Brooke and Lucas didn't sleep at all that night, spending time talking to each other about everything.
"If I didn't know any better, I think we just recreated our first date," Lucas remarked some time in the middle of the night.
"Huh? We're not at a bar playing pool and making out in dingy corners getting drunk enough to think a tattoo is a good idea," Brooke replied.
"No, before that. The night Peyton was drugged and we took care of her and spent the whole night talking and checking on her. Only, this time, we're taking care of our son," Lucas smiled and watched Brooke shiver on his lap. "Are you cold?"
The truth was that it was Lucas' words that had sent shivers down Brooke's spine and made goosebumps erupt all over her body but she wasn't willing to admit how good it felt to hear the words 'our son' from Lucas' mouth or 'date'. He really wasn't helping her cause. So, she bit her lip and nodded her head instead. Lucas pulled the comforter tighter around Brooke's body, bringing her closer to his chest as she lay on his lap. Brooke smiled at that feeling although she felt dread in the pit of her stomach. She knew that what she was doing was wrong. She knew that all the time she was spending, being close to Lucas, had her subconscious build another castle in the air. Yet, she shoved her fears down and let herself revel in the warmth and comfort he was providing her with. She would deal with the repercussions later.
Lucas and Brooke decided to get ready early to be able to get to the social worker's office the minute she called. Lucas had purchased a good deal of food from the diner, so they decided to make breakfast out of their leftovers. Jamie was still asleep while they nursed their coffees. Lucas went and took a shower while Brooke began to coax Jamie out of bed, always a herculean task. The toddler rubbed his eyes as he followed Brooke outside just as Lucas was stepping out of the shower.
"Hey, can you help him in the bathroom? My leg is better but it's slippery in there and the bathroom doesn't have a separate shower section," Brooke requested.
"Of course, but wait," Lucas said and began to unbutton his shirt.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Brooke asked.
"Getting out of my good formals. The last time I helped him, I returned drenched!" Lucas reminded her. Brooke laughed as well, looking at her son who was eyeing them mischievously.
Brooke couldn't help but take a peek once Lucas' shirt was off. He looked good. She licked her lips hungrily and then quickly averted her gaze before she showed him how much he was affecting her. Lucas pulled out some sweats from his suitcase and walked into Jamie's room to put those on before walking out.
"Come on," he said and lifted Jamie into his arms to walk inside.
"Hey, do you want to shower? I can feed Jamie his breakfast," Lucas asked Brooke once Jamie was ready.
"Uhh, I can't stand in there," she said with a chuckle.
"Oh, umm, right," he said.
"But I do need to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. Uhh, can you just uhh, help me uh, stand while I brush and then help me, god this is embarrassing! Sam had to help me take my last shower!" Brooke said with embarrassment.
"Relax, it's just me and that's what I am here for Brooke, to help you," he smiled as Brooke carefully moved towards the bathroom. Lucas grabbed the wet towel that he had used to wipe Jamie off and dropped it to the floor in hopes that it would soak up the water on the floor, making it safer for Brooke.
Brooke stood by the sink with her weight on one foot as she leaned against Lucas' frame and brushed her teeth with embarrassment. Once she was done, Lucas helped her move to the toilet and lo and behold Brooke yelped as she slipped on the water. Luckily Lucas was right there to catch her. Brooke's legs rose in the air, but he caught her by the waist to steady her.
"Thanks," she said as they stood where Brooke needed to be. Lucas blushed and walked out of the bathroom. "Call me once you're done and need me to help you back." Brooke's face turned red instantly but she nodded her head and waited for the click of the door.
Brooke called out to him when she was done and he stood guard as Brooke washed her hands at the basin. "Umm, I do need a shower. I want to look presentable in front of Nancy. Can you help me?"
"Uhh," Lucas said, stuttering at what Brooke was offering.
"No, get your mind out of the gutter. Grab a chair and put it underneath the shower head and help me on it. Leave a towel for me, I'll call you when I'm done and covered," she added for emphasis.
"I can do that," he said and did as Brooke instructed. He helped Brooke on the chair and ensured that she was okay before exiting. Lucas stood outside, his brain went to an image of her naked body. He had seen her in all her glory, but he quickly shoved those thoughts away and instead went to serve Jamie some breakfast.
When Brooke was done, she wrapped herself in a towel and called out to Lucas. He knocked on the door and opened it. Brooke blushed another time as she held the towel against her chest. Since she was sitting, she hadn't been able to wrap it around herself like she had hoped.
Lucas was still shirtless and only in a pair of sweats. He walked to Brooke who played her injured foot on the floor and stood up while trying to wrap herself properly in the towel, but in doing that, her foot throbbed with pain. She tried to shift some weight off of it but began to barrel backwards another time.
"Brooke!" Lucas yelled as he lunged ahead to catch her. Brooke's arms began to flail as she extended them for Lucas to grab, her eyes widening as she found herself going further and further backwards. He caught her and pulled her towards his chest. Brooke hit his hard chest and was squished against it by the strong tug with which he had grabbed her. However, in the process, Brooke's towel slipped and fell to the floor. Neither realised that it had as they both attempted to get their bearings. Brooke was panting as she continued to stand, smushed against his chest as he continued to hold her close.
