Brooke woke up with a start. Another two months had gone by, and today was the day she had been waiting for during the last four months. She was going to the hospital to bring Avery home. There were no words to describe how excited Brooke was to finally be allowed to take her son home with her. But first, before they went home Brooke was taking Avery to the cemetery. She had wanted Rachel and Peyton to go with her but Rachel had told her that she wasn't feeling up to it. Brooke understood so she got dressed quickly and then sped off to Peyton's so they could go get Avery. Less than five minutes later Brooke was in Peyton's driveway blaring the horn. The faster she got to the hospital the faster she could take Avery home.
"Peyton, let's go!" Brooke yelled when she saw her friend walking slowly out the door with a grin on her face.
"I'm coming I'm coming. Hold your horses chick," Peyton yelled back.
"I can't. I'm too excited. Now come on."
"Where's Rachel?"
"She's not coming. She wasn't feeling too good. It's just you and me today."
"Okay. Cool. Well are you gonna drive or what?"
Brooke stuck her tongue out at Peyton before she backed out of the driveway and sped toward the hospital. She wasn't in a mood to care about speed limits and cops; all Brooke wanted to do was get to the hospital. It took her about six minutes before she was pulled into a spot. She turned off the engine and grabbed Avery's car seat from the back and his Tree Hill Ravens basketball outfit that Nathan and Haley bought for him. Peyton had to run to keep up with Brooke but she was glad to see her best friend smiling, and I mean genuinely smiling. Lucas had been dead for about seven months and Peyton couldn't think of another time in that seven months when she saw a true smile grace Brooke's lips.
Brooke finally stopped running when she reached the fourth floor and waited for Peyton to catch up with her. She hadn't meant to get so far ahead of her friend but her excitement was obviously getting the best of her.
"Sorry Peyt. I didn't mean to leave you behind," Brooke said after getting her breath back.
"It's okay Brookie. I know you're excited," Peyton replied.
Brooke just nodded. Then turned to the nurse with a big smile.
"Here to get Avery I assume?" the nurse asked as she returned the smile.
"I am. I'm so glad too," Brooke answered.
"Go for it. Dr. Andrews will be in to talk to you one last time before you can go. I'll let him know you're here."
"Thanks so much."
Brooke and Peyton put the gloves and the gowns on one last time and then walked out back. It made Brooke happy to see her son in a crib without any tubes or needles attached to his small body. She put the car seat on the floor and lifted Avery out of the crib into her arms. She pulled him in close and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. Then Peyton motioned for her to turn around and as soon as she did Peyton snapped a picture of mom and son. Brooke had just finished putting the basketball shorts on Avery when Dr. Andrews walked in. Brooke looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey Brooke. I see you're ready to take Avery home," Dr. Andrews greeted her warmly.
"More than you can imagine. I've waited so long for this day. Angie said you wanted to talk to me before I leave. What's up?" Brooke replied as she cradled Avery tightly in her arms.
"I just wanted to let you know that even though Avery is healthy enough to be going home with you today doesn't mean he's completely out of the woods yet. I don't want to alarm you but there could be health problems that we can't detect at this point. So what I would like is for you to bring Avery in once a month so I can check and make sure everything still looks good. I'm sure you want to have a healthy baby boy and I want that for you as well."
"Okay, check ups once a month. Got it, anything else?"
"Just make sure you take good care of this little guy and I'll let you be on your way."
"Thanks for everything Dr. Andrews. I really appreciate it."
"It's my pleasure. It's not everyday a child born under the circumstances Avery was born get to leave the hospital looking happy and healthy. You are one lucky girl. Take care Brooke."
Dr. Andrews patted Brooke on the shoulder before walking away. Brooke squealed happily as she hugged Avery and then wrapped Peyton into a hug.
"Come on, Avery. There's someone very important I want you to meet," Brooke said to her son as she placed him in his car seat and then picked it up off the floor.
"Where are we going?" Peyton asked as they walked out to the car.
"The cemetery, I promised Lucas as soon as I could take Avery home I would bring him to the cemetery first so he could meet Daddy," Brooke replied.
