A/N: Once again, thanks for the amazing reviews. I meant to put this up yesterday but my job did some layoffs and I was a happy recepient of that so needless to say, I didn't quite feel like doing much of anything yesterday. The good news is, I'll probably update a little more often since I'll have more time on my hands for the moment. But enough of that.... on with the story.

The Past Comes To Bite You

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(The past is our definition. ~ Wendell Berry)


Lucas walked into the newsstand shop in the airport, scanning the magazine for something he could flip through on the plane. He'd opted to take a cab to the airport, not wanting to do the big goodbye scene. Besides, he'd wanted to call Brooke before he left and he knew he couldn't do that with Peyton sitting next to him.

He quickly grabbed two magazines and a newspaper before heading up to the counter and paying for the items. As he walked out, adjusting his shoulder bag that held his laptop, he bumped into someone.

"Hey sorry about that," he looked up and smiled. "Nate?"

"Luke?" he stared at his older brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing little brother," he replied. "Is Haley here with you?"

"No, she just dropped me off; she had a class," Nathan answered. "Tell me you're not running off to get married again."

Lucas let his hair fall back as he laughed. "No, I'm going to New York for a meeting about my book; you?"

"Fort Wayne," he replied. "The manager for the Mad Ants called."

"As in The D league," he grinned proudly, seeing the answer written all over Nathan's face. "Nate, that's awesome man." He hugged him. "Congratulations."

"Thanks man," he replied as the stepped back. "I'm really stoked about this you know."

Lucas nodded. "So hey, what time does your flight leave?"

"In about an hour," Nathan answered. "How about yours?"

"About an hour and a half," Lucas said as he checked his watch. "I wanted to be early. Plus, it gives me some time to spend with you little brother."

"Because you knew I'd be here," he said sarcastically as they walked toward one of the tables in the food area and sat down. "So what's up? Is it Dan or is there a little more to it?"

The brooding blonde exhaled deeply. "It's a lot of things Nate." He shook his head. "If I tell you something, I need you to keep it between us. You can't even tell Hales, at least not yet."

Nathan nodded. "You have my word. What's up?"

"It's Brooke," Lucas replied. "She's going through some stuff right now."

"I figured as much since she hasn't been around," Nathan said. "Is she okay?"

"I think she will be," he paused briefly. "You remember the conversation I had with you about going to see her the night before mine and Lindsay's wedding?" He watched his brother nod. "I think I'm going to do it."

"You mean... Luke, I mean are you sure about this?" he raised his brows before shaking his head. "How is Peyton going to feel about that? Are you sure you want to stir up the past like that?"

"I don't know," he ran a hand over his hair before rubbing his neck. "I just know I have to do this for her. She needs this."

He looked at how serious his brother looked and exhaled deeply. "Well then I'll support you," Nathan nodded. "Even if I do think you've lost your mind."

Lucas scoffed before giving a slight chuckle. "Thanks Nate."

Nathan grinned. "Anytime."

Peyton ran around the house, trying to find her other shoe. She knew Mick would be arriving in a few minutes and she wanted to look her best. She couldn't explain it but she felt this immediate connection to him and deep don she hoped he was the young man who had swept Ellie off her feet.

She bent down to look under the bed, finally retrieving the missing shoe just as she heard a knock on the door. Peyton quickly slipped on her heel and answered the door, smiling brightly. "Hi."

"Hi Peyton," Mick returned the smiled. "Is your fiancé here? I'd love to meet him."

"Unfortunately he had to fly to New York for his book but come on in," She stepped back. "I have a picture." She walked over to the table and picked up a photo of the two of them. "This is Lucas." She handed him the frame.

"You two look happy," he smiled at her. "Have you set a date yet?"

She shook her head solemnly. "No," her voice was soft. "Things have been really hard lately." She suddenly felt her eyes began to burn. "I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I must seem like some kind of basket case to you."

"Of course not," his green eyes looked into hers. "You look like someone who is upset. You want to talk about it?"

Peyton shook her head as her tears subsided. "No, what I'd really like to do is go to breakfast and hear some more of your stories."

