A/N: Y'all are lucky, I'm in the mood to write. Anywho, I just posted another story (I swear I'm not forgetting about this one or the other one I've started, I promise) so if you've got the time, I'd appreciate any feedback, good bad or indifferent on it (She Never Could Predict the Future)

Natalie, you're the best, I love that you comment every chapter! I always look forward to getting your reviews! Allie, you must be reading my mind, I've taken your suggestions to heart, and I think you'll be happy with the next two chapters. And thank you SOO much for the review on the ahem grown up scene, I needed that. Flipflopgal, thanks for the heads up on the chapters, I was seriously worried I'd lose story content on that one. Appreciate the help!! Grumpie2003, glad I was able to convert ya haha, thanks for leaving me reviews, it makes my day! To thecutenikki, p0line, iamcaroline, zeuskent80, brucas333, othgirl2010, thank you so much for the reviews!

I'm super glad y'all liked the last two chapters, they were fun to write. The Cowboys won (stomped the Jets actually) and Thanksgiving was a blast. Hope y'all had a great holiday! Keep the reviews coming, and I hope to keep up the good work! –Z

"Karen! I've found him! Someone call Nathan and Peyton, tell them I've found Lucas," Brooke yelled as she and Lucas came stumbling into the living room. In an inarticulate cry, Karen jumped off the couch and wrapped her arms around her son, who gratefully sagged into his mother and let her hold him tight.

"Brooke! Are you okay? Where'd you find Lucas? What happened?" Haley asked, anxiously hovering around her friend. Brooke looked exhausted, but thankfully Lucas didn't look like he'd taken any major harm. Rachel reached for the phone and called the other two searchers, who hurried back to the house.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a long story, and I'm freezing. Safe to say Amber's gone though," Brooke said bitterly, her teeth chattering slightly. Haley, worried, wrapped a warm blanket around her shaking shoulders and sat her down.

"Oh Lucas! God you're safe! Don't you ever do that to me again!" Karen was torn between scolding her son and wanting to hold him like a baby, which would have been kinda hard, seeing as how he stood nearly a foot taller than his petite mom.

"It's alright, ma, really. I'm fine, no major scratches or broken bones. All thanks to Brooke," he said as he hung onto his mother just as tight. They'd drifted so far apart in the last year, and now that he'd finally started to reconnect he'd been torn away. While Amber had held him captive, he'd panicked that he'd lose the only family he'd had left.

"Bro! You're alright! Man, you had us scared there!" Nathan came rushing into the house, immensely relieved to see his brother safe and sound. Lucas pulled back from his mother to give his brother a hug, and nod a thanks to Peyton who was standing behind him. She smiled back, relieved too, then went to a shivering Brooke who was pinned on the couch between Rachel and Haley.

"Hey man, thanks for trying to find me. I swear, you never realize just how quickly life can go by until you're suddenly in a position to lose it all," Lucas said as he and his brother stood talking. Karen, not willing to believe that her son was alright just yet, had clung hard to his shirt. Lucas shifted and pulled his mother into his side, her need for physical contact to ensure reality mirroring his own.

"No kidding. When Brooke called Haley it all just moved so fast! So Brooke found you?" Nathan had freaked out when he'd gotten the call. He'd come to rely on the other Scott brother, and he didn't want to think about something bad happening to him. He'd already lost other family members, he hadn't wanted to lose Lucas, or have to explain to his son why his favorite uncle wasn't going to be around anymore.

"Yeah, Amber jumped me and went all psycho stalker. I would never have pegged her for being so damn strong, but she had me all tied up and pinned to a desk before I could register what was going on. You should have seen Brooke though, that woman can throw a mean right hook," he chuckled, obviously coping with the events of the night better than Brooke.

Nathan grinned, shook his head, and just clapped Lucas on the shoulder. It didn't seem possible that just an hour earlier he'd been kidnapped by a crazy bitch and no one knew where he was. Yeah, Amber would never have gotten away with it, but still. It had been a scary set of hours.

"Speaking of Brooke, how's she handling it all? You should have seen her man, she was like a rock. She pulled us all together, and it was her idea to split up and search for you. She was amazing," Nathan said, turning slightly to look at the brunette sitting with the other women. Lucas, following Nathan's gaze, frowned when he saw how quiet she was being. He detached himself from his mother's arm after giving her another brief hug, and walked over to crouch in front of the somber woman.

