Hi everyone! Big thank you to everyone who showed an interest in this story, hopefully you'll enjoy what's to come! It's full of romance, heart break, love triangles, friendship and family. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I do want to say that all the details in this story may make sense in my head, but may not be translated on the page properly, so please feel free to ask questions as we go if you need clarification!

I also try to post a chapter a day, so make sure you stay tuned...

Brooke finds out a little bit about Lucas' family and also tries to take a step forward with Chase in this chapter... enjoy!

Chapter Two – Bold Choices

A few weeks had passed since the merger and things were running relatively smoothly at Raleigh Med. The new surgeons were finally in their light blue scrubs and were blending nicely in with everyone around them. Brooke had also stopped panicking about losing her job. She figured if it was going to happen it would have happened by now.

Aside from her job, Brooke had been expertly avoiding Chase. They talked every now and again but there were no late-night sleepovers as Brooke didn't want to give him the wrong idea. She didn't want to give an impression that she was ready to jump into a relationship with him. She knew it was probably unfair, but she needed to sort her head out. She wanted to be clear before she made a move.

As for Lucas, they had barely said two words to each other since their encounter in the corridor. There were a few stolen glances, but it was all about their work right now. They were both trying to prove themselves worthy of being here and Lucas was certainly proving himself. He was the talk of the hospital and not just for his dazzling smile. He was insanely talented in all specialities and every attending was vying to have him on their service.

Brooke was still intensely curious about him. She only really knew that he was charming and good at his job. He seemed so mysterious, like he had something to hide. She also questioned why he was so unphased about her being the chief's daughter. Anybody she told that to tended to panic and begin sucking up to her as if she was a way to the top, but Lucas didn't. He didn't appear to care.

As she got ready for work the following morning, Rachel came bounding into the lounge.

"Brooke, you'll never guess who just got admitted into the hospital!" Rachel exclaimed with a wide smile.

Brooke frowned, "Who?" she asked. It must have been someone good if Rachel was happy that they were here… in a hospital… probably very sick…

"Royal Scott! Can you believe it?!"

Brooke's eyes widened, "Royal Scott? As in famous general surgeon Royal Scott? Whom the award is named after?"

Rachel nodded, "The very one. I have no idea what's wrong with him, an intestinal issue by the sound of things, but that isn't even the most interesting part of this story."

"You mean to tell me that there's something more interesting than a surgical legend being brought here?" Brooke questioned. How could this story get anymore interest—wait. Scott. Royal Scott. Lucas Scott. "Wait…" Brooke said as she caught on and Rachel nodded her head.

"Wonder boy is Royal Scott's grandson." Rachel confirmed. "He sure kept that one quiet."

"He probably didn't want special treatment—" Brooke began, suddenly feeling sorry for Lucas. Now that this was out in the open, everybody would probably be wanting favours from him and she knew all too well how horrible it was to feel like people didn't value you, but only valued your family.

"Oh please, he should be milking this for all it's worth. With the name Scott, he gets a free pass to whatever job he wants, he's hit the jackpot." Rachel said just as she was paged. "I gotta run, but come find me if you hear anymore about this!" she requested as Rachel bolted down the hallway.

Brooke paused for a second before she finished putting her scrubs on. It appeared that she was right in thinking there was a lot more to this guy than met the eye. She turned to leave the locker room, just as someone decided was a good time to open the cupboard next to her and she smacked her head right off it.

"Shit" she grumbled as she rubbed her head and the doctor who hit her looked sheepishly at her.

She heard a chuckle from the door to the lounge and she looked up to see Lucas standing there. "Nice…" he teased.

Brooke glared at him before she felt her cheeks turning a horrible shade of pink. How embarrassing. She'd barely spoken to the guy and this is the next interaction they have. Lucas soon disappeared and Brooke sighed. This was going to be a long day.

After completing her rounds, Brooke made her way to the general surgery wing of the hospital. On a shallow note, she wanted to just get a glimpse at the famous Royal Scott, but she was really going there on the hopes she might bump into Lucas. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him and find out a little bit more.