He nodded. "I think that can be arranged." He paused briefly. "After you."

Peyton opened the door and froze as she saw two figures standing on the porch. "Jake?"

"Hey Peyton," he smiled. "We thought we'd invite you to breakfast."

"Oh my gosh," she bent down to look at the young blonde girl whose hand Jake held. "Jenny? You're so gorgeous and you've gotten so big."

"Hi Peyton," the little girl let go of her father's hand and wrapped her arms around Peyton.

"You remember me?" she pulled back to look at the girl she'd once thought of as a surrogate daughter.

"My dad told me all about you and he showed me lots of pictures of you," Jenny's big blue eyes looked up at her. "I really wanted to meet you again."

"Me too," Peyton nodded before standing up and glancing back at Mick. "This is Jake and Jenny, and guys, this is Mick."

Polite hellos were shared all around.

"I'm sorry Peyton, we didn't know you were busy," Jake shrugged.

"Hey, it's no big deal. The more the merrier," Mick said. "We were going to go have some breakfast…"

"And listen to Mick's road stories," Peyton smiled. "What do you say?"

He looked down at his daughter who nodded happily. "We're in."

Rachel pulled up to the parking lot and shot a quick glance at Brooke in the passenger seat, who was adjusting the dark glasses she wore to hide her bruised eyes. The swelling was pretty much gone but there was still quite a bit of bruising.

"You ready?" Rachel asked.

"Absolutely," Brooke answered before stepping out of the SUV, Rachel right behind her. "They're supposed to be discreet," she said as they approached the building.

"I'm kind of scared," Rachel admitted. "I've ever done anything like this."

"Bad ass Rachel scared of something?" the brunette peered at her through dark glasses. "Good to know."

"If you tell anyone I'll kill you, got it?" she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

As they stepped inside they were greeted by a young man, who showed them around the facility and to the private range they would be using, telling them their instructor would be with them momentarily.

"Hi, I'm…" the blonde woman deadpanned as she saw the girls in front of her. "Brooke?"

"Deb?" the brunette and red head said in unison before Brooke spoke again, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm an instructor," she laughed before her tone went serious. "You two are here to learn to use a gun?"

Brooke nodded before she slowly pulled her sunglasses off. "I want to learn to protect myself."

"We both do," Rachel chimed in. "Will you help us?"

"Oh honey," Deb walked over to Brooke and held her in her arms. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she shook her head as she pulled back. "And I don't want you to tell Haley and Nathan or anyone else about this."

"You have my word," Deb nodded.

"So," Brooke said. "We need you to teach us how to use a gun."

"Okay," Deb nodded, trying to stop herself from cradling the young girl she watched grow up practically her whole life. "Okay, let's get started with the basics. " She pulled the gun from her waist. "This is a 9mm."

Nathan stood courtside, looking out at the huge gym before him. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of rubber and the fresh wax on the floor. It seemed like freedom to him; it smelled like home.

"Nathan Scott," Bobby came up behind him. "How are you?" he shook the younger man's hand. "It's great to meet you in person."

"You too Sir," Nathan replied.

"How does it feel to be inside a real gym again?" he asked.

"Incredible," Nathan said with a smile.

"Good," Bobby replied. "Let's head up to my office."

Nathan nodded before following Bobby up the vast flight of stairs before arriving in the office upstairs.

"Take a seat Nathan," Bobby said as he sat in his own chair behind the desk. "When I heard that you were getting back in the game, I have to admit I was a bit surprised. Like most of the league, I thought your basketball career was over."

"Not that I'm complaining but what changed your mind?" Nathan asked.

"This," Bobby pulled out a DVD in a clear plastic case and slid it across the desk.

The younger man's brows furrowed. "I don't understand."

"I received this about a month ago from your father," Bobby paused. "I was sorry to hear that he passed." He went on to explain. "See Dan and I go back to college. Some time after he was release, he called me. I was a bit leery given some of his later activities…"

Nathan scoffed at his choice of word but said nothing.

