Author's note: I had been planning on posting this chapter much sooner. My muse seems to have kicked into high gear lately, maybe because of the knowledge that the show is coming back on soon and I would like to finish this fic unaffected by whatever will happen in the new season. But of course, my Internet connection at home hasn't been working for a over week, and thus I am inevitably sitting in Barnes and Nobles, drinking a strawberry frappucino and finally getting back in contact with the world (aka e-mails, facebook and fanfictions). And I have to apologize for not answering your lovely, amazing reviews, but I'm kind of a tight budget and this unforeseen cost of having to pay for an Internet connection is not making things easier... and thus I'm trying to keep everything to a minimum.

This chapter was my first time writing Peyton by herself and trying to get into her head and analyze her thoughts, so be gentle. I promise she is on her way to redemption (and to Jeyton, too hee), and Brucas, is literally around the corner ;-D

Thank you for being here,

Laurie

Chapter 11: Warm Whispers

Your warm whispers
Letting me drown in a pool of you
Your warm whispers
Are keeping the noise from breaking through

And I'm weeping warm honey and milk
That you stay surrounding me
Surrounding me

Yeah, I'm weeping warm honey and milk
That you stay surrounding me

Peyton sat on the edge of the pier as she looked out at the horizon, her feet dangling above the water. There was nothing but blue ahead – the deep, deep blue sea and the clear and bright blue sky. Sitting here this morning, she felt a stillness she had thought she'd lost long ago. She reveled in it, because for once in her life no one was responsible for it but herself. She had spent so long depending on others for her own happiness that she'd forgotten the most important thing of all – that she was the one who could make it happen.

A month ago, she'd still been pining for Lucas like her own life depended on it, and she remembered feeling so unhappy back then, so miserable and lonely. Never in a million years would she have guessed that she would find happiness away from him, mere weeks later. But the truth was that she felt better now than she had a long, long time, and it had nothing to do with Lucas. In fact, it had more to do with the fact that they had both finally come to their senses about what their relationship had always been about.

All this time, she'd depended on him to love her, save her and be her lifeline. She had demanded the world of him without even seeing the cold and hard truth: Lucas and her were never right for each other. They were too similar to fit like true love was supposed to. They were great friends, but their love had only seemed to bring disaster in their lives and around them. She had idealized their relationship from the beginning, and she hadn't had the courage to face the reality until it had become too obvious to ignore.

She was glad that Lucas had called and asked her to marry her. She was glad she had said yes. Because if she hadn't, she would probably still be crying over losing him four years ago. If they hadn't gotten engaged, she would still be thinking that being with him was the ultimate goal of her existence. But it was so much more. She didn't need him in order for her life to be complete and knowing that changed everything.

She grabbed her sunglasses from her purse as the sun started shining even brighter, and she carefully scanned the horizon again. She saw a small white dot slowly approaching in the distance, and her heart swelled in anticipation.

Her dad had left for a year-long job out on the sea back when she still lived in California, and he was finally coming home this morning. He had only told her so yesterday and she hadn't been able to sleep because of how excited she was. She couldn't wait to hold him in her arms and feel like his little girl again. They had barely seen each other ever since she'd left for L.A., five years ago, and as his boat was approaching the coast, she was becoming aware of how much she had actually missed him.

It was like she felt everything a hundred times more intensely ever since her feelings for Lucas had faded away. It seemed like they had been blocking out everything else in her life, and only now did she understand exactly how true that was. She felt freer now, as if she could finally give herself to the people in her life. Her dad was one of them. She knew she had been the absent one for the past few years, and the irony of him actually being the one away at sea wasn't lost on her. But she was found now – she was here. And soon, so would he be.

As the boat got closer and closer, she saw him standing on the deck, smiling and waving at her. She immediately stood up and waved back. God, it was good to see him. She patiently waited for the boat to come to a stop and stared at her father in the distance with tears in her eyes. She'd missed him so much.

At last, the boat threw anchor and her dad walked down the bridge deck and onto solid ground. Her eyes were clouded with tears as she walked towards him, and for a brief moment, before he launched her in his arms, something awoke deep in her heart, and Jake's face flashed in her mind, like a long lost dream she had buried.

--

"So, Tutor Mom. Spill!"

Haley took a bite of her salad and stared at Brooke quizzically. "Spill what?"

"You know! Chris Keller at your concert, you rocking on the stage... The jackass/tutor girl reunion!"

