You guys were as outraged about the last chapter as I expected you to be lol... I would ask you to remember that this is just a story, I am not here to try and 'fix' what OTH did wrong, it's just a bit of fun in an alternative universe. In my opinion, more frustration means more joy when things finally fall into place and a good story is one that has conflict that leads to a great resolution. I'm a sucker for a bit of heart break, but that doesn't mean this won't be a fun story to read too. If that's not what you're here for, that's cool! Just please avoid being rude in the reviews :)

And trust me - I do not want to write Pucas anymore than you want to read it. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to go away, but you will not have to read any sickly sweet moments about them. Because I update everyday, this story is fast paced, so goodness is coming, I promise!

If you're just here for some wholesome Brucas content (which I don't blame you for), stick around for the next few chapters! And then when maybe tune back in around chapter 19 to get what you want... but you'll be missing out on some juicy drama and slow building tension...

For now, Brooke and Lucas have two weddings on the horizon... enjoy!

Chapter Five – Over Complications

Brooke and Lucas never got to have their drink that night, as Lucas explained later things hit a head with Peyton that resulted in them ending whatever it is they were. He was beginning to have doubts that what they were doing had been a good idea and naturally, Peyton was mad. She thought that they were developing something good and real, but clearly Lucas felt otherwise. What Lucas didn't tell her was that Brooke had been on his mind ever since their conversation about going for a drink had happened. He promised to make it up to Brooke for missing it and they went out for a drink the following night… and the night after that… and the night after that. They both insisted it was just a friendship drink, they spent a lot of time bonding over their failed 'bold' relationship choices - but no one could deny the sparks that seemed to be lighting between them. It appeared that they were finally moving out of the awkward friendship zone they found themselves in.

Lucas was desperately trying to find a way to truly move them past that stage. He figured if they just kept going for drinks at Tric they'd be forever bound in a rotating cycle of deep chats and bad relationship advice that was used to mask how they were really feeling. The perfect opportunity arose a few weeks later when one of the attendings was getting married and had invited some of the residents, including Brooke and Lucas. So, Lucas tried to masterfully orchestrate a way to ask her to go as his date without making it weird.

"Hey Brooke, you're going to Piper's wedding, right?" Lucas asked as they fell into line with one another in the hallway.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was thinking… there's no point us both taking cars when we live together and work together and it means we could just go straight from the hospital and not have to worry about going back and forth for clothes and—"

"Quit rambling Scott." Brooke said with a little giggle. "Sounds to me like you're trying, miserably I might add, to ask me out on a date…"

Lucas gulped, "Well what better opportunity to chance my luck than to take you to a wedding?" he asked as they stopped and he took a step closer towards her. "They're terribly romantic and they're definitely much more fun when you have someone by your side to enjoy it with." He said quietly.

"Hm" Brooke said as she thought about it for a moment. "You know… I always thought that when you took you shot, you'd be on your hands and knees begging to date me…"

Lucas chuckled, "You do have a profound affect on people Davis, but for now, I'm somehow managing to hold it together."

Brooke gave him a lopsided smirk, "Something tells me you won't be holding it altogether by the end of this wedding…" she said as she fixed the lapels of his white doctor's coat. "You're on Scott." She said before patting his chest and walking away.

"Hey" Rachel called as he caught up with Brooke in the hallway later that day. "What's this about you going to Piper's wedding with Lucas?" he asked, having heard from another one of the doctors.

"Wow, news travels fast around here…" Brooke grumbled as she and Rachel walked into the lounge. "It's not a big deal. We're friends… sort of… I don't know, it's all a little strange."

"Yeah, especially considering he was hooking up with Peyton not two weeks ago." Rachel said, looking at her friend a little concerned about the whole thing. She wasn't sure how she felt about a guy who could jump so easily between girls.

"I'm not pledging myself to him Rachel, it's just a date." Brooke said with a little laugh as they sat on the bench in the lounge.

