Once again. Wow. You guys are seriously so awesome! Anyways, Rose and I wrote this one just last night. I called her and we both wrote it. Surprisingly, we had the same ideas. We just combined it and got this.

So, how did you guys like Jake coming back? How's Peyton going to be taking it? Go on and read now.

Surprises

"Yes, I understand," Brooke said into the phone. She had been trying to get her store cleaned up all day considering Millicent was coming back tomorrow morning. She didn't want to leave this mess for anyone else to find either.

She was currently in her store, trying to find a maid service that would come out and clean today but they were either booked or closed. She sighed in frustration before setting her phone down on the counter.

Her bruises had healed a bit but they were still a light purple. Her scratches had went away but the teeth marks seemed to stay as a reminder; as if looking in the mirror weren't enough.

The bell on top of the door jingled, causing Brooke to look over at the intruder. She smiled softly at the person before they came closer.

"Hey Brooke."

"Hey Jake," she greeted. She was glad that she had cleaned the place up at least a little. "How did you know where I was?"

"I saw you when I was walking by. I thought you could use some company."

Brooke smiled. "Yeah, I can. So, how did you know where Peyton was staying?"

"I asked around." Brooke nodded but didn't say anything back. He took that as his cue to continue talking.

"So, how are you," he asked, nodding towards the bruises. She guessed that no one had told him about her "accident" yet.

She sighed and shrugged. "I'll live." He laughed a little but his eyes expressed hurt. "How was Peyton?"

"She was," he paused, searching for the right word. "Surprised." Brooke nodded. She had been in her room when Jake showed up. Of course, she had come out after she heard Peyton slam the door and start cursing; that's when she decided to leave to go to her store.

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's no big deal," he sighed. "I shouldn't be welcomed back."

Brooke shook her head. "It wasn't your fault you had to leave."

"Yeah. Peyton doesn't seem to think so." He laughed and she watched as the humor slowly died into seriousness. "I hear she's getting married."

It was Brooke's turn to become hurt. "Yeah, she is."

"Yeah, at least Lucas is a good guy."

She nodded in agreement before a thought struck her. "Where's Jenny?"

"She's with my parents. She's so big now."

"Yeah, baby's grow so fast. It's pretty amazing," Brooke muttered, trying to block the painful memory of Angie leaving.

"So, anyone new in your life?"

"No." Jake was silent after he received that answer. Brooke just watched as he tried to form his thoughts into words.

"Do you think...Peyton will ever forgive me?"

"She has no reason not to." Jake smiled and Brooke couldn't help but smile back. She wasn't ever close friends with him but he seemed to understand. She felt bad for him; all he wanted was Peyton's forgiveness and she wasn't so sure that Peyton was going to give it to him.

"Your place looks nice," he said, trying to ease the tension. "A little bent up in places but still nice."

She laughed at his bluntness. "Yeah, it is. I'm...just fixing it up." She saved herself on that one but it wouldn't work for everyone else who knew her better. "So, are you going to stay here?"

"Oh, I'm-"

"Don't apologize," she cut him off. "I just have some work to do. You can stay if you'd like but it's pretty boring here."

"No, I'll go. Maybe I can get Peyton to talk to me." She stood up and gave him a short hug before waving and disappearing through the back door.

"Can you believe that he just came back?"

Lucas tried to calm his fiance down. "Calm down Peyt." She just turned and glared at him from across the room.

"I mean, why now?" She asked herself. "I just don't understand. He never called me. I got nothing!"

"Maybe he couldn't. He obviously wants to be friends again but you need to be a little more understanding." She turned and headed straight for him. Uh-oh.

"Lucas, you don't understand. It's just difficult. I mean, I have a wedding to plan and I have to take care of Brooke. It's all too much."

"You don't have to take care of Brooke," he corrected her.

"Well, she needs someone."

He sighed, remembering Brooke's words. "Brooke doesn't need anyone's help. She's a big girl." You keep telling yourself that Lucas.

"Well..." Lucas cut her off by placing a kiss on her lips. She smiled up at him before pulling him into a hug.

Lucas felt that nagging feeling in the back of his mind again.

The nagging feeling that only seemed to appear when he was with Peyton.

Nathan paced back and forth as fast as he could. He had been waiting forever for Brooke to get here and his patience was now running short. Finally, he heard her car pull up. He looked up just as she was stepping out of her car.

"Brooke, what took you so long?"

She glared at him. "Nathan, I had other stuff to do." He sighed and his eyes met a few of her darker bruises. He felt terrible for her but she obviously felt uncomfortable with him just staring at her.

"What did you need that was so important?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something," he said. She nodded for him to continue. "I-I..."

"Spit it out Nathan."

"I think Haley's pregnant."

After a second of silence Brooke burst out laughing. "That's it?"

"Brooke," he whined. "It's not funny."

"Yes it is," she laughed before her covered bruises began to ache. "Why do you think she's pregnant?"

"She keeps complaining about being sick all the time and she's been eating a lot lately."

"She actually might be sick Nate."

"I know," he muttered. "But I also found a pregnancy test box in the trash can." Brooke watched as he struggled to come to terms with it. "I want to ask her but I don't know."

"I think you should talk to her."

"Maybe you could talk to her?" He asked. Brooke took a step back. She couldn't do that. She had so much going on and besides, Nathan could do this by himself; it was his wife anyway.

"Nathan, you are her husband," she told him. "Why is it such a big deal? You're both grown adults now and Jamie always said he wouldn't mind a sister."

"I know but it's just a surprise is all."

Brooke laughed. "I think it's a good surprise." Nathan laughed and she was glad that she could calm him down enough to make him laugh.

"Well, now that this problem is fixed, I have to go."

"Wait," he nearly yelled. "How are you feeling?" Brooke's eyes looked at the ground before picking her face back up to look him in the eyes.

"I'm feeling good." Nathan didn't buy it at all but it wasn't his place to tell her that he didn't believe her. Instead, he decided he would talk to Lucas instead.

"Alright. I'll see you around Brooke." She nodded and headed back towards her car. All that because Haley might be pregnant? That boy needed a good smack on the head sometimes. She laughed to herself before pulling away from his house.

Peyton looked up from the papers she was reading when she heard the doorbell. Hadn't Lucas just left? Who would be here? She sighed and got up, crossing the room and opening the door.

Her heart raced just as it had the day before. She realized that she couldn't hide from him forever and stood aside to let him inside.

"Hey Jake."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Hey Peyton. It's been a while."

"Yeah, a while." He could tell she was confused and hurt that he was back but he didn't want to leave her again. "How's Jenny?"

"She's fine. She's six now so she's gotten a little bigger since you last saw her."

"Yeah, where is she?"

"My parents."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Well, how long are you staying this time?" He winced when she said 'this time'.

"Actually, I bought a house here. Jenny and I are staying here from now on. I wanted her to grow up in the town I did."

Shock was etched across her features. "I...that's nice Jake."

"It won't be awkward will it?"

Peyton smiled. "Not at all. It was just a...surprise." Jake smiled and Peyton couldn't help but smile back at him, the memories from the past resurfacing. Wait, what was she doing thinking about him? No, she wasn't going to just give herself to Jake now that he was suddenly back. She loved Lucas just like she always had.

Then why was she suddenly beginning to doubt it?

Purple is such a nice color. :D

Okay, two things. I know that the last line is practically the same one from chapter two; it's on purpose. And the other thing was that how many of you think that Haley's pregnant? Wow. Give the credit to Rose who wrote all the Peyton parts.

Game: How many times do we have the word surprise in this chapter? Not counting the title.

P.S.- There is going to be quite a lot of Brucas in the next one. I know, get excited!