"Everything always comes back to Luke," Brooke whispered to herself.
She was happy for Rachel that Mouth had come back but that didn't make her want to kick his ass any less. There weren't any explanations he could possibly offer her to make her change her mind. If you asked Brooke, there weren't any valid reasons for doing what he had done. Especially not if Mouth thought she was gonna listen to him say he had to honor something that was between himself and Jimmy. No, Brooke didn't want to hear her friend say that he bailed on his girlfriend and unborn son because of the asshole who took Lucas away from her and left her little boy fatherless. That was beyond inexcusable in her mind and everyone knew it.
"Brooke, please, why won't you listen to me?" Mouth asked again as they walked into the café.
"I told you Mouth. I don't give a damn that you made a promise to that asshole. He killed my best friend! He took Avery's father away. That's crap. Don't you dare mention his name around me again," Brooke snapped back in frustration.
The two walked to the back of the café where Rachel, Peyton, Nathan and Haley were waiting for them. Brooke's eyes lit up when she saw Avery who was sleeping on his Uncle Nathan's shoulder.
"Please tell me someone took a picture of this?" she asked as she slid into the booth next to Peyton while Mouth slid in on the opposite side next to Rachel.
"Of course, you know I wouldn't not do that for you," Haley said with a smile.
"Don't let her fool you Brooke. She took about twenty pictures of this," Nathan laughed.
"I did not!"
"Relax Hales. I'm sure you didn't take that many. But thanks for taking care of Avery for me," Brooke said with a smile.
"Anytime. How did your classes go today?"
"Not bad actually. I really think I made the right choice."
"Brooke, if you weren't majoring in something fashion I might have to take your temperature," Peyton laughed.
"Seriously Brooke, since I've known you that's all you've been about. With the exception of Lucas, cheerleading and now Avery," Nathan said.
"That is not all I'm about!" Brooke protested.
"Oh boy. Nice job Nate," Rachel laughed as she watched Brooke flare up.
"Hey, I didn't do anything wrong. I was just making a point that Brooke Davis and fashion go together like peanut butter and jelly or even better, me and basketball."
"Oh really? And you and your wife don't go together nearly as well?" Haley shot back with raised eyebrows.
"Aw baby, you know you're more important to me than basketball. I was just making a point."
Haley scoffed as she folded her arms defiantly across her chest and slumped down in the booth. Karen walked over to them at the same time immediately giving Nathan a look when she saw Haley slouched.
"Nathan what did you do now?" Karen asked him pointing at Haley.
"I didn't do anything," Nathan replied defensively.
"No, you just implied that you and basketball go together better than you and I do," Haley muttered angrily under her breath.
"Nathan!" Karen said astonishedly.
"What?" he asked.
"Is that true?"
Nathan looked down and nodded his head. Karen reached over Haley and slapped him in the back of his head making him yelp in shock. He would have reached up to rub the spot where she had just slapped him but couldn't with Avery in his arms.
"So I said one stupid thing, why am I being slapped?" Nathan asked, now angry.
Haley scoffed again as she stood up and walked away. She really didn't want to have it out with Nathan. Especially not in public. It was one thing to fight with him in their apartment but it was something else entirely to do it in public in front of their friends as well as strangers.
"Here, someone take him. I need to go talk to Haley," Nathan said as he stood up from the booth still holding a sleeping Avery. Brooke stood up with him and carefully took Avery from Nathan's shoulder and placed him on her own before sitting down again.
"What's going on with them?" Karen asked Brooke as she watched Nathan walk angrily through the café and then out the door after his wife.
"I'm not sure. I haven't really seen them much lately with all that I've had going on between classes and Avery," Brooke replied.
"Speaking of classes, how is that going for you?"
"It's great so far. I just hope it stays that way. I mean I don't want to find out I'm making the wrong choice you know?"
"I'm sure it's all gonna be just fine."
"I dunno, Karen, what if I'm taking on too much too soon? I've been under so much stress lately and I dunno if this is the best time for me add more to it."
"Brooke, listen to me, it's going to be fine. You need to stay positive and focus on getting that degree and making sure you're healthy and Avery's healthy. But you don't have to do this alone. You know that, Keith and I would be more than happy to help out if you need anything."