Haley laughed and Brooke winked. She was having fun with this, and she loved the look on Haley's face, halfway between amusement and annoyance.

"Nothing happened!"

"Hales."

"I'm serious, Brooke. He came up to me to congratulate me as civilized human being, and I thanked him. He looked sincere, and in a way, I owe him part of this."

"So no stolen kiss?" Brooke said, and Haley immediately threw a cherry tomato at her. Brooke caught it and ate it. "Thanks! It spares me from stealing one off your plate!"

Haley stared at her seriously and Brooke laughed. She pouted, and Haley couldn't help but crack up a smile again. "But seriously… the night was so amazing that even if Chris had shown up and been a jackass to me, I don't think it would have mattered. It felt so good to be back up there, on stage, singing."

"Peyton and I were hoping you'd say that," Brooke admitted. The look on Haley's face was worth every second they had all spent preparing this night.

"Well you girls are amazing. I still cannot believe how many people showed up, never mind the number of producers and music critics and reviewers."

"I might have something to do with that," Brooke admitted. She looked at Haley carefully and went on. "I kind of… called all my contacts in New York and told them about the concert," she said in one breath. "You're not mad, are you?"

Haley immediately shook her head, smiling. Her dimples were showing. "Are you kidding, Brooke? I can't even begin to thank you for what you did."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Okay good," Brooke breathed. "Because they all seriously loved you."

Haley smiled again and Brooke thought that she had never looked happier. "I'm still having a hard time believing that all this is actually happening. Nathan is playing again, Jamie is incredible, I'm singing again, everybody's home in Tree Hill… it's almost too good to be true."

"Well you deserve every second of it. It was long overdue, tutor girl."

"Thanks, Brooke. For everything."

"Nah," Brooke said as she waved her hand. "It's nothing."

Haley finished up her salad. "I still can't believe Lucas punched Chris, though."

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, it was pretty unexpected."

Haley observed Brooke as she looked away and out onto the water. Her features had changed the moment Haley had raised Lucas' name and it didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Are you happy with Owen, Brooke?" she asked carefully.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah. I think I am."

"You think, or you are?"

Brooke moved her lips, about to speak, and then shut them tight. She opened them again a few seconds later. "I don't know. I am. I think I am. What difference does it make?"

"All the difference in the world," Haley said softly.

Brooke sighed. "Look, Hales, Browen certainly doesn't compare to the glory of Naley. But Owen makes me laugh. He's there for me. And plus he's really hot," she added with a wink.

Haley laughed in spite of herself. "But are you sure?" she asked her. "Are you sure in your heart? You're going to have a child soon, and Owen is going to be in both of your lives. Is he really the one you want standing next to you?"

This question had been swirling around in Brooke's head for weeks now, but she still didn't have an answer. "Maybe. I don't know. It's not that simple."

Haley took in Brooke's answer. She wasn't sure how to tell her friend what she really thought. Knowing Brooke, she was probably going to point blank ignore what she was going to say… but she had to try anyway. She felt like she owed it to her. "Listen, Brooke… don't you think there's a reason Lucas punched Chris last week?"

"Because Chris is annoying as hell?" she offered as a suggestion. Haley didn't budge, obviously expecting more, but Brooke wasn't about to let their conversation go where Haley was leading it.

"Brooke."

"Haley, Lucas and I are just friends. He knows that, I know that – everybody knows that."

"I think there's more than that," Haley carefully suggested.

"There isn't," Brooke protested. It was hard to be trying to convince both Haley and herself at the same time.

"It's not what it feels like whenever the two of you are in the same room."

Brooke ran a hand over her face and closed her eyes briefly. She'd been trying so hard to convince herself that there was nothing but friendship between she and Lucas, and now Haley was throwing away all her efforts with a few, honest-spoken words. But she didn't think she could deal with knowing Lucas possibly felt that way about her.

"But there's nothing going on, okay? We've been very close because of Angie, and what happened with Dan. But there's nothing else."

Haley put her wine glass down on the table. She had seen how devastated Brooke had been after Lucas had broken up with her the first time during junior year, and then how hard letting him go for Peyton had been on her. She had seen her cry over missing him, and then bury her feelings deep down so he could be happy with Peyton. She knew springing this on Brooke wasn't really fair on her… but above all, Haley had seen how happy Lucas made her. She had seen how deep her feelings for him were and the spark that lit up in her eyes whenever he was near her. She had known Brooke for years and had never seen her as happy as when she was with Lucas. And she owed it to herself to let Brooke find her way to that happiness again.

