Lucas was sound asleep when his phone rang. He turned over and answered it half asleep.

"Hello," he said.

"It's Haley," he heard her say.

"What's up?" Lucas had a feeling he knew why she was calling him.

"We need to tell Brooke and Nathan that you and I have a kid together. I can't imagine it's gonna go over well but it'll only get worse if we keep waiting."

"Wait, wait. I thought you said that Bella was Chris'?"

"I thought so too."

"What happened? How did you find out that she's not his daughter?"

"DNA testing proved it."

"Are you sure she's my daughter?"

"Luke! You're the only one I slept with aside from Chris and obviously Jake."

"Oh I can't wait to tell my brother this one. He's gonna flip out."

"Why? It's not like we cheated on anyone."

"We can't tell them yet. Brooke's under enough stress and I don't want to add to it. It's not good for her or the baby."

"Lucas."

"What Hales? They didn't know about Bella for the last 6 years, another 6 or 7 months isn't gonna make it any worse."

"Fine."

"Did you tell Jake she's mine?"

"Ya. He's kinda pissed but I think it'll be ok."

"Man, how did everything get so messed up? First with the truth about our contact coming to light and now the fact that Bella's not Chris' daughter because she's actually mine."

"I know I know."

Lucas was silent for a minute. He had no idea how he was going to handle this latest development. He had always treated Bella like his own daughter but it was all gonna be different now because she really is his daughter.

"Luke?"

"What Hales?"

"Sorry. You got quiet. I just wanted to make sure you were still there."

"I'm still here. I just needed to gather my thoughts. Oh shit! What about my mom? She's gonna freak out."

"Oh my god. I didn't even think about Karen. Lucas I'm so sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way but DNA tests don't lie."

"I know. What made you get one done now?"

"Chris wanted it. Something about the fact that she looks like nothing like him."

"So what's gonna happen now? Is she gonna move in with you and Jake and the kids?"

"I think so. But you have some say in it too since she's also your daughter."

"Hales you know I love Bella but there's no way I could have her living with me permanently. She'd be spending most of her time with you and Jake in Jersey anyway."

"I understand. We can work something out I'm sure."

"Absolutely. I want to have a part in her life just like I always have before."

"You will Luke. I'm not gonna suddenly keep her away from you. In fact the only person I'm gonna keep away from her now is Chris."

"Ok good. Well I need to get back to sleep."

"Oh my god Luke I'm so sorry. I forgot that it's only 5:00 AM out there. Talk to you later buddy."

"Bye Hales."

Lucas closed his phone and landed on his pillow falling back to sleep immediately.

Brooke and Nathan were up and having breakfast before Nathan left for his morning workout at the team's practice facilities. After his practice they were going out to look for wedding invitations and then go back to the house and finalize the guest list along with where and when they wanted to have the wedding.

"Baby if Jake shows up be nice to him. He didn't do anything wrong," Brooke said.

"I will don't worry. I'm not mad at Jaglieski. All right I'll be back later and we can let the wedding prep begin," Nathan replied as he stood up to put his bowl in the dishwasher. He kissed Brooke on the cheek before he left.

Jake woke up to his sons' screaming from their bedroom. He noticed that Haley wasn't in the bed next to him and decided to join her in the boys' room. When he walked into the room he found her rocking them both neither of them seemed to be intending to let up on their screaming.

"Here let me take of one them," Jake said as he reached his hands out. Haley nodded gratefully and handed Colin to him.

"Lucas, shh. It's ok. Go back to sleep baby," Haley whispered to the child.

Jake was walking around with Colin bouncing him up and down a little. Nothing seemed to be working for either of them. They were still in the room with Colin and Lucas when the phone started ringing. Jake thought it might be for him so he left the room still holding Colin to go answer the phone. He looked down at the caller id and saw that it was Nathan.

"Hey Nate. What's up?" Jake said hoping Colin wasn't screaming into the phone.

"Not much man. What are you doing?" Nathan replied.

"Trying to get my son to stop screaming so I can get ready for practice. I'm really looking forward to this. I'm psyched to be playing on a team with you again."

"You and me both. Hopefully the girls can work out their differences."

"I know what you mean and if I know Brooke she told you to be nice to me if I show up today didn't she?"

