Brooke, Peyton and Karen waited in the maternity ward waiting room. Finally, Nathan, Keith and the kids came through the doors and around the corner to the waiting area.
"Brooke." Nathan said when he saw them waiting. Brooke stood up and he asked, "Where is she?"
"Room 304." Brooke replied as Lilly ran up to her and Brooke picked her up. "Your mom is in with her until you get there."
"Thanks." Nathan said, turning to run down the hallway. But Brooke called out to him again.
"Hey Nate," she shouted and Nathan stopped and turned. She finished with a smile, "Relax. You're having a baby."
Nathan smiled and continued down the hall.
"Auntie Peyton," James said walking closer to her and Brooke, "Is Momma havin' the baby now?"
"Pretty soon." Peyton replied with a smile.
Deb returned to the waiting room.
"How is she?" Karen wondered.
"She's doing good." Deb replied. "Doctor says she's moving along more quickly than anticipated. She's already at five centimeters. Both Haley and the baby are doing really well."
"That's good." Brooke said.
"So do Nathan and Haley need us to take the kids home, or what?" Keith asked.
"Actually, I told them I'd take the boys home with me so they're not bored and I'll bring them back after the baby is born."
"But I wanna stay until mom has the baby, grandma." Andrew said. "I wanna see her and my baby sister."
"Me too!" Cooper said. "I be big bwother."
"I know guys." Deb said. "And you will. But it could be late before the baby gets here. That's why mommy and daddy want me to take you home with me. But I promise to bring you back as soon as someone calls me with news that your sister has arrived."
"Hey guys, listen to your grandma." Brooke said as she knelt down in front of her nephews. "Lilly's going home with her grandma too. I promise to call you as soon as the baby gets here okay?"
"Okay." James agreed.
"Alright." Brooke said, smiling. "Now give your Aunt Brooke a big hug before you go."
They boys all hugged her at once before leaving with Deb. Then, Karen and Keith prepared to leave with Lilly.
"Mommy," Lilly said, looking up at Brooke, "will you call me too when my new cousin gets here?"
"Of course." Brooke said. "Now you be a good girl for grams and gramps, okay?"
"Okay, Momma. I love you."
"I love you too, baby."
After hugging her mother, Lilly left with Karen and Keith. Then, Brooke sat back down next to Peyton.
"Did you call Jake?" She asked.
"Yeah." Peyton replied. "He was going to pick Jenny up, but she wanted to stay at Rachel's for a sleep over tonight. He'll be here as soon as he drops off more stuff for her."
Brooke nodded and they remained quiet a few more minutes before Peyton spoke again.
"So now that you've gotten closure with Dan and the accident, what are you going to do about you and Mouth?"
Brooke smiled and said, "I'm not going to hide anymore."
She picked up her purse, looked at Peyton and said, "Would you mind if--
"Go on." Peyton interrupted, smiling. "I'll call you if I hear anything. You just go tell Mouth you love him."
Brooke smiled again, hugged her best friend and left the hospital, feeling more confident than ever before.
In the labor room, Nathan sat at Haley's side, stroking her head. "You doing okay?"
Haley smiled at him and squeezed his hand and said, "So far, so good. I'm so excited though. I can't wait to have our little girl here."
"I'm excited too." Nathan said with a smile. "I'm going to have a daughter. It's kind of a scary thought."
"Why? Because you've only ever had sons?"
"That and because one day she's going to be a teenager. And I remember us as teenagers. She's never dating, by the way."
"Eh, you'll change you're mind."
"No I won't. I'm serious. I'm not going to let her date because she's not getting married at 16 like we did."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No, I didn't mean anything bad about it. Getting married young is working out for us. I'm just saying…she's never going to leave us for a guy."
Haley smiled and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, you're depressing me. It's cute how protective of her you are already. She is so going to love you."
Haley touched his cheek and he leaned over to kiss her lips. But their romantic moment was interrupted by another contraction and Nathan let Haley squeeze his hand. As the contraction ended, Haley's doctor entered.
"How're you doing Haley?" Doctor Tate asked, snapping on gloves.
"Oh, I'll feel better once the baby is out. So how much longer do you think?"
"Well, you've progressed fast." Doctor Tate said as she removed her gloves after examining Haley again. "You've gone from four centimeters to seven centimeters in an hour and a half. I'd say we'd have you in the operating room and ready to go within the next two to three hours. And once in there, it won't take long to get to the baby and deliver, so I think you can expect to have your little girl right around midnight tonight."
Nathan and Haley smiled at each other.
Brooke walked up three steps to the front door. She sighed and knocked. Not even thirty seconds later, Mouth had opened the door.
He smiled and said, "Hey Brooke, what are you--
Brooke interrupted him with a kiss. He gave in and they held the kiss a long time. When they finished, Mouth stared at Brooke with surprise and said, "Wow…that was incredible. But I don't understand. What-"
"I love you, Mouth."
Again, Mouth only stared with surprise. Brooke continued, "That's why I ran away from you the night you said that to me. I was afraid to love you because I was afraid of losing you like I lost Lucas. And I was afraid of losing you because I had this dream where we did love each other and then I lost you like I lost Lucas and I woke up and realized that I didn't want that to happen."
"So I broke up with you because I thought it would keep me from feeling pain again. But I was wrong because I've been hurting ever since I let you go. I have been in so much pain since the day I said goodbye to you and to us. And after some wise words from the two people I love very much, I realized that I need you Mouth…and I want you."
"Brooke, I…" Mouth shook his head and Brooke frowned.
She'd blown it. She was sure of it now. She'd waited too long. So before she could hear him tell her goodbye, before her heart could break again, she interrupted with, "It's okay, Mouth. You don't have to say anything. I understand."
Brooke turned to walk away, but Mouth grabbed her by the arm and she turned back and he kissed her. When he finished, he stared straight into her eyes, smiled and said, "You needed know explanation…and you talk way too much."
She smiled and they kissed again.
