Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the WB or One Tree Hill so please don't sue. All you'd get would be some dvd's and a bunch of misc. posters :-) Also the lyrics are from Christmas songs, so I didn't write them :-)
Author's Note 1: My thank yous to everyone are at the bottom of this chapter.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Merry Christmas, with Love"
"Lucas…" Brooke asked, as she took his hand. "I need to talk to you."
Brooke kept a hold of his hand as they walked out of the café, leaving their friends wondering what was going on. Once outside, Brooke dropped his hand and leaned against the decorated railing. She smiled slightly and then let out a little chuckle. "It's pretty cold out here," she said. Haley had been right, that she was sure of but the thought of telling Lucas the truth scared her to know end.
If she took the chance in Lucas and told him that she was in love with him, he would be able to hurt her again. And that wasn't something she was sure she'd be able to handle. But not admitting her feelings- she had decided that would have been worse. It would be better to take the chance with her heart than to have nothing to show for it.
"You want me to get your jacket?" He said, as he turned his back to her and started to walk back to the café. She pulled his arm back and shook her head no. "Okay, well what do you want to talk about?" Lucas asked her.
Brooke sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy and yet she knew it had to be done. "I've been thinking about things," Brooke started. She found herself a little self conscious as his blue eyes never left her face. This was it, the moment of truth and he was paying attention. "I've been thinking about us."
Us.
She had said it. The word sounded so foreign to her. She had only technically been an 'us' twice. Lucas had been her first and that hadn't gone too well. And when she had finally been ready to move on, she had made the mistake to do so with Felix. The thought of being with Felix in a committed relationship made her laugh. What had she been thinking? Truth was, she wasn't thinking. All she was trying to do was stop herself from feeling things for Lucas that he had obviously not felt. Until now.
Brooke was about to continue when Dan Scott came to the steps.
"Merry Christmas son," he said with a smirk.
Lucas turned to his father and his smile fell. Brooke sighed as she realized whatever she wanted to say to him, would have to wait. There was no way she would be able to go through with saying it now. "Brooke, go ahead," Lucas said as Dan walked into the café.
"No, it's okay. We can talk about it later," Brooke smiled. "Lets get inside before they open our presents."
She didn't give him a chance to argue as she walked back into the café. Peyton and Haley looked at her with a smile and she shook her head sadly. She bent down and picked up a present, setting it in Haley's lap. "Merry Christmas Tutorgirl."
……
Jake held Jenny in his arms as he rung Peyton's doorbell. It was a little after nine in the morning when he managed to get away from his parents, only after promising that he would come back for dinner with Peyton by his side. A man appeared at the door, wearing a Christmas sweater and a bowl of pancake mix in his hands. He stepped out on the porch and smiled at Jake. "You must be Jake," Peyton's father said.
Jake nodded his head and stuck his hand out to meet the older mans. Instead of shaking Jake's hand, he brought him into a hug. "Merry Christmas," he said as he held the door open for Jake. The two walked inside and Peyton came down the stairs.
"Hi Jake," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. She hugged him, and then took Jenny from him before walking towards the living room to sit down. There was a simple Christmas tree standing in the corner with presents still placed under it. Beside the couch were a few opened presents that Jake could tell were from her father.
"Merry Christmas Jenny," Peyton smiled at the baby girl. She pulled at Jenny's outfit, a red and white jumper with white stockings and a red hat. Jenny looked adorable.
Her father walked into the living room behind them with a camera in his hands. "Okay, I want to get a picture of the three of you," he said as Peyton rolled her eyes.
"Dad. Can you stop already? You've been taking pictures all morning."
Larry shrugged his shoulders and motioned for them to scoot closer. "It's Christmas and I don't want to miss anything," he said."Besides, I don't have any pictures of the three of you." Peyton knew there would be no arguing with him and she sighed as she propped her head against Jake's chest. He held her tight and Jenny smiled for the camera.
"Say Santa," Larry said.
Peyton groaned. "Santa."
"Santa," Jenny gushed. "Santa. Santa. Santa," she repeated.
Peyton turned towards Jake, who was grinning from ear to ear. He kissed his daughters cheek and Peyton laughed. "This is perfect," she whispered to him and Jake nodded his head. It really was perfect.
"Hey Peyton. You're sure that Brooke's okay right? It just doesn't feel the same here without her," Larry said as he walked towards the kitchen. "This is the first Christmas she's not going to be here you know." Peyton nodded her head and smiled.
