Family troubles aren't stopping for Lucas any time soon... it's time for a visit from good old Royal Scott.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Seven – We'll Inherit the Earth

The following morning, Brooke stood at the nurse's station in the surgical wing going through some patient files when Rachel walked around the corner and smiled when she saw her friend.

"Hey, how was your—oh my god, what is that?" Rachel said as she stared down at her ring with wide eyes.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows and looked at what Rachel was looking at. Oh yeah. You'd think she still wouldn't be used to having that ring on her hand…

"Oh… yeah, I got engaged" she said as she held up her hand with an awkward smile, knowing Rachel might be mad that she didn't call her immediately after it happened.

"Shut up." Rachel said as she grabbed her hand with a wide mouth to get a good look at the ring.

"Surprise?" Brooke said as more of a question, not sure what Rachel was feeling with this reaction. Rachel soon broke out into a huge smile before squealing and hugging Brooke tightly.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you it was—yeah. It was a good day. A very good day" She said as she couldn't hide her smile.

Rachel looked at her friend and saw that she was glowing. She was so immensely happy and that made her so immensely happy.

"You look so happy." She said softly.

"I mean—I am. I feel—so good." She said calmly. It had been a while since she had felt so calm and not at all stressed about everything that was going on around them. She felt so peaceful and in love and so grateful.

"Why are we feeling good?" Kate asked as she and Nathan approached them.

"She's engaged!" Rachel happily blurted out as Kate and Nathan's eyes widened.

"Brooke Davis no you are not." Kate said as Brooke sheepishly held up her hand.

"I am…"

Kate pulled her hand towards her; "Wow, that is blinding." She said as she inspected the princess cut, white gold engagement ring.

"Luke actually did it?" Nathan questioned.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "Uh – did you know about this?" the way he was talking, it was like he knew Lucas had been planning on doing this.

Nathan's eyes widened, realising that maybe wasn't what he was supposed to say. "I uh – I may have gone with him to choose the ring…"

"Oh my god, Nathan!" Brooke exclaimed with a laugh. "How did you keep that one quiet?!"

"The guy was nervous as hell, I was there for moral support and believe me… it was getting annoying waiting around for him to actually do it, I'm glad he finally did."

"I can't believe you didn't call me right away!" Kate protested.

"It was an eventful few days and I wanted to tell you all in person…" Brooke reasoned. She didn't really have much on her mind other than Lucas when they were in Maine.

"We should have an engagement party." Kate said as Rachel furiously nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh you don't have to—"

"Yes, we do!" Kate insisted before smiling and pulling Brooke in for a hug. "Congratulations Brooke." She then turned to look at Rachel. "Ok Gatina, let's go you're with me today."

"Ok" Rachel said with a pout, wanting to talk all things engagements and weddings with Brooke a little longer. "I'll catch you at lunch" she said happily before following Kate away.

Nathan eyed Brooke curiously for a few moments as she smiled while scrolling through some charts on a tablet.

"Are you really going to do it?" Nathan asked as Brooke looked up at him.

"Do what?"

"Marry him."

"I mean yeah… that's kind of what being engaged means… why would that be a surprise to you?" Brooke asked with a little laugh. He knew all about Lucas' plans, yet he seemed concerned all of a sudded.

"I'm not surprised it's just—it's weird." He confessed.

Brooke frowned; "Why is it weird?"

"We've been through a lot together Brooke and I've seen you go through a lot, especially when it comes to guys and it's just – it's a good weird seeing you so happy and in love. You really deserve this." Nathan said sincerely. "Even if Lucas is a total jackass…" he Rachelked.

"Hey, you and Lucas are like brothers, he's your guy" Brooke reminded him. Nathan and Lucas really did get along so well, they knew they'd found a friend for life in each other.

"You're my guy. Always." He made clear as Brooke smiled sincerely at him. They really were like brother and sister and were determined to protect each other at all costs.

