Two months had gone by since Nathan and Brooke had moved into their house in New Jersey. Nathan was gone everyday for a good 6-7 hours working out, practicing and in team meetings. Brooke had gotten the job writing for the Nets at the newspaper so she wasn't stuck at home much. Some days she would go to her office in town, other days she was at the arena talking to different players and coaches and still other days she was at home working in her office. Since she was now about 4 ½ months pregnant she was definitely starting to show and she could feel the baby's movements a lot more than before. Sometimes it startled her and other times she smiled happily. Also during the two months Brooke had been talking to Haley more often and had gotten to meet her kids and catch up with her. Their friendship was nothing like what it had been in high school but Brooke felt as though with time and understanding the two girls would get right back to that familiar place.
"Sweetie I'm home!" Nathan called as he came in the front door. He was met with silence. He couldn't remember if Brooke had told him that she was gonna be home or at the office. He walked up the stairs and checked in her office and there she was, typing furiously. Nathan guessed it was an article about the team based on the notes he saw scattered all over the desktop and the scattered balls of paper near and in the trashcan.
"Brooke?" he said.
"Honey! You're back!" Brooke squealed happily as she spun around in her chair.
"Have you been in here all day?"
"No I was at the office earlier and decided to come home because I wasn't getting too much done over there and we have our doctor's appointment today. Which reminds me, what time is it?"
"It's 3:15. What time is the appointment?"
"4:15. I'll just wrap up what I'm working on and get changed then we can go."
"Sounds good."
Nathan placed a hand on Brooke's stomach and said, "Today we find out if you're a boy or girl. Daddy can't wait." Brooke smiled warmly at Nathan. He was right, today was the day they had been waiting for. They were going to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. She couldn't decide what she was hoping for more but she did know one thing, she was definitely hoping for a happy, healthy baby.
"Ok, shoo. I can't work with you hovering over me," she teased as she pretended to shove Nathan out the door.
"I'm going, I'll be downstairs when you're ready to go," he replied.
Brooke just nodded her head. It amazed Nathan how fast Brooke could go from talking to him right back to writing intently. He could never that, no matter how hard he tried in school. But that was probably why Brooke was the journalist and he wasn't. Shrugging, Nathan ran down the stairs and plopped on the couch while he waited for Brooke. He didn't care if the baby was a boy or a girl. All that mattered to Nathan was that they had a happy and healthy child. He wouldn't love the baby any less because it was the gender he hadn't been hoping for neither would he love the baby anymore because it was the gender he had been hoping for. Nathan wasn't sure how many children he wanted but he knew that he definitely wanted more than one. Although Lucas is his half brother, Nathan had pretty much grown up as an only child and he didn't enjoy it at all and he was pretty sure Brooke felt the same way. He was still sitting on the couch 15 minutes later when he heard Brooke coming down the stairs.
"You ready to go babe?" she asked as she stood at the door.
"Absolutely," Nathan said enthusiastically.
He shut the tv off and joined her at the front door. Instead of taking Nathan's Touareg, they decided to take Brooke's Scion. Brooke hadn't been able to handle Nathan's driving lately because it made her stomach turn. They got into the Scion and Brooke turned the radio on immediately only to have Nathan turn it off. She looked at him worriedly.
"What's up Nate?" she asked.
"How many kids do you want?" he answered.
"I don't know. I was thinking 6, maybe 7. Why how many do you want?"
"I don't know but definitely more than 1."
Nathan was relieved. So Brooke did want a big family. She was definitely the perfect girl for him. He was pretty sure that no other woman would want to have kids with him but that didn't matter because Nathan wasn't marrying anyone other than Brooke.
They rode the rest of the way to the doctor's office in silence. Nathan had turned the radio back on so it was completely silent. He felt slightly awkward and that bothered him because silence between them had never made him feel that way before. It worried him that something was going on with them that he didn't know about.
Brooke was lost in her own thoughts. She didn't notice that Nathan seemed to be tense now. She was too excited about the doctor's appointment to realize that this silence was different then it typically was for them. A few minutes later she was pulling her Scion into the parking lot of the doctor's office. She turned off the engine and smiled at Nathan. He didn't smile back.
"What's wrong Nathan?" she asked nervously.
"Nothing, I'm fine. Come on, let's go. This is the day we've been waiting for," he replied avoiding her eyes. He didn't know what was wrong so he didn't want to worry Brooke. He hadn't wanted to lie to her either but at least she seemed satisfied with his response. For now he thought to himself.
