Author's note: This chapter has been a long since due… I know I suck but to my defense, ff has refused to let me update this last week. As you might remember, this chapter starts where the last one ends, and you might feel that some things are missing but it will clear up later I hope. As usual you can always PM me if you have any questions and remember to review. I can't please you if you don't tell me what you think. ; )
For all of you that reviewed the last chapter; A HUGE thank you. And to all you new readers; Welcome! LOL Casey, as always i owe you for proof-reading hug And all of you that has listened to my never ending whining, you know who you are : )
The title is a song by Daphne Loves Derby. Now on with the story…
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CHAPTER 26 – Disregard The Past Few Days
Nathan and Brooke sit at the tables over by the pretzel-shop where Nathan used to work. Brooke looks worried and Nathan feels bad for her. It's obvious that nothing was going on between her and Chris, and Chris had apologized and left just minutes after Lucas walked away. Still Brooke looked like she felt guilty.
The last twenty-four hours hadn't really gone in her favor and in some way Nathan felt partly responsible. He had been the one to start that cookie-fight at the parenting-class yesterday and Brooke took all the blame for it. And he had also helped to point out that she spent too much money earlier, hence starting the fight between her and his brother…
"Brooke, come on… cheer up" he tries, smiling towards her. "Lucas is just being ridiculous, he's not really angry…"
"I know" she says and half-smiles back. "It's just… sometimes I miss my old life… when everything was simple. It's really tiresome to grow up, you know? And this 'being a parent'-thing seems really hard…"
He nods, knowing all too well what she means. He loves Haley more than anything on this planet and he's so exited about their little boys, but late at night, when Haley was already sleeping, he usually lies awake thinking about all that has changed this last year and how much more it was going change before this was all over. It's not that he really misses his old ways, it was just easier to not have to think about anybody else, and to be able to just kick back and have fun without worrying about the consequences. Not that he would ever trade in Haley for a chance at his old life, but just as Brooke, he feels somewhat disoriented at times.
"I really wish that I hadn't bumped into Chris today…" he hears her say. "Because now, if I tell Lucas that I want to go to that party at TRIC, he'll just think that it's because of Chris. And its really not! It's just been so long since we all did something fun…"
She pouts and plays with a little package of sugar lying on the table. He can hear her stomach growl all the way over to where he's sitting, she was probably still hungry as a wolf, and he can't help but laugh. Brooke might have matured a lot lately, but her basics hadn't changed. She still got really grumpy when her blood-sugar dipped under a certain level (which was why he never talked to her in the class before lunch) and he guesses that this is even worse now when she's pregnant and is supposed to eat for two. And she still sticks out her bottom lip like a little pouting child when things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to, and he can't help but smile when thinking of her little search-party after his car-keys the night that Lucas ended up in the hospital...
But right now it seems to be more than just the usual pouting. She rubs her round belly and makes a pained face. It's a quick grimace and she soon looks 'normal' again, but he figures she has cramps or something, all due to being hungry.
"Let's get you some food" he says and grabs her hand. "I wouldn't want you to pull an 'Alive' on me…"
She makes a disgusted face. "Eww Nate… that's that movie about that plane-crash, right? The one were they eat each other?"
He nods and pulls her to her feet and he smiles when she links her arm in the bend of his elbow and says; "Whatever…" again thinking that 'hungry Brooke' is a bitch.
One the way over to Taco Bell he thinks about what she said about TRIC and he realizes that she is right. The last time they all went out together was all too long ago. Months actually.
"Hey Brooke…" he says, nudging her in the side. "Do you think that Luke would take the TRIC-idea better if it came from me? I mean, it could be fun to all do something together before Haley gets to big to go out at all…"
Brooke tears her eyes away from the little piece of paper she's been fiddling with and looks up at him with big sparkling eyes.
"Aww Nate… You'd do that for me?"
He winks back. "Sure! We could all use a night out, right?"
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Lucas and Rachel walks back towards the food-court laughing about all the crazy things that Rachel probably would have his and Brooke's daughter doing in the future. He's calm now, not the least bit angry anymore, he just wants to hug his girlfriend, and he speeds up his steps to see her quicker.
