Brooke approached the blue two story, colonial style home and stood back, impressed. There was a white wrap around porch and a weeping willow in the yard that she knew were Lucas's doing. Back when they had been together and planning a future together that would never be, he had often said his dream home was entirely romanticized and embarrassingly cliché. There were a few toys scattered on the lawn and a basketball hoop above the garage were Keith's old Mustang and the family's Range Rover sat.

The house seemed lived in and loved and she hadn't even gone inside yet. She hadn't pictured herself with the white picket fence in a very long time. She figured the city had sucked her dreams out of her. Every dream except Lucas….

Walking up the front steps she knocked on the door and waited. There was some shuffling and then the door swung open to reveal an out of breath Lucas.

"Brooke, hey!" He leaned in to kiss her cheek casually in greeting, not really thinking anything of it.

"Oh-um, Lucas. Hi," Brooke stuttered, looking pointedly at the squirming baby in Lucas's arms, who was naked except for a diaper and a pacifier tucked snugly in his mouth. And the baby wasn't the only one practically naked and that was why she was keeping her eyes planted on the baby.

"So I didn't know this was a topless park we were going to," she joked, trying to force her eyes not to travel down to the washboard abs.

"Oh yeah," Lucas laughed looking down at his bare chest. "I didn't have time to put a shirt on or dress him cause Anna spilled juice everywhere. Come in," Lucas said holding the door open for her. Brooke forced herself to move passed him.

Her cheek was on fire and seeing him with his son was still jarring because they looked so much alike. She had to admit, they made an adorable pair and once again she wished….it was all hers.

Clearing her throat, Brooke spoke. "So is this the little plant killer, huh?" Brooke smiled, down at the baby, who pulled his pacifier out of his mouth, tossed it carelessly in the air, much to his father's annoyance, began sucking on his fingers and stared at her with big blue eyes. She heard the television on in the other room and assumed that was where Anna was.

"The one and only," Lucas replied. "Say hi, William."

The baby only scrambled to get down. "Sorry, he's on a rampage. Just wait till I put him in his playpen." He rolled his eyes at her. He gestured for her to follow and she did, taking in the inside of the house...and the muscles in his back and his ass.

She followed him into the family room where there was a prominent streak of dirt and soil ground into the red carpet. William's playpen was set up in the corner.

"I'm runnin' way behind," Lucas said behind her, setting the already angry baby in his play pen. "Yeah I know, buddy. This is what happens when you destroy Mommy's plants."

William frowned up at him and sat down heavily on a diapered bottom, still scowling. He hadn't had time to put clothes on William, because Anna had decided she was thirsty and went to get juice…..that she had spilled all over the kitchen floor.

Lucas had just started cleaning that up when Brooke rang the door bell.

This he told Brooke before walking into the kitchen. Brooke had to hand it to him. He barely looked frazzled, which was impressive considering the morning he was having. He was used to this kind of craziness, though.

She glanced at William, who seemed to have forgotten he was upset and was busy trying to look at a picture book.

Brooke glanced around the room, still aware that Lucas was prattling at her from the kitchen. The house was very familiar, only because it belonged to her best friend and ex-boyfriend, two people she knew-or used to know-better than anyone. There was art work all over the blue walls, one wall had an extensive cd collection mounted on black shelving. The home was hip, colorful, and warm.

William sighed loudly for no apparent reason other than he'd seen adults do it, drawing Brooke's attention to the baby momentarily. He was still ignoring her, so she walked to the mantle where a bunch of pictures sat.

Some of them she recognized because the same ones were on Nathan and Haley's mantle, but there were pictures here that belonged solely to this Scott family that broke her heart. A very pregnant Peyton with Lucas's strong arms wrapped around her; a glowing picture of Peyton in the garden holding her pregnant belly, smiling mischievously at the camera; a candid picture of Lucas sleeping on the couch with two tiny blondes laying on his chest; a beautiful family portrait. She raised her eyebrows in surprise at a photo of a smiling Derek holding a giggling Anna next to Peyton holding William as an infant.

