"Well, well, well," Brooke said happily. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Brooke Davis," Rachel replied slyly. "Woah there, anorexic much?"

Brooke rolled her hazel eyes and pulled the redhead in for a hug. "Where the hell have you been, fatass?"

"I needed a break after what happened," the redhead explained, suddenly serious. She dropped this quickly. "But I obviously should have stayed if you were dumb enough to get back with Lucas Scott."

"Hey!" Lucas protested. Brooke gave him a blank look.

"You're probably right," she said coolly to Rachel. "Especially since I just overheard a few girls walking by me in the hall talking about Lucas Scott yelling "I love Peyton Sawyer" in the quad before first period."

Lucas sighed. "Brooke-"

Brooke glared at him. "Was I talking to you? No."

"Brooke, it isn't what it seemed like!"

"I've heard that before," she scoffed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend the day with my friend."

"Pretty girl-"

Her glare silenced him, and he watched her walk off with the tall redhead, who turned and gave him a smug smirk. He ran his hands over his face, groaning. Why was his relationship with Brooke always so complicated? Why could they never just be happy? No matter what he did, she seemed to be constantly angry with him.

"BROOKE!" Lucas called out angrily, his temper catching up with him. He jogged to catch up with the retreating girls. "Look, you can be pissed at me all you want. At this point, I'm used to it. But you're sick, and you spent the night outside. At least just go back to Rachel's and rest. Please."

"No," Brooke said stubbornly, narrowing her eyes. "Goodbye, Lucas."

Lucas let out a small grunt of frustration, reaching out and grabbing her arm as she turned to walk away from him. "Brooke. I'm serious."

"Let go of me, Lucas," Brooke hissed, her tone full of fire.

"God damn it, Brooke," Lucas growled, pulling her by the wrist. She let out a little yelp, which Lucas chalked up to his girlfriend being over dramatic.

"Lucas, let go!" Brooke whimpered, her eyes looking up at him with what could only be described as fear. Lucas suddenly felt naseous, realizing he had tightened his grip on her wrists without noticing.

"Brooke, I'm sorry," Lucas said gently, going to touch her face. She stepped back quickly.

"Bye, Lucas," Brooke said, her voice cracking a little. She walked off with Rachel, rubbing her wrists. Rachel suddenly turned and took a few steps toward him.

"Stay away from her. She's coming back to live with me, got that?" Rachel snapped. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she looked ready for battle. "She needs to be near people who care about her. I don't know what is going on here, but she is not okay. And I will be here for her, because you are obviously incapable."

Lucas watched Rachel put a protective arm around the brunette's small, lithe little shoulders. The two walked off, quietly whispering, and Lucas was left standing alone.

"So, when are you going to tell me what made you so fucking skinny?" Rachel asked as they shopped around Suburban Filth later that day. "I was obviously wrong about you being knocked up, seeing as you've gone the opposite way and now you look like Mary Kate. Or Ashley. I don't know, whichever Olsen twin was all beat up."

Brooke sighed. "It's a long story."

Rachel shrugged. "I have time."

"Well...okay. This is kind of a weird place to be telling you," Brooke said with a nervous little laugh. "I was diagnosed with lymphoma about a month ago. I started chemo a couple weeks ago."

Rachel stopped, the red bra she was holding in her hands falling from them onto the floor. She blinked her perfectly lined eyes at Brooke before suddenly flinging herself at her friend in a hug. "Holy fuck," she breathed. Brooke laughed and hugged the redhead before letting go.

"Don't get all soft on me, Fondle Me Elmo," Brooke teased.

"Brooke," Rachel said, her voice completely serious. "This is the only time I'm going to say this. But you're really the closest thing I've ever had to a best friend in my entire life. I don't want to lose that. I mean, I came back here because I missed your fat ass. Then I come back and you look like a sick version of Peytwhore."

Brooke shook out her dark hair, beginning to laugh but coughing instead. Rachel's expression became concerned. Brooke rolled her eyes. "I got in a fight with my parents last night and I ended up falling asleep on the porch. Apparently my immune system isn't strong enough to do that. I'm a little sick."

