Authors Note: I've tried to write this next update as fast as possible and it ended up being longer than I expected. Thankyou to all those that have reviewed, I'm replying now :) Enjoy this next chapter everyone
For those who read 'Wont Go Home Without You', I'll be updating that soon. I'm focusing on CAT for now because I'm finding it easy to write!
March 2029-
Over in the Baker house one Saturday morning, the phone rang.
"Hey Brooke, can you get that please? I'm just looking over some footage," Julian called out from their joint office.
"I'm a little busy right now babe," she shouted back as she finished painting her nails. "The machine can get it."
A few seconds later, the machine picked up the call.
"Hi Brooke and Julian, its Elaine from social services-" the voice sounded out of the machine. Brooke quickly put her nail varnish down.
"Julian!" she almost screamed to him so that he came running from the nearby room.
"What's happened?" he asked worried but Brooke was already pointing to the phone for him to pick it up. "Hello? Hi Elaine, yes this is Julian." He paused as she spoke some more. "Sure, do you mind if I put you on speaker it's just Brooke is here too?" She must have agreed because Julian put her on speaker.
"Hi Elaine," Brooke called out.
"Hey Brooke. I'm sorry to call you both at the weekend. The thing is, I was wondering if you could drop by at some point either today or tomorrow. We have a young boy here with us and we need someone to foster him. I know that you both said that you don't want to adopt or foster anymore, it's just we have your names on the system and we can't find anyone else right now."
"I don't know Elaine," Julian started, but he looked at Brooke and knew that she wanted different. "I guess a meeting won't hurt anyone, though we're not agreeing to anything just yet."
"No of course not. You can come down to the offices and we can talk, see what you both think is best?"
"That sounds perfect Elaine," Brooke spoke up. "When would be best?"
"Today would be great but I understand the short notice could make things difficult for you both."
"I could leave work early today and we could be with you by 2 o'clock. Is that okay?" Julian suggested.
"That works great. I'll see you both at 2. Bye."
"Bye Elaine." The line went dead.
Brooke heavily flopped onto the couch, Julian joined her though neither said anything for a few minutes. They were taking in what had just happened.
"Did she just offer us a child?" Brooke turned to Julian; she still looked shocked.
"I think so," Julian answered, he too in shock. "Are we gonna do this?"
"I don't know. We said that we were done with fostering and adopting."
"I know. Well we can go and see what Elaine has to say," they agreed.
Nathan, Haley and Lydia walked into the Red Bedroom Records office at the back of Tric. It was a location that all three knew so well having spent so much time with Haley and Peyton in there over the years.
"Hey guys," Peyton beamed and excitedly greeted them as they walked into the office. They all hugged her before sitting in the couches in the corner of the room. Peyton thought it was more informal this way. "Has your mom or dad told you why I wanted to see you today Lyds?"
"Briefly. Something about wanting to sign me," Lydia replied. She had spoken to her parents after the talent show and they had mentioned wanting to have a meeting to 'discuss her options'.
"In a nut shell, that's pretty much it. You're voice is beautiful Lydia. It's earthy, natural and soulful. You have stories to tell with your songs, a meaning and a purpose to them. You're the definition of Red Bedroom."
"I'm really that good?"
"Hell yeah! Have you not heard yourself girly? For a girl of your age, you're amazing."
Lydia always knew that she had a good voice but never really considered singing as a career, it was just a hobby that she partook with her mom or in the shower when she thought no one was listening.
"So what now Peyt?" Nathan asked.
"Well I'd like to get Lydia in the recording studio straight away and then after comes the tour." Peyton stopped as she saw the mixed emotions on their faces. "Look, Nate, Hales, I know that you're both gonna be worried about Lyds being too young and if you really don't want her to then she doesn't have to but it's the best way to get her album out there."
"Album?"
"Yeah how does a summer album release sound to you?" Peyton asked.
"Wow," was all Lydia could muster causing Peyton to laugh.
"How big are you planning the album to be?" Haley wondered.
"At least eight songs, preferably ten."
"Ten songs?" Lydia now looked scared.
"Yeah that's what I try and get my band's first album to be like. Why how many songs do you have?"
"Like 4 good ones."
"Its fine, you can write whilst we're recording."
"And I can help you Lyds," Haley offered.
"You have a talent Lydia, you shouldn't let that go to waste. The same with you Hales."
"Me?"
"I've missed you producing music with me. We were a great partnership. If you can, I'd like you to produce Lydia's album with me, that's if she does sign with Red Bedroom."
