-L-
It was his favorite time of year. Fall was introducing itself, but summer wasn't quite ready to leave yet. The air was warm, but the faint color of fall leaves was just about to prosper. And it was just one of those days. The kind of day that stopped you right in your tracks and you just had no choice but to take it all in.
He stood at the half court line of the river court looking out over every inch of the place he had grown up. As he put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he traced the crack of the aged court with the toe of his shoe. Closing his eyes, he could nearly feel being seventeen years old standing atop this very concrete.
It's the oldest story in the world. One day you're seventeen and planning for someday. And then quietly and without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life.
He's never mentioned you man. Not once in all these years.
This is for my mom.
Luke for the win! It's good! It's good! Lucas Scott takes it 15-14, and there is bedlam and delirium and felicity for all!
I'll be seeing you.
Now follow my voice. Brooke's the one. Make the shot.
What happened?
It went in.
Do I get to be a part of this world?
The biggest part.
Okay, we're not going to do this. We're not going to get sad nothing is going to change now. We'll all be friends forever. I know it.
Look, in four years we're going to be right back here. You know, we'll be done with college or wherever we go, right?
Hey, you ready for a rematch or you afraid you're gonna get worked?
Do you really want to end your night with a loss?
You sure you're up for this old man?
I could do this forever little brother.
The day you start thinking love is overrated is the day that you're wrong. The only thing wrong with love and faith and belief is not having it.
It's amazing, really. He had just turned 30, and if you had asked him thirteen years ago if he'd be standing in this spot looking at how his life turned out he would have laughed and told you you were wrong. But, God, he had never been so happy to be so wrong about anything in his life.
The sun shone warmly on his face and he opened his eyes realizing that he didn't need to look back anymore. His yesterdays were rich with good times and bad. His now, while not perfect by any means, was perfect to him. He smiled widely lifting his face up to the sun basking in it.
"Does broody look… cheery?"
He laughs to himself not yet turning to look at her just yet.
"Is this becoming a trend? Because I'm not sure anyone will recognize you without some signature brood."
She stood just a few feet from him with her arms folded and a devilish smile adorning her face. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he shrugged looking back and forth between her and the friends and family they were surrounded by.
His eyes scanned the crowd of those around him; the people who whether tied together by blood or not were his family. He was first drawn to the couple who had once never anticipated and vehemently rooted against at a time. Nearly thirteen years later, he thanked whatever twist of fate had kept them together and laughed at his resistance above. Nathan was standing over a grill they had brought for the afternoon flipping burgers as he took intermittent breaks tossing a football with an almost eleven year old Jamie. That sentence alone was enough to knock the wind out of him. How time had flown by. It seemed like only a matter of time before he would be watching from the stands of the Ravens gym at Jamie's own number being retired. Jogging back over to the grill after pretending to juke his son out with the ball, he removed the remaining burgers and scooped up the two year old little girl atop his shoulders. Lydia, their newest addition, giggled happily as she squealed in jubilee. His best friend sauntered over with her rounded pregnant stomach as Nathan leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and toss his daughter over his shoulder to kiss her mother's belly. He went through a lot of trying and tribulation in his own love life, and so had Nathan and Haley, but it was them who gave him the hope that that love was out there. They had each other and it was their beautiful family that brought him tremendous joy to say he got to watch their lives together.
He saw Mouth and Skills in an animated conversation about what he's sure he could not even guess if he tried. He knew for sure that he did hear Skills sass Nathan about grilling the rest of the "damn burgers." Bevin was quick to reassure him that if he cooked it maybe it would cook quicker since the sun would be drawn to his bald head. Scientifically, it wasn't exactly supported, but with the smile on their faces he was pretty sure Skills would try just about anything if that would make her happy. Their new engagement seemed to solidify that point. Millie walked over carrying a groggy baby as Mouth brushed the young infant's hair forward as he kissed his forehead taking over for his wife who smiled up at him in appreciation. Marvin McFadden, the boy who once had suffered from the boy next door syndrome, had found a woman who showed him that the wait had been so very worth it.
