Chapter Thirty Nine

Good News for People Who Love Bad News

As Brooke looked around at her guests, she was impressed with the costumes. She didn't know how she was going to pick a winner. To her relief, Tim wasn't wearing a clown costume. He was dressed as a zombie. In her opinion, that was just as scary as a clown. But she wasn't going to complain. Nothing was going to ruin her party tonight.

She made small talk with her guests as she went into the kitchen to check on the food. Since Karen took Lily and Mackenzie trick or treating, Deb offered to come and help out with the food until Karen could return. However Deb wasn't looking happy. "Have you seen my helpers? I gave Millie and Alex a break so they could hang out with their friends for a little bit, but they haven't returned to the kitchen yet."

Brooke shook her head. "No, but I haven't been paying attention either. Let me see if I can find them for you. I'll be right back." She disappeared back into the den where Mouth was talking to Skills. If anyone knew where she was, it would be him. She waited for the right moment and pulled him aside. "Have you seen Millie? Or Alex?"

"I think they went shopping for more food," Mouth replied.

Brooke frowned. "Really? Are you sure that's what she said? Because we made sure we had plenty of food and drinks for everyone. We even bought a little extra goodies so Lily could have some." She groaned in frustration. "Who's hogging all the food? Is it Tim?" She didn't let Mouth answer as she shot a glance at Haley and Nathan, who were on opposite sides of the room. Haley was talking to Peyton while Nathan was talking to Lucas and Tim. Brooke tried her best to hide her disappointment, but Mouth could read her face.

"Don't worry. I saw them talking to each other earlier," Mouth replied. "They weren't exactly amused with you because of their costumes, but then Nathan complimented Haley on her dress. You really did a good job with the costumes." Brooke smiled proudly. Mouth looked himself over as he let out a sigh. "I wish you would have done mine. I'm sure you would have come up with a better costume for me than a 1940's reporter."

"I think you look great," Brooke assured him. "Now let's go find Millie and Alex."

As Brooke and Mouth went through the rooms, she realized Millie and Alex weren't the only ones missing. She silently counted her guests to double check. But there was no doubt. Rachel was gone too. Brooke could just bet that Millie and Alex went with her. She quietly groaned in frustration. Her friends looked at her with curiosity. Haley was the one who stepped forward and spoke.

"Brooke, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm not okay," Brooke replied, not wanting to vent her anger in front of her guests. She excused herself and she led Haley into the hallway. Lucas was right behind her. "Earlier, Rachel told me that she knew of the perfect prank to play on Lindsey and she must have convinced Millie to go along with it. Knowing Alex, she probably went to help her."

"Don't worry. Julian went with them," Lucas told her. Brooke hadn't even realized he was missing too. "I'm sure he will make sure the prank won't go too far. Besides I doubt Rachel would cause too much trouble." Brooke and Haley weren't convinced. "Nathan and I will go and see if we can find them."

"No, I don't want you guys get in trouble too," Brooke protested. "I'm sure Lindsey would love an excuse to put your entire family away. Maybe you're right. Maybe Julian will be able to talk some sense in his wife. As I said, I'm sure Millie was encouraged to do this and Alex wanted to help. So it will be two against two."

A familiar but firm voice interrupted the conversation, making all three friends jump. "Brooke, where are my daughters?" Deb asked. Brooke froze, not sure how to answer. The look on Deb's face made it clear that she already knew the answer. "Please call my daughters and tell them to come home if they don't want to get grounded." Brooke just nodded her head as Deb returned to the kitchen.

"Maybe you should go and see if you can find them," Haley suggested to Lucas as Brooke dialed Rachel's number. "You know Rachel won't pick up." Brooke didn't answer as she kept hearing ringing on the other end. She wanted Rachel to pick up, but the phone eventually went to voicemail.

As Brooke was about to leave a message, they heard a commotion coming from the foyer. She hung up the phone as she heard her name being called. Lucas and Haley continued to follow her as they too wondered what was happening. From what they were hearing, it sounded like an argument.

Brooke pushed through the crowd to the front door. To her relief, Rachel had returned with Millie and Alex. Before Brooke could even ask any questions, Alex spoke up. "We know the real reason why Lindsey's in town. She was hired by your so called dad to get you to break up with Lucas."

