One Week Later
Austin hops off the boat and onto the docks. He stretches his arms and yawns as Sawyer runs over to a blonde haired woman. The nine year old stares at his new 'family' before all he had was Cooper and Pops.
"You nervous?" Lucas asked smoothing out Austin's blonde hair. The boy shrugs, his shoulders tense. "Don't be, I know my family might seem a little scary, but they're mostly harmless."
"Out of everyone Soy's the scariest" Lily said with a cheeky grin.
Lucas tickles his sister's side. "You have nothing to be nervous about, trust me" he said seriously.
The fourth grader nods still feeling apprehensive; Peyton said this was only a third of their family. Who else is there? Lucas nudges Austin forward and takes him to Haley first.
"Austin, this is best friend Haley and brother, Nathan" Lucas smiles softly at Haley who grins down at Austin.
"Hi" the boy nods. "You can call me Haley, Aunt Haley, whatever you want is fine; this is my son Jamie" Haley said nudging little Jamie forward.
Nathan is balancing a basketball and Lydia in his arms. "Oh my god, is this little Lydia?" Peyton gushed taking the baby out of Nathan's arms and bouncing the child who giggles. "She's adorable, Haley."
"I think she looks like Jamie" she replied grinning at her daughter and Peyton.
"Austin, I don't know if you're a basketball player, but uh since Luke was in high school" Nathan offers the ball to Austin who takes it.
Lucas raises his eyebrows at Austin and clears his throat. "Oh right, thank you for the basketball" the boy rolls his eyes at his foster parent who shakes his head mildly amused.
"Maybe when you get to the house, you and Jamie could play a few games" Nathan shoots his son a look daring him to disagree.
"And Riley" Jamie added causing Austin's ears to perk up.
"Don't forget me" Lily stomps her foot. "I'm better than you, Jamie and probably you, Austin" she pointed out earning a glare from Austin and a scowl from Jamie. She beat him once in a pick-up game four years ago and deems herself queen.
Austin blinks, stunned. He can't be talking about his Riley. "Did you say Riley?" he asked unsurely.
"She's Brooke and Julian's foster kid from Charlotte" Jamie's dark green eyes brighten. "Did you know her?" the boy asked politely.
"Yeah, I think so" Austin smiles hoping it's his Riley. If not, it'd suck; Austin misses seeing his best friend. When they lived together, most nights they snuck to their fort and talked.
Haley claps her hands in delight. "That's great" she said causing Lucas and Peyton to share looks of concern. How come they never heard of Austin being friends with Brooke and Julian's kid? Now that they think about it, Austin never talks about his past.
Riley walks towards her best friend smiling. She honestly never thought she'd ever see him again. Of course, they promised to visit one another before Christmas, but they never meant it.
"Hey Aust" Riley murmured giving him a tight hug. Lily raises her eyebrows with a curious look appearing in her eyes.
"This is friggen weird" Austin answered earning a look from his mother, he shrugs and decides to shut up. Brooke watches feeling envious; she wonders how Peyton and Lucas managed to reel in his cheeky mouth.
"Wow, this can't be Sawyer Scott" Brooke observed; the last time she saw the child had to be when Sawyer was just a baby. Now she has blonde ringlets and her father's deep green eyes.
Peyton nudges her daughter forward. "Usually she's more talkative than this. Sweetie, this is your Aunt Brooke; she knew you when you were just a baby" Peyton explained causing Sawyer to stare up at her supposed aunt.
Sawyer thinks for a moment; she isn't quite sure why she doesn't remember someone who's supposed to be her Aunt. "How come I don't member you?" the little girl asked curiously.
"Because most people don't remember things that happened when you're little" Brooke answered as Sawyer frowns.
"I'm not most people, I'm a Scott" Sawyer replied causing Austin to look at his shoes. He's just Austin Keith Teague, his father named him after his favorite place and his Grandfather.
"Oh yeah, Lucas, she's defidently yours" Riley glances at her foster mother wondering what that means. How can you tell when someone is theirs?
Sawyer rests her head sleepily on her mother's thigh. "Bean, I think its time for your nap" Peyton lifts her daughter into her arms; she turns to Lily and Austin. "Okay, kids behave or no desert" the mother warned light-heartedly.
Lily giggles knowing Peyton would never deny her desert whereas Austin rolls his eyes. Sometimes, his mom has to be the most annoying person on Earth.
"That goes for you guys, too" Brooke glances firmly at Riley and Jamie as she follows her best friend inside.
