Brooke's POV

Brooke's and Julian's house

Six months later

It was quite different this time than the last two times when I had read the positive result on the pregnancy test. The first time I had reacted with shock, the second time with fear and despair. This time it was pure happiness that I felt. I now knew what was coming, and I had my family and friends who would support me. Also the age gap to the twins was optimal. If it was a girl now, my joy would be perfect. I put the test on the edge of the sink, washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I knew I needed to dry my eyes before I stepped out the door. Sylvia would immediately suspect that something was wrong. But unlike the last few times, it was tears of joy and not of despair. I quickly washed my face, dried it, and then pushed the latch back.

"Gosh, Brooke, what took you so long?"

I felt my cheeks begin to glow under Sylvia's scrutiny. As she came closer and looked at me even more intensely, I quickly lowered my head. But not only did she have eagle eyes, she also felt instinctively when something was wrong.

"Were you crying?"

"I... no," I stammered. "That's just... hay fever," I lied. Luckily we had spring and not winter, otherwise she never would have believed my white lie.

"Hm... okay." She pointed to the closed bathroom door. "Is the bathroom free now?"

I nodded, lost in thought, and stepped aside to let her enter. But as soon as she had closed the door, I remembered, what I had forgotten in there. But now it was too late to remove the pregnancy test unnoticed. I quickly turned to warn her when I heard the lock snap shut. Involuntarily I held my breath and listened. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't hear a sound. Carefully, I knocked as the waiting became too long for me. "Sylvia?" I called in a slightly trembling voice. "Everything okay?" It took a moment before she finally pushed the latch and stepped out of the bathroom. In her hand she held my positive pregnancy test. I wanted to apologize when she embraced me.

"Oh Brooke! Why didn't you want to tell me that you're pregnant again?" She asked softly. "I already suspected it all the time anyway."

I looked at her stunned. "You suspected it...?" I stuttered.

She nodded. "I have eyes in my head," she said with a smile. "Your dislike of certain smells, the moodiness, the constant fatigue. It was the same with the twins at the time."

Had it been that obvious? Suddenly a terrible thought crossed my mind. "What about Julian? Does he also suspect that I'm pregnant?"

She shook her head. "No, my son is blind, so to speak, when it comes to things like that," she smirked. "But we women just have a feel for it." She gave me the test back. "By the way, I also told your mom about that."

"Mom knows it?" I asked in disbelief. When she nodded, I continued to probe. "Who else knows about it?"

"Peyton and Haley," she admitted, grinning. "Oh, and the kindergarten teacher. But Haley was the first who noticed it. She said you don't like her cookies anymore."

I rolled my eyes. Those damn cookies were to blame that half of Tree Hill knew I was pregnant again! Only one person didn't know it yet. And I had to change that immediately. "Can you look after the twins?" I asked, turning to my mother-in-law.

She nodded, then frowned. "Of course. What are you going to do?" She asked curiously.

"I'm going to the movie set," I said determinedly, reaching for my car key. "If everyone already knows, it's time for Julian to know as well." I started to go to the front door when Sylvia stopped me.

"Brooke, wait! I have something for you," she said and disappeared, then came back with a small package. "Here, give that to Julian."

Confused, I stared at the package, which was decorated with a white bow. "What's that?" I asked with a frown.

"Well, I thought it might be a bit more romantic than a pregnancy test," she replied, grinning mysteriously.

I held the package to my ear and shook it carefully. "Are you going to tell me what's in there?"

"These are two pacifiers," she then revealed her secret. "One in pink and one in blue. You still don't know what it's going to be this time. And so it's for both genders."

"How... I mean... when did you...?" I stammered, but I couldn't get any further.

"You mean, when I put it together? Just a few days ago. Well, actually it was the idea of Peyton and Haley," she confessed. "They said that it would be nicer if Julian had something to unpack while you tell him the big news."

"What would have happened if you had packed this up in vain?" I asked slowly.

"Haley was one hundred percent sure that you're pregnant again after you nearly vomited after eating her cookies." She grinned. "And she was right, wasn't she?"

I nodded uneasily and stared at the package. "Okay, I'll thank her later," I said quietly. "Now I have to go to Julian."

"Good luck!"

I was pretty nervous when I arrived on the set. I had put the package in my pocket and was now thinking about what I could say while giving it to him. It was just before end of work, and the last crew members finished and packed their things together. I looked around, but I couldn't find Julian anywhere. Suddenly Tom crossed my path.

"Hey Brooke! How are you?" He asked smiling.

I frowned in confusion. "Good. Thanks for asking. And what about you?" As he approached me and bent towards me, I backed away a bit.

"I mean, it's not official yet, but may I say 'Congratulations'?" He whispered in my ear.

I looked at him, stunned. "For what?" I asked unnecessarily, because of course I knew what he was referring to. Wasn't there anyone here who didn't know about my pregnancy? That was scary. "How do you know?" I whispered back.

"Sylvia hinted at it the last time I was there to pick up Justin," he confessed. "But don't worry, I haven't told anyone yet." He pointed to the back. "You're here to make it official, right?" He asked with a grin.

I nodded, perplexed. "But maybe this is a bad time," I decided spontaneously and turned away to leave.

"Brooke?!"

Slowly, I closed my eyes and turned in the direction the voice had come from. "Julian..." Nervously, I smiled at him. My knees felt soft and my brain was empty. I didn't even know what I wanted here. I only vaguely noticed how Tom patted me on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Okay, I'll leave you two alone then", he said with a grin and then went on towards the exit.

"Brooke, what are you doing here? Did something happen?"

It seemed like I suddenly had lost my voice too. Nervously, I fumbled at my bag and then took out the small package. I noticed him frowning at me and quickly handed him my gift. "That... that's for you," I stuttered, waiting tensely for his reaction. I could almost see what he was feeling at the moment he unpacked it.

"Oh no! Not twins again!" He gasped.

He turned pale and looked at me with a shocked expression. What a macabre misunderstanding! But of course he had to assume that it was twins again with two pacifiers. "No, not twins," I tried to reassure him. "I haven't even been to the doctor. I did the test just a few hours ago. And it turned out positive." I looked at him shyly. "Are you happy about it?" I asked softly.

As he lifted me up and laughed, I knew it was the right decision to take that risk again. And with a little luck my wish would be fulfilled. When he put me down, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. For a while we just hugged and kissed each other until Julian took a step back.

"How much time do we have?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Until the birth," he specified. "Well, I don't mean exactly the date, just a rough time frame."

I considered. "Well, if all goes well this time then maybe six or seven months?"

"That's enough." He nodded firmly.

"For what?" I didn't understand his remark until he kneeled in front of me. With my eyes wide open, I stared down at him, waiting nervously for what he would say.

"Will you marry me again, Brooke Davis Baker? This time in church with all our friends and families?"

I didn't have to think about it, because that would fulfill my second wish. "I love you and I want nothing more than to marry you again!" I blurted and then wrapped my arms around his neck again and kissed him. When the lights suddenly went out, we pulled away and laughed.

"I think that's the sign that we should go home," Julian smirked.

"Yes, let's go home and tell everyone what's going to happen next at the Baker house," I said with a smile and snuggled up to him. He put his arm around my waist and together we left the set.