Disclaimer: Too bad I don't own One Tree Hill. If I did though…man. It'd be heaven.
Just for the record…this story takes place in 2010, when Brooke and Lucas are 25.
"I remember." Brenna stated, simply.
"You remember what sweetheart?" Brooke asked again, wondering what the little girl could be talking about.
"Andrew."
"Who's Andrew, Brenna?" Brooke asked, feigning innocence. Her palms were now sweaty and she felt like if she didn't sit down, she might collapse from shaking so hard.
"I don't know. I just remember a little boy. His name was Andrew. Karah and I used to play with him." Brenna said.
"You don't remember anything else?" Brooke asked, taking a seat on the couch and motioning for Brenna to join her. Brenna walked over and plopped onto the sofa next to her mother.
"No." Brooke just nodded her head. "Mommy, how come we don't play with Andrew anymore?"
"Sweetie, come with me." Brooke stood up and grabbed Brenna's hand. The two made their way upstairs to the massive bedroom that Brooke shared with Lucas. She lifted the little girl and set her on the bed, and turned to the closet to retrieve something. When she emerged, she carried several photo albums.
"Pictures!" Brenna squealed.
"Yeah. Pictures. Where's your sister? She should see this too." Brooke said.
"Karah?" Brenna called.
Lucas walked into the bedroom with Karah in his arms.
"What are we doing?" He asked, setting Karah on the bed.
"Brenna asked about Andrew." Brooke said softly. "I think it's time that they know."
Lucas froze. His face looked like that of someone who had just seen a ghost.
"What's wrong daddy?" Karah asked.
"Nothing sweetheart." Lucas replied, jumping onto the bed with his family and kissing his wife on the forehead. She gave him a sad smile.
Brooke opened the first photo album. The pages were filled with pictures of their family, from Christmas, Easter, and several other different occasions.
"Mommy, is that Andrew?" Brenna asked, pointing to a picture of herself, Karah and another little boy.
"Yeah." Brooke replied, gently touching the little boy's face with her fingertips. "That's Andrew."
"Where is he now?" Brenna asked, looking up at her mom, who had tears in her eyes. Lucas wiped her tears away with his thumb, as Brooke leaned back against Lucas for support.
"We'll show you. Let's go for a drive, girls." Lucas said. Brooke looked up at Lucas, eyes filled with uncertainty.
"They deserve to know." Lucas said. Brooke nodded her head.
Brenna ran towards her room, and emerged with her hippo.
"Brenna, honey, no hippo…" Lucas said, but was cut off by Brooke.
"Lucas, she may need it. We don't know how they're going to take it." She reasoned.
"Okay. Hippo can come." Brenna gave a slight smile.
The girls were buckled up in the backseat of their parents' Mercedes Benz. Their cute little pink car seats matched. Lucas got in the drivers seat and Brooke got in on the passenger side.
"Top down, Daddy!" Karah laughed.
"Alright, Care Bear." Lucas pressed a button and the top on the blue Mercedes immediately drew back. Brooke turned on the radio and they were off.
Most of the car ride was silent, except for Karah's constant chatter in the backseat, to no one in particular.
"Mommy, where are we going?" Brenna asked.
"We're going to see Andrew." Brooke answered. Lucas squeezed Brookes hand as they entered the gates of Fir Lane Funeral Home.
"This is a cemetery." Karah said, disgustedly.
"Yeah, Care Bear, it is." Brooke said.
Lucas parked the car and they all got out. Brooke carried Brenna and Lucas carried Karah. They stopped at a grave decorated with gorgeous orange and white Dahlia's. A few children's toys lined the edge of the tombstone.
"What does it say?" Brenna asked, stooping down to get a better look.
"It says, Andrew Benjamin Scott. May 3, 2006 to June 13, 2008. Loving Son, Loving Brother. You will be missed." Lucas read aloud.
"Is he…" Brenna asked, afraid to finish her question.
"Yes, he died." Brooke said, wiping tears out of her face.
"Like Bambi's Mommy?" Karah shrieked.
"Kind of, Care Bear, yeah. Except for he didn't get shot or anything like that. He died peacefully." Brooke explained.
"What happened?" Brenna asked, wondering why her mom and dad were so upset.
"Well, he was a year and a half old and he got really sick. So mommy and daddy took him to the hospital…"
"Like where he was born?" Karah cut in.
"Yes, Karah. Like where he was born. Now let mommy finish her story, please?" Lucas answered.
"Well, we took him to the hospital and they told us that he had a disease." Brooke explained.
"What kind of disease?" Brenna asked.
"It's called cancer. And it's a really bad disease, because you can't just take medicine for it. He had cancer for about seven months when his body decided that it couldn't fight it anymore." Brooke said.
"So he died?" Karah said, tearing up.
"Yeah, honey. He did." Lucas said, picking up Karah and giving her a hug.
"You don't need to be sad, girls. He wouldn't want you to be sad for him." Brooke said. Brenna just sat motionless in front of the grave.
"Who was he?" Brenna asked.
"Well, you know how you guys are twins, because Mommy had two babies at once?" Brooke asked. Karah and Brenna both nodded their heads.
"Well, there's this thing called triplets where Mommies have three baby's at once." Lucas said. The girls were having a hard time putting two and two together, so Brooke took it a step farther.
"You two are really triplets. Andrew was your brother."
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