It was the first day of school, which meant the first day of practice. Lucas woke up bright and early. Lily was still asleep and he decided to take advantage of this peace. He sat down at his computer and opened it. He looked at his blank computer screen. He couldn't think of a single thing to write. He could hear that Lily was awake now and was playing in her room. He got up and walked to her room.
"Hey honey, are you hungry?" He asked as she looked up from her toys.
"Mhm!" She said as she got up and ran to him.
"Do you want cereal?" He asked as he picked her up. She nodded and he walked into the kitchen with her. He set her down on the chair and he poured her a bowl of cheerios. They finished eating and Lily went to the living room while Lucas was in his room. Haley walked into his bedroom with Jamie.
"Hey Luke, can Jamie play with Lily today. I still haven't found a nanny." Haley said as Lucas got up.
"Of course!" Lucas said walking over to Jamie. "My man, how ya been?"
"Good, where's Lily?" Jamie asked.
"She is in the living room." Lucas answered as Jamie ran out.
"Thanks again Lucas." Haley started to leave and then turned around, "Did you hear who is back in Tree Hill?" She asked.
"No, who?" Lucas asked as he sat down at his computer.
"Peyton Sawyer. She is back, and plans on staying." Haley replied. She looked at Lucas who was completely shocked. Haley left and Lucas just sat at his computer. He had been typing for four hours. He was completely lost in writing. He started to read over what he had written and then deleted it. He stood up and went to find Jamie and Lily. They were in the living room watching TV. He smiled and sat in between them. They were watching SpongeBob Squarepants. He laughed at the adult humor in the show and both kids looked at him. They didn't understand what he was laughing at. After the episode finished he made them lunch.
"Who wants to go to the River Court?" Lucas asked the kids.
"I do!" Jamie said as his face lit up from excitement. Lucas smiled and looked at Lily. She wasn't as excited as Jamie. Although Lucas wasn't planning on pushing basketball on her, it still bothered him that she had zero interest in the sport. She got up from her seat and looked at Lucas.
"It will be fun sweetie. Just give it a chance." Lucas said with a smile. Lily crossed her arms and walked to her room. Although she was only four, she had already developed a very bad attitude. Lucas shook his head and looked at Jamie.
"So we aren't going?" He asked his uncle.
"We are still going. I'll go get Lily." Lucas said getting up. He thought about how Lily really needed a girl in her life other than her Aunt Haley. He opened her door and found her playing with her dolls. Lucas smiled to himself and leaned against the door. Lily looked up at him and then continued to play. "Lily. I know you don't want to go, but you can't be here by yourself. You can bring some toys if you want." Lucas said as he looked at the mess in her rooms. He is a little bit of a neat freak and it was driving him crazy.
"Fine." The little girl got off the ground and grabbed a bag. She put two of her dolls in it and walked out of her room. Lucas laughed as he followed her. They arrived at the River Court to find Skills there. Lucas grabbed a ball from his trunk and walked over with Jamie leading the way. Jamie loved to play basketball with his Uncle Lucas and Uncle Skills. They started playing right away. Lucas looked over to see Lily playing by herself. This worried him even more. Lily was completely happy playing by herself. Lucas saw that Lily was smiling so he went back to the game.
"Are you ready for practice today?" Skills asked as they stopped playing to get ready to leave. They left the ball on the court.
"Oh yeah, it will be so much fun." Lucas said sarcastically.
"But they're Ravens, and Ravens are the best!" Jamie said jumping off the bleachers. Skills and Lucas both laughed. They got to the car and Lucas realized that Lily wasn't with them. He ran back to the court and saw Lily with a basketball in her hands. He smiled and watched her try to dribble. She gave up and Lucas walked up to her. He got down on her level.
"Sweetie, it takes time." He said as he picked her up. He then gabbed her bag of toys and started kicking the basketball towards the car. Skills and Jamie were waiting by Lucas' car. Skills walked to the River Court and was hoping to get a ride with Lucas to the gym. They all got in the car and drove to the gym. It was almost time for practice and Skills ran into the locker room. Tree Hill High has a rule that at least one coach needs to be in the locker room when there are student in there. Lucas walked into the gym with his daughter and nephew by his sides. He walked them to the bleachers and had them sit there. Lucas walked off and Jamie started to talk about his Grandpa Dan. Lily had never heard of Dan before. This is because Lucas made all of his friends promise they wouldn't talk about Dan until he was ready to tell Lily about how her dad died. The players started to run out. Haley walked in on practice about 30 minutes later.
"Hey, pick it up, blue! Let's go!" Skills said as the players were falling behind.
"Hey, coach, you got a sec?" Haley said as she stood by Lucas on the sideline.
"That depends... are you gonna be one of those teachers constantly complaining about my players' grades?" Lucas said as he was focused on the teams.
"If your players are failing, you bet your ass I will." She replied. Lucas tilted his head while watching the players.
