OK… So I am still working on 3 other stories… (Wedding in Tree Hill, Everyone's Favorite Hollywood Sweetheart & Going to the Chapel) I currently have three chapters mostly finished for Chapel and several outlines done for Sweetheart… I'll be updating those by the end of the week…

I decided to write a quick Brucas Christmas fic… since I am totally in holiday mode… Whole thing is only gonna be like 5 chapters… Completely AU

I don't know anything Tree Hill related…

Blue Christmas

-0-

Chapter 1

'I am never going to get a fucking cab,' I thought to myself as I stared out at the long line ahead and the only 5 or 6 cabs parked beside me. I glance down at my watch, 'Damn it I knew I should have flown into Long Beach instead of LAX.' "This is ridiculous!" I huffed out loud. I hear someone chuckle behind me, "Can I help you?" I said with a sneer.

"Nope, I don't think you can actually." He said with a smile.

When I get a closer look at him all I can see are those piercing blue eyes. For a minute I almost forget that I'm in a hurry, "Look I'm sorry, I'm just in a hurry I didn't try to sound like such a psycho person." I extend my hand out to his, "Brooke Davis," I said flashing my signature dimpled smile.

"Lucas Scott," he says.

I felt like my whole body was on fire under his touch, after examining the rest of his features I noticed the blonde 'slept in' hair on his head and the scruff on his face. He was really quite handsome. "Pleasure to meet you."

He gently pulled his hand from mine and said, "How about we go get a drink? I don't think this line is going to move along anytime soon." He scanned the lot, "Not unless they get about 20 more cabs."

I look around us and realize he's right. "I guess one drink wouldn't hurt." I pick up my bag and follow him back into the airport. I watched him head towards the hostess of the Sky Bar and ask for a booth. She shows us to a small red booth on the other side of the bar; she mumbles something about our server and walks back to her podium. "I'll be right back; I just need to freshen up."

"You can leave your bag," Lucas said, "It's the only way I know you'll come back."

I felt my face redden, "I'll be right back I promise."

"Whatever you say pretty girl."

I hurry off to the bathroom and try to catch my breath. I look in the mirror examining my face. "OK you still look hot." I say aloud, "not bad for someone who just flew from Paris." I am pleased by my reflection: chocolate hair still styled in a bob at my shoulders, only a few wispy hairs out of place; charcoal eye liner lightly smudged; lip gloss in tact. "Face is fine," now I check out my outfit. Black Dolce & Gabbana floods wrinkled only slightly, not enough to warrant an outfit change and my crimson Chanel blouse is still hugging all the right curves. I reached out for the restroom door and glanced back at my reflection with a smile.

"I was about to send the search party," Lucas said with a laugh when I returned.

"I wasn't gone that long." I kink my right eyebrow, "So what brings you to Los Angeles Lucas? Business or Pleasure?"

"Before we start with 20 questions how about I buy you a drink?" Lucas says motioning for the waitress. "I'll have a Heineken…"

Lucas looked in my direction, "I'll have a vodka cranberry." The waitress turned to leave, "Oh and can I please have a few cherries." Lucas looked confused, "I love cherries" I laughed.

"So back to your question, I'm in LA for my little brother's wedding. Him and his high school girlfriend are getting married next week."

"How exciting," I smiled, "The weather should be beautiful next week."

"That's what Haley is praying for. I heard it might snow…"

"It doesn't snow in Southern California unless you head to the mountains. Whatever weather man said it is going to snow should be fired." I glance up to see the waitress with our drinks.

"Can I get you two an appetizer menu?" She asked.

"Sure, why not?" Lucas looked at me, "Who knows how long it will take that crowd to die down. So what brings you to 'sunny' California Brooke?"

"Business unfortunately" I sigh, "I work for Vogue, I write a small fashion column and rumor has it Jeffrey Sebelia is going to put on an impromptu show on Friday. I'm here to cover it."