Rachel began to chat with Millie, Bevin, and Haley. Of all the people who he may not have envisioned here in his life, Rachel had not been one of them. But, he sure was thankful that she was standing here today. She grew up. She healed herself, and when she did she came back to the one place she had ever really been able to call home. And to the one person who she had ever really valued as family: Brooke. In that process, and in all the idiotic things he had done since they had gotten back together and fights he and Brooke had subsequently had, Rachel had somehow become one of his biggest confidants. She mocked him. She made him laugh. And she made him realize insight into the mind of Brooke that in some ways he was pretty sure only Rachel could. And as she stared maybe not as discretely as he knows she would scold herself for otherwise at Owen, the TRIC bartender who seemed to bring that twinkle to her eye more and more these days, he was felt his smile grow all the more larger.
After years of phone calls and a relationship that somehow grew even closer through the letters they shared from afar, his mother was home. And she returned with Andy and Lily. Her presence seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle that made Tree Hill complete. Her return meant her wisdom, her support, her guidance, and her at times brutal honesty bundled in the love that he had missed so dearly when she had left. Upon telling her that he was back together with Brooke she only smiled knowingly and whispered, "It's about time." In a town laced with those who had always believed in him and Peyton, she had always stood behind his relationship with Brooke even when she hadn't always verbalized it. And while sometimes he could only roll his eyes in laughter at how close his mother and Brooke had continued to grow, he was so excited to have his girls together in one place. And even happier to know that his mom was baby sister were loved by a man who would sell his soul for the both of them.
And that's when his eyes landed his sister, Sawyer, Lydia, and Jenny. These little girls were smiling and making silly faces as Peyton snapped pictures on her Canon camera. She threw her head back in laughter as Jake snuck up behind the girls sticking his tongue out pulling them all together for a group picture. After their separation, Peyton had taken a lot of time for her. For years, it was her and Sawyer. She delved back into her art. She fell in love with music all over again, and she had bled that passion into the young Sawyer. She finally came to see that people don't always leave. And even better, sometimes they return. At a family music festival in Wilmington with Sawyer, she had seen the smiling face of a familiar man with his own daughter. She and Jake spent months emailing and calling each other before realizing that all the waiting and stalling was useless. She loved Jake. He loved her. And they had made a family together. And as he turned back to look at Brooke, he knew that he was a very lucky man.
"What's there to brood about really?"
It was true. And as his eyes traveled to the diamond ring adorning her left ring finger, he knew just how true that statement was.
"It is their words, their intentions, their vision, that must define and shape this marriage. So I call upon them now to state their promise before this group and in the eyes of God: their own vows that will bind them together."
As the priest concluded the introduction to their vows, he felt his voice crack before coughing to clear it nervously. God, he had never been so nervous in his life. It was a wonderful kind of nerve that was intertwined in an anxious feeling to finally make it official. He couldn't wait to call her his wife. More than that, he couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to that she wanted to call him her husband. Brooke Davis wanted to marry him. It probably seemed laughable to outsiders. She was that exquisite. As he stared into her hazel orbs, he didn't care about any of that. He just loved her, and he was propelled to convince her of such.
"A long time ago, I took you as my date to my Uncle Keith's wedding. You found my best man's speech, and you looked at me and you said you hoped someone would say words like that about you one day. I looked at you then just as I'm looking at you now, and I know that you deserve those words and so much more. You have filled my life with light and joy and laughter and a love so deep that it couldn't be ignored even if I tried. You always called me Broody, but somehow that doesn't seem to fit anymore. For the rest of my life, I want to spend every day doing everything I can to make you as happy as you have made me. I love you. I love you so much. And I want to make sure that you hear the words you once wanted someone to say about you on your wedding day… Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always. A promise. Like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. A belief in each other and the possibility of love. A decision to ignore, simply rise above the pain of the past. A covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. A celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead. For two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality. Only an announcement to the world of feelings long held. Promises made long ago. In the sacred spaces of our hearts."
