A/N: Thanks for the reviews and my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Eighteen

The Christmas festivities continued over the next few days. On Christmas morning, the adults watched fondly as Lily opened her gifts from Santa. Sure, the teenagers and parents had gotten a few gifts for each other, but most of the presents belonged to Lily. And she was thrilled to death to receive each and every one of them. She then spent the day playing with her new toys. For Christmas dinner, they had Haley, Quinn and Clay join them.

For New Year's Eve, they had another small party with just their closest friends. When the clock struck midnight, there were embraces of hugs and loving kisses. Lucas even gave Brooke a kiss. Of course, it was only on the cheek. But she didn't care. A kiss was a kiss.

Just a couple of days later, it was time for Karen and Keith to go to the airport for their adventure in Italy. However, they still wanted to talk to Lucas, Nathan and Brooke before they left on their trip. Haley was also there to say good-bye.

Lucas could tell that his mother was very nervous about leaving her children alone for the next two weeks. Before she could say a word, he spoke up. He gave them a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Mom. Nathan and I will take care of the café and the house for you. And Brooke and Haley will help us with both of those."

"No wild parties," Karen reminded them in a tone that meant she was serious. "I don't want to come back to a messy house. And I would like to see it still standing. That goes for the café too."

"And I don't want to come back to find out that my son got his girlfriend pregnant," Keith added as he gave Nathan and Haley a look. "Or any other commitment you're clearly not ready for." Lucas knew that he was really talking to him. He and Nathan both noticed that Brooke had a confused look on her face.

Nathan quickly spoke up before Brooke could ask any questions. "There's no chance in that happening, No chance at all," he said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "I can promise you that."

Keith then looked at the time. "We better get going if we want to check in on time," he said before Lucas and Nathan started helping him with bringing the suitcases to the car. The women followed the guys out.

"Now don't let Lucas and Nathan push you around the whole time," Karen joked. "If they do, just give me a call and I'll straighten them out." Brooke nodded. "And look after Lily for me."

"I will," Brooke promised as she picked up Lily and leaned her against her hip. "We'll have lots of fun, right?"

Lily nodded. "Don't worry, Mommy. I'll be good."

Karen gave her daughter a gentle kiss. "I love you, pumpkin." Lily responded the same answer before the two parents said their good-byes to their children and friends. "Please call us if you get into any trouble. We'll come back as soon as possible."

"Karen, they'll be fine," Keith assured her. "After all, they have a lot of people looking after them. Now let's get going before we miss our flight." Karen nodded as she climbed in the car. Nathan and Keith were right behind her. "We'll call you when we get there."

The three remaining people watched the car pull out of the driveway and down the street before they went back inside the house. Haley made Lily breakfast while Brooke went to take a shower. She had a busy day ahead of her. Julian and Rachel were getting married that weekend and Brooke was going to be the maid of honor.

Dan had found about the engagement and had been furious. However, Julian didn't care and was planning on marrying Rachel anyway. They decided not to elope, but have a small wedding in front of their family and friends. They were going to get married at Rachel's beach house.

Julian decided to include his cousins in his wedding since they were now getting along. Lucas was going to be Julian's best man. Nathan was going to be a groomsman while Lily was going to be the flower girl. Alex was also in the wedding. She was Rachel's bridesmaid. However, Millie wasn't and she was okay with that. She wanted to sit by her boyfriend and Haley would sit with them.

Brooke and Haley spent the day helping Rachel with last minute preparations for the wedding, not to mention the bachelorette party. They also were busy sorting out all of the wedding presents that had been arriving over the last few days. Brooke and Haley weren't surprised to see that there were some extravagant gifts.

"Can you believe that none of those are from my parents?" Rachel asked her friends. "I thought they would be thrilled to get rid of their only child, but they decided to disapprove my relationship with Julian. I don't need them. I have Sylvia. She respects our decision." She let out a heavy sigh. "I wish she could join us, but she and her husband Paul are still on their winter vacation. They don't believe they can make it in time."

"That's too bad," Brooke replied sympathetically. "I'm sure Julian would have wanted his mom to be there."

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, but he's cool with it," she replied as they heard the doorbell ringing. She got up from the sofa and went to the door. She pulled it open and was pleased to see who the visitor was. She embraced the gentleman in a tight hug before she introduced him to her friends. "Cooper, I would like you to meet Brooke and Haley. Cooper is Millie's and Alex's uncle from their mom's side."

Cooper gave them a warm smile. "It's nice to finally meet both of you. I've heard a lot about you two. Thank you for making my family feel welcome in Tree Hill." He then turned back to Rachel. "I can't stay long. I just dropped by to give you your wedding gift."

Rachel gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, but I hope this doesn't mean you will be skipping my wedding. We would love to see you there."

"Don't worry. I'll be there," Cooper promised. He then said good-bye before he left the room.

Haley waited until he left the room before she spoke. She glared at the bride. "How could you invite him to your wedding?" she exclaimed angrily. "He was the one who started the family feud between the two Scott families."

"What did he do?" Brooke asked, who hadn't heard the story yet. All she knew was that it had to do something with Lily's paternity.

"He claimed Lily was his daughter," Haley replied. Brooke was still confused. Haley continued with the story. "Before Lily was born, Keith and Karen were having marital problems. They decided to separate and Karen started dating Cooper. But she soon realized that her love was only for her husband and went back to him. When she found out she was pregnant, she was sure that Keith was Lily's biological father. But Cooper insisted she was his daughter and tried to fight for custody of her. It almost worked too. Dan had the paternity results tampered with so it looked like Cooper really was Lily's dad."

