A/N: My Lord! I didn't realize you guys were chomping at the bit to see the next chapter! I thought I would have until tomorrow to finish it, and then I got to my brother's and realized that I had left what I had started on for chapter 9 at my house, checked fanfiction, and saw you guys had already made the target number of reviews. Sorry for any mistakes- I didn't realize you guys would review so fast, so I banged this chapter out so that I could keep my word to you! I'm gonna have to write 24 hours again next time to give me some breathing room, but don't stop reviewing! Let me catch up to you, because reviews are fuel!
Demeter18- you predicted yet another chapter! Keep up the good work! BTW I love that you pointed out to me your favorite lines. They were some of my favorites too.
Lucas4everPeyton and marybethothfan- the fic is not over. Keep hope alive. You do know though, that for a slap, Lindsay has to come back in the story. Wouldn't you rather have her be gone for good? Hehehehe
Smc-27- I am a fan of fluff. So not too much drama left. Just baby emotional drama, like this chapter here. I'm headed towards happy ending now.
Bkworm52- nice to see you again! I tried to have Lucas come off as cold. He was so angry he almost had to shut down so he wouldn't physically hurt Lindsay. He was also trying to catch her in lies. So that's why he seemed so calm, I was trying to have the anger masked beneath the surface so Lindsay wouldn't know anything was wrong until BAM! hehehehehe
Ok, here you go guys! You earned it! 53 reviews and counting!
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Chapter 9 Brooke and Peyton, Best Friends Forever
He should have known better. Brooke was the owner of a multimillion dollar corporation- of course she would have a private jet at her disposal. She had gotten over her fear of flying years ago out necessity; you couldn't be the head of a fashion empire without being able to go to Paris, Milan, and other fashion capitals of the world.
Expecting her to call him in the morning with her flight arrangements, he was abruptly awakened from a deep sleep at 2am by a pounding on his door. Groggily, he stumbled to the door, peering through the peephole, only to hurried unlock the door to let in the fragile woman on the other side.
"Brooke?" Lucas rubbed his eyes, struggling to wake up. "Brooke, what are you doing here so early?"
She dropped her bags, rushing into his arms before bursting into tears. "Hey, hey," he soothed, cradling her close, rocking her with his body back and forth. "It's okay."
"She's alive, Luke? You promise me?" Brooke sobbed, soaking his shirtless chest.
"I promise."
"Don't lie to me, Luke!" Brooke said, hitting him once before looking up at him, her tear stained cheeks turning red with her exertion.
"I swear to you it's her. She's here." Lucas said, guiding her to the bed and placing her on it, handing her a box of tissues before running to the door to grab her bags and pull them in. He glanced out the door, but saw no taxi to wave off.
"Brooke, how did you get from the airport?" Lucas asked, confused.
She sniffled, wiping her face with a tissue. "Limo." She said simply. "I want to see her Luke."
"Brooke, its 2 in the morning. She's sleep."
Brooke burst into tears again, sobbing as if she had been told again that Peyton was dead. Lucas came over and sat on the bed with his back resting on the headboard before crooking his fingers. "Co'mere."
She crawled over to him, burying her head in his chest once again and breaking down. It was a position they had assumed often in the first few years of Peyton's disappearance- Lucas needing to save someone and Brooke needing to be saved. It was strictly platonic, over the years becoming more of a brother/sister relationship, both out of respect for Peyton's memory and from the growing realization that they actually were great friends to each other once they got over the whole romance issue.
"You haven't cried since I called you, have you?" Lucas murmured into her hair.
She shook her head no.
"Well, then," Lucas sighed and made himself comfortable. "Have at it."
It was half an hour later before Brooke had composed herself, washing her face and crawling into bed with Lucas after changing into her pj's. She curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest, sighing as his arm went around her absentmindedly.
"Lucas?"
"Hmmm?" he said, already drifting back off to sleep. Brooke was not the only one who'd had an emotional day, but unlike her, he hadn't had the luxury of letting go yet, and the effort to keep a tight rein on his emotions had drained him.
"How did you find her?"
"She found me, actually." Lucas quickly filled Brooke in on Peyton's version of the events, including Lindsay's involvement in what had occurred.
Brooke sat upright in bed, pulling back the covers. "That bitch! I ought to let her have a piece of my mind! I can't believe…" she was cut off as Lucas gently pulled her back down to his chest.
"Calm down. 2 in the morning, remember? Besides, she's probably left town already."
"Right." Brooke said. "Focus on Peyton now, put kicking backstabbing whore of an ex-girlfriend ass on to-do list. Got it." They lay quietly for a moment.
