A/N: I know...Updating like crazy. What can I say? This story is making me smile, and the more I write of it, the quicker I want to post.

----

Just over a week had passed since they argument and ensuing agreement. They hadn't talked about it since then, but there was no need. Peyton, the business woman that she was, had secretly crunched some numbers just to ensure they would be secure, financially, and everything looked great. Lucas' book was about to hit shelves, so that meant more money coming in, and she was about to release a new album for one of her artists. Also, being her own boss, she decided that she wouldn't need to take a long maternity leave if she didn't want to. She hadn't told Lucas she'd done any of this, but she didn't have to. She just needed to know for herself that everything would be OK.

Lucas was at the River Court with Nathan, and it was the first time they'd been alone to talk all week long, since Haley's concerns surfaced. Nathan had had enough of his wife's questioning, and decided that he'd at least ask Lucas if everything was OK with him and Peyton.

"So, Haley said Peyton was acting a little weird last week. And I know you were acting weird. So what's the deal?" Nathan asked as they took a break from their game.

"Everything's fine," Lucas simply said.

"OK, now it's fine. But what was going on? She said Peyton left work early, and you were a zombie last Friday," Nathan pointed out.

"Right, well. We just...um..." Lucas' voice trailed as his eyes found his brother's. "We had a bit of a scare, if you can call it that."

"Oh," Nathan managed to say.

"Yeah. It was a little intense for a bit there," said the blonde.

"I bet. So she's not?" Nathan asked delicately.

"No, not now," Lucas answered, taking a sip from his bottle of water.

"What do you mean 'not now'?" There was concern in Nathan's voice that something bad had happened, but Lucas shook his head reassuringly.

"We just talked about it, you know? After we found out she wasn't pregnant, we both were a little disappointed," Lucas admitted, looking to his brother and trying to read his face. Surprise was the clear emotion.

"Wow," Nathan said, with a smile and a nod. He was happy for his brother and his best friend. They deserved all the happiness they could grasp, and this would surely make them happy. He knew they'd both be great parents.

"Yeah. So after the book tour, we're going to start trying." Lucas was beaming. He hadn't said it aloud to anyone other than Peyton the night they first talked about it, and it made it even more real to admit it to someone, especially his brother.

"That's awesome, man!" Nathan said, standing and pulling his brother into a manly hug. "Haley's going to go nuts."

"Oh shit!" Lucas exclaimed, covering his mouth with his hand. "I wasn't supposed to say anything! She's insisting we don't tell people."

Nathan laughed. His brother was whipped. But then again, so was he. "Look, if Haley asks me flat out, I can't lie to her. But I won't say anything unless she does."

"Thanks," Lucas said, grabbing the ball and shooting from the sidelines. "Now let's play before your back starts to hurt or I can't play any more on account of my heart."

"Dude, we're not even 25. Don't make us sound so old," Nathan said with a laugh, grabbing the ball from his brother.

----

After finishing his session with Lucas, Nathan was scheduled to stop and see Peyton at her office for coffee. He wasn't really sure how to act around her, now that he was one of three people, her included, who knew about this huge piece of news. So he tried his best to act normal, but when he didn't catch onto a few of her jokes, she knew something was off.

"What's up with you, Nate? You're acting weird," she inquired from her place at the large desk in her office.

"Nothing! Just thinking, that's all," he tried. She cocked an eyebrow and he knew he had been found out.

"I can tell when you're lying, Nathan, that's why I was pissed at you for 90 per cent of our entire relationship," she pointed out, only half-joking. "What?"

"I just...I talked to Lucas today," he admitted, hoping she'd catch on without him having to come out and admit what he knew.

"OK. And?" she asked, confusion on her face.

"And he told me about your guys' plans," he said quietly, knowing he'd just gotten Lucas, and possibly himself, in a lot of trouble.

"Oh," she mumbled. "Right."

"Peyton, I think it's awesome," he said, leaning forward and smiling at his best friend and sister-in-law.

"Thanks, Nathan. That means a lot," she offered sincerely. "Doesn't change the fact that I'm going to kill your brother, so the plan might not work out."

"Oh, come on," he said, tilting his head slightly. "You can't expect him to keep that to himself. You know him."

"Yeah, I know him," she admitted, looking to the paper cup in her hands. Maybe it had been too much to ask that he not tell anyone. But she had still asked, and he hadn't done it.