Austin, Lily, Jamie, and Riley are playing a somewhat intense game of basketball. Austin makes a shot and they all watch as the ball swishes into the net. "Two points; boys rule, girls drool" he joked giving Jamie a high-five.
"News flash, Aust; we're creaming you" Riley chuckled causing Lily to laugh at her new friend's joke.
Riley smirks and takes the ball from Austin; she dances around and tries to take a shot. By now, all of the children are laughing with complete delight. "Traveling, you're traveling" Jamie said tauntingly.
Austin watches as his best friend and new friend playfully fight over the ball. Lily stops playing and sits down beside Austin on the front steps giggling.
"Wow, you guys really like each other" Lily said obviously; Austin frowns knowing he should be jealous, but Riley's always been like a sister to him and he doesn't feel any kind of envy.
Jamie tries to take the ball, Riley grips onto it tightly causing the girl to be pulled towards Jamie. For a moment, Jamie wonders what he should do with Riley as close as she is. Then he leans forward and lands a kiss on her lips. Surprise shoots through him like an electric shock; he hadn't meant to do that.
Austin and Lily's mouths fall open in shock. They share looks of slight amusement and start cracking up. Much to all of their surprise, Riley snags the ball and takes a shot into the net.
"You guys can't tell anyone that happened" Jamie stated glancing anxiously at his friends.
Riley shrugs; she doesn't see the big deal in just a kiss. Jamie and Madison are still sort of together and they don't kiss.
"You two are crazy" Austin observed as he carelessly places his arm around Riley's shoulders in a brotherly manner.
"I don't mind" Riley giggled. "We're all crazy; you guys just hide it better than we do...it's weird, I never thought I'd get a family like this."
"Me neither" Austin admitted, Natalie really set them up with amazing people. At first, he thought living with the Scotts would suck, but now he really likes them. He likes being known as their kid.
Both children never dreamed of getting fostered into somewhat decent families. Of course, Natalie would try her best to get them into someplace good, but nobody wants nine year olds. They just want babies and that's okay, Riley gets it; with babies you can start over and they can be yours. With kids like her, there's no way of starting over, it's just the way it is now. Riley and Austin thought they'd grow up in the system and someday get their own place.
"What's it like living on a boat?" Riley asked curiously as she and Jamie sit beside the pair.
"Really awesome, Andy lemme steer once and we always go to cool places" Austin said his eyes starting to brighten with excitement.
Jamie watches Austin and Riley together feeling envious. Their friendship is a lot like his Mom's and Uncle Luke's. It's the kind of friendship most people only dream of having with someone. Jamie knows Austin and Riley don't like-like each other, but it feels like the two are a tight-knit club. Jamie isn't too sure if he likes this Austin guy. He just got here and already Riley's closer to him than she is to anyone else.
Lily stares at all of them unsurely. "So, nephew; how's life in Tree Hill been like without me?" she asked dramatically and very teasingly.
"Lily, we're the same age" Jamie groaned giving his sort of cousin an angry look.
"Luke's my brother and your uncle that makes me your aunt" Lily stated raising her eyebrows at Jamie who rolls his dark green eyes.
Austin seeing Jamie's annoyance towards Lily start to grow, steps in to the kid's defense. "Do you guys wanna make a fort? They're lots of fun and it'll be awesome" he offered causing Riley and Lily's face to brighten, excitedly.
"I've never made one of those before" Lily has always lived on a boat and when they did stop someplace, she didn't have enough time to make one.
"Aust and I made one in Charlotte" Riley explained softly. "And Jamie and I made one at my house."
Riley realizes this is the first time she's called Brooke and Julian's house her home. It sounds nice having someplace to call a home; Riley never called the Group Home her actual home. She mostly avoided calling it anything.
Tree Hill's starting to feel like her home. Even though, Charlotte was where her life began. This is where she belongs now. Maybe it's okay for her not to live in Charlotte. Jamie quickly sprints into the woods, the others follow his lead.
A woman has watched the four; she watched Riley and Lily cream the boys and Riley get her first kiss. She's amazed by the fact that the parents are inside gabbing while the children are outside. Riley looks just like she used to, only her hair seems longer and curlier.
"Don't worry baby girl, I'm gonna take you away. We're gonna be a family again, Riley-Pooh" she murmured snapping another picture of the giggling nine year old.
"Karen, you look great; it's like you haven't aged" Haley stated glancing at the lady who was like a second mother to her growing up.
"That's very sweet, but don't lie. I've gotten older, I can tell and so can my hair" Karen joked; her eyes twinkling with delight.
