"Hey there little man." Lucas said picking up Tyler.
"Duh." Tyler gurgled happily.
"Dad." Lucas corrected.
"Lucas? Is that you?" Brooke called from the kitchen.
"No, it's some stranger, coming to kidnap you and take you away from all this. We'll make mad passionate love on the beach day and night." He said entering the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.
"Let me just go pack." She said absentmindedly as she stirred the sauce, "Listen, Nicole called and I need to go in to the office, so you have to pick up Keith from school, and drop Penelope off at ballet."
"What?" he asked, "Brooke, my next chapter is due in a week. I only have five pages."
"Can't it be a short chapter?" she pleaded, "Luke I need to go in. I haven't been in the office at all this week."
Lucas sighed, "I'll figure something out."
"Thank you." She said kissing his cheek, and grabbing her coat, "Let that boil for another ten minutes then turn off the burner. I'll be home by dinner. Bye baby." She added to Tyler.
"I love you." Lucas called and was answered with the door slamming.
"Hello?" Lucas greeted, picking up his phone.
"Luke? Honey when are you gonna be home?" Brooke asked.
"I don't know, Pretty Girl. They're sending me a new babysitter. She was supposed to be here an hour ago."
"Luke, it's our anniversary." Brooke pouted.
"I know, baby. I'll try to be home as soon as I can." He sighed.
"The kids are out of the house, and we were gonna have some alone time." Lucas groaned, oh how he missed alone time.
"As soon as possible." He said. There was a knock on his door and he added, "I think she's here. I love you."
"Love you too. I'll be waiting." She added in that breathy voice he loved so much.
Lucas let out a small whimper before calling, "Come in."
"Hi." A short blonde girl said entering, "I'm Lindsay."
"Hi, Lindsay, I'm Lucas Scott."
"I know. Look can I just say before we start, what a huge fan I am?" She pointed to her hair, "I even went out and got "The Peyton" like every other girl whose read your book. Oh god you probably think I'm a dork."
Lucas grinned, "Not at all, but my Peyton had curly hair." He added.
Lindsay nodded, and glanced at his hand, "Oh so you made her Mrs. Scott after all?"
Lucas chuckled and shook his head, "No. Actually Brooke Davis-"
"The girl who was gonna change the world? The one who didn't even know it?" Lucas nodded, "Did she?"
"She changed mine." He said and held up the family photo, "Tyler, the baby is barely a year old, Keith is seven, and Penelope is six."
"They're beautiful." Lindsay said, "And so is your wife."
The next day Lindsay came to work with dark brown hair.
"Brooke I don't want to fight anymore!" Lucas said angrily, "And I especially don't want to fight at my office."
"Lucas we have to talk sometimes okay?" she said, "I can't leave every morning, come home in the afternoon in time for you to come here, only to slip into bed past midnight, get up and do it all over again the next day. We're married for god sakes! It shouldn't be like this."
"How would you prefer we go about this? We both have to work."
"I know we both work, Lucas, but the kids barely see either of us. You always have book deadlines and I always have designers breathing down my neck."
"Excuse me, Lucas?" Lindsay said opening his door, "Oh hey Mrs. Scott."
Brooke forced a smile, and said, "Hi Lindsay." Lindsay was wearing an outfit that would have made seventeen year old Brooke blush.
"What do you need Linds?"
"It can wait." She smiled, "Are you going to be much longer?" she added to Brooke.
Brooke looked over at Lucas and shook her head, "You know what I'm done. I gotta pick up Keith from soccer anyway."
"Brooke." He sighed.
She turned around and asked, "What?"
"I love you." He said like it was a chore.
She shrugged, "I love you too, Luke. See you tonight."
He nodded and she walked out the door passed Lindsay who called, "Bye Mrs. Scott."
"Time to celebrate?" Lindsay asked from her spot on Luke's desk as he hit the enterkey.
He nodded, "I'm done Linds! I finished it." He sat back a bit shell shocked. He just finished his second novel.