"But Christmas is on Thursday; don't you wanna spend it with your family?"

I tensed at the mention of family, I wasn't about to reveal to this total stranger that I haven't had Christmas with my family since I escaped to LA 7 years ago and before that I would just have been handed daddy's Black American Express card and sent on my way with my nanny. "I don't really have much family. Christmas is just another day of the week for me." I try to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"That's awful Brooke. Where are your parents?" He asked concerned.

"Switzerland I think or maybe this year they were going tropical… It's really not that big of a deal Lucas."

Lucas leaned over and touched my hand, "You don't need to downplay it I can see it bothers you." He pulled back, "But don't worry your secret is safe with me."

"So Lucas Scott what do you do for a living?" I ask with another smile.

"I'm a freelance writer for Sports Illustrated. I cover basketball mostly." Lucas said while he took another swig of his beer. "I used to play basketball in high school but I found out my senior year that I had a rare heart disease called HCM and if I played basketball anymore it could potentially kill me." He tried to laugh it off but I could see the pain in his eyes, "If I hadn't listened you would be sitting here talking to a corpse."

"Well that would be scary." I say with a giggle, "So are you single?" This was the question I wanted the answer to since the first time I looked at those amazing eyes of his.

"Yes and no," He paused awkwardly, "I'm in the middle of a nasty divorce." He took another drink of his beer, "what about you? Boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband?" He finished with a sly smile, "Girlfriend?"

"None of the above, I travel a lot for work. Men don't always like women with too much ambition." I sucked seductively on a cherry before pulling it off the stem, "They think it's hot at first… You know a girl with dreams and aspirations that don't include marriage and children." I sipped my drink, "Then they turn on you and want to know what your problem is with commitment."

Lucas couldn't help but laugh, "We are a pretty strange species aren't we?"

"Absolutely," I finished my drink and contemplated another one, "So where are you staying while you're in town?"

"The Peninsula," He says, "Are you ready for another one or should we get some food and head out?"

"Some food and another drink would be nice," I said with a smile.

Lucas reached over and grabbed a cherry stem, "You wanna see something cool?" He put the stem in his mouth.

I stopped listening and just stared at his mouth, I watched as his jaw moved back and forth and he pursed his pale red lips, he smiled as he noticed my gaping stare. "I'm sorry."

He pulled the knotted cherry stem from his mouth, "sorry for what?"

"Staring at you like that I guess I'm hungrier that I thought," I giggled, examining the cherry stem, "How did you do that?"

"It's one of the many things I picked up at Northwestern." He laughed, "How about we get out of here?"

"But didn't you just ask if I wanted some food and another drink?" I smile inquisitively.

"I know what I said; maybe we could head to my hotel or something." A light blush spread over his cheeks, "I don't normally do this but I think fate put you in line ahead of me and I am not really ready for the night to end."

My head was spinning; Lucas wants a booty call. That part wasn't anything unfamiliar, but actually feeling something for someone after knowing them for a few hours was pretty much uncharted territory. "Where did you say you were staying again?"

"The Peninsula" He said as he finished his drink, "It's more a night then I like to spend but it's close to my brother's place, without me having to stay there."

I was shocked, I'm sure he could read it on my face since he suddenly looked concerned, "I'm staying at the Peninsula as well."

A smile widened on his face, "Well isn't it a small world."

-0-

As we walked back into the wintry air my breath caught in my throat and I felt Lucas's hand find mine as he pulled me towards the line of cabs. "Wow, more cabs did appear after all."

"I told you they would. Holiday season is busy here. We just had to wait for the reinforcements to show up." He pulled out his wallet and handed the attendant a twenty "so how long is the wait for a cab?"

"I can get you into one in a few minutes sir, where are you going?" The attendant asked, "I'll make sure they know where you're headed before hand."

"The Peninsula in Beverly Hills and could you make it quick," He glanced at the name tag, "Jeff because my wife here is very tired." Lucas said winking at me.

