A/N: Thanks to my beta: Leeese.


Chapter Sixteen

Both Lucas and Brooke made good on their promise in making Christmas great. They helped Lydia make Christmas cookies. They sang Christmas carols with Haley and her family. They went ice skating with Nathan and Haley a couple of times. Neither of them knew how to ice skate, but they had fun trying. They even shared a sweet kiss under the mistletoe that Quinn managed to capture on camera.

On Christmas Eve, the James clan gathered together for the party. They got along well with the three guests and treated them like they were part of the family. Haley had no doubts that they would. Her family was usually welcoming to people.

Haley smiled fondly as she watched Nathan play with her nephews. She hated to see the fun end, but she could see that Nathan was getting exhausted. "Boys, why don't you give Nathan a break and see if Grandma has some more Christmas cookies for you," she suggested. Nathan gave her a grateful smile as her nephews disappeared from the room. "If you think that my nephews wore you out, just wait until you have that baby to take care of."

Nathan gave her a look. "Don't remind me. In some ways, I'm not looking forward to parenthood."

"Come on, Nathan. You'll be a great father," Haley assured him. "You're already doing a great job with Ryan."

"Ryan, your coworker's baby who named you two his godparents?" Quinn asked as she joined them. Haley nodded. "Do you get to see him a lot?"

"Well, I haven't seen him lately because I was sick all week," Haley reminded her. "But we're planning to get together for New Year's Day. We want to spend a little time together before school starts up again."

Quinn nodded understandingly as Haley heard her cell-phone ringing. She excused herself and went to the other room. She hoped that this phone call wasn't going to be about Brooke. She and Lucas had gone out for a walk with some of the dogs. So she hoped that they hadn't gotten in any trouble.

She was pleased to see that it was Clay. She answered the phone before he started speaking. He wanted to make this short. "Hey, I know you're busy with your family, but I just wanted to call and wish you a 'Merry Christmas'."

"Well, that's sweet of you," Haley replied. "And a "Merry Christmas" to you too." They talked for a little while longer before she got off the phone. She was about to go back to Quinn and Nathan when Taylor appeared. Haley jumped. "God, Taylor, don't do that to me."

"So what is the deal with you and Nathan?" Taylor asked her. Haley knew that question was coming. "You two claim that you aren't dating, but you two seem pretty cozy these last few days. And I have tried to get Nathan's attention, but his focus is all on you. I would go for Lucas, but he's a little young for me. Besides, he and that brunette look like they are really hitting it off."

"Her name is Brooke," Haley corrected her. "And they aren't dating either. I think Lucas is just looking after her."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how I'm related to you. You're so stubborn that you don't want to see what's right in front of you. And it's too bad because Nathan will get tired of waiting for you and move onto someone else."

"He's not waiting for me or anyone else," Haley protested. She was tired of explaining this to her family members. "He is dealing with some personal issues right now. He's not ready to be in another relationship." Taylor waited for more. "Neither am I. So why don't you just drop it?" she hissed before she left her.

On Christmas morning, there was more gift exchanging and unwrapping. Brooke was surprised, but thrilled when she had received a few gifts that Lydia, Haley and Lucas managed to buy last minute for her. Lucas was thrilled when he had received his own copy of Julius Cesar from Haley.

Once all the gifts were unwrapped, they started gathering the paper when Haley suddenly spoke up. "We actually have two more gifts to give out," she said as she turned to Lucas and Brooke. "Bring them in, David."

David brought in two golden retriever puppies. One was obviously Simba and David handed him to Lucas. The other puppy was female and he gave her to Brooke. The two teenagers were at loss for words. Lucas finally managed to speak first. "You mean I can keep him?" he asked as he turned to Haley's parents.

Jimmy and Lydia nodded. "It's obvious that he has found a new friend and we don't want to break up that friendship," Lydia told him as she watched Brooke play with her new puppy. "And we found that little girl at a rescue."

"I don't know how to thank you," Brooke said, who still couldn't believe that this puppy was hers.

"Don't thank us," Lydia replied. "You really should be thanking Haley. She is the one who gave you the puppy. We just helped her find the perfect place where we could get another puppy. As for Simba, Nathan is the one who asked us about him."

Lucas embraced his brother in a tight hug before he embraced Haley in a hug. He thanked both of them before Lydia suggested that it was time for coffee and pancakes. "Lucas, I don't suppose that you would like to help me, would you?"

Lucas laughed. "I would love to, Lydia," he replied before he followed her into the kitchen. Quinn and David picked up the rest of the trash before they left the room. Jimmy, Taylor and Nathan were right behind them, leaving Haley and Brooke.

There was an awkward silence before Brooke finally spoke. "You know that I can't keep this puppy, right? Once I go back to my mom, she will make me give her away. She can't stand animals."

"You aren't going back to your mom, okay?" Haley assured her. "I'm going to talk to your social worker and ask her if you can stay with me for awhile." Brooke was about to protest, but Haley didn't let her interrupt her. "I know Victoria is going to make my life hell, but I don't care. I promised you that I wasn't going to let her hurt you anymore. And I'm going to keep that promise, no matter what it takes." She and Brooke embraced in a tight hug as Nathan watched the scene with curiosity. He started to wonder if he had been wrong to believe that his boss wasn't cruel enough to hurt her daughter.