"I'd love to Peyton but I don't know if I can fit it in with my schedule. I have teaching, the tutor centre, tutoring the kids on the movie set, then I'd like to be Lydia's manager, if she does do this. Producing as well could be hard, especially if I get pregnant."
"You don't have to do it full time. Just every now and then, you can drop by and if we need advice, you're our go-to person. Kind of like how Lucas is with the Ravens right now," Peyton explained.
"I suppose that could work, I do miss producing," Haley admitted.
"Do I have a say in this?" Nathan chipped in smiling.
"Sorry sweetie, what do you think?" Haley asked his opinion.
"Why don't you all go away and talk about it. Take as much time as you need. The offer will always be there, even if you don't want it now."
Julian left his house shortly after Elaine's phone call and promised to hurry home from the set to pick Brooke up. Walking on to the set, he saw Jonny and Sawyer arguing again, Lucas joining in. Their behaviour was really starting to annoy Julian. He wasn't sure what to do with all three of them.
"What's going on?" Julian sternly asked as he stood next to them. A few crew members were watching. Lucas, Sawyer and Jonny all began talking at once. Julian couldn't take it. "You know what, I don't care anymore. If you all don't want to get along then fine but this movie won't be good if you can't even co-operate. Lucas, you need to put your prejudices aside and start acting professionally otherwise your creation is going to flop again," Julian said it a little bitterly but he was determined to get through to Lucas. "I came here today when I had other things to do, I'm sure many other member of the crew would prefer to be doing other things but we're here because we're dedicated to this movie. If you're not, then fine, I can replace you. So pull yourselves together or you're all off the movie."
Nobody said anything, they stood in silence. Nobody, least of all Lucas and Sawyer, were used to Julian getting so angry.
"Back to work everyone," Julian called out, his voice a little bit calmer. "Lucas, what scene are we on?"
"We've just finished Nathan and Haley's first date and Brooke finding out about Lucas and Peyton's "affair"," he explained using inverted commas.
"Great, how did that go?"
"Savannah kind of blew us all away in her scene. I wish Brooke would have been here to see it. Matt and Lucy have great chemistry so the first date went well too. I think filming their first kiss first was a wise decision. They're not awkward around each other or anything."
"I don't understand Uncle Julian, why are all of the other actors filming their scenes in a random order but me and Jonny are doing it chronologically?" Sawyer asked. It was something that had been bothering her.
"Because you and Jonny act a lot like how Lucas and Peyton used to act around each other and I want to capture on screen the growing chemistry and relationship between the two characters. That's why I need your relationship to grow. Let me talk to you for a second Sawyer," he said indicating to the side. She nodded and walked to where he pointed to. "Set the stage up for the scene where Peyton tells Lucas about her mom's death," he directed the crew before joining Sawyer. "I know that you might not like Jonny okay Sawy, but I have faith in you to make this part your own and that's not gonna happen if you're constantly bickering with Jonny. So please Sawyer, just ignore him, and try to get to know him for me?" he begged.
"Fine, but only for you. I'm not doing it for him," she agreed.
"Thankyou. Are you ready for this scene?"
"I guess so," she smirked.
"Come on then." Sawyer joined Jonny and the rest of the cast on stage whilst Julian sat in his chair next to Lucas.
"We've got three hours to get this scene perfect. Action!"
Sawyer sat behind the wheel of the duplicate Comet, Jonny sat in the passenger seat. They had already filmed half of this scene earlier yesterday on the streets of Tree Hill as Sawyer had to race the car through red lights. This last little bit was to be filmed on set though. She clenched the wheel and felt a few tears sting her eyes.
"My mom ran one red light," she spoke, her voice trembling slightly. Her eyes stayed focused on the fake road in front. She could feel cameras on her from all sides. She then turned to Jonny who was staring at worried, like he wanted to give her a hug. Lucas couldn't help but notice, how perfect Jonny and Sawyer was as Luke and Peyton. Jonny had even cut his long hair shorter and dyed it a mousey brown color, just so he could fit the part better. "I run them all the time and nothing happens?" Sawyer said it as though it was a question rather than a statement. "It's not fair," she sighed averting her sight back to the road.
"No, it's not," Jonny agreed. He shared the pain that Peyton/Sawyer was feeling.
"You can get out now," Sawyer told him, her face and voice hard as stone.
"Or I can stay if you want?" Jonny offered.
