*Authors note- So the first five chapters have been more about Rachel's return and the reactions of the Tree Hill gang to the news of Rachel's pregnancy and to sort of fill Rachel and the readers of this story in on what is going on in the world of Tree Hill at the time that Rachel returned, the story itself hasn't zoned in on Rachel that much, this was because I didn't originally intend on making this a story about Rachel, her son and single motherhood it was more about the reuniting of friends and how no matter what true friends are there for the other through the best and worst times, but as I wrote the story and planned this little boy I kind of fell in love with the story and wanted to explore it more, so now this story is not only going to be about the true friendship of Brooke and Rachel, it is also going to be about the bonds and the journeys made for Rachel and her baby boy.

I am not affiliated with One Tree Hill in anyway; these stories are purely for my own enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of others.

From now on – chapter five

When Rachel stood in Brooke and Julian's room and told them that she was in labour it had caused mixed emotions, Julian freaked out and nearly cried, Brooke screamed and started jumping around in excitement, she had started jumping around and while Rachel so wanted to join in on the jumping around she didn't want to start jumping and cause the baby to fall out. Brooke threw on her clothes and told Julian to go and get Rachel's bag from upstairs so that they could head to the hospital. Julian was going to stay home with the boys while they went and then join them at the hospital the next morning when Nathan could come over and watch the boys for them. While Brooke got dressed Rachel started making her way to the living room, she stood there for a minute, and placing a hand on her stomach she smiled thinking to herself that she soon got to hold her baby in her arms, and while she thought about Owen at that moment in time she tried to push it to the back of her mind because he wasn't important today. Brooke came out of the bedroom in her best yoga pants and boots, she knew that this could take a very long time and she had no plans on leaving so the outfit was all about comfort, and so was Rachel's. They drove to the hospital and laughed as they walked in, Brooke found a wheelchair and even though Rachel told her that she didn't need it Brooke practically forced her into it and then proceeded in running her up the hospital hallway, nearly into the wall making them both stop for a moment and laugh hysterical. They were completely distracted and both jumped when a doctor came up behind them to make sure that everything was okay. While Rachel just jumped up in the chair and put a protective hand on her stomach, Brooke fully jumped around.

"Sorry I didn't mean to….Brooke" he said with this look of recognition on his face and then a smile

"Ethan" she said returning the smile, as Rachel did made a noise that indicated that she wanted to be included in the conversation her head desperately trying to turn in a way that would make her do this, Brooke apologised and fully turned her wheelchair around "This is Rachel" she said as the red head turned on her charm as even Brooke laughed at the fact that even in labour she was flirting.

"Hi" the doctor said as he pulled his arm out and shook her hand "So what brings you two to here? Can I help you with anything?" he asked his voice filled with sincerity

"Rachel here is having a baby, right this very second actually" Brooke said as she smiled at him, remembering how nice he was when she had Angie and he performed the surgery on her, he was just a nice guy.

"Well I'm no expert in that but I can find you a colleague that is all about that sort of stuff" he said as he indicated that they follow him down the hallway, Brooke wheeling Rachel down after him

"Thank you so much Ethan" she said with her charm on full speed as Brooke rolled her eyes, Brooke leant down and whispered in her ear

"Cool it preggers" she said with a laugh as Rachel looked up to her with a smile. Doctor Ethan Copeland took them up the hallway and into the elevator to the maternity ward, he helped to admit her and then take her to a spare room where he instructed her to get changed into a gown, before leaving to go and find his colleague, soon he was back with a smiling woman that walked in and introduced herself to the girl.

"Well I will leave you to it, Rachel good luck and it was nice to see you Brooke" he said as she walked over and they awkwardly hugged.

"Hey married lady, how do you know the spunk?" she asked as the doctor asked her to put her legs up in the stirrups, the doctor in front of her giggled, obviously she had heard Dr Copeland being referred to as a spunk and Brooke didn't doubt that she had been involved in those conversations herself.

"I met Dr Copeland" she made the effort to say his last name instead of his first "When I had baby Angie with me, he operated on her little heart, saved her life"

"Oh life saver, did you throw him a floatation devise?" she said raising her eyebrows towards Brooke as she and the doctor laughed, a look of uncomfortableness as the doctor disappeared under the white sheet that sat on her knees.

