AN: Thanks to my reviewers Dianehermans, Sandygirl and Mariposa101. There is only two chapters left in this fic, and, for those readers out there who are still reading it, thanks. It's been fun writing it. As usual, I don't own anything related to OTH.

Chapter 17

I wait for him at the baggage claim carousel at Charles de Gaulle. I've been in Paris for five days, but it's been a whirlwind of shows, receptions, meals and deals. The CoB show was a great success, and I've already secured two new retail contracts. Victoria was supposed to be in Paris with me, but I've barely seen her since the stockholder's meeting. I'm not sure if CoB has a CEO, or even if I still have a mother. I decided to give her until I come back before I confront her. Now my agenda is cleared. Lucas will be here for two nights, and I fully intend to make the most of it.

He comes down an escalator dragging a little carry on and a suit bag. He is wearing tan slacks, my favorite light blue shirt and converse sneakers. A little crumpled, but looking rested, happy and good enough to eat. He looks into my eyes and my heart tumbles a bit.

"Hey, Pretty Girl. Fancy meeting you here."

I stand five inches from him, eyes locked. I grab his shirt I give a deep sniff, catching his slightly sweaty smell. I pass the tip of my tongue slowly across my lips and whisper. "Hey, handsome."

He bends down and gives me the sweetest slow kiss, putting his free hand behind my neck. We open our mouths and deepen it a bit, tongues touching and enjoying each other's taste. I can taste toothpaste and coffee. It's a reasonably chaste kiss, but we do get a few envious looks from men and women around us. My knees feel a little wobbly when we pull apart.

I take a second to regain my balance. "Do you have any luggage?"

"Just this stuff."

"We have a car for the weekend. Just follow me."

I walk a little ahead of him, swaying a bit, and I can feel his eyes on my ass and legs. I'm wearing a short dark green velvet dress, tight hugging, black hosiery and four inches Manolos. I smile as I think of his eyes darkening with desire.

"This dress is new."

"It's a Valentino. Bought it yesterday."

"Looks amazing on you."

"Thank you, fiancee. I was thinking of you when I bought it."

I stop at the car. It's a bright red 68 Alpha Romeo Spider, a convertible two-seater in perfect condition. I know how much my boy likes his vintage cars.

"Wow! That's something else, Pretty Girl. Almost as sexy as you are."

"I offer him the keys. Take us for a ride?"

"Straight to the hotel. I gotta check out what you're wearing under that dress.."

I pick up his hand and drag it along my thighs, ending right between my legs. He caresses me a bit, and I give a soft moan. I'm already sopping wet, and I'm not wearing anything under the dress. He licks his wet fingers, looking straight at me.

"Hmm. So good. I can see you missed me."

I stare at the bulge in his pants. "You missed me too."

We have a suite at the Renaissance Arc de Triomphe, and we begin right at the white leather sofa, where I pull the dress up, kneel with my legs apart, and arch my back, so he can take me from behind. Next we undress and go to the huge canopied bed, cuddle and make out for a while and start again, first with our mouths and tongues, and then with me straddling him, caressing my breasts while he stares into my eyes, and I slowly ride him until we both find release a second time. We then take a long soak in the double-sized bathtub, washing each other, and finally doing it a third time.

I finish dressing up, nothing fancy, black skinny jeans, silk long sleeve white blouse, a deep burgundy bolero and ballet shoes and go to the living room. My usual post-coital silly grin stamped in my face.

"Now, that is one very satisfied Brooke."

I don't dignify that with an answer. He already thinks highly of himself. But nobody ever did me so thoroughly and so well. And I don't mean today, I mean every damn time. Instead, I give him a sweet thank you kiss. "It's a beautiful day. Take a jacket, cause our first stop is the Eiffel Tower, and it's pretty cold up there."

"You know, now I wish I'd brought our son. He would have loved this thing."

"We'll come back with him." We look at the view. It's kind of fun, looking at the city from above, but for me, the best part of the ride is the Tower itself. A gigantic, totally pointless structure built just for the heck of it.

"There's a kind of chutzpah to it that I really admire."

Lucas laughs. "I see what you mean. I also get it that it would resonate with you. Personally, I can't relate to the kind of ambitious spirit that built this thing, except to the extent that I recognize the kinship with you. I just find it exceedingly cool. I thank the gods for the crazy megalomaniacs that would build such an amazing thing, and leave it around for us pedestrian souls to enjoy it."

