Two days later, Nathan and Brooke were taking Lucas to the airport. It was time for him to head back to Colorado.
"Thanks for coming out here bro," Nathan said as they slapped hands and pulled each other into a hug.
"You're welcome. But don't make a habit of these things," Lucas said.
"I agree," Brooke chimed in causing both guys to laugh.
"Take it easy Brooke. Don't forget to call if you need anything else," Lucas told her as he enveloped her into a hug.
"I won't. Thanks again for giving me my fiancé back," she said.
"No problem."
He kissed her on the cheek before picking up his bag and walking into the airport. Nathan and Brooke gave one last wave as they turned to get back into the SUV and drive back to the house. It was nice to have Lucas around for a couple days but it would be nice to go back to their normal, just the two of them, lives.
"Babe did I thank you for calling Lucas?" Nathan asked as they pulled onto the main road away from the airport.
"I don't think so," Brooke answered.
"Either way, thanks so much. I know it was hard for you to watch helplessly as I went through my breakdown. I really couldn't have come out of that funk without you and Lucas there to help me out."
"You're welcome. You know I would do anything for you."
"I know and I'll do anything for you. Speaking of which, open the glove box."
Brooke opened the glove box and pulled out a velvet jewelry box. She popped it open and gasped when she saw what was inside it. Nathan bought her a white gold tennis bracelet with diamonds in it.
"Flip it over," he told her.
She flipped it over and saw the engraving on the back. It said "thank you for loving me". Tears pricked at her eyes as she ran her fingers over each word carefully. Nathan never failed to surprise her.
"Nathan, it's gorgeous," she gushed.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it. Thank you sweetie."
"Anything for my baby."
"You're amazing. Do you know that?"
Nathan smiled at her. He was glad she loved the bracelet. Normally he wasn't the kind of guy to go out and buy jewelry to say thank you or I love you to the woman he loved but he felt that it was ok this time. It wasn't just a bracelet, it was a thank you from Nathan to Brooke for loving him.
Brooke sat in silence toying with the new bracelet. She really did love Nathan and she thought he was the most amazing man in the world. Her heart leapt when she thought about him and she couldn't remember a time when she had been nearly as happy. Nathan was her world. As she thought about the engraving on the back of the bracelet, Brooke started thinking about ideas for a wedding song. It had to be something perfect and romantic. Something that told Nathan how much she loved him and how thankful she was to have him in her life.
"Whatcha thinking about beautiful?" Nathan asked.
"Wedding songs," Brooke answered.
"Oh ya, we have to pick one don't we?"
"NATE! It's an important decision. We'll remember that song for the rest of our lives. It will be the first song we dance to as a married couple. I want to make sure it's perfect and romantic."
"Baby, I was teasing. I know we have to pick one. In fact, I've got a few ideas of my own."
"Oh ya? Please tell me your idea doesn't involve anything rap."
"It doesn't. I promise."
"Thank god."
Nathan just laughed. Sometimes Brooke could be a bit dramatic but he loved her anyway. The decision of what song they would dance to was gonna be a fun one he could tell. Knowing Brooke, they'd end up listening to every single song they both wanted and dancing to them and then deciding from there. All Nathan knew was whatever they chose had to be special and perfect. The song had to describe exactly how much Nathan loved Brooke and what she meant to him. If there was any song on either list that didn't fit that bill, it would be eliminated.
"What do you say we go choose our wedding song?" Nathan asked as he parked in their driveway.
"I'd love to," Brooke answered.
They walked into the house, hand in hand. Everything was falling into place for the young couple. Nathan was enjoying being a part of the Nets and Brooke was enjoying her job at the newspaper even if her editor was a pain in the ass. Nathan stopped when they reached the living room and sat on the couch, pulling Brooke back gently so she could lean against him.
"What do you think should our song?" Nathan asked Brooke.
"I have three ideas," Brooke answered.
"Oh ya? What are they?"
"A Moment Like This, You and Me and Music of My Heart."
