Early the next morning, Brooke was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He didn't say anything until he came into her view. He made a face. "Oh no. I know that look. Victoria got to you, didn't she? That's why you were so quiet at dinner last night. Why didn't you tell me before we went out with the Scotts? We could have canceled dinner."

"Because I needed the distraction," Brooke said as she took a sip of her coffee. "And I didn't want to break my promise to Karen."

Despite meeting Karen, Brooke was still a little nervous about going out to dinner with the Scott family. To ease her nerves, Julian accompanied her to the dinner. Both he and Paul was able to convince Victoria that it wasn't necessary for them to meet everyone in Brooke's and Ethan's life right away. They would invite the Scott family over for dinner at another time.

Brooke had nothing to worry about though. Keith was just as welcoming as the rest of the Scott family was to her and Julian. Brooke could understand why Lucas looked up to Keith, and he and Karen had her approval to get to know their grandson.

Julian crossed his arms. "Ok, what exactly did Victoria tell you?"

Brooke sighed. "What do you think she said? She doesn't think Lucas will stick around once the divorce is finalized. She thinks he will take off with Peyton and leave me to deal with a broken-hearted Ethan."

Julian gave her a look. "That's ridiculous. How many times have you told us that Lucas has no intention to leave Ethan like his dad left him? Don't tell me she played the deadbeat dad card." Brooke parted her lips to answer, but Julian didn't let her respond. "Brooke, don't let her get in your head. If Lucas wanted to take off, he would have done it when you told him about Ethan two months ago. Besides, you don't really know what happened between your parents. You've only heard your mom's side of the story. Who knows your dad's version is?"

"Considering I haven't heard from or seen him in years, he doesn't deserve to be in my life," Brooke said. "And he doesn't deserve to know his grandson."

"Speaking of Ethan, I can see you survived the first night without him," Julian said. "How many times did you call Lucas after we left them at the River Court?"

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked innocently. "I only called him once." Julian arched an eyebrow. "Ok, I called three times. To be fair, the last time was to say good night to him. You have no idea how hard it is for me to let go and allow Lucas to have him the whole weekend without supervision. I kept an eye on my phone all night in case Ethan needed me in the middle of the night."

"Well, I think you're doing great so far," Julian complimented. "You've made it through your first night, and you have two more nights to go. But if you want to go see him, you can always go to Lucas's birthday party, especially since you've met his parents. You can be my date."

Brooke managed a smile as there was a knock at the front door. "It's open," she called.

The front door was pushed open, and Rachel poked her head into the foyer. She pretended to have a disappointed face. "So it is really true. You are kid free for the weekend. I guess this means you can go shopping with me today. I still haven't found the right outfit for Millie's bachelorette party."

Julian suppressed a smile. "You're invited to Millie's bachelorette party?"

"Of course I am invited," Rachel said. "Why wouldn't I be invited? Oh, you mean because I dated her fiancé? It was a fling and that was years ago. We've realized we're better off as friends, and I'm happy for him. Millie seems like a nice girl, and I'm not just saying that because she's Brooke's assistant either. So are you coming with me or not?"

"As I told Julian, I still have a lot to do to set up for Millie's bachelorette party next week," Brooke said. "I don't have time to go with you or go to Lucas's birthday party."

Rachel's mouth dropped open. "You're invited to Lucas's birthday party, and you're not going? Why the hell not? Because you don't want to see your estranged husband? I thought you wanted to show a united front for Ethan." Brooke opened her mouth to respond, but Rachel was quicker. "I know you don't like us to call him your husband since you had one night with him. What else am I supposed to call him? You two aren't really friends either."

"Lucas has been around for the last two months. I think they are in the friends' stage in their relationship," Julian said. "And as friends, I think Brooke should accept the invitation and go to Lucas's party. It's the perfect excuse to check up on Ethan instead of checking your phone every five minutes to see if Lucas calls you or even spying on him."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "You spied on Lucas and Ethan?"

"It wasn't my idea," Brooke defended. She took another sip of her coffee. "And it was the first time he had Ethan to himself. I had to keep an eye on my son."

"What are you going to do when he has his first official sleepover with his friends?" Rachel asked. "Are you going to volunteer to supervise that party?"

"If he does it over at Shelley's, I won't have to," Brooke said. "I know Shelley would keep a close eye on him and Zoe."

"You still haven't answered my question. Are you going to go shopping with me? Because I really don't want to go by myself," Rachel said. She wagged a warning finger at her best friend. "I know it's Saturday, and I know it's going to be busy. But I haven't had a day off for the last two months because I was covering for you at the Tree Hill location. Don't get me wrong. I was happy to do it, but that meant having someone else manage my store. And Victoria gave me such a hard time about it."

"I know, and I'm so sorry about that," Brooke said. "You know how she is."

Rachel shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Paul has already apologized to me. He gave the excuse that Victoria has been concerned about Ethan spending too much time with Lucas. He told me he thinks she will come around eventually. It will just take her a while. Those are his words, not mine. Honestly, I don't think she will ever come around."

Julian responded before Brooke could open her mouth. "If she wants to stay in her grandson's life, she will have to."

"So are you planning to go with me or not?" Rachel asked. "Because if you're going with me, we should get going."