"I know and I appreciate that I guess I'm just afraid of doing this because if I continue to live and do things for myself I'm afraid it means I've accepted the fact that Lucas is never coming back and I can never share my joy with him."
Karen wasn't exactly sure of how to respond to Brooke's last statement. She knew that whatever fueled Brooke's skeptical outlook would ultimately be tied to the fact that Lucas was dead. It wasn't any secret to anyone that Brooke still missed him terribly despite the happy face she put on daily.
"I'm afraid if all that is true that maybe he doesn't have my heart anymore," Brooke said just barely above a whisper as she looked down at the sleeping child in her arms with tears in her eyes.
"Brooke. He's always gonna have your heart until you decide otherwise. When he died he was in full possession of your heart. Which is exactly how it should have been for the two of you. Don't worry so much," Rachel said with a sweet smile, that was slowly replaced with a twisted expression of pain.
"Rachel. Are you okay?"
"I don't know. Ow!"
Mouth was worried now too. He didn't like the look he was seeing on Rachel's face or that she seemed to be in pain. His thoughts were all over the place. Rachel soon stopped complaining of pain in her back when Karen left.
"Rach, are you all right?" Mouth asked gently.
"No, it hurts. Mouth, what if something's wrong with the baby?" Rachel replied tearfully.
"Hey, nothing is gonna happen to the baby. I promise I won't let it."
Rachel wanted to believe Mouth but he didn't have the greatest track record lately when it came to telling the truth so she wasn't sure if she could trust his word. Almost immediately that was erased by another sharp pain in her back.
"OW!" she screamed as she gripped onto the edge of the table with both hands until her knuckles were white.
"Okay we gotta get you out of here," Mouth said firmly as he stood up from the booth and then helped Rachel get to her feet slowly. At the same moment Rachel felt a sudden gush of water and her eyes grew wide.
"Shit," she muttered.
"What?"
Mouth turned around and saw the wet spot on the front of Rachel's jeans and his eyes got wide too.
"Mouth," Rachel whimpered.
"What baby?" he asked.
"I'm scared. I don't think I'm ready for this. I can't be someone's mother."
"Sure you can. You know why? Because you're amazing and there are only a few other girls I know that would do well with a child. Stay calm. It's gonna be okay. I'm not leaving your side. I've got you and you can count on that."
Rachel bit her lip as she felt another wave of pain shoot through her body. Brooke grabbed Avery's car seat then her and followed behind Mouth and Rachel the best they could. While they did Brooke was frantically trying to call Bevin and let her know what was going on. Thankfully after the third ring Bevin picked up.
"Hello," she said tiredly.
"Bev, it's Brooke," Brooke said quickly.
"What's up?"
"Rachel's in labor."
"What? Oh god. Okay, tell her Skills and I will be there as soon as we can. Oh and tell her I love her."
"I will. See you when you get here. Call me if you need someone to get you guys from the airport."
"Okay, thanks for letting me know Brooke."
"You're welcome. I figured she's gonna want you here."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Are they coming?" Peyton asked as Brooke put her phone away.
"Yes," Brooke answered as they got in Peyton's car and she had just finished buckling Avery's seat in the back.
They were at the hospital in ten minutes. Peyton didn't even bother trying to keep up with Mouth. She wasn't gonna get a speeding ticket just for keeping up with a friend. Brooke got Avery's seat out quickly then the two of them rushed into the hospital up to the maternity ward waiting room. There was no way either of them wanted to be in the room with Rachel. That just seemed too weird. Apparently not for Rachel though because almost as soon as Brooke was sitting in one of the plastic chairs Mouth burst into the room looking for her.
"Rachel wants you in there," Mouth said between gasps of air.
"What? Why? Isn't that kinda weird?" Brooke replied.
"That's what I said but she said to come get you. Or I'd never have another child."
Brooke grinned at that. Before she followed Mouth to Rachel's room she turned around and gave Avery a quick kiss.
"Hey, I'm here. You're doing awesome Rach," Brooke said as she walked up to the head of the bed and grabbed one of Rachel's hands.
