Lucas opened the front door and gave his friend a wide smile. He embraced Mouth in a friendly hug. However, his smile turned into a frown. "Hey, I thought you were going to bring your fiancée with you."

"I know, but Millie was afraid Victoria would hound her if she didn't come into work," Mouth said as he followed him into the foyer. "I'm almost afraid that she will want to cancel the honeymoon."

"Do you really think Brooke will let that happen?" Lucas asked.

"Speaking of Brooke, where's Ethan?" Mouth asked. "I thought you had him this weekend."

Lucas gestured to the living room. Mouth glanced in the room and smiled fondly at the scene. Ethan was sitting content in Keith's lap as they built Legos together. Nathan was sitting in a recliner nearby watching the happy scene.

"I'm not surprised he bonded with your parents so quickly," Mouth said.

"Yeah, me either," Lucas said. "I knew they would fall in love with each other. I was more surprised when I found out my parents had dinner with Brooke and Julian last night."

Mouth raised his eyebrows. "They had dinner with Brooke and Julian?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, my mom wanted to tell her herself that she had no plans to exploit her or Ethan, and they just wanted to welcome her into the family. And they were looking forward to meet their grandson."

"Where is your mom?"

Lucas pretended to look sad. "She and Haley have banned me from the kitchen. They don't want me to do any cooking since it's my birthday."

Mouth smiled. "Does that mean your mom is making your favorite cake?"

Lucas smiled in return. "Of course. My mom would never buy a cake. Her homemade cakes are the best." He felt a vibration from his pocket. He glanced down to see who it was, just in case it was Brooke. To his annoyance, it was Lindsey.

"Is everything okay?" Mouth asked, noticing the frown on his friend's face.

Lucas shrugged. "Yeah, it's nothing."

"We're ready for our helper," Haley called from the kitchen.

Ethan hopped off of Keith's lap, and ran past Lucas and Mouth. Lucas stopped him for a second. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I get to help put the frosting on your cake," Ethan told him before he disappeared into the kitchen.

Lucas and Mouth laughed before Lucas brought Mouth into the living room. Both Keith and Nathan got up. They greeted each other before Lucas felt a vibration from his phone. He glanced down to see who it was and he excused himself. He went back into the hall and he went down the hall to his office.

He closed the door behind him before he returned Lindsey's phone call. He didn't let Lindsey speak. "Lindsey, I told you that I'm not going to discuss work this weekend. It's my first weekend alone with Ethan, and I tend to enjoy it."

"I wanted to wish you "Happy Birthday," Lindsey said. "And I know we weren't going to discuss work this weekend. But I need to know when you're planning to come back to New York so we can meet with the marketing team to promote the book. It's supposed to launch next summer, and we want to make sure the book sells well. After all, this is your first fiction novel. So it's a completely different audience than An Unkindness of Ravens."

Lucas let out a heavy sigh. "I know, but I don't know if I want to do a book tour this time. I have a lot going on with trying to savage my relationship with Peyton and getting our wedding back on track. And I'm hoping I will be able to spend more time with Ethan during the summer."

"It's really important to get your book out there, but I understand your priorities have shifted," Lindsey said. "I'll talk to the marketing team and see what I can do on my end about the book tour."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Lucas said. He was grateful she was so understanding about him wanting to spend more time with his son. Although, he was still getting used to the idea of calling Ethan his son. "And I promise I will get back to you about the New York trip in the next couple of weeks."

They said goodbye before Lucas hung up. He let out another heavy sigh before he emerged out of the office and he was returning to his guests when he heard the doorbell again.

Lucas pulled the door opened, and he gave his guests a wide smile. "Hey, you guys decided to come after all. Why don't you come on in?" he asked, stepping aside for Brooke and Julian.

Brooke glanced around as if she was looking for Ethan.

Lucas kept the smile on his face. "Ethan's in the kitchen with my mom and Haley, helping them with frosting my cake. I would show you, but I've been banned from the kitchen. I told them that it's not right for me not to play host, but they have promised they would take care of any guests who come into the kitchen. Did you two want anything?"

