A/N: I've apologized a lot for not updating this as often as I should, and I have no excuse greater than getting busy with life. On top of that (and the massive hours I've been working lately), I recently participated !and finished! a Nanowrimo novel. So I have been working on editing and updating that. I have to order my proof copy and then I will be able to post it on Amazon/Kindle/Nook and stuff like that. So I've been busy, but today I ended up hearing "Down" by Jason Walker and it made me think of Sway. I went to my friend Angie's youtube page and I re-watched the trailer and then decided that this was long overdue for an update. So here is another chapter in the Brooke and Lucas saga. There is one more *long* chapter after this, and then an epilogue. My promise to update probably don't mean much right now but I have a few days off so I'm hoping to get it all finished up and posted within the next couple of days. Thank you again for sticking with me. It really means so much to me 3

All We'd Ever Need

I should've been chasing you
I should've been trying to prove
That you were all that mattered to me

It was already dark by the time Julian Baker pulled his car into the driveway and hit the button on his visor to close the gates behind him. It had been such a long day and all he really wanted was something to eat and a big drink to celebrate the fact that he'd made it through without killing either of his stuck up lead actors. Todd Wyeth and Evelyn Banks were both big spotlight hogs and partied a little more than he wished they would. But he had cast them alongside his father and they both knew what they'd gotten into.

At least the movie was almost complete.

Stepping out of his convertible, Julian grabbed the pile of scripts he planned on looking over that night, and his cell phone, and walked towards the front door. He nodded to the door man and the boy who went to park his car, and then head into the building. A short ride on the elevator and a five foot long hallway, and he was finally at his front door. Pushing the key in the lock, he gave it a quick turn and opened the door. The living room was dark so he flipped the switch as he dropped his keys on the table.

When he turned, his eyes focused on the dark haired woman sitting on the couch. "Brooke. What are you doing?" He asked, then noticing the two bags that were packed beside her legs. Julian put the scripts down on the table beside the keys and reached back to rub the knot that was forming on the base of his neck. "I've had a really long day." He explained, almost like that was enough to put off whatever conversation was about to take place.

But he should know better.

Brooke had gone back and forth with whether this was the right move for the past few hours. One minute she knew that Tree Hill was the place for her and Grace to live, but then other times she would picture her daughter as a teenager, resenting her mother for moving her away from her father. It was a difficult decision to make but Brooke had taken the grown up route. Nerves and worries aside, all she could think about was what would be best for the both of them. Life had long since been about what Brooke wanted. Whatever made the two of them happy would make them a happy family. Tree Hill was where they were happiest. With each other, and with Haley and Nathan and Jamie and Brian and Penny.. and Lucas.

It had been a long time since Brooke was able to admit to herself that she wanted Lucas in her life in more than a simply platonic way. Their road had been rocky and it still may be. She, of course, had no idea how Lucas would react when she told him that she loved him-but she needed to say it. This wasn't high school. She had spent so much time thinking of other people and making decisions that affected her own life based on what she thought her friends wanted and now it was time to think about her own heart.

There has only been one man who ever fully been in her heart, and he was the one she needed to go home to.

"We need to talk," Brooke said as she pat the couch beside her. "Come sit down?"

Julian eyed the couch but he wasn't sure that he wanted to have this conversation. He knew that it wouldn't be a good one and sometimes it was easier to just avoid those conversations than letting them happen. If you put them off long enough, maybe they'll just go away. "No. I think I'll stand." He said warily, crossing his arms over his chest. Then he gave a quick sweep of the room and looked back at her. "Where's Mary and Grace?"

Mary was a really sweet girl, Brooke thought. Julian would be fine as long as he had her around to help him. "I let her go home." Brooke explained, "And Gracie's in her room. I asked her to finish packing."

Julian nodded but didn't say anything for awhile. He couldn't think of anything to say. Packing meant they were leaving and he knew Brooke Davis well enough to know that look on her face that meant her mind couldn't be changed. "So you're leaving?"

She hoped that this didn't turn into a fight. Nodding her head slowly, Brooke rose from the couch and took a few steps towards him. "You had to know it was going to happen. Grace loves you, Julian, but this isn't home."

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to yell and scream and demand to know who she thought she was to make the decision and move away with his daughter-but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out if he was upset that she and Grace were leaving, or if he was upset that Lucas Scott was going to be there. "And Lucas is?" He asked.