"Oh we all have, I don't think it's something we'll hold you too" Brooke agreed winking lightheartedly at her friends.
"You've done very well for yourself" Karen complimented remembering the lost teen her son used to date. "Married a good man and have three beautiful children. I always knew you were strong."
Peyton smiles in agreement, everyone always knew Brooke Davis was strong; the only person who didn't was Brooke. "I think Austin's adorable and Sawyer's gotten so big" Haley stated softly taking a sip of her wine.
"He causes his share of trouble, but he's pretty adorable. I really don't want Soy to grow up; she's my baby" Peyton groaned as Sawyer runs into the kitchen dragging a sheepish Logan.
Karen's eyes widen at the sight of Quinn and Clay. "Quinn James, is that you? I remember you used to run around Tree Hill taking pictures with your Polaroid it was like being on Candid Camera" Karen chuckled as Clay steps forward.
"That must've been quite a sight" Clay said causing Quinn to roll her eyes, smiling at her husband.
"And who might this be?" Karen wondered knowingly.
"Hi ma'am, I'm Quinn's husband, Clay Evans" he said hoping to have a good relationship with her. He can tell she's a heavy influence on the Tree Hill girls' lives.
"Hmm, respectful, but never call me ma'am. It makes me feel older than I am" she looks over at her granddaughter and the adorable blonde haired boy. "Who's this, Soy?" Karen asked glancing at Clay and seeing an immediate resemblance.
"He's…" Sawyer frowns realizing she doesn't know his name, she just assumed they'd be best friends since he looked around her age and was nice.
Logan looks at his parents who nod at him. "I'm Logan Evans; I'm six, but I'm gonna be seven soon" he said offering Karen a polite grin.
Karen grins and for a moment she feels like she's staring at a younger version of Lucas. "Well good for you, I'm Karen; Sawyer's my grand-daughter" she said causing Logan's eyes to widen; shocked.
"You can't be; you're like not old" the little boy pointed out knowing how his Grammy is old and this lady isn't.
"I like him already" Karen grins winking at Quinn who ruffles Logan's blonde hair.
Clay looks around feeling uncomfortable. He likes hanging out with his wife, but hanging out with all the girls just isn't his thing. "Where's Nate?" he asked after a moment of silence.
Haley answered; "On the porch" Clay quickly makes his exit turning bright red as he hears Quinn whistle.
"Mom, why did you whistle at Dad?" Logan asked curiously, Sawyer glances at her 'aunt' for the answer as well.
Quinn blinks and giggles unsurely. "Well, sometimes people do that when they want to tell others they're pretty" the mother answered wanting to stay honest with the children.
Logan nods, he's gonna hafta tell Nate Smith that at school. Sawyer shrugs and heads outside with Logan following her lead. The dads' watch the children dash past them and grin.
"Soy, tell the others it's almost time for dinner" Lucas shouted, Sawyer puts the thumbs up while all the fathers' start cracking up.
Julian likes Lucas; he seems like a decent man and father. Austin and Sawyer are generally well-behaved kids; they listen when they're supposed to and are respectful.
"Lucas, how do you get your kids to behave?" Julian asked abruptly causing Nathan to laugh. "I'm serious, Riley never listens to me and you two manage to get your nine year olds to listen."
"Well, Austin only causes trouble when he feels like he has to and Soy does whatever he tells her" Lucas answered as Clay listens in wondering what type of methods he and Quinn should consider with Log-man.
"Same with Jamie" Nathan agreed softly. "The only time he's ever done anything is when he thinks he has to or wants to help us."
"Not with Riley, every time we turn our backs she's in trouble" Julian runs a hand through his hair. He loves Riley, but he would appreciate it if every once in awhile she took a break from stirring up mischief.
"Dude, I was the same way" Clay claps Julian on the back causing the brown haired man to wince.
Nathan shoots his best friend a playful glare and smiles at the panic-stricken Julian. "Don't worry, we all went through phases as kids. I bet this is Riley's stage, she'll get over it" he offered hopefully.
Julian dared to ask, "How long did your stage last, Clay?"
Clay squints trying to think. "Hmm, now that I think about it; I don't think I grew out of anything" he said causing Julian to take a sip of his beer, worried for the future.
Riley looks at her friends wondering how she managed to get to where she is in life, this is great. Living with Brooke, Julian, and her brothers is awesome. Riley thought she wouldn't like having little brothers, but Jude and Dave aren't that bad. Riley would never admit this out loud, but they're kind of fun.
