A/N: Okay so I did a lot of plotting out for the story, so it took a little longer to update. I also had my best friend come to town, and I haven't seen her in forever (and once she left, I had to get my butt back to work). So never fear, I'm not abandoning this story at all. I just get a little busy and don't have as much time to update as I would like. However, I have at least of the next chapter planned out. I should have it up Monday.

Also, I wanted to let you guys know that you're in for a real treat. My friend Angie, who is seriously a kick ass BL vidder, agreed to make a trailer-vid for this story! I've seen a few of the scenes she's working on and it looks incredible! Once she finishes it, I'll make sure to put the link up in here. In the mean time, check out her other vids. They're awesome. Especially check out her "Destiny Doesn't Lie" series. It's freaking awesome!
h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / u s e r / D a v i s S c o f i e l d --just remove all the spaces.

Oh, and someone start a petition to get Corey (BRUCAS123) to do an update for her story "Don't Look Away."

Alright, so here we go. This chapter was named for a Damien Rice song called "Delicate" that I just adore. There's only four scenes but I got a little wordy with them so there's more in them, more description that I felt needed to be there. I hope you enjoy.

edit: I don't know if it's just trying to update, or if it really italicized everything. If it's all italicized it all, just know that the first and third scenes are NOT flashbacks. The second and fourth ARE.

Delicate

We might live like never before

When there's nothing to give

Well how can we ask for more

We might make love in some sacred place

The look on your face is delicate

It's only three a.m when Lucas Scott wakes up in a bed he isn't used to. He stares at the ceiling for a moment as he lets his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room and the soft hum of the fan above the bed. As he lays there, he remembers the moments leading up to this. He remembers taking Brooke in his arms, kissing her, making love to her.

While he's woken up healed before, he's never woken with the feeling that he was about to explode. With the exception of his daughter, his heart had never been so full of woman.

He smiles, sure now that he's in Brooke's room, and he rolls to his side.

Sure enough she's still asleep beside him. Her chest rises and falls in steady rhythm, her fingertips pressed gently to the pillow case that held her beneath a nest of chestnut hair. Her cheeks are pink, lips full and turned into a smile that almost crossed her face. She makes a soft noise in the middle of a dream as the shadows of the night block out the rest of the world. Right now, they were the only two that existed.

Lucas smiles as he reaches his fingertips up to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Then he leans in gently, careful not to wake her, and he kisses her forehead. Her features are highlighted from the moon glowing through the blinds, and it really makes him take notice. She has grown up so much. She always tried to be strong, but he could still see through her like he used to be able to. He had told her once that he always saw her as vulnerable. He told her it was beautiful, and it was.

She snuggles against her pillow, almost as if she could feel his gaze as it runs along her features. It brings another smile to his lips as vibrant blue eyes look over her sleeping face. He's noticed it before but he can see just how much Grace looks like her, and he's floored with just how amazing he thinks it is. That's when he realizes it.

This is exactly where he's supposed to be. Maybe he was supposed to be here since the very beginning. Even before he went chasing after his childhood fantasy, he had gotten to know Brooke Davis and become quite taken with her. She's smart, funny, talented, brave and she's got to be one of the strongest people he's ever met. She's an amazing mother, a wonderful friend and the most incredible woman he's ever known.

He was always meant to be right here.

Comfortable in that knowledge, Lucas closes the distance between the two of them and curls his arm around her body. He kisses the top of her head and then sinks back into the pillow. And as he closes his eyes to drift back to sleep, he feels at peace.

* * *

It's a soft lullaby that fills the room. Brooke's gentle hum and the soft creaking of a wooden rocking chair she received just that morning from Karen. With it, a letter that now sits on the night table beside Grace's crib. It explained how Karen believed rocking chairs were way underrated. She had also gone into detail how she had gotten Haley a rocking chair once Jamie was born, and now it was Brooke's turn.

To be honest, Brooke was definitely enjoying it.

Grace slept for no more than two hours at a time before she was hungry or needed a change. While Brooke loves every minute that passes, she's definitely feeling the need for sleep. Laying back in the rocking chair with her little girl snoozing against her chest, Brooke at least felt like she was getting some rest.