Peyton nodded as she reached over to squeeze Brooke's hand. She couldn't imagine how hard this was going to be for Brooke but she was glad that she was doing it anyway. Brooke buckled Avery's car seat into the back of her Mustang and then got in the driver seat. She wanted to ride with the top down but she wasn't sure if that was good for Avery and opted to put the top up and the windows down.
Five minutes later Brooke had parked the Mustang near the entrance of the cemetery. Presently, Peyton had taken to getting the stroller out of the trunk while Brooke unbuckled the car seat. Then she carried the seat over to Peyton and locked it place. As soon as she was positive Avery wasn't gonna fall out and get hurt, Brooke began pushing the stroller closer to Lucas' grave. From where they were Brooke couldn't see that there was already someone sitting in front of the stone until she was on top of it. Karen was sitting with her head in her hands crying softly. Brooke stopped abruptly and Peyton almost smacked right into her.
"What the"
"Shh, Karen's here. Let's just come back later. I don't wanna make her think she has to leave because I'm here and I brought Avery," Brooke said quietly.
"Brooke I don't think she would feel like she couldn't stay. Just go say hi," Peyton reasoned with her friend.
Brooke took a deep breath before walking toward Karen. As soon as she was on the grass Brooke sat next to Karen and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. She hadn't even introduced Avery to Lucas yet and already Brooke felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Karen lifted her head from her hands when she felt the weight on her shoulder. A small smile played on her lips when she saw that it was Brooke. She lifted an arm and pulled Brooke into a hug. The two of them sat there as the tears rolled down their faces. Peyton watched from behind the stroller as she felt tears welling up in her own eyes and then spill over.
"Hey Brooke, Avery's getting fussy," Peyton said quietly when Avery started to cry.
"Oh come here, baby," Brooke said as she rose to her feet and took Avery out of the stroller.
Karen and Peyton watched Brooke interact with Avery and neither of them could help the smiles that were on their faces.
"What's the matter buddy? Are you hungry?" Brooke asked as Avery's crying grew louder, "Shh, it's okay Avery. Mommy's got you. You're okay baby. Here, why don't we go talk to Daddy?"
Brooke sat in front of Lucas' grave with Avery in her lap. Much to her surprise as soon as she was sitting down Avery stopped crying. She shifted slightly and reached to touch the headstone with one hand while she held Avery tightly in her other arm.
"Avery, this is your daddy. He was one of the greatest people I have ever known in my life. When it felt like all the world was coming down on me, he would be right there to pick me up and carry me away from the darkness. Your daddy was a wonderful man. I know if he could be here with us right now he would love you more than I could ever describe to you. Avery, this is a great opportunity for me to introduce you to your daddy and I would also like to tell you that even though you won't get to meet him, you'll always have a special bond with him because you were born on Daddy's birthday," Brooke said as she leaned down to kiss Avery's forehead, "Luke, this is our little boy. This is Avery Lucas Scott. I gotta tell you it's no surprise to me that when I look at this little boy I see you. If he's anything like you as a teenager I'm gonna be in so much trouble. No, I'm just kidding baby. It would be amazing if Avery ended up just like you. Because like I told him you're one of the greatest people I've ever known. I love you so much. Thank you for giving me a reason to hang on. Without Avery I don't know what I would do. It's amazing to me that you knew, even in death, how to save my life. You will always be my knight shining armor. You mean everything to me. Baby I would be nothing if I had never known you. I promise you, our son will be raised well."
Avery interrupted Brooke with a shrill cry and grabbing at her hair. She shrieked with surprise when she felt her hair being yanked.
"It seems as if your son is ready to move on. I promise to bring him by as often as I can. For now I'm gonna take him home. Good bye Lucas, I love you baby. With everything I have," Brooke continued as she placed a kiss on her hand and placed her hand on the stone before rising to her feet with Peyton's help.
Brooke and Peyton walked silently back to the car. The only sounds were the stroller wheels bumping along the uneven pavement and the occasional whimper from Avery who seemed to be settling down now. Brooke wondered if maybe he had sensed she was starting to get choked up and didn't want her to cry so he cried instead in hopes that it would distract her from her own sadness.
