I'm soooooo sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter posted. I've had the worst luck with my computer lately and then had severely case of writer's block but I managed to get this done. Enjoy! This is the FINAL chapter…watch for the sequel. Hopefully it won't take another 3 months to get that going…
Brooke and Haley had only been gone for an hour and they were both already carrying an arm load of bags each. They were just about to enter another store when Brooke's phone went off. She groaned as she tried to maneuver her bags to get to her phone which, of course, was at the bottom of her purse. After what seemed like an eternity, Brooke finally had her phone in her hand. Flipping it open Brooke saw that she had a text message. A smile exploded across her face when she read it, I miss u. Luv-Jake.
"What does it say?" Haley asked anxiously when she saw the smile on Brooke's face.
Instead of reading it to Haley, Brooke showed her the message. She wasn't surprised when she saw the eyebrow rise.
"Love Jake huh?" Haley teased.
"We're just friends," Brooke insisted.
"Oh I know. But you might want to make sure Jake knows."
Brooke rolled her eyes as she hit reply and then wrote Miss u 2 luv-Brooke and hit send. As soon as the message was sent Brooke closed her phone and put it away. It hadn't hit her until then that she really did miss Jake and she couldn't wait to see him. The more Brooke thought about it, the more it scared her. She really was moving on.
"Hey are you okay?" Haley asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. If you call the fact that I miss Jake fine that is," Brooke replied.
"There's nothing wrong with missing him Brooke. You guys are just friends; at least that's what you told me not five minutes ago. Friends are allowed to miss friends. It's okay."
"I know. I just wigged out for nothing. The only guy I've ever missed until now was Lucas."
Haley nodded. Now she understood what was going on. Even though Brooke was moving on it was going to be a slow, and potentially painful, process. And more than that, it was scary for Brooke to realize the one thing she didn't think would ever happen was beginning to happen to her. Haley thought it was possibly because of Jake's constant presence but she didn't want to mention anything to Brooke.
They walked around the mall for another hour before Avery started getting fussy. Brooke took that as their hint to get out of the mall. And it was a good thing she did too because as soon as they were outside Avery was screaming his head off. His screams were so loud and ear piercing that it made Brooke nervous that something was seriously wrong with him. He had never cried like this before.
"Baby what's wrong? Are you hungry?" Brooke asked as she tried to give Avery a bottle.
He turned his head away and kept screaming which made Brooke's stress level go up. How was she supposed to calm her son down? Then an idea came to mind. Since they were still in front of the mall entrance Brooke placed her bags on the ground and then lifted Avery out of his stroller. As soon as Brooke had him in her arms the screaming stopped. Carefully, with Haley's help, Brooke placed all her bags in the stroller and then pushed it with one hand while she tightly held onto Avery with the other hand. The last thing she needed was to drop her son on the pavement.
When they got back to the apartment Brooke took Avery into his room and put him down for his morning nap. She stayed in the room with him and watched as he fell asleep and then quietly left to go check the messages.
"Hey Brookie its Ryan. Just calling to see how things are going with you and Avery. Hope all is well. Love you kiddo. Call me back. I got some news to share," Ryan said. Brooke smiled as she waited for the next message to start.
"Hi Brooke. It's Karen. We need to talk. Call me back as soon as you can. Talk to you later sweetheart."
Brooke smiled again but this time she was slightly nervous. Ryan wanted to tell her something and Karen's voice sounded a little bit off. Something definitely wasn't right there either. Sighing Brooke decided to call Ryan back first.
"Hey Peanut," Ryan said when he picked up the phone.
"Hey Ry. I got your message. What's up?" Brooke replied.
"I have good news and bad news. Well actually, two pieces of good news and one piece of bad. What do you want me to tell you first?"
"Bad."
"Okay. I just got the official word but I've been released."
"Aw, Ryan, that sucks. I'm sorry bro. Maybe you can get signed by someone out here. I wouldn't complain."
