A/N: Thank you for the reviews. And thanks to my awesome beta: Leeese!
Disclaimer: Don't own OTH
Chapter Seventeen
At the hospital, Brooke was soon reunited with her parents. Even though she was happy to see them, she couldn't help but feel upset that her relationships with her friends especially Lucas was ruined. Even if they did forgive her, the damage was done. They would never look at her the same way again.
Brooke didn't even pay attention as the doctor examined her. She already knew what he was going to say. After he confirmed the miscarriage, she immediately asked him a question that had been on her mind since Cooper had examined. "Will I still be able to have children?" she asked hopefully.
The doctor nodded as he gave her a reassuring smile. "You have nothing to worry about, Ms. Roe. You can still have more children if you want to." Brooke was relieved. She would hate it if she couldn't have any children. She always wanted to start her own family, but didn't know if it would ever happen. Especially after all that drama with Dan Scott. "Now, I suggest you take it easy for the next few days since you will still be bruised and sore. I've checked the x-ray of your nose and although, it is broken, it's still in alignment which means that we don't have to reset it. I'll give you something for the pain, but if it gets really bad, then you should come back in."
She didn't say anything as her parents thanked him. She just nodded absentmindedly as he told them that he would get everything ready to discharge her. He then left as the two parents looked at their daughter. "Honey, we're so sorry," Karen told her softly.
"Mom, it's not your fault," Brooke assured her.
"Well, the good news is that we can finally go home and put all of this behind us," Keith told her.
Brooke was quiet for a few moments before she spoke. "I'm not sure if I want to go back to Las Vegas. I think I've fallen in love with Tree Hill. Actually, I know I have." There was then a short pause before she spoke again. "The only problem is that I don't know if I'm welcomed here anymore."
"Of course you are," said a familiar voice. The three adults turned to see Haley and the two friends exchanged smiles as she walked over to the examining table. They gently embraced in a hug before she finally pulled away. She then exchanged greetings with Keith and Karen before turning back to Brooke and asking. "Are you ok?"
Brooke nodded. "Yeah, the doctor told me that I'm going to be sore and bruised for awhile, but that's it, besides my broken nose." Haley let out a relieved sigh. "What about you?" she asked. "Is the baby ok?"
Haley gave her a comforting smile. "The baby's fine. Actually, I'm supposed to be on bed rest right now. But I had to check up on you once I heard that you were safe. So Deb drove me over," she replied.
Brooke then turned to her parents. "Do you mind if I talk to Haley alone?" she asked them.
Keith and Karen exchanged knowing looks before turning back to their daughter. "Of course. We'll be right outside if you need us," Karen told her before they left the two. They knew that they needed some private time to talk.
Brooke waited until she was sure her parents were gone before speaking again. "Ok, you can drop the act now. You hate me, don't you?"
Haley gave her a shocked look. "Why would I hate you? You may have lied to me, but it was for a good reason. I don't blame you. You were just trying to protect yourself. I would have done the same thing. Plus I don't think the cops would have liked you telling everybody about who you really are. That kind of defeats the whole purpose of the Witness Protection Program."
Brooke smiled gratefully at her. "At least you understand. Lucas didn't even want to speak to me after he found out the truth. He just left without giving me a chance to explain."
Haley tried to comfort her friend. "I'm sure he was just in shock. After all, it's a lot to take in." She then looked at her hard. "What exactly did he find out?" she asked her friend.
Brooke shrugged. "He found out my real name." She frowned as she wondered why Haley was asking about this.
Haley then thought for a moment. "And he knows that you used to work for Dan." She then realized that Lucas didn't know the whole story. She knew that she had to find him and explain before he would do something he would regret. She turned to Brooke, who had a confused look on her face. "I should go and get back in bed. I'll call you later." Brooke nodded as they embraced each other once again. Haley then pulled away before giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Everything will work out, even with Lucas, ok? I promise."
Brooke gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Haley."
"You're welcome," Haley replied before she left the room. She soon ran into Keith and Karen, who were talking to Deb. They stopped once they saw Haley and they all gave her a smile. She smiled in return. However, she was worried about Brooke.
Karen gave Haley a grateful smile. "Haley, we can't thank you enough for looking after Beth while you two were captives. It really means a lot to us," she said.
Haley smiled in return. "It was no problem. Speaking of that, I was wondering if you could talk to Lucas," she said.
Keith raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why would I do that? He rescued her before leaving her out in the middle of nowhere when he ran off."
"Because he doesn't know the whole story," Haley replied. Keith and Karen were confused. "He just knows that Brooke lied about her name and her job. And that job was working for the number one person he despises. That is what hurt him the most."
"I don't care. How do I know he won't hurt her like his father did?" Keith asked her in an annoyed tone. "Or your husband?"
