A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a little while since I last updated and I want to thank you all for being patient with me. Between work and the holidays, I really just needed a break. However, after receiving a couple of super sweet private messages asking me to update, I knew it was time. This chapter is a little shorter than the others but it's mostly because this and the next sort of bleed together. It means I would have had a super huge chapter (which I'm sure some of you wouldn't mind). However, I do have half of the next chapter written so I'll be keeping up with it. Now that Christmas is approaching, I may be a little spotty but I do want to promise every one of my readers that I'm not giving up on this story. I already have the end planned out in my head and it's much to perfect not to write. You'll understand soon enough.

I also want to dedicate this chapter to everyone who's been wanting to see some anti-Julian stuff (which naturally means pro-Lucas). This chapter is for you guys. I hope you enjoy and thank you again, so much, for reading. I love that you can all share in the vision I have for this amazing couple that was totally screwed on t.v. Enjoy.

"Facing Up"
Written: 12/10/2009

There is a loud bang as Julian Baker's hand wipes out across the counter and knocks his papers off of the table. He had been reading through some scripts his father had sent him, until Brooke came barging into the room. He whirls out of the chair and goes to his feet. "What, Brooke. What did I do this time?"

Her eyes just widen as his papers scatter along the floor. "Oh, that's real mature. You're acting like your daughter."

"That's right!" He pipes up as he feels the anger boil. He tries to keep his voice down but he just can't. "My daughter, because in case you forgot, she is my daughter. Not--"

"Not what!?" Brooke yells back at him. This whole fight is pointless. It's like every time they're in the same room, they just can't stop yelling at each other. She's so angry at him for so many things that she has never let out. It would be easier if he just hadn't come back from California. No, she shouldn't think that. Grace is always so happy to see her father.

When Julian doesn't answer, she pulls her fingers through her mid-length chestnut locks. She paces slightly and bites her tongue so she doesn't yell again. "Look, Grace is trying to sleep. Let's just talk later."

When did she become the girl who pushes problems aside? It isn't like her and she knows it, but she just doesn't want to argue anymore.

Standing amidst his fallen papers, Julian looks over at the girl that he had so easy to fallen in love with. For the first time, he sees past the whole strong facade and he can see how close she is to crying. He can't help himself as he lets out a breath and grumbles, "I saw you kiss him."

"What are you talking about?" She asks, but almost instantly, Brooke knows. She thinks about standing outside with Lucas when he left. He'd been so tender and soft, so sweet and kind, and the kiss had sent her world swirling around her.

Julian just stares, "You know what I'm talking about."

Brooke crosses her arms over her chest and looks down at the floor. There's a toy just a few feet away from her that belongs to Penny. She and Grace are so intertwined they often leave their toys at each other's home. And while it's a tough pill to swallow, Brooke is beginning to realize that she and Lucas are just as intertwined as their girls. "Julian..."

He shakes his head, "I must have been crazy to come back." His voice is no louder than a dull roar as he turns into the living room. He grabs a spare blanket from the closet and plops down on the couch. He stretches out and pulls the blanket over him as he grabs the remote control and turns the tv on. He's accustomed to hotel room and infomercials and can't sleep without them anymore.

From a few feet away, Brooke just stares at him before heading to her room. She stops at the door, huffs and goes back to the living room, only to pick up the mess of dropped papers.

* * * *

"Are you crazy?" Haley puts her paper down and looks at her blue-eyed friend, who'd pretty much just dropped an anvil on the top of her head.

Lucas's eyes widen. He hadn't totally expected that reaction. Taking a breath, he nods. "I think I might be."

