Dan sat at the table with a painfully sincere smile plastered to his face. He was up to something. He had to be. Over the years Deb had pretty much figured out his moods and expressions. That's what 17 years of marriage could do to a person. And even after 17 years, she still didn't trust that smirk.

"What?" she eyed him carefully.

He shrugged.

"Nothing. It's just another beautiful day with my beautiful wife."

She cringed.

"Planning on killing me later, dear?"

"I'm married to a comedian", he rolled his eyes. "Enough with the jokes, Deb. Why don't you sit down and have a nice lunch with me? It's a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. I'd like to spend some quality time with my family before hitting the golf course."

There was always room for suspicion whenever he was being overly nice but she decided simply to just go with it for the moment.

"Wine?" she asked, opening a fresh bottle of their finest.

"Please", he nodded.

They sat in silence and munched on the veal tenderloin sandwiches she had prepared. The tranquility was broken as the couple heard the familiar sound of a ball bouncing against the floor.

"Honey, I've told you a thousand times, not in the house", Deb warned, the same sentence she had been saying to her son ever since he had been old enough to dribble a basketball.

"Sorry, Mom", Nathan grumbled, rap music blaring from his ear piece.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Dan demanded with folded arms and a raised eyebrow.

"Out."

Teenagers, Dan wanted to scream.

"Out where, son?"

Nathan made a face.

"Out to the River Court."

"Are you and Lucas playing ball today, honey?" Deb asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, good for you. Have a good time", she smiled.

Nathan headed for the door but was stopped once again.

"The River Court, eh?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Dad, the River Court", Nathan impatiently repeated.

Dan nodded.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time down there I've noticed."

"So?"

"So…"

"Whatever, Dad. Look, I don't want to hear it. If you're gonna make a big deal…"

"I'm not making a big deal, Nate. It's just that I don't see why you spend so much time there when you have your own private court right in our driveway."

"Cause I'd rather play there. Look, I'll see you later…"

"I take it Haley will be there", Dan slid in.

"Yeah. So what? She always comes to watch us play."

"You've certainly been spending an awful lot of time with her as well."

"She is my girlfriend."

"You're young. There is so much ahead of you. There's Duke and the NBA and…"

"And Haley", Nathan reminded him.

Dan frowned. Not exactly what he had figured into the whole equation.

"Yes. Yes, of course, Haley. She's an…interesting girl. Hell, they all are, son but there are plenty of fish in the sea and…"

"I've got to go, Dad."

Deb sighed, giving her husband "the eye".

"Very well. We'll finish this conversation later."

"I can't wait", Nathan grumbled sarcastically.

In the normal hub bub of father and son disagreements in the Scott household with Deb trying to keep the peace, the three had neglected to hear the back door open. They were also oblivious to the fourth presence that had joined them.

"Yeah, Nate. The Old Man is right. You should listen to him."

Three heads turned in shock, with two of the faces breaking out into shocked but excited smiles. Only Dan's expression communicated obvious dismay.

"What are you doing here?" Deb smiled, running to give the person a hug.

Nathan's whole face had lit up like a Christmas Tree.

"Coop!"

Cooper Lee, kid brother to Deb, favorite uncle to Nathan and reluctant brother in law to Dan. He was a successful race car driver in South Carolina and as a young boy, Nathan had visited him often. The trips had become few and far between over the years but it was always a pleasant surprise when the handsome bachelor popped into town unannounced as he often did.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea but even I have to admit that that Haley is a hell of a catch. Hey, sis!" he grinned, returning Deb's hug, flashing that million dollar toothy smile.

"Hey sis? I haven't seen you in year! Is that all you can say? You know I can still put my foot in your behind and I probably should right now. You could have called, you know."

Cooper helped himself to an apple from a basket of fresh fruit placed on the counter.

"Yes", Dan spoke for the first time. "You certainly could have called."

Cooper laughed between mouthfuls.

