A/N: I totally suck for the long wait and I know that. My first semester of grad school killed enjoyment of reading/writing for fun, by my having to do it for research, lol. So much so, I even had to go back and remind myself exactly what this is about...so I won't be surprised if you've forgotten, too!

The title of this epilogue comes from lyrics by The Beatles in the same-named song. I don't own the song, OTH, it's characters... I only own the journey I sent them on, as well as any and all mistakes as it's unbeta'd.

Special shout out to Cayt326, who motivated me to push through, finish this, and actually post it. Thanks! :)

Ch15: With A Little Help From My Friends

"This is going to be an awesome weekend!" Brooke squeals, linking her arm through Peyton's as they head to the front of the cabin. "If only Rachel didn't have to come."

Peyton grins, "'Considering it's her family's place, I really don't think we have an option.'"

"That sucks."

"What sucks?" Peyton turns to see Haley come up on her other side.

Brooke laughs, "Rachel."

"Not as well as I heard you do." The red-head mocks, brushing past the brunette to unlock the door.

"Bite me." Brooke responds sweetly, while Peyton exchanges an eye roll with Haley. The weekend won't be fun if these two continue to snipe at each other like that.

"Wow, this place is sooo cool!" Bevin squeals as the group troops into a living room.

"Thanks. 'Been in my family for years, but we hardly come here anymore. My dad mostly lends it out to clients.'" Rachel explains, tossing her bag onto the couch and gesturing around. "'The kitchen's fully loaded, there's a river for fishing, ATV's in the garage, plasma screen upstairs, and a hot tub in the back. There's five bedrooms, take any one but the master.'"

"Cool. Let's check it out." Nathan states, grabbing Haley's hand as they head for the bedrooms.

Bevin and Skillz, as well as Rachel, quickly follow the couple while the remaining teens look at each other for a moment. That leaves two bedrooms for four people.

"Let's just look first and go from there." Mouth suggests, obviously aware of the tension between the other three, and gestures for them to follow him.

Brooke shrugs, "Peyton and I can share, and you and Lucas can."

Peyton wrinkles her nose at Lucas as they fall in behind the other two, but she doesn't say anything. It's been almost three weeks since she's been out of the hospital and Lucas had filled her in on the missing pieces of her dream-thing that wasn't a dream.

She loves him, she knows he loves her…but there's Brooke. She's been acting weird. Peyton's not sure what to make of her best friend's recent behavior—the extra perkiness being forced out, the jumping up to coddle Peyton during her recovery, and the blatant sidestepping of anything to do with the school shooting. As the days passed, Brooke seems to be having more difficulty hanging onto normal. Her behavior isn't overtly obvious, but Peyton knows her.

She's worried about the brunette. And she doesn't think throwing Lucas-related issues into the mix would help the situation. So they've taken this time to simply let things settle and wait for life to calm down for all of them.

Peyton can hear everyone chattering as they explore and divvy up the rooms, but she's content to lag behind and take in the feeling of excitement in the air. This weekend could be a great chance for everyone to find their way back to their usual routines.

"Oooh!" Brooke half-shouts, shoving open the door to the last room. "Bunk-beds! I get the top, P. Sawyer!"

"Hey!" Mouth protests, "The other room has only a full size bed. I'm not sleeping that close to another dude." He turns to Lucas, "No offense."

"None taken." Lucas raises his hands in a pose of surrender. "I fully support that argument."

Brooke stays stubbornly quiet as she raises her eyebrow at them. Peyton huffs, "Brooke, seriously? We can share the full and let the guys have that room."

"Fine." Brooke pouts, entering the other room, which is located across the hall.

Peyton follows her in, closing the door, and laughing at her best friend. "I know you have a thing for bunk-beds, but you can survive for one weekend."

The brunette dimples and jokes, "I don't know. I mean, I already share a bed with you every night. I was kinda looking forward to being able to roll around without bumping into you."

"Me, too." Peyton laughs, falling onto the bed. "I have bruises from you bumping into me!"

She sticks out her tongue, joining the blonde on the bed.

They enjoy a short silence before Skillz can be heard shouting for everyone to gather and make some plans. Both girls slide off the bed and meet up with the rest of the teens in the kitchen.

"Okay," Nathan starts, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna grab a quad and explore this place."

"Sounds good to me!" Lucas immediately seconds the plan.

Bevin bounces in place a little, "I love riding! I'm in."

Both Skillz and Mouth agree as well, the group pausing when Rachel speaks. "We only have four quads."

The five teens stop and consider.

"You guys go ahead. I'll switch out with someone later." Mouth volunteers.

Lucas gives him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm a little hungry. I'll eat first, ride later." He laughs.

"Cool. We'll be back in about half an hour to see if you wanna go, dawg, okay?" Skillz said, motioning between him and Bevin. "You know I'm not much for this nature stuff."

"It's fun, baby." Bevin broke in. "You'll see!"

The foursome head out to the garage, leaving Mouth and the rest of the girls behind in the kitchen.

"Well, I could eat." Peyton announces, sliding onto a stool at the kitchen bar counter.

Haley nods, taking the other stool. "Me, too! What'cha making us, Mouth?"

He makes a face at them when they giggle, but opens the fridge to study the contents. Peyton looks over when Haley nudges her, the other blonde tilting her head to the table where Brooke and Rachel have taken seats. Luckily for them, no catty comments have escaped yet.

"How long do you thing they can be civil?" Haley whispers.

Peyton shakes her head, "Knowing Brooke…and Rachel, probably only long enough for us to blink."

Sure enough, as soon as the words pass her lips, Peyton hears the falsely sweet insults of the other two.

Haley groans, then chuckles. "Well, this should be fun."

"Mmhmm."

"Hey you guys, I'm feeling like a sandwich. That okay with you?" Mouth breaks in.

Feeling a little guilty, Peyton says, "You don't really have to make us lunch, Mouth."

"Yeah. I was only joking." Haley tells him, with a soft smile.

"I know. But it's not that hard to set out sandwich makings." He grins. "Then it's every man for himself."

"In a group of girls, that means you've already lost. The saying is 'ladies first', right?" Brooke teases, coming up to join him in the kitchen and searching the cupboards for plates.

Rachel leans against the counter, watching Haley start to organize the things the other two are putting out. "Is there any cucumber in there? I want some for mine."

"Umm…yep." Mouth hands one to Brooke who tosses it at the red-head, frowning when she easily catches it.