"Fair enough. Grades are the least of this team's worries." Lucas said as he watched yet another missed basketball.
"Oh, my God! Can't be serious." Skills said watching the team.
"How's Quentin? Is he still disrupting your class?" Lucas asked now focused on Haley.
"Actually, no. Quentin has not been in class all week, and I think it's because he got kicked off the team." Haley told Lucas trying to get a reaction out of him.
"You can't save 'em all, Hales... Oh God!" Lucas said blowing it off.
"I think your team looks really good." She said trying to encourage him.
"The J.V. is the team in white. In the blue... yeah, those are mine. We're a work in progress." Lucas said pointing at the team in blue practice jersey.
"Awkward. I'm gonna go now. Come on Jamie." She said as she waved for Jamie to follow.
"Haley, how's my little brother doing?" Lucas looked at his sister-in-law with a very concerned look on his face.
"He's a work in progress." Haley said as she grabbed Jamie's hand and they left.
"Finish!" Lucas yelled as he blew his whistle. He ran up to the team and told them to gather around "You guys lost 8 games last year by 3 points or less... 8. Now, does anyone know how many games you won by 3 points or less?"
"I do. Zero." Skills said looking at the guys who were all looking down.
"Oh, that's right... none. Now, maybe, if you guys could've hit a few free throws, maybe you could've made the Playoffs. So, this is how we're gonna start... fundamentals." Lucas continued to look at every player.
"See this spot? We're gonna start practice every day from this line right here. And any player who can't knock down three straight free throws in a row is gonna run... all day." Skills stood on the free throw line with a ball in his hand.
"Who wants to prove me wrong?" Lucas said as one player steps out for the challenge. He misses his shots.
"Go ahead and start running, superstar. Hey, and don't be high-fiving nobody, either." Skills said as he was shaking his head
"Who's next?" Lucas asked looking at his team. All the players lined up at different goals. Lucas walked over to Lily. She was playing with her dolls. He sat down next to her and she looked up at him.
"I have to go potty." Lily said as she stood up. Lucas took her hand and started to walk towards the door.
"Awww" All of the players including Skills said in unison as they watched the head coach walk with his precious little girl. Lucas turned around and all the guys got back to shooting. He walked with Lily to the bathroom and stood outside while she went. She walked back out and smiled at him. They walked back to the gym together but she was running around him. He opened the door to find his whole team running. Lucas' face turned to red with anger. He walked up to Skills who is on the sideline.
"Are you telling me not one of them made their free throws?" Lucas asked. He watched at Lily ran around the gym and then looked at his players.
"Let's just put it this way... we could have built a new gym with all them bricks. You know they're counting on us to turn this thing around, right? This season." Skills told him with a worried look on his face.
"They'll get better." Lucas said watching some of the players fall behind others.
"Yeah? If they don't, maybe we can start a track team." Skills said with a smile. He turned to the court and yelled "Come on! Keep going! Run, run, run! Pick it up!"
Lucas and Skills were done watching their team just run, so they ended practice. Lucas walked into the locker room to put some papers in his office. As he walked back to the gym he saw Lily trying to shoot. He stood by the door so she wouldn't see him. He started to ask himself why she only plays when he isn't watching. He looked at his watch and started to walk up to her.
"Are you ready?" He asked her as he grabbed her bag. She nodded and ran over to him. She grabbed his hand and they started to walk to the car.
"Daddy?" Lily said looking up at him.
"Hmm?" He answered as he looked down at her.
"When do I get to meet Grandpa Dan?" She asked and then started jumping around him. Lucas' face turned white. He wasn't ready to answer this question. They got in the car and drove home. It was a very silent ride. Lily didn't know what she did wrong but she knew Lucas was mad. As they got home there was someone sitting on their doorstep. Lucas parked the car and they got up. He didn't recognize the figure at first. He got closer and heard a voice.
"Lucas Scott!"
Lucas smiled as he saw her face. It was Brooke Davis. "Brooke!" Lucas said as he hugged her. "I heard you were back in town."
"Yeah Peyton and I both are." She said looking at him.
"Do you want to go get dinner?" He asked her as he saw Lily in the corner of his eye playing in the yard.
"Yes! I would love that." Brooke smiled and the saw Lily. Her eyes started to tear up. "Is that… She's so big."
"Lily come here!" He said as Brooke watched the little girl run up to Lucas. "I want you to meet someone." He said as he squatted down to Lily's level. Lily was a little shy and backed into Lucas. Lily knows most of Lucas' friends, but she didn't know Brooke. Brooke got down on her level. "This is my friend Brooke. You have met her before, but you were very little."
"Hi Lily." Brooke said as she stuck out her hand. Lily smiled at Brooke and shook her hand. She turned back to Lucas and put her arms around his neck. He picked her up and stood up. Brooke smiled as she stood up. "Luke she is precious."
"Thanks!" Lily said. Brooke smiled and the started to laugh. Lucas looked at Lily and she smiled at him. He rolled his eyes and then looked at Brooke.