Brooke and Nathan are not where they left them but they figure that they went to Taco Bell all ready so they keep going.
"Have you guys talked about what you're gonna name her?" Rachel asks as they turn the corner of Sears. "You know that picking the right name is crucial for a kid's social status, right?"
"No not really… Brooke said that if it was a boy we should name him after Keith, but its not so… I guess we've been busy talking about other tings."
Rachel shakes her head dismissingly. "I don't want to know what you two 'talk' about, since I bet it's dirty… But thank god that it's a girl… I mean no offense to your uncle or anything but seriously! Naming the poor kid Keith would be social suicide, he'd be an outcast before he was even finished with pre-K."
"And Rachel is such a cool name?" Lucas asks, squinting.
"No, but I've had to work pretty damn hard for my status… and it did cost my parents a lot of money too. Besides, I've gone to at least four different high-schools so I had a lot of practise."
She laughs but Lucas detects that slight sadness that sometimes lurks in his own girlfriends features when she talks about her childhood, and more and more he starts to realize that Brooke was right when she said that Rachel probably was the one that could relate that most.
But before he can answer, they reach their goal and he finds Brooke and Nathan by the counter about to order. He walks up next to his girl and sneaks an arm around her waist.
"I'm sorry…" he whispers and she leans her head against his chest. He strokes away a few strands of her hair and bends down to kiss her forehead. She closes her eyes as he presses his lips against her skin and he thinks that she looks a little tired and pale.
Asking "Are you okay pretty girl?" he holds her cheek in his palm and forcing her to look at him. She opens her eyes again and nods. "Yeah, I'm just a little light-headed… It'll pass when I get food."
He still has his arm around her and she feels a little shaky so he steers her over to one of the tables and pulls out a chair. "So Chris left?" he asks and gets her to sit down.
"Yeah, he didn't want to cause more trouble." She reaches into her handbag and pulls out a piece of paper. "Hey Luke, I went to the ATM to get a receipt so that you could see that we weren't in any financial trouble… and…"
She gets cut off by Nathan and Rachel coming over and putting down trays of steaming Enchiladas, nachos and drinks and just as usual when it comes to food, Brooke's attention-span is switched.
"And what?" he asks, but she's already focusing on her plate. Putting nachos in her mouth, looking totally ecstatic, she just says; "Later…" And a couple of minutes later he has forgotten all about it.
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When they finally arrive home from the mall it's after eight o'clock and Brooke is beat. But the finals are getting closer and the teachers in all the different subjects had been nagging all week long about the importance of studying, so Lucas forces her to sit down and study with him. History, Spanish, Math, even some English Lit… Words and numbers gets all tangled up with all the other thoughts in her head and within te hour she is bored and leans over on the couch to pull Lucas closer to her.
"Baby…" she says seductively. "I can think of so many more fun things to do than this…"
He huffs something back, deeply concentrated with the book he's reading. He looks so cute when he gets that crease between his eyebrows and she gives up totally on her books and crawls over to him.
"Hey, stop reading and talk to me…" she says and playfully pushes his book away. "Or kiss me… I don't want to study anymore."
He looks up now and sighs with a smile, pulling her in for the kiss she wants. She drags it out until she is sure that she has gotten his mind totally off the studying, then she settles against his chest. His hand travels down over her bare upper arm in a stroking motion before he places it on her belly.
"So what did you and Rachel talk about today? You both looked really secretive when you came back…"
He laughs at her question. "Just stuff. She reminded me to stop being a jerk to my beautiful pregnant girlfriend. And we talked a little about baby-names… and about how you and I actually haven't talked about it at all…"
He pulls the fabric of her shirt up and caresses the skin on her growing belly and she turns a little so that she can look at him. His touch feels amazing but he has actually gotten her a bit curious.
"So any ideas?" she asks and he squints a little.
"What do you think of Hope?"
