Hi everyone! Just to let you know - I'm having to take a break from updating this story for the next little while. Life and work have caught up to me and I don't have the time to update everyday, but I will try and update as soon as I can. There's still a little bit left of this story to tell! Hopefully this extra long chapter will tide you over for now...

Word of Brooke and Lucas's marriage spread around the hospital - and some are more happy about it than others. Plus, an old friend of Brooke's arrives as a patient in the hospital... enjoy!

Chapter Thirty – The One that Stayed

The following morning, Brooke walked into the supply room that Lucas had paged her to. As she opened the door, she saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"You paged?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she closed the door behind her.

Lucas nodded; "I paged." He confirmed as they walked closer towards each other.

"Did you need help looking for something?" she asked as Lucas towered over her, their faces just a breath apart.

"I thought I did, but I think I see it now." He said as he lifted his hands out of his pocket, cupped her face and kissed her.

Brooke's hands roamed under Lucas's white coat as he pushed her up against the door—his brand-new platinum wedding band cold against her cheeks.

Last night, Brooke said yes and Lucas called in a favour with a friend of his at the court house. They took Sophie straight there and got married—and it was perfect. They didn't need a lavish ceremony, they just needed each other and their daughter.

Lucas removed his lips from Brooke's before attacking her neck as Brooke closed her eyes and tilted her neck to allow him better access.

"Does this door lock? We need to find a room. With a lockable door. God married life is good." She said as her hands rested on his neck and head.

"I don't have time for that" Lucas mumbled regretfully against her neck. "I have a vagina to build."

Brooke's eyes shot open as he lifted his head.

"My vaginoplasty. This lady had 10 kids and wants to tighten things up down there. It's with my mom, remember?"

Brooke's face fell as she remembered about Karen Scott. Karen Scott who would no doubt throw a wobbler when she discovered they got married without telling her. "Your mom…" she mumbled. "She's going to be so mad. At me."

"No, she won't—"

"You're her baby, she'll forgive you, but she'll probably think I tricked you into it or something." Brooke said, completely panicking. She had a good relationship with Karen, she didn't want that to change.

Lucas held Brooke's arms; "She loves you. And tonight…" he said with a smirk. "I say we cancel those dinner reservations and have dinner at home where there are a lot of doors and a lot of locks."

Brooke smiled, her mind immediately forgetting about Karen. "Sounds amazing." She confirmed before he gave her one last kiss.

As soon as Lucas and Brooke walked out of the door, their faces fell when they ran straight into Karen. Karen stared at them curiously for a moment, wondering why they were being so awkward. She then caught something glinting against the light in the hall and realised exactly why they were being awkward—they were sporting two brand new rings on two very important fingers. Karen's face fell a thousand miles.

"Hi, hey, hello…" Lucas said awkwardly.

"Uh—good luck with your vagina" Brooke said, immediately regretting her choice of words.

"Go, just go…" Lucas said under his breath as Brooke quickly darted away, trying to avoid Karen's death glares.

Lucas smiled awkwardly at his mother before realising that he should make his escape too. He walked away and quickly took one look at Brooke and they both started giggling. They laughed all the way around the corner as Lucas whispered some innocent—and not so innocent—nothings in her ear, until they came across Nathan, Kate and Rachel standing at the nurse's station.

"You're giggly today." Rachel observed as she eyed them curiously.

"Are you drunk?" Nathan questioned, knowing they were on rare form.

"Drunk in love Nathan." Brooke said as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright Barbie and Ken… you knocked up again?" he questioned.

"God no! We—we got married." Brooke told them with a bright smile as all their mouths fell in shock.

"… come again?" Kate asked, wanting to make sure she heard right. She had always assumed Brooke and Lucas would be one of those couples who would always talk about getting married but would never actually do it.

"yeah! Last night. It was totally unplanned and super romantic and I'm sorry you weren't there, but not as sorry as I was to my mother when I called her, I thought she was going to cry…" Brooke's face fell as she thought about her mother's reaction. She was happy for her, but also struggling to hide her emotions at the fact she wasn't there "…so, we'll have a party at some point but—we just wanted to do it and it was perfect and it was just us and Sophie and the judge and—it was perfect." Brooke said with a content smile.

Kate's eyes widened; "Karen and Victoria weren't there?" She knew that wouldn't have gone down well.

