"Lucas. Lucas, can you get them?" I ask, hitting the side of the bed in order to wake him up but my hand just punched an empty mattress. I woke up rather quickly, Luke was not in the bed.

"Hey... babe?" I asked, entering the living room rather wearily. I saw Lucas bouncing Jamie in his arms sleepily.

"Jamie again? But he's been sleeping so well." I whined. My eyes were red and I was cranky from the utter lack of sleep.

"I think they tag off. That way, they both get their rest, unlike us," Lucas said, still bouncing the little squirt in his arms.

"It'll get better," I said, picking up strewn toys off the floor and then feeling too tired so just throwing them off in the corner.

"We said that months ago. Seriously, I say we go with plan B, we find a really nice mansion and leave them on the porch. After that, we sleep, we go to movies, we go to restaurants, and we never speak of this again," Lucas joked.

"I'll take him. Oh, what have you got to be so grumpy about? Hmm? You want this?" I asked, unbuttoning my shirt and trying to feed him.

"I got to sleep," Lucas decided.

"Okay," I responded, not knowing what else to say as I sat on the couch once the baby had latched.

"Every night, every hour, you're driving around in the car, I'm walking around like a zombie. People say it gets better? People lie." Lucas said, clearly tired beyond his mind. "And we also have to go to school early and there's homework! It's gonna work out, right?"

"It's gonna work out," I responded, being the voice of hope.

"It has to," he sighed, gripping at the edge of the couch.

"It will. And then we'll see movies... and maybe even sleep. I promise." I said as I saw Jamie slowly nod off the sleep once I had burped him. "See? Yeah…" However, my joy was extremely short lived as I heard Sophia begin to whimper and grumble in her nursery.

"I got it," I said, holding Jamie in my arms and patting his bum softly to keep him asleep over the din that our little girl was creating. Three months in, their bodies were still a tab bit on the underdeveloped side, but their vocal chords were not!

"Plan C, we take them to an orphanage. They're cute. Somebody will take them," Lucas continued to banter, making me laugh.

"Somebody would. Somebody would take you, wouldn't they?" I asked, emerging moments later bounding Sophia on my shoulder.

Once she was settled, I went back to my bedroom to crash in bed besides a fully passed out Lucas. Just as I pulled the covers and snuggled into Lucas' warm body, my eyes shot open again with the loud wails of both of them simultaneously.

"They're buying boys in China," Lucas said, awake as well.

"Oh my God," I answered, laughing at just how extensive his research was. I knew he loved the babies way too much and it was purely the exhaustion talking. "Right on schedule. I got it. See you in the morning."

"You want me to come?" he offered, although he wanted anything but to come.

"No. You have that Calculus Test tomorrow. Get some sleep. I love you." I smiled at him before grabbing my car keys from the nightstand, I kept them there now, knowing full well what my night was going to look like.

"Be careful. I love you, too, baby," he mumbled, already half asleep.

They like it when I drive. So I drive. It's funny. I grew up in Tree Hill. I've spent most of my life here. But it wasn't until my kids were born and I couldn't sleep that I really got to know this place. That used to be my view of Tree Hill at 2:00 a.m., where I would go searching for the next big party, hunting for the next catch to warm my bed. Well, my partial view. Now this is my view. We drive the same streets I drive everyday while going to High School and listen to the same music, at least, when we can agree. Sometimes we try the '80s, sometimes classic rock. "Explosions in the sky" works for all of us. 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:00. We drive and we think… and we fuss a bit. Sometimes we eat. Well, I eat. I guess some people might let it wear on them, the lack of sleep. Many times people take pity on me, look at that poor girl, pregnant with two children in high school, but I don't hate my life right now. I don't mind it, the lack of sleep, really. I like Tree Hill like this. I like my car like this. Warm... Safe... Loved. It's what I wished for. Mostly. I wished for a family to love and care for, who loved me and cared for me. It might have been crazy, but it was my dream and as early as it was, I liked it. I like how my life turned out, in a good way. It doesn't mean there haven't been hardships. There have been. But I'm here, and here is good.

