It had been a week since Brooke had called Lucas to tell him that he was gonna be an uncle and she was still pissed at him for the way he acted. Nathan still wasn't happy with him either but being his brother he was at least talking to Lucas. Convincing Brooke to do the same was about as easy as getting Dan off his back for Nathan.

"Sweetie, I know you're still pissed at Lucas but don't you think you should talk to him and tell him how you feel?" Nathan asked hoping she wouldn't scream or throw anything at him.

"No. He doesn't deserve it. Besides if you want him to know why don't you tell him for me? I'm ok with not talking to him," Brooke answered evenly.

Nathan shook his head. Pregnancy had made Brooke more stubborn than anything else. He knew someday she would decide to call Lucas but he thought it was time to do that now. Apparently Brooke had a different idea. Maybe Nathan was treading dangerous waters but he hated to see Brooke so miserable and he knew how sorry Lucas was. To have them not speaking was hell on Nathan but he knew better than to bring that up to Brooke.

"Nathan I'm sick of talking about Lucas. He was an asshole and I don't feel like dealing with him," Brooke announced suddenly.

"Ok I'm sorry. We can talk about something else. Like what you would like for dinner," Nathan replied.

"Pizza. With black olives, bacon, mushrooms, green peppers and no sauce! I can't take the tomato sauce. Please make sure those morons at the pizza place don't put any sauce on my pizza."

"Ok but you're not gonna be sick if I get a pizza with sauce on it for me are you?"

"No baby. I have no intention of sharing mine with you anyway."

Nathan laughed. He knew that was true. Anytime Brooke wanted pizza lately she refused to eat it with sauce and Nathan had to order himself a separate pie with sauce and cheese only in order to keep himself from being sick as Brooke devoured her pizza that never had the same toppings on it two times in a row. Her latest combination of toppings was a bit more normal than her usual request for pepperonis, pickles, anchovies and Nathan couldn't bear to remember what else. All he could remember was that it almost made him physically sick to order it. But of course he did because he wanted Brooke to have whatever she was craving.

"The things I do because I love you," Nathan laughed as he called to place the order for their dinner that night.

"Oh and baby, will you please get a 2-liter of caffeine free diet Coke?"

"Sure thing."

"Thank you."

Brooke kissed him softly and left the room. She had been working on ideas for themes to use in the baby's room. So far she had a pink and purple color scheme if the baby was a girl and Nets' colors if the baby was a boy. But there were other possibilities Brooke wanted to consider that she had yet to sketch out. Names were something she and Nathan had agreed to do together but like most girls, Brooke had a list of names she liked and wanted to use. As she sat on the bed surrounded by her ideas, Brooke's thoughts wandered to a time when she would have been able to sit and do this kind of thing with Peyton and Haley. The more she thought about the two of them, the more she wished that they could be there and share in this experience. A single tear fell from her eye as she realized that wasn't gonna happen. Brooke reached up and wiped the tear away forcing herself to focus on the task in front of her: designing a room for her yet to be born child. Her child with Nathan, a man whom she loved more than life itself. Having Nathan as the father of her baby couldn't thrill Brooke more than anything she had experienced yet in her young life. He meant everything to Brooke and now they would always be connected through this child. Brooke smiled to herself as she began a sketch for another idea for a girl's room: Pink clouds with yellow musical notes across the walls. Instinctively as she continued to sketch, Brooke placed her other hand on her stomach.

"Baby! The pizza will be here in about a half hour," Nathan called from the kitchen.

"Ok. Did you remember to ask for the Pepsi?" Brooke replied.

"No, I'm sorry. I forgot. Tell you what? I'll run out and get one while we wait for the pizza to come."

"Thank you baby."

"You're welcome. Would you like me to get anything else while I'm at the store?"

"Mac & cheese and some Double Stuffed Oreos."

"Ok I'll be back in a bit baby. I love you."

"I love you too. Please be careful."

Nathan smiled at the concern in Brooke's tone. Instead of just leaving he walked down to the bedroom first.

"I promise to be careful baby. I wouldn't want to leave you and our baby," Nathan said as he leaned down to kiss her lips. "What are you working on?"

"Design ideas for the baby's room."

"Sounds great. Show me when I come back?"

"Okay. Now go before the pizza gets here."

"I'm leaving. I love you sweetie. Don't worry about me."

"I love you too sexy."

Nathan laughed as he kissed Brooke one more time before turning to leave for the store. Love never felt so good. Even if there was an unexpected pregnancy in the mix now. He didn't care, Nathan knew Brooke was the only woman in the world who he wanted to have children with.

As soon as Brooke heard the door close she grabbed the phone. She had been intending to call Lucas since the day he upset her but Nathan's constant hounding made her put it off longer and she couldn't explain why. It rang three times and went to voicemail. Brooke sighed. She hadn't wanted to leave an apology on his voicemail.

"Hey it's Brooke, call me when you get this," she said before hanging up.