"I know. I'm a sucky daughter, he's a sucky son, and a pissy Karen and a pissy Victoria combined is not going to be fun, but uh—we're ok with that." Brooke said, trying to sound assured. Dealing with Victoria was one thing, but Karen would be a whole other level of pissed.

"Well, congratulations bestie!" Rachel said as she hugged Brooke. "I'm going to kick your ass at a later date for not having me there, but we can be happy for now…" she teased as Brooke playfully rolled her eyes.

"Treat her well Scott, or I'm going to kick your ass." Nathan warned as he shook Lucas's hand and kissed Brooke's cheek.

"You got it Nate." Lucas replied with a smirk. He'd kick his own ass if he ever hurt Brooke again.

"Well, looks like there's a lot to be celebrating today." Kate observed.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows; "Why, what else happened?" she asked as Haley walked over.

Brooke gasped as she immediately caught a glimpse of the brand-new bling she was sporting.

"Oh… my… GOD." Brooke said as she lifted Haley's hand and looked her ring. "You got engaged last night?!"

Haley also gasped when she saw the new bling Brooke was sporting as she lifted her hand. "You got married last night?!"

They soon looked up at each other, before breaking out into huge smiles and squealing. They pulled each other into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry you weren't there, we just did it at the courthouse, it was a very spur of the moment thing—" Brooke apologised as they pulled apart.

"I'm sorry I hadn't told you about the engagement it was—it was a crazy night." Haley said as they both smirked and laughed suggestively.

"Tell me about it—"

The others cleared their throat as they looked at them and bit their lips.

"Sorry…" Haley apologised. "I better get going…" Haley said as she and Nathan walked on.

"I better go too… husband." She said with a smile as she gave Lucas a quick kiss and happily walked away.

Lucas watched her until she was around the corner, before turning around to see Kateeyeing him closely.

He frowned; "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen that girl that happy. Don't screw it up." She warned before walking away.

Lucas walked round to his patient's room to discuss the upcoming surgery and immediately saw his mother waiting outside. Naturally, Karen was trying to remain stoic, but it was clear this was bothering her. Lucas was just counting down the minutes until a passive aggressive comment was made.

"Big day mother." He said as he approached, but she did not reply. "Something bothering you?" he challenged.

"I didn't say anything." She merely replied.

"You don't have to, your face said everything." He quickly retorted.

"My face isn't saying anything Lucas." She said forcefully before holding her head high and walking into the room.

"Allison, how are you feeling?" Karen asked as she held her hand.

"I'm ok. Excited to finally get my vagina back to the way it was! Honestly, you have no idea how unsatisfying it has been…" Allison replied with a little laugh. "It's crazy how a mother-son surgical duo is going to be fixing me up."

"Hm… but you know what would make this even more perfect? If my brand-new daughter in law was here." Karen commented as Lucas sighed and closed his eyes. Here we go.

Allison smiled and looked to Lucas; "You got married?"

"Yep. Last night. Very—very spur of the moment." Lucas explained.

"Spur of the moment is correct." Karen said through her teeth.

"We've been engaged for a couple of months." Lucas explained further, ignoring his mother's tone.

"and it's always delightful to extend the family. Cause that's all the really matters isn't it? Family."

Allison looked between the two of them, clearly seeing the tension brewing. "Is everything ok?" she asked.

"Uh huh" "Oh, yeah."

Brooke walked over to Nathan at the nurse's station to question him further on this engagement. She was surprised she hadn't received a phone call or at least seen him blabbing about it this morning.

"Why didn't you tell me you got engaged?" she asked as she lent on the desk.

"I didn't want to parade upon you getting married last night. Which I'm still pissed about not being there for by the way…" He added.

Brooke smirked; "You'll get over it." As she observed Nathan, she saw that there was a glow about him. A lightness. She didn't think she had ever seen him this happy. "Engaged. You're really engaged." She said as she processed it.

"And you're really married." He replied sarcastically. Why was she being weird about this? He looked up at her and saw that she was smiling at him and there were tears welling in her eyes. He grimaced; "Quit looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're about to burst into tears of relief."

"I'm just so happy for you. My best friend is getting married to probably the best human on this Earth. All feels right in the world!"

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it."

Brooke slapped his arm as they began to walk down the hallway; "Don't be so cynical."

Nathan shrugged; "Default setting, I learned from the best." He teased as Brooke lightly slapped his arm.

"Did you ever think that things would fall into place for us like this?"

Nathan laughed, "No chance in hell… but I'm incredibly grateful that they have."

