"I feel so bad for her but then again I don't" Brooke said. She was sitting on the couch with Lucas, 20 minutes after they had bid a shook up Rachel goodbye.

"I feel bad for her, but she shouldn't be having sex with random 40 year old men and then not remembering it- that's trashy" Lucas said. "Dan, of all people!"

"I know…bad luck" Brooke sighed, biting her lip anxiously. "I guess all that crap about 'your pregnancy will affect more than just you' was true…look how it's effecting me!"

"Yeah…I don't even KNOW what her parents are gonna say" Lucas said.

"She doesn't talk at all about them" Brooke said. "It worries me that I care this much"

"Well a baby is a baby, right?" Lucas asked. "It'll effect everyone she's connected with"

"Lucas you've made me so…nice" Brooke shuddered. "The old me would've laughed and spread a rumor"

"Nah, I don't think so" Lucas said. "You've always had a heart of pure gold…it just takes time to show"

"You think?"

"I know"

"My first session of marriage counseling is today" Haley whined to Brooke the next morning.

"After school, honey, not now…you're gonna be late" Brooke said, grabbing Haley's arm and yanking her out of bed.

"Wasn't it a mere few months ago I was yanking you out of bed…Lucas's bed, might I add?" Haley teased.

"Shh tutor girl…no heavy talk this early" Brooke said, patting her head like a dog.

"Brooke Davis you are a character" Haley laughed, padding to the bathroom.

Meanwhile at the Rivercourt…

"So my first session with Haley is today" Nathan said.

"Oh" Lucas nodded. "Sounds fun"

"Are you kidding man? Its gonna be hell, and she's gonna cry and we're both gonna yell and I'm NOT looking forward to it"

"Weren't you the one who suggested it, Nate?" Lucas said a little shortly.

"Yeah…if that's what it takes to reconcile our marriage, then I'll do just that" Nathan said, making a shot.

"Treat Haley right, Nathan" Lucas said. "I don't want her to come back from it damaged and heartbroken"

"Since when are you her protector?" Nathan snapped.

"Since always" Lucas snapped back.

"8:15…Ms. Davis, you're 5 minutes late" her science teacher reprimanded.

"I had a meeting with the principal" Brooke said.

"About?" he inquired.

"Our new water fountains" Brooke said, appealing to the teacher's good side. "I told him how you said they were scientifically unhealthy and I suggested they be changed"

"Wonderful!" her science teacher shrieked.

"Yeah" Brooke rolled her eyes at her classmates. They all knew their teacher was a nutcase. Brooke took a seat and opened her chemistry book.

"What exactly were you doing?" Lucas whispered to Brooke.

"I talked to him about Rachel"

"What'd he say?"

"She's…kicked out" Brooke whispered.

"What? Why?"

"Apparently, she asked him to kick her out"

"Ok, its 4:00, I'm gonna go to counseling with Nathan" Haley said. "Wish me luck"

"Good luck" Brooke said. "You look hot"

"Thanks" Haley laughed. "Bye!"

"Bye" Brooke said. Her cell phone vibrated and she grabbed it up off the floor. "Hey Lucas!"

"Hey…you busy?" Lucas asked.

"Trig"

"Ugh…I was wondering if you wanted to come over?" he asked.

"How about you come over here?"

"Ok…I'll be there in 15?"

"Yeah that works" Brooke smiled. "See you"

"Bye" Lucas hung up. He wanted to jump for joy- alone time with Brooke! Without anyone there. He quickly made sure he looked and smelled ok and then got into his car. He was reeling with excitement…for some reason; the aspect of Brooke inviting HIM seemed that she was beginning to rethink her nonexclusive dating theory.

Meanwhile…

Haley hummed to herself as she drove along slowly to the little office to which Nathan had given her directions that morning. She was worried and scared…she knew she was going to cry, and yell, and leave the session depressed and anxious- that was her personality. But if reconciliation of their marriage meant doing what Nathan wanted to do, which was go to counseling, then she would more than willingly do it.

Nathan checked his reflection in the rearview mirror, making sure he looked presentable. Somehow, everywhere Haley went, she managed to look beautiful and perfect. Everywhere he went in comparison to her, he looked like a thug. He chuckled to himself as he remembered Haley's comment. "Well…I always liked thugs" Cute comments like those made Haley so much more attractive to Nathan for some reason. He spotted Haley's silver convertible approaching the little office building. He turned his BMW into the parking spot next to hers and took a deep breath. Him, Haley, a counselor, and all their problems out in the open. It was going to be a long 3 hours.