Peyton stays seated and watches while everyone starts assembling their lunches. It's been over a week since she got off crutches; her leg is mostly healed, but still gets a little stiff once in a while. This is one of those times.

"Peyton, you okay?" Haley asks in concern.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Leg's a little sore, that's all."

"I'll make you a sandwich so you don't have to get up." Mouth offers. "Just name what you want on it."

Brooke gently nudges him aside. "That's okay, I got it. I know what she likes."

Peyton smiles her thanks at the brunette, knowing better than to argue with the expression on Brooke's face. She leans forward to speak but gets interrupted when Bevin bounces back into the kitchen. "Hey, Mouth! Lucas and Nathan found a boat and decided to go fishing right now, instead. Wanna join me and Skillz?"

Mouth glances down at the empty bread on his plate then shrugs. "Hell yeah. I'll eat later."

"I'll use that bread." Peyton volunteers, as he and Bevin make their escape. "Spicy mustard, no mayo please. Okay, B.?"

"Yeah, yeah." She mock grumbles with a small giggle, "Just call me Chef Davis."

Rachel laughs, "Making a sandwich doesn't count as cooking."

"In Brooke's world, it kind of does." Haley teases, lightly bumping her hip against Brooke's as she passes her to rejoin Peyton at the bar.

The brunette makes a face. "Ha, ha. I didn't know Mac 'n Cheese counted, either, Haley."

"Of course it does." Haley breezily replies. "It uses the stove, so I say it counts. Plus, I can make a lot more than that."

"What about you, Brookie?" Rachel half-sneers. "Any skills beyond a sandwich?"

She shoots back, "A lot more than you'll ever have."

"Eww." Peyton interrupts. "Before this turns into a dirty thing, let me stop you. I actually want to get my lunch down."

Haley nods, swallowing the bite she had taken. "And keep it there, thanks."

Rachel just shrugs, taking her finished plate and heading to the stairs. "I'm going to eat and see what's on the movie channel."

The other three just wave her off absently, Haley going back to her own plate and Peyton lightly stretching her leg against the bottom of the stool.

"And…voila." Brooke sets one plate in front of Peyton and pulls a second towards herself. "Lunch is served."

"Thank you, Chef Davis. A culinary work of art." She grins at her best friend, taking half of the sandwich and toasting it towards the brunette before taking a bite. "Yummy."

"Of course it is. I make great sandwiches."

Haley scoffs. "If you don't have to use a toaster oven. Then they're inedible."

"Haley! That was one time!"

Peyton just laughs. Brooke and things requiring an oven of any kind never mixed well…any of the times she attempted them.

0.o o_o o.0

Lucas smiles contentedly as he casts out his line, shifting on the wooden bench of the boat. He looks over at Nathan, taking in his brother's pensive gaze at the reel on his fishing pole.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Hmm?" Nathan looks up. "Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."

Lucas turns, facing his brother directly. "About what, Nate?"

"This." He adjusts his position, using one hand to dig into the pocket of his jeans. "Check it out." He holds out his hand to Lucas.

The blonde takes the tiny golden circle, slipping it onto the tip of his finger and turning his hand to study it. He knows what this is. But he's confused. "'Haley's ring?'"

"'Yeah. I swiped it a couple of minutes ago.'" Nathan shrugs, grinning at his brother as he starts reeling in his line. "'I need you to hold onto that for me.'"

"'Why?'"

The brunette casts another line and chuckles lightly. "'Because I'm gonna ask her to marry me.'"

Lucas squints his eyes at his brother, taking in the other boy's smirk. "'I'm sorry, but didn't you already do that?'"

"'Yeah, but…I was thinking about Keith…and your mom. And how they never got a chance to stand in front of their family and friends, and tell everybody how they feel, you know?'"

Lucas nods, a little sadness leaking in at that thought. There was a lot his mom and Keith never got the chance to do. A lot Keith will never get the chance to experience.

"'Haley and I never did that, either.'" Nathan continues, "'So, now that we're back together, I want to do things the right way. So…you gonna help me out?'"

"'Yeah.'" He smirks and meets his brother's eyes. "'But you do know Haley's gonna freak when she notices her ring's gone.'"

The boys laugh aloud at that; both knowing how Haley can be, especially when she's in a panic.

There's a short companionable silence as they cast and reel in their fishing lines, only the lapping of the water against the boat filling the air.

"Nate?"

"Hmm?"

"You know there was nothing wrong with how you and Haley got married, right?"

Nathan flashes him a quick grin. "Oh, I know. And it was great, but…I think it'll be even better to celebrate with our family."

"Yeah." Lucas smiles, nodding his head. "You're right. You should grab good things while you can, and celebrate with the people you love."

The darker-haired brother glances askance at the blonde and clears his throat. "Like…Peyton?"

Lucas is at a loss of words; he didn't realize he was that transparent. And it's not something he wants to talk about right now. "Hey, you catch anything yet? I'm not sure there's actually fish in this river."

"Don't change the subject. Especially that badly." Nathan rolls his eyes. "I don't know what's going on, but I think something is."

He sighs deeply, debating with himself. But if he can't talk to his brother about this, who else? "Would you think I was horrible if I said something was going on?"

"No. Why?"

"Because Brooke and I haven't been broken up all that long. Because Peyton's been through a huge trauma and doesn't need any more stress. Because I'm still grieving and shouldn't make any big decisions in my current mental state." Lucas reels off the laundry list of reasons rapidly. All the literature on grief and surviving trauma warn against things like that.

Nathan raises his eyebrow and gives his brother a weird look. "Your mental state seems okay to me. It's been a couple of weeks and Peyt hasn't freaked out or anything, so I'm guessing she's healing fine. So you and Brooke haven't been broken up for a long time, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well," Lucas starts, "It makes me seem fickle. Or uncaring about Brooke's feelings."

His brother shrugs. "I started dating Haley only a few weeks after Peyton and I broke up. Then I married Hales a few months after that. The heart loves who it loves."

"This is different, though." He's not sure how to begin to explain the convoluted mess of how it's different.

"I don't see it." Nathan shrugs, casting out his line again. "Except that Brooke and Peyton are best friends, where Haley barely knew Peyton when we started dating."

"And you don't think that's not going to cause issues?"

"It could. But so what?" He levels a look at his brother. "Life's too short to worry about everything. Sometimes you have to just…focus on you, man."

Lucas sighs, casting his line a little harder than necessary. It wasn't that easy.