"You know she did. But I told her I would cause it's not you I'm pissed at. I'm pissed at my brother. I can't be anymore pissed at Haley then I was when she left so I'm not going there this time."

"Understandable. All right Nate I gotta go if I'm gonna be on time to practice. I'll see you there."

"Looking forward to it."

"Peace."

"Later."

Jake hung up the phone and was surprised to find that Colin had stopped screaming and was just looking around the room. Smiling he walked Colin back to his room where Haley was still sitting in the rocking chair with a now sleeping Lucas. Haley took Colin from Jake as he lifted Lucas off her lap and placed him back in his crib. The three of them left the bedroom and were met by Jenny in the hallway.

"Morning princess," Jake said.

"Morning Daddy," Jenny answered him.

"Morning honey," Haley said as she bent down to kiss her daughter.

"Morning Mommy."

They walked downstairs to get breakfast before Jake had to leave for practice. Haley was uncharacteristically quiet but Jake didn't have time to go into detail so he made a mental note to ask her about it when he got home from practice.

"Ok I have to run. I'll be home later. Jenny you be a good girl for Mommy while I'm gone ok?" Jake said.

"Ok Daddy. I will," Jenny said.

"Bye Hales. I'll pick something up for dinner on my way home."

"You're gonna be gone that long?" Haley asked.

"Ya I have a lot of stuff to do with the team. I was planning on working out on my own too. I need to make sure I'm in excellent physical condition for the season."

"Basketball sure is a big commitment."

"Baby you knew that in college."

"I know but now it's not just another thing in your day, it's your job."

"Hales I'll still have plenty of time for you and the kids. I'll make sure of it. We agreed that no matter what, family comes first and I'm sticking to it. But I really need to go because I don't want to be late my first day with the team."

"Ok. Be careful. I love you."

"I will. I love you too."

Jake kissed Haley softly before walking out the door to his car and heading off to the practice facility to begin his basketball career as a member of the New Jersey Nets.

Brooke walked through the house cleaning random things as she debated what she was going to do while Nathan was at practice. She figured he would be gone for at least 5 hours, maybe longer but it didn't seem as daunting this time. Suddenly she found herself wondering if Jake really would be there and if that meant Haley was in town. Absently she grabbed her phone and decided to call Haley. It went straight to her voicemail.

"Hey this is Haley. Leave a message and if you're lucky I'll call you back."

"Haley it's Brooke. Just calling to see if you were in Jersey now. Call me back when you can. Thanks," Brooke said.

Brooke closed her phone and went up to her office. She was still looking for potential job openings at newspapers in the area. It was getting annoying not having anything to keep her busy on a consistent basis during the day now that Nathan was gone almost everyday with practices and other team requirements. It had only been a few minutes when she spotted a listing at the local paper in Hackensack. Smiling she wrote down the information and went to get the phone to call and inquire about the specifics about the opening.

"Hackensack Daily News how can I help you?" a voice greeted Brooke cheerfully.

"Yes, hi. My name is Brooke Davis and I saw that you have an opening for a staff writer position and I was just wondering if someone could tell me exactly what it is you're looking for," Brooke replied.

"As a matter of fact I can. We need someone to cover the Nets during their off season preparations as well as during the season and everything. Including interviews with players and coaches. You'd have to be able to attend games both home and away."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"Great what I'll need you to do is fax a copy of your resume here and then the CEO and editor and whoever else needs to will take a look at it and call you about a formal interview. Is that all right with you?"

"That's fine. Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome. Have a great day Miss Davis."

"Thanks you too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Brooke hung up the phone with a smile spread across her face. Finally something good in a long line of stressful days. She got up and decided to go for a walk. She didn't seem to leave the house unless she was going somewhere with Nathan. It was time for her to go out on her own and enjoy the New Jersey sunshine. She got dressed quickly in sweatpants and t-shirt and threw her hair in a casual ponytail.

"Ok Baby, it's just you and Mommy for a while," Brooke said as she held her hand over her stomach.

Brooke stepped outside and took a deep breath. It was a truly beautiful day. There wasn't a thing that could bring her down at that moment. Not even thinking about the fact that her friends had been lying to her. Today was gonna be a great day. Brooke and Nathan were starting the wedding prep.

