A/N: My penname is now NALEYAAF23. Thanks for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.


Chapter Thirty Two

After a little bit of discussion, Lucas and Brooke decided to travel to Virginia Beach. Neither of them had been there before, but they knew that it was full of attractions and activities to do. Nathan and Haley soon decided to join them. They felt that they needed a vacation too, but Nathan didn't want Haley to fly. So they thought it would be better to do a road trip as well. Lucas and Brooke were thrilled to have the company.

They decided to do it after the Fourth of July holiday was over. They knew that the city would be overflowing with visitors and thought that it was best to wait. They wanted to spend the holiday with their families anyway. Keith and Karen couldn't come. So Haley's parents invited the Scotts over for a barbeque. Everyone happily accepted.

Brooke and Haley were talking when Quinn walked up to them. "So have you and Lucas found a house yet?" she asked curiously.

Brooke nodded. "Actually, we have. Deb is planning to move in with Andy above the restaurant. She thought it was time to move on from her house. So she is giving her house to us. Lucas and I have already started packing boxes."

"Wow, it is really getting serious between Deb and Agent Hargrove, isn't it?" Quinn asked them.

Haley nodded. "Luckily, Nathan and Lucas are fine with them dating. They can see that their mother is happy again. And she hasn't been for awhile." Brooke couldn't help but agree. Haley then turned to Brooke and asked, "Speaking of parents, how are your parents?"

Brooke sighed. "They're thinking about moving to North Carolina so they can be close to me and their grandson," she replied. "It's nice that they will be nearby, but I'm afraid that they will take over being Jayden's parents instead of his grandparents. After all, they were overprotective of me. I'm sure that they are going to be even worse when Jayden is born. It's not enough that they are having trouble accepting Lucas for who he is, but they are going to try and take over raising Jayden."

Haley stopped her right there. "Whoa, you don't know that. I know that your parents are overprotective of you, but that doesn't mean that they are going to come in and take over your house. I think that they know that you need to live your own life. And they can't interfere anymore. After all, you're an adult."

"But she is still their daughter," Deb said as she came up to them. She couldn't help but overhear the conversation. "They'll never stop worrying about their daughter. But I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

"At least Haley has less waiting time than I do," Brooke said. "I would love to have Jayden born early, but first time babies are always late. After all, our bodies aren't used to carrying a baby."

Haley tried not to laugh. "Where are you getting this information? First babies aren't always late. Sometimes, they're early. It just depends on what is going on with the baby at the time the contractions start."

"After all you girls went through, I'm just glad that you two haven't lost your babies," Mrs. James said as she embraced her daughter in a tight hug. At first, Jimmy and Lydia had been furious when they had heard about Nathan's real job. They had been even more upset when they had found out their daughter had been kidnapped twice. However, they were relieved when they had discovered that she was rescued safely and the baby was fine.

"Me too," Deb agreed. "I would have hated it if I lost my two daughters-in-laws or grandsons. Speaking of daughters-in-laws, did you and Lucas ever decide when you two were going to get remarried?"

Brooke nodded. "We have thought a lot about it. And we have decided to wait until after Jayden is born to do the second wedding. We would do it sooner, but we want our son included. Besides, I don't want to risk my water breaking on my wedding day."

Deb gave her a comforting smile. "I'm sure you won't. Jayden will know the right time to tell you when he wants to come out."

"I just hope that I have a natural birth," Brooke said as she looked down at her small baby bump. "My mom developed preeclampsia during labor. They had to do a C-section on her to get me out safely."

Haley nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I'm sure you two will. You just need to make sure that you two take care of yourselves until then," Lydia advised them. "Otherwise, you will be getting the overprotective grandmother."

"The sad part is that she's serious," Quinn warned Brooke.

Haley gave her mother a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Mom. We'll be able to survive until our due dates," she assured her. "After all, what do we have to be stressed about now? Dan's goons are either in prison or dead. And so is Carrie. So I think that we're good."

A few hours later, they all gathered in the backyard to watch the fireworks. After the spectacular display, Lucas and Brooke decided to head to their hotel for the night. They didn't want to make the long drive back to their apartment. So they had called and arranged for a hotel room.

When they arrived at their hotel room, Brooke was surprised to see dessert waiting for them on a table. A bouquet of red roses was next to the box of chocolates. She gave her husband a wide smile. "This is a nice surprise. I just wish that I had gotten something for you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Lucas smiled in return as they shared a kiss. "Well, I wanted to do something special for us tonight. I would have bought wine, but I know that you still can't drink any yet."

"That's ok. I don't need wine in order to eat dessert," Brooke told him. "All I need is you. I'll have plenty of time to drink wine after I have Jayden. I'm just glad that we have the rest of the summer and fall to prepare for him."

"We don't have to do it right now, do we?" Lucas asked her. "Because I have a different plan in mind for tonight."

Brooke giggled. She knew exactly what he had in mind. "No, we don't have to do it right now," she pointed out. She then let out a fake yawn. "I'm tired anyway. I'm not sure if I have enough energy to stay awake."