"I can't do this. I'm scared," Rachel cried.
"Yes you can. I know you can. Mouth knows you can. Deep down even you know you can do this and you will do this. Now come on. Take some deep breaths with me."
Rachel shook her head. She didn't want to breathe. She just wanted the pain to stop. Brooke nodded her head in response to which Rachel again shook her head.
"Come on, Rach. Don't be stubborn. You need to do this for the baby. Now are you gonna take some deep breaths with me or not?" Brooke tried again.
"Fine," Rachel relented.
"Good girl."
Brooke was smiling but Rachel wasn't. In fact, she was glaring at the brunette. Mouth couldn't contain his laughter but as soon as Rachel turned her angry stare toward him, Mouth was suddenly wishing he could have.
"What the hell are you laughing at? This is your fault. You did this to me!" Rachel barked at him, "I hate you."
"Rachel, sweetie, I'm sorry you're in such pain. If I could trade places with you, you have to know that I would. And I'm pretty sure when this is over, you won't really hate me," Mouth replied with a grin.
"Don't be cute. That's only gonna make me hate you more."
A minute later the doctor walked in. He smiled at the two people who were in the room with Rachel.
"How you feeling Rachel?" he asked.
"Bite me," Rachel responded.
"How are things looking?" he asked the nurse, completely ignoring Rachel's previous comment.
It wasn't the first time a patient told him to bite her following that question. Actually it was more common among teen girls and new moms.
"Everything looks good right now. If they continue on the pace they've been on it'll only be an hour or so before we're ready for delivery," the nurse replied
"An hour?" Rachel shrieked, "I have to do this for another hour? You can't…oww…be…oww…serious."
"Hey, calm down. This isn't the worst part," Brooke said.
"How would you know? You didn't have to push your son out. They had to cut Avery out of you," Rachel shot back.
Brooke wanted to slap Rachel for that but she didn't. It didn't make sense to when she knew, as true as it was, Rachel didn't mean anything by it. Brooke guessed it was probably just the drugs talking anyway.
"Ow!" Rachel shrieked again as another contraction slammed into her frame like a freight train.
"Breathe, Rachel. Come on, you can do it," Brooke told her, putting the previous comment in the back of her mind.
"No, I can't. It hurts too much. Make it stop."
Rachel's bright eyes were glistening with tears. Seeing this made Brooke wish there was something she could do for her but unfortunately there wasn't a thing that could be done. Rachel would just have to tough it out and breathe. Brooke was glad that Mouth had come to his senses and come back. Although part of her still wanted to kick his ass. She was so lost in though that she didn't even realize Mouth was talking to her until Rachel smacked her arm. Which snapped Brooke right out of her daze.
"It might be a while before there's any change. Why don't you go check on Avery? I'll come get you the second things get close to delivery," Mouth said.
"But I thought you said Rachel wants me in here?" Brooke replied, completely confused.
"She does. I just thought you might want to see how Avery's doing out there with Peyton. It's up to you."
Before Brooke made her decision she looked at Rachel, who was nodding her head. When she saw that Brooke decided she would go sit with Avery for a little while. Maybe this would give her a chance to clear her head. She dropped a light kiss on Rachel's forehead then she turned and kissed Mouth on his cheek before she left the room.
"I'll be back, Rachel. Remember to breathe deep and slow," Brooke said before the door closed behind her.
Suddenly overcome with exhaustion Brooke had to push herself to walk back down to the waiting area. When she got down there the sight that fell before her eyes brought a smile to her face. Peyton was sitting in one the hard plastic chairs with Avery asleep on her shoulder, just like he had been doing earlier on Nathan's shoulder.
"Hey how's she doing?" Peyton asked in a whisper.
"She's doing okay. The nurse said it'll be about an hour before they can move her to a delivery room," Brooke whispered back.
Peyton nodded as Brooke sat in the empty chair next to her and reached down to take her cell phone out of her purse. She opened it to find that she had two unread text messages. The first one was from Haley and it said "I'm leaving", when Brooke saw that she gasped. Not even caring about the second text message now Brooke called Haley.
