One Month Later.
"Haley, she is so beautiful" Brooke gushed as she looked at the sleeping newborn in Haley's arms.
"Thanks" Haley replied not taking her eyes off of Leah. She was only a few hours old and the newest addition to the Scott family tree already had everyone wrapped around her finger. Leah was born with a head full of brown hair and the deepest set of hazel eyes. She was the spitting image of Haley. "Do you want to hold her?"
Brooke nodded and took Leah from Haley's arms. "Hi Lee….I'm your aunt Brooke"
"Look Hannah that's your cousin Leah" Lucas explained holding Hannah in his arms.
"My baby?" Hannah asked
"No sweetie that's not you're baby…she belongs to Uncle Nathan and Aunt Haley" Lucas said kissing Hannah's temple gently.
"Hi baby" Hannah said waving down at the sleeping infant.
"How are you feeling?" Brooke asked Haley as she finally looked up from Leah.
Haley sighed and shook her head "Kind of like I've been ripped in half…contrary to popular belief giving birth doesn't get any easier when you get older…Jake and Peyton stopped by earlier but Hayden's been sick so they couldn't stay for long…I'm not sure Nathan knows what to think about having a daughter…Jamie's crazy about her…he's always wanting to hold her and touch her"
"Where are Nathan and Jamie anyway?" Lucas swayed with Hannah who was starting to fuss a little.
"Oh…Nathan took Jamie to Outback for his official "I'm a big brother" meal"
"Do you think it's going to be harder with two?" Lucas asked as he bounced around with Hannah.
"I don't think so…if anything life's going to be that much better" Haley smiled as she looked at Brooke who was still holding the new addition to her and Nathan's family. "How much longer do you have until I can meet that son of yours…5 more months?"
Hannah began to cry and she pointed to the door. "Dada…go"
"I'm going to take her for a walk outside" Lucas informed and walked out of the room shutting the door behind him.
"Um…six" Brooke smiled handing Leah back to Haley. "I'm really scared"
"Why?" Haley asked before kissing Leah on the forehead.
"Well you know my OBGYN Andrea Shelton…well I went for an ultrasound yesterday and Andrea said that she didn't think I'd make it to term…she said with all the internal injuries I suffered from the car accident last spring and she said that she can tell that I'm still under stress from work and everything that's happened in my personal life that she's pretty sure I'm going to deliver early…she wanted me on bed rest but I told her I have way to much going on and I can't deal with all of it from home" Brooke explained pulling her hair up into a messy bun.
"What'd Lucas say?"
"He's not happy with me working…in fact he's pretty infuriated at me for still going into the store everyday…but Haley you have to understand that all that work isn't going to do itself" Brooke sat down in the empty chair by the bed and crossed her legs.
"Yeah but Brooke you also don't have to work all the time…You've got Millie and all kinds of people to help you with work…I guess I just don't understand why you'd want to do all of this"
Brooke shrugged her shoulders "I feel fine…I mean I haven't had any problems…I mean I take care of myself and I eat right and I'm careful when I work out…and Andrea doesn't even know for sure if this baby will come early…she just said with everything that's happened it's a possibility"
Lucas walked in with a now subdued Hannah "Brooke, I think we should get ready and go…I think the reason Hannah has been so cranky today is because she's got another tooth coming in and we need to stop at the pharmacy and pick up some of that baby Orajel cause we've used it all"
Brooke nodded and stood up and leaned over Haley and hugged her. "Congratulations, Tutor Mom she is so beautiful"
"Thanks Brooke"
"Yeah…you've made me proud as an uncle Hales" Lucas teased.
"I'm glad Luke…my sole purpose of getting pregnant again was so that you'd be proud to show off pictures of my kids" Haley rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but smile.
"You see how she treats me now?" Lucas asked Brooke as she took a hold of his hand and walked to the door.
"I know honey" Brooke teased.