"Oh God!" Brooke said as she realised what had happened. "Also, ow!" Brooke's leg was throbbing as she bent her knee to lift her ankle in the air. Lucas' eyes widened when he realised that Brooke's towel had slipped. Her soft naked breasts were squished tightly against his rock hard chest. The feel of Brooke's soft skin against his felt heavenly. He found his head spiralling as he started to get aroused by the sight and feelings. Lucas quickly suppressed his feelings and bent down to grab Brooke's towel with one hand while the other firmly held on to Brooke's waist as she struggled to stand on one foot. He used one hand to wrap it around her, the best he could with one hand while holding her waist. He did not do a good job, but it would have to do.
"B, I'm going to lift you up now, okay?" he asked and moved his other hand under her thighs to lift her up bridal style. Brooke yelped at the feeling of being airborne and feeling his hands make direct contact with her skin. She was so embarrassed.
Lucas deposited her on the couch and Brooke tugged at her towel to ensure that she was covered. "Uhh, can you, uhh, just give my clothes and wait in Jamies's room?" she said, closing her eyes firmly shut. She wanted to pretend like what happened didn't just happen and she did not want to see Lucas' facial expressions.
"Uhh, yes," he replied. Lucas' eyes were averted too. He felt like taking a peek but he was a gentleman and wouldn't. Brooke had already laid out her outfit, so he placed it on the couch, grabbed Jamie's hand who was quietly eating breakfast and watching his parents be goofs, and walked to the kids' room, closing the door with a heavy thud to let Brooke know that it was safe.
Brooke put her face in her palms, feeling embarrassed. Then she focused her attention on her foot. The swelling was returning and she had to get a lot done. She would just have to grind through the pain. She used the towel to wipe herself, although it was hard given that she was seated on the couch but she managed. She grabbed the outfit she had chosen, it was a purple dress. She had stitched it and it was semi-formal, making her look a little older than she was. She wanted to look mature for Sam's case workers. She put on her bra and pulled the dress over her head before struggling to put on her panties. Finally when she was done, she called Lucas. He came out, he too was still flushed from their actions ten minutes ago. Can you help me to Sam's room? She has a mirror in there. I need to do my hair and make up.
"B, if it's all the same, can I lift you there? Your foot is getting purple again," he replied. Brooke pursed her lips and nodded her head. Lucas walked to her, and gently collected her in his arms. Brooke put her arms around his neck and let her feet swing as he walked the short distance from the couch to Sam's room. Lucas eased her down to stand in front of the mirror and Brooke hopped on one foot with Lucas steadying her. Brooke instructed him once she had found balance to bring her comb and make up from the opened suitcase lying on the bedroom floor. Lucas gave her what she wanted and saw her tie her hair in a neat ponytail before applying some eyeliner and lip gloss. Brooke went for a natural day look and tossed the items back in the suitcase.
"Thanks," she said as Lucas helped her to Sam's cot so she could stretch out her leg. The fridge had already been emptied of all its contents so there wasn't even a bag of frozen peas for Brooke to use to ice her swelling.
"When do you think we'll get the call?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know. Let me text Sam and see where she is?" Brooke said and requested Lucas to bring her phone to her.
Brooke did but she did not get a quick reply which usually meant that Sam was probably still at the Wheeler's residence. Most teens out there did not have phones so Sam had to hide hers or risk it getting taken from her by a stronger foster kid.
Both the young parents grew restless, but they didn't have to wait too long. Ten minutes later, Sam replied to Brooke's text, 'Nancy got here some time back. She is talking to the Wheelers. I'm packed and waiting in her car.'
Brooke breathed after hearing back from her daughter. "We should be getting a call soon,"she informed Lucas who was playing a game of catch in the really cramped apartment. Jamie's toddler feet did not run fast and there was barely any place, but the boys were entertained and making it work.
Brooke spent some time watching the two and smiled. It felt so authentic and natural for them to be together that way, with their son. Yet, they were deceiving themselves thinking that. The truth was twisted and layered and complicated. Luckily, Jamie would probably never know. At least, she hoped for the same.
Some more time went by and Brooke got a call. "Hello," she said, answering at the first ring.
"Hi, this is Nancy. I am calling regarding placement for Samantha Walker." Nancy replied with a beaming smile.
"And done! Sam is officially your foster daughter as per the State of New York! You can take her to Tree Hill and get the documents signed with Lorelai to formalise matters in North Carolina," Nancy said after they had gone through everything. Sam was waiting outside impatiently with Jamie while Brooke and Lucas went through gruelling paperwork. She had been there before while the social workers figured out temporary placements for her, sometimes in the middle of the night. Sam never minded the wait because she knew that wherever she was going to be sent would be bad, no matter what Nancy said. This time was different. This time she couldn't wait to leave the office and go home. Wow, home, such a strange word. Sam had never had a home until Brooke, and even then, it was never her official home. For the records, she was still living with the Wheelers. Now, she would officially be a part of Brooke's home, a home she wished she never got taken away from.
