A/N: Hello all, I know it's been a seriously long time since this story was updated and since I took down so many of the chapters. It took a really long time to get TPTB at FF to delete the plagiarized version of my story from the fic thief & still even know there are parts of my profile & an excerpt of my story on theirs. That being said, I've decided to take a chance on reposting the chapters I had up before and finishing this story. I hope I don't end up regretting it. Anyways, hope all who've read it before enjoy reading it again & anyone now, hope you enjoy as well.

The Calm Before The Storm

~Calm continueth not long without a storm. (Unknown)

Lucas awoke to a soft rustling noise in the kitchen, followed by the sound of the water running. He quickly stood up, ignoring the head rush, and entered the kitchen. He'd stayed up late last night hoping to speak to Peyton but he'd given up waiting once one am rolled around.

"Hey," he said from behind her. "I stayed up waiting for you last night."

"Sorry," Peyton turned around, offering him a small smile. "Mia and I just lost track of time." She picked up her purse and put it over her shoulder, grabbing her car keys from the rack they hung up on. "By the time I got home it was really late and I didn't want to wake you so I just stayed in your mom's old room."

He nodded slowly. "Are you going somewhere?" he looked at her quizzically. "I thought we could talk."

"I'd love to but I'm late for an appointment," she answered.

"Peyton, this is really important." Lucas knew he had to tell her as soon as possible that he couldn't go through with the wedding.

"I understand that Luke, I do but so is this meeting. I have to meet with the lawyers over Jason's claims. If I don't address this right away and he wins, Red Bedroom Records could take a huge hit and I don't know if it would recover." She shook her head. "I promise you we'll talk about whatever you want later but I have to deal with this first, plus I promised Jenny I'd take her somewhere and there's Nathan's game later and Mouth and Millicent's going away party..." she had begun to ramble as she made her way to the door.

"Peyton," he said he name a bit firmly. "I'm beginning to think you're avoiding me."

"I'm not Lucas, I promise." She turned around and walked over to him, embracing him in a hug before giving him a quick kiss. "I just have to go but we'll talk tonight, I promise." She flashed him one more smile before she walked out the door.

"Great," he mumbled to himself before running a hand over his buzzed head, realizing this was going to be even harder than he thought.

Haley sat at the piano, her fingers gliding over the keys as she sang the lyrics she'd come up with to the newest song she's been working on.

"Oh, I'm turning over will and,
I'm cleaning up this holy mess I made.
I want to feel your arms around me.
I want to know your love is real.
I want to give you all you've given to me.
But I'm still afraid to leave, to you.
Woe is me, something dramatic like I could be
Ophelia…"

"That's Beautiful Hales," Nathan said from the doorway he'd been standing in. "You write that while I was gone?"

"Yeah," she smiled before sliding over on the bench, leaving room for her husband to sit beside her.

"You okay?" he looked into her chestnut eyes. "You look like you have something on your mind."

She nodded wordlessly. "I lied to you before," she paused briefly, "about the doctor."

His eyes immediately grew wide as he took her hands in his own. "Are you okay? What is it?" He couldn't stop his heart from speeding up as anxiety took over.

"I didn't want to worry you before," she explained. "You were traveling so much and you were having a hard time with some of the team, I just didn't want to worry you and take your focus off of getting back in the game."

"Haley, my number one focus is always you and Jamie. Don't ever think that anything means more to me than our family," he replied. "What's wrong with you Haley; is it serious?"

She shook her head. "No," she answered. "I have something called Epstein Barr. It's a member of the herpes virus family, like the cold sore kind but is transferred like mono."

"The kissing disease?" his brows furrowed.

"Yeah," she nodded. "But it's not really serious. The doctor explained that 95% of people catch it by they're thirty five but that for most people the symptoms remain dormant all their lives."

"But not for you," he surmised. "So is that why you passed out?"

"Yes, the main symptom is fatigue," she explained. "There is no cure but I am doing much better now and my symptoms have pretty much disappeared. I wanted to tell you before…"

"You should have told me the minute you found out," he interrupted.

"I know," she nodded. "I just didn't want you to worry when you couldn't be here or miss your chance on your dream by staying to make sure I was alright."

"You know my dream is Haley? It's you," he reached up and cupped her cheek. "Before basketball or anything else, you and Jamie are my dream; always and forever."

"Always and forever," she repeated before leaning up to kiss his lips with her own deeply. "I love you," she murmured against his lips.

"I love you too," he pulled back to look at her. "By the way, you can tell me your other secret too."

"What other secret?" she tilted her head, giving an amused smile.

"Oh, I don't know." He shrugged. "Probably the one you told Brooke weeks before me, just like the last time."

"Told Brooke?" she questioned.

"It's okay Hales," Nathan replied. "I found the test in the bathroom."

"Okay," she gave a short laugh. "What test Nathan?"