"Well maybe. We'll see. So far only West Coast teams have ever shown interest in obtaining me. But that could change. I've got friends out there that have been putting a word in for me to play for their clubs too."
"Ryan that would be so great! Now what is the good news?"
"Well first of all I get to come see my sister and nephew next week."
"Goody! Oh shoot."
"What?"
"You'll have to sleep on the couch in the living room."
"Why? What happened to the other bedroom?"
"I have a roommate."
"Peyton moved in with you."
"No. Jake did." Brooke braced herself for Ryan's reaction. She was sure he was going to hit the roof. And he did.
"Hang on a minute. Did my baby sister just tell me she's living with a guy?"
"What's the big deal Ryan?"
"The big deal. The big deal is you're barely even 18 years old and already living with some guy. What is wrong with you?"
"There's nothing wrong with me! I still don't see the problem. In case you forgot I got pregnant at 17 and had to deal with losing my boyfriend, who is also the father of my child. So my living with Jake is not that big a deal!"
"Are you sleeping with this guy?"
"That is none of your damn business!"
Brooke was livid. She couldn't believe Ryan had the balls to talk to her the way he was. He wasn't her father. He had no right to get mad at her. Shouldn't he be glad that there was someone under her roof to be a male influence in his nephew's life? Brooke thought so but apparently that didn't mean anything to Ryan.
"How do you figure it's not my business Brooke? You're my sister of course it's my business."
"No, actually, it's not. You're not my father! I don't have to tell you a damn thing," Brooke replied before she hung up and threw the phone at the door.
As soon as the phone crashed to the floor Brooke slid down against the wall and dropped her head into her hands and let the tears flow. She was still sitting in the same position when Jake walked into the apartment three hours later.
Jake had been smiling at the thought of seeing Brooke and Avery but that smile faded when he saw Brooke slumped on the floor crying.
"Hey what's wrong?" he asked as he lifted her off the floor and brought her into the bedroom.
"He thinks we're sleeping together," Brooke cried.
"Who does?"
"Ryan."
"Why does he think that?"
"Because you live here."
"That doesn't make sense."
"I know."
Jake hated seeing Brooke like this. And now he wanted to kick her brother's ass for doing this to her. Except he knew that would upset Brooke and he didn't want to do that either. Jake brushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead.
"You get some rest. I'll take Avery out for a little while. I'll bring Chinese back for dinner."
Brooke shook her head. Now that Jake was here she didn't want him to leave her alone. She needed him to stay with her.
"Stay with me. Please," she said quietly.
"Okay," he said.
Brooke moved over to make room for Jake and he lay down next to her. They lay there silently as Jake reached over and took Brooke's hand in his.
"You know that no matter what Ryan thinks about me living here I'm not going anywhere," he whispered into her ear.
"I know. I just wish he hadn't said that. It hurts so much to hear my brother basically calling me a slut. He's never been a jerk like that before."
"Shh, baby its okay. Don't cry."
Baby? Did Jake just call me baby? Brooke asked herself panicky.
Oh god, did I just call her baby? I hope that I didn't freak her out Jake thought to himself as he lay next to her silently.
Jake tilted Brooke's head and kissed her tears away. As he did this Brooke felt her heart flutter. No one had been this good to her since Lucas was alive. Oh god how she missed Lucas, especially at times like this when all she could do was cry. He had always been there to kiss away her tears and now he wasn't. But Jake was there and he had kissed away her tears. Brooke's heart began to race a mile a minute as she realized that Jake was slowly becoming more essential to her survival than before.
"Brooke," Jake said softly.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Honestly?"
Jake nodded.
"How good it feels having you here with me."
"I'm always gonna be here for you. I mean it. Always Brooke."
She nodded as more tears fell from her eyes. Ever since Lucas had died all she wanted was someone to love her. And now that she thought she might have that person she was terrified beyond all comprehension. What if something happened to Jake now? Lucas used to promise her the same thing and he was gone.
"What is it baby? Why are you crying?" Jake asked gently.
