Peyton walked into Brooke's unusually quiet house to find her friend working away on a dress in her living room with a baby monitor next to her pin cushion.

"Hey, P. Sawyer," Brooke sang with a barely contained grin.

"What's that look for?" Peyton asked, flopping down on the couch.

"Please! I just got off the phone with a squealing Haley, telling me that her husband walked in on you and Lucas ripping each others' clothes off!" Brooke said excitedly. Peyton didn't say anything, but the blush on her cheeks told Brooke everything she needed to know. "Oh my God! It's true!"

"It might be," Peyton admitted sheepishly.

"How much do you hate Nathan right now?" Brooke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not as much as Lucas does," she laughed.

"Tell me everything!" Brooke squealed after her laughter died down.

She sat next to her friend on her sofa and listened as Peyton explained what happened when she got home, and then how they'd spent their morning and early afternoon. Brooke could barely contain her giddiness. She'd always been a lover of gossip, especially when she was hearing it first.

"So did you talk about things?" Brooke asked.

"What things?" Peyton asked with a chuckle.

"You guys! What this means. How you feel," Brooke clarified.

"Not really. I mean, I think it was pretty clear. He said he didn't want to be my rebound, and that's not what I'm doing," Peyton explained.

"Does he know that?" Brooke asked timidly, not wanting to upset her friend.

"Well, I don't think he'd have done anything if he thought I was just using him to get over Joshua."

"Are you over Joshua?" Brooke inquired.

"Yes," Peyton said convincingly. "You know, if you'd asked me a week ago, I don't know what I would have said, but I realized that it's over. And I feel more comfortable with Lucas than I ever did with Joshua." She looked up at Brooke's smiling face. "That's really horrible to admit, isn't it?"

"No! Not at all," Brooke assured her. "You and Lucas have known each other for so long. You two just make sense."

"Yeah," Peyton said, her mind drifting back to their day together and the feeling of being held in his arms with his heart beating against her cheek.

Then a million horrible thoughts ran through her head. What if they break up? What if the desire to be together was just fueled by the comfort they felt being in the same space, and not by genuine, heartfelt feelings? What if he got bored of her? What if he was just fulfilling some boyhood fantasy?

"What if we break up, Brooke?" she asked frantically. "Everything would be different! I'd lose him, and then you guys would all have to choose sides, and Nathan and Haley would side with him, and I'd lose them too, and..."

"Peyton, you're rambling," Brooke interrupted, wrapping a reassuring arm around the blonde's shoulder. "And you're talking crazy. Why would you think that you and Lucas would break up?"

"I didn't think Joshua and I would break up, and he left," Peyton said softly, looking down at her clasped hands.

"Here's the thing, though," Brooke said soothingly, placing her hand on Peyton's knee. "Lucas isn't Joshua."

----

Lucas had tried writing after Peyton left. He'd failed. Then he'd tried reading, but his mind wouldn't focus on that either. All he could think about was how her skin felt and tasted, and how he'd give anything to go back in time and lock his damn door.

He remembered her final suggestion and decided to actually do laundry. He had a pile that he'd ignored as well, so he grabbed both their baskets and trudged to the laundry room while he waited for Haley to call him and beg for details.

Sure enough, the phone rang just as he'd loaded the washing machine.

"Hi, Haley," he said playfully.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked.

"Best friend's intuition," he teased. "What's up?"

"What's up? You did not just ask me that," she said. "Details. Now. But not too many."

"What are you talking about?" he joked. He knew she'd be able to picture the cruel smile he always got when he tortured her like this.

"Lucas, start talking right now," she demanded, making him laugh.

"She just came home last night - thanks for getting her here safely, by the way - and I kissed her," he started.

"You just kissed her? Like...without warning?" she interrupted.

"Pretty much," he laughed.

"Be as vague as possible please, but did you...?" she asked.

"No!" he assured her. "We just slept in my bed. Then I made breakfast and we laid in bed all day talking about...pretty much everything we could think of. Then Nathan walked in."

"Yeah, I heard. Gross, but....glad I wasn't him," she joked. "How much do you hate him right now?"

"More than junior year," he admitted, making them both laugh.

"So have you guys talked about it?" Haley asked.

"About what?" he inquired, oblivious.

"About you two! About what you're getting yourselves into," she clarified.