"Peyt do you think Avery knew I was getting upset?" Brooke asked as they got in the car and drove back to the apartment.
"Maybe, I mean, I don't know much about babies but I've heard that they can sense when someone is upset. And even if that's not entirely true I think Avery knew because he's just that smart. Or maybe it's because he's got your intuition of picking up on people's emotions," Peyton replied.
Brooke just nodded. That made sense. She was always good at picking up on people's emotions. Like now, even though Peyton wasn't showing it or saying anything Brooke could tell something was on her best friend's mind.
"What's going on with you Peyt? You seem like something's up," Brooke asked as she carried Avery up the stairs in his car seat.
"I'm fine Brooke," Peyton insisted.
"Come on, don't lie to me. You just said I can pick up on people's emotions. Come on, we can talk in the bedroom if Rachel's up."
"Brooke, no. I'm really okay."
Brooke crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked an eyebrow at Peyton.
"No I think it's got something to do with Jake and his new girl Emily. Doesn't it?"
Peyton looked at the floor but she nodded her head. Leave it Brooke to know exactly what was wrong no matter how much Peyton insisted she was okay. They opened the apartment door and Brooke was surprised to find Rachel on the couch staring blankly at the tv screen. Brooke's heart broke for her friend who lay on her couch clearly missing her boyfriend and for her best friend who was missing the guy she loved.
"Oh boy, Avery. Mommy's got some work to do," Brooke said with a small smile as she carefully placed him in the swing that was suspended from the ceiling near the kitchen area. He just gurgled in response which made Brooke laugh.
"Peyton, come over here. I think it's time we had a talk. All three of us," Brooke said after she had shifted Rachel so she could sit next to her and Peyton couldn't sit on her other side.
"I don't wanna talk," Rachel mumbled while refusing to break her stare.
"Rachel, this isn't good for you. Or the baby," Brooke insisted.
"Oh but it was good for you and Avery? Look where that landed in you."
"Exactly! I don't want to see you go through all the shit I've been through over a guy."
"He's not just a guy Brooke! He's the guy. I would think you of all people would know how it feels."
Brooke slapped Rachel. She couldn't believe that Rachel would even go that far. It was one thing to make a comparison but it was another to rub it in Brooke's face entirely.
"Hey! Knock it off you two," Peyton snapped.
"Stay out of it blondie!" Rachel exploded.
This elicited another slap to Rachel's cheek. This time it was Peyton who delivered the blow. By now Rachel's eyes which were filling with tears were no longer able to hold them and they spilled over. She rose to her feet and ran out of the apartment the best she could for being almost 8 months pregnant. Rachel reached the bottom of the stairs and collapsed on the bottom step. She dropped her head in her hands and cried. Not having Mouth around was really getting to her now. It had been hard two months ago but now that she was less than a month away from having her baby it was the hardest it had ever been. Instinctively Rachel reached for her cell phone and dialed Mouth's number. She was hopeful that he would answer the phone because she really needed to hear his voice.
"Hello," she heard Mouth say and almost instantly there was a smile back on Rachel's face.
"Mouth," she choked out.
"Rachel? What is it? Are you okay?"
"I need you to come home. Please. I'm scared. I don't wanna do this without you. Brooke has too much to worry about with Avery. This isn't her responsibility, and I know you want to be here but what I don't understand is why you haven't come back yet. Please, baby, come home."
"I am home baby."
"What? Where are you?"
"Turn around."
Rachel carefully stood up and turned around. She still had the phone up to her ear but when she found herself staring face to face into the eyes of the one person she really needed it crashed to the ground. Mouth watched as he saw the tears glistening in Rachel's bright eyes. He felt terrible that he had put them there and broke into a sprint, not stopping until he had her in his eyes.
"Baby I'm so sorry. I never should have left you like that. I thought I needed to be at MIT because of that promise Jimmy and I made when we were younger. It was nothing without you but I was scared to come back. I was so afraid you wouldn't wanna talk to me. I don't deserve to have you talking to me. But Rachel, aside from all that, I need you to believe me when I say I love you," Mouth said as tears filled his own eyes.