Haley knew that he had a point. However, his wife spoke up first. "You're really asking that now after he helped rescue our daughter?" Karen asked him. "Keith, you know that he loves Beth, whether she is Brooke or not. We have to help fix this or Beth will lose all her faith in love." Keith didn't say anything. "Keith, please talk to him."
Keith let out a sigh before answering. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."
They quickly said their good-byes before Brooke showed up in the hallway. Deb then took Haley home. When they arrived, Haley was surprised to find that Nathan was waiting for them. However, she just walked right past him and began to head up the stairs.
"Hales, I'm so sorry," Nathan said, which made her freeze and turn around to face him. "I never thought that working for my dad would put you or Beth or our baby in danger. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it."
"Why did you keep it a secret from me?" Haley demanded in a hurt tone.
"Because I wanted to protect you from him," Nathan exclaimed. "I knew how he could be. And I didn't want you to get caught in the middle. It can get messy sometimes." Haley wasn't convinced. "When I found out that Brooke was Beth, I told Dan that I quit. I knew I couldn't report her because it would hurt Lucas. Not to mention that she was my friend too." Haley just shook her head in disbelief. "I know I should have just told Brooke right then and there, but I stupidly thought that nothing would happen. But then the phone calls started and I wanted to tell Brooke then."
"Then why didn't you? What stopped you?" Haley asked him. She was dying to know what had caused him to stop himself from telling Brooke.
Nathan knew that there was no good excuse and couldn't help but sigh as he said, "Look, I messed up, ok? I admit it and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get you and everyone else to trust me again. I don't want to hurt you or anybody else like that again."
Haley looked at him hard and knew that he was serious. She let out a sigh before answering him. "Well, I need some time away from you right now."
Nathan nodded understandingly. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight. Then I'll pack and move into a hotel in the morning."
A couple of weeks passed with everyone keeping their distance from each other. Brooke stayed at her apartment while Lucas stayed in Charlotte and took care of the restaurant. She didn't get out much since her body was trying to heal. She was fine some days while other days, she had to stay in bed because the pain was so bad.
Nathan stayed in a hotel while Haley had the house. Deb stayed with her to look after her since she knew that Lucas was taking care of the restaurant. Even though Haley wasn't talking to Nathan, he called the house every day to check up on her. Deb would assure him that she was fine.
Once Jake came back from his trip, Peyton confessed everything and broke off the engagement. He was shocked that his fiancée would betray a friend just to get money. However, he didn't stop her from moving out of the apartment and into a motel.
It wasn't long before the whole town buzzed with the news about the Scott family. Nathan and Peyton were stared out anytime they went out in public. Both tried to ignore it, but they couldn't help feeling the guilt.
One afternoon, Haley was just relaxing on the couch when she heard the doorbell ring. She got up and went to the door. Swinging the door open, she was happy to see that it was Brooke. She gave her friend a wide smile as she walked into the foyer. She could see that Brooke's wounds were healing nicely and her bruises were fading. "Hey, how are you?" she asked her as they embraced in a hug. They then pulled away and Haley brought her to the living room. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Are you allowed to do that in your delicate condition?" she teased her.
Haley gave her a look. "You sound just like Deb," she told her. "I'm fine. My blood pressure has gone way down since that whole thing with Dan." Brooke was suddenly quiet. Haley quickly realized her mistake. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it's still fresh in your mind."
Brooke shook her head. "It's the nightmares that are getting to me," she confessed. She hated to admit it, but she had kept it to herself for awhile. Her parents didn't even know that she was still having trouble with the ordeal. There was a short pause before she spoke again. "That's why I think it's best for me to go back home to Las Vegas for awhile."
"Don't you think that would make it worse instead of better?" Haley asked her concerned. She didn't let Brooke respond. "Nathan and I have a beautiful beach house and I was planning to go there for awhile. And I was wondering if you want to stay with me."
Brooke gave her a smile. "I'd love to."
Haley smiled in return. She was hoping to hear that. "Great. Why don't we talk about it on the back porch? It's such a beautiful day out. I'd hate to waste it inside." Brooke agreed and Haley led her outside. As soon as Brooke walked outside, she jumped as her friends shouted 'surprise'. She then turned at Haley in surprise as Haley explained. "This is the real reason we were supposed to go to Tric that night. So happy belated birthday."
Everyone cheered and applauded as Brooke turned red, embarrassed. She was overwhelmed with joy that there were so many people who cared about her. She didn't think that there would be after everything that happened. She greeted them as they walked over to her and started chatting excitedly with her.
She started to join in with the conversation when she noticed that Lucas had come to the party. She was surprised, but thrilled. She quickly excused herself and walked over to him. She instantly embraced him in a hug as tightly as her healing ribs would let her and he lovingly returned it. Now that she was in his arms, she didn't want to let go.