Lucas tried not to smile. "I'll help you stay awake," he told her before they shared a passionate kiss. They then made out for a few minutes before the temptation of eating the chocolate was too much for Brooke. She happily shared with Lucas as they cuddled up next to each other.

A few days later, Lucas, Brooke, Nathan and Haley were on their way to Virginia Beach. Before they left the city, they made sure to say good-bye to Deb. She assured them that she would be fine and told them to have fun. They promised her that they would. It wasn't long before they were on the road.

"You know, I don't think I would have agreed to this if I knew that I was going to be in the front passenger seat while my wife is in the backseat," Nathan complained as he turned to his brother, who was driving. "I'm surprised that you're not complaining about it."

"May I remind you that your sister-in-law is pregnant?" Brooke reminded him. "So is your wife. And it's much more comfortable back here than in the front seat." Haley nodded in agreement. "Don't worry. You two will have plenty of alone time this weekend. When I made hotel reservations, I made sure that we had separate, but adjoining rooms." She knew that Nathan and Haley wanted their privacy just as much as she and Lucas did.

Nathan was quiet. Haley knew that it was best to leave him alone. So she changed the subject. They started discussing the activities that they were planning to do that weekend. Lucas joined in when he could. Nathan also stated his opinion. They could all see that he was better than when the trip first started out.

After a few hours, they arrived at their destination. They checked into their hotel and got settled in before they went out to see the sights. They took it easy on the first day and walked on the boardwalk. Both couples went off in the opposite direction to what the other one was going. They promised to meet up at the hotel later.

Lucas and Brooke walked for awhile before Brooke felt that she needed a break. They sat down on a bench and watched the people go by. Brooke couldn't help but smile fondly as she watched the many children run and play in the sand while others were wading in the ocean with their parents.

"I can't wait to do that with Jayden," she told Lucas. "I'm sure he is going to love the beach so much that he won't want to leave."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, that's a safe bet." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "Do you miss Las Vegas?"

Brooke didn't know where that came from. However, she answered his question. She shook her head as she spoke. "No, I don't," she admitted. "I didn't expect to stay there as long as I did. I really wanted to attend college out of state, but my parents convinced me that I would be better off in choosing a university in Nevada." There was silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "The job at Dan's hotel was only supposed to be temporary, but Dan liked me so much that he offered me a permanent job. He raised my salary and gave me an office. How could I not take it?" she asked.

Lucas didn't know how to react to that. "Why don't we get something to eat?" he asked as he got up from the bench. "I'm sure you're starving."

Brooke then knew that she had made him upset. She got up from the bench and followed him down the boardwalk. "Lucas, I'm sorry. I forgot that this trip was to get away from the whole ordeal."

Lucas shook his head. "No, I shouldn't have asked about it in the first place," he replied. "The only reason I was asking because I was thinking about how our life used to be before this whole mess." Brooke looked at him confused. "I love that you're having our baby, but I sometimes wish that we could go back to the way we were."

Brooke couldn't believe him. "You really want to go back to the days where our relationship was based on secrets and lies?" she exclaimed angrily. She tried to keep her voice down as she really didn't want to make a scene. "Why the hell would you want to do that?" she demanded.

Lucas didn't respond as Nathan and Haley walked up to them. "Hey, is everything ok with you two?" Nathan asked them, noticing the tension between the two of them.

Brooke didn't even look at Lucas as she answered. "Yeah, I'm going to just go back to the hotel and take a nap. The walk really wore me out." She turned to Haley. "Do you want to come with me?" she asked. Haley nodded her head, knowing that her best friend wanted to talk to her in private.

Nathan waited until they were a good distance away before turning back to his brother. He knew that he had to talk to him. "What the hell was that all about?" he demanded. "Because it looked like you two were arguing. I don't want you two to ruin this weekend for any of us. We all need this vacation."

Lucas was quiet at first. He didn't want to talk about it, but his brother encouraged him to speak up. "I miss our relationship before this whole crazy mess," he confessed. Nathan was about to respond, but his brother spoke up first. "Yes, I know that Dan's employees are either dead or in prison. But how long will it be before we get a repeat of what happened with Carrie? We both will always have a target on our backs because we're Dan's sons. And I have a double target on my back because of Brooke's parents. They are going to be watching my every move to make sure I don't hurt Brooke or Jayden. I won't let anyone run my life. And that's exactly what is going to happen if I stay with Brooke."

Nathan tried to calm his brother down. "Agent Hargrove promised us that none of them will be getting out anytime soon." Lucas still wasn't convinced. "As for Keith and Karen, maybe you and Brooke should sit down and talk to them about your feelings. Let them know that they can trust you. It worked with Jimmy and Lydia. It can work with Keith and Karen."

Lucas sighed. "I don't know, Nate."

"It never hurts to try," Nathan replied. "But first, go apologize to your wife. You know how dangerous it is to stress her out." Lucas knew that he was right. So he and Nathan headed back to the hotel, hoping that nothing else would go wrong and ruin their vacation.