Just three months later I flew down to Tree Hill to see Haley and the babies. I left Maia with Lorelai, I didn't want her to get caught in the middle of anything. Luke was going to be there this weekend and he didn't know that I was coming.

When I got to Haley's street I didn't even question which house was theirs. First of all it was picturesque, perfect in everyway. Out on the front lawn were two signs welcoming two baby girls, Grace Natalie Scott and Hannah Brooke Scott. I laughed to myself, she gave her little girl my name as her middle; she was returning the gesture. I ran to the door and knocked. Haley answered the door. I couldn't believe how great she looked, even after she'd just had two babies.

"Who's at the door?" I heard Luke call to Haley.

"A good friend of mine, you might remember her."
Luke walked over to the door and when his eyes met mine he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Br-Brooke? Is that you?"

"Yeah Luke it's me" I replied as a tear slipped out of my eye. He was still gorgeous. I had missed him so much.

"Brooke, I looked for you for so long. I missed you for all these years. It's been like eight years." He turned to Haley next, "Have you been in touch with her

all this time?"
"Yeah Luke, but it was complicated. I never wanted to hu-"
"Haley, don't try to tell me you didn't want to hurt me, Brooke might remember this, 'in the end it all hurts just the same'" He turned and walked away.

"Luke! Luke" I called desperately hoping that I could stop him, that I could make this all okay. Deep down though, I knew it was all just going to get worse.

He turned around.

"Brooke, I don't even know what I should say to you. I guess I just want to know, why? Why did you leave without a word? Disappear for eight years and just come back like nothing happened. The only thing that I could ever reason was that either, a) you were so mad at me for the whole kissing Peyton during the shooting thing that you had to get away from everyone, or b) you lied to me and you really were pregnant and you ran away to have what I am assuming would have been or is my baby."

I knew that when he looked into my eyes he knew. He knew that it was b. He knew that I had been pregnant.

"Did you keep it?" he asked me.

"Yeah" I whispered.

"Wait. Brooke, you kept our baby and never told me?!"

"A girl, her name is Maia." I whisper

"Maia? I have a daughter who is what, seven?"
"Yeah and she's beautiful. She's actually why I'm here. She wants to meet you. She is always asking about you and why you never call."
"Did you tell her it's because her mother was a selfish bitch who never told her father that she was pregnant?"

"Luke, I was young. I made a mistake. I wanted the best for her, and for you. I was going to tell you no matter what when you finished school. I wanted you to be able to finish and graduate undistracted. I never got to finish high school, or go to college and I don't regret it, at least not as much as I would have regretted if I had prevented you from going to school and becoming successful."
"Brooke, don't tell me you were protecting me. You were scared I get it, but it's been eight years. I missed out on seven birthdays, her first words, first steps, her first days of school. I didn't get the choice to love her. Dan walked away from me by himself, but you pushed me away. I'll go meet her, but I don't know if I'll ever forgive you. I just refuse to penalize her because of you actions." With that he walked away. I didn't see him for the rest of the weekend.

I spent the rest of the weekend doting on Grace and Hannah. I couldn't believe that Haley was a mom, or that Nathan was a dad. The two of them were happier than I'd ever seen. I also visited Peyton that weekend. I had told her before leaving that I never wanted to see her again, but I did miss her. We had survived so much together, that I had to say hi to her, I had to tell her that I loved her.

She too had just had a baby. I couldn't believe that all my childhood friends were parents. I mean they could have been like me and had kids seven years ago, but now they were actually planning their kids. I rang the bell at Peyton's and a girl about eight or nine years old, who I assumed to be Jenny, answered the door.

"Hi Jenny. You don't remember me, but I was a friend of you dad's and Peyton's."
"Do you want me to get my mom and dad?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
"Mom!" Jenny called out and I heard Peyton call back, "Coming Jenny!"

Peyton walked to the door holding a small bundle in her arms.

"Brooke? Is that you?"
"Hey P. Sawyer, or should I say P. Jagielski?"
"Brooke, where have you been?"

"Well we lived in New York for a while and then we moved to Connecticut."
"We? Who is we? A boy perhaps?"
"Actually, a girl. My-"
"Stop there Brooke, I get it, you're a lesbian. It's cool. Did you come back 'cause you realized that you loved me?"
"No! Well yes, but in a best friend kind of love, not an 'I want to have sex with you' kind of love. The girl is actually my daughter." I replied, slowing my speech and looking down at my hands.
"Oh! Oh, sorry about the lesbian thing."
"That's okay, you couldn't have known. Plus I see you've got kids too. Jenny calls you mom?"
"Yeah, but she still sees Nikki sometimes."
"Oh. And what is this little guy's name?"
"Actually, his name is Andrew, after my mom."

"Peyton, he's beautiful."
"Thanks, I'm sure you daughter is beautiful too"

"Want to see a picture of her?"
"Okay, come on in Brooke, we'll sit down."
The second I took the picture out to show it to her she looked up at me and said, "Does Luke know he has a daughter?"
"Actually, I came down this weekend to tell him. She really wants to meet him."
"She looks exactly like him, I can't believe it. What's her name?"

"Maia. Maia Haley Davis Scott."

"Her middle name is Haley? Is that why Haley was always going to New York? She was visiting you, and then you named your daughter after her. I guess that's why Hannah's middle name is Brooke."
"Yeah, she was really great. She was there when I found out about the pregnancy and she has kept in touch all this time. I actually hadn't planned on naming her after Haley. I was going to name the baby Jared Lucas Keith Scott, but then she was born and I looked at her."
"And what, you realized Jared was a boy's name"
"Of course Jared is a boy's name, I thought for sure that I was having a boy. I hadn't even thought up girls names."

"Wow Brooke, it is so great to see you again." Peyton pulled Brooke in for a hug.

"Yeah, it's been too long. It feels good to finally see you guys again. It was so hard leaving without saying goodbye."
"Everyone wondered what happened to you, but then a rumor went around school that you had moved and were going to make your way in the fashion world."
"Yeah, I kind of told Haley to tell people that. I didn't want you guys to worry about me, but at the same time I wasn't ready to have any of you guys see me. I needed to figure out what I was going to do, me and Maia."

"I get it Brooke, you were doing what Jake did. You were saving yourself and your baby. I was mad for a long time that you had left. I'm over it now though. It's not that I got over you being gone, but I knew in my heart, one day Brooke Davis would come back!"