Brooke held Haley's hand as if she was just learning how to walk. She needed that extra pull though, because it was not something she was going to do willingly. She had to get Haley's mind off of the present, however, maybe it would be the best to remember the past – four years, rather than four month's past, "What was the happiest day of your life?"

Haley knew where Brooke was taking this, after all she was a smart girl, but for the moment Haley was going to go with it, "Graduation day. Who would have thought that after all the drama surrounding my speech, I wouldn't even get to complete it all? I never knew I could love someone within seconds of meeting him, but when Jamie was in my arms, I knew it would be my forever love," she was just trying to reminisce on that day, it was pure happiness. She missed pure happiness.

"I remember, you were like, 'I have more, but I think my water just broke,'" she hoped that it would get a smile out of Haley.

"It was a good speech too, but Jamie was worth missing every word."

"He was adorable," she was trying to remember that day as well.

"What about you," Haley asked, surprising Brooke, she wasn't expecting it, and she didn't know her answer. Happiness didn't come easily to Brooke.

"My favorite day?"

"Yeah, don't you have an answer to that? I mean you have one for everything else," Haley's comment struck Brooke hard, but she let the harshness slide because she understood that Haley was vulnerable.

Before Brooke even had a chance to answer, Haley reneged her retort, "I am so sorry, Brooke, you did not deserve that at all."

"Stop apologizing, you are upset, your reactions are off."

"You are just trying to help me, and I am scared, that's all."

Brooke used this opportunity to avoid Haley's question, "What are you so afraid of Haley? What scares you so much?"

"That things are not going to get better. That this is how it is always going to be. That I will miss my little boy growing up because I can't be there for him. I am scared that Nathan will never love me again, and what will I do?" looking to Brooke for some sort of clarity.

"You will move on."

"I can't move on from this, Brooke," she stopped walking and turned towards Brooke, "I don't know how" her heartfelt confession.

"That is why I am here; I am going to help you."

"I don't think this can be fixed over night."

"I didn't intend for that to be the solution."

"Brooke, how long are you going to be here?"

"I don't know yet."

"You have a multi-million dollar company that you need to run; you cannot be in Tree Hill holding onto the past."

"I have been an adult for the past four years; I think it is time that I start being a friend."

"What about your company?"

"What about my friend?"

It was a rhetorical question once more, the duo continued on their walk, it was nice to be in the open air, but in the back of Haley's mind was Nathan, he was always going to be there.

"Can we go to Jamie's school?" broke Nature's silence.

"I think he would like to see his momma," she used the same endearing word as Jamie did when describing Haley.

"Can I please change my clothes though," Haley said indicating her outfit once more.

Brooke didn't think twice, Haley was still in her pajamas, so before showing her face in Jamie's school it would be a good idea, "Yes, but first tell me how the fresh air feels."

"I feel alive."

"And when was the last time you felt this way?"

"I don't remember," three words resonated so much pain, Brooke put her arm around Haley and they walked back to the house.

Lucas ran out of the house as he saw the two returning home, Haley didn't need words to realize what had happened. It was a bad night, Nathan drank a little too much, more than normal, and it was unmanageable. She broke away from Brooke, and ran past Lucas.

Brooke looked at Lucas, "What happened?" obviously concerned with the situation.

"He is so angry, Brooke, I have never seen a person infused with so much of it."

She started running past him, then looking back, "And we just let Haley back into the house?"

"Nathan, Nathan, you have got to calm down," Brooke found Haley trying to tame Nathan's anger, but to no prevail. He was on his feet and he was inches away from Haley.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? What is that going to do? Is that going to bring back my basketball contract? I don't think you realize that everything is gone, and you want me to calm down," he was so close to her that she became drunk from his breath.

"Everything is not gone," it was the first time she had the courage to raise her voice to him. Brooke gave her new strength, but it wasn't enough.

"What the hell do I have left, Haley? Basketball was my life."

"Basketball was a part of your life, it is gone now. You have a beautiful son who misses his father, and Nathan you have me," she said trembling pushing Nathan away from her, pounding her chest where her heart once pattered to Nathan's voice, now it crumbled.

"I don't need you," he screamed at her, and pushed her back. In a normal circumstance it was not enough force to cause someone to fall to the ground. But this was not normal, and Haley was weak, and she was not strong enough to support herself – not today.

