"Yes, Lucas Eugene Scott. I would love to do you the greatest honor in all the world and be your wife," Brooke said as a tear slid down her cheek. She looked up to the sky and blew a kiss.
"I love you," she whispered before turning and walking back to her car.
Everyone that had been there stood in silent awe. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Brooke made the engagement official, despite Lucas being dead. She truly was going to die engaged to him.
Nothing like this had ever happened to Brooke before. She never would have dreamt that Lucas would propose to her in a letter and then have her meet him at the docks at sunset with an answer. Nothing in Brooke's life was "normal" or stereotypical "rich girl". Sure, she was always known for being the spoiled only child of James and Julie Davis, Tree Hill socialites, but Brooke was so much more than that. She always has been. She was a teenage girl who loved to shop. It didn't hurt that she had access to Daddy's credit card whenever she wanted. But her attitude toward that lifestyle changed when she met Lucas, the not so rich boy from the rougher side of Tree Hill.
"Luke, I love you. I can't believe I'm okay here without you. It doesn't seem right, or fair. Your life is over, our life together is over before it ever really started but my life is still going. How is that fair? It's not! Oh god, I miss you. It's times like these I wish you were still here so you could tell me everything is gonna be all right but in that smart way of yours that I always thought was sexy," Brooke said as she kept driving.
Brooke wasn't sure where she was going. All she knew was that there was this indescribable longing to drive. So that's what Brooke was doing. Then, just as she drove past a sign that read "You are now leaving…Tree Hill", her cell phone rang. For one brief moment, Brooke considered letting it go to voicemail but then she thought of all the people who would worry about it.
"Hello," she answered, distractedly.
"Where are you? I need to talk to you," Rachel asked.
"Who is this?"
"Rachel, where are you?"
"I just left Tree Hill."
"What? Why? Where are you going?"
"I'm not sure where I'm going or why. I just needed to drive somewhere, anywhere. What's up? Can you talk to me on the phone?"
"I guess I'm gonna have to because this really can't wait."
"Okay. What's going on Rachel? You're starting to make me nervous."
Brooke was worried. As she listened to Rachel, she thought she could hear sniffling. Maybe they could talk on the phone for now but the tone of Rachel's voice was enough to make Brooke turn around and drive right back to Tree Hill.
"I'm pregnant Brooke," Rachel choked out.
"You're what? Oh shit, who's the father?" Brooke replied nervously.
"Mouth."
"What? Oh geez. Tell me you didn't just say what I think you said."
"Yes, Brooke, I did. I said Mouth. I'm pregnant and Mouth is the father. And before you ask, yes, I'm sure. Cause, believe it or not, he's the only guy in Tree Hill I've slept with."
"So you never"
"Slept with Lucas? No, I never slept with Lucas. I just said I did because it was all part of my bitchy little plot to steal him away from you."
"Wow, okay. I'm uh back in Tree Hill. Where are you?"
"Sitting in my car, in your driveway. I came over here looking for you but when I didn't say your car I stayed."
"That's fine. You know my parents are never around anyway. Okay, I'm here."
The two girls closed their phones. Rachel got out of her car and waited for Brooke to get out of hers before moving toward the door. Brooke stepped out of her car and in front of Rachel. She reached out and pulled the distraught redhead into a hug.
"It's gonna be okay Rachel. You can get through this," Brooke said quietly as she led them up the walkway and into the house.
"No it's not. Mouth is doomed. Any guy that gets too close or I've had a physical connection with, always ends up dead. It's like the kiss of death for guys to come near me. Oh god, Brooke what am I gonna do? Mouth is gonna hate me. I ruined his life," Rachel cried.
"Rachel, look at me. Mouth is not gonna hate you and you did not ruin his life. He'll be there for you and for the baby because Mouth doesn't run from responsibility. This may not be an ideal situation for either of you but I promise everything is gonna be okay."
"How do you know everything is gonna be okay?"