"No, I think we're good," Julian said.

They peeked into the living room where Keith and Mouth were talking. Julian joined them while Lucas and Brooke stood out into the hall.

"I hope Ethan hasn't been too much trouble," Brooke said.

"Are you kidding? I love having him all to myself on my birthday weekend," Lucas said. "Thank you for letting me take him. I know how hard it was for you to let him go." There was a short pause. "And I understand why you spied on us yesterday."

Brooke turned red. "I was hoping you didn't see us. I'm sorry. I trust you. But it was my first time leaving him alone with you, and I wanted to check up on him."

"Like I said, I understand. My mom was the same way when it came to leaving me with Uncle Keith for the first time," Lucas said. "I'm sure my mom would be happy to compare notes with you."

Brooke laughed. "I might take you up that offer."

"I do want to apologize for having my mom and Keith surprise you like that last night," Lucas said. "I had no idea they were going to invite you to dinner."

Brooke shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. They were very nice. I really like them, and I'm sorry I missed the moment where Ethan met them."

"I got photos if you want to see them," Lucas said. "They have been spoiling him with presents since they have arrived. I almost feel jealous because it's my birthday. They should be spoiling me."

"I thought baking your favorite cake is enough for you," Karen said as she made an appearance. She gave her guest a wide smile. "Brooke, I'm so glad you made it."

Brooke smiled in return. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course. You're family. Now I have to say that Ethan is an excellent helper," Karen said as she gently led Brooke towards the kitchen. She eyed Lucas as if she was making sure they weren't going to be followed.

Lucas was about to return to the living room when he heard his phone ringing again. He smiled to himself as he placed the phone to his ear. "Hey, I was hoping you would call."

"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" Peyton asked.

"No, my mom banned me from the kitchen," Lucas said. "Apparently, she has enough helpers in the kitchen."

"Are you okay with Brooke being there?" Peyton asked.

Lucas was about to answer when he paused for a minute. "Wait, how did you know Brooke was here?"

"Because I arrived with her and Julian," Peyton said. Lucas couldn't find his words. "Why don't you come out on the front porch?"

Lucas hung up the phone. He walked outside and found Peyton sitting on the porch swing. She jumped up and approached him.

She spoke up first. "I know I should have called and told you I was coming, but I wanted to respect your time with Ethan. So that's why I stopped by Brooke's house and talked to her first. Don't worry. I didn't yell at her. I went over to apologize for my behavior towards her, and I told her I was ready to extend the olive branch."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "You did?"

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, I know I had a hard time with it when you first told me. You were right. I should have been more understanding, considering I didn't have a relationship with Ellie until later in life. But I felt angry and betrayed. I know your one night with Brooke was before we met, but I was still hurt. And I was afraid you still loved her, especially after I found out you named your main character after her. And I felt like I was being replaced."

Lucas gave her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry you felt this way. I had no idea, and I'm sure Haley didn't either."

Peyton cut him off. "It's okay. I've already talked to Haley, and she apologized for making me believe she was replacing me with Brooke. She wanted to find who she was for herself and she ended up with a new friend. And I'm ready for that next step. I know how important it is for you to have Ethan in your life, and I don't want to be the cause to ruin your relationship with him."

Lucas gave her a wide smile. "I love you." They embraced in a tight hug. "You have no idea what this means to me." There was a short pause as he pulled away from her. "I do want to warn you that he's too young to grasp the concept of a fiancée or stepmother yet. He just knows you're a very special friend of his daddy's."

"Good because I wasn't ready to explain to a three-and-a-half year old how not all stepmothers are evil," Peyton said.

Lucas laughed. "I'm sorry you haven't had a chance to meet Ethan before. Brooke didn't want to overwhelm him with meeting too many people at once. And she wanted to make sure I could be trusted with him, and I wasn't going to take off and leave him. I guess I proved I'm not since she has allowed me joint custody."

Peyton managed a little smile. "You know we still have to figure out a few things about this custody arrangement." She continued before he could interrupt. "We don't need to figure it out this weekend. It's your birthday today, and we should be celebrating it."