Nathan lets his words linger before asking, "How does Peyton feel about the whole thing?"

"I don't know." Lucas snaps, before taking a deep breath to calm himself. "We've been hanging out like usual the past few weeks and haven't talked about it. I think she's worried about Brooke and how us being together will affect her and their friendship. Peyton's scared. I don't blame her, though…just look at what happened last year."

His brother shakes his head. "Last year you snuck around behind Brooke's back. This is completely different. You guys haven't done anything and you've been broken up with Brooke for almost a month, now." He pauses, "You and Peyton haven't done anything, right?"

Lucas lightly shoves him and makes a face. "No. Well, actually, I did tell Peyton that I'm in love with her."

"Wow." Nathan sits back, looking a little stunned. "What'd she say?"

"She loves me, too. And now she's worried about Brooke."

Nathan sighs. "Sucks, man."

"Yeah. I don't know what's going to happen next."

He stares down absently at his fishing pole. He really can't blame Peyton for worrying about her best friend, considering what had occurred between them the year before. But he's also tired of basically being pushed aside for the girl. Brooke's aware of his feelings about Peyton; she'd asked him to be honest with her, which he was.

It's Peyton who needs to make the next move.

"Well, where do you think Brooke's head is at with your guys' breakup?"

Nathan's question breaks the silence abruptly, making Lucas jump a little. "Um. I haven't really talked to her since Peyton woke up. Before that, Brooke seemed to understand where I was coming from, but she said she just wasn't ready to stay friends. She wanted time."

"Maybe Peyton needs time, too. To make sure you and Brooke really are over."

"What does that mean?"

Nathan rolls his eyes. "Man. Last year, after all that crap, I thought you and Peyton would end up dating. But you didn't. Then, this year, I come back from High Flyers and you're chasing after Brooke. Now you have feelings for Peyton? I don't blame her for doubting if that's true."

It takes all he has not to punch his brother. Lucas grits his teeth as he reins in his emotions. He seethes, "That is crap. I love Peyton. I'm not going to say that I didn't love Brooke, because I did, but it's different. I've worked through my feelings about Brooke, and what they were and weren't. I've told Peyton that, too. There's nothing for her to doubt regarding how I feel about her."

His brother shrugs one shoulder. "Then why are you waiting around like you're guilty of something? Like you have to put your happiness behind whatever obstacles pop up? Haley and I learned that things are always going to be happening, and that you have to make the time to be okay. Like my plan to marry Haley again, with our family present. Life's too short to waste time not going after what makes you happy."

He whips his head around, studying his brother's smug expression and realizing that the stupid comment about Peyton was Nathan's attempt at playing Devil's Advocate. By doing nothing, he can't expect something to happen. He can't wait for someone else to take a risk for him. And he can't continue to let life—or his own issues—put everything ahead of his and Peyton's being together.

It's up to him to go and be happy.

0.o o_o o.0

Peyton looses a deep breath as she slides into the heated, frothy water. Settling down on the bench that rims the hot tub, she stretches her healing leg in front of her and reaches down to lightly knead the muscles in her calf.

"Don't you just love having a medical excuse to soak in a hot tub?" Brooke asks, reaching to pull her dark hair into a sloppy bun.

Peyton smirks, "When have you ever needed any excuse?"

"Hmm. Right." Brooke grins, leaning back and making herself comfortable right next to Peyton. "But this way, we can at least tell Rach-hoe to go away. You need to do heat therapy without being bothered by her bitchiness."

She rolls her eyes at her best friend, feeling it would be more prudent to simply ignore the jibes at their hostess. It wasn't like she'd be able to get Brooke to actually stop, anyway. Why waste energy arguing a lost cause, when it seemed to be second nature for those two to take snipes at each other.

Peyton tilts her head back, letting the steam swirl around her as her thoughts wander. She's not really surprised when they find their way to Lucas.

She feels guilty for kind of holding him off lately, but she'd needed to do some thinking. She's remembered a little more of what happened while she was unconscious, but not all of it. She has vague recollections of Brooke telling Haley that she hadn't trusted that Lucas or Peyton wouldn't betray her the way they had junior year. And there's a memory of Brooke saying she tried to pretend those issues away by sometimes joking about them.

Things Peyton hadn't known before that. Things that pointed out the shaky ground their friendship was resting on. Things she'd put off talking to her best friend about, due to Brooke's recent odd behavior.

"Peyton? What's wrong? You seem out of it."

She blinks out of her mental trance, taking in the concern on the brunette's face. Well, now seems like a pretty good time to talk, since they're both pretty relaxed. "Just thinking. B., we've done a lot of talking since I woke up, but never about the day of the shooting—"

"You needed to get better from that, first." Brooke interrupts, a slight edge to the tone of her voice. "I don't think it's the best topic of conversation when you're trying to relax, either."

Peyton shrugs, a little uneasy about her friend's vehemence, but also figuring everyone came away from that day with their own issues. She won't drop it, but she can at least ease back for a moment. "Okay. We haven't talked about anything that has to do with Lucas, either."

Brooke freezes, bringing her gaze to Peyton. "What about him?"

"I dunno." Peyton says. "I woke up, and you were weird around him. All you said is that you guys broke up. Nothing else."

"What else is there to say, Peyton?"

"How you're feeling? Where's your head at? Anything."

The brunette sighs, taking a moment to close her eyes before leaning forward, propping her elbows on her knees and regarding her best friend. "I'm okay now. I mean, we're not gonna become, like, best friends or anything, but I don't hate him." She shrugs, "Maybe I did at first, but not anymore."

Peyton latches onto that thought. "Why did you hate him?"

"Does it matter?" Brooke shoots back, "We broke up, end of story."

"It's not, Brooke. I've learned things aren't always that cut and dry, you know?"

With those words, she watches Brooke wince, before the brunette switches seats, sitting so she can better face her best friend. Peyton feels a little bereft at the sudden move, but calms her rising uneasiness with the thought that they're finally going to be honest with each other.

"Look, Peyton. A lot happened between me and Lucas. And all of it just caught up with us recently."

"Including me?" Her question is soft, but effective.

Brooke rears back, widening her eyes as she blinks owlishly at the blonde. "Wha—I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

"It means I've done a lot of thinking." Peyton tells her, leaning forward a little to make her point. "Including about what happened last year. I thought…I thought we were okay about that now, but little things have made me realize we're not."