"Listen, Brooke, if you can honestly tell me you feel nothing but friendship for Lucas, then I promise I will let this go. But I've seen the way you look at each other. I've seen your whole face light up whenever he talks to you. I think he could make you really happy, if you let him."

"And I love you for thinking that, Hales. But Lucas and I had our chance a long time ago. It's long gone by now."

"Do you really believe that? Or do you just refuse to let your heart go there?"

Brooke looked away, not for the time during their lunch. Could she tell Haley the truth? She wasn't even sure her own heart could take it. She knew it was there, but she wasn't sure she would ever be ready to fully embrace it, let alone put it into words.

"I just… I can't handle thinking of him that way, 'kay?" she whispered, her voice breaking a little. "I love Lucas. I do. As a friend. But I can't let my heart go there. It hurt too much before," she finally confessed.

Haley reached out across the table and put her hand over Brooke's. She wondered if Lucas had any idea of what he had done to this wonderful woman who would have been ready to give up anything for him not so long ago. And she had. The thing was, even after what Brooke had just told her, Haley still believe Lucas was the only one who could fix what he had broken.

--

"Hi Cheery!"

Brooke couldn't help the smile that graced her features when she found Lucas sitting on a bench in front of her store, waiting for her. Her thoughts went back to everything Haley had said over their lunch and her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey Luke," she greeted him as she opened the store. She gestured for him to follow her inside and they entered it together. She sat down on the couch next to him, like they'd done so many times over the past few weeks. He came almost every day and he never failed to make her day seem brighter than it had been before.

"So where have you been?" he asked her, curious.

"Haley and I were having lunch at the river front. I figured we had to go out now before she becomes too famous and can't go anywhere without the paparazzi following her around," she said, playfully.

"It wouldn't surprise me if it actually happened," Lucas told her. "She was incredible last Saturday."

"Yes she was. She really is going to be a rock star," Brooke trailed.

"And an amazing mom and wife. It's so great to see her finally have it all."

She nodded. "She looked so happy at lunch, you should have seen her," she told him. "It makes me so happy for her and Nate, and Jamie too. They've come a long way."

"I think we all have," he said. Brooke smiled softly and Lucas' heart skipped a beat. She had no idea how true this rang in his heart. He had come all this way only to find that she had been the destination all along.

"Peyton has her own record label, Haley is a rock star, Nate is on his way to playing professional basketball again, you are a best-selling author, and I have my own fashion line… It's pretty incredible when you think about it."

"Yeah. But we all have a passion for something in our lives, and we have each other. It's hard not to go far when life gives you that much."

"True."

"Speaking of which…" Lucas reached in the bag he'd been carrying and soon enough he was holding out a book to Brooke. She took it in her hands. The hardcover was a deep, bright red. The side read "The Comet by Lucas Scott." She immediately let out a squee of excitement.

"It's your second book!" she exclaimed, almost jumping off the couch. He smiled at her obvious happiness for him.

God, she had such a beautiful smile.

"Open it," he told her. She did so and flipped through the first few pages. She stopped at the dedication. A few, simple words were printed in the middle of the white page. They said, "To all those lost souls who have forgotten to believe in the immensity of love." And underneath it, Lucas had written his own dedication, to her. She would have recognized his handwriting anywhere – she knew it all too well from the letters he had written her, years ago.

"I don't know what I would do without you in my life… thank you for making me believe in everything again.

Lucas."

"It's the first copy," he confessed. She met his eyes. "I wanted you to have it."

Brooke briefly closed her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. She shouldn't feel so touched by his words, but everything that Haley had told her over lunch, the way his eyes had been glancing over her, and now his beautiful words had shaken the ground beneath her feet.

She smiled again, and next thing he knew, he moved closer to her and launched her in his arms. She didn't even protest – she just let him hold her like he used to, a long time ago. Her hands found their place in his hair and she buried her head in the crook of his neck as he hugged her even tighter. Why did this have to feel so right?

She couldn't help but let out a sigh as she stopped fighting her emotions and gave into him. Maybe Haley was right. Maybe Lucas was the one who could make her happy. It was what it felt like in this moment and she wasn't sure her heart would ever move on from that truth.

--

The song I used in the title of this chapter is sung of the amazing Missy Higgins.

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