A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Twenty Two

Don't You Forget About Me

"When are they going to get here?" Lily asked her aunt as they watched people walk past them. Deb could only smile at the little girl. They had only been waiting for fifteen minutes, but it seemed like forever to her.

They were at the airport, waiting for Keith and Karen to arrive from Italy. After much discussion, they decided to cancel the rest of their trip and fly back to Tree Hill to be with their family and to try and help Brooke regain her memory. The twins weren't happy since it was probably the only opportunity that their mother would have to take a cooking class in Italy, but they believed that their place was to be home with their children.

Suddenly, Lily's eyes lit up with delight. "I see them," she told Deb excitedly as she pointed to the two familiar faces that were walking towards them. Giving them a wide smile, she ran over and embraced her mother in a tight hug. "I missed you."

"We've missed you too," Karen replied as Lily hugged Keith. She took that time to greet Deb. She gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you for taking such good care of Lily while we were gone. We really appreciate it."

Deb returned the smile. "It was a pleasure to have her with us. She can stay with us anytime. And that goes for you and Keith. You two can come over and visit." She was careful not to say too much in front of Lily. There was an awkward pause before she spoke again. "Shall we go and get your bags?" she suggested.

The two adults nodded and Lily led the way to the baggage claim. She stayed near her mother as if she was afraid of losing her. That gave Deb the chance to get Keith caught up in the recent events. "Brooke is supposed to come home this morning, but I'm afraid she still doesn't remember anything. There has been quite a discussion on where she should stay. I know that she has been staying with your family, but she used to live in my house."

Keith understood the predicament. He and Karen had been discussing it as well. "And both of her parents have moved out of the house and moved away from Tree Hill," he added. "Did the doctor have any suggestions on how to bring her memory back?" he asked hopefully.

Deb sadly shook her head. "According to Victoria, he just said to be patient with her and surround her with familiar things. So Haley and the others were trying to come up with creative ways to help Brooke with her memory. From what I understand, they came up with a play and writing letters to her about the memories they shared together. I heard that even Victoria is thinking about doing one." Keith raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's going to more of an apology letter than anything else."

"You know who really should apologize?" Keith hissed. "Dan since he was the one who started all of this mess. Have you heard anything from Cooper? Or if the police have caught him yet? I would hate to have him return and try to take advantage of Brooke while she still has amnesia."

"I wish I could say that he won't be returning," Deb replied as they reached the baggage claim. "But ever since I've found out that he helped Ian with kidnapping Brooke, I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Keith was quiet as they waited for their suitcases to appear. The conversation was over and it turned to different subjects as they got their suitcases and Deb drove them home. When they came into the door, Nathan greeted them. "Hey, you're back. Good. We've missed you. Did you manage to bring us some souvenirs?" His parents tried not to smile as he helped bring the suitcases into the house.

Keith and Karen couldn't help but notice that one of their children was missing. Nathan knew what they were thinking and offered an explanation. "Lucas is at Haley's house, helping her and Mouth to write the play. Victoria didn't think that there should be too many people here when Brooke comes home. It might be a little too overwhelming for her. But she is driving Brooke by their old house first to see if she can remember being the girl behind the red door."

Karen was impressed. "Wow, Victoria is certainly making an effort to help her daughter regain her memory. I hope she stays with it. Brooke really needs all the support that she can get right now. I can't imagine what she is going through, especially since she has no memory of the last sixteen and a half years. How are Haley and Lucas taking it?"

"Haley is taking it better than Lucas," Nathan replied. "She has every faith that Brooke will come out of this, but I think Lucas is still feeling guilty that he took so long in telling her about his ex-wife. If he hadn't waited this long, then she wouldn't have taken off and ran into Cooper. At least, that's what he keeps telling himself."

Keith let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that we moved here. Maybe we should have stayed in Charlotte."

Karen gave her husband a look. "Don't you start blaming yourself. The only ones to blame are the ones who kidnapped Brooke. Now we have to focus on the present; Brooke is alive and well. I know that this will be an adjustment for all of us, but we're going to make the best of it." Nobody answered as they heard the doorbell ringing. "That must be Victoria and Brooke now." She went to the front door and opened it.

Sure enough, it was Victoria and Brooke. She gave the nervous girl a warm smile as Victoria did introductions. Brooke gave them a small smile, but she was still confused. "Why don't I live in the other house anymore?"

"Because I decided to leave Tree Hill and you wanted to stay behind," Victoria explained. "So we arranged for you to stay with the Scotts for the remainder of your high school education."

Karen could tell that Victoria had to talk to them privately. "Lily, why don't you show Brooke her bedroom?" Nathan was right behind them. The two parents then turned to Victoria and were curious to hear what she had to say.

"Well, the good news is that Brooke is getting her memory back slowly," Victoria announced. "I drove her around town and she does remember her old house and the café. However, she still doesn't remember faces."

"I'm sure she will remember in time," Karen assured her. Victoria was quiet. Karen looked at her hard. "Is there something else you're not telling us?"