"Like what?' She crosses her arms defensively, scowling at the blonde. "Because I think we're fine."

Peyton nods gently, "At the moment, yes. But where's your head at the rest of the time? Truthfully."

Brooke's quiet for a while, seemingly taking in Peyton's words and figuring out her own. Peyton stays silent too, not wanting to rush something that needs to be treated carefully.

"Honestly?" Brooke finally replies. "I told you before, that I expected a guy to screw me over. But Lucas seemed different, so it was surprising. And painful. But what hurt worse, was that you did it."

She nods, feeling the lingering guilt from her past actions. "I am sorry."

"I know." Brooke nods. "But while you were in the hospital, I did some thinking, too. And I realized that I blamed you, when it wasn't all your fault."

"You didn't trust me around Lucas." Peyton states.

The brunette shrugs, "I didn't trust him around you, either. Or with my heart, because I was practically just waiting for him to hurt me. I tried again with him because I fell for him, but I never fully gave him my trust."

"And me?" She's a little more hesitant with this one.

"Well…you're you and I'm me." Brooke makes a face. "You're the closest thing to family I've got. I mean, I didn't like when you two hung out together, but I thought it wouldn't happen that way again, that you wouldn't sneak around behind my back."

The weight of that is almost enough to make Peyton reconsider what she's about to reveal. Almost. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Brooke's smile fades, wariness creeping into her eyes as she unconsciously hugs her arms around herself tighter. "Please don't say it has to do with you sneaking around behind my back."

"I didn't. I wouldn't do that to you again." Peyton assures her.

Brooke narrows her eyes. "Then…what?"

"That day, in the library, I—when I was sitting there with Lucas, I…" She takes a deep breath and rushes the last part, "I kissed him."

It's a blur of movement as Brooke practically leaps to her feet within the water, sending a small splash to rain down on them. "What? I can't believe you, Peyton! You just said you weren't sneaking around behind my back, but you were!"

"I wasn't—"

"I can't believe I trusted you!" She rants, pulling herself out of the water and reaching for her towel. "You really are nothing but a back-stabbing whore!"

"I thought I was going to die!"

Her words leave behind a ringing silence as Brooke stops all movement. Peyton can feel her chest heaving with every breath as she regards the other girl, hurt pulsing through her. Brooke slowly turns around, face ashen, as she drops where she's standing to sit cross-legged on the deck.

Peyton takes that as her cue. "Look, I was scared and…and bleeding, and Lucas was there, trying to take care of me. He promised nothing would happen and I'd be okay. I didn't really think he'd be able to keep that promise."

"So, you kissed him?" Brooke murmurs, obviously confused.

"I—yeah. I did. It wasn't really a romantic moment or anything."

"Why?"

Peyton softly shakes her head and scoffs, frustration overriding her concern for Brooke at the moment, as well as her intention to tread carefully. "Are you going to actually listen to me this time? Because your track record with that in the past isn't exactly promising."

Brooke just sighs and slides back into the water, retaking her seat and maintaining their eye contact the entire time.

"I am sorry about last year." Peyton starts, clenching her hands together on her lap beneath the water. "I never meant for that to happen. And I never wanted it to happen again. So I didn't let it."

"What do you mean?" Brooke blurts out, narrowing her eyes.

"I still had—have—feelings for Lucas." At Brooke's flinch, Peyton helplessly gestures with her hands before returning them to her lap. "I tried, Brooke, I did, to push them down and ignore them. It mostly worked. But sitting there next to him, and believing…that that was it…"

Brooke dashes her hand across her face, her voice so low it's almost a whisper, "You didn't want to die without doing something about it."

"I wanted him to know. So, I told him I loved him, blamed it on the blood loss, kissed him, and then passed out. Basically." She gives a feeble chuckle as she finishes, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

Brooke gives a weak laugh, too, and just sighs heavily.

"When I woke up and remembered that…It was my plan to just ignore it and blame it solely on the moment if he asked. Plus, I knew he didn't exactly feel the same way, so it wouldn't mean anything to him. He wouldn't question that excuse."

Peyton holds her breath a little as she watches her best friend think. In all honesty, that's probably what she would have done, if events had played out differently. She had believed Brooke and Lucas were happy together; she wouldn't have intentionally ruined them.

"'You can't help who you love.'"

She squints at her best friend in a questioning manner. She's not sure what to do with that.

"I've always believed that." Brooke bites her lip. "Except, apparently…when it comes to you."

"I don't…"

"Last year, I blamed you for falling for my boyfriend, like you planned it. Almost…as if you deliberately decided to go after him and hurt me. I acted like your feelings could be turned on and off, even if mine or Luke's couldn't be. But that's not true. Or fair. With this situation…I can't be mad at you for what happened." She falls silent, leaning against the edge of the hot tub.

Peyton shifts closer, taking heart when the brunette doesn't move away. She hesitates only a moment before wrapping her hand around Brooke's.

She looks down at their hands, giving Peyton a trembling smile. "It could have been so much worse…"

That's when she starts sobbing, startling Peyton. "Hey. Brooke…don't cry, sweetie!"

Brooke folds into herself, shoulders shaking as she tries to speak through her tears. Peyton shushes her, pulling the other girl into her arms and gently rocking her side to side.

She holds her that way, crooning softly, for what feels like hours, but is probably only minutes. She doesn't know what just happened or why Brooke suddenly broke down.

Gently easing away, Brooke pulls her composure around herself. "I'm sorry, Peyton."

"Brooke." She's incredulous, believing both of them are past apologizing about this particular topic.

"I'm sorry for leaving you there—"

"Brooke—"

"No! I didn't even look back, Peyton!" Brooke cries, giving a quick shake to the blonde's shoulders. "I just ran. Just…left you there, where you could have died! Alone."

"I'm glad you ran and didn't look back!" She can see her declaration both stuns and angers Brooke, but she continues before the other girl can speak. "One of the first things I did when I saw Lucas was to tell him I lost you. I was worried! When he—you don't know how relieved I was when he told me you got out and were safe. I love you. I'm happy you got out and nothing happened to you."

All Brooke can manage is the barest whisper, "I love you, too, P. Sawyer."

"Karen told me, a few weeks ago, to not feel guilty for being alive, with what happened with Keith. I don't want you to feel guilty for getting out safely when you had the chance. Okay?" She turns Brooke's face to hers with her hands, wanting to see for herself that her best friend understands her words.