Oh man I did it again. I can't keep doing that. We're just friends. Get a grip on yourself Jake he chided himself.
"Because Luke promised to always be there for me and now he's dead. What if something happens to you? I can't lose another person. I can't lose another guy," Brooke cried.
Jake sat up and grabbed Brooke's hands. She looked at him curiously waiting for him to speak.
"Brooke listen to me. I promise you nothing is going to happen to me. I know you're scared because Luke said the same thing and ultimately that didn't end up being true but Jimmy Edwards was a sick kid. If he could, Lucas would still be here and he'd be lying on this bed with you while you cry. Not me. But this is how it is. And I swear on Luke's grave that nothing is going to happen to me. I will be fine and I will always be here for you and Avery. I swear," Jake said as he looked Brooke right in her eyes.
"How can you promise me that when you know I'm going to worry all the time?" Brooke asked.
"Because I believe it to be true. Just as Luke believed it to be true all those times he said it. Nobody knows when they die, but while I'm here, Brooke, I'm going to be there for you and Avery and there's nothing anyone can say or do to make me change my mind."
Brooke shook her head. Something was messed up about this whole situation. Something that was staring Brooke in the face but she wasn't seeing. As she looked around the room, it occurred to her what was wrong when her gaze landed on her dresser. More specifically the ring box which now held the ring from Lucas which she had really taken off. And now here she was, listening to Jake promise to always be there for her and for her son. Why was that so hard for her to hear? Because the last time someone promised to always be there for me, he died in my arms! I can't go through it again. I won't Brooke thought.
"Please, don't make me a promise you can't keep," Brooke pleaded tearfully.
"But I didn't. I'm gonna be there for you. Always and forever," Jake replied.
"Have you been hanging out with Nathan lately?"
"What?"
"That's his thing with Haley. 'Always and forever', I've never heard anyone but the two of them say it."
"Oh. No I haven't been hanging out with Nathan lately. Although speaking of Nathan and Haley, how are they doing?"
"I don't know about Nathan but Haley is falling apart without him. She wants him to come home but at the same time she knows she can't let him."
Jake nodded. He hated to think that some of the most important people in his life were going through tough times and there didn't seem to be anything he could to help. It was hard enough getting Brooke to trust that he wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be to talk to Haley about what she's going through with Nathan. And he knew he couldn't talk to Nathan because he was still pissed at him for hitting Haley.
They continued to lie on the bed silently. After what seemed like an eternity Brooke opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by her cell phone. She jumped when she realized that it was Karen's ring tone and suddenly she remembered that she was supposed to call her earlier and hadn't done it.
"Hey Karen," she said as she did her best to hide the fact that she had been crying for the last three hours.
"Hi Brooke. Are you okay?" Karen replied.
"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't call you back. Is everything okay you sounded kind of I don't know, off on the message?"
"Actually could you come over here? Keith and I need to talk to you about something important."
"Okay. Should I bring Avery with me or leave him here with Jake?"
"Bring him with you and Jake can come too. You might want the extra support."
"Why? Karen what's going on? Are you okay? Is Keith okay?"
"Just be here in a half hour. I'll explain everything then."
"Okay. See you in a half hour. Bye."
"Bye."
Brooke closed her phone and turned back to see Jake smiling at her.
"We have to go over to Karen's. She said that she and Keith have to talk to me and I might want to have you there for 'extra support'," Brooke said.
"Okay. No problem. I'll go get Avery," Jake said as he rose to his feet and moved to leave the room. As he passed by Brooke grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. He returned the hug and then looked at her questioningly after pulling back.
"Thanks," she said simply.
"What for?" he asked.
"Everything."
Jake nodded as he left the room and walked down the hall to Avery's room. He was surprised to see that Avery was still sound asleep. Careful not to wake him up Jake lifted Avery out of the crib and took him over to the changing table to get a new diaper on him before they left.
