"Good morning!" Lucas tip toed into the Baker twins' room to wake them up for their father's funeral.
Jude and Davis were lying wide awake in their beds when Lucas walked in. "Good morning!" They said in unison.
Lucas sat down in the middle of the room and gave the soft carpet of the bedroom a pat. "We're going to make your mom something nice before she wakes up so she feels happy and loved today!"
Jude and Davis climbed out of their beds and formed a semi-circle around Lucas. The door to the bedroom opened again and Sawyer walked into the room with an arm full of art supplies.
"I got out everything that I packed in my bag." She spread out the markers, paint, colored pencils, scissors, and pencils in the middle of the formed semi-circle.
"What are we going to make?" Jude asked.
Sawyer began to pass out colored and plain sheets of paper to everyone, "You are going to make whatever you want! Make something that you think your mom is going to love."
"I got an idea about what I'm gonna make." Davis grabbed a pink sheet and a pair of scissors, "I'm gonna make mama my heart!"
"You totally stole my idea!" Lucas teased the young boy, "But that is okay you can have it!"
Sawyer got an idea, "Why don't we all give Aunt Brooke our hearts as a present?"
"That's a great idea, honey." Lucas grabbed a red sheet of paper and a pair of scissors, "And we can decorate them however we want so they can all be different." He suggested to the children.
Jude smiled widely, "Mama is gonna love all of these hearts!"
"Jude! Davis?" Brooke woke up an hour later to a still and quiet house. She pushed open the door to the twins' bedroom and found them sitting in a circle with Lucas and Sawyer. "What is going on in here?"
Everyone stood up from their position on the carpeted floor.
"We made you something mama!" Jude held his blue heart behind his back.
"You did?" Brooke squealed and kneeled down to her son, "Well what is it? Let me see!"
Davis took a step forward and stood alongside his twin brother, "We wanted to give you our hearts!"
The two twins revealed their hearts to their mother at the same time. Jude drew his family in stick figures on the front of his blue heart while Davis wrote out the names of his family on his pink heart.
"Oh guys!" Brooke took in the sight of the different colored hearts, "They are beautiful!" She took them both into a tight hug.
"Uncle Lucas made you a pretty awesome heart too!" Davis pulled away from his mother's hold and pulled Lucas closer.
Lucas blushed as he looked down at Brooke. The pair locked eyes and Sawyer had to clear her throat before Lucas presented Brooke with his red heart.
On the red heart Lucas wrote, "You will always be the girl behind the red door!"
Brooke gasped at the neatly cut out heart, "Lucas! This is gorgeous." She held the red heart up to her chest, "Thank you!" She turned to Sawyer, "Did you make me one too?"
Sawyer nodded and handed Brooke her black heart. Drawn on the black heart were veins and the words read, "It all gets better when you're surrounded by people you love."
"You totally got this dark, artistic gene from your mother!" Brooke pulled the blond haired girl into a hug, "Thank you. I love it!"
Brooke held all of the hearts up to her chest as she scanned the bedroom with wet eyes. "Thank you guys so much for all of the hearts! I have so much love on my side." She began to cry and she didn't want anyone to see so she left the bedroom.
Sawyer nodded towards the door when she met her father's eyes.
"What are you doing with your neck?" Lucas pretended to be oblivious to what his daughter was motioning towards.
"For goodness sake," Jude stepped forward. "She wants you to go after my mama!"
Lucas choked on a laugh, "How do you know little man?"
"We may be little Uncle Lucas but we're pretty smart!" Davis crossed his arms over his chest, "Our mama is Brooke Baker and our daddy is Julian Baker!"
Lucas smiled, "So you all want me to go after Brooke?" He felt silly asking a bunch of children if he should comfort Brooke or let her be.
"Go for it!" Jude and Davis said in unison. "We like you with mama."
Sawyer linked arms with her father and began to pull him out of the bedroom, "Go comfort her but pull back on being so love struck around her. Give her the chance to grief her husband that she just lost five days ago."
Lucas turned to his daughter, "How do you know so much?"
"My mother is Peyton Scott and my aunt is Brooke Baker!" Sawyer said with a laugh as she pushed her father in the direction of Brooke's bedroom. "Give her time to heal but be there for her." She reminded him before she disappeared behind the twins' bedroom door.
"Knock, knock." Lucas knocked on the door and pushed it open at the same time. "Brooke?"