"…but he said he wanted to do something decent in his life," Bobby continued. "He said you were the greatest ball player he'd ever known and that you were ready. A couple weeks after he sent me that DVD and it sold me."

Nathan shook his head incredulously. "Dan convinced you?"

"What was on that DVD convinced me," he said plainly. "Dan Scott just sent it to me." After a pregnant pause he spoke again. "Look, I'm prepared to offer you a spot on this team if you want it." He stood up and walked towards the door. "Think about it Nathan; just don't take too long."

Lucas sat across from his former fiancé, looking over the menu. The meeting for The Comet had gone great as well as his appointment with Dr. Caspian. Truth be told, it was awkward for him to be sitting across from her in the restaurant they'd frequented a few times a month during their relationship but somehow he couldn't bring himself to decline her invitation for dinner.

"Did you want to change your order?" Lindsay played with the stem on her wine glass.

"What?" Lucas replied, still not looking up.

"We've already ordered but you're still staring at the menu," she explained. "I thought maybe you'd like to change your order."

"No," he shook his head as he closed the menu, placing it at the end of the table. "Sorry."

"Maybe I shouldn't have suggested this," Lindsay shook her head before pushing out her chair. "I'm sorry Luke…"

"No Lindsay, I'm sorry." Lucas reached over and grabbed her hand. "Look, we have to work together for the book and before all this went wrong between us, we were friends." He tilted his head and gave her a small smile. "I'd like to try that again."

"Me too," she nodded, returning the smile as she adjusted her chair.

"The thing is, friends are usually honest with each other." Lucas was not quite sure how to tell her about everything that had changed recently.

"Usually," Lindsay said slowly before peering at him. "What is it Lucas? You said before there were some things going on back in Tree Hill; is everything okay?"

"Dan was a victim of a hit and run," Lucas said brusquely. "He didn't make it."

"Oh my god Lucas," it was her turn to reach for his hand now. "How are you dealing with this?"

He let out an exasperated breath. "Apparently, I'm flying off to New York." He shook his head. "There was that and Brooke's store was robbed so I'm trying to be there for her and…"

"I'm sorry Luke," Lindsay's voice was full of compassion. "If I had known…" she trailed off, no knowing what to say as he fingers drifted back to the stem of glass, idly playing with it.

"Its fine," Lucas said, pausing as he took a shaky breath. "I'm really sorry Lindsay." He waited until her eyes met his. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," she replied softly before her gaze drifted back down.

"And I don't want to hurt you now but…" Lucas rubbed the back of his neck.

"But what?" her tone was firmer.

"Peyton and I," Lucas couldn't quite get the words out. "We…"

"You what?" she pulled her hand away from his. "Spit it out Lucas."

"We're engaged," it came out in a rush.

Lindsay bit at her bottom lip, fighting back the urge to cry as she stood up, wine glass still in hand. "Congratulations," she said bitterly before tossing the red wine in his face and storming out, just as the waiter returned with their entrees, leaving Lucas there wet and speechless.

Deb looked around as she approached the apartment building before knocking on the door.

"Hey baby," Skills answered the door. "Come on in."

"Are you alone?" she asked as she stepped inside.

"Yeah, all the guys are out." Skills motioned towards the couch. "You alright; you look upset?"

"I was kind of worried about Marvin," Deb said as she sat down. "He saw Nathan and Haley with Jamie at the fair and I was worried…"

"He'd spill our little secret," he finished for her. "I talked to Mouth and he's not going to say anything."

She nodded. "It's just, I've worked so hard to reestablish my relationship with my son and I don't want to jeopardize that. If he found out from someone else…" Deb shook her head. "We have to tell him."

"Okay," Skill reached out to hold her hand.

"O-Kay," she repeated slowly.

"Yeah," he pursed his lips as he looked at her. "Did you think I'd object?" I want to be able to go outside in the daytime and hold your hand, show you off." He smiled as he placed a hand on her cheek. "You're my woman."

"Your woman huh?" she said with a smirk. "I think I like the sound of that."

"Good," Skills replied before leaning over and kissing her deeply.