"Huh."
"What about you? What do you think should be our song?"
"I was thinking about Thank You For Loving Me, The Perfect Fan and Lean on Me."
"Nathan Scott, did I just hear you say you were thinking about a Backstreet Boys song?"
"Yes you did. I can't help it though. That's how I feel. I love you and you've always been my perfect fan."
"So sappy. When did this happen?"
"The moment I looked into your gorgeous eyes."
Brooke blushed. She cocked her head so she could see Nathan and kissed him softly. He smiled and returned the kiss. They stayed like that on the couch for a while, of course with Brooke facing the other way. Otherwise she'd have a stiff neck.
"Did we decide on colors?" Nathan asked.
"Oh crap! I totally forgot about colors," Brooke answered.
"No you didn't. Brooke, you already told me what colors you wanted and I told you that I thought they would be perfect."
"We did? When? I don't remember talking about colors for the wedding. What did I tell you?"
"Baby blue and silver."
"Oh ya. Wintry colors. I remember now. You wanted red and green like Christmas and I talked you out of that."
"See, I told you we talked about colors already."
Brooke didn't say anything. Instead she stuck her tongue out at Nathan.
"Hey, put that tongue away unless you were planning on doing something with it."
"And what if I was?"
"You won't get any complaints from me."
Brooke laughed as she swatted Nathan's chest. They both knew she wasn't that kind of girl. At least she wasn't now if she was in high school. There was no thrill in that anymore for Brooke and Nathan didn't like it much anymore either. To him it made the sex seem cheap and loveless. The last thing he wanted to do was make Brooke feel cheap. Cause she was definitely not loveless. Nathan loved her more than words could describe and she knew it.
"Who would have thought that Tree Hill's spoiled rich brats would marry each other?" Nathan laughed.
"Oh come you know you liked me when we were kids," Brooke shot back.
"Right. I forgot. You were my dream girl."
"I knew it."
Nathan rolled his eyes. This was crazy. But it didn't matter. All that was ever gonna matter was that he was with Brooke forever. They were a perfect match. And they both knew it. As did the rest of the world, well at least those in the world to know both Nathan and Brooke. All anyone had to do to see how in love they were was look at them. It showed in their faces."Nathan when can we go to Tree Hill?" Brooke asked.
"Soon. There's only a couple more days of mini camp for basketball and then we can go," Nathan replied.
"Ok."
"Wait why do we need to go now? The wedding's not til December."
"I know but I want to go now and scope things out."
"What things?"
"We haven't decided exactly where we're gonna have the ceremony or the reception. We need to take care of that Nathan."
"How about this? Let's get married on the beach and then we can stay there all night long. Even for the reception."
"Are you just saying that to talk me out of going to Tree Hill?"
"No we can still go."
"You don't want to. I can see it in your eyes."
"I don't really wanna get caught up in all the crap with Dan. Not right now. Besides it wouldn't be good for you either. Besides we'll already be there for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas and New Year's. I really think we should hold off for right now."
"Babe. I wanna go. I miss Karen and Jason."
Brooke pouted at Nathan. She was determined to get him to say they would go after his mini camp ended. If they didn't go now she'd be forced to wait for Thanksgiving and the thought alone was killing her.
"I know you miss Karen and Jason. But I'm not sure if being in Tree Hill is the best thing for you right now. People are gonna figure out who it was that saw Dan shoot Keith and they'll all be talking. I don't want to subject you to that."
"Nate, I grew up in Tree Hill. I can handle anything anyone from that town throws at me. Can we please just go? I'm only asking for like 3 days tops. That's all I want."
"Three days?"
"Three days. I don't think I could take a week of the North Carolina heat being pregnant. Three days seems easy enough to handle. Please Nathan?"
"Ok, we'll go. Three days, that's it and then we're coming back."
"Thank you baby."
"You're welcome."
