Another month had gone by and Brooke was starting to show more physical signs of being pregnant. It was also getting close to time for Nathan to report to training camp in New Jersey so for the past few weeks he had been packing up the contents of their apartment. Brooke offered to help but he always insisted he was all set and that if he wasn't Lucas would come help him. They had gone to New Jersey a few days after Nathan proposed and looked at houses all over the state they ended up settling on a house in Hackensack. It was a two-story Victorian style house with a decent sized yard which was important to them and the school system seemed to have a good reputation, also important.

"Nathan why aren't you letting me help you? I feel bad. I'm laying on the couch and you're boxing up the entire apartment. Normally I wouldn't want to do that kind of stuff but this isn't right," Brooke called from the living room.

"Sweetie it's all right. I don't want you doing anything to hurt yourself or the baby. Besides the doctor told you not to do any lifting during the moving process anyway and you agreed," Nathan replied from the kitchen.

The kitchen was the first room Nathan was tackling because he figured if he made sure they had paper plates, napkins, plastic cups, plastic flatware and garbage bags they could live off take out till the end of the week when they would be making the drive up to New Jersey to begin their life in the northeast. He was glad they found a house they both loved in a nice neighborhood with excellent schools. Nathan also liked the fact that there was a park down the road with basketball hoops. Not only so he could teach his child to play basketball but so he could workout too.

"I know I agreed but baby I'm bored!"

Nathan laughed. Of course she was bored. There was only so much time Brooke could spend lounging around doing absolutely nothing.

"Watch a movie baby. I haven't touched those yet."

"Ugh, I don't want to. We don't have anything good."

Nathan laughed again. This was not good. He couldn't let her help but he didn't want her to whine all day about her boredom if she wasn't gonna take him up on his suggestion either. Then he got an idea. He reached for his phone and called his brother.

"Hey Lucas will come take my beautiful fiancé out for a while. She's bored and I can't let her help me pack up the apartment," Nathan asked.

"All right give me a few minutes. Tell her to stop whining and I'll bring her some ice cream," Lucas replied.

"Ok thanks bro."

"You're welcome."

Nathan hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

"I heard you begging your brother to come get me out of here. Thanks Nathan I love you too!" Brooke shouted playfully.

"You're welcome baby. You know I love you. And he said to tell you if stop whining about being bored he'll bring you ice cream," Nathan yelled back.

"Oh the bribery. How will I ever handle it?"

"I'm sure you'll manage princess."

"Shut up, I told you before I'm not a princess."

"And I told you that you are because you are my princess."

"Ok I give."

"That was too easy. Is Brooke Davis getting softer with her pregnancy?"

"Nope I'm just not one for turning down a compliment from my handsome and loving fiancé."

"Oh and what if I wasn't handsome?"

"You'll always be handsome to me so you never have to worry about that."

"Good."

Brooke was about to say something else but the buzzer cut her off. Happily she got up from the couch and went to answer the door. She was expecting to see Lucas standing there holding ice cream but instead found herself standing face to face with Haley. She was stunned into silence.

"Uh…hi, Haley, this is quite a surprise," Brooke finally managed to say as she stepped back to let Haley into the apartment.

"Oh gosh, baby, I'm so sorry. I forgot to tell you that Haley asked to come by and I said I thought it would okay," Nathan called from the other room when he heard Brooke say Haley's name.

"Don't worry about it, Nathan. It's fine. I just thought it was gonna be Lucas standing there with my ice cream."

Haley was standing silently listening to Brooke and Nathan. She remembered when she talked to Nathan that way and he talked to her that way. But then again it had never been exactly like that. He hadn't loved her the way it was clear that he loved Brooke.

"Haley, I'm sorry I didn't mean to ignore you. Let's go sit down in the living room and talk," Brooke said to her friend a minute later.

"It's all right," Haley replied nervously. It had been years since she had really talked to Brooke and there was so much she wanted to tell her now.

"Ok so this isn't exactly going to be the most fun conversation we've ever had but you and I know we need to have this conversation," Brooke started as they sat on the couch in the living room.