"Hope? Come on Luke…"
She laughs and he frowns. "What? Hope is a beautiful name! And I think it would be a great choice since it was this baby that gave me you back…"
The comment is so cheesy that she wants to laugh out loud, but seeing that he is completely serious, she instead settles for a soft kiss and a shake of the head.
"Uh-uh baby…" she says. "Hope is out of the question. All those emotion-related hippie names like Faith, Joy and Melody are no can do's. Sorry…"
She strokes his neck and bites her lower lip. "What about Cady? I like short, simple names."
But now he shakes his head. "No, Cady sounds like a grammatical mistake. Bella then?"
"Ew… no! But maybe Isabel."
"Sophia. That was my grandmothers name and it's short and means wisdom. I bet our kid will be really smart…"
"Probably if she takes after you. But it's a bit boring, don't you think?"
They both think in silence for a while and he is still stroking her skin with soft motions, making her want to kiss him over and over. Finally she stands up and pulls him up with her.
"Come on, let's continue this discussion in bed…"
She raises an eyebrow suggestively and he doesn't even look back on the piles of books and homework anymore. 'I'm good at this' she thinks, smiling to herself, as he follows her towards their bedroom. 'I'm really good.'
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Afterwards Lucas lies on his back with Brooke sleeping peacefully beside him. He listens to her calm breaths that are slowly lulling him to sleep too. It's not even eleven o'clock but he is still surprised when the sound of her cell phone breaks the silence. Who would be calling now?
Brooke doesn't even move, she just stays curled up like a sleeping angel with her chocolate brown hair draped like a halo over the pillow, and he smiles and reaches down to grab her purse from the floor beside the bed. He roams around in it for a while, amazed over how many things she carries around with her during a day, before his fingers find the buzzing phone and pulls it out.
The number on the display is Nathan's and Haley's home number and he whispers; "What's up Hales?" into the receiver.
"Hey Luke."
"Hey…" He squeezes the phone stuck between his chin and shoulder and looks at the sleeping brunette just inches away from him.
"Is Brooke awake? She's got some mail that came to this address and I accidentally opened it…"
Haley sounds exited, like if she if she has great news and he gets curious. "No she's sleeping… she had a long day. Who's the letter from Hales? You kinda sound weird…"
"Well it's from UNC. It says: Brooke Davis, we're happy to welcome you to our University. We are looking forward to having you in our fashion program. Please contact our office for living arrangements and registration."
He breathes out thankfully. Finally! They had waited for this for weeks and even though he hadn't let Brooke see it, the absence of her acceptance letter had really had him worried. Now everything was going to be okay and they could finally start looking for an apartment closer to school.
"From UNC? Oh, thank you Hales… I was really starting to stress over this…"
He looks at Brooke again and she turns a little, sighing in her sleep. Being the unorganized person she was, his girlfriend had of course forgotten to change her reply-address. That was why the letter had taken so long to show up…
Haley sighs motherly on the other end. "Did you two not talk about this Luke? I mean, this is kind of important you know…" In some way it annoys him that Haley says this, and he huffs back.
"Of course we did Hales! But it's okay now, no harm done, right?"
She agrees, even though he can hear in her voice that she still finds all of this very unstructured. But he tells her that he'll call her tomorrow and after hanging up the phone he turns back to the sleeping form beside him.
"Brooke…" he whispers and leans down to stroke her over the hair. "Brooke, baby…"
But she sleeps like a log and he decides that telling her about the letter can wait until the morning. So he carefully reaches for the covers and pulls them up closer around her.
And when putting the phone down on the nightstand, he sees the piece of paper lying on the floor next to her purse. He picks it up and in the moonlit room he looks at what seem to be an ATM-slip. When he sees the bank-account total, he takes a deep breath. How the hell could Brooke have over 11.000 dollars?
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Sunday morning arrives and Brooke wakes to the sound of Karen roaming in the kitchen. She gets out of bed and yawns, silently putting on some clothes without waking up Lucas who is still sleeping. She wishes that she could stay in bed with him, wake him up with slow kisses and lure him into making out with her a little, but she needs to pee really bad and Lucas needs more sleep. Although, she still leans down and softly presses a kiss on his lips, he looks too damn cute for her not to do it, and he sighs contently and rolls over on his side. The sun is shining outside and all in all this feels like this is going to be a good day.