"You got my text didn't you?" Haley asked after her phone rang about six times.
"Yes. Haley what's going on? What do you mean you're leaving? Leaving what?" Brooke replied in complete panic.
"Nathan."
"What!"
"Brooke, please. Just drop it. I really don't wanna talk about it."
"No. You sent me that text message so you obviously need to talk. Let's talk."
Haley didn't say anything. She couldn't. Not if she was going to block out the horrific fight she had with Nathan which led to her decision. Haley was totally freaked out by the whole thing. Never had she seen Nathan so angry or felt him be so violent, not toward her at least. As much as she didn't want to do it, Haley knew that leaving Nathan was her only option. At least until he got help or something.
"Hales. What happened? And don't tell me you don't want to talk about it. I know you do. You know it too."
"No Brooke. I really don't. I don't want to talk about the fact that my husband yelled at me and hit"
"Wait. What. He hit you?"
"Yes," Haley barely choked out.
Brooke could feel the anger swirling inside her. She didn't go for guys hitting girls. Nothing could excuse this but she couldn't spend all her energy being angry at him. She would have to save some to be there for Haley. Right now, more than ever, since Lucas was shot, Haley needed Brooke to be there for her.
"Oh god. Where are you Hales?"
"Lucas' room. I had to get away from Nathan. Brooke what am I gonna do? I still love him but on top of that, now I'm terrified of him."
"Well for right now you're gonna stay there. Peyton will drop me off."
"No. If he sees her car he'll know I'm here. Please, I don't want him to find me."
"Hales, he's not gonna know. He'll see me and think I just went to sit in Luke's room to be closer to him. He's not gonna find you. I promise."
"Brooke. Please. Don't."
"I have to. You can't be alone right now. Besides, I know you'd do the same for me if the situation was reversed. Let me just do this for you. Please?"
"Okay."
Haley was still nervous that Nathan would see Peyton's car and get suspicious.
"I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Bye Brooke."
Brooke closed her phone and turned to Peyton who was looking at her curiously.
"What's going on? Did Nate really hit Haley?" Peyton asked, desperately hoping Brooke would say no.
"Yes," Brooke replied somberly, "I need to make sure she's okay. Can you drop me off at Karen's?"
"Sure but what about Rachel?"
"Call my cell phone when Mouth says there's a change. I promised Rachel I would be there for her and I will be but right now Haley needs me."
Peyton nodded. Brooke lifted Avery from Peyton's shoulder and placed him gently in his car seat before she picked it up and walked outside with Peyton. The drive to Karen was quiet as both girls were lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them could believe that Nathan had hit Haley. It seemed so out of character for him but then again nothing was ever as expected in this town.
"Thanks Peyt. I'll call you later if you don't call me first," Brooke said as she carried Avery who was awake and making gurgling noises in his seat to Lucas' door.
She waited until Peyton was out of the driveway before she knocked softly on the door. It opened slowly to reveal only part of Haley's face. When Haley saw that it was Brooke she opened the door completely to let her in and then quickly closed it again. Brooke placed Avery's seat on Lucas' now empty desktop and then she put her arms around Haley squeezing tightly but immediately loosened her grip when she heard Haley wince louder than she had ever heard anyone wince before. Slowly Brooke pulled back and her heart broke when she found herself looking at Haley's tear-filled eyes. She gently lead Haley toward Lucas' bed and then sat down.
"What happened?" Brooke asked softly.
"He just got upset with me and…and…he started…to sc…scream and then he was throwing…throwing things around the apartment. I thought he was just blowing off steam but then he turned to look at me and oh god, Brooke. His eyes…were red…with…with…anger. I tried to get away before he could do anything but of course he's faster than I am. He grabbed me by the arm and threw me against the wall. I asked him to stop but he…ignored me…and that's when he hit me," Haley sobbed as she laid back against the pillows.
"Why was he upset?"
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. He kept insisting it wasn't any of my business. That I should just shut up and 'take what's coming'."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know. I don't wanna think about it. What if this doesn't stop? I don't wanna leave him."
"Hales, if this doesn't stop you can't stay with him. It's not safe."