"How are we gonna convince her, Luke?" Brooke said, stating a fear that had plagued her ever since Lucas had explained what he needed.
"Well," Lucas said slowly. "It helps that her son looks just like me."
"Owww!" he said, rubbing his chest where Brooke had slapped him. Luckily he had donned a t-shirt before Brooke had joined him in bed, which softened the blow.
"She has a kid?" Brooke's bottom lip quivered, and tears began to leak out of her eyes. "But I was supposed to be there when she gave birth!" she wailed. "So I could convince her to name him after me? Like Davis, or…"
"Or Anna Brooke?" Lucas said gently. When Brooke looked at him again, he nodded his head.
"You've got twin godchildren to spoil, B. Davis. Anna Brooke and Keith Lucas."
At that the leaking turned into full blown tears again. "Wait, what did I say?" Lucas said, grabbing her back to his chest and rubbing her back briskly.
"She remembered us, Luke! Even though she forgot everything else, she remembered us!"
"And Haley. That was her first fake name. Haley Davis." Luke added.
"Poor Nathan. Poor Larry." Brooke said sadly.
"No." Lucas said softly. "Not poor at all. Even if she didn't remember them, they now have a lifetime to remind her of who they are, and to build new memories with them. Besides no-one was upset that she doesn't remember when I called them. They're just happy she's alive."
Brooke nodded against his chest. She quieted, breathing deeply as the idea of building new memories with the best friend she thought was gone forever washed over her.
"P. Sawyer is alive." She whispered softly as her body slowly relaxed and succumbed to sleep, the adrenalin she had used to get to Honey Grove 5 hours after receiving the phone call from Lucas wearing off. "My Peyton," she sighed. "Now I can breathe again."
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The next morning dawned brightly, shining through the windows of the bustling diner. Peyton sat in a booth with Molly, Delores and Tonya, with baby Tony gnawing the remains of his sandwich on her lap. The twins were in the next booth over, eating their grilled cheese sandwiches, excited about sitting by themselves even though Peyton was right behind them.
"I can't believe it!" Molly crowed. "I knew it! I was right the entire time!"
Peyton chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yes, it may be you were right after all."
"So do you really think you are Peyton, Bonnie?" Tonya said skeptically, bouncing Tony on her knee.
Peyton paused. "Yes, I do." She pressed her hand to her heart. "I can feel it here. The first time I met him, when I passed him the picture of me and Clyde," she shook her head. "me and Lucas, I mean, there was a spark when our fingers touched. At the time I tried to ignore it because I was searching for Clyde, and I was cursing my luck to finally find someone I was attracted to, right when I was about to find my husband. But when Lucas explained that he was Clyde, everything clicked into place. And look at this!"
She pulled out of her purse a picture and showed it to the table.
"Why are you showing us a picture of Keith, Bonnie?" Tonya said, confused.
"It's not. It's a picture of Lucas' brother's son, James Lucas. He shares my son's middle name."
"Lots of people are named Lucas." Tonya sniffed. "And I've told you before, all blond haired, blue eyed babies look alike. That doesn't mean you are this Peyton woman."
"It doesn't mean I'm not, either." Peyton protested. "Look, I'm trying to keep an open mind. We'll see what he has to say today when he comes by. He says he has proof."
"Well, unless he has a DNA test in his little bag of tricks, I don't see how you can know for sure." Tonya said, excusing herself to change Tony, who had begun to whine.
Delores watched her go before turning to Peyton. "You know she's just scared. If you turn out to be Peyton, it's not just your life that's gonna change."
Peyton stared after Tonya pensively. She already believed she was Peyton. She only hoped that what he had to show her would convince her family she was as well.
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"Are you ready for this?" Lucas said, as they made their way up the walkway to Peyton's front door.
"I've been waiting 4 years for this moment, and I got my crying out the way last night- well, this morning. Let's do this."
Lucas knocked on the door firmly. They heard the patter of feet running to the door, and it opened to reveal a grinning Anna.
"Mr. Scott! You sure make a girl feel popular!" Anna chirped.
Lucas chuckled, then knelt to her level, giving Brooke a chance to compose herself, after realizing that she hadn't in fact, got all her crying out of the way. "Ms. Princess Anna, are you supposed to open the door without your mommy or aunt tonya with you?"
Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a big 'O.' She shook her head.
"I didn't think so." Lucas leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "Here's what you do. Close the door, and run and get your mom, and we'll keep this slip between us, okay?"
She nodded and smiled, giving him a quick hug around the neck before going back inside and closing the door. Lucas stood as he heard her voice calling for her mom, and he turned to Brooke. "You okay?"