Victoria avoided their eyes, but she knew that the truth would have to come out sometime. "I didn't tell Haley this over the phone, but Ian tried to pass himself off as Lucas after he took Brooke out of town. It wasn't until after the doctors identified Brooke that they realized that Ian was lying. So I'm not sure how she will react when she sees Lucas."

"Did Brooke ever hear Ian call himself Lucas?" Karen asked.

"Well, they've had a whole day together before they had the car accident," Keith reminded her. "He could have started using Lucas right after they left town and forced her to call him 'Lucas'. From what I've heard about this psycho, I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Karen asked her. "Keep Lucas away from Brooke for awhile? That would break Lucas's heart."

Victoria brushed off her words. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Lucas will understand that it's only temporary. And their relationship will return to normal once Brooke regains her memory, right?" Neither Karen nor Keith wanted to admit that their son was falling in love with Brooke. There was no need to say it since Victoria could sense that something was bothering them. "Don't tell me that you're going to allow that relationship to become more than just friendship."

Karen tried to keep her cool as she shot questions at her. "Do you have a problem with our son? Or is it our family? Or is his past mistake clouding your judgment?"

"I'm just trying to protect my daughter, something that I should have done from the start," Victoria defended. "Both of your sons are nice young men and I appreciate them looking after her, but neither of them is right for Brooke. And even if I did approve of the relationship, I don't feel comfortable having both of them living in the same house. It will only lead to trouble. Now I think it's time for me to leave."

There was silence before they heard a voice. "Mother, could I stay with you tonight?" The three adults turned to see Brooke standing in the doorway. Keith and Karen were slightly disappointed, but understood why she wanted to go with Victoria.

Brooke was ready to apologize, but Karen gave her a comforting smile. "Don't apologize. We know that we feel like strangers to you and you are more comfortable with your mom right now. So you can come back to our house when you're ready."

Brooke gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you." As Karen embraced her in a tight hug, she felt a little bit of déjà vu. "Have we done this before?" she asked.

This time Karen apologized for her inappropriate action. "I'm sorry. That was my fault. Yes, you hugged both me and Keith after thanking us for letting you move into the house. Do you remember that?" she asked hopefully.

Brooke had a thoughtful look on her face as she tried to remember the memory. "I can't thank you enough for doing this for me," Brooke told Keith and Karen when they came in to check up on her. "You know you saved my life, right?"

"Don't thank us yet, Brooke," Karen warned her before she gestured her to sit next to her on the bed. Brooke was ready to hear what she had to say. "We know your parents are a lot more hands off, but we're not going to make it easy on you. And I'm sure that you're not going to like us for it."

"But you are going to have to follow the rules just like the boys do," her husband added. "There will be no staying out all night. No boys sleeping over." Keith didn't have a chance to continue as Brooke embraced him in a tight hug. She then did the same to Karen.

"It's just like having real parents," Brooke said happily.

"Actually, I do," Brooke admitted as Karen was relieved to hear that she remembered something about them. "But I'm still not sure if I want to spend the night."

"It's okay. We have plenty of time for you to catch up with us," Karen replied before they said good-bye to mother and daughter.

Nathan waited until she left before speaking. "While we were in her bedroom, she had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was trying to remember something. It must have been bad because she wanted to leave after that. It was probably a memory of her parents fighting or something. But who could blame her with you guys fighting with Victoria. We could even hear you." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "Do you really think Brooke will freak out when she sees Lucas?" he asked his parents worriedly.

To his disappointment, his parents couldn't answer that right away. His mother tried to give him a comforting smile as his father spoke. "Why don't we worry about that when they see each other? Where's your sister?"

"I sent her to go play in her room," Nathan replied. "It really scares her to know that Brooke doesn't know her."

"I'll see if I can explain the situation to her again," Karen said before she left the two Scott men.

The two weren't alone for long when Lucas came through the back door. He greeted his family before he looked around the house. "So where's Brooke?" he asked as he headed towards the hall. "Is she in her room?"

"Actually, she has decided to stay with Victoria for now," his father told him. "She's not exactly comfortable staying with us yet." Lucas was upset to hear that. "But the good news is that she does remember her old house and the café. So it's just a matter of time before she remembers us."

"I just hope the first thing she remembers isn't me telling her that I have an ex-wife," Lucas replied before he turned to Nathan. "I know you don't really have any memories to share that involves Brooke, but do you want to be in the play?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I'll do anything to help a friend. And you really don't have to ask me. I was planning to do it anyway. But what about Peyton? Is she going to be in the play? After all, she was her rival for the longest time."

"Haley is going to talk to her and see what she says," Lucas replied. "But I don't think she will have any objection. It probably won't be too hard for Brooke to hear the past arguments they had. Hell, I'm curious to know what made those two enemies." Nathan laughed. "I just hope all of our hard work won't be for nothing." Nathan hoped so too since he hated to see his brother so down.