She put the phone down and picked up her pencil and continued with the sketch. Smiling, she looked at her progress so far and it pleased her immensely. There was nothing Brooke loved more than designing and writing. It was an amazing feeling for her to design the bedroom where her child would soon be sleeping. Then it occurred to Brooke. They didn't have another bedroom in their apartment. What was technically called a bedroom was her office where she did her freelance writing so needless to say it wasn't a room they could give up. Brooke would have to talk to Nathan about finding a bigger apartment or maybe even a house before the baby was born. Her thoughts had her so entranced that Brooke didn't hear the door open again so she jumped when she looked up and saw Nathan standing against the door frame holding a glass of what she hoped was diet caffeine free Pepsi.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Nathan asked with a smirk.

"Us and the baby," Brooke replied accepting the drink and taking a sip.

"What about us and the baby?" Nathan was intrigued.

"We don't have enough room to stay in this apartment. I can't convert my office into a bedroom. And I want my baby to grow up in a house. Not an apartment."

"Don't worry about that baby. I've got it covered. I already made some calls about finding a place up north in Jersey or maybe New York City."

Brooke's eyes lit up. She should have known Nathan would think of that on his own. He was a smart guy and knew that it would be tight in the apartment with a baby. She loved him so much that sometimes she had no idea how to tell him. In that moment she leaned up and kissed him. They were interrupted by the buzzer signaling someone was at the door.

"Pizza's here," Nathan laughed as he got up to answer the door.

"Great I'm starving," Brooke said. She put her hand on her stomach and thought about the fact that the baby was hungry too.

"Here's your pizza darling," Nathan said sweetly as he handed Brooke a plate with two slices of pizza displaying her cravings.

"Finally they didn't put any sauce!" Brooke squealed happily as she tore into the first piece.

Nathan laughed to himself as he watched Brooke eat. This was another time that he found her to be extremely cute. He ate his own pizza as he watched her devour hers in record time, even for her. Sweetly Brooke held her plate out to Nathan hoping he would understand that she wanted more. Nathan smiled as he rose to his feet to get her two more pieces of her pizza.

"Here you go," he said kissing her nose.

"Thank you baby," she replied.

After six pieces Brooke was thoroughly disgusted by the combination of food on the pizza and didn't want to look at it again. Nathan rolled his eyes as he cleaned up in the kitchen and got Brooke another glass of her Pepsi and a glass of cranberry grape juice for himself. Not drinking alcohol had been working pretty well for Nathan so far and it made him happy. He didn't want to be a drunken father that his child grew up to hate because of his actions. He refused to be like Dan was and push his child to be a basketball prodigy. The phone rang breaking into Nathan's thoughts.

"Brooke can you get that!" he called from the kitchen.

Brooke grabbed the phone and smiled when she saw it was Lucas.

"Hey Luke," she said.

"Hey I got your message. What's up?" he replied.

"I wanted to talk to you about last week. It hurt to hear you being unenthusiastic about my pregnancy and even though I know you didn't mean it I just thought you should know."

"Brooke I'm sorry I was an asshole about it. But you should know I'm excited about this. You'll be a fantastic mother and your child is gonna be spoiled to death by Uncle Lucas. Count on it."

"Who's on the phone sweetie?" Nathan asked as he walked back into the bedroom.

'Luke' Brooke mouthed as she listened to him tell her how happy he was for her and Nathan. It made Brooke smile to know that his initial reaction wasn't how he truly felt about the baby. When they were finished talking Brooke hung up and cried again. Only this time she was crying happy tears.

"What did he do now?" Nathan asked feeling his anger rise at the sight of Brooke's tears.

"No baby, he didn't do anything wrong. He's excited to be an uncle and happy for us," Brooke replied.

"Good I don't have to kill him then."

Brooke laughed as she shook her head. Sometimes Nathan could be overbearing in his protectiveness but she knew he meant well and was doing it out of love and nothing else. Especially not obligation. Nothing Nathan did for Brooke was ever out of obligation and they both knew it.

"No baby you don't have to kill your brother. But I do still want to tell Karen," Brooke said still laughing.

"All right why don't we drive down to Tree Hill for the night? I'm sure we can stay with Karen or maybe Lucas will let us stay with him," Nathan replied. He knew his brother wasn't a fan of drop in visits but always made an exception when it was Nathan, Brooke, and/or Karen and Jason. His four favorite people.

"But Lucas hates when we just drop in on him."

"No he doesn't. Come on, it'll be fun. Let's go."

"Nathan it's 7:40 at night, by the time we get down to Tree Hill it'll be 11:30 or later. I don't know about you but I don't wanna wake Jason up and be stuck entertaining him to he tires himself out again. Let's call Karen and go down to Tree Hill in the morning. We can spend the day with Lucas if he's around."

Nathan nodded. He knew Brooke was right. It was late to be making the drive from their apartment in Danville, Virginia down to Tree Hill, North Carolina.

"Karen it's Brooke. I have something to tell you," Brooke said when Karen answered the phone.

