I don't own One Tree Hill and Supernatural.
Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you're all happy that Brooke is pregnant. I made a mistake that I didn't notice when I posted the previous chapter; Brooke's just a month pregnant, not eight. Anyway, I've corrected it and reposted the chapter. Thanks to Sara and Jessica for pointing out that error. :)
23: If It Means a Lot to You
The whole Winchester family went to visit Dean and Brooke the day after Brooke found out that she was pregnant. Haley and Nathan called earlier that day to congratulate the couple, and unlike Lucas, who was obviously pretending to be happy for Brooke, Haley sounded genuinely happy.
"My first grandchild," John said with a grin.
Ellen, who had guessed it during her lunch with Brooke the day before, was beaming with delight as well. "Jo wanted to come but she has a lot of school work to do. Anyway, did you go to the doctor already?"
"Yeah," Brooke replied with a smile.
Dean, who was sitting beside Brooke with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, grinned from ear to ear, but before he could say a word, a loud knock filled the room.
Sam, who was nearest to the door, opened it. Victoria Davis barged in moments later with a scowl on her face; she was the only one who was not happy about the pregnancy, aside from Lucas.
"Is it true?" she asked, looking straight at Brooke. "Your father called me last night. Why didn't you tell me?"
Brooke only called her father because she somehow predicted that her mother would not like the news of her being pregnant. Her father was genuinely happy for her as well, so Brooke tried to ignore the scowl on her mother's face.
"I was about to call you," Brooke replied.
Victoria pulled Brooke from the couch and excused themselves from the Winchester family and then dragged Brooke to the kitchen. When they were out of earshot, Victoria released her grip on Brooke's arm and looked at her daughter intently.
"This is not a part of the agreement," Victoria snapped as she diverted her gaze to the people in the living room to make sure that no one could hear them. "You are not keeping that baby, Brooke. Once the arrangement is done and you get divorced, that child would be something you'd take care of for the rest of your life and I honestly don't think you can raise a child on your own," Victoria said matter-of-factly.
Brooke looked offended, but Victoria didn't notice, so she went on.
"That child would be a living souvenir of our arrangement with this family. Would you like that child to grow up being acknowledged as Dean-the-infamous-party-boy's child with his fake ex wife?"
Dean, who sensed that there was something wrong with Victoria, followed them to the kitchen and was just in time to hear Victoria ask Brooke if she wanted her child to be acknowledged as 'Dean-the-infamous-party-boy's child with his fake ex wife'. He was not, in any way, happy with what he heard.
"What is wrong with you?" Dean asked. He then noticed that Brooke didn't look like she was about to cry, but simply tired.
Victoria, who didn't notice Dean approach them, was shocked to see that Dean heard what she said.
"You know, I don't get why you always treat Brooke like she's not capable of handling herself," Dean said as he remembered the time when Victoria became furious at Brooke after they found out that a paparazzo photographed Brooke with Lucas. Dean looked intently at Victoria with tight jaws; he was obviously trying to keep calm.
Victoria didn't expect this. She regained composure as she looked at Dean and raised an eyebrow. "Brooke's my daughter; I can talk to her in whatever way I want to. What is it with you, anyway? What are you now, friends?"
"You can't boss her around and tell her what she's supposed to do." Dean's voice was a level louder.
Brooke sighed. "Dean, that's enough."
"No," Dean snapped without looking at his wife. "I'm tired of her treating you wrong."
Victoria scoffed. "Excuse me? Don't you dare-"
"I said that's enough!" Brooke yelled. "I am having this baby, Victoria. Dean and I want this baby and that's final."
John and Ellen came into view, with Sam right behind them. They obviously heard Brooke's yell.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked as he looked at Dean and Brooke.
"Nothing," Victoria replied quickly, but she avoided John and Ellen's eyes. "We were just talking about..."
"Victoria's just as excited as you are," Dean said in a restrained tone. "We were just talking about it."
John didn't buy it, but he didn't insist.
ooooo
Rachel Gatina was about to go out of her room (Dean and Brooke's guest room), which was just across the kitchen, when she heard Victoria's voice. She smiled when she saw Brooke's mother; Victoria looked just the same as the last time Rachel saw her, which was a couple of years ago.
"This is not a part of the agreement," Victoria said.
Rachel opened the door a little wider; the tone of Victoria's voice caught her attention.
"You are not keeping that baby, Brooke. Once the arrangement is done and you get divorced, that child would be something you'd take care of for the rest of your life and I honestly don't think you can raise a child on your own," Victoria said matter-of-factly. "That child would be a living souvenir of our arrangement with this family. Would you like that child to grow up being acknowledged as Dean-the-infamous-party-boy's child with his fake ex wife?"