"Nathan, I have been through a lot of pain in my life, a lot of heartbreak and there is no way in hell I would set myself up for it again if I wasn't sure about this. I know he's screwed me over in the past, but this is different. I don't know how to describe it but—it is, it's just, different. And if he does screw me over again, I'll let you take the first punch." She Rachelked.

Nathan chuckled; "Deal. Congrats Davis." He said before walking on, confidently knowing that this was the right thing for Brooke.

Throughout the day, Brooke had received countless of congratulations and while they were happily received, her heart felt a little heavy. She took a moment as she walked into an empty lounge room and sat down, letting out a weary breath and running her hands through her hair.

Kate came into the room with a frown on her face, seeing that Brooke was clearly upset about something.

"Hey. You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just—I just need to take a breather." She said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"What's going on?"

Brooke sighed before deciding to just tell Kate the truth; "Everyone's so happy for us. My mom, my brothers, you guys. Even people I don't know have been congratulating me in the hallways."

"Well it's a thing to be congratulated about." Kate said, not sure where Brooke was going with this.

"Yeah and it's—it's another thing my dad is not here to see. He won't get to walk me down the aisle or give a speech. He'll never get to see me when I get a fellowship. He'll never get to meet Sophie. He should be here for all of this." She said as her voice choked, and she bit back her tears. Her emotions were incredibly heightened right now due to such a happy event taking place, so when she first thought of Ted, the weight of sadness hit her like a ton of bricks.

Kate nodded as she sat down beside Brooke and took her hand. "I know what he'd say if he was standing up there at your wedding. He'd say that he'd struggled with the speech. He'd struggled to find something to say about you. Not because there wasn't anything to say, but because there was so much to say. He wouldn't think he was being bias when he said you are one of the greatest girls out there. You are so loving, smart, beyond beautiful, funny, talented… strong. One of the hardest things he ever had to do was walking you down that aisle, but he did it with great pride, knowing that you couldn't have chosen a better man and he couldn't have chosen a better girl. Brooke Davis, you are so very loved by your husband, your family and your Raleigh Med family of course. Then he'd turn to Lucas and say Lucas, you are a good man who has looked after my daughter very well, and it is an honour to welcome you into our family. I know you will make Brooke very, very happy."

Brooke looked at Kate as she let a stray tear fall at her beautiful words. It was like she could hear Ted in them.

"Thank you" Brooke said in a barely there whisper, thankful that she was surrounded by people who loved Ted just as much as she did.

A few weeks later, Brooke walked into the hospital with Sophie strapped to her chest. She had a rare day off and was excited to spend it with her baby – yet somehow, she found herself back at the hospital, ready to sneak around and see what was going on. As much as she welcomed breaks from work, she loved the place too much and didn't want to feel like she was missing out on something. She made her way through the lobby of the surgical wing and found all the doctors and nurses had gathered there for some reason. She soon spotted Lucas who was standing awkwardly by the stairs.

"Hey" she greeted as she approached him.

Lucas frowned when he spotted his girls, "Hey, what are you going here?" he asked as he looked in on Sophie and saw she was fast asleep.

"Oh you know me, can't stand being out of the loop…" She said as she looked around her, trying to work out why everyone was here.

"Well you chose a good day to be nosey…" he said with a sigh. "My grandfather is visiting the hospital."

Brooke's eyes widened, not expecting that to be the reason everyone was here. She'd only seen Royal Scott a handful of times since his stay in the hospital a few years ago – and she couldn't say they were ever pleasant experiences. He was just a harsh man and difficult to get along with. No wonder Lucas was looking so shifty. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having his grandfather come here and say nothing positive about the work he had done in the hospital. He always managed to find something to complain about.

"Doesn't he hate crowds?" Brooke asked as Lucas nodded.

"Oh yeah. He's going to hate that everyone is standing around here and not working, but Piper insisted that we all be here to greet him. It's so stupid" he grumbled as Brooke gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe he'll be ok with one this time…" she said as she fixed the collar of his white coat.