"Something tells me she's where she wants to be."
Larry looked at his young daughter, a bit confused but said nothing. Instead he headed back towards the kitchen and started to make pancakes. "Jake you're staying for breakfast right?" He yelled.
Jake turned to look at Peyton, who nodded her head. "Yes Mr. Sawyer."
"It's Larry."
He smiled as Peyton rested against him. Jenny was still on her lap, shaking a stuffed animal by it's tail. As Jake watched, he knew the following year could only get better. He'd make sure of it.
……
"Brooke, are you awake?" Lucas said as he stuck his head inside her room. Brooke had her back towards him and was talking on the phone. She turned to face him and asked him to give her a few minutes. He nodded his head and left the room, giving her some privacy.
A few minutes later, Brooke emerged from her bedroom wearing red flannel pajama's. Lucas handed her some hot chocolate and the two sat down on the couch. He flipped through the channels and saw that nothing but Christmas movies were on. When he passed "it's a wonderful life," Brooke reached out and touched him.
"Can we watch it?" She asked quietly.
He nodded his head and flipped it back before setting the remote down. Brooke leaned against him as she sipped her hot chocolate, her eyes never leaving the television. "Peyton and I use to watch this every Christmas morning." Lucas smiled, happy to hear that she was thinking about her best friend. He had been there when she had bridged the gap between them at Thanksgiving, but still couldn't help but notice the difference in their friendship. "It was tradition. And then afterwards, Larry would make us chocolate chip pancakes."
He laughed. It was such a simple tradition, but he could tell that it had meant the world to her. Lucas turned to face her. "You want me to make you some?" He asked. She smiled at his thoughtfulness and shook her head no.
"Just watch the movie with me," she asked. He agreed and she rested her head against his shoulder. As they watched the movie, Lucas couldn't help but feel happy to have her in his arms. Over the last couple of weeks there had been plenty of contact shared between the two of them, and he knew it was starting to get obvious. Everyone was noticing. He just wondered if Brooke was.
After the movie ended, Brooke turned to look at him. "Tell me one of your traditions," Brooke said. Lucas thought a minute and shrugged his shoulders. It's not that he didn't have any, but none stuck out in his head that she wouldn't already know about.
"Well there is one," Lucas remembered. "Ever since I was little, my mother and Keith taught Haley and I that we should give back. So every year, after the Christmas presents are opened, we go down and feed the homeless at the shelter."
Brooke smiled. "That's nice. What about this year?"
"We're meeting at 2," Lucas said. He turned to her. "You want to go?"
She thought a moment. Brooke had wanted to say yes, but instead she shook her head no. "You and Haley need some time alone. Besides, it'll give Nathan and I some time to talk," Brooke explained. "But maybe I'll meet you there?" She asked. He nodded his head and then looked at the Christmas tree.
There were several presents still scattered under it and he walked towards it. He picked up a small red package and handed it to her. "I saw this, and I don't know. It reminded me of you." Brooke looked down at it, a bit shocked. They had decided last night to give each other the presents with their friends and even though she had held a present to give to him today, she was still surprised he had done the same.
Brooke tore the shiny paper apart to reveal a delicate wooden jewelry box. She rubbed her fingers against it and smiled as she opened it. Inside was a blue velvet lining and there was a locket placed inside. She smiled up at him and shook her head. "It's beautiful Lucas," she whispered. "Put it on me?"
He nodded his head and she held her hair up. Lucas placed the necklace around her neck and snapped it shut. As it fell against her neck, he smiled in satisfaction. "Perfect," he grinned. Brooke's fingers held on to the locket as she jumped up from the couch. She headed into her bedroom and grabbed the package she had wrapped a few days before.
Lucas laughed. "I guess we both had surprises," he said. She nodded her head and watched as he opened the present. His finger traced the outline of the book and he smiled genuinely. "This is great Brooke, thank you." He opened it, to reveal the picture of the two of them and looked back at her. She blushed, before leaning in towards him and kissing him on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas Broody," she whispered as she pulled away from him. There was only about an inch that separated their lips from each other as he leaned in towards her. She held her breath in anticipation and shut her eyes.
Only to be disappointed.
"Brooke, Lucas. We've got a visitor," Karen called from the other room.
Brooke pulled away and stood up. "We should really see who it is."