"The same way everyone knows I'm gonna be okay without Lucas. I have faith in you Rachel. And besides, I'll help anyway I can. I mean it, if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
"Brooke, no. You have enough to worry about without me adding to it."
"Rachel, it's okay. I really don't mind. Just think of it this way. The more I focus on helping you the less I focus on the fact that Lucas is dead. It may not be an ideal distraction from the reality but it's here and I can't pass up on it."
"Thank you. Really, you're amazing."
"It's no problem. You've done so much for me, the least I could do is return the favor. Now, do you wanna tell Mouth tonight or wait until morning? It's totally up to you."
Rachel was quiet for a minute. She had to decide what would be better, easier. Should she tell Mouth that she's pregnant now when the option of talking alone is there or do it in the morning in front of everyone. The more Rachel thought about it, the more she realized she should get it out of the way and just tell him now. It might not be so hard with Brooke around.
"Rachel?" Brooke asked gently.
"Now, I wanna tell him now," she answered.
Brooke smiled as she nodded. Telling Mouth now was definitely the best way to go but she had to let Rachel decide what to do for herself.
"Okay, do you want me to call and have him come over here?"
Rachel nodded. It was amazing to her how fast Brooke snapped into help mode. She couldn't be more grateful though. The whole situation was stressing her out and scaring her. So to have Brooke helping was amazing.
"Hey, Mouth. It's Brooke, can you come over here? Rachel needs to talk to you," Brooke said when Mouth answered the phone.
"Um, okay? What's going on? Why didn't Rachel call me herself?" Mouth replied. He was totally thrown off and completely unprepared for what was about to go down.
"Please, Mouth. Rachel will tell you everything when you get here."
"Okay, I'll be there in five minutes."
"Thank you."
Brooke closed her phone and turned back around to face Rachel. It didn't surprise her one bit that Rachel looked nervous. Brooke knew if she had to do something like this, she would be nervous too.
"Is he coming?" Rachel asked, her tone shaky.
"Yes. He'll be here in five minutes," Brooke replied.
"Thank you, really. This is amazing. I don't think anyone else would have done this for me. Especially not if they were going through everything you're going through lately. I know for sure Peyton would be the last one to offer to help me like this. But that's only because she's threatened by my presence in your life. I wish I could make her understand I'm not trying to push my way into her spot in your life. I don't wanna take her best friend away from her. Is it not possible for another girl to say you are her best friend without Peyton freaking out in a jealous rage?"
"Sometimes I don't think so but she's always been that way. For a while she was even jealous of Lucas."
"What? Are you kidding me?"
"I wish. But we talked and I told her that just because I had Lucas in my life didn't mean I no longer needed her in my life. It took a lot of patience but in the end, Peyton understood. It's different with you because you're another girl. So in Peyton's eyes you're a legitimate threat to her place in my life."
"That's crazy."
"I know that. You know that. Peyton knows it too but she still freaks out because that's how she is."
Rachel was just about to respond to that when the doorbell rang. She froze immediately as Brooke stood up to let Mouth in. This was either going to be the loudest Brooke had ever heard Mouth get or the quietest she had ever heard Rachel.
"I'm just gonna go upstairs. You two can talk in the living room or kitchen or wherever you feel like. Try not to kill each other," Brooke said as she left Mouth and Rachel to face each other.
"Rachel. What's going on? Why is Brooke jumping into "I wanna help so I don't have to focus on my problem" mode? And why do you need to talk to me but can't call and tell me yourself?" Mouth asked.
Before I tell you anything, you have to promise you believe me that I'm not just telling you what I'm about to say to trap you into anything. I'm not that kind of girl. I don't do that," Rachel said quietly.
"Okay, I promise. Now will you please tell me what's going on?"
"I'm pregnant, Mouth. And"
"The baby's mine?"
"Yes."