Her eyes filled with tears and he knew that the words had resonated with her. Laughing at herself, she shook her head.
"You're luck you look so cute in that tux or I would kill you for making my make up run."
The crowd laughed as he couldn't help but to himself. It was so… Brooke.
"Luke, before I met you, I was living the life that I thought made me happy. I indulged and I did everything that I thought would fill up the emptiness that I felt. And then you came along. And you challenged everything that I thought that I knew and you made me see that that I was more than all of that. You made me believe in myself. When that I happened I learned how to open my heart. There you were… forever imprinted in it. No matter how many years or things that took place, you were always there. I can't shake you, and I don't want to ever know the day that my heart doesn't have you in it. I found myself through you. I learned how to love through your heart and your mind and your compassion. Throughout my life, I haven't always felt like I had a home. I've found a home in your arms. I don't ever want to be let go. I love you, Lucas Scott. I have always loved you and I know that I always will."
He teased her wrapping his arms around her waist bringing her closer to him.
"Who are you and what have you done to Lucas Scott?"
"I'm just … really happy."
"Happy, huh? I think I know exactly what you mean."
He followed her gaze towards the tables they had set up underneath the large oak tree. His mom sat at a table holding a little boy who was just about 8 months old in her arms. She beamed with joy as she interacted with the little boy whose bright blue eyes could blind him from here. He had felt the very same pride as his mother when he watched her cradle his daughter in her arms all those years ago. And this time, he felt the very same overwhelming pride to watch her interact with his son.
William Keith Scott.
His miracle.
She glided through the room with the home's realtor brochure rolled into a cylinder in her hands. Her vision bounced back and forth with wonder between the tiered ceiling and large window drawing in the morning light. He stood idly behind his wife and their relator with his arms folded just waiting to hear Brooke's vision for this home. He could see the wheels of her mind turning and he knew that with the Brook Davis charm he would be a sucker to whatever it is that she wanted.
For about the two years of their relationship, they had lived separately as he occupied his childhood home and she remained in the house she had bought after coming back from New York. When his mom had called him telling him she and Andy were moving back to Tree Hill and looking for a home, he told her to look no further. In his mind, that was the last sign he needed to do exactly as his heart was screaming at him to do for a while now: he wanted to live with Brooke, but not before he got down on his knee and asked her to marry him. So, he did just that, and they moved in together in Brooke's house and become husband and wife, but now they wanted to start over. They decided they wanted to buy a home of their own… together.
"Marie, would you mind if we just had a minute alone?"
"Absolutely. Take all the time you need, Mr. and Mrs. Scott. I'll just be waiting for the two of you in the kitchen." The middle aged woman sauntered past him with a large smile on her face leaving the two of them alone.
"So, I have this very distinct feeling." He strokes his chin patting his index finger leaving the illusion that he is mulling over a thought to tease her. "I'm thinking that this house is probably too big for us, but it is everything on the Brooke Davis check list. And amazing at that. So, I'm thinking that I don't want to be the one to put out the twinkle that it's your eye right now which means one thing. This is the house we're getting, isn't it?"
He had immediately hoped that his comment about the house being too big would go unnoticed. He hadn't wanted to say that it would just be the two of them and Sawyer directly especially now. Over the past few years, they had exercised virtually each and every option of having a child of their own. They had taken more tests than probably any human being should, and seen nearly every fertility doctor in North Carolina, New York City, and even as far as Los Angeles. After what seemed like an innumerable number of tears that he had dried from her eyes and cried from his own, it seemed that slowly but surely they were coming to terms with the fact that they may never be able to conceive a child of their own.
He squeezes her hand gingerly intertwining their fingers in and out of each other as she spins away taking in the room once more. As she turns back to face him, she's biting her lip and he can see that she's anxious.
"I don't think it will be too big."
Shit. Of course she wouldn't see past that comment.