Within minutes we were in a cab headed to the hotel. "Why did you tell that guy I was your wife Lucas."

Lucas laughed, "Have you any clue how hot you are, that guy was totally undressing you with his eyes. I didn't want him to keep us there any longer than we had to be."

"Oh," I blushed at his words, "So why is your divorce so messy? You seem nice enough."

Lucas pulled off his pea coat revealing a sky blue sweater that was pulled over a blue pinstriped dress shirt, "Peyton doesn't think I'm that nice."

"Is that your ex-wife?" I asked, trying not to let my eyes linger on his chest any longer than they needed too.

"Yeah, we were married for 5 years. She wanted kids and I didn't feel like we were ready for that type of commitment." Lucas rubbed his hands thru his scraggly hair, "We were perfect together, then we got married and that ruined our relationship." He scoffed, "She knew I was starting to get restless last year, that's when the baby talks began."

"I don't understand women like that," I rolled my eyes to try and lighten the mood.

"Yeah, well anyways Peyton met someone else while I was covering a College Cinderella story during playoffs. I came home and she was gone, her stuff was gone and she didn't leave a note." Lucas sighed, "The divorce papers arrived the next day."

"Sounds pretty cut and dry," I reached for his hand and squeezed it, "When did all the drama start?"

"Well she's catholic and she wanted to get our marriage annulled so she could marry the guy she's with in a catholic church. We had been married a long time so I said I wasn't willing to go along with that charade. She wanted me to say some bullshit about being sterile and not revealing that to her until after we were already married."

"Isn't that illegal?" I asked.

"Totally," he smiled when he noticed my hand still holding his, "So then she tried to sick her divorce lawyer on me and they have things like don't make it harder than it needs to be Mr. Scott, she's moved on you should too… blah blah blah." Lucas leaned over and whispered, "I'll let you in on a little secret though, I had moved on way before she decided to leave." I was about to say something when the cab stopped, and the driver said we were at the Peninsula Hotel. I got out, Lucas soon followed, "Could you hold this for me Brooke? I'll get the bags if you want to head inside." He said handing me his jacket.

"Yeah, I'll see you inside, don't keep me waiting long," I said with a giggle as I headed to the front desk. Somewhere along the way it had begun to rain, 'so much for great hair' I said to myself. I was met by a rush of hot air as I entered the lobby, I could feel my cheeks burning. "Brooke Davis checking in," I said as I handed her my driver's license and credit card.

I felt a hand on the small of my back, "Lucas Scott checking in as well," he called behind me as he too presented his driver's license and credit card.

I stared at the two completely different licenses on the counter; mine was New York issue with a sky blue background. 'My hair was so long' I thought staring at the younger me in the picture. I had only been 19 or so. It was right after Vogue had transferred me to the Manhattan office and I was told by a bicycle cop with a Napoleon complex that I would need a New York license if I was planning on being in the city longer than a few months. Lucas's license was from North Carolina and it looked fake compared to mine. It was plain white with a blue stripe along the top and he too looked rather young in his picture.

"I was just a kid," Lucas said practically reading my thoughts.

"I was too." I smiled, before being brought back to reality by the clerk giving me my room key and pointing me towards the bank of elevators. She must have been new; everyone pretty much knew my name here. This was my favorite place to stay when I was in LA.

Lucas moved his hand and intertwined his fingers with mine as he waited for the clerk to complete his check in as well. My nose became aware of a musky dry smell, I hadn't noticed Lucas's cologne before and we had been much closer in the cab, "Thanks April. I know where the elevators are. You've been great."

At the elevators we compared floors, "I'm on the fifth floor," I smiled, "I'm a preferred guest."

Lucas frowned, "Well," he picked up my wrist and studied the Gucci watch, "How about I meet you at your room in a half hour? Then we can grab some dinner and I'll buy you that other drink."

