AN: Finally, the end. It was fun to write. Someday I might make a sequel, focusing on Sawyer.

I own nothing associated with OTH. Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 7

Brooke has been at the hospital for two weeks. Firecracker, life-loving, clever and intense Brooke Scott has retreated behind a mask, leaving behind someone Lucas barely recognizes. He comes, every day around six in the evening, bringing flowers and a book. "Hi, Pretty Wife, how was your day?"

"It was fine. The babies are doing well. They are restless today." No hint of a smile.

"Good to know. Davis is arriving tomorrow. He plans to stay a week."

"That's good."

"Do you want your bath now?"

"Sure." Lucas gives Brooke a sponge bath every day, also washing her hair and brushing it afterwards. It's the best part of the day for both of them, a renewal of their intimacy, in the way that's available to them. Afterwards they talk, about their family, about La Jolie Fille and about their plans.

"Did you get started on the nursery, Luke?"

They are going to use the big room adjoing their bedroom as a nursery. "Yes I did. I painted the walls that pale yellow we discussed. Tomorrow I'm going to paint the paneling and trimmings white."

"If you bring some catalogs, we can look at furniture "

"I'll do it tomorrow. How was your day?"

"Haley spent the morning, I had the physical therapist after lunch, and the yoga instructor after that. I also did some sketching." She points at some drawings at a table. "But they are no good."

I look at the sketches. "They seem fine to me."

Brooke sighs. "They aren't. In fact, I would like you to take them home and shred them. I don't want second-rate work with my name floating around."

"Don't worry, I'll do it."

"I need a certain frame of mind to do my work, and I can't find it in this bed."

"I understand."

"I'm sure you don't."

"I've seen you sketching before. The way you dive into it. It's pretty intense."

"That's right. And I can't do intense right now. Maybe you do undertand. It's so hard, Luke." A couple of tears fall down her face."

"Is there anything I can do to make it better, my love?"

"Just tell me again why I'm doing it."

"It's them. Our little boy and our little girl. They need you."

"That's the thought that gives me strength. And that soon enough it will be over."

After dinner, I pick up the book. "Can I read for you, now?"

"What did you bring?"

"The new novel. It's going to be released next week."

"Is it like the others?"

"It's a little different. I incorporated some of our recent history into it."

"Well, go on, then."

She is asleep after three chapters. They include a mild sedative with night medication to help her sleep. Lucas picks up his computer to get some work done. It's mostly investment decisions connected with their now joint assets. They own a surprising number of odd things, including a trendy nightclub in New York, a bowling alley in Rayleigh, North Carolina and a shopping center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to mention a few from an extensive list. All of this plus the controlling share of Brooke Davis Holdings, which includes large well-known companies in fashion design, cosmetics, jewelry, retail and communication businesses, but also a number of odd properties, like a large share of the New York Knicks, of all things. There are professional management teams for each of the businesses involved, with another layer of wealth managers on top of that, but some decisions always filter-up to the top, usually the most complicated ones. Brooke seemed to handle this with phone calls and chutzpah, without breaking a sweat. Since the chore fell to Lucas two weeks ago, He's been struggling to catch up. Which just adds to the awe He always had for his brilliant wife. Having finally managed to reach decisions on a couple of items, He closes his computer and prepares to go to sleep.

Brooke wakes up a couple of times, but both times Lucas manages to calm her down enough to get back to sleep, just by holding her and whispering nothings in her ear. They wake up for blood samples, medication and breakfast at seven. Both still tired and sleepy, but relieved that their babies spent another night right where they belong. They are finishing breakfast when Davis knocks at the door.

"Mom?"

Brooke gives him a smile, a little forced, although the warmth in her eyes in genuine. "Hi Bug. It's so good to see you."

He gives his mother a hug, and a half-hug on Lucas. "Hi Mom, Uncle Lucas. How is everything?"

"Your little brother, your sister and your mother are all doing fine. At twenty-seven weeks we are not out of the woods, but things are looking up."

"They are kicking up a storm." Brooke picks up Davis hand and places it at the left, top part of her bump. Here, meet your new brother."

"Davis opens his eyes wide. "Wow! That is so cool. Hi, little bro."

Brooke then moves his hand to the lower bottom side. "And this is your sister."

"And there you are too. Hi baby girl! It feels like a party in there." He looks at his mother. "That must feel weird."

"They've been moving a lot this morning. You're right. It feels weird. And you and Jude were a little quieter."