Lucas nodded his head and stood up, following behind her. He couldn't believe what had almost happened. And then his mother had ruined it with bad timing. As he walked into the kitchen, he reminded himself to pull her aside later that day to find out what she wanted to tell him.
……
"These wonderful things are the things
we'll remember all through our lives…"
Haley hummed along with the Christmas carol as she made her way through the kitchen. She wanted to surprise Nathan by cooking him breakfast in bed. Well, that had been the original plan. Before Taylor had dropped a glass plate causing Nathan to wake up. She giggled and apologized but Haley had been figured out.
"Morning baby," she said as she kissed Nathan gently.
He grumbled a hello and Haley handed him a cup of coffee. She smiled at his behavior as she continued to cook his bacon and eggs. Taylor stood beside Nathan as she stretched her legs. "I'm going to go for a jog, you up for it?" Taylor asked him. Haley shot her a dirty look, but Nathan shook his head.
"Ugh no. Not today. I've got a cramp," he offered. Truth was, he was lying. He didn't want to go for a jog with her because he knew her game. She would flirt with him and he would almost fall for it. He turned towards his wife and smiled gently. "Besides, it's Christmas and I want to spend it with Haley."
Haley grinned. "Bye Taylor," she said as her sister glared at her. She shrugged her shoulders and jogged out of the apartment. Nathan waited for the door to slam behind her before walking towards the bedroom. He grabbed his jacket and pulled out a small blue box covered with silver wrapping paper. Nathan sat it down on the counter in front of Haley and she turned to face him.
"What's this?" She asked. The night before he had already given her a beautiful leather bound notebook where she could write her song lyrics in and had even given her a gift certificate to buy clothes at Victoria's secret. She laughed at the thought, knowing that present was probably more for him than it was for her.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Open it and find out."
Haley wiped her hands on her apron and grabbed the present. She leaned against the counter and unwrapped the wrapping to reveal a box that only jewelry could fit into. She held her breath as she opened the box and looked up at him a bit confused. Inside was a beautiful sterling silver charm bracelet with a heart charm hanging from it.
"I decided it was about time you got an upgrade," Nathan said as he tugged at her Cracker jacks bracelet. It had been over a year ago that he had given that to her and even though she had taken it off when she had gone on tour, it had meant the world to her. Brooke had found it and brought it to New York with her as a reminder of how much Nathan had loved her. It was one of the many things that had made her realize she needed to come home. And after that, she had never taken it off.
Haley smiled sadly. "I love this bracelet," she explained to him. Nathan wasn't sure what to say. How could anyone love a bracelet that was tied together with string? "This one is so beautiful," she said as she placed the charm bracelet on her other hand. She smiled as she held up both wrists. "They're perfect."
Nathan laughed. He was sure that wasn't what he had planned, but as he saw his wife's face he knew that she was happy. And that was enough for him. "I love you Haley."
"Good, cause I love you too."
……
"Then there was the year that Haley made him dress up as an elf. Do you remember that?" Karen asked Keith as she laughed. It was about noon time in her house and they had been eating lunch. Brooke was laughing at the thought of Lucas dressed in an elf costume and Lucas was groaning in embarrassment.
"Mom," Lucas pleaded.
Keith chuckled. "How about the time that Haley had convinced him to go ice-skating with her and the entire time he kept falling. He was so angry with her because Samantha Baker saw everything. Do you remember that Lucas?"
Lucas buried his head in his hands as he leaned against the table. Could it get any worse? It was Christmas and his family was sitting around telling embarrassing stories from his childhood. Brooke rubbed his back sympathetically and smiled. "Samantha Baker huh?" She giggled.
"Okay honey. Let's leave Lucas alone," Jules laughed. She leaned back in her seat and Lucas sat back up smiling happily.
He laughed as he turned to Keith and his mother. "At least someone is on my side."
"What about you Brooke? Any stories?" Karen asked.
Brooke thought a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. She didn't really have any embarrassing Christmas stories. "Nothing really embarrassing. Peyton use to get so mad at me because she'd have to buy my presents Christmas day because I always found out what they were," Brooke said as she sighed.
"Found out?" Lucas questioned.
Brooke laughed. "So I would open them," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'd still act totally surprised. I can't help it! I was never good with stopping myself," Brooke reminded him.
"Lucas did the same thing when he was little," Karen added.
