A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese!
Disclaimer: Only own the plot
Chapter Eighteen
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.
Brooke suddenly heard her name being called and snapped out of her daydream. She noticed that Haley and Millie were looking at her. "Are you ok?" Haley asked her concerned as Brooke looked through the crowd once again to the spot where she had saw him before. Haley immediately knew who she was looking for. "He's not here, Brooke," she whispered.
Brooke was disappointed, but she did her best to act cheerful. But Haley knew that she was hurting. She had invited Lucas, but he didn't want to come. She had a feeling that Mr. Roe still hadn't told him the whole truth. She hoped that he would soon. She hated seeing her friend so unhappy.
She excused herself as she heard the doorbell from afar. She quickly hurried through the house and to the front door. She was hoping that it was Lucas. However, she was surprised to see that it was Nathan instead.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Haley demanded in a firm tone. "I don't remember sending you an invitation. And I really don't think Brooke would want you here either."
"I'm not here for the party," Nathan replied as he walked into the foyer. "I'm here to talk to you."
"The only problem is that I'm not ready to talk to you," Haley said. "And I probably won't be until your brother comes to his senses. So why don't you come back then?"
Nathan sighed. He knew Haley wasn't going to back down. He was about to leave when he saw a familiar face coming towards them. However, he wasn't happy when he saw who it was. "Carrie, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked with a scowled.
Haley looked from her husband to Carrie. "You two know each other?" she asked them confused.
Carrie turned red. "It's my fault, Haley. I was too embarrassed to tell you that I used to work for Dan Scott as well." Haley was surprised. "I'm the front desk receptionist of Dan Scott's former hotel."
Haley turned back to her husband. "I see. So I guess you two saw each other a lot?" she asked her as she raised her eyebrows at him.
"No, it was mostly when he was just passing through," Carrie replied.
Nathan didn't want to hear anymore. "Can I speak to Haley in private?" he asked her. Carrie nodded and headed back to the party. Nathan waited until she was outside before speaking again. "Are you out of your mind? Why the hell would you invite her to Brooke's surprise party?" he exclaimed angrily. He was also worried.
"Because she's Brooke's friend," Haley replied. "I thought it would be nice to invite some of her friends from Las Vegas."
"She and Brooke are friends?" Nathan asked surprised.
Haley somehow knew what he was thinking. "What? You think everyone working in that hotel knew what Dan was up to?"
Nathan shook his head. "No, I don't. But I know that Carrie can't be trusted."
Haley raised her eyebrows. "How do you know that if you didn't spend any time with Carrie?" she asked him.
Nathan sighed. "Look, I know that you don't trust me right now. But believe me when I say that you can't trust her," he replied.
Haley was silent for a few moments. "I should get back to my guests. I think you can show yourself out," she said before she left the room. Nathan knew that the conversation was over and headed out the front door.
A few hours later, the party was over and Brooke and Haley were saying good-bye to the last of the guests. Brooke and Haley then collapsed on the living room couch. "Let me rest a few minutes and then I'll help you and Deb clean up."
Haley shook her head. "No, you're still the guest of honor. You shouldn't be doing any work."
"Neither should you," Brooke reminded her.
Haley gave her a look. "Do I need to give you a lecture too?" she asked. "I may be on bed rest, but that doesn't mean that I can't move around and do my normal routine."
"I just don't want you to lose your baby too," Brooke replied sadly.
Haley gave her a gentle smile. "I know you don't, but you don't have to worry about me anymore. Dan and his men are in jail. We're safe now. Nobody is coming after us."
Brooke looked at her. "Apparently, you haven't been having nightmares like I have."
Haley didn't answer for a few moments. "Actually, I have." Brooke turned to her surprised. "I just didn't want to admit it. Or stress about it because of the baby. That's partly why I want to go to my beach house. I think that it would help to get away for awhile."
Brooke nodded in agreement. "I hope so."
"Well, I'm going to check on Deb and see if she needs any help with cleaning up," Haley said as she got up from the couch. "I'll be outside if you need me."
Brooke just nodded as she watched her friend leave. She then let out a sigh as she leaned back onto the couch. She was just getting comfortable when she heard the doorbell ring. She got up from the couch with a weary sigh and went to answer the door.
She was surprised to see that it was Lucas. "Can I come in?" he asked her. Brooke nodded and let him step in the foyer. Before she could say anything, he spoke up. "You don't have to explain anything. Your dad told me the whole story. I should have known you were in the Witness Protection Program, but I was too focused on you lying about working for Dan that I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions before giving you a chance to explain. And I'm sorry for leaving you when you needed me the most. Do you forgive me?"
Brooke didn't answer for a few moments as she tried to find the right words. "Lucas, I need to tell you something. And I'm not sure how you are going to take it, but you need to know what happened while I was kidnapped."