As she turned the corner, she spotted him standing outside the room, looking in the window as Royal spoke with his surgeons, one of them being Chief Davis. Lucas looked a little lost and her heart went out to him. She knew what it was like to have a big name and big legacy on her shoulders. She wasn't sure how she wanted to approach this, but she figured a little bit of humour and light-heartedness would go a long way.

"Well, well, well…" she said as she approached him, and Lucas turned to look at her. "If it isn't Royal Scott's grandson..." She teased as Lucas picked up on her tone and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Not you too Davis…" he replied. He'd clearly been getting that a lot today.

"You sure kept that one quiet from everyone."

Lucas shrugged, "I didn't think it was necessary for everyone to know…" he replied as Brooke shrugged understandingly. She didn't exactly shout from the roof tops that she was the chief's daughter. "How's your head?"

Brooke scoffed as they both turned to look in the window at Royal, "Better. How's your pride?"

"Closely linked to Royal Scott's… I'd much rather it was my own." He confessed.

"It can be if you work for it." Brooke advised, speaking from experience of course. She knew she had to find her own voice in the surgical world if she was ever going to make it.

"You know, he's probably giving them the speech right now." He said as he nodded towards Royal as he animatedly talked to Ted and his general surgeon. Brooke smirked. Of course her dad was in there sucking up to Royal Scott.

"What speech?" Brooke asked.

"About the wonders of medicine. How as surgeons we're meant to push boundaries and do what no one has ever done before." Lucas rhymed off unenthusiastically, as if he'd already heard it a hundred times.

"Sounds motivating."

"It's cheesy." He responded without a beat. He hated the speech, it's all he ever heard. "If you hear it enough times at your grandparent's dinner table you can't help but want to be a surgeon when you grow up."

Brooke nodded; "I get that. My grandfather is a surgeon in Connecticut, and he let me sew up my brother's arm at the dinner table when I was 10." She recalled. It would go down as one of the most awesome things she had ever done, but it's all she ever had with her grandfather. Medicine and judgy comments.

Lucas chuckled; "Quite the families we've got."

"Oh yeah." Brooke replied with a little laugh, just as Ted came out of the room.

"Hey honey" Ted greeted; "I just need to check up on a few things and then we'll meet for lunch yeah?"

Brooke nodded; "Yeah, sounds good dad."

"Alright. Dr. Scott" Ted greeted Lucas who gave him a tight-lipped smile before Ted walked away.

Lucas turned to Brooke, "Dad, huh?" he teased.

Brooke nudged him, "Shut up… you should have seen how the other residents used to treat me. As soon as they found out who were my parents were, I became a social pariah. Like I was too good for them. In high school and college it was the opposite, everybody wanted to be your friend. Normally with bad intentions."

"I get that. Everyone here has been trying to meet him and I just—I hate it when people know I'm related to him. The way they treat me, the way they watch me. I know the name has helped but he is not easy. Brilliant, but really not easy to be related to."

Before Brooke could reply, they heard beeping from Royal's room and they both rushed in to see what was going on.

"Are you alright? What's happening?" Lucas said as he quickly looked at his stats.

"Ah, good, that was quick." Royal said as he put his book down. "We never got to finish our conversation earlier—"

"You duped your monitor so we could talk? Seriously?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"… Who is that?" Royal asked as he pointed to a sheepish looking Brooke at the end of the bed.

"What?" Lucas asked before turning and seeing Brooke, forgetting that she had been with him. He felt an overwhelming sense of calm seeing her standing there. For a brief second, he acknowledged in his head how strange that was—he barely knew her, yet he felt like he'd known her forever. "This is Dr. Brooke Davis." Lucas explained.

"Any relation to the Chief?" he asked as Brooke nodded her head.

"My dad" she confirmed.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you young lady, come in." Royal insisted as Brooke slowly walked in and shook Royal's hand. He was clearly a fan of other surgical legacies.

"It's very nice to meet you Dr. Scott." Brooke said.

"It's nice to see that your father's surgical prowess is being passed down through the generations." He said proudly.

"Grandpa loves a dynasty" Lucas remarked.