"Brooke? You okay?" He peered up at his Pretty Girl, seeing a dazed look in her eyes. He might have handled the whole mess well, but she hadn't.

"Lucas! God I'm glad you're alright!" Haley said, as she swiftly hugged her best friend and brother-in-law. He returned her hug while keeping his eyes on Brooke, watching her reaction.

"Me too, Hales. Thanks for staying with mom, I really appreciate you and Rachel being here for her," he said, having seen who had sat next to Karen when they'd stumbled into the house.

"Anytime Lucas. Just next time, don't go get yourself kidnapped, alright? Have the sense to pick a better girlfriend, next time," Rachel smirked, as relieved as the rest of the gang that he was alright. She may not admit it, but she cared about him too. These people were as close to family as she'd ever gotten, and the thought of something bad happening to any of them scared her to death.

"I'll try to remember that Rachel." He grinned back at her. "Thanks, Peyton, for helping too. Brooke said you'd helped her earlier, I just wanted to say thanks for being such a good friend," he wasn't really sure how to act around Brooke's friend, they'd never really spent much time together. She nodded, and turned her attention back to Brooke, who sat lifeless through the whole exchange.

Lucas, worried now, scooted up closer to Brooke, and peered at her.

"Hey, thanks again everyone. It's been a hellish night for all of us, and if it's all the same, I think Brooke and I need to get some rest. I'll call you guys in the morning?" Lucas grasped Brooke's tiny hands in his masculine ones, and stood up, pulling her with him. He got really worried when she didn't resist at all. He tucked her under his arm and pulled her in tight. She'd stopped shivering, and now she just felt…empty.

Nodding, everyone sighed, the tension of the night finally breaking up, and left in pairs or groups to return to their homes. Not surprisingly, no one really wanted to be alone, so Rachel and Peyton went back with Haley and Lucas, to pick up Bevin and head back to her house.

Karen, now seeing what Lucas saw, worriedly nodded to Lucas and locked up the rest of the house. She was too keyed up to sleep so she wandered into the kitchen to do something…bake maybe.

Lucas walked with Brooke back to his room, seriously concerned about her.

"Brooke? Pretty Girl? You alright?" He shut the door behind them and sat her down on the bed, crouching in front of her so he could see her face. She looked up, focusing on the man she'd nearly lost, and she struggled hard to hold onto her composure.

"Lucas, I…I was so scared!" She breathed, finally admitting her fear.

"I was too. But you came and found me. You saved me this time," he whispered, trying hard to think of something to ease the hurt and pain evident in her hazel eyes.

"What if I hadn't Luke? What if Amber had done something worse? I would have lost you!" she wailed, finally giving in to the tears and stress and fears that she'd kept a lid on. Lucas, shaken, swiftly gathered her up into his arms and sat down on the bed, holding a sobbing Brooke in his lap. She wrapped her own arms around his neck and clung to him, her slight frame shaking as she let it all go. They sat like that, just holding each other.

The next morning dawned clear and crisp. Lucas had fallen asleep holding onto Brooke, but sleep did not come as easily to the brunette. Instead, she'd taken solace from the rise and fall of his muscled chest, the sound of his heartbeat as she leaned against him. Sighing, she untangled herself from him and stood up, stretching the kinks out of her back and neck.

Looking back on the events of the night she felt herself tear up again, and she didn't want to wake her Broody. She slipped on a sweatshirt against the cold outside and went to sit on his porch. She tucked her knees into her body, and sat there, finally prodding at the emotions she'd held in check the previous night.

Brooke had managed to make it back to Lucas' house before she finally let her nerves get the better of her. She'd had to be strong while Lucas was missing, for him, for his mother, for all their friends, shit, for herself. But now that everyone was back home, Lucas was safe, and that bitch whore of a girl was gone, Brooke could finally give into her fears and tensions, and break down. What Lucas had seen was only the edge of it, a sliver of what she was struggling with inside.

When she'd woken up on the couch, and then gotten the call, she'd shoved all possibilities of serious harm from her mind. She needed to focus on finding Lucas, finding him whole and safe and then getting him back home, out of the clutches of whoever had had him. She'd taken every tiny fear, every monstrous worry, and locked them away for a time when she could afford to wallow in misery. Now was the time to unlock that particular set of emotions.

