Brooke just sat quietly on the living room sofa as she listened to her mother lecture her about the truth of what happened in Las Vegas.

"Brooke Penelope Davis, what the hell were you thinking?" Victoria demanded. "How could you have been so irresponsible? I knew letting you go on that trip was a mistake. I should have known better than believe that pathetic excuse that you gave us about why you wanted to end your birthday trip early." She then turned to Julian, her anger still blazing. "What happened to you keeping an eye on her?"

Before Julian could respond, Brooke defended him. The shock of finding out her marriage to Lucas was real had started to wear off. "Don't bring Julian into this. This was my mistake, not his."

Brooke let out a heavy breath as she got up from the sofa. She was avoiding this for the last four years, and it was time she owned up to her mistakes. "You're right, Mother. I should have found out the truth whether we were really married or not. And it should have been me who served Lucas with annulment papers, not the other way around. But I was so freaked out about what I did that I panicked and left without an explanation. I didn't want to believe my marriage was real. I never had any real proof. There were tons of photos on my phone, but none of the official wedding. All I could really go with was the word of the receptionist who checked us in."

"You checked into the honeymoon suite in another hotel," Victoria exclaimed. "That should have been a clue right there."

Brooke had no response.

"As much as you wanted to forget it last time, it's certainly not going to be easy this time. If it's not enough you got married, you're now dragging poor Ethan into your mess. Is this why you and Owen never got married? Because you knew Ethan wasn't his or you knew you already had a husband?"

"Owen and I never discussed marriage because we knew we were too young. And we certainly weren't going to get married just because I was having a baby." She could see her mother was ready to comment, but Brooke wasn't finished. "Owen knew about my one-night stand with Lucas, but I didn't tell him about getting married because I didn't know if it was true."

"Well, you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up this mess if you would have taken care of it in the first place. Now why don't you just sign the annulment papers?" Victoria said. "Then we can get on with our lives without any problems from Lucas Scott."

"That man has a right to know about his son," Paul demanded, finally speaking up.

He had arrived home in the middle of the argument between Victoria and Brooke. Victoria wasted no time in telling Paul about Brooke's surprise marriage to Lucas. Paul was just as shocked as Victoria, but he didn't get a chance to say anything as Victoria took over the lecture until now.

"If he wants to be in his life, that's a different story. Ethan doesn't know him and he grew up thinking Owen is his daddy. How would we explain he has a different daddy?"

"Do we even know if this man is Ethan's father?" Victoria asked. "How we do know this Lucas is not the only man you slept with in Las Vegas?"

"Victoria," Paul breathed.

Brooke glared at her. She was reaching her breaking point. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you or Paul. I knew you wouldn't have any compassion and understanding for me. You would just think it's a perfect example of me ruining my life and proving to you that I'm not responsible enough to run my own life. That's your ultimate goal, right? To keep running my life and never giving me a chance to see if I can do it myself?"

She didn't even wait for a response. She put her hands up in defeat. "You know what? Julian and Rachel were right. I should have listened to them a long time ago. I'm taking Ethan and I'm moving out."

Victoria scoffed at her. "What? That's ridiculous. You can't be serious. Where would you go?"

"I'm dead serious, Mother," Brooke declared. She was tired of her mother condescending her. Tired of her criticizing her. Tired of it all. She was done. "Just as much as I am with telling Lucas about his son. He deserves to know."

"You held this secret for three-and-a-half years. Why are you so eager to tell him now?" Victoria asked.

Brooke didn't answer. Instead, she just stormed out of the room and into her bedroom. She pulled out her suitcase from the closet and put it on her bed. She furiously unzipped the suitcase, and opened it as wide as it could go. She started pulling out drawers and throwing clothes in her suitcase.

Brooke sensed a presence behind her.

"Don't even try to talk me out of it," Brooke said, not bothering to see who it was. "I've made up my mind."

Brooke heard Julian's voice and turned to him. "I know you have. I was just about to offer for you to stay at my place until you and Ethan can find something."

Brooke managed a small smile. "You're the best big stepbrother ever."

Julian smiled in return as he extended his arms out for a hug. She graciously took his offer. "You know I would do anything for you and Ethan. Victoria was out of line and she knows it. We all know you aren't the kind of person who sleeps around. This was your first time, and you even said you regretted it."

"I didn't only sleep with Lucas. I got married to him," Brooke said as she walked away from him. "And I ended up pregnant with Ethan."