Brooke stepped forward and hugged Nathan tightly, fully appreciating just how content she and the people closest to her were right now.

News had spread around the hospital about Brooke and Lucas' impromptu wedding and when it reached Peyton – she didn't really know what to think. She was desperately trying to be happy for them, but a little part of her just couldn't. It was like she had never fully let him go. She slowly walked in to one of the labs and saw Rachel working on some research.

"So…" Peyton said as she fiddled with the things around her. "Brooke and Lucas got married last night."

Rachel chuckled; "Yeah, they did. Never thought I would see that day."

Peyton frowned; "Why, did you think they would break up?" she asked a little too eagerly.

"I never thought they would get back together in the first place, he really screwed her over." She replied. "But you know all about that" she said with a glare and a smirk as Peyton rolled her eyes. "but I guess they were meant to be all along" she said with a smile and a shrug.

"Right…" she said as she shifted awkwardly.

Rachel eyed Peyton curiously. She was clearly bothered by this whole thing. "Sawyer, you and Lucas have been done for almost 2 years. Why the hell are you so worked up about this?"

"He's not the easiest guy in the world to get over…" she mumbled. She felt like she had it all when she had him and then he was gone in the blink of an eye.

Rachel nodded her head, wondering the best way to approach this before speaking up. "I saw the heart ache that Lucas caused Brooke when he chose you. It was—it was horrible. But she picked herself up and she became a bigger and better person because of it and the fact that they were able to get back to a place of trust and love is quite frankly astounding—but that's how I know how real it is and how true it is. Brooke would never have taken him back if she wasn't sure this was it for her. If you can't be the bigger person and let them be happy then you need to get the hell out of Raleigh. Because it's not fair and it's not right. Move on Peyton. There are bigger things out there for you than Lucas Scott."

After the awkward conversation in Allison's room, Karen was all too happy to continue it as they walked down the hallways, and Lucas was all too ready to defend himself.

"Oh I really appreciate you hiding this from me Lucas, yet again." Karen said angrily as they angrily stormed down the hallways.

"Yes, I married Brooke last night at the court house and no, it is none of your business." Lucas snapped back.

"None of my business?!" she questioned in disbelief. This was her son of course it was her business.

"My love life is not any of your concern, never was and never will be."

"You really think it's ok for you to go behind my back like this?" Karen shouted as she turned to look at him. "Do you have any idea how hurtful it is?"

"Hey." Kate said, stopping them when she heard the righting. "Let's take this out of the middle of the hallway…" he said as he opened the door to a side office. They both reluctantly stepped in with Kate, who figured she should act as mediator, and sat opposite each other, their bodies turned completely away from each other.

"You know I love Brooke, you know I think she is perfect for you—" Karen said, a little quieter than her previous words.

"At least I know you won't be forcing her to sign a prenup then…" he grumbled.

"Lucas."

"What is this about? If it's not about Brooke?" he asked curiously.

Karen looked at Kate unimpressed. "I'm surprised you're not more upset about this" she said to him.

"Oh I am plenty upset, but not with Lucas and Brooke, with you Karen." she replied.

Karen raised her eyebrows; "Excuse me?"

"Nothing is ever good enough for your son, especially anyone he chooses to date and marry." Kate defended as Lucas proudly smiled.

"I already said that this isn't about Brooke!"

"She is brilliant and kind and so loving. Any mother would be thrilled that their son would settle down and marry someone like her and if Lucas dare hurt her—I'd come after him." she said sternly as Lucas's smile fell and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I'd expect nothing less..." Lucas said quickly as Kate gave him a firm nod.

"So what is it then? If it's not about Brooke?" Kate encouraged.

"Brooke is brilliant. Karen further defended as she turned to look at Lucas, ready to be honest with him. "But—it hurts that I have been left on the outside of what was supposed to be the happiest day of your life. I am elated that you two got married but I am not so elated that I couldn't be a part of it. That Keith and Lily couldn't be a part of it. We're a family and when your father left, I shut myself off to any possibility of having this kind of unit again. But Keith gave that back to me. Brooke is now giving it to you and—I just want to be a part of it."

"I'm sorry, mom. Truly. We just—we just wanted to do it. We just wanted it to be about us and no one else or anything else… that doesn't change the fact that we're still a unit and a strong one at that. My father may not have been able to keep one together but Keith sure as hell isn't him, and I sure as hell aren't him. Give us a little credit." He said with a little laugh that Karen returned.