Nathan still wasn't sure if going to Tree Hill was a good idea but Brooke really wanted to go and he wasn't one to disappoint her. The more he thought about it the more it occurred to him that being in Tree Hill for a few days might be good for Brooke. And he could use a vacation too. They were gonna need one because pretty soon they would be in full wedding/baby arrival swing/basketball season and then there would be no time for a vacation.
"You think Luke would go to Tree Hill with us?" Brooke asked breaking into Nathan's thoughts.
"I don't know. You could always ask him," Nathan replied honestly. Part of him wanted Lucas to go with them and part of him didn't for the same reasons he didn't want Brooke to go to Tree Hill.
Brooke nodded. She knew that but she wanted to know what Nathan thought about it. Obviously she was gonna call Lucas and ask him if he would be interested. This wasn't something they could decide for him or force on him. He would have to decide for himself but Brooke wanted to make sure the option to go with them to Tree Hill was offered to Lucas.
"Yo, Jared!" Lucas yelled as he stepped out onto the court.
"What's up Luke!" Jared yelled back.
"I gotta ask you a question."
Jared passed the ball off to one of their other teammates and jogged over to Lucas. They sat on the court away from all the action and Jared looked at Lucas questioningly.
"What's your question?"
"Do you know a Lt. Michael Ashley in Tree Hill, NC?"
"Mikey made Lt.?"
"So I guess you know him?"
"Luke, Mikey's my brother."
"Cool."
"How do you know Mikey?"
"I don't. He called me. My dad's being charged with the shooting death of my uncle and the cops were checking out my dad's alibi or something and the Lt. that called me was a Michael Ashley. I figured I'd ask you if you knew him when I came back from Jersey."
"Oh wow. That sucks man. I'm sorry."
"Nah, it's cool. I don't get along much with my dad. My uncle was more like my father than he'll ever be. So this isn't the hard part. The hard part was hearing that Keith was dead and then knowing I'll never get to talk to him again and he didn't get to see me make it this far."
"Scott! Ashley! What are you doing? This is not tea time. Get your asses on the court!" the coach yelled when he spotted them sitting on the floor talking while everyone else was busting their ass.
Lucas and Jared stood up and ran back onto the court. They were worked like dogs. By the time practice was over neither one of them thought they were gonna live to see the next day. Their teammates laughed as they watched the two young guys walking around like two dead guys. They slapped hands and got in their cars and left the arena.
When Lucas got home he walked into his house and kicked his shoes off at the door. Because he was so tired from practice he didn't bother going up to his bedroom. He just walked into the living room and flopped down on his couch and fell asleep. Two hours later Lucas woke up to the phone ringing. He was trying to ignore it and go back to sleep but it didn't seem to be stopping. Finally, just as Lucas was about to stand up and answer it, the ringing stopped. He closed his eyes and was just about to go back to sleep and his cell phone started ringing. Frustrated he reached over and silenced the ringing. Silence blanketed the house and Lucas was asleep again within minutes. Whoever was trying to get a hold of him would have to wait, sleep sounded much more appealing then any phone conversation.
Nathan groaned as he heard Lucas' voicemail. He had been trying to get a hold of him to ask him to be his best man in the wedding and Lucas wasn't answering either phone. Frustrated, Nathan dialed Lucas' cell one more time.
"What do you want?" Lucas grumbled.
"Morning sunshine," Nathan laughed.
"Kiss my ass."
"No thank you."
"What do you want?" Lucas repeated his question.
"I just need to ask you a question."
"Ok. What's up?"
"Brooke and I are working on wedding plans and I realized I haven't asked you yet."
"Asked me what. Dude you woke me up, so can you hurry up? I would like to go back to sleep in this lifetime."
"Sure sorry."
"Well?" Lucas was getting agitated. The longer Nathan kept him on the phone the less sleep he was getting.
"Will you be my best man?"
"Of course I will. Dude you didn't have to ask me that. You should have known I'd say yes."
"I tried to tell Brooke the same thing but she made me call and ask anyway. Just to make sure or something."