"I know. Brooke before we dive into the seriousness, I just want you to know I'm sorry for ditching you when I should have been standing by your side. I was being selfish and only thinking about myself. I wanted to do the music thing and I got my opening at the same time you lost your mom and got into that nasty fight with Peyton. I felt like shit for leaving you then but the music was calling my name," Haley answered.

"Haley you don't know how much that fucking hurt me to see you basically say 'screw you Brooke, my music means more to me than you do and I don't care if that hurts you'. I mean that really, really hurt. I needed you, I had no one then except Lucas and that wasn't enough. I needed you because I didn't want Peyton around. She pissed me off. You always listened to me and helped me, then out of nowhere while I'm grieving the loss of my mother and losing the greatest friendship of my life, you decide to leave for your music. That sucked."

Brooke had tears in her eyes and she didn't bother wiping them away or stopping them from falling. She knew the second she saw Haley at the door that there would be tears shed once they started talking it didn't surprise her at all that she was the first one to cry.

"Brooke I feel terrible for doing that you to but I can't go back and fix it. I wish I could."

"That doesn't take away the hurt Haley! Damn it you knew how much it hurt me to have to bury my mother at 17 years old. You knew damn well that I wasn't strong enough to handle that even though I made sure to show otherwise on the outside. While most of the time I've been pissed at you for what you did four and a half years ago, there are times when I'm grateful too. Had you not done that and left me high and dry, I wouldn't have had Nathan there for me. I wouldn't have realized how much I loved him. And God knows I love him more than life itself. Now I'm sitting here, engaged to a fabulous guy and carrying his child. So as much as your actions hurt me, thank you."

Haley wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes and sat on the couch silently just looking at Brooke. She had no idea what to say now. It relieved her to know that Brooke didn't hate her although she felt that she probably deserved to have Brooke hate her and throw her out of the apartment. That's when Haley knew something had changed in Brooke. The old Brooke would have thrown Haley out without bothering to listen or not caring that they needed to talk.

"Why would you not tell me you gave up music and then went back to school, met up with Jake, married him and then had children with him? What the fuck Hales!"

"I'm sorry Brooke. I really am. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me after the way I bailed on you for my music. Fear of really losing you kept me away."

"That's crap and you know it."

"No it's not! Damn it Brooke why don't you believe me. I'm so fucking sorry I don't know how else to tell you." Haley had tears pouring down her face and she was on the verge of sobbing.

"No, Haley. You don't get to be upset. Nobody walked away from you. Nobody! You walked away from me. I trusted you, I respected you and how do you repay that trust and respect? You spit in my face when I needed you the most and bailed on me. I want to forgive you and establish friendship again but right now I just want to slap the shit out of you. So thanks for coming over, I'm glad we got that cleared up but please get out of my apartment. I can't deal with this shit anymore."

"All right. I'll be around if you decide you want to talk again at some point."

"Right. Bye Hales."

"Bye Brooke."

Haley rose from the couch and left the apartment. As soon as the door was shut, Brooke broke out into a fresh round of sobs. That was a lot more emotionally draining then she wanted to ever deal with again. It was surprising that her conversation with Peyton hadn't gotten that intense but then again Peyton didn't bail on Brooke, Brooke cut ties with Peyton. She sat on the couch curled into a ball with her arms folded over her stomach sobbing. Nathan had stopped packing when he heard the girls getting louder and more upset. He walked into the living room and the state he found Brooke in broke his heart. Part of him felt like it was his fault because he said it was ok that Haley came over. But he knew that Brooke needed to talk to Haley. They may not have had a history like the one Brooke had with Peyton but Nathan knew how much Brooke had been devastated when Haley left. He dropped down onto the couch and scooped Brooke up into his arms.

"Shh, baby it's all right. It'll all work out. Trust me," Nathan whispered as he held her tightly. They were still in that same position when the buzzer went off again. Nathan carefully untangled himself from Brooke's body and got up to answer the door. Relief washed over him when he saw Lucas standing there with ice cream and a stuffed animal.

"She's on the couch. Haley was here and they talked so that's why she's crying," Nathan whispered to Lucas as he closed the door behind his brother.