"Wow," Rachel whispered as she silently closed the door; she had heard enough to please herself. "Looks like the golden couple has a huge nasty secret."
ooooo
Dean couldn't help but feel like the luckiest guy on earth. He married the one he loves and now he's going to be a father. He felt invincible and was elated by Brooke's pregnancy. The only thing that made him mad since Brooke's announcement was Victoria's reaction. She was the only person he knew who felt that having a baby was a curse.
"Hey." Brooke's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Dean looked up; Brooke was standing in front of him, smiling. "Your dad's looking for you," she said.
Brooke's raspy voice made Dean smile. He took her hand and gently pulled her to his lap.
Brooke giggled. "Your dad's waiting for you, Dean."
Dean smirked. "He can wait," he said and then kissed Brooke.
After a few moments, Brooke pulled away with a small smile on her face and caressed Dean's face. "I'm sure now," she said.
"Sure of what?"
"You," Brooke replied, almost a whisper. She planted a soft kiss on Dean's cheek. "I don't want us to change."
Dean's lips formed into a smile as he looked deep into Brooke's hazel eyes. Even if he didn't say a word, Brooke knew that Dean wanted the same; she saw it in his eyes.
ooooo
A month had passed since Brooke called Lucas and informed him that she was pregnant. Since then, Lucas got through the days by trying to finish his novel and talking to Haley, who was now 2 months away from giving birth. Her belly was larger than ever, and even though she didn't get an ultrasound, they were pretty sure that the baby was a boy.
"Hales," Lucas said as he gently nudged her arm; she fell asleep on his couch while she was reading a book. "Haley..."
Haley groaned and then opened her eyes.
Lucas let out a small smile and helped her sit up. "Nathan just called; he's on the way."
"Thanks for letting me stay here with you for a while," Haley murmured. Nathan had been gone for two days; he went to visit his mother, Deb, and take care of her because she was sick and she had nobody to take care of her. "It's boring when it's only me in the house."
"Yeah, I can imagine," Lucas said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Haley patted his hand. "I take it you're not happy living alone."
"I was so used to having Brooke here," Lucas said before he could even stop his mouth.
"Here we go again." Haley sighed and looked at her friend deep in the eyes. "Luke, it's almost a year since Brooke left Tree Hill."
"I know," Lucas murmured.
Haley patted Lucas' hand. "You should be happy for her."
Lucas sighed. "I'm trying. But you and I both know that it's going to take a while before I could be genuinely happy for her. How do you do it, Hales?"
"I love Brooke," Haley replied simply. "It's her choice, her life. Let go of that regret you're keeping inside you."
Though Lucas wanted to say that he wanted to let go and move on, a part of him held him back. "It's just unfair, you know, how we never got our happy ending," he said.
"No offense," Haley said, "but I think Brooke's having a happy life now. You should be happy too."
Lucas looked down and let out a weak smile. Finally, he began to feel that it was indeed time for him to let go of the regret that has been locked up inside him for quite some time now.
ooooo
"Hey babe, how's Sam treating you?" Dean asked with a smile on his face; he could imagine Brooke smiling as well.
Brooke chuckled. "What kind of question is that? Anyway, he's fun - more fun than you. And Bobby's here."
"Oh really?" Dean walked across the room and grabbed a duffel bag from his closet. "I bet you're like the Three Musketeers, huh, prancing around and all?"
"Yeah," Brooke replied with a raspy laugh. "When are you coming here?"
Dean grabbed a few shirts from his closet and dumped them in the bag. "I'll be there tonight."
"Good, coz I really need some Dean time tonight," Brooke said in a sultry whisper.
Dean smirked; he could imagine Brooke waiting for him in his old bedroom, wearing sexy lingerie. "Well, let me just pack my stuff and I'll see you there."
Brooke chuckled. "And make sure that Rachel won't bring in any guy for the weekend, okay?"
"Okay. Love you," he said.
"Me too," Brooke replied. With that, she hung up.
Dean shook his head and smiled. Although Brooke had been away for only a day because Sam wanted her to be at the Winchester house and help them prepare for Thanksgiving, Dean already missed her. He opted to be left at their condo to let Brooke bond with his family without him since he already had a lifetime's worth of Thanksgiving with them, and also because of Castiel; he wanted to have Thanksgiving with Dean's family, but he wasn't available until tonight, so Dean decided to be left behind and go to his old house with Castiel.
"Going somewhere?" a familiar voice said.
Dean looked around and saw Rachel standing by the doorway of his bedroom. "Yeah," he said, and then noticed that Rachel was holding two bottles of beer. "I'm not drinking tonight."
"Oh come on," Rachel said. She walked towards Dean and handed him the bottle. "You practically raided every bar in Manhattan before. Just one bottle; it won't hurt."
