A/N: This is up a few hours earlier than I expected. Hope you all enjoy it.

Two chapters left…maybe?

Part 2 Ch. 28: Almost Time

Sylvia, Brooke, and Sam were all seated around Sam's living room in her new home. Binders, papers, and photos are spread out all around them with Sam's wedding dress on a mannequin in the corner.

"You gave us quiet a timeline for this wedding Samantha," Sylvia mentions before flipping through a bridal magazine.

Over the last few weeks since her visit, she and Sam had struck some type of relationship. There were times when the past hurt too much for them to talk to each other, but they were both trying which made both parties particularly happy.

"We were ready," Sam mentions with a smile. "I've already had my first attempt and I ran away like an idiot, but I'm ready now and I don't want to wait anymore. I said in two weeks I wanted to be married and I meant it."

"The two weeks are almost up sweetheart," Brooke said with a grin. "I had to work overtime to finish your dress, but it was perfect. I even made Kelsey's as well."

Sam lifts her eyes up from her book in her lap with surprise. This was the first time she heard anything about it. She and Kelsey had continually argued about how the wedding should go. Sam said she didn't want anything that reminded her of her last wedding and Kelsey agreed, but then they were soon fighting over flowers and colors and it was a huge mess, but not one thing was mentioned about Brooke making Kelsey's dress.

"You made her dress too?"

Brooke nods her head.

"Yes, but you cannot see it because it's bad luck."

Sam rolls her eyes and places the book on the coffee table.

"I don't know why we keep going over everything. The details are pretty much done. I told you I want all things purple."

"Why purple?" Sylvia asks.

"Kelsey and I's first attempt was a black and white wedding. She wanted purple, but I wanted black and white. This time we argued and I said something about green and she agreed. She thinks we are having a green themed wedding, but it's going to be purple instead. She doesn't know."

Sylvia smiles and nods her head. She was told of the history between her granddaughter and Kelsey and she found herself feeling jealous of her granddaughter, but for completely different reasons than before. She was jealous of the love that Sam and Kelsey shared with each other. She had thought she had that with Paul, but instead it ended with heartache. She hoped to find love like that again.

Brooke grabs a pen and paper and looked down at her checklist.

"Alright so we have the flowers and the cake and the food and the music all figured out. You sent out all your invitations right?" Brooke asks of her daughter.

Sam nods her head.

"Yeah, they've been sent and almost all of them responded including Spencer and Casey and both of their parents."

Brooke grinned as she wrote down their names. She missed her old friends and this wedding was a chance to get the whole "family" together again.

"What about your old teammates?"

"Kylie and Meredith are coming. We didn't really socialize with anyone except for Ally and Jesse and they said they try if they found a babysitter for their baby. It's going to be a small wedding, guys; just family and a few friends is all."

Brooke caps her pen and laughs slightly. She knew all these details already, but Brooke was excited. She loved weddings and hopefully this is the one that Sam actually says "I do" to.

"I got it. I got it." Brooke looks at Sylvia and at Sam. "Well ladies, I think we're done here."

*Defying Gravity*

The local baseball diamonds in Tree Hill were filled with tons of kids. Two baseball diamonds were filled. Diamond one was being occupied by a girl's softball game. Diamond two was filled with some young teens playing kickball. Diamond three only had three people standing on it. Aidan was near home plate and having batting practice while Evan and Kelsey switched off throwing baseballs for Aidan to hit. It was Evan and Kelsey's day off and Evan had wanted to spend some time with Kelsey because of some issues at home and Kelsey had told him that she was going to play baseball with her brother. Evan had asked if he could come and now here he was.

"That was really good Aid! I'm going to throw you a few more and then we need to have a water break, okay?" Kelsey yells from the pitcher's mound.

"Okay!"

Kelsey pitched the ball and Aidan ended up hitting it down the third baseman line. Evan cheered and Aidan grinned as he got ready for another pitch.

"He's really good. Is he on a team?" Evan asks as he gets ready to pitch the ball.

Kelsey grins widely.

"Oh yeah, he is. He's amazing and so is his team. He's team won the championships a few times."

Evan pitches the ball and this time Aidan swings it and hits it right down the middle. Evan and Kelsey jump out of the way quickly.

"Yep, he's good," Evan says with a smile.

Kelsey claps her hands a few times and yells for Aidan to get some water. Her time with Aidan was precious. She enjoyed it so much. At times she realized that she liked it so much because it would be practice for when she and Sam had kids.

"So, what's going on?" Kelsey asks as she and Evan walk around the diamond.

"Why would you think something is wrong?"

Kelsey throws a sideways glance at Evan.

"I haven't known you that long, but I know that you needed to talk to me earlier, so why don't you bite the bullet and tell me what's wrong? Why did you want to come with me today?"

"I wanted to know what it felt like, being around kids. Especially in way that doesn't involve our job."

Kelsey nods her head and keeps her thoughts to herself.

"How did it feel?"