"Sounds perfect," I said entering the elevator. When it dinged for Lucas's floor I pulled him into a hug, "I'll see you then." He was still standing there when the doors closed, "Lucas," I whispered still in his embrace, "That was your floor."

"I know, I decided at the last minute to walk you to your room." He smiled.

I was becoming fond of that smile I realized, "Oh." I stepped out of the elevator, "I'll see you in half an hour Lucas."

-0-

I changed into a black ruffled halter dress that hit just above the knee. I grabbed a navy blue jacket and pulled on a pair of nude thigh highs and grater belt. I completed the outfit with a pair of black Steve Madden heels. I was reapplying lip gloss when I heard a knock at the door, "Just a minute." I did one final spin in the mirror before opening the door.

"Brooke you look amazing," he said with a huge grin on his face.

He was wearing black Dockers and the same sky blue sweater now over a black pinstriped shirt, "You're not too shabby yourself Lucas."

"So are you ready, do you need a few minutes?" He asked peering into my suite.

"If you wanna see my room all you have to do is ask," I said opening the door the rest of the way.

"I just wondered what $200.00 extra dollars a night got you." He said looking around.

"A better bed with higher thread count sheets, a terrace and an amazing view." I sat down in a club chair, "Now are we going to go eat or are you gonna stare a little while longer?"

"Are we planning on leaving the Peninsula?" Lucas asked on the way to the elevators, "If so, I need to stop by my room. It's really starting to come down outside."

"I thought we were just going to eat downstairs?" I ask stopping right in front of him. I tensed up as I felt his hands around my waist. "It's called Belvedere, it serves modern American cuisine. Then there's The Living Room, it's a small bar right across the lobby."

"Sounds like we're eating at Belvedere and drinking at The Living Room" Lucas said with his hands still wrapped around my waist. After we were seated Lucas asked, "so Brooke tell me why are you single?"

"Well I haven't been in a relationship since Julian..." I felt myself frown, "It didn't exactly end well." That was the understatement of the century I didn't really want to tell this almost stranger that I hadn't been in a relationship in about a year. Not since I watched Julian wither away to practically nothing before he succumbed to bone marrow cancer.

Lucas looked as if he could sense my sadness, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you."

I felt a hot tear fall down my cheek, "It's not anything you said. I just haven't been out with anyone since Julian died."

He leaned over and touched my hand, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No it's alright," I said wiping tears away with my napkin, I noticed a couple of people staring, "Julian was a Broadway musical producer. I met him thru some mutual friends and we had only been dating for a few months when he started complaining about his lack of appetite. He then began to talk about how difficult it was to walk and how his body ached. When it didn't go away I made him see a doctor. Numerous tests and several months later they said he had stage 4 bone cancer." Lucas looked horrified I wondered if I should even continue when he rubbed my hand and nodded, "So they moved forward with extensive chemo and radiation therapies. After several months Julian decided to stop treatment, he said the therapies were gonna kill him quicker than the caner ever would."

Lucas sat back in his chair and sighed loudly, "That is unbelievable Brooke. How old was he?"

"27," I stared at the menu until the words blurred, "I haven't exactly been great company since then."

"That's totally understandable." Lucas said, "Do you want to talk about something else?"

"Yes," I say wiping under my eyes once more "anything."

"Well I grew up most of my life thinking I was an only child. Then Nathan appears almost out of thin air." Lucas smiled, "I never knew my father, when he found out my mother was pregnant he blew town faster than you can say baby." The waitress appeared so we ordered before Lucas continued, "About 7 years ago I'm just sitting at home doing nothing and someone knocks at the door and its Nathan saying he's my brother. We look nothing alike so I told him he must be high and sent him away; when he turned to leave I noticed a familiarity about his eyes."

"Are they as blue as yours?" I ask.