"Dude, I never call", he slapped Dan on the back as the older man grimaced and cursed under his breath.

"How long you in town for this time, man?" Nathan asked.

"Get over here, you handsome devil, you", Cooper joked rustling his hair.

"Dude…"

"What? I'm serious. Hell, you're almost as good looking as me but to answer your question, I might be around for a while."

"Oh?" Deb questioned. "What about work? What about Sarah?"

Sarah was the gorgeous model Cooper had taken up with some months before.

"You know. Stuff happens. It's no big deal. Look, I'll get into it later. Bottom line, I had some time on my hands and Mom and Dad were driving my ass crazy after about a week so I thought I'd come up to Tree Hill, hang with my beautiful, big sis, my grumpy bro in law and raise some havoc with my nephew. Sound cool?"

"Hell yeah", Nathan bumped fists with him.

Deb smiled.

"Of course. You know you're always welcome here. Stay as long as you'd like. We're happy to have you, aren't we, Dan?"

"Thrilled", he grunted.

"Man, I'm gonna go ball at the River Court with Luke and the guys and then I'm gonna hang out with Hales. I'll see you in a few hours when I get back."

"I'll be here", Cooper helped himself to get comfortable as Nathan let himself out.

He relaxed in the chair, propping his feet up on the table much to Dan's horror.

"That's not a foot stool, you know. It's a dining room table and a very expensive one at that."

Cooper put up his hands defensively.

"Sorry, bro. My bad. Hey, are you drinking that?" he asked, motioning to the glass of fresh iced water next to Dan's wine.

"Yes, I…"

Too late. In a matter of seconds, Cooper was already gulping it, the cool liquid washing down the apple.

"Deb, may I see you? Alone…in the living room…dear…now", Dan requested through gritted teeth.

She nodded and smiled, giving her beloved baby brother another kiss on her way out.

"Dan, I know…" she began when they were out of earshot.

"No, you don't know. Deb, what the hell is he doing here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm just as shocked. Besides, you know Cooper."

"Unfortunately I do."

"Randomly dropping in is just his thing."

"Isn't he a little old for that? And wouldn't he be more comfortable, say at the beach house…or a hotel…perhaps in another city. Another state maybe?"

"Daniel Scott! Don't you dare. Cooper is my little brother, Nathan's uncle and your only brother in law. He is family and family is always welcomed in our home."

"Fine…"

"And I want you on your best behavior, Mister. I mean that. No mean faces or snide comments."

"But I don't like him", Dan protested.

"Why?"

They glanced over in the next room at Cooper who was beginning to raid their refrigerator. Dan bit his lip as he drank milk straight from the carton.

"A picture is worth a thousand words, eh, Deb? Need I say more about your unreliable, irresponsible, delinquent brother?"

"Dan!"

"He always causes trouble when he's here. If it's not some girl, it's getting arrested or random bar fights or God forbid taking our son out in a race car and nearly getting him killed of all things."

Deb sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked up to her pouting husband and encircled her arms around him.

"That was a long time ago. Cooper has grown up. It was a wild phase. Besides, you heard what he said. Hopefully all that dangerous racing nonsense is in the past."

"Deb…"

"He's a good guy. He really is and you know that. He's just a big jokester."

"He frays my nerves."

"He knows he gets to you so he pushes your buttons. Try some reverse psychology and pretend like it doesn't even bother you."

Easier said than done as Dan tried to contain his rage. Cooper was rifling through his box of expensive cigars.

"A couple of weeks Deb and that's it. And the first time he screws up…"

"Thank you", she silenced him with a kiss. "It won't be that bad. Cooper is harmless. I mean, what's the worst that he could do? He shouldn't be here long. How much trouble could he actually get into?"

Dan looked over as he and Cooper's eyes met. Deb had asked the billion dollar questions. It was a scary thought as Cooper gave him that grin. Just how much trouble could he cause?