Thank you to those who reviewed so quickly. It is nice to know that there are people reading this. I decided to leave you with a little more as a sign of gratitude. More review, more updates. P What can I say?

For those of you who have patiently read 3 chapters waiting for just a bit of Brucas, here it is. Sorry it took so long, but I really wanted everyone to get a feel for Brooke's character and her experiences, and why she is the way she is.

So onward to Chapter 4:

Brooke left Rachel's room feeling oddly connected to Rachel. She shook her head laughing a bit and continued on towards Nathan's room. She had barely made it 5 feet before she saw Lucas and Peyton again, Lucas' back to her, this time they were sitting, talking quietly, heads close together. She took a moment to examine them. Lucas had a broody expression on his face, the one he got when he was worried about something. He seemed to be listening to whatever Peyton was saying, but you could tell he was distracted as he gazed down at the floor. Peyton, on the other hand, was looking at Lucas with a dreamy look in her eyes, her hands fidgeting in her lap, something she did when she was anxious. She knew that look. It was the same look Peyton used to give Jake and Pete. It was the look she gave only to Lucas.

Almost as if Peyton could sense Brooke she looked up and stared right at her. For a second, a guilty expression ran across the blonde's face, before changing to a disdainful one. Her eyes dulled and she froze in mid sentence, almost as if to see what Brooke would do. Lucas noticed Peyton's abrupt pause and turned to look at what she was looking at. His eyes lit up for a second and it warmed Brooke's heart. Then he seemed to remember who he was sitting next to and Brooke's request to not be around her and a guilty expression took over.

"Brooke." Who knew her name could carry so much within its 6 letter. Relief. Joy. Confusion. Guilt.

He immediately jumped out of the chair and ran over to Brooke, stopping just a foot in front of her. He hesitated, knowing that things weren't wonderful between them, not wanting to make things worse.

Brooke decided to push her previous thoughts aside and pulled him into a hug. Immediately, everything felt as if it might be okay. He pulled her tight against him, one hand in her hair, taking a deep breath in relief as she laid her head on his chest. They just stayed like that for a couple moments, enjoying the comfort the other brought them, forgetting that they were in the hospital, that Nathan was in trouble, that they were fighting… They just wanted to take amount to BE together.

"I'm so glad you're here."

Brooke pulled away first, the memory of him a similar position with someone else not to long ago. He seemed surprised, but waited for her to speak.

"How's Nathan?" she asked tentatively. She hadn't seen Haley around, but had hoped it was a good sign.

His expression sobered and for a second Brooke expected the worse. "He's unconscious. The doctor's were able to stabilize him, but he hasn't woken up yet." Brooke nodded, knowing it wasn't great news, but it was a lot better than she expected.

"How's Haley?" At the mention of her name, Lucas turned to look at his best friend, who was standing surprisingly still near the door way to the waiting room. She looked almost like a serene picture of a bride, still all decked out in her wedding gown. But if you took the time to really look at her, you could see the tiny rips and wrinkles in the fabric; dirt smudges all over from when Brooke guessed she kneeled at the end of the bridge frantically looking for her husband. You could see her tired face and tear-streaked cheeks as her eyes gazed dully at the floor. You could see her tangled hair, which earlier had be swept into a gorgeous up do that was half up and half down her back, but now just lay haphazardly around her shoulders as if she had been running her fingers through her hair numerous times.

Haley chose that moment to break her reverie and look up at where Brooke and Lucas stood. Her face immediately crumbled and she ran towards Brooke. Brooke met her halfway as Haley clung to her, her tiny body shaking from her sobs. Brooke comfortingly rubbed her back, her eyes tearing up, as she hugged her former roommate. "Tutor Wife."

At the name, Haley almost seemed to cry harder, which didn't surprise Brooke seeing that it was her wedding day and she should be on her honeymoon, not in the emergency room. Haley managed to compose herself and Brooke gave her a teary smile. "Oh Tigger, just look at me, I'm a mess."

"Nah. You're just trying to get more attention and presents from everyone. I'm onto you Mrs. Scott." At that Haley smiled. "But you do look like you could use a change of clothes and some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that I may have left in the back of your fridge. Maybe I can even sweet talk some hunky male nurse into letting you see your boytoy." Haley just hugged Brooke tightly.

"Thanks Brooke." Brooke hugged her tightly and then took a step back, composing herself. "Okay, well I will be back with the necessities. I'll just be a minute." She gave Haley's hand one last squeeze and then turned to head out of the hospital.

"Brooke," Lucas called from behind her. She paused and turned to face him as he ran up to where she walked to. In the background she could see Peyton watching them, an unreadable expression on her face. She looked up into Lucas' baby blues and could see the worry swirling around in his eyes. "Look I – "

"Lucas," she started. There was so much they needed to talk about and so much left to say, she didn't even know where to begin. "I know we have a lot to talk about –"

"Brooke – "

She held up her hand to interrupt them, "I know there is so much left to say –"

"There is bu –"

She held up her hand to interrupt once again, "but now is not the time. Nathan is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. Haley is falling apart. We still haven't heard anything about Cooper – "

"I know," he said, grabbing her shoulders. "I know! God I know. Everything is so messed up and it's a horrible time, but – I – I just get a feeling if I don't something, say ANYTHING before you walk out that door, that I could lose you and I just I can't. I lo – "

"Lucas!" They both turn to where Peyton had called his name. The look on her face seemed to acknowledge at that moment that she had interrupted and Brooke could not read what lay behind her eyes. The three of them stood in that hallway, a triangle of mixed emotions and history, nobody moving, just looking at the others.

"Nathan's awake."