He shrugged his shoulders though he knew she couldn't see. "What's there to talk about?"

"Uhh. A lot, Lucas," she said, taking on her school teacher tone. "For one, she's recently divorced, she's one of your best friends, she's currently kind of homeless and starting a business. You need me to go on?"

"Haley, everything will work out. I just want to be with her," he admitted quietly.

"I'm glad to hear that, Lucas, really. But...just think about what you're doing," she said gently.

"I don't want to think about it, Hales. Every time I think about what I'm doing, something gets in the way. You told me to follow my heart," he said, unable to hide the irritation in her voice.

"I know I did, and I wasn't implying that you shouldn't be with Peyton," she explained. "I just think you two need to have a couple serious conversations about things before making any rash moves. Like having sex in the middle of the day with the door unlocked."

He chuckled at her attempt to lighten the tone of the conversation.

"Maybe you're right," he finally agreed.

"Where is she, anyway? I'm surprised you even picked up the phone," Haley said with a laugh.

"She's with Brooke," he chuckled.

"They are not having girl talk without me!" she cried indignantly.

"What are you, 16? God, Hales, I just told you everything," he teased.

"I know, but girls say things differently."

"Goodbye," he said abruptly, wanting to end the conversation then and there.

"What if I'm not done talking?" she joked.

"Then I'm still hanging up," he explained.

"Bye, Lucas," she sang before he ended the call.

Nathan walked into the kitchen to find his wife sitting at the counter with a cup of tea, and a contented smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" he asked, knowing something was running through that beautiful head of hers.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You called Lucas, didn't you," he asked with a laugh, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Of course I did." He laughed at her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You think they're going to work out?"

"Haley, the only thing I'm more sure of is you and me, and how much I love our family," he said convincingly. She sighed and smiled. Even after 10 years of marriage, he could still make her feel like a teenaged girl falling in love for the first time.

"You know, you can be very sweet sometimes," she said softly, leaning in to capture his lips.

"Mmm," he moaned from low in his throat before she pulled away. "I just tell the truth."

She smiled again, but it turned to a frown as she stared idly into her cup of tea.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Peyton and Brooke are having girl talk without me," she pouted, making him laugh and wrap his arms around her.

----

Peyton left Brooke's house an hour and a half later knowing that her friend was right - she and Lucas needed to talk about their relationship, no matter how early it was to be talking about the heavy issues. Even the thought of the conversation made her uneasy, but she knew it was necessary. She had only been gone a little while and she was already missing him. It was then that she realized that she didn't want to be without him. Ever.

Lucas was sitting on the couch in the living room folding laundry when she walked in the door, immediately making her laugh.

"You didn't actually..." she started before he interrupted.

"You know, it's really not fair to make your new boyfriend, who you haven't had sex with, do your laundry. Because when he finds things like this," he said, holding up a black lacy thong, "it will really make him upset that he hasn't seen you in them."

"Boyfriend?" she asked with a smile, hastily grabbing the garment from him.

"Well, I hope so," he said sheepishly.

She sat on the coffee table in front of him and took his hands in her own.

"We should probably talk about this, shouldn't we," she said with a timid smile.

"Haley thought the same thing," he pointed out.

"I just want you to know that I...I mean this isn't a rebound thing," she explained, avoiding his eyes. "Today was the most fun and relaxed and...like myself that I've felt in a long time. Years, maybe."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that," he said softly.

"I'm just a little scared," she admitted quietly.

"Of what?" he asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

She sat for a moment, trying to stop the tear from pooling in her eye. "I cant lose you, Luke," she whispered. "And I know it's a crazy thing to say since we just started this...whatever this is...But I can't lose you like I lose everyone."

"Hey, hey," he said hurriedly, reaching up to place his palm on her cheek. "You won't lose me. You couldn't if you tried."

"How do you know?" she asked sadly.

"Peyton," he said, making her finally look into his eyes. "I'm not about to lose you either, OK? I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled and shifted from the table and onto his lap, and drew his face to hers to kiss him slowly.

"Does that mean I get to see that on you?" he asked in a low voice, gesturing to the balled up fabric she'd left on top of the laundry basket.

"How about seeing me in nothing?" she whispered before she nibbled his earlobe.

"Mmm. Nothing's good. Nothing works."