"Mmm," she murmured against his mouth. "Why don't we take this into the bedroom? I could do without the audience this time."

Skills took her hand as he rose from the couch, leading her to his room. "Damn," he swore as the door bell rang. "Give me a second to get rid of whoever that is."

"Hurry," Deb gave him a slow soft kiss before replying, "I'll be waiting," and turning to head to the bedroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Skills quickly opened the door. "Cass?" his brows furrowed at the woman in front of him.

"Skills," the African American beauty looked at him with warm eyes. "I know it's been a while and that we both made mistakes but I think we can move past all that. Antwon, I love you and I want you back."

Rachel sat curled up in the chair near the window as she stared out into the night sky, her mind drifting off as she realized the date.

"She's beautiful," a younger Rachel smiled down at the little girl in her arms. "She's just perfect." Tears rolled down her cheeks but she smiled through them, hoping somewhere deep inside she'd remember.

"Hey," Brooke brought her friend out of her thoughts. "Where were you just now?"

"In a memory," the red head gave a solemn smile. "Hey, you look better."

"Is your eye sight going now too?" Brooke rolled her eyes as she sat down on the floor next to the chair. "I do feel better I guess. It was good, learning how to handle a gun so I'll be ready next time."

"There won't be a next time Brooke," Rachel replied. "We're not going to be victims anymore, remember?"

The brunette nodded. "Lucas called. He said he's coming back early tomorrow instead."

"That's great," Rachel smiled down at her friend, nudging her softly as not to hurt her.

"Don't start Rach," Brooke let out a deep breath. "He's engaged to Peyton."

"We're talking about Lucas Scott here," she countered. "He's practically The Ross of Tree Hill; just because he married Carol and Emily doesn't mean that he didn't belong with and end up with Rachel."

"Huh?" she looked at her friend quizzically.

"Lucas is like the serial engager but that doesn't mean he'll end up with any of those fiancés." Rachel grew more serious. "I saw the way he looked when he left and when he convinced me to bring him back her. It's the same way he looked in high school when he told me you were the one; he loves you. And if you're honest with yourself, you know you love him too."

Brooke leaned her head against Rachel's leg. "That's all in the past."

"But sometimes," she stroked her hair. "The past has a way of repeating itself."

Brooke exhaled deeply. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Haley lay back on the bed, notebook in hand a she listened to the CD Chris left. He'd been right. The melody was beautiful and she could see herself singing to it. She'd actually begun writing lyrics.

She reached over to press pause the CD player as her phone rang.

"Hello husband," she spoke happily. "How'd it go?"

"It was Dan," Nathan's voice sounded frustrated.

"What?" she sat completely up. "What was Dan?"

"He contacted the manager," Nathan said in a huff. "Before he died, he contacted Bobby and that's why he wanted to meet with me."

"Nathan," her voice was sympathetic.

"Oh but Hales, it gets better." He exhaled deeply. "Apparently Dan was either having me followed or doing it himself because he sent the guy a DVD of me playing at The River Court."

"Creepy," Haley couldn't think of a better word for it.

"I know right?' Nathan let out a frustrated breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's like he's reaching out from the grave to taint this, just like he used to when I was in high school."

"No," she spoke firmly. "Dan may have made that call or sent a DVD but it is you who have fought for this; it's you who fought through your injury and he doesn't get to take any credit for that and you don't get to feel bad about it." She paused briefly. "Who cares if Dan opened the door? It's the least he could do for you but it is you Nathan that will walk through it."

"But how can I take this opportunity knowing he get me here?" he exhaled deeply.

"By knowing that you got you there," Haley replied, "And by moving passed the past by going for what you know you deserve." She paused briefly. "I listened to the CD Nate and you were right. So, are we going to do this together?"

"You're on," he replied. "Thanks Hales. "I needed this. Kiss Jimmy Jam for me; I'll be home tomorrow evening."

"I can't wait," you could hear the smile in her tone. "I love you."

"I love you too Haley," he replied. "Always and forever."

"Always and forever."

Wendell Berry wrote, "The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it."