"Oh god. Brooke, I can't bare to lose him. I already lost my best friend. I can't lose my husband too."
Tears were streaming down Haley's face and as Brooke sat there, she could feel the tears forming in her own eyes. She hadn't thought about that yet. If she left Nathan, Haley would be without the two most important people in her life. Carefully Brooke lay back with her and just held Haley while she cried.
"No matter what happens, you'll always have me and Avery," Brooke whispered sweetly.
"I know," Haley sobbed.
"Shh. It's okay Hales. Everything's gonna be fine. I promise you."
"But what if it isn't? What if Nathan doesn't get past this?"
"Don't think like that. I'm sure he'll get past this but for now you can't go back to that apartment. You can stay with me and Avery tonight. Okay?"
"Brooke, no. I couldn't do that. I'll sleep here. It's no big deal. Karen and Keith won't mind at all."
"Neither would I. Please, Hales. Let me take care of you the way you've taken care of me in the last seven months. If it wasn't for your awesome presence in my life Ave and I might not even be here right now."
As much as Haley knew that was true she just couldn't bring herself to say she'd stay at Brooke's apartment. It was too close to Nathan. The one person she didn't want to be anywhere near at the moment.
"Brooke, I really can't. It's too close to Nathan."
"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't even think of that. Okay then, I'll talk to Karen. Perhaps the three of us can crash here tonight."
"No Brooke. You don't have to do that. I'll be fine."
"No, I'm not gonna leave you here by yourself."
"I won't be alone though. Karen and Keith will be here."
Brooke groaned. Haley could be stubborn when she wanted to. But then again, Brooke could be just as stubborn. Apparently it was going to be a battle of who's stubbornness would prevail in this situation.
"Will you please just let me talk to her? It would make me feel better if I could watch over you."
"Fine. If it'll get you to shut up I won't stop you from talking to Karen."
"Thank you."
The two girls lay in an uneasy silence. It had been a long time since Brooke had set foot in this room and she was surprised to find that just being in Lucas' room hadn't gotten her choked up like she thought it would. She had a lot of memories in this room, on the very bed she was laying on with Haley at that very moment.
"It's weird being here without Luke," she said finally breaking the silence.
"I wish he was still here. Then he could straighten Nathan out for me," Haley replied sadly.
"Aww, Hales. We'll take care of Nathan. I'm sure Keith will have a few choice words for your husband when he gets wind of this issue. I know I will. What he did was unacceptable and he has to know that he can't get away with it just because he's some hot shot ball player at UNC."
Haley nodded slowly as she scooted closer to Brooke and put her head on Brooke's shoulder. Brooke turned and kissed Haley's forehead softly. It was breaking her heart to see Haley's world crashing down around her. It had been bad enough when they lost Lucas but now it looked like Haley might be losing her husband too. That was a lot to take on at 18. Especially for someone as fragile as Haley.
"What if I don't live through this? Brooke, what if he completely loses it and goes too far?" Haley asked suddenly, fear dripping in every word that fell from her lips.
"That's not gonna happen Haley. I don't care if I have to send you out to California to stay with Ryan or to Savannah with Jake. Nathan is not gonna kill you. I won't let him. You have my word on that," Brooke replied firmly.
"How do you know?"
"Haley. Stop."
Brooke had tears in her eyes now. She knew there was always a possibility of Nathan snapping and killing Haley without meaning to but she refused to think about it. She wanted to believe that she could protect Haley. Lucas would want her to.
"I can't. It's possible."
"It's not gonna happen because Lucas wouldn't want it to."
"Oh so that's why you're doing this? Because you think you have to take Lucas' place in my life? Thanks Brooke. I thought you really cared about me as your own person."
"Damn it Haley. I do! But now I'm caring about you as my own person and I feel like Lucas would be doing the very same thing if he was still here. Don't tell me I don't care about you. You know that I do."
The tears were flowing freely between both girls. Haley was angry that Brooke only seemed to care because Lucas could no longer protect her. And Brooke was angry at Haley for thinking that. Of course that wasn't true but Haley was obviously too upset to realize how crazy she was sounding.