"Do they have names?"

Lucas and Brooke exchange looks. They hadn't even begun to discuss the subject. "Not yet, sweetheart. I've been dying to ask. How are things with Anna?"

He looks at the floor. "Hm. You two are going to have to promise to keep what I'm going to say to yourselves. No talking to Uncle Nathan and Godmother."

"That's fine sweetheart, not a peep. But why?"

"Anna is really mad at them. They tried to forbid her to see me. I get their point of view, I did a lot of dumb shit back in LA that ended up in the tabloids. But still, Anna and her parents are going to have to straighten things out between themselves. I'm not going anywhere. Let me just say I'm madly, head over heels in love with her. I'm pretty sure she is the one for me. She feels the same way about me."

"Wow, bug. I'm really happy for the two of you. And I hope you quit the dumb shit."

"I'm very happy too, son. I think you're both very lucky."

"Thanks, uncle. Anna and I were planning to wait until the Summer to move together, but she's been sleeping at my place every night, so, a couple of weeks ago, she moved in. I bought a two-story building in Rayleigh, converted the top floor into a large loft and set up my business in the bottom floor." He looks at his mother, a sweet smile in his face. "I know it's way too soon, but come Summer, if things keep going the way they are, I'm going to shop for a ring."

Brooke start breathing fast, tears in her eyes, and a slightly desperate look in her face.. Lucas calls the nursing station. "Sedative, please." The nurse rushes in, and injects some medication in her central line. She relaxes and spaces out almost immediately.

Davis is looking worried and bewildered with the incident. "What happened?"

Lucas pulls him out of the room. "It's nothing bad, son. You made her very happy and excited. The problem is that she is under terribly serious instructions to avoid all excitement, including happy ones. The idea of you and Anna marrying justs puts your mother totally over the moon. Hell, I'm over the moon about it, but it really hits it out of the ballpark with your mom. And it's going to be exactly the same with Haley."

"Well, I guess I knew that. They are very close, aren't they?"

"That's right. Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm very sad that Anna and her parents are having a hard time. You know, Lydia is here, and she's become my right hand these past two weeks. Do you think it would be ok to tell her about this problem and ask her to try to help?"

"Yes. I think so. You know, Anna is very sweet, until she gets mad. Then she is as stubborn as a rock."

Lucas laughs. "The Scott temper. It's a bit of a family curse. Can I share what you told us with Lydia? It will help pur her in context."

"Yeah, it's ok. Just ask her to be discreet, please."

"Haley should be arriving any minute. I'm leaving, but I'll be back around six. Bye, Davis."

"Bye, Uncle Lucas. See you later."

"Lucas gives Brooke a kiss on the lips and leaves."

When Lucas arrives at La Jolie Fille, his first stop is Lily and Chris' room. I knock and get invited in. They are both sitting on the bed, some reality show on the TV, looking flushed and a little guilty.

"Hi, girls. Sorry for interrupting. How're things?"

Lily gives Chris a sweet look and replies. "I'm sorry you interrupted too. And things are kicking like crazy. I think this little girl is going to be a soccer champion."

"What about my nephew, blondie?"

"Can't complain. He's being good to his mommy this morning."

"I have a quick question for you two. It's about baby names. Are you intending to name either one of them Karen or Keith?"

"We did talk about this, Lukie. We want to name our son Keith. But we were planning to use the name of Chris' grandmother Miranda for our daughter. I was hoping you and aunt Brooke might want to name your daughter Karen."

"I'd certainly like that' Let's see what my better half says about it. Thank you. Do you know where Lydia is?"

"We met he this morning at breakfast. She was going to check something at the lab."

"Thanks girls. You may get back to your business. Enjoy yourselves"

Lucas gets s saucy smile from Lily, and a bit of a flush from Chris. "Oh, we will big brother. See ya."

I change into boxers, a t-shirt and sneakers, grab a basketball and run to the lab. Indeed, Lydia had a smock and a mask, and she is doing what appears to be something mean to a sample from the maturing vats."Hey, Lyd!" She signals me to wait, and goes on with whatever she was doing. A couple of minutes later she picks up something, puts it in the microscope, sighs, makes some notes in her computer and turns to me, removing the mask and welcoming me with a dazzling smile. "Hi, uncle Luke. How are auntie and the little cousins?"

"Brooke is the same, not so good. The babies are still inside, and doing well." I show her the ball. "Play some?"

