So, it's not my longest chapter, but I think it will do. I heard this is like my 20th update and I was encouraged to do something super special, but I was like, that's kinda cliche. Sometimes I like cliche, but I don't today. Sorry to burst your bubble, I mean, hey, you got an update w/o a three month time span in between.
Chapter 14
Part 2- Kid Tested, Mother Approved
Lucas and Brooke walked into their doctor's appointment hand in hand. Brooke had a surprising fear swelling and as a result, could not seem to keep her knees from shaking. She shouldn't be so nervous, it was only a doctors appointment. That entailed her baby's future, her husband's future, and her own. Similarly, Lucas felt apprehensive and his clutch on Brooke's hand was much more than a supportive, loving gesture.
"Brooke Scott." Her voice croaked out to the nurse at the front desk. Lucas had heard her speak like this on a few occasions, but the reasons she used this tone were anything but happy memories. It unnerved him to see her so upset.
"Ah, yes. The doctor will be ready to see you momentarily. This is your first time here, is it not?" The plump, curly brunette woman in light blue scrubs asked.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Her voice wavered and she fought to control it.
"Okay, Mrs. Scott, please fill out these few forms and return them to me when they are completed." She smiled, handing Brooke a wooden clipboard and ball point pen. Nodding her head distantly, she took them from her outstretched and followed Lucas to a small group of uncomfortable chairs in the corner of the room.
"Lucas, I'm scared." She whimpered. Forms were a formality, formalities were realities and she wasn't so sure she was ready for reality. This was too soon, she should've given herself more time. Just two days ago she was on her fantasy honeymoon, caught up in her own happiness.
Flashback - Lucas and Brooke's Honeymoon
"Oh, please. If I hadn't pulled you away you would have been staring for hours." Brooke chided playfully as Lucas pulled out her chair for dinner. Her dark blue dress hit at the knee and as she sat down it rose to her thigh. Her brown hair was curled and pulled back into a bun with loose strands hanging in her face.
"I was not staring." He protested calmly, a small smile playing at his lips. He smoothed out his black tie and sat down opposite her.
"You're right, you were brooding." She smiled triumphantly as she watched his mouth open and shut in defeat.
"It's a beautiful thing, the sunset. And I started thinking about how lucky I am to have you. You complete me, Pretty Girl." He whispered, taking her hands across the table. She beamed at his answer and his heart swelled after taking one look at her perfect dimples.
"How come you always know what to say?"
"It's not hard when it's true," He kissed her hand lovingly and continued to stare into her eyes. It always made her feel like he could see into her soul. A feeling she only got from him.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I know. You're pretty cool too." He shrugged teasingly. She reached across the table and swatted his arm.
"Way to wreck the moment, Lucas." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey now. I see no moment wrecked. You, are still smiling in the way that makes me feel like I could die of happiness, so no damage done." He smirked. She tried her hardest to keep from smiling to disprove his point, but her attempts were unsuccessful.
"You make me truly happy, you know that? I probably don't tell you that enough." She looked down at her placemat, but his two fingers lifted her chin so he could continue to look into her eyes.
"You're going to make a great mom, you know that?"
End of Flashback
"Brooke, I'm here for you. No matter what. Everything is going to be okay." He promised grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly. She nodded, a cool rush of calm rushing over her, and she completed the forms.
Several moments later, they were waiting for the doctor to retrieve the results on Brooke's tests.
"Well, Mrs. Scott. The tests confirm that you're baby is a little farther along than two months now. Would you like the altrasound pictures?"
"Please." Brooke nodded urgently, beaming from ear to ear as she squeezed Lucas's hand. "Two months!"
-.-.-.
It had been a few days since "Breakfast-gate." Haley and Nathan had barely spoken, Brooke and Lucas only called to tell either one the results of their appointment, and everyone else but Peyton had stopped speaking to them. Nathan felt it was increasingly evident that he shouldn't be leaving Haley alone with her feelings. She overanalyzed too much.
Today was the Forth of July and he was driving over to their house to pick them up for the annual Scott Family Picnic. Every year, the city set off the Forth of July fireworks from a barge in the middle of the river. Most families went down to the parks or designated bleacher areas to watch, but the Scotts set up camp on the Rivercourt. It was nearing five and he knew Haley would chew him out if he made them late. Briskly, he walked onto their front porch and pulled open the screen door.
"Hales? Meg?" He called out into the expanse of house. Immediately he heard the small, quick footsteps coming at him from the living room.
"Daddy!" Megan squealed running at him as fast as her small legs would take her.
"Hey, angel. Where's your mom hiding at?" He asked, scooping her up into his arms fluidly.