She can feel her daughter's gentle breath against her skin and it brings a smile shining across her face. She had thought being pregnant, carrying this miracle inside of her, was the happiest she could be but she was wrong. Whenever Brooke felt her angel breathing, whenever she heard her little coo, whenever she brushed her finger against Grace's palm and watched her fingers tighten into a tiny fist..

That's when she knew she was complete.

She heard the floor boards creak and looked up to see Julian leaning against the door frame. This could be quite possibly the nicest part, she thought, until she realizes that he has his laptop bag on his shoulder. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach and pressed her lips together, but she didn't say anything.

He had his arms crossed over his chest as he watches them. They really did look so sweet together. Brooke had taken to motherhood like a duck to water and he hasn't even realized it until now. Their daughter, Grace Elizabeth, was four weeks old. They had been a wonderful four weeks, but now it was time to get back to work. Not that he really stopped working in all that time.

He sees the look on her face and can't keep her in suspense. "Can we talk?"

They had to be the hardest words to hear, and they usually meant something bad. Brooke nods, uncrosses her legs and raises from the rocking chair slowly. She walks to the crib while she rubs her baby's back and then gently places her into the crib that's decorated with baby animals. Grace doesn't stir, though something in Brooke makes her wish her baby had. Maybe then she could put off whatever Julian's wanting to tell her.

She walks to the door, closing her robe around her body. "What is it?" she asks in a soft voice.

He looks over Brooke's head for just a moment, staring into the room to see where his daughter was resting soundly. If he was going to do this, everything would change for her too. She would have a completely different life. "Other room." He says simply, then turns from the nursery and walks into the living room.

Hesitantly, Brooke follows but by the time they're standing in the living room, she can't wait for him to say anything so she questions, "Where are you going?"

Julian looks up at her, slightly confused.

She nods at the bag. "You always cling to your laptop when you're about to leave." And to be honest, she's had a feeling he was going to leave again ever since he got back from a meeting with his father in Los Angeles three days ago.

"Yeah, well.."

Biting her bottom lip, Brooke asks, "When?" She knew that he was trying to get back to work and she really wanted to make him stay. For the four weeks since Grace has been born, Julian had been gone a total of five times.

That wasn't it. He sighed, "Seven."

"Tonight?" Her eyes widen. "Julian, it's.." She looks for the clock in the living room and then looks back at him, "it's four o'clock. That's in three hours."

He knew this wasn't going to be easy. Nodding, he rubs his palm along the top of his head. "Yeah. I have to head out in a minute so I'm at the airport for check in."

Brooke knows there isn't much she can do. His mind was made up. She could tell. All she could do was let him go and take care of their baby in the mean time. "When will you be back?" She asks, lowering herself to the couch cushion. She hasn't slept a full night since Grace was born and she was definitely too tired to argue. It was very unlike her, but a lot of things have changed.

That's when Julian sits back on the arm of a chair located across from the couch Brooke has reclined in and puts his hands on his knees. He knows she's not going to be happy. "A week. Maybe more."

How do you say maybe more when you have a baby at home? Must be nice to have that luxury. She still doesn't argue though. "What does that mean, maybe more, how long is that?"

He shrugs simply. "You remember that meeting I took with my dad last week?" Julian waits until she nods and then continues, "He wants to work with me on a movie. I'm going back there to meet with the writer and if she likes me, I'm going to direct her film."

It wasn't the leaving that felt like a cold metal knife stuck in her back. What really hurt the most was knowing that all of this was going on and he hadn't talked to her about any of it. When had she stopped being such a big part of his life? Why was she hearing about it for the first time before he boarded a plane to go across the country? Brooke closed her eyes for a moment and brought her fingers up to rub the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache. "So, you're just going to be gone for the next couple of months and I'm just hearing about it three hours before you leave? That's not fair."

Julian doesn't mean to snap. Then again, he hasn't really had a conversation with Brooke in the past couple months that hadn't turned into an argument. "No, you know what's not fair? This isn't fair."

"What isn't?" She asks, a tiny bit of that Brooke Davis fire stirring in her chest.