"No. You can't." Sawyer used every bit of emotional strength that she had, not to cry because she knew that it was exactly what her mom did. Jonny slowly left the car and the camera zoomed in to capture a shot of him looking worried into the distance.
"And cut!" Julian called out. He then began to talk to Lucas and his 1st AD.
"Are you okay?" Jonny asked as he joined Sawyer back in the Comet. She took a breath and breathed out deeply.
"I'm fine."
"You did good in that scene. Does your mom talk about her mom a lot?"
"No. She doesn't like to talk about either of them. She goes to the graveyard a lot though. I used to go with her but I think she likes being on her own now."
"That's why you like being there?"
She shook her head. "I just think it's peaceful. In a world that moves so fast and people don't think about the consequences of things, I like to just go there and think about things," she quickly realized how much she had told him and hated herself for letting herself get to emotionally open around him again. "Why do you care?" she asked harshly.
"We're supposed to get to know each other. This is me finding out things about you, just like your dad did with your mom."
"Okay, so what about you?"
Before Jonny could say anything, Julian shouted to them, "Great scene guys. I don't think we have to re-film that. We'll have to see how it transitions from the scene you did yesterday but I think that should be good. Why don't you go and prepare for the next scene?"
"Another time maybe," Jonny said as he got out of the car.
"So what are you thinking Lyds?" Nathan asked as they sat round their kitchen table. "Do you want to do this?"
"I'd never thought about it before but singing for the talent show was one of the greatest things I've ever done. I could get used to that feeling that I experienced then. You know, having so many people listen to you and actually give a damn about what you were saying. Appreciating your talents because you deserve to be appreciated. That's a pretty great feeling."
"Yeah," Nathan and Haley both agreed at the same time as both had experienced that feeling.
"But you know if you went on tour Lydia, it's going to change your life more than you know," Haley told her in an advisedly way. "Sure you're not married like how I was, but you have friends and family here, a school that you're going to have to catch up on. When you come back, you'd be surprised how thinks have changed."
"But you'll also have seen so many new people and cities, right Haley?" Nathan knew that the tour that she went on in High School was still difficult for her to discuss, even now because of the heart ache that it caused both Nathan and Haley.
"Your dad's right. I made a tonne of new relationships and promoted myself so that when I wanted to record again, I knew who to contact."
Lydia nodded as she took everything in.
"Me and your mom want this for you more than anything. We want to support you, Jamie and Q in anything that you put your mind to, so if this something that you're sure you want to do, then we're behind you every step of the way Lyds."
Lydia thought about everything for a second; if she went on tour, how much could really change? Her family were always gonna be here, her best friends were people that she knew she could rely on and although she was dating Lanny now, she didn't have the worry of a husband or long term boyfriend.
"I'm doing this," she said with true Scott determination.
Brooke and Julian arrived at the offices of social services at exactly 2 o'clock. It was surprising how quick Brooke could get ready when she was anxious. They made their way to Elaine's office, walking down the familiar corridor that they had walked down so many times before. Knocking on the door, Elaine's voice called out for them to enter which they consequently did.
"Brooke, Julian, hi. How've you been?" she greeted them as she shook their hands from over desk and then indicating towards the chairs opposite her for them to sit down.
"We've been good, haven't we Julian?"
"We sure have."
"I saw your last movie Julian," Elaine added. "I was an emotional wreck afterwards, such a heart warming story."
"Thankyou. I'm actually working on a new movie right now. It's based on a novel written by a close friend of ours."
"That's great. So you're not struggling for work then?"
"No, but I do think that this next one will be the last one for a while. Me and Brooke want to spend some time away from our careers and more with each and our friends," Julian explained, his hand gently holding Brooke's.
"I'm happy that everything has worked out for you both. I'm sorry to have to call you in on the weekend but we have this little boy in and he's been in and out of foster care since he was born. We want him out of the care system and into a stable home to give him that bit of normality that he's been lacking for the past three years. I know that you both agreed that fostering wasn't for you but when we look for foster parents we do a random search on our system and we still have your details so I thought we could give you guys a shot."
"What's his name?" Brooke asked, already intrigued.
"His name is Freddie Joseph Parker and he is three years old."
"What about his family?" Julian questioned. Biological parents had always been bad luck for Brooke and Julian.
"His mom was seventeen years old and her family kicked her out when they found out that she was pregnant. She died shortly after giving birth to Freddie and when we told her family about her death, they didn't seem to care about her or Freddie. They wanted nothing to do with him hence why he's been in care all this time," Elaine explained and it was enough to tug at anyone's heart strings.
