Dan Scott was in a great mood as he drove his Mercedes back home.

"That was a lovely wedding", Deb commented.

"It was."

"And the flowers were beautiful."

"Beautiful."

"And did you see how happy Lucas and Brooke looked? Oh, they're so in love."

"That they are."

"Now everything is complete, huh? You spend your life worrying and praying that one day your own children will find someone special and settle down. Now Nathan has Haley and Lucas has Brooke. I'd say we all lucked out on the happiness end."

"I agree."

Deb smiled as she covered her husband's hand with his own. Dan thought back to all the lost years when he'd turned his back on both Karen and Lucas. He had been a bastard. Some still thought he was. He might tend to agree but he had changed. He wasn't a complete evil psycho and he did love his children.

He was confident he had done the right thing about Brooke. She was a good girl who had made a few lousy choices. Who hadn't? And part of the old "Evil Dan" had enjoyed making her squirm but in the end he was a man of his word. It would be the secret they would take to their graves. They had done what they had to do in order to protect Lucas.

And that evebing at the reception had proved it all worth it. That night he and Lucas had talked, really talked. Bonded. It was the beginning of a new stage in their adult relationship. They had said things to one another that had never been spoken before. It felt good. More than being rich or powerful or evil or any of the things Dan had previously been known as and had aspired to be, now he had achieved the one thing that meant most. He was a good father. Smiling to himself, he turned up the volume as Elton John played on the radio…

Things we never said come together
The hidden truth no longer haunting me
Tonight we touched on the things that were never spoken
That kind of understanding sets me free

'Cause I never thought I'd lose
I only thought I'd win
I never dreamed I'd feel
This fire beneath my skin
I can't believe you love me
I never thought you'd come
I guess I misjudged love
Between a father and his son

THE END

Hope you realized why, or at least my reasoning why, Brooke did what she did? Morale of the story is…sometimes, it's just better to keep your mouth shut. Question of the day is…is it okay to lie, if you're protecting someone you love?

Things that make you go hhhmmm…

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed. Thanks for all the support. I appreciate the feedback. I do have an idea for my next Brucas but in addition to the prequel I'm working on now, I have a new Naley fic that will begin immediately so Brucas will have to wait a few weeks.

Until then…

Mal

aka

gooseles