Brooke and Lucas head to New York and Victoria gets sentimental about her kids in this chapter... enjoy!

Chapter Six – A Piece in the Puzzle

"Mom?" Brooke called through Victoria's Manhattan brownstone that Friday evening as she and Lucas set their overnight bags down at the door. "Hello?" she called again, but there was no response.

Brooke looked at Lucas and shrugged before leading him through the hallway and into the kitchen. Lucas took the opportunity to look all around him at their beautiful house. It reminded him a lot of the house he grew up in in Boston. She soon spotted Victoria's dog, Murphy in his basket as he immediately jumped up and sprinted towards her.

"Hi Murphy!" Brooke greeted happily as she bent down and let Murphy jump all over her. "Oh you are just the best dog in the world, aren't you? Yes you are?" she said in a baby voice as Lucas chuckled. "This is Lucas, can you say hi?" Brooke said as she stood up and let Lucas pet the golden retriever. "My little brother begged my mother for a dog and she gave in so she wouldn't have to listen to him anymore." Brooke explained with a little laugh. "My mother is not a dog person, she's too delicate for that…"

"Except when she's sawing into someone's chest" they heard a voice say behind them as they turned around and spotted Brooke's teenage brother Matty come into the kitchen.

"Matty!" Brooke said with a smile as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Matty Davis was a handsome 17-year-old, much like his siblings. He was tall and lanky and had the same dimpled smile as Brooke.

"The prodigal sister returns!" he teased as Brooke glared and smacked his stomach.

"Watch it…" she warned as she walked back over to Lucas who had been smiling at the scene in front of him. "Matty this is Lucas, Lucas, my little brother Matty" she introduced as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Lucas" Matty greeted.

"Yeah, you too… pats fan?" he asked as he motioned to the New England Patriots cap Matty had on his head.

"Let's just say there is no one else worth supporting." Matty said as Lucas chuckled.

"I'm with you there man"

Matty smirked, "Alright… I think you and I are going to get along Lucas. Nice job Brookie" he said as he shoved her slightly and Brooke blushed.

"Is mom here?" she asked.

Just as Matty was about to answer, Victoria came pounding into the room. "Mom is here – Matthew get that awful cap off your head, we're indoors, what could you possibly need it for?" Victoria scolded as she took the cap off his head and Matty slumped away.

"Nice to see you too Mom" Matty joked as Victoria glared and he held up his hands before walking away.

Victoria turned to Brooke who was looking at her with wide eyes as Lucas stood sheepishly behind her. Victoria Davis – soon to be Masterson – was a stern looking lady. She was immaculately dressed and her hair perfectly blow dried. She was essentially an older version of Brooke, though her eyes weren't as soft and her dimples weren't as pronounced.

"Brookie, hi sweetie" Victoria said as she walked towards her, giving her a hug and a kiss. "You look wonderful, as usual… and this must be Lucas. It's great to meet you, Brooke has told me so much about you." She said as she hugged him, taking Lucas by surprise. He guessed first perceptions weren't necessarily everything.

Lucas smirked, "Is that so?"

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes, "Watch out mom, we don't want to over-inflate his ego…"

"Oh I know all too well that a surgeon's ego is big enough, there's nothing I can do to make it worse." Victoria said with a wink. "I'm sorry that the house is such a mess Lucas, I've just been a little stressed over the wedding preparations." She said as she frantically tried to tidy up.

"Oh, please, don't worry about it, I'm sure the past few days have been pretty crazy for you." Lucas said politely. "Thank you for inviting me by the way" he added.

"Oh sweetie you're very welcome." Victoria replied. "It's so lovely to see Brooke finally bringing someone to meet her mother! I've been telling her that she just needs to move to New York where the pool is much bigger—"

"Ok mom! I don't think we need to bore Lucas with your desperation to marry me off to some rich investor" Brooke joked.

Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke's shoulder, "Oh no, I would love to hear all about that one…"

"Yeah, no. Just because mom is marrying one doesn't mean I need to." Brooke said definitively as she patted him on the chest. "When are Harry and Martin getting here?" Brooke said referring to her elder brother and soon to be stepfather.

"Harrison isn't getting here until the morning, he's working the night shift at the hospital and Martin should be here for dinner." Victoria confirmed as Brooke nodded. "It was such a pity that your father and Kate couldn't make this weekend." Victoria said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Mom, be nice…"

Victoria scoffed, "Brooke, you never have anything nice to say about Kate so why should I?"

"She's my stepmother I'm not supposed to have anything nice to say about her, you're the parent here, you have to be the bigger person." Brooke half-joked. She and Kate had never really formed a bond. She didn't hate the woman but she wasn't keen on becoming her best friend any time soon.

"You don't need parenting anymore Brookie, you're almost 30" Victoria said as she ran her thumb over her cheek.

Brooke shivered, "Ugh, don't remind me." She still had two years left, but it seemed closer than that.

"Now Lucas tell me, how is your mother?" Victoria asked as she sat down at the kitchen island.

"You know Lucas' mom?" Brooke asked. Surgeon circles didn't appear to be all that big.

"Oh yes, Karen and I go way back, we did our residency together here in Manhattan." Victoria confirmed. Brooke looked at her shocked.

"You never told me that"

Victoria shrugged, "It never came up…"

Lucas smiled, "She's doing good, taking Mass Gen by storm in the oncology department, of course." He confirmed. Karen Scott was a little bit of a legend in surgery circles. All the Scotts were, but Karen was a trail blazer and had inspired countless women to pursue their surgical passions.

"Oh I have no doubt about that, she's an inspiring woman. Brooke tells me you're a 5th year resident, what specialty are you hoping to go into?" she asked.

"Plastics and ENT" Lucas confirmed. "Kirk Walker has kind of taken me under his wing."

"Oh my god Kirk Walker, I haven't seen that man since he showed up at the lawyer's office with party poppers the day I finalised my divorce with your father…" she said with an eyeroll as Brooke and Lucas held back their laughter. Sounds like Kirk. "The man doesn't have the balls to realise that one woman for the rest of your life is more than enough and incredibly fulfilling."

Lucas gulped awkwardly, thinking about his own weird situation with Peyton and Brooke. While he wasn't doing anything with Peyton, it still felt strange because he was still thinking about her.

He quickly cleared his throat to snap himself out of his thoughts, "He's an interesting character but he's really taught me a lot."

"How very diplomatic of you Lucas" Victoria responded. "I guess at the very least he's an excellent surgeon and he's always spoiling his godchildren…" she conceded. Kirk was wonderful with all three of her kids, even if he didn't have it in him to be a father himself. "Now, I have a few last minute bits and pieces to get ready so why don't you and Lucas go and get settled and then we can get ready for the rehearsal dinner?"

Brooke nodded, "Sounds good momma. You sure you don't need any help?" she asked.

"No, no, I have it sorted, go and enjoy your time away from the hospital." Victoria insisted.

"It was really nice to meet you Ms Davis"

"Please, call me Victoria" she insisted as Lucas nodded.

Lucas walked out into the hallway in front of Brooke and before she left the kitchen completely, she turned back to look at her mother who was furiously nodding her head, clearly impressed in the few short minutes she'd spoken to Lucas. She quickly gave Brooke a thumbs up – and Brooke couldn't help but smile. Her mother liked him. Victoria was a hard woman to please and she actually liked him. She had a feeling that this was going to be a good weekend.

As she walked into the hallway, Lucas suddenly turned around, held onto her waist and delicately kissed her. When they broke apart she smirked.

"What was that for?"

"Your mom is great. Your brother is great. You are great." He said as Brooke smiled. He really loved seeing her in her element and in her childhood home. It was like adding another piece to the puzzle that was Brooke Davis.

