Hey there! Sorry it has been a while updating; I have been ill.

There are some issues and opinions raised in this chapter about hearing difficulties. If anyone is offended by these opinions, I'm very sorry and they're not mine, they're the character's. I have a good friend who's partially deaf and she's one of the nicest people I know.

Enjoy!

"Ok, so I've just dropped Jamie off at Peyton and Jake's; I should be at the restaurant in about ten minutes." Brooke told Ross on her mobile. "Ok, see you there."

After Peyton had told her about Jake's proposal and that he knew she was pregnant, Brooke had decided to tell Ross about Jamie. She had been contemplating their relationship for a while now – Ross was hardly ever at home, and when he was, he was as useful as a hole in the head, so if he twigged out over the whole hearing thing, that would pretty much be the last straw.

Brooke pulled up and parked outside the riverside restaurant Ross was treating her to. He wasn't there yet, but their table was booked for seven and it was already five past, so she decided to go inside and make sure they didn't give it to anyone else.

After sitting down, Brooke scanned the menu and waited for Ross to get there. Ten minutes went by and he still hadn't arrived, so she ordered drinks for them both. Five minutes after that he finally strolled through the door, acting as if he were perfectly on time.

"Ross, I have been sitting here on my own for fifteen minutes!" Brooke hissed. "Where were you?"

"Relax, I got held up at work." He said as he hung his coat up.

"Can we please just sit down and eat?"

"It's you who's stopping us, honey."

Brooke stayed silent for a moment and then spoke.

"We need to talk about Jamie."

"What about him? He's a healthy little guy. Going to be a looker, just like his father." Ross sat back in his chair.

"Ross, seriously. The paediatrician said that he… he's probably deaf."

There was a pause.

Ross laughed.

"You're great, Brooke."

"What?"

"You know just how to make me laugh. I mean, if Jamie was deaf, God, I couldn't be bothered."

"I wasn't joking, Ross."

Ross leaned forward.

"You mean I have a retard for a son?"

"Ross!" Brooke raised her voice. "He is our child, not a-"

"A retard? Oh yes he is! How do I even know he's mine, you little tart? Huh?"

"You know what, I can't handle this right now." Brooke, on the edge of tears, got up from the table and grabbed her coat. She walked as fast as she could to the door, without looking back.

Once she was outside, she kept on walking, down the road, around the corner, until she didn't know where she was going anymore.

oooOOOooo

Somehow Brooke ended up at the Blue Post. She pushed open the door and slipped inside.

Since senior year, this place had really gone downhill. Now it was the place to go only if you wanted a drunken brawl or some dodgy pills.

Before she knew it Brooke had bought herself a drink and was heading towards the dancefloor. She danced for what seemed like hours; not thinking about anyone, not caring about anything. She was lost in the music when a small, rat faced man tapped her on the shoulder.

"Want something?" He shouted over the bass.

"What?" Brooke shouted back.

"You want something?" He repeated, opening his coat so she could see the bottles of pills hidden inside.

She started to reply 'no', but then thought again. Her life was pretty crap at the moment; she had split up with her boyfriend, her son was deaf, and the man she was pretty sure she was in love with was married to someone else. What harm could a few pills do?

Brooke nodded.

"How much?"

"Well, these are good, but for a beautiful lady like you, I'll call 7,50."

Brooke stuffed $10 in his hand.

"Keep the change."

Pause while that sinks in.

Going to a slightly happier part of the story, here are the ten names I am considering for the Jeyton child (remember it's a boy), and I liked the whole votey thing on the gender. Please either vote for one of these (in no particular order, just alphabetical) or if you hate them all, choose another one (by the way, the middle name will most likely be Jacob):

Alex/ander

Ashton

Conway

Noah

Ollie (Oliver)

Sam

Tarrin

Tyler

William (Will)

and Zach

Thanks!