Almost as if he was operating on auto pilot Nathan took Brooke's hand in his own as they walked toward the building. He could feel his heart beating faster than normal and there was sweat on his hands. It didn't make sense to him that he was acting this way and Brooke still looked worried.
"Baby are you sure you're all right?" she asked again.
"I'm fine," he snapped. As soon as he said Nathan wanted to kick himself for being harsh with her when she was just being sweet.
"Sorry I asked."
Brooke dropped Nathan's hand and stormed in to the building before they could get into an argument. Nathan remained outside the building paralyzed by Brooke's actions. He hated to fight with her and now here they were, fighting because he had been an ass to her. He swore at himself and kicked up loose gravel that was under his feet before walking into the building to join Brooke. He spotted her slouched in a hard plastic chair up against the wall with tears glistening in her eyes. His heart dropped to his stomach as he watched the tears fall.
"Brooke, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you," Nathan apologized as he grabbed her hand and looked straight into her eyes.
"Why can't you see I care about you and I wasn't trying to be annoying," Brooke sniffled.
"Brooke Davis," an older lady called from the doorway.
Taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from her eyes Brooke stood up and took Nathan's hand as they walked toward the lady who had just called her name. Silently the couple followed the woman down a hallway to an empty room. Brooke hopped on the exam table with a little help from Nathan and the woman asked her some questions and began writing things down as Brooke spoke.
"I need you to take this to the bathroom," the lady said to Brooke as she handed her a small container with a lid.
"What do you want me to do with it?" Brooke asked dumbfounded.
"It's for a urine sample."
"Oh right. Where's the bathroom?"
"Down the hall to the left."
Brooke nodded as she rose to her feet to go to the bathroom. Nathan helped her down and walked with her leaving the older woman in the room alone.
"I feel so stupid. I should have known this was for a urine sample. That woman must think I'm an idiot," Brooke said.
"I'm sorry but it was pretty funny. I knew what it was for and I'm not the one she handed it to," Nathan laughed.
"Shut up. Don't be so mean."
"Sorry." Brooke stepped into the bathroom and shut the door leaving Nathan in the hallway by himself. A few minutes later they were walking back to the room. Brooke had left the urine sample in the little compartment in the wall next to the toilet. When they got to the room the lady had left. Nathan helped Brooke back onto the exam table and then sat in the chair. He could tell she was getting nervous and if he was gonna be honest, he was nervous too. Finally another lady walked into the room.
"Brooke Davis?" she said warmly.
"Ya that's me," Brooke replied.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Mikayla Scott."
"Oh now, that's just weird," Nathan said.
Dr. Scott and Brooke both turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry. Is this the baby's father?" Dr. Scott asked Brooke.
"Yes and my fiancé. Dr. Scott, this is Nathan Scott," Brooke replied.
"That is weird. I've known any other Scotts before."
Nathan nodded. He was baffled, this woman looked oddly familiar to him but he couldn't figure out why. Instead of focusing on that, Nathan decided to pay attention to what Dr. Scott was saying to Brooke.
"Ok I'm gonna set up the sonogram machine so that we can have a look at the baby. It's my understanding that you two would like to know the sex is that right?" Dr. Scott asked the couple. They nodded as Nathan took Brooke's hand and squeezed it. Finally, the moment that had been waiting for had arrived.
"The gel is gonna be cold Brooke so be aware of that."
"Ok," Brooke said not taking her eyes off Nathan.
She jumped when she felt the cold substance hit her stomach. She turned her head to look at the screen and tears pooled in her eyes. Nathan looked at the screen and then at Brooke. That was their baby and Nathan was excited. He felt tears in his eyes but didn't bother to wipe them away. Dr. Scott continued to move the device around on Brooke's stomach to keep up with the baby's quick movements. Nathan laughed as he saw the baby moving, Brooke didn't laugh but she did smile.
"Oh there we go. Wait a minute," Dr. Scott said.
"What? What is it?" Brooke panicked, "What's wrong with my baby?"
"The babies are fine. I was just surprised."
"Wait, did you just say babies?" Nathan asked.
"Yes I did. Why is that a bad thing?"
"No, not at all."
"Twins, Nathan this is great!" Brooke squealed as she propped herself up on her elbows and kissed Nathan sweetly.
"All right, oh this one wants to show Mommy and Daddy its gender," Dr. Scott said as she pointed to one of the babies' forms.
Brooke and Nathan looked at the screen and their hearts swelled with pride. They were looking at their babies.
"You still want to get married before the babies are honey?" Nathan asked.