"Let me ask you a question Dr. Davis." He said, before looking at Lucas while he spoke; "If a spot was being held for you to study at the greatest hospital in this country would you turn it down?" he asked forcefully.

Brooke shifted awkwardly; "Uh – I—"

"Yeah, he saved a spot for me at Mass Gen ever since I graduated. Which is the only reason he came to visit, to try and convince me to take it, again." Lucas interrupted.

"It is an incredibly opportunity." Royal reminded him.

"An opportunity I don't want, I don't want to work for you! I don't want your help, I don't want your— look, that's enough—" Lucas said, trying to calm himself down before he said something his grandfather would make him regret.

"No!" Royal shouted as Brooke wished she was anywhere but in that room right now. "I decide when I've said enough. You may think I'm arrogant and overbearing, you've made that very clear, and maybe I am, but I can't— can't-"

Suddenly, Royal was struggling to breathe, and his monitors were beeping erratically. He fell into V-Fib and Lucas quickly rushed to save him.

After Royal was rushed into surgery, Brooke made herself scarce and decided to give Lucas some space. Besides, she did have a job to do anyway. She couldn't sit around sharing sob stories about their overbearing relatives and daunting family legacies. She still worried about him for the rest of the day, however. She saw his face when Royal started going into V-Fib. He looked guilty and ashamed. Ashamed that he'd gotten Royal so worked up.

Before doing her final rounds, Brooke made her way back round to the waiting area to see how Royal's surgery went. More than that, however, she wanted to see if Lucas was ok. She found him standing in the waiting area, just as Royal's surgeon walked away from him and she made her way over.

"Hey…" she greeted cautiously, unsure what sort of news awaited her.

"Hey." He replied, giving her a soft smile. "so, he's fine. He did have an allergic reaction in there however… to the sutures he suggested they use."

Brooke raised her eyebrows; "So it was his fault."

"Yeah. It's awesome, I wish they would publish that story." He said with an eyeroll.

"Yeah. The famous grandfather, the legacies he's trying to force on you. You didn't ask for any of it. You're putting up walls and you're avoiding him and you don't want to introduce him to your friends. I get it. But… if my grandfather was up there in a room right now, I would want to go see him and make things right. Despite him being difficult, you can still learn from him." Brooke encouraged.

Lucas nodded and looked at his feet; "Yeah. Maybe." He then looked up at met Brooke's eyes; "You're pretty wise Davis."

Brooke scoffed; "it's one of the rather odd trademarks of my personality. I'm an 80-year-old woman on the inside."

Lucas chuckled; "Well I am glad of it. I really needed 80-year-old woman advice today." He said as Brooke nodded her head softly, unsure what to say. "Can I give you some advice?"

"Sure" Brooke said, wondering where this was going.

"If coming from a family like mine has taught me anything it's to always stand by your convictions. They can try and push you around, they can try and pull you into their mind frame—but they can't take your values. So make bold choices. Don't shy away from them. Life is too short."

Again, Brooke was unsure what to say, so she just nodded her head.

"Maybe one of those bold choices would be giving into that bar tender." Lucas suggested as Brooke looked at him stunned.

"How do you—"

"I notice things" he said with a shrug. Brooke let out a little laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. He noticed things. That meant he noticed her. That meant he was watching her last night.

"What happened to chancing your luck and asking me out?" Brooke challenged as she took a step closer towards him.

Lucas smirked, "Oh I think I'll chance my luck… someday. But when I do? I want to be sure that there is no one else you could be thinking about other than me. I'll see you tomorrow Dr. Davis." He said as he manoeuvred past her and over to Peyton Sawyer who was watching them from beside the elevator.

"What are you doing with Davis?" Peyton asked as she hit the button so they could leave.

"Don't worry about it Sawyer."

Peyton scoffed, "You're playing with fire." She didn't really know the girl, but she knew enough to try and protect her friend from her. She was the chief's daughter after all. If he screwed around with her, it could only end badly.

Lucas smirked, "Something tells me the burns will be worth it."

Brooke wasn't quite sure why, but she felt that Lucas had a point. So, she found herself going to Tric that night to talk to Chase. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say when she got there, but she was hoping it would come to her in the moment. All she knew was that she felt like she was wasting time wondering when she should be trying to find her moment of happiness.