Brooke reached out and placed her fingertips against his elbows, looking him straight in the eyes. "This isn't about Lucas." And it wasn't. "It's about going home. Tree Hill has been my home for a really long time. Before I moved to New York, it was the only place I felt I belonged. And it's Gracie's home too, and she misses it. I think it's time for me to take her back."

Julian's eyes averted to the ground. "What about us?"

Us? Brooke let out a small sigh and dropped her arms. "We haven't been usin a really long time. We tried to hold on to what we had but I think we both know that it's been over for awhile now. We hardly speak. We're always fighting." She shook her head a few times slowly. "That's not how a relationship should be. And we aren't being the kind of parents that Grace deserves. Think about it, Julian. Your parents hated each other, just like mine did. I don't want her growing up with that, and I don't think you do either."

Why did she have to be right, he wondered. He remembered what it was like to listen to his parents fighting all night. And he knew he'd hate himself if he did the same thing to his child. "You're right." He admitted silently. "I don't."

She pressed her lips together.

Sometime in the last hour, she wondered what it would feel like to know that her relationship with Julian was completely over. Would she be sad? Cry? Feel empty? But the truth was this felt right. And it felt long past due. "We'll work out some kind of schedule so you two can see each other as much as you want." There was never a part of Brooke Davis that wanted to keep her daughter from Julian.

Still a little behind in the conversation, Julian looked up at Brooke and tried to hold it in but he couldn't. "It really is over, isn't it?"

Brooke just nodded slowly, then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'll always care about you. You gave me the most beautiful little girl I could have wished for, but we were never meant to be together." Her voice was a little raspy from keeping the volume down. She didn't want Grace to overhear the adult conversation.

"Will you go back to him?"

"Julian-"

"I know-it's none of my business. I just-Grace loves him, and if she spends all her time with him.."

Brooke knew exactly what Julian was worried about before he even had a chance to say it all. She didn't need him to explain it. Having spent the past couple of years helping raise Peyton's daughter, she had spent a lot of time wondering how Penny would see her. And whether it would be wrong to let the little girl see her as a mother figure.

She took a few small steps to close the distance between the two of them. Seeing the look in Julian's eyes, she knew that he really did worry. Reaching her hand up, she touched her palm against his cheek gently. "She is nevergoing to forget that you are her father. I wouldn't let her and Lucas wouldn't let her." No matter what the future held between she and Lucas, she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't take that place away from Julian. Lucas was the best kind of guy. "And you won't either, because you better plan on visiting her as much as possible."

Julian wasn't sure if he wanted to believe her, but that didn't change the fact that she was right. In his brief acquaintance with Lucas, he could tell that he wasn't a guy with malicious intent. "I guess I can't change your mind, can I?"

The small smile that crossed Brooke's lips was infectious and it had Julian smiling a moment later. "Not this time."

"Are you coming with us, daddy?"

From the moment Grace heard the words Going back to Tree Hill, she'd become ecstatic. Of course she'd had an idea that's where they were going when her mom asked her to pack her things. Sitting on the end of the bed was a pink Beauty and the Beastsuitcase that the little girl had insisted on the moment she'd seen it in a store window. Brooke, of course, tried to remind her daughter that she could have Louis Vuitton if she wanted but Louis was no match for the Beast.

She was sitting now beside the suitcase with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed. She rocked them back and forth as she cuddled her stuffed purple monkey and looked up at her father who had knelt in front of her.

"No, I'm not, honey. Daddy's home is here, just like yours and Mommy's home is back in Tree Hill." In that moment, looking into his daughter's eyes, Julian wanted so badly to just throw everything away and go back to North Carolina with her and Brooke. He could find work. He was sure somewhere there would be employment.

But he also remembered how miserable he'd been the first time he'd tried to live in Tree Hill. Their daughter was smart and Julian was sure that she would figure it out, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. This would be best for all of them. "But i'm going to come and visit you a lot. And you can visit me whenever you want to. I'm going to leave your room just the way you like it so it's waiting for you."

As ready to go back home as little Gracie was, she still felt a little pang in her chest. Sliding down off the bed, she curled her arms around Julian's neck. "I'll miss you, daddy." She said in a small voice.