"Hey, how was the test?" I asked, flicking Lucas' head who was passed out on the lunch table while Peyton contemplated whether to ink his face with a marker she had in her palms while she drew her latest sketch.

He mumbled something incoherently before letting out a deep snore, making all of us at the table roar with laughter.

"How is it that you're not dead?" Peyton asked me. The fatigue was evident in my eyes as well. I had dark circles deeper than the Grand Canyon and my walk was slower from the sheer exhaustion. Yet, I was a lot more functional than Luke.

"I don't know. I knew what I was signing up for so I made my peace with it a long time ago. So I waste no energy complaining or dwelling on how my life looked like before the twins arrived," I replied, stealing some M&Ms from her pack on the table.

"The kids settled with Karen okay?" she asked, knowing that I was texting her to make sure that the kids were okay. I had a nasty habit of irritating that poor lady after every class. I just needed to know that they were alright.

"Yaa, she said they are fine," I sighed contently as I put my phone down.

Everyone in Tree Hill was surprised to see the drastic change in me. The cheerleading captain, the sexy vixen who had slept with half the town, the girl who didn't give a shit about the rules or the consequences of breaking them was such a mom!

I wasn't the weird mom who went about shoving my phone in people's faces showing them 5,000 photographs of my babies or who flooded her Instagram with that content. I wasn't even the kind who would not stop gushing about their child thinking they were absolute geniuses in the making to have figured out that they have feet or how to turn on their sides. I was still Brooke. Yet, it was obvious that when I was at school, the babies were the only thing on my mind. My face expressed just how much I missed them and worried about them. The teachers had caught me texting and biting my lip as I waited for Karen's reply assuring me that they were fine and had everything that they needed. My cheerleading squad could not understand why I did not intend to join back now that I was back to being my original size, especially since Lucas was doing basketball. Theresa had gone on an hour long feminism rant one lunch break. I had explained how basketball led to scholarships while cheerleading unfortunately didn't and how I was okay giving it up because I enjoyed the hour I got to hang out with them alone. Yet, nobody seemed to understand and I didn't care to explain.

"Thank you so much for everything, Karen!" I waved at the young grandmother as I ensured once more that the car seats were secure before pulling out of her driveway.

"Mommy really needs to study today, so how about being super quiet today?" I asked the babies, checking on them from my rearview mirror at a red light. They really loved being in a moving car. They would simply enjoy looking out, the world passing by them.

Once we got home, both of them were fast asleep. They did prefer sleeping during the day, much like their mother used to earlier. So I put them in their cribs, grabbed the baby monitors and went to the kitchen to fix myself an afternoon snack. I was so tired, I could really use a nap before I tackled the books. Suddenly, I heard the sound of rockabye baby on the baby monitor. It sounded like the one coming from the mobile that hung over their cribs, yet I had not turned the mobile to play the sound.

"Im hallucinating," I said to myself, deciding that a nap was the best course of action. Yet, I should check on the twins once more, I felt. They were way too little to be able to turn the mobile themselves. Shaking my laziness aside, assuring myself that in a moment I would be able to give my body the rest it craved, I entered Jamie's room.

The site that I would resulted in me emitting a blood curdling scream. There stood Dan, fiddling with Jamie's stuffed elephant in one arm, cooing at the baby in the crib with Sophia in his other arm.

"Let them go!" I screamt, running towards him in order to grab my babies from his clutches. My hair swung all around me, as my face expressed fear and anger simultaneously.

"Why should I?" he asked, giving me his most charming smile. I felt bile rise up as I almost threw up, but quickly swallowed it down.

"Dan- Dan please! You can't hurt them, please! They're my children Please Dan! Put my daughter down before I call the cops," I tried to reason with him, taking a baby step in his direction.

"No," he answered coolly, clutching Sophia even more tightly as he took a step away from me. I let out a shrill cry before lunging forward. I tried to fight him, hit him, push him, shove him, yet nothing even made him flinch. He was like a solid rock wall and I was too afraid to injure Sophia in the process.

"All I am doing is playing with my grandbabies, Brooke. I'm doing nothing wrong," he skeeved.

"Leave them! Please," I begged and cried. "Please! Don't hurt them."