"She's not weady yet." She shook her head. He was amazed at the similarities between Megan and Haley. Their chestnut brown hair emulated each other perfectly, the natural curl and thickness. Megan was wearing a red shirt and white shorts. "Do you wike my outfit? Grandma Deb and me got it at the store yesterday whens mommy was working."
"Grandma Deb and I!" Haley corrected from the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes met Nathan's. "Nathan. Hi."
He smiled in spite of himself. She was pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail and because of this, her navy blue sleeveless polo shirt rose slightly, showing off a sliver of her flat stomach.
"Hey. You look... very nice." He cursed himself for not picking better words. He was supposed to be charming.
She smiled shyly, but quickly diverted her attention. "Thank you. Um. Alright! Let's go before we become late, like always, and everyone shuns us more than they already have been." she tries to joke, but it She slid into a pair of blue flip flops, grabbed her purse and the waiting toddler bag, dessert, and blanket and shut the door behind them.
"Mommy? What's da fork of July?" Megan glanced quickly over her shoulder as she ran to keep up with her father's swift steps while still clutching his hand.
"No, sweetie. The FORTH of July. It is the day when Americans, like us, celebrate our country and independence."
The young girl screwed her face into a feigned look of understanding and rounded her mouth to form, "Oh."
-.-.
"What are we supposed to say to them?" Brooke asked threw clenched teeth as she unwrapped the fruit salad she brought.
"Happy Fourth of July?" Lucas suggested. He shrugged when she looked at him with anger.
"Thanks. Great help you are." She huffed sarcastically. "I meant, are we supposed to act supportive?"
"ARE we supportive?" Lucas eyed her carefully. She looked down at the table of food, stared at the American flag lemon bar cake that Karen had made then looked back up at her husband.
"I'm not so sure I want to be." She answered quietly then quickly averted her eyes from his.
He lifted her chin to keep her eyes on his, "Why not, Brooke?"
"Because, I don't want Haley to get hurt... not again." She sighed. Her deep brown eyes glazed over with tears and she bit her lip to keep them from spilling over. "Damn hormones." She gritted out underneath her breath.
"I love Haley just as much as you do, and I don't ever want to see her get hurt again either. Yet, I also know that Nathan and Haley have true love, they always have. And I think you know that too. Maybe, they are finally learning it themselves." He shrugged.
"Hey, Scotts! Look what I made!" Peyton smirked as she walked up, leading Jenny with her arms full and Jake dragging a cooler. She held out a jello bowl with whipped creme and Brooke and Lucas looked silently at each other, ending their previous conversation.
-.-.
It seemed the picnic became silent as Nathan and Haley walked up behind a bouncing Megan. Although they were standing a mere few feet apart, Nathan immediately felt the space between himself and Haley widen. She immediately went to set her dessert on the folding card table and left him standing their, unprotected. Instinctively, he moved to a more protected place, years in his family taught him to never be caught off guard. He sat down on the picnic table and scooped up the basketball hidden underneath it. Smoothly, he rolled the basketball over and over in his hands letting his thoughts drift to his relationship with Haley.
"Don't fool yourself. You're going to screw it up again, like you always do, and you are going to end up harming the only people that will ever matter in your life, once again." A dark but smooth voice came from behind him. The uncanny voice was as familiar to him as the lines in Haley's face when she smiled, yet it still caused the hair on his back stand up and his whole body to tense.
"I thought you supported our relationship." He gritted out, not turning to look his father in the eye.
"I did. Past tense, Nathan. Not present. You should've listened to me. I tried to tell you that you can't get things back once you leave them."
"But that's just it. I'm getting another chance! A chance that you seemed to have received too." Nathan enraged, gesturing to the family around them.
The older man nodded, slight smirk playing at his lips. "Earned, not received."
"Look, dad. I love her. Nothing is going to change that."
"Nothing will change your love for her, you say, but what if her love changes for you?" One of his eyebrows cocked and he wore a triumphant smile.
For a moment, Nathan was still. "It won't. I'm not going to screw up again." He answered positively. His father smirked again, but not evilly like Nathan was so used to, and then he shrugged. It was as if Dan Scott was not trying to get under Nathan's skin for wicked intents. Instead, he was trying to make him realize something by himself. Well, it's true what they say. Life is full of little surprises.
-.-.-.
"Can Megan and me light the sparklers now!" An excited Jenny asked Peyton and Haley. They looked over at each other for confirmation then nodded.
"Just make sure you put the burnt out ones in the bucket of water so no one gets hurt!" Haley called after her skipping form.
"Don't worry so much. They'll be fine." Nathan wrapped his arms around her from behind and planted small kisses on her neck.
"Okay, uh. That's my cue to exit." Peyton laughed and took off towards Jake.
"They're going to start the fireworks soon." He told her.