"I'm glad you think they're great… and super glad you think I'm great" she said as she blushed and Lucas chuckled.

"From the moment I met you, I had a funny feeling you might be one of the best people I would ever meet." He complimented before kissing her cheek.

The following day soon rolled around and the wedding went beautifully. Brooke proudly stood at the front with Martin while Harry and Matty walked Victoria down the aisle. The whole ceremony was a beautiful declaration of love and affection and it was one of the rare moments in this dysfunctional family's life that everything felt perfectly in its place. While Lucas also thought the ceremony was beautiful, he thought Brooke might have been even more beautiful. He couldn't take his eyes off her the whole time and she knew it – she could barely concentrate on what was going on because of it.

At the reception, Brooke watched happily from the bar as Victoria and Martin danced together with beaming smiles on their faces and as Lucas talked happily away to Brooke's grandmother. She was glad he came with her. Because she wasn't here very often, it sometimes felt like a different life, so it was incredibly special to be able to introduce someone to it.

As Brooke watched Lucas and her grandmother talk, her aunt Vivienne walked over and eyed her curiously. Vivienne was Ted's sister, and also a surgeon as it seemed that Davis' couldn't be anything else, but she and Victoria had always been close and she was the first person Victoria had put down on the list of people to invite.

"You ok Vivi?" Brooke asked curiously when she realised she was staring intensely at her.

"How did you do it?" Vivienne asked quickly.

"Do what?"

"Snag a Scott" Vivienne said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh my god…" Brooke grumbled.

"You're right, that's a dumb question, Brooke Penelope Davis. That's how you snagged a Scott, by just being you." Vivienne said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Not only was Brooke just an all round good person, she was a Davis. A Scott and a Davis was like a surgical match made in heaven.

"I didn't snag anything. Lucas and I are just—I don't know what we are to be honest." Brooke replied as she took a gulp from her champagne.

"He just seems so… great." Vivienne said as the stared at him as he was now messing around with Matty.

"I know." Brooke said with a smile, loving that he was getting along with her brother so well. Matty didn't warm to people quickly, so it was surprise to everyone when he immediately clicked with Lucas. Brooke figured it was probably because they both supported the patriots. Lucas seemed to get on well with Harry too, but he was a little more sceptical of Lucas. He had always been protective of Brooke, especially after Aiden died. He wasn't about to let just anybody walk into her life.

"And you're both so hot. Your babies would be hot." Vivienne observed, demonstrating exactly why people said she had no filter.

"Vivi!" Brooke said with a laugh as she scolded her aunt.

Vivienne held up her hands, "I'm just saying if he doesn't put a ring on it, he's crazy—"

"He's not even my boyfriend and you're talking about rings?"

"I know, it's crazy but—I don't know what it is. There's just something between you two that makes me think this is the real deal. Congrats Brookie." She said before smirking and walking away.

Brooke didn't really know what to say to Vivienne's statement, but thankfully she didn't have to say anything as Victoria walked over.

"What are you two talking about?" Victoria asked.

"Oh, just Lucas—" Brooke said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh yes, the Scott you brought to my wedding…" she said as she tried to hide her smile.

"I was wondering when you were going to get weird about this…"

"I'm sorry, I'm trying not to be weird about it, but he's the first guy that you've been with since Aiden and it's exciting." Victoria began. She wanted to be happy for her daughter, but she knew how fearful she was and she didn't want to freak her out.

"It's new. Very new. I don't even know what it is to be honest, it could wind up being nothing..."

"He came here." Victoria simply stated.

"What?"

"He came to New York for your mother's wedding. That's not nothing." Victoria said with certainty. If he didn't mean something to her and if he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have come.

"… He probably felt guilty about saying no." Brooke said, determined to downplay the significance of this.

