A/N: Here's the long overdue chapter of this story.


Chapter Forty Four

Haley waited anxiously until the guards finally brought Victoria in the private room. She wasn't as nervous as she thought she should be. Perhaps it was because she wasn't going to do most of the talking. Finally, she heard the door open and she was face to face with her former boss.

Victoria tried to not to smile as she saw Haley's pregnant belly. "Why am I not surprised you hooked up with Nathan Scott?" she said as she sat down at a table that was in the room. "It's a little boy, right?"

"We're not here to talk about me and Nathan," Haley said, cutting her off. She wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. She didn't even want to sit down with Victoria. They weren't friends and she wasn't going to act like they were. "We're here because you wanted to talk to me. I don't know why considering you were such a bitch to me. All because I found out your dirty little secret."

"That was your own fault," Victoria defended. "I warned you to stay out of my business."

Haley raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I can't believe you still don't want to take responsibility for your own actions. Especially since you're now sitting in jail awaiting your trial. What do you want from me? Forgiveness? Because you don't deserve it. You don't deserve to get anything from me. In fact, I'm not the one who should be lecturing you."

"Good because I don't need a lecture from you," Victoria said, crossing her arms.

"You're right," Haley replied. Victoria looked at her. Haley caught her off guard and she was proud of it. "I came here with every intention to yell at you. To tell you how you made my life a living hell. I was arrested because you made it look like I was the one who abused your daughter. You fired me from my job. You chased me out of town. You did everything to make my life miserable. But I didn't have it as bad as Brooke."

"Don't even mention that girl's name," Victoria hissed. "She's not my daughter."

Haley did her best to control her anger. "That's right. All she was to you was a punching bag," she snapped. "She didn't deserve it." There was a short pause. It was the perfect time to unveil her surprise. "Unlike you, I'm not going to speak for her."

Victoria didn't answer as the door opened again. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. She glared at Haley. "This wasn't the part of the deal! Get her out of here!" she ordered. There was no movement from Haley.

Brooke spoke up as she came into her mother's view. "I'm not going anywhere," she declared. "All those years, you never let me have the chance to let me speak. This time, you are going to listen to what I have to say." She took a deep breath before she spoke again. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of her so called mother and she was about to get her feelings out.

"As much as you wanted to blame me for dad leaving, you know it wasn't my fault. You were the one who pushed him away, not me. And you took your anger out on me because I was a child and I couldn't fight back. I was too scared to fight back."

"My friends always asked me how I survived all these years and I never could give them an answer. I don't think I really knew the answer. You made me feel like I was alone in the world and I would never escape you. I was convinced until I met Lucas and Mrs. James-Scott."

"You may have thought I was crazy for marrying Lucas. I know you thought I married him just to get away from you. That may be true, but there was another reason I stayed with him. It's called love, Mother. Do you even know what that is? I can tell you what it's not. It's not calling her names that make her lose her self-esteem. It's not threatening to expel your daughter's friends or their teacher if they plan to go and tell the social worker on you. It's not abusing your daughter. A daughter shouldn't have earn her mother's love. It's supposed to be unconditional. And thanks to you, I know what kind of parent I'm not going to be to my own children."

There was still no response from Victoria so Brooke continued with what she had to say. She was surprised she had lasted this long without a word from her mother. "As for Mrs. James-Scott, she helped me realized what you were doing to me was wrong. And I didn't deserve to be mistreated like that. I never should have taken it. I should have told someone a long time ago, but I didn't because I wasn't just afraid what you would do to them, but also me. I knew you weren't bluffing when you said you knew the police. But I was tired of being portrayed as the outcast daughter while you sat on your pedestal and acted like you were the perfect role model. The truth had to be told and I'm glad people now know the truth about you. Whether you want to admit it or not, you deserve to be in prison."

Haley looked for a response from Victoria – any response to show she was hearing her and realized how much she had hurt her daughter. There was no emotion from Victoria though. Haley could see Brooke wasn't getting through to her. It wasn't a surprise. Victoria really didn't care about her daughter and she wasn't ever going to change her mind. Haley wanted to knock some sense into her. She wanted her to realize what a horrible mother she was, but it was hopeless.

"Are you done yet? Your speech is boring me," Victoria said with a fake yawn.

Brooke scoffed at her. "Wow, you can't even let me finish. You still want to make it all about you. Did anybody ever tell you Tree Hill doesn't evolve around you?"

"You know what? I think we're done here," Victoria said, brushing her off as she got up from her chair. "Guard?" she called. There were footsteps approaching the room and the guards got ready to take Victoria back to her cell.