Nathan stood from where he was and walked around the desk. "Get up," he ordered.

"What?" she asked as she rose from her chair. He wrapped his arms around her and she reciprocated.

"I'm happy for you, Sawyer," he said. He still called her by the nickname he'd given her in high school, even though it wasn't her legal last name any more. "Me and Haley are here for you if you need anything at all, OK? Anything."

"OK Nate. Thanks," she said, pulling back from him and offering a genuine smile. He was rarely this sentimental with her, and she knew it was because this announcement, though there was really nothing to announce yet, changed things.

----

"Lucas Eugene!" she shouted, bursting through the door of their house. He cringed as he heard her slam the door behind her, and timidly looked over at her from where he was sitting in a wing back chair with his laptop resting on his knees.

"What are you middle naming me for?" he asked, taking in the irritated look on her face. He immediately regretted his decision to ask the question when he saw the familiar fury in her eyes.

This was not going to be a fun conversation.

"I can't believe you!" she shouted, still standing closer to the door than she was to him. The confusion on his face must have been all too evident, because she continued speaking without him saying a word. "You told Nathan!"

"Peyton, he's my brother," Lucas said calmly in defense of his actions.

"And I told you not to say anything! I specifically asked you to keep your stupid mouth shut!" she shouted at him, now walking towards him but leaving the coffee table between them as she stood in front of the couch.

"He asked me what was going on last week and didn't buy that it was nothing. I couldn't lie," he said, placing his computer on the table that was separating them.

"Well now he knows and got all weird around me!" she said, raising her hands in defeat.

"What do you mean weird?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head, trying to hide his smile.

"He was treating me like I'm some fragile little girl who's going to cry any second! You know, Luke, you don't always have to tell everyone everything!" She hoped he wouldn't counter her exaggeration and prove that it was one. He stood and walked around the coffee table so he was only a few feet from where she was standing.

"You look hot when you're mad," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Lucas!" she shouted angrily. "I am serious!"

"So am I," he said in a lusty growl and moved closer to her. "I should piss you off more often if it gets you acting like this."

"Stop it," she demanded, realizing the red in her cheeks was now being caused by both anger and these comments.

"Come on, baby. You know you can't stay mad at me," he said, placing his hands on her hips.

"Lucas, I am mad. And you're not even apologizing!" she stated, irritation evident in her voice. She did her best to ignore the sensation of his thumbs moving in slow circles on her hips.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear as he kissed the hinge of her jaw. She closed her eyes, getting caught up in him momentarily, before remembering they were mid-argument.

"Not going to work," she said defiantly, pressing her hands against his chest. "You can't just kiss me and make it better, Luke!"

"Kissing always makes it better," he replied with a grin.

"OK, Do you need a cold shower or something?" she asked with irritation in her voice, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to break on her lips. Her resolve was wearing thin at his confident advances.

"That depends," he said, looping his thumbs through her belt loops and pulling her towards him. "Are you going to join me?"

"I'll tell you what," she started, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You give me an actual apology, and I'll think about maybe doing something for you."

"Like what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in lustful curiosity.

"Depends on how genuine your words are," she said coldly, stepping away from him as he sighed.

"OK, I'm sorry I talked to Nathan. But I don't tell everyone everything. Just...he's our family and I had to talk to someone," he admitted with a sheepish grin.

"You could have talked to me," she said sadly. She wanted them to be able to share everything, and she wasn't sure why he hadn't just told her what was on his mind. She realized, as he probably did, that that was her reason for being so mad.

"I did talk to you, baby. Nate just gives me a different perspective, that's all." He looked to the floor as he spoke. "No one ever understands me like you do."

She smiled at his quiet admittance and pressed her lips to his. That was what she'd wanted to hear. She wanted him to tell her that he only needed her. She hadn't told Brooke or Haley about their 'scare' or their plans, and he knew as much. She didn't need anyone else to know but him, because she knew that his advice and sentiment was more than enough.

"So," he said as they pulled apart, "what are you going to do for me?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You'll find out later," she said quickly and turned towards the door. "I just came home to yell at you. I have to go meet Haley for coffee."

"You are a cruel, cruel woman!" he said shaking his head. She stopped in her tracks and walked back to him. She kissed him hard on the mouth, and placed her hands beneath his shirt and ran them up his stomach, feeling the muscles tighten under her touch.