Keith nodded his head. "Although we never actually caught him. He'd have them wrapped back up by the time we'd come home," Keith said. Lucas turned to Brooke with a smug smile.
"The object is, not to get caught," he leaned in and whispered in her ear. She laughed and took a sip of her drink. As she stared around the table at the different people, she couldn't help but feel as if she finally fit in somewhere. His family was taking to her as if she was his girlfriend. The thought brought a smile to her face. Lucas turned to look at her and then back to his parents.
He sighed. "Mom, Jules, Keith- Brooke and I have to get ready. We sort of have plans."
Brooke nodded her head. She was happy about being able to spend a little bit of time with Nathan. Even though they had talked on the phone a few times, she couldn't help but feel as if they had drifted apart a little as the school year progressed.
"I'll see you at the shelter ma," Lucas said as he kissed her on her forehead. Karen nodded and Lucas hugged Keith. "Merry Christmas man."
Brooke headed towards her bedroom door, but Lucas grabbed her hand. "Hey Brooke," Lucas said to her. "You were going to tell me something yesterday. Remember?"
Brooke nodded her head yes and smiled. Truth was she hadn't thought about anything else. Ever since her talk with Haley she had realized that she needed to tell Lucas the truth. He needed to know that she still loved him. She looked down at the floor and then back to him. "Okay, lets sit down," Brooke said. She motioned for him to follow her into her room and they sat down at her bed.
She sighed. "Lucas we've been through a lot the last two years," she said. He nodded in agreement and she continued. "And I think we're closer than we've ever been."
Lucas agreed and heard the doorbell. He looked over his shoulder but then back to her and rolled his eyes. "Ignore it. It's probably just Andy," he said with a shrug. She was about to start and got cut off by Keith yelling for Brooke.
"Brooke, someone's here for you," he yelled from the other room.
Brooke looked at Lucas and stood up. "It's probably Nathan. I'll just tell him to wait and I'll be right back okay?" Brooke said with a smile. Lucas nodded his head and watched as Brooke left the room.
She made her way into the front room and was surprised to not see Nathan standing in the doorway. "Sean…"
Lucas wanted to talk to Nathan, so he made his way towards the living room as well. "Hey Nate, did Haley tell you when she was leaving?" As he looked up, he wasn't sure what to say.
……
Karen walked to the front door with Keith following behind. In her arms she carried a turkey and Keith was carrying bags of groceries as well. Her hands were so full that she must have missed a patch of ice on the stairs and she landed on her butt.
"Oh my God! Karen are you okay? Lucas!" Andy asked as he dropped the bags to the ground and rushed towards his friend. She was holding her stomach, and she looked up to him. Karen reached her hand for his and he gently pulled her up.
Karen held onto the porch rail. "Yeah, I think I'm okay."
Jules and Lucas rushed towards the door. "What happened? Are you okay mom?" he asked as he put his hand on her back.
"I'm okay," she replied shakily.
Keith shook his head no and turned towards Jules. "I think we should take her to the hospital. With the baby, she needs to be seen." Karen started to protest, but Keith shook his head. "I'm not hearing it Karen. You just fell. You need to see a doctor."
"He's right mom. I'll go with you," Lucas said.
Karen shook her head no and turned to him. "Fine. I'll go. I'll call Andy. You need to go to the shelter with Haley. Keith and Jules can drop me off," she said, turning towards Keith to make sure it was okay. He nodded his head softly and she turned back towards Lucas. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll just go and get checked up. I love you," Karen said as she kissed her son on the cheek.
"And tell Brooke I'll see her later tonight," Karen added as she got into Keith's car. Lucas took one look back at the house and sighed. He knew he couldn't go back in there. The idea of seeing Brooke with Sean was killing him, and he could only imagine what was going on.
……
"Sean…" Brooke said as she walked towards him. She wrapped her arms around him gently and hugged him. "Merry Christmas."
Sean smiled. "Merry Christmas to you."
Brooke pulled away from him and walked towards the couch. She sat down and he followed behind her. Brooke wasn't sure what to say or even how to react to him being in her house. "What are you doing here?" She finally asked.
His smile fell and she looked towards the door. "I could go…"
But Brooke cut him off. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean- I saw your apartment and you pretty much took everything and left."
"It's Christmas and I missed you," Sean admitted honestly.
She blushed, but kept her eyes on the floor. Sean being here wasn't something she had been expecting. Her and Lucas had come so close to being what they once were, and she knew that with Sean back in town that would be out of the question. "I missed you too. I even got you a present," she said, pointing towards the tree.
