He sat on the beach and watched her run, laughing, into the blue water. She squealed when it hit her legs and ran back towards the beach, only to rush back into the ocean. He remembered how, years before, he'd watched her run into the water and felt his heart almost break because he loved her so much and didn't know if she would ever be his again.

She was his now, and the knowledge of that touched his heart, soothing over the rough places the doubts and worries used to live. Her love had healed him and made him whole again. He watched as she stumbled and fell into the water, then jump up with a shriek. He laughed at the face she made, one of the many faces he planned to spend the rest of his life getting to know.

She'd not only given him her heart, she'd given him a family. They'd go home to a new teenage brother and a new teenage daughter. They'd work together on the new show and continue to do their independent writing and designing on the side. Their friends, their family…they were all there, in Tree Hill. His mother had given them the house they were living in as a wedding present, and he knew he and his new family would be happy there. Because that's what Brooke did…she spread happiness wherever she went. She was his Cheery, the light of his life. And right now she was beckoning to him, asking him to join her.

This time he stood, stripping his shirt off as he walked to the water. He was through sitting on the sidelines of his own life; with the way she always had, Brooke had given him a reason to play. She giggled as he ran towards her and it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. She ran into his arms and they both went down, the water rushing over them. Brooke looked down into his eyes and smiled, lowering her lips to his.

How had he gotten so lucky?