While the two embraced, Brooke decided to slip away and give them some alone time together. Something told her that things would work right this time around. It had been a long time since she had one of those honest to goodness good feelings in her chest. Something that just made her think that this was right. Elated at the prospect of coming back home, Brooke picked up her cell phone and dialed Haley. She wasn't quite ready to talk to Lucas yet and tell him. How would he even react? Would he be excited? Will he think it's a good idea?

She walked over to the window by the time the phone call was answered. Instead of the chipper voice of her best friend, she heard the lower, younger voice of her god-son. "Hey there, handsome."

"Aunt Brooke! Hey. How's Los Angeles?" Even though he was growing up, Jamie had been raised the right way. He liked to catch up with his family and that was something they all had appreciated. He was actually a lot like Haley had been. Sure he was athletic the way you could imagine any child of Nathan Scott's to be, but he was also very academic. He was smart and just this year, started tutoring fellow classmates.

Brooke smiled as she looked at the city lights. "Beautiful. But nothing compared to Tree Hill."

Jamie, who had been too young to really remember visiting any other states, just laughed. "I find that hard to believe." He said. The idea of California was appealing beyond belief to the young boy. In fact, UCLA was on his list of colleges that he wanted to attend-for obvious reasons.

"You'll understand one day." She said with a smile.

"When are you and Grace coming back?" Jamie questioned, never once putting down his game controller. What? The kid was a Naley boy. He could multitask, and often did better than anyone else. The constant clicking of the buttons is what really got Brooke's attention.

"That's actually what I'm calling about. Is your mom around? I need to talk to her for a minute."

Jamie looked back over the couch, then pressed pause on his game. He hopped up and over the back, "Yeah, she's cooking dinner. Let me get her." He head over and stood by the counter. "Mom." When Haley turned, she wiped her free hand on her apron, Brian on her opposite hip. "Aunt Brooke." Jamie said, holding the phone out for her.

Excitement immediately bubbled inside of Haley as she thanked her son and took the phone. She turned the soup pot on low and covered it before putting the phone against her ear. "Hey there Brooke Davis," She said with a smile covering her face. She could only assume that Lucas had already spoken to her and that was why she was calling. Brian started to fuss a little, so she carried him over to his playpen and sat him down.

"Hey," The excitement in her best friend's voice only served to fuel her on excitement. "I have news for you!" Brooke tried to keep her voice down. She didn't want it completely obvious that she was ecstatic to be going back home when Grace and Julian were just a room away saying goodbye to each other.

Without even thinking, Haley gave an excited little jump and burst. "I know! And it's about time if you ask me. I'm so happy. I may have made a tiny bet with Nathan that he would actually do it. Oh and I'm so glad he did!"

Brooke was usually the bouncy one that couldn't stop talking when she got excited. (That's how she earned her Tigger nickname afterall) It was kind of new to hear that out of Haley. She laughed quietly and, confused, asked, "Who did what?"

"Tell you."

"Tell me what?"

It wasn't until that moment that Haley picked up on the fact that Brooke didn't know what she was talking about. Lucas must not have gotten there yet. Or he had but chickened out and didn't tell her. But even then, Brooke would talk to her about it. So it had to be that Lucas didn't show up yet. "I-Have you talked to Lucas yet?" Haley asked, this time being a little safe with the words she used.

Funny she mentioned Lucas. "Not yet, no. I still have to call him. But listen-Grace and I are coming home. I booked us a flight tonight. We're going to be in kind of late so I wanted to make sure you knew." Brooke turned her eyes towards the bedroom and watched Grace with Julian. There seemed to be a kind of ease between them there that she hadn't seen in a long time. Just another reason why she was sure Tree Hill was the right place for them to be. "You still there, buddy?"

The second she realized that Brooke was planning on leaving, Haley snapped at Jamie to get his attention and point to Brian for him to keep an eye on his brother. Then she hurried into the next room. Nathan was in the shower so she reached for his phone and quickly started to compose a text to Lucas. He had to get there soon or they would miss each other completely. Brooke's leaving. Hurry up! -Hshe pressed send and realized she hadn't been paying attention to a thing Brooke said. "I'm sorry. I was-distracted." There. That wasn't a lie. "What did you say?"

With a little one to care for, Brooke understood being randomly distracted so she thought nothing of it. "I said, Grace and I are coming home."