"And why's that?"
"Well, it won't just be us…" She paused opening her mouth and closing it momentarily. "It will be me, you, Sawyer… and the baby."
The baby?
He narrows his eyes tilting his head trying to follow what it was that she was trying to say. And his confusion was clouded by the sight of her near erupting smile as she bit her lip nervously waiting for him to respond.
"Baby? What do you mean, Brooke?"
"I'm pregnant." She finally burst and it was a far cry from the manner she had broken the news to him as a seventeen year old. Back then, she looked like she was delivering him a death sentence as her eyes were rimmed red glistening with tears. This time, they were glistening with tears, but for a very different reason: sheer happiness. And his heart swelled with a feeling he couldn't quite put into words. "We're gonna have a baby." A tear dropped down her cheek.
"We're having a baby?!"He shook his head wearing what he knew must resemble the most idiotic grin. "Oh my God!" He lunged forward pulling her into a hug lifting her softly into the air and spinning her just to try to epitomize to her just how he was feeling right now. Bringing her back to the ground, he rested kissed her tenderly.
"We're finally gonna have our baby." She said through the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
Sawyer ran over to Karen kissing Will gently on the cheek. She had taken the big sister role in strides, and it bolstered the pride that he didn't think could exceed any more than it already was. His eyes traveled a few yards over watching Peyton who took in the scene as well with a giant smile on her face. As she pulled her attention away from the two children, her eyes fell on him. He sent a crooked smile her way to which she returned one of her own. It was just a smile. No words were exchanged, but he felt like that one gaze had spoken more than their words perhaps could. They were both happy. And in a lot of ways they owed each other a lot of the credit for landing them in the arms of the two people beside them: Jake and Brooke. She winked at him before rejoining the group.
His attentions were drawn back to his wife wrapped her arms around his neck.
"There were some days that I never thought I would get to this place."
"What place is that introspective author boy?"
I know you're searching for things, Lucas. And I hope with all my heart that you find the answers to your questions, but the answers that you're looking for are closer than you think. They're in your heart, and in the hearts of those who love you and that is right here at home. Now, in your life you're going to go to some great places and you're going to do some wonderful things, but no matter where you go or who you become this place will always be with you. There is only one Tree Hill and it's your home.
He closes his eyes letting the words of his mother wash over him. Years of his life had been spent running and trying to figure out answers to questions that had plagued him. Tree Hill was his home; his mother had been right. It was home because it was exactly where his heart lied; with his friends, his family, and with the woman standing before him.
"Home."
"Have you been heavily drinking?" She laughs wrinkling her nose up at him and he even chuckles himself.
"Can't a guy just be really, really happy?"
She lets out a soft and warm moan as she leans up against his lips.
"I think it might be contagious." She whispers as she remains just inches from his face. "We might need to head back to the party over there so I don't get a little too happy if you know what I mean." Wiggling her eye brows at him suggestively, he can't help but to smile. The broody, serious, pensive Lucas Scott that he was just couldn't seem to shake that smile around her.
"Only if that uh… 'happiness' extends until later say around bedtime."
"I may be able to do that." Winking at him she turns around extending her hand his way, but he stands reaching into his pocket grabbing a single piece of paper.
"Before you head back, read this for me."
"What is it?"
"My weekly letter, but there's a twist."
"You're early this week." She smiles seductively at him embracing the letter as she pulled on the belt hook of my jeans.
"I couldn't wait." He kisses her nose softly. "Read it, and come find me, okay?"
-B- -
"Okay." He lightly squeezes her hand before turning around and returning to the party. She stands there smiling as if she was sixteen again. And as she unfolded the page, she looks up again seeing Lucas lift their son into their air eliciting a giggle from Will's face. She hadn't been able to shake the feeling she got each and every time she watched Lucas and their son. In a lot of ways she still felt like she needed to pinch herself at the thought. She never really had a definition of family in her life; however, looking over all the faces in front of her particularly the two blonde boys she felt like she had more of a family than most are ever fortunate enough to ever dream to have.