The brunette tears up and shakes her head. "But I should've made sure before I started running…"

"It happened fast. I remember that." Peyton keeps her hands on Brooke's face, speaking firmly. "It was crazy! And it's not like you didn't notice or look for me. You did. Don't let guilt make that seem unimportant, because it does matter to me. So…no more blaming yourself for anything about that day, okay? Let it go."

"Okay." Brooke smiles tremulously, giving a small nod. "Okay."

"Good."

They both ease back, sitting side by side, and letting the emotions of the past few minutes settle down.

"Sorry I called you a whore a few minutes ago."

Peyton laughs; for the first time in a long while she gives full rein to her laughter. When she catches her breath again, she gets out, "Oh, B. Davis. That's not something I was really worrying about, to be honest."

Brooke quirks a smile and shrugs, "Yeah, but still." She turns a little serious again, "And…A few weeks ago, I told Haley that the triangle-mess from last year was all of our faults, in some way. I want to apologize for putting it all on you, when you weren't the only one to act stupidly."

"Thanks." She says simply, not wanting to dwell on last year anymore. Because now, now it feels like they could truly move beyond it. "That's very big of you."

"Yeah. But don't expect that to happen all the time now, or something." Her best friend warns, making a silly face at her. "I mean, we're only seventeen, I think we're allowed to have small moments."

Peyton rolls her eyes. "Got it."

"Speaking of last year—"

"Nice segue."

"Thanks." Brooke continues, "Me and Lucas."

When she stops there, Peyton prompts, "What about you guys?"

"We broke up a few weeks ago, and you asked where my head is at about it."

Peyton nods, holding her breath a little. She's not sure what she wants to hear, honestly, but she wants it to be…hopeful.

"Well, 'you can't help who you love.' And while you were unconscious I asked him if he loved you, since he had gone back for you and everything. He said he did."

She doesn't know what to say, so she averts her gaze and knots her fingers together once again.

"I hated that at first, and I was mad for a lot of reasons. But now…after all this time, I realize that I'm actually okay. I didn't really need him like I thought I would. Like I said, I don't know if we'll ever be friends, but I'm…okay."

"'Why'd you just tell me that?'" Peyton finally manages.

Brooke reaches over and places her hand over Peyton's clasped ones. "Because life's short. We all know that better than most people."

"We'll be okay, Brooke." Peyton tells her, tangling their hands together. She means those words on a lot of levels; they'll get through everything just fine.

"I know we will."

"Hey!" They both look up to see Rachel bounding down the porch stairs towards the hot tub. "Are you trying to turn into prunes? Trying to heal your leg by boiling it? I'm going crazy here!"

"Why?" Peyton and Brooke question in unison.

Rachel stops, leaning over the rim. "Because Haley has gone berserk! She lost her ring and I can't take it anymore! You two have better get your asses up and help her!"

"Her wedding ring? Nathan is going to kill her!" Brooke gasps out, exchanging a look with Peyton.

"No kidding. Or I will." Rachel responds, turning on her heel and heading back for the house.

Peyton scrambles out of the water behind Brooke, wrapping a towel around herself as she follows the other two into the cabin; they have a ring to search for.

0.o o_o o.0

"Dinner!"

Hearing Bevin's announcement, Lucas starts back for the cabin. He'd gone for a walk to clear his head and formulate how to start a certain conversation with Peyton.

He takes the back stairs of the porch two at a time, coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of Nathan staring intently into a window, brow furrowed. Easing up behind him, Lucas follows his brother's gaze and frowns.

"You do know you're married right? To Haley."

"What?" Nathan turns to him. "I know."

Lucas leans against the wall beside the window Nathan has gone back to staring into. "So why are you staring at Rachel? Or…Peyton?"

His brother shrugs, sighing as he moves across the porch to lean against the rails. "You'll think it sounds crazy. I mean, I know it does, and I'm the one who's thinking it."

He nods his head slowly, cluing into where Nathan's thoughts are at. He hesitates, because he's not sure if it's the smartest idea he's ever had, but he also thinks Nathan hasn't fully dismissed it like Peyton wants to believe.

"Are you talking about seeing Peyton next to herself when you went to visit while she was comatose?"

"She told you about that!" Nathan whips his head around to stare at his brother, scowling.

Lucas nods, explaining, "She told me right after it happened, that you saw her when she tried to talk to you. She didn't really remember it after she woke up from her coma."

At that, Nathan simply stares, disbelief and confusion written all over his features. He runs a shaky hand through his hair. "What?"

"I saw her, too. The…well, the more ethereal her." Lucas shrugs lightly, though he feels anything but. "I was just as weirded out and still don't understand it. At all."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

There's a brief pause, then Nathan chokes out, "How—I don't—howis that even possible?"

"I don't know. But it happened. She said it was only me and you, though."

Nathan frowns suddenly, "Wait. You said she told you…" He trails off, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his brother.

"She did." Lucas insists. "I was able to talk to her when I visited." He keeps his explanation simpler than reality, in order to create less confusion for Nathan. Plus, it keeps his brother from asking too many questions that Lucas simply can't answer.

Nathan's head snaps up. "Is that why you asked all those weird questions to Haley about Heaven and near death experiences, before telling me to go visit Peyton? That time you got upset and practically bit my head off?"

Lucas nods.

"I need to sit down." Nathan says softly, putting action to words and dropping down heavily onto the top step of the stairs.

"Ye-ah…It's a lot to take in." The blonde teen agrees, watching his brother carefully as he joins him.

Nathan looks up. "And she doesn't remember?"

"Bits of it. But no, not really. She thinks it was a dream she had." Lucas shrugs, "Which is good, if you ask me."

"Why?"

"How confusing would that be? I mean, I still can't wrap my mind around it and half the time I feel like I just made it up, you know? I can't imagine coming out of a coma and driving myself crazy wondering about the reality of it all. It's best that she thinks she dreamed it."

He nods and gives a short, abrupt laugh. "Yeah. True. I thought I was just seeing things, or something."

"Or something is right." Lucas chuckles. "But Nate…don't make a big deal about this, okay? She's still not sure about a lot of things and I don't want to freak her out."

When his brother nods, he sighs in relief. He feels a little bad about lying to Nathan, but he figures it'll be easier on all of them if the weirdness dies out quickly. He knows Peyton actually does remember her encounter with Nathan—and knows that none of it was a dream—but the more focus they put on it, the more stressed he figures they'd all become. Some things just don't have answers.