"I know, and I know you did your best to try to make it right," Julian said. "You did try to contact Lucas and tell him how your night together led to the conception of Ethan. Although, I still think you should have tried to meet him in person instead of sending a letter. Or even after you sent the letter and you got no response back. But I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here to support you in your choice of telling Lucas about Ethan. I'll even be there with you if you feel like you need actual support."

Brooke gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, but I have to do this on my own."

Julian nodded understandingly. "Ok. Just let me know if you need anything, and I'll be there. But I do have a favor to ask." There was a short pause as Brooke looked at him curiously. "Do you think you can wait a few more extra days before you move into my place?"

"Julian, I don't know if I can stand to stay here another night with Victoria," Brooke said.

"I know, but Sam comes home from Los Angeles tomorrow," Julian reminded her. "And I'm sure she would want to hear it from you in person that you're finally moving out of the house."

Sam.

The half-sister they shared. The person that made them bond and really connect as brother and sister.

The fifteen-year-old teenager was rebellious against her parents, but both Julian and Brooke were able to keep her in line. And Sam adored little Ethan.

Brooke tried not to smile. "Why am I not surprised she's on your team too?"

"Because it's long overdue that you move out of the house and find your own space," Julian said, returning the smile. "And I know you love the house, and you love being the girl behind the red door, but you can't wait around for Victoria and Paul forever. It's time you show how awesome you are. I know you can do it." They embraced in another hug before Julian took care of the suitcase.

As Brooke went to see what Rachel and Ethan were doing, she heard a familiar voice echoing from the front door. "Hello, is anybody home?"

Brooke and Julian looked at each other before they hurried downstairs. To their delight, Sam was standing in the foyer. Ethan was already in his aunt's arms as Paul and Victoria were equally surprised to see their daughter had returned home.

Everyone greeted Sam with hugs as their second surprise visitor made an appearance. Sylvia Baker smiled happily as the family was reunited.

Brooke wasn't sure what she didn't like about Julian's mom. Maybe it was because she was a helicopter parent. Like Victoria, she always wanted to be involved in her child's life. Brooke tolerated her because she was not only Julian's mother, but she also was her mother's best friend. And it was no surprise she loved Ethan like a grandson.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow," Brooke said.

"Why are you ruining the moment?" Victoria said, nearly snapping at her daughter. She put the smile back on her face. "Sylvia, thank you for taking care of our Sam while she was in Los Angeles. I know I would have joined Sam, but we had the bridal expo last weekend."

Sylvia smiled proudly. "It was no problem. I was happy to show Sam around. She is certainly becoming quite the videographer, just like my Julian." She turned to her son. "Julian, what are you doing here? I thought you had your date tonight."

"Actually, I canceled that because there was a family emergency," Julian said.

Sylvia became concerned. "Is everything okay?"

Before anyone could explain, Ethan broke off the tension between the adults. "Did you bring back any presents?"

Brooke wanted to scold him, but Sam just smiled. "Did you really think I would come back without a present for my favorite nephew?"

"Are the suitcases still in the car? I'll go get them," Julian said.

"I'll help you," Paul offered.

Sam put Ethan down as her mother gestured them to come and sit down in the living room.

Brooke stayed where she was as she heard footsteps coming up from behind her. She could hear happiness in her friend's voice. "Did I hear you correctly? Did I hear my best friend finally announce that she's moving out of the house?" She didn't even let her answer. "We should go out and celebrate."

"Can we talk about it later?" Brooke asked. "And I'm not going anywhere. Sam just got home and I want to spend time with her."

"How much you want to bet that the celebration won't go smoothly?" Rachel asked.

The front door opened with Paul and Julian bringing the suitcases into the foyer. However, Paul wasn't looking happy. He stormed into the living room as his son tried to stop him.

Brooke knew that look and she was afraid to ask. They could hear the yelling from the hallway.

"You set Julian up with my intern?" Paul demanded.

Brooke couldn't hear Sylvia's answer, but she realized this night wasn't going to be quiet. "Ok, you're right. I'm going to tell Victoria we're leaving."

"I'm going with you," Julian said, who had overheard the conversation. He was also ready to get out of the house.

Neither Paul nor Victoria were happy to hear their children were leaving, and Victoria warned Brooke that they would finish their conversation later.

Brooke didn't answer. She was just glad she was going to get out of the house for a couple of hours. She said goodbye to Ethan and told him to be good for his grandparents. He barely acknowledged her. He was too busy playing with the toy that Sam had given him.

