Season on the Brink

A/N: So it's been a couple of weeks since I posted a chapter, but I've been kinda blocked lately. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I'll try not to take so long the next time.

-------------------

Taking the court for the first time as a Raven was hard. Turning down Dan's offer to go to Oakworth had been difficult, as well. Watching Peyton walk away from the river court without a word broke his heart. But Lucas was sure that nothing had ever seemed as impossible as telling his mom and Keith about Brooke's pregnancy.

"You don't have to come with me," Lucas sighed, running his hand over his hair as Brooke locked her little VW bug.

Her eyes filled with tears, but she shook her head and sniffled. "The last time you told your mom that I was pregnant, she tattooed your cheek with her hand, Lucas," Brooke smiled, balling her hand into a fist to keep from rubbing the stubble that was growing on that cheek now. "I've got a few moves," she held her fists up and pretended to jab the air. "I think I can protect you this time."

Lucas smiled in spite of the situation. Their history wasn't exactly filled with mature decisions. With an hand on the small of her back, he allowed her to step onto the porch first. Wrapping his fingers around the door knob he turned back to her, his eyes sincere and serious. "Whatever they say," he started.

But Brooke only shook her head. "We'll hear them out, and then we'll explain everything that we've been talking about," she explained calmly. "No matter how angry they get, it doesn't change the fact that they love you, they kinda like me, and we're in this for the long haul."

Though the situation was anything but, Brooke's demeanor made everything seem easy. "Let's do this then," he nodded, gathering all of the strength he could muster and pushing the door open with his shoulder.

The house was silent and, for a moment, Lucas wondered if his parents were even home. When the hall light came home, he felt his knees buckle. "I can't," he whispered.

Brooke smiled as Karen rounded the corner, her terry cloth robe engulfing her small frame. "Hi, Karen," she waved shyly, unsure of what Lucas had told her of their failed relationship or how she would be welcomed.

Karen's lips twitched in a smile, but before she could say anything, Keith tottered into the living room, shirtless, his hair disheveled like an eight-year-old on Saturday morning. Blinking against the glare of the light, he assessed the pair in front of him. "Since when do you use the front door?" he asked Lucas.

Lucas smiled hesitantly and ran his hand over his hair. The last time he had made this announcement to his mother, it had been a mistake. This time, it wasn't. Brooke had showed him the home pregnancy test and the doctor's blood test the night she had asked him to meet her at the river court. This time, his mother's worst fears for him were about to come true.

"Mom," he whispered. "Keith," he shook his head, returning his gaze to the floor. He couldn't do it. He couldn't say the words.

Karen shook her head, her gut sinking. "No," she sighed, her tears catching in her throat. He didn't have to say it. She was his mother. And more than that, she had been in the same position. She just knew.

"What's goin' on?" Keith asked as Karen sank to the couch on weak legs. "Lucas?" he turned to his step-son with a look of confusion.

"I'm pregnant, Keith," Brooke said softly, moving to the couch to sit next to Karen. She didn't know if it was a wise decision, but her body seemed to move on it's own.

The confession did nothing to clarify things for the man still standing in the middle of the living room, looking as though he had accidentally stumbled into the wrong house. "I thought you were with Peyton," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head as he turned his eyes to Lucas once more.

"I am," Lucas admitted. "This happened before Brooke and I broke up," he explained.

Karen looked at the young woman beside her, a mixture of empathy and disdain filling her chest. She had always liked Brooke, but this was not the life she had envisioned for either of them. "How far along are you?"

Brooke licked her lips and rested her hands on her flat stomach. "Three months," she answered, reaching out to touch Karen's arm. "I know you're angry," she started.

But Karen shook her head and looked from Lucas to the mother of his child and then back. "I'm not angry," she assured both of them. "Just disappointed." The look in Lucas's eyes broke her heart, but it didn't change the facts. It didn't make the baby go away. "Did you guys learn nothing from the last time?"

Finally gaining his barings, Keith cleared his throat and put a hand on Lucas's shoulder. "I don't think that matters anymore," he sighed, shaking his head. Though he'd never been in the same position, he remembered going through Karen's pregnancy before Lucas was born, and he knew that wishing it hadn't happened didn't nullify the facts. "Does Peyton know?"

Lucas nodded and looked to Brooke. "We told her tonight," he admitted. They didn't need to know how she found out, or that there was a chance she would never speak to either of them again. At least not for now.

"So what's the plan?" Keith asked, taking control of the situation as only he could. "Brooke, are you seeing a doctor? Taking care of yourself?"

She nodded and tucked her dark hair behind her ears, risking another glance at Karen. "My parents are taking care of the medical expenses. I'm going to try to get a job now to save money for once the baby is born, because I know they're going to cut me off."

Her voice was so quiet that they almost missed Karen's words. "You can work at the cafe." When Brooke smiled in relief, Karen let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I may not be happy about this, Brooke, but I'm not going to leave you stranded. My parents did it to me, and I'm not going to make you guys go through that."

Lucas had never wanted to hug his mother so badly, but he held his place until he was sure she wasn't going to smack him again. "Dan offered me a job with the city's work crew last summer. I'm gonna see if that offer still stands."

"Or," Keith countered, wanting to do everything he could to keep Lucas from turning to his birth father for help, "I told you I have the college fund, Lucas. You could always cash that out to pay the bills until you guys get something a little more permanent. At least until after graduation."

In an instant, the reality of the situation descended on Lucas. Tears sprang to his eyes. He could take care of his child, or he could live his dream. One moment of intense pleasure had turned him into the one thing he had never wanted to be. His father.