BRIEF NOTES:

Thanks again and again and again for the great feedback. Apologies for the late update, I've not really settled into my new environment yet and I'm just mooching internet time off of my cousin.

Only a couple more chapters to go, and the story will reach its conclusion. Hopefully, it'll be good.

There's not going to be that much heavy drama, as this stage is already the denoument of the story... Multi-climax stories aren't really my thing right now.

So this is the day after Robby's fourth... Brooke and Derek are leaving for California, and a package comes.

Enjoy

DISCLAIMER: OTH... still not mine.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Haley, we said no tears!" The brunette screeched once she caught sight of the other woman sniffling, trying in vain to restrain her own tears from falling.

Haley sniffled. "Ugh. They're pregnancy hormones, I swear!" They all knew it was a lie.

The two brown-haired women were now enclosed in a tight embrace, all the while waiting for their other best friend to come forward and share the moment.

The blonde, however, stood close to Lucas, her arm crossed around his while his other arm held their son up. She knew she should be approaching them, but her complex against people leaving had risen to the surface, leaving her at a complete standstill. Until her brother gently touched her shoulder.

Derek softly gripped her shoulder, urging her to face him as she turned herself towards his direction. He cupped her chin, causing her to meet his eyes. "I'm a phone call and a plane ride away, and when you need me I promise you I'll do everything I can to get to you in time. I'm not leaving you, Peyton... We're not leaving you."

A solitary tear fell from the corner of her eye as her older brother opened his arms and embraced her. She spoke into his chest. "Thank you, Derek – for everything. It's going to be weird without your marine ass in the house." They shared a chuckle. After a few moments, she found the strength to join her two best friends.

"You better call on a daily basis, Davis." She muttered jokingly as she proceeded to join their little group hug. The three girls were a mix of tears and chuckles, each trying their best to lighten the mood.

Brooke replied, "Oh sure, I've got a personal alarm clock to remind me – at army time no less." as her hand pointed towards the marine who was bidding his nephew goodbye, obviously trying to hold back his emotions as the little boy's tears stained his shirt.

Peyton took the scene in. "This is going to be hard for Robby." she openly thought.

"Not that hard, P.Sawyer." the brunette commented, causing Haley and Peyton to look at her in confusion. "You've got a family now – you, Lucas, and our little man. Sure, Robby's going to miss having Derek around, but the transition isn't going to be as difficult as you think. You just have to let Lucas all the way in." Her certainty was believable it rubbed off on Peyton. She looked over at his direction.

"Yeah, you're right."

Haley spoke up this time. "Alright, now that the affirmation's are out of the way... Brooke, you have to promise me you'll try to come back sooner than 6 months."

They other two laughed at her deviation from the subject. "I'll try, tutor wife. I really will. But I won't make promises. And why are you so in a rush to have me back, anyways? I thought I spoiled your children too much?" She joked in good nature.

Haley James-Scott glowed with pride. "Because you, Peyton, Lucas, and Derek are going to be Natalie's godparents."

The women's squeals of delight were sung in a chorus after that.

Derek held a tearful Robby in his arms, emotion choking any intelligible statement from him.

"Are you leaving, Uncle Derek?" the little boy's eyes held the fears his mother once had in the past. He stroked Robby's head as he stared into the young boy's eyes.

"No, sport. I'm not leaving. I'm just going to stay with Aunt Brooke now..."

The child cut him off. "But why can't you stay here? In the house across ours?"

The innocence of children was sweetly unnerving. "Because, Rob, Aunt Brooke has work in California... and she has to go back so she can become a good designer someday. We all want that for her, right?" He reminded the boy, recalling the candid moment Brooke shared with him a year and a half ago, when Robby had found a dress she was sketching and he so graciously finished off the drawing by adding a face to the mannequin and a scenery to go with it.

Robby nodded and he continued. "Besides, it's your daddy's turn to take care of you and mommy now... just like all Dads are supposed to." The little one looked at his father, then at Derek and immediately the marine knew the boy had misunderstood his meaning. He quickly supplied his last point. "Robert Lucas, look at me." The child obeyed.

"Who does Aunt Haley and Ryan have to take care of them?"

"Uncle Nathan."

"That's right. And now, who do you have to take care of you and mommy?"

Robby answered without skipping a beat. "Daddy." then he followed up, thinking he'd hurt his uncle if he didn't. "and you."

The marine chuckled. "Right. But see, sport, if you have me and you have your Dad, look at Aunt Brooke..." Robby did as Derek continued, "Who would she have?"

