A/N: Hey there! So here's my next chapter! Thank you to everyone that is reading, reviewing, and loving my story! And thank you to Morgan, for always helping me when I need it! Let me know what you guys think!!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters!

Nathan left the hospital in a daze, just taking in Mr. James' words. Walking the streets of Tree Hill, there was nothing he wanted more than for Brooke to come to him. To need him as much as he needed her. Sure, he could talk to Lucas, or Tim, or his dad. But they didn't understand. They weren't there.

They didn't have to watch Brooke give birth to the lifeless body of their daughter. They didn't see the pain in Brooke's eyes as she pushed Molly Erin out of her. They didn't have to kiss their dead daughter goodbye.

He continued walking, not paying attention to where he was going, as the rain started pouring down. After a few minutes, he looked up, realizing where his feet had taken him. The Tree Hill Cemetery. Taking the same path he took this morning, he came upon Molly Erin's grave, the big mound of dirt becoming mud from the rain. There wasn't even a headstone yet. It wouldn't come in for about six weeks.

He knelt down to his knees, placed a hand on the mound of dirt, and let his tears mix with the rain.

Brooke lie in bed, cursing Nathan for going to the hospital. In reality, it wasn't really him she was mad at. She wasn't even mad at Haley for going into labor. She was mainly mad at herself. She should have known better. She should have taken better care of herself. She should have…

Before she could finish another thought, there was a knock on the bedroom door. She turned over to see Dan Scott peek his head into the room. He slowly entered and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Brooke, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. Brooke sat up and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, nodding.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I know you might not trust this new me. But I care for you like my own daughter. You were always there for Nathan when his mother and I weren't. And I can't express how happy that made me knowing that even if we weren't there, someone was. You took care of him when we couldn't, or actually wouldn't," Dan explained, tears coming to his eyes.

"And I don't know how hard this is for the both of you. But I can imagine. Just thinking of losing Nathan, or you, or Lucas. I don't know what I would do with myself. But I just want you to know that it's okay to be upset and angry right now. No one expects you to be the bubbly, happy teenager you've been. But Brooke, you need to let it out. Don't hold it all in. I know it has to be hard to talk about. But it's not going to get any better if you bottle everything inside of you. It's all just going to come exploding out one day soon, and I promise, it won't be pretty."

Brooke sat up straight and looked him in the eyes, trying to decide if she could trust him.

"Dan thanks for trying, but it's not going to work. You haven't been around the last few years so you have no idea about anything that has happened. So don't come in here acting all good now. Your little act is not going to make me talk about Molly," Brooke told him, fire in her eyes.

"Brooke, I wasn't trying to make you talk to me. I was just trying to make you realize that if you keep holding it all in, it won't be good. You need to talk to someone though. Maybe not me, or Tim, or Peyton, or even Nathan. But someone Brooke. I can even call a few counseling centers to find you someone to talk to. A grief counselor might be good for you," Dan said, standing his ground. He saw how Brooke's anger made Nathan walk away. But he wasn't going to do that. He could see the wheels in her head turning as she contemplated the idea.

"I'll think about it," Brooke said quietly, no emotion in her voice.

"That's all I ask Brooke. I'll leave you alone now," Dan replied. Right before he left the room, Brooke called him back.

"Can I borrow your car? I left mine at Peyton's and I have somewhere I need to go."

"Sure, the keys are on the kitchen counter. It's yours for as long as you need," he said, closing the door behind him. Brooke jumped from the bed, shedding her dress she wore to the funeral. She pulled on her favorite pair of jeans, her "lazy jeans," and stole a black tank top from Nathan's drawer, the ones he called "wifebeaters." She then threw her hair up into a messy ponytail and tied her tennis shoes on her feet. Wiping the mascara from underneath her eyes, she quickly ran down the stairs, swiped the keys from the counter, and headed for the garage.

At the Hospital:

Haley sat up in the hospital bed, breastfeeding her son for the first time, Lucas by her side. They were in complete awe of Mason. After a few minutes, she was done feeding him, and welcomed their friends back into the room. Peyton, Tim, Skills, Bevin, Karen, Dan, Mouth, Lydia, and Jimmy James filed into the room and all got as comfortable as they could with the limited seating.

"Haley, he's amazing," Dan whispered, shocked that Lucas and Haley were letting him in the room, let alone hold Mason. After Brooke had left, he decided to go for a walk to clear his head and ended up at the hospital. He gazed down at his grandson, feeling an ache in his heart. He watched Mason open his bright blue eyes and yawn. Dan ran a hand along his head, noticing the barely there blond hair like his father's. It made him wonder what Molly Erin looked like. Brooke and Nathan were the only ones that had seen her.

"You're thinking about Brooke and Nathan aren't you?" Lucas asked, standing next to the man that was almost a stranger to him. Dan nodded his head.

"I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to him. You think he'll be okay?" Lucas asked, catching the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Eventually, yes. It's going to take some time though. He's just trying to be strong for everyone else. He doesn't realize that's what we're for, to be strong for him so he can really break down and start to grieve. Of course, it's not helping with Brooke lashing out at him in anger and shutting him out," Dan explained. This made Tim perk up and come to the defense of his friends.

"Actually, I talked to Brooke earlier. Well, really we stared at the wall until my ass went numb, but that's a different story," Tim laughed, "Anyways, she kind of opened up to me. She didn't talk about Molly. She talked about not wanting to talk about Molly. She's getting angry because she can't talk about it yet. She said it makes it more real to her. She just needs time to process it all before she can open up to anyone. And no matter how angry she seems at Nathan, he'll be the first person she goes to. He always has been."