Brooke nodded. "I just wasn't as ready as I thought I was for a mini-Peyton. Oh, Luke, she's beautiful!"
Lucas was prevented from saying anything in response as the door opened, and Peyton stepped out. "Hello, Lucas."
"Good morning, Peyton." Lucas said. He turned to Brooke, who stood next to him, her smile trembling as she fought the urge to cry again at the sight of Peyton in the doorway, like she remembered her, but not. The Peyton of her memories was hazy; a girl. The Peyton before her was a woman, 4 years older and a heap of experiences wiser.
Lucas gestured to Brooke. "And this is…"
"Brooke Davis!" Peyton gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
At her words, Brooke burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I just, I can't believe you know who I am!"
Peyton stood there, confused. "Of course I know who you are. You are Brooke Davis, founder and co-owner of Clothes Over Bro's. I recognize you from your picture in B. Davis magazine. I love your work, and whenever I go to Dallas, I make sure to stop at your store and pick up some things."
Peyton watched helplessly as Brooke just cried harder, turning away from them in an attempt to pull herself together. Lucas pulled Peyton aside, and attempted to explain. "I probably should have told you yesterday, so you wouldn't be ambushed, but neither of us knew this would be her reaction." Lucas looked over at Brooke. "Brooke Davis of Clothes over Bro's, is the Brooke you named your daughter after." At Peyton's look of shock, Lucas nodded. "She's been your best friend since preschool. And she's brought the proof I was telling you about."
Peyton lead them into the living room again, sitting them down after they declined her offers for something to drink. Brooke had managed to compose herself and now sat, clutching her bag tightly on her lap.
Lucas looked at Brooke, then back at Peyton. "Well, I guess I'll begin. I know you wanted proof, so hopefully everything Brooke was able to bring on such short notice will be helpful in convincing you that you are Peyton Sawyer, but maybe will also help trigger some memories for you."
Peyton nodded, nervous and excited about what was to come. She looked up as Tonya entered the room. Worried, she began to stand, but Tonya waved her back down. "The kids are fine." Tonya assured her. "They are in the family room, watching a movie."
She sighed. "The only way I could convince them to leave you guys alone in here is if I promised that Mr. Scott would be here when the movie ended."
She glared at Lucas. "Don't make me break my promise."
Lucas shook his head. "I won't." Far from upset, he was grateful of the care Tonya took with Peyton's feelings. It made him feel better that she wasn't alone through everything.
"Tonya, this is…"
"Brooke Davis!" Tonya exclaimed. "I love your work!" Tonya reached over and shook the hand that was held out to her.
"Thank you." Brooke said quietly, not knowing why she was upset at the presence of Tonya, but doing her best not to show it.
"Brooke was Peyton's best friend since preschool."
"Is." Brooke clarified forcefully.
Lucas looked at her for a second before nodding his head. "Is Peyton's best friend."
"Well, I'm Tonya, and it's nice to meet you. I'm one of Bonnie's friend's here in town, and I'm going to join you so that there's an impartial opinion in this room." She glanced at Lucas, then Brooke. "it wouldn't do ANYBODY any good if we assumed that Bonnie is Peyton and it turns out she isn't."
Lucas nodded. "Fair enough. I thought we'd start with pictures. Brooke, do you want to go first?"
She shook her head. "Your stuff is smaller, since I've known her longer. You start."
Lucas pulled out of his coat pocket a folded envelope. Unfolding it, he began to place the contents on the coffee table. "Only Brooke knows about this, but when we were dating, Peyton, and even before, to be honest, I used to keep a box filled with things you had given me. Cd's, movie tickets, pictures, and little sketches you would draw me. But since I can't carry around the 'Peyton' box, I made a little 'Peyton envelope.'"
Brooke looked at him in amazement, and Lucas shrugged sheepishly. Anyone who knew him knew how well he could lie to himself, and he had everyone convinced for years that he had given up hope of ever finding Peyton again alive. But he still carried her with him everywhere he went, and though he felt a little exposed that now it was known that he had never let her go, it was well worth the price if it convinced Peyton he was telling the truth.
Peyton picked up a picture of she and him together kissing, confetti falling all around. She picked up another picture of herself smiling in a cheerleader outfit, and still another, her back to Brooke, as they struck a pose with imaginary guns, a brunette kneeling in front pointing her gun shaped finger at the camera. Peyton looked up at Lucas for clarification. "Haley. She's Jamie's mom."
Peyton nodded, then ahhhed. "Haley Davis."
"Haley." she pointed to the picture. "Davis." she pointed to Brooke. "Got it."
Meanwhile, Tonya had picked up some of the sketches, including the one where the caption said, 'now we can have it.'