"Yes, of course. More than ever, having twins can't change my mind. Nathan I love you and want to really start our life as a family before the babies are born," Brooke said enthusiastically. She couldn't wait to be married to Nathan now and she wasn't about to let the fact that she was pregnant with twins delay the wedding in anyway.
Nathan and Brooke were lost in each other's eyes that they were completely oblivious to their surroundings or where they were. Dr. Scott finally got there attention a few minutes later when she reminded them that she was gonna reveal the sex, or sexes, of their children. Suddenly their attention was completely on the screen as Dr. Scott moved her device around on Brooke's stomach.
"Well this one here, is a boy," Dr. Scott said pointing to the baby in the front.
"Aw sweetie you can teach him to play basketball," Brooke said, smiling at Nathan.
"Of course I can but only if he really wants to play," Nathan replied smiling just as wide as Brooke.
"It seems you're gonna be out numbered Brooke, this one is a boy also," Dr. Scott said when they were looking again.
"Oh no, babe, how am I gonna stand to have three boys in the house?" Brooke whined playfully.
"It's ok boys, Mommy does it mean it," Nathan laughed.
"I can print some pictures of them if you would like," Dr. Scott told them.
Nathan looked at Brooke and she nodded emphatically. She definitely wanted pictures of her kids.
"How many copies should I make?"
Brooke wasn't sure if they should give one to Haley and Jake but she was definitely certain about giving one to Lucas and Karen.
"Nate do you wanna give one to your parents?" Brooke asked.
"No. I don't went them to have anything to do with our children. We should send them to Karen, Lucas, your dad and Coop. It's up to you if you wanna send Haley and Peyton pictures," Nathan replied.
"Ok so how many would you like?" Dr. Scott asked with a smile.
"Eight please," Brooke replied.
"Eight?" Nathan questioned.
"One for each of us."
"Oh ya, great idea."
Brooke smiled. She knew it was a great idea. She was no fool. If she didn't get one for each of them Nathan would take their copy and lose it on her or something crazy. A few minutes later they were walking out of the building holding eight copies of their sons' first picture. As soon as they were in the call Nathan whipped out his cell phone to call Lucas.
"Hey man guess what?" he said.
"What's up?" Lucas replied.
"We're having twins."
"Oh wow. That's awesome. Boys? Girls? One of each?"
"Boys."
"How'd Brooke take it?"
"She was pouting playfully but she's excited."
"Sounds about right. Let me talk to her for a minute."
"Here Luke wants to say hi."
"Hey Luke," Brooke said happily.
"Hey you. Twin boys huh?" Lucas said.
"I can't wait. I don't even care that I'll be outnumbered. I will have a daughter someday. I just know it."
"Baby, boys are dominant in the Scott family though," Nathan said.
"We will have a daughter." Brooke was determined to have at least one daughter. She didn't care if that meant they would have to adopt but she was absolutely determined.
"Ok well I'm glad you're excited. I can't wait to see you guys. Love ya Brooke."
"Love you too Luke. Bye."
"Bye." Brooke closed Nathan's phone and gave it back to him. When they got to the house Brooke grabbed a frame and stuck her copy of the picture in it and placed it on her desk in her office. Nathan smiled when he saw where she placed it, right above her computer so it was like they were watching her. As he stood there he envisioned the room filling up with pictures of their sons and other children that they would have as time went on. Smiling he kissed Brooke sweetly.
"Do you wanna call your dad and tell him the news?" Nathan asked.
"Of course but if that skank stepmother of mine answers the phone I'm hanging up," Brooke replied. She was glad her father wasn't alone but she didn't like the woman he had remarried since her mom had died. Not only that but Brooke wasn't crazy about how soon after her mother's death they had gotten married. Almost to the point where she wanted to boycott the wedding and would have if she didn't love weddings and because Nathan convinced her it was the right thing for her to do as his daughter.
"Hi Daddy," she said when he picked up.
"Hi sweetie. How are you?" James Davis asked his oldest daughter.
"Good. I have something I want to share with you."
"Ok. What is it? Are you in trouble?" James was nervous, Brooke only called when she needed money or to tell him about big events in her life. He had been thrilled for her when she called to tell him that Nathan proposed and when she called to tell him that she was pregnant.
"No Daddy I'm not in trouble."
"Oh good. Then what is it?"
"I'm having twins."
"Brookie that's great. You and Nathan must be excited."
"We are Daddy."
"I'm happy for you little girl."
"Thank you Daddy."
"You're gonna have two grandsons in about 4 ½ months."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Excellent. How are my brother and sister doing?"