"Yes, something we both inherited from our bastard of a father, Dan Scott. So it turns out Dan had married Nathan's mother shortly after leaving my pregnant mother and she became pregnant with Nathan soon after. After Dan died suddenly of a heart attack Nathan decided to reach out to any and all of his extended family. In the process he found me, the child Dan Scott spent his life trying to forget about." Lucas half smirked and half smiled.

"Well one great thing to happen in the face of your father's tragic death you two found each other and obviously became close I assume since you're attending his wedding next week." I smiled, "I always try and remain positive about every situation. It helps to get thru it."

"So tell me then, what was the positive thing you learned after Julian's death," the look on his face was regret, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to take back those ominous words.

Our food arrived before I could respond, "I didn't learn anything positive after Julian's death. I have been questioning my faith since the day the doctors diagnosed him." I pushed the salad around on my plate, I never looked up when I continued, "I guess I'm just glad he's in a better place now, even if that isn't with me." Aside from a couple comments about our food, dinner was painfully quiet. "So are you ready to go to The Living Room?" I asked as he paid the check.

"Lead the way," he beamed. He grabbed my hand in the lobby and said, "If you want to ditch me I understand. I have this rare syndrome called foot in mouth, I can usually control it but when I'm nervous all bets are off."

I couldn't help but smile at his sad attempt at humor, "why do I make you nervous?"

He cupped my cheek and moved a stray hair out of my face, "any man would be crazy around you Brooke Davis."

I felt my cheeks blush and I didn't want him to see so I eased out of his grasp and led him to the bar, "do you want another Heineken?"

"I got it," Lucas said flagging down the bartender, "Can I get a Heineken and a vodka cranberry with cherries on the side?" The bartender nodded and Lucas handed him a credit card to start our tab.

I looked around the bar and felt like I had just stepped into a Mall Santa display. Lights were strewn everywhere that alcohol couldn't reach; mistletoe was hung in every arch and doorway and all the employees wore festive colors and Santa hats. "So what else did you learn at Northwestern Lucas?"

"The cherry thing, the fine art of drunk dialing and every drinking game imaginable" Lucas laughed, "I graduated with a degree in Journalism and a degree in English. So where did you go to school?"

"Well after high school I went to work at Vogue as an intern, shortly after that I was selected to work out of the Manhattan office under a couple of the magazine heads. When I knew I was going to be staying in New York for a few years I went to a community college in the evenings and then transferred to NYU where I received a degree in journalism. I am currently working towards a master's in fashion journalism."

Lucas opened his mouth to say something when we both noticed no one else was talking, "what's going on?"

I looked at the big screen along the right wall and heard a newscaster reporting snow fall throughout Los Angeles County. "Wow, I guess they don't need to fire that weatherman after all." Christmas music began to echo over the silence, I hadn't even realized it was playing.

"Dance with me?" Lucas asked.

"Nobody else is dancing," I reply.

"Do you always follow what others are doing?" Lucas said grabbing my hand, pulling me thru the crowd. He pulled me close to him and put his head on my shoulder and began to kiss my collar bone. "I'll have a blue Christmas without you," Lucas mumbled in between kisses. I felt my skin growing hotter and hotter, "I'll be so blue just thinking about you," he was now kissing my neck, "decorations of red on a green Christmas tree… won't be the same if you're not here with me."

My heart was pounding so hard I felt as if it were going to beat right out of my chest. I stared at Lucas who was still humming along to the song and kissing my neck and collar bone, "do you do this often?" I asked.

"Do what often?" He replied looking up at me and rubbing my cheek.

"Pick up women at the airport and seduce them." I blinked trying to focus on anything but his hands: one was rubbing my face while the other was rubbing up and down my back.

"No… is it working?" He asked with a wink, "Am I seducing you Brooke?" I wasn't sure how to respond so I clasped my arms behind his head and let my lips find his.

-0-

Upcoming: Brooke and Lucas head back to her room… Christmas brings many surprises and Nathan and Haley get married…

So what did you guys think? Please read and review…

Krystal