"Maybe… but you have a thing for him, Brooke. You have since the moment he walked through the door, don't even pretend otherwise." Rachel warned. She was worried that her friend was setting herself up for heartbreak by pursuing something with him so fresh off the back of Peyton.

"I mean, he's great, but Sawyer is a lot of baggage to come with. Not to mention he'd be the first guy that I could really see myself falling for since Aiden—"

"You know, a part of me just wants you to sleep with him so you can finally start up something good and worthwhile in your life." Rachel confessed, quickly changing her tune. She worried about Brooke withdrawing herself from people over the years. She was so focused on her studies and it had paid off for her, she flew through med school and was at the top of her game at the hospital. However, a part of what made Brooke, Brooke, was her vivacious and bright character. Aiden had forever changed her, but there were parts of her Rachel just didn't want her to leave behind.

"Careful, Rachel—" Brooke warned. She didn't want this to turn into a sob fest about how it was time for her to be 'her true self' or something stupid like that.

"Brooke—"

"I gotta go. Nerve graft" Brooke said abruptly, before swiftly standing up and leaving, not wanting this conversation to go any further.

A few days later, the wedding had rolled around and Brooke was looking forward to spending some time away from the hospital and actually putting something nice on. Her blue scrubs and messy ponytail really wasn't her best look. She had always been really into her clothes and even liked to make a few dresses from time to time.

When she came downstairs ready to go, Lucas had turned to look at her and immediately smiled.

"You look incredible" he said quietly in her ear as she couldn't help but blush. She really had no idea what she was doing with Lucas, and whether it was a good idea, but she did know how good it felt to spend time with him and she was going to take what she could when she could.

They soon arrived at the wedding venue and discovered that there was a delay in starting as Piper was caught up with a surgery at the hospital, so all the guests were waiting around at the bar. While Lucas, Nathan and a few other residents all sat at a table talking, Brooke and Rachel sat at the bar. While Rachel rambled on about one of her patients, Brooke couldn't help but stare at Lucas as he animatedly talked with their friends.

"I swear Brooke you should have seen this guy's eye… it was full of puss and just totally vile and—"

"Lucas has nice eyes… I mean I've known him for a while now and I always thought he had nice eyes but I'm really taking them in now… do you think they're blue or green?" Brooke rambled. Over the past few months, Brooke had managed to put Lucas to the back of her mind, but since they starting going for drinks, she got the same flutters in her stomach that she got when she first saw him tackle the guy to the ground in the ER.

"Don't you dare sleep with him." Rachel warned.

"I'm not!" Brooke protested. "… why not?" she asked quietly. Rachel hadn't certainly changed her tune.

"I know I said it might be good to get you back into a dating cycle but - You are Brooke freakin Davis, the crown jewel of the hospital, he already has the fact that he screwed with Peyton on his conscious, he doesn't need the fact that he broke you out of your emotional Aiden-shell with one night of good sex on his conscience either. The person you should be with after Aiden, should be more than Lucas Scott could ever be—" Rachel warned. She really wasn't impressed by his latest antics.

"He's a Scott, Rachel, how much more perfect can you get? He's probably not even interested. He's just trying to keep his mind off Sawyer—"

"Yeah, that's why he told you he would bide his time till he felt he could ask you out." They heard Nathan say as he came and sat beside them.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rachel asked as she choked on her drink. As Brooke blushed. "You kept that little detail quiet."

"Yeah, he even told Sawyer he would marry her one day" Nathan added as Brooke and Rachel's mouths fell open.

"Stop, no he didn't… did he?" Brooke questioned, a little shocked at Lucas' bold declaration.

"Yeah, Peyton told me drunkenly at Tric the other night. She's convinced he dumped her for you Brookie." Nathan told her.

"That is not true, he did that for himself." Brooke said, a little uncertainly. She looked around the room and spotted Peyton standing at the bar, doing exactly what she herself had been doing a few minutes ago – staring at Lucas.

Before anything else could be said, all of their pagers went off and they were summoned back to the hospital to deal with a pretty big trauma. As Brooke left the room, she rushed past Lucas who quickly caught up with her.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, all good" she said with a tight-lipped smile before jumping into Nathan's car and speeding away.