"But I havent hurt them - yet," he grinned evilly. "Talk nicely. I have your precious fragile daughter in my hands. Now, we wouldn't want her to accidentally slip from my hands, would we? That would be such a misfortune."

My breath hitched in my throat. I stared at Sophia who was sucking on her pacifier, oblivious to the danger she was in.

"Dan, I know what you want. How about a- a barter?" I stuttered. I could not believe what I was about to do, what I was about to offer. But, what choice did I have? He could hurt my kids!

"How about you get to finish what you started all those months ago at your house? You wanted me right? How about - you can have me but you must leave the kids alone. You promise that you won't touch a hair on their head," I whispered, struggling to get the words out as my face broke into the saddest most fearful expression.

"Are you offering yourself to me?" he smirked, eyeing me up and down hungrily like a lion checking out its prey before attacking.

"You do not hurt my kids. Promise me," I asked, needing to just hear him say the words that they would be safe.

"It's a deal," he said, putting Sophia in the crib with Jamie and walking up to me, clutching my wrists so tightly, they hurt. He bit my lips making me want to spit. I screamed as I tried to back away, fight instincts kicking in me.

"Stop fighting or the deal is off!" he grunted before pulling my top and skirt off. Tears fell freely as my head hung low, covered by my hair as he enjoyed the view of my underwear clad body.

"Boy oh boy, you have really kept your shape who can say you just had kids," he said before tearing my bra and underwear.

He licked his lips as his fingers traced my skin, pulling at it, leaving marks everywhere. I screamed as he continued to pinch and run my tender flesh. He soon exchanged his fingers for his head, planting it in my chest, biting at my tender flesh. My head was throbbing, like it was about to explode out of my body. He lay me down on the thick carpet in Jamie's room, pinning me down so that I couldn't move as he put his entire weight on me, making my lean frame feel crushed. I flailed around for a while, trying to make him stop, even though I knew I had to do what I had to to protect the babies.

"Stop making this hard or I will have my way with you and then go for the kids," he grunted. His words paralysed me immediately. Every pore of my body was hurting, the room around me began spinning as I stopped fighting him, growing more passive by the second, resigning to my fate. I still whimpered, tears still streamed down my slick face, yet I stopped fighting, growing more numb by the second, hoping that I would stop feeling anything. I saw him shift his weight momentarily, giving me a chance to breathe deeply. It made my heart ache that he only stopped to unclasp his belt and free himself from his pants.

"Hey Brooke you in here?" I heard Lucas' voice as he opened the door to the nursery. I looked up deadly to be greeted by gasps and screams because there he stood at the door with Nathan, Haley and Peyton behind him. They all saw the sight before them, of me allowing that sick man to take advantage of me.

— — –

LUCAS' POV

Panic. Paralysis. Pain.

These were the things I felt, watching the sight that I was greeted with when I returned home from basketball practice.

I felt complete panic and fright on coming face to face with Dan, the person who had attacked me so many times in all those years.

Next, I felt paralysed, unable to move even a finger as I saw the man who was supposed to be my father almost rape the girl that I love. I saw Nathan run towards Dan and slam him against the wall. He punched his face repeatedly until we all heard his nose crack and blood ooze out onto the soft carpet of Jamie's nursery. I saw Peyton run towards Brooke and pull her away from where Nathan was striking Dan. I saw Haley run to the crib where both the twins were crying, yet I stayed stuck to my spot.

Last I felt pain as I felt my chest constrict, making it severely difficult to breath. It pained to see the situation I had put my family in.

I saw Dan fight, land a punch across Nathan's jaw before standing up and sprinting out of the room.

"Lucas! What are you doing, man? Come and help me," Nathan instructs before bolting down the stairs. This seemed to send some blood to my feet as I was finally able to move them. I followed him to see them at the landing, Nathan and Dan were both throwing punches at each other, blood splattered everywhere. However, before I can even pack a punch, I see Dan fling himself such that Nathan was slammed against the wall. He got up, ran out of the door and drove away hastily.

I ran back up to the room to see Brooke shivering in Peyton's arms. Peyton was rocking the fragile young girl in her arms as she continued to writhe. All she had around her was the woollen throw that used to be perched on the rocking recliner in the nursery.