James and his wife, Alexis, have two kids together, a son and daughter and Alexis has two sons from previous relationships. Matthew Ryan Davis is 2 years old and Shannon Grace Davis is 7 months old. Alexis' sons, Jeffrey Timothy and Kyle Brendan Jackson are 20 and 15. Brooke hadn't met them yet so it was typical of her not to ask about them.
"Matthew and Shannon are doing well. Shannon looks just like you did when you were a baby."
"Of course, we Davis girls are gorgeous Daddy."
James laughed. He knew Brooke was gonna say something like that. She always did. It was times like this that made him wish he and Julie had had more kids but most of the time he was grateful to have Brooke.
"Congratulations again sweetheart but I have to cut this conversation short. Jeff and Kyle are here tonight so we're going out for dinner. Keep me posted with everything. I love you," James said.
"Thank you Daddy. And I love you too," Brooke replied.
"Bye peanut."
"Bye Daddy."
She hung up and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It had been a while since she had been out to California to see her dad. But the fact that she didn't like his new wife kept her away. James knew his daughter wasn't crazy about Alexis and although he couldn't understand why he never brought it up because he knew enough to know that it had to do with her mother.
"Nathan!" Brooke shouted.
"Yes baby?" Nathan asked.
"I wanna go out to California before the boys are born."
"Why? I thought you didn't like Alexis?"
"I don't. I don't wanna see her. I wanna go see my dad, Matthew and Shannon. I don't wanna give that bitch a chance to fill their heads with evil things about her "bitchy stepdaughter"."
"Babe your dad's not gonna let her do that. He loves you and will be filling their head with nothing but good things about their sister. As much as I know you want to see them I'm not sure I want you going out there right now."
"Brooke wanted to argue but decided it might not be worth it right now." Nathan was right. Her dad did love her and there was no way he would let Alexis tell Matthew and Shannon anything bad about her.
"Ok. Maybe I can have Dad bring them out here for a while or something."
Nathan nodded. He liked that arrangement much better. Even though he knew how much Brooke wanted to go to California. She hadn't gone since the week Shannon was born and before that she hadn't been out there since Matthew's first birthday.
"Ya, why don't you do that. You can call him back later and set something up. In the mean time we should call Karen and then Haley and Peyton if you want."
Brooke agreed. Nathan was right, they did have more phone calls to make about the twins. She couldn't wait to tell Karen. Brooke knew she would be excited for them. Haley and Peyton were somewhat of a mystery to Brooke. If things hadn't gotten screwed up with them she would have known for sure that they would be excited about the twins. Shaking her head of her thoughts Brooke dialed the number to Karen's Café figuring she would try to reach Karen there first before trying her cell or house.
"Karen's Café, how can I help you?" Deb answered.
"Deb, it's Brooke. Is Karen around?" Brooke asked hopefully.
"Oh well if it isn't the skank that ruined my son's life," Deb spat.
"Save it Deb. Is Karen there or not?" Brooke was in no mood to fight with anyone, especially not Deb.
"No she's not. Can I take a message though?"
"Don't bother. I'll call her cell phone."
Brooke hung up without waiting for Deb to respond and dialed Karen's cell phone number. She picked up after two rings.
"Brooke how are you sweetie?" Karen greeted happily.
"I'm good. I've got some news for you actually," Brooke replied.
"Oh ya? What's up?"
"Nathan and I went to the doctor today to determine the sex of the baby and we got a surprise of our own."
"Oh really? What's that?"
"We're having twin boys."
"Brooke hunny, that's wonderful! How excited was Nathan?"
"He's still ecstatic. I have a picture of the boys for you. I'll put in the mail tomorrow."
"Oh Brooke that's wonderful. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. It's the least I could after everything you've done to help me. Which reminds me, I wanted to ask you something."
"What's that?"
"Well actually two things. First of all, would you be a bridesmaid for my wedding and second would it be all right if the boys call you Grandma?"
"Brooke I would love to be a bridesmaid in your wedding and of course the boys can call me Grandma. I always have thought of you as a daughter."
"I'm so glad. I promise to send you the picture tomorrow but I gotta go. Still need to call Haley and Peyton to tell them that we're having twins."
"Wow you're talking to Haley and Peyton again? How's that going for you?"
"It's tough at times but mostly I'm getting through it and glad to have them back in my life."
"Sweetie I'm so glad. Have a good night. Tell Nathan I said I'm happy for you guys. Love you honey."
"Love you too."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Brooke hung up and sighed happily. She was sitting at her desk smiling as she looked up at the picture of her sons. She couldn't wait for them to be born and to watch them grow up.