"Morning Karen" she says happily when entering the kitchen and Karen looks up from her coffee and morning-newspaper.
"Good morning Brooke. Did you sleep alright?"
"Yeah, like a baby…"
She pours some orange juice in a glass and pops some bread into the toaster before joining Karen at the table. And Karen puts the paper down.
"Your mom called this morning."
"Oh…" she answers, sipping the cold fluid. "Did she say what she wanted?"
"No, but she said she would call back soon. Apparently she had some important things to discuss with you."
The bread pops up and she gets up to grab it when Lucas enters the kitchen. He's rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looks completely adorable all newly awake, so she steers towards him instead.
"Hey gorgeous" she murmurs as she throws her arms around his neck and closes in for a kiss. He meets her halfway and whispers "good morning baby" against her lips. He sneaks his arms around her waist, letting one hand slip in under the fabric of her shirt in the back and Karen fiddles with her paper behind them, probably just to let them know she is still in the room. It doesn't stop Brooke though and she notices that Lucas' eyes are smiling as she gently sucks his bottom lips in between hers, but then he suddenly looks serious.
"Brooke, do you think you can hold off on breakfast for a few minutes? I need to talk to you…"
She says "Sure" and he laces his fingers through hers, saying "Hi mom…" before pulling her back towards the bedroom.
As he motions for her to sit down she can't help but wonder what this was all about. And then she sees the paper in his hand.
"Oh… you found that…" she says with a crooked smile. "I wanted to show you that yesterday…"
He looks a little confused and she feels the same way as she continues. "Someone must have made a mistake at the bank, because even though I knew I had money the sum has still jumped up with at least 8000 dollars since I checked the account last week. At first I thought it was the wrong account number… but the other one, with my college-money, isn't linked to my credit card…"
He looks at the paper again and starts: "But then how…"
And then Karen cuts them off, yelling; "Brooke! Phonecall for you… it's your mother."
She sighs and stands up from the bed again. Her mom calls seldom, hardly even once a week, yet she always manages to call right in the middle of something important.
"I'm coming…" she calls back to Karen, and walks back towards the kitchen, wondering what could be important enough for her mom to call twice within one hour.
---
Haley always walks right into Lucas' house without knocking. Today is no exception and she swings the front door open and calls out; "Hey everybody!"
Karen is in the kitchen, apparently cleaning away the late breakfast, and she waddles over and pulls Haley into a hug.
"Hi hun. How are you? I haven't seen you in a couple of days…"
"Yeah, I'm sorry Karen, it's just so hectic in the tutor-center now just before the finals and then Taylor arrived out of the blue…"
She pulls back a bit and takes in the sight of Lucas' mom.
"Wow…" she says laughing. "Your getting big now. What is it, seven weeks left?"
Karen nods. "Yes, according to the doctor. But Lucas was two weeks late so who knows…"
"God, I can't wait for these two to come out of me… but I still have ten weeks to go…"
Haley looks around for Brooke and Lucas but apart from the low murmuring sound from the radio the house is silent.
"Where are the others? Brooke said she needed me for some last minute messurements on my dress."
Karen leans against the kitchen-counter and sighs. "They're in the bedroom. Brooke is a little upset…"
"Why? Is there something wrong with her or the baby?" She unconsciously rubs her own enormous belly to feel her boys kick, but Karen shakes her head.
"No, the baby is fine. But Brooke's mom called with some not so great news… Go in and talk to her. I bet she'll be happy to see you."
Feeling a little worried, Haley leaves Karen and walks over to the closed bedroom-door. After knocking and hearing Lucas answer from the inside, she pushes the door open and sees Brooke and Lucas sitting on the bed. Brooke is sobbing against Lucas' chest and he looks up with a facial expression saying; 'A little help here please, I don't know what else to say…'
"Tigger, what's the matter?" she says with her voice as soft as possible and sits down next to Brooke on the bed. "What happened?"