"Can we see him?" Brooke asked without thinking, she gave a quick look to Julian to see if he felt the same and he nodded his head.
"Sure, he's jut in the crèche. Follow me."
Elaine led them out of her office and down the corridor to the crèche. They had been in that crèche several times, this whole place was too familiar to Brooke and Julian. They stood in front of the window looking into the crèche to see three young children playing happily in the room.
"Freddie is the dark haired boy with the building blocks," Elaine pointed but Brooke and Julian didn't need telling, they immediately knew which child was Freddie. He was the petite, dark brunette curly haired boy who had the palest skin.
"Can we go in?" Julian asked, more eager now after having seen the little boy that he felt a sudden connection to.
"Of course, but don't be put off if he doesn't respond. He is very shy and rarely communicates with strangers," Elaine pre-warned them as she opened the door for them.
They eagerly made their way to Freddie who ignored their presence completely and continued playing with his building blocks. They joined him on the floor.
"What've you got there buddy?" Brooke asked but Freddie continued joining the blocks together. Brooke looked at Julian for help.
"Can we have some?" Julian tried to ask for some building blocks but still the boy ignored them.
"Freddie, this is Brooke and Julian. They just want to say hi. Are you going to say hello?" Elaine asked the little boy as she stood behind them. This time, Freddie took his attention away from the blocks at the sound of a familiar voice and he decided to look at the people that had joined him. He smiled softly at them before going back to playing with his building blocks.
"As you can see, he needs a family who will bring out his character a bit more," Elaine whispered. "I don't think you will get much more out of him today."
"Bye Freddie," Brooke said as she stood up. Julian passed one of the blocks to Freddie and followed Elaine and Brooke out of the room. When they were near the door, they heard a little voice calling out to them.
"Bye." Freddie had turned around grinning a toothy grin. Brooke and Julian waved at him and then left the crèche.
"Would it be okay for us to talk privately in your office?" Julian asked Elaine.
"Sure, I've just got to talk to a colleague. I'll meet you in there," Elaine told them.
Brooke and Julian walked into Elaine's office but neither took a seat.
"What are you thinking?" Brooke asked.
"Honestly? Something feels right looking at him. It's like he's supposed to be ours. What are you thinking?"
"I feel the same. He grins like you, which I know sounds stupid but he does-"
"And he has your pale skin," Julian added.
"Exactly. He looks like us and even acts like us. Did you see how hard he was concentrating? His eyebrows tightened up, like how yours do."
"And he even sticks his tongue out like you do," he smirked.
"I do not," Brooke gasped but she knew that she did.
"Are we sure we want to do this? I mean, look how many times this hasn't worked in the past and what about Haley?"
"We don't even know if Haley will get pregnant. This could be our chance Julian. We'd be stupid not to do this, right?" Brooke walked towards him and held onto his arms, which had laced around her waist.
"Maybe you're right," he agreed.
Before anything else could be said, Elaine entered the room.
"Oh I'm sorry, do you need some more time?"
Brooke looked up to Julian who then looked at Elaine.
"We want to foster Freddie and if that goes well, then maybe we'll adopt him," Julian confirmed their decision. When he looked back at Brooke, he saw her hazel eyes glistening back at him, happiness written across her face.
"So do you think we're doing the right thing with Lydia?" Haley asked as she joined Nathan in bed.
"I actually do," Nathan said as he pulled Haley on to his chest. "Despite everything that happened between us, I'm glad you went on the tour. You got to live your dreams and I want Lydia to do the same. Peyton will look out for her and I really think that you should work on the album with them."
"Yeah you're right. Well now that we know what we're doing about Lydia, are we ever going to talk about Quinley?" It had been awkward the entire day for Haley and Lydia. Nathan and Quinley were avoiding each other and Haley hated it.
"What's there to discuss Hales?"
"Nathan he's your son and he feels like he's disappointed you."
"I'm not disappointed in him."
"Then why have you been avoiding him today? You haven't spoken to him since before the game. He just wants you to tell him that you're proud of him and you still love him."
"I do love him," Nathan stated.
"I know you do and Quinley knows that deep down too but he needs to hear it from you. Sure, he missed the winning shot but it's just a basketball game. You need to talk to him," Haley urged.
"I will, I'll talk to him tomorrow."
Authors Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave reviews. What was your favorite part?
Next Chapter: Jonny/Sawyer, Nathan/Quinley talk, Avery/Q & Ella/Lanny deal with the consequences of the party