Lucas chuckled, "I appreciate your optimism pretty girl, but the man is a lost cause on the kindness front…"

The elevator doors soon opened and Royal appeared with Karen by his side. Piper moved forward to greet him, but before he could, Royal frowned at the group of people in front of him. Lucas stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Don't you people have jobs to do?" he demanded to know. "Karen, where is the conference room in this place?" He asked as he stormed through the crowd, not even acknowledging Lucas.

Brooke looked at Lucas with wide eyes and a pout, "Well ok then…"

"This is going to be a long day…" he grumbled before sulking away to face his grandfather.

Lucas made his way round to the conference room to find Piper, Karen and Royal already sitting at the table. Royal looked up and scoffed,

"This is the big boy's table Lucas, take a walk." He said. Lucas gritted his teeth, determined not to let his grandfather walk all over him. He had a majority share hold given to him by Royal, so he most certainly wasn't going anywhere. He needed to there for any conversation had about the hospital.

"Actually, you put me in charge of this hospital, so I'm staying." Lucas said as he defiantly sat beside Karen.

"… pastry?" Karen offered, wanted to ease the obvious tension in the room just a little bit.

Meanwhile, Brooke stood outside the conference room, bouncing a fussy Sophie up and down, when Rachel walked over and looked through the window with her.

"How long have they been in there?" Rachel asked, seeing how stressed they all looked.

"Too long, Lucas looks like he's about to sucker punch his grandpa…" Brooke observed with a grimace.

"Have you ever met him?"

"A couple of times. Mainly at family functions and official Scott Foundation business." Brooke explained. Lucas liked to stay clear of most of the Scott Foundation events because he thought they were a bit of a showcase that lacked heart, but he also knew he had a responsibility to his family and he and Brooke went to a few events upon occasion. If anything, it was an opportunity for free alcohol….

"The first family event Lucas brought me to, he tried to hit on me." Brooke said with a grimace as Rachel shivered.

"Guess the Scott men have a type…"

"I think Royal Scott's type is anything that has a pulse." Brooke grumbled. "I doubt he'd realise who I was if he met me right now, the man is—something else."

"Yeah, any time Lucas speaks of him, it's not with high regard."

"He's an incredibly difficult man who didn't show his grandson a lot of love." Brooke said sadly.

"Yet despite him, he is a good man." Rachel commented.

"The best." Brooke said as she smiled softly thinking about how proud she was of the man Lucas became despite the negative influence Royal had on his life and the disappearance of his father.

"I guess a lot of that is down to Karen too.""She's just the best mom to him." Brooke said with a chuckle. Lucas may not have had a father but he had a loving and good mother, which was all he needed to know how to be a good parent now. Not to mention Keith had been a wonderful influence on his life.

Back in the conference room, Lucas wished this meeting would be over and Royal would be on his way. He was making things unnecessarily difficult, especially when the hospital was doing so well. It was like he just needed something to complain about and couldn't value the lives they were changing and saving. Lucas couldn't understand why he had to come here and 'inspect' if he'd already made his mind up.

"What about this procedure?" he grumbled, handing out patient files of a risky surgery that was successfully completed in the general surgery department. "It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars." Royal said grumpily.

"You want us to apologise for saving a life?" Lucas asked in disbelief. "I'm not sure you can put a price on what we were able to do here, all lives matter, no matter the cost, that's what we're here for."

"Lucas, keep quiet." Royal said, not wanting to be stood up by his grandson.

"I own the majority shares of this hospital, it was bought under my name on behalf on the foundation—"

"Your mother did this for you—"

"Yeah, for me, which means I have a say in what goes on here and if I decide a surgery is worth doing, then it's worth doing!"