"I was kidding," she said with a shrug as she pulled away, in response to the confused look on his face.

"Cruel," he repeated before capturing her lips with his.

----

They lay in bed and joked that it wasn't even dinnertime and they were tangled in their sheets.

"Nathan was right. The best part about fighting with you is making up with you." He kissed her bare shoulder as her back was to his chest

"Please tell me that you two do not talk about me like that!" She spun her head around to look at him.

"Well apparently, we're not allowed to talk about you at all," he teased, earning him a playful slap to the cheek.

"Why don't you go make me dinner before your mouth gets you into more trouble?" she said, stifling a laugh.

"What do you feel like?" he asked, kissing the back of her neck and brushing her hair to the side with his hand. She shivered at the contact; he always knew just where to touch her.

"OK, that's not the kind of trouble I thought it would get you into," she muttered, turning to face him.

"What?" he asked in mock innocence and she raised an eyebrow at him. "OK, OK. What would you like for dinner?"

"Mmm...French toast," she insisted.

"You want French toast for dinner," he stated, looking at her questioningly and she nodded. He could only shake his head. "You are quite a woman."

He rose from the bed and pulled on a pair of flannel pants. She watched him as he retreated to the kitchen, his torso still tanned from the summer months, and was overcome with love for everything about him. She got out of their bed and pulled the shirt he'd been wearing over her arms and buttoned it before walking into the kitchen. She leaned against the doorway and watched as he broke eggs into a bowl, granting her request for breakfast for dinner.

"I love you, you know that?" she said from where she was standing. He turned and smiled at her, and she walked towards him to wrap her arms around his body.

"Yeah, but I never get tired of hearing it," he said, kissing her temple.

"Sorry I went a little crazy earlier," she said, pulling away to free his hands so he could return to cooking.

"Sorry I made you a little crazy earlier," he said with a laugh.

They were halfway through their dinner, complete with fresh strawberries and maple syrup, when Brook came walking through the door into the kitchen, catching them mid-laugh.

"OK...post-coital French toast," she stated. "You married people are weird."

"Don't say post-coital, Brooke," Peyton warned with a smile.

"Please! He's half naked and you're wearing his shirt," she said, pointing to the now blushing couple as they glanced at each other.

"What can we do for you, Brooke?" Lucas asked, dropping his hand to his wife's bare thigh. As soon as he'd done it, it wished he hadn't, because all he wanted was to feel more of her, and the presence of a feisty brunette in their house was standing in the way of that.

"I am going out with Antwon tonight and I need to know if this outfit is OK," she said embarrassedly, spinning in her place to show off her dress.

"You drove all the way over here to get our opinion on a dress?" Lucas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not yours!" she argued, then pointed to Peyton. "Hers!"

"Brooke, you look amazing," Peyton confirmed.

"You do. And don't be so nervous. It's just Skills," Lucas added. He shrugged and tossed a strawberry into his mouth nonchalantly.

"OK first of all, this is the first real date I've been on in...so long you don't even want to know. Second of all, I just want to look good," she admitted quietly.

"Trust me, Brooke, he will think you look good," Peyton confirmed. "Now go!"

"Fine!" Brooke said, exasperated, heading back towards the door. "I'll let you two get back to whatever boring things married people do."

"Jealous!" Peyton teased.

"Yeah, a little," Brooke said with a smile, then pulled the door open.

"Good luck," Lucas said and she raised her hand before in acknowledgment before closing the door behind her. He turned back to Peyton and shook his head. "Skills doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"Not a clue," she laughed.

----

"Hales!" Nathan shouted as he walked through the front door of his home. "Haley!"

"Hi," she said calmly, walking from the kitchen to greet him with a kiss.

"You'll never guess what I just saw," he said, the grin on his lips telling her it was something she definitely wanted to hear.

"What?" she asked as she walked back to the kitchen to finish preparing their dinner.

"Skills and Brooke on a date," he said. He picked a raw carrot off the cutting board between them and tossed it in his mouth.

"Oh really?!" she asked.

"Yup. I saw them going into The Waterside." He smiled in response to the look of happiness on his wife's face.

"Pretty fancy place," she stated, wiggling her eyebrows and making him laugh.

"Where's James?" Nathan asked, turning to the fridge to grab a beer. It was later than they usually ate, but his training session was bumped from its regular time.

"He's at nanny Deb's for the night," she said, her eyes meeting his again.