Brooke was sitting at her vanity applying her make-up. "Come in!" She closed her silky black robe over her black lace bra and matching underwear.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Lucas stepped inside and closed the bedroom door behind him. "You are okay, right?"
Brooke put down her make-up brush and turned to Lucas, "It is just an emotional day for me! I have to say goodbye to my husband for the second time." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "My emotions are just all over the place but those hearts really made me feel happy on such a sad day."
Lucas smiled and leaned against the wall next to her vanity, "I'm glad you liked them! It was Davis' idea to make a heart to give to you today."
Brooke's hands flew up to her chest, "It was?" She looked up at the pink heart that was now taped onto her vanity's mirror. "He is so creative."
"He gets that from his mother!" Lucas looked at Brooke's reflection in the mirror, "He is pretty proud that you are his mother. He even said so himself."
Brooke laughed, "I walked in on him telling his teacher that he is so good at drawing because his mama is Brooke Baker!" She ran her fingers along the shape of the pink heart.
"You are a pretty amazing mom." Lucas sat down next to her on the vanity's cushion. "I never got the chance to tell you how happy I am that you finally got all of your wishes granted. I saw how hard it was for you to have to adopt."
Brooke looked at Lucas through his reflection in the mirror, "That feels like so long ago. We really haven't seen each other in forever."
Lucas looked down at his hands, "The last time I saw you, you were in your store window on the phone. I could tell you were finally happy because you were smiling from ear to ear."
"I was planning a surprise trip to California to visit Julian on the set of his big movie. I was finally ready to tell me that I loved him!" She sighed lightly, "I had no idea that you and Peyton were leaving Tree Hill for good."
Lucas shook his head and looked up from his hands. "We just wanted a fresh start. Dan had just gotten out of prison and we didn't feel like Tree Hill was safe for Sawyer with a monster like that being on the loose."
"Dan wasn't a monster." Brooke whispered, "He had the chance to change before he passed away!" She didn't want Lucas to get angry with her for defending his late father so she quickly changed the subject. "We better get dressed so we can head over to the brunch."
Lucas stood up from the vanity but bent down to kiss the top of Brooke's curls. "I'll go help the boys get into their suits."
Brooke grabbed him by the hand, "Thank you for all of your help. I'm really gonna be sad when you and Sawyer head back to California."
Lucas remained silent as he kissed her hand. "Me too," He hadn't thought about leaving Tree Hill again because he felt like he was finally home. He had a big decision to make about his life after Julian Baker's funeral and now that his feelings for Brooke were beginning to grow again, he had no idea if he was going to stay for good or leave after the week was over.
"Mama, you look pretty!" Davis clapped as his mother made her way down the staircase to the front door.
Brooke had on a black floor length dress with a gold rope tied around the waist. "Why thank you, handsome." She planted a kiss upon her Davis' cheek. "You look handsome too!" She adjusted Jude's tie before kissing his round cheek.
"Is everybody ready to go?" Lucas rushed down the stairs with a white button up on and black trousers. He stopped in his tracks when he got his first glance at Brooke in her dress.
"Don't be so love struck!" Sawyer whispered into her father's ear as she made her way past him and down the stairs. "You look amazing Aunt Brooke!" She hugged her.
"So do you Sawyer!" Brooke fixed one of Sawyer's tight blond curls, "You look just like your mother did when she was your age. Doesn't she Lucas?"
Lucas was forced to snap out of his frozen stance in the middle of the staircase. "She does! And she was right about you looking amazing Brooke." He took Brooke by the hand and gave her a quick twirl.
"Well thank you both." Brooke ran her fingers across her sleeked back hair, "I'm ready to go if you are!"
Davis opened the front door for his mother, "After you mama."
"Thank you!" Brooke smiled and walked out of the front door.
Waiting at the bottom of the driveway was a long black limo that Brooke rented to carry her and her family around for the day. The first stop was the brunch before the church service.
"Brooke Penelope Baker!" Karen gasped as she walked over to the breakfast bar set up against the wall in the large venue, "You look pretty amazing."
Brooke smiled and ran her hands down the sides of her black dress, "Thank you Karen!" She took the older woman into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"
Karen wrapped her arm around Brooke's waist after she broke away from their hug. "I will always be here for you!"
"You're like a second mother to me." Brooke felt tears began to sting the back of her eyes so she began to fan her face with her hand.