"The pregnancy test," he answered before looking at the confused look on his wife's face. "You're not pregnant?"

"No but I'm up for trying," she smirked at him before getting serious. "Did you saw you found a test in the bathroom? But there's only me and Deb in the house and if I'm not pregnant…" she let the sentence trail off. "Oh my God!"

"Don't say it Hales," he shook his head slowly. "Just please, don't say it."

Brooke and Jamie sat on the bench in the park eating ice cream. She'd picked him up earlier for some quality godmother/godson time. She had been flying back and forth to New York a lot lately and she wanted to make sure he wasn't feeling neglected.

"Hey buddy," she turned to look at him. "How's your ice cream?"

"Good," he smiled, a chocolate ice cream mustache surrounding his lips.

"Jamie I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," Brooke said before putting another spoonful in her mouth.

"It's okay Aunt Brooke," Jamie said in between licking his cone. "Momma said you've been really busy with your store."

"I have," she nodded. "But I want you to know that I am never too busy for you."

He nodded for a moment before looking up at the sky and then back at her. "Even if you have a baby?"

"Of course even if I have a baby," she peered at the child curiously, wondering if somehow he'd developed ESP. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I heard Uncle Lucas tell Daddy you were having a baby," he answered. "When they saw me, they stopped talking. I don't like when grown-ups do that."

"Me either," Brooke looked up and almost stopped breathing when she saw the blonde approaching them. "Jamie," she turned to him quickly. "You know, not everyone knows about the baby yet."

"It's a secret, isn't it?" Jamie asked, looking a bit excited by the thought. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I'm great at keeping secrets; ask Nanny Deb and Uncle Skills."

Brooke laughed. "I promise I'm going to tell everyone soon, okay?" She held up her little finger on her right hand. "I pinky promise."

Jamie curved his pinky around hers, "Me too."

"Jamie," Jenny beamed as they came closer. "Hi Miss Brooke." She turned back to the little boy, "Do you want to play on the swings?"

"Okay," Jamie turned back to Brooke. "Can I?"

"Go ahead," she smiled as she stood up, embracing the blonde in front of her. "Hey P. Sawyer."

"How's it going B. Davis?" she asked as they released each other and sat down on the bench. "You've been on the go a lot lately."

"Yeah, I'm sorry we haven't really had time to just hang out," Brooke replied. "I guess I'm still trying to balance everything."

"Yeah," Peyton nodded a bit solemnly.

"I actually need to get Jamie home soon so he can get ready for Nate's game," she paused briefly. "I told Haley I'd ride up with them. Plus I'm the official party planner for M&M's going away party so I need to set some stuff up before Nathan's game." She started to stand up but was stopped by the blonde's firm grip on her arm.

"Brooke wait," her green eyes pleaded with her best friend. "I know we've both been busy but it feels like you've been avoiding me ever since that night I showed up at your house asking about your feelings for Lucas," she paused briefly. "I'm sorry; it was unfair of me to put you on the spot like that. I just, I can't have you avoiding me now, not when I'm already avoiding people."

"Peyt," she turned concerned eyes towards her, hearing the desperation I her friend's voice. "What's going on? Who are you avoiding?"

"Lucas," she paused briefly. "Now I'm avoiding Jake too but mostly Luke." She let out a labored breath. "And I know he can tell something's wrong, we can both feel it but I'm not sure I'm ready to accept it. I love Lucas so much Brooke but ever since Jake came back, I've been…"

"Having doubts," Brooke filled in for her.

"Yeah," she nodded, her voice calm, almost serene. "What do you do once you get your dream and suddenly wonder if reality would have been better?"

The gym was filled to capacity as the crowd cheered for their respective teams. The sounds of the masses blending with the sound of the rubber ball bouncing against the shiny floor washed over the group of friends as they all sat in support of one of their own.

Lucas quickly paid the man behind the counter for the soda as he stood around, waiting for the woman he'd watched disappear from the stands. He knew he was probably being a bad brother. First he'd been late for the game while desperately trying to get a hold of Peyton before leaving so they could talk. He knew she'd be at the game anyways but it wasn't exactly like he talk to her here or at Mouth and Millicent's going away party. The conversation they needed to have was certainly not something you did with a crowd. And now he was standing around, almost loitering to steal a few moments with a certain brunette he couldn't seem to get of his mind.

"Brooke," he said as he watched her approach.

"What are you stalking me now?" she shook her head. "I had to go," she gave him a nervous smile. "One of the symptoms of pregnancy, you have to go more." She laughed, a bit embarrassed but telling him nonetheless. "I thought it was something that didn't happen till later but I called Dr. Caspian and he said it was normal; that in some women it happens early."

Lucas nodded. "So everything is okay so far?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "It's fine." She paused briefly. "So, you told Nathan?"