After performing a few surgeries with Lucas, Brooke was exhausted. She felt like she had barely left work before she was called back and with the wedding in between, she just wanted to crash for the night. She soon remembered that she couldn't even leave because Nathan and Lucas were the ones who drove. So, she made her way to the on-call room and fell asleep almost instantly. She had always struggled to sleep in the on-call room beds, but she was clearly past the point of caring.

She didn't wake up again until a few hours later, when Lucas walked into the room and offered to take her home, which she gratefully accepted. As they arrived back at the house, Lucas stopped the car and they sat for a moment in a comfortable silence.

"Crazy day, huh?" Lucas said.

"You could say that again." Brooke chuckled.

"You know… I never pictured you as a motorcycle girl…" he teased. Earlier while they were treating a patient who was a victim of a motorcycle crash, she had said she thought it was hot when a guy rode one.

"What kind of girl did you picture me as?" she asked with a smirk.

"I reckon you like preppy boys."

"Considering the last guy I was seeing was a bartender and then there's Aiden who spent most of his time in shorts and flip-flops, even in the winter, I think that's a little off…"

Lucas chuckled; "It appears so."

"I guess some people can surprise you."

"Yeah… they definitely can." Lucas said as they both shared a moment.

Lucas took all of Brooke in. She was so beautiful. Her eyes were captivating, and her smile was enchanting. "You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now…" he confessed.

"… then why don't you?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated for a moment before he leaned over and rested his hand on cheek before giving her a searing kiss.

After a few moments they pulled away from each other ever so slightly and shared another little moment before Brooke smiled. She couldn't quite believe this was happening.

"Goodnight Lucas" she said in a whisper before giving him one more quick kiss and getting out of the car.

Lucas leant back in his chair and watched as she made her way to the front door.

"Goodnight pretty girl" he replied, despite her not being able to hear him. He felt like this was the start of something really good and he couldn't wait to see where it went.

As he took the key out of the ignition, he watched as Peyton got out of a taxi and made her way to the front door. He felt a little bit ashamed over how he had treated her. It wasn't that he didn't like her, he really did and he found himself developing feelings for her, but it just didn't feel right. It didn't seem fair that they started because he was feeling bad about himself. Peyton soon spotted him sitting in the car and walked over to him, just as he got out of the car.

"Hey Scott" she greeted as she pulled her coat tighter around her body to try and combat the cold.

"Sawyer… good night?"

"A weird one. I got some blood on my dress in the ER cause I didn't have time to change into my scrubs…" she said, showing him the blood on her sleeve.

"Life of a surgeon, huh?"

"Yeah, exactly." She said, as they fell into a rather uncomfortable silence.

"Listen, Peyton… I really am sorry about everything." Lucas said. He'd already apologised, but he felt like he needed to say it again and again until it went in.

Peyton shook her head, "It's ok, really." She insisted.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "Really?" he asked. She hadn't been so cool the other week when he ended it.

"Yeah, I've had some time to think about it and… I don't think we're finished." She said cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't even explain it." She said with a little laugh as she took a step forward. "I just have this feeling that there's more to this. That this is something we need to see through." She said as Lucas gulped. She had become like an addiction to him over the past few weeks and he was still tempted by her right now. "So, you do your thing with Brooke, or whoever your girl of the month will be but uh—I'll still be here. I think we have something good. Something grounded in a really strong friendship… something tells me you'll realise that too." She finished before leaning up and teasingly kissing him on the cheek. "Goodnight Lucas" she whispered before making her way inside, leaving Lucas feeling conflicted and confused.

Brooke was nervous going into work the next day. She had been on cloud nine since her kiss with Lucas, but she was nervous about the conversation she might have about it today. She was nervous that he would say he regretted it, she was nervous that people would find out.

As soon as she got into her scrubs, she went to find him. It didn't take long for her to locate him in one of the on-call rooms—just as he was putting his shirt on after a nap he had just taken.