The brunette looks up and her eyes are red and puffy, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry Haley…" she sobs.
"Sorry? For what?"
"For crying…like this… but my mom called…and I got angry, and then… then I got all emotional… and now… I can't stop… crying." She takes a deep breath. "I hate being… this hormonal, crying… mess! And… I hate my… father…"
Brooke's hickuping sobs makes it really hard to follow the fragmental sentences. So she rubs her friends back soothingly and turns to Lucas instead. He looks worried, as always when Brooke is sad.
"What's going on Luke?" she asks him, in order to get some clearification.
"Brooke's parents are getting a divorce... But I think that Brooke agrees that it is probably for the best."
It feels weird to have this discussion over Brooke's head like this, but since it seems impossible for Brooke to stop sobbing, there is no other way.
"Then why is she upset?"
She sees that Lucas hesitates before answering. He strokes his girlfriend over the hair and a look from her seems to give him the approval he needs because then he nods and clears his throat. "Mrs Davis had an affair before Brooke was born. And now, when she filed for the divorce, Mr Davis claimes that he has been decived during their entire marriage… Apperantly he thinks that Brooke isn't his daughter and now he wants a paternity test."
"Oh god… what a mess…"
Carefully she pulls Brooke towards herself and her otherwise so cheery friend thankfully leans into her. "Hunnie, I'm sorry…" she hushes. "This just sucks so bad…"
She really doesn't know what else to say. She's never met either of Brooke's parents, but to her it seems like Brooke would be better off if they didn't even exist. She exchanges a look with Lucas and he looks like he's feeling just as helpless. The only one that she can think of that would be able to truly understand the makings of the weird Davis-family is Peyton, yet she figures that calling the blonde is not an option.
"I think I know what you need Brooke…" she instead keeps hushing with her most motherly voice. "You need a shower, some lunch and then we're getting Rachel… This mess calls for some serious shopping."
She struggles to get her pregnant self off the bed before pulling Brooke up too. In the corner of her eye she sees Lucas smile with a raised eyebrow, and he silently mouths; "Rachel? Shopping?"
'Whatever you need to do for your friends' she thinks. And since Brooke is her best friend she would do about anything. Even volunteeringly spend the Sunday with a spiteful redhead.
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Haley is right, as always. The shower is refreshing and after just a few minutes under the hot water she stops sobbing and calms down. She probes around in her heart to look for signs of sadness, but just as during the phonecall she just feels angry. She doesn't really know why she started crying, she had been cold as ice during the whole conversation with her mom. Even when her mother got emotional, she herself had remained cold.
"Brooke, listen to me… I met your father on a yauht-club when I was twenty. He was a couple of years older and I fell madly in love with him… but he had just started out his career and he was gone a lot. We were good for a year or so, but as soon as we got married he started working late and spending more and more time away on business-trips…" her mother sighed, " I was still young and I got bored and lonely…"
Brooke impatiently sighed too. "Why are you telling me this mom? I don't care if you're getting divorced. Or actually I think it's a good idea. All you two are doing is fight anyways.."
"You don't understand hunnie… I had an affair. I started seeing this waiter from the club and kept doing so for at least six months. And then all of a sudden everything changed. Your father moved the business to Tree Hill, we bought the big house, and about a month later I found out that I was pregnant… Charles was exstatic. And even though we still had problems we both worked very hard on our marriage for your sake…"
Brooke kept the phone close to her ear, still not understanding where her mom was going with this weird story. Karen and Lucas watched her from the kitchen table with worried looks, seeing that she probably looked pissed off.
"And why are you telling me this, mom? It's not like I'm gonna pick sides and go live with my favorite parent or something…"
Now her mom sounded nervous and Brooke could almost see her fiddling with the cord to the phone on the other end. "Well, Charles somehow found out about the affair a couple of months ago and now he has gotten this ridiculous idea into his head… And try to remember Brooke, that it's me he is angry with. You just happened to get stuck in the middle…"
"Stuck in what, mom?!"