"Oh god, I missed you so much. Don't ever leave me again. I thought my world was gonna end when Nathan said you weren't in Tree Hill anymore. Honestly I think in that moment my heart stopped beating. I need you so much," Rachel cried as she let herself bury her face in Mouth's shoulder. She inhaled deeply and she couldn't help the tears that flowed faster as the familiar scent of Mouth's cologne filled her nose.
"Come on, let's go for a walk," Mouth whispered softly in Rachel's ear.
She nodded her head in agreement as they walked away from the apartment complex toward the River Court. Mouth had Rachel's hand grasped gently in his with their fingers intertwined. They continued to walk along silently until Mouth finally broke the silence.
"Rachel, I know you're upset that I left but I want you to know that I swear I'm not gonna do it again. And I understand if you're hesitant to believe me but it's true. I can't bear to think about the pain I've caused you the last four or five months. It wasn't until Whitey called about a week ago that I realized what a big mistake I was making being away from you and our baby," Mouth said as he looked Rachel straight in the eye.
Mouth was laying on his bed in the apartment he had been renting since he arrived in Boston. He had just given up on finishing his reading for class the next morning. The only thing on his mind was Rachel and their baby. He desperately wanted to go back to Tree Hill to be with them but he was afraid Rachel wouldn't want to see him. Just as his eyes were falling shut his cell phone started ringing. Mouth jumped to his feet when he realized it was his ring tone for Whitey.
"Why is Whitey calling? Oh god, I hope Rachel's all right," Mouth said as he quickly grabbed his phone and flipped it open.
"Whitey? Is Rachel all right?" he asked nervously.
"No she's not all right. But you would know that if you were in Tree Hill. Get your ass back here son. Before I come up to Boston and drag you back myself," Whitey barked angrily in the phone.
"I can't come back."
"Don't give me that. If you're not back in two weeks I swear on my life I will hunt you down. Good bye."
With that Mouth was met by a dial tone.
Meanwhile back at Brooke's apartment. She was pacing back and forth trying to figure out where Rachel had gone and why she had been gone for so long. It had been about two hours since she had run out of the apartment in tears and Brooke felt terrible. She hadn't meant to upset her but she felt Rachel had gone too far with her comments about Lucas.
"Peyton hand me my phone please. I'm gonna call her and hope she answers," Brooke said finally.
Peyton grabbed Brooke's phone and tossed it to her. Brooke flipped it open and dialed Rachel's number. It rang twice and went to voicemail.
"Hey it's Rachel. I'm not answering, you know what to do."
"Rach, it's Brooke. Where are you? Call me when you get this. I just wanna make sure you're okay," Brooke said as she felt herself becoming more nervous.
Peyton could see the nerves in Brooke's expression. She wanted to tell her that everything was okay but she couldn't do that because she like Brooke had no idea where Rachel was or why she had been gone for so long without calling. Not that Peyton could blame Rachel after both her and Brooke had slapped the redhead across the face less than 30 seconds apart.
Brooke continued to pace until she thought to call Haley.
"Hey Tigger what's up?" Haley answered after two rings.
"Hey. Listen, have you seen Rachel? She stormed out of here in tears about two hours ago and I haven't heard anything from her. I'm starting to get worried. What if something's wrong with her or the baby?" Brooke replied shakily.
"Brooke, relax. I'm sure she's fine. She's probably just out clearing her head. If you don't see or hear from her before it's dark call me again and we'll go find her. Okay?"
"Okay. Thanks Hales."
"You're welcome. And try not to worry so much. Rachel's a tough kid."
"I know."
"Bye Brookie."
"Bye Tutor Wife."
Brooke snapped her phone shut and cursed under her breath. She was beyond worried about Rachel now. And it wasn't like she could call Skills or Bevin to ask them if they had seen her. Not with them being out in Colorado at Colorado State. She couldn't understand why they had chosen to leave the beauty of North Carolina for the cold of Colorado but it wasn't her life so she couldn't say much about it.