Brooke had one last thing to say to her mother. "I have a daughter," she told her. She knew it wasn't what Victoria wanted to hear, but she didn't care. She had to finish what she wanted to say. "In a perfect world, she would have been spoiled to death by her loving grandmother. Instead, she won't have the chance to meet you or even get to know you because you refuse to have anything to do with me. All you ever wanted was recognition that you were the one on top and everyone else was on the bottom. Ironic how it turned the other way around, isn't it?" Victoria still remained silent. "Goodbye Mother." Neither of them said a word as Brooke walked past Victoria and marched out of the room.

Victoria turned to Haley and glared at her. "The only reason I was willing to accept the charges because the time I serve would be less than what I would get if I went through a trial. And when I get out, I will have my revenge on you and that little brat."

Haley glared right back at her. She couldn't believe she was threatening her. "If you go anywhere near my family including my daughter, I will personally kick your ass," she warned her. "Or I will make sure your life is a living hell." Haley didn't wait for a response as she walked out of the room.

Haley stopped for a moment as she let out a deep breath. It was a relief to finally get closure and she knew neither of them would be back to visit Victoria. Victoria made her choice and it was clear her relationship with Brooke would always be strained. And even if Victoria did get out of prison, she wouldn't be able to go anywhere near her granddaughter. Why would she though? Why would she want to spend time with her granddaughter, but not her own daughter? It wouldn't make any sense.

Haley put her hand on her stomach as she felt a kick. The baby wasn't even here yet and she already loved her. "Don't worry, Charlotte. There's nothing you can do to convince me not to love you," she promised before she continued her search for Brooke. The hallway was empty so Haley could only assume she was outside.

It was confirmed when she found her standing outside the entrance, staring off into space. Haley gently approached her. "Are you okay?" she asked. Brooke snapped out of her reverie and nodded. "Are you disappointed?"

Brooke let out a heavy sigh. "I know I should be, but I'm not. I knew she didn't want me there, but I wanted her to know how I felt about her and what she did to me. I wanted her to hear me. Is that too much to ask?"

Haley gave her a smile as she embraced her in a gentle hug. "No, it isn't. You did great. I'm so proud of you. It took a lot of courage for you to go in there and tell her how you felt about her. I know it wasn't easy, but you did it."

Brooke returned the smile. "Thanks, Mrs. James-Scott. I'm glad I can finally put all the drama with Victoria behind me." The conversation was interrupted by footsteps coming towards them. They turned to see Nathan and Lucas walking towards them. The women felt at ease as they were reunited with their husbands. "What are you guys doing here?" Brooke couldn't help but ask. Neither of them expected to see Nathan and Lucas there.

"We wanted to come and support our girls," Lucas replied as Brooke embraced him in a tight hug. "We wanted to make sure the Wicked Witch of the West melted away." Nathan gave him a look. "It's better than what we call her at home: Bitchtoria." Haley couldn't argue with that one. "So how did it go?"

"As expected, Victoria hated my little surprise," Haley replied. "But Brooke deserved to be in there. She needed to hear what her daughter had to say."

"It didn't do any good," Brooke added. "All she wanted was for me to leave. There was nothing I could say to convince her to change her mind. She has never loved me and she will never love me. As much as I want her to love me, I can't make her love me."

"No, you certainly can't," Lucas agreed. He gave her a wide smile. "But who needs her when you got me?" Brooke returned the smile. "I love you, Pretty Girl."

"I love you too, Broody," Brooke replied. "Let's go home. I want to spend some time with my husband and baby girl."

Nathan and Haley smiled fondly at them as they headed towards the car. Nathan turned to his own wife. He could tell she was deep in thought. "How are you doing? Are you okay?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, I'm great. Why wouldn't I be?" Nathan looked at her hard. He knew something was bothering her. "Okay, there was a tiny part of me that was hoping she would turn around and she would apologize to Brooke. And she would want to try to have a relationship with her so she could get to know her granddaughter. But all Brooke and I saw was Bitchtoria."

Nathan embraced her in a tight hug. "You have a good heart, Haley James-Scott. That's what I love about you. But even I've learned that you can't always change people. They have to make the effort to change themselves. You may not have been able to change Victoria, but you've certainly helped Brooke. And Lucas. And all of your other students." Haley knew he was right. "You are a great person, Hales. I hope our daughter has much a good heart as you do." Haley smiled as they shared a kiss before they went to join Lucas and Brooke.