The little one remained silent for a moment; then he answered with a sigh, "Nobody." Derek opted not to reply, he knew his nephew well enough to know the capacity of the little boy's generosity. He silently counted down.

"But you promise to come visit?"

Finally, Derek thought, relieved. "Every chance I get."

" 'Kay, I'll be seein' ya." Robby's final statement left all the adults with agape mouths.

Genetics, apparently, carried more than just physical traits, they all thought.

Three hours and a bucket of tears later, the buzz of the doorbell resonated around the Sawyer house. Inside the living room, Lucas stood up to answer the door, putting a pause on the father-son task of assembling the train set he gave Robby yesterday. A man in brown stood on the other side, a medium-sized box in tow.

"Good afternoon. I have a package for Mr. Robby Scott."

Lucas was stunned, who could possibly be sending a 4-year-old a freight box? "That's my son. Hold on..." He turned away from the man and called Robby over from the living room entryway. Once the little boy reached the UPS man, his smile was ear-to-ear.

"Mine?" he eagerly assumed.

The delivery man grinned and affirmed his question. "Yup. I just need your dad to sign his name over here." he said, handing the older Scott the electronic registry tablet.

Lucas, upon seeing his son's excited demeanor, set his apprehensions aside and signed the delivery receipt. However, his curiosity had gotten the best of him. "You have any idea who sent this?" he asked as he returned the tablet to the delivery man.

"Someone named Wentz. Says so on the back of the box." The man said nonchalantly and left right after he settled the box inside the house, unaware of the green monster he had left behind to settle with Lucas.

Robby Scott was too excited to notice his father's sudden mood change too. He ran to fetch his mother from the kitchen, yelling "Mommy! Mommy! Pete sent me the box again! Come see it!" as he went.

She hurriedly rushed outside, clearly anxious to see Lucas's reaction. In the frenzy of things, she had forgotten to mention the minor detail of Pete's annual birthday box for Robby – a tradition the Fallout boy started since he met the child when he and Peyton made amends during the benefit concert. Her son, however, was too eager to browse the package's contents to care. "Open it!"

She gave Robby a stern look that clearly disagreed with his command.

The little boy straightened up. "Please open the box, mommy."

She softened her gaze, but she was still strung tight... seeing Lucas in such an uneasy position did that to her. "One second, baby." She got her scissors out and cut through the tape. Once done, the little boy managed to tear the box apart on his own, sifting through the styro puffs and having a grand time doing so. His delighted screeching upon discovering the content echoed throughout the house.

"Robots and stuff! Yay!" He turned and ran for the stairs to his room, carrying most of the boxes with him – the train set in the living room completely forgotten... together with a dumbstruck dad who was zealously trying to conceal his discomfort.

"Luc..."

He looked up and offered her a lopsided smile. "Hey, it's alright. Hopefully we'll get around to finishing that train soon."

To clean up the mess that was left between them had become his instant mission, hoping that doing so would erase the nagging jealousy he felt. But Peyton had other ideas.

"Lucas," she said as she held his arm firmly, causing him to stand up and look at her "talk to me."

Her green eyes sparkled with concern it touched him deeply. He gently stroked her arms and held her to him.

"It's nothing, really." He said "I just... well... I never really imagined being upstaged." He chuckled before continuing "But seriously, I just never thought this could remind me of how much I missed out on Robby's life. I mean, not that the pictures and videos weren't great – they were. I guess I'm only wishing I had come to my senses sooner, otherwise I wouldn't be having this complex."

Her arms rested on his chest. "Lucas, you missed a lot. I'm not going to deny that; but you see, our son has a life ahead of him – a life with big moments that you are going to play a great role in... his first day in school, his first tryout, his first state championship. And it's not just those, but the small everyday things – like how you held him at Kaity's party when he was sick, or how you were there throughout the chickenpox ordeal. All of these things matter, and all of the other things in the future – they are going to matter... more than any toy or anything else that Pete or Jake or Nate or any other guy can give him. You know why?"

She cupped his face so that they stated at each other, her eyes sparkling with genuine love as she affirmed him.

"Because for as long as he could talk, he's always wanted you – his Daddy. And now that you're here – now that we're here – there's nothing that could ever upstage that..." She smiled and the warmth in her gaze deepened "... for me and for him."

He smiled and embraced her, relaying the words she once used as a caption to one of their very first sketches together before he leaned in for a kiss.

"And now we can have it."