I took a few steps closer to see Brooke sobbing into Peyton's chest. She looked so scared, so broken. I saw Nathan climb up the stairs from the corner of my eye as he and Haley ran to the bathroom to fix him up.

"We need to call the cops!" Haley said entering the room once Natahan was all bandaged up.

"It's no use Hales! Dan has strings," I replied, clenching my fists so hard that my knuckles went white. "Besides, it's his word against ours."

I looked at broken Brooke, wondering if she was taking in any part of this conversation - where I could not provide her with the justice that she deserved.

"But there has to be something that we can do!" Haley screamed, her hands pressing firmly at her temples.

"What proof do we have Hales," I yelled a little too loudly, making Nathan drop the ice pack that was nursing his swollen lip. He placed his hand on my shoulder asking me to relax.

"Wait - what if it isn't his word against ours, what if we have the proof?" Haley said, jumping to life.

"I'm not putting Brooke up on a stand to testify," I said harshly, yet helplessly.

"No she won't have to," Haley said, shaking her hands as if my statement was a fly she was swatting away.

"Hales, what do you mean?" I asked, suddenly sounding hopeful.

"Lucas, remember when we went shopping for the nursery and you saw those nanny cams that I thought were pointless to buy since it was only family and friends who were gonna babysit but you got them just in case anyway - in case you did get outside help," she said pointing at a teddy bear that sat stilly on a high shelf. "We placed it in a way that we can see the whole room!"

"Hales! You're a genius!" I said, hugging her and kissing her head, tears running down my eyes. I opened my phone and put in the passcode I had set in order to access the camera footage. Eureka! There was the recording, right from the moment Dan walked in with Sophia in his arms. I, however, did not have the strength to watch it.

"Nathan, Haley! Here, take my phone and go to the cops. I also have Aunt Deb's lawyer's number in there, call him and tell him to meet you out there. Explain it to him, tell him it's an emergency and get that sick man in jail," I said, flinging my phone for Nathan to catch. I told them my passcode and saw them run out of the room.

Then I turned my attention to Brooke who was still crying in Peytons arms. I moved close and tried to touch her arm, but she flinched immediately and coiled deeper into Peyton. She buried her face deeper into Peyton's chest and her sweaty hair stuck around her face like a sheet, completely obstructing my view of her face. I felt deeply hurt by her actions and I saw Peyton look towards me, her eyes just as wide and helpless as mine.

"Brooke, we are here for you. Do you want a shower?" she asked her, using the same voice she used to babble with Sophia. I saw Brooke give a tiny nod.

"Okay, can you get up and walk?" she asked, continuing to use the same voice. This time Brooke's head shake was more defined, as she shook it no. I moved ahead to go and carry her, but she gave a loud cry and grabbed onto Peyton's shirt as if it was the only thing keeping her from plunging to her death. This instantly made me stop dead in my tracks. Peyton began rocking and cooing her to calm her down but her cries just grew louder and louder until she was screaming. That made the kids start wailing too, but Brooke did not stop her languishing wails. They were stretched out earlier, until they became shorter, by the end, she could barely breathe.

"Peyton, I- I can't breathe!" she struggled to get the words out. She looked like she was choking on something. She looked at her best friend.

"Brooke, you're having a panic attack. Just inhale… 1,2,3,4, hold 5, 6, exhale 7,8,9,10. Let's try it again, inhale…" I saw Peyton coach her as I went to calm the kids down. I carried the two of them to Sophia's room and laid them in the crib.

Five minutes later, I saw Peyton struggle as she tried to carry Brooke to the bathroom. She was managing, somehow, to carry the girl who looked exhausted in her arms. I followed her out as I saw her gently put Brooke down into the bathtub. She came out moments later but left the door half open.

"Brooke, I'm right outside this door, okay? And I promise that I won't leave this spot," she called out. "Call out to me when you're done and I'll help you into some clothes okay?" We did not get any response but could hear some faint sounds of the water in the tub.

"Grab her some clothes for me will ya?" Peyton asked me calmly. I let her take charge and quietly obeyed the instructions that she had given, bringing out some pyjamas along with some new underwear.