"Ok good. Now hug it out" Kate said as they walked towards each other and hugged.

"Congratulations sweetie."

"Thanks mom."

That night, Brooke stood in the resident's lounge gathering her things to go home. Karen had agreed to take Sophie from them tonight a while back, so she was looking forward to some alone time with her new husband. However, Lucas walked into the room with Sophie in her pram.

"Hey" he greeted as Brooke remained facing her locker.

"Hey, how did it go with you mom, was it awful?" she asked as she put her shirt on.

"No, she was great, eventually…" Lucas said as he rubbed his eyes, completely exhausted by this day.

"Oh, well that's good—Sophie." Brooke said as she finally turned around and saw her daughter. "I thought Karen was taking her?" she questioned as she walked over and bent down to say hi to her.

"I think she just need to go home and spend some time with Keith. It's a long story but… I think we're going to have company tonight." Lucas said with a semi-apologetic smile.

Brooke smiled brightly at Sophie as she returned the smile; "Well there is no other company I would rather have."

Brooke lifted her stuff and left the resident's lounge with Lucas and Sophie. She wrapped her arm through Lucas' and rested it on the handlebar of the pram. "So… what are we going to do tonight?"

"Well… I thought we'd go home, get some dinner, maybe play a little in the bath" He said, referring to Sophie's night time routine, "And then when our little firecracker goes to sleep…. We can do all the newly married things that I have just been dying to do…" he said with a cheeky smirk.

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "Are you trying to seduce me Scott?"

"I wouldn't call it seducing if you're a willing participant Mrs Scott" he said against her head before delicately kissing her. "I love you" he said in a whisper as Brooke smiled.

"I love you too."

"Hey" Brooke greeted Lucas a few days later as she fell in line with him in the hallway.

"Hey yourself" he greeted with a smile.

"I'm on your service today"

Lucas laughed; "How did you manage that one?"

"Oh you know, having the chief resident as a best friend has its perks." She said with a shrug and a smirk. Haley really did her a solid this morning. "What have we got?"

Lucas handed her the tablet; "Throat tumour pressing against the jugular."

"Damn…" she said as she looked at the scans. This thing was a beast.

"Yeah… Morello is in on it too." Lucas grumbled. They needed a cardiothoracic surgeon and Owen was one of the best.

"Be nice Lucas…" Brooke warned as they walked into the patient's room to see Owen already there.

"Clay, it's good to see you again—" Lucas greeted, but his was interrupted by the patient.

"Brooke?"

Brooke looked up and looked shocked—but a good shocked. "Clay? Oh my god, hi!" she said as she walked towards him and hugged him.

"What are you doing in Raleigh?" Brooke questioned as she pulled back from him.

"I was at a medical conference here and I wasn't feeling too hot. Turns out I've got a big ass tumour on the side of my neck." He explained with a laugh.

"You're a doctor?" Owen questioned.

Clay nodded; "Neurosurgeon."

"And you two know each other?" Lucas questioned. He'd never heard Brooke mention a Clay, so who was this guy and why did they look so happy to see each other?

"Oh yeah, Cookie and I go way back." Clay joked.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes; "Oh stop, no one has called me Cookie for years. Clay was Harry's best friend growing up, he used to drive me completely nuts."

Clay laughed; "In the best possible way."

"I'm not so sure I would say that. Clay is to Harry what Kirk was to my dad." Brooke said with a sincere smile.

"I was really sorry to hear about your dad Brooke. I can't imagine how difficult that was for you."

Brooke nodded sadly. "Thanks, it's been—it's been a tough a few years, but we're getting there."

"Hey, Harry said you had a baby not too long ago, congrats." He said with a smile which Brooke naturally returned. She loved talking about her baby—though she wasn't much of a baby any more. She was growing up far too fast.

"Thank you, she's approaching 7 months old now, she gets bigger and bolder every day." She said as she got out her phone and showed him a photo.

"She's beautiful Brooke. I always knew you'd make a great mom." Clay said.

Brooke smiled softly. "Thanks Clay…" she then turned around to Lucas and Owen who were awkwardly standing there. "Shall we get started?"

That afternoon, Brooke was sitting in the chief resident's office, eating her way through a huge bit of cake. She hadn't expected to see Clay, well, ever, so it had thrown her for a bit of a loop. If someone asked her what Clay was to her, she wasn't quite sure how she would describe it. As she lounged on the sofa, Lucas was walking through the hallways to find her, and wasn't at all surprised to find her in here.