That was the final straw for Brooke, she went to Haley's side, and helped her up. Lucas had arrived on the scene and Brooke guided Haley to Lucas. She was ready to talk to Nathan now, "Are you sure about that?"

"Is little miss 'I got everything I ever wanted' going to try and come in here and act like she cares about the situation? Where have you been, Brooke Davis? Far away, and maybe that is where you should return to."

"You have a wife that loves you more than life itself, and she is hurting. You are hurting her, and you do not give a damn. You act like basketball is the only thing important in this world," she had a sense of strength she was never able to obtain when she was in the presence of Victoria, and that was the only person she ever looked weak in front of.

"It is, and it is gone," he got in Brooke's face as he had done with Haley.

"What about your family?"

"I am nothing without basketball."

"You are a coward," this angered Nathan, and he gave Brooke a little shove, but she bounced back up, "I don't know how this normally goes, but I will not take it."

"You cannot walk into my house," he put his hand on his chest, "my house, and talk to me like this."

"How can you talk to Haley the way that you do? Can you answer me that? Look at her, Nathan; can you look her in the eyes? They are filled with pain, and she is scared." She looked over at Haley in Lucas' embrace softly sobbing into his chest.

He couldn't answer Brooke, how could he possibly admit all of his wrong doings in one response. He was angry at the world, and he was angry at Haley for not realizing his disappointment in reality. She was the only one there for him to release to, she was the only one still trying to hold on to the past. But the past was gone, his past was gone, why the hell was she trying to hold onto something that wasn't there?

"Look at her, Nathan, look what you have done to your wife," Brooke was angry now, she didn't understand how Nathan could put Haley through so much and it not even faze him. She couldn't possibly understand. She hadn't been there in the last four years. He was right about something; she wasn't there, how the hell could she come in and try to fix it?

"I am looking at her," he screamed back. It was the first time that he had in the last four months without blaming her. It was the first time that he took in the scene before him. It was the first time he realized what he had done. But it was too late to try and fix things now, wasn't it?

"You have scarred her, and you have scarred your family."

"Stop, just stop it," Haley interrupted Nathan and Brooke's argument, as she pulled away from Lucas' tight protective embrace.

Brooke turned to look, "Haley?"

"Just stop it."

"I am just trying to…"

"I know what you are trying to do, Brooke. But your words cannot fix this, you cannot fix this," she was walking towards Nathan now. "His words cannot fix this either, not today. Why are we trying to fix it all? Everything was okay before you came into my house last night. Everything was okay, and now look at it all."

Was Haley blaming Brooke for the current situation? Brooke thought she was making a breakthrough, but apparently this wasn't the best method for solving the problem. She was right though, Haley was managing the situation yesterday, and now it had resorted to this. "I'm sorry, Haley," she had worsened a situation she thought she could mend. And now her friend was worse off for it. "I should have never have come back, I should have never intruded in your life." Brooke gave everyone in the room a quick glance, and then bolted out of the door.

Brooke had selfishly come home hoping to rid the emotions that Victoria had scrutinized her for having. She thought Tree Hill would be able to heal her. It was unfair to the residents to put her weight on their problems. It was obvious there were more crucial fixings necessary. Hers were minor, and they were livable. Trying to intervene in Haley's was only a way to avoid her own, and it was apparent that neither of them needed that.

She reached her car, and pulled out her cell phone, she needed to get out of Tree Hill as soon as earthly possible. Before she found Millicent's number, the calling of her name stopped her. It was Lucas Scott.

"I shouldn't have come back; I am just going to leave now. Leave everyone to the lives they were living before I interrupted them," again trying to get her assistant's number.

Lucas grabbed her phone before she had the opportunity to get her ticket out of her mistake, "Brooke, you cannot leave."

"You heard Haley, Lucas," she looked up at him and saw a look of concern, why was he concerned for her? There was no need; there was never any need of concern for Brooke. Brooke Davis was stoic.

"Are you really going to leave on account of Haley's words?"

"She is right, Lucas. Everything has worsened since I have arrived. I haven't even been back in Tree Hill for 24 hours and I have already changed everything."

"It hasn't been for the worst, Brooke."

"How can you tell me those lies? Do you see Haley in there? I did that to her," pointing towards the house.

"Nathan did that to her. I have never seen her with such strength, you gave her that courage. She never cries, never lets tears stream her face."