Meanwhile Brooke was in the bedroom changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Then out of habit she grabbed Lucas' sweatshirt and slipped it over her head. Even though she would have Jake there, she wanted to feel like Lucas was with her too but she couldn't bring herself to put the ring back on.
"Oh crap. They're gonna ask why I'm not wearing it," Brooke whispered.
For a brief moment she considered putting it back on just to avoid the questioning but she knew that was wrong. If they asked why she was no longer wearing the ring, Brooke would have to tell them the truth. It was no longer out of love that she wore it but out of obligation. That made it feel like a weight and she was tired of feeling that way. Now all that was left to do was hope that she didn't actually have to explain anything to them about the ring.
"Brooke are you ready?" Jake asked.
"Yeah," she answered as she walked out of the room.
Since it was nice out, they decided to walk over to the house instead of taking one of their cars. Avery had woken up and was fascinated by the different sounds he heard as they made their way along the streets of Tree Hill. As they were passing the River Court, Avery's excitement grew. He was giggling and waving his arms wildly. Then suddenly, without any provoking from Brooke or Jake, he screamed, "DA!" Brooke stopped the stroller suddenly when she realized what had just happened. Jake's mouth was open wide.
"Baby, what did you say?" Brooke asked as she crouched in front of Avery.
"Da!" he squealed again.
"Where's Daddy?"
Avery waved his arms in the direction of the River Court. Brooke was amazed that her 5, almost 6, month old son knew that his father's favorite place in Tree Hill was the River Court. She knew that she had told him many stories about Lucas playing ball down there but how did he know that was the River Court?
"Daddy's not there pal. But he is in here," Brooke said as she pointed to her heart and then his.
"Da?" Avery said.
"Later baby."
Brooke went around to the back of the stroller again and continued walking toward Karen's. She was completely floored by what had just happened.
"Are you okay Brooke?" Jake asked gently.
"I'm fine," she whispered, desperately hoping the tears she was fighting wouldn't fight back.
"No you're not. Talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Avery's not even 6 months old and already knows where his daddy should be. How am I going to tell him the truth about what happened? I can't bear the thought of breaking his heart. What if he blames me for it Jake?"
"Hey! Avery does not and will not blame you for Lucas' death. Of course it's going to hurt you to tell him the truth but don't you think it would hurt him more if you didn't? I'm not saying you have to tell him now because even though he's sure to hear you, he probably won't comprehend what you're telling him. Don't worry about it. When the time comes, you'll cross that bridge and when that time comes, I'll help you through it. I meant it when I said I'm gonna be there Brooke. You just have to trust me and let me show you."
Brooke nodded silently as they kept walking. A few minutes later they were standing on the porch. Brooke had taken Avery out of his stroller and pushed it off to the side.
"Hey Brooke," Keith said when he opened the door a minute later, then immediately pulled her into a hug before stealing Avery from her.
"Hey Keith," Brooke replied with a smile.
He opened the door for Brooke and Jake to enter and closed it behind them. They all went into the living room where Karen was sitting on the couch. She got to her feet when she saw Brooke and Jake walking into the room and hugged them both.
"Okay, Karen, before I explode, can you please tell me what's going on?" Brooke said with a nervous smile.
Karen took a deep breath before speaking and then before she knew it, the words that she was sure were going to turn Brooke's world upside down came out of her mouth.
"Dan wants to be a part of Avery's life," Karen said slowly.
"What did you just say?"
"Dan wants to be a part of Avery's life."
"Why? Does he know that I hate him?"
"He feels like he owes it to Lucas' memory to get to know his grandson."
"I never even got to tell Lucas he was going to be a father so why does he feel like that? Wait a minute, how does Dan even know about Avery?"
"Nathan told him."
"What? I'm gonna kill Nathan."
Brooke was boiling over with anger. She couldn't believe Dan's audacity to think that she would actually let him near her son. And what's more, she couldn't believe that Nathan would tell Dan that he had a grandchild. What was wrong with him? Oh wait, Brooke knew he's depressed about his situation with Haley.