Just to get rid of Rachel, Dean accepted the offer and took the bottle from her. He took a swig and then put the bottle on top of the end table near him.
"I didn't think you were the marrying type," Rachel said as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched Dean carefully.
Dean looked at Rachel with a slight frown on his face.
"How come you're playing house here with Brooke?" Rachel asked as innocent as she could. "I mean, why is a party boy like you tied down now? What happened?"
"Brooke – that's what happened," Dean said, with a hint of annoyance; he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. He zipped his small bag of clothes close and then shouldered it. "Brooke and I won't be home for the weekend. Don't bring anyone here."
A smirk spread across Rachel's face. "We're just the same, Dean."
"No," Dean chuckled. "That's where you're wrong."
For a moment, Rachel's smirk faltered. She didn't expect Dean to be so tough and hard to get. "Sooner or later, you'll miss your old, carefree ways, Dean. Trust me."
Dean looked intently at Rachel, and for a second, he doubted himself. Could he possibly go back to his old ways? A voice inside his head told him that as long as Brooke was there, he wouldn't go back.
ooooo
Brooke was busy preparing the table in the dining room of the Winchester house for their Thanksgiving dinner when an earthy chuckle from behind her startled her. She let out a little scream and then turned around to see who did that. It was Sam. He was grinning from ear to ear and looked childish.
Brooke smacked his arm. "What're you laughing at? You almost gave me a heart attack."
Sam laughed. "I just realized how small you were."
The brunette, whose frame only reached a little over Sam's shoulder, frowned and smacked his arm again. "Laugh all you want, Sasquatch."
Both of them laughed, but before either of them could say a word, Brooke's phone began to ring. She fished it out of her pocket and checked who the caller was; it was Luke. She excused herself from Sam before she answered it.
"Hey," Brooke greeted. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd call."
"Yeah...about that..."
It had been a month since Brooke told Lucas that she was pregnant, and since then, Brooke waited for him to call her. She knew that he was hurt because she got pregnant with Dean so she didn't bother to call him and gave him some space instead.
"You really don't have to explain anything, Luke. I know my pregnancy was bad news for you," Brooke said.
There was a short pause before Lucas spoke. "I'm glad you understand."
"Of course I do," Brooke scoffed. "I've known you for years, Lucas; of course I understand."
"I'm really sorry, Brooke." Lucas sighed. "I've been doing everything wrong since... since you left Tree Hill."
Brooke closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she knew that Lucas would somehow bring up that topic. "Are you blaming me?" she asked in a soft voice; she wasn't mad.
"No," Lucas quickly replied. "But I miss us."
Brooke let out a sigh. "It's too late for that, Luke. I'm happy with where I am right now."
"Would you fall for Dean if I did not -?"
"Sleep with Peyton?" Brooke assumed, and was proven correct with Lucas' silence. "I don't know, but one thing's for sure: we may never be together again, but you're still special to me. I really want us to be friends again, not like this. Could you be my Broody again?"
Lucas chuckled. "I never stopped being your Broody."
A small smile graced Brooke's lips. "That's nice to know. I'll visit Tree Hill sometime next month; maybe we could see each other then?"
"Of course; just tell me when," Lucas replied.
Brooke could tell that Lucas was excited. "Well, I have to go. See you soon."
"Yeah, take care."
Brooke hung up and was surprised to see Dean standing behind her when she turned around. She smiled and said, "There's my Dean."
Dean let out a small smile. He was excited to see his wife again after spending a day without her, but when he heard her talking to Lucas on the phone, asking Lucas if he could be her 'Broody' again, he became a little jealous. He wasn't being selfish, but he knew how close Brooke and Lucas were. He shrugged those thoughts aside and tried to look as normal as he could.
"Something wrong?" Brooke asked when she noticed the somewhat-worried look on Dean's face.
Dean shook his head and then grinned. "I'm just starving. Did you miss me?"
Brooke wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and kissed him. Even though she knew that there was definitely something wrong, she pushed it aside; she wanted Dean to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner now. Sam told her that Dean stopped celebrating this night with his family when Alice died; that was the reason why Sam wanted Brooke to come over a day before Dean.
ooooo
The cool breeze of the November night sent a chill down Dean's spine as he walked around the patio of the Winchester estate. Their Thanksgiving dinner had just ended, so he excused himself from the others for a moment to clear his head outside. Dean had celebrated this night in a bar for years because all he wanted to do back then was avoid his family, so tonight was quite a change for him. Dean felt like a true part of the family once again, thanks to Brooke and Sam's effort to make this night special for him. Everyone Dean cared for was there – his family, Bobby, Castiel, and most especially, Brooke. They talked about the future little Winchester, and Brooke was obviously happy because of the anticipation of the Winchester family. Dean was happy to have Thanksgiving with Brooke for the first time, and he could see that the rest of his family loved Brooke as well.