"How do you like living with my Aunt and Julian?" Jamie asked smiling at Riley who shrugs.
"It's not as bad as I thought it'd be" Austin glances over at her, squinting in amazement. "I mean…it's weird, I'm not used to living like this with people like you" Riley stammered unsurely.
"What does that mean?" Jamie demanded frowning.
Riley blinks hoping she hadn't said anything that sounded wrong. "It's just; I'm not used to living like this. You guys have freaking flat screens in your bedrooms, don't you think that's weird?" she asked as Jamie and Lily share looks.
Lily is the first to answer. "I don't know, we grew up with stuff like that so it's not weird to us" the girl answered as Jamie nods.
"Yeah, you guys didn't, I guess. So maybe weird for you is kinda normal for us" Jamie replied causing Austin and Riley to suddenly become self-conscious. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it" the boy added hoping to relieve their stress.
"No way, I'll never get used to living like this" Riley giggled shaking her head, before this she lived in a two bedroom house.
"Me neither" Austin remembers his life with Cooper and Pops; they fought about everything. That's why it didn't surprise Austin much when Coop went out-of-state for college. The only thing that did surprise him was when Coop didn't send any emails.
Lily turns to her 'cousin' wondering what he means by that. "How did you guys live before this?" she asked curiously.
"When I lived with Pops, we lived in all sorts of places; one time we kinda went camping and another it was with a bunch of people. We got free food and showers; it was cool" the boy explained, still not quite ready to talk about his big brother.
Riley doesn't mention the fact that Austin used to come over very late at night and sleep at her house. It would sound like they lived in crappy situations if she did.
Sawyer and Logan come running over to them. "Austin! Daddy says its time for dinner" she shouted as Logan smiles shyly at them. "Oh and this is Logan, he's my new friend."
"That's nice, Soy" Austin said nodding at Logan who looks at Jamie for some assistance.
Jamie grins at the little kids. "Log, you wanna sit next to me at dinner?" he offered causing the child to grin, grateful to a cousin like Jamie.
Davis, Jude, and Lydia squirm in their high-chairs. Jude can easily escape from his like a little con artist. His older brother and Lyddie are still tinkering with the mechanics of their escape, but they'll get it soon. Jude has the upmost confident Davey and Lyd will someday be able to sneak out of their high-chair without any detection.
"Jude, honey, how do you do it?" Brooke asked placing her brown haired son back into his high-chair.
Jude giggles up at his Momma, mischief twinkling in those green eyes of his. "That's my boy; escaping from jail, soon you'll be escaping from time-out and then hopefully prison" Julian joked causing Brooke to shoot him a waning glare.
Haley watches the scene with a smile; there's always been a special playfulness in Brooke and Julian's relationship. "Did Sam and Jack make it back okay?" Haley asked; Sam managed to visit her the day before she and Jack left to go home.
Brooke smiles softly, wishing she took Sam up on her offer to stay in Tree Hill, but Sammy needs to spread her wings a little. "Yeah, she's calling more now; she said she's gonna try and come for Christmas or Spring Break" she explained wistfully.
"Spring Break? She should act more like a college kid" Nathan pointed out earning a high-five from Clay and a frown from Brooke. "I mean, she should study and try not to get arrested."
Haley chuckles at Nathan's fear of Brooke. Honestly, who could blame him for fearing her? "Jeez, Nate, after all these years Brooke Davis still scares you" Lucas said causing Nathan to slug his shoulder.
"Where are the kids?" Nathan asked sheepishly; quick to get off the embarrassing topic.
Jamie and the other children quickly and very clumsily run into the kitchen. "Right here, Dad" he stated as Nathan steadies the table and raises an eyebrow at his eldest.
Riley starts piling food onto her plate, ignoring the vegetables and whatever else might taste gross. Karen would trust Lily to fix herself a plate, but last time she let Lily fix her own plate, it resulted in an eventful night of sugar rushes and tummy aches. Haley lets Jamie decide mainly because she trusts him to choose wisely.
Peyton is taking a different approach, "I think you're old enough to fix your own plate, but don't make it too unhealthy or I'll fix you a plate myself" the mother warned turning to fix little Sawyer a plate.
Austin sees Riley watching him and begins to realize something. Maybe he has changed; he used to be fearless and now, it's different. He doesn't disagree or talk back, all this behaving is starting to get pretty damn tiring too.
"No, I'm gonna fill it with what I want" Austin said glancing at Riley who half-smiles; this is the friend she remembers.