"Enough!" Royal said, as Lucas fell quiet realising that there was no reasoning with this man. "This is no time for you to throw a tantrum Lucas. We'll talk tonight at dinner with the wife and child, choose some place nice." He demanded. As much as Lucas dreaded going to dinner with his grandfather tonight, a little part of him was dying to see Brooke take him on when he said something out of line. If he didn't stand for it, then Brooke certainly wouldn't.

Lucas sighed; "We're not married—"

"Right, your father's son, can't take any responsibility." Royal bit as Lucas clenched his jaw and stood up. Karen glared at him, telling him to sit back down with her eyes.

"Right." He said, before sulking back in his chair, not happy that he had to take this.

Karen narrowed her eyes at Royal, hating how he was treating Lucas; "Maybe we should take a break."

"No need." Royal said as he closed the folder. "I've made up my mind about this place. It is a financial burden on the foundation. You think experimental means miraculous but that is not the case. We need to be doing ordinary surgeries for ordinary people." Lucas rolled his eyes. There was nothing ordinary about surgery. Not one single thing. The man was living in the dark ages and it was about time he recognised that. "The Foundation is pulling the funding on this place. Raleigh Med is done." He said as he stood up to leave, but Lucas quickly sprung up with him.

"If you take the money away from this place, it will shut down immediately." Lucas informed him. They couldn't survive without the foundation.

"Not my problem." He said as she straightened his suit jacket.

"We have to spend money in order to make more! We are a highly specialised hospital with some of the best surgeons in the country. You are taking away the opportunity for people to live extraordinary lives that they wouldn't have otherwise had with the treatments we are able to provide. You really think people are going to stand by you doing that?" Lucas questioned.

For once in his life – Royal Scott had nothing to say. He remained silent and Lucas looked at Karen completely confused. Had he really just stunned his grandfather into silence?

Suddenly, Royal became incredibly pale. He took one last look at Lucas, his eyes full of desperation before he collapsed onto the floor.

"I killed him. I killed my grandfather." Lucas said in the on-call room as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his head lying in Brooke's lap while she comfortingly played with his hair. After he had collapsed, Lucas, Karen and Piper rushed to save him, but it was too late. He had a suspected heart attack and was dead before he'd even hit the floor. It was a total shock and Lucas felt unbelievably guilty. He felt like he'd pushed Royal too far.

"You didn't kill him Lucas, he was an old man, he clearly had a weak heart" Brooke said quietly, trying to think of something encouraging to say.

"Yeah, a weak heart in more ways than one…" Lucas grumbled. The man may have been dead, but Lucas didn't feel particularly sad about it. He was difficult and he was potential ruining countless lives. Maybe it was best that his time to go was now. "Mom wants me to go and make a speech to the hospital. Somehow, I've got to find something nice to say about a man I pretty much despised my whole life."

"You're pretty good with words, I'm sure you'll come up with something." Brooke encouraged. "Even if you don't mean it, it's just a formality."

Lucas sighed, "Why don't I feel worse about this? I mean – I don't feel great. But somehow… I feel relieved. I feel like a constant shadow has been lifted off me and I just – I feel free. Free from his constant scrutiny. I feel like I can finally be my own man. Maybe make an actually difference to what this foundation does."

Brooke smiled softly, "You are already your own man and the work that you've done for this hospital and the foundation is really wonderful. You should be proud of yourself Lucas for breaking free of all that man did to you and tried to force you to be. So go out there, say whatever your mom wants you to say and move on. You deserve to."

"What did I do to deserve you?" he asked quietly.

"Good question…" she teased before leaning down and kissing him. "Come on… let's go immortalise your grandfather." She said as he sat up and pulled her off the bed.

After strapping Sophie back into her chest carrier, this time facing outwards so she could see her dad and grandmother on the stairs, Brooke and Lucas made their way down to the lobby. Brooke stood just in front of Lucas, giving him a small nod of encouragement as he cleared his throat to say what he needed to say.