She soon spotted Chase wiping the bar and suddenly stormed over to him. When he spotted her, he smiled brightly and she came round the bar to stand beside him.

"Hey—" he began to greet, but Brooke pulled his face down towards his and kissed him hard. "Wow…" he said he she pulled back. "What was that for?"

"I'm making a bold choice." Brooke said, repeating Lucas words to a still confused Chase.

"A bold choice?"

"My dad is hosting this gala thing at the weekend and I would love it if you could come with me." Brooke told him with a soft smile.

"… really?" he asked, his voice hopeful that this wasn't some sort of joke.

Brooke nodded and giggled, "Really. I mean it will probably be pretty boring, it's just going to be a bunch of surgeons schmoozing all night but—it's my world and I would like you to be a part of it."

Chase nodded his head, "Ok. It's a date."

"Great." Brooke said quietly. "When are you finished for the night?"

"About an hour" Chase told her.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "Well, I will be waiting patiently and most likely naked in my bed for you…" she teased before turning away and deliberately swaying her hips to drive him crazy.

Chase bit his bottom lip in anticipation. The next hour could not go by fast enough.

Brooke soon arrived home to the 5-bed house she shared with Rachel and Nathan. The house had belonged to her grandparents and when they passed away, they left it to Brooke in their will. She gladly took the house on and moved her two best friends in. It was a great house for a few young professionals, especially when they did it up a little bit. She was wondering, however, when she would be considered too old to be having roommates. They were in their late 20s after all.

When she walked through the hallway and into the living room, Brooke found Rachel standing looking at various dresses that lay across the sofa.

"There you are" Rachel said as she pulled her friend further into the room. "Where you been?"

"Oh just down at Tric seeing Chase" Brooke replied.

Rachel looked surprised, "You and Chase? You're still going there?"

"Uh, yeah…" Brooke said, still sounding a little uncertain. "Someone told me I should take more risks and stand by them."

Rachel nodded slowly, "Alrighty then… as long as you're happy." She said, hoping that Brooke knew what she was doing.

"What's with all the dresses?"

"I'm just trying to pick out one for the gala this weekend." Rachel told her. Ted Davis threw a hospital gala every year to try and entice investors to the hospital. Normally is was a rousing success and nobody doubted this year would be any different.

"The black one." Brooke told her as Rachel held the dress up to her body.

"I think you're right. You should go red, it's your colour." She replied as she handed Brooke the dress. "So, how much to you think daddy dearest is going to milk the fact that they saved Royal Scott's life to the investors?"

Brooke scoffed, "He is going to go to town on that one. Can't say that I blame him."

"He'll probably try and use the fact that he has a Scott training in his residency programme too." Rachel added.

"I hope not. Lucas doesn't really like the attention. He just wants to get by on his own laurels." Brooke told her.

Rachel eyed her quizzically, "And how would you know that?"

"… we talked." Brooke said bluntly. She wasn't sure how to even begin explaining this weird vibe she had going on with Lucas.

"You talked? Right…" Rachel said with a click of her tongue. Brooke picked up that she clearly had some feelings about the whole thing.

"Something on your mind Rach?"

"Oh it's nothing… I just noticed you two giving each other googly eyes for the past few weeks that's all. I'm glad you've finally moved beyond that stage and can actually talk to one another." Rachel teased.

"We were not giving each other googly eyes." Brooke protested.

Rachel held up her hands, "I'm only telling you what I saw and hell – I don't blame either of you. You're both stupidly hot, I would be worried if you weren't giving each other googly eyes."

"Rachel, we are two professional adults, working together, there are no googly eyes, just normal eyes." She said awkwardly.

"She doth protesteth too much…" Rachel taunted. "Honey, I'm not judging you, I think you'd be wise to jump the man's bones. Surgeons are so tightly strung, we always need a release and when we do release - it is explosive. Two surgeons together… my god, it's going to be good."

"Rachel!" Brooke scolded with a little laugh as her friend playfully rolled her eyes.