"I'm glad you called her your second mother!" Victoria walked up behind her emotional daughter. "No one will ever be able to replace Victoria Davis."
Brooke laughed and shook her head, "Of course not mom!" She squealed when she saw her father step around her mother, "Daddy!"
The tall gray haired man picked his daughter up from the marble floor with ease, "Hey baby girl. I've missed you!"
"When did you get back in Tree Hill?" Brooke held onto her father to steady herself after being lifted off of the ground.
"I got back late last night but I didn't want to wake you from your sleep." Ted caressed his daughter's pink cheek. "How are you holding up?"
Brooke took a deep breath, "I've been doing pretty well! I almost feel guilty that I haven't cried more."
"The twins have been taking great care of their mother." Victoria was kneeled down in front of her grandsons as she fixed their striped ties.
"They love Brooke!" Lucas reached around Brooke and grabbed a wine glass full of orange juice.
Brooke smiled sadly down at her sons, "I love them too but Lucas has been taking great care of me as well. He really has been supportive through it all." She rubbed his back.
Ted held his hand out toward Lucas, "Thank you for being there for my little girl! It takes an honorable man to do that."
Lucas shook Ted' hand. "It really is no problem, sir."
"Sir?" Ted turned to his daughter, "I like him already! It looks like you won't be a widow for too long."
Brooke squealed and pushed her father. "Daddy!"
"What?" Ted walked back over to his table with his wife.
"I'm sorry about that." Brooke turned back to Lucas with bright red cheeks.
"It really is no problem! It's nice to have your father's approval as a possible candidate for your next husband." He said with a laugh as he waited for Brooke to finish making her plate of food.
Brooke laughed and grabbed herself a wine glass of apple juice. "Well it looks like the pressure is on!" She said sarcastically as they made their way back to the table.
After giving everyone an hour and a half to finish their brunch, Brooke stood up in front of the room with a microphone in her hand.
She cleared her throat to capture the crowd's attention. "I just wanted to say thank you for coming out and supporting me and my boys on such a tragic day!" She scanned the room full of familiar faces, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be thanking you all so much today but I hope you all know that I mean each and every thank you sincerely."
Everyone who attended the brunch was transported over to the church by black buses. At the church Brooke allowed for Jude and Davis to cry into her designer black dress as they saw their father's casket for the first time. Brooke managed to hold back her tears so she could be strong for Jude and Davis.
"You ready?" She kneeled down to her sons, "Remember daddy is watching you so let's go out there and make him smile!"
Brooke, Jude, and Davis were standing next to stage. The boys were about to say their goodbye speeches to their father's casket. Davis didn't seem to be nervous at all but Jude wouldn't let go of his mother's hand.
"Now we're going to let Julian's sons, Jude and Davis, say goodbye to their father." Haley had been up on the stage singing her song Blue Sky.
Haley walked off of the stage and handed the microphone to a confident Davis. Davis walked out onto the stage and stopped when he got to his father's white casket. Brooke walked out after him with Jude attached to her hand.
"My mama told me that my dad is watching down on us all and that this was our time to make him smile." Davis placed his tiny hand on his father's closed casket, "I believe that is true because my Uncle Lucas said that his Uncle Keith watches down on him and that he gets signs from all the time." Davis ran his hand over the casket. "I love you daddy and I believe that you are smiling at us all right now. I know you think mama looks pretty today." He turned to his mother and grabbed her free hand, "And I know you are proud of Jude and me for coming on stage to say goodbye to you. We will miss you daddy and we still love you."
Davis handed Jude the microphone as the crowded church all clapped in unison at the young boy's short speech. Davis' speech gave Jude confidence to deliver his own speech. He pulled his speech out of his pocket.
"Hey daddy." Jude kissed the casket. "I just wanted to say that I miss you all the time but mama says you are happy up there in heaven so we have to be happy down here on earth." He wiped tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. "I love you daddy and I promise to keep mama and Davis happy while you are away!"
Brooke dabbed away her tears with a tissue as she kneeled down and took her sons into a hug on the stage. No one was able to hold back tears as they watched the family embrace and comfort one another.
Lucas scooted out of his seat and made his way over to the side of the stage to help Brooke, Jude, and Davis off of the steps to the large stage. He took Jude into his arms and held Brooke's hand as they made their way back to their front row seats.
