I'm back with a new chapter, and if you're strictly into just reading about the OG's, the parents, this chapter is probably not for you.
This chapter, while has some of the adults in it, it has more of the teenagers, and everything pretty much revolves around Madison, and her storyline.
Do not read any further if you don't like any type of criminal activity, etc. It is in this chapter, both being committed & having been committed. It's really no different than what Dan did but, moving forward if that makes you uncomfortable in anyway then you should just skip this.
The sun had set and the stars hung high over a small town in Southern Texas, in the middle of town was a chapel where thousands of couples had exchanged vows over the years.
Haley felt a heavy leather against the feel of her skin, and glanced back, as her husband laid wrapped his jacket around his wife.
Even Texas had a small chill at night.
Instead of getting married inside the chapel, Madison and Jamie took the option of getting married outside.
Haley wanted to complain due to the small chill she felt, but she couldn't—it was beautiful.
In the midst of a large garden was a fountain, that lit the darkened path up perfectly, and the sound of the water flowing was both calming and serene.
"With this ring, I thee wed".
Haley rested her back against her husband, even though her son's voice was soft and peaceful it rang in her ears, ever so loudly.
She held her breath and watched as Jamie slid the ring on to Madison's finger, her legs trembled and her body ached, but she smiled.
It was such a bittersweet moment for the mother, it was both heartbreaking and joyous.
"With this ring, I thee wed".
And Haley watched as Madison repeated the same action, sliding the ring up Jamie's finger on his left hand.
There was something oddly both settling and unsettling about watching the little girl she had watched grow up, put a ring on her son's finger. She couldn't believe how different it was viewing Jamie give Madison hers, and Madison give Jamie his.
The ring on her son's finger sent a numbness down her body and formed a knot in her stomach.
But, still—she smiled.
11:00 AM
Brooke had zero tolerance and zero patience, it was one of the dreadful things you grew to love about her. But, at this precise moment, she had to exercise both. She had to remain calm and tolerant, which was no easy task for her to pull of but she had to—for two people because Madison was neither right now.
In fact, Madison was nervous enough for the two of them, and her patience was getting shorter and shorter by every passing second spent in the room, the empty room.
It wasn't a big room, and it wasn't a small room—it wasn't just right either, this wasn't the three little bears, it was something else altogether. The walls were white, or at least they looked like they used to be, and the floor was a shade of grey that Brooke never knew existed, and she designed clothes for a living—she worked with colors almost every other day.
Brooke looked back at Madison, who walked back and forth—as she had been doing for the twenty minutes the girls had been inside the room, that deeply resembled a hole in the ground. She told her foster daughter to sit, multiple times, but nothing she said or offered stopped the sixteen-year old's legs.
"You're going to burn a hole in the ground".
Madison ceased all movements, briefly, as she turned to look at Brooke, who sat in a small relatively uncomfortable looking chair at the table in the middle of the room.
She wanted to join Brooke in the chair next to her, she really did, but the jitters flowing through her body made it damn near impossible. She couldn't.
"What's taking them so long"? Madison asked as she resumed her pacing, glancing up at the clock—behind two bars that sealed it to the wall.
"It's a prison Madison, not a Starbucks".
Truer words had never been spoken.
Madison could feel her mind, her emotions, and every ounce of her being pulling her in a thousand different directions.
It felt wrong, being here when the consequences at this point were no longer effecting just her. She could handle anything thrown her way, but she couldn't handle something happening to Brooke, because of her and her selfish needs.
"Are you sure this is a good idea"? Madison blurred out. "They gave us twenty-four hours—".
"Maddie, what do you think is going to happen when we return to Tree Hill"? Brooke asked around to face her, and she was shocked that for the first time Madison stopped moving, she stopped walking.
"They are going to take me—to New Jersey, or wherever the hell".
"They will take you as far away as they can," Brooke said. "This is officially our only hope to make sure you aren't taken away".
"But, what about you"? Madison asked. "They said that you can face jail time".
"I have been handling myself a lot longer than you have, I will be fine," Brooke said. "It is a four-hour flight and we have a private jet, you came all the way over here for answers, and now we need them—more than ever, so it's time to see this thing through".
Madison inhaled, deeply.
Brooke—she was right, and the sixteen-year-old knew that. She knew that if she wanted to stay in Tree Hill with her foster mother, with Jamie she had to do what she set out to do three days prior.
Madison knew that talking about it and living it would be two totally different realities, but she never anticipated this—this feeling that had overcome her from the second she walked through the gates.
The nerves, the nausea—everything.
Madison was sure she would pass out, so she did everything to think of anything else—but being trapped behind the walls of a prison made it a hell of a lot harder than she would have liked. She thought of all the ways this could go wrong, and but when she thought of all the ways this could right, her young mind failed to come up with one scenario, there had to be one.
Just one, at least.
"What's the point of that"? Madison asked, pointing to the clock, in an attempt to free her fragile mind from breaking like glass.
Brooke looked up. "Maybe it killed the batteries"?
Madison stopped pacing and turned on her heel, looking back at Brooke. "You just can't help yourself, can you"?
Brooke sat back in her chair, shifting as her posture melted into the stainless steel. "I'm either going to make inappropriate jokes, or I'm going to get sick—and there is only one trash can in here, which would you prefer"?
It was bad joke, a horrible joke at that.
Madison thought it might just the place or bad timing, or the fact that Brooke had a horrible and unethical sense of humor, which the fashion mogul would blame on the years she had spent with Peyton. But, the sixteen-year-old smiled, and then she laughed, not because she found humor in it, she didn't, but because out all the ways she could respond to the many emotions she was feeling, that was the one that rose to the surface.
Brooke had done the impossible—she cured her nerves, at least for a second.
Madison rolled, the sound of her laughter bouncing off the thick walls, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop.
Until she did.
The tears from laughing to manically continued to fall, but the sound coming out of her mouth changed rapidly to a heart-wrenching sob.
Brooke rushed across the room to Madison and wrapped her arms around the teenager. "It's going to be okay, you're okay".
"I don't feel okay," Madison said, her voice low and unsteady.
Before Brooke had the chance to respond the two girls jumped at the sound of a set of keys jiggling, and the knob on the large white door rattled.
Madison looked up, fire coursing through her veins as she waited for the door to open, but she didn't have time to wait or react. She felt Brooke pull her by her wrist and stand in front of her.
Brooke knew they were safe, despite being in a prison, she knew that no one could just freely walk into the room, but still, she jumped in front of Madison, as though they could. Maybe it was just instinct—to protect her, whatever it was that she was feeling she acted on it, keeping Madison as safe as she knew how.
When the door opened the Guard that escorted them earlier walked in with a woman, the woman couldn't have been much older than Brooke was it not younger. But, she wasn't going to talk about that. The woman in the jumpsuit had light hair—but it wasn't blonde, her skin was pale, and the fashion designer couldn't help but notice that Orange wasn't her best color.
The woman looked at the two girls from across the room, if she was confused or scared no one could tell, her face was unbothered, unmoved. She showed no emotion, she sat down at the table, across from where Brooke had been sitting previously. The girls watched as the guard locked the cuffs on her hand, to the table.