"Oh, good. Brooke, that's great! We'll be so happy to have you back. You've both been so missed." She looked down at the phone and wished she could get a text back from Lucas, telling her where he was and what he was going to do. "But-I really think you need to talk to Lucas before you do anything."

That kind of caught her off guard. "Talk to-why? Do you think he won't want us to come back?" That had definitely been in Brooke's mind. She had some remaining insecurities from her teenaged days. It wasn't so easy to shake the feeling that you weren't the person that the guy you love wanted to be with.

Then she thought of the last time she had seen Lucas before leaving for Los Angeles. He'd found Grace hiding in Penny's closet and Brooke had been completely overwhelmed with her feelings. When she looked at him, when she felt his hands brushing her skin, she just came completely unglued. He'd stripped off her clothes, carried her to the bed, kissed her tenderly and they'd made love for the first time in twelve years. But it had still felt like the first time. After breakfast the next day, she'd been approached by Julian and left for Los Angeles with him.

She remembered feeling his hand on her cheek and the look on his face. She rememebered wanting to fall into his arms. The way he looked at her was like he wanted to touch her just as much as she wanted him to. She couldn't have made that up. So there was no reason she could think of why he wouldn't want her to come back to Tree Hill. "Haley?"

Still no word from Lucas.

Haley decided she would need to talk to him, and hopefully she could get in touch with him if she kept calling. He'd have to answer. "No, no. I think he wants you to come back. I just-" She couldn't just spit it out, that Lucas was in the same town she was-that he'd flown across the United States just to see her. "Just trust me. Call him first, okay?"

"Tutor mom, what do you know?" Brooke's spidey senses were telling her something was up.

When Haley recognized that tone of voice, she jumped up. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. Brian needs me. I have to go. Talk to you soon, love you, call him!" And she quickly pressed the end button on the cell phone. As she mumbled silent curses under her breath, Nathan stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"What was that about?" He asked, using a second towel to dry his hair and the beads of water that dripped down his chest and arms. He knew that look on his wife's face. He folded the towel over his arm and then dropped it in the hamper by the door as he took a few steps towards her. "Hales?"

"That was Brooke," she said, pointing at the phone. "She and Grace are coming home."

Nathan made an impressed face and crossed his arms over his chest. "Luke talked to them then? That's great."

"No, that's the thing. She didn't even speak to Lucas at all. She booked a plane home for tonight and I texted Lucas but he's not answering his phone. Nathan, they could completely miss each other. I tried to tell her to call Lucas but I don't know if she's going to. It seemed like she was ready to leave soon."

The way she looked made Nathan smile. She looked as though Brooke and Lucas would never speak again if they didn't talk before she left for Tree Hill. But he knew that this was important to Haley so he just nodded and reached for his cell phone. "Alright. I'll keep trying him." At that time, Brian let out an 'I need to be changed' cry. The two stared at each other for a second.

Then Haley stuck her hand out, "It's your turn."

Nodding, Nathan handed the phone over to her, then leaned in and gave her a kiss. "By the way, you look very sexy today, Haley James Scott." They shared a look as he head into the living room. Haley just blushed and grinned like she was a school girl again, then turned back to the phone.

Lucas Scott was a patient man.

He was a writer, so he knew what it meant to sit in front of a computer for hours—days—weeks—when he was trying to write something. Something he just had to wait for the words to come to him. Sometimes the ideas like to play keep-a-way. He knew about waiting.

He was also a father.

There were some thing that took Penny a long time to get. There were also times when she and Grace were younger and he'd come home to find they decided to "paint" Penny's bedroom walls with crayons. Just like any other child, his daughter took a while to learn things.

He was patient.

He kept reminding himself that he was patient as he peeked over the front seat of the cab and looking at the clock, then up to the red brake lights of all the cars in front of him. Why did everyone who lived in Los Angeles have to take this street right then? Why couldn't they just pull off the side of the road and let him through?

He tapped his hand on the back of the seat, "Sir." He looked at the cabbie's eyeroll in the rearview mirror.

"I told you five minutes ago," the older black man spoke. "I can't drive with all of those cars in front of me. We'll get there when we get there."

"But, you don't understand…"

And it didn't look like he was going to.

Lucas convinced himself to sit back as he looked out at the street. The light up ahead turned green and he grew anxious, until it went red again after only two cars made it underneath. He let out a huff of anticipation and frustration. This was ridiculous! At this rate, it would be next year before he made it. His foot started to bounce as he looked out the side window as the street sign up ahead. He recognized that sign name.

