Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill. I really don't.

Chapter 18

It seemed like forever, but Karen finally pulled back from the embrace of her children and smiled. She was so blessed to have both of them.

Lucas searched his mother's face for any sign of another breakdown, but she was smiling and that warmed his heart.

"Mom, you're okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about Keith." Karen dried her eyes. Swiftly changing the subject, she asked "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I'm on break." Lucas said as he shifted Lily in his arms. "Do you think you can do me a favor?" He asked his mom, hoping she would say yes. Karen looked at him expectantly.

"Do you think you can watch Sebastian for me? I have to go somewhere for a few hours."

"Where is he?"

"Asleep in my office."

Karen gave her son a chastising look. "You should not leave a child unattended. And do you always bring him to work with you?"

"It's okay, Principal Turner doesn't have a problem with it…So is that a yes?"

"I would be happy to babysit my grandson." Karen was shocked at how natural that sounded. She lightly thumped her son. "You made me a grandmother!"

Lucas laughed. "Sorry…old lady."

Karen looked at her youngest child and gave her a nod. Lily nodded back to her mother and then she thumped her brother.

"Good girl." Karen said and Lily giggled.

"I will not stand here and take this abuse." Lucas joked.

"Go get Sebastian."

…

Meanwhile in Brooke's Hospital Room

She's standing there feeling guilty. She knows she should've come sooner, but she didn't want to cause any trouble. It's not like anyone would want her here anyway. But, they used to be best friends, and that still meant something to her. That's why Peyton was standing in Brooke's hospital room right now. She had been there for a while, watching over her. She studied the fading marks and bruises on Brooke's body. Being in the hospital with Brooke sort of reminded her of when they were little and Brooke had to have her tonsils taken out. Peyton smiled at the memory of giving Brooke a purple dog which they both named "Violet."

But this wasn't a happy memory. Brooke was hurting. Someone attacked her, and Peyton wished she could have been there for her. She should have been there!

…

Peyton's cell phone began to ring. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was Mia. She didn't want to disturb Brooke, so she stepped outside of the room into the hospital lobby to answer the phone.

"Hey Mia, what's up?"

"Ummm, Jason and the band is here. And they want to change some things to our song." Mia told her.

Peyton could hear chaos in the background as Jason barked orders to the drummer and the bass guitarist. Mia get your ass over here! Your fingers should be glued to the keyboard, not your damn phone!

Mia quickly hung up.

Peyton sighed. She had enough of Jason's attitude and his ego. Mia was the one with the talent and she needed some positive reinforcement, so Peyton called her favorite and closest musician, Haley. And then she headed to the studio.

…

The bell rang and school was dismissed. On the way back from his office, Lucas stopped by Haley's classroom as she was packing up for the day.

"Hey Hales, how did the lesson plan go?" He asked her, as he shifted a sleeping Sebastian in his arms.

"I don't think these kids care anything about literature or poetry. And teaching is exhausting! I don't remember us giving our teachers a hard time like this."

Lucas smirked. "You didn't, you were more of a teacher's pet."

Haley laughed. "I was tutor girl." She said. Just thinking of the nickname made her wish Brooke would just wake up already. Haley wistfully tousled Sebastian's hair, not realizing that Lucas had gone considerably still. That nickname assaulted his memory as he had flashes of Brooke's smiling face lighting up the hallways of Tree Hill High. Those were the good ole days.

Sebastian tossed and turned in his arms, bringing Lucas back to his current state.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Haley asked.

"I promised to stop by Clothes Over Bro's to help Millie with some things." He didn't mention that he was going to visit Brooke also.

"That's nice of you. I know she can use the help." Just then, Haley's phone started ringing. "Speaking of help, I hope this is Nathan. He said he would take Jamie to Deb's house. Mama needs a break." Haley looked at the caller id.

"Oh." She said as she realized who was calling. She showed Lucas, it was Peyton. He quickly backed away from the phone. He didn't have time for this. "I'll talk to you later." Then he left. Haley answered her phone before it went to voicemail.

"Hey Peyton."