"You're right. Let's go and I'll introduce you to Ethan," Lucas said as he took her hand. They went back inside the house.

Lucas peeked into the living room again. Ethan had abandoned his duties in the kitchen to proudly show off his presents from his newly discovered grandparents to his mom. He glanced at Peyton, who had her mouth open in awe. He knew exactly what she was thinking. "He looks just like me, doesn't he?" he whispered.

Peyton nodded her head. "Yeah, he does."

Ethan's eyes darted towards them. They watched him as he talked quietly to Brooke. He took his mom's hand and Brooke had him lead her over to Lucas and Peyton. Lucas did the introductions. "Ethan, I'd like you to meet my very special friend Peyton. Peyton, this is Ethan."

Peyton gave the little boy a friendly smile. "Hi Ethan. It's very nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Ethan gave her a small smile in return. "Hi," he said quietly.

"Why don't you go and see if Grandma is ready with my cake yet?" Lucas suggested.

As soon as Ethan disappeared, Brooke spoke up. "It takes him a little bit of time for him to warm up to people."

"Bringing presents for him helps," Keith said. Everyone laughed. "It's nice to see you again, Peyton. Come on in and join us." Peyton did what he asked, and sat down next to him on the couch. He and Peyton started chatting while Julian was in a deep conversation with Nathan and Mouth.

Lucas let out a relieved sigh. "Well, that went better than I expected. If I would have known Peyton was coming, I would have told her to bring a present for him. I never get tired of seeing him light up when he sees that someone brought a gift for him."

Brooke suppressed a smile. "Yeah, I have a feeling that phase won't go away any time soon."

"Peyton didn't give you a hard time?" Lucas asked. He believed Peyton, but he wanted to hear it from her.

Brooke shook her head. "No, she sounded like she was sincere in wanting to try to put the past behind us, and become friends. I told her I was willing to give her a chance."

"Thank you. I know she won't let you down," Lucas said. "And I want to thank you and Julian for coming."

"I'm glad we were invited," Brooke said.

"Daddy, you're allowed in the kitchen now. Grandma says it's time for cake and ice cream," Ethan said, making an appearance. Haley was right with him.

Lucas laughed. "Thank you, buddy."

Everyone made their way into the kitchen. Lucas was about to follow his guests when Haley stopped him. "Actually, there's something I want to give to you."

Lucas gave her a look. "Hales, I told you that I didn't want any presents. Having everyone here is enough for me."

Haley shrugged. "I know, but this was a last minute gift. Now it's not going to arrive for a while, but I thought I would give you a little preview." She handed him a small envelope.

Lucas frowned. "What is this?" She didn't answer as he opened it. His eyes widened as he pulled out the first photo. A sonogram. "Hales, is this what I think it is?"

Haley kept the wide smile on her face. "You're going to be an uncle! I'm pregnant!"

Lucas embraced his best friend in a tight hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you and Nathan."

"Thanks. We're still waiting for the right time to tell everyone, but I knew I had to tell my best friend right away. So are you still mad at me for getting you a birthday present?"

Lucas laughed. "Are you kidding me? Of course not." There was a short pause. "I know you and Nathan are going to be amazing parents. That kid is going to be lucky to have you."

"Well, this baby isn't the only one who is lucky," Haley said, placing her hand over her abdomen. "Ethan has a great set of parents too."

Lucas embraced her in another gentle hug. "Thanks Hales. I really needed to hear that."

"Ok, I think we have kept you out of the kitchen long enough. Are you ready to go see your cake?" Haley asked.

This time, Lucas stopped her for a moment. "Wait, you had no clue Peyton was coming to town?"

Haley shook her head. "No, but I knew that she missed you, and she hated not being able to spend your birthday with you. Why? What did she say?"

"She apologized to Brooke for her hostility, and she wants to move on and try to become friends with Brooke," Lucas said. "I never thought would happen, but I'm glad they're willing to try and be friends."

Haley smiled. "Me too. Now let's go cut that cake."