Want to get schooled? Let me go change. I'll meet you down at the court."

"All right, niece. See you in a bit." Lucas and Lydia have become very close in the past few months, even more after the premature labor crisis. She's been acting as his personal assistant, for practical matters, his sounding board and friendly ear, and she has shared a lot of her own thoughts and dreams with him. For Lucas, it's a bit like having his old friend Haley glued back at his hip. For her, it's the new experience of having a close male friend that really needs her support. As a bonus, they get to play ball every day.

When Lucas gets down to the court, Nathan is already there shooting hoops by himself. "Hey little brother."

"Hi, Luke. How's Brooke and the babies?"

"Brooke is the same. The babies are doing fine. Lydia is coming down to play in a bit."

"Wanna get started? To ten by ones, loser leaves."

"You're on,"

"Hey guys, what's the score?"

"Five to three for the bookworm, against the former NBA star."

"Ha! Five to four."

Nathan wins, ten to eight, but he looks a little gray around the edges. Lydia's eyes are shining with amusement. "You're ready to take on a little girl, daddy?"

"Bring it on, Ellbob."

Lucas watches as they play, and a few minutes later, Haley comes in. "Hi, Luke!"

"Hey." She stops besides Lucas and watches as her husband and her daughter play and taunt each other. "Wow. That's a sight for sore eyes. I haven't seen them playing in... well, I don't recall ever seeing them playing. Who is winning?"

"She is. Six, no seven-four."

"Really?"

"He is a bit out of shape. And I've been playing with her every day for months."

"Hey, little girl. Go easy on your old man. I kinda need him in one piece."

Lydia giggles, and Nathan grunts. "Shut up, Haley. You're breaking my concentration here."

At the end, Lydia wins, ten-eight, and her father's scowl hides a huge amount of pride. "You're one hell of a player, Ellbob. Can you remind me why you didn't play ball in college?"

Lydia blushes. "Actually, I did."

"What? And how come I didn't know?"

"I never told you."

"Why?"

"The girl basketball team at MIT? We sucked so bad it was embarrassing. We never won a game all the time I was there. That's why."

He stares at her. "You could have easily made varsity with the Tar Heels. You're just as good as your sister."

"I would never have made it to the WNBA, daddy, and biochem at MIT is hard to beat."

"Well, I guess you're right about that."

"Listen guys. I came by just to say goodbye. I'm headed for the hospital. See you later."

"Bye, mom. Send a kiss to auntie."

"Same here, love."

"Just so you know, Davis is there with his mom." Nathan frowns. Lucas can see where the problem with Anna lies. "Bye, Hales."

"Thanks for warning me. Bye."

Lucas turns do Lydia. "There's something I need to talk to you, Lyd. But first, let's see if you can take on two Scott brothers in a row." She could.

Lucas is painting the nursery when Lydia comes looking for him. "Hi, uncle."

"Oh, hi Lyd. Let me step outside. Even with the window open, the fumes here a little noxious."

"What can I do for you, uncle?"

"You heard me saying that Davis was at the hospital with Brooke, right? "

"He told us that Anna and he are getting pretty serious, and that they moved in together."

"Wow! That's great news. I like Davis, and I think they can be really good together."

"The problem is that your father disagrees, and made his mind known to Anna. He even tried to forbid her to see him."

Lydia flinches at that. "Ouch. That was a mistake."

"Now she is mad at your parents, they are mad at her and they are not speaking."

"Hm. I see. I didn't know that. You know, Anna is this quiet and sweet girl on the surface, but inside she is just like daddy. In fact, they are so alike it's scary. And you know daddy. He is slow to get angry, but once he gets there, he is stubborn as a mule."

"Do you think you can help? I don't know about Anna, but Davis seems to be completely head over heels. He was even talking about shopping for a ring."

"This would make mom and auntie so happy."

"I know. We had to sedate your aunt when he told her that. She got too excited."

"I'm no good talking to Anna. She thinks I'm just mom's ally. The trick is getting Jamie involved. Anna worships Jamie. If she gets really riled up, he's the only person she'll listen. Mom and I can work on daddy."

"Davis asked that you be discreet. He feared he was breaking Anna's confidence by sharing their situation and this problem, but he couldn't just hide this from his mother."

"I understand. Don't worry, uncle. Jamie and I will take care of this. It won't be the first time we had to broker peace between dad and Anna. Is there anything else?"