"Ok," Lucas replied as he grabbed a small stack of napkins and went into the living room.

"Hey Lucas," Brooke whispered hoarsely when she spotted him.

"Hey Brooke," Lucas replied as he sat down and wrapped her into a hug.

Brooke spotted the ice cream and smiled. It was funny how much the elder Scott boys spoiled her, even though she was only engaged to one of them.

"It'll be ok, you'll see."

Brooke nodded. Lucas handed her the ice cream which happily accepted. When she was done she spotted the stuffed animal and eyed it curiously.

"Not for you. For the baby," Lucas explained when he noticed Brooke looking at the stuffed animal he was holding. He turned it so Brooke could see that it was a puppy dressed in a basketball uniform. She giggled relentlessly when she realized Lucas had gone to Build-a-Bear for this stuffed animal.

"You went to Build-a-Bear didn't you?" she asked him.

"Yes I did," Lucas replied.

"Uncle Luke went to Build-a-Bear baby. Just for you." Brooke rubbed her hand across her stomach as she spoke to the baby.

"Aw Luke, you were in Build-a-Bear? Great you're outthinking me now," Nathan teased from the doorway.

"Oh stop it Nathan, you spoil me and this baby more than I've ever seen anyone get spoiled. One stuffed animal is not gonna kill your rep as the king spoiler," Brooke told him.

"Oh I know." He looked at Lucas and nodded his head in the direction of the door.

Lucas was slightly confused but followed Nathan anyone. The two of them stood in the hallway outside the apartment. Nathan had a massive surprise for Brooke but he didn't want her to overhear him telling Lucas about the surprise.

"Nate what's up man?" Lucas asked.

"I found the perfect crib, changing table and dressers for the baby's room. Brooke wants to design the theme of the room herself which is fine. But the furniture I found is white so it can be painted any color to match whatever theme she goes with. I'm gonna need your help moving it into the room we designated for the baby though," Nathan replied.

"Sure bro. When are you going up there to do that?"

"Tomorrow. Is that ok?"

"Ya that's fine. But does Brooke know you're going up to Jersey tomorrow?"

"Of course I told her I was gonna pack up the kitchen and her office today and then take everything up to Jersey tomorrow. She's coming too but I figure I can keep her occupied with setting up her office in the house after I put her desk and book cases together while we take care of the furniture in the baby's room."

"And you're sure you can pull this off?"

"Lucas, you underestimate me."

"Sorry bro. Ok so tomorrow we're going up to Jersey and then when do you have to be entirely out of the apartment by?"

"End of the week. I figured since today's Tuesday we could be out by Friday and that will give me the entire weekend to get everything that's too heavy for Brooke to lift out of their boxes and where they belong and she can do some small stuff."

"Sounds good. You know I could go up for the day on Sunday if you need extra help."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The two walked back into the apartment and the quietness that had fallen over the apartment baffled them both. Nathan walked into the living room to find Brooke sound asleep on the couch holding the stuffed dog Lucas had brought over for the baby. He lifted her off the couch carefully and carried her into the bedroom, gently placing her on the bed and covering her up with the blanket. He kissed the top of her head and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind him.

"She's sound asleep. Being pregnant and arguing with people takes a lot out of her," Nathan told Lucas.

"I'm sure it does. How bad was her argument with Hales?" Lucas asked.

"It was pretty nasty. They both screamed at each other. She swore at Haley a few times and then it ended with Brooke calmly kicking Haley out. It was the weirdest argument I've ever heard either one of them have. Then to go into the living room to find Brooke on the couch bawling after Haley left was heart breaking. I felt bad because Haley called and asked me if she could come talk to Brooke and I told her it was ok without asking Brooke first."

"Nathan, you and I know that Brooke won't be mad at you for the screaming that went on between her and Haley. She needed to talk to Haley and I'm sure she needed to scream too. I remember how much the pain of Haley just leaving was written all over Brooke's face even though she tried to hide it."

"Luke it was terrible. Never in my life could I have imagined something like the shouting match I heard today happening. I know Brooke gets into when she really gets going but I was mildly horrified. Despite that I knew Haley deserved it all and I'm sure Haley knew it too. She screwed up and she got what she deserved. An earful from the one she pissed off and crushed."