Brooke was taking her own time in the shower as the two of us sat there on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door.

"It's not anything to do with you, it's men in general. Don't worry, Brooke's tough. She will fight this," Peyton said to me.

"Yeah, I just feel like this is all my fault," I said, voicing out my concerns.

"Lucas, she just faced something traumatic. Let's not make this a Lucas party and concentrate on Brooke instead," she said to me grimly. "I'm gonna stay the night with her, you just crash in one of the other 30 rooms this big house has."

We stayed silent for a few moments, before she spoke again, "Look Luke, Brooke is gonna be out of commission for a while, physically and emotionally. So you're gonna have to solely carry all the weight around for the kids. I'll stick around and be the buffer for you know feeds and things, but just - just be patient with her."

"How do you know exactly what to do?" I asked, so surprised by how calmly and maturely she was handling the entire ordeal.

"Because I'm not thinking about myself at all. I'm just thinking about what's best for Brooke," she replied. "Now go make sure the twins are okay, I'll check in on B."

With that she knocked on the door and peeked in, "Hey Brooke, are you done?" I could tell that Brooke must have nodded her head because she stepped inside the bathroom. I just sat there for a little longer, listening to the girls converse.

"Okay let's get you dried and into these pyjamas," I heard Peyton say. "Do you want to take a nap or how about a Disney movie?"

'Nap," Broke spoke nonchalantly.

I saw her come out fully clothed with Peyton's arm linked around her. She saw me but immediately looked down and walked into our bedroom. I just went to check on the twins as I had been instructed.

Peyton came out to the den fifteen minutes later which meant that Brooke had fallen asleep at last.

"Disney movies?" I asked her, trying to change the tone of the atmosphere.

"Oh you didn't know?" Peyton asked, a smile creeping onto her face. "Brooke is sooooo into Disney, it's insane! You can quiz her on any of them and trust me even the latest releases, she musnt have missed any."

"How have I never seen this?" I asked, surprised that even after all this time, there were things I did not know about Brooke.

"How many times have you been down to the home theatre room in the basement?" Peyton asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"We have never used it, but we watched movies in the den, she put me through god awful chick flicks," I said, not hiding any of my irritation about having seen all 10-12 of the Cinderella stories.

"That's Brooke pretending to be an adult. The 16-year-old-still-actually-a-kid Brooke is a mad disney fan, fairytales and everything. It's sad though that she has never been to Disneyland. She always hoped that her parents would take her. That obviously never happened was never going to happen. And then my parents planned this big disney trip for me, so naturally Brooke was invited too. We were going to do a week in Orlando at Disney and Epcot during Summer vacation. Brooke was so excited, she colour coordinated all our outfits, planned what rides we were supposed to do on what day and everything!" Peyton laughed, her smile reaching her eyes. I could only imagine the memories playing in her head of little Brooke picking clothes and making a meticulous chart of rides and meet and greet with the characters.

"Did she have a good time?" I found myself asking.

"We never went. The last week before school ended, two weeks before we were to go, my mom died," she said, her face immediately turning morose. "Maybe you should take her and the kids some day."

"You will have to come with us, Peyton.I will need a babysitter. I cannot handle 3 insane kids all on my own!" I joked, but I meant it. I wanted to change her bad memories too. She had grown up a version of parentless just like Brooke and I had.

"You know it is a great place to pop her the question," Peyton said once she had stopped laughing at my joke. Her words, however, made me almost choke!

"What!?" I stuttered.

"I mean come on Luke, everyone just expects it. You two are living together with two kids and are head over heels for each other! It is only natural that the two of you will get married soon," she explained her theory.

"I actually planned on waiting," I confessed. "I mean, yes, we both are emancipated so we wouldn't have to ask for any permission and, yeah, we live together and have kids together. All of it is true. But we are still kids in high school. I don't want to add Wife to Brooke's yet. After college,if we even go to college, that is, it's all peachy right now, I might consider asking her."

"You two have a lot of adult talks to do," Peyton stated the obvious.

"Yeah I know. There's always just so many other things happening that we never get a breath to deal with those things," I said, letting out a deep breath.