Brooke looked up at the man in uniform "thank you".
The man simply nodded as he walked over and shut the door, standing directly in front of the door.
"Does he gave to be here"? Madison whispered to Brooke.
She nodded. "It's policy" she whispered back. "Is this—is she—"?
"It's her," Madison said clenching her foster mother's hand, tightly.
"Qui êtes - vous"?
The sound of the woman's voice startled Brooke, she jumped when she spoke. She blamed the hovering silence.
"That's—that is French, right"? Brooke whispered looking at Madison.
Madison nodded. "At leas that part wasn't a lie".
"You speak French, right"? Brooke asked.
Madison nodded once again, but this time no more words fell out of her mouth.
"What did she say"?
"She wants to know who we are," Madison told her. "And she didn't ask nicely".
"That much I got," Brooke said, recalling the frigid and hostile tone coming from the woman.
Brooke led Madison across the room to the table, and they both sat down from across the table from the woman. As they did, Brooke never let go of Madison's hand, either she didn't want to or she was scared to, whichever it was, it kept Madison's jitter's at bay.
"Go ahead," Brooke told Madison, knowing she would have to give her the nudge.
11:30
"And you, my game challenged friend can eat my dirt—literally," Andre said, with the controller held tightly in his hand.
Chuck groaned as once again his long time best friend continued to beat him, at whatever game they were playing that echoed through the large hotel room.
Lily rolled her eyes—flipping through a magazine but couldn't help but notice Lucy, who was actually paying attention to the two boys.
"So, how do you know who wins"? Lucy asked pointing at the screen.
"Well—that's how," Andre said pointing at the screen, as it lit up.
Lily tossed her magazine to the side and looked up, and she scoffed. "I can't believe we are getting to skip school, but we aren't allowed to leave the hotel".
"Poor little rich girl," Chuck said laughing. "Are you mad because you're stuck in a five-star hotel with room service or are you upset because you're a thousand miles from home in a big city"?
"If you don't shut up you're going to be really upset when you don't have sex for a month".
"Ouch," Andre said, and he laughed, knowing Chuck wouldn't say another word about the matter.
Lily got up off the bed and walked over to the window, looking out into the city—jealous of everyone walking around outside.
But, just for a second.
Lily turned around at the sound of the door opening and seen Jamie walk in, but he didn't walk past the threshold. He stood there, twisting the knob nervously.
"Can I talk to you two for a minute"? He asked.
"There are four of us, you're going to have to be a little specific" Lily told him.
"Andre and Lily".
Andre and Lily shared a quick glance, but given the day's crucial circumstances, they both nodded.
"Here," Andre told Lucy handing her the controller. "Have you ever used one of these"?
"No"? She said.
"That's fine, Chuck could really use a self-esteem booster," Andre said shrugging as he handed it to her.
Chuck rolled his eyes, and mockingly laughed at Andre, though no one but Lucy noticed his immature behavior, as the other two left with Jamie.
"What's going on"? Lily asked as they followed him. "Have you heard from Madison"?
Jamie shook his head. "No, I'm going to go out there now".
"I thought only Brooke could".
"Only Brooke can go with her back there, I called, I can at least sit up there in case things go bad," Jamie told her as he opened the door to his hotel, and the two followed him in. "But, I need a favor—and it's for Maddie".
"Anything," Andre and Lily said instantly in unison.
The three heard the door click and Jamie pulled his wallet out and sniffed through it before pulling out a flashy credit card.
"While I'm gone I need you two to do a couple of things for me," he said holding the card up between his index finger and middle finger.
"You need us to go to Tiffany's"? Lily asked. "Gucci? Prada? Chanel—I've always wanted Chanel".
"You act like Luke doesn't have money," Jamie said.
"He has money, but he put me on a budget," she said rolling her eyes. "He is trying to raise me how mom raised him, which means I can either buy one expensive thing or a closet full of off the rack, you think he is going to buy me a Chanel handbag"?
Jamie nodded. "We pull this off today—and I will buy you all the Chanel you want".
Andre ignored the little jump Lily did and asked: "what are we doing"?
"My dad gave me full access to my bank account, the one my grandpa set up which means—".
"That's a multimillion-dollar credit card," Lily said clenching Andre's arm.
"Anyways," Jamie said ignoring Lily's overreaction. "He gave it to me before we left Tree Hill, I wanted to pay for the whole trip, and he let me. So, here is what I need from you two" he said walking over to the computer laid out on the table. "I need a lawyer, the best you can find".
"What for"? Andre asked, folding his arms.
"Does that matter"? Lily asked.
"Actually, it does—we need to know what field of practicing law we are looking for, criminal justice, divorce, there are many different fields" Andre explained.
"Brooke talked to her lawyer this morning, someone—I don't know who reported Madison," Jamie told them. "They reported her leaving the state, without permission—".
"What does that mean"? Lily asked, noticing the change in his tone.
"That means her custody arrangement with Brooke has been, we have twenty-four hours—less than that now, probably twenty-two, to get her back to Tree Hill and then they are going to take her off to God knows where".
"They can't do that"!
"Oh, my god".
"They can," Jamie told them. "They can and they will, which where you two come in. I'm not putting all my eggs in this basket with this woman she went to meet today, I need a lawyer".
"You just said Brooke has a lawyer," Andre said.
He nodded. "She does, and he is doing what he can but I think he a lawyer that oversees things, he handled Julian's will and discusses things with Brooke, things to that nature. I think he has been handling Madison's foster case as a favor, he has worked for Brooke forever, I need someone who is going to fight for Madison, that will turn over every rock to keep her in Tree Hill".
"And my boyfriend wants to go in on halfsies over a cup of coffee," Lily said rolling her eyes.
"They are wanting to take her out of the state," Jamie said as he sat down in the chair, stressfully running his fingers through his hair.
"How can they do that"? Lily asked. "If she is part of the foster system, that is run by the state, they shouldn't be able to take her to another state, another town maybe—but state"?
"It's the predicament with Lauren that gives them the authority to take her over state lines," Jamie said. "I need someone who can fight it".
"So, we need to get on google," Lily said. "Find the best lawyer".
"Yes and no" Jamie said looking up at his lifelong friend.
Andre knew from the second he locked eyes with Jamie, where the conversation was heading. "Are you kidding me"?
"You said you would do anything for Maddie," Jamie told him.
"And that still stands—but, this"?
"Someone tell me what's going on"? Lily asked.
Jamie and Andre didn't turn to answer her, they both continued to look at each other, neither one speaking.
"It's for Maddie," Jamie told him, standing up.
Andre sighed. "What do I need to hack"?
"Wait—what"? Lily asked. "Hack, as in—"?
"As in the highly illegal form of google" Andre told her, folding his arms.
"That my best friend happens to be incredibly talented in," Jamie said. "This is my computer, in my room—all in my name. Nothing can be traced back to you, I promise".
"Well, that's a relief, I'd hate for the FBI to show up at my house again," Andre told him.
"FBI"? Lily asked. "Again? What the hell"?
"So, I just need to find a lawyer, no one should see me sniffing around in their database, I can look around for lawyer's in the top five percent".