Pulling out his phone, he looked through a map and realized that he wasn't that far at all. In his estimation, if he just went down two blocks South, he'd be there. He looked at the timer on the cab and then reached into his pocket. He yanked a fifty and tossed it in the front seat before opening the back door.

"Hey! Hey, what are you doing?" The driver scolded. "We're not there yet."

Lucas peered his head back in, "You have the address. Drop my things off there when you get through traffic. I can't wait any longer." Before the man could say anything, Lucas took off at a run down the street. He was pretty sure that driver was going to make off with all his stuff but what did he care right now? He had his wallet and his phone, and now he needed to get his Brooke and Grace, the missing pieces of his family.

He stopped only once to check the address and before he knew it, he was in front of the door. He stood there for a minute and knew that he'd have to talk to Brooke in front of Julian. He knew that if she said no, if she said she didn't want to be with him, he'd do it in front of the man she'd want to be with instead of him.

His nerves screamed but he didn't let them stop him.

He raised his fist and knocked on the door.

By the time Brooke walked into the bedroom, she knew they were already running late. She hadn't wasted any time in booking that flight back to Tree Hill.

She leaned back against the doorframe of Grace's bedroom and looked at her daughter. Her lips turned up at the sound of her laughter as Julian gave her sides a quick tickle. She watched them and she wondered about the way things had turned out. Sometimes, she thought, things happen for a reason. She had loved him at one point in time, she could admit that. There was never any shame in admitting love. But she could see it clearly now. She and Julian were never meant to be together in the forever sense.

They were meant to be together, to create that beautiful little girl. They were meant to bring her into the world, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Brooke didn't regret that.

She looked down at her watch a moment later and then clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Alright you two, it's time to go."

Grace looked up with a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and a little sadness. She loved her father, but she missed her home. The idea of seeing the beautiful, rolling skyline was all she could think about. She was still trying to decide if she would convince her mom to take her over to see Penny the second they got back into town.

Who cared if it would be the middle of the night?

Julian had a knot of sadness in his chest as well, but he knew Brooke was right. This was for the best. He pushed himself up from the bed and gave his shirt a tug to place it back into position. Then he reached down to pat the top of Grace's head.

"Do you have everything?"

Grace snuggled her purple monkey close and nodded as she watched him pick up her Beauty and the Beast bags. He looked over at Brooke and let out a small sigh, "Call me when you get there? Just so I know you're safe."

Brooke nodded, but it was Grace who said, "You got it, daddy!"

Smiling at her daughter, Brooke giggled and then walked over to pick her up. "You're going to have to stop growing, little bit. Mama's getting too old to pick you up." She teased, then gave her a kiss on the cheek once she was securely in her arms.

The happy look on Grace's face was all she needed.

Julian stepped close to them and cupped Grace's little face. "Be good for your mom, okay?"

"Okay, daddy."

He kissed her forehead and gave her a big hug. He was starting to realize that while he had spent most of his time working while she and Brooke were there, he was really going to miss having them to come home to. But the time just wasn't right. He held Grace as close as he could and part of him really hated how much he'd taken them for granted. But this would be right.

"I love you, baby."

"Love you too, daddy."

For being four years old, Grace knew what this meant. She knew that she wouldn't see her father as much as she wanted to. She knew that she wouldn't hear him coming home after work, but she also knew that she would still see him. Everything would be okay.

She smiled, "Ready to go, mama?"

Brooke couldn't help the tears she felt in her eyes. She wasn't sad; she just wished that things could have worked out better between Grace and her father. She looked at her daughter, nodded, and then looked up at Julian. They'd been through a lot together and this was goodbye for them.

She took a breath and then smiled, "Thank you."

Julian chuckled, surprised, "For what?"

"Understanding."

He stood there for a minute in shock. He never expected to hear those words out of her mouth. He hadn't been there as much as he should have, and he certainly didn't treat her the way she should have been treated. But he didn't know what to do so he just nodded.

There was a knock at the door they heard echo down the hall. As he started to take a few steps away, Brooke stopped him. "Wait. Here," She passed Grace over to him. "You two say goodbye. I'll get the door."

Then Brooke walked down the hall, to the front door, and pulled it open.