"No I didn't" Brooke said as she walked over to where Rachel lay and sat down next to her

"May I?" she asked in all seriousness

"Let's just take one thing at a time, why don't you have the baby first" Brooke said with a chuckle

"Well Rachel" the doctor said reappearing "Your waters have definitely broken and your little…"

"Boy" she answered filled with pride

"Your little boy will be in your arms soon, this could take a while sit back and rest as much as you can because this could be a very long night. Call me if you need anything" she said before taking off her rubber gloves and throwing them in the bin before walking out.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase stood at the bar when his phone rang; he looked at the caller identification and sighed, taking a moment before picking up the phone "Hey" he said waiting for him to respond

"You can't see it but I am waving a white flag right now" Owen said to his friend in a cheeky yet sad sort of way that Chase recognised.

"Why didn't you tell me that you got Rachel pregnant? We usually tell each other that stuff"

"Because if I told you I would have to tell my mum"

"Wait you didn't tell your mum" he said outraged into the phone, only because Owen and his mum were incredibly close and he often ran all his ideas off her.

"I knew that if I told either of you that you would convince me to stay" he said with a small smile thinking of the persuasive power that his best friend and his mum shared and had over him.

"Man" he said and just that word left Owen knowing that he was in for a whole lot of wisdom from Chase Adams' mouth "You don't know what you are depriving yourself of, Screw your independence, something totally amazing is going to happen to you, something that so many people wish for and never get and its right in front of you all you need to do is embrace it"

"I get it" Owen said placing one hand on his forehead

"But if you do decide that you want to do this, don't do it because it's what I wish you would do, do it because you want this, that is what Rachel and that is what your baby deserves"

"Yeah"

"I'm just looking out for what is best for you man" he said with this sad tone in his voice

"I know" he said before they exchanged goodbye and hung up the phone, he had barely placed the phone back under the bar when it began to ring again, he picked up quickly and put it down just as quick as he ran out of TRIC in a hazy daze.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Did I miss it, did I miss it?" he said running into the room, his cheeks flushed red, trying hard to catch his breath, he made a note to himself that he should start running with Nathan in the mornings so next emergency situation he doesn't need to be put on an oxygen machine. Chase looked in on the room where the two girls looked at him with these smirks on their faces, he was worried that when he got here Rachel would be a mess and that a baby would be flying out of her, he had prepared himself for that but instead Rachel sat looking pretty calm on the hospital bed, her red hair tied up in a messy bun, she sat in the hospital gown provided and a pair of love heart socks on her feet, Brooke sat next to her with her feet up on the edge of the bed with a magazine in her lap, what was wrong with them? Shouldn't they be panicking just as much as he was? He asked himself as he leant on the doorway to catch his breath.

"Are you okay there Chase?" Brooke asked with a chuckle in her tone as he stuck his thumb up to indicated a positive response, he finally tore himself away from the wall and walked over to the bed, he stood on the side of the bed that Brooke didn't occupy and took Rachel's hand cautiously, he didn't want to overstep his mark, they hadn't really known each other in high school or in their current lives but Chase felt as though he had to be there for Rachel and her baby because Owen was like a brother to him and if he wasn't going to man up then Chase felt it was his responsibility to stick around. Brooke dropped her magazine as her mobile rang, she excused herself telling them Rachel that it was her parents and that she would save her from the conversation if she wanted her to, Rachel nodded and Brooke walked out of the room as she answered it. Rachel picked up the magazine that Brooke had dropped, she tried to reclaim her hand from Chase but when he refused to let go she turned to him, a look in her eye that without words questioned what was going on, Chase gulped and looked up at her, this sorrow in his eyes "I know Owen's not here but I am and I will stay as long as you want me to" she smiled as he said it and he felt instantly relieved that he could be of some assistance to her, he went to let go of her hand after squeezing it for one last brief moment but as he went to read the latest gossip in another magazine that Brooke had brought with her Rachel grabbed his hand again, he looked up to see a look of pain right across her face and this look of terror in her eyes.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"One last push Rachel" the doctor yelled over all the commotion going on in the room around her, a nurse stood next to the doctor, Brooke was standing just in front of the stirrups and in Rachel's eye line shouting motivation with a face full of enthusiasm and encouragement, Chase stood holding her hand his face fully pale yet his hand was the colour of an angry red, he thought he was going to pass out, Rachel's face was dripping with sweat and her red hair was soaked. "Come on Rachel you need to push"

"Come on Rach" Brooke said with a massive smile on her face as Rachel lay her head back, Brooke was just about to give her some more encouragement when she lifted her head back off the pillow and pushed with all of the energy left in her body, as she continued to push she felt a sudden relief as her baby boy let out a massive cry, A smile came across her face and she leant back, relief flooding over her face as tears streamed down her face. "Rachel he is gorgeous" Brooke said looking down at the baby, tears also streaming down her face.