Lucas would always have a certain devotion to Haley but in this instance, he knew Nathan was right. She had been a bitch to leave when she did. Brooke's mother had just died and her friendship with Peyton had crumbled and Haley decided that there was no better time to leave to pursue her dream of a successful music career. If Lucas had been in Brooke's shoes he didn't think he would be able to talk to her, never mind see her in his apartment unexpectedly. It broke his heart to think his best friend growing up who was a sweet person who always put others first had grown to be a self-centered bitch who only thought about what she wanted and what was best for her life. That was not the Haley James he knew and loved. That was a side of Haley he never cared to see or hear about again.

"Hey man while you're still here you wanna help me finish the kitchen so I can get started on Brooke's office before it gets real late and I don't wanna do anything else?" Nathan asked breaking the silence.

"Sure no problem. Let's go," Lucas replied.

Between the two of them it took two hours to finish up in the kitchen with taking dishes out of the cabinets and the dishwasher and packing them in boxes and wiping down the flat surfaces and throwing away whatever food they wouldn't be eating in the next few days. After that was taken care of the two of them moved onto Brooke's office. That took them about six hours to do because there were so many files that needed to boxed and then labeled along with all the picture frames she had put around the room that needed to be wrapped and then packed. The last thing they touched in the office was Brooke's laptop. Nathan didn't dare pack that yet, instead he put it in her bag and left it in the living room so she could still write before they moved.

"Wow this room looks so empty," Brooke said as she stood in the doorway a few minutes later making Nathan and Lucas both jump.

"Baby, I thought you were sleeping," Nathan said when he turned around.

"I was but now I'm awake. Thank you for doing this for me baby. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"I can't wait to begin our life together in New Jersey and then I'll be waiting in excited anticipation for our baby to join us in our life."

"It's gonna be great and you, my love, will be the best mother the baby could dream of." Nathan kissed her sweetly as she smiled at his words. He never failed to shower her with compliments.

Lucas told Nathan he was gonna head out and get something for them for dinner and then he'd be back. Nathan nodded at his brother and then turned his attention back to his fiancé. Smiling mischievously he took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom closing the door behind them. He led her to the bed and they laid there kissing for a while before Nathan began undressing Brooke. He felt the desire to make love to her increasing as each piece of clothing hit the floor exposing more skin.

"Nathan," she breathed.

"Brooke I love you and I need you right now," he replied as he pulled shirt over his head before lying her back down on the bed. He undid his pants and let them fall to the floor. Slowly he walked over to where Brooke was now sitting with her elbows holding her up on the bed, her entire body fully exposed. Nathan grew more excited as his eyes moved down the length of her body. She grinned at him as she pulled his boxers down. He stepped out of them and pushed Brooke back so she was flat on the bed. He slid himself inside her and moved slowly loving every second of their current escapade.

They were still going at it when Lucas came back with the food. Lucas was about to open the bedroom door but stopped when he heard Brooke moaning. He quickly turned around and went into the living room and turned on the tv while he waited for them.

"Crap Lucas how long have you been back?" Brooke asked when she walked into the living room wearing Nathan's boxers and a tank top.

"Long enough to know how you two occupied yourselves while I was gone," Lucas replied with a laugh.

"Shit bro. Please tell me you didn't hear anything," Nathan said when he joined them wearing only basketball shorts.

"Not a thing."

Brooke looked at Lucas and she knew he was lying. Something told her that it wasn't Nathan that he heard but it was her. She knew she was loud but was she really that loud?

"You heard us didn't you?" Nathan asked him.

"Not you," Lucas replied.

Yup, Brooke was right. Lucas had only heard her moaning. Oh well. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last either. They all decided to drop the subject and go eat dinner. Lucas had gone to Taco Bell and brought back a bunch of tacos. Surprisingly Brooke happily dug in. The boys watched her and laughed.

"What? The baby's hungry," she said trying to defend herself.

"Nothing sweetie. You're just too cute, that's all," Nathan said as he kissed some taco meat off her lip.