"All of it. This is my dream, Brooke. I thought you would support me." So much has changed since Brooke had gotten pregnant. He'd felt like his ability to chase his dreams was being taken away and he just wasn't happy with that. He worked so hard to get here, and now he was on the cusp. She had to be happy for him. She had to support him.

Her hand goes to her chest, palm pressed over the heart that was getting all too used to watching him leave. "I do support you. But what about Grace? You're going to leave, just like that?"

"This is my shot." He says, walking over to crouch down in front of her. "This is my dream. I don't have a choice."

From the other room, a small cry echoes down the hall. It magnifies thanks to the baby monitor Brooke's left on the table beside them. She looks over at it and almost as soon as he crouches in front of her, she's on the rise. "You always have a choice." She mumbles.

Damnit. Julian hangs his head for a moment, his hand on the spot of the couch where her knee had been just a moment earlier. He taps his hand on the spot and then looks up as he watches her. She was starting to disappear down the hallway and he had a feeling that if he just let her go, he wouldn't see her until after this film. He sighs and his eyes catch a glimpse of the refrigerator filled with pictures. Some he was in, some he'd been replaced by Lucas Scott.

If he left, would there be more pictures with Lucas on their fridge?

He stands up abruptly, "Brooke."

She doesn't want to stop but she does. As she turns, her arms cross over her chest. "She's hungry. I have to go feed her, and I really don't want to argue with you."

"Come with me." Julian doesn't leave the living room. His eyes focus on the confused look that crosses her face. "You and Grace can pack up. We'll get a house, and we can all be together. It'll all work out, Brooke, just say yes."

Leave Tree Hill? Was she even ready for that? She'd come back for a reason. She wasn't ready to leave yet. This was home. But wouldn't it be better to move so that Grace could be with her father? Another cry echoed down the hall and bumped her out of her thought. "I have to go get her."

He nods, "Think about it. I'll come back in a couple days when I know if I got the job. Then we can all go out together."

Brooke doesn't say anything. She gives Julian a small smile, not sure if she'd see him before he left tonight. Her head was full of so much already, and now he wanted her to leave home?

She walks into the nursery to see her little dark haired baby kicking her legs and flailing her arms for attention. Brooke leans against the crib and reaches her hand in. Grace immediately fists her fingers around her mothers and the crying subsides. Her toothless smile widens across her face, a face that is full of innocence and beauty.

What was she going to do? It wasn't just her anymore. She had Grace to take into consideration. "What do you think? Should we go?"

Grace just continues to smile, blissfully unaware.

* * *

Lucas Scott wakes with the sun shining on his bare chest and a light breeze coming in the open window from the pier. As he stretches his arms over his head, he looks at the curtains blowing in the breeze and finds the smile on his face. He's had one of the best nights of sleep he's had in quite awhile.

He sits up in bed and realizes he's alone, but the sounds of shuffling around from the other room--followed by the little voice of his Gracie--tells him that Brooke was out there with her. He curls the sheets around his waist and walks across the room to pick up the pair of jeans he'd discarded the night before. They were now neatly folded on the top of a mahogany dresser. He takes them and a pair of boxers and puts them on before putting the sheet back on the bed.

A minute later, it's made, and Lucas grabs his shirt. He pulls it on as he walks down the hallway. On his right, he sees Brooke rushing around the kitchen. She's humming something as she flips two pieces of bacon over in a hot pan. At the table, Grace is nestled in a chair that was much too big for her. It just makes her look smaller.

The little brunette notices him leaning against the wall and squeals. Her hands go up in the air as she happily proclaims, "Uncle Lucas!" Her fork goes flying out of her hands and hits the floor. Brooke jumps but Lucas is already walking over.

"Good morning princess. Let me get that for you." He bends to pick up the fork and then walks it over to the sink. He turns on the water, washes off the fork and then looks over at Brooke. The smile is still widening his face. "Good morning to you too, Brooke Davis."

Brooke feels the blush crossing her face at the way Lucas looks at her. She hasn't felt like someone had seen her like this in such a long time. But that wasn't exactly true, was it? Lucas has been there for her through so much. She had helped him raise Penny, and he had helped her raise Grace. Even without Julian around much, she didn't feel like her daughter was missing out on anything.

