AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I SHOULDN'T START A NEW STORY WHEN I'M STRUGGLING TO UPDATE LOVE IN BEANTOWN, BUT I JUST REALLY LOVE THE THOUGHT OF THIS STORY AND THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ALSO. I'M SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING LOVE IN BEANTOWN I'VE JUST HIT A ROADBLOCK WITH IT. ONCE I CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO WITH IT I WILL UPDATE. SO ENJOY THIS STORY. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: THIS IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE STORY. OH AND LAINEY O'CALLAHAN EXISTS IN THIS STORY ALSO BECAUSE I LOVE HER TOO MUCH TO NOT BRING HER ALONG FOR ANOTHER RIDE. MOST OF THE INFORMATION YOU'LL FIND OUT AS YOU READ. DON'T YOU HATE THAT? HAHA.

RATING: PG-13

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE TREE HILL, BUT I DO OWN THIS FABULOUS STORYLINE AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF CHARACTERS IN IT!

CHAPTER ONE: AND SO IT BEGINS

- - -

You would have never recognized her as being Brooke Davis, fashion extraordinaire had you seen her in the New Brunswick County airport that evening. Sure she was wearing a black and silver sequined dress with Dior sunglasses, but despite looking fashionable there was something off about her appearance. It was probably the fact that she was being helped through the airport by her assistant Millicent. She looked like a lost puppy. When she saw him waiting in baggage claim she did the first thing she could think of, she ran to him and hugged him tightly while willing herself not to break down in his arms. "It's just not fair," she mumbled into his chest.

He ran a hand through her silky brown hair. "I know Brookie, I know." He kissed her softly on the forehead. He knew he had to be strong for the two of them.

Lainey, who was standing beside Millicent watched the embrace and felt her heart break for them. "He cried the entire way to JFK." She confided to Millicent quietly.

"She hasn't cried yet, but I have a feeling that'll change soon. I just have no idea what to do for her." They'd just finished her fashion show and had been on their way to an after party when she'd received the news. Millicent had been nervous and confused when she heard Bevin who was practically sobbing into the phone still of all the things she had expected it wasn't what Bevin would after at least two solid minutes finally stop crying long enough to get out, that Peyton and Jake had been in a car accident and they hadn't survived. The black Lincoln they'd been riding in had pulled a U-turn and they'd gone straight to the airport hence their clothes which were more suitable for a club.

"He was on a date with Haley. You should have seen her face when she first saw me." Haley and Lainey didn't get along. It had a lot to do with the fact that Brooke and Lainey did. "He dropped eight twenties on the table and followed me out of the restaurant. She tried to join us, but thankfully he told her that wouldn't be a good idea. I held him the entire ride."

Nathan wrapped his arm around her waist protectively as they walked out of the small airport and to the black Navigator that Lainey had rented for them. He was happy that the news hadn't leaked to the press. They would be vultures waiting for the perfect shot of him consoling Brooke. Throughout his tenure in the NBA he had learned that heartbreak sold magazines. He helped her and then their assistants into the Navigator before climbing in behind them.

"Here's the address," Lainey handed the driver a sheet of paper and then settled back into her seat. She wished there was something she could say to make everything better, but was at a loss for words.

"Do they know what happened?" Brooke asked quietly. Millicent hadn't supplied much information. Brooke wasn't sure if it was because she didn't know or because she didn't have what it took to share that kind of awful news.

Lainey shook her head no. "Bevin hadn't made much sense. She was crying too hard. All I could make out was that there had been an accident and well you know." She couldn't bring herself to say that Peyton and Jake had died. It was so hard to believe.

Brooke nodded and then looked out the window. It had only been a little over eight months since the last time she'd been to Tree Hill for Marley's birthday celebration, but now sitting in the car it felt like a lifetime to her. She'd actually had time to have a real conversation with Peyton just that morning. Often they exchanged text messages, emails, and voicemails, but rarely did they have time to just sit and talk on the phone like they had in college. Peyton had wished her luck with her fashion show and they'd discussed the fact that her and Jake were contemplating having another child, but were worried that Marley wouldn't adjust well to having a sibling. Brooke stifled a sob. She put her head in her hands. How was it that she hadn't thought of Marley until now? She'd been so dismayed and consumed that she hadn't even thought about the fact that while she had lost her best friends Marley had lost her parents. "Oh Nate…"

Nathan hugged her tighter. He could feel her body convulse as she sobbed.

"This just isn't fair. Peyton and Jake are so young." She couldn't quite bring herself to say that they were so young. It was too foreign to talk about them in the past tense.

"I know Brooke. I know."