Brooke can see the amusement flicker through Peyton's eyes and can tell she's trying very hard not to laugh. "You try it and you'll be helping with dishes" Peyton answered evenly and rather firmly.
Austin purses his lips together wondering if this battle is really worth doing dishes over. Peyton can see his demeanor beginning to falter until he stomps his foot in aggravation.
Riley keeps her eyes on Austin and Peyton as she mindlessly adds another cupcake onto her plate. Brooke blinks realizing she has to focus on her own child; she takes Riley's plate and places it on top of the counter.
"What are you doing?" Riley asked watching her foster mother take a new plate and start adding small helpings of steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies onto her plate.
"I'm fixing you a dinner since your plate was defidently not going to cut it" Brooke replied as though the answer was obvious.
Riley glares at Brooke; she has no right. "You can't…I don't want that…I don't like those" she complained as her mother places two slices of asparagus onto her place.
"Have you ever tried them?" The nine year old pouts, shaking her head, "then how do you know you don't like them?" Brooke asked starting to gear herself for a lecture.
Riley moaned, "I just do!"
"Try it and if you don't like it, don't eat it" the mother said trying very hard not to cause a scene.
"No" the child shakes her head, this isn't fair. Why should she have to listen to them? It's not fair, Grams used to let her do as she pleased.
"Riley, this isn't up for a debate. If you don't like some things, you don't have to eat them, but you do have to try it first. Now go eat your dinner with the other kids" Brooke ordered seeing a stubborn pair of eyes meet hers.
"I said no" Riley answered stomping her foot as she tries to get her point across.
In one quick motion, Brooke manages to propel her daughter forward, hand her the plate and send her on her way with a smack. Riley turns on her heels suddenly pissed with Brooke, she glares defiantly at her mother who raises an eyebrow; warning her to watch her step.
Julian glances up from cutting Jude's carrots at the sound of Riley stomping into the kids' room. "What's the matter, Rye?" he asked as he hands his son a carrot.
"Nothing" Riley mumbled sourly.
Sawyer frowns at her 'cousin' and shakes her head. "Nu-uh, Aunt Brooke got mad cause you added good stuff and then she changed your plate and you talked back; so she smacked you" the six year old announced causing Austin's eyes to widen.
Logan tries very hard not to look relieved. He thought he was the only one that got swatted. The little boy is pleased even big kids like Riley get smacked sometimes. Only, his Mom and Dad haven't given him a smack since then.
"Thank you for the information, Sawyer" Julian asked smiling down at the talkative child. "Why don't you finish your potatoes? I'm gonna talk to Riley."
"Don't shout at me, okay?" the child asked feeling a little annoyed with the adults in her life.
"I'm not gonna shout at you" Julian gently runs a hand through her dark curls. "Are you okay?" the father asked looking concerned.
"Yeah, Brooke didn't hit me that hard."
"I meant your ego" the father smiles softly, he remembers when his own Momma gave him a warning swat.
Riley rolls her blue eyes. "I'm okay, but…" the child leans in. "My butt does kinda hurt" she admitted causing Julian to tweak her nose.
"Yeah that sometimes happens, but it'll go away in an hour or so" Julian glances down at his daughter's plate and suddenly realizes why she made such a fuss. "Lemme help you out there" he takes a carrot and pops it into his mouth.
Austin waits for Riley's foster parent to turn, before helping his best friend hide some of her food in his napkin. After they've finished; Riley and Austin, then start to help Lily and Jamie hide their food. Jamie starts to object, but he doesn't like asparagus much.
Sawyer watches the big kids, frowning. "Momma and Daddy are gonna be mad at you" she remarked as the nine year olds glance at the little girl, a well-known tattle-tale.
"Shut up, Soy" her brother moaned causing Sawyer to poke her tongue out at him.
"I'm telling Daddy, you were mean" Sawyer starts to rise with a smirk, but Riley quickly stops her.
Riley briefly remembers when she was annoying like Sawyer. Poor kid, only wants some attention from Austin and Lily, but they dismiss it as having a tantrum. They're probably right most of the time, but still; Sawyer most likely feels left out and wants to chill with them. Thankfully, Logan's a lot more quiet about what he wants. "Sawyer, want us to help hide your food?" Riley asked sounding generally curious.
"Yes, please. I won't tell, I can keep a secret" Sawyer grins pushing her plate forward, Logan swiftly follows her lead and glances at the big kids with a cherubic smile.
Austin and Lily share a look; the day Sawyer's able to keep a secret is the same day, pigs learn to fly.