You guys are really overwhelming me with the reviews. I appreciate every single one of them so much. Now, as always I don't own One Tree Hill or its characters. And on with the story. Oh, and the title of this chapter is from Sarah Evans. Sorry guys, this chapter accidentally got messed up, so I reposted it.

Chapter 9- A Real Fine Place to Start

Neither Brooke nor Lucas said anything as they continued to embrace, just grateful to be in each other's arms again. To feel safe, even if it was only for a moment. They both knew that there were issues they needed to deal with, but they could save that for later. Right now, they were content to be just Brooke and Lucas, to be reunited, even in these circumstances. All the messy details and the harsh realities could wait. They had all the time in the world to figure the rest of it out, but for now they would just be.

They were once again Cheery and Broody, and in this moment that was good enough for them.

Lucas broke the embrace as he felt her tears saturate his thin hospital gown. He didn't quite understand fully what had happened to him yet, but judging by the worry etched in her beautiful features, it couldn't be good.

"Lucas, I was so scared that I was going to lose you… You had us all so worried." She sobbed as she adjusted her position and lay next to him on the bed, entwining their fingers together. She was scared to let go, afraid that if she did, he would once again be asleep and not looking at her with those baby blue eyes that bore straight into her soul.

"You're not going to get rid of me quite yet," he laughed slightly, painfully aware that his current predicament was not humorous in the least.

"Its not funny Lucas, the doctor said you had HCM, how could you keep that from everyone?" She implored, hoping he would open up to her.

He sighed and looked away, not really wanting to discuss that quite yet, so instead of telling her he was scared to death, he tried to put up his defenses.

"I just did, its not like any of you were exactly close to me these last few months. Who was I going to tell, the brother that hates me, or my friends who left and never came back." He spat, but immediately softened when he saw the pained expression on her face. Now was not the time to discuss this or lash out. He was too glad to have her back, and right now he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that.

"I'm sorry, it was just hard," he whispered, hoping she would just drop it for now.

She saw the pain in his eyes and decided that now was not the time to get into all that. She could tell her leaving was a sore spot for him, and she was grateful he was letting her hold him and not throwing her out. She also knew that she had to tell the rest of the world that he had woken up, but right now she just wanted to keep him to herself for at least a little while longer.

She responded by squeezing his hand in acceptance and cuddling closer to him. It just felt too right for her to be close to him that she couldn't lose that sense of security just yet.

"I'm just glad you're awake," she whispered as she looked into his eyes. Staring back at her were the same blue orbs she had dreamt of every night, and to her surprise, they were still filled with the same look of love and desire as they had been before she left. She quickly wondered if he had heard her admission of love a few hours ago, but was too captivated by him to care.

He leaned closer toward her, daring himself to find out just what he meant to her. He knew it was too soon, and that they had so many issues to deal with, but he had missed her for four months, and he wasn't going to let another moment go by without tasting her lips again.

He just hoped she wouldn't run away. But judging by the way she leaned into him and met him halfway, he knew she was going to stick it out with him this time. They might not be perfect, and they had both hurt the other, but right now both of them needed each other more than they needed the air around them.

He brought the hand that did not have tubes running into it to her face, and gently cupped her check as their lips gently touched for the first time in months. The kiss was soft and tender, unlike any of their other kisses. This kiss held longing, desire, and love, and both could tell the difference the moment the sparks traveled throughout each of their bodies. It didn't last long, but it held all the meaning in the world for the two people who had been missing each other for far too long.

In that kiss, they both conveyed without words how much they meant to each other, how much they loved each other, even though they still weren't quite ready to admit it yet.

As they pulled away, they just relaxed into the other one, hands still entwined. No other words were spoken, they didn't have to be. That kiss had said it all.

Lucas, still tired from the effects of his coma, began to breathe evenly against Brooke's ear as she realized that he had fallen asleep. She took this opportunity to detangle herself gently from his grasp. She smiled once again at his sleeping form as she walked to the door of his room. As much as she hated to do so, it was time to let the rest of Tree Hill, and most importantly Karen, know that Lucas had finally woken up.

Brooke walked back into the waiting room, attempting to find the rest of the group that had gathered to wait for the latest news on Lucas. She silently wondered how long she had been in his room, because she did not see any of the people anxiously waiting for Lucas to wake up. She definitely thought Karen would still be around. She was surprised that she hadn't come back in yet.