"Okay. And I'll try not to stare at her anymore." Nathan promises, with a tiny grin.

"Good." Lucas claps his brother on the shoulder, standing from the stair. "The sooner we all just move past this, the better off we'll be. C'mon, dinner's ready; you don't want to miss out on the food."

Nathan laughs lightly as he stands as well, nodding. "Yeah. Let's go in."

Lucas covertly keeps an eye on his brother during dinner, watching as he teases the others and joins in on different conversations. It really does seem like Nathan is more settled than he was earlier. If he has to guess, Lucas figures that the interaction between him and Peyton, then the subsequent conversation about it, was really distracting Nathan. Now that he knew it wasn't all in his head and that he did have someone to talk with that understood, he seemed more at ease with everything. Which Lucas thinks can only be a good thing in the long run.

0.o o_o o.0

After dinner everyone had agreed on the decision to watch a few movies and relax before heading to bed. They were in the upstairs den involved in a spirited debate over whether to start with an action or romance film, when Lucas notices Peyton slip out the room. He waits a few seconds before quietly excusing himself and following her downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey." He doesn't bother to hide his grin at her soft shriek as she whirls around to face him, wide eyed.

"God, Luke! Make some noise or something."

He chuckles, leaning against the counter and watching her move around the kitchen. "What'cha doing?"

"Thirsty." She answers simply. "And not feeling the wine they have upstairs."

"Mmm." He murmurs absently, letting an easy silence fall as Peyton prepares a mug of hot chocolate. He shakes his head at her wordless offer, mind wandering to his earlier discussion with Nathan. Trying to decide if this moment should be his moment.

At this point, he just doesn't care. "Hey, Peyt?" He carefully lifts the mug from her hand, ignoring her startled expression, and tangles her fingers with his free ones. He leads her to the small study located behind the kitchen at the back of the house.

"Luke? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just think we should talk, and now seems to be as good a time as any." He closes the door behind them, gesturing her to take a seat on the small couch and handing over her hot chocolate. She sets it aside, turning to fully face him and gripping his hand between hers as she studies him with wide, worried eyes.

Lucas gives a soft laugh, using his free hand to lightly trace a finger over her eyebrow. "It's not bad. I promise."

"Then what is it?" The worry doesn't leave her gaze as she waits for an answer.

He sighs deeply, scrambling for a good way to start. "Well…um." He switches train of thought, settling for a safer topic for the moment. "Before dinner, I talked with Nate about his seeing you."

Her green eyes clear. "Oh. You mean, when I was technically in a coma? I thought he—"

"Nope. I caught him watching you and brought it up. He knows what happened, that he didn't make it up, or imagine things."

Peyton bites her lip, a sure sign of uncertainty. "Is he okay?"

"I think so." Lucas shrugs a shoulder. "I told him I had a similar experience. I think now that he knows a little more and that I get it, he's not so focused on it anymore."

"Good." Peyton softly nods her head. "I'm glad. Thanks for, you know, talking to him and everything."

He simply nods.

A short silence descends, but a small groan from Peyton ends it. "But somehow, I don't think that's what you wanted to tell me."

"How'd you know?"

A raised eyebrow is her only response. But he has to admit he's not surprised she guessed that's not what he meant to say. She always seems to know when he has things on his mind.

"I wanted…I guess we probably need to talk about us. I'm getting confused, here."

She looks startled. "Confused about what?"

He shrugs helplessly. "What we're waiting for, I guess. I mean, I know you said you were worried about Brooke, but it's kind of starting to feel like last year, when you gave me that speech about her being your best fri—"

"Luke!" She interrupts. "Oh my god. It's—it's not like that, okay? I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He rolls his eyes, relief pushing out his earlier worry. "Just explain."

"Okay." She takes a few moments, obviously gathering her thoughts. "So, last year, I figured we shouldn't date because it would hurt her and up to that point she was all I had. This time, I intended to be with you regardless. I guess I've just been…distracted, for lack of a better word, because Brooke's been weird. And not about us, because she didn't know. Just…" She trails off with a vague gesture.

Lucas nods. Now he gets it; that it hadn't been worry or doubt about Brooke's reaction to her being with him, but about something else with the brunette. "So, she's been weird how? I mean, the few times I've run into her she seemed normal."

Peyton shakes her head. "Uh huh. She's been hovering, avoiding any serious talks, and—and just doing unusual things. Like the other night, I woke up because my leg was hurting and Brooke was already awake and staring at me."

He can't help a little scoff of laughter. It's a funny picture.

She gives him a quelling look. "Anyway. I guess I've been caught up in all of that. Plus, to be honest, I wanted to tell her first instead of her finding out by seeing us together or something."

"I get that." He smiles softly at her, "Have you been able to get any answers about her weirdness?"

She rolls her eyes; he guesses she doesn't like the emphasis he placed on the last word. Shaking her head at him, she answers, "Yeah, actually. This afternoon, while everyone was busy, we were able to talk about it all."

"What was it?"

"She felt guilty, because she ran out and I didn't."

He briefly closes his eyes, his hand automatically reaching for and engulfing hers. "I had talked to her about that."

"You did?" She looks at him in surprise.

"Yeah. It was after my first visit to the hospital. I came home and we had an argument about her avoiding seeing you and it came out. I thought she had worked through that."

She sighs. "I guess not."

"Maybe she just needed to talk to you about it, find out what you thought and not what I said you would think."

"Maybe."

He certainly hadn't expected this. Of all the Brooke related scenarios his mind had concocted over the last few weeks, this worry hadn't even made his list. But it makes sense; the only person who would know what Peyton thought about it was Peyton herself and Brooke needed to hear it from the blonde's mouth to actually believe it.

"Is she okay now, though?"

Peyton's eyes fly to his, blinking out of her musings. "Um, yeah. We dealt with that, put some other stuff to rest finally, and even talked about you."

He gives her an uneasy look. "What about me?"

"She knows how I feel. And we—she and I—will be fine, no matter what happens."

A slow smile curves his lips. "So does this mean you're ready to share us with the world?"

His heart drops when she shakes her head. But her smile when she leans closer makes him think maybe he misunderstood.

Peyton hooks a finger between two of the buttons on his shirt, using it to tug him towards her as she teases, "No way, I don't want to share. I like having you all to myself."

Her lips are only a fraction of an inch from his, so he takes full advantage. His mind dazedly recognizes that this is their first kiss since she woke up from her coma. Their first romantic kiss since they fell apart in junior year. And it's as amazing as he remembers.