"You know I'm right Davis… Chase can only do so much for you." Rachel told her as Brooke remained quiet. "I guess time will tell huh?"

"Yeah, time will tell we're two colleagues who get along well."

"Whatever you say Brookie…"

That weekend, Lucas stood at the bar of the hospital's gala with Peyton, looking all around him. He didn't dare admit that he had been looking for Brooke, but it was true. He was normally so smooth and subtle, but there was something about this girl that was making him lose his head a little bit.

"Why are you so jittery?" Peyton asked as Lucas shook his head.

"I'm not jittery."

Peyton laughed, "Yes you are. Lucas, I've known you for 4 years, I've seen you in some pretty stressful surgical situations, but I've never seen you so on edge. What's your deal?"

"Nothing, Sawyer." He said firmly. Suddenly, he stood up a lot straighter and his face seemed to light up that little bit more. Peyton followed his eyeline to the door as realised just why he was so bright all of a sudden. Brooke had just walked through the door in a stunning red dress, her hair loosely pulled back with a few strands falling down her face. She also had Chase on her arm and once Lucas noticed that, he looked down at his feet.

"Well, this is going to be interesting…" Peyton mumbled as she took a sip from her glass.

Half an hour later, Lucas was still carefully watching Brooke as she worked the room. She had known a number of these investors for years, a lot of them where friends of her father's from when she was little. Lucas loved how effortlessly she talked with people. She was just full of so much light and her smile was captivating. Brooke alone could easily get their cheque books out.

Peyton soon joined Lucas again and realised he was staring straight at her.

"Dude, quit staring at her." Peyton told him as Lucas looked at her with a frown.

"What?"

"Quit staring at Brooke, you're not being as subtle as you think and it's creepy." She said with a scoff.

Lucas didn't really care what Peyton thought. He looked back over at Brooke, his intrigue only growing by the minute. He just felt like he had to know more. He was like a moth drawn to a flame. He couldn't quite explain how she was making him feel, despite only knowing her for a short time.

"You know – I'm going to marry her one day." Lucas announced confidently.

Peyton choked on her drink, "What?!"

"However long it takes." Lucas added with a smile before he handed Peyton a napkin and made her way over to Brooke before she was whisked away by another investor. "Hey Davis."

"Scott... How's it going?" she asked with a smile as he handed her a drink which she gratefully accepted.

"Good… I was wondering though – how is that we work together but I rarely see you in the hospital?"

"I guess I'm just so busy actually doing my job…" she teased.

"Funny" he said as he playfully flicked her wrist.

"Why do you want to see me anyway?"

"I like you Davis. I know I said I would be waiting, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see you and talk to you." He replied as Brooke eyed him curiously.

"You know, I never asked but – why me? What makes me so special?" she asked. She hadn't quite come to terms about why he was being so persistent and patient.

"There's just something about you Brooke. I know it probably sounds crazy but—I feel like you're meant to be a huge part of my life. I can't put my finger on why." Lucas said sincerely as Brooke eyed him curiously.

"Does sound pretty crazy…" she replied quietly, but she knew exactly what he meant.

"So… you brought the bar tender." He observed as he nodded towards Chase who was talking up a storm to some girls. "He's cute." He teased. He wasn't the sort of person to try and tear down another relationship just for his own gain. If Brooke was going to fall for him, he wanted it to be on her own terms.

Brooke laughed, "Chase is a good guy and I am making more bold choices" she said confidently.

Lucas smiled, "I'm glad. You know, I don't know if I ever thanked you for checking in on me when my grandfather was in the hospital—"

"Oh no, you don't have to thank me—"

"No, I do. Not many people came round because they cared about how I was doing. You are one of a kind Davis."

Brooke smirked. "So I'm told… if you ever need to talk about anything, you know where to find me."

"Yeah apparently we work together or something, not that I ever see you…" Lucas teased again.

"Well then I guess we should make a habit of bumping into each other a little more." Brooke replied as she delicately touched his arm – an action that didn't go unnoticed by Chase who was now watching the pair. "I'll see you around Lucas" she said before walking away.

Brooke soon found Chase at the bar looking pretty grouchy and frowned. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?"