She was getting annoyed for real now. Her mother kept dragging this out, talking in weird metaphors and beating around the bush. "Just tell me what the fuck is going on! You just gave me 10.000 dollars. This is the longest conversation that you've had with me in years and all this is freaking me out!"
Mary Davis sighed one last time at the other end, "Okay, try not to get too upset by this Dollface… but Charles doesn't think that you are his."
"Dad doesn't think I'm his what? His kid?"
She laughed dryly at her own joke before realizing that this was just what her mother had meant.
"No, hun. And it is ridiculous since you are the spitting image of him when it comes to temper and you both do that thing with your eyebrow when…"
"Mom!" she said firmly, interrupting the older woman's nervous stream of words. "Am I? Am I dads?"
There was a second or two of silence and even though Mary tried to cover it up by pretending to clear her throat, Brooke still realized.
"You have no clue, do you?" she spat out in a cold voice.
"I know in my heart Brookie, but your father wants proof… He wants a paternity test. So I need you to go see the doctor tomorrow and draw some blood. I've already talked to the hospital and they've agreed to send it here."
But Brooke tiredly shook her head and sat down next to Lucas on a kitchen chair. "No, I'm not doing the test mom. I don't care if neither of us knows… I mean seriously… What difference does it make, huh? Either my dad is a emotionless asshole that has seen me as an inconvenience my entire life, or he is some waiter one-night stand that I'll never meet anyways. If I had to choose one I would actually choose none!"
There was a long silence and when her mother started to talk again her voice sounded defeated. "You don't understand Brooke… I'm divorcing your father. And if I can't prove that you are his biological daughter before that divorce is final, you won't get a cent. Even your grandmothers trust-fund will be retracted, and I don't know about your college money since that is still on your fathers bank account. That's why I gave you the money, so that you will manage until this is finalized. As your father he has to support you financially until you are twenty-one and that gives me enough time to sort this out."
"But what if dad is not my biological father?"
"He is Brooke, trust me… And once the divorce is clear and I have half of our assets I can support you and the baby for years to come. Long enough for you and Lucas to finish college. But if you don't take the test Brooke, then you might end you with no financial help at all for more then a year if he drags this out…"
She had succumbed then and just said 'whatever' and it wasn't until after she had hung up the phone, and Lucas and Karen listened as she recapped the conversation she had had with her mother, that it hit her…
Her baby, her tiny innocent girl, would never get to know her grandfather. Even if they met, he would probably not claim her daughter as his grandchild. The realization had made her tear up but she would have managed to hold herself together if not for the fact that her wonderful boyfriend instantly saw her sadness and wrapped his arms around her.
"Don't worry pretty girl" he had whispered in her ear. "You have me. You'll always have me…"
And that was when the dam broke and the thousands of tears started pouring out.
Now, as she dries herself with the big fluffy towel and watches her reflaction in the full-length mirror, even the anger is slowly fading. Left is only the resentment towards her father for doing all this. And she makes herself a promise as she rubs her round belly with lotion to avoid stretch marks. Her father will never get to meet her baby-girl. He will never get the chance to hurt her daughter like he has hurt herself. Whatever the results of the paternity test would show, she is going to make sure that her father stays cut off from her baby.
She shakes away the last remains of bad mood and after stepping into a pair of Lucas' jeans and a tank top she makes her way into the kitchen to find Haley with her feet propped up on a chair, commanding Lucas around between pots and pans.
"Hey beautiful…" Lucas says softly. "You look like you feel a lot better."
"I do."
She strokes his arm as she passes him and captures his lips in a soft kiss before she sits down next to Haley by the table.
"What are you making?"
"Hales is trying to teach me how to make lasagna but I don't think I'm doing so good…"
Haley laughs and waves away his kind of worried statement. Brooke laughs too.
"Well, if you burn it we can always eat out. We're rich now… I just hope mom can get my college-money back before this fall… Otherwise we're in deep shit…"
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While the girls roamed the mall for the second day in a row, Nathan and Lucas spent their afternoon down by River court, playing ball.