Jamie watched as Andre sat down and began typing. "Narrow it down to the top two percent, and there's more".
Lily watched as Andre's head dropped, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "When you're done with that, I need you to find everything you can on Madison—and this woman," he said pulling a piece of paper out his pocket.
Andre looked down. "I thought Madison's mom was named Elizabeth".
"Let's just assume it's an Alias," Jamie said. "That's her real name, or maybe it's another Alias, the point is I want everything you can find on her and everything you can find on Madison if this woman doesn't give her some sort of good piece of information—I want to be one step ahead".
Andre hesitated, initially, but this was Madison, and just like Jamie he would do anything. "You got it, man".
Jame handed his credit card to Lily. "Here, find the lawyer, if they need the private jet to get here, the number is next to the tv, but I want you to do the talking".
"Her"? Andre asked. "I'm breaking into the government database and she has to make a phone call"?
"If they can talk on the phone with Lily for more than five minutes, they don't scare easily," Jamie told them as he walked to the door. "Keep me in the loop".
Lily turned to face Andre and smiled holding the credit card up. "Do you think he would care if we ordered take out"?
Andre rolled his eyes. "I don't think he would notice".
"From every restaurant in a twenty mile radius"?
12:45
Madison wasn't sure how much time had passed, she wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the seat—through the numbing sensation coursing through her backside was a good indication of length.
The room was quiet, the officer in the corner didn't speak, and neither did Brooke—or the woman Madison grew up believing that she was her mother. This was her, and she wasn't dreaming—it felt more of a nightmare than anything, but after all these years, here she was.
"Do you recognize me"?
Madison felt the words fall out of her mouth, but as they did her stomach drop and her heart pound.
"Je, Je te connais"?
It was a relief that everything hadn't been a lie, that there had been some truth to Madison's life, even if that truth was hidden by a lie.
"Je m'appelle Madison Landry, Je suis de Tree Hill, caroline du nord, vous me reconnaissez maintenant".
Madison was fluent in many languages—French sat at the top of that list nestled snuggly between Spanish and German, but as she spoke she stuttered. She found something simple to come with great difficulty.
The woman didn't respond, a minute or two passed, and no one said anything.
Madison finally gathered her courage and when she looked up, she looked directly into her eyes, her dark eyes.
From the second she locked eyes with the woman, it was like someone opened the floodgates to her memories. Madison remembered her, but now she could remember every little detail, down to the bedtime stories she used to read. And it hurt, it was the most painful heartbreak of her entire life, everything inside her ached and throbbed.
"Madeline"? She asked her accent heavy on her lips, reaching out to take her hand—in what little lean way the cuffs around her gave.
Madison jerked her hand away, instantly. "Don't" she whispered, her voice aching. "Why did you call me, Madeline? It's Madison—or is Madeline? Are you right? Or do you even know"?
"Je sais à quel point tu es énervé" the woman began.
Brooke had enough and her patience wore out, it honestly surprised Madison that she had lasted this long. She shook her head and pounded her knuckles against the table interrupting the woman across from her. "Inglés or Anglais," she said. "English" she demanded. "If you can understand her, and I'm assuming you can because you knew what she said, I can tell by your face in case you are curious. So, we can talk in English, the three of us, I know very few words in French—most of which are dirty, but if you can speak English then do so".
"She can speak English" the guard informed them from the corner, without glancing up.
The woman looked over her shoulder, a furious scowl directed at him, though it didn't seem to bother the man in uniform.
"What's your name—your real name"? Brooke asked.
Madison looked at Brooke, confused—as they knew her name, her real name in fact. They had to, to come inside the prison.
But, then it occurred to Madison, Brooke might have been testing her, so she waited.
The woman leaned back "Emeline—Emeline Caballero" she said. "Or would you like the name I wore before I married my husband"?
"No," Brooke said. "That will do".
"Where did Landry come from, Elizabeth Landry"?
Emeline shrugged. "I always loved Elizabeth, like the queen," she said. "Landry was my father's mother's name before she wed my grandfather".
Madison could hear Brooke asking Emeline question after question, relevant or not, but she couldn't make out anything that was said. Everything around her became distorted. She could only describe it as the slow-motion scene in a movie, gradually everything around her decelerated.
She looked up, and though Brooke was right next to her, she couldn't entirely make out what she said.
All Madison could do was feel, feel her heart shatter and feel the pain in her chest—
"Are you my mother"?
Everyone stopped what they were doing, all conversation halted at the outburst, and the suffering Madison was feeling soaked out of her body through her aching tone.
Madison assumed she knew, but perhaps she needed to hear it—out loud.
Maybe Brooke already asked, and she missed it.
It didn't matter.
Nothing else mattered.
Emeline wanted to reach for her hand, Madison could see it, but she didn't. "No, not by blood," she said, lightly.
"So, not at all"? Brooke asked.
"But, I loved you as though you were my own" Emeline said, ignoring Brooke's comment, which was no easy task. "I loved you as though you were my own Fille, I loved you since you were a Bébé. I was there when you were Né, born. I was the first to hold you".
"My whole life, my entire life I thought I was part French and Spanish, I thought I come from this Frenchwoman and a man from Spain. Why would I"? Madison asked. "You drilled the languages into me as though it were life or death. I was a child, and you lied to me"!
Emeline shook her head, profusely. "No, mon amour, we never lied to you, your papa and I—we never lied. That is where we are from, he comes from Spain and I come from France, that is no lie".
"Is he—your husband, is he my father"?
Emeline looked down, and once again shook her head.
"Then don't call him my father," Madison said.
"I'm Désolé, my apologies," she said.
"Wait—you said you were there when I was born," Madison said. "Is that true"?
"Yes, mon amour, I held you first," she said.
"Then if you're not my mother, who the hell are you? Who the hell is she? What the hell happened"?
"How many Hell's can you fit into one paragraph"? Brooke whispered.
"You remind me of her, your Mère" Emeline said. "Nina was—feisty, had a tongue and temper for days, but she was a Scorpio so perhaps that's where it came from".
"Nina"? Madison asked.
"But, you look like Nik, your father, your real papa, especially around the eyes—it's like I am looking right at him".
Madison looked up, and when she saw her—Emeline, she couldn't breathe, let alone think. Everything around her began to spin again, this time faster, and it wouldn't slow down, and it wasn't going to either.
She jumped up out of her seat, and left the room, as quickly as she could.
The second she entered the hall, leaving Brooke and Emeline behind, she finally could breathe again.
"Maddie".
She turned around and Brooke was walking to her, taking her steps slow and steady.
"Please—don't ask me if I'm okay," Madison said.
"I didn't, the answer to that is pretty visual," Brooke said walking to her.
"I'll be fine" Madison lied. "I just can't—I can't be in there, please? Can you do it, can you talk to her and find out where my parents are? Or if they're alive? Or whatever happened".
Brooke nodded, running her fingers down Madison's long hair.
"She started telling me how I looked like them, and I couldn't—I couldn't hear it from her, she has no right to tell me I act like my mother or that I look, my father, I can't".
Brooke wrapped her arms around Madison and held the back of Madison's head in the palm of her hand. "It's okay, I will talk to her—just go to the front where we came in at, I will be there when I can".