"Royal Scott was a very gifted surgeon…" Lucas began, wishing he could stop there. There wasn't much else he could think to say about him that was nice. "He was also my grandfather and I take great comfort knowing that he died…" he stopped briefly, again wishing he could stop there. "… doing what he loved." He finished, not being able to force himself to say anymore. He awkwardly cleared his throat before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to Karen. "Mom?" he said quickly, as Brooke bit her lip, holding back her inappropriately timed laughter at Lucas'… loving words about his grandfather. He stepped off the steps and stood beside Brooke, wrapped his arm around her waist.

"That was good" Brooke whispered with a nod. "Really from the heart" she teased.

Lucas nodded, "Yep…"

A few days later, Brooke was waiting for Lucas and Karen to arrive back to the hospital from Royal's funeral in Boston. Brooke decided to stay behind with Sophie, figuring that the trip would be difficult enough without having to deal with a newborn. For the past few days she had been observing the new neurosurgeon Piper had employed in the hopes of getting in his food books and securing that fellowship for next year.

"Hey" she greeted when she saw them get off the elevator. "How was the service?" she asked. She'd already spoken to Lucas about it when they spoke last night, but there was no harm asking again.

"Tasteful" Karen replied as Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke's waist and kissed her temple, incredibly happy to be back beside her again. There was something about just standing near her that lifted Lucas' mood almost in an instant.

"It was a bunch of people kissing our asses looking for money." Lucas grumbled.

Karen gave him a disapproving look, despite knowing he wasn't wrong. It was time they put the past in the past and be done with it.

"We'll have a family supper tonight and do our own thing and talk about the real Royal Scott. Keith and Lily are on their way up from Boston to join us too… Right now, I need to change…" she said, wanting to out of her plane clothes since they'd come here straight from the airport.

"Karen Roe?" they heard a voice say as they turned around to see the new neurosurgeon walk in their direction.

"Andy Hargrove?" she said with a laugh as he kissed her cheek.

"How is it I'm aging, and you aren't?" he said as Karen laughed further.

"Oh stop it…" Karen scolded as Brooke and Lucas looked at each other, a little confused by this interaction. It appeared Karen and the new neuro guy had some sort of past. "This is my son Lucas and his fiancée Brooke Davis." Karen introduced as Brooke gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Yes, Brooke and I go way back to her judging my song choice in surgery." Andy said as he raised his eyebrows.

"As much as a love the Beach Boys, it was just a tad on the inappropriate side…" Brooke said with a snarky grimace. Andy was clearly an excellent – yet extremely arrogant – surgeon, but Brooke wasn't sure how productive it was to be blasting pop music over someone's open brain.

Andy playfully narrowed his eyes before Lucas removed his hand from Brooke's waist and shook Andy's hand.

"How old is he?" Andy asked Karen who frowned.

"Why?"

"Just want to make sure he's not mine" he teased.

"Oh God." Lucas said as Brooke held back a laugh and followed Lucas as he walked away, not wanting to hear anymore about the sordid past his mother had with this guy.

"You are awful…" Karen teased as she and Andy also walked away to catch up a little more. He was obviously joking, but he still make Lucas squirm a little.

As Lucas rounded the corner, Brooke soon caught up with him and wrapped her arms around one of his, resting her cheek against it.

"I missed you" she said quietly.

"I missed you too" he said as he kissed her head.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked as they stopped at a nurse's station and she looked up at him.

"I am very ok now that I'm here with you." He said as he gave her a quick kiss as Nathan walked over.

"How much money did he give you?" he asked immediately.

"Nathan." Brooke scolded. "That's not an appropriate question."

"I'm just wondering if we should look out for a truck arriving with gold bars in the back." Nathan said with a shrug.

Lucas smirked; "It's a fleet of limos, not a truck."

Brooke looked at Lucas as he and Nathan continued to joke about money. It had never even crossed her mind that Lucas would be gaining a lot of money from this. She wondered what he might do with it. It wasn't like he was strapped for cash as a high flying plastic surgeon and Brooke was going pretty well for herself too. She shook her head, realising that she'd cross those thoughts if an heritance ever even came.