Just as she rounded the corner trying to figure out how to find everyone, she saw Karen walk in coffee in hand.

Karen just looked at Brooke, she had been in Lucas's room for over six hours and Karen practically had to drone out every parental instinct she had and resist the urge to burst in and stay with her baby boy. But she knew that some way Brooke would be able to reach through the dark abyss Lucas had sunk into, and she knew that the brunette keeping her son company would somehow help bring him back.

Brooke practically ran up to Karen, grinning from ear to ear, and Karen hoped that she had been right, and Brooke's reappearance meant that her son had finally woken up from him slumber.

"Karen, he's awake…he came back to us," Brooke chirped as she flung her arms around the woman who had become a second mom to her.

Karen hugged her back, just grateful that the younger brunette was here. Despite all her rambling and inappropriate comments, Brooke always seemed to make difficult situations such as these just a little bit easier, and now that her son was awake, she figured that Miss Davis would be even more critical to his recovery.

"I'm so glad honey. Could you go tell Haley and Peyton that he woke up? They went back to Peyton's and made me promise we would find them as soon as something changed. Now, I'm going to see my son," Karen cried, just happy that Lucas had woken up.

"Sure thing Karen."

And with that Brooke bounded out of the emergency room in search of her best friends, and Karen finally had the opportunity to see Lucas. She was still hurt and mad that he had lied about his HCM, but for right now she just wanted to see him with her own two eyes.

As she walked into the hospital room, she couldn't help but stare again at her son, and this time she was met with his blue eyes, opening and looking at her intently.

"Don't you ever scare me again like that Lucas, you had me terrified," she cried as the tears streamed down her face. They were tears of joy because he was awake, but they were mixed with tears of sadness, still worried what the HCM would do to his health. She wrapped her arms around him and cried, just holding him, and silently wishing she could still protect him from the world.

"I'm so sorry mom," he whispered, about to break down because of the emotion he could see in his mother's eyes. He didn't want to tell her about the HCM because he didn't want her to worry, but looking into her eyes he realized that he had caused her to do just that, and he had hurt her with his lies.

"Lucas, I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a heart condition. How could you keep something like that from me?"

"I just didn't want you to worry, which I know was stupid now, but I just couldn't do that to you, you already had enough to deal with."

"Lucas that's not an excuse, but I will always worry about you no matter what. You are my boy, and I love you more than anything else in this world. But, this has got to stop, no more lies, we'll figure this HCM thing out, together."

"I love you mom…I'm…so sorry," he choked out. He expected her to be mad, but she was so understanding, that it killed him even more to know that he had kept this from her for so long.

"I love you too, and we'll deal with all of this later, just get some rest for right now, and I will tell the doctor that you've woken up," she patted his arm, and watched as he shut his eyes, and drifted into a light peaceful sleep. Now it was time to find the doctor, and figure out what Lucas's condition was and a long term plan for his HCM.

Brooke could hardly contain her excitement as she bounced into the Sawyer residence trying to find Peyton and Haley. As she flew up the stairs she contemplated whether or not to tell them that she and Lucas had kissed. Deciding to keep that wonderful fact to herself for a little while longer, she flung open the door to tell them the news she had originally come to tell them.

"Tutorgirl, P. Sawyer, get up. Lucas is awake."

The two who were previously sleeping, were abruptly woken up by the brunette bouncing on the bed. Normally they would have been annoyed at her outbursts, but this was what they had all been waiting for.

Peyton smiled, and Haley immediately burst into tears. Apparently she wasn't handling this thing as well as Peyton and Brooke had thought.

"Haley," Brooke gingerly called out, wrapping her arms around the sobbing girl. "It's okay now." But, as soon as Brooke looked into Haley's eyes, she too began crying, just thinking about what could have happened if Lucas hadn't woken up..

"I know… I'm mainly crying because I'm happy, but where do we go from here?" she choked out, and the three friends just sat in a circle wondering the same thing.

For each one it was different.

Haley was wondering if she and Lucas could get back to where they once had been. If he was still even her buddy. She was also wondering what her reappearance in Tree Hill would mean to her estranged husband as well. She had finally admitted that she still loved him with all of her heart, and she was going to fight for what they had. She just hoped she wasn't fighting a losing battle. And then lastly, she wondered about her relationship with the two girls currently hugging her. The trio was back together, but it seemed that none of them were the same people anymore. All she knew was she wasn't Haley James rockstar anymore. She was back to being Haley James Scott and she was going to desperately try and restore the relationships she had taken for granted when she had turned her back and ran away from that.

