Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters...I own nothing but this story's plot!!!

Chapter 7:

Larger than Life-size

"So where were you all day Missy?" Rachel asked as she came bounding into Brooke's room bright and early and bounced on her bed.

Brooke tried to ignore Rachel and remain asleep, but it was all for naught. The red head started tickling her feet, forcing her to squirm out of her reach. "Fine, I'm up. You happy?" Brooke asked her, moving up so her back was resting on the headboard of the bed.

"Not really," Rachel shrugged, flopping down on the bed and propping her hand up on her arm. "Tell me where you were yesterday, for the entire day I might add, and then I'll be happy."

"I was just out," Brooke said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have a lot of things to think about. And a lot of things I don't want to think about but keep getting thrown in my face," she explained, hoping Rachel would take her explanation and leave it at that.

"Just out where?" Rachel continued to pry.

"I went to the beach, okay," She said, throwing her arms into the air. "You happy now?"

"Geez, don't have bitch-fit," Rachel said, looking at Brooke like she was crazy. "Besides if that gets you worked up I don't even want to tell you who your daughter spent the afternoon with yesterday."

Brooke cocked and eyebrow at her, glaring at her friend. "I already know, thank you very much," she snapped. And it is something I need to talk to you about."

"Well shoot," Rachel said, sitting up straight and crossing her legs Indian-style, to wait for what Brooke had to say.

"What the hell, Rachel," she screamed. "I am gone for two minutes and you turn my daughter over to Lucas?" She asked her, now screaming.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Rachel instructed her. "First of all, I did not 'turn your daughter over to Lucas'," she said, using air-quotes around Brooke's words. "And second of all, you were gone all day, and pretty much all night. So at least someone was looking after her."

By this point Brooke was fuming. "I thought you were my friend, on my side in all this," she ranted. "I was the one who suffered through a teen-pregnancy alone and scared. I was the one who went through twenty-six hours of labor to bring that beautiful little girl into the world. And I am the one who is there, taking care of her every single day of her life," she screamed, the tears welling up in the corners of her hazel eyes. "And where was he? Huh? He wanted no part of it. He didn't want us," she yelled, banging her hands onto the mattress beside her.

Rachel seeing the state her friend was in knew she was in for a tongue-lashing, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She had to speak her peace. "He doesn't even know about her, Brooke," she screamed at her, as if she was so low. "You never told him because you were too scared of getting rejected."

Brooke looked at her as if she had just punched her in the gut. She couldn't believe her friend, her Rachel was saying this to her. It was probably her own fault for not being straight with her all those years ago. "He knows, Rachel," she breathed. "He fucking knows!" She yelled, tears falling down her cheeks. "I told him. The only way I could while we were trapped in that God forsaken school that might as well of been a prison. I wrote him letters, letter after letter, the entire time I was pregnant. And you know what I finally got back from him. No congratulations, no offers to help, just a letter that basically said I am in love with Peyton so move the fuck on. So before you try to act all self-righteous, like I am some sort of bad guy in this whole situation, why don't you reevaluate the facts," she finished, wiping her eyes then running her hands backwards through her hair.

Rachel's expression was immediately softened, the defensive stance she had originally taken had melted away and she moved over to Brooke and wrapped her in a hug. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, slowly rocking the girl back and forth. She didn't want to fight with her friend anymore; she just wanted to be there for her.

"After I got the letter from him I was so hurt and ashamed. I wanted to die. I mean, I have never felt that small or that unwanted, and that's saying a lot coming from the hellacious parents I had," she continued to cry. "I know it's stupid but I guess I thought if I told you you might start to see me the way they all did. And you would leave me too."

Rachel grabbed her friend's face, forcing Brooke to look into her eyes. "I will never leave you, Brooke. You are my best friend and the closest thing to family I have ever had," she tried to reassure her. But she knew how bad being rejected, especially by the people you thought you could count on could make you feel. "I've been in that place. I've never told anyone this, but before I had my plastic surgery, I tried to commit suicide," she admitted, looking down at the floral comforter on the bed.