"What else did those bastards do?" Lucas demanded angrily. She saw that his brooding expression was back with a vengeance. "Besides hurting you and almost raping you?" He had heard about her injuries from Mr. Roe. "I'm just glad me and Nathan got into that room before he could do that." He couldn't imagine what else that those men could had done to her.
There were another few moments of silence before Brooke spoke again. She took a deep breath before she did. "They caused me to lose our baby," she said. Lucas looked at her surprised. "Haley wasn't the only one pregnant. I just didn't know I was. She was the one who found out first, but Cooper confirmed it when he checked me over." Lucas was about to speak when Brooke went on. "At first, I was devastated. After awhile, I started to realize that it was probably for the best."
To Brooke's surprise, Lucas wasn't upset. Instead, he looked understanding. He let out a sigh. "I can't say that I don't agree with you, but that doesn't mean that we can't start over. The only problem is that I fell in love with Brooke Penelope Davis, not Beth Roe." There was a short pause before he said, "But it doesn't matter. I love you, no matter whether you're Brooke or not. You just need to decide who you want to be."
Before Brooke could reply, Haley and Deb walked into the room. They both were surprised, but pleased when they saw Lucas. They exchanged greetings as he embraced his mother in a hug. He then did the same to Haley. "How is my niece or nephew doing?" he asked her.
"The baby is doing fine," Haley replied. She looked from Lucas to Brooke. "Did we interrupt anything?" she asked.
Lucas and Brooke exchanged looks before they turned back to Haley and Deb. "No, we're done."
There was an awkward silence before Brooke spoke. "Thanks for the party, Haley. I should probably get back to the apartment and start packing."
"You're moving back to Las Vegas?" Lucas asked, trying not to sound too disappointed. However, he didn't succeed.
"Actually, Brooke and I are going to stay at my beach house for awhile," Haley replied. "It's a perfect place for a nice and quiet vacation."
Lucas nodded. He couldn't argue with that. "Let me drive you home then," he offered as he looked at Brooke. Brooke smiled gratefully. She and Lucas then said good-bye to Deb and Haley before heading out to the car.
On the car ride home, there was silence for a few moments before Lucas spoke. "Are you eventually planning to move back to Las Vegas?" he asked her.
"It will always be my home, but I didn't want to stay there my whole life. The only reason I did stay for that long is because I'm very close to my parents. And I still have friends living there. So it was just easier to stay. But over the past six months, I found out that I love North Carolina more now."
Lucas didn't say anything as he pulled the car in front of the apartment. They were surprised to see that another car was there. Brooke grew concerned since she saw that Agent Hargrove was leaning against his car, waiting for them. They got out of the vehicle and walked over to him.
"Agent Hargrove, what are you doing here?" she asked him in a worried tone.
"I'm doing my job, looking after you," Agent Hargrove replied. "You're still in danger, Ms. Roe. So we're going to have to relocate you again."
"My dad wouldn't go after her again," Lucas assured him.
"I'm not talking about him," Agent Hargrove replied.
Lucas looked at him hard. "Wait? You think I am after her? Nathan was the one who was working for Dan, not me. I would never hurt Brooke or her parents. I love her too much for that."
Agent Hargrove stopped him right there. "May I talk to you in private?" he asked. He really didn't want to say what he had to say in front of Brooke. He didn't want to scare her.
"Whatever you have to say, say it in front of me," Brooke told Agent Hargrove.
Agent Hargrove didn't say anything at first. He finally spoke. "We weren't able to catch all of Dan's men. We were able to catch the ones that were involved in your kidnapping. But the rest got away and nobody is talking."
"So you think someone will come here and still try to kill me so I don't testify against Dan?" Brooke asked him with a frown.
"How do you know it's a man? Maybe it's a woman. Maybe it's Peyton," Lucas replied. "After all, she betrayed us. All I'm telling you is that it's not me."
Agent Hargrove was about to respond when Brooke spoke up. "I know Lucas. And I know it's not him. It has to be someone else."
"But you're right. She should leave North Carolina," Lucas said. Brooke turned to him surprised. He gave her a worried look as he said, "I don't want anything else to happen to you."
"I know Mrs. James-Scott is on bed rest, but I believe that we should move her out too," Agent Hargrove said. "And I'm going to make sure that you two aren't separated."
Brooke wasn't listening. Instead, she was looking at Lucas. "What if something happens to you while I'm gone?" she asked him worriedly. "What if Dan's men go after you for revenge?"
"I'm more concerned about you and Haley," Lucas replied as he gazed into her eyes. "I'll be fine. I promise. And I'll be waiting for you in Charlotte when you are able to return to North Carolina."
There was silence for a few moments before Brooke finally agreed. "Alright, I'll go."
