Three years later…

Nathan and Peyton were throwing a party at their beach house to celebrate the gender reveal for their third baby. The patio was covered with their friends and family. Their son Noah, now eight, ran around laughing and playing tag with his friends Briar Baker and Carter Smith.

Brooke sat at one of the party tables, chatting with Haley, Bevin, and Millie and watching everyone setting up for the big reveal. She had only been back in Tree Hill a few days and it was great to get to see her niece and nephew and catch up with her best friend Peyton. Not long after Peyton and Nathan had announced their pregnancy, her own marriage began to crumble apart. She watched Nathan going around getting everyone's predictions with his camera and playing tag with his kids. She never saw this side to Chase. Most of the couples they were friends with in Washington D.C. didn't have children or left them with a nanny.

"Guess who's back?" Chris told Luke as soon as he cut the engine, pulling up in his red Maserati an hour late.

"Who?"

"You'll see," Chris said, dragging him toward the party under an archway of pink and blue balloons. Everyone was talking and laughing and having a good time. Then he saw her. She was still a knock-out beauty.

"Some things never change. You never could never keep your eyes off her," Chris said following his twin's gaze.

"Everything changes, all the time," Luke told him. "I'm just surprised to see her. It's been a long time."

Brooke was telling Haley about the nursing job she was applying to when a voice came from behind her, sending chills up her spine.

"Is this seat taken?" Luke asked her.

"Luke," Brooke gasped, as he slipped into the seat beside her, giving her and Haley a hug.

"I thought you weren't going to make it," Brooke told him, but secretly she had been hoping to see him.

"Meh, I had a last-minute interruption."

Haley rolled her eyes, "She must be very special."

"Not really," Luke looked away. His love life was a runaway train. Random women with no expectations were his specialty. Not that he even had time to entertain real commitment with his NBA schedule. He didn't know how Nathan managed to make being married with kids and playing in the NBA look so seamless.

"And where is Chase? I'm surprised I haven't seen you two poppin out a kid or two by now," Luke asked.

"Poppin out a kid?" Brooke laughed. "You're hopeless, anyway we broke up. We're separated."

"Really? He's an idiot then," Luke said.

"We just wanted different things. He wants to make partner with a bigger law firm. He's not in a rush for kids." Brooke didn't admit how rejected she felt by Chase after three years of marriage, that she wasn't enough for him anymore. Her mother had been pressuring her for grandchildren and she'd spent the last few years desperately hoping for a child. Chase, on the other hand, seemed relieved they hadn't gotten pregnant.

"Well, not every guy wants a baby clinging to their leg, if you know what I mean," Luke pointed out.

"Yeah. Tell me about it," Brooke said.

"I bet he was pretty broken up when you left him," Luke said.

"Right," Brooke said biting her lip. Despite her not conceiving a baby she would have stayed with Chase. He was the one that ended things when he fell in love with one of his colleagues. The truth was too embarrassing to share. She left it all behind in D.C. "It doesn't matter, I won't be seeing much of him. I'm moving back home."

"Really? Just like that?"

"Why not? I love Tree Hill, this is where we all grew up. Some of my best memories are here," Brooke said.

"Where are you staying?"

"Peyton said I can stay with her and Nathan. She insisted they have like three spare rooms in that giant house. At least until.." Brooke trailed off, though she was happy to be home her life was a mess. Going through a divorce at 27 because her husband fell in love with another woman, struggling to get pregnant, relocating.

"Stay with me," the words fell out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was even saying.

"What?" Brooke asked, clearly surprised.

"If you want, I'm gone a lot so if you need a place take it." He only owned a two-bedroom condo in Tree Hill, being gone so much of the season it made sense.

"Luke, that's really generous but I couldn't," Brooke said, though there was something in her that liked the idea of being close to him.

"Sure you can, we can be roommates, it will be awesome."

"Aren't you seeing someone? Wouldn't that be weird?"

Luke rubbed his eyes, thinking of the one-night stand from last night that had spilled over into lunch-time. "I'm not with anyone...just think about it." He wondered why he was pushing for this, he hated commitment, he wasn't into the idea of monogamy like his brothers, but here he was asking a girl he used to be best friends with to live with him.

"Ok," she said, as Peyton and Nathan brought out their reveal cake.

"Thanks for coming everyone!" Peyton said, "and sharing your guesses. We already love this baby so much!" she turned to Nathan.

"Before we do this, I just want to say how excited Peyton and I are to welcome another baby into our family and share this moment with all you guys …and to Peyton…babe you are a phenomenal mom just sayin," Nathan winked at her.

Peyton smiled, "I love you," she placed a kiss on his lips.

"Are you ready?" Nathan asked.

Peyton nodded.

As they dipped their glasses into the frosting and pulled out blue cake, they both started laughing and crying.

"Called it!" Nathan yelled, pumping his fist in the air wrapping Peyton in a giant hug. "Another son!"

Everyone started clapping and congratulating the couple. Dan and Karen embraced Peyton and Nathan saying how happy they were.

"Yes, another brother!" Noah cheered.

"I wanted a little sister," Emma cried, running over to her Aunt Brooke in tears.

Luke watched in awe as Brooke pulled the six-year-old into her lap and comforted her. He remembered how Brooke was always the one who could make him smile no matter what he was going through.