Sam saw Brooke and Lucas exit Nancy's office with bright smiles. She got up instantly, her eyes full of questions. Brooke skipped towards Sam, a childish move, she knew, but she couldn't help herself. She skipped right over and engulfed Sam in her arms. "Ready to go home, Sammy?" she asked and Sam crumbled.
She didn't like crying. She never cried in front of other foster families and foster kids. If you cried, you were weak and Sam had been toughened by her shelterless life. She hated crying even in front of Brooke and Lucas was a stranger to her. Yes, she had cried tears with Brooke, especially when Lucas came into the picture and everything became shaky for a while, but she did everything in her power to not break down and she never ever ever cried in front of her social workers, even if they were picking her up from a home where someone had been sexually abusive to her. She never showed weakness or vulnerability.
Nancy gasped at seeing Sam cry. She knew what the word adoption meant to these kids and teenagers were a lost cause on most occasions. It was easier to get infants or young kids adopted, nobody wanted delinquent teens. Brooke continued to hug and caress Sam's hair, again shocking the social worker. Foster kids hated being touched at all. Every single one of them. She could gauge that Brooke had been in Sam's life for a while, but she chose to not read too much into it.
"Let's get out of here," Sam replied. "Bye Nancy! Hopefully I won't be seeing you again!"
"Well, I for one will be glad if I never have to deal with your hair-raising antics again. Don't throw any wild parties at your new foster home and send me pictures they click at the court once you're adopted," she said, making Sam give a wonky smile. She nodded her head, gave Nancy a hug and leaned back into Brooke's arms.
Both Brooke and Lucas put an arm around Sam's waist, Lucas held Jamie's hands and they walked out of there like a family. Brooke was still limping, so they were slow. Once they got out, Lucas hailed a taxi and they went to Jamie and Sam's schools to pull them out. The process didn't take too long and before they knew it, they were back at Brooke's apartment. They didn't have too long before they had to get to the airport. They grabbed a quick bite on the way and Lucas assigned roles. Brooke and Jamie were to stand outside the building, ensuring that nobody stole their belongings while Lucas and Sam would haul the boxes down. Sam and Lucas packed the last of their things which they had used that morning and zipped the final bags. There really wasn't much they owned so within four trips, the duo managed to get their belongings down. Before they knew it, they were in a cab, heading for the airport.
They passed through security and reached baggage. Sam kept looking around, taking in the environment having never been there. Even Jamie had more experience flying than her. She felt like a fish out of water, standing at the airport while Brooke and Lucas spoke to the lady at the desk regarding additional baggage costs and fragile stickers.
Jamie looked up at her and saw her uneasiness. So, he moved his little palm to hold her hand. Sam looked down towards his baby blue eyes when she felt his soft little palms in hers. Jamie smiled at her and the gesture warmed her heart. Holding Jamie's hand out there, she truly felt like she belonged.
Once they had their luggage and boarding passes sorted, the family of four walked to where their entry gate was and settled in the plastic chairs. Sam looked out and gulped at seeing the size of the planes. They looked so tiny up in the sky.
"Do you kids want to eat something?" Lucas asked, looking to where Jamie and Sam were sitting.
"No," Sam replied nonchalantly and her eyes drifted back to the airport.
"Do you want to go explore the place? You and Jamie can look around. We have an hour before we board. Ensure you're back before that and answer my calls in case there's a change in gates or the flight is early," Brooke said.
"Yeah, okay. Let's go, Dweeb," she said and Jaime bounced out of his chair to follow Sam. She held his hand tightly and the two got lost in the crowds at LaGuardia Airport.
"So, Sam is ours," Lucas said and saw Brooke's face get bright as she cracked a wide smile.
"Thank you!" she said and hugged him. Then she suddenly remembered her embarrassment from that morning and she shifted back to the other corner of the chair she was sitting on.
"My mom and Andy are coming to the airport. They said that they will take all your things and drop them at the Davis house so we can directly go to Nancy's office. We won't have a lot of time out before office closure if we assume it will take the same amount of time it took us out here and I really want to get all the paperwork done today," Lucas said.
"Yeah, that's not a bad idea, writer boy," Brooke replied.
"Nathan came down too. He wanted to meet Sam. He and Haley are coming to the airport as well to drive us to the office," he continued to fill her in. "Although I told them that I would ask you how cool you were with it first. I don't want Sam to get overwhelmed."
"I guess we can let them meet at the airport and pay attention to Sam's reaction. Accordingly we'll switch and ask Karen and Andy to drive us and Nathan and Haley to take our belongings home," Brooke replied.
"There also might be something more happening. A surprise party that I am not supposed to tell you about, at your house with everybody including the River Court boys," Lucas said while squinting his eyes, expecting a shove from Brooke.
"What! Why?" she asked, flabbergasted. She also couldn't help but laugh. Lucas had planned so much, but he was so afraid to share information with her, expecting the worst reactions from her.
"They're excited to have you back home. They're excited to see Jamie again and meet Sam! They simply love all of us," Lucas stated simply.