But there were two things that bothered him: his latest conversation with Rachel and Brooke's phone call with Lucas. For some unknown reason, a feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach.
"Dean?" a voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
The eldest Winchester turned to see who it was and saw his father standing a few steps behind him.
"I'm glad you're here with us tonight," John said.
Dean looked down and suddenly realized how wrong and misguided he was before he met Brooke. "Yeah, well it's time for me to have this night with you guys again."
"You know, to be honest, I'm really surprised at how fast you changed because of Brooke," John said with a small smile on his face. He was glad to finally have his son back. "Your Mom would be happy. Brooke somewhat reminds me of your Mom."
Dean suddenly looked at his father with interest.
"Mary was always the one who guided me through everything. She always knew what was right for us. She had this certain charm, like your wife."
"Did you know Brooke before you arranged her to marry me?" Dean asked.
John shook his head. "I was never introduced to her before the arrangement happened, but her father talked about her very much and I saw her often at parties her father held. After watching her for a couple of times, I knew there was something about her that would get to your nerves."
Dean chuckled and was surprised at how correct his father's instincts were. "Well, then I guess I have to find a way to thank you for giving me Brooke."
John smirked.
Right then, Brooke came into view and smiled at John when she saw him. She walked up to the two men and stopped right beside Dean.
"The pie's ready," she said as her hand found Dean's and held it.
"I love me some pie," Dean said with a silly grin on his face.
At that moment, John realized how good Dean and Brooke were together, and he was happy for the fact that his son has finally found happiness once again.
ooooo
A girly smile spread across Brooke's face as she gently wiped her face with a towel after she washed her face. Although she was at the adjoining bathroom in Dean's old room, she could hear her husband singing, thus, the smile on her face. When she was sure that she didn't have any make-up on her face anymore, she walked towards the bathroom door and leaned on the doorframe as she watched Dean.
Dean, who quickly noticed that Brooke was watching him, looked at her. "What're you looking at?" he asked with a grin.
Brooke shook her head and walked towards Dean. "I was just thinking of you."
"Yeah, you were smiling like a love struck adolescent," Dean said.
Brooke chuckled and smacked Dean's arm. "Shut up."
The wide grin on Dean's face turned into a smirk as he sat on the edge of the bed. "What were you thinking of?"
Brooke, who was standing in front of Dean, took his hand and smiled down at him. "Remember that time when we had a fight when Ellen told us that we're going to sleep in one room?"
Dean laughed. "I remember you telling me that you're not going to sleep in the same bed with me. The look on your face was priceless."
"I was just thinking of how much we've grown since that time," Brooke said and then gave Dean's hand a gentle squeeze. She then sat down beside Dean and looked straight into his eyes. "Don't you think it's too early for us to have a baby?"
Dean let out a small smile and gave Brooke a soft kiss on her forehead. "It is too early for us, but I want this. Don't you?"
"I do," Brooke replied as she rested her head on Dean's shoulder.
Dean was suddenly reminded of Lucas, and decided whether to ask Brooke about her phone call with Lucas or not. In the end, he pushed the thought aside and wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulder.
"Lucas called," Brooke murmured out of the blue.
"Yeah?" Dean asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He was surprised that Brooke brought up the topic.
Brooke, for some reason, felt that she had to tell Dean that she talked to Lucas earlier. "We patched things up. I've been waiting for his call since the day I told him I was pregnant."
"Why?"
"Because I know he's hurt by the fact that I'm having a baby with you." Brooke sighed. "I've been with Luke for almost half of my life; he's been really messed up since I left Tree Hill."
"Sounds to me like he's dependent on you," Dean muttered and thought of how whiny Lucas was.
Brooke sat up and went face to face with Dean. "Luke's just afraid of letting go."
"You've moved on already, why can't he?"
Brooke looked deep into Dean's hazel eyes. It was only then when she realized that Lucas was still on the top of Dean's 'unwanted' list. She was about to tell him that they should just go to sleep, but the look on Dean's face made her stop.
"Would you fall for me if Lucas didn't cheat on you?" Dean looked at Brooke intently as he waited for her answer.
Brooke saw the intensity in Dean's eyes. She held his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here with you now. What's the point of asking that question?"
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other without saying a word. Dean thought of how Brooke avoided the question, but then again, she has a point; she chose him over Lucas, and that's what matters. Besides, if Lucas means a lot to Brooke, he might as well start to accept the fact that Lucas was and will always be a part of Brooke's life.
Do you like this chapter? I hope you do. Tell me what you think; reviews are appreciated.