"Rach," Brooke said, immediately forgetting her own sorrows and turning to her friend. "I'm sorry," she said, she didn't know what else to say.

"Don't be," Rachel said, trying to blow it off. "If it wasn't for me reaching my lowest point in life, I never would have realized how great I had it and climbed my way back up in life. You have it pretty good too, Brooke. You have people like me and Haley that love you. And you have Liv."

"I know," Brooke sighed. "Just sometimes, looking back, I wonder if I did the right thing. If I shouldn't have tried harder with Lucas, to make him see Liv," she said, finally speaking her deepest fears. "I just don't want it to be too late for them. Olivia deserves to know him and know about him, even if he doesn't want to know her."

"True," Rachel agreed. "But you have done the best you could. And trust me; it will never be too late."

"But what if Olivia starts to resent me? What if she blames me for us not being a complete family?" She asked, starting to get frantic. "I can't have her turn her back on me too."

"Brooke, she's three," Rachel rationalized. "I doubt she thinks any of those things, or that she ever will. You are her whole world. And trust me, she will always know whatever you do, you do because you love her," she said. "But I will say this, we are in Tree Hill, and you're here, Lucas is here, and your daughter is here. Why not take advantage of the situation," she suggested to her friend.

"I don't know if I can," Brooke said, reluctantly shaking her head from side to side.

"Just try, for Liv," Rachel continued to encourage her, giving her a pat on the hand.

Brooke slowly nodded her head in agreement. If she did nothing else on this trip, she would finally have a face to face discussing with Lucas concerning Olivia.

Lucas walked into Peyton's apartment and was greeted by the smell of French toast.

"Smells good," he told her, taking a seat at her kitchen table.

"Well it tastes even better," she told him, setting a plate down in front of him as she went back to the stove to continue cooking. "So I missed you yesterday, what were you doing?" She asked, glancing at him for a moment before turning back to the stove in front of her.

"Oh, just around. Hanging with the guys and the usual," he told her. "But I did do one thing interesting. Guess who I got to meet yesterday?" He asked her, turning to face her.

"By the look on your face I am going to say it was someone good," she said, smiling at him before putting a finger on the tip of her nose as she thought. "Was it Ryan Adams?" She asked, knowing she was wrong; and on the off chance she was right she would have to chew Lucas out for not introducing her.

Lucas laughed at her. "Not hardly. Think better," he said, turning to take another bite of his breakfast.

"Hmmm, who's better than Ryan Adams?" She asked him, point blank, flipping the food in her skillet.

"I met Olivia, Brooke's daughter," he said, smiling as he turned to face her.

At the sound of his words, Peyton dropped the spatula from her hand. And it hit the linoleum floor with a thud. "Brooke…she's here?" She asked, barely able to form a sentence.

"Yeah, how else would he daughter get here," he spoke, shaking his head from side to side as if the latter were obvious.

"And her daughter…is here?" She asked, still in shock.

"Yes, Peyton. I told you I met her," He explained, getting up from his chair and picking up the spatula she still hadn't retrieved. "Why are you acting so weird about this?" He asked her.

"Weird, I'm not acting weird," she said, her tone now a little jumpy. "I just don't see why Brooke is here. She hasn't been home in years, why now?" She asked, seemingly skeptical.

"I don't know," Lucas shrugged. "Haley said she invited her to Jamie's birthday party. And you did send her a wedding invitation," he reminded her, patting her arm patronizingly. "But wait until you meet Olivia," he started again, changing the subject. "She is a little fire ball. She's totally Brooke shrunken down into a miniature size."

"Wow, I can't wait," Peyton said sarcastically, turning to get a new utensil to finish cooking her food with. "Why are you so excited about meeting this little girl?" She asked him, turning to face him as she put her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was overly excited," Lucas conceded, holding his hands up in defeat.

"Well it's just that I haven't seen you this talkative about something in a long time. And I just kind of wish it would be about our wedding, not some random little girl. Besides, you know kids aren't exactly my thing," she said, trying to turn her skinny frown into a pout.

