Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill

Title: Too Bad

Author: ReadingRed

Chapter Ten: Call Her

Two days after the dinner at Haley and Nathan's house and Brooke still was unable to shake the feeling of dread. It haunted her every move, even spending 'relaxing' with Luke hadn't been able to completely drive the feeling from her.

She knew it was Julian who was making her feel this way, and she hated that he still had that power over her. It was the not knowing that really bothered her. Brooke wasn't sure if Julian was looking for them or if he had moved on to someone else.

Lucas took all four children with him to the Rivercourt for the afternoon so Brooke had no one there to distract her from her thoughts. Maybe that's why she picked up the house phone and called the one person who might know what Julian was up to.

The phone rang six times before the person on the other end picked up.

"Milli?" she asked quietly.

"Brooke? Brooke is that you? Oh thank God. Are you okay? What about the kids?" Her friend's words came out in a jumble, each racing the other to make it out first.

"Mills, I'm fine. I'm back home. The kids are great too." Brooke heard her friend let out a relieved breath, and hated that she had put Millicent through that worry.

"Have you heard anything from Julian? Is he looking for us?" Brooke asked her coworker.

"Is he looking for you? Are you kidding me? He tore through my apartment about a month ago ranting and raving. Accusing me of hiding you and the kids, demanding to know where I helped you escape to. If my neighbors hadn't heard the ruckus and called the cops, I don't know what he would've done. They took him away but I heard he got out on bail about two weeks ago."

"Oh, Mills I'm sorry. I should've known he'd go after you." Brooke apologized, near tears at having put her friend in danger.

"Brooke, it's okay. I'm just glad that you finally managed to get away" Millicent said.

"Have you heard anything from Julian since he got out of jail?" Brooke dared to ask.

"Nothing" Millicent said. "I'm sorry I don't have more to tell you."

"It's fine, I'm just glad to know something. I don't think he'll come looking for me, I just wanted to be prepared if he did. I'm still trying to figure out how to get full custody of the kids. I don't want him to be able to get them." Brooke explained.

"You never married him, right Brooke?" Millicent asked.

"No, of course not" Brooke answered quickly.

"Then you already have primary custody of the kids. My brother went through this with my nephew's mother. He had to take her to court and prove that he was a good father before he got any visitation with Thomas. He explained it to me; with unmarried parents the mother has primary physical custody unless the father can prove that she's an unfit parent. And in that case, he may be granted visitation or custodial rights. For Julian to have any rights to the kids, he'd have to take you to court and prove that he's a better parent than you. I doubt he's willing to do that, and if he tried there is no way that he'd win. Brooke, you don't have to worry on that front. Your kids aren't going anywhere."

Millicent's explanation was just what Brooke needed to hear. For the first time in days Brooke was able to breathe easy.

In the middle of the living room, Brooke Davis sank to her knees and started to cry. Knowing that her children were truly safe was so incredibly powerful an emotion that the only way she could express it was through tears.

"Brooke? Brooke? Are you okay?" Millicent's voice came through the phone Brooke had dropped. With shaking hands Brooke raised the phone to her ear.

"They're safe Millicent" Brooke said, clutching onto the phone.

"I know. You did it Brooke." Millicent praised.

"No, it wasn't just me. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Luke." Brooke said with a smile.

"Luke? As in Lucas Scott? Your high school sweetheart? How did he come into the picture?" Millicent questioned.

"He came into the Diner and after he saw the bruises he wouldn't leave without me and the kids. We've been staying with him since we left Charlotte." Brooke said, after a short pause she added. "He asked me to marry him."

Millicent's squeal was so loud Brooke had to move the phone away from her ear.

"You're getting married?" came Milli's happy voice over the phone.

"Yes. He asked me the other day and I said yes. I think he really loves me, and I know he cares about the kids. He wouldn't hurt any of us, I'm sure of it."

"I'm so happy for you Brooke. You guys deserve it."

"Thanks. Hey, after things calm down a bit you should come visit us. The kids would love to see you again" Brooke said.

"For sure, I'd love to see the kids again. Listen, I gotta let you go. The boss is calling me back to work. This breaks been a little too long." Millicent said apologetically.

"It's okay, I know how he is. Do you want me to tell the kids you said 'hi'?" Brooke asked.

"Yes, of course!"

"I'll talk to you later" Brooke said.

"Bye" Millicent said before hanging up the phone.

The conversation was short but it had changed her life. Brooke didn't have to live with the fear that Julian would take her children. For the first time since she and her children had come to Tree Hill, Brooke felt like they could truly move on.

All she wanted was to tell Lucas the good news but he had taken the car to the Rivercourt and he'd left his cell phone at home. The two hours after the conversation with Milli until Luke got home with the kids were the longest two hours Brooke had experienced in a while.

The moment Luke entered the house Brooke was there.

"Luke, I talked to Milli. She said that Julian doesn't have any chance of getting the kids. She said that because we we're married that I already have custody of the kids. The only way Julian could get them, is if he took me to court and proved that he was a better parent that me. Since there's no chance of that happening, we don't have to worry about it anymore. He can't get them Lucas" Brooke said in a rush.

"Woah, Pretty Girl slow down, let me put Liam and Bryce down and get Brennan and Logan situated and you can explain everything to me" Luke said laughing.

Brooke took the twins from Lucas and laid them together on a blanket in front of the couch while Luke gave Brennan and Logan a few toys. After all four children were settled Luke followed Brooke to the kitchen.

"Okay now what did you say?" Luke asked calmly.

"I talked to my friend Millicent who's brother had been through a custody battle with the mother of his son" Brooke was going extra slow with her explanation of her earlier statement. She waited for Luke's nod before continuing.

"She said that if the parents aren't married, which Julian and I weren't, the mother automatically gets primary psychical custody of the children" Brooke took another, shorter pause to make sure Luke was still following.

"For the father to get custody or even visitation he would have to take the mother to court and prove that he was a better parent than the mother. Since there's no way that Julian would ever voluntarily go to court and even if he did he would never be able to prove that he's a better parent than me, we aren't going to lose the kids" Brooke said with a huge smile.

"So no going to court? No transferring custody?" Lucas asked.

"No, no court and I already have custody so there's no need to transfer it" Brooke said grinning.

Luke's smile rivaled Brooke's in intensity. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her, putting all the emotion he was feeling into the kiss.

They could really do this. The family they had made wasn't going to be torn apart by Julian. He no longer had that power over them. They could move on.

AN: All the custody information, to my knowledge is true. I found it all on legalmatch . com. I suppose it would be terrible to be a good father stuck in this situation, with no right to his kids, but in Brooke's case it's for the best.