Between games Lucas filled Nathan in on the morning's events and when Nathan was finished cursing Mr Davis for being a complete jackass, he brought up the idea with TRIC again. This time with the excuse that a night out might be just what Brooke needed.
Yesterday when he had suggested it, Lucas had just mumbled something about it being Sunday and that they all needed to get up early for school on Monday, but this time he just nodded, probably realizing that Brooke needed a fun distraction.
So now, at eight in the evening, they are all in the car on their way to the 'all ages night' that Peyton is hosting and Nathan strokes Haley's knee as she sits next to him in the front-seat of their old Honda Accord.
"Promise me that you'll tell me if you get tired or anything Hales" he says, slightly distracted by Brooke and Lucas kissing in the backseat. His wife nods. She looks adorable in a new outfit that Brooke has probably picked out and she smiles.
"If that happens I'll just sit down and rest for a while. Don't worry about me hotshot. I'm gonna be fine."
And he believes her. He trusts Haley and he knows that she won't overdo it. Brooke might, he thinks to himself smiling, but that was his brother's headache.
He pushes the break-pedal and parks outside the old warehouse that his ex girlfriend and Karen had turned into a successful nightclub a year and a half ago and turns to the still kissing couple in the back. And as Rachel's car pulls up in the parking-spot next to them and her and Mouth gets out, he says;
"So guys, are you ready to party?"
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TRIC is filled to the brim with people and the music from the Wreckers, that are currently on stage, blares in the open space. Peyton zig-zags between the tables, trying to keep an eye on things, and she is pleased to see that all seems to be in order. On a usual all ages-night Karen would be here to over-look things, but since Lucas' mother is now over seven months pregnant, late nights are not her favorite working hour. Instead Karen had made her the boss for the night, and doing it all without Karen or Deb is still a bit scary.
She is just about to go check behind stage when she sees Brooke coming towards her on the dance-floor.
"You did good tonight Peyton, it looks like all of Tree Hill is here…"
Brooke's smile seems genuine even if it's not the usual dimpled one and she smiles back.
"Thanks Brooke."
Her former best friend looks beautiful and Peyton thinks that being pregnant really agrees with Brooke. The brunette girl has always had her looks to her favor, bringing down whistles from guys twice her age even in Junior High, but lately it seemed to Peyton as if Brooke's sexy look had evolved into something more.
There is no sign of Lucas so far but Peyton figures that he's not far away. Probably he's somewhere close by Nathan and Haley, who are sitting over at the tables in the back, strangely enough together with Rachel and Chris.
'Only in Tree Hill' she thinks confused before turning back towards Brooke who leans against the dancefloor-railing.
"Did you just get here?" she asks tentatively but Brooke shakes her head.
"No, we came just before Chris went on stage. We looked for you but I guess you were busy…"
The air between herself and Brooke is tense, but then Brooke shrugs and continues.
"You wanna know something weird? My parents are getting a divorce… and apparently my dad doesn't think I'm his kid…"
Peyton has no idea why Brooke is telling her this and she wants to ask what Brooke means, but she is surprised to see that Brooke looks almost okay with this statement, and she realizes that for the first time in the almost twelve years that they've known each other, the wrong-doings of Mr. and Mrs. Davis can't touch Brooke. She looks almost amused as she twists a darkbrown lock of hair around her finger.
Maybe it's because Brooke is about to be a mother herself, or maybe she has just finally gotten tired of feeling guilty that her parents marriage is a failure. Either way, a strange sense of pride fills Peyton.
"Your dad's insane…" she says simply, mostly to fill the silence while she thinks, and Brooke smiles and quirks her signature eyebrow.
"I know."
There is so much that Peyton wants to tell Brooke in that moment. But the exchange of words ends there as Lucas comes over and hands Brooke a glass of juice. He smiles at her, saying; "Hey Peyt… Nice work with the party…" before putting his arm around Brooke's shoulders. And even though nothing more is said between her and her former friend before Brooke and Lucas walks off to go back to the table, she feels that these short sentences shared is the closest they've come to an honest friendship in months.