She froze for a moment, not sure what to do. He was in excellent shape, Brooke couldn't deny that, but she felt like she couldn't just stare-

Lucas smirked; "Like what you see cheery?"

"Last time I checked, you were the one who kissed me broody…" she said as he pulled his shirt over his head and she closed the door.

"I reckon it was pretty mutual." He said with a laugh.

"Right…" Brooke confirmed as she shifted awkwardly in her spot. "You uh—you don't regret it. Do you?"

"No. Not at all." Lucas told her as he towered over her, causing her to gulp. She couldn't remember the last time a boy had this effect on her. "All I can think about is you and kissing you." He confessed as Brooke tried to hide her smile. "I do think that it's probably in our best interests though that we keep this to ourselves—"

"Oh thank god you said that." Brooke said letting out a breath. "Between my dad and Kate and Rachel and Nate, I want to keep this even more quiet than you do and I really don't need people thinking that I'm getting surgeries not just because of my parents but also because I'm sleeping with you—"

"We're sleeping together now?" he teased.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes in response before continuing, "—I'm going to get surgeries because I am awesome."

"That is true. You are extremely awesome." He said quietly before bending down and kissing her.

Things began to get heated as Brooke's hands went around Lucas's neck and his hands roamed under her shirt and across her back, sending shivers down her spine. Just as Lucas moved to part her lips with his tongue, their pagers went off and they both groaned.

"To be continued." Lucas said as Brooke nodded and opened the door.

"So, have you started applying for fellowships yet?" Brooke asked as they walked down the corridor.

"I've sent a few applications off, but I don't know what I'm going to do. I didn't expect to like it so much here." Lucas confessed. He always figured that he'd head back to Boston or New York for his fellowship, but he didn't expect to have people here that would make him want to stay. He had started to make roots a lot sooner than he planned. "Plus, I really think I have a lot more to learn from Walker."

"Yeah, Uncle Kirk is definitely sprucing you up to be the next big thing in plastics." Brooke confirmed. Kirk loved Lucas. He treated him like a son and loved nothing more than showing him the way to be the best plastic surgeon in the country. "And as much as he likes being near me and dad, I think his heart is in New York."

Lucas frowned, "You think he'll leave Raleigh?"

"Yeah. When he's certain you're ready to take over the department." Brooke confirmed. "So I reckon that's something worth sticking around for"

"Do you think there's anything else here worth sticking around for?" Lucas asked as the stopped and looked at one another.

"I don't know… I guess you'll have to stay to find out" she said with a smirk before walking away, leaving Lucas with a smile on his face.

Over the next few weeks, Lucas and Brooke continued to spend more and more time together. They felt like they were really getting somewhere in their relationship, though both were more than happy to take it slow. Again, they were both notoriously afraid of labels and commitment, so this was working well for them. They wanted to be sure that this was something worth pursuing before they potentially ruined a really solid friendship.

Lucas was also a little hesitant because of Peyton. For some reason, he really couldn't get her off his mind. Ever since that night in the driveway when she told them there was something still there, he had been wondering if she was right. They had been friends for so long and they got on so well that he wondered if she had been the one for him all along – but he was conflicted. His feelings for Brooke were growing every day and he didn't want to ignore those. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world and had no idea what the hell he was doing.

Despite both of their hesitance, Brooke saw an opportunity one weekend to take their relationship to a new level. She was scared to put that extra pressure on it, but she wanted to at least test the waters. Lucas was all about making bold choices – right?

"Hey" she greeted as she cautiously approached him at the nurses' station that Tuesday morning. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"I don't know. There's some football on, I'll probably watch it" he said with a shrug as he closed his charts. He was a fan of do-nothing weekends considering his weekly life was so busy. "Why?" he asked as he turned to look at her.

"How would you feel about going to New York for the weekend?" Brooke asked slowly, not wanting to freak him out. Her mother was getting married this weekend and Brooke couldn't be more excited for her. She saw how Ted marrying Kate had affected her confidence considering it happened so soon after the divorce, but now she had found her forever guy in Martin Masterson and Brooke was thrilled she was getting her happy ending. She couldn't wait to celebrate with them. While her mother could sometimes be difficult, she had grown fonder of her over the years as she grew to appreciate all Victoria had done for her without her even realising.