"Well, he hasn't kept his eyes off you all night, so I'm guessing not." Victoria said. She may have been saying her vows at the front, but she was a mother – she had eyes on the back of her head – and she'd noticed the way Lucas was looking at her daughter.

Victoria watched as Brooke looked up and caught Lucas's eye as he smiled sincerely at her and she blushed before smiling down at her feet.

"Are you happy Brooke?" Victoria asked softly as her daughter looked up at her.

"Yeah. I'm happy. Are you?" she asked.

"Very." Victoria replied. It felt like for the first time in a long time, they could both say that and mean it. They'd always been floating on fine, but they were moving beyond that now and into a much better place than fine.

Harry and Matty soon joined the two women at the bar.

"Hey! There's my boys" Victoria said as she hugged them tightly. "God, you are both so handsome." She said as they moved back, and she looked at them. "I can't believe I made you."

"Have you been on the wine mom?" Matty asked as Brooke and Harry laughed.

"Hey, watch it Mr." Victoria playfully warned. "I'm glad I have the three of you here, I just wanted to say something, before we all take off in our various directions again—and I don't mean to get all cheesy and mom like on you—"

"Just spit it out mom" Matty asked, never having the patience for Victoria's soppy rants.

"Ok—I am so very, very proud of you three. You've had to deal with a lot in your lives and you've come out the other side even better people than you were before, if that was possible—" Victoria said, always thinking highly of her kids.

"It was definitely possible, I was a sucky teenager." Harry reminded her. He had always had a bit of an entitled attitude problem and it got him into a lot of bother. Victoria was thankful that there were only three run ins with the police during his time in high school.

"Well, you are a wonderful man and a wonderful son and a wonderful doctor. You have the world at your feet." Victoria said as Harry smiled softly at her. "And my little Matty Munchkin." Victoria said as she squeezed Matty.

"God mom quit embarrassing me…" Matty grumbled. He'd gotten to the age were anything his parents did was entirely uncool.

"I wouldn't be your mother if I wasn't. Thank you for keeping me sane. Thank you for being your wonderful little self." Victoria said as she fixed the front of his hair.

"Please don't cry." Matty begged.

"I'm not crying." Victoria said as her voice went up a few tones and she bit her lip.

"Yes you are."

"I just love you so much, you're my baby"

"I'm 17 mom—"

"You will always be my baby" Victoria said quietly, to which Matty couldn't help but smile at. "And you. My little girl. Who's not so little anymore, who's a doctor and who's dating a Scott—"

"Mom—" Brooke whined, not thinking it necessary to bring Lucas up at that moment.

"You're just—you're just perfect. I can't believe I had such perfect children. I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for you. Come here" Victoria said as she pulled her three kids in for a hug. "I love you very much."

"We love you too mom."

Later that evening, Lucas had dragged Brooke out on the dance floor to prove how good he was. They were swaying gently to the music as Victoria watched on carefully from the side. There was just something about Lucas that she had a really good feeling about. It was in the eyes.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at Lucas' dancing; "You have two left feet." She commented as she tried to take the lead.

Lucas frowned, "No I don't and you would realise that if you let me lead-"

"Yes you do, you're a terrible dancer." Brooke continued, not prepared to give up the point.

"… ok fine, I'm a terrible dancer, but I am trying." Lucas pointed out. "Everybody loves a trier"

"I know, and I love you for it." She said with a laugh.

Brooke looked at Lucas with a soft smile on her face. Ever since he had arrived in Raleigh, he always seemed to be a smile on her face. He always seemed to bring her joy - particularly over his terrible dancing. She felt like she never wanted this to end.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked as they finally fell into a comfortable rhythm.

"I just don't remember the last time I felt this happy and content." Brooke confessed as Lucas returned her smile. He had never felt this way about a girl. He couldn't quite believe that she was his.

"Everything just feels right." He confirmed before kissing her.