"I don't know how Sam is going to feel, but what better way to give her a taste of Tree Hill!" Brooke replied and shook her flippantly.
"That is true," Lucas joked.
"Anything else you want to come clean about?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucas looked at her intently. Under layers and layers of suppressed emotions, there was a tiny voice that said, now is a chance to come clean about the feelings you have been experiencing resurface. "Nope, that's it," he said instead.
"Hey Luke, just uhh, one thing. I, uhh, I never told Sam that I was rich. I don't know, I wanted her to feel safe and understand me and realise that we were actually pretty similar. It's difficult to explain how you were a foster in your own way when I was her age as it was just me and my parents' credit cards. I didn't tell her I was poor. I just remained silent about my past riches. She asked me if I had been rich as I was popular and the head cheerleader and I said no, because it was in a way the truth. I wasn't rich, my parents were," Brooke confessed.
"But when she sees your house, she is going to put two and two together," Lucas stated matter-of-factly.
"It's a great thing then that it is your house, isn't it?" Brooke smirked.
"Fine," Lucas agreed.
The two settled into easy silence after that until the kids returned and they heard the announcement that it was time to board the plane. Lucas got up and supported Brooke to her feet as she struggled with her sprain. The staff at the airport saw Brooke wince despite Lucas' help and quickly got her a wheelchair. Brooke hated the feeling of being crippled but acquiesced and sat down quietly and allowed Lucas to wheel her in. Sam watched quietly and followed holding Jamie's hand. She had seen what the inside of a plane looked like on TV, but it was still weird to her.
"Why don't you take a seat by the window, Sammy?" Lucas suggested, letting Sam get in and then helping Brooke out of the wheelchair and into her seat. She thanked him and the airhostess quickly rolled the wheelchair away. Jamie and Lucas took seats on the other side as he saw his kid stand and look out of the plane windows. He had never flown with Jamie, so he was excited too.
Brooke could tell that Sam was feeling uneasy. "Don't worry, honey. It's very smooth. You rode a rollercoaster, this is like gliding in air," she said to soothe the teen's nervousness.
"I didn't realise how large they actually were. How is something this large supposed to fly?" she asked.
"Well, I for one was never very good at school, but I've been on quite a few planes and besides the air pressure you experience, it's never been bad," she said.
Sam nodded her head and looked out at the staff doing their final checks. She intently sat and listened to the safety instructions, gulping at all the ways things could go wrong. During takeoff, she was a mess. Brooke held her hand firmly as the plane took momentum and left the safety of the ground. Lucas looked at her and smiled at how well Brooke was taking care of her. Jamie on the other hand seemed to love to fly, "Up, up, up up," he chanted to himself, swinging his legs in the car seat that Lucas had fixed into his seat.
"You did the hard part, now it's a smooth ride," Brooke told Sam once they were steady and the seatbelt sign came off. "Was it that bad? Do you feel queasy?"
"No, it was worse in my head than it was in real life," Sam said with a smile. Brooke smiled back at her and patted her head lovingly. Sam spent the rest of the flight looking out the window. Lucas was entertaining Jamie and Brooke was sleeping. She and Lucas hadn't slept a wink the night before after all.
Before they knew it, they were landing. Sam looked out intently, trying to rate the town that she was now going to live in. There were no tall skyscrapers there like the ones that she had flown past in New York. Here, there were houses. She could see rows and rows of neat houses tucked with immaculate green yards. It was a simple town. When they landed and got out, it was easy to tell that she was in another place. LaGuardia was a large airport and Tree Hill's was more like a tiny terminal. The crowds were thinner and less hurried and it was quite bleak. Yet, Brooke and Lucas' faces painted a separate story. They were beaming.
"Welcome home guys," Lucas said with a gigantic smile. Sam saw him help Brooke to a seat and walked to the baggage claim to collect all their luggage.
"Sammy, can you help me with a trolley?" Lucas requested.
"Jamie, sit with me while Lucas and Sam get our luggage sorted," Brooke said. Her foot was throbbing from the walk to the baggage claim, but it didn't bother her. She was finally back home with her family and she was going to stay there for good.
Sam knew how to assist a parent and got into the helping mode. Once they had all their belongings, Sam and Lucas each pushed a trolley towards the exit.
"B, should I get you a wheelchair?" Lucas asked.
"No, I don't want our family to see me on one. I am fine," she smiled and held Jamie in one hand and his carseat in the other as they walked out.
"Welcome home!" Lucas' family greeted as soon as the faux family exited the tiny airport. They all ran towards them. Nathan and Andy took the luggage trolleys out of Sam and Lucas' arms while Karen and Haley went to hug them all. Even Lilly ran to Jamie with a picture she had made for him.
"Hey Sam, how are you, honey?" Karen asked her while Nathan scooped Jamie in his arms, ditching the trolley to the side. Sam felt really uneasy with all the attention that she was getting. Foster kids were supposed to melt into the wallpaper. They weren't supposed to stand out, let alone be welcomed and celebrated.
"Hey, Andy, Karen. How are you?" she greeted them politely.
"Sammy, I would love you to meet my brother, Nathan and his wife, Haley," Lucas said, introducing the new people to her.
