with today, but I did not raise my son to abandon his family."

"In his defense, he went to St. Louis for a job." Brooke sighed, "He's opening a new practice for his firm there."

"Don't defend him. You don't need to. Job or no job, he left without a word, that's abandonment in my book." Karen said it as if it were final so Brooke let it be, "I can't imagine how you're staying as sane as you are."

Brooke kind of laughed.

"Sane? Didn't you just witness my breakdown?"

Karen smiled.

"I'm guessing that's really the first time you've cried."

"First time in the presence of another human being."

"Mommy?" Saylor entered the living room from the hallway rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hey baby…" Brooke held out her arms, "Come here. Come see Grandma Karen."

Saylor walked over to her mother and allowed herself to be pulled into her lap, laying her head onto Brooke's shoulder and sticking her thumb into her mouth.

"Hi Grandma." She mumbled around her finger in her mouth.

"Hi." Karen grinned and reached over to rub her granddaughter's back, "You have a good nap?"

Saylor nodded but said nothing more.

There was a peaceful silence surrounding the three of them. Brooke felt better having let some of her emotions free and Karen was still processing it all. Words weren't needed so they just sat there for awhile.

"Is it lunch time?" Saylor finally asked, minutes later.

Brooke looked at the clock. 12:30.

"I suppose it is. What would you like?"

"I can make us all sandwiches. You two just sit back and relax." Karen volunteered.

Brooke and Saylor looked at each other wide eyed.

"We like when Grandma cooks don't we?" Brooke asked Saylor who nodded vigorously.

"She makes yummy stuff."

"Wanna go watch?"

"Yeah!"

All three of them headed into the kitchen where Brooke and Saylor sat down at the table while Karen fished through the refrigerator. All the makings of great sandwiches were there and she pulled them all out, setting them on the counter.

"Who knew so much stuff went into a sandwich." Brooke hugged Saylor tight to her chest and laughed, "Ours are bread, mayonnaise, and meat."

Karen just laughed.

"There is so much more to it than that. I should know. The café's taught me well."

"That it has. How is the café anyway? You and Deb still running it together?"

Deb was Nathan and Lucas's step-mother. The woman who had married their father when their parents had gotten divorced.

"Yeah. She's running it today so that I could come see you. We're doing great. Business has never been better. I could use less of running into D-A-N but I guess if Deb loves him…"

"What's D-A-N?" Saylor asked.

Brooke smiled. It was nice to still be able to spell things that you didn't want her to know about because she was still so young.

"It's a type of dog honey." Brooke stroked the little girls hair, smiling and winking at Karen who laughed.

"Speaking of dogs, Andy brought home a stray about a month ago. Very cute little thing, some sort of terrier. Probably part Yorkshire. Anyway, turns out, she was pregnant, so she had puppies last week and I thought that maybe… if you'd like to bring the kids over to see them, you all might like one when they're old enough."

"I want a puppy!" Saylor exclaimed happily, "Please mommy!"

"Probably should have spelled that out instead of just speaking." Karen cringed as she looked up from assembling sandwiches, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Brooke laughed, "A puppy might be nice. Small dog you said?"

"Yeah. You've seen Yorkshire Terriers right?"

"I think so." Brooke shrugged.
"Well, she's definitely part that. I mean, she fits in my hand, she's actually that tiny and the puppies aren't very big, but we don't know for sure what kind of dog they are. Mixed I'm sure since she was a stray."

"I will try to bring the kids over to see the puppies and then we'll decide."

"Good." Karen grinned, "Saylor, do you like tomatoes?"

"Yuck."

"I second that yuck." Brooke spoke up.

"Are you serious?" Karen frowned at Brooke, "When you were pregnant with Tavian, tomatoes were pretty much the only thing you would eat!"

"Yeah… which is probably why I can't stand them now. He loves them though. Only six year old I know who does."

Karen sighed.

"Ok, two with no tomatoes. Lettuce children?"

Brooke laughed.

"Saylor no. Me yes."

"Ok. I'm assuming you like everything else. Cheese, turkey, bread…"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Brooke nodded her head in agreement to all.

"Alright. Lunch is served girls." Karen brought over three plates to the table and set them out accordingly.

Saylor moved into her own chair and began to dig into her sandwich. Brooke took a bite of hers then stopped, waiting instead for Karen who was finding clean glasses and pouring the three of them Kool-Aid from the refrigerator.

"Meal complete." Karen finally took a seat after adding a straw to Saylor's cup and the three of them ate together.

"So what is actually in this sandwich?" Brooke asked when she was almost finished, "Because it's awesome and I need to know how to recreate it."

"Turkey, lettuce, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, and tomato… on mine only."

"Who would have thought to put cream cheese in a sandwich…" Brooke pondered for a moment then took another bite with a grin, "It's delicious."

"It's a favorite at the café."

"Can I have more Kool-Aid please?" Saylor asked, mouth half full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, but yes." Brooke stood and took Saylor's cup with her to the refrigerator, pouring half a glass more of juice.

"Thank you."

"So what else is on the agenda for today?" Karen asked, "I'm assuming my other grandchildren get out of school at some point?"

"Laney and Vaughn get out at 2:15 but Vaughn has dance rehearsal until 5. Tavian gets out at 3:15. Laney has piano lessons at 3:30 and then Tavian gets dropped off for soccer at 4:00. Pick Laney up at 4:30, Vaughn up at 5 and then Tavian at 6 when we will return home for dinner and then homework. Tavian usually finishes homework around 7:30 so he's allowed to watch TV until 8. Then he goes to bed as does Ms. Saylor here. Laney and Vaughn are allowed to be up until 10, so IF they finish their homework, it's their choice what they do until 10. Sometimes we stray from that beaten path, but for the most part… that's a normal day."

"Sounds very… structured. How about today we pick all the kids up by 6 and then take them out for dinner and dessert so that I can spend some time with them?"

"That sounds great but they've been eating out all weekend. I can just fix everyone dinner here."

"Better yet, we'll drive to my house and the kids can play with the puppies while I cook dinner and you can relax."

"Really, that's not necessary." Brooke objected, "You're more than welcome to stay for dinner here. I was gonna cook Tacos. And they can see the puppies this weekend when I promise I will bring them over."

"Brooke…"

Brooke sighed when she heard the tone in Karen's voice.

"I know, I know. You're gonna win this one no matter how much I object so I'll just ask, what are our plans for dinner?"

Karen smiled.

"I'll go with my first idea. We'll all go out. That way I get to spend time with you all tonight and this weekend when you bring them over."

"Yay!" Saylor rejoiced.

Brooke had to laugh.

"Alright, sounds perfect."

"I'm gonna go play. Is that ok mommy?"

Brooke nodded and Saylor took off to her bedroom leaving the two older women alone once again.

"Never ceases to amaze me how manipulatable I am." Brooke sighed, "I just mold to whatever everyone else is doing or planning."

"You were always my favorite daughter, biological or in-law."

"I'm your only daughter, biological or in-law."

"Yes well…" Karen laughed, "Just because you and my son are getting a divorce, doesn't mean that's going to change. You are forever part of this family now, understand?"

"Thank you Karen. For everything. Coming in here and letting me vent. Taking everything in stride the way you did. You're amazing and I look up to you so much."

"Thank Nathan. He told me I needed to come."