Rachel wanted to go to the club, but Brooke was against it. Owen worked there as a bartender, and she wasn't ready to face him again.

They decided to go to a restaurant on the Riverwalk instead.

Walking into the restaurant, the hostess recognized Brooke, Rachel and Julian instantly. She gave them a warm smile. "Good evening, Ms. Davis. Ms. Gatina. Mr. Baker. Should I request your usual table?"

"Yes please," Brooke said.

The hostess led the three to their table, and they were given menus.

As they looked over the menus, Rachel turned to Julian. "So did your mom really set you up with your dad's intern?"

Brooke didn't want to admit it, but she was curious to hear the answer as well.

Julian nodded. "Now you know why I was so reluctant to go out with her. I am not interested in Alex Dupree. From what my mom told me, she's only twenty-one."

"That's not too big of an age difference," Brooke said before she felt a kick in the knee. It was clear it came from Rachel. "So you couldn't tell your mom, so you let Paul do it for you? That worked out well. But how are you going to tell Alex you're not interested in her?"

"I was hoping you would help me out with that," Julian said. "I want you to help her realize I'm too old for her. And she should set her eyes on someone else closer to her age."

"Do you have anyone in mind?" Brooke asked.

Julian shrugged. "I don't know. You have more friends and connections than I do. I'm sure you can play matchmaker."

"I'll do my best," Brooke said before she started glancing through the menu to decide what to eat.

The three friends happily ate their dinner while they enjoyed each other's company.

"Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't realize how much I needed this until now," Brooke said as she looked down at her nearly empty plate. "I wasn't in the mood to hear more of that lecture about the Las Vegas trip."

Julian stopped her before she could go any further. "Hey, you're still on a break from Victoria. You are not allowed to talk about Victoria or the Las Vegas trip until we get out of here." There was a short pause. "Although, I am curious about that question she asked you, and you never answered her."

"What question?" Brooke asked.

"What made you want to tell him about Ethan?" Julian asked. "Because you were even trying to contact him when you found out you were pregnant with him."

"Why tell you when she can tell him right now?" Rachel asked before Brooke could even give her answer.

Brooke frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Rachel made a face as she gestured for Brooke to look behind her. "He's here with his date."

Brooke gave her a look. "Very funny. I just got the annulment papers this morning. I doubt he would be in Tree Hill already."

However, Rachel wasn't fooling around. "I'm serious. Your husband with the blonde hair and blue eyes is here. Just turn around if you don't believe me."

Brooke looked over her shoulder and she gasped in surprise. She recognized him instantly. There was no mistake. Lucas Scott was there right in front of her. She couldn't believe it. Out of all the restaurants that were in Tree Hill, he had to walk into this one. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't ready to see him. Especially with his date.

Brooke grabbed her purse. "I have to go."

Her friends didn't have a chance to respond as Brooke jumped out of her seat. She quickly brushed past Lucas and his date, hoping he wouldn't recognize her.

As soon as she was out of the restaurant, she heard a familiar voice calling her name. However, it wasn't the voice she wanted to hear. It was the voice she hadn't heard in a long time. She stopped for a moment, knowing she couldn't run from him forever. She turned around to face the man she hadn't seen in four years.

Lucas Scott.

He looked almost the same as he did when she left him that morning in the hotel room. However, he wasn't looking happy. "Wow, this feels like déjà vu. You really like running away from me, don't you?"

Brooke couldn't blame him for being angry with her. "I wasn't prepared to see you in Tree Hill tonight. I just got the annulment papers this morning. As I told Investigator Hargrove, I can't sign the annulment papers yet."

Lucas crossed his arms and looked at her exasperated. "Why not? We both know that night in Las Vegas was a mistake. So I don't understand why you're stalling. Because I have a life I would like to get back to."

Brooke wasn't ready to confess the truth. Not now. She needed time to prepare to tell him the news, especially since he would probably have questions. "Because there's something you need to know first. Meet me tomorrow at Tree Hill Café at noon. I'll tell you everything then. I promise."

There was hesitation from Lucas before he finally responded. "Ok fine. I'll be there."

Just then, Rachel, Julian and Lucas's date all appeared outside, watching the two to see what was going to happen.

"Brooke, is everything alright?" Julian asked, glaring at Lucas.

"Yeah, let's go home," Brooke said before Rachel took the lead. Julian and Brooke were right behind her, leaving Lucas and Haley behind.