"Brooke I know you're angry with Nathan for telling Dan but maybe," Karen started to say.
"No! Don't you dare tell me I should let that heathen into my son's life. It's not gonna happen. I can't believe you would even suggest that Karen," Brooke snapped.
This was worse than Brooke thought it was going to be. She would have rather Karen tell her that she was dying or that Keith was dying. Anything would have been better than hearing that Dan wanted to be a part of Avery's life or that Nathan had told him that he was a grandfather. Although as far as Brooke was concerned, Keith was Avery's grandfather, not Dan.
"Brooke," Keith said gently.
"No, not you too Keith, you know what kind of animal your brother is. Come on. Do you really think he deserves to be a part of Avery's life?" Brooke replied.
"Maybe not but"
"No buts. Tell him I said to forget it. There's nothing he can do or say to change my mind. Dan Scott will never be a part of Avery's life as long as I have a say in the matter. If when he's older and Dan hasn't died or been murdered, Avery decides he wants to know Dan then that'll be his choice. For now I completely oppose."
"Brooke, I don't want you to get mad at me but maybe they're right. Maybe you should at least give Dan a chance. You never know, people can surprise you," Jake said softly.
"I can't Jake. He doesn't deserve a second chance. He was horrible to Karen and to Luke. I'm not giving that piece of shit the opportunity to be just as horrible to my son. Besides if he wants this opportunity as much as he claims to than he should have said something to me himself," Brooke replied.
Karen, Keith and Jake could all see that the brunette was shattering in front of them. More than that Jake could see the fear of ignoring Dan in her eyes too. As much as he wanted to support Brooke's choice, Jake knew that it wasn't the right thing but since Avery wasn't his son he didn't feel he had the right to say anything.
"That's not all of it Brooke," Karen said not taking her eyes off the spot on the floor where she had been staring.
"What is it Karen?" Brooke asked, a panic in her voice, "Oh god, you really are dying. No! You can't."
Karen couldn't bring herself to look at the young girl. She knew that she was going to have to tell her sooner or later.
"What's wrong Karen? Is it cancer?"
"Yes," Karen said just above a whisper.
Brooke felt as if her entire world had just been tilted and shaken up. As if losing Lucas hadn't been bad enough now she stood to lose his mother to cancer and potentially having to deal with Dan Scott on a regular basis in one visit. She desperately didn't want to cry but her tears got the best of her and Brooke let them flow unchecked. With each tear that fell Brooke went from being upset to angry to scared to curious.
"How long?" she whispered nervously.
"How long what Brooke?" Karen asked.
"How long have you known Karen? How long have you known that you're sick?"
Brooke felt bad for screaming at Karen but again her emotions were getting the best of her and the words were flying out of her mouth before she could even think about how harsh they might sound to someone else.
"Brooke, please. I know this is hard for you but don't you think it's hard on us as well?" Keith asked trying not to yell.
"I know I'm sorry Keith. I just I dunno, I can't bear the idea of losing you Karen. Not after going through losing Lucas. I wasn't sure I was strong enough for that and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be strong enough to get through losing you too," Brooke replied quietly as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.
"Brooke, come on. We should get going. Avery looks really tired," Jake said quietly.
Brooke didn't respond. Jake wasn't sure if it was because she hadn't heard him or that she was too upset to answer him. Whatever the reason he really thought it would be good for them to get back to their apartment so they could put Avery down for a nap. He decided he would wait a few minutes before speaking again.
"You're not going to lose me Brooke. I promise," Karen said seriously.
"No. Don't you promise me that Karen. You can't promise me something like that! Luke promised me the same thing and look how well that worked out! Don't make promises you can't keep," Brooke yelled before storming out of the house past Jake who held a sleeping Avery in his arms.
Karen made a motion to go after Brooke but Keith placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped. Turning to face him, Karen saw him shaking his head at her.
"If you go after her it's not going to help anything. I know you want to promise that she's not going to lose you but you know as much as she does that's one thing you can't do. And I know you understand that she loves you," Keith said softly.
