A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews. And for my beta: Leeese.


Chapter Thirty One

Lucas walked into the restaurant and got ready to work. Deb greeted him as he walked over to her. "Before you go to work, I have something to show you," she told her son before she gestured him to follow her. She led him to the stairs and onto the second floor, which was full of empty rooms. "How would you and Brooke like this empty space to be your new home?"

Lucas sighed. "Mom, you do know that Brooke and I are looking for a house, right?" he gently reminded her. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but they didn't want to live in another apartment. They wanted to make sure that there would be plenty of room for them and Jayden.

"I know, but this can be your home away from home," Deb explained. "You could always stay up here if the weather gets too bad for you to drive home. And we can always put my grandsons up here too so they won't be in the way."

Lucas gave her a wide smile as he asked, "You love that you're going to have grandchildren, aren't you?"

Deb smiled in return. "I'm going to spoil them rotten." She then let out a sigh. "I just wish that one of those grandchildren would be a granddaughter. But I guess I'm going to have to settle for two great daughters-in-laws."

Lucas shrugged. "Well, you never know. Brooke and I might have another baby. Of course, that won't be for a couple of years. We want to have this one first."

"Speaking of your lovely wife, where is she today?" Deb asked.

"She and Haley are shopping for the perfect wedding gifts for Peyton and Jake," Lucas replied. "I still can't believe that they got back together or that they are engaged again."

Deb nodded understandingly. "Well, they went through a lot, just like you and Brooke. So I'm not surprised that Jake is giving Peyton another chance." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Lucas, I want to ask you something." Lucas turned to her with curiosity. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "How would you feel if I started dating again?"

Lucas wasn't expecting a question like that. He raised his eyebrows. "Mom, have you been seeing someone?"

"Well, we wanted to wait until after this whole ordeal with Carrie was over with," Deb said. "So we did, but I then started to feel guilty that I was hiding this from you and Nathan and so did my boyfriend." Lucas wondered even more who this gentleman was. "There have been too many secrets in this family already. I didn't want to hide my new relationship from you and Nathan."

Lucas didn't let his mother go any further. "Why would you want to hide your new relationship?" A thought then crossed his mind. "Don't tell me that you are dating someone younger than you." He cut his mother off before she could get a word out. "Mom, that's just not right."

Deb gave her son a look. "Don't be ridiculous. It's Agent Hargrove."

Lucas looked at her stunned. "You mean the F.B.I. agent your grandson is named after?" he exclaimed.

Deb shushed him. She didn't want him to upset the customers. "Yes, he is the same person who helped us during the past nine months," she hissed. "And he isn't in the F.B.I. anymore. He decided to resign." She then could tell that her son was about to blame her. "I had nothing to do with this decision."

"Your mom is right, Lucas," Andy said as he joined the two. "I've thought about doing this for a long time. As much as I loved my career, I wanted to have a life outside of it. I didn't think that it could be possible. So I decided to make some sacrifices." He then looked around the empty second floor. "And if you and Brooke don't want this space, I'll take it."

"I guess that means that you'll be helping out in the restaurant?" Lucas asked.

Andy nodded. "That way, you can keep an eye on your pregnant wife, not to mention sister-in-law."

Lucas frowned. "I thought you said that there isn't anything more to worry about."

"From what your mom told me, Brooke is getting a little anxious with a certain wedding that is coming up," Andy replied.

Lucas knew that he was referring to Peyton's wedding. He let out a huge sigh. "Yeah, I know. That's why we talked about our own wedding and decided to have the second wedding after the baby is born. We just don't know which date yet."

"Well, I'm sure you two will figure it out," Deb assured him. "You have plenty of time."

Lucas knew that was true. "Yeah, but we should really find a house before the baby comes. I don't want that to stress Brooke out even more than she already is. I'm amazed that she and Haley both have held out this long without any complications."

"Let's make sure it stays that way," Deb told him.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I know. I've already got the lecture from Brooke's parents to watch over their daughter and unborn grandson. They even warned me that our marriage is over if anything happens to Brooke or Jayden. And the worst part is that they're serious."

"Well, they are only looking after their daughter," Deb reminded him gently. "But they know that you will take care of them."

Lucas sighed. "I don't know about that. I sometimes think that Keith blames me for encouraging Brooke to elope."

Deb frowned. "I thought that he was ok with you two eloping?"

"He was never ok with us eloping, but he dealt with it. After all, we promised to have a second wedding where he could walk Brooke down the aisle," Lucas replied. "And he should know that I would never let anything happen to my wife or son. I love them."

Deb gave him a comforting smile. "I know you do. And I'm sure he does too."