"She's not some random girl," Lucas countered, not knowing exactly why he was defending a child he hardly knew to his fiancé. It was probably because he knew she was an awesome kid and Peyton needed to grow up. "She is our friend's child. Brooke used to be important to you. I just thought you would care a little more that there is a child-sized version of your childhood best friend running around Tree Hill waiting to meet you."

Peyton scoffed. "And I'm sure Brooke has told her daughter all about me. In case you've forgotten, Brooke and I aren't exactly friends anymore. Things have changed, people change," she said rolling her eyes at him.

"They sure do," Lucas mumbled under his breath, barely audible. "I've got to go," he said, backing away from her and towards the door. "I'll call you later, Peyton," he told her.

"Luke, don't leave," she begged him. "We need to talk about this. I hate when you walk away when you're mad."

"Well it keeps me from saying something I might regret," he snapped. "I'll call you later," he said. "In the mean time I think you should go see your 'friend', Brooke, because she came here to see you." And with that he slammed the door closed.

"I bet she did," Peyton said sarcastically, twirling one of her blonde curls around her finger. Maybe visiting Brooke was exactly what she needed to do.

Since Haley and Rachel had gotten so much done yesterday on the party planning, they decided to team up again. There were only two days left before Jamie's birthday and Haley wanted every detail to be perfect.

"So we're heading to Charleston to the party planning warehouse," Haley explained. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Brooke? We can still pawn the kids off on Skills again," she laughed to her, hoping to persuade her friend to change her mind about not going.

"Nah, we'll be fine here," she said, gesturing to Olivia and Jamie who were sitting in the floor quietly coloring. "Besides, I want to show Liv around Tree Hill, and I feel like I haven't really spent any time with her since I've been here."

"Alright, fine," Haley gave in, knowing that once Brooke's mind was made up there was pretty much no budging it. "Well I have my cell so call if you need me."

"I will, but we will be fine," she said, waving at her two friends who were gathering up there things.

Rachel walked over to say goodbye to Olivia, and patted Brooke on the shoulder as she passed. "And if you need me for anything, I have my cell phone too," she smiled down at Brooke.

"I'll be fine, Rachel," she insisted, her earlier breakdown long forgotten. "Now go. And by the way, who would have ever guessed you and Hales would make such a good team?" She asked her, flashing a knowing smile.

"I know, right," Rachel laughed. "There must be something in the water here," she said, following Haley who had already gone outside to the car.

Once the door fell closed, it was just Brooke and the kids. The people who wouldn't judge her or berate her with an incessant amount of questions, and that was just how she preferred it as of late.

She looked at the two sitting on the floor. "So I was thinking that since it is such a pretty day, that the three of us should go down to the beach," she suggested, hoping that the two would agree. Even though she didn't want to deal with anyone, she really needed to get out of this house.

"Yeah! Awesome!" Jamie screamed, throwing his crayons down on the floor and standing up. "I'm gonna go get my suit and my beach toys and towel!" He added and ran off towards his bedroom.

"Fun, Mommy," Olivia cheered as she too, quit working on her picture. "I's love the beach," she told her as she hopped over to her mother and climbed in her lap.

"I thought you might think so, you hopping little beach bunny," Brooke teased and began to tickle the little girl's sides. "Now let's go get you and me dressed, then we'll go see how Jamie is doing."

"Okay," Olivia said, squirming out of her mom's arms and running to the room where her mother had been sleeping.

About an hour later, Brooke and the two bundles of energy arrived at the beach. She had packed a beach bag full of items that would allow them to stay all day and night if they wanted to. When they arrived the spot they pulled up to was pretty packed, Brooke knew she wanted a much more secluded location to deal with the two children and still be able to relax.

So she took them, each by a hand, and they walked down past all the beach-goers. She finally found a spot that wasn't too crowded so the let go of the children and dropped her bag to the ground.

"Does this spot seem okay?" She asked her, getting out the beach blanket she'd snagged from Haley's and spreading it out.