"Thank you." Brooke whispered into Lucas' ear as she gave his hand a tight squeeze, "For everything. The boys really love you and we are going to miss you."
Lucas kissed Brooke's forehead, "I'm going to miss you too."
Brooke felt her knees grow weak as she climbed out of the limo once they arrived to Julian's grave site. Lucas saw Brooke's knees buckle so he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You're okay, Brooke!" He whispered to her as they walked over to the burial site.
Brooke sat a single red rose on top of the casket before she took her seat in the front row of white chairs lined up around Julian's casket.
"Julian Baker was a father, a husband, a best friend, and my son." Julian's mother, Sylvia Baker, spoke at her son's burial. "My son was my best friend and I had a hard time handing him over to Brooke but I saw how happy she made him." She winked over to the widow, "I grew to love Brooke once I saw how lovingly she watched over my son. I knew she would take care of him with such care and I could just see them growing gray and old together so me being here speaking at my son's funeral breaks my heart but like my wonderful grandsons mentioned, I know he is living happily in heaven..." Unable to finish her speech, Sylvia began to sob and shake.
Brooke took the older woman into her arms. "It is okay, Sylvia!" She walked the woman back to her seat in the first row. "You did good!"
"I just miss my baby!" Sylvia cried out.
"I didn't know Julian Baker as well as everyone else here!" Lucas stood up to speak to distract people from a distraught Sylvia. "And as I listen to all of the kind words everyone has to say about him, I am saddened by the fact that I will never get the chance to become a good friend of Julian's. Looking around today I can see that he was an amazing best friend and an even better father and husband. There is so much love surrounding him and I'm certain that he is looking down on this event and he is smiling wide."
As Lucas took his seat again Brooke buried her face into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back as she cried into the shoulder of his button up. "Let it out Brooke!"
Brooke managed to pull herself together in time to end the burial service. Jude and Davis grabbed a handful of dirt and released it onto their father's grave. Brooke kneeled down beside Jude and Davis as she watched the casket continued to be lowered down into the ground. She began to sob violently but Jude and Davis wrapped their arms around their mother.
"It's okay mama!" Jude laid his head against his mother's while Davis wiped away his mother's tears.
"Mama is just going to miss daddy, that's all!" Brooke hugged each boy tightly, "But I'm glad I have the two of you by my side."
The remaining guests of the burial were escorted back to the venue where the brunch was held earlier in day.
"You did good Brooke!" Peyton sat down beside her best friend, "I'm proud of you."
Haley took a seat on the other side of Brooke, "I'm pretty proud of you too!" She pulled Brooke into a hug and allowed for Brooke to rest her head on her chest. "The service was beautiful."
"I just feel so drained." Brooke whispered as she stared blankly at the wine that filled her wine glass. "Why was it so much harder than I thought it would be?"
"Because this just makes it all final." Peyton handed Brooke a tissue from her clutch purse, "It makes the loss so much more real when you see the casket disappearing into the ground."
Brooke peeled her eyes off of her wine glass and turned them onto Peyton, "Where are the twins?"
"They are over by the dessert bar with Lucas." Haley sat Brooke up so she could see the three boys standing happily together.
Lucas was holding Jude over the chocolate fountain so he could get chocolate onto his strawberry while Davis snacked on his chocolate strawberry.
"They really love him." Brooke thought aloud. "They never like anybody this fast but they really like him." She sighed. "They are really gonna miss him when he leaves for California."
"Lucas didn't tell you?" Peyton asked.
Brooke raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of wine from her glass, "Tell me what?"
"He decided to move back to Tree Hill. He told me this morning after I told him I'm coming back to take back control of Red Bedroom Records." Peyton informed Brooke.
"Why is he staying?" Brooke's eyes fell back onto Lucas with her sons.
Peyton shrugged her shoulders, "Something about how much he misses Tree Hill and everyone in it."
"Well I'm glad he is staying." Brooke mumbled.
Peyton cleared her throat to get Brooke's attention, "He isn't the only one staying!"
"Oh course I'm glad you're staying too!" Brooke wrapped her arms around her best friend, "I need you here with me by my side."
Peyton knew Lucas' real reason for staying in Tree Hill. She knew that he had grown close to Brooke's twin boys as well as develop feelings for Brooke again. She knew that he wanted another chance with Brooke now that there was nothing standing in the way except for Brooke's grief and guilt.