"There is absolutely nothing pedestrian about your soul, writer boy. You work with words, and with the motion of a ball, not iron, or cloth, but you're a big dreamer, just like Monsieur Eiffel. I'm dying to see what you make of your life, Broody."

"A lot of my dreams came true already. Publish a novel, win at basketball, making you mine and being a parent with you. I have only one big dream left."

"What is it?"

"Making you happy for the rest of your life."

I blink away tears. "You're pretty good at that."

"What about you? How do you see where you stand?"

"I've also fulfilled both my big life ambitions, building my own successful fashion line and having a family with you. What I want to know is where we go from here. Were do se see ourselves twenty years from now?"

"Holding our first grandchild?"

"Oh, crap! I hadn't thought of that. If he follows on his godparents footsteps, we'll be grandparents at thirty-two!"

We both laugh hard at the idea. "Seriously, fiancee. Power couple, Summers on the beach, winters in the south of France, you coaching little league, picket fence, two boys and a girl... "

"It's all within reach, isn't it?"

"Yes. Let's start with basics. I want to continue to do fashion design, for as long as I can lift a pencil."

"I want... no. I need to write. It's how I process things. I'm never going to stop doing it. What about running the business side of your company?"

"I definitely want to finish what I started, take this expansion of CoB to solid ground. That means staying in New York for another three-to-five years. Having said that, I want to build a really good team around myself, so I can dedicate serious time to our family."

"The big question for me is basketball. What do I want with it? I'll tell you one thing. I have very little interest in coaching professional basketball."

"Why?"

"The one thing I enjoy most about coaching, aside from the game itself, is helping young people find themselves, inside and outside the court. Pro ball is big business. I don't like what the money does to the sport. I'd like to coach either college or high school."

"Which one?"

"If it's not Tree Hill High, I prefer college."

"So, aim for college coaching in New York for the next few years, and continue writing."

"That sounds reasonable. In five years, Pitts will be ten. He will be a New Yorker down to the bone. Do you think we will want to uproot him? New York is an incredible place to be a teenager."

"So, you see our family staying in New York for good?"

"Yes, I guess."

"What about the penthouse? I have an option to buy it back in a year. Should we keep it, or should we look for a different, more family-style place?"

"I love the penthouse, but, if we ever get our three children, I'd prefer a different kind of place."

"I agree with you. It's a great place for now, even with Pitts, but we might want something different. We'll begin househunting when you move to New York."

"Lindsay is beginning to negotiate with NYU for my transference to New York next year. The English department wants me as a student and as a part time lecturer. You know, I might be able to aim for the position of head coach of their girl team. The guy doing it now is really old, and he hasn't been getting good results."

I pout. "You'd be in charge of a bunch of gorgeous girl-athletes about our age?"

"Yes. You said once you'd trust me with a bunch of top models..."

"Knowing you, I find college student girl athletes a lot more threatening."

I laugh. "They are not cheerleaders. But, most important, none of them would be you."

I smile. "Good point."

We arrive at JFK Monday morning. It was a great little holiday, even counting a few hours spent at a police station for "public indecency". Now Lucas is catching a connection to North Carolina, and I'm going to begin the task of organizing my new empire.

"I'll be there of Friday night, fiancee."

"We'll pick you up. It was a great weekend, Pretty Girl."

"Yes it was. Give the Scotts a big hug, and a special kiss to my little Broody."

"Will do. Good luck, and call me."

"You too."

We share a nice goodbye kiss, and go our separate ways. First order of business is locating my mother. I call her cell and get voicemail.

"Good morning, Miss Davis."

"Hi, Miranda. Is there anything in the agenda?"

"No, m'am. But there are a lot of messages."

"Anything from my mother?"

"No, m'am."

"All right, let's start with Rebecca, Max and then CoB finance. Also, set up a meeting of the holding's top executives after lunch. Are there any messages from the realtors?"

"Yes m'am. They have something they want to show you."

"Set it up for before lunch today. And try to locate my mother, please."