A few days later, Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Brooke and the three dogs were on their way back to Tree Hill. Everyone had had a great time and they promised that they would visit Lydia and Jimmy again. Once they got home, everyone got settled in and rested for awhile before Haley and Brooke went over to the Scott house for dinner.

Just as they were finishing up dinner, they heard the doorbell ring. Nathan excused himself to answer it, hoping that it wasn't Rachel or Charlene. He didn't want to talk to her or her mother right now. He walked to the front door and pulled it open. He was relieved to see that it was Lindsey. She tried not to hide his disappointment when the wrong Scott answered the door.

"Is Lucas around?" she asked. Nathan gestured her to the kitchen. She thanked him as she walked into the kitchen. Lucas got up and greeted her as she noticed the two guests. They exchanged greetings as the two puppies came over to her. "Who are these cuties?" she asked as they sniffed her.

"Simba is mine and Roxy is Brooke's new puppy," Lucas told her as he introduced them. "We got them for Christmas." Lindsey was impressed as Lucas turned to Nathan. "Can I be excused from the table, Nate?" he asked. He wanted to talk to her in private. Nathan nodded approvingly. Lucas then led Lindsey to the front porch.

Lindsey could see that something was bothering him. She had a feeling that this conversation wasn't going to go well. Lucas took a deep breath before he spoke. "Lindsey, I have given this a lot of thought and I think that it's time for us to go our separate ways." Lindsey wanted to protest when Lucas stopped her. "Lindsey, we both know that things have changed between us. I've learned that I'm trying to grow up too fast and I'm not an adult yet. I'm really not ready to get married or even get emancipated from Nathan. It's just too soon for me. I'm sorry."

"You know, you shouldn't compare our relationship to your brother's failed relationship with his estranged wife," Lindsey snapped. "It's really pathetic." Lucas was about to defend his brother when Lindsey didn't let him interrupt her this time. "But if you really want to be such a coward about it, then you can go ahead and do it with Brooke Davis. I'm sure she has stories to tell," she said as she stormed off the porch.

Lucas glared at her. "Leave Brooke out of this," he exclaimed. "She has nothing to do with this. This was my decision."

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "You know, I was going to apologize for cheating on you while I was on my ski vacation. But I don't have to worry about that now. I can do whatever the hell I want including finding a real man, one who doesn't follow his brother's orders all of the time."

Lucas didn't even watch her leave before he went back into the house and slammed the front door. There was silence as he came back into the kitchen. "I'm going to go to the River Court awhile," he told Nathan before he went to find his basketball. Simba was right behind him.

Nathan and Haley knew that it was best to leave him alone. After Brooke left to take the dogs for a walk, there was silence between the two. Nathan then spoke up. "So do you think you have what it takes to take care of a teenager?" he asked as they cleaned off the table and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

Haley knew what he was getting at. "Brooke isn't a troublemaker," she assured him. "She just needs the love, care, guidance and attention that she never got from her parents. Besides, Brooke is willing to listen to me."

Nathan gave her a smile. "Well, I don't blame her. You are one to give good advice."

Haley smiled proudly. "What can I say? I learned from the best." They then went onto different topics as they did the dishes. She then started working on her lesson plan while Nathan watched sports in the den. They soon heard the front door open again. "Hey, how was your walk?" she asked as Brooke walked into the kitchen. Haley couldn't help but notice the puzzled look on her face. "Brooke, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.

Nathan came in as Brooke finally spoke. "Dan is cheating on my mother with my social worker."

Nathan tried not to laugh. "What are you talking about?"

"I was walking Jewel and Roxy when I came across Whitey's house. I didn't mean to spy, but I was curious to see his visitors. Dan and Deb came out of Whitey's house, holding hands and everything," Brooke told him. "And she had an engagement ring on her wedding finger. I hate to say it, but my mom deserves to be cheated on." Nathan gave her a look. "You would cheat on her too if you knew what she was like."

"I'm sure there is a simple explanation for all of this," Nathan replied as they heard the doorbell ring. He knew that his dad wasn't the type of person who would cheat on his girlfriend, fiancée or wife. He went to answer it and was surprised to see Lindsey's mother standing there. "Miranda, what can I do for you?"

"You can tell me what you have been saying to your brother to make him think that's its okay to break my daughter's heart," she demanded. "Just because your marriage has failed doesn't mean that theirs would have. You're his coach. You're supposed to be supporting his dreams, not running them down to the ground."

Nathan tried to calm her down. "I haven't been saying anything to him. Yes, it's my opinion that they are way too young to get married. But it was ultimately Lucas's choice about what he wanted to do. You're right. I am his coach, but I'm also supposed to a role model. And so is he. He wants to be a better person for his niece or nephew. He wants to go to college and find out who he is before he gets married. I know it isn't the path you want him to take, but it's now the dream he wants to follow. And I support him all the way."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Lucas replied as he came into the foyer. "I know Lindsey is hurt and disappointed in me, but I'm not ready to get married or emancipated right now. She just needs to accept it. If not, then I guess we won't be friends." Miranda didn't answer as she turned around and headed out the door.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked his brother. Lucas nodded. "Then I don't suppose you would want some vanilla ice cream for dessert, would you?" he teased him. Lucas laughed as the two brothers headed back into the kitchen.