That evening, Lucas, Brooke and Sophie made their way round to Keith and Karen's house for the family meal Karen insisted on having. As they walked into their luxurious house, Lucas called out for his mother and Karen came rushing to the door.

"Where's my baby?" Karen cooed.

"Right here ma" Lucas replied.

Karen scolded him; "My other baby, come to grandma…" she insisted as she took Sophie from Lucas's arms.

Lucas nodded solemnly; "I guess I've been replaced then…"

"Well she is far cuter than you." Brooke teased as they walked into the living room. "This looks incredible." Brooke commented at the cheese board that Karen had set out.

"Thank you, sweetie. Dinner's almost ready, Lily is out with a friend right now, I couldn't persuade her to stay…" Karen said with an eyeroll. "But she'll be joining us later for sure. Sophie can come help me and grandpa Keith in the kitchen" Karen happily said as she took Sophie into the kitchen, leaving Brooke and Lucas on their own.

"No matter how many times I am in this house, I can't get over how insane it is." Brooke said as she looked around at the beautiful stonework. For not even living in Raleigh for most of the year, Keith and Karen really did splash out on their house here.

"Yeah, it's something else. A little much if you ask me." Lucas said as he poured her a glass of wine.

"I grew up in the most beautiful brownstone in New York, so boy do I appreciate a nice house." She replied. She loved that house. It was her childhood home and held so many wonderful memories… and some pretty terrible ones too, particularly around her later teenage years.

"You don't think our house is nice?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know I love our house... it has a lot of history. From my grandmother to my roommates to my family. It's the best house I could have asked for." She said with assuredly. Lucas knew full well she wasn't their house's biggest fan. "Hey, did you know that I can speak French?" she asked randomly.

"No, I did not…" he said, wondering where this was going.

"Yeah… do you speak any languages?" she asked.

Lucas chuckled; "What's with the first date type question?"

"I don't know, my patient started speaking French today after her surgery. She couldn't speak a word of English, and her family didn't even know she could speak French. It reminded me that all the Davis kids since my great-grandfather have gone to French pre-school and then it hit me—we never really had a first date. We had random make out sessions in the on-call room that turned into random sex sessions in the on-call room. That's not a first date. We never got to ask these stupid questions. I don't know if you can speak another language." Brooke complained. She wasn't sure she would count the wedding they attended as a date considering they were all called into the hospital to work. Things just took off from there and now they were here – with a baby and hopelessly in love. In a weird way, how they got there felt like a bit of a mystery.

Lucas sighed; "I feel like these questions require more wine…"

"More like a gallon of it…" she said as she took a sip from her glass. As much as she wanted to know all these little things about Lucas, it would feel like getting to know someone new all over again—and she didn't know if she was prepared for that.

"And no, I don't speak another language" he said, answering her original question. He'd done a little bit of Spanish in high school, but he certainly couldn't speak it properly.

"It's complicated, I need to talk to Lucas about his inheritance—" They heard Karen shout at Keith from the kitchen.

Brooke grimaced; "Damn… this is going to be a night of revelations."

They tried their best not to listen in as Karen and Keith continued to fight, but this house was very echoey.

"I'm gonna… yeah." Lucas said as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

"How complicated is it?" Keith asked.

"A quarter of a billion dollars, that's how complicated!" Karen shouted.

Lucas stopped dead in his tracks and Brooke choked on her wine. Had they heard that right? A quarter of a billion dollars?

Karen came out carrying Sophie as Keith trudged along behind. She put Sophie in her high chair and strapped her in before turning to a stunned Lucas and Brooke.

"So, who's hungry?" she asked.

"Everything tastes wonderful." Keith said as they ate their dinner in a now rather uncomfortable silence. They'd been sitting there for 15 minutes now and nobody was saying anything. Nobody knew what to say. Lucas and Brooke were shocked, Keith was mad that Karen was bringing up money at the dinner table and Karen didn't even know where to start.