Evan shrugs his shoulder.

"Different and I'm freaking out."

Kelsey bites the bottom of her lip.

"I don't want to make assumptions, but you really need to tell me before I explode."

"Katie is pregnant. I'm going to be a father in seven months."

"Wow, I saw that coming, but what I didn't see coming was why you sound so sad about it. She's your wife, Evan and you're starting a family. I don't see what's wrong with that."

Kelsey and Evan make their way over to a bench near where Aidan was throwing a ball in the air and catching it with his glove.

Evan and Kelsey sit down before he starts talking. He needed to get his thoughts straight. He didn't want his explanation to sound bad or put him in a bad light. The truth was he didn't want this pregnancy even though his wife did. He just didn't want to sound like a bad guy.

"This wasn't planned. Katie and I love our jobs and before we had gotten married we discussed kids and I remember coming to the conclusion that we were going to pass on that. We loved our jobs too much to start a family, you know?" Kelsey nods her head and continues to listen to her partner. "When she told me she was pregnant she had this look in her eyes and I knew that no matter what she was going to keep this baby. I mean, it's not so bad, having a baby, but I don't know how to be a father. My dad was never around so I don't know if I can be a good father."

"It seems to me like you're ready."

Evan looks at Kelsey with uncertainty. Kelsey begins to explain her reasoning.

"You're scared. It's like this gut reaction everybody gets or I think. You're just scared. A baby is a big responsibility and I get that and more importantly you get that. It sounds to me like you are sticking by your wife no matter what and that's good. I saw you today with Aidan and I know you are going to be a great father. Everyone gets scared and I'm sure you will be scared while your baby grows up, but you get to protect them and raise them to be decent human beings. With our job we see kids commit crimes and most of the reasons why they start are because of their home life. You are going to do just fine. You just need to go home and tell your wife that everything is going to be okay and that you should celebrate because a baby is worth it."

*Defying Gravity*

During his whole career, Julian has always felt like he was stuck in his father's shadow. It was true that he started out by producing some of his father's projects, but that didn't mean he wanted to live in his father's shadow forever. When his project Defying Gravity had gotten the green light to start production, Julian had been ecstatic because it was the one project that didn't have his father's name on it. It had his daughters, sure, but their relationship was different. The whole situation is different.

As he finished showing his dad all of the sets and the recent script for episode two he couldn't stop smiling. He had finally done it. He had gotten out of his father's shadow.

Paul looked up from the script and smiled at his son. He had been waiting for a moment like this; a moment when his son didn't need him anymore at least not in a professional sense. He had seen the reviews of the premiere episode of Defying Gravity and it had been an instant hit. This one show alone caused the best ratings that the network had ever seen. Paul had heard through the grapevine that the show would be renewed early, but he'd let the news get to Julian by itself.

"You don't need me anymore, do you?" Paul asks already knowing the answer.

Julian leans against the desk and sighed.

"I changed my last name to get away from your shadow. Granted it was early in high school, but you were already a success and I didn't want my own to be judged because Paul Norris is my father. I started producing and it was amazing, but somehow I still ended up in that damn shadow," Julian chuckles. "But now I don't have that problem. They called me brilliant. They called me creative and the same props went out to my daughter. But to answer your question, no, I don't need you anymore."

Paul looked down at the desk before looking his son in the eye.

"I've never said this a lot and I'm sorry for that, but I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. You did the right thing by Brooke in high school after getting her pregnant and you've made your mistakes, we all have, but you've come out on top of them and I'm proud of you. You make me proud."

Julian could see the sincerity in his eyes and it shocked him a little bit.

"You've never said that to me before, ever."

"I should've a long time ago."

"Better late than never," Julian says with a grin.

*Defying Gravity*

It was late by the time Kelsey made it home. She headed straight to the shower to wash out all the grime and dirt on her body. She showered quickly and headed into her bedroom to change into some clothes. Sam was sitting up in bed on her computer and when Kelsey entered the room she smirked. She loved seeing her fiancée naked. It was her favorite picture in the entire world.

"Now why do you have to put on clothes," Sam asks as she shuts down her computer and puts it onto the nightstand.

Kelsey finishes pulling on a pair of shorts after putting on a t-shirt. She turns to Sam with a smile.

"Normally I wouldn't, but I have some news to tell you and it's awkward if I say it when I'm naked."

Kelsey crawls into bed as Sam settles herself into a lying position.

"So, what's the news?"

"Evan's going to be a daddy."

Sam's eyes widen, but she smiles nonetheless.

"That's cool. It's pretty awesome. I think he's going to be a good father. I don't know Katie very well, but I'm sure she won't have a problem in parenting."

Kelsey opens her arms signaling Sam to snuggle against her. Sam rests her head on Kelsey's chest and sighs contently.

"The wedding rehearsal is in a few days. I'm excited about it."

Kelsey closes her eyes and smiles. She knew any moment that Sam would be asleep because she had murmured the last few words.

"I'm excited too."