Lucas awkwardly cleared his throat "New York? As in where your mother and brothers live?"

"Yep…" Brooke confirmed.

"Wh—why would you want us to go there?" he asked with an awkward laugh.

"Well, I told you my mom was getting married right?" she asked as he nodded his head, "The wedding is this weekend and I thought maybe you could come with me…" she told him with a soft smile.

"As like… your boyfriend?" he asked cautiously.

Brooke's face fell, realising that he was freaking out. They never had that conversation and she didn't think now was the time to have it either, so she tried to back track.

"No!" she said quickly. "No, we're not really in that place—right now… but as my date. It doesn't have to be a big deal, I just thought it would be fun. Davis' really know how to throw a party so you'll likely wake up with very little memory of the night before and that is the sign of a time well had." Brooke joked.

Lucas chuckled; "You're selling it well."

"Thank you" she said with a smirk.

"I uh- I need to check what surgeries I have going on, but I'll get back to you." He said, giving her a vague non-committal answer.

"Ok. Don't—don't feel any pressure or whatever, I just—I just wanted to ask. See you later." She said before awkwardly walking away. They were like dumb teenagers around each other and it was maddening.

Lucas could barely focus for the rest of the day. He was suitably freaked out by Brooke's suggestion and he had no idea why. I mean – meeting a parent was a big thing, especially when they were just hanging out and kissing – a lot. Things would often get pretty hot and heavy but Brooke stopped them before it went any further. He figured it was because she wanted to be sure before she took that step and he didn't blame her considering what happened with Chase.

He walked into the residents lounge that afternoon in a daze, finding Nathan banging on the coffee machine in a bid to make it work.

"Brooke asked me if I wanted to go to LA this weekend" Brooke blurted out, hoping for some decent advice from Nathan.

"For Victoria's wedding?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah… is that weird?"

"You're basically dating her man, the least you can do is go to a wedding with her" Nathan reasoned. He and Rachel were growing beyond frustrated with this whole Brooke and Lucas 'I can't commit because I'm scared thing.' There just seemed to be a lack of honest communication and over caution to the point of frustration. It all just felt unnecessarily complicated.

"It seems very—coupley." Lucas added.

Nathan rolled his eyes; "It's not your wedding idiot."

"Can you please just give me some reasonable, well thought out advice?" Lucas snapped.

Nathan sighed and turned away from the coffee machine; "Look, Brooke is very much on the same page as you. She wants to see where this goes, but she's scared. You're clearly scared about liking her too much too and I'm guessing you're also having conflicting feelings over the whole Peyton thing." He suggested. Lucas went to downplay the Peyton thing, but Nathan stopped him before he could. "She's into you man and she's having a good time with you, so she wants to bring you somewhere to have an even better time. You're over thinking it."

"I—I really like her." Lucas confessed quietly. He really, really liked her. He liked her from the moment he saw her. He trusted her, he valued her friendship, she was insanely beautiful, and her spirit was contagious.

"Then what are you being weird for? Get your ass to New York."

It didn't take long for Lucas to realise that Nathan was right. So, as Brooke left the hospital that evening, Lucas rushed after her to tell her he'd decided to come with her. He liked this girl, he liked her a lot, what was the point in hiding it?

"Brooke!" he called as she turned around.

"Hey"

"About New York—"

"Look, I really didn't mean to freak you out, I just thought it could be fun, but you really don't have to come—" Brooke insisted, feeling bad about making him panic.

"No, I want to come." He said as a small smile rose on Brooke's face. They'd already tried one wedding date and while they didn't get to the actual wedding part, they'd had a good night that ended in their first kiss. "A few days in the big apple sounds awesome. Plus, I love weddings and I am an excellent dancer."

Brooke laughed, "Now that is something I have to see."

Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head as they left the hospital together, glad to be in each other's company.