Madison nodded and stepped out of Brooke's embrace.
Step by step, each one slower than the last she found her way through the hall, every heartbeat aching more than the last.
Madison didn't think she was ever going to make it to the front of the building, but then she did—
"Jamie"?
Her boyfriend looked up as he sat in one of the seats lined up around the wall, and he jumped to his feet the second he saw her.
Madison melted, proceeded to break down in his arms.
But, out of everyone in the world—this was precisely who she needed.
1:00 PM
Brooke waited, and she watched as Madison made her way to the end of the hall, and through the door—just to make certain that she made it.
She took a deep breath, inhaling all that air that could physically fill her lungs before she opened the door and stepped back inside.
Emeline still sat there, not that she had much of choice, not that she could go anywhere, but she looked up—and for the first time her facial expression changed. She looked surprised, shocked as Brooke made her way back to the table and sat down.
"Madeline"? Emeline asked looking around her, watching the door close. "Where is she"?
"First, it's Madison" Brooke informed her. "Or Maddie, but you don't know her well enough to call her that. And second, you will be speaking to me now, she won't be joining us—by her own choice, she found it too difficult".
"I completely understand".
"Do you"? Brooke snapped. "Do you even have the slightest clue what that girl is going through her mind? What you have put her through? I got the mother from hell, and you make her look like an angel"!
"Everyone's journey to motherhood is different, challenging yet rewarding".
"Oh, my god—you're delusional, you're not her mother".
"I am," Emeline said. "I might not have given birth to her, but I am by law".
Brooke was ready with a witty, and snide comeback, but once she heard the words Emeline said, she froze, still as a statue.
"What—what do you mean, by law"? Brooke asked.
Perhaps Emeline noticed the shift in Brooke's attitude, but she shifted in her seat looking oddly across the table. "Why is that important"?
"Why don't you tell me what you meant"?
"I never did ask, what's is the reason for your visit, of this visit"? Emeline asked.
Brooke groaned, as silently as she could. "Does that really matter"?
"The timing is a bit—off," she said. "My capital punishment is being served out by the end of the week, and today—Madeline and you show up, to chat? I don't think so, I believe I could have understood if she just wanted to get her feelings off her chest but, considering she left the room and is not returning, I don't believe that to be the case—so, what is it you need from me"?
"What makes you assume I need something from you"? Brooke asked, interlacing her fingers.
"I haven't had a visitor in all the years I have been here—".
"Short friends list"?
Emeline scoffed. "After my trial, it was court ordered that no one visit myself or my husband—and you got around that"? She asked.
"It was nothing more than a few calls," Brooke said. "I used to design clothes for the governor's wife".
Damn it.
Brooke couldn't believe she let that one slip out.
But, with that Emeline smiled, almost giddy, an emotion Brooke had presumed she was incapable of. "You didn't just come here to find her parents, you need to—don't you"?
"She deserves to know who her mother and her father are," Brooke said. "So, who are they"?
Emeline sat back in her seat. "I'll tell you anything you want to know".
"Then let's start with—".
"If you can get me out of here".
Brooke looked up and she blinked, twice as she took in the information. At some point in her life, Brooke had heard the term dumbstruck, she was sure it was in a town quite like this, and it was the only thing to describe her reaction.
"You' re—blackmailing me"? Brooke asked.
Emeline shrugged. "No, you help me I help you".
"You were given the death penalty," Brooke said, as though she needed reminding. "You had your day in court—do you really think there is a lawyer alive that can get you out of this, or that I would help you for that matter? If you did something heinous enough to end up in here then chances are you're beyond help—excuse me".
Brooke got up and stormed out of the room, she couldn't believe this was happening. This was their last chance, their last shot, and their only hope was less than a one percent chance in a million, not that she would help her out anyways.
Why would she?
How could she? How could she simply help a woman who was so vile to end up here, of all places, get free? She couldn't—she wouldn't.
Brooke pushed the door open at the end of the hall to find Madison and Jamie sitting in a corner, in the small check-in area.
"What did she tell you"? Madison asked jumping to her feet, with Jamie not far behind her. "Good news? Bad"?
"She said she will tell me anything I want," Brooke told her slowly.
"Oh, my gosh—"
"If I get her free".
Madison's face would have hit the floor if it had dropped much more, and Brooke hated being the one to crush her insides.
"That's not an option," Jamie said.
Brooke nodded. "That's where I'm at with it," she said. "But, I don't know what to do".
"I'm going to have to move," Madison said slowly, clutching her stomach. "Tree Hill is all I have ever known".
"And it's all you're ever going to know," Jamie said.
"How can you promise that"?
"Lucky for you, your boyfriend had a plan B from the second you left this morning," Jamie said rubbing her back, softly. "Is she talking to you"? He asked, looking up at his godmother.
Brooke thought about it for a second but said "yes" after a passing minute. "Once she put two and two together that we needed something she hasn't shut up".
"Then go in there and lie to her," Jamie said. "Make her think you're calling a lawyer".
"How is playing a game of pretend going to help right now"?
"Because the more she talks the more information she might give you, without realizing it—trust me," Jamie said. "I'll have someone up here with you soon, we are going back to the hotel, I'll text you".
Brooke watched as the teenagers walked towards the door, Madison was just as confused as Brooke was, but decided to trust her boyfriend.
"This is going to be the one time my mouth has nothing to say," Brooke told herself as she began to find her way back to the holding room.
2:45 Pm
Madison hadn't let go of Jamie's hand since they left the prison, which was something she never thought she'd say, except she didn't say it—that was the only good news about this day.
She clenched Jamie's hand tightly, in an attempt to keep up with him better, but he just walked faster with every turn. He was rushing, and she had no idea why, but whatever it was didn't give him the patience to wait around for an elevator, so the two climbed the stairs, the sound Madison's heel's made when they hit the floor beneath her echoing through the stairwell.
Madison was curious about what was happening, and what—just what Jamie could have up his sleeve? It had to be something, big, everything about Jamie was big—and if she wasn't out of breath from climbing the stairs she would make a dirty joke but the amount of oxygen she was currently loosing was overpowering her will to think freely.
The second to the last floor and Jamie pulled the door open, leading his girlfriend through the hall.
"Do you care to tell me what's going on"? Madison asked, her breaths heavy and uncontrollable. "And why it didn't call for us taking the elevator"?
"Two reasons," Jamie said as he kept walking, at a pace faster than Madison, causing his girlfriend to have to jog. "One is I still haven't got over our little incident at the hospital if I wasn't terrified of small spaces then—I am now. Second is there were seven other people waiting—they all could have been going to the same floor or different, either way, we shaved off a couple of seconds to get up here".
"And a few years off my life" Madison commented and let out a long sigh of relief as they finally came to an abrupt stop.
Jamie chuckled at Madison as he slid the key in before opening the door to his hotel room, the two walked in—and Madison stopped for a split second when she saw Andre sitting at the computer and Lily on the phone—writing something on a piece of paper.
"What the hell is going on"? Madison asked.
"I built my own police force" Jamie joked as he walked over to Andre.