"Finally," Brooke muttered with a grin.

She walked down the street and it amazed her how many little kids there were running around and playing. That wasn't something she remembered noticing when they were looking for a house but it was perfect, their baby would have plenty of friends in the neighborhood. Maybe this neighborhood would be their new Tree Hill. Brooke shook her head because she knew that was crazy. They had left Tree Hill to start a life for themselves where people didn't know them and the things they had done when they were kids. She spotted two little girls, one brunette and the other one blonde with curls, running around one of the yards and it took her back to her childhood days of play with Peyton.

"Peyton what happened? Where did we go wrong?" Brooke said to herself sadly. It was moments like this one that made Brooke realize how much she missed having Peyton around. Absently she grabbed her phone and decided it was time to stop being such a bitch, Peyton called when she had needed someone to talk to and Brooke pushed her away. Watching the two girls play made Brooke feel bad because when she had called Peyton, instead of pushing Brooke away Peyton listened to her.

"Hey Peyton it's Brooke. I think we need to talk," Brooke said when Peyton answered the phone.

"What Brooke? You finally decided that my sob story was pitiful enough that you wanna talk now?" Peyton shot back.

"That's not fair. You know me well enough to know I'm not gonna support anything in your life I don't agree with. And if that means not supporting your choice in boyfriends, it's been done before. I can do it again."

"You obviously didn't call to argue. So what do you want?"

"I told you. I want to talk."

"Why?"

"Because Peyton. If we're gonna be friends again we need to try the whole talking thing. And besides, I may not agree with whatever's going on with Jaime but I want you to know I'll help anyway I can. Especially if your son is my godson."

"Not just godson. He's your nephew Brooke. You know we always talked about being Auntie Brooke and Auntie Peyton to each other's kids. I never forgot about that."

"Ok before you totally make me cry, what happened with Jaime? Did they send him back to Puerto Rico?"

"No. But he's on probation and isn't allowed to leave Texas as part of that probation for the next year."

"Why do you sound upset then?"

"Because he plays baseball. He has to leave the state to work sometimes. I don't make enough to compensate for any games he doesn't get in because he can't leave. It's hard enough having to feed and clothe three people right now as it is."

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Because I'm pregnant again."

"Does Jaime know?"

"Yes I told him this morning."

"How did he take it."

"He was excited and then he left saying he had stuff to take care of. He's still not back and he hasn't been answering his cell phone all day long."

"Peyton he's not gonna leave you. It sounds like he loves you and Joaquin too much to do that."

"That's the thing Brooke, I don't know if he does."

"Oh come on. Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know what to believe." Brooke could tell Peyton was crying. She hated to hear the sound of someone crying. It made her feel vulnerable herself and with her pregnancy the vulnerability seemed to have increase dramatically.

"Come to New Jersey Peyton. You need to get out of Texas for a while. Bring Joaquin. Please."

"I don't know Brooke."

"Please Peyton. I need you."

"No you don't. You have Nathan. And I know Haley's there too. You don't need me anymore."

"Peyton! Please."

"Brooke I don't know. This is too much stress. I can't handle it right now."

Brooke sighed. She knew all too well what it was like to be under intense stress. She was experiencing quite a lot of it herself lately. Mostly because of Lucas and Haley.

"All right. I'll leave it up to you. Come if you want, if not, whatever."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know but I'm not gonna beg you to do something you don't seem interested in."

Brooke had turned around and walked back toward the house. It was getting chilly and she didn't want to get herself sick.

"Brooke don't be like that."

"Like what? Like my friend doesn't seem like she wants to come see me? What would you like me to do? Jump around in circles screaming like a little girl with happiness? You know me better than that. Or at least I thought you did."

"This is ridiculous Brooke."

"You're right. I don't even know why I called you in the first place. I have to go."

"That is so typical. You can't control the situation or handle it so you'd rather back out."

"Damn it Peyton! Don't talk to me like that."

"Oh grow up Brooke."

Brooke didn't bother responding. She was too hurt and pissed off to have any control of her words and she wasn't in the mood to fight with Peyton. Just as she was unlocking the house to go inside her phone was ringing. She ignored it when she saw Peyton's name flash on the caller id. There was no way talking to her was a good idea at that moment.