"I know but I just want her to know that I'm going to fight this as best I can. She's too much like a daughter to me and I don't want to miss seeing my grandson grow up into a gentleman either," Karen replied.
"I know you're going to fight the cancer with all your strength but I don't want you to get stressed over it. Now why don't you go lie down for a while and give Brooke a call later on."
Karen nodded. She walked over to Jake and hugged him and kissed Avery's forehead before going up to her bedroom to rest. She was pretty tired and until now she didn't even realize it.
"Well I think Ave and I are gonna head out. I'm sorry things are turning out this way," Jake said to Keith.
"So am I, Jake, so am I. You take care of Avery and Brooke," Keith replied.
"I will. See you later Keith."
"Bye Jake."
With that Jake turned and left the house. He stopped on the porch to get Avery's stroller and gently placed the sleeping little boy into it and buckled him in carefully. As Jake walked along the streets of Tree Hill, it came as no surprise as he passed the River Court that Brooke was sitting on top of one of the picnic tables looking out over the river. Careful not to make her jump, Jake wheeled the stroller next to the table before he sat next to her.
Brooke was in such a daze that she hadn't realized that Jake and Avery were there with her until she felt Jake's hand grab hers. She looked at him with such sadness in her young face.
"Jake I can't lose Karen. That would just kill me," Brooke said sadly.
"Hey, don't talk like that. You have a little boy who needs you. I know it's hard to think about the possibility of losing Karen but Brooke you can't let that take away from the fact that you have a job to do and that's raising this little boy here," Jake replied with such conviction it made Brooke's tears fall again.
Brooke just nodded. She knew Jake was right. The thought of losing Karen was a tough one to take but she needed to focus on raising her son.
The three of them continued sitting at the River Court and just watched the sunset over the river before they moved from the picnic table.
As they walked along with the stroller in front of them Brooke was lost in thought. She knew things were changing between her and Jake but she wasn't sure if she was ready to acknowledge it out loud or express this thought to him quite yet. Maybe it was fear of rejection but Brooke doubted that. It was clear to her that Jake really did care about her and Avery but one thing would always be true-Jake was no Lucas.
Just as Brooke was lost in thought, Jake walked beside her lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking about how much his life had changed since he came back to Tree Hill. The biggest change of course being that his friend Lucas was gone. It had been a really shock when Jake had heard the news but it broke his heart when he found out that Brooke was pregnant and Lucas never got to know that he was going be a daddy. As they got closer and closer to the apartment Jake knew that even though he was sure that Brooke would always hold a special place for Lucas in her heart, it was time to take things to the next step in their relationship. He wanted to call Brooke his girlfriend. The only thing that could keep that from happening would be if Brooke said no. Obviously Jake would understand but he secretly hoped that Brooke had moved on enough to say yes.
"Brooke," he said as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs up to their apartment.
"Yes Jake?" she asked suspiciously.
"I think it's time we take the next step in our relationship."
"Relationship? Jake I thought we were just friends."
"We are. But I'd like for us to be more than friends."
"Oh."
Brooke felt her heart skip a beat. Jake wanted to be with her. Was she ready for a relationship? Could she give Jake her whole heart? Brooke knew the answer to that question and that was no. But she was sure that Jake told her just how he felt knowing that she would never be able to give him all of her heart.
"If you just want to stay friends, that's fine I understand," Jake said and Brooke could hear the disappointment in his voice and it broke her heart.
"Jake, no, that's not it. I just want to make sure you know that as much as I want this, I'll never be able to give you my whole heart. Lucas will always have a piece of my heart that no one else can touch."
"I know that Brooke. And that doesn't bother me. I want to be with you. I want you to be my girlfriend."
"And I want to be with you. I want to be your girlfriend Jake."
"Good that's settled than. You are my girlfriend."
"You're my boyfriend."
The two smiled and leaned in for a sweet romantic kiss. At the same time Avery woke up and let out a wail.