"What's with the cake?" he asked as he sat on the coffee table opposite her and took a bit of the frosting.

Brooke frowned at his actions; "I'm hungry."

"Right… you want to tell me about Clay?" he asked, coming right out with it.

Brooke shrugged; "What about him?"

"I don't know, there were just some… vibes…"

Brooke raised an eyebrow; "Vibes?"

"Look, I know you said that Aiden was the only the guy you dated in high school, but I won't be mad if that wasn't the case—"

Brooke sniggered; "Lucas I wasn't lying, Clay was never my boyfriend."

"But you were something?" he was pretty much convinced that was the case and he wasn't about to let Brooke tell him otherwise.

"I haven't seen him since I was 18." Brooke said instead, not sure if she was ready to admit what Clay was to her.

"You're avoiding the question." Lucas said as he removed the cake from her hands.

Brooke sighed. Why was she so reluctant to tell Lucas? He was her husband, she could tell him anything. Maybe it was just because she had never really spoken about it with anyone before.

Brooke sighed, ready to confess. "… I've known him since forever, he and Harry used to do everything together and on the very rare occasion they would let me hang out with them and… Clay, he's a huge flirt, always has been, always had a way with the ladies, and I could flirt—but I wasn't all that smooth with guys and he was the only guy that I felt I could be normal with. He was my first date, my first kiss. But I think he probably meant more to me than I meant to him which seems to be a bit of a recurring theme in my life…"

"Steady…" Lucas jokingly warned. Now was not the time for digs to be taken at him…

"I know I was only 15 when all of this happened, and he was older, but I put myself out there for a guy that was never really going to want me back." Brooke said with a sad shrug. "Not when there were so many girls out there who wanted him."

"Is that why you were so selective about dating? Cause you got hurt the first time?" Lucas questioned. It was the one thing that he never really understood about Brooke. She was so beautiful and compassionate and fun and smart and kind but she never really dated. He knew that Aiden had stopped her dating in her late teens and early 20s, but before that, he was her first boyfriend. Maybe Clay was the reason she stayed away from it as a teen.

"Yeah I guess so. I tend to fall for people a lot faster than they fall for me or something goes wrong. So Clay was disinterested, Aiden died and you left me at a gala… sort of. Anyway, I spoke to him once before I left for med school I haven't heard from him since." Brooke said, not really enjoying how vulnerable she was feeling right now.

"Did you love him?" Lucas asked quietly.

"I don't think I really knew what love was back then. Maybe in a teenage girl kind of way but… not in the way that I love you."

Lucas placed his hand in hers. "Do you still want to work this case?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?"

Lucas frowned. "Fine, why?"

Brooke smirked; "You just came in here with your jealousy guns blazing."

"I know, it's totally not like me…" he joked.

"Sure… you don't have to feel threatened. He's just a part of my past." Brooke assured him.

"Alright… I'll see you later." He said as he gave her a quick kiss and left the room.

Moments later, Rachel walked into the room just as Brooke started tucking into her cake again.

"Wow are we eating our feelings today?" Rachel asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"Yep."

"Don't tell me there's trouble in marriage paradise already?" Rachel questioned as she sat beside her.

"No, it's not my marriage it's my sort of ex... I don't know what to call him but he showed up and need surgery on his throat."

"Wow, sort of ex?" Rachel questioned.

"This guy Clay, he was Harry's best friend growing up and he was my first kiss and my first date, and I really liked him, but he would never like me back in the same way and it's weird seeing him here… I know it probably sounds ridiculous cause I was 15 when it happened but… he was a big part of the first 15 years of my life. It's a serious blast from the past."

"Yeah, I get it… are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine… I just hope he doesn't rub Lucas up the wrong way. He can be a little… arrogant." Brooke said with a grimace, though Kirk Walker always said that all the best doctors are.

"I'd like to think that Lucas was mature enough to not take anything he says to heart." Rachel says as she affectionately patted her knee.

Clay sat in his hospital bed watching as Owen moved around him prepping for his surgery. He was anxiously waiting for Brooke to walk through the door. He'd forgotten how much his mood was lifted with just one flash of her smile.

"Will Dr. Davis be joining us soon?" Clay asked Owen.

"The ER is pretty packed today, she was maybe called down to help out there." Owen said, explaining why she was yet to arrive.