"Oh, you're the ones who got married in High School," Sam couldn't help but blurt out. She was so enthralled by the idea that somebody would actually do that without being pregnant.
"Haha! Yes, we did," Haley said with a smile and leaned into Nathan's frame. "It's so good to finally meet you."
"Yeah, you too," Sam replied awkwardly.
"And how have you been J. Luke?" Nathan asked.
"Awesome! Did you know we are going to stay here forever?" Jamie told him.
"Yeah, and I for one and very excited to see you every weekend and take you to Charlotte for basketball games once the matches begin," Nathan said.
"Alright! Can Sammy come too?" he asked.
"Obviously! Sammy can come everywhere now," Nathan said, looking at Sam.
Sam shuddered as she felt Nathan's love and acceptance hit her. She played it off as if it was nothing, but wow, she would get to see NBA games, live! Her friends from school dreamed of watching the Knicks play live and boasted about the games they got to see. Sam couldn't wait to live the experiences she only had the privilege of hearing whispers about before.
"Do you have a favourite team?" Nathan asked her.
"My allegiance is for and forever shall be for the Knicks, sorry," Sam said sarcastically.
"Whoaaaa!" everyone said in chorus as all eyes went to the red that spread deep across Nathan's face.
"It's fine. You are definitely coming for that match, wherever it is and you are going to watch me defeat the New York Knicks," Nathan replied smoothly.
"Okay, delusion is a pretty common disease," Sam continued to banter.
"Bro, I think you should give up before she roasts your ego to a crisp," Lucas said, glad that Sam was opening up to his family, even if it was her sarcastic version.
"Okay. Ready to go to the social worker's office?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah. Andy, will you manage all their luggage?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, it's actually a lot lesser than I anticipated," Andy remarked.
"Yeah, Nathan and I expected that you would drive back in a moving truck," Haley piped in.
"Are you guys forgetting that we literally staged the place to look like we lived there. So, the house has everything!" Brooke put their doubts to ease.
"Oh yeah," Haley laughed. "Okay, let's get going! The quicker we finish at Lorelai's, the quicker we get to take you home!"
Haley returned in Andy's car which was large enough to carry all of Brooke's belongings. She was helping Karen set up for the surprise party. Nathan drove the family of four to Lorelai's office.
"Hello, I've been expecting you," Lorelai said with a smile. "Nancy already sent me all your paperwork. Let's get this done soon. Hi, you must be James. Are you excited to have Sam living with you?"
"Huh? Sam lives-" Jamie began to tell the truth.
"What she means is are you excited that Sam will live with us here in the house in Tree Hill?" Brooke interjected.
"Yes!" came the boy's gleeful response. Lucas and Brooke exhaled in relief that Jamie hadn't messed things up for them.
"Lorelai, can the kids wait outside with my brother-in-law, Nathan? Things will go smoother without an impatient toddler," Brooke asked, chuckling.
"Yeah, sounds good," Lorelai agreed.
Brooke looked at Sam with begging eyes who perched Jamie on her hip and walked out. The process with Lorelai went smoother because they had already done it once that day so they knew exactly what to fill. Before they knew it, they had signed the final papers declaring them Samantha Walker's foster parents.
"Thank you so much Lorelai, for taking a chance on us. I know that you had plenty of reasons not to. But, we really appreciate it," Brooke said to her when they were about to leave.
"I am glad too. I hope that you persist. Foster teens -" but she ended her sentence with a heavy sigh, not knowing how to complete it.
"We hope to see you soon with adoption papers," Lucas said and slung his arm around Brooke to support her outside. Brooke felt butterflies, hearing the words adoption out of Lucas' mouth. The sky was painted in hues of pink and purple by the time Nathan drove the now real family of four to Brooke's house.
"I'm hungry. Can we stop for food? How far is the apartment?" Sam asked Brooke. Her stomach gave a growl.
"It's on the other side of town, but it won't take us longer than fifteen minutes to get there," Brooke let her know. Jamie was tired and hungry too. He was half asleep in his car seat.
"I know, it's been a really long day. Sleep in tomorrow, then if you want, we can take you around the town. You can see Lucas' house and Andy's property is a separate day event that we can cover on the weekend, but maybe Nathan and Haley's? Day after tomorrow, you start school again," Brooke laid down the rules.
"Yeah, come over tomorrow," Nathan said, extending an invite.
"Sound's good," Sam said without tearing her eyes from the window. She was too busy taking in the place where her foster parents grew up. The place they claimed to be magical. Soon enough, Nathan took a turn towards Brooke's street, the posh neighbourhood of Tree Hill where all the majestic mansions stood tall. Sam found them so beautiful, with their immaculate front yards and spacious living quarters. Suddenly, she saw Nathan halt the car in front of the majestic white structure with a bright red door. Lucas and Brooke began to open their doors and get out.
"Wh-what?" Sam asked, not understanding why everyone was getting out.
"Welcome home, Sam," Brooke said with a wide grin as she helped Sam out of the car and gave her a moment to take in her new home. Brooke's heart felt a surge of joy at being able to give her that. She knew it wasn't her but Lucas who had given her that, but she felt happy seeing her daughter feel loved and safe and like she belonged.