She checks behind the stage to see to it that everything is there for when the band gets off, and when she returns, Brooke and Lucas have moved out on the dance-floor. She wishes that Brooke would be by herself for a minute or two, she wants to talk more with her about this parent-situation, but Lucas is always beside her.
A sting of jealousy hits her as she notices the way Lucas is holding Brooke. He's leaning casually against a pillar and Brooke is leaning against his chest. His arms are lovingly wrapped around her growing belly and once in a while his hands stroke the 'bump' unconsciously. His head bobs to the beat of the music and Brooke looks up at him, obviously saying something cute or funny because he laughs and kisses her temple.
Their interaction is so natural, so unforced and so full of love that she flinches and looks away.
'Did they always look at each other this way?' she wonders.
Somewhere in the back of her mind she had been aware that Brooke had fallen in love with Lucas even before she herself made out with him in that motel, and of course Brooke's feelings had evolved since then.
But Lucas? What about him? Suddenly a slide-show of memories starts playing in her mind. Still-shots of moments when the love between Lucas and Brooke had been so evident that she had looked away, just like she did now.
For almost four months, ever since she found out about Brooke being pregnant, she has in a way let herself think that Lucas had grown more committed to Brooke just because she was carrying his child. But now that the reality hits her that she has been wrong, she almost feels nauseous.
Lucas loves Brooke. He loves her.
And when Brooke makes him laugh again, Peyton realizes something else…
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It has been a fun night. Much better than Lucas would have ever thought when Nathan suggested that they would all go. Brooke has been happy and it has been evident to him that she really needed this. And why wouldn't she? Going from social elite to being closed up at home playing house with him couldn't have been an easy transition for her.
In the car on their way back, Brooke rest her head against his shoulder, and after shifting the gear back into 'drive' he reaches up and strokes her over the hair.
"Thank you for tonight" she murmurs tiredly. "I had fun."
"Me too…"
He notices how calm and content she sounds and for a second he thinks about all the nights when he has driven her home in the past, just to drop her off at an empty house. Nights when she had been drunk or sad and he was left feeling a bit helpless on how to comfort her. It feels good that she seems happy now, and that her home is the same as his.
"What do you think of the name Emma?" he asks then, breaking the silence. And she repeats the name silently, as if tasting it.
"Emma… Emma Karen Scott…"
He has his eyes on the road, a little nervous that she will hate the idea, but then he feels her shift in the seat and her soft lips finds the skin on his neck. Her breath is hot just below his ear when she whispers; "I love it, it's perfect…"
And he smiles and whispers back; "You're perfect.
-
Half an hour later, after brushing his teeth and getting undressed, he slips into the bed next to Brooke. She snuggles up next to him and lets out a satisfied sigh as she settles her head on his chest.
Under the covers, his hand trails her almost naked body, slowly stroking every familiar curve. She sighs again and this time the sound is different, slightly deeper. She moves under his hand and he feels her lips against the skin of his neck.
'We gotta stop doing this' he thinks as he pulls the sheets down to be able to see her body. '…it can't be good for the baby…' But his girlfriend has to be a mind-reader because as his hand is about to stop stroking her naked thigh, she breathes into his ear;
"I need this… I need to feel you…"
Her hands moves over him now, and the combination of that, the feel of her smooth skin and the sound of her raspy voice already has him turned on enough to give her what ever she asks for.
That is why he gets so annoyed when the cell phone rings on the nightstand.
"Damn it" he mutters and raises himself up on his elbow. It's Haley's number and he answers in a slightly irritated tone. "What Haley? Are you gonna call us after bed-time every night from now on?"
But it's not Haley on the other end. It's Nathan. And his little brother sounds scared and stressed out.
"Luke! We're on our way over to the hospital. Haley's water just broke…"
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Authors note: That was it for this time, but I promise not to wait so long before the next update. Be sure to tell me what you think!
/Lynn