"Not for now, Lyd. I'm getting back to my painting job. Bye"

"Ok, and I'm getting back to the lab. Bye."

When Lucas gets back to the hospital, Haley and Davis are already gone for the day. "Hey, Pretty Wife."

"Hi, Husband."

"How was your day?"

"Long. I need a hug."

Initially Brooke is stiff in his arms, but, slowly, she relaxes and melts down against him. "Any news?"

"Lydia beat both her father and I at one-on-one today."

"Wow! Nate must have been so proud."

"You got that right. I also told her about the little war between Anna and their parents. She said Jamie and her would take care of it. She also said that, although Anna seems real quiet and sweet, she is really a mini-Nathan, and that, in her opinion, Davis and Anna make a really good pair"

"Hm. Mini-Nathan. Cool. That should make my son's life a little more interesting. I begin to understand how she caught Davis heart. I told you, Davis is smart and sweet, but he tends to be easygoing and a bit of a dreamer. Someone as tough, competitive and down-to-earth as Nathan would make a really good pair for him."

"I also talked to Lily and Chris about baby names. They said the wanted to name their boy Keith, and their girl Miranda. So, I have a kind of obvious proposal for our daughter."

Brooke smiles. "Let me guess. Karen Haley Scott."

"Yes. What do you think."

"Oh, it's perfect. But what about our little boy?"

"Middle name Nathan?"

"That's fine. John, Paul, Peter, David, Samuel?"

"Too common. Emmet, Victor, Andre, Alexander? "

"I like Emmet a bit. Not the others."

"Emmet Nathan Scott?"

"Nah. Doesn't sound right."

"What about Marcus? Marcus Nathan Scott."

"It has a certain ring to it... I think I can go for that."

"Then it's settled. Karen Haley Scott and Marcus Nathan Scott. I introduce you to the world. Go ahead and conquer it."

"Wow. That was easier than I expected."

"Me too."

"All right, Pretty Wife. It's all ready. Why don't you step this way?" After four weeks without any sign of the contractions returning, Brooke was allowed to go back home. The absolute rest was also relaxed to limited walking, and a more normal emotional life, but without stress, and unfortunately, no sex either. Still, Brooke could enjoy life, at least what life a fifty two year old woman, thirty-one weeks pregnant with twins could enjoy. Lucas has finished decorating the nursery, and that's what he was calling her to see.

Brooke comes in. The floor is dark wood, newly refinished, the walls pale yellow, with white wood wainscoting. The furniture is pale wood, two cribs, a changing table, two sets of shelves, two floor lamps, two large dressers, pictures on the wall, with sports themes on one side, and butterflies and flowers on the other. "It's beautiful, Luke. I love it." As she looks at the details, she notices a little shelf on one side of the room, with the single toy present at this moment. A worn-looking purple monkey. Brooke's eyes instantly fill with tears. "Luke, is that?" She picks it up "It is, isn't it? Angie's monkey. You crazy, wonderful man! You kept it."

"Do you think I could ever throw it away?"

"Now that you mention it, no."

"Angie's monkey has a name. He's Po. He's not just Angie's monkey either."

"Tell me."

"I put it together with other plush toys in Sawyer's nursery. Peyton didn't recognize it, and it just felt right. When Sawyer was about a year and a half, she fell in love with it, and, for several months, she would go nowhere without it. You cannot imagine the kind of emotional whirlwind it was for me, to see Sawyer sleeping with Angie's monkey."

"Actually I can imagine it just fine. I'm glad I never saw it. I would break down for sure, without being able to explain it. So, Sawyer called it Po."

"Yes. I said I couldn't possibly throw it away, but it was a near thing. When Sawyer got her big girl room at twelve, most of the old plush toys went for donation. I managed to rescue Po at the nick of time, and hid it with my stuff."

We walk back to our bedroom, and, through the open door, Sawyer walks right in. "Hey guys, excuse me. I heard the nursery was..." She looks at the monkey in Brooke's hands. "That's Po."

She looks at me with a puzzled expression. "You kept it?"

Lucas smiles at her. "There is more to this monkey than you think. Before it was Po, this was Angie's monkey."

"And who's Angie?"

"I'll show you." Lucas gets an old, battered copy of "The Comet" from his bookshelf. He opens the book, and finds an old picture, what appears to be a family picture of Lucas and Brooke, sitting in a couch, with a baby between them. In the picture, you could even see the purple monkey on the floor, next to the couch.

"That's Angie."