Tears began to slip from her eyes as she struggled with all that had happened. She'd nearly lost Lucas, the only man she'd ever truly loved. What she had said to Lucas earlier was true…what if she had failed? What if she hadn't found him? And worse, what if she'd been the cause of the whole mess? Before she'd come home, Amber had at least been content with the life she had with Lucas. Then she had to come stir things up, and chase the bitch away, and Brooke couldn't help but feel that she was responsible for Amber resorting to kidnapping to get what she wanted.

Then reason and common sense kicked in, and she realized she was being foolish. What Amber had done wasn't her fault. That woman was seriously unbalanced, and she felt truly sorry for whatever poor sod was stuck with her next time. But that didn't allay her fears of what could have happened had Amber been just that tiny bit more dangerous, or if she hadn't found him.

Stop it Brooke. You did find him, he's alright, she didn't do anything worse to him. Don't go down that road, she thought to herself, struggling to move on past it. She had enough other things that demanded her attention, she didn't need to go looking for trouble where it was already finished.

Brooke only had three more days left before her vacation was up. She knew she had to return to New York. She'd checked her email yesterday after Bevin and the girls had left and was shocked at the hundreds of emails that piled themselves into her work inbox. She'd just shut the computer off, not wanting to deal with that. But in all truth, in three short days she was going to have to get back in her car and drive back home. Shit! She'd driven here! That meant she had even less time unless she left her car and flew home.

What am I going to do? I can't deny my feelings for Lucas, and I can't just leave him. Not again. I'll die if I walk away from all this. But I can't just abandon the life I have in New York, that's been my baby for so long now! God! Why me? Did I piss off some major player in a past life and this is my punishment now? Choosing between my heart and my head?

Brooke had to finally admit just how much she loved the man currently sleeping. She'd come here for him, knowing that she was risking her heart, but she'd never gambled on it being quite this bad. She'd hoped for a couple days worth of happiness, something she could take back with her to New York and tuck away to thrive on when the nights got particularly cold and the days particularly lonely.

Except now, she was stuck sitting on the front porch of the boy she'd given her heart to three years ago, and she had to make a decision. The events of last night had shown her just how badly she needed Lucas in her life, and now she had to figure out what to do with the aftermath.

"Brooke? What's wrong?" She hadn't heard the door open or the floorboards creak as Lucas stepped out onto the porch with her.

"Lucas, what are you doing awake? You should sleep," Brooke said as she looked up at the man she'd finally admitted to loving more than life itself.

"You weren't with me anymore. I was worried," he said as he walked over to sit with her. He put out a hand, pulling her up so he could sit down and then settle his gorgeous woman in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling into her shoulder. She sighed, resting her head on top of his. She knew she'd do whatever it took to stay with this man, even if it meant giving up everything else.

"Sorry, but I had to think. It's been a lot to process, you know," she whispered, struggling hard to keep from crying again.

"Hey, easy now. You know, I don't think I ever really said thank you for coming to my rescue last night," he mumbled against her skin, placing tiny kisses on her shoulder. He wanted to ease the tension in her voice, wanted to ease all her fears actually. His Pretty Girl deserved to have the best life in the world, and he was determined to give it to her. She giggled slightly, his attentions tickling her.

"Lucas, seriously, it's freezing out here and you should get some rest!" She tried to push him away, but it was a half hearted attempt. She didn't want to be anywhere other than exactly where she was at this exact moment.

"Huhn, so should you," he said as he continued to rain kisses down on the soft skin he could access beneath his sweatshirt. He loved seeing her in his clothes, it was so damn sexy.

He stood up, easily carrying Brooke with him in his arms as he walked into his bedroom. She felt so safe and warm in his strong arms. Even though she'd been the one to save him, she knew he'd always save her if the need arose.

Laying her down on the bed, he went and locked all the doors, pulling his own shirt off as he walked back to the bed. Her green-flecked eyes followed his lithe form as he walked toward her, growing dark with the desire she'd tried hard to bank. His own blue eyes deepened with love and lust and passion as he removed her clothing, raising goosebumps along her skin as he kissed her taut stomach and moved his way up.

"Lucas," she sighed, running her hands along his shoulders to rest on his biceps. He captured her lips in a deep kiss, determined to show her how much he loved her. She'd found him when he thought no one had known he was missing, and had saved him from more than just a crazy ex girlfriend. He knew their time was short, and he intended on showing Brooke in every way possible that she needed to stay with him, that he make sure she never regretted the decision.