Rachel looked at the floor as she felt tears well up in her eyes. She was so afraid that Mouth was gonna walk away, even after Brooke insisted that wouldn't do that to her or the baby. Mouth didn't know what to say, his entire world had been turned upside down with one sentence.
"Mouth. Say something. Please?" Rachel pleaded tearfully.
"Like what? What do you want me to say Rachel? Do you want me to lie to you and say that it's okay? Is that what you want?" Mouth exploded.
"No. Please, don't yell at me. Mouth, I'm scared too."
"I'm sorry. Come here, please. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that."
Rachel sat on the couch next to Mouth. He reached over and pulled Rachel into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. They were gonna have to find a way to deal with this together.
"Mouth, what are we gonna do?" Rachel asked timidly.
"What are the options?" Mouth responded.
"Abortion but not in my world. So that leaves adoption and raising the baby together."
"What do you wanna do?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. But I need to know that you're gonna be there are the way through this. For me and for the baby."
"Of course I will. Rachel, you don't ever have to worry about that. We're in this together. You, me and this baby. I'm not going anywhere, Rachel, I promise."
"I believe you, I do. My nerves are just a jumbled mess and I don't mean to make you think I have any doubt in your words because I don't. Mouth, you are one of very few guys to ever tell me the truth. And now that we have that out of the way, we have so many other things to think about."
"Rachel, slow down. Let's take it one day at a time. You don't wanna overdo it and stress yourself out. You could hurt the baby that way and I know you don't want that. Neither do I for that matter."
Rachel smiled as she leaned back against Mouth's chest and closed her eyes. He draped his arm across her body and let his hand rest protectively on her stomach. The smile on Rachel's face grew wider as she felt Mouth's hand touch her stomach.
Meanwhile, Brooke sat at the top of the stairs with tears running down her cheeks. Listening to Mouth and Rachel made her miss Lucas all over again. And not only that but it made the fact that she would never have a family with Lucas hurt all over again. But she wasn't gonna say anything about any of this to Mouth or Rachel. She didn't want them to feel bad for stirring up these emotions. They couldn't have known it was going to happen. Brooke couldn't have even known it was going to happen. She stayed on the stairs until it was quiet in the living room. As she walked down the stairs the rest of the way, she turned her head and the scene before her brought a fresh batch of tears to her eyes. Mouth lay on the couch with Rachel resting on his chest and his hand on her stomach. Despite the worried looks on their faces Brooke could see that Rachel also felt safe in Mouth's embrace. She carefully made her way to the couch and draped a blanket over her friends before going into the kitchen to get something to eat. Even though it was late, Brooke was starving.
"Good night," Brooke said softly as she made her way back up the stairs with a sandwich in her hand.
"Good night, Brooke. Thank you," Rachel mumbled.
"You're welcome."
Brooke smiled as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Life was a mess and it was only getting crazier by the day. Brooke silently prayed that nothing else would be thrown at her for a while. Dealing with Lucas' death and helping Rachel was sure to take more out of her then she had ever experienced in her life. That was the last thing she needed with the Classic coming up. Oh shit! The Classic. I need Rachel there. Shit, shit, shit! This is really bad timing. We have to win. Oh crap! Brooke thought to herself as she closed her eyes for the night.
Around 2:30 in the morning Brooke sat up right in bed. She could hear Rachel sobbing downstairs and she thought that Mouth was talking too but she couldn't be sure. Faster than lightning Brooke was down the stairs in the living room, hugging Rachel. Mouth was no longer there and that made Brooke mad.
"He left, he promised he wasn't going anywhere but now he's gone," Rachel cried.
"Shh, Rachel, it's okay. We'll deal with Mouth later. Just go back to sleep, it's gonna be okay. I promise," Brooke said softly.
"No it's not! He promised Brooke. I told you this was gonna happen. He's mad at me for ruining his life and now he's gone. I never should have told him that he's gonna be a father. He wouldn't have left if he didn't know."