With Brian napping and Jamie playing basketball with his dad at the Rivercourt, Haley had been ready for an afternoon of relaxing, catching up on some news, and maybe doing some laundry. But all of that had been easy sideswiped when Lucas had come for a visit. "Let me get this straight." She puts her hands up like she's trying to keep all of the information at bay until she is ready to deal with it. "You kissed Brooke, in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day, while her boyfriend was a few feet away inside her house?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds bad." Lucas says as he leans forward on the table, "I don't know what I was thinking. I just saw him and--" While he wants to spill everything, he doesn't exactly feel like he can. It wouldn't be fair. If he was going to spill his guts out, it should be to Brooke, not Haley. He sidetracks with something else he believes, "He's not right for her."

"Luke..." Actually, Haley had seen this coming. They had been practically inseparable for years, and she'd seen the look on his face and how quickly he'd reacted when he heard Grace call out for daddy.

"He's not." Lucas is going to hold on to this even if he doesn't say the rest of what he's really feeling. "He's gone all the time. He rarely comes home. Grace barely sees him. And come on, the guy talks about how big Brian's gotten but he hasn't even been back since you gave birth."

She sighs, "I'm not arguing with you. I don't like that he's not around either but being with him isn't your decision to make. It's Brooke's."

"But she's making the wrong one!" He pushes his hands on the table to stand and finds himself pacing back and forth, his hands on his hips. "She needs to be with someone who can take care of her and support her. She deserves someone who's going to love her and her daughter endlessly, someone who looks at her and can't--imagine a world where she doesn't exist. She needs someone who can grab her, kiss her, in the middle of a crowded room and--"

"--not care who sees it?" Haley finishes.

She's known Lucas since they were young and she probably knows him better than anyone. She can instantly see what he's saying, even if it's something that he can't see himself. Haley watches him pace as she leans forward.

"Exactly!" he cries. Then he stops pacing when it sinks in. He had just admitted it. That's exactly what he had done. He didn't care if Julian saw him kissing Brooke. He didn't care what the neighbors saw.

He's talking about himself. As the realization hits, he looks at Haley and just sees a knowing smirk on her face. He walks over and slides down into the chair he'd just vacated and sighs. What is he going to do?

* * * *

What is she going to do?

Brooke paces in the living room with her cell phone in her hand. As much as she mentally begs the phone to ring, it's not ringing. Tears are streaming down her face again, but this time, she had reason for them. Her heart is racing out of her chest and she's sure she's going to pass out from fear alone.

Why isn't he calling her?

She dials his number again and listens to the ringing. "Come on, come on..." She begs the ringing. Please God, please. But the phone rolls to voicemail.

"This is Julian. I'm not here right now so leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Beep.

Oh, how she wants to throw the phone, but she has had bad luck with throwing phones in the past. Instead, she grips it just a little tighter and swallows past the knot in her throat. "Julian, it's Brooke. Again. I need you to call me back. Please." And this time, as she pounds on the off button, she imagines it's his face she's hitting. She's never been so scared, and she can just imagine him sitting at a large, oval shaped table in a meeting with his father as he presses the call ignore button.

She tries him just one more time but it doesn't even ring. Did he really just turn his phone off? "Damnit," she hisses as she curls her hand along the mound of her pregnant belly. "Okay. It's going to be okay. He's gonna call back. You'll see. Just hold on.." But almost the second she says it, she feels this immense pain roll through her body like it's angry.

Brooke bends forward, holding her belly as she lets out a cry. Okay, there is no time to wait. It's only been four minutes since her last contraction. The baby is going to come and she can't wait for Julian to answer her call.

With her lips pursed, she lets out short breaths as she dials the one number she'd wanted to dial in the first place. Please answer, she begs the phone and lets out a sigh of relief as it finally clicks. "Hey, Brooke..."

Lucas's voice is hesitant. He isn't sure he should be answering the call in the first place. They haven't spoken in almost a month, not since he kissed her in the shop and then left. At first, she called a lot, asking him to talk to her. Then the calls waned. But this time, when he looked at her name on the caller I.D., he couldn't ignore it.