"Congratulations Rachel" the doctor said as the nurse wrapped the little boy up and placed him on her chest "It's a little baby boy" Rachel burst into tears as her arms came around and wrapped around the small still covered in muck, she kissed the top of his head

"Hello my little man, Hello William Ray" she said before looking up and around to Brooke and Chase who now stood together, Chase's arm over Brooke's shoulders, tears streamed down both their cheeks.

X-x-x-x-x-x

Chase left Brooke on the roof of balcony in the hospital making phone calls, he wanted to go check on Rachel, to go see how her and her little man were going, he was awestricken by his best friends son, he felt as though he owed it to the little boy and Owen for that matter to be with him for a bit longer. He walked into Rachel's new room in the maternity wing, they had moved her to a cosier, less surgical room for her to rest in and she was doing exactly that, she lay on her side clutching the pillow tightly to her chest, He walked up to her and kissed her on the head before walking to the opposite side of the bed and sitting in the seat that was left empty, the others were already filled with presents. Chase sat there for about five minutes, comforted by the silence, he was pretty exhausted after the whole birth of William thing, and he felt his hand to see if all the squeezing had somehow changed the shape when the nurse who Chase met in the delivery room rolled the clear crib that contained the brunette baby boy. She smiled at him and then walked out of the hospital room leaving all the three of them there. Chase stood up and walked up to the edge of the crib he looked down and smiled, a piece of coloured cardboard sat above his head it said "Hello my name is William Ray Gatina" and then the number of the room was written next to it, Chase looked down at the sleeping boy, he leant in, putting a hand under the little boys head to support his neck, as he lifted him out of the crib the little boys eyes opened and while Chase panicked that the little boy would cry and his tired mother would wake up, William remained quite placid, looking up at Chase. Chase took this opportunity to get out his phone and take a photo of the gorgeous baby boy, he put the phone back in his pocket and turned to a stirring Rachel, and she sat up and looked at the boys a smile sitting on her lips, a smile that she couldn't get off her face and didn't think was going to go away for a long while. Chase walked over to her and carefully put the baby in her arms.

"I'll let you guys have some chilling out time together before you get attacked by visitors" he said with a smile as he went to walk out of the room, Rachel spoke and he turned around to face her

"Hey Chase, can you please tell Owen for me?" she asked, the smile briefly leaving her lips, this was something that she just couldn't do at that moment in time, she was still exhausted, physically and emotionally. Chase felt that words didn't need to be expressed he simply smiled and nodded before walking out again, when he was in the hallway he picked up his phone and typed in Owen's number.

"Hey baby boy" she said as she brushed his tiny hands with her own finger "It's just you and me, and I hope that is okay. I'm going to love you my darling and be there for you, I always will be, I promise. It's just you and me" she repeated before kissing his beautiful head.

X-x-x-x-x-x

"Last call for all passengers on the 11 o'clock flight to Tree Hill, Last call for all passengers on the 11 o'clock flight to Tree Hill" the female over the loud speaker bellowed throughout the airport, he got up from his seat in the terminal, and as he went to pick up his luggage his phone beeped indicating that he had a text message. He opened his inbox and saw that it was a message from Chase, and by the format of the message he knew that it was a picture. The subject bar simply said the name "William Ray Gatina", Owen gulped and clicked the button to open the message, the picture was loading but the message above the picture was already shown, Owen sat back down in his chair as he read the words "Meet your Son". The picture loaded and Owen dropped the phone onto the ground before leaning forward in the chair and putting his head in his hands, he burst into tears and cried with the most raw and uncensored wail from his throat, he didn't care that people throughout the airport were looking at him or even scared of him, that didn't matter all that mattered was that he, Owen Morello had a beautiful son and he felt unworthy, unworthy to hold him, unworthy to return.

This chapter is finished but alas no dice for the story!