With that said, everyone became silent. The new parents reveling in the miracle of their child. The new grandmother trying to stay positive for everyone. The new grandfather celebrating the birth of his grandson and mourning the loss of his granddaughter. And the friends not too sure what to feel.

At the Cemetery:

Nathan had been kneeling at Molly's grave for the past thirty minutes, crying his eyes out. He had tried to stay strong for Brooke. But there was only so much he could take. He finally had to let it out. He cried until he didn't think he could produce any more tears. He cried for himself. He cried for Brooke. And mostly, he cried for the daughter he lost.

Sure, he hadn't been too thrilled with the idea of becoming a father at first. But once he and Brooke made up, he started to warm up to the idea. Finally, seeing how happy Brooke was being pregnant, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to be a father. He was sure that they could do it. They would find a way to go to college and have their careers while raising Molly.

Now all the dreams and goals he just made were gone. He would never get to raise Molly. He would never get to see her take her first steps, or say her first word. He would never get to laugh when Brooke slipped up and cussed in front of her, making her say the same word over and over again. Because honestly, Brooke could cuss like a sailor when she felt like it.

And speaking of Brooke, "Nathan."

He barely heard her whisper over the rain. But when he looked up, she was standing there, about five feet away from him, soaked to the bone. Her hair was plastered to her head, her makeup was gone, his black wifebeater clung to her skin along with her lazy jeans. And he still thought he had never seen anyone more beautiful.

"What are you doing here Brooke?" he asked, not bothering to try to cover up the fact that he had been crying.

"I don't really know to be honest. I was just so mad at you, and Haley, and myself. I had to get out of there before I attacked your dad just to let some anger out. This is where I ended up," she shrugged. Nathan stood from his spot on the ground and faced her.

"Brooke," he started. She held up a hand to stop him.

"Nathan, look, I've been doing some thinking. And I've got an aunt in Florida. I was thinking about maybe going down there for a while," she told him.

"What? No, you can't," Nathan responded.

"Why not?" she asked back.

"Brooke, you can't just leave! We just lost Molly!" he shouted over the rain, not believing her.

"Exactly. And I need some time. So maybe this will help," she said as Nathan rolled his eyes.

"You can have all the time in the world that you want. Just don't leave!"

"Why not?" she repeated.

"Because I love you," he said. Brooke's eyes went wide with fear. This was one conversation she didn't want to have right now. She didn't know if she could handle him telling her how he felt.

"You can't. Not after everything that happened," she said quietly, thinking about Molly again.

"But I do. I still love you Brooke. And you know how I can say that with absolute certainty? Because I know you. And I know that you bite your lip when you're nervous. Or excited. Either one. And I know that you're not the normal girl that likes two hour baths. You never have. Or that when you're in a hurry, you can take a shower in exactly two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. I can't even do that! And I know that you don't have a favorite ice cream because you think that every flavor deserves to be tasted every once in a while. I know that you have exactly sixty-seven pair of shoes because you counted them one day while you arranged them in order. And when you sleep, there is always that moment when you're in a really deep sleep, that you mumble my name and I love it when you do that. And I know, without a doubt in my mind, that I love you for who you are. Not what did or didn't happen. Molly died, and it hurts. So bad. And I need you. And I know you need me more than you even know. SO please, just let me need you back," Nathan said in a spontaneous speech. He meant every word of it.

Brooke stood there with tears running down her face, taking in his words. As much as she was hurting over Molly's death, she now knew he was hurting just as much. Not knowing if she could say the words, she decided to let her actions speak for her instead.

She quickly crossed the five feet between them, jumping into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. He caught her easily, his hands resting between her hips and backside. Brooke pressed her lips to Nathan's, needing to feel that contact.

"I'm so sorry Nate," she whispered as she pulled away.

"It wasn't your fault Brooke. Things happen," he told her.

"I love you," she responded.

"I love you too Brookie."

"Let's go home Natey," Brooke said quietly, leading the way to Dan's car. They agreed they would go in the morning to get Nathan's car from the hospital. But for now, they just needed to be with each other.

When they got to Dan's house, Nathan parked the car and led Brooke upstairs to his room. They didn't bother to turn the lights on. Just quickly changed into some dry clothes and laid down on the bed together. Both knew that nothing sexual was going to happen. They just wanted to lie in each other's arms.

"Nathan, I think we need to talk," Brooke whispered in the silence after a couple of hours.

"Shh, we can do that tomorrow. I just want to hold you tonight. Tomorrow, I promise," Nathan whispered back, wrapping his arms tighter around Brooke. She curled into his chest, placing a soft kiss on his neck.

"I love you. You know that?" she asked him. He ran his hands through her hair and sighed.

"I've always known that Brookie. You don't have to say it for me to know it," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"Oh, and it's seventy now," she said with a slight laugh.

"What is?" Nathan asked in confusion.

"I now have seventy pair of shoes. There was a sale a few weeks ago!" she laughed. He joined her in laughter, loving the sound of it.

"You're crazy B! I love you so much," he snickered, kissing her deeply. He knew that even though they were both still in pain over losing Molly, and would be for a long time, they just made a breakthrough. Maybe now they could really start to grieve and get past the hurt.

A/N: Like it? Hate it? Let me know!