"I got you one too. It's in the car." he said with a smile.
Brooke sighed. "How long are you here for?"
"Just two days," he replied. "I'd really like to take you out for dinner or something."
She glanced up at him and bit her lip. "I'm not sure…"
"Look Brooke, I know I screwed up by leaving," Sean took a hold of her hand. "But I was trying to protect you. After what Lucas and Nathan said to me, I didn't want to do anything to hurt you." Brooke nodded her head. She understood.
Wait.
Did he just say Nathan?
TBC...
Up next on Back to You:
Authors Notes: As always, I appreciate your reviews. Good or bad, I wanna know. So please, just take the time to send one.
OTHRETARD: LoL, I always love your reviews. I am so going to miss them when this story is over! (Hopefully you'll like the other stories as well) Umm...you're probably hating me right now after that Brucas scene. It sucked, everytime Brooke went to tell Lucas something she was interrupted. And then Sean came back... Uh oh! What happens next? Hmm...well hopefully you'll still want to read it. It wasn't ten minutes after but I did have an update for you the next day. Yay me! Hope you enjoyed it :-)
CutieRay: No not mad! lol, I am glad to see you're still interested. hope you liked the last chapter :-)
Kelz3192: okay, so I am not trying to kill you. lol, but I am glad you're loving the story still. More Brucas ahead even though it might not seem like it. hope you enjoy :-)
Bridgend: oh, I am so glad you reviewed my story :-) It's always nice to see a new person reviewing. Glad you are enjoying the story and hope you liked the return of Sean. He's here for a few more chapters. Enjoy
DanceDude09: lol, you're so cute. I hate Sean too for messing with Brucas. But hopefully it'll be alright in the end
KarahBella: thanks for your review :-)
Brucas1fanfromqc: I hoped you enjoyed the Brucas christmas. There was plenty of moments for the two of them but she still wasnt able to tell Lucas how she felt. Peyton was deffinitly happy to see her father but I am not sure that Taylor will have such a warm welcome.
Brucas4Ever: Glad you're still enjoying the story
L-A-C-18: You're reviews are always so flattering. Lucas is deffinitly taking advantage of being Brooke's "shopping" buddy, he takes whatever physicial contact he can get! I put the Peyton's father storyline into the mix because the story has so far been easy for her. I mean granted Brooke has been angry with her but others than that she's had it easy. Jake came home in the first couple of chapters. You know I had to throw her a little peice of her own drama and the whole drug storyline is another story, another time. Plus this chapter was around Christmas and I am almost positive that if they actually EVER decided to do a christmas episode that Peyton really would visit her mothers grave. The father is home but how will he react to Peyton and Jake's growing relationship? Hmm... the next few chapters will tell. I actually wrote the scene where Peyton was talking to her father at the grave but decided that since this was ultimately a Brucas story I didn't have to include it. I was thinking about putting it on fanforum anyway a sort of one shot...so I don't know. I might just erase it and let that be that :-) Basiclly the Naley scene was along the same lines, although I did make it to reveal that even though I am not showing them bonding in EVERY single chapter, Brooke and Nathan have become really close friends. Brooke will be finding out that Nathan was the reason Sean left very soon so lets just hope that she doesn't cross him out of her life the way she tried to with Peyton. Haley does have a LONG while before I will forgive her for what she has done to Nathan but at the same time she is trying her hardest to make it work. She does love him, after all on the show she did come home and in this story she did turn down Chris. So I am so glad you're liking my Brucas moments! I wanted to make them tender and sweet but at the same time still flirtatious and sexy. Hopefully I am doing a good job? As far as Haley trying to talk with Brooke at the cafe I don't think she was trying to be mean just trying to save Lucas from heartache. If you're not back before my next update I do miss you! And hopefully you will continue to review as soon as it is up and running again.
JiffyLube: I am so glad you're enjoying the story. Hopefully it will continue to be a great mix between the three couples.
JoJoGirl: I'm glad you're in the spirit for Christmas, sorry its a little early. I just wanted to progress the story further to show that time has past. I agree Brooke and Karen have a lot in common and their relationship on the show is something I would like to see progress. They'd be cute as mother in law and daughter in law. :-) And hopefully Sean's return will make Brucas realize they're supposed to be together. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter :-)