He'd just placed his hand around her waist to pull him closer, and his lips met hers again, when the phone rang.

"Are you kidding me?" he sighed in frustration.

"Maybe it's a sign," she said with a laugh, though he was clearly not amused by the situation.

"Yeah, that I should turn always my cell off before I kiss you," he said before opening his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Luke," Nathan's voice rang out. "Would you be able to watch Jamie for a little while?"

"Uhh, yeah, of course. What's up?" Lucas asked worriedly. He could barely focus on his brother's voice with Peyton fingering the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Mattie's got a little bit of a fever, so we're going to take him to the doctor's. We shouldn't be long," Nathan explained.

"You want us to come over there?" Lucas asked.

"Actually, that'd be great. He hasn't eaten or anything yet," Nathan said.

"OK. We'll be over in a few minutes," Lucas said, closing his phone. "You hear all that?"

"Yeah," Peyton replied. "Let's go."

They both stood and she followed him to the door, tucking her hand in his. He smiled down at her and their hands barely left each other's from their door to Nathan and Haley's.

They walked in without knocking, and saw Haley lean down to kiss Jamie's forehead and Nathan rustle his oldest son's hair.

"Thank you so much guys," Haley said. "We'll be back in a couple hours, I'm sure."

"It's no problem, Hales," Lucas assured her, running his hand over the baby's head as the boy rested on Nathan's shoulder.

"OK. I trust you can take care of dinner? And try not to scar my son for life by reenacting what I walked in on today," Nathan laughed. Haley swatted his arm and he pulled the door shut behind them.

"Leave it to Nate to make jokes right now," Peyton said with a chuckle.

"What did he walk in on?" Jamie asked innocently.

Lucas could only laugh as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and led him into the kitchen. "I'll tell you when you're older."

"But I'll forget to ask!" Jamie protested.

"That's kind of what I'm hoping for, buddy," Lucas laughed. "So what do you want for dinner?"

Peyton and Jamie perched on the stools at the counter, and Lucas stood across from them, resting his elbows on the surface in front of him.

"Pizza! And French fries!" Jamie shouted excitedly.

"James, you can't have pizza and French fries," Lucas explained with a wry smile.

"Why not?" Peyton asked, looking at Lucas then to Jamie. "Now I kind of want pizza and French fries."

She smiled at Lucas and he rolled his eyes, knowing he simply couldn't deny either of the people across from him what they wanted.

"Fine," Lucas groaned. "But if your mom asks, it was Peyton's idea, OK?"

"OK," Jamie said, shrugging his shoulders.

Lucas walked over to the phone and dialed a number from memory, causing Peyton to look at him skeptically.

"What? I know the number for Dmitri's," he said with a shrug. "Best pizza in town."

"Don't forget the fries!" Peyton and Jamie shouted in unison, making them both erupt into a fit of giggles.

"Is Mattie going to be OK?" Jamie asked abruptly after their laughter had died down. The concern was apparent in his voice.

"Oh, sweetie. He'll be just fine," Peyton tried to convince him. Lucas watched them with his arms crossed as he leaned against a counter across the kitchen.

"Mom looked worried," he pointed out sadly.

"That's what moms do, Jamie. They take care of you and they worry," she said in an attempt to reassure him. "You know how when you're sick you can tell your mom and dad what's wrong and they can give you medicine, or soup, our rub your tummy?" Jamie nodded and looked up at her. "Well Matthew can't talk yet, so he can't say what's hurting."

"But the doctor can find out?" he asked, the worry fading from his face.

"Exactly," she said with a nod. "And since your mom and dad are the best mom and dad in the world, they took him there so the doctor can make him better."

"Thanks, aunt Peyton." He threw his arms around her neck and she hugged him back, looking to Lucas who was smiling back at the scene. Jamie pulled away and hopped off his stool, tearing off towards the living room. "I'm gonna go draw him a picture."

"Alright. We'll let you know when you have to wash up for dinner," Lucas chuckled.

Peyton clutched her heart and took a deep breath, but Lucas spoke before she could.

"That was adorable," he said, walking to her and pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I almost cried," she laughed. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to explain things like that every day."

"Aaah, you'll be great," he reassured her, making her smile.