0.o o_o o.0

"Hey, Peyton, you should know you have something on your face."

She pulls her mouth away from Lucas' with a chuckle, craning her head to see Rachel leaning against the door way.

Lucas groans from his position sprawled half underneath Peyton on the couch, "Can't you go away and pretend we don't exist?"

"Nope." Rachel smirks. "Skillz was about to launch a search party for Lusty Lips over there—"

"Hey!" Peyton exclaims indignantly while Luke laughs at her.

The red-head ignores the interruption and continues, "—Afraid you fell or something. Everyone's decided to ditch the second movie since no one can agree on anything, and then Bevin started telling this story about cheer camp. That's when we noticed you were missing it all."

"I don't think we're missing anything." Lucas mumbles, only pouting a little when Peyton lightly shoves at him before maneuvering off his body completely.

She smiles down at him, wrinkling her nose teasingly as she offers a hand to help him up. She kind of forgets about the other girl in the room when Lucas clasps her hand in his and gives her such an intense look, she actually feels her mind go cloudy. She barely registers him rising to stand in front of her, as she gets a little lost in the deepening blue of his eyes. She drops her gaze to his mouth, letting out a soundless sigh as she leans to meet him halfway.

But she snaps back to the present at the loud cough from the door way. "Oookaay. Hate to break this up, but it's party time, people! Let's go."

"Damn." Lucas sighs, dropping his forehead against Peyton's. "Wanna hide away with me instead?"

She grins up at him as she gently eases back. "Awesome idea. But, I came up here this weekend to spend some quality time with people who aren't physical therapists."

A little chuckle passes his lips as he gives her a quick kiss and tucks her against his side as they move to follow Rachel out of the room. "But we can hide away later, though, right?"

"Oh, definitely." Peyton wraps her arm around his back. "After this weekend, we can hide away for as long as you want."

"I'll hold you to that."

Rachel makes a gagging sound, "Will you also hold the bucket when I lose my dinner?"

Peyton laughs, enjoying the sarcasm and the fact that Rachel didn't so much as blink an eye at catching her and Lucas together. It loosens the slight trepidation she has about their friends finding out; after all, everyone knows about last year and everyone knows about the friction Lucas caused between Peyton and Brooke. But maybe it won't be a big deal.

"Hey, Skinny girl, I was gettin' worried." Skillz speaks up as soon as they enter the room behind Rachel. Then Peyton sees his eyes drop to how she and Lucas are holding each other. A smirk appears, "But I guess I didn't have to."

She feels Luke tighten his hold as he says something to the other boy, but Peyton's attention goes completely to her best friend. Brooke gives her the tiniest smile that speaks volumes. It's enough to make her relax fully.

"We decided on Pictionary!" Bevin exclaims.

Haley nods. "But no teams, because we have an odd number."

"So?" Nathan counters, "It won't be the end of the world if one side has one more person. What's the point of playing if there's no way to win?"

"Wow," Luke chuckles, "Haven't you ever heard of having fun?"

"Winning is fun."

"I agree." Rachel states as she takes a seat next to Bevin and Mouth. "I highly enjoy winning."

Haley rolls her eyes. "Fine. We'll do teams then."

"How about boys versus girls?" Mouth offers.

Sounds of agreement go up as everyone moves to rearrange themselves.

"Congrats, Sawyer." Nathan murmurs as he slides past her. "About time."

Peyton blinks, startled, but has to smile at the younger Scott brother. Honestly, she kind of agrees with his assessment.

"Sit by me." Brooke demands, tugging Peyton down. "You're good at this art crap."

"It's not crap." She automatically replies.

Rachel makes her way to the whiteboard and picks a card for instructions on what to draw. "We'll go first." She gives a wicked grin. "And I'll give a clue: we spent all day looking for one."

Next to Peyton, Haley immediately blushes bright red and sneaks a glance over to her husband, mumbling "I'm gonna kill her."

"I'll help." Brooke volunteers with a giggle.

"No fair cheating!" Mouth calls out. "I don't know what you looked for!"

"Me neither!" Skillz chimes in. "But draw the damn picture so I can guess!"

A scattering of laughs break out as Rachel complies, drawing a circle and two stick figures holding hands. On one figure is a triangle coming out of it's head. Peyton shakes her head; that level of artistic ability is just plain sad.

"What the hell?" Nathan demands. "Is that a killer shape dude?"

Bevin frowns at him, "Shhh! It's our turn so you're not allowed to guess!" She turns towards the red-head and yells, "Circus!"

Rachel looks at the board, then at Bevin and shrugs before shaking her head. In Peyton's opinion that wasn't a bad guess from the picture. But the clue she had given before starting definitely gave the answer away.

But Haley stays stubbornly silent. Brooke and Peyton share a look and then start to throw out random guesses. If Haley wants to keep it a secret, then they will, too.

After time is up, Rachel gives their team a dirty look. "Come on, how did you not guess that? Especially after today, Haley!"

Peyton sees Nathan and Luke exchange furtive and surprised looks. It doesn't take a genius to realize that they both somehow already know about Haley's wedding ring. Especially when her boyfriend burrows a hand into his pocket and hands something to his brother.

"My turn!" Nathan announces abruptly, jumping up to take his place by the whiteboard. "But it's only for Haley to guess."

"That's not how you play—" Mouth begins, but is quieted by Luke's nudge to his side.

Haley looks startled. "What? Nathan, why—"

"Guess, okay? You'll see."

Peyton shares another look with a bewildered Brooke before studying the dark-haired boy at the board as he focuses on drawing. She's intrigued about what's going to happen next.

"Okay." Nathan steps back. "It's a phrase."

Everyone silently stares at the board. There's only a very crude and simple scene. A stick figure kneeling in front of another one and holding up a circle.

Haley's hands fly to her mouth as she smothers a gasp. "Nathan…"

He offers her a shy smile, mimicking his drawing as he pulls out a very familiar ring. "Haley, will you marry me again?"

Peyton chokes up watching her friend nod fervently as she finds her way into her husband's arms. Beside her, Brooke starts squealing and Bevin looks confused.

"I thought you were married?"

"Shh, baby girl." Skillz tells her, tugging her into his arms.

After a few more moments Haley pulls away and asks about the ring. Nathan explains what he'd done and why, as Lucas shifts around people to sit right next to Peyton.