The one that really caught her attention, though was the wedding picture. It couldn't have been anything else. Lucas was wearing a charcoal suit and Peyton was wearing a long flowy white sun dress. Peyton's happy eyes were looking at the camera and Lucas's gaze was directly on her. Like he was staring at the kind of sunset that took your breath away.

"Hi! You remember me? I'm Anna!"

Surprised, Brooke tore her eyes away from the photo and down at the little girl who had popped up beside Brooke…wearing only pants. What is up with all the nakedness in this house, she thought.

"Anna," Lucas cried, appearing from the kitchen. "Where is your shirt?"

"You said I couldn't wear it," the little girl replied innocently of her beloved Floyd shirt.

"That didn't mean take it off that second ," Lucas sighed. Brooke couldn't help smothering a smile and Lucas chuckled at his daughter's innocent reasoning.

"You aren't wearing one either," Anna added throwing her hands on her hips. Lucas rolled his eyes at her and Anna turned big eyes back to Brooke.

"Of course I remember you," Brooke answered the little girl's previous question, kneeling down in front of her.

"We have the same middle name."

"Your middle name is Elizabeth Penelope?"

"Just Penelope," Brooke smiled.

"Oh," Anna shook her head, sadly at the woman's apparent stupidity. "That's not the same."

"Baby, Elizabeth is for Mommy's birth mother and Penelope is after Brooke. Remember?" Lucas explained walking up to the two and kneeling down as well. "This is the Brooke your mother named you after."

Anna looked unimpressed until Brooke flipped her hair over her shoulder. She reached out boldly and fingered it.

"Your hair is pretty like my dolls," she commented, sweetly. She tilted her head and looked up at her through her thick lashes and Brooke suspected with amusement that this was how the child had everyone wrapped around her finger. "Can I brush it?"

"Sure," Brooke smiled, glancing at Lucas. "Tell you what, how about I take you upstairs and help you find the perfect outfit and then I can do your hair for you?" Brooke asked, kneeling down in front of Peyton's mini-me. Big green eyes snapped in delight.

"Okay!"

Brooke took her hand and stood. "Do what you need to do, Broody," Brooke said.

Lucas smiled, appreciatively, although he still had thoughts of Britney Spears running through his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I do this for a living. I'm great at this," Brooke shrugged with the usual Davis confidence. With a wink she let the four year old lead her up the stairs and to her bedroom which was painted a deep purple.

"So….." Brooke started, realizing she had nothing to say to a four year old. "Um, what's your favorite….um-"

"You like my room? I picked the color out all by myself cause Mommy and Daddy let me! Mommy says I have good eyes for color, but I don't know what that means!"

"Oh," Brooke said surprised. Maybe she wouldn't have to do that much talking. Unlike her parents, Anna loved to talk. And she had that adorable tendency, that only a small child could have, to practically yell everything she said in her excitement. Brooke was already in love with her.

"Your Mommy still paints right?" At the little girl's nod, she said, "Your mommy means you are very good at picking out colors that complime-go together."

"Gramma says I'm a chip off the ol' block and so does grampa! Do you know my Gramma and Grampa? They aren't married," Anna, who was bouncing on her bed, managed to say all of this in one breath.

"Yes I do. I know them very well," Brooke replied, smiling down at the talkative little Scott, while she went though her closet. "Do you like skirts?"

"No, but mommy makes me."

"At least I taught her something," Brooke mumbled under her breath. "You're mommy is right."

"Daddy likes it when mommy wears skirts. He says so," the little girl said, knocking her foot on her bed as she swung it.

"Oh….that's…..nice. Oh! Here," Brooke pulled out a little red and white striped sundress and waved at it like Vanna White. "This is adorable!"

"I like that dress!" Anna cried, feeding off Brooke's enthusiasm.