"That was your lawyer," Lily said as she hung up the phone. "And after speaking to six, I'm confident in that one".
"What's their name"?
"Johnathan Beckham".
"Like the soccer player"? Andre asked.
"I don't know," Lily said. "Basketball is all I know, and I barely know that—I just happen to be good at it".
"What have you found out"? Jamie asked Andre as he took his jacket off and tossed it on to the bed.
Before Andre had the chance to answer there was a knock at the door, all four of them looked back and forth between each other—but ultimately Jamie walked towards the door, slowly, before opening it even slower.
"Oh, my god" Jamie said letting out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were the police".
Nathan and Haley looked at each other and then back at their son.
"That begs the question—what the hell is going on in here"? Nathan asked looking around his son's shoulder, into the room.
Jamie held the door open for his parents and they stepped through, walking into the room, as their son shut the door behind them.
"Andre," Jamie said walking over to his best friend. "Continue".
"Well, the woman—Emeline Caballero, born Emeline Dion, from what I can gather about her family she had a slightly normal upbringing, her immigrate papers show she moved from France to America in nineteen ninety-six, with her mother shortly after she turned sixteen. Everything is legal, her papers—everything, she is a United States Citizen".
"What else"?
"Emeline inherited her mother's business after her mom died when she was twenty-one, it was a vineyard down in Texas Hill Country, from the sales I have found it used to thrive".
"How are you finding all this out"? Haley asked looking at Andre.
"If I tell you—you might become an accomplice, so let's just say my talents," he said.
"Oh, my god—that's why you thought it was the police," Haley said pointing at Jamie. "Andre you have already been in trouble for hacking in the past, I don't think the FBI gives you more than one warning".
"Normally they don't give any" Nathan said. "But, he was too young for prison".
"Relax," Jamie said. "He is using my computer".
Haley's eyes widen and her mouth dropped. "Well, that makes me feel tons better—no let's shut this down, right now".
"No".
"Excuse me"? Haley asked her hands on her hips looking at her son.
"I don't mean any disrespect mom, but no," he said. "This woman isn't talking until Brooke gets her out of the prison".
"That's not an option," Nathan said immediately.
"I'm aware, but she won't talk without that, but I have a plan".
"You"? Nathan asked. "The sixteen-year-old? What exactly is your plan"?
Jamie looked up at him. "I told Brooke to keep talking to her, make her think that she has a lawyer coming to see her, just keep her talking long enough for us to use this information to find Maddie's parents, with Andre we could".
"That's—actually that's not a bad idea" Nathan admitted.
"Why does everyone always doubt me"? Jamie asked. "And with my lawyer—".
"Your what"? Haley asked.
"I got a lawyer because if we aren't able to track down her parents we need to fight for Maddie to stay in Tree Hill".
Nathan looked and Haley, and said: "We have stepped into a crime scene".
Jamie waved his parent's reactions off. "What else do you know about her"?
"She married a man named Santiago, when she was twenty, I mean—after age twenty-five there is nothing until she was arrested with her husband," Andre said.
"That must have been when she became Mrs. Landry," Madison said rolling her eyes.
"Going off of this, I don't see how I can find Maddie's parents".
"Okay," Jamie said taking Maddie's hand and leading her to the bed sitting them down. "I know all of this is hard, but did she say anything to you—anything about your parents, at all"?
Madison looked around and everyone, but Jamie brought her face back—to look at his. She wanted to smile, but she couldn't.
"Nina—and Nik, that's what she called my parents," Madison said. "I don't know—if that helps any".
The sound of Andre typing filled the silence in the room, as Haley looked at Madison, or rather this broken version of the girl she once knew.
"Employees," Haley said, having a really hard time believing she was now apart of this. "If she filed taxes against the Vineyard then it was legal, look through the list of employees she had. Maid's, workers, cooks—whatever".
Andre nodded. "That's a good starting place".
"And Nina might be short for something, like Maddie," Haley told him. "Comb through anyone that set foot on her property".
"That's going to be hard," Andre said. "This Vineyard was almost five hundred acres, in eight years they went through hundreds of employees, including the families of everyone that worked here—it looks like they hosted a thanksgiving and Christmas dinner's for their employees every year, thousands were on the property".
"Scorpio," Madison said. "She said my mom was a Scorpio".
"That helps," Andre said. "Narrowing search by birthday's between October twenty-second through November twenty-first".
"Race" Madison said. "Or ethnicity, look for someone with a Hispanic background, of some sort".
Andre looked back at her, and though her voice was shallow and quiet he heard her. After a long minute, he stopped typing and looked across the room at Madison. "I think—I think I'm producing this right, Ximena Vasquez".
"Who is she"? Madison asked, holding Jamie's hand tightly.
"She was a maid's daughter," he said slowly. "The maid—Adelita, came to America from Mexico when she was twenty, she married a United States born man but his family was from— Puerto Rico, they had one daughter Ximena, she was born in America, there was an interview from a magazine about the Vineyard, they interviewed all of the employees, Adelita talked about what great people they were and how they let her bring her daughter to work. She mentioned how Ximena was very close to the owner's daughter, it says they are practically best friends".
Madison covered her mouth. "She said she was there when I was born, she held me first".
"She gave birth to a baby girl," Andre said slowly. "In the summer of 2004, with her boyfriend, turned husband—Nikolás García, who was from Havana".
"As in Cuba"? Lily asked walking over to look into the computer.
"Where else would it be"? Jamie asked her.
Lily shrugged. "Georgia"?
"That's Savanna," Haley said pinching the bridge of her nose.
"What happened"? Madison asked standing up. "What was her name"?
"Isabellà," Andre said. "Isabellà Madeline Adelita Vasquez García".
"Say that three times fast," Lily said as she hovered over Andre. "Madeline doesn't exactly fit in—in that sentence of a name".
"No, but that's what she kept calling me at the prison" Madison said. "If they actually were close she might have given me a name if she was my godmother or something".
"Isabellà lived with her parents, up until she turned two—then there is no more record of her. No shots, nothing. She just disappeared—around the same time Emeline did".
"Is it—is it me"? Madison asked, trembling.
Andre glanced up at Lily before clicking one button. "These were her parents—".
"Maddie, you look just like Isabellà's father," Lily said as she looked at the government picture of him on the small screen.
"That's what Emeline said," Madison said. "That I looked like my father".
Andre turned the laptop around and Madison gasped, she could feel Jamie's hand on her lower back—for comfort probably, but there they were.
"That's them—that's my parents," she said tears falling from her eyes. "Where are they now"?
Andre turned the laptop back around to face himself and began typing. "Nik—your father, he moved back to Cuba, hold on. Oh, my god".
"What"? Madison shrieked.
Andre looked at Jamie, and his best friend got up and walked around the table, looking down at the screen. It became obvious, that he didn't want to say what he was reading.
Jamie looked up at Madison, and he knew he was going to be the one to break her heart.
3:15 PM
Madison had to get away, although she didn't know from what but she had to put as much space between her and what was on that computer as possible.
It didn't take her long to realize she was running from her own thoughts—her own mind, her own pain, the soul-crushing feeling that was damn near paralyzing. She ran as if she could outrun her emotions as if she put in enough steps that everything would disappear, but it didn't.