"It's not that I don't trust you to do my pre-op or anything, you are the attending after all, I just know Brooke—" he awkwardly justified.

"It's ok." Owen said with a smile. "Whatever makes you feel at ease."

As if by magic, Brooke walked into the room with her hands in the pockets of her white coat.

"There she is" Clay said happily as Brooke stood by his bed.

"Hey. You all set?" she asked.

"Almost. Will you be in the OR?" he asked hopefully.

Brooke nodded her head; "Yeah, I'll be assisting Dr. Scott and Dr. Morello."

"Great. I only want to best surgeons" he said with a laugh.

"Well lucky for you you've got two of the best." She said as she smiled at Owen.

"Yeah… you know I really missed you Brooke. You—you're as beautiful as ever." He said softly as he rested his hand on her arm.

"No, don't—don't do that" she said, not harshly, but certainly clearly.

"Do what?"

"Turn your flirt on. We're too old for that." She playfully scolded.

Clay smirked; "Not that old."

Brooke laughed; "You haven't changed one bit."

Clay shrugged; "In some ways I have."

Brooke looked down at her feet. "I uh—I gotta go. Work to do. I'll see you in the OR." She said to them both as Owen nodded and Brooke left the room.

"It appears she doesn't really want to be in the same room as me. At least when I'm conscious anyway." Clay observed.

"Yeah, it uh—it sounds like something went down between you too." Owen observed, not wanting to pry, but at the same time dying to know the story behind this one.

"I maybe didn't treat her as well as I should have. I know we were only kids back then, but I can tell you this. Brooke Davis is a girl that you should never want to let go of. There's no one like her. She—she's the one that got away." He confessed.

Owen softly nodded and looked at him curiously. That was quite the declaration. "She uh—she's a great girl." Owen finally confirmed.

"You know her well?" Clay asked.

"Just on a professional level really, but everyone speaks really highly of her. I should go check in on my other patients before taking you into surgery. I'm sure Dr. Scott will be round at some point to have a final run through of things. But I will see you in there." Owen said as she left the room and ran straight into Lucas who pulled him to the side.

"Hey, I saw Brooke leave there, what did they talk about?"

Owen raised his eyebrows; "You really want me to tell you?"

"No, I'm just asking for you to completely ignore me." He said sarcastically as Owen rolled his eyes. "Yes, I want you to tell me."

"They didn't really talk about much… he seems to have a lot of regrets. I don't know what went down between them, but he seems really sorry for how he treated her. Said that if you have Brooke Davis you should never let her go." Owen explained.

Lucas frowned and crossed his arms; "Do you think he's trying to get her back?"

"I don't know. He could just be looking for some closure. Look, Brooke's been walking around this hospital like a ghost today. It's like he's opened up an old wound and maybe she needs some closure too." Owen advised before giving him a sympathetic smile and walking on.

Lucas watched Brooke as she looked through some scans in one of the computer rooms. He could tell that her whole body was tense and she had a lot on her mind about Clay. If this was the other way round, he knew exactly what she would say, and he was prepared to say that to her.

"You should talk to him." Lucas said as Brooke turned around, not realising he was standing there.

"What?"

"Clay. Get some closure."

Brooke leaned back in her chair. "There's nothing to get closure on."

"Brooke come on." he said as he walked further into the room. "He's clearly brought back some unresolved issues. It sounds like you didn't really say goodbye when you left for med school and I hear he has some regrets too."

"You talked to him?"

"No, I talked to—"

"Owen." Brooke said, finishing his thought as Lucas nodded. It would make sense that it was Owen since he was his other surgeon.

"He has regrets and I don't want you to have any either. So talk to him. I would also like him to be in the best mood possible for his surgery because I do not need the fact that your ex-boyfriend died on my table over my head." He said with a grimace.

"… he wasn't my boyfriend."

"Whatever you say."

Lucas was walking down the hallway when he spotted Clay coming in his direction. He frowned as he approached him.

"You shouldn't be up on your feet." Lucas reminded him.

"My toilet is broken, I had to find another one." He explained.

"Well, let's get you back to your room." Lucas said as he helped him.

"Thanks Dr. Scott" Clay said as he got back into the bed.

"You're welcome. So… you know Dr. Davis pretty well, huh?" Lucas pried, trying to play it cool.

"Yeah, pretty well. We uh—we dated a little when we were teenagers. It wasn't anything serious but—sometimes I wish it was." Clay confessed, not realising who he was talking to.

"What was she like as a teenager?"