"This is where we're going to live?" Sam asked as she choked on tears.
"Yeah, the house was a gift to us from Lucas. He and Andy bought it for us to stay in. So you should be thanking him," Brooke replied, giving credit where it was due.
"Damn! Thank you! Do I get to have my own room?" she asked Lucas.
"You bet! It is ready for you, but feel free to change it as you like. You and I could get paint and supplies and design it as you like it," he said to the teenager.
Sam couldn't keep her teenage excitement in as she jumped in the air with excitement and did a little happy dance. Brooke laughed and started walking towards the porch to let them all in. She had already texted Haley that they were on their way home. As soon as Brooke swung the door open, Sam was greeted by a dozen people who showered her with confetti and yelled surprise! Sam was stunned as she ducked to lean behind Brooke. Brooke began to laugh, "it's a party for you goof! These are all my friends from Tree Hill. They all wanted to celebrate you and your arrival home."
Sam was stunned speechless another time. People wanted to celebrate her? Was she worth celebrating? There were people more than Brooke and Lucas, people she had never met, who were there to lean into her joy and support her. Tree Hill was already better than New York.
They all got in and Brooke and Lucas introduced everybody to her. There were quite some people and Sam struggled to keep their names straight, but she saw a common link through it all. They all still loved and deeply cared about Brooke, even though she had been gone for so long. Jamie was playing with a black bald guy as soon as they entered and a bunch of other guys who identified themselves as Junk and Fergie. Sam wasn't sure who was who, but her brain was too overwhelmed to care.
"Why don't we show you around, Sammy?" Lucas offered once all the introductions were made and they stopped crowding around Sam.
"Uhh, okay," she croaked, feeling a little out of place.
Lucas took her to the immaculate modern living room and Sam's eyes immediately fell upon the pictures hanging on the wall, pictures from Brooke and Lucas' proposal.
"What the hell is that?" she asked before her brain could filter the words that her mouth let roll by.
"Fake engagement photo shoot that Brooke and I did to keep Lorelai off our backs," Lucas offered an explanation. "All of us had taken Jamie to the beach when we got a call from Lorelai about the house visit. So, we had to get this house in order and make it look like we lived here. I realised that we did not have any family pictures, of all of us together and Nathan realised the lack of engagement photos. So, we had a fake proposal at the beach. We have to go back to take some real family photos this time because our family is only complete with you, Sam," Lucas told Sam who blushed in response.
Lucas walked her to the kitchen and then Brooke's office before showing her some spare bedrooms. He stopped at what used to be Brooke's room and let Sam take the room in as he stood at the door. His brain was deep in memories of being in that room with Brooke.
"Open the side door," he instructed and saw Sam gasp as she took in a view of the backyard that came with a pool.
"This is a part of the house! Gosh this is like I'm living at the hotel again, only bigger and nicer! Liz is going to flip out when she sees this place!" Sam said. She was unable to hide the wide smile that she had plastered on her face. "Aww, you got the dweeb a basketball net too."
"I take it you like it so far?" Lucas asked her.
"Love it!" Sam replied.
"Come, let me show you the upstairs and show you the room we got ready for you," Lucas said and the two began to walk up the stairs.
Lucas and Sam quietly made their way up the stairs. She stood at the landing while Lucas opened a door and flicked the lights on.
Sam gawked as she took in the room. It was right out of a magazine, every teenager's dream. Yes, it was a little too white and priss for Sam's style, but to get a room, a room that large, a room just for her, a room with a swing and fairylights and a dresser with bulbs and rugs, she had nothing to complain about at all.
"I got this for Lorelai to accept. We can change whatever you want," Lucas said, feeling like he was being evaluated another time for the room.
"You did great. I mean it. I love it, thanks," Sam said to him appreciatively.
"Go take a look in the first drawer of your desk," Lucas instructed. Sam gave a curious look, but followed his instructions anyway. Her eyes bulged out seeing the brand new laptop that was there for her.
"Is this mine?" she asked.
"Yes, for your school work and don't worry, the house comes with wifi too. Now, you don't have to hike to the library everyday to work on your homework," Lucas said. "You can use it to write as well."
"I can't believe this. Thanks," she said, touching the clear plastic that was still around the cardboard box that held her newest prized possession.
"Also, wait," Lucas said and opened the drawer of her nightstand to bring out the picture he had kept in the room of her and Brooke and Jamie together.
"Maybe, we can change that to include you…. Uhh, you know, for the social worker visits," Sam offered, trying to play it cool.
"Yeah, we should change it," Lucas replied, playing along.
Next, Lucas showed Sam Jamie's room and then turned to Brooke's door. He opened the door slightly and found Brooke engrossed in a conversation with Mouth.
"It's like I'm in a time machine. It looks exactly the same. I can't believe this. Remember when Felix gave me the money to buy your doll house for you?" Mouth asked Brooke. Both of them had their backs turned to the door where Sam and Luvas stood listening in as they both were looking at the doll house.