Madison was smart, you could even say she was intelligent, so it didn't make any sense why—why she would believe that she could outrun everything twisting around in her own mind, especially in these heels.
"Maddie".
The sound of Haley's voice bouncing off the walls, echoing down the large stairwell is what brought her out of her own head. She wasn't even sure how she got here, or why after complaining that Jamie made her take the steps that she had chose to make her way down the stairs.
Madison stopped, turning around to find Jamie's mom catching up with her when she caught a glimpse of herself in the window in the small pathway between floors thirteen and twelve. The mascara, that the saleswoman had promised was waterproof, had run violently down her face—which was red and swollen, she looked almost unrecognizable.
Once Haley realized she had stopped, she took each step slower, until she reached the teenager.
She wasn't entirely sure what made her take off after Madison, out of everyone in the room she wasn't sure why she knew that she was the best choice to find her. But, she knew that she had to.
"How is this happening"? Madison sobbed. "How is this real—any of it? Why didn't I think of this? Why did I come here, things were fine—I ruined everything".
"No, you didn't," Haley said placing her hand on Madison's arm. "You wanted to know about who you are and your parents—".
"Well, now I know" she cried. "I had these two wonderful parents who loved me and now I find out that one of them was killed, my mother was killed—by the woman she thought was her best friend, and I look like someone! I have never been told I look like anyone, but I look like my dad, I look like my papá—my name isn't even Madison or Madeline, it's Isabellà".
"Calm down, you need to breathe," Haley told her.
"Why did my dad leave"? Madison asked. "Why would he go back to Cuba"?
Haley took Madison's hand and held it between her own two. "It said in the report that he came home and he found Nina, your mom, and he didn't find you," Haley said, hearing the sound of her own voice cracking. "He looked for you—for years, and years before he went back—".
"So, he just gave up on me"?
"I don't think so," Haley said. "He probably got a thousand different phone calls where it might be you, and got his hopes up—a thousand different times, I don't think he ever gave up on you or ever will, I think his heart just couldn't take it anymore. We have his name—and we have Andre, the one who is going to send us all to jail—we will find him".
"How could they do this"? Madison asked as she lowered herself on to the last step before the small pathway, looking up at Haley. "How could they ruin my life like this"?
Haley sat down next to her and pushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear that had attached itself to her face holding on to her tear-soaked cheeks. "I wish I could answer that for you," Haley said. "Everyone is so happy about Keith, and of course they are, and Jamie made a comment about how technically now Dan isn't a murder, but he is. In my eyes he still is, he picked up a gun and aimed it at his brother, for years he thought his brother was dead and he tried to make his amends but how do you amend taking—robbing someone of their life? Which in the end he still did. Keith laid in a hospital bed for seventeen years. I can't explain why bad people do bad things, I wish I could—hell, if I'm wishing for things I wish bad people would stop doing bad things and I can't change what happened, I can't even pretend that I can make this pain you're feeling go away, but there is a silver lining—it's small but it's there".
"And what's that"?
"You know where you're from, for the first time in your life you know who you are—and you know you're not the daughter of a Frenchwoman and her husband from Spain," Haley said. "You know that you have grandparents from Mexico and Puerto Rico, your father is from Cuba—".
"Oh, god," Madison said sitting back against the railing. "You know this means Jamie was right, all these years he said I looked like a Latino not a—Spaniard, it was always a joke, until recently. But, now he was right, he was right before we even knew there was something to be right about—when all this is over you don't know the type of gloating I am in for".
"Oh," Haley said chuckling. "I think I do, neither of them would ever admit it—but Nathan and Jamie are just alike, not in every way but most".
"Really? I don't see that".
"Not now," Haley said. "I didn't get with Nathan until we were seventeen, but I knew of him when he was Jamie's age before we met he was a, what's the word I'm looking for—".
"Dick"? Madison guessed.
Haley nodded. "I guess that's the one," she said. "He was arrogant, cocky—".
"Are you sure you're not describing Jamie"? Madison asked smiling.
"Jamie is like Nathan in so many ways, but he is also like me," Haley told her. "Before I met Nathan he didn't have a care in the world, he would stand back and let everything burn around him before he would lift a finger—but Jamie has bent over backward, all for you. He has done everything within his power, legally and illegally" she said chuckling, though she wasn't sure if it came from her nerves or humor "just to stay close to you. You wanted to know who your family was, where you came from and he made damn sure you found out—that boy would move mountains for you".
Despite all the hurt and all the sorrow that surrounded this day, Madison smiled. "He did," she said.
"I have had trouble letting go of Jamie, him growing up and not needing me anymore," Haley said. "You two have been together, forever, but at some point, you stopped being these two little kids with a crush and entered this adult relationship, I don't mean sex. I mean you fell in love with each other, you had real fights and real makeups, and I had problems with it, at first but if I could sit down and design the perfect girl for my son to fall in love—she wouldn't even hold a candle to you".
Madison looked at Haley and felt her boyfriend's mother squeeze her hand.
"I couldn't agree more" the two heard and turned to see Jamie walking down the stairs.
Haley smiled, "I'll give you a moment".
Jamie stopped to the side allowing his mother access to find her way up the stairs, and out the door, before making his way to the spot Haley was sitting in.
"How are you"? Jamie asked cupping the side of her face.
Madison looked down. "I don't even know how to answer that".
Jamie leaned in and kissed her, softly, pressing his lips to hers—just for a second, before leaning out.
But, Madison clutched on to him—sinking their lips back together, he was the one thing she needed in this world right now. But, after a minute or longer, Jamie finally broke their kiss.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry about your mom".
Madison bit down on the inside of her lip and chewed on her flesh. "I am, too".
"I called Lucas, he was already on his way down there with Brooke—I gave him an update, so she should be caught up within the next—".
Before Jamie could finish the sentence the two heard the sound of footsteps, loud and quick, they both turned to see Lily coming around the corner from the set of stairs above them—Andre with her.
"We have news" Lily said as the two came to a stop.
"Good"? Jamie asked.
"Not exactly," Andre told him, leaning his hand against the wall.
"Bad"? Madison asked.
"Not exactly," Lily said twisting the phone in her hand. "I just spoke to your lawyer—his lawyer? Someone's lawyer".
Jamie stood up and reached for Madison's hand, helping her stand as he asked: "what did they say"?
"I called and told him about your parents—" Lily began.
"We made a judgment call to not thoroughly explain how we found all this information out," Andre said running his hands over his head.
Lily nodded. "Yeah, we left a little minor—illegal, detail out," she said. "But, while I was speaking to him he went ahead and contacted missing person's—there is an office about forty-five minutes from here, he said maybe an hour depending on traffic".
"That's good news," Jamie said. "So, why do you look like that"?
"They close at four—it's three forty-five we would never make it before the end of the day," Andre said. "They have an emergency hotline, but it's just that, a hotline and this is emergent—but it's not an emergency".
"But—".
"Wait" Lily interrupted Madison before she could speak. "There's more".
"It's not just the place, it's the process," Andre said.
"Even if you got there, right now you wouldn't get the blood results back until tomorrow morning—maybe even Wednesday," Lily said.