"Rachel, you did the right thing. You know that Mouth deserves to know. And even though he's not here anymore, he's grateful to know about the baby."
"How do you know? How do you know he wasn't just making empty promises Brooke? I can't do this alone, this baby deserves to have two parents. Hell, I don't even know if I can do it with Mouth being around."
"Stop that. You can do this. And no matter what, you're never gonna be alone. You'll always have me. Always, and that's a promise you can count on. It's all gonna be okay. Now, come upstairs with me. There's no way you should be sleeping on the couch."
Rachel nodded slowly as she stood up from the couch. The two girls walked up the stairs side by side. Brooke walked over to her bed and patted the spot next to her. Rachel looked at her questioningly.
"Come on, Rachel. There's plenty of room. Get over here," Brooke said with a smile.
"Okay," Rachel said hesitantly.
The two fell asleep within minutes. Rachel's face was tear stained and Brooke was pissed at Mouth. She couldn't believe he would do something like this, especially after promising not to go anywhere. He was gonna have a lot of explaining to do in the morning.
Meanwhile, Mouth was sitting in front of Lucas' grave with tears running down his face. He didn't know what else to do or where else to go so he came here.
"Luke, everything is so messed up. I can't be someone's father. How did this happen? Okay, I know how but why now? Why me? This is the last thing I ever thought was gonna happen to me. I had never done anything until I met Rachel. Lucas, I think I love her. But this is all happening to fast. And now she probably thinks I bailed on her because I'm not still next to her on Brooke's couch. Oh gosh, Brooke's being so great to Rachel with this. You'd be so proud of her Luke. It's like she's coming around. All right, I just wanted to come out here and get this off my chest. Thanks for listening man. I miss you," Mouth said. And just like everyone else who came down to visit Lucas, Mouth kissed his hand and placed it on the grave.
As he walked out of the cemetery Mouth wiped the tears from his eyes. He was terrified. Being a father wasn't something he was remotely ready for but now that didn't matter. Rachel was pregnant and the baby was his. He couldn't be a coward and skip out on her, that was beyond unacceptable. He got back to Brooke's and quietly let himself in. His heart sank when he didn't see Rachel on the couch.
"Crap. Brooke knows I left. She's gonna kill me," Mouth said quietly.
"You're right. I am gonna kill you. Where the hell did you go?" Brooke snapped as she came down the stairs after hearing the door open.
"I went to talk to Lucas. I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you," Mouth apologized.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. I'm not the one who is scared you abandoned her. God, Mouth what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you wait until Rachel was asleep before taking off? Are you insane?"
"I know that Brooke! You think I liked doing it this way? Where is she?"
"Upstairs, sleeping. Leave her alone till morning. I swear to God if you're not here when she wakes up I'll kick your ass myself. Good night."
Brooke didn't wait for Mouth to say anything before going back up to her room. Mouth collapsed onto the couch and closed his eyes. This was the beginning of what was sure to be hell for him.
"He's back, Rachel, he didn't leave you," Brooke whispered.
A couple hours later Brooke and Rachel woke up to get ready for the day.
"Hey, how you doing there kid?" Brooke asked Rachel with a smile.
"Okay, I guess. Where did you go last night?" Rachel asked.
"Downstairs for a minute. I heard the door open. Mouth came back. He didn't leave you. I tried to tell you last night but you didn't respond. He better still be here because I told him if he wasn't when you got up I'd kick his ass."
"He came back."
Rachel smiled as she laid a hand on her stomach. Brooke watched for a minute before turning around to leave the room. She bounded down the stairs and checked the living room, Mouth wasn't there.
"Damn it," she said to herself.
"What?" Mouth asked as he walked back in the living room.
"Oh nothing."
"Thought I left again didn't you? I'm not an idiot Brooke, I know you're serious about kicking my ass if I leave."
"Well yeah. Rachel's my friend."
"What about me?"
"You're my friend too but if you ditch Rachel and your baby I'll retract that statement."