She leans towards him, "We searched all over for that ring. Even through sink sludge! Why didn't you tell me you had it?"

"I had better things on my mind earlier." He laughs softly, pressing a light kiss to her temple. "And he only gave it to me this afternoon, probably when you guys were looking."

"It's sweet though." She turns to smile at the couple holding court a few feet away. Everyone was excited and Brooke had a lot of questions about new wedding plans.

Lucas nods in agreement. "Yeah. It's a good idea, you know, to celebrate with people you love."

She catches the sad and wistful tone of his words and reaches over to hug him.

"Thanks, Peyton."

"For what?" She pulls back, meeting his calm blue eyes with hers.

He brushes a lock of hair from her face and gives her a soft smile. "For getting it. And being here."

She smiles back.

She is here. Here to be with all the people she loves and who love her. Here to celebrate or grieve as the moments come and go. Here to get it.

"Thank you, too, Luke." She tangles her hand with his. "For all sorts of things."

By the look he gives her, she knows he understands. Because he gets her, too.

They break their small, intimate moment and rejoin the group of teens who are talking and teasing. The night passes with a lot of games, plans, ideas, jokes, and laughter.

As she sleepily leans against one of the couches, Peyton sits back and watches the interaction of her friends. Despite the recent tragedy and in spite of all the confusion and grief, they've managed to carve out time to just be teenagers. And she thinks that's important, especially being able to share this time with each other. To know that there are people who care and who will be there in support of the difficult moments.

"Where's your head at, Peyt?"

She blinks out of her musings to focus on the concerned gaze of her boyfriend. She offers a serene smile. "Just thinking. Where'd everyone go?" She looks around in bewilderment when she notices they're the only two in the room.

"To get ready for bed. Brooke said something about taking the first shower and getting hot water." He chuckles, scooting closer and tucking her against his side. "Did you fall asleep while you were thinking?"

Peyton rolls her eyes at his teasing, snuggling closer and changing the subject. "Want to hear something really weird?"

She feels him sigh. "Babe, with what we've experienced lately, weird feels kind of normal. What's up?"

"I was just…a few weeks ago, when I felt all alone, I just gave up, you know? Not like in an 'I accept dying' way, but more like, 'I'm broken and can't be fixed' kind of way. It was just…easier, I guess. But I was thinking about how different it is now compared to then. With everyone here, together, and you and me being together." She smiles to herself, making a small satisfied sound as she continues. "I'm…happy, you know? And right now, that feels easier than where I used to be. It's just a little weird to think about."

He's quiet for a long while and she's content to bask in the silence and simply be held against his chest. She lightly hums along to his heartbeat, calmly waiting for his response; she knows he'll have one because that's the type of person he is.

"It's a little out of context, but…'the world breaks everyone, and afterwards, many are strong at the broken places'. I think that fits with what you've gone through. Since you woke up from your coma and remembered what happened…I don't know, you seemed more settled than before that day." He gives a soft shrug, gently running his hand through her hair.

Peyton sighs. "Yeah. I feel more settled, too. More…put together." She smiles, tilting her head to look at him, "Where'd that come from? I like it. It makes sense."

"Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms." Lucas laughs gently.

"Nerd." She teases with a small giggle.

He slides his hand down to poke her side, joking, "It's called reading. You should try it sometime."

"Nah." She replies breezily. "I'll stick to watching movies."

Lucas rolls his eyes and laughs. He shifts their positions, making it easier for them to look each other in the eyes.

She studies his features, not really sure what she's trying to see. But whatever it is, she finds it. It's buried deep in his blue, blue eyes, expressed with a level of intensity she doesn't know what to do with. Maybe with time, she'll get used to the way he looks at her. The way he has of looking into her. Her heart takes a tumble as she leans forward.

He meets her halfway, taking her mouth in a long, deep kiss that has her thoughts scattering in the most amazing of ways. They remain lost in kisses for endless moments, before simply lying together, Peyton's mind hazily drifting on waves of drowsiness. It's been a long day.

Almost as if reading her mind, Lucas groans softly and detangles from her in order to stand. He offers his hand, "Come on, if we stay here any longer, we'll fall asleep."

"Mmm." She mumbles tiredly, taking his proffered hand and helping him pull her into a standing position. Immediately he tugs her into his arms and she feels him drop his chin against her hair. Peyton simply burrows closer against him and closes her eyes. He's comfy.

A chuckle rumbles through his chest, echoing under her ear and making her smile. "C'mon, Sleepy, let's get you upstairs and into bed."

Peyton snickers, "Hate to break it to you, but Brooke's there."

"Ha ha." He responds dryly, leading her towards the door. "You're funny. But, if she wasn't, I'd probably mean it in a more lascivious way."

She lightly swats at him, but leans her head back so she can see his face better. "'I wish we could do something really sinful.'"

And the look on his face is worth a thousand words.

She laughs delightedly, tucking herself back into his embrace. It takes him a minute, but then he laughs, too. "Hey! You've read it."

"Don't sound so surprised. I do pick up one of those things occasionally."

"Yeah, but that's not the point. I think this means you're not allowed to call me a nerd if you can quote the book, too." He playfully grumbles as they reach her door. "Hey, c'mere." He slides one of his hands to the back of her neck, tilting her head for another kiss.

Peyton sinks into his, sighing happily when they part.

"I love you." He murmurs.

She gently nuzzles her nose against his, giving him the words against his mouth as she takes another kiss. "I love you, too."

One last kiss before he ushers her into her room, shutting the door between them.

She quietly moves to the ensuite bathroom and rushes through getting ready for bed. Peyton catches her own eyes in the mirror more than once, and right before she turns off the light she makes a face at her reflection. She's wearing the goofiest grin and it just won't go away.

She'll blame that on Lucas.

She crawls into bed next to a heavily sleeping Brooke and snuggles up under the blankets. She can still feel the smile stretching across her face, but she doesn't care. She likes it. It reminds her that it's been a good day spent with great friends and a wonderful guy she loves who loves her back. It reminds her to be grateful for the life she's living and how she's so far removed from how she felt mere weeks ago.

She's happy. And it's amazing.

fin

A/N: And it's OVER! Let me know what you thought. And I hope I tied up all loose ends, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thank you all so much for reading my first real story, and taking the time to review it along the way. I sincerely appreciated every time I heard from any of you and the time you took to let me know your thoughts. (even when I sucked at updating!) again, THANK YOU! :)