"Is that right?" he asked, walking behind his wife and wrapping his arms around her mid section. "What are we going to do in this big, quiet house all alone?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something," she said nonchalantly as he kissed her neck.

"So is this some sort of romantic dinner you're making for me?" he asked, leaning back against the counter behind them and unabashedly checking out his wife.

"It's whatever kind of dinner you want it to be," she said seductively, turning to him as they both started laughing. "Hey, so did you talk to Lucas today?"

"Uh, yeah I did," he said, taking a sip of his beer. "Everything's good."

"You'd tell me if something was going on, right?"

"Of course, Hales," he said, but his eyes wouldn't meet hers. He knew he'd been found out when she tilted her head slightly and glared at him.

"What aren't you telling me. Is Peyton pregnant?" she asked, her tone completely serious. He just about choked on the amber liquid that was in his mouth. "She is! I knew it!"

"No. She's not," he insisted, shaking his head vehemently.

"Then what brought on that reaction?" she asked accusingly. "What aren't you telling me, Nathan?"

"I promised not to say anything," he said shamefully. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "But I also said that if you asked, I wouldn't lie."

Haley smiled at her husband. She knew he couldn't lie to her, and he knew that if he did, he'd wish he hadn't. "So what's going on?" she asked calmly, folding her arms across her chest.

"They thought they might be," he started, and her eyes widened again. "They aren't, but they're going to start trying when he comes back from his tour."

"Nathan!" She shouted, flying into his arms, making him laugh at her enthusiasm. "That's amazing!"

"I know it is," he agreed. "But I said I wouldn't say anything, so you can't let on you know anything, not that there's really anything to know."

"OK," she said, pulling away from him, but her smile not fading.

"I am serious, Haley James, not a word to either of them. I think I already got him in trouble because Peyton found out I know."

"My lips are sealed!" she insisted.

She turned back to the meal she was preparing and he stood there looking at her for a few minutes, neither of them saying a word. She was everything to him - her and their son. She'd changed his life in a way he was so thankful for. She had given him everything he had: love, family, their son, a sense of home. She accepted him for what he was, and he wanted to be the best version of himself and do right by her. She was his wife, and he would never get sick of calling her that.

"You ever think about having another one?" he finally asked.

"Sometimes," she said. She turned back to him and smiled. "I know we will."

"I know. But when?" he asked.

It was always a given that they'd have another child, but they hadn't talked about it. They had school, then Nathan's accident, then her working; there were just always things that came up. Life happened, and they'd never discussed it.

"If I didn't know any better, Nathan, I'd say you were asking me if I wanted to have another one right now."

"What if I am?" he asked slyly.

"You just want another boy so you can teach them to battle each other on the court," she teased.

"No," he countered with a smirk. He walked towards her and placed his hands on her hips. "A little girl. Just like her mother."

"You remember that?" she asked with a quiet smile on her lips.

"Of course I do," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead as she looked up at him.

"Are you serious about this?" she asked.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I mean, Jamie's not a baby any more, we are secure financially, our marriage has never been better, our family is around..."

"Well then let's talk about it," she said with a smile. She kissed him lightly. "Now go sit down and let's have this romantic dinner."

----

Brooke and Skills sat at the secluded table he'd requested for them at the restaurant he'd taken her to. It was cool enough outside that the fireplace in the centre of the room harboured a flame, and it cast warmth and light their way. She'd chosen the wine for the evening, and he smiled when he watched her take the first sip and nod approvingly at the waiter to continue pouring. She was powerful and obviously from a different world than he was, but he never felt like she was trying. He saw her as the girl he'd gone to high school with. The girl who used to tag along with Mouth or Lucas and watch the boys play at the River Court. He saw her as she was before she started her company - the girl she still was beneath the headlines and business meetings.

"You know what's weird?" she said as they shared a dessert.

"What's that?" he asked.

"This isn't weird," she stated with a smile.

"No, it's not," he agreed. "It's just comfortable."

"Exactly." She delicately put another forkful of the rich chocolate in her mouth. "You're a great guy, Antwon."

"Is there a 'but' after that?" he asked innocently enough.

"No!" she insisted, flashing him a dimpled grin. "I was just pointing it out."

"Good," he said with a smile. "Then you would be into taking a walk with me after this?"

"Sure. The night is young," she said coyly.

Maybe she'd turned the right corner this time.