"Jesus," Rachel sighed. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"No," Brooke said quickly. She glanced down at the bruises on her wrists from where Lucas had grabbed her earlier. "I don't want to see Lucas. He's home from school by now."

Rachel looked at Brooke's wrists as well. "I can't believe he did that."

Brooke's cell began to ring for what felt like the hundredth time. She held up a finger to Rachel when she saw the name on the screen. It was not, as anticipated, Lucas. It was Haley.

"Hey Tutorgirl," Brooke greeted. Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey Brookie," Haley replied. "I was wondering if you could come over. I really need someone to talk to right now."

"Of course," Brooke said, her voice concerned. "I'm with Rachel, I'll have her drop me off."

"Rachel's back?" Haley gasped.

"Tell her I'm over her boringly monogamous husband," Rachel winked, browsing through mini skirts. Brooke laughed.

"Yeah, and she said to tell you that she's over your husband," Brooke giggled. To her surprise, Haley laughed a little as well.

"I'm glad. I'll see you soon then."

"Sounds good," Brooke chirped, hanging up the phone. "Hales needs me. Is it okay if I cut this a little short?"

Rachel nodded. "She was always better at the mommy shit than I am."

Brooke and Rachel left the mall, heading toward the apartment of Haley and Nathan. Brooke was gazing out the window while Rachel recounted an adventure she had in New York City in her absence before being cut off by a gasp from the pretty brunette in the front seat.

Lucas was sitting in the front seat of Peyton's Comet at the other side of the intersection. Brooke's jaw dropped open in shock and anger as she stared at her former best friend and her boyfriend. Or, at this point, her ex-boyfriend.

"That son of a bitch!" Rachel exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel of her SUV. "Brooke, you're seriously not going back there tonight. If you want to crash with Haley, that's cool. But if you can't, then you're coming to my house."

"Okay," Brooke whispered. "Thanks."

Rachel took a moment to squeeze her friend's arm as they arrived at Haley and Nathan's apartment building. Brooke got out, mumbling a quiet thank you before beginning to climb up the stairs to the apartment that used to be hers.

Halfway up the staircase, she began to feel pressure in her lungs; less and less oxygen was entering her body with each breath. She leaned against the railing of the stairs, gasping and coughing for a moment. Brooke shook her dark hair, composing herself as best as she could as she continued her trek up the staircase in frustration. After traveling up two steps, she found herself leaning hard against the railing once again, her chest heaving with the effort of her breath.

"Brooke?" Nathan called out from the bottom of the stairs. He dashed up, stuffing his keys in his pocket before picking up the brunette and carrying her toward the apartment. "Jesus, Brookie. You've gotta be careful!"

He put her down as he got his keys out of his pocket, quickly opening the door and ushering her in. "Hales!" he called into the living room. "We've got a situation!"

Haley came out of the bathroom, in a white t-shirt and jeans, looking worse for wear as well. Nathan's brow wrinkled with concern as he looked at his wife. "Jesus, Hales, you okay babe?"

She nodded with a quaky smile before rushing to help Brooke. "Tigger, sweetie, lay down on the couch. Where was she?"

"On the stairs," Nathan explained, still assessing the state of his pale, shaky wife. "Haley, you should sit down, too."

"I'm fine, Nate," Haley said softly, bringing a blanket to Brooke.

"Hales," Nathan said firmly, "you've been running yourself into the ground for me and Brooke. Let me take this one on, okay?"

Haley sighed. "Okay, fine." She sat beside her sick friend. Nathan went into the kitchen, returning with two ginger ales, some crackers, and a couple of water bottles.

"Do you know why Brooke was coming over?" Nathan asked, his forehead creased with worry. "Lucas has been looking for her all day."

Haley shook her head, looking more exhausted than before. "He needs to stay away from her for now. He hurt her. He told me."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked slowly. "What do you mean by hurt her?"