"Lucas--"

She sounds like she's crying. He knows she's pregnant so he assumes she's having an emotional day. He doesn't want to argue with her today or tell her again that he can't explain why he can't talk to her. "Right now isn't really a good time. I'm kind of busy." He looks down at the empty page on his laptop screen as he says it and knows he's lying. He hasn't been able to write for almost four weeks now.

The cry comes out easily as Brooke leans against the couch. "I need help, please..." Her voice is small and full of sadness and fear.

Lucas immediately jumps up and an onslaught of images run through his head. What if she fell? What if she's bleeding? What if someone attacked her? What if it was a car accident? His heart sinks, "What's wrong?" Just like that, he's across the room. He slips into a pair of shoes and grabs his car keys, already out the door with the phone against his ear.

"She's coming, Luke." Brooke cries as she rubs her belly, trying to get the feeling to lighten a little. "It's too early. She's not due for another month." The end of her sentence is cut short as she lets out another cry from the contraction. When it rolls over her, she lowers herself to her knees and then rolls so she's pressed against the couch. "Julian's not answering. I called him but--"

"Don't worry about him, Brooke. I just need you to breathe. I'm on my way over. I'm going to call the hospital and tell them we're coming, okay? I'll be right there." He waits until he hears her agree then hangs up. As he makes the drive over, he calls the hospital. He has to get to her. He has to help her.

* * * *

Brooke rolls over in bed.

She hasn't been able to sleep. She is never able to fall asleep after she gets into a big fight with Julian. Laying there for a few minutes, she stares out the window at the skyline over Tree Hill. This place has always been home to her, but she wonders if things would be better if she had gone with Julian to Los Angeles.

He'd made it clear in the beginning that he still cherished his job. She had naively assumed they would stay as close as they had been but over time, things change. She had to grow up. She had a little girl to put ahead of herself. Tree Hill is home for Grace, too. It could be home for Julian, if he'd just stay.

Sounds coming out of the kitchen make her jump. She isn't used to Julian being home so at first, she thinks Grace has gotten into something. She wraps her robe around her body, cinching it at the waist as she wanders down the hall.

"Gracie? What did mommy say about playing in the kitchen without her?" Brooke rounds the corner and sees Julian, standing in front of the counter as he serves up a plate of pancakes. "Oh. I thought--"

"You were wrong," he says simply as he grabs the syrup and brings it over to Grace. She makes a face as he drizzles some all over her pancake. She looks at her mother and then looks down, not about to say anything.

But Brooke will. "Julian, about the syrup..."

"I think I know how to pour syrup, Brooke. I know I'm not as perfect as you are but I can handle this." It's easy to snap. Probably too easy. He turns to look at her and holds out the bottle. "Did you want to pour it? Do it the right way, maybe?"

Her hands go to her hips and she hisses, "She doesn't like syrup." She walks past him and gets another dish. She plates another pancake and puts it on the counter. "She likes butter." The words are said under her breath. After lathering it up, she puts the plate in front of her daughter who almost guiltily starts eating it.

Julian just looks away for a second before knocking the first plate into the sink. "Well that's just great, isn't it?"

The plate cracks as it hits the bottom of the porcelain sink. Brooke doesn't even think as she hisses, "What is your problem?"

"My problem is you hanging out with him all the time. I bet he knows she likes butter on her pancakes. And you know why I don't know? Because you wouldn't come with me so I could see her. It's like you're trying to keep me away from her!"

"What!?"

He continues, "Just like you tried to keep me from taking her to Disneyland for her birthday."

As Brooke opens her mouth, she hears a little whimper and turns her head to the side. She feels Julian still bearing down on her but the look on her daughter's face breaks her heart. How had she been stupid enough to argue in front of her? She walks around the counter, the fight all but left behind. "Gracie, baby, why don't you take your breakfast into your bedroom and I'll be in in a little bit, okay?"