"Yes!" she cheered, reaching to hug him, "Lucas? I have something important I need to tell you."
"What?" he asked still staring at the screen.
Lindsay leaned down and kissed him.
"Lindsay?" Brooke called, looking for the brunette who called her an hour earlier asking her to bring the kids down to Luke's office, "Keith don't eat the dirt! Pen hold your brothers hand." She added opening Luke's door, "Lucas, have you seen- oh my God!" Brooke exclaimed.
"Brooke!" Lucas said untangling Lindsay's arms from his neck.
"Stay away from me!" she said grabbing Penelope's hand and telling Keith to get back on the elevator.
"Brooke, please-"
"I cannot believe this Lucas! Again!" she said holding back her tears, "I guess I should be glad she's not Peyton right?"
"Brooke I didn't-"
"Don't you dare lie to me." She said, walking into the elevator, "You better be grateful that Keith was eating dirt and Penelope was twirling around on her toes," she added in a harsh whisper before the elevator door closed, "They won't ever have to have the visual of their father and another woman like I do."
"Haley he did it again." Lucas could hear Brooke cry into the phone when he walked in the door, "No, it wasn't Peyton. It was Lindsay, the office tramp I told you about. I know he doesn't really work in an office- Haley! She's a tramp!"
"Brooke." He said softly.
"Haley, I have to go. He'shere. Okay I will. Bye." Brooke hung up the phone and got up to walk to him. Lucas misread the gesture and opened his arms to hug her, but instead of hugging him, she slapped him across the face, "That was from Haley." She slapped him again, "And that was from me."
"Brooke please, let me explain!" Lucas said holding his cheek, "It wasn't what you think."
"What she tripped and you caught her with your lips?"
"Brooke,shekissed me. I was pushing her away when you came in. I have no idea why she was kissing me. I've never given her any indication that I want to be kissed by her."
"I know the feeling." Brooke muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"Nothing, just that you've been so emotionally distant that I believed you were having an affair. God, Lucas I had absolutely no problem believing you were cheating on me. How horrible is that?" she asked crying.
" Well it's not like… what I mean is…" Lucas trailed off but she knew what he meant.
"You've given me reason." Was all she said, "Lucas we can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?" he asked.
"This. This stupid game of who is to blame. Maybe we just- God maybe we just don't work together anymore."
"Maybe we never did?"
"We have-" her voice caught in her throat, "We have three beautiful kids together, maybe that's it for us." He nodded.
"I guess- uh- I guess I'll get a bag of my stuff, and get out of here?" Brooke turned her back to cry, "I'm sorry Brooke. But hey, we tried right?" Brooke walked into the kitchen and Lucas heard her sob louder.
"Hey we tried right?" Jenny asked wiping some tears, "That's it?" Lucas nodded, "What's wrong with you?"
"Jenny-"
"No, don't Jenny me." She started walking back towards the house Lucas following, "I'm so sick of all of you." Nathan heard her enter from his spot on the couch, "God you have love and you just throw it away. You don't even try!" she yelled at him and ran for Jamie's room.
Nathan threw Lucas a questioning glance, he shrugged, "Kids?" Nathan nodded but he couldn't help thinking about what Jenny had just said, as he walked to his and Haley's room.
He paused as he spotted something on the dresser. Something he hadn't seen in a while. He pocketed it and left. Keith stepped out of Haley's closet and grinned.
"Come on Jamie keep up!" Peyton called from the bottom of the hill.
"I'm Haley's son, and-" Jamie trailed off not having an excuse to back up his fear of big hills.
"Come on! You'll be fine!" she laughed.
"Ahh!" He yelled flying down the hill straight towards his aunt, "Jeez! That's- that's- that's fun." He admitted.
Peyton nodded, "So what did you want to talk about sweetie?" she added sitting down on her sled to take a breather.
"Uncle Jake told me about how you guys got back together." Jamie said, "You know about Jenny seeing you and-"
Peyton interrupted, "I remember."