"Yeah man, you guys should have your own hospital room by now, the number of times ya'll land up there!" Peyton said sarcastically.

"God, it's terrible!" I agreed with her.

"Luke, listen, Brooke told me specifically not to tell you this and I'm totally violating her trust right now but I do think you should know this. But first, tie yourself to that chair and take a long hard look at the faces of your kids," she said after mustering all the strength and patience that she could. I could sense the nervousness and panic in her voice which meant that whatever she was about to tell me could not be good.

"What do you mean, Peyton?" I asked, my voice hoarse with dread.

"Just look at your kids, remember just how much they need their dad, okay?" Peyton prepared me.

"Peyton! Out with it!" I yelled, growing impatient with her games.

"Okay! This isnt the first time dan tried to rape Brooke," she said so quickly that I thought I must have heard incorrectly. She steadied her tone and continued after I gave her a look asking her to explain herself.

"The day you almost died and Brooke and I took you to the hospital, I walked into Dan ripping Brooke's shirt even then. He was groping her and I slammed a baseball bat across his head," Peyton explained.

"I'm gonna kill him. I am killing that sick man!" I growled. I was so angry, I did not care.

"Lucas! Calm down! You have children to think of. If you do anything remotely criminal, you go to jail andBrooke is gonna be helpless. Think!" she reasoned with me. Suddenly, we heard shrill cries coming from upstairs. No doubt, it was Brooke screaming.

We ran in to witness Brooke screaming, tears were streaming hotly down her face. She was clutching at the bed, kicking her arms and legs as she flailed on the bed. Her head jerked from side to side as she whimpered no's while she thrashed in bed trying to fight an attacker that only she could see. I felt so scared to touch her as I stood by the door, allowing Peyton to shake her awake from her horrible nightmare.

"Brooke, it's okay, shh it's all okay. It was just a nightmare, shh, you're safe, I'm right here. It was just a bad dream, that's it, only a bad dream. You're perfectly safe," Peyton said, pulling Brooke into her arms. She woke up but continued to cry into Peyton's lap while the blonde stroked her back. Once I knew that Brooke would be taken care of, I exited the room to give the girls some space.

At that same moment, Nathan and Haley walk into the house.

"How's Brooke doing?" they both asked me.

"Terribly," I replied. "She is having nightmares, she is so terrified and she wont let me near her, we think it's a male thing."

"Well we have some good news," Nathan began. "Mom's lawyer is actually amazing. He met us at the precinct immediately. Did you know the scum did this to Brooke twice? It's all there on the footage. They saw the video and arrested him immediately. He didn't think we could pin it on him, so the mad man was nursing his bruises at home. We waited till they had him booked. The lawyer is making sure that he goes away for a longggg longggg time. He also got a restraining order issued for Brooke and another win, since Dan is in Jail for criminal activity, the lawyer also got the judge to sign off on Aunt Karen's Divorce. We don't need Dan to sign or anything. She is officially Karen Roe again, free from Dan Scott and his reign of terror."

"That's some relief," I said, yet I did not feel happy or satisfied. Brooke was still hurt. "Care to stay here tonight and help me with the twins? Peyton is taking care of Brooke."

"Yeah, you bet. The place has more than enough rooms," Nathan replied, giving me a side hug. My attention was misdirected again as I heard the sound of one of the babies crying on the baby monitor. It was Jamie. I smelled his diaper which was clean. This meant that he was hungry. I knocked on the door of my bedroom and saw Haley come out. I didn't need to explain anything. The wailing baby explained it all. Haley gave me a sympathetic look before taking the squishy baby from my arms and entering the room. I took a peek in and saw Brooke. She was just staring off into nothingness before sitting straight to grab the squirming boy to nurse him.

"Brooke says to get Sophia too. She knows she is gonna get hungry in 15 mins as well," Haley said to me coming out ten minutes later. I nodded my head and grabbed my baby girl who was awake and playing with her toes. Haley quickly grabbed her, bouncing her a little while waiting for Brooke to finish with Jamie.