"They're not even thirty. What is Marley going to do without her parents?"

Nathan ran a shaky hand through his short black hair. He'd thought about that during the flight from New York. While his relationship with his parents had never been exactly kosher he still couldn't have imagined life without them. He could only imagine what Marley must have been going through right now. "We'll make sure she gets everything she deserves. It won't be easy for her, but we'll be there for her."

Brooke realized then that she had to be strong for the blonde haired little girl who enjoyed practicing her free throws in her hot pink tutu. She had to look past her pain to be there for Marley. She owed it to Peyton and Jake. She sat up a little bit and wiped her tears before pulling out her compact so she could check her makeup. If she was going to be strong, she had to look the part.

- - -

Marley was upstairs in bed listening to a bedtime mixed CD her Mom had made for her when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on. She thought maybe Aunt Bevin and Uncle Gabe had gotten into a fight or something. All she knew was that Aunt Bevin wouldn't stop crying. She crawled out of her bed and looked out the window. She gasped when she saw Aunt Brooke, Uncle Nathan, Lainey, and Millicent all pour out of a black SUV. She watched quietly as Bevin made her way into the front yard and enveloped them in a hug. Nothing was making sense. She grabbed the robe Aunt Brooke had bought her in Japan for her birthday and decided to go downstairs to get some answers.

- - -

Bevin who in high school had been voted Bubbliest Personality looked flat out defeated when she reached Nathan and Brooke in Peyton and Jake's front yard. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun and she was wearing sweats. Her eyes were red from crying. "I don't know how to tell her." She said in reference to Marley who'd been upstairs in bed when she received the news.

"She doesn't know?" Lainey asked worriedly.

Bevin shook her head know. "I couldn't do it. I tried, but I just I couldn't. I started to open her door at least a half dozen times, but I just I knew that I wouldn't be able to get the words out."

"It's understandable Bev. You already had to break the news to enough people as it is. I can only imagine how hard that must have been." Brooke could tell just by looking at Bevin that she was upset at herself for not being able to bite the bullet.

"The question is how are we going to tell Marley and when are we going to tell her." Nathan wondered aloud.

"Tell me what?" Marley asked the huddled group quietly. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you had a fashion show tonight Aunt Brooke."

Brooke took a deep breath and willed her voice to be steady. "I did. Will you come with me to the sunroom? There's something that I need to tell you."

Marley looked at the group. She was confused as to why everybody was being so weird. She nodded and then followed Brooke to the sunroom. She barely noticed that Nathan was following them.

Nathan hadn't actually wanted to follow them. The immature jock in him had told him to let Brooke take the lead on this one. Let her be the one to deal with a devastated ten year old. The other side of him he often referred to as his inner Jake insisted he follow her. He was her godfather just as much as Brooke was her godmother. He appropriately listened to his inner Jake.

Marley watched them fidget in silence for at least two minutes before finally speaking up. "What's going on? Why is everyone being so weird? What are you doing here?"

Brooke closed her eyes before speaking. "Mar tonight your Mom and Dad were driving back to their hotel in Savannah and there was an accident."

"What? Are they okay? What happened?" Marley demanded.

"The police aren't completely sure what happened other than that the guy in the other car was drunk."

"But they're okay right?" Marley's voice was barely a whisper. She felt like this all just a movie or a bad dream. There was no way this was real life.

"Mar your Mom and Dad are?" Brooke stopped. She just couldn't bear to say it.

"Your Mom and Dad are gone. They didn't make it." Nathan said quietly.

Marley could feel her entire world crash down around her. She felt herself start to heave and knew that she was about to have an asthma attack which was worsened by the fact that she was sobbing.

Brooke hopped up to grab Marley's spare inhaler from the kitchen.

Nathan picked the small girl up and helped her breath until Brooke finally returned.

It took them an hour to get her to fall asleep. By the time they succeeded they were both too tired to even make it down the hall. They both ended up falling asleep one on either side of her to the sound of Belle and Sebastian in the background.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THAT WAS THE END OF THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER OF A STORY THAT I KNOW FOR FACT I SHOULDN'T HAVE STARTED. AS YOU CAN SEE IT IS VERY AU! HAHA. I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS STYLE OF STORY. I HOPE YOU LIKED IT. IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND REVIEWING THAT'D BE TOTALLY AWESOME. IF YOU CAN'T ALREADY TELL THIS WILL EVENTUALLY END A BROOKE/NATHAN BECAUSE THAT'S MY FAV OTH SHIP! LIKE I SAID LEAVE ME A REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE ASAP! - KRISTINE.