"We should go," Lucas whispered to Sam but she shhed him and rooted herself to the door.
"Yeah, I remember. That was the one decent thing that Felix did," Brooke replied, shaking her head as she picked up one of the recently washed dolls and fingered them. "This doll house was from my grandfather. I loved it to pieces."
"Yeah, it really hurt watching you have to part with it that day at the yard sale. I will never forget it. Where did you find this though? Did you have it with you in New York" he asked.
"Sam, come on," Lucas tried to get the teen away. Brooke really didn't want her to know her past, and Lucas wanted to honour her wishes.
"Shh!" she whispered again, irritated that he was diverting her focus.
"No. It was with Lucas, at his house. He knew how much I loved this doll house and well this house. When I went to live with Karen, Lucas took this doll house with him. He was recently in his attic, looking for things from his childhood to pass on to Jamie and found my old doll house. He refurbished it and that is what gave him this ridiculous grand idea to buy back my house," Brooke answered, pointing around to the large house.
"What! This was Brooke's house!" Sam whisper-yelled. Lucas was red with a guilty expression on his face.
"Yeah, but I mean, you loved this place. You were miserable when your parents sold it," Mouth said, defending his best friend's actions and confirming Sam's doubts and suspicions.
"Yeah. In a vulnerable moment, when I thought I had to leave Tree Hill forever and move to California with my parents, I confessed to Lucas how much I always liked being the girl behind the red door. California meant that I was rich again and I had an unlimited credit card limit again, but I wanted to remain in Tree Hill so bad. Luke was always good at catching my vulnerabilities…. still is. That is why he begged Karen to let me move in and painted the side door to his bedroom red when I lived there. Because I loved being the girl behind the red door."
"Hey, Luke did really care about you, even if he had a funny way of showing it back then," Mouth said. Brooke chuckled but remained silent.
"You know what's funny, this used to be my mom's room. Yeah, just my mom's room. My dad lived in the other wing of the house, the opposite side of my bedroom. Luke obviously didn't know that. My parents were never around for him to see them and know that. I stand here sometimes and I can still hear the sound of the screams and the fights between my parents. My mother's excessive drinking and shopping and my dad's string of affairs with his secretaries. This house deserved so much better than it got to witness. It saw my loneliness. A mansion this size is too large to live alone in. And when it saw family, it only witness squabbles and glass shattering. When I came here for the first time, I found the diaries I used to keep hidden under the floorboards. I paged through them to find entries about how my mom wanted to throw my dad in the burning boat and my dad my mom. I was willing to chuck the whole thing in."
"This house has got a good family now. Maybe you can give it better memories with Jamie and Sam," Mouth replied optimistically. "I mean, this was always your house. It was always yours. You filled it with warmth."
Brooke could help but let out a snort. "What I filled this place with back then was boys! I really took advantage of the no parents situation back then. Man if these walls could talk, Sam would have a field day."
Lucas grew even redder. "Sam, please! Brooke will kill me," he whispered. Yet, he did not attempt to let Brooke learn about his presence. Brooke was being honest and vulnerable about her relationship with him. Brooke Davis' walls were tough, so Lucas did not want to lose the priceless opportunity when her guard was down to get to know what was really going on in her pretty mind.
"Hey, that's not true. You changed a lot after Lucas," Mouth reminded her.
"Did I? Felix, Chris Kellar, they were nothing but hook ups. I even played the long game with Clean Teen Chase over a bet with Rachel. Hell, even Lucas was a hook up when I conceived Jamie!" Brooke said, self-deprecating herself.
"Fine, you hooked up some times. But we all did. I hooked up with Shelly and Erica Marsh and I was the nice nerdy guy, remember. I also have been secretly hooking up with my older boss who treats everyone except me like crap at the station because I am sleeping with her and she says that I might get studio time if this continues well," zmouth confessed.
"Mouth! What the hell!" Brooke screamed.
"Okay, you have heard enough. We are leaving," Lucas whispered to Sam and started pushing her away, but Sam flittted his wrist away in annoyance.
"I know. It's wrong. I asked Skills for advice and yeah, I should stop taking advice from Skills I guess," Mouth replied.
"Atta boy! Look, it's none of my business, but come on. That's not you. You slept with Shelly and Erica, but you never disrespected them or took advantage of them. And you never slept with them to get ahead at work," Brooke reminded him.
Mouth took a sip of the beer he was drinking. "We should head back down." Saying that, Brooke spun on her heel and came face to face with Sam and Lucas.
Sam's eyes fell on the doll house for the first time and couldn't help but admire the replica of the house that would serve as her new and preferably last foster home. The red door, grand four-pole entrance, it captured every detail. She had a very different picture of Brooke in her mind. Yes, she was a beautiful and popular cheerleader, but rich too? With that fashion sense! How did she go from living in a palace to the streets?
"Oh, uh, wha - how much of it did you hear?" Brooke asked Sam.
"Enough. Brooke you were rich?! Did you lie to me" Sam asked, raising her voice.
"No I didn't. My parents were rich. I never was," Brooke replied, meaning what she said. "Also, it was a selective inadmission."