"Did you guys have a baby I never heard about? When was this taken?"

"This picture was taken maybe three weeks before your father proposed to your mother."

"You guys look so happy."

"We were playing house with our closest held dream. Yes, we were happy. Angie was a temporary placement, in a program to foster poor children from developing countries, with dire need of complex medical treatment. Angie had a congenital heart malformation, that required surgery. Brooke fostered her for about a month and a half, while she underwent all the tests, preparation, the surgery itself and recovery. I was co-parenting pretty much the whole time. The day Angie got sent back to her family, Brooke gave me this monkey, to remind me of Angie, and our time together."

"Do you remember who operated on her?"

"It was a young doctor, early thirties. Ethan... yes. Ethan Copeland. Cardio-thoracic Surgeon."

"I know of him. Yes, he is still around, Head of cardio in Atlanta.. Excellent reputation."

She looks again at the picture. "I do not understand how you could go for mom after this. You guys were as crazy for each other as you are now."

"I knew how I felt about Brooke, but I was absolutely sure that it was impossible for us to be together. I loved her, I knew she loved me, but I knew she was absolutely certain that I belonged with your mother. It wouldn't matter what I said or did, I could not convince her otherwise."

"Luke is right about that. I also knew how I felt about him. But I knew he belonged with your mother. She was completely in love with him, or at least she said she was. So we spent several weeks pretending to be a family, and we were insanely happy. But, If he had given me the least sign that he was romantically interested in me I would have bolted right to the ends of the earth."

"So, we both settled, and got our two boys and a girl with other people."

"Two boys and a girl?"

"That's another crazy story. Let's leave it for some other time."

Lucas wakes up with Brooke screaming. "Lucas!" He turns on the bedroom light, and Brooke is half-sitting on the bed, a huge puddle in front of her legs. "I think my water broke, Broody."

"No problem." We had a protocol in place. Unless something very unexpected happened, this birth was going to happen here. I picked her up and walked with her, across the hall, and into the room we had the Ob-Gyn chair. We also had another room with a neonatal ICU waiting. I set Brooke down on the chair and went to look for Sawyer and Lydia. They were actually sharing a room, so I knocked and got both at once. "Hi girls. Her water broke. It's time." Without a word, they both put slippers and robes, and Sawyer goes to the Ob-Gyn room, while Lydia goes find Susan.

"Hi, mom. I'm going to examine you now. Put your feel on the stirrups." She looks, without touching and goes to the bathroom. She talks loudly, while washing her hands. "You're four centimeters dilated. Given their sizes, this birth should be fairly fast and easy. She comes back already gloved, and does another examination. Brooke goes through a contraction. "Oh, oh, motherfucker... Hey! That wasn't so bad."

"They'll get stronger. Time them daddy, tell me how far appart they are."

Susan comes in, and prepares the ultrasound equipment. Sawyer examines Brooke using the ultrasound. "They are both in the right position, but that doesn't mean much. The second twin might move a lot during the birth. The girl will be the oldest, though. She is already locked and loaded."

"Ahh, motherfucker..."

"Two and a half minutes, Dr. Crabcakes."

"Not bad. Don't push yet, mom. You need a little more dilation."

About an hour later Brooke is covered in sweat and getting really annoyed. "Whose brilliant idea was to do this? Lucas, you asshole. Why did you agree to do this? Ahh... Shit, shit. Damn!"

"One and a half minutes."

"All right, mom. You're seven centimeters, which is about right for these guys. So, next contraction, I want you to push, Ok?"

"Noted."

"Ahhh, shit, motherfucker. That hurts!."

"Push, mom. Do it!"

"Here it comes again. Ahhhh. Lucas! You push now. I'm tired."

"It's going to be over soon, princess."

"Don't princess me, you asshole."

"She is crowning, mom. Push it."

"Ahhhh. It hurts."

"Good job. One more big push now."

"Broody, after this, every single poopy diaper is yours, do you hear me? Yours! I did my part."

"Ahhhh... Shit, shit."

"And here she is. Time of birth, four thirty seven."

"Susan, catch the afterbirth. I'm going to examine lil sister here."

"Three pounds, eight ounces, breathing normal, alert, good oxigenation, good reflexes. And... Hello little sister. The most beautiful baby blues in the universe."

"Good lungs, too."

"The afterbirth is out."

The contractions continue. "All right, mom. Little brother is turned sideways, so I'm going to try to rotate him. Sorry, but this is going to hurt."