"Why the hell she would do that?" Lucas demanded.

"Because Richard believed she would go into a deep depression and go back to her old wild ways of drinking and partying," Rachel replied. "And it would be easier for him to regain custody of Mackenzie. If you don't believe us, you can ask Lindsey. She's waiting in the car with Julian."

Keith looked at his nieces hard. "What exactly did you do to convince her to tell you?" he asked. Rachel wanted to answer, but he didn't let her interrupt him. "As I told you before, I want to hear it from Alex and Millie. What did you do?"

"It's my fault, Uncle Keith," Rachel told him. "I wanted to play a prank on Lindsey, but Julian talked me out of it. So I decided to find out why Lindsey wanted to hurt my best friend." Brooke wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the rest of the story. "Does it really matter how we found out about it? I think you should focus on making sure Richard isn't going to go after Mackenzie again."

"Are you holding Lindsey against her will?" Keith asked, trying to control his anger. "Because it's not right to hold her hostage so she can confirm Richard's plans to Brooke. Go and tell Julian to take her home." Rachel wanted to protest, but Keith gave her a firm look. "Don't argue with me. Just go and do it."

Brooke quietly excused herself and slipped out of the room. She had to take a few minutes to comprehend the news. She couldn't believe Richard was so desperate that he would hire someone to try and break her and Lucas up, hoping she would go down a dark road in order to get Mackenzie. At the same time, she realized she shouldn't have been surprised. He did warn her that he wasn't going to give up. This proves it. She didn't need to talk to Lindsey. She knew Richard had planned this. What could she do about it though? What could she do to stop him from trying to interfere with her life?

"Brooke, are you okay?" a voice asked, snapping her out of her reverie. Lucas embraced her in a tight hug. He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. I knew Lindsey was up to something, but I had no idea she was here to try and break us up. I'll talk to her and tell her that she shouldn't waste any more time because there's nothing she can do to break us up."

Brooke appreciated it, but she wasn't comforted by his words. "That's not who I'm worried about," she said as she pulled away from him. "Richard is never going to stop fighting to try and get custody of Mackenzie. What am I going to do?"

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out," Lucas replied. "Maybe you can file a restraining order or something."

"Did you have to deal with this when Cooper tried to claim Lily was his daughter?" Brooke asked.

"Well, Cooper tried to fight it, but I think his lawyer talked him out of it," Lucas replied. "He didn't have a very strong case against us. Personally, I don't think Richard does either. After all, he has his gambling debts and then we can add what he didn't do for you. Who to say that he wouldn't do the same thing to Mackenzie?"

Brooke thought he had a point. "But he also could turn around and bring up my past."

"You only did that because you had the freedom to do whatever you wanted without worrying about getting in trouble," Lucas pointed out. "If he had showed up while you were throwing one of your parties, you probably would have been grounded for life. Believe me. I know." Brooke managed a smile. "Now I think it's time to get back to the party and hand out those prizes. We'll worry about Richard when it's over."

Brooke let out a sigh. She knew he was right though. There's no need for him to ruin the rest of the party. This was her last Halloween party. She deserved to enjoy it. As she followed him back to the den, she paused for a moment. Lucas noticed she stopped and he turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized it's my final Halloween party. I probably won't have another one for awhile," Brooke said softly. "Then again, maybe it's the right time to end it. We're too old to dress up in Halloween costumes anyway."

Lucas gave her a comforting smile. "I would wear any costume you make."

Brooke returned the smile as she leaned in for a kiss. Their lips touched and they began to make out. However, they didn't get very far when they heard someone clearing their throat. The couple pulled away as Haley looked at them. "Well, I guess I don't need to ask if you're okay. Karen is here with Lily and Mackenzie."

Brooke and Lucas followed Haley back into the living room, where Lily was showing off her costume to Brooke's friends. However, it seemed like little Mackenzie was getting all the attention. Everyone was gushing over the adorable Minnie Mouse costume she was wearing. Brooke was a little worried that the baby would get overwhelmed, but she seemed to be enjoying all the love she was getting.

Mackenzie gave Brooke a wide smile and she reached out for her. Brooke took her from Karen's arms. "How did she do?" she asked as she played with her. "Was she okay? I feel bad for missing her first Halloween, but I couldn't change my plans for the party."