"I gave her a reason to cry."

"Sometimes you just need it, Brooke. She has been keeping it in for so long; do you realize how much relief she has now? She can still fight."

"She shouldn't have to fight."

"I know that. I hate seeing my best friend fight to keep her marriage alive. But it is better to fight than to give into how things have become. She would never be happy with the end result. She will never be happy without Nathan."

"I don't think I could love him after he put me through all of this."

"Some days it is hard to love my brother, but I have to realize that his dream is gone. Have you ever lost anything?"

Yet another question that caught her off guard - why was this turning back to her? This was about Haley now, not her own losses, which had been plenty. It slipped through her lips without a chance to retreat, "I lost you."

It was true; the Brooke and Lucas love story was once epic. But she had to let go of it, even though she would always love him. "I am sorry, Brooke."

She shook her head, "No, I am sorry; I didn't mean to say that. I know that you are in love with Lindsey, and I am so happy for you."

"I do love her, Brooke. But I never stopped loving you."

"You cannot be saying this to me now, Lucas. There are more pertinent things to deal with; you cannot tell me that you still love me."

"Wait, I am not confessing my love to you, I am just telling you that I will always hold onto a little piece of you. I want you to know I will never forget our love."

"What have you lost, Lucas? What have you tried to hold onto, but it just slipped away?"

"I lost Keith, I lost Jimmy. I lost my way a few too many times. And I was a mess, and it took someone to pull me back on the track. Nathan is just a mess right now."

"I don't know how you can give him any credit right now, when Haley, your best friend is in peril."

"Haley is always going to be my number one. I do not care if Nate and I are connected through blood; I have never been a fan of the Scott blood anyways. Haley has been my family long before Nathan came into my life. But she is still holding onto Nathan's love, I cannot push him aside, when my Haley needs Nathan to still be there," he looked at Brooke, "Haley is always first," giving her the extra reassurance.

"And I made things worse for her. She was carrying on in a way that she thought she could handle, and I intervened in a place where I shouldn't."

"Brooke, you said it yourself; the former version of Haley is fading. Without your insight, I think we would not have even noticed her full disappearance. You have helped us all realize that Haley is just holding on."

"She was so angry with me."

"Underneath that anger is her appreciation. She just can't find it yet. Everyone else has allowed her to carry on; no one has ever made her open her eyes to it all."

"Well, I am glad that you think I helped. I did my part then, I will just go back to my real life," she attempted to open the door.

"What about Jamie?" The questions in Tree Hill were so unpredictable. Brooke thought she was home-free, but the mention of Jamie's name changed everything. She looked at Lucas once more, "You told him that his Uncle Lucas was wrong, that you were going to be staying for awhile. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"Lucas, I can't stay for a little boy."

"Why not?" He didn't see any outlandish reason why she couldn't stay. "So many people in his short life have already let him down; please do not be another statistic."

"I have a company to run, Lucas," she was going to try and pull out as many excuses as possible. But she could already tell that Lucas was going to have a counter for each one.

"You are here though."

He was right, she was here, and it was where she thought she needed to be. Going back to New York would just be another way to hide from her reality. It was something she had gotten extremely well at. "I shouldn't be."

"Brooke, it has been four years," as if she needed a reminder, "there has to be a reason you came back," ding, ding, we have a correct answer from Mr. Lucas Scott. He got her, he always had, why did she think he would forget?

Was she to fall for his eyes, like she so easily did when they were in high school? He merited a response, an answer of some sort, but it was not that easy. Yes, she had been away for four years, and missed four years of history here, but no one knew about her history ridden four years in New York. No one knew that a multi-million dollar company did not equal her happiness, what she was living in was anything but bliss.

"There has got to be a reason you came back," he tried again.

"I needed to get away," a portion of the truth was broken off. It wasn't nearly a large portion of the massive mountain she was hauling behind her. But it was the most she had given away – to anyone.

"Then don't run back, Brooke."

"There is so much in New York."

"There is even more here," he was right on the money. He was smart; no wonder he wrote books, he had a way with his words.

The last statement finally won her over, she wasn't going to try anymore excuses, she needed to be here. And so did everyone else. "It cannot be permanent."

"I am not asking you for it to be."

"I am going to find my own place to live."

"As long as you stay, I could care less where you are staying."