The little girl just nods and then with her mother's help, hops down from the chair. She takes the plate and timidly wanders back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Brooke watches her and just feels like such an idiot. She remembers her parents fighting in front of her and how it made her feel. She can't believe she just did the same thing to her own daughter. She hears Julian walk towards her and can feel him about to say something so she turns and holds up her hand to stop him. "I don't want to fight, Julian. I wasn't trying to keep you from taking her to Disneyland. I was trying to stop you from promising to take her and then not showing up. I don't want her to spend her life waiting for you to make good on your promises."

His face turns up, "I don't break promises to her."

"Maybe you don't mean to, but you're always postponing them. She's been waiting for that trip to Disneyland for so long..."

"It's not even her birthday yet!" He snaps in his defense.

Brooke shakes her head, "You promised her a year and a half ago."

He can only stand there as he watches Brooke shake her head and walk away. How could so much time have passed?

* * * *

How much time has passed? Where is Lucas? What if something happens to him and he can't make it? What if he's hurt? So many things flow through Brooke's head as she leans back against the couch with her eyes closed. Her legs stretch out in front of her as her hands rub along her stomach. The phone still hasn't rung. She has a feeling Julian isn't coming.

She leans forward as the throbbing pain grows in intensity. She groans and sweat beads form along her hairline. What if she can't do this? It hurt so much already. There isn't a single position that doesn't hurt her back. All of this happened so quickly. Isn't it supposed to take long the first time? She swears she heard that it can take hours. This came on so fast.

There's a knock at the door that makes her jump but she still can't move. "Luke!" she calls out.

He stands outside the door, fumbling with his keys, trying to find the one that belongs to this house. "I'm coming, Brooke. I'm coming," He calls out over and over until he finds the key and bursts through the doorway. He looks around but doesn't see her at first. "Brooke!" He calls out.

She throws one hand in the air, "Over here."

As he rushes to her side, she looks up at him. "I can't move." She cries, "I tried. And they're coming so fast. Lucas..." She shakes her head but her eyes are wide and full of worry.

He reaches up to wipe away the tears on her cheeks and then cups the side of her face so her eyes meet his. "I'm here now, Brooke. Everything's going to be okay. I'm going to carry you to the car and we'll get you to the hospital, okay?"

He waits for her to nod and then hooks one arm under her knees, the other at her back. "Ready?" He asks. Once he's sure she is, he lifts her off the ground. He feels her arms wrap around his neck and hold on as he carries her outside to the car, still whispering, promising her that she'll be okay.

* * * *

Brooke's voice comes out as a whisper as she stands outside of Grace's closed bedroom door. Her palm presses against the name that is written in the center of a yellow star, like on an actress's dressing room. "Gracie..." But there's no sound.

She lets out a sigh. "Baby, mommy is so sorry. She and daddy shouldn't have argued in front of you." She runs her knuckles against the door and knocks, "Honey, open up." But still, there's nothing. She feels horrible and just wants to make it up to her little girl.

"We were angry with each other and I know that's not an excuse, but I promise you it won't happen again sweetheart."

In the nest of silence, Brooke lowers her head. Julian had walked out 'for a walk' not too long ago, and she could have really used him to assure their daughter who had looked so upset when they were fighting. "You know," She keeps her voice soft. "When I was your age, I used to see my mom and dad fighting a lot, too. They always yelled in front of me like I wasn't even there. I hated them for it, for a really long time. And it's not fair that you had to see that. I promise you won't have to see it again."

Still nothing. "Honey, say something." But it remains quiet. So Brooke reaches down and takes a hold of the doorknob. "Grace?" She pushes the door open and looks in. On the bed is the plate she'd been sent to her room with, the pancake still on top of it, untouched aside from that first bite. Brooke's heart sinks as her eyes focus on the curtains blowing in the breeze from the open window.

She's gone.


Again, I hope you enjoyed. Please continue with the kind reviews. They really keep me going. Happy Holidays everyone! **Rosie