"Hi Haley, I'm sorry, I know you're just getting off work, but I really need your help." Peyton sounded desperate.

"What's going on?"

"Well, you know the band I signed?"

"Yes?"…After Peyton told Haley everything that's going on with Mia, Haley agreed to help. She felt obligated to help Mia, especially since the leader of the band was an ass!" And she had experience in dealing with egotistical rock stars. Haley cringed as thoughts of Chris Keller began to surface. She shook it off and headed to the studio.

…

Lucas returned to his mom, carrying the four year old who was sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Lucas, where are we going?" Sebastian asked.

Karen heard her son sigh slightly. She knew it hurt him that Sebastian wouldn't call him dad. She remembered when Lucas was about his age and he would ask why Dan was his father when Uncle Keith loved him more. She hoped this time around would be different and that history didn't repeat itself.

"You're going with my mom for a little while, okay?" Lucas told him and Sebastian nodded. They walked out of the school and Lucas helped his mom put the kids in the car, then he left.

…

That Night

Lucas walks off the elevator into the nurse's station. Most of the nurses are familiar with him by now because he comes here so often.

"How are you doing today, Mr. Scott?" One of the nurses greeted him.

"I'm doing fine, how are you Nurse Allie?" Lucas smiled at her. She was one of the nurses assigned to Brooke's room.

"I'm doing just fine. I had a talk with the doctor this morning. Ms. Davis vitals are seemingly increasing."

Lucas smiled. "That's Brooke, doing things on her own time."

Nurse Allie smiled. "Should I get you a blanket and pillow if you're spending the night again?"

Lucas thought about it. He had spent quite a few nights in Brooke's hospital room. Just being near her soothed him in ways he couldn't explain. Just then, he thought about his mom at home with Lily and Sebastian. He knew he should be there to help her.

"Nah, I'm not staying tonight, I'm just gonna sit here for a while, thanks anyway." He told the nurse. She smiled and went on her way.

Lucas grabbed a chair and pulled it close to the bed. He sat down and got comfortable.

"Hey pretty girl. How are you feeling today?" He asked as he gently touched Brooke's fingers. There was no movement.

"The doctor said you're getting better, which is good, very good. So, whenever you decide to wake up, I'll be happy to see you." There was still no movement.

"So, I just left your store. Everything is going great. Millie is running the place so smoothly. I think she's getting her motivation from Mouth." Lucas laughed. "I think they have a thing for each other." Lucas sat back in the chair and opened one of the magazines that he brought with him, which happened to be B. Davis Magazine. "You've missed a lot of current events, so I figured I would keep you up to date. Let's start with what's going on in the fashion world." He looked at a few pages in the magazine. "Apparently skinny jeans are in, and boot cuts are so last season…"

Meanwhile In New York, Clothes Over Bros Headquarters

"Ms. Davis, we can't keep funding something that we have not seen. When will we see this new clothing line that Brooke has talked about?" Some of the financial investors were sitting around a table in the conference room.

"I would like to see these new designs as well; my daughter's very excited and optimistic about it. Unfortunately, optimism doesn't pay the bills. That's why I feel that we should remove her from the controlling aspect of the company. I will be more suited on deciding how the money is spent while she can work on the creative aspect." Victoria explained. "Shall we take a vote?"

The investors looked around at each other. "We cannot vote unless every board member is here; that includes Brooke."

Victoria scowled. One way or the other, she was going to find a way to be the sole owner of Clothes Over Bros.

She left the conference room, checking her phone. She saw that she had a voicemail from her daughter.

"It's me. I've been thinking about our little partnership and I've come to a decision. I am this company! I am the reason it is successful! You understand me? So if you want a fight, you got it!" [author's note: please refer to chapter 10]

Victoria huffed as she listened to Brooke's message. She quickly called her back and was even angrier that it went straight to voicemail.

"Brooke Penelope Davis! If you don't call me back right now, not only will you lose your line; you will lose your company! How does Victoria's Vintage Style sound? It has a nice ring to it." Victoria hung up the phone and began planning to make another trip to Tree Hill.

…Next Chapter Coming…