Brooke embraced Lucas, it had been too long. She missed those eyes, those kind words, she missed her friend. She missed Lucas, "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

"For what?" accepting her embrace.

"For welcoming me home."

"Don't you forget that."

"Forget what?"

"That this is your home. And you can always come home. No matter how long you are away," he told her letting her go. He missed his friend as well.

"I can promise you though; next time won't be as long."

"Be careful with your words, Brooke. Look where they have gotten us."

"You are right, I hope that next time won't be as long," Lucas was right again, words have changed the course of their futures, she better be careful which ones she selected.

"So you are staying, this is good news," trying, barely achieving, to brighten the already gloomy day.

She looked back towards where the gloom with looming, "What are we going to do now? Is she safe in there?"

"I think in her own way she is."

"But I made things worse. What happens if he lashes out at her?"

"We cannot take her out of that house, Brooke. It will make things even worse. She will resent us."

"I rather she resent us now then be trapped later on."

"I wouldn't leave her if I didn't think she was safe."

"Is she ever really going to be safe, Lucas? Look what he is doing to her mind."

"Physically she is safe."

"Her mental state is more important."

Again the hands went to his head, he didn't know what to do, "There is no handbook on this. There is no how to save your best friend guidebook. I don't know what the right thing is to do. I know that I care about her, and I want her to be okay. But I don't know how to get her there," he looked towards the house as well, as if the lingering answers would resonate.

They didn't. "What happens if we take her out of there?"

"We lose her."

"What happens if she is already gone?"

How could anyone possibly answer this question? "Then we have no chance of getting her back. If we leave her in, then we have a chance."

"So we let it be? We let her continue to bend over backwards for a man that is emotionally abusing her."

"She doesn't see it that way."

"But that is what it is. It is damaging her psyche. It is going to break. She is going to break, and then what?"

"We fix it."

"I don't think it works that way. Sometimes the pieces simply do not fit back together," taking a note out of her personal thoughts. So many times she wished someone tried to glue it all back together, but in actuality she knew it would never be the same. She was never going to be the same, and neither was Haley if something didn't happen. There was no way that she could sit there and watch as Haley tried to mend everything herself. It was too heavy of a weight to carry alone. And it was something else she knew well; attempting it alone was never to work, that weight is just too heavy to lift.

"I don't know what to do."

"Well I am willing to be the one that she hates, if it makes things a little better."

"She is not going to hate you."

"She might after what I do. And I rather she hate me, then she hate you. You are always going to be here. We know that can't be said about me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to remove her from the situation."

"Where are you going to take her?"

"First, to your house so she can change into some Clothes ova Bros originals, then we are going to go to Jamie's school. A mother misses her son."

"What about Nathan?"

"What about him? He is not confined to a wheelchair. He is not completely unable. I am pretty sure he knows how to pour milk into a cereal bowl. If you are so concerned about his well-being, then you can stay with him. But I am a little more concerned about Haley's."

Lucas was glad to see the embodiment of strength in Brooke. She had a plan, she had a head on her shoulders, and that is what they needed at the moment. "How are you going to get her out of house though?" he inquired.

"I am not going to get her all by myself, but the possibility of her son needing her will."

Lucas nodded, he sure hoped that Brooke's plan worked, it was the first step towards recovery for Haley, and that is what she needed right now. "Whatever you need me to do, whatever she needs me to do, I will not hesitate."

"As long as we do not falter, we may win."

"It is not a game though, Brooke."

"If we are losing her, then we have to win her back, it may not be a board game, but there has to be some strategy to it all."

"You ready for this?"

"I don't think anyone can ever be ready to rescue a friend in need, but with blind faith we trek on hoping we have made the right decision."

"We will never know unless we break down the doors."

"I'm ready," she said it whether it was true or not. She had to be ready; she had to be ready for Haley.

Lucas and Brooke followed the path they used to exit the house, and she opened the door neglecting to knock. She did not know what to expect, especially after how they had left the feuding couple. It was silent; she did not hear a sound, no voices, nothing at all. They turned the corner and Nathan was sitting on the couch, he seemed to be in deep thought. Brooke quickly looked around the living room looking for Haley, fearing that Nathan had done something to her. When she did not find her, she demanded to know where she was, "Nathan, what did you do to her? Where is she?"

AN: Please don't hate me, but remember that everything is not as it seems. So what are your thoughts thus far? I would love to hear from you. Peace.