Heaven bent to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight

Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...

- Sarah McLachlan – "Fallen"

Brooke was sprawled out on Haley's couch, watching but not really seeing some show on VH1 about the best and worst dressed celebrities at some red carpet event. Beside her, on the coffee table, was a half empty tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, the spoon sticking out of the top. She held a pillow close to her chest and her cheeks were stained with tears that finally, after an hour, had stopped.

"What am I going to do with her?" Haley asked from her bedroom, watching Nathan get dressed after his shower. "I don't know," he replied as he sat down beside his wife, wearing a pair of gray pajama pants. She leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder as he kissed the top of her head lovingly.

"I wish they would both stop being so stubborn," she whispered, "I mean, Lucas loves her and she loves him, too. Why can't they just admit that to each other?" she asked, her eyes closing as she let out a heavy sigh.

Nathan gently rubbed her side, holding her close to him. "Maybe they haven't admitted it to themselves yet," he suggested with another small shrug. Haley looked up at him, a look on her face that told him he was right. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before giving him a quick kiss.

"Thank you," she said as she stood up, his eyes following her. "Hales, where are you going? It's one in the morning," he said as he reached out a hand for her. She stepped away and shook her head. "I need to talk to Lucas," she said before placing another kiss on his pouting lips.

"Keep an eye on Brooke for me, will you?" she asked, seeing him nod a bit as he stood up and grabbed a shirt. He pulled it on, and then followed Haley out of the room. Brooke's eyes, slightly red and puffy, were focused on the television still, though Nathan and Haley both knew she wasn't paying attention.

"Hey Tigger," Haley said as she made her way over to her friend. The brunette's eyes looked up, focusing on her best friend's worried face. "I'm gonna head out for a bit, but Nathan's going to keep you company, okay?" she asked.

Brooke sat up, giving her a slight nod. "I'm sorry for intruding," she said, glancing from Haley to Nathan and back again. "I just don't think I can deal with Rachel right now. She's probably got some guy at the house, and I don't want to listen to it," she explained. "At least, not again," she added.

Haley leaned down and took Brooke into her arms, squeezing her lovingly. "It'll be okay," she whispered into the girl's hair. The brunette gave a nod before pulling away, fighting another round of tears. As Haley walked towards the door, Nathan sat down on the couch and hesitatingly put his arm around Brooke's shoulder.

After pulling on her coat, Haley gave them a small wave and slipped out the door. Brooke leaned into Nathan, her head against his chest as he stroked her back lovingly. They had come to form a brother-sister relationship, what with Haley and Brooke being together almost constantly.

"You gonna be okay, Davis?" he asked, feeling her nod a bit. "I think so," she said weakly, though she tried her best to sound upbeat. Though he knew asking would just open a can of worms, Nathan knew he needed to hear what happened. If she told him, then he might be able to do something to help them out.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice soft. He felt Brooke tense against him before she pulled back, pulling her knees to her chest. "You really want to know?" she asked, glancing over at him, watching him give a slight nod. Though he didn't understand it, he knew that when Brooke and Lucas were together, it was the happiest that he'd ever seen them.

Lucas, despite Brooke's request, stayed seated beside her. She could still feel him there, and she tried desperately to ignore him. The attempt was pointless, however, when he cleared his throat and started talking.

"Look," he said softly, "I know you saw Peyton kissing me." He ignored the extra tension that came to Brooke's shoulders as he continued, "It isn't what you think, though. I swear it isn't. We were just friends, nothing more. She just all of a sudden –" he stopped talking when he noticed Brooke's head shoot up.

She glared at him, all the pain she felt obvious in her eyes. "Why are you even explaining yourself to me?" she asked, standing up quickly. "It's not like we're together anymore, so if you want to kiss her, go for it," she said. Brooke quickly made her way down the rest of the stairs, making it to the bottom before it hit her; she had no way of leaving unless she wanted to walk.

Lucas followed her down the steps, his hand reaching out to take hold of her arm. She pulled away quickly, turning to glare at him again. "Just leave me alone," she yelled into his face before turning again. She started walking towards the road, knowing that she wouldn't make it very far in the shoes she was wearing.

"Brooke, wait!" he called after her, jogging up to be by her side. "I know that we're not together anymore, but I need to make sure you understand this. Even if you don't care about me anymore, I care about you," he said. That single sentence, however, caused Brooke to stop walking.