"Well good, little girl, cause you're putting it on."

Lucas had just finished cleaning the carpet as best he could with William watching his every movement.

"You're enjoying this right," Lucas said to the boy. "Are you punishing me for something?"

William giggled at Lucas and reached up for him with an excited cry of "dada!" Lucas grinned, his heart thoroughly warmed. Hearing those words out of his children's mouths still threw him for a loop sometimes. Sometimes Peyton would catch him watching the children playing or watching television with tears in his eyes. He still, after four years of being a parent, couldn't believe he was finally a father.

"The kind of father I knew you'd be and Keith knew you'd be," Whitey had said to him a year after Anna was born. Whitey had come over for Sunday dinner and they were sitting outside on the back patio watching Anna in the yard with Peyton creeping about on a blanket she had set out for her. He and Whitey had been talking about Dan.

Neither Lucas nor Nathan had gone to see him since he'd been put away and it was something neither of them talked about, but it was a hidden hurt that stayed with them. Because no matter what type of monster he was-he was still their father. Lucas had wanted so badly for Keith to be alive to see his baby daughter and to tell him he was doing well, he needed to dear it so badly. His fear, as irrational as it was, had been in becoming Dan and having the sins of his father visit him.

That day Lucas had looked out across the yard to watch his daughter on hands and knees with her mother close behind, the sun glinting off their golden hair and he suddenly realized….he could let it go. Dan's sins could never touch him….not with the way he felt staring at his precious baby girl. "My baby girl," he'd whispered softly to himself. And although he was hit with the sheer joy of his family before and it would hit him again and again for the rest of his years, tears sprung to his eyes. He wiped them away, furtively, but Whitey saw them and smiled.

"I've shed tears for you boys. You know Camilla and I never had any of our own, but as far as I'm concerned you were all my boys and I've cried for you, Luke. Every time Danny did wrong by you and your brother, I shed a tear. Every time you and your brother succeeded; When I watch you soar, I shed a tear. Don't ever be ashamed of the tears you shed for your family, son. It's what makes you more of a man than Dan will ever be and why Keith is looking down on you and the man you've become and is smiling right now."

"Come here, baby boy," Lucas cooed, just as the phone rang. He picked William up and held him against his chest, leaning down to kiss the baby's forehead.

"I love you William," he said, rubbing the baby's back.

"Baba! Ba! Dada! Yuyuyu," William responded, patting Lucas's shoulders. Lucas laughed, and pecked the baby on his puckered little lips, before grabbing the phone.

He then sat down on the couch with William, pressing the baby to his chest and stroking his golden curls.

"Hello."

"Hey Luke. What's up man? It's Jake."

"Hey man, what are you up to?"

"Nothin, much man. I was gonna see if Brooke wanted to hang out since everyone is at work, but there's no answer at Nate and Haley's and I don't have her new number. She's probably shopping, anyway so I just called to see what you were up to."

"Oh, uhm, Brooke's here, dude," Lucas replied, patting William's concave back. William was staring at him, a strange pass-time which he and his sister seemed to enjoy. Lucas made a face and the baby dissolved into a fit of raucous giggles.

"Oh…Brooke is with you?" Jake had a hard time frowning on his end of the phone after hearing William laugh.

"Yeah," Lucas said, raising an eyebrow at Jake's bizarre tone. "We're going to the park with the kids and then swinging past my mom's to get lunch and then down to the gallery. You wanna come?"

Jake sighed and shook his head at his own ridiculousness. What the heck was he thinking? "Yeah, that'll be great. I'll just meet you guys there then?"

"Sure. But give us like twenty minutes. Will got into one of the plants so I had to shop-vac the carpet."

"Again?" Jake laughed.

"Yeah I just finished cleaning the carpet, but I gotta go get him dressed."

"Alright, well I'll meet you at the park then. I just remembered Skillz and Bevin are leaving so everyone is gonna be at Tric later."