"Is she up? I wanna talk to her. Tell her I'm sorry for leaving like that last night. I feel like a jerk."
"Good, you should feel like a jerk. I was scared that you lied to me Mouth," Rachel said as she came down the stairs.
"Rachel. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I just had to get out and think. I went to the cemetery. I didn't wanna wake you up."
"You didn't wanna wake me up? Mouth I was never asleep. I felt you get off the couch, I thought you were just getting up to get a drink or something but then I heard the front door and I thought you had left for good. Why wouldn't you tell me you were going for a walk? Huh? I wouldn't have said no, that's not my place but damn it, you just left! Do you have any idea what that felt like? Do you?"
"No, I'm sorry. Please, don't be upset. I didn't mean for it happen this way. I love you."
Rachel was staring at the floor as tears pricked at the back of her eyes but as the last sentence fell from Mouth's lips, she jerked her head back up.
"What did you just say?" she barely whispered.
"I love you Rachel," Mouth repeated.
If Brooke wasn't a sucker for romance she would have slapped Mouth in that moment. Did he really think that was going to make Rachel feel better? She was in just as much shock as Rachel. She'd never heard Mouth get so vulnerable with anyone, with the exception of Lucas or Haley. Brooke felt like she was in a cone of silence while she waited to see how Rachel was gonna respond to that.
"Rachel?" Mouth asked softly, hope evident.
"Yeah?" Rachel replied.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"I heard you. I just, I dunno how to respond to that. I'm sorry."
Mouth dropped his head. She didn't love him. That stung but there was nothing he could do about it right now. He was about to leave when he felt Rachel grab his arm.
"Mouth, wait. Don't go," she begged.
"I'm sorry. I can't be here right now. I need to get out, clear my head."
"Mouth, talk to me. Please."
Mouth shook his head as he turned to leave. Rachel watched as a tear slid down her cheek. He loved her and she couldn't say it back. It wasn't because she didn't feel the same way, because if Rachel had to tell the truth, she did love him. So much, and that terrified her. Brooke watched in silent awe, anger swirling in her again.
"I'll be right back," Brooke said to Rachel as she followed Mouth out the door.
"Mouth!" she yelled as she shut the door behind her. He didn't react, he just kept walking away.
"Damn it Mouth. Stop, please. Don't make me chase you, I swear to God," Brooke yelled.
Mouth stopped finally and turned around to face Brooke. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw his tear stained face.
"She doesn't love me. You don't know how much that hurts," Mouth said coldly.
"Yes she does Mouth. I can see it in her eyes. She loves you, she's just terrified that the same thing that has happened to every other guy she's ever loved is gonna happen to you. And now that fear is worse because this situation is different. Mouth, get your ass back in there and talk to her," Brooke said.
"Why wouldn't she say it then?"
"Because she's scared Mouth. Don't you get it?"
"No, I don't get it. If you love someone you shouldn't be afraid to tell them."
Brooke couldn't say anything to that because she knew Mouth was right. But Rachel had her reasons for not saying it back and there was nothing either of them could do to change that.
"Come on. You have to go back in there. She needs you Mouth. If you really love her you'll come back into that house with me."
"Let's go."
Brooke smiled as she linked arms with her friend and they walked back into the house. Rachel was sitting on the couch, her head in her hands. Mouth looked at Brooke before walking back into the living room and sitting next to Rachel on the couch. He grabbed her hand in his and brought it to his lips. She looked up then and smiled a teary eyed smile first at Mouth and then at Brooke before mouthing "thank you".
"Rachel, look. I know I shouldn't have walked away like that. But I want you to know, nothing is gonna happen to me. I'm gonna be fine because if I'm not, then my promise is broken. And I swear to you Rachel, nothing can make me break that promise," Mouth said as he continued to hold her hand.
"I love you too," was all Rachel could say.