Andre nodded. "Which still puts us in a problem—you have to be back to Tree Hill by tomorrow".
"Can't missing person's just call her dad"? Jamie asked. "I have a plane, I can send it to him".
"Well, that's the other problem—they have his number, on file—but per his request, they won't contact him until they get a match back," Lily said, softly looking at her best friend.
"Why not? If I'm here—".
"Maddie" Lily said walking down, placing her hand on her best friend's arm. "After the twenty-seventh time he went down there, driving minutes or hours, he requested it be done like this. As badly as you want to meet your father, and I know you do, you just realized—today that you have been missing, but for fourteen years he has lived in pain. He has got his hopes up and lost them over and over again, it's probably why he moved back to Cuba—but he stays in constant contact with the police and missing persons, Everyone. He has never given up on you, so just be patient for him".
"If it's him," Madison said her face falling.
"We're pretty sure it is," Jamie said rubbing her back.
"Pretty sure isn't a definite".
"No, but I gave their full names to Luke—he and Brooke are going to casually—not so casually bring them up and see what kind of reaction they get, that should tell us".
"Our very own Agent Hotchner," Lily said clasping her hand over her chest.
Jamie rolled his eyes. "Did he have any solutions what to do"? He asked looking at Lily and Andre.
"Everything with Lauren compromises a lot of things and Brooke is only your foster mother, technically she is your legal guardian but that's up pretty shortly," Andre said. "That doesn't leave us with a lot of options—even if you were to get emancipated you would need to go in front of a judge in North Carolina, which could take longer than the DNA test".
"So, Brooke can sign for her to get emancipated but not for long"? Jamie said shaking his head. "This is—my dad got emancipated".
"Yeah," Lily said. "So"?
"He got emancipated when he was seventeen—".
"Didn't his parents have to sign and he had to take it a judge and—"Lily began.
"Shut up," Jamie said. "I'm on a thought process—he was emancipated but my mom wasn't, and she is a few months younger than him".
"Where are you going with this"? Andre asked.
"Brooke is her legal guardian, which means if you wanted a tattoo or a piercing she could sign—she could even sign for you to get emancipated, but we don't have time" Jamie rambled. "We need a solution—by morning".
"And you have one"? Lily asked.
"If Brooke can sign for you to get emancipated—maybe she could sign for you to get married".
Madison turned her head in Jamie's direction so fast she was sure she would have whiplash for days, but she didn't. "What"?
"What"? Andre and Lily both screeched.
"What if we got married"? Jamie asked looking at Madison.
"Marriage isn't—it isn't a solution to a problem," Madison said looking at her boyfriend. "It's about love—".
"Lucky for you I happen to know a guy who's crazy about you," Jamie said leaning against the railing. "We were going to do it anyway, right? It just happens to be a solution to a problem right now".
"This has to be the worst proposal in the history of time," Lily said.
"Ignore her for a minute," Jamie said holding his large hand up in Lily's face. "I love you, more than anything—and if we can get my parents and Brooke on board, then what's the worst thing that could happen? I'm married to the woman I love, for the rest of our lives. We have been together more than half of our lives, you're my soul mate—I have known that since I was a kid with braces, you're it for me. If you can think of one good reason why we shouldn't, then I'm listening—but I can't think of any. When we go back to Tree Hill we don't ever have to worry about you having to move, we can be together—forever. It's a win-win, we were going to do it anyway—someday, so let's make someday now, what do you say? You want to be wife"?
Madison looked at him, for a long time, she knew what her answer was—she knew for the longest time that she wanted to marry him, one day. But, now one day was looking right in the eye, and in the midst of her life, despite all the chaos, this seemed the most normal thing to do.
"That was a little better," Lily said smiling.
Madison smiled. "Yeah, it was," she said.
"So"? Andre asked. "Are you two getting married or something"?
Jamie looked to Madison because she was the only one who could answer that.
6:00 PM
If wishing could make problems go away, the world would have been swallowed by world peace by Brooke. It had been the longest day, and none of her problems were over, in fact, she didn't even see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, she didn't—she felt like the tunnel was going to swallow her whole.
"How did it go"? Haley asked as Brooke and Lucas stepped inside the hotel suite that belonged to the longtime married couple.
Brooke didn't answer, instead, she walked over and began pouring herself a glass of the brownest liquor she could find.
"That bad"? Nathan asked.
Lucas tossed himself on to the sofa next to his brother. "It's her parents, we found out that much".
"How did you find that out"?
"Emeline was very cocky, until I brought up Maddie's parents' name, even after she was cocky—but once I asked about Nina's death she shut down," Lucas said. "She was beside herself, the nurse was calling the hospital about sedation when we left, she didn't know anything about that".
"And you believed her"?
"It was real," Brooke said. "They were best friends, and that was a genuine reaction to finding out her best friend was dead. One of two things happened, either her death and murder had nothing to do with them, which is highly unlikely—considering they took off with Madison".
"What's the second"? Haley asked.
"Her husband killed her best friend and left her in the dark about it," Brooke said throwing the drink down her throat. "The whole situation is bad—and now because we opened our mouths the police want to look at the case, which is cold, in tying it to them".
"Why is that bad"? Nathan asked.
"Because, Brooke spent the day with her and now she thinks she didn't do anything bad, except fall in love with a bad guy," Lucas said looking at her from across the room.
"I think she loved him so much she wouldn't testify against him," Brooke said. "I think she believed him at first until all the evidence is too much—but by then she was behind bars too, and was willing to die for him. There is no proof of her there—except her saying so, but now she knows, he killed her best friend so whatever hold he had on her might be broken".
"As if we didn't have enough problems," Lucas said, twisting his finger through the pillow next to him. "She lies about getting her a lawyer, now she really wants too".
"Brooke, are you serious"? Haley asked.
Brooke nodded. "Just to have them look over all the cases, to see if they can actually convict her—without her husband saying she was there, and her agreeing, I mean we all do stupid things for love but we shouldn't die for crimes that don't belong to us".
"I knew I should have gone with her" Haley said.
"You can't take a basket of mini muffins into a prison," Nathan told his wife.
"If she is guilty then that's fine, but it doesn't hurt to take a second look," Brooke said. "She told me everything I wanted to know, and then some—but nothing helped nothing. I don't know what to do about Maddie, I love her—and I promised I would do everything to keep her here, but I'm failing".
"You're not failing," Haley told her.
"I'm not being successful so please let me in on what exactly I am doing," Brooke said. "They are going to take her as far away as they can and there is nothing I can do to stop it".
"That's not entirely true".
The four adults turned to see Jamie and Madison standing in the doorway, holding hands.
"You found a way"? Nathan asked. "Legally—why do I feel the need to address that"?
"Yes, it's completely legal," Jamie said as he shut the door behind him and Madison. "But, you're gonna want to sit down".
"Good eyesight, son" Nathan said pointing at the three who were.
"All of you," Madison said, looking at the only one standing up.
Brooke sat her drink down, confused—and a little alarmed walked over and joined her other three friends.
"This doesn't make me nervous," Haley said, looking back and forth at the teenage couple.