I went through the meetings, acting both as CoB and the Holding's CEO. Luckily there were no fires at CoB, so I could focus more on the job at hand, the structuring of the holding and of its new daughter companies. Fortunately, quite a few things were already in place, just waiting for funding to get started. We should be releasing our first line of cosmetics and fragrances in a month, and the first issue of B. Davis should come out a couple of weeks after that. The realtors had found a couple of floors in a building in Fifth avenue, which would do for our corporate headquarters for the time being, it the owner liked our counteroffer. Also, I set up an interview for Pitts at Holy Cross the following Monday.

I got back home at seven, dreaming of a long soak and a phone call with my boys. The elevator door opens at my floor to reveal Mother, in her usual high-powered-bitch style.

"Mother"

I let my anger at her show in my eyes, and she stiffens in response. "Brooke."

"Do you have a minute?"

"I'm already late to an appointment. Can it wait?"

"I have one question for you. Are you interested and willing to work for me, as CEO of Clothes over Bros?"

I can nearly see the negative dancing in her tongue. She is proud and stubborn. But she is also a smart woman, and she enjoys the attention that comes with an important job in the fashion world. She deflates a bit, and lowers her eyes to the ground, whispering. "Yes."

I give her the little predatory smile I reserve for my adversaries. "Then be in my office tomorrow at nine."

"Very well, Brooke. I'll be there."

I walk into the penthouse, and see Peyton and Julian eating dinner. "Hey PSawyer, Movieboy, what's up?"

"Hi BDavis! Good to have you back. We're having Thai takeout. Grab a plate, we've just started."

I ponder between my soak and catching up with these two, and friendship wins. Besides, the food smells very nice.

"So, Brooke, how was Paris?"

"Productive and fun until Friday, heavenly after that. We even got arrested for indecent exposure."

Julian looks a little shocked, but Peyton just giggles. "Back to your old ways, BDavies?" She turns to Julian. "Those two would do it everywhere. I mean, everywhere."

"We're young and gorgeous, blondie. We're entitled to a little fun. Besides, I never thought the French would be so uptight."

Julian is clearly intrigued. "I would love to know the details."

I give Julian a wink. "How much detail, Boytoy?"

"Brooke! Will you stop flirting with my boyfriend? You're a mother now. Behave yourself. And you." She points to Julian. "Just put a lid on it!"

Truth be told, in another lifetime, I would love to take Julian for a spin. He's sweet, handsome and he's got this boyish charm... let's just say I get Peyton's attraction. I could conclude that PSawyer and I have similar taste in men, but the truth is Jake does absolutely nothing for me, and I would only do Nathan dead drunk. I also have the impression that Lucas never really rocked her world the way he totally rocks mine. If he did, he would never have left that room in Dan's beach house with his virginity. I wonder, for the millionth time, what would our lives look like if she hadn't let him slip away that night.

"Hey! Broody Brooke?"

I come back to the real world. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just spaced out."

Peyton gives me a sharp look. "I'd pay good money to know what you were thinking just now."

I smile. "Several things. But I'll tell you the last one. I'm sure you've thought about it as much as I have. I was wondering how our lives would have changed if you hadn't let Lucas slip away that night at Dan's beach house."

Peyton gives one of her rare sunny smiles. "I've thought about it all right. Wanna know my current guess? The two of you would have ended up together anyways."

"That's my guess too."

Julian looks clearly surprised by the exchange. "Now, that's what I call closure, guys."

Now it's our turn to be surprised by Julian's keen observation. "I think you're right, Movieboy. The triangle from hell was a painful part of our lives for a long time, and Peyton and I have finally come to terms with it."

"I totally agree, BDavis. Oh, I was forgetting. We're moving away next week."

"You're going to Tree Hill?"

"That's right."

"When do you start shooting?"

"Probably in six months. We'll need Lucas input fairly often, before and after that."

"Just arrange it with him. After the NCAA finals in April, he should be reasonably available. He will be here with Pitts on Saturday night." I was planning to go to North Carolina this weekend, but since Pitts needs to be here on Monday, we will have to switch things around.

Julian exchanges a glance with Peyton, and turns to me. "We would like to invite the three of you to go out for dinner with us on Sunday. Just a small thank you for everything you've done, and a little farewell."

"Oh, it will be a pleasure. Thanks, guys. Just please, make it six thirty at the latest. I want Pitts well rested on Monday for his school interview." They want us there at eight.