Brooke looked at them and smiled as she watched Mouth's face light up. That had been all he needed to hear. Sure, her life was crazy and things weren't exactly the best without Lucas but she still had her friends and for now, that was good enough because she knew that no matter what happened, they would stick together.
"Thank you, Lucas," Brooke said silently.
She gave Rachel and Mouth a few minutes to themselves before walking into the living room again.
"Hey, you two, are we going to school or what?" she asked.
"Brooke, you're still here?" Rachel asked surprised.
"Uh, yeah. I do live here you know."
"I know but it was quiet. I thought you left."
"And miss this? Yeah right. I told you I was always gonna be here. And I meant it."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, now are we going or what?"
"Let's go," Mouth said standing up tightly holding Rachel's hand in his.
Ten minutes later Brooke pulled into the school's parking lot and the three of them got out of her car and walked over to the picnic table where Peyton, Haley and Nathan were waiting for them. Mouth had Rachel's hand tightly in his as they approached their friends.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Haley asked looking between the two of them and then at Brooke.
"Don't look at me," Brooke said innocently as she sat next to Peyton.
"Mouth? Rachel?" Peyton asked.
"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Mouth whispered in Rachel's ear.
Rachel didn't say anything. They just stood there, silently, as the other three looked at them expectantly.
"Something's going on. Come on guys you can tell us. We're your friends," Nathan said hoping it would get one of them to say something.
Rachel shook her head. She wasn't ready to say anything. At least not yet. Mouth was about to say something but Rachel stopped him. He looked at her and she shook her head.
"Brooke, do you know what's going on?" Haley asked.
"Yes," Brooke replied smiling at Rachel.
"Will you tell us?"
"Nope. It's not my place to say anything."
"Since when does that stop you?" Peyton asked.
"Thanks a lot best friend."
"You're welcome. You know I love you."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm still not saying anything. This is between Rachel and Mouth to tell you. Leave me out of it."
"But you know so technically you're involved too."
"Oh no, trust me, I'm not involved. I just know."
Rachel was biting her lip to keep from laughing as she listened to Peyton beg Brooke to them what was going on. It was actually pretty amusing considering her and Peyton didn't get along real well.
"Wait, I know, you finally said I love you to each other?" Haley asked.
"That's part of it," Rachel said.
"Part of it? What the heck does that mean?"
"Exactly what she said, Hales," Mouth answered.
"Mouth you dog," Nathan said with a grin as he put it together.
"What?"
Nathan grabbed Mouth by the arm and dragged him away from the rest of the group.
"You got her pregnant didn't you?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, I did," Mouth replied.
"Congratulations man."
"Nate, don't say anything. Rachel doesn't want anyone else to know right now."
"Okay. I won't."
"I'm serious, don't even tell Haley."
"Mouth, don't worry about it dude. I got your backs. Just take care of Rachel okay?"
"Of course. Oh and Nate? Thanks."
"You're welcome."
The guys walked over to the group and it was no surprise to either of them that Peyton and Haley were giving them puppy eyes.
"Sorry girls. I can't say a word," Nathan said as he sat down again.
"Please?" Haley begged.
"Nope."
Mouth took Rachel's hand and pulled her off to the side.
"Does Nathan know?" she asked.
"He figured it out. How, I'm not sure, all I know is that he figured it out. But he promised not to say a word to the girls. You tell them when you're ready," Mouth told her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Mouth leaned in and kissed Rachel gently before pulling back and smiling at her.
"You're gonna be a great daddy," she said with a smile.
"You're gonna be a great mommy," he shot back with the same smile.
Brooke couldn't help but smile through the tears that were falling as she watched her friends. It felt good to know that they were working things out.
"Hey, are you okay?" Peyton asked as she wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulders.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about Luke," Brooke answered as she reached up to wipe the tears away.
Peyton nodded as Brooke rested her head on her shoulder. As she watched Mouth and Rachel, she understood why Brooke was thinking about Lucas in that moment.