Victoria smiled softly at the scene in front of her. She was so happy that her daughter was happy. She started to tear up a little. It was like her little girl's life had flashed before her eyes and she'd missed it. She was grown up and making her own way in the world and falling in love. As she watched Brooke smile widely as something Lucas was saying to her, she instantly realised that no matter what regrets she may have had in life, Harry, Brooke and Matty were the three things in this world that she did right.

Brooke and Lucas soon finished their dance and Lucas walked over to the table to get them some drinks.

"Thank you." he heard a voice behind him say as he turned around and saw Victoria standing there.

"What for…?" he asked.

"For putting a smile on my daughter's face. It's been a while since I've seen her smile like that... it seems that you've just brightened up her whole world." Victoria said happily.

"I'm lucky to have her." Lucas said. Despite how good it felt to be with Brooke, he couldn't help but feel like it was too good to be true. Like something bad was coming their way.

"It's not luck. It's fate." Victoria replied, truly believing that Brooke had found her person.

As the party drew to a close, Lucas and Brooke made their way back to Victoria's quiet house. Matty was staying with a friend and Victoria and Martin had already left for their honeymoon, so the big old brownstone was all theirs for the night.

"I had a really good time today" Lucas said with a smile as he and Brooke climbed the stairs.

"I'm glad. I know my family can be a lot sometimes but… they're my kind of crazy if you get me." Brooke said as Lucas chuckled.

"Yeah I get you. Wait till you meet my family" he said. Brooke turned around and quirked an eyebrow.

"Introducing me to your family? Man, that's a pretty big step Lucas…" she teased, knowing how freaked out he had been at the prospect of meeting Brooke's mom and brothers.

"Very funny…"

Brooke giggled at herself and started to skip down the large upstairs hallway, causing Lucas to stop and just watch her. He had never seen her so full of light and it was just beautiful. Brooke turned around when she reached her bedroom door and eyed him curiously.

"You ok there Scott?"

Lucas nodded, "Yeah. I was just thinking that you might be the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Brooke laughed, "All that champagne has gone to your head" she joked.

"No… I'm very alert." He said as he began walking closer towards her. He was soon towering over her and he watched as Brooke gulped in anticipation. Lucas delicately tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before brushing his nose against hers. He was determined to take his time with her, in everything they were doing. He tilted his head slightly as Brooke lifted hers up to meet his lips in a soft but searing kiss. His hands soon held onto her face as he deepened the kiss. He never wanted the feeling he had right now to end. She made him feel complete.

Brooke moved away from him briefly and opened the door, waiting for him to move past her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, knowing in one look what she was waiting for.

Brooke smirked, "So sure." She confirmed before Lucas quickly moved into the room and pulled her in for a fast and heavy kiss.

Lucas slammed the door shut with his foot as he continued to hungrily kiss her. Within seconds, Brooke had taken Lucas' jacket off and his tie was on the floor, as she moved to the buttons of his shirt Lucas pulled back.

"Wait, wait, wait" he said as she nibbled at his jaw.

"What? Don't you want this?" she asked as she kissed him again.

Lucas nodded, "I want this. I want you. But I also want to take my time" he said sweetly as he looked into her eyes and saw she was a little shocked by this. It was clear to him then that she hadn't been with many guys who cared enough to take their time and think about her too.

He carefully moved the straps of Brooke's dress down her shoulders and began kissing along them as Brooke closed her eyes and tilted her neck to the side to give him full access. He slowly lowered the zip of her dress and allowed it to float to the floor before scooping her up as her legs wrapped around his waist.

He slowly lowered her to the bed, all while kissing her softly and sweetly, fully prepared to take the time to get to know every part of her body and learn all of her sweetest spots. He sat up briefly to remove his shirt before hovering over her again, taking a moment to take all of her in. She looked angelic spread across her plush comforter. She delicately traced her fingers across his jaw and smiled up at him before he swooped down and kissed her with everything in him.

Surely it's not too good to be true... right? Don't forget to review!