She noticed that he'd said 'you will be' not 'you would be'. Her heart soared. Of all the complements she could have received, that unintentional one was the one that affected her most. Through three years of marriage she'd tried to convince herself that she didn't want children, and now she wondered why she had ever settled for that. How could she have been with someone who didn't understand her desire to be a mom?

"Thank you," she whispered, and kissed his cheek. He wasn't really sure what she was thanking him for, but he didn't really care. Seeing a smiling Peyton was worth whatever thing he didn't know he'd done.

She walked into the room where Jamie sat on the floor with papers and pencil crayons scattered on the table. Haley always joked that her son got his love of basketball from his father, and his love of art from Peyton.

"Let's see what you have so far," Lucas said as he sat next to his nephew. "What's this?"

Lucas picked up a drawing that had already been completed. In pencil crayon on the page before him, Matthew was in Nathan's arms with a little jersey and the number 25, Lucas was guarding Nathan, wearing their numbers 22 and 23 respectively, and Jamie was shooting the ball into the net, wearing number 23. At the bottom of the page, there were a few written words: 'The Scott Boys'. Peyton watched as Lucas' eyes glanced over the page, and smiled when she saw the love in his eyes. This was his family.

"That's really good, Jamie. But how come you and your dad have the same number?" Peyton asked.

"He says I can't wear that number forever because it was retired. But I like it and I don't know what other number I want to be," he explained, still furiously colouring on the page in front of him. "That's for you, uncle Luke."

"Thanks, buddy," Lucas said sincerely, his eyes still fixed on the page in his hands. "You know what? How do you like the number 3?"

"Number 3? Like you had before Skills joined the Ravens and made everyone forget about you?" Jamie asked, surprised. Peyton let out a loud laugh and Lucas glared at her jokingly.

"That's not exactly the way it went, but I'm sure that's what he told you, isn't it?" Jamie nodded. "Well, what do you think? You want to be number 3 like me?"

"Just like you were 22 like your uncle?" Jamie asked.

Lucas hadn't even thought of that. He smiled at the little boy and his innocent view of the world.

"Yeah, just like that," he said. Peyton placed her hand on Lucas' knee and moved her thumb comfortingly. He felt like no one in the world knew him like Peyton did. One simple gesture because she knew he needed it. She always just knew.

"Number 3, James Lucas Scott! Starting forward for the Tree Hill Ravens!" the boy shouted, standing and shooting an imaginary jump shot. Lucas and Peyton both laughed. "I like it!"

"It suits you, Jamie," Peyton chuckled. Her eyes met Lucas' and he sent her a quick wink that made her heart melt.

----

Jamie was fed and put to bed by the time Nathan and Haley got back with Matthew. Nathan walked into the house with his hands over his and his son's eyes, and Haley could only laugh as they entered their living room to see Lucas and Peyton sitting at opposite ends of the couch where they'd been talking.

"Is it safe?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, could you please stop," Haley scolded playfully.

"I don't hear you gagging, so I'm assuming everyone is fully clothed," he teased.

"You're funny, Nate," Peyton said as he uncovered his eyes.

"Seriously, guys, thanks so much," Haley said sincerely. "Matthew's fine, he just has a cold that made his temperature spike a bit."

"Good. I was worried," Lucas said, getting up to press a kiss to his nephew's head. "So you guys are good here?"

"We're good," Haley said with a smile. "Go do...whatever."

"Why do you two think that we're like, hormonal teenagers or something?" Peyton asked with a laugh.

"You know you just want to be alone right now," Nathan pointed out.

"Yup. Let's go," Lucas said quickly, wrapping his arm around Peyton's waist. They all laughed as they said their goodbyes, and Haley let out a little squeal when the door closed behind the two blondes.

"What was that?" Nathan laughed, referring to the sound she'd made.

"They are finally together!" she said happily, before walking towards the stairs.

Nathan just laughed again at his wife, then turned out the lights and followed her. He was happy that his suspicions about his brother and friend had been true. He'd always known, somehow, that they'd get together in the end. Nathan had thought towards the end of their junior year, that Lucas still had feelings for Peyton, but instead he'd gone after Brooke again. Nathan wasn't one to meddle, so he didn't say anything for years. When Joshua and then Kate came into the picture, he should have given up hope. He didn't. And now he wished he'd told someone about it so that he could gloat.