"Yeah I had to remind Peyton," Lucas laughed. "We might have to cut the park trip a bit short, but I'll see ya in a bit man." Lucas pressed end and dropped the phone on the couch. "You ready to get dressed again?"

William babbled some words at him, pressing clammy drool covered little hands on his face. Lucas kissed his them and nibbled on his tiny fingers making growling noises, causing the baby to squeal and giggle with delight and Lucas to laugh.

"Okay Daddy, I think we found the perfect outfit," Brooke cried, strutting into the living room with Anna beside her. She stopped abruptly seeing Lucas still half naked, sitting on the couch with William straddling his stomach, still only wearing a diaper. They made such a cute pair they could be an ad campaign for single women who are too busy with careers to start a family.

"Well that's not fair. You made Anna put on clothes and you are still without," Brooke said, throwing a hand on her hip. Lucas craned his neck towards her and chuckled.

"I'm a parent. I'm not supposed to be fair."

"That starts when she gets into the double digits, broody. Don't you know anything?" Lucas made a face at the thought of his daughter turning ten. He sometimes wished he could freeze them at this age.

"What's a broody?" Anna's s overly loud voice piped in. Lucas laughed.

"Never mind baby girl," Lucas chuckled waving Anna over to him. "Come here. Look at you, pretty," Lucas cooed. Anna grinned and ran to Lucas scrambling up on the couch next to him.

"Look at my dress Daddy! It's 'dorable!"

"That is adorable, baby girl," Lucas enthused, with a chuckle. "Mommy got you that dress remember?"

"It gots matching undies," Anna said lifting up her dress to show Lucas the shorts that he knew went with them, because Peyton had to constantly tell her to stop flashing people the last time she wore it.

"I know baby, but please keep your dress down at the park okay?"

"Kay," she said absently and he knew he'd be reminding her countless times to put her dress down. "William is naked," she giggled, shoving her face into William's face. The baby found it amusing and shrieked with laughter, patting his sister's face.

"I know, we gotta get dressed and get outta here," Lucas said, standing up. "Did you thank Brooke for helping you change?"

"Yes," the girl replied, sprawling herself out of the couch and pushing a strand of hair out of her face that had freed itself from her pigtails.

"Good girl. Hey Brooke, Jake is meeting up with us at the park," Lucas said stopping in front of Brooke and shifting William to one hip.

Brooke wasn't quite sure what she said as a reply. Having Lucas this close to her without a shirt on was really fucking with her. Her eyes flicked from his, large biceps, to his washboard abs, to the trail of hair that made its way down to disappear at the waistband of his low slung jeans.

He had definitely been working out since she last saw him. He'd always been the scrawnier of the Scott brothers, but now….She hadn't felt this flustered in quite some time-years actually. Not since Chase.

At the thought of Chase, Brooke frowned. Had it all gone wrong because of the man standing in front of her, looking so damn sexy, staring at her with those smoldering blue eyes full of concern, and holding his son whose mother was once her best friend?

"Brooke?"

"What?"

"Hey, where'd you go," Lucas asked, his brows furrowing with concern.

"I was just-thinking about Chase. Sorry," she shook her head, looking down at her feet so she would stop staring at his pecs.

"Hey don't apologize," Lucas replied sympathetically, placing a comforting hand on Brooke's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but we're all here for you Brooke."

"Thank you Luke," Brooke whispered. Lucas nodded, looking at her a moment longer and then turned.

"I'll be right back," he said, before making his way up the stairs. Brooke let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned to find Anna once again, standing right next to her.

"When did you know my mommy and daddy?"

"In high school," Brooke replied, sitting down beside, Anna on the couch.

"Dat's when Daddy and Mommy fewl in yuv! Daddy says so!"

"Oh," Brooke said after a long moment.

"Aunt Haley and Uncold Natan fewl in yov and gots married and had my cousin James in high school. They were busy!"