"What's up sweetie? Are you and Nathan all right?" Karen asked nervously.

"We're fine. In fact, I was calling to tell you some good news about Nathan and I."

"What is it?"

"We're going to have a baby."

"Oh Brooke that's fantastic! Congratulations sweetheart." Karen was thrilled. She loved Brooke as if she was her own child. Brooke and Nathan were wonderful young adults and Karen had no doubts that they would provide a loving home for their child.

"Thank you Karen. It means a lot to Nathan and I that you're excited about this along with us."

"Who wasn't excited?"

Brooke didn't say anything. She wasn't really in the mood to think about Lucas' initial reaction.

"What did Lucas do? It was Lucas wasn't it?" Karen asked when Brooke didn't answer her question.

"Yes it was Lucas. But we talked today and it's resolved. He is excited. The initial shock kept him from seeming like he was excited. Everything's fine. He can't wait to spoil his niece or nephew."

"Good. That sounds more like my son."

Brooke laughed. That couldn't be further from the truth. Lucas was known for spoiling his family. He even spoiled Brooke when they weren't dated and she wasn't carrying his niece or nephew. That was just the kind of guy Lucas Scott was and it was part of the charm about him that Brooke loved so much.

"How's Jason?"

"He's more active than usual lately. Lucas has been taking him out to play at the park almost everyday while I'm at the café and checking on the auto shop. I couldn't bear to close it down after Jason was born. I'm thinking of keeping it running and then passing it on to him when he's older. I think Keith would want his son to run things."

"Oh Karen, it must be so hard on you to be there. But that's an amazing idea. I hope Jason appreciates the fact that his father built that shop from the ground up with his own money. I always thought it was amazing as a kid that Keith managed to achieve such a level of respectability with that body shop."

"Jason can't wait til he's old enough to work at the body shop. Lucas takes him there sometimes to have the guys show him how it runs. He's even looked at some of the cars with Lucas. My heart just swells with pride when Jason comes home excited about something he saw one of the guys do at the shop or when one of the guys lets him help with something on one of the cars."

Brooke was amazed. Jason was an amazing kid and he had one hell of an amazing older brother in Lucas. She only hoped that if she had multiple kids that they loved each other as much as Lucas loved Jason or Nathan and Lucas loved each other.

"All right well it's getting late and I'm sure you have to get up early to be at the café in the morning."

"Well it is getting late but I don't have to be at the café in the morning. It's Deb's morning to open."

"Enjoy the rest of your night. Give Jason a kiss for me."

"I will sweetie. Take care."

"All right you too. Bye Karen."

"Bye Brooke."

Brooke hung up and sighed happily. That conversation went much better than the initial conversations she had with Lucas about her pregnancy and she couldn't be more grateful. Nathan walked in and was glad to see a smile on Brooke's face.

"I take it your conversation went well," Nathan said.

"It did. She offers her congratulations Daddy," Brooke said with a smirk.

"Well Mommy what do you say we call it a night?"

"You're tired already?"

"Well my lovely girlfriend keeps me busy with all her needs and wants."

"Shut up, you love me."

"I do love you. God help me."

Brooke gasped and feigned a crushed pout. Nathan smiled as he grabbed her into his arms and kissed her firmly on the mouth.

"You're gonna need help if you don't be nice me."

"Baby I'm always nice to you. You are my world, you know that I'm alive because your love keeps me going."

"Nathan you're gonna make me sick."

It was Nathan's turn to pretend like he was hurt. Brooke giggled at him and kissed him sweetly. She knew how to make Nathan tick. It was fun. Sometimes she took it further than she needed to because the make up afterward was always great. Brooke thought that might have been how their child was created. During a night of make up sex. That thought alone made Brooke laugh.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Do you realize our child was probably conceived during a night of "make up" sex?" Brooke asked hm.

"I do indeed. Our baby will have quite the story to tell when it gets older."

Brooke laughed and then tried to fight off a yawn. Maybe Nathan's thought to call it a night was a good one.

"Is Mommy ready for bed now?" Nathan teased.

"Yes. Baby's ready too. Come on Daddy. If we go to bed now we will be plenty rested for a full day of fun in Tree Hill tomorrow," Brooke shot back.

Nathan nodded in agreement. It was settled then, tomorrow they would go to Tree Hill for the day to see Lucas, Karen and Jason. And it didn't matter if they saw anyone else as long as they made sure to avoid one person in particular—Dan. Nathan so did not want to deal with that snake and he had no intention of telling him that Brooke was pregnant either and he was pretty sure Brooke would be just fine with that. No more than ten minutes later, Nathan and Brooke were ready for bed and the lights were out in their Danville apartment and it was only 9:06 PM.

"Good night baby," Nathan whispered to Brooke as he wrapped an arm protectively around her waist.

"Good night," Brooke replied barely audible.

Nathan smiled as he kissed the back of Brooke's head and closed his eyes drifting off to a peaceful night sleep with his arms around the woman he loved. The perfect way to sleep if there ever was one in Nathan's opinion.