Lucas rubbed a hand on the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, I told him before I went to see Dr. Caspian."

"Who else did you tell?" she questioned, squinting at him. "Because I need to tell Peyton myself, explain this all to her. Jamie can't keep quiet forever you know." She watched as his brows furrowed. "He heard you and Nathan talking about it."

"God Brooke, I'm so sorry." Lucas started to reach for her but thought better of it. "And I'm sorry about the other night in New York; I shouldn't have sprung that on you the way I did. It wasn't fair and I wasn't thinking but I meant everything I said to you."

"Lucas," she shook her head. "I'm sorry too about what happened at the restaurant and I know we need to talk about that but we can't do this here. We just need to go find our seats and we'll deal with all of this later, okay?"

He grabbed her arm as she began to walk away. "I'm going to talk to Peyton too; I tried before but she's avoiding me and I think it's because she know I can't marry her. I can't, not when I'm in love with you."

"Stop it," she said firmly, her face tense. "We'll talk about this later." Brooke quickly walked into the gymnasium and found their friends while Lucas trailed behind, her taking the seat between Rachel and Haley as he took the seat three down from her, in between Peyton and Skills. He looked back as Fergie said something to Junk before looking down at the game.

Nathan sat below on the sidelines, watching his teammates play. They were in the last four minutes of the third quarter, down 10 points and Nathan had yet to step on the court. Although this was not a surprise to him, seeing how this was the third game and he hadn't played in the two previous. He knew he'd helped prepare his team during practice, even making Marshall take notice that he was no longer the undisputed best player on the team yet he was still starting while Nathan rode the bench, feeling like a sub. Normally, it wouldn't bother him but the fact that all his friends were here to see him play since it was Mouth and Millicent's last night made him slightly embarrassed.

Nathan looks up to see Marshall McCord, player #21, successfully execute the buttonhole cut and free himself enough to receive #18's inbound pass. McCord is immediately double teamed while trying to make it to the basket so he pivots, giving himself the option to follow through on the play and pass to #35 or passing ahead to #3 or #18 who is now open again. Nathan shakes his head from the sideline as he watches McCord show out and take it to the hole and jumping up to slam the ball into the basket, only he losses his footing as he goes up and the ball gets stuck while he falls down to the linoleum below. The refs whistle is blown while Marshall lies on the floor, gripping his knee to his chest and soon a medic is brought in and Marshall is removed from the court.

"Scott," the coach calls as things calm down. "You're in," he smiled. "It's time to show them what you got. You know where you're supposed to be?"

"Yes Sir," Nathan said as he stepped onto the court, a feeling of exhilaration washing over him as he heard the roar of the crowd.

It took him about thirty seconds to get into the flow of things but after that, it was as if he never left the court. The other team hadn't know what to expect but they soon found out as Nathan began leading his team with three pointers, steals, assists, and rebounds. He flew down the court fluidly like poetry in motion and anyone who was there that night could see this was history in the making.

By the last basket, assisted by none other than Nathan Scott, the score was 62-43 and The Fort Wayne Mad Ants had won their first game this season. As the players crowded around each other, hugging and shaking each other's hands Nathan looked up into the stands at the fans, focusing on the group of eleven friends that clapped wildly and shouted cheers to him. It was safe to say that Nathan Royal Scott was no longer making a comeback, he was back.

Brooke left with Skills, hurrying to put the last minute touches on the apartment as Rachel tried to stall Mouth and Millicent, which probably wasn't that hard seeing how creative the red head was. Once she put all the food out and all the guests arrived, she called Rachel and gave her the go ahead. Within fifteen minutes, the door opened as everyone inside yelled "Surprise" stunning the two individuals.

There was a big artsy sign that said "Bon Voyage Mouth and Millicent," with the words "People Always Leave But Sometimes They Come Back" courtesy of none other than Peyton Sawyer. Everyone took their turn hugging the couple.

"Thanks guys," Mouth smiled. "I don't know what to say."

"Me either," Millicent smiled from beside him. "This is great. You all really didn't have to do this."

"You bet you ass we had too," Rachel said as she threw her arm around Mouth. "We've all been through a lot together; road trips…"

"Honey Grove," Mouth shook his head.

"Need Ass," Brooke laughed before the others joined in. "We were all wondering why you needed ass if Rachel was there."

"Bitch!" Rachel eyes shot daggers at the brunette, the real meaning behind it betrayed by the smile on the red head's face.

"I meant assistance," Mouth clarified before turning to Millie. "The power was running out on my phone battery so I just sent it; I figured Skills would know what I meant."

"Next time dog, just write help." Skills laughed. "The prom was fun though. I was looking like a big sexy chocolate milk dud in my seventies gear."

"You sure were," Nathan rolled his eyes before turning to Haley. "Hey, what ever happened to those gold boots?"