Sawyer gives a savage push to one side of Brooke's belly, as she does something with her other hand in the birth canal. Brooke gives a piercing scream, and nearly breaks my fingers. "All right, it worked. He is locked in position. It should just be a couple of contractions now.

"Ahhhh..."

"Push mom. That's it. He is crowning too."

"One last push."

"And, he is out. Good job, mom."

"Let's see. Time of birth, four forty-three. Susan, would you help dad cut the girl's cord? Let's look at you, little brother. Weight, four pounds, three ounces, breathing normal, alert, good reflexes. Brownish-green eyes. A mini-Brooke. Mom, you can put her in your breast. They are very strong premies, you might be able to feed them a little."

She finishes with the little boy, ties up his cord and Lucas cut sit too. She wraps him up and gives him to Brooke. "Do you want to give him the other breast?" Brooke nods.

"It's picture time." Lucas and Sawyer squat next to Brooke, and Susan takes a few pictures with Sawyer's cell.

"Mom, can I let the folks in?"

Brooke smiles, tired but very happy. "Before that, do they need to go to the incubators, or can they go straight to their cribs?"

"That's a toss-up. Premies often have a hard time regulating their temperatures, which is the primary reason for the incubators. Let's do this. We don't need all the monitoring of the ICU, but I would like them to be in the incubators the first forty-eight hours. I think we can just wheel the incubators to their nursery, if you want."

"That would be great. You can let the girls in now."

"Came in, girls." Lily, Chris and Lydia come in, all smiles.

"Well, family. The blondie on the right is Karen Haley Scott. The brunette on the left is Marcus Nathan Scott." The room dissolves in a cloud of tears and cooing."

"Sawyer."

"Mom?"

"Come closer."

"Ok."

"When can we fuck?"

Sawyer smiles and whispers in her ear. "Four weeks."

"Thanks."

The wedding took place in Tree Hill, in the same church both Keith and Lucas got left standing at the altar. This time, both Davis and Anna showed up and said their "I do's" We came two weeks before, and spent a very nice time with our babies namesakes Nathan and Haley. Brooke wanted to help Haley with the final arrangements for the festivities.

The twins are thirteen months old. Marcus began walking at ten months, and is a happy, mischievous, fearless bundle of energy, still a boy mini-Brooke. Last week he said his first word: go.. Karen is almost the opposite. She just began to walk. She is sensitive to noises and smells, high strung and very wary of strangers. She began to talk at eleven months, and, can form little sentences with good pronunciation.

Brooke and I are sitting, in an eight person table at the reception. Karen is sitting in my lap, whispering to herself. Marcus in nowhere to be seen, under the eyes of some relative, we hope.

Sawyer, the babies godmother, is around with Jeff. She is in the middle of a two year fellowship at the Children's Hospital, in Boston, and she is wearing a huge rock in her hand, since Jeff proposed a couple of months ago. Lydia has been dating the sous-chef of a one-star Michelin restaurant in Vichy for a few months, and she is starting a wine-producing venture with Brooke and I as partners, centered around La Jolie Fille. Lily and Chris opened their bed and breakfast, called "Mandrake Inn", about five miles from us. Their babies were born two weeks apart, first Miranda, and the Keith, about two months after our twins. One huge surprise. Julian and Peyton showed up together. If anyone knew they were an item, they didn't tell us. Julian did go bankrupt, and he is back producing low-budget indie movies, while Peyton now owns a small art-gallery in LA. Jamie, his wife and his two boys are still doing fine in Albuquerque, as are Nate and Haley. Jude showed up with a twenty-year-old blonde model that Brooke knows a bit. Brooke said it's nothing serious. Very casually, he approached us and asked what was up with Charlie. Well, she is still working on her doctorate in Paris, and we actually go to dinner occasionally with her when we are in town. We did take her up on her offer once, and spent a fun weekend locked in out bedroom, the three of us. No regrets, but no intention of repeating the experience.

"Pretty Wife."

"Broody."

"I think that boy wants to try his luck with Charlie after all."

"Well, she is certainly capable of leaving an impression."

"Do you think he has any chance?"

"He could have. He's certainly matured this past year."

"Would you approve?"

"You mean, a daughter in law that, at one time, screamed my name three times in forty minutes, begging for more?"

"Yup."

"I rather like her, but it would be weird. I hope she would stop offering an encore, in that case."

"I guess we are capable of leaving an impression too."

"I guess."

THE END