"Oh that's Lucas, we work together."

"Looked a little friendlier than two colleagues talking…" he grumbled as he downed a shot.

"Ok, first of all, you are not getting drunk at my father's gala" she said as she took his next shot off him and handed it to the bar tender. "Second of all, we are friends, I've only known the guy a few weeks and I can talk to whoever I like."

"Right, cause we never put a label on this" he said as he motioned between them.

Brooke glared deeply, "even if we did put a label on it, I could still talk to whoever I wanted to—"

"What was it Rachel once said about surgeons? They always gravitate to one another. They're so intense that they always find someone to match that intensity. Other wise they'll flounder in all that they do." Chase remarked as Brooke looked at him completely stunned. "Why am I here Brooke?"

"Because I want you to be."

"Look around you Brooke!" Chase said, a little more forcefully than intended. "I don't fit in here. 3 people have come up to me and asked me about my 'speciality' and when I told them that I wasn't a doctor, they quickly walked away. You're a special breed of human that seem to only accept like-minded people."

"You are being really unfair Chase—"

"No, I'm being honest. I really like you Brooke. I like you so much I could easily see myself falling in love with you. I think I already might be. But I'm not in the business of feeling inferior to anyone." He said arrogantly.

Brooke shook her head and rolled her eyes. The male ego could be so fragile when it wanted to be, and she wasn't about to take the blame for it.

"I love what I do. I get to make a difference in so many people's lives and that isn't something that I should apologise to you for. That is something that I should be able to talk to you about and that you should be proud of me for. I can't be having a constant battle with you because you don't like feeling inferior to me, even though I never once thought of you in that way!" Brooke reasoned.

"Well then I guess we should just count our losses, huh?" Chase asked as Brooke looked to her feet. "It's probably for the best. You've known this new guy for a few weeks and already you're looking at him in a way you've never looked at me."

"Chase—"

"Goodnight Brooke." He said, before swiftly leaving the building.

Brooke quickly pinched the bridge of her nose, not quite believing that her attempts to be bold had backfired so dramatically. Rachel walked over to her with a frown on her face.

"What happened?"

"I am swearing off men for the foreseeable future." Brooke said between her teeth.

"Let me guess – he couldn't handle the fact that you were an accomplished professional and his fragile ego took another major hit?"

"Bullseye."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Tale as old as time." She'd had her fair share of men who felt the exact same. This was another reason why surgeons gravitated towards each other. They got the job. They respected each other's professional lives. "Listen, there was something I wanted to talk to you about"

"What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking… we have two empty rooms in that big old house of yours and I think it would be great to fill them." Rachel said with a smile.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Fill them with what?"

"Two new roommates of course!" she said, trying to make this sound as exciting as possible.

Brooke groaned, "Rachel, we do not need two new roommates."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Besides, Nate really needs some male energy in the house, he's starting to lose his mind with us." Rachel reasoned. Nathan really did put up with a lot from the two of them. "I've already found two great people in need of an escape from crummy apartments. They are good people, surgeons, keeping with our pack" she teased as Brooke scoffed. "Plus, that's more rent for you to finish paying off that mortgage."

Brooke thought about it for a moment. She wasn't exactly poor. Her mother had come from old money so she had a pretty hefty trust fund. She always felt guilty about touching it and only did so in emergencies. She much preferred just living normally off her own pay cheque, so the money to finish paying off her grandparent's mortgage wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, maybe Rachel was right. More roommates could be fun. When was she ever going to get to live like this again? Soon enough they would all go out and find their own places to live and what not.

"… fine. They can move in." Brooke agreed as Rachel clapped gleefully. "Who is it anyway?"

"Peyton and Lucas."

"… Peyton and Lucas? Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott?" Brooke asked as she felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Yep." Rachel said with a playful smirk.

"Rachel!" Brooke said swatting her arm. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"No game. Just being hospitable to our new colleagues." She said with a shrug. "See you at home roomie!" she said, running off before Brooke could kick up any more of a fuss.

Brooke sighed and took a minute to compose herself before she began working the room again.

Boy was this going to be fun.

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