"Yep, looks good," Olivia nodded at her mom in approval. She dug through the bag to retrieve a shovel and pail. "I's gonna build a castle," she announced. "You wanna help, Jamie?" She asked him, turning to the little boy who was just standing, looking at the waves.

"Yeah, sure," he shrugged as if he had nothing better to do. "But next I wanna look for shells and crabs, deal?" He asked, Olivia.

"Not crabs! Ewwww!" She screamed and frantically waved her arms.

"Fine," Jamie conceded, "I'll fine crabs and you find shells."

Brooke just stood, watching the children in silence, trying not to laugh at their interaction. "Before you two little munchkins do anything, you better get over here and get some sunscreen on," she told them, pulling the bottle of Water Babies out of the straw beach bag.

Jamie hung his head as if he wanted nothing less than to have the white substance slathered on his body. While Olivia eagerly ran towards her mother, pigtails bouncing as she hopped.

"Me first, me first, me first," she chanted as she made her way to her mom.

Brooke laughed and grabbed the little girl up. "Since Jamie is so out of it, you can go first," she told her, observing the way Jamie seemed to be staring past them on up the beach.

Brooke continued to keep one eye on Jamie while she spread the sun block carefully on her daughter. Just as she was doing her face she noticing Jamie moving behind her out of the corner of her eye.

"Jamie, where are you going?" She yelled, not really asking him. "Come back," she called again. And just as she turned around to see why on earth he had run off, she heard him scream.

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie yelled, causing the blonde he was running to and his brunette babysitter to stop dead in their tracks.

"Jimmy-Jam," Lucas said, picking the little boy up. "What are you doing out here? Where is your mom?" He asked, hoping to find Haley to have some venting time.

"Oh, Momma's not here," he told him. "She went to get birthday stuff. Brooke brought me here," he said, pointing to where the brunette was sitting on her beach blanket, watching the whole interaction with wide eyes.

"Mommy, I's finished?" Olivia asked, impatiently. "I wanna see Lukie too," she whined, swinging her head from left to right.

"Not yet," Brooke told her, wanting to keep the little girl close to her. "I still have to do your back," she explained, trying to remain calm, even though she felt like her heart was beating a million beats per minute.

While Brooke was covering Olivia with her second coat of sunscreen Jamie walked up behind her proudly announcing, "Look who I found? It's Uncle Lucas!" He walked past Brooke and Olivia to wait for his turn to get greased up.

"Hey Lukie," Olivia turned around and threw him a dimpled smile. "Mommy, I's done yet?" She asked, turning her head the other way to look at her mom.

"Yeah, you're done," Brooke reluctantly agreed her voice low as she turned loose of the little girl. "Now Jamie, get over here you little beach bum," she called, trying to still sound as enthusiastic as she had earlier.

"Lukie," Olivia cooed as she clung to his leg. "I'm gonna build a sandcastle. You wanna help me?" She asked, her blue eyes catching the sun, making them sparkle even more.

"Well I will, but only if your mommy and Jamie help us," He said, glancing over a Brooke who was just about finished with the boy.

Brooke looked as if the question had caught her off guard. "How about you three make it," she suggested. "I'm not very good at sandcastle making," she explained, pulling her Tom Ford sunglasses off of her head and onto her face.

"But please, Mommy. Please," Olivia pouted, poking her little lip out. "Lukie will only help if you help," she pleaded. "And you make castles with Natie."

"C'mon, Brooke," Lucas tried to encourage her. "How can you say no to this face?" He asked, his heart melting with the little girl's look.

Brooke stood up from the blanket, she couldn't say no, even though she was the one who had invented that face. "Well it helps if you don't make eye contact," she laughed, twirling the little girl's pigtails when she reached her.

"I'll have to remember that," Lucas chuckled, following making his way over to where Brooke had situated herself on the sand. "Thanks for letting me crash your afternoon," he whispered to her. "I really need the distraction."

Brooke smiled. "Well that seems to be the goal of the day," she said, turning her attention to Olivia and Jamie. "Now where should we put the first tower?" She asked, as she scooped sand up into her bucket.