Brooke's thoughts were also focused around the Scotts. One in particular, but that was nothing new. That kiss had turned her world upside down, and she couldn't believe that she had actually admitted to Lucas that she loved him, it didn't matter that he had been asleep. All she knew was she wasn't going anywhere this time, and she was going to prove it. She had mistakes to make up for, but she had faith that it would all work out this time around. Wouldn't it?

Peyton Sawyer's thoughts swirled in a slightly different direction than her two sobbing friends. Above all, she was glad that they had finally gotten some sense and come back, but the other part of her was resentful for what they had left her to deal with. For once, Peyton had been the emotionally stable one. She had seen firsthand what Brooke and Haley had done to her two favorite basketball players. She had seen them both revert into themselves and become brokenhearted and bitter shells of who they had been. Nathan had immersed himself in alcohol and basketball and Lucas had entertained himself with a certain red-headed tramp. She just hoped that Brooke and Haley's return would change that. They were all in for a lot more drama, and hoped that somehow it would all work out for her friends. She knew that she and the girls would get through their issues; she just hoped it would be the same for the brother's Scott.

"So, I hate to ask this now, but how long to you two plan on staying in Tree Hill," she questioned.

Brooke and Haley both looked at each other, and knew it was time to let Peyton in on a little secret.

Brooke smiled and looked at her curly headed friend, "We're back for good P.Sawyer. You're stuck with us forever."

And Peyton finally let out a sigh of relief. Maybe there was some hope for their crazy group yet.

Nathan stood basketball in hand, trying to work out his confusion and frustration the only way he knew how -on a court with a ball. Lately that was the only part of his life that still made sense.

He had tried to clear his head and gather his thoughts at the River Court, but instead that place brought back too many memories to bring him any type of real comfort. It just seemed that everything was so amazingly screwed up and he had no idea which relationships to try and fix first.

He had made a giant step in talking to Lucas when he had been asleep, and decided that it would be easiest to work things out with his brother first. Now if he could only say the same things when Lucas was awake. He knew that the rift between them was mainly caused by his jackass behavior, but seeing Lucas hit the floor with a thud, made Nathan realize how much he needed his brother in his life.

Especially now that Haley had returned. Man, he was going to need some serious help to deal with that revelation.

He had tried to block out all the thoughts of Haley that were threatening to eat him alive, but it was no use. One look in her eyes and he couldn't deny that he still loved her. Especially when she had looked at him with longing and want apparent in her features. He had to make himself turn around and walk away so he didn't gather her in his arms and just forgive her for everything. It was too soon for all of that, and he was painfully aware that he couldn't trust her.

Hell, he didn't even know if she planned on sticking around, and that thought really hurt him. He loved her still, but he wasn't sure if they could make this relationship work. He guessed he would just have to wait and see if she stuck around this time, then they would deal with all the issues they had.

It would just be so much easier to walk away for good, too bad he loved her way too much to ever give her up completely.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone, and was relieved when Brooke's giddy voice came on the line to tell him that Lucas had woken up.

'Time to fix relationship number one' He thought as he got in his car and drove to the hospital to mend fences with Lucas.

As he walked back into Tree Hill General, Nathan experienced a feeling he rarely possessed. Fear. He just hoped that he could talk to Lucas when he was awake to hear it and have everything turn out okay.

"Hey," came the awkward greeting as he walked onto the room to see Lucas fidgeting with some machine he was attached to.

"Look, man, I'm sorry about what happened at the game, and I came here to apologize," he said with his head toward the ground, afraid Lucas was going to kick him out.

"Yeah…ummm…. About that….."

"Lucas, just let me get this out okay, you may never hear me say these words to you again if you try and interrupt me…. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through these past few months. I was pissed that you went to see Haley, I was pissed about Dan, and I just took it all out on you. I was an ass, but I really want us to be brothers again. Do you think you could forgive me?"

Nathan tentatively put his hand out to do the handshake he and Lucas had always done, half expecting Lucas to just ignore it.

Lucas hesitated briefly before returning the gesture. "On one condition, you never act like that big of a jackass again," he replied, shaking his head and smiling at his little brother.

Nathan smiled; it was going to be ok. He and Luke would get back the closeness they shared and maybe just maybe they would get their lives back together as well.