"Pregnant girls."
"Hey watch it pal. That's my fiancé you're talking about."
"Ya I know."
"Oh good cause I was worried you had forgotten."
"You were not."
"Shut up."
"No you shut up."
"Go back to bed lazy."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Nathan closed his phone and got up to find Brooke. He found her in the kitchen with papers spread out everywhere. At first glance Nathan saw that they were menu choices, guest lists, wedding party, and some other stuff. Looking at the pieces of paper made Nathan smile because they were representative of the next big step he would be taking with Brooke in their relationship.
"Baby what did Luke say?" Brooke asked.
"He said he'll be my best man and that I didn't even have to ask him," Nathan replied.
"I can't help it. I wanted to be absolutely sure because it would look bad if you didn't have a best man because you decided to ride on the assumption that your brother was gonna agree to it."
"Relax, it's ok sweetie. I don't mind really. I just thought you should know that I was right and Lucas said that I didn't have to actually ask him to be my best man."
Brooke was silent. She was looking at Nathan and she couldn't help but feeling truly blessed to have him by her side. Some people would tell her she was lucky to have Nathan but she never believed it was luck. Brooke knew that it was meant to be. Nathan was the only guy for her and he made sure to tell her that she was the only girl for him.
"Karen's gonna be a bridesmaid? What about Peyton?" Nathan asked as he took a closer look at the list of people in the wedding party.
"I haven't decided what I want to do there. I mean I know it would be wrong to not ask Peyton to be a bridesmaid but I'm still not real sure I want to," Brooke replied.
"I'm ok with it as long as you make the decision that will make you the happiest. That's all I want for you. If you're not happy it's not worth it."
"Baby, that's sweet."
"I know. But I mean it Brooke."
Nathan was looking Brooke in her eyes as he said that so she could see how sincere he was being. Brooke was amazed yet again by the man who's eyes she was staring into. Nathan never failed to make sure she knew that he was always behind her 100 in any decision she made.
"I really did get the better of the Scott boys," Brooke laughed.
"You're darn right," Nathan said.
"Apparently I got the arrogant one too."
Nathan pretended like he was hurt and Brooke just laughed at him.
"I am not arrogant," Nathan insisted.
"Sure whatever you say babe," Brooke laughed.
"I'm not. I swear." Nathan had his arms crossed over his chest and he was scowling. Brooke looked up at him and smiled. It was entertaining for her to have him take her so seriously. She didn't truly believe Nathan was arrogant. Not anymore that is.
"I know you're not. I was teasing you."
"Mean!"
"Yup. You caught me."
"So, Tree Hill next week?" Nathan asked desperately trying to change the subject.
"Ya. Next week. I can't wait," Brooke answered.
The two of them walked into the living room and settled down on the couch. Nathan grabbed the remote and flipped the tv on. He was hoping there was a baseball game or something. As he flipped past the Yankees network he saw that there was in fact a game on. Brooke groaned when Nathan went back and focused in on the tv.
"Baby, do we have to watch the Yankees? I don't like them," Brooke stated.
"Sweetheart, I don't like them either but I hate the Mets more so I refuse to watch their games," Nathan tried to explain.
"Whatever."
Brooke slouched against Nathan and closed her eyes. Just because Nathan wanted to watch didn't mean she had to. As long as she was with Nathan that was all she needed. Nathan wrapped his arm under her stomach and watched the game. He had to be careful not to yell and wake her up when he saw her close her eyes.
Ok guys…I'm going with a poll to decide the wedding song. There are 6 songs to choose from. Just tell me in a review which one you think and whatever gets the most votes will be the song.
1-Thank You For Loving Me
by Bon Jovi
2-You and Me
by Lifehouse
3-A Moment Like This
by Kelly Clarkson
4-The Perfect Fan
by Backstreet Boys
5-Music of my Heart
by Nsync and Gloria Estefan
6-Lean on Me
by Bill Withers