"Oh god, BDavis. That was so seriously motherly."

I blush, pleased. "I'm working on it, Goldilocks." Damn, I miss my boys.

"Hi, Pretty Girl."

"Hi, Fiancee. How was your day?"

"Great, except I'm really missing my girl." A sound of steps in the background and a thin, precise, beloved voice..

"Is that mom?"

"Yup."

"Hi, mom. I miss you. Thanks for the gifts. I liked the coloring book very much."

"I thought you'd like that. I miss you too, angel."

"When are you coming?"

"This time I think you guys are coming here."

"Great! Can we go to the Zoo this time?"

"Sure. Anything else?"

"Can we go see gramma and grampa?"

"I'll call them and see. A huge kiss, baby boy. Lemme talk to Daddy."

"A humongous kiss to you Mommy. Bye."

"Did I hear it right? We are going there this weekend?"

"I managed to setup an interview for Pitts at Holy Cross Monday morning. I thought you guys might just come after the game and stay over Monday."

"That's fine. The news here is that, one afternoon during our trip, Haley caught Pitts trying to play on her keyboard. She sat with him, and taught him a song. She says he has excellent ear and seems to have some affinity with the keyboard, so she started teaching him."

"Wow! Can I hear him play?"

"I think so. Pitts. Can you play a song for mommy?" Lucas puts the phone on speaker.

"Sure." There is a pause, some scraping sounds and the melody of Itsy Bitsy Spider."

"Wow, angel. That was so nice."

"Thanks, mom."

I hear Haley's voice from a little farther. "He's a natural, Tigger."

"Thanks, Tutormom." .

"It's my pleasure. I hope I'll get the same interest from Jamie. Right now, he just loves to watch Pitts play."

Lucas picks up the phone and disconnects the speaker. "So, what about you, aside from Holy Cross, any news?"

"Peyton and Julian are moving to Tree Hill next week. They invited us to go out for dinner next Sunday."

"That's good, I guess. I'll miss them, though."

"You'll probably stay in touch during the shooting."

"I guess. What about Victoria?"

"I just saw her for fifteen seconds an hour ago. She's accepted the CEO position, reluctantly. I'm not sure about the rest."

"I don't think she was just playing us."

"I don't think so either, but she's going to have to come out and say it. I have a business meeting with her at nine tomorrow. Maybe she'll clarify things then."

"All right, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too, fiancee. Bye."

"Miss Davis."

"Miranda?"

"Ms Davis is here."

"Send her in."

"Good morning, mother."

"Good morning, Brooke."

"We have a very large agenda to cover right now. The highlights are the results from Paris, Getting you up to speed on the Holding, transferring the management of CoB to you and going over what's happening in the near future. But, before we get started, there is a few things to get out of the way."

She straightens her back and stares at me. "What are those things?"

"First, are you ready to commit yourself to this job, after what happened at the stockholders meeting?"

"You mean, can I get past you and Lucas handing me my ass at my own game?"

"Yes."

She sighs. "It's hard. The idea of a nineteen-year-old child, no matter how brilliant, in charge of a major corporation scares me. I'm afraid that through ingenuity or inexperience, you may still lose everything."

"And that is why you tried to take it away from me. Despite the damage that might do to our personal relationship."

"You have to separate personal and professional, Brooke. You're my daughter, and I know how badly I failed you as your mother. But, when it comes to work, I still need to do what is best for business."

"The position of CEO of Clothes over Bros is critical. I need someone whose competence and dedication I can trust for that position. I trust your competence, but I don't need a power struggle with my most important subordinate. So, I ask again, are you ready to commit yourself to work for me in that capacity?"

"What I need is to forget that you are my daughter, and a nineteen-year-old with a complicated personal life, and see you as the brilliant businesswoman that you have proven to be. I'm not sure. All I can say is that I'm willing to try. I need to gain your trust as a subordinate. You need to gain my respect as my boss. But every professional relationship begins from that. Can we establish a productive work relationship? As I said, I'm willing to try."

"Very well, Mother. So am I. We will deal with our personal issues later. Right now, let us deal with what is in front of us."