Brooke whimpered slightly, still wheezing, her face drawn and pale from her illness. She held out her wrists slowly for Nathan to see. His jaw clenched, and his hands began to form into fists. He reached for the jacket on the chair and made his way to the door.

"Nate-" Haley began.

"Hales, I'm just going to talk to him. I promise."

Haley sighed as he slammed the door. "And then there were two, huh?"

Brooke nodded, leaning her head on Haley's shoulder. "What did you need to talk to me about babe?"

"I don't know how to tell Nathan about the baby," Haley said softly.

"You've got to do it soon, Tutor Mom," Brooke said weakly. "You'll start showing soon enough."

"And he's starting to get suspicious, since I've been so sick. I keep telling him I'm just stressed."

"Haley, Nathan will be ecstatic to be having a baby with you," Brooke reassured her friend. "He loves you so much, and even if the timing isn't exactly ideal, I know he'll be thrilled."

"We've already been having money problems lately," Haley mumbled, picking at the threads in the blanket. "This is going to make it even worse."

"So I'll help you out," Brooke supplied. "I'm sickly and can guilt the hell out of my rich parents, Hales."

"I don't want you to do that for us, Brooke."

"Just know that I will. I really don't mind."

"Thanks."

The two girls sat for a long time, Brooke's head resting upon Haley's shoulder, in comfortable silence.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Brooke mumbled.

"Of course you can. As long as you need." Haley paused a moment. "You know I love you, right Brookie?"

Brooke managed a half smile. "Of course I do. And I love you too, Haley."

There was a pause. "You wanna watch Friends and eat crap that's bad for us?"

"Yes please, Tutor Mom."

Nathan located Lucas at the Rivercourt, where the blonde was sitting in the middle of the court, his head in his hands.

"Luke!" Nathan called out, his voice a short bark. Lucas looked up and swallowed.

"Hey," he croaked. "Look, Nate, I-"

"No," Nathan said, standing in front of his brother, who remained on the ground. He put his hands out in front of him, and then thought better of it, thrusting them through his dark hair instead and letting them rest at his side. "Lucas, you don't understand the relationship I've had with Brooke my entire life, okay? Just because we don't act like you and Haley doesn't mean that she's not my best friend."

"Look, man, I know you've been friends but it's not like me and Haley."

"Yeah, Luke, it actually is. Brooke used to stay at my house when her parents went out of town when we were younger, before she was old enough to stay on her own. Even Dan liked Brooke when we were kids. Then we hit middle school and things got a little bit awkward between us. She was the only one who knew about my mom and about how awful Dan could be. Brooke and I have been there for each other for years. And now, she's dying, Lucas. My best friend is dying, and even if she and I haven't been flaunting our friendship, she does mean a lot to me. And she deserves to be treated right. I can't let you keep hurting her, especially physically."

Lucas stood now, his eyes narrowed but reflecting his guilt. "I didn't mean to hurt her, I was just upset."

"And I was upset when she was collapsed on my stairs this afternoon but did I physically harm her?"

"She collapsed?" Lucas asked, his words slurred he asked them so quickly. He felt his flawed heart begin to skip. "Is she okay? Where is she?"

"She's at the apartment. And she's going to stay with us for a while. I'm sorry. You're my brother, and I love you, but I can't trust you with her. I wanted to, I really did. But this is the second time that Brooke Davis has been a crying mess in my living room because of you, in a matter of weeks."

"Let me talk to her, Nathan," Lucas practically begged. "I just need to talk to her, I need to apologize, and tell her I love her."

"Do you really?" Nathan shot back, his voice icy.

Lucas reeled. "Of course I do."

"Then start acting like it," Nathan said harshly. He turned to walk away, but spun back toward his brother. "You might not have forever with this girl, okay Lucas? And I think you're taking that for granted. I think you're taking her for granted."

"Please, Nathan," Lucas said, his voice strangled. "I need to see her. Let me come see her."

Nathan appraised him for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine. But if she doesn't want to see you, I'm not going to convince her."