Brooke shook her head in disbelief. "Why would he choose his brother-in-law over his own brother?"

"According to Julian, he is jealous of his brother," Rachel replied. "I don't understand why because he has a beautiful family." Nobody could answer her. So they just dropped the subject and continued on with their busy work.

That evening, Rachel had her final party before she would become a wife. Besides Brooke and Haley, she had invited Millie, Alex, Peyton, Bevin and the rest of the cheerleaders. Brooke was surprised that Bevin was invited since Rachel always thought Bevin was annoying. Rachel didn't believe it was right to exclude her since she was also a cheerleader.

Brooke noticed there were two guests who seemed distracted and decided to find out what was bothering them. She pulled Alex and Millie aside for more privacy. "Hey, is everything okay?" she asked the sisters concerned. She could tell that they were really upset.

"Our parents have decided to separate," Millie told her. Brooke felt sorry for her new friends. "We both knew it was coming, but we still hoped our parents could work out their problems."

"And we're moving into your old house," Alex added. "I don't know why. That house is way too big for just the three of us, but I didn't want to argue with my mom."

Brooke tried to figure out the best thing to say. "Well, I guess I can officially welcome you guys to Tree Hill."

Alex shrugged. "I suppose this place isn't too bad. I'm just glad I have Chase. Otherwise, I would hop on a plane and move in with the newlyweds."

"What if the newlyweds don't want you there?" Millie asked. "What are you going to do then?"

Alex gave her a look. "I'm his favorite sister. Of course he will want me there." Millie didn't want to argue with her any longer. Instead, she followed Brooke back to the party. Alex was right behind them.

The next day, everyone woke up early to get ready for Julian's and Rachel's wedding. Rachel was a nervous wreck, but Brooke was there to calm her down. She wasn't willing to let her call off the wedding and run away from the love of her life. After a good pep talk, Rachel was ready to walk down the aisle and get married.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Everyone was expecting Dan to show up and protest, but he never did. At the reception, there was dinner and toasts before it was time to have some fun on the dance floor. Brooke couldn't help but smile fondly at the newlywed couple as they took their first dance as husband and wife.

Other couples including Brooke and Lucas soon joined them on the dance floor. They then switched partners. Brooke danced with Lucas, Nathan, Jake, Mouth and Skills before Cooper asked if she could be his partner. She agreed as Lucas and Nathan shot daggers their way. Clearly, they didn't approve of Cooper being there, but they decided to stay civil for now.

"I suppose you've heard horror stories about me," Cooper said. Brooke didn't answer. "Well, that's all water under the bridge now. But I don't blame Lucas and Nathan for still being upset with me. After all, I was the reason for them not being able to hang out with their cousins for the last five-and-a-half years."

Brooke didn't want to talk about the feud. "What have you heard about me?" she asked curiously.

"You're a great friend," Cooper replied. Brooke smiled at the compliment. "And as I said before, I appreciate you looking after my nieces. They need someone like you to help them move in the right direction when it comes to life choices especially Alex."

Brooke was going to respond when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Lucas. "We should get back to our seats. Julian and Rachel are ready to cut the cake now." He didn't say a word to Cooper as he escorted Brooke back to her seat. He didn't want her to be with him any longer.

As soon as Lucas noticed Lily was getting tired, both he and Nathan agreed it was time to leave. So they found Brooke before they said good-bye to Julian and Rachel. Haley went with them since she was ready to go too.

They first dropped off Haley at her house before they returned to their own house. Lucas put Lily to bed as Nathan and Brooke changed their clothes. Lucas did the same before he joined them in the den. Nathan let out a groan before he spoke. "Who else wants to sleep late tomorrow?"

"How could you be tired? All you did was stand up there for Julian," Brooke said. "Haley and I were the ones rushing around trying to make sure everything looked perfect for the wedding."

"At least you didn't lose the wedding ring like Lucas did," Nathan said as he glanced at his brother. "We looked all over creation to find it. Julian was ready to kill him until we finally found it on the bathroom floor."

"That is the last time I'm going to be best man for awhile," Lucas replied. "The only exception will be if my parents get remarried." Brooke looked at him, curious to know what he meant. "Our mom and dad have talked about getting remarried on their twentieth anniversary, but we don't know if they are going to do it yet. That's not until next year."

Brooke couldn't help but smile at the thought of them getting married again. "That's so sweet. Speaking of your parents, did you ever hear from them?" She had been so busy over the last two days that she hadn't had a chance to ask them. "Or are the time zones too confusing?"

"Yes, we've heard from them. They were able to get there safely," Lucas replied. "And they'll be calling us tomorrow night." There was a short pause before he spoke. "Nate, can you give us some alone time?" Nathan nodded as Brooke grew a little worried. Lucas took a deep breath before he spoke. "Brooke, I know you've been hearing rumors over the past several months about the possibility of me having an ex-wife."

Brooke tried not to laugh. "Isn't that crazy?" However, her expression changed once she saw the guilty look on Lucas's face. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed as she got up from the sofa. "It's true? Why didn't you tell me? We're supposed to be friends! How the hell could you keep a secret from me like that?"

Lucas tried to calm her down. "Would you sit down and let me explain?"

Brooke came to a sudden realization. "Is that why Haley was trying to defend you every time the subject was brought up? Did everyone know about this except me?" She didn't Lucas answer as she grabbed her purse and went out the front door.

Lucas groaned as he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Well, that went well. Aren't you going to go after her?" his brother asked. He couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation.

Lucas let out a heavy sigh. "I think it's best I leave her alone right now. She'll probably stay at Millie's house or something. I'll try and talk to her tomorrow."