As he sought to please her in every way possible, she let herself go to the sensations that Lucas generated in her, and moaned loudly when he brought her to release. When they joined finally, and he filled her completely, she reveled in the feel of her on top of him, that rhythm that was distinctly theirs moving them both to an incredible release. Lucas moaned her name into the air as she dug her nails into his shoulder, and they both collapsed together, shaking in the aftermath of the throes of passion they'd found with each other. Sleep finally found its way to the lovers as they snuggled into each other.

"So what are you going to do?" Haley was sitting across from Brooke in her kitchen, peeling potatoes for dinner that night. Brooke and Lucas had come over after lunch, Brooke in need of a shower and change of clothing while Lucas sat and hung out with his brother and nephew. Haley had called up the girls over at Bevin's and invited everyone over for a large dinner, and Brooke was now helping her prepare for the meal.

"Do?" Brooke tried to play dumb, but she knew what Haley was referring to.

"Uh, yeah, you know? Three days and all?"

"Yeah, well, that. I'm not sure yet. Wait, yes, I am, but I just don't know how to get it all straightened out. I mean, oh fuck, I don't know what I mean right now." Brooke muttered, putting down the now peeled potato to reach for a new one.

"Have you talked to Lucas about it yet?"

"Not really. With all that's been going on, we haven't really gotten a chance to talk about much of anything other than just reassuring each other that he's here, alive, and whole, you know?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine what we all would have done if you hadn't found him. Look, Brooke, I'm really sorry I dragged you into this mess. When I called, I swear I never thought it was going to be like this," Haley said in a rush.

"It's alright, I know you didn't. Really, I'm glad you did call. I finally feel alive, you know? So much of me died when I moved to New York, and I didn't realize just how bad I had gotten til I was forced to deal with it. Now it's like a fire's been lit inside, and I can't just let that go out. I really should be thanking you, ya know?"

"Thanking Hales for what?" Lucas asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"For calling me. Otherwise I'd never have come back, or at least it would have taken me longer."

"Hmm, yes, thank you Hales, I owe you one," Lucas said as well, as he kissed Brooke's shoulder.

"Eww, hello, food prep going on here. Go play with the boys, Luke," Haley said, shooing him out of the kitchen. Lucas whined, trying to stay with Brooke who just giggled and shrugged.

"Tutormom knows best Broody!" She said. He grinned, winked, and walked out.

"I have an idea! Why don't you take Lucas back with you to New York? I mean, that way he can see all that you have there. We can watch out for Karen while he's gone, and then you two can get some serious alone time to sort through things. Figure out if you coming back here or him going up there is best. You know?" Haley was taken with the idea, she thought it was perfect.

"I don't know…he's already said he doesn't want to leave Tree Hill…"

"Yeah, but I bet if he got to see the life you have there, he'd at least reconsider. Either way I seriously think he needs to see what you have there. So he understands just what this move would mean to you, for you. Plus, if you do decide to come back home, he'll be there to help you move. It's a win-win all around." Haley was out of breath; she really thought this was the best idea, and she was determined that Brooke agreed.

"Okay, okay! I give!" Brooke said laughing. "I'll talk to Lucas about it later and see what he says."

"No, talk about it now, I'm here."

"Damnit Broody do you enjoy eavesdropping or something?" Brooke said, slightly startled.

"No, I just don't like not being in the same room as you for very long," he said, giving her a fierce hug.

"Well, alright, I guess that's okay," she smirked, giggling when he tickled her lightly.

"So? What were you going to talk to me about?"

"Hales thinks you should come back to New York with me," she stated.

"Oh, is that all? Sure, let me know when and I'll book us a flight." Brooke's jaw dropped just a tiny bit and she stared at him.

"Really? Just like that?"

"Well, duh, if it means I get to stay with you for a while longer, then it's hands down."

Brooke had a silly smile plastered on her face. She really did love this blonde haired,blue eyed man.

"Well then it's settled. Good. Now Brooke, that potato's not going to peel itself. And if you're going to insist on staying here, you might as well get to peeling as well," Haley said, rummaging through a drawer for another potato peeler.

"Whoa! You never said anything about work! I'm outta here!" Lucas threw up his hands, planted a swift kiss on Brooke's forehead, and dashed out of the kitchen, the women's laughter following him.