"I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to pass," Brooke said. "But if you can't find anything, you can borrow something out of my closet." Rachel just smiled as she hurried into the master bedroom. "Just make sure you bring it back after you borrow it," she called, but Rachel had already shut the door.

"It might not be a bad idea to give yourself a day off, especially you don't have Ethan all weekend," Julian suggested. "You should accompany me to Lucas's birthday party, and see how Ethan will light up with meeting his grandparents for the first time."

"His eyes will only light up because they will have presents for him," Brooke said. There was a short pause. "But I know Keith and Karen would be disappointed if I didn't go to the party. I'm just afraid it would be awkward. After all, it's Lucas's birthday party, not Ethan's. I don't see your parents attending each other's birthday parties. I know your mom always come to Victoria's birthday parties, but they are friends."

"We don't have to stay for the whole thing. We can just drop by to give him his present, and eat some cake and ice cream," Julian said. "Just think about it."

Brooke didn't respond as the doorbell rang. "It's open," she called. The doorbell rang again. Brooke frowned. Why didn't the visitor open the door? She walked to the front door and pulled it open.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She managed to find her voice. "Peyton, what are you doing here?"

"I felt like we need to talk," Peyton said. "Can I come in?"

Brooke slowly nodded her head and made room for her guest. Peyton stepped into the living room. She exchanged greetings with Julian. "I'll leave you two alone," he said before he headed upstairs to the second floor.

There was an awkward silence before Brooke spoke again. "Can I get you anything?"

Peyton shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Look, I want to apologize for everything. I know I haven't been the most welcoming to you. I never expected to hear that my fiancé had a one night stand where he ended up married. And he had a son. I considered you as a threat to my marriage, and I was afraid he was going to leave me for you."

Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? You thought he was going to leave you for me? We had one night together, and we barely knew each other."

She didn't dare admit that she had the same fears.

"It must have been some night because he decided to name the main character in his next book after you," Peyton said.

Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. He named a character in his next book after her?

"I've spent all summer adjusting to the news and I've come to terms that you and Ethan will always be part of our lives now. Therefore, I would like to call a truce. I know I don't have any experience with children, but I don't want to be considered a wicked stepmother who locks her stepchildren up in a tower."

"You just happen to call a truce during Lucas's birthday weekend?" Brooke said.

"His parents are in town, and I would love to be there to help celebrate my fiancé's birthday," Peyton said. "But I can't because Lucas wasn't sure if you would be comfortable with me meeting Ethan. It's all about him spending time with Ethan, and I understand that. I do, but I'm part of his life too."

"I'm very selective of who I bring into my son's life for a reason," Brooke said. "He gets very attached to people, and I don't want to set him up for disappointment. And as you have mentioned, you have no experience with children."

"That doesn't mean I'm not willing to try," Peyton said. "I can see Lucas, Nathan and Haley love Ethan, and I would like the chance to get to know him too." There was a short pause. "And I would like for us to try and be friends too."

Brooke was taken back. Friends?

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Rachel asked, emerging from the bedroom. "I don't believe we have met. You must be Peyton. I'm Rachel Gatina, Brooke's friend and the godmother of your future stepson. Nice speech, but I'm not falling for your act."

Brooke placed a hand on her arm. "Rachel, why don't you let me handle this?"

"I understand why you're protective of Brooke and Ethan, but I have no ulterior motives here," Peyton assured them. "All I want is a chance for us to get to know each other."

Brooke could hear the sincerity in Peyton's voice. She really did want to make peace with her. She let out a heavy sigh. "I'm giving you the same offer I gave Lucas. I can handle bad press, but I will not let you exploit my son. He will always come first. If you do anything to hurt him, then trust goes out the window."

"I understand," Peyton said.

"Great. Then you can accompany us to Lucas's birthday party," Julian said. He was standing on the landing. Brooke opened her mouth to protest, but Julian wasn't finished. "It would show a united front and you're willing to be open to a friendship."

Brooke hated to admit it, but Julian had a point. It would show they were willing to be cordial to each other and open to becoming friends. "If you're comfortable with riding with us, then I'm okay with it."

There was silence before Peyton nodded her head. "What time are you planning to pick me up?"

They made arrangements before Brooke walked Peyton to the door. Rachel waited until she left before speaking again. "Are you crazy? What are you thinking?"

"You sound like Victoria. I don't see any problem with it," Julian said. By then, he had joined them in the living room. "My mom and Victoria are best friends, even though Victoria's now married to my dad."

"Your mom and Victoria were friends long before Victoria married Paul," Rachel reminded him. "You don't know a thing about Peyton. How do you know she can be trusted?"

"Because she's right. I am giving Lucas a chance to know Ethan. And he's meeting his grandparents today. I should give Peyton the same courtesy. After all, she is his future stepmother," Brooke said. Those words were weird for her to say, but she had to get used to hearing them. "Besides, Julian's right. There's absolutely no reason why we can't all be friends."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Rachel said before she headed back to the bedroom.

Julian embraced Brooke in a tight hug. "Don't worry. I know it's scary, but you are doing the right thing. You and Peyton will be friends in no time."

Brooke tried to return the smile, but her mother's words still echoed in her head. She pushed those thoughts aside as she went to her bedroom to help Rachel.