Clay smiled. "She was the best. We were friends for a really long time and we had the chance to be something more and—I could never let her in. I just kept pushing until she was really gone, and I realised I'd made a huge mistake. I miss her everyday which probably sounds crazy but—even just as a friend."

"It's been 15 years." Lucas reminded him. Surely he wasn't holding on to something that ended 15 years ago?

"I didn't want to bother her, not when she was trying to start fresh after Aiden. She deserved to find someone who could give her more. It may have been 15 years since I've seen her, but we also spent 15 years as a huge part of each other's lives. That's something I don't want to give up on ever having back."

Lucas nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile before leaving the room, not really sure what to think of it all.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Clay's surgery had to be pushed back to the following morning, so Lucas and Brooke decided to call it a day and head home. While Brooke finished getting dressed, Lucas went down to the day care to collect Sophie. When he picked her up, he went back upstairs to check through Clay's latest test results to make sure all was in order before going home. Clay watched him as he held Sophie outside the window in his room.

Owen walked in; "hi Clay. I was just heading home, wanted to make sure you were feeling ok."

"Never better Dr. Morello. Thank you."

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked.

"If you could get Brooke to talk to me that would be a dream." He said with a little laugh.

Owen smiled; "she's a busy girl."

Clay nodded as he looked back out the window. "Is that Dr. Scott's kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's Sophie."

"She's cute. She looks like—" Clay began, but then stopped himself when he put two and two together.

"What was that?" Owen asked.

Clay looked down at his lap. "the girl in the photo Brooke showed me earlier… that's Dr. Scott's daughter too isn't it?"

"… yeah." Owen said quietly.

"And he's wearing a wedding ring, so I'm guessing they're together too."

"Yeah, they got married a few weeks ago." Owen explained.

Clay scoffed; "Well now I feel like an idiot. Talking to you and Dr. Scott about Brooke the way that I have. Why did he let me do that?"

"He didn't want to sound smug or cruel and I wanted what was best for my patient and their personal life is definitely not what's best." Owen reasoned.

"She's married with a kid." Clay repeated as he processed it. "It makes you wonder if you could have had that life."

"Yeah… but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and your relationship with Brooke was just a step in your life and split moment before you achieve what you're meant to achieve. You're an excellent neurosurgeon for starters—" Owen said, trying to get him to see the positives.

"I could die tomorrow. That's not achieving anything."

"Dr. Scott and myself are excellent surgeons and we are not going to let you die." Owen said confidently.

Clay smirked; "I like arrogant surgeons."

"Me too. Brooke cares. She really does and I know she wants closure with you too. She'll be here to talk to you when you wake up."

"Thank you Dr. Morello. I really appreciate your help." He said sincerely.

Owen nodded; "It's ok. I'll see you in the morning."

The following day, Clay's surgery went ahead as planned and it went well. They were able to successfully remove the tumour without causing any further damage. For the rest of the evening, Brooke sat beside his bed in the ICU, waiting for him to wake up. She knew having this conversation with him while he was groggy probably wasn't the best idea, but it had to be done.

Soon enough, he woke up, and smiled as best he could when he saw her.

"Hey" she said as she moved from the chair to the edge of his bed.

"Hey… so not only do you have a daughter, but you also have a husband… who was my surgeon." Clay said, not even considering pleasantries or surgery talk first.

Brooke nodded; "Yeah… I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I think the diamonds on your finger should have given it away. I'm surprised you're here." He said as Brooke played with her rings with her fingers.

"I think I owe you a proper chat."

"Well I think I owe you an apology. An apology that is 15 years too late. I'm sorry for the way I treated you in New York. I was immature, and you deserved more. But I will be forever appreciative of you showing me how good your heart is. It proves to me that there can be girls out there like you. I should probably apologise to your husband too…"

Brooke frowned; "What for?"

"Before I realised he was your husband I practically told him that I wanted to salvage something with you. I know I could probably only get friendship, but he could have taken that to mean something else—" he explained.

"Lucas isn't one to feel threatened, I think you're ok… a little jealous maybe, but other than that." Brooke replied with a smile.

Clay smiled as she smiled; "Your face lights up when you talk about him. He seems great Brooke, I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you found him."

"I'm glad I found him too. I want you to be happy Clay. That is what I have always wanted. I really hope you find it." She said sincerely as he put his hand on top of hers.

"Me too. You are far too good for this world Brooke Davis. Far too good."