Brooke couldn't help it. You couldn't not smile listening to Anna's matter of fact yelling.

"They were pretty busy," Brooke laughed, smiling down at the four year old.

"Who did you fall in yuv wiff?"

"Um…What do you mean sweetie?"

"High School is for falling in yuv! Who did you fall in yuv wit?"

Brooke was quiet, both considering how she should explain to Anna that high school wasn't actually for falling in love, as well as the answer to that question. Just then a fully clothed Lucas jogged down the steps with William in one arm, wearing denim shorts with a blue striped shirt and a diaper bag hanging on his other arm.

"You guys ready?"

"Yeppers," Anna exclaimed, running to the door, leaving Brooke to follow them out the door. They all piled into the Range Rover and drove the short distance to the park. Anna talked the entire way there and William managed to pull off and throw both of his shoes into the front seat, one of them managing to pop Brooke in the face.

"William, no!" Lucas admonished, glaring into the rearview mirror. He turned to Brooke and shrugged. "Sorry. He doesn't like shoes."

"Or me apparently," Brooke joked. Lucas chuckled and shut off the car, reaching down to collect the wayward shoes. "Oh baby converse sneaker? You've got to be kidding me," Brooke laughed.

"He is Peyton's son," Lucas said by way of reply before climbing out of the car. Brooke followed suite, spying Jake walking towards them.

"Hey guys," Jake greeted, walking up to the Range Rover. He hugged Brooke hello and opened the back door of the SUV.

"Jake!" Anna squealed from the back seat, waiting patiently for someone to unbuckle her from her child seat.

"Hey, girlie," Jake greeted unbuckling Anna and pulling her out of the car. He gave her a big hug and set her on her feet and she grinned up at him.

"My dress is dorable! Brooke helped me choose it!"

"Oh well Brooke does have impeccable taste," Jake smiled as he knelt in front of the little girl. "You look very pretty."

"It gots matching undies!" She threw her dress up in the air and Brooke threw a hand to her mouth to cover her burst of laughter. Jake chuckled,

"They're very cute, Anna banana," he offered, glancing at Lucas who was rolling his eyes.

"Anna! Dress down. What did I say before we left the house," Lucas asked with a sigh, coming from the other side of the car with William and diaper bag in tow.

The little girl shrugged and looked up at him innocently. "Lots of things."

"You can't just go around lifting your dress in public," Lucas explained gently but sternly.

"Ohhhhhh, that one. Why? The matching undies is the best part."

"Because…..because you are a little lady and ladies don't…do that," Lucas finished weakly.

"Oh. Does that mean I can't be on the monkey bars?" Anna pouted at him and Jake and Brooke chuckled. "If I'm on the monkey bars I'll be upside down and my dress will go up in the air."

"No, babe you can go on the monkey bars," Lucas sighed. The little girl looked at him like he didn't know what he was talking about and took his hand.

Jake touched Brooke's arm and she hung back a bit with him, looking at him, questioningly.

"Watch this," Jake said, gesturing towards Lucas and the kids as they approached the playground.

There were a few women standing in a group while their children played. One woman elbowed another and then they were none too subtly watching Lucas approach with the kids.

"Good morning ladies," Lucas greeted.

"Hi Lucas," they all chorused. There was a smattering of girlish giggles and hair tossing.

Brooke snorted and looked with amusement to Jake. "Seriously? He has a fan club of soccer moms," she laughed. "That's priceless."

"It's hilarious. He's like a god here. And when Nathan joins him? Forget about it," Jake laughed. "It's a good thing Luke is oblivious to all that female attention otherwise no one would be watching the kids."

"You think he's really oblivious to that?" Brooke said dubiously. Smiling softly as Lucas climbed into the sandbox with his children while the mothers drooled.

"Well maybe not completely oblivious, but he is pretty single-minded when his family is around."

