Brooke climbed the stairs of Tric, mumbling a brief hello to Chase who was manning the bar, speed walking into the office where Peyton sat, flipping through a binder of potential places for Mia and Chris's first big tour since they came back to Red Bedroom. She closed the door behind her and crossed the room, dramatically dropping into the chair across from her best friend. Peyton looked up, confused. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you B, but shouldn't you be at the store already? What's going on?" "I'm pregnant." She blurted out. Peyton's mouth dropped, and she pushed herself back from the desk, making her way around to sit next to Brooke. "Oh Brooke, that's amazing! That is what you wanted right?" She nodded vigorously. "I'm just not sure that's what Julian wants anymore. He just seems so happy with what we already have and when we stopped trying for one more, he just seemed..relieved." "Brooke. Listen to me." She turned her gaze to Peyton. "I know Julian pretty well, that man is madly, head over heels, in love with you. He just wants you to be happy, and seeing you struggle with this for so long probably just had him upset to see you so upset. You know? I'm sure he's going to be thrilled with a new little one running around. You're already an amazing mom, this next little one is about to be one lucky little baby." Brooke was crying now, wiping at her eyes before they could cause her makeup to run. "You always know what to say P. Sawyer-Scott." She wrapped her arms around Peyton's small shoulders. "I'm just telling you the truth. Everything's going to be okay." "Yeah. Hey, how is everything going here, anyway?" A small sigh escaped Peyton's lips. "It's just a lot more work than I expected for today, but I'm managing. They should be booked in for about 16 weeks on the road in no time." "Could you do for a lunch break?" "Why B Davis-Baker, are you playing hooky?" She shook her head. "Day off actually. I was hoping it was the same for you." Peyton smiled, she always skipped lunch breaks back in LA, either too busy, or just having no one else to actually do one with. "Perks of being your own boss, I can take my own breaks." With that; she packed up the files on the desk and locked up, before they headed down town for lunch.
They chatted, enjoyed a meal and just sat in the sun on the patio of the restaurant before Peyton asked Brooke about helping her and Haley set up the nursery for the next baby Scott to be born. "I wouldn't miss a chance to help decorate." "Amazing. I was already sketching out some wall design ideas for Haley to look over." "I can't believe we're going to be pregnant together." Brooke said, before realizing what she had said. "Oh Peyt, I'm sorry. I didn't even think-." "Hey. Hey! It's okay, you're allowed to be excited Brooke! I'm so excited for you both, and I get more nieces and nephews to spoil and force my music on as they get older." They shared a laugh, but Brooke still felt sad for her best friend in front of her. She had struggled to get pregnant, and she and Peyton had cried together with the bond they both had similarly experienced, but she had never lost a baby the way Peyton and Lucas had. Months of silence from Peyton, living through Lucas being at loss for what to do to help his grieving wife. "I promise you, I'm okay. Please don't keep your great news and excitement down on my account, B. I want this to be a happy time." Peyton said softly, after noticing how quiet Brooke had gone. Brooke nodded and squeezed Peyton's hand. "You know...instead of the whole Aunt title...I was thinking of asking you and Nate to be god parents? When the time comes?" You couldn't wipe the smile off Peyton's face over this. "Of course I will!"
They finished off their impromptu girls day together at the mall, before Peyton dropped Brooke off to get her car in front of Tric, and she went to pick up Sawyer from school.
"Hi momma!" Sawyer said excitedly, as she ran for Peyton's legs, throwing her little arms around them. "Hello to you too, bug!" She helped her into the car seat and they headed for home. "Momma? You think I could do something fun?" "Like what?" She asked, as they drove through Tree Hill. "Some of the girls in my class were talking about how they do dance and gymnastics. Could I do that, too?" "I don't see why not. Let me look into it and I'll see what we can get you into. Sound good?" She glanced at her daughter through the rear view mirror, as Sawyer nodded excitedly. "Love you." She said with a grin as they pulled up to the house.
After prepping dinner, and doing homework with Sawyer, she settled down on the stools of the breakfast bar and checked her emails, and began her sketch for inside the new nursery for Haley. Just then, her phone buzzed. "Brooke, didn't we just see each other?" "I know, but it's so nice to have my best friend home, I keep having to make sure you don't run off to another state again." They shared a laugh as Peyton rolled her eyes. "No, that's not the reason I called. I was wondering, what do we think of doing a safari theme for the baby's room?" Peyton tapped her pen against the sketch book in front of her. "Actually, what do you think of a music themed room?" "I love it. That's so perfect. I'll start shipping things over there now! See you tomorrow P!" And with that she hung up and Peyton got back to a layout.
Lucas entered the house, hanging up his coat, and shuffling off his shoes before heading into the kitchen. He approached Peyton, who was hyper focused on the sketch she was working on. He placed a kiss on the top of her head as his hands wrapped around her waist. "I haven't seen you pick up a pen in so long. It's nice." He said, observing her art. "She tipped her head back and shared a kiss with him. "Yeah I'm working on the layout for the baby's room for Haley." She said, holding the book up for him to see. "Well?" He stared at the ink drawing. One wall was the side of a keyboard, followed by music notes and another held lyrics from one of Haley's songs. Another held shelves filled with instruments and she had scribbled in some smaller notes around the shelving units. The final wall of the 3D design was a wall completely covered in vinyls. "Peyt. This is amazing. Hales is gonna love it." "I sure hope so. Also, Sawyer asked me today after I picked her up from school if she could join a gymnastics team or dance class? I don't know about you, but I sure didn't see that coming." She said, fussing over the mess on the counter. "Huh. Is it bad that I'm sort of happy she wasn't into basketball all that much?" "I mean, I don't think so. There's enough Scott blood on a court anyhow. Past, present and I'm sure with the next little one they're about to have - future." Lucas smiled. "She's definitely her own little person. I guess we have some work to do looking into something for her to do after school." Peyton finished up the kitchen and put the laptop away. "Mm. Ready for bed?" She asked, glancing at the clock. "I'm actually going to finish the last bit of this draft. Lindsey is asking for it by the end of the week and I just want it out of my sight before I keep scraping it." She nodded. It had really shocked them both when Lindsey had asked to keep editing for Lucas a few years after the whole almost Strauss-Scott wedding, but she knew she had the very best husband when he sat her down and asked her how she felt about it before they agreed it was the smartest decision. Besides, Lindsey had moved on long ago, now married herself. "Alright, don't stay up too late. I love you." She pecked him once more on the lips, before disappearing up to their bedroom , and he to his office.
Pulling up the files, he reviewed the last bit he had left off with, before clacking away at the keyboard. 'The American Dream' draft had taken him so long to craft, and yet he had the best feeling about it. The book itself was based on their whole life, with obvious character name changes, but it was his dedication on the first page that would allow his readers to understand the familial undertones and that it was really just his own life. In his gut, he knew this was the one, this was about to be his big success in terms of being a best selling author.