"Yeah well I was just wondering, was everything all good and stuff right away? Or was it like when my mom left to go on tour and then came back for dad. But he wasn't really happy right away."
"Oh… well it was good pretty much from the start. I stayed at his house in Tree Hill for a little while. Then he proposed to me… and well you know the rest bud, we got married."
"Yeah, but was it hard? Like things were for my parents?"
Peyton smiled and shook her head, "No, but things were never hard for me and Jake. Sometimes a little complicated, but when we were together… well nothing else mattered."
"You mean when you guys are together?" Jamie corrected with a grin, "Right Aunt Peyton?"
Peyton nodded, "Come on kid. I see a hill with our name on it."
"Thanks for dinner Aunt Haley." Keith said, as the whole group finished eating.
"You're welcome, hon." Haley said getting up to collect plates.
Jenny nodded to Penelope who suddenly grabbed her stomach and moaned in agaony, "Mommy, daddy, I don't feel good."
"What's the matter baby?" Brooke asked putting a hand to her forehead.
"My stomach hurts."
"You don't feel warm, baby girl." Lucas said picking her up.
"Maybe she should lie down." Jamie suggested, while Keith and Jenny nodded.
"Come on Bear." Brooke said, "You can sleep in mommy's room."
"Peyton, can you put Tyler to bed for me?" Lucas asked.
"Sure, I'll do it when I put Ellie down. Go take care of Pen." Peyton nodded.
So many signs all day had been pointing Nathan in this direction. First Keith, then what Jenny said, then finding it. He turned to Haley sitting by herself drinking coco in the den. Jake and Peyton were putting the smaller children down, Brooke and Lucas were still with Penelope in Brooke's room, and the older kids were off somewhere.
Nathan reached down and pushed play on one of Haley's favorite Christmas songs.
"Oh hey." She said looking up.
"Hi." He said.
"Nathan." Haley laughed, as he swept his wife up for a dance.
Keith high fived Jamie and Jenny from their spot on the top of the stairs.
"Did I ever tell you how much I love dancing with you?" he asked.
Haley paused, and shook her head, "No I don't think you have."
"Haley James Scott, I love dancing with you." he said making her laugh, "I love you Hales. I know I don't say it enough but I do. I really do."
"Nathan I love you too." Haley said concerned, "What is this about?"
He shook his head, "Just something Keith said today. And then Jenny later today. Hales you mean so much to me. We've been through too much to just give up."
"I hardly think going to marriage counseling is giving up, Nathan."
"But we did Hales. We just gave up. We go to Dr. Grossman's and complain about each other and never get results. He tells us to do things and we completely ignore him."
"I know." Haley admitted, "But what else were we supposed to do Nathan. When your marriage is in trouble you go see a counselor."
"Yeah, but you also try harder. We didn't try at all Haley." he said taking her hand in his, he slid the plastic bracelet on her wrist, "The Cracker Jack company foretold out love Hales. We owe it to them." he joked.
Haley laughed and cried at the same time, "Where did you find it?"
"What?" he asked wiping her tears.
"My bracelet. I lost it so long ago." she said.
"It was on the dresser." Nathan said shrugging.
"I love you." Haley said throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Jenny looked up at Keith and mouthed, "You?" He nodded and whispered, "It was in Andy's costume jewelry box. I recognized it from a picture of our mom's."
Jamie hadn't said a word he was just staring at his parents. This was the first time in over a year his parents had actually really kissed. No obligatory anniversary, holiday, or birthday reasons. True it had been his idea but to be perfectly honest he'd never really thought his parents could reconcile their differences.
Jenny slugged him in the arm, "One down."
"Two to go." Jamie said getting up.
"And only three more days to get it done." Keith said.
Okay so? One couple down! Yay! Right? I hope…Please tell me you like this guys, I worked so hard on Nathan and Haley. In a lot of ways they were the hardest for me to put back together because they weren't apart to begin with, but in a way they were. I liked what I came up with so I hope you guys did too.
Please review. Preferably with praise.
-Em