Nathan and Jake were working hard to learn the new system for their new team. Lucky for both of them they were quick learners and although it was fairly intricate, they both picked up on it quickly. It made them both smile when they realized it was similar to something Whitey had tried to implement back in Tree Hill during high school.

"What's the matter JJ? Married life slowing you down?" Nathan teased as he bolted past Jake and slammed the ball into the bucket.

"Haha, funny Nathan. No as a matter of fact it's not. I'm just a touch out of shape," Jake replied.

"You think? I've never run by you like that before."

Jake shook his head. Nathan was right, he never could get past Jake in high school and now here they were, in the pros and Nathan had finally run around him. Married life wasn't slowing Jake down, lack of sleep from having two 18 month old sons to look after along with a 6 year old daughter. That was wearing on him and he knew it was a terrible excuse but there wasn't much he could to fix it. His children and his wife were everything to him.

"Yo! Jaglieski. What's up with you man? You don't look so good," Nathan asked after they finished their practice for the day.

"Don't have twins if you can help it man," Jake answered.

"Oh great, now you're scaring me. Brooke's pregnant you know."

"Ya, I know. Hales told me. Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They finished changing before they walked out to the parking lot and got in their cars to go home to their girls. Or in Jake's case, his wife and children. Nathan smiled when he remembered what he was going to do with Brooke that afternoon. They were going out wedding invitation shopping. He couldn't wait. Mostly he couldn't wait for the wedding itself. The other stuff didn't matter to him as long as he had Brooke by his side forever. That was all Nathan ever needed to be happy in life. Money and success would do nothing for him if he ever lost Brooke. Nothing held a candle to the love Nathan had for Brooke. Not even basketball. Although sometimes Brooke would tease him and say that he loved basketball more than he loved her or the baby, even though they both knew that wasn't true at all.

Ten minutes later he pulled into the driveway and found Brooke sitting on the front porch smiling at him. He smiled back as he got out of his Touareg and walked up to join her.

"Hey sweetie. How was your day?" Nathan asked.

"Not bad. Talked with Peyton this morning. How was your day?" Brooke replied.

"It was hard work but basketball always is. Jake was there. And don't worry, I was nice to him. How was your conversation with Peyton?"

"Weird. But I'm not sure I could explain it right now."

"Ok. No problem. You still wanna go get wedding invitations and other stuff today?"

"Of course."

"I was thinking. We really need to pick a date and a place."

"I know."

Nathan looked at Brooke curiously. He could see there was more to her response just by looking in her eyes.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What were you thinking for the date and place?"

Brooke feigned cluelessness which made Nathan laugh. They both knew that he knew she wanted to get married in Tree Hill. What Nathan didn't know was the date although if he knew Brooke and obviously he does, it would be some significance that only the two of them would truly understand.

"Well how would you feel about getting married in Tree Hill baby?"

"I knew that's what you were gonna say. And as long as you're the one in the wedding dress and you don't stand me up, I'll marry you anywhere, anytime."

"Yay!" Brooke thought Nathan would object to returning to their hometown for the wedding but it made perfect sense to her because they both knew the town so well that they could decide on the place without actually having to fly to North Carolina to check out different possibilities.

"Ok now let's hear the date. I need to know when I should show up."

"Haha. You're so funny. I was thinking about a New Year's Wedding."

"You do realize you'll have a very visible stomach right?"

"Yup and I don't care. I love you and I don't want to have to wait until after the baby is born to get married."

Nathan whistled. He expected her to say something that would guarantee the baby was born so she wouldn't be pregnant for their wedding. But he liked this much better. It showed that she really had changed.

"Sounds good to me. Ok so it's July 7th. We have a little more than 5 ½ months to plan a wedding."

"It can be done and believe me. It will be. I know who I want to be my bridesmaids along with maid of honor. I'm making the dresses so I'll have to check with everyone that their measurements are still the same or get new ones and I'll definitely have to redo mine. All that needs to be done is securing a minister, building, reception hall, your wedding party, invitations and rings. We can do it. I have faith in us."

"Me too. Me too."

Nathan grabbed Brooke's hand and kissed it softly as they stood to get back into his SUV and begin the wedding invitation hunt.