"Bonnie, look at this." Tonya said, unable to help herself. She was supposed to be proving them to be frauds, not helping them make their case.
Peyton looked at the sketch, then looked at Lucas. "I drew this?"
"Yes," Lucas nodded. "Why, did it bring back a memory?"
Peyton shook her head. "It's just…I own an art gallery in town. I draw portraits.. of people. Well, kids mostly."
Brooke piped up from where she was sitting. "You've been drawing since you were old enough to hold a pencil."
"This is all well and good and everything," Tonya interrupted. "But lots of people have artistic talent, and just because Bonnie looks like your Peyton, doesn't mean she is. Showing us pictures of someone who looks like Bonnie is not proof that Bonnie is the person in the pictures."
Brooke paused, about to pull out her photo albums, stumped. Tonya had a point. They knew that the pictures were of Peyton, but there was no way to prove it. She looked to Lucas.
Lucas wracked his brain for something else they could use. He didn't think it would be this tough to convince, but he also didn't know he would have to convince Tonya as well. And then, it hit him.
"Our Peyton has a scar on her left knee, a circular scar." As Peyton's eyes widened, Lucas nodded solemnly. "Can you show Tonya if you have it, please?"
Peyton pulled up her capris, revealing the puckered scar on her left knee.
Quickly Brooke caught on. "And, may I?" she said, grabbing Peyton's hand in hers. "Feel this?" Peyton nodded and Brooke smiled. "You broke it sophomore year because you punched a wall when your boyfriend made you mad."
Brooke moved down her arm to a thin white line on the inside of her elbow bend. "And here, you were pretending to be an airplane and ran too close to a fence."
"You have a scar on the bottom of your right foot?" Brooke asked, and smiled when Peyton nodded. "3rd grade. You and Nathan thought it would be a good idea to climb the tree in your backyard barefoot, like you saw Mowgli do on the Jungle Book." Brooke shook her head. "I told you to let Nathan go first, but you insisted girls were just as good as boys. Well, Nathan never got his chance cause you hollered so loud when the bark cut your foot that your dad ran outside and made us all go in the house while he tried to stop the bleeding.
"And here, on your thumb," Brooke rubbed the spot gently. "You saw some adventure movie and thought it would be cool if we pricked our thumbs and became blood sisters. I made you do it small because I didn't want a giant scar." Brooke held up her thumb and placed them side by side, so Peyton could see. A tear snaked it's way down her face.
Tonya got up and mumbled something about checking on the kids, as she found no way to refute the evidence that had just been presented. It appeared Bonnie Scoyer was indeed Peyton Sawyer.
Peyton glanced up from the thumbs, and reached out to wipe away the tear that graced Brooke's cheek. "I don't know if it'll help, but you look like you could use a hug."
Brooke nodded, and Peyton pulled Brooke into her arms, wrapping her arms around Brooke loosely as Brooke gently hugged her back, resting her head on Peyton's shoulder.
"Does this feels wrong to you?" Peyton said hesitantly.
Brooke looked up at her. "I'm sorry, it's too soon. I'll stop."
"No!" Peyton said as Brooke moved to let go. "It just feels awkward, like maybe we're supposed to be…" And Peyton gently, hesitantly, maneuvered Brooke's arms higher and her arms lower, until it was Peyton laying more on Brooke, her head coming to rest comfortably in a spot it had taken for over 15 years. "…here."
Brooke couldn't help but nuzzle the top of Peyton's head as she slid into place. "That's your spot, P. Sawyer." She whispered.
"I take it we've assumed this position often, B. Davis?" Peyton said, trying to lighten the moment. She pulled away quickly as Brooke's shoulders began to shake. "I'm sorry!" Peyton said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to joke! I shouldn't have…"
Brooke shook her head. "Of course you should've." Brooke wiped her eyes. "Don't mind me. I will probably cry a lot more. Its what I do, apparently, when my best friend returns from the dead." She grabbed Peyton's hands and held them tightly. "I've missed you, P. Sawyer. You were, are, and always will be my best friend, even if you don't remember it yet." She chuckled softly. "You are the only one who calls me B. Davis, and to hear you say it just now reminded me that even if your mind doesn't remember, your heart does. "Welcome back, P. Sawyer."
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Ok. You know the drill. Next chapter's going to be a while, though maybe not, cause I banged this one out in 2 hours.
Questions, questions.
What do you guys think is up with Tonya?
Is anyone else coming to Honey grove?
WIll Peyton tell the kids Lucas is their father?
WHat is Lucas going to do about the last stop on the book tour?
Show your appreciation for getting two chapters in one day! Its so cyclical isnt it? Review