"Do I really Brooke? Do I know that you care about me?"
"I thought you did but I guess I was wrong."
Brooke was about to leave when Haley grabbed her arm and spun her back around. She looked into Haley's eyes and saw the fear of losing everything in her life that was good shining past the tears that were glistening in Haley's hazel eyes.
"Don't leave. If you leave I have nothing. Please. I'm sorry I said all those things," Haley said as more tears slid down her cheeks.
"Hales, you know I could never walk away from you," Brooke said as she carefully pulled Haley into a hug, remembering the reaction she received the first time.
Meanwhile back at the hospital Mouth was on his way down to the waiting area to get Brooke. They were just getting Rachel ready to move down to a delivery room. There were nerves flowing through Mouth's bloodstream. It hadn't completely registered yet but when this was all over, he was going to be someone's father.
"Peyton, where's Brooke?" he asked when he got to the waiting area and only found Peyton.
"She's with Haley right now. I'll go get her," Peyton replied.
"Thanks. And hurry. Rachel really wants her here for this."
Peyton nodded as she turned to go back to her car and get Brooke to bring her back to the hospital. Five minutes later she was parked in Karen's driveway and running up to Lucas' door.
"Peyton. What are you doing here?" Brooke asked when she opened the door.
"Rachel's being taken to a delivery room. Mouth said she was asking for you. Let's go," Peyton replied.
"Oh crap. I can't just leave Haley like this."
"Have her come with us. I'll sit with her and Avery in the waiting room."
Brooke nodded. If she wasn't so frazzled Brooke would have thought of that on her own but just hearing that Rachel was closer to actually delivering the baby made her unable to think rationally about anything.
"Haley, come on. You gotta come with me and Peyton to the hospital. Rachel's about to deliver the baby and I promised I'd be there when it happened," Brooke said after she turned around to face Haley who was still on Lucas' bed.
"No. I'm gonna stay here. You can leave Avery with me. It's no problem," Haley replied.
"Hales, no. Let's go. Now."
Haley shook her head. She didn't want to go. She didn't want Mouth to see her like this. It would upset him if he saw the physical state she was currently in and Haley didn't think that was fair. Just as she was about to lift the covers over her body Brooke grabbed one hand and Peyton grabbed the other and together the two girls had managed to pull Haley to her feet.
"I'm seriously Haley. You're coming with us. Nathan has no idea Rachel went into labor so he'll never know to look for you there," Brooke said firmly.
"But what about the bruises?" Haley stammered.
"Grab one of Luke's sweatshirt. You know Karen won't mind. In fact it would probably put a smile on her face to know that her son's best friend was taking comfort in one of his shirts."
Haley couldn't help smile as she thought that Brooke was probably right. Karen would love to see someone in Lucas' clothes. Especially someone like Haley or Brooke or Nathan as the case may be. Sighing Haley walked slowly to Lucas' closet and went through his sweatshirts until she found the one that was her favorite, it was a black Tree Hill High Ravens basketball sweatshirt. Nathan had one just it like but somehow Haley always liked Lucas' better. Smiling to herself she slipped the familiar garment carefully over her head and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Mouth!" Rachel screamed.
"What baby?" he asked.
"Where's Brooke? She promised to be here."
"She's on her way. She had to go take care of something but Peyton's gonna bring her back. Just a few more minutes sweetheart."
"I want her here now."
"I know you do."
Mouth was beginning to wonder what was taking Peyton so long. They had already been in the delivery room for fifteen minutes and Brooke still hadn't come in. Maybe she wasn't gonna come? No, Mouth knew better than that. Brooke wouldn't let Rachel down. And just like that Brooke burst through the doors apologizing profusely for taking so long.
"I told you I'd be here," Brooke said as she grabbed Rachel's hand.
"Thank…owwwwwwww…you," Rachel screamed as she squeezed Brooke's hand.
"Rachel, I'm gonna need you to push real soon. Okay?" the doctor told her.
She nodded her head.
"Okay. On the count of three I need you to give me a big push. One, two, three."
Rachel started pushing.