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"You know I don't understand how the hell this guy doesn't know that its her" Rachel sighed as she took a drink of Sprite and curled back up on Brooke's couch. Lucas and Mouth had went out of town for the weekend. Mouth had gone to Charlotte to interview players at the Carolina Panthers training camp and he had invited Lucas to go with him and since Rachel didn't like staying at her and Mouth's house alone she had graciously invited herself to spend the next 48 hours with at Brooke's. Brooke had put Hannah down for the night and had popped in "A Cinderella Story" in the DVD player.
"Well she's not exactly popular Rach" Brooke tried to explain.
"Brooke…please…if I went to a costume party and all I had on to cover my face was an eye mask you'd know it was me…maybe he's a little retarded" Rachel shook her head and turned back to the screen.
"He's not retarded Rachel…The girl Sam isn't popular…so the guy Austin doesn't roll in her social circle…that's way he doesn't know it's her"
"Whatever…I'm not best friends with Haley but if I saw her ass out at a costume party I'd sure as hell know it was her" Rachel curled up under the blanket and looked at Brooke.
"Rachel you over analyze things too much" Brooke shook her head and took a bite of popcorn.
"And another thing I don't understand is…the girl dropped her cell phone so how come he just doesn't pick up the phone and call her house?…I mean that's what I would do…that's the right thing to do…I mean what would you do?"
"Rachel…just watch the movie" Brooke said turning her attention back to the flat screen TV.
"You know that guy totally looks like Lucas"
"Rachel"
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Mouth and Lucas walked into their hotel room and Lucas took his shoes off and stretched out on the bed closest to the window. Mouth sat the his overnight bag down at the end of the bed and turned the TV on.
"Today was a lot of fun" Lucas said before yawning.
"I know…I love that the station sends me on all these on-location remotes it's really great…I just wish that Rachel liked football a little more" Mouth sat on his bed and slipped his shoes off.
"I can only imagine what her and Brooke are into"
"Yeah my wife tends to be crazy when it comes to your wife…I mean I love Rachel but her and Brooke together for the weekend is just an accident waiting to happen" Mouth shook his head and laughed.
"I remember when Brooke and I came back from our honeymoon and her and Rachel went to Sears and Rachel backed up and hit all those motorcycles….then she tried to make it seem like it was the bikers fault"
"Yeah…Rachel's mouth sure does get her into some sticky situations…but she's an amazing woman"
Lucas turned his head and looked over at Mouth. "She is….I mean Rachel may be a lot of things but she's made Brooke laugh when I didn't think it was possible to"
Mouth nodded "Yeah…Rachel is really thankful for Brooke….I remember a few years ago when Rachel was doing drugs she said that one of the biggest reasons she was able to overcome her addiction was because Brooke refused to give up on her"
Lucas smiled at the mere mention of Brooke's name. "That's what scares me about Brooke…she has this big heart and she might protect it at first but once she lets her guard down around you she'll do anything to help you….I think that's why I get so worried because I've seen the way some people take advantage of her…and it's like she looks the other way…its times like that when I miss the old Brooke…the one who wouldn't take crap from anyone…I miss that girl sometimes"
Mouth got up from the bed and opened his suitcase "Yeah but Luke you're forgetting about what happened to her"
"What's that?" Lucas asked pushing up to rest on his elbows.
"You" Mouth said simply "In all the time that I've known the two of you…I've never seen you happier than when you were with each other…it's like I've said before your hearts are the same…Brooke might have changed but it's because of you….even when the two of you were with other people I always knew you'd find your way back to each other"
"Thanks man I appreciate that" Lucas said looking up at his longtime friend.
"Well I figured I'd pick something up from those books you write" Mouth joked before walking into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
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Two Months Later
"So what did Nathan say about you entering Leah in the "Pretty Baby Contest" at the fair?" Brooke asked Haley as she walked around Clothes Over Bro's. She ran a hand over her 5 months along baby bump and sighed as she leaned against the counter.