"Oh god," Brooke face scrunched. "That was a good trip. I think we needed it after…"

"The psycho stalker," Peyton interrupted as she came to stand beside the brunette. "Hoes Ova Bros." She stuck out her fist.

"Hoes Ova Psychos," Brooke said as she bumped her fist against the blonde's, momentarily forgetting about all he drama. "So there's plenty of food so grab a plate and then the festivities will begin." She quirked her eyebrow.

"Festivities?" Millicent repeated. "Should I be worried?"

"Maybe," she smiled at her friend before everyone started serving themselves. "Nate, I could use you for box lifting."

He nodded before following her outside. "What's up Davis?"

"I know Lucas told you," she said as they arrived at her SUV. "Actually Jamie told me; he heard you two."

"Sorry," he shook his head. "My little man sure does have big ears but we shouldn't have been talking about it where he could hear." He paused briefly. "So how are you doing, really?"

Brooke let out an exasperated breath. "Truthfully, I think I'm doing the best and the worst I've ever been. This baby means so much to me Nate and I'm glad I went through with it." She placed her hand over her stomach. "I can't explain how I feel, how much I love this child and it's not even here yet."

"You don't have to explain it to me Brooke," he replied. "I was so scared when Hales first told me she was pregnant but after I thought about, I was so happy; I felt like I had a purpose. Parenthood really changes you."

"Not everyone," she rolled her eyes. "Look at Victoria…"

"And Dan," he offered. "I don't think either one of them really knew how to be parents but were not our parents."

"They never really gave us a chance did they?" she mused. "Yet here you are on your way to The NBA with a rock star of a wife by your side and most of all, you're a great dad even with Dan as your example."

"And you're going to be an awesome mom Brooke, just like you're an awesome godmother to Jamie and a great business woman," he wrapped his arm around her. "That's not bad for two bratty rich kids whose parents never gave them a chance."

"Thank Scott," she hugged him before flashing him a dimpled smile. "But that doesn't mean you're getting out of carrying this box."

By the time they came back inside, the music was blaring and people were alternating between eating and talking. Lucas, Haley, Mouth and Skills stood on one side of the room, laughing in conversation.

"We've all been friends for a really long time," Skills said. "Since elementary school dawg."

"Yeah I remember when Mouth moved here," Haley smiled. "It was fourth grade and I remember thinking, finally there's someone as smart as me in this class."

"Hey," Lucas faked pushed her. "I've always been just as smart as you, if not smarter."

Rachel walked over to the group with a tray full of small cups of jello. "I think it's time we liven this party up a little."

"Jello shots?" Brooke quirked an eyebrow. "Typical."

Rachel walked up behind her and whispered in her ear. "None for you though baby momma."

"Shut up," Brooke whispered back before wrapping her arm around Millie who was passing. "How am I ever going to find a better assistant than you? I am going to miss you so much Millie."

"Me too Brooke," she hugged her friend tightly. "You've been the best friend I've ever had and you introduced me to the love of my life. I will never be able to thank you for that."

"You already have," the brunette smiled back. "Just by making my long time friend Mouth there so happy and for all the work you did at the store. I love you Millicent."

"I love you too Brooke," she smiled, tearing up a bit.

"I hate to break up this lesbian moment you two are having but whose up for a blast from the past in the form of our favorite game?" Rachel asked.

Nathan laughed. "I never."

"Well I'm sure most of it you have," the red head winked at him. "Of course Brooke being my designated driver will have to drink soda or something but the rest of us can have some fun." She pushed the brunette to the couch and sat down next to her.

"I'm in," Peyton replied taking a seat on the far end of the couch.

"Fergalicious is always down to play I never," Fergie said as he took another jello shot and sat in one of the chairs.

"Dude, never say that again." Nathan shook his head before sitting across from Fergie. "What do say big brother?"

"Okay," Lucas smiled, sitting next to Rachel. "Mouth, Skills…"

"Hales, Millicent," Brooke interrupted, looking to her longtime assistant. "It's mostly painless."

"Well I'll be playing Brooke's version since I'm Nathan's designated driver but I'm in," Haley said before grabbing a seat next to Peyton.

"Okay," Millicent shrugged.

Soon everyone was sitting around the table playing the game that had become a staple during their high school years, the laughter of years of friendship echoing through the house as all recent problems were put aside and they enjoyed being in the company of the people who knew them better than anyone else in the world. This group had seen a lot together; laughter, tears, death, drugs, romantic relationships beginning and ending. Some had been there since the beginning and some had not, some had left and some had joined, yet the one thing that hadn't changed was the fact that when it came down to it, they all counted on one another. On the outside, you'd never be able to tell that inside a storm was brewing and that after tonight, each one of their lives would change forever.

An unknown author wrote, "Before the storm; the air is still, the birds stop singing. It is eerie and still. Calm continueth not long without a storm."