"So, you're telling me that you lived in this house, this castle! You had limitless credit cards, you were rich?" Sam asked again.
"Wait, you didn't know?" Mouth asked. "Brooke was the richest girl in school. Haha! Remember how I was the highest bid at the boy toy auction because Brooke bid on me!" Mouth said jokingly, not realising the gravitas of the situation.
"Huh? What's that but never mind. You're saying you went from living here, in this palace to a women's shelter? To that cold dingy apartment?" Sam asked, with a tad bit of anger in her voice.
"Hey! Watch it. That apartment may have been cold and dingy but I was independent and free. That was more a home to me than this house ever was."
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were rich?" she asked, getting a little emotional.
Brooke puffed as she looked at the sky, trying to find the words to explain her actions to the teenager. "Because. Because I knew that when I said you and I were pretty similar, all the way when you just moved in with me, I could not explain it by telling you that I used to be rich. You wouldn't understand and I needed you to trust me. We are the same, I meant it. Yes, I used to be rich and I loved being rich. My favourite thing to do was shopping. But I was still alone. My parents still didn't care. Lucas and Mouth here were richer than I was, they had families who loved them. I was richer in our dingy cold apartment because I had you and Jamie."
"But why did you lie! What else are you lying to me about?" Sam cried.
"Nothing! Sam, you know the circumstances that we met under, How was I to explain that? You tell me," Brooke asked, putting the onus on the teen. Sam's wheels started turning. She could see how complicated and messed up things were. Yes, Brooke would not be able to justify stripping for money to Sam.
"You gave up being rich for Jamie?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion this time.
"She also gave up finally getting a mom, Sam," Lucas interjected. "She was working on the Company with her mother. Brooke's biggest dream was to make her parent's proud and hear them say that they loved her."
"Shit!"
"Yeah. Brooke gave up a lot but she will never ever say that or call it that, because that's just who she is. Come down I'll show you," Lucas said.
They walked down to the living room where everyone was eating the food that Karen and Haley had cooked while talking amongst each other.
"Hey guys! Sam wants to know what's one selfless thing that Brooke has done for you that she did not have to do," Lucas said, grabbing everyones attention in the room.
"What, no stop. Lucas! No!" Brooke said, embarrassed at all the attention she was gathering.
"Easy. Be my prom date. She made my year and gave me the confidence I would never have otherwise," Mouth said. "Hell, she became my friend, the guy from the AV club."
"Be my friend too! My best friend, my maid of honour, she made me the most gorgeous dress, for free. Give me a fabulous name - Brooke! Haha! That's a story that you must be told, Samantha. And give me a home when I got back from tour."
"She gave me and Haley our apartment the second time. She set up a treasure hut to set Haley and I up. We honestly wouldn't be together and married without Brooke. She thre us a kickass reception when we got married and she was the first one to celebrate us, even if she was convinced that we were pregnant," Nathan said.
"Guys, I was selfish every single one of those times. I did the blind date treasure hunt because I teased and broke you two in the first place. I went with Mouth because I did not have a date anymore because Chase broke up with me. Although, much glad it was you who was my date, buddy. And the reception, any excuse for a party, right?" Brooke said.
"No! There was no need to go to Peyton after the fights the two of you were having. There was no reason to fix her and Lucas as each other's prom dates that night. If you hadn't she would be kidnapped and dead by her psycho stalker and we would probably never know," Mouth replied.
"What! What psycho stalker?" Sam asked. Brooke shivered as the creepy feeling of fighting with Ian Banks crawled up her body again.
"Hey, you were the most popular girl at school, Brooke. There was no need to be good to us River Court boys. You never bullied us not once, girl. The one before you, Morgan Finley, she was rude!" Skills said.
"You were the best cheerleading captain. When we messed up at the sparkle classics, you didn't fire us. You let us be goofy and funny on stage and enjoy ourselves." Bevin chimed in. "You even left Rogue Vogue to be with us!"
"What psycho stalker?" Sam asked again.
"Peyton, Brooke's best friend growing up had a stalker. He attacked her again on Prom night. Brooke and her were fighting over Lucas at that time and they were horrible to each other. Peyton stole Brooke's prom dress, wrote slurs against it. They had a fist fight on the lawn! And when Peyton didn't show up to prom, all of us chalked it uo to be that she was in a bad mood. But Brooke knew that there was something wrong because she would not miss going with Lucas. She went to check on Peyton and found her tied up in the basement. Ian almost killed both of them that night. They fought together, became friends again. Until the love triangle repeated, that is," Haley explained with an eye roll.
"Why does Tree Hill sound like a slasher movie?" Sam asked.
"Trust me, that night was," Brooke replied, feeling creepy goosebumps erupt all over her.
"Sammy, what did we learn?" Lucas asked her.
"That I know nothing about Brooke, the girl I trusted the most," Sam said sarcastically.
"Samantha," Lucas asked in a warning tone, startling Brooke and Sam with the parental mode.
"That you're even more awesome than I thought you were," Sam said and gave Brooke a hug, making every adult in the room gush. "Okay, now please can I have some food?"