Haley looked down at Leah who was asleep in her car seat before she answered. "He said it's a given that she's going to win"
"Well of course she's going to win" Brooke smiled, but then grimaced and grabbed her stomach.
"Are you ok?" Haley asked pushing herself up from where she was leaning against the counter.
"Yeah, I'm fine…I've just had cramps today" Brooke sighed and exhaled a few times "I'm ok now"
"Why don't you let me take you to your OBGYN?" Haley said walking around the counter and over to Brooke.
"Haley, no I'm fine…really everything is ok" Brooke forced a small smile and looked at Haley.
"Yeah…but I can deal with your wrath better than I can Lucas's…get in the car and when I myself hear that everything is ok then I will bring you back to the store myself and even reimburse you for the money you may have lost while closed" Haley said picking up Leah's car seat.
"I hate that you guys gang up on me all the time…the only person who is on my side about getting work done is my mother" Brooke folded her arms and leaned back against the counter.
"Well, we won't get on the subject of Victoria Davis and her work ethics and she sure as hell isn't pregnant with my first nephew so…GET IN THE CAR" Haley said gritting her teeth as she finished her sentence.
"Fine" Brooke grabbed her purse and walked out of the store and to Haley's car.
Haley rolled her eyes and picked her cell phone up out of her purse and hit "3" on her speed dial. Haley sighed when the person on the other end answered.
"Lucas"
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Lucas sat beside Brooke and held her hand as Andrea did a sonogram on Brooke. The baby boy's heart rate was strong but uneven. Andrea turned off the machine and looked over at Brooke and Lucas.
"Brooke, I want you off of work…the baby is ok but you need to understand that, that could change in an instant" Andrea said matter of factly.
"I've tried telling her that but she insists on being stubborn" Lucas explained to Andrea.
"Yeah but I just have a few things I have to get done in the store and then I'll go on maternity leave" Brooke tried her best to compromise.
Andrea shook her head and stood up "Brooke, I'll play hardball with you if I have to…I want you off of work…I'm not putting you on bed rest yet but don't think that I won't…you're on your feet too much…and because you're on your feet so much you're not gaining enough weight"
"Well you try chasing around a toddler while trying to fax papers, and complete sketches for a new line of back to school clothes" Brooke tried to explain as she fought back tears. She felt like everyone was gaining up on her lately and she hated it.
"Yeah, I understand that but you also need to realize that you've got another person to think about" Andrea said softly.
"Alright…I'm tired of fighting with everyone" Brook shook her head finally giving up.
"Ok…well I'll be back in a few minutes" Andrea said before walking out of the exam room.
Brooke looked over at Lucas who'd been oddly quiet. "Luke…"
Lucas held his hand up to stop her "You're going on maternity leave…I don't want you doing anything to stress yourself out…I'm not kidding Brooke…I'm serious about this because you're not going to do anything that's going to harm you or our son"
"Ok…I'll go on maternity leave"
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Nathan and Jamie were outside with Hannah trying to teach her how to shoot a basketball.
"Here Hannah watch me" Jamie said and effortlessly made a basket into his Fisher Price basketball hoop.
"Now you try Hannah" Nathan said handing the small basketball to Hannah.
"Tank ooh Nafan" Hannah said taking the ball from her uncle.
Hannah walked over to the basketball hoop and dropped the ball out of her hands. She laughed and clapped thinking she had actually made a basket.
"Yea" Nathan and Jamie both said clapping as they looked at Hannah.
"Good job Hannah" Jamie said as he walked over to his cousin.
"Hey Jim-jam let's go in the house and get something to eat" Nathan said standing up from where he'd been sitting on the ground.
"Can we go get a Happy Meal?" Jamie asked his voice full of hope.
Nathan couldn't help but smile "Yeah we can go and get a Happy Meal…It'll save your mommy from having to cook tonight"
"Yes" Jamie took off running into the house and Nathan shook his head and walked over to Hannah and picked her up.
"Let's go get something to eat H-bug"
"Ok" Hannah smiled and clapped her hands.