"I'm still in love with you, Brooke. I always have been, and I'm sure I always will be," he said. "When you broke up with me, I didn't chase after you. I don't know why I didn't, or why I couldn't be there for you the way you needed me to be, but I know I made a huge mistake. You're the one I need to be with."

Brooke kept her back to him as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the urge to turn around and confess her love for him. She couldn't do that, not after two weeks of suffering. She was the one who ended it, and she couldn't take the chance of giving him her heart again.

"I don't want to be with Peyton. I don't want to be with anyone else. Just you," he said, his voice growing soft. Brooke turned now, only to see Peyton coming down the stairs. She glared over Lucas's shoulder at the blonde, seeing the pain on her ex-best friend's face.

She pushed past Lucas and walked quickly over to Peyton. Before the blonde had a chance to even look up, Brooke's hand came across her cheek so hard that she stumbled back in surprise and pain. Her green eyes looked at Brooke, tears spilling out of them.

"You little slut," Brooke hissed between clenched teeth. "It's bad enough that you kissed Lucas while I was with him, but then you had to come over to my house to invite me to this stupid little party just so you can kiss him again in front of me."

Peyton stood still, her hand on her cheek as she listened to Brooke. "Stay the hell away from me," Brooke said, looking over at Lucas as she added, "both of you." She looked back to the girl in front of her, her eyes narrowing even more. "I feel sorry for him, you know. You'll just end up killing him with your love, just like you did everyone else."

Brooke pushed past Peyton now, ignoring the pained look on her face. She stomped up the stairs and headed into Tric, knowing that she probably just hurt two of what she once thought to be the most important people in her life. And though she felt a bit guilty, she couldn't help feeling like they had it coming.

Brooke pushed her way back to the table where Haley and Nathan were now seated, arguing over something about their child. The brunette sat down in the chair, her exhaustion obvious to the other two as she rested her head down on the table.

"What's wrong, Tigger?" Haley asked, her hand reaching out to touch Brooke's. The brunette, with her head still down, mumbled into the table, "Can I stay with you guy tonight? Please?"

"Of course," Nathan had said before Haley had a chance to speak. And before she knew it, Brooke was sitting on the couple's couch, sobbing into Haley's shoulder.

Nathan stayed quiet through out Brooke's story, watching her crumple up again into a ball once she was done. He slipped his arm around her again, pulling her tight against him as she sobbed into her knees.

He made a silent vow as he rubbed Brooke's back that he, with the help of Haley, would do everything in his power to help them out. He could tell that the girl in his arms needed his brother just as much as he needed her.

----

A soft knock could be heard on Lucas's door, and though he was still awake, he had no desire to open it. A few minutes later, however, the door was slowly pushed open, only for him to see Haley's head poking through.

"Hey buddy," she said softly, seeing that he was still awake. She stepped into his room, watching him toss the mini basketball up into the air. She walked over and sat down gently on the edge of his bed.

"It's one in the morning, Haley," he said, his voice angrier than he had intended. Haley kept the hurt off her face, knowing that he didn't mean to direct his anger at her. She reached out and grabbed the ball in mid-throw, causing Lucas to finally look at her.

"I would wait until tomorrow," she said, holding the ball in her hand, "but I can't listen to Brooke's sobs any more." He looked away at the mention of his ex, his eyes looking up towards the ceiling again. Leave it to Haley to rub salt into his wounds unintentionally.

"Look, Lucas, I don't know what happened tonight, but whatever it was, it really hurt Brooke. You need to either leave her alone or get your ass over there and convince her to be with you again," she said as she rolled the ball in her hands.

Lucas sat up suddenly, pushing himself back against the wall. "It's not that easy, Hales," he said after a moment. "I'm trying to win her back, but she won't listen to me. It's doesn't help that Peyton shows up," he added in an annoyed tone.

Haley couldn't help but laugh at that. "You need to work things out with her, too," she said, looking over at Lucas. "Clear things up, make sure she knows that you're only friends. If you're going to even be that, anymore."

"I know how to work things out with Peyton," Lucas said, "but I don't know what to do about Brooke." He reached a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think of something. She wouldn't listen to him, even if he talked until he was blue in the face and gasping for air.

Haley slid up the bed to sit beside him, smiling a bit as he rested his head on her shoulder. She patted his knee lovingly as she rested her head against his. "I've tried over and over again to tell her how I feel," Lucas said with an exhausted sigh.

"So don't try to tell her," Haley replied, "show her how much she means to you." Lucas nodded a bit against her, knowing that it would be the best way. The only question now was how to go about it.