Chapter 7

Nathan stood there speechless… his mind was going 150 miles an hour, making counts, guesses, assumptions… then he heard her voice

"Patrick, sweetie, who is it?" said Brooke arriving at the door and she stopped speechless too. Nathan was there, with a puzzled expression on his face.

Patrick looked from one to the other… "Mom?" he said "Isn't this Nathan Scott, the Spurs shooter?"

Brooke smiled nodding… Patrick looked at him "I'm a big fan of you! You're the best ever!"

Nathan smiled at the kid "Thanks. You play?" he asked. Patrick nodded "Mom says I'm really good and she knows a lot of basketball…"

"She sure does" said Nathan looking at Brooke.

'It's time to face this' thought Brooke "Patrick, why don't you go play with Alan?" she said "Nathan and I need to talk"

Patrick looked at her and nodded "Sure, Mom, see ya later" he said and took off.

Brooke looked at Nathan and smiled sadly "surprise…" she said

"You don't say" said Nathan "I think we definitely need to talk right now"

"Come in" said Brooke and Nathan entered Brooke's place. It was small and simple, but arranged with an impeccable taste. 'So like Brooke' thought Nathan. He sat on the couch while Brooke poured two cups of coffee. She handed him one and sat in the couch next to him. "Well, ask" she started

"How old is he?" asked Nathan

"Almost 10 years old" smiled Brooke "I had him when I was 17…" her voice trailed off…

"That means…" Nathan was putting two and two together… "When you left Tree Hill…"

"I was pregnant" stated Brooke "That's why I left. I wanted a clean start and be away from all the drama and the prejudice from that small town. So, I left to Maryland to stay with some cousins. I finished high school in a special program that included daycare for Patrick. I managed to go to college thanks to some special fundraising too…" she got quiet again. Patrick was the most important thing in her life, and she was glad to have him but reliving those hard days…

Nathan finally saw the reason of Brooke's silent moments. He could only imagine what she went through… all alone, fighting to support herself and her son… he knew he had to ask. He didn't want to… but he had to

"Is he… is he…" he started looking at her in the eyes and then took a deep breath "is he…Lucas's?"

Brooke looked away from his eyes "I don't know…" she said slowly… "I really don't know. It could be his but there's some chance he's not. I did a lot of stupid things that year…" tears were starting to fall from her eyes. "Then I found out I was pregnant and I told Luke… I was going to stay in Tree Hill and raise him there, but then he questioned his paternity and I knew I couldn't deal with all that. I wasn't even sure… so, I just lied to him and left… oh my God, I can even tell who the father of my child is…" she was crying

Nathan held her tightly "Shh… Brooke, please don't cry…" He caressed her hair "Please don't cry… you have nothing to feel ashamed about. You made some mistakes, but you have taken responsibility for that."

He let go of Brooke who looked at him with her eyes full of tears… "Nathan, you can't tell him. I can't deal with it. Patrick doesn't need that in his life" she said

Nathan looked at her. Brooke as a mom was something that never crossed his mind. But there she was, a single mom with a 10 year old

"I won't tell him" he said "But you'll have to face Lucas eventually…"

Brooke looked at Nathan "I know. I'm just not ready yet. It took me a while to get my degree and make enough money to support us properly. I finally found a nice city to raise him and right now, I just want some quiet, peaceful time with my son before starting yet another trail of confusion and mess and conflicts…"

Nathan looked at her… she was finally at ease. She'd fought so hard all these years to make it through and she was enjoying a peaceful time. He couldn't mess with that by telling her about his feelings… she needed peace… he couldn't do that to her. As much as he wanted her… he would have to shut up and just be her friend.

"I understand" he said sadly "But maybe you can open up to Peyton and Jake. After all, they're arriving in two days" he smiled

"Yeah…" said Brooke "I could use some talk with Peyton" she smiled slowly

"I think I better go…" said Nathan, wanting to stay and be with her… but understanding her needs.

He got up and Brooke walked him to the door

"Thanks for listening, Nathan" said Brooke

"Don't mention it. You're a good person Brooke…" he said hugging her "You're great…" he whispered in her ear and she felt the need of him again. But she didn't believe he'd be interested in a woman with a 10 year old who could possibly be his nephew… too much of a mess…

She watched him go away, smiling sadly.