Who would have thought she and Lucas Scott would have grown into these people who had these amazing lives? They had such humble beginnings. "Morning." She says, averting her eyes back to the pan once the bacon was extra crispy, just the way that Grace likes it. She turns off the stovetop and loads the bacon onto a plate. "We have waffles, potato cakes, fruit.." She then picks up the plate and turns to Lucas. "..bacon. If you want to stay for breakfast.."

Hearing that makes Grace jump up again. "Yeah, stay for breakfast Uncle Lucas!" She thanks him for the clean fork he brought over and dips it into the food on her place. "Mama made scrambled eggs too." She scoops up some and takes a big bite as she watches Brooke put the plate of bacon on the table.

Her little hand immediately reaches for it but her mom points a finger. "Wait til it cools off. It's too hot to grab."

Grace nods and pulls her hand back, turning happily to her scrambled eggs. "Is Penny here?" She asks curiously with her mouth full. Her eyes were wide and innocent but it made sense. In her mind, Lucas meant Penny. And vice versa.

Brooke slightly panics and looks over at Lucas, who is just sitting down at the table beside the little girl.

He hesitates, but answers, "No. She's at Aunt Haley's still."

Because she's young and didn't completely understand, she asks, "Why wasn't she invited to the sleepover?"

"Sleep over?" Brooke questions, her voice wavering just a little. Oh dear God please don't say she saw what happened. She now tries to go over in her mind if there was a chance that Grace may have seen the two of them being intimate. Her door had been closed and she hadn't heard it open, but what if she had witnessed their kissing in the hallway? Her heart starts to race.

Grace nods, "You let Uncle Lucas sleep over."

She hadn't given Brooke any reason to believe she'd seen anything, but she had never been in this position before, causing her to immediately throw out there the one cliche line that actually stuck in her head, "We were just wrestling."

Lucas sees how nervous Brooke's gotten, but he also sees Grace furrow her eyebrows together and look at her mother with an expression of utter confusion. He leans on the table a little, "How about you and Penny have a sleep over at our house tonight?"

This seems to satisfy her and she's suddenly off the topic of seeing her Uncle Lucas sleeping in her mommy's bed. To her, it made sense. They were friends just like she and Penny were friends, and they slept in the same bed sometimes. "Is that okay, mama?"

Lucas smiles. What other little girl would think to ask for permission? His eyes turn to Brooke and he chuckles at the look that crosses her features. "Yeah mom, is that okay?"

Brooke takes a breath and tries to relax. She hadn't expected to get so nervous. She looks at Lucas and then at her daughter and lets out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She realizes her daughter hadn't been talking about the less clothed portion of the evening. Catching up with the conversation, she nods, "Yeah. Yes. Of course. Of course it's okay."

Over the top of Grace's head, she and Lucas share a moment and end up laughing about it.

* * *

It's Julian's offer that keeps repeating itself in Brooke's head. Live in California? She'd have to take Grace away from her home. She wouldn't get to spend every day with the people who were most important in her life. She wouldn't see Aunt Haley, or Uncle Nathan, or Jamie. She wouldn't get to hang out with Penny, and what's worse is she wouldn't have her Uncle Lucas around. That hurt Brooke most of all.

Leaning against the wall, she looks on as Luke plays with the two small girls. Grace was nestled in his arm as Penny knelt in front of them, looking down at the baby. Almost a year had passed between their births but Brooke could already see that Penny was going to look out for her. As a curious one year old, she hardly took her eyes off of the dark haired baby.

How could she take her daughter away from that? But how could she not go? Julian was her father.

Lucas looks up a moment later and sees the way Brooke is watching them. It wasn't too long ago that she would be watching to make sure that he was doing okay. It hadn't been easy, being a single father, but that didn't mean he was really doing all of this on his own. He had his friends to walk with him every step of the way. And Brooke Davis had down the most. She'd pulled him out of bed when he'd gone drinking. She'd yelled at him when he wouldn't listen to her pleas. She had reminded him that he needed to take care of his daughter, and even if he didn't feel like living, he had a reason to go on.