"So dinner. Where do you want to go?" Lucas asked as Lily buried her face into his neck.
"Um, how about the café that is down the road?" She said as she smiled at him.
"Sure! Lily loves that place." He replied as he was rubbing Lily's back. They walked to Lucas' car and he put Lily in her car seat. Brooke got in and watched Lucas.
"She is still in a car seat?" She asked as Lucas got into the driver's seat.
"Yeah she has to be by law." Lucas replied. He drove to the restaurant and Brooke and Lucas got out. Brooke opened Lily's door and help her out. Lily was already warming up to her. Brooke was holding Lily's hand as they walked in. Lucas typically didn't take Lily out to eat because she is very wild in restaurants. They sat down at the table and Lily started to color on the kid's menu.
"So Luke, how have you been?" Brooke asked as she looked over the menu.
"I've been good. Busy with the Ravens, Lily, and helping Haley with Jamie and Nathan." He was pointed out to Lily what she was going to have. "What about you Miss Davis? How has New York been?"
"It's great. It is everything I have dreamed of." Brooke said as the waitress walked up. She took their drink orders and walked away.
"Then why move back to Tree Hill?" He asked as he set his menu down.
"Same reason you are here, it's home." She smiled as the waitress brought out their coffees and milk for Lily.
"What will you be having?" The waitress asked.
"Chicken fingers for her, and I'll have the burger with everything on it." Lucas said as he handed the waitress his menu.
"And for you honey?" The waitress asked as she looked at Brooke.
"I'll have a burger as well." Brooke replied. The waitress smiled and walked away.
"So what about Clothes Over Bros? Are you just going to give it away?" He asked. In the corner of his eye he could see Lily playing with her silverware. He grabbed it from her and set it on the other side of him. Brooke smiled a little bit. She couldn't believe how fatherly he was.
"No, I am going to start designing from here. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I went by Karen's Café today. I was wondering what you were going to be doing with the spot." She asked with a smile.
"Um, nothing right now. Why?" He asked.
"I wanted to buy it from you. I was hoping to turn it into a new clothing store." She said as she looked at Lily coloring. She smiled then looked at Lucas.
"That's a great idea Brooke! Of course you can." Lucas smiled at her, and then looked down. "So, how is Peyton?"
"She's good. What happened between you two anyways?" Brooke asked. She knew both of them to well and knew they were hiding something.
"Nothing." Lucas said. He thought back to when he visited her in LA. It was so different. They had grown a part. The waitress walked out with their food and they started to eat. Lily was playing with her French fries, which made Lucas annoyed.
"Lily, just eat your food." He said trying to remain calm. Lately Lucas has felt a lot more stress because of coaching, parenting and trying to help Haley. Brooke could see the tiredness on his face.
"Luke I have an idea." Brooke said as she finished chewing a bite of her burger. Lucas looked up at her and Brooke continued, "What if Lily comes with Peyton and I tomorrow to have a girl's day? I don't really know Lily that well, and it would be perfect." Lily heard Peyton's name. She loved Peyton. She had gotten really close to Peyton through the video chats Lucas had with her.
"That's a great idea. I have to start being at the school during the day anyway. It would be better than having a nanny." Lucas said looking at Lily who was playing with her food again. Lucas grabbed Lily's hand and gave her a look. She stopped playing and started to eat.
"Wow Luke, you really have this parenting thing down." Brooke said as she watched the little girl eat her food.
"Not really. I just read some books and talk to Haley about different things." Lucas said. The waitress brought the check to them and Lucas paid for Brooke.
"You didn't have to do that." Brooke said looking at him.
"I know. I wanted to." Lucas said. They got up and he left a tip on the table. They walked out to the car and drove back to Lucas' house. He smiled as Brooke left. She said she would be by to pick Lily up from the house around 7:30. Lucas walked inside with Lily. He took a deep breath and looked at her. He finished her bath and was tucking her in.
"Sweetie, who told you about Grandpa Dan?" He asked.
"Jamie. He said that Aunt Haley let him hang out with him." Lily said as she snuggled into her bed. Lucas looked at her and was shocked. He thought she might have heard one of the players mention his name, or seen something about him. Lucas sat on the floor and looked at her.
"I will tell you when you are older okay Sweetie?" Lucas looked at her and watched as she was trying to fall asleep. He could tell she was having a little bit of trouble. He started rubbing her back and she finally was asleep. He got up and walked out of the room. He went to his room and sat down at his computer. He started writing and the words just flowed out of him. He finished writing his thought and then got up. He could hear Lily making noise in her room. He walked in and found her still asleep but very hot. He didn't want to wake her so he carefully picked her up and carried her into his room. He laid her down on his bed so that he was able to keep an eye on her. After about an hour, he finished writing and laid down in bed. He was almost asleep when Lily snuggled next to him. He smiled and then fell asleep.