THREE YEARS LATER

"Haley!" I screamed when I saw her at the airport. I had come to pick her up for her first visit in a year.

"Brooke! Oh! You look great! And is that my beautiful niece Maia!"

"Hi Aunt Haley" Maia said.

"So what do you want to do today?"

"I want to see this new store of yours. I can't believe it finally happened."
"I know! I'm opening next week. You have to see how beautiful it is. And, you haven't seen the apartment yet have you? We are going to have so much fun!"

"I can't wait. I'm so happy to be here with my Brooke and Maia!"

I took her to the store and showed her my little boutique. I called it Maia Scott, for the little girl who had made my world change completely and be so perfect all at once. The apartment was right above the store. It had two bedrooms and was perfect. It was ours and from our living room window we could see the town square.

It was hard to believe that it was one year since she had visited. Maia had grown so much and my life had changed too. I wasn't a maid anymore. I had my store with my clothing line. I was a success. Haley's life had changed too, she was now a teacher at Tree Hill Elementary. Nathan and she had moved back. He had played professionally for only one year before he was sidelined. A car accident had left him with a bad knee, so he feel back on his education and started teaching at Tree Hill High School. He's also the basketball coach there with Jake, but you'll hear more about everyone later.

Now that she is with me, I have to tell her that I want to see Lucas. I want to tell him about his daughter. I want to tell him that he has a daughter. Maia had started asking about him about a year and a half ago, when she stared kindergarten.

Flashback

"Mommy, why do other kids have daddies and I don't?"

I had always feared this question. How could I tell a four and a half year old that her mommy had never even told her daddy that she existed. How could I tell her that if he knew about her, he would be by her side and loving her.

"Maia, daddy loves you, but he is at school. Maybe one day he will come and visit you, but that may not be for a very long time."

"But you love me too right mommy?"
"Of course mommy loves you honey. She would trade everything in the world for you ('and she did' I added under my breath). You are the best thing that ever happened to her."
"I love you too mommy."

End Flashback

Ever since then she has been asking more and more often. I don't know what to tell her anymore.

"Haley? Hales, what should I tell Maia about why Luke isn't here?"
"Brooke, I can't answer that. I can't tell you what to tell your daughter. I can't tell you how better to lie to her. You can try distracting her though, you know, get her a puppy or something. Maybe she'll forget the whole 'I don't have a dad' thing."

"Hales, that's a great idea!"

"Brooke you can't be serious. I was just kidding. She's never going to stop asking why she doesn't have a dad and one day you will probably have to tell her. You should probably also tell him though."
"I want to tell him Hales, but I can't yet. I need to tell him on my own time and I'm not ready yet. I want him to know Maia, he deserves to know Maia, but I want to wait till he gets out of grad school."

"How considerate of you to wait till he gets out of school to tell him that he has a daughter who s, what will she be, eight?"

"Haley, I don't want to throw his life off track. I want him to get to love her without having to drop out of school or move away. I don't want him to always think of her as the reason he didn't reach all of his potentials, or why he didn't get to follow through on all of his dreams. Who knows, maybe one day I'll move back."

"Is that what you think Brooke? Do you really believe that Maia prevented you from living your dreams?"
"No, No Hales. I just, I wonder, what if I had gotten pregnant even just a year later, where would I be? Would I have my own line and be a super famous fashion designer? I love Maia, and I would never change the way my life is, but I have to wonder what life would be like If I hadn't had her so young."

"Brooke, if you had gotten pregnant a year later, you wouldn't have gotten Maia. Sure, you might have had the chance to really get your own line going, but that's not the way your life happened. You do have Maia and you didn't get to be a super famous fashion designer, you got to be a mom. Brooke, you have an incredible daughter and your life is great. You may not be 'super famous', but you have your store now and you sell clothing you design. Brooke this is your dream, and in a way Maia led you straight to it."

"I know your right Hales. I do love her more than anything. Maybe I'll take her down to Tree Hill so she can see where I grew up….Ehh, actually maybe I'll leave her with friends. I want to tell Luke while I'm down there, and I don't want her to be in the line of fire."

"Good idea Brooke, come back. You can see everyone again. Peyton and Jake got married you know. She wanted to invite you even though you denounced her. She misses you so much. Actually, I think she's pregnant too. And she and Jake and Jenny moved back to Tree Hill. She runs an art school and he is a guidance counselor at the high school. And me and Nate, we're kind of expecting too, and I mean two! The doctor said it's going to be twins!"

"Oh! Haley, I am so happy for you, you have no idea! I am definitely coming back now. I can't wait to come visit the babies after their born!"
"Brooke, you're really sure you're ready to come back?"

"It's been seven years Haley. And besides, I have to come back. You were there for me and Maia; I have to be there with you. I have to tell Maia. Maia! Maia come here!"

"Yeah mommy?" she said, looking at me with Luke's expressive eyes.

"Aunt Haley is having a baby!"

"Really? Yay!"

"And, we're getting that puppy you wanted!"
"Mommy I'm so excited!"

I got the dog I promised for Maia. We named him Spencer and he is the cutest dog ever. And Haley's joke of a plan worked for a while. But it didn't take long for the daddy topic to resurface. On her seventh birthday I threw her a blowout. Kids from the whole town celebrated. It was a great birthday until she asked why her daddy didn't even call on her birthday. I didn't know what to say so I brought out the cake. That night as I tucked her in, she astounded me once again with her persistent questioning.

"Mommy? Does my daddy even know where we live?"

"No sweetie, but he does know Aunt Haley."

"Are you lying to me, because one of the kids in my class said that sometimes mommies don't know who the daddy is. You know who my daddy is right?"
"Of course I do. I used to show you pictures of him. I have some in the living room too. You probably just figured he was a friend of mine."
"So he's not made up, cause I kind of don't believe he's a real person?"

"No honey, his name is Luke and I loved him very much. And he loved me too."

"Can I meet him one day?"
"I'll see what I can do honey. Good night."