She laughed humorlessly as she turned around in his arms to face him. "Yeah, and the only person that has talked to me is Peyton Well, that's not true, Lucas said, "Try the chip dip. It's great." And that's one step up from Brooke's constant glare."
"Maybe...they just need time." He tried to explain. She shook her head.
"They don't need time," she murmured quietly, "they're always going to be against us, Nathan, and I've been thinking, maybe they're right. Maybe we just aren't right for each other." She pushed away from him and walked away. He grabbed her elbow and jerked her back toward him.
"Hales, stop. You know that's not true." He whispered pleadingly. "Remember when we got married? Everyone was against us then too, but we made it threw that! You it for me Haley. I'd rather have a million set backs with you than a perfect relationship with anyone else. Never in my life have I met someone that makes me feel even close to what I feel with you." He pauses to rub her cheek. "I'm probably losing all of my pride telling you this, but in the end I know it doesn't really matter. I'd get down on my knees if that's what you wanted. I need you Haley. I'm not letting you go, not again."
In the background the first firework went off and a complementary "Ooh," resounded throughout the park.
"I love you." She whispered inaudibly over the cheers, but it was enough for him. He pulled her to him and crushed his lips to hers, sealing his confession with a searing kiss.
"Hey, Hal-" Lucas started to call out but smirked when he saw that she was a little preoccupied. He nudged Brooke with his elbow and nodded in their direction. "I think she's happy Brooke."
Brooke sighed before relenting. "Alright, but if he breaks her heart I get first in line on the 'I told you so' bus."
From next to her, Peyton and Jake laughed. "You're entitled, but I don't think that's going to happen this time around B. Davis. Err, I mean Scott. God, you screwed everything up by getting married." Peyton muttered the last part. Brooke heard.
"Said the future Mrs. Jageilski. Which is like New York compared to Tree Hill in terms of harder to say last names. At least Scott is simple." They heard Brooke counter, but they all continued to stare at the couple.
"I always said Nathan and Haley had true love. Not normal love, but true nonetheless." Jake laughed remembering all of the times Nathan and Haley had been called weird, especially after getting married in high school.
"None of us are normal." Lucas sighed. "Geez. Are they going to come up for air?"
"I never thought I'd be saying this again, but Haley and Nathan need to get a room. They're making me sick."
-.-.-.
"I'll put her in bed then I'll meet you in the kitchen." Nathan whispered to Haley as they walked threw her front door. Megan was draped over his arms and her head rested gently on his chest. Haley watched them walk upstairs and her heart melted. He was becoming the father she knew he always could be. She walked back into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of much needed coffee. It was well past midnight, nearing almost two by the information on her microwave's clock.
He stood in the doorway and watched her stride smoothly through her kitchen. Quietly, he wrapped his arms around her and bent his tall frame so he could kiss her neck. She leaned her head back, smiled in the way only a person in love could, and moaned appreciatively. "I should probably go." His smooth voice cut threw the nightly silence.
She placed a protective hand on his forearm and shook her head. "Stay."
--
UP NEXT: Haley gets a surprise visit.
Megan gets touchy- feely.
The clan goes into NALEY overload.
SHOUT OUTS: For the record people, I love you all, but I only respond to some of you. Shout outs aren't dealed out to just anyone for any old reason! I want a TERRIFIC review!
xsmile- It bugs me when someone's kid ruins the night. Then sometimes I don't get dessert. I don't need to diet, so dessert is a treasured thing for me. However, embarrassing parents should be put into good use while you still can, because then they switch roles and all you wanna do is cringe.
Naleylvr: I made everyone against the dating because Nathan left. I cleaned it up in this chapter, it wont stay all clean though because he did leave and if you remember Brooke is anti- Nathan still.
Nicolec: Keep up the reading and reviewing, and I'll keep up the writing. I am planning on having more Jake and Jenny. Jake hasalways been one of my favorite characters on the show and to write. He's a very multi- dimensional character.
Miki012- Everyone is against them because Nathan did leave, I hope you got that in this chapter. And no, I didn't wait until the 4th of July. Gaw, I'm not THAT bad at updating.
Roserows- I do write A Perfect Pair, which I updating along with this one: your welcome. I didn't take forever and a half either, thank you verymuch.
Deli41321- I love new readers. I'm supremely glad you enjoy this story. You're right with alot of the things you said, they will need some support. And I know I took too long to get them together, Ive heard that a million times!
HaleynNathan23- You get major brownie points for having the longest review of the past chapter, congradulations. I love Brucas, Jeyton and Naley in the same incriments as you! The whole Naley against the world thing is not exactly over yet however, it'll get there though.
... You know what you need to do: review. Thanks so much
Katie