Back at the apartment…

"Lucas…help me with Trig!" Brooke whined.

"Brooke I don't get trig anymore than you do"

"Fine, I'm done" Brooke said, shutting the Math textbook and reaching for her English textbook.

"Since when do you do all your homework?" Lucas teased.

"Since I realized that I can't depend on my parents forever and marrying an old rich man would suck ass" Brooke laughed.

"Well that was a good realization…hard work pays off" Lucas said.

"True that…I have a 4.0 GPA right now" Brooke beamed.

"Wow! That's fantastic, Brooke"

"Thanks" Brooke laughed, pulling her hair out of the bun it was thrown up into. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and spilled over to the front, making Lucas's heart jump.

"You know what's funny?" Lucas asked, leaning back against the couch.

"What?" Brooke asked, looking over into his baby blue eyes. Those eyes made her knees weak and her mouth dry up.

"You can sit here in pajamas after a long day of school and still look like you stepped off the runway"

"Aw that's so sweet!" Brooke said. "Thank you"

"No problem…and I'm not just sweet talking you, I actually do believe that" Lucas said.

"Really?"

"Really"

At the counselor's office

"Hi…my name is Marie" the woman had a sort of soft yet strict aura about her. "I would like to begin with a few words. I always tell my clients that I'm not here to get them back together, to make them fall in love again, or any of that mumbo jumbo. I am a firm believer in love as well as respect…and that's what I work on. Respect. For each other, each other's lives, hearts, and emotions. And if I could make every astray couple fall back in love again and be all happy, I would. But I can't. So I'm here to listen, learn, and advise…I like to begin with an introduction, and I want you to say one good thing about yourself and about your partner…ladies first"

"Um…hi…my name's Haley and I think I'm hardworking…and Nathan is very loyal"

"My name is Nathan, I'm a good basketball player and Haley is very…caring"

"Good, good!" the counselor said. "Now…what's the main issue? I would like the man to go first this time…and please no interruptions"

"Ok…well…me and Haley fell in love and got married pretty young and then she…left…to go on a musical tour, and what I thought, to be with Chris Keller, this other guy that she was working with"

"Ok…"

"And then she returned and wanted everything to be ok…and I just…cant forgive her" Nathan said. He glanced over at Haley, whose eyes threatened to fill up with tears any moment.

"Ok…Haley, your story"

"Well basically what he said…but whenever I was away, my heart was always with him…and he gave me an ultimatum- him, or music…and I was upset and foggy and I chose…the music" Haley sighed. "And I know it was wrong, and I regret it with every beat of my heart, but he just cant find it in him to forgive me" Haley said. Now the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly and lifted her eyes to the counselor.

"So obviously there's been some betrayal"

"Obviously" Nathan said.

"But I can see that both of you care for each other very much and that both of you are still very much in love…and its interesting. I never do this. But I sincerely believe you two are at a part of your life where you still have time to erase your mistakes…I'm going to send you two to a room and leave you alone to talk…because I don't think I can do anything- its up to you two now"

Nathan and Haley nodded and followed Marie into a well lit room with two comfortable love seats.

"Have at it" Marie said, shutting the door softly.

Meanwhile…

"Done!" Brooke announced, slamming her History book shut.

"Good" Lucas laughed. He'd been sitting there, watching her work intently and bite her lip and whisper softly to herself for a good half hour. He just couldn't get enough of her.

"Lucas stop staring at me do I have something in my teeth?" Brooke asked.

"No…I just-"

"You just what?" Brooke teased.

"You're really pretty"

"Thanks" Brooke shook her head and looked up at him. His heart jumped and his stomach got butterflies. She chuckled uncomfortably and bit her lip.

"Brooke…why are we playing these games?" Lucas asked.

"What games?"

"The beating around the bush games…Brooke…I love you"

Over at the counselor's…

"Um…so…yeah" Haley said. They both burst out laughing at Haley's feeble attempt to start a conversation. "So um do you wanna start by saying something…?"

"Haley there's nothing to say…I love you"

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Please review!