"So wonderful." Brooke added, trying to make the atmosphere a little less tense before Lucas lost it. She could tell he was a little worked up about being given that amount of money. He didn't need it, it seemed ridiculous.

Lucas set his cutlery down; "Why can't that money go to the foundation? I don't need it, I don't want it."

"He left plenty of money for the foundation, that was his gift to you. Lily got a lot of money too to put away, he wanted to provide for his grandchildren." Karen told him.

"That's not a gift mom, that's an economy!" Lucas exclaimed. It was so much money, far too much money. "I don't want it, nor do I need it." Lucas made clear again. What the hell was he supposed to do with that amount of money?

"What about Sophie's future?" Karen questioned as Brooke jumped in at this point.

"Sophie is fine money wise, Lucas and I both have pretty hefty trust funds, not to mention the money my dad left me and we're making plenty of money in our own right—" Brooke said for Lucas before he got even madder.

"You think having a lot money is tough? Try not having it sometime." Karen challenged as the whole table fell silent again.

Classic Brooke then came into play—she really didn't do well with awkward silences.

"Maybe you could just buy an island… or two and make them fight each other." Brooke joked as Lucas stifled a laugh and Karen glared straight at her, causing her to quieten down. "I'll just—yeah. Is there more wine?" she said as the reached for the bottle.

They soon heard the front door open and Lily came bouncing into the room, "Hey guys!" she said happily as she sat down at the table and started digging in to the food around her. He wasn't until she had filled her plate that she looked up and realised she'd missed something big. "Oh damn… what I miss?"

"You're not taking that money Lily." Lucas said.

Lily frowned, "What money?"

"Lucas." Karen scolded. She clearly hadn't told Lily about the money that she would also be receiving.

"This family needs to sort out its priorities. We don't need it mom. Do something worthwhile with it." Lucas insisted before he stood from the table and walked away to take a breather from the tension.

"… I love a family dinner." Lily said before quickly eating to avoid Karen's glare.

"Lucas is rich." Brooke announced as she sat beside Rachel at the nurse's station while she worked on the computer the following morning.

"I know..." Rachel simply replied as if it was entirely honest.

"No like he's insanely rich, too much money rich now that he's got this inheritance. It's giving me a headache." Brooke whined as she slumped in her chair.

Rachel rolled her eyes; "Oh shut up, you're a trust fund kid, this shouldn't be giving you a headache. What's Lucas going to do with this inheritance?" Rachel asked as she finally looked away from the computer and at Brooke.

Brooke shrugged; "He doesn't want it. Karen thinks he should set it aside for Sophie, but I think between us, she's not going to need that money."

"Maybe he could invest it in something. Something medical. Something revolutionary." Rachel suggested.

"Maybe…"

That afternoon, Lucas walked past one of the side rooms and saw Brooke studying some scans, he leaned on the doorway and watched her for a moment before speaking, causing her to jump slightly.

"Basketball." He said as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I played basketball in high school and college. Point guard." He told her.

Brooke smirked; "Fitting."

"Why?" he asked as he walked into the room and leaned on the desk opposite her.

"I was a cheerleader in high school" she said with a laugh. "It wasn't the most common thing in New York, but I loved it."

Lucas crossed his arms; "You never really talk about New York." It hadn't really crossed his mind until Brooke brought up the first date questions business. He felt like he knew a lot about her, but one thing that he wasn't clear on was her life before Raleigh.

Brooke shrugged; "It feels like another life."

"24 years of your life." He reminded her. Half of her life had been kept in the dark. "What was it like?" he asked.

"Well what do you want to know about it?" she asked as she sat beside him on the desk.

Lucas smiled; "Everything."