"Mouth. I need to get back to the apartment. Brooke's probably freaking out. I haven't called her since I stormed out earlier. Walk me back?" Rachel said as she tried to stand up on her own without much success.
"Of course," Mouth answered as he rose to his feet and then offered Rachel his hands so she too could stand up.
They walked hand in hand through the dimly lit streets of Tree Hill toward the apartment complex. Rachel was afraid that someone would see Mouth and chew him and she really didn't want that. Not tonight. She stopped abruptly before they reached the parking lot and turned to face him. He looked at her quizzically not understanding why she had stopped so far from the stairs.
"Rachel?" he asked, "What is it? What's wrong baby?"
"I don't want Brooke to know you're back yet. If she knows then she'll tell Nathan and Haley and they'll all wanna rip you a new one. I don't want you to go through that tonight. I'm okay from here," Rachel answered as she kissed Mouth.
"No, I'm not gonna hide from them. Besides, won't Brooke be suspicious when you walk into the apartment and you're smiling?"
"Maybe but there's no law that says I have to tell her if I choose not to."
Rachel smiled coyly at Mouth who just shook his head. He was glad to finally be home in Tree Hill with Rachel. But more than that he was thankful she hadn't run away from him but instead she had run to him.
"Meet me tomorrow. And then we can tell everyone you're back," Rachel said as she leaned in to kiss Mouth one more time before she carefully made her way across the parking lot and up the stairs to Brooke's apartment. She turned the knob and discovered it was locked.
"Shit," she muttered as she walked to Nathan and Haley's door and knocked, hoping someone was home and could let her in to Brooke's apartment. It felt like an eternity before Nathan opened the door.
"Rachel! Where have you been? Brooke and Haley just went to look for you," Nathan asked when he saw who was on the other side of his door.
"I went to clear my head. Listen, can you unlock the door for me?" Rachel answered.
Nathan nodded as he exited his apartment and walked to Brooke's door unlocking it for Rachel. She was surprised to see Peyton sound asleep on the couch with Avery resting on her chest. Rachel walked over to the couch and carefully lifted Avery from Peyton's chest which made them both stir. Immediately she felt bad but knew it would be better if Avery were asleep in his crib. She walked down the hall to his bedroom and flipped the light on before she gently placed the boy in his crib and then she proceeded to watch him sleep for a few minutes. Rachel was still in the bedroom watching Avery when she heard the apartment door close and then open and close again seconds later.
"Rachel!" she heard Brooke shout and immediately turned and left Avery's room but not before turning off the light.
"Yes Brooke?" she replied as she appeared in the living room.
"Where have you been and what's with the smile?" Brooke asked, arms crossed.
"I went out to clear my head. And the smile is there because I talked to someone."
"Rachel. Don't play games with me. You were gone for more than two hours. There's no way you were just clearing your head."
"Really? Well I'm 8 months pregnant so I do walk slow. This means it's possible it could have taken me more than two hours to do all the walking around I did. Don't you think?"
"Okay fine, maybe it's possible. But I still think there's more to it. What's going on? Who did you talk to?"
Rachel shook her head. She really didn't wanna talk about it now. She didn't want to ruin the contented feeling that had settled into stomach the second she saw Mouth standing behind her earlier that day. It was the best she had felt in four months. No way was she gonna let anyone, not even Brooke, talk her into letting go of it.
"Why did I just see Mouth walking away from here?" Haley asked as she burst into Brooke's apartment without knocking.
Brooke's jaw dropped as she whipped around to look at Rachel who was staring at the floor.
"Rachel, you were with Mouth weren't you?" Brooke asked.
"Yes," Rachel replied.
"That's great! Why wouldn't you tell me that?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"I know you're all gonna yell at him. And I didn't want that tonight. It was just so good to be in his arms again."
Brooke nodded. She could only imagine how it good felt. Which of course made her miss Lucas again.
"Everything always comes back to Lucas," Brooke said to herself. And then as if right on cue Avery let out a wail.
Next chapter—Rachel has her baby and another Mouth/Rachel big moment! Hope you liked this one. It might be a while before the next one is posted. Sorry gang.