She brought her attentions back to the letter. Since they had gotten back together, they had starting writing letters to each other again. In some ways, it was because the letters led them back to each other. In others, it was because initially it helped them to communicate the fears and everything in between that they had been apprehensive to vocalize. Now, they were just a form of their love.
And so she began to read.
Dear Luke,
I'm going to tell a couple things that you might read and never believe in a million years. That's okay. Sometimes, I don't believe them myself. But, for a different reason I'm sure.
You're seventeen and I know you're torn between confusion and confidence. There's a lot of things that I wish I could stop you from doing. There's plenty of things I wish you could do completely different. You're going to go through a lot of hurt. And you're going to hurt some people that you care very deeply about as well. Some amazing people are going to walk into your life. And some amazing people are going to leave it far too early.
More than anything, I don't want you to think of this as advice. None of it is. Actually, I came up with all kinds of things to tell you. Dates, events, moments that I wanted you to understand the importance of. Maybe even stop them from ever happening. A lot of it I still do wish from the very bottom of my heart had never, ever happened. But, then I thought to myself, one day you're going to be sitting here writing this exact letter and you're going to have the largest smile on your face. Your heart is going to be so full with love and happiness that you think it could burst at any second. And that's when I knew that all the hardship and heartache, dreams and triumphs, laughs and tears, were all worth it. Each thing that has happened has somehow, even if you may not agree with it now, led you to this exact point.
And let me tell you, it will all be so damn worth it.
You're going to look up from your laptop as a thirty year old man, and see what might be the single most beautiful sight that anyone in this life can ever have the pleasure of saying they were blessed to see. You, Lucas Scott, get to say that you are married to woman who is beautiful and sexy, strong and courageous, inspiring, witty and brilliant… your everything. She's going to challenge you for the better. She'll show you didn't know the slightest thing about compassion because she embodies every ounce of kindness that you never knew existed. She'll teach you. She will open your eyes to a color of this universe that makes everything else look pale in comparison. She will leave a permanent mark on your heart that you better count your blessings each and every day to have.
The thing is you think you know what you want. You don't, but you will. And you will have all of that and more.
Above the sights of your laptop is that very woman, and your beautiful baby boy. By what I know was only the grace of God, you will have a little boy who you will be thankful has his mother's looks and your last name.
It's experience that has led you to this point. Without it, you may not be here. So live it. Go through it. Life has this amazing way of surprising you. Let it. I can't tell you it will be easy, but I can promise you without a shadow of a doubt it will be worth it.
Because one day you will get to call Brooke Davis your wife and William Keith Scott your son.
And that will be a day that I cannot wait for you to live.
Embrace it all,
Luke
A lone tear fell onto the paper housing the words of this letter, but it was not the crying she had become accustomed to in years past. It was tears of joy. Because as she looked up, she saw the smiling face of her husband gleaming back at her as he held their baby boy. He tilted his head gesturing for her to join him. Folding the letter over, she walked toward them.
"Okay everyone time to eat!" Karen's voice overtook the group as she finished assembling the tables of food.
"Thank God, dawg! My man J-Money let's go make a plate." He high fived her godson as they ran over to the tables as the rest of the group promulgated as well.
"Hello baby boy." She spoke enthusiastically to Will giving him Indian kisses garnering a large smile from their son.
"What about me?" Luke smiles down to her and her stomach flips all over again. This man was her heart and soul.
"How could I ever forget you?" She said in an attempt to mock but had come out with a lot more sentimentality than she had intended.
"Let's go eat. Join the party. What do ya say?"
She nodded exaggeratedly as she laced her fingers through her husbands and kissed her son once again.
"Let's go bay-bay."
She began to walk forward as he slightly pulled her back spinning her to kiss her deeply.
"Okay, now we can go."
She smiled looking down as she glanced down at the letter placing it in her pocket.
Luke was right.
It had all be so damn worth it.