"Everything?" Brooke said with a chuckle before thinking about it; "Well… I was born in Mount Sinai, I lived in the most beautiful Brownstone in Manhattan until I was 18 and then I went to med school and lived in various apartments with my friends. My room was mint green and when I was 10, I begged my parents to let me get a double bed that hung from the roof and eventually they gave in and I adored it." She told him as he smiled at her, loving the joy that spread across her face when she spoke of her childhood. It was clearly a very happy one. "I went to a private school from kindergarten straight through to 12th grade, though I skipped third grade. The uniform was light blue and navy, so these scrubs are something I am very accustomed to." She joked. "I maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. I was a cheerleader as you know, I had a high kick like nothing in this world, and don't ask me to do it now because I will tear a muscle... My best friend was called Susie, we still talk and whenever I'm in New York we hang out. She's also a doctor, she's a surgical resident at Johns Hopkins. I never had a boyfriend. There were boys, but nothing ever came of my great 6th grade crushes. Every day after school Harry and I went down to spend some time with my parents at the hospital whenever they had a free minute and then we went home together. That kind of stopped when I hit 8th grade. Mom and dad were barely speaking to each other and… you know what happens next." She said, as she looked down at her feet, not liking how the story ended.

"Sounds like quite the life." Lucas said quietly.

Brooke nodded; "It certainly was."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"Sometimes. But I think I've got a pretty good thing going here." She said as they smiled softly at each other.

"… you still got that cheerleading outfit?" he asked as Brooke laughed.

"That I wore when I was 16?"

Lucas smirked; "I'm sure it still fits like a glove."

Brooke continued to laugh; "I wouldn't be so sure."

"That's the thing about relationships. You find out little things as you go along. It doesn't all come at once. Keeps the mystery alive." Lucas told her, letting her know that it was ok they didn't know all the typical first date questions, but he knew one day they would.

"I guess so… and there's a mystery very much still alive over your inheritance." She reminded him. "There's only so many jokes I can make about buying ridiculous things without Karen looking like she wants to sucker punch me."

Lucas laughed; "I appreciate your ridiculous suggestions." He said as he rested his hand on the crook between her neck and shoulder. "Do you think I'm right not to want it?" he asked, valuing her opinion more than anything.

"Yeah. I do. We have enough money to last us a lifetime. What are you going to do with a quarter of a billion dollars? Create your own award?" she joked with a scoff as Lucas's eyes lit up.

Before he could say anything else, Karen walked into the room.

"Hi" she greeted as Lucas and Brooke stood down from the table.

"Hi Karen, thank you so much for dinner last night, it was lovely." Brooke complimented.

"Oh it was my pleasure Brooke. I'm glad you were there, I knew I'd need someone to talk sense into this one." Karen said as she squeezed Lucas's cheek.

"Oh, I think he's pretty sensible." Brooke said as she squeezed his waist in support.

"Hm… I'm not so sure about that. I could talk to Lucas till he was blue in the face, and somehow, you are the only one who has ever been able to talk sense to him." Karen observed. "I'll see you two later." She said before walking away.

Brooke moved to stand in front of him; "Yeah cause buying an island is super sensible. Wait. You could buy a boat."

Lucas raised his eyebrows; "A boat?"

"Yeah! Remember when you freaked out when I was pregnant with Sophie and thought about buying a boat? Now's your chance! Live a little."

"You really want me to buy a boat?" he asked again, making sure she wasn't joking.

Brooke smirked; "I think boat sex would be a lot more comfortable than car sex personally..." she teased. Sometimes 10 minutes in the car was all the alone time they got these days, so why not move it to another mode of transportation?

Lucas gulped; "… guess I'm buying a boat."

Figured we deserved some cuteness at the end!Just to note - Andy is just going to be a recurring presence with little significance. I'm just enjoying intertwining these worlds and bringing familiar faces in! The part about him being Lucas' dad was a joke lol

Next chapter - Brooke takes on Lindsey after she makes some snap judgements. It's one of my favourite moments of the story.