He owed Brooke the world.

After spending all that time with her, and even back to when they'd dated and turned to friends in high school, he recognized her thought filled face. Rubbing his hand on Grace's stomach, he then scoops Penny up in his other arm and takes them into the living room. First he places Penny down in her playpen, then lays Grace beside her. Neither girl seem to fuss about being put down. They were already too involved in each other.

He smiled at that, kissed the top of his daughter's head and then turned so he could face Brooke. "Alright, what's going on?"

She doesn't seem prepared for that question. She stiffens a little and stands up straight. "What are you talking about?"

Lucas gives her a look, "You've had something on your mind since yesterday. Is it just because Julian left last night?" God, he sure wanted to punch that boy. He had a beautiful woman and sweet daughter that loved him and just wanted him around. How could he spend a second away from them?

Brooke doesn't really want to go into it. How did she tell Lucas that she was considering leaving? "Yeah. That's it." Her arms cross over her chest and she looks to the ground, but the second the lie parts from her lips, she shakes her head. "No. That's not true. It's.. complicated."

His hand reaches out in her direction and he wiggles his fingers at her. "Okay, get over here and let's talk about it." He sees a little hesitation cross her features, but he's insisting. "Come on."

He smiles as she finally gives in and walks over to him. He wraps his arms around her and gives her a tight hug. As he parts, he says, "Whatever it is, you can tell me. We'll figure it out. After everything we've been through, I'm pretty sure we can find a way through it." He looks back at the couch and then sits down and pulls her down to his side. His arm winds over her shoulders. "So what's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

How was it possible that she already felt better just with his little bit of reassurance? It didn't make her decision for her, but she at least felt more capable of making it. Besides, it felt really good to talk about it. Her eyes avert towards the crib to check on the girls and feels a tightness in her chest. She couldn't take those two away from each other, at the very least. Right?

Taking a breath, she crosses one leg over the other and turns her head to face him. "Julian got that job in California." She'd talked to Lucas about this since he left. She'd told him about the phone call she got that morning from Julian saying they'd had breakfast with that client, and she ended up hiring him. Everything was happening so fast. "He wants me and Grace to go there with him, to move there."

There. She at least said it.

Lucas though felt like his breath had just been torn out of him. He stared at her for a second and felt the urge to cling to her, beg her not to go. He'd only gotten through that past year because of her. What would he do without her?

Realizing how selfish that sounded, he tried to push those thoughts aside. "What do you want?"

It was the first time she'd thought about that. What did she want to do? Ever since Julian had asked, she'd thought about what would be best for Grace. She hadn't spent a second thinking about herself yet. So she took that moment and thought. Sure she could go with Julian, but she'd be leaving her family. This was her home. Nothing else had been able to replace it. She wanted to raise her daughter in the beautiful town, where you could walk down the street and know the people you pass by name instead of walking through of crowd of obscurity.

Tree Hill brought a smile to her face. She had been a stupid teenager once who dreamed of a day she could be out of the small town, but she hadn't appreciated it back then. Now, she did. Now it was the only place she wanted to be.

She whispers, "I don't want to go."

Lucas had to admit he was relieved when she said she didn't want it. He knew that wasn't all of it. He knew that sometimes it wasn't about what you wanted, but that was at least a step. Whether she went or not was still up to her. "What are we gonna do?"

Now that was a question she just couldn't answer. "I don't know." Brooke's voice is soft, full of apprehension. As a sigh escapes her, she lets her head fall to the side. His arms tighten around her and she lets out a contented breath. This was where she wanted to be, but she couldn't say that. Not after everything that's happened. Sure he's kissed her before, but he was still recovering from Peyton's death. She couldn't think of those as real kisses. She had to be smart. It wasn't just about her anymore.

But in the mean time, she let herself enjoy the warmth in his embrace and the gentle way he rubbed her arm, almost like he was trying to hold onto her.

And maybe, just maybe, he was.


As always, please review. Good or bad, just don't be cruel. Thanks again for reading!

I think I'll probably have another four or five chapters.