Madison slowly sat down in the armchair and watched as Jamie sat down on the arm—before taking her hand in his. "It might sound a little crazy" he began.
Nathan scoffed. "Give yourself a little credit, Jam—after everything you've done today, this might be normal".
Jamie looked at his dad, and then at his mom, he thought about it for a second and he knew that at this moment—he had to be looking at the woman who birthed him. "We want to get married".
Three people, three people filled the room with "what's" and "are you serious"? The room halfway exploded, but one person didn't move.
Haley. She looked into the eyes of her son from across the room, and she didn't say anything.
Jamie half thought she expected it as if she was waiting for this, and he swore for a split second she even smiled.
"Everyone calm down," Haley said, unmoving from her spot. "Let's hear them out".
Nathan looked at his wife, stunned by her reaction. "They are sixteen".
"You and mom were seventeen, dad," Jamie said. "We aren't that much younger than you two were, and we have been together a lot longer than you two were".
"Well, he's got you there Nate," Lucas said but turned to his nephew. "J-Luke, marriage is a really big deal and you have to take it seriously, more people are getting divorced now than staying together".
"Yeah, if you marry the wrong person".
"Well, he's got you there," Nathan said, mocking his brother.
"Maddie and I have been together a hell of a lot longer than half—over half of the couples that get married, when their eighteen or in their twenties or their thirties," Jamie said. "We have been together eight—".
"Nine" Madison corrected him.
"Nine years," Jamie said.
"Just because you two have been together since you were kids doesn't mean you are ready for marriage" Brooke pointed out. "Luke is right, marriage is a big deal and it's hard—what makes you want to get married right now"?
"As Maddie's foster mom, which you will legally not be by morning, you can sign for her to get emancipated but that requires court and going in front of a judge," Jamie told her.
"Why would I want to sign for that anyways"? Brooke said.
"Well, you would if you didn't want them to take her away, and they are going to," Jamie said.
Brooke looked at Madison, and she felt her heartbreak into a thousand pieces.
"So, we don't have time for that, but what we do have time for is us getting married," Jamie said. "My lawyer already got the papers drawn up before the courthouse closed—we found a place we can go, we just need your signatures".
"Jamie, you're sixteen," Nathan said, his voice low. "You're just a kid".
"And so were you, dad—and look how well that turned out. Are you telling me you regret marrying mom"?
"Absolutely not," Nathan said. "But, getting married so young—was very hard, I love your mother with everything in me, but that doesn't mean it was easy".
"I'm not saying it will be, I am saying I love her and I don't want to lose her, and if I don't—I could," Jamie said. "I wanted to marry her anyway, we just happen to be doing it a little earlier than anticipated".
"Okay, enough" Haley said standing up. "I have heard enough," she told everyone walking over to her son, resting her hands on his shoulder. "I will—I will talk to your dad if this is what you really want".
"It is".
"It can't just be because she might be leaving," Haley told him. "It has to be because—".
"I love her"? Jamie asked, smiling. "Are you kidding? The fact that it keeps her in Tree Hill is just a perk".
Madison looked up at Jamie and smiled.
"Okay, then—give us a minute alone".
Jamie nodded and held Madison's hand as the two walked out of the hotel room.
The second the door clicked shut, suddenly Haley had two adults on her—and wishing she could drink a glass of wine.
"Are you serious"? Nathan asked. "He is sixteen".
"And he is right," Haley told him. "We weren't that much older than he is, and to be fair he is a little more mature than you were".
"Shut up, Lucas" Nathan said without turning around to face his brother.
"But, Haley—".
"Brooke, if you love her as much as you say you do—you will do anything to keep her where you can see her, and have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner's," Haley said. "This doesn't mean your relationship with her as over, they love each other. I think they are ready, and I think the pro's of this outweigh the con's—she could get back and be taken away, to God knows where, she has a chance to meet her dad and find out about her family, but we don't know where she would go or what kind of family she would go to. We know where she would go with this, she would meet her dad, have the best mother figure possible with Brooke, work at the cafè, go to school, and have an amazing husband. There are hard roads in marriage, but if we don't take this opportunity—we don't know what kind of road those two will be on. He will be devastated, and I don't know if he would ever recover and I don't know where she will be or who she will become—so I'm willing to sign a piece of paper for their happiness, are you two"?
It was perfect.
All of it was perfect.
Madison looked down at the rings on her finger, and she couldn't stop smiling. The deco oval cut diamond sat perfectly on top of the sterling silver ring, that matched the wedding band it was cuddled up to. It surprised her that Jamie got her an engagement ring at all, they were only engaged for mere hours.
She looked over at Jamie's band, he was a man that had no problem wearing jewelry—but if he was going to wear it he was going to like it, and she could tell it was bought in Texas. The marble black band looked almost elegant against his tan skin, and the good inlays with a light gray nuzzled between.
Their rings were perfect, although she assumed Jamie sent Lily to pick them out.
That didn't matter.
Madison looked down, at the dress Brooke surprised her with, smiling at the fact that her foster mother wouldn't let her get married in a pair of jeans and sneakers, even under these circumstances.
It was a Lace Applique Wedding Dress, the sleeve's cut off at her shoulder and it hit the floor perfectly just beneath her feet.
The dress was perfect.
The night sky hung over Jamie and Madison, with his parents and Brooke, Lily and Andre, and Lucas, the sound of the water flowing in the fountain behind them was mesmerizing.
Madison spent her whole childhood planning the perfect wedding in her head, and everything she dreamed up, couldn't compare to this.
The rings, the dress, the view—the company, it was perfect.
It was all perfect, but the most perfect part was who she was marrying, whose life she was tying to her own.
"I now pronounce you—husband and wife, you may kiss the bride".
Perfect.
Authors Note: I normally divide each chapter up with an equal, if not close to being equal time between the teenagers/Adults.
But, I built this CRAZY storyline for Madison & it took an entire chapter to close it, at least half of it. I knew Madison would have heritage from both Cuba and Mexico (because that's mine, my mother is Cuban and my dad is from Mexico, I sometimes use things from my own life for inspiration in my story) but as I was writing it my eldest child from my first marriage wanted to help me.
My first husband died, and his family came from Puerto Rico, so my daughter wanted Madison to be like her, so she is.
I try not to give out to much information about myself because it's the internet, LOL, but I wanted to share that because Madison's ethnicity is now based off my favorite person in the whole world.
For the most part now Madison's "who am I" story is closed, but she will get to learn more about her and family, tragedy and all, with the help of her (eek) husband.
As I began writing this, I really felt Haley being led by her mother through it, what few episodes we got Mrs. Lydia James, I would have loved her as a series regular but moving forward you will start to see a lot of her qualities coming out in Haley, as she evolves through the next chapter of her life.
I'm not the biggest fan of Peyton, so—who all would hate me if I casually removed her from the story?
I seen a review saying how they loved how I wrote Lily and Jamie, Lily is by far my favorite Teenager, and I'm hoping for more fun with her in the future.
I try to get as much as I can in each chapter, I'm starting to worry this is going to be one of those stories with hundreds of chapters (haha) because I still have so much to tell, but I already know how I'm going to end this story... just got to find the fastest way to get there.