I wait for my boys at the baggage claim at La Guardia. They see me just as I see them, walking hand-in-hand, Lucas pulling a small suitcase. Pitts drops Lucas hand and runs, jumping into my arms. "Mommy, mommy. I missed you." I hadn't seen him in two weeks, since I went to Paris, and I was missing him like crazy.

"Hi baby boy. I missed you too." As I twirl him around Lucas gets next to us and involves both of us in a bear hug. "Hi Pretty Girl."

"Hey fiancee, father-of-my-child. I so glad you are here. Did you guys have dinner?"

"I gave Pitts a sandwich in the plane, so he should be ok until tomorrow. I'm starving, though."

"Let's go home, tuck one of you and feed the other."

"Excellent plan."

At the limo, I focus on Pitts. "Hey, big boy. How are the piano lessons?"

"Aunt Haley taught me a couple of new songs."

"Pitts spends more than one hour, every day, studying the piano."

"Yeah. Aunt Haley says that, if I want to learn, I need to practice, practice."

What about school?"

"It's cool. I have a best friend."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Her name is Jane. She has black hair like you."

"You're just like daddy. His best friend was a girl too."

"Who was your best friend, daddy?"

"You don't know?"

"No."

"It was Aunt Haley. She is still my best friend."

He thinks a bit. "I thought your best friend was mommy."

"Mommy is my girl. That's more than a best friend."

He thinks some more. "Do you think Jane would want to be my girl?"

"Do you want to kiss her?"

"Eww, no. She has cooties."

"You're too young to be kissing girls anyways."

"Who is your best friend, mommy?"

"Well, I have three best friends. Aunt Peyton was first, then Aunt Haley and Aunt Rachel."

"You don't have a boy best friend?"

"That would be Uncle Nathan."

"Wow." He looks at me. "Who's Aunt Rachel?"

Lucas and I both laugh. "She hasn't been around. But you'll get to know her. She's got red hair and an annoying voice, but I love her very much."

"She is very pretty and very cool. You'll like her."

"Can you show me a picture?"

"I'll show you a whole bunch of pictures in bed before sleep. What about that?"

"Wow. That's great."

As we're getting into the building I recall something. "Hey guys, I just remembered. I have a little surprise for the two of you."

"What, mommy?"

"You will see."

Lucas tells Pitts. "I always like mommy's surprises."

We get into the penthouse, and Pitts asks. "So mommy. Where is the surprise?"

"Go check your room."

"He runs down the corridor, checks out his room, and runs right back."

"Daddy, daddy. Mom bought a piano!"

He looks at me. "You did?" I shrug. "You're a genius, Brooke Davis."

I give him a big smile. "I know."

"Can I play, mommy?"

"Just a little, cause it's very late. Tomorrow you can play as much as you want."

He goes to his room and I hear a hesitant melody. I look at Lucas. "What do you think? A fling or a lifetime passion?"

"It's impossible to tell. Hales is quite impressed with him."

"He is wonderful, fiancee. We're so lucky."

A few minutes later I'm lying in Pitts bed, with him besides me in his pjs, and a picture album between us. He is looking at a picture of the squad, taken during practice. "So, here is you, Aunt Peyton and Aunt Haley."

"This girl, with the red hair. She is Aunt Rachel."

"Wow. She is pretty. You all are. What were you doing?"

"We were cheerleaders."

"And what's that?"

"Daddy and uncle Nathan played basketball."

"I know that. Uncle Nathan still plays, and daddy is Coach."

"Have you seen their games?"

"Yes. I've been to three games."

"Did you notice a bunch of girls with short skirts dancing and jumping at the side?"

"Yes."

"Those are cheerleaders."

"You mean, you, Aunt Peyton and Aunt Haley danced and jumped on the side while daddy and Uncle Nathan were playing?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do that?"

"To help them play better."

He thinks a bit. "Did it work?"

"Maybe. They won a lot."

We keep looking at pictures, and I tell him about the people in the pictures. He stops at a picture of Lucas sitting on a large leather chair, with me on his lap. He is holding me, and we are both looking at the camera, looking very happy. The picture was taken at Rachel's cabin, and it's one of my favorites.

"Mommy, can I have that picture? You and daddy look so happy."

"I'll have two copies made, and you can keep one in your room here, and take one for your other room."

"Thanks."

"Let's continue this tomorrow. Time to say goodnight."

"Goodnight, mommy."

"Goodnight, angel."