By night, Peyton was solely responsible for Brooke, as she tried to get her to eat something which was proving to be a struggle. This left Nathan, Haley and I to deal with the crying twins and deal with the bloody mess in Jamie's nursery and the rest of the house.

Peyton walked into the nursery the next morning to find me rocking both the babies together on my chest.

"So I spoke to Brooke," she said, cutting to the chase. "It is not guys she is flinching at. It is just you."

"Am I hearing correctly? I'm terribly sleep deprived," I said, aghast at what she had just informed me.

"Yes you are," she said with a straight face.

"Why don't you look as devastated as I am?" I asked, pain still evident on my face.

"Because of part 2 dummy. Brooke thinks she is broken and filthy and disgusting, yeah her words not thinks that you won't want her anymore. That she has been defiled and you won't want anything to do with her. I find it strange given that she has slept with half the town and you have with the other half, but well not a great time to bring up your sexual histories. I just thought that you should know," she explained.

Peyton, the kids just ate, so they should not need Brooke for a couple of hours. Do you think you could take care of them and give Brooke and I some time alone? Nathan and Haley are in the room down the hall if you need help," I asked.

"You got it, go tell my best friend just how beautiful she is, okay?" Peyton smiled.

"You're an incredible best friend Pey. I am glad that she always had you," I said gratefully.

"Yeah yeah, name one of your kids after me! Oh wait, you already did that!" she laughed.

"Come here to Auntie Peyton, Lizzie Scott!" She said, picking Princess from my chest. I placed a sleeping Jamie in his crib before knocking the door to our bedroom.

Brooke was in the shower. I decided to wait for her but almost an hour passed and I did not hear any signs of the water turning off.

"Brooke?" I asked, opening the door. The sight in front of me left me shell shocked. Brooke was standing in the shower, gnawing at her skin, scratching it away to bits! Her entire body was red and some parts of her arms were bleeding, the cascading water of the showers washing it away instantly. I could only imagine how much it must burn. She did not seem to notice me, as she continued to cry and scrub at the soft flesh made tender by the water.

"Brooke!" I yelled out to her once more, but she did not listen. She simply continued to scratch herself.

"Brooke! Stop!" I yelled loudly. Yet, I was met with silence.

I stepped into the bathroom, her skin was red and raw and so were her eyes.

"I keep trying to get him off of me. His scent, his fingers on me, his- his mouth on me. I keep trying so hard. I don't know how to wash the memories away," she says, still not looking at me but acknowledging my presence in the room.

"Brooke," I said, walking towards her.

"No, stay away from me. I am disgusting!" she cried.

"No you're not," I assured her.

"I-I don't think I will ever get clean again but I need to try," she said as she scrubbed on her skin even harder! I walked to the shower and put my hand in in order to stop her but I had to instantly pull it away! The water was scalding hot, burning! How was Brooke standing underneath it? I pulled her out of there, despite her fighting and struggling to clamber in.

"No, I need to get clean. I'm dirty! I need to clean myself. I'm filthy!" she wailed into my arms.

"No youre not," I said to her.

"I'm disgusting," she sobbed louder. "I-I am defiled by the person you hate the most!"

"No youre not," I continued to chant to her.

"I'm broken," she whispered before giving up her fight.

"Then Let me make you whole again," I said. I carried her bridal style, out of the bathroom and to our bed, not caring about the water dripping everywhere.

"I think you're the most beautiful person on the planet," I said to her once I had carefully laid her down and admired her body, albeit full of scratches and ghasesh.

"How can you say that to me?" she asked, teary-eyed.

"I can because I mean it, Brooke. I feel it and I'm gonna show it to you," I said to her before softly kissing her lips.

For the next two hours, all I did was kiss each and every part of her body to tell her just how much I loved every bit of her. It was not about sex, or pleasure, it was about love. All I did was whisper I love you and kiss every centimetre, taking all the time in the world to appreciate and admire her. Brooke cried the whole time I did that and I let her. I knew she was letting out all of her fears and emotions. I just kept reminding her just how loved and wanted and beautiful she was and that she was mine and mine alone.

"I love you Brooke, and I promise to keep you safe, to be your Safe Haven." I said to her before giving her one last kiss on her lips and pulling her close to my body.