Lucas didn't believe that. "Then why the hell doesn't he trust me with Brooke?" he said in an exasperated tone. He didn't let either of them answer as he continued. "Because he still can't get over the fact that I'm Dan Scott's son," he told them before he stormed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Brooke and Haley were enjoying themseleves at the local mall. Brooke squealed in delight as she grabbed another baby outfit. Haley quickly snatched it out of her hands and put it back on the shelf. She gave a stern look to her friend as she said, "Brooke, we're here to shop for Peyton, not ourselves. Besides, you'll be getting plenty of baby clothes at our shower. Can't you wait until then?" Since their due dates were so close together, they had decided to have a combined shower.

Brooke was surprised at her calm attitude. "How can you not melt over these outfits? I thought you were excited to have my nephew."

Haley gave her a look. "Of course I am excited," she assured her. "Nathan and I started working on the nursery as soon as he got out of the hospital."

Brooke let out a sigh. "I wish Lucas and I could get our nursery ready, but we have to find a house first. We have looked, but we haven't found anything that we've liked yet. So it looks like we are staying in the apartment for a little while longer." She then changed the subject. "So have you and Nathan finally decided a name for my nephew?"

Haley nodded. "We've decided to stay with James Lucas Scott, after my dad and his protective uncle."

Brooke gave her a smile. "Yeah, my husband is very protective of his family, isn't he? Of course I don't blame him after what we have gone through. I'm just glad that I don't have to testify against Julian or any of those other bastards who worked for Dan. They all agreed to plea deals."

Haley nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't know if I could have handled a long trial." She was then quiet for a moment as her thoughts wandered off. She then snapped out of her daydream as she continued the conversation. "So are your parents ready to become grandparents?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, they can't wait until Jayden is born. They are planning to fly over sometime in October and stay until after the Christmas holidays. They want to make sure that they don't miss the birth of their grandson."

Haley looked at her surprised. "Will you be able to handle your parents for that long?"

Brooke had no doubt that she could. "I can, but I'm not sure that Lucas can," she replied. "I tried to tell my parents that they didn't have to stay that long, but they insisted on it. So I couldn't argue with them."

"No offense, but your parents do seem like they are overprotective of you," Haley told her.

Brooke sighed. "Yeah, I know. They've always been that way. I think it's because I'm their only child. And that's why I don't want Jayden to become an only child. Sure, we would have more money to go on family vacations, but our child would be lonely."

"Be careful of what you wish for," Haley warned her. "You might just get what you ask for."

Brooke gave her a smile. "Good because I'm wishing for a big family."

Once they were done shopping, they headed to the apartment to drop off their stuff. They then decided to go to the restaurant for lunch. They were relieved to see that Andy and Deb were on their lunch break. However, Brooke was surprised to see that Lucas wasn't with them. "Where's Lucas?" she asked them.

Andy and Deb exchanged looks before they turned back to Brooke. "Well, it seems that Lucas believes that he is still living in his father's shadow when it comes to your parents," Deb answered.

"Well, he isn't the only one who is going through that," Haley said. Everyone knew that she was talking about Nathan.

Brooke sighed. "I'll go and talk to him. Do you have any idea where he went?" she asked them. When they couldn't give her an answer, she decided to go and search for her husband. She decided to try the apartment first. She did her best to stay calm as she drove through the streets to her home.

She unlocked the front door and was relieved when she found him in the living room. She then noticed his upset face. She wondered what was bothering him. Lucas took a deep breath before speaking. "Brooke, tell me the truth. Would you have gone out with me if you had found out that I was Dan Scott's son right away?"

"Does it matter? We're together now," Brooke replied as she remembered what Deb had told her. Lucas remained quiet. "Do you remember when we went to counseling and you found out that I was still afraid to trust you?" she asked him. Lucas nodded. "Do you remember what your response was?"

Lucas thought for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I told you that Dan and I were two different people."

Brooke gave him a comforting smile. "Exactly. I don't care if you're Dan Scott's son. And I don't care if my parents don't like you. All I care about is the man who is my best friend, who went to great lengths to rescue me, who comforted me when I was having nightmares, who is the father of my baby and who is my husband that I love."

Lucas finally smiled in return. "I'm all that, huh?"

Brooke laughed. "Yes, you are all that and so much more. And if my parents can't see past you being Dan Scott's son, then that's their loss. We don't need them in our lives." Lucas looked at her shocked by her words. He wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. He knew how much she loved her parents. "You know what we do need though?"

Lucas stopped her right there. "Hold it, Brooke. I don't want to push your parents out of our lives yet. After all, they are Jayden's grandparents. They deserve to know him. But I do want to make sure that your parents will accept me for who I am, not who Dan was."

Brooke nodded understandingly. "Well, we'll have plenty of time to find out over the holidays. But right now, I think we both need a vacation away from this place."

Lucas gave her a look. "I'm not allowing my wife to fly."

Brooke gave him a smile. "Who said anything about flying? I was thinking about having a fun road trip."

Lucas smiled in return. "And where do you propose we go?"

Brooke didn't answer for a moment. She then gave him another smile. "I don't care as long as it is with you," she told him.