"Come on honey. You can do this," Mouth whispered gently as he stood on Rachel's other side opposite Brooke.
"Shut up," Rachel snapped at him.
"Okay good job Rachel," the doctor said with a smile.
"Hang in there Rach. I know you can do this," Brooke said as she stuck her tongue out at Mouth because she knew Rachel wasn't gonna snap at her.
Rachel shook her head. She didn't want to do it anymore. She was tired and it hurt. All she wanted was for the pain to go away. She was about to say something when the doctor told her to bare down and get ready to push again. Ten seconds later Rachel was pushing again and squeezing Brooke and Mouth's hands. They both had expressions of pain on their faces as Rachel's grip got tighter by the second. It took about another three hours of the screaming, swearing, squeezing and pushing before things really started to change.
"Okay Rachel, I need you to push real hard this time," the doctor said as he stood waiting to see the baby's head.
"I can't," she cried tiredly.
"Yes you can Rachel. Just take a deep breath and push," Brooke said gently.
She wanted to scream. Brooke was starting to get on her nerves but it was her own fault. She wanted Brooke to witness the birth of her child although now she couldn't remember why.
"Come on Rachel. I can almost see the head. I just need three really big pushes and then it'll be over," the doctor tried again.
Desperate to end the pain she was in Rachel decided she was gonna have to listen. Taking a deep breath Rachel pushed as hard as she could until the doctor told her to stop and take a breath. Ten minutes went by before she was being told to push again. Rachel was in such pain that she really didn't want to this time. It didn't even matter to her that the doctor told her that he could see the baby's head.
"I don't care. I just want the pain to stop!" Rachel snapped angrily.
"You have to push then," Mouth whispered in her ear.
"Stop that would you. I know what I have to do. I just don't want to. You try pushing a watermelon out of hole the size of a pea then we'll talk."
"Come on, I know you want to see our son. Just give us two really good pushes and the pain will be over."
Brooke couldn't help but snicker. She liked Rachel's comment about watermelon through a pea-sized hole. It was a pretty accurate comparison but it still made her laugh.
Finally Rachel pushed the second time and then she collapsed against the pillows and let the tears go. She had never been in so much pain in her life. If she didn't know better Rachel could swear she was dying it hurt so bad.
"Okay, Rachel. This is it. Just give me one last push and you'll be done," the doctor told her.
"No," Rachel said as she defiantly crossed her arms.
Mouth was about to say something but Brooke shook her head at him.
"Come on Rach. One more. That's all you need now. Do it for Mouth," Brooke said as she smiled at her two friends.
"Okay."
Rachel smiled weakly at Brooke before she pushed again.
"Come on, do it again. I need a really big push Rachel."
"You said that was the last one!" Rachel screamed.
"It could have been. Now come on. Bear down and push as hard as you can."
Rachel once again had a tight grasp on one of Mouth's hands as well as one of Brooke's hands as she pushed harder than she had pushed before. Suddenly the room was filled with the sounds of a baby crying. When Rachel heard that she collapsed against the pillows and looked at Mouth.
"Congratulations Mom and Dad, you have yourselves a healthy baby boy," the doctor announced with a smile.
"I love you," she whispered as tears pricked her eyes.
"I love you too," Mouth replied as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
"I love you too Brooke," Rachel said as she turned the other way grinning.
"I know and I love you Rachel," Brooke answered as she leaned down to hug her friend.
As soon as Brooke was standing up again the doctor came over carrying the baby boy wrapped in a blanket and placed him in Rachel's waiting arms. She looked down at him and felt the tears fall from her eyes again.
"He's perfect," she whispered hoarsely.
"Just like his mommy," Mouth said as he kissed her forehead.
"Hey little guy. You don't know happy I am to see you," Rachel said as she stroked his cheek gently.
"What are you going to name him?" Brooke asked as she looked on with tears in her own eyes.
"Lucas Everett Shane McFadden," Mouth answered for Rachel.
"I like it."
"And we'll call him Shea," Rachel put in.
"Shea, there's someone else very important I'd like you to meet," Mouth said, "This is your Auntie Brooke. She's an amazing person. One of few people that I've always been able to count on."