"Does…Peyton ever come here?" Brooke asked innocently.

"Yeah, sometimes. She doesn't always go in to the studio," Jake replied. "Molly does great running the place on her own."

They sat down on a bench close by and watched Lucas play with the children in the sand box for awhile.

"He's a really great dad isn't he," Brooke said quietly. Jake glanced back at her and nodded.

"Yeah, he is," he replied, chuckling as he held onto the backs of William's shorts with one hand as they baby tried to run off and with the other brushed sand out of Anna's hair. "Hold on a sec," he laughed.

Jake got up and walked over to the sand box and scooped the baby up in his arms and tossed him in the air, making the baby squeal with laughter.

"I got this bugger, Luke."

"Thanks man," Luke replied grinning up at him. He glanced back at Brooke who sat cross legged on a bench wearing heels and a skirt. He smiled and looked back at Jake.

"Let me know when she has enough." Jake followed his gaze and nodded.

"I'll keep her occupied," he said, walking back to the bench with William. "You don't mind walking do you? He wants to run," Jake said of the wriggling baby in his arms.

"Oh, um, sure." She got up and they followed William who seemed perfectly happy toddling around in the grass with no destination in mind.

"So how are you doing today…with the Chase stuff; the whole Lucas and Peyton thing. Has it sunk in yet?"

Brooke looked at him and rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Jake…"

"Come on, Brooke," Jake chuckled. "It's me here. If anyone can relate or sympathize it's me."

Brooke looked down and nodded. "Um, first of all I am trying to get over a five year relationship that just went down the crapper. That is first and foremost."

"I'm sure it is, but it seems you've seemed to fixate on Lucas and Peyton instead of trying to deal with breaking up with Chase if you don't mind my saying so,"

"Well of course I mind you saying so. You don't know me like that anymore."

"Yeah, but I'm a therapist so it's kind of my business to read you like that," Jake mentioned with an innocent clearing of his throat.

"Oh great," Brooke muttered. "Am I gonna get a bill at the end of the evening too?"

"No. Friending, as Haley would call, it is free," Jake grinned. Brooke rolled her eyes once again and Jake sobered a bit. "I remember two weeks after I came back to Tree Hill, still stuck on her and I was down by the beach and there they were having a picnic….at night. I figured they were on a date cause he was wearing a button down and slacks and she was wearing this sundress and she looked beautiful."

He smiled nostalgically at Brooke, keeping a careful eye on William. "It had been years Brooke and I had seen other people in that time and I'd figured since so much time had passed that Peyton had made her choice. I was still hung up though; still waiting and when I saw them that night it just sort of hit me that I'd lost her to him completely. They were dancing on the beach to the music in their own heads and the way she was looking at him, the way he made her laugh in a way I'd never been able to do….I just knew. That's when I started trying to get over it, for real."

Brooke glared at him somewhat sadly and said, "What are you saying I'm in denial or something?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah well…It's hard to stay in denial when you look at their kids right? I mean look at him," Brooke gestured to William who was crouched in the grass, tugging on a dandelion.

"He's the spitting image of Lucas with Peyton's curls. The second I saw him at the beach I knew. That's Lucas and Peyton's little boy." She shrugged her shoulders sadly.

"And Anna….well she's….just so…"

"So Peyton," Jake laughed. "She's got both her parents in her, but Anna is her own little person. All sass and a heart twice her size. She's gonna change the world some day."

Brooke looked away, memories flooding her mind of an empty room at a party from what seemed like ages ago. She looked back over to where Lucas was helping Anna across the monkey bars.

"I loved Chase. I did," Brooke said, almost to convince herself.

"I'm not saying you didn't. I'm just saying, I know how you feel now. It's okay to be sad about it Brooke. Lucas was your first love," Jake said with a shrug. "And Peyton was your best friend."

"Yeah, ya know," Brooke said, shaking her head. "I think I'd like to stay in denial for a little while longer."