"You didn't miss much," Karen said. "Poor Mackenzie was scared of all the costumes. So we ended early. Lily wasn't very happy about it until I reminded her that we were coming here." Karen lowered her voice. "Is there a reason why Rachel and Julian are sitting in a car in the driveway?"

"We'll tell you after the party," Brooke whispered back. She didn't want to discuss it now. Brooke cleared her throat and turned to her friends. "Who's ready to win some prizes?" she asked. Her friends cheered enthusiastically. Brooke handed Mackenzie back to Karen as Lily ran over to them.

"Am I going to get a prize too?" she asked hopefully.

Brooke nodded. "Of course you will. I made sure everyone will get something this year." Lily embraced her in a hug before she went back to the sofa to sit next to Haley. Before Brooke could even move, Keith ran to get a camera. Taking pictures seemed to take forever. Both Keith and Karen wanted to take different group pictures, but also couple photos. Brooke wished that included Nathan and Haley, but they weren't dating.

As they were taking pictures, Julian and Rachel returned. Rachel wanted to explain herself, but Brooke just shook her head. There would be no more talk about Richard and Lindsey until after the party was over. So Rachel and Julian just joined in the fun.

A few hours later, the party ended and Brooke was saying good-bye to her last guest. The only ones who were still there besides Brooke and Haley were Lucas, Nathan, Julian, Rachel, Keith, Karen and Deb. Mouth had taken Millie, Alex and Lily home. Mouth and Millie were willing to stay with Lily until someone else came home.

Julian and Rachel explained what they had found out about Richard. Both Deb and Karen were appalled. Deb tried to comfort Brooke. "Don't worry, Brooke. Richard can't take Mackenzie away from you. He signed away his parental rights and it's very hard to get them back." Brooke wasn't convinced. "You can always file a restraining order against him. That way, he can't go anywhere near you or Mackenzie."

As Brooke thought about that option, Julian spoke up. "Is it possible that Richard just wants to see his daughter? Yes, he wanted to take Mackenzie away from Brooke before and adopt her out just so he can pay off his gambling debts, but maybe he has had a change of heart. Maybe he wants a second chance at parenting."

"If he wanted to do that, he wouldn't have hired Lindsey to try and break us up," Lucas protested.

"Come on, Luke. What would you have done if Lindsey had your child?" Julian exclaimed. "You wouldn't have just denied the baby was yours. You would have wanted to arrange some sort of agreement to see the child, right? Or what if she hadn't told you about the baby at all? And you only found years later? Would you want to see your child then?"

"That's different," Lucas said. "Richard has never shown interest in Brooke. What makes you think he would want to care for Mackenzie? And why are you defending him? I thought we were all here to support Brooke. Do you want Mackenzie taken away?"

"Of course not," Julian assured him. "I want Mackenzie to stay with Brooke as much as everyone else does. I'm just saying that he is still Mackenzie's father. Maybe you should hear him out before thinking the worse of him. That's what I'm doing with Dan. I'm trying to give him a second chance now that's he's out."

Everyone turned to him with confused and surprised looks on their faces. "Dan's out?" Deb asked, finding her voice. "When did this happen?"

"It happened a few weeks ago. Victoria decided to drop the charges against him," Julian said. He looked around at his family. "You guys really didn't know? That's right. He didn't want you to find out because he knew that his return wouldn't be welcomed."

"Uncle Dan was right on that one," Lucas snapped.

Karen gave her son a look as Deb gave her stepson a gentle smile. "Well, I'm glad you are trying to make amends with him. I'm sure it's not easy for you." Julian shook his head. "I'm afraid Lucas is right though. I'm not ready to forgive him for what he has done to this family. At least not yet."

"Julian, we are glad that you are making an effort to get to know your dad, but I don't think Richard's intentions are good," Keith added. "It might be time to take drastic measures and get a restraining order against Richard. But it's up to Brooke."

Brooke contemplated on her decision. She had to think about Mackenzie and what was best for her. Was it really worth it to try and reason with Richard? As much as she wanted to sit down and have another talk with him, she wasn't sure if it would do any good. And she knew his intentions weren't noble. He wanted to get Mackenzie in order to pay off his gambling debts. There was only one thing she could do. Call a lawyer and ask for a restraining order against him.