As the afternoon drug on, Brooke and Lucas retreated to the beach blanket to watch the children as bystanders. The kids ran around with their bucket trying to see who could get the most shells.

When Lucas sat down beside her, part of her wanted to scream at him and push him away, while the other part of her wanted to rationally talk to him. And for some reason the first part was not the part that was winning out.

"You know, it's really good to have you back here," Lucas told her, feeling as if he hadn't really spoken to her the whole time she's been here.

"Thanks," she mustered with a tight smile. She was trying her best to be civil; she was going to make herself be civil. "So what was the thing you needed a distraction from today?" She asked him, not really wanting to pry, but she couldn't help it. Lucas was supposed to be living his dream life with Peyton; he shouldn't be running from things.

"It's a long story," Lucas started, "But basically it ends with me and Peyton arguing about you," he didn't know why he just told her that. But for some reason everything had just been so easy with Brooke, he could talk to her about anything.

Brooke could feel her heart jumping up in her throat. Why were Lucas and Peyton fighting about her? Was it about Olivia? She almost couldn't bear to ask. "Wh-what was your fight about? If you don't mind me asking," she quickly added hoping not to overstep her bounds.

"It was stupid, really," Lucas said, not wanting to rehash the whole argument. "Forget I said anything," he told her, trying to blow it off what he had said earlier. He didn't want to get in too deep, and he didn't even really know why he said it.

"Oh, okay," Brooke said, realizing Lucas didn't want to talk anymore about it. She spotted Olivia and Jamie and yelled down to them, "Liv, don't go any further, you two come back this way." And the two kids turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

"You've done a good job with her, Brooke," Lucas complemented, placing a caring hand on her bare shoulder. "She's an incredible little girl."

His words meant so much, but they stung so badly. It was all she had ever wanted him to think, just three years too late. "Thanks," she muttered, looking down at her feet, maybe Rachel was right. Maybe he didn't know. Because the Lucas she knew could never talk about his child like this and not even say anything. She figured there was no time like the present, maybe she should mention it to him and see what he said, if his reaction warranted his knowing or not.

"What is it?" Lucas asked her, noticing her face that was so deep in thought, an expression that was not typical for the bubbly brunette. "You seem like you really have something on your mind," he observed, letting his hand fall down to her thigh.

Brooke turned to him, greeting him with a look of sadness and anxiety all at once. But before she could open her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by a shrill scream she would recognize anywhere.

"Lucas, there you are!" Peyton screamed, approaching the two who were cozy on the beach blanket. "I have been looking for you all day," she added, sending a death glare in Brooke's direction.

"Peyton, I told you I would call you," He said, standing from Brooke, and talking to her through clenched teeth.

"But I needed to talk to you, about wedding stuff. And what were you doing? You're off gallivanting with her," She screamed, pointing a bony finger towards Brooke.

"Leave Brooke out of it," Lucas warned. "I came down to the beach and she just happened to be here," he said.

Brooke stood up, not wanting to be involved in the confrontation more than she already was. "I'm going to go gather up Olivia and Jamie, we should be going," she said, not really to anyone in particular as she threw her things in her bag and went to get the kids.

"We should be leaving too," Peyton said, shooting Brooke another glance. "Come on, Luke, we can talk about this at my place."

Brooke watched as Lucas reluctantly followed the blonde, who kept throwing daggers at Brooke over her shoulder. She wasn't sure what she had done to piss Peyton off so badly, but she sure wasn't just going to take it. She was over this immature shit; she had to be a grown-up, for everyone involved. She just hoped Peyton would realize the same thing.

So are you guys proud I got this up at a decent time instead of like 2 in the morning like usual? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And a special thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! I love reading what you all are thinking! And I know I have confused some of you but I think if things should have come together this chapter...but if not let me know and I will try to explain without givng it all away! Now, let me know what you all thought. And just to let you all know, next chapter=drama!!! Yay! Oh, and title is borrowed from A Fine Frenzy...again! And if there are any typos, I am sorry! I was trying to get this up quickly for you all!!

Audra