Hi, everyone! So this is it, the end of Stop All The World Now. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad people liked it. I've never written One Tree Hill before, I don't even keep up with the show, and I really don't know why I fell in love with Nathan/Brooke, but I plan to write a lot more about them soon! Thanks again, don't forget to leave me your final thoughts!

Come Lay Down

Follow me and don't look down

Nathan felt surprisingly light-hearted as he made his way back to the apartment. Ending things with Haley had felt … not easy, exactly, but right. He knew she was upset and hurting, but he also knew how strong she was. She'd get over him and find the person she was meant to be with, just like he had with Brooke.

He stopped short upon recognizing Lucas' figure approaching him from his own front door. His brother hadn't tried to contact him or Brooke in the weeks since he'd learned she was pregnant. Nathan wondered if he'd changed his mind, too late, about being involved.

"Lucas," he greeted when they'd closed the gap between them. "What are you doing here?"

"I was checking on Brooke." Lucas gestured vaguely to the apartment he was leaving, looking disturbed. "She, uh, she lost the baby. But you knew that."

"I did." He wasn't going to apologize for being there when his brother hadn't been. "I'm sorry, man, it must've been hard to hear."

"It must have been harder to go through," Lucas returned. There was no rancor in his voice, just regret. "I'm glad she had you helping her out, Nate. If it had to be anyone … I'm really glad it was you."

Nathan knew that it was as close to a blessing as he would get. "Thanks, Luke. That means a lot. Oh. Hey, Haley's back in town. I don't think she'll be staying long, but, uh, she's down the beach if you wanted to say hello."

Lucas peered in the direction he'd indicated. "Haley's back, huh? Have you … told her yet? About Brooke?"

"Just now." Nathan nodded and rocked back on his heels. "We ended things on okay terms. But she could probably use her best friend right about now."

"Yeah. You know, I think I told you once that if you ever hurt her, I'd kill you." Lucas turned his gaze on him, his eyes a piercing blue. "But I never got a chance to say that I'm sorry she hurt you first."

"It's in the past," Nathan shrugged. "And I think it should stay there. Things are good now. Different, but good."

"Yeah. I never saw you and Brooke coming, not in a million years." Lucas smiled as he said it, a sign that they were truly moving in the right direction and would be able to put all of the tension behind them.

"Tell me about it," Nathan agreed, a small grin flitting over his lips as well. "But it's right, you know? She makes me … she's just …"

"I know," Lucas cut in, remembering full well the energy Brooke infused the world with. "She's one of a kind. Listen, I should go check on Haley. It's my duty as the best friend to give her a shoulder to cry on. But, Nathan, man, look … don't make the same mistake twice You love Brooke, I know that, I can tell. Don't let her go, okay?"

Nathan's grin only widened as he shook his head. "I couldn't if I tried. But thanks, Luke. See you at practice?"

"I'll be the one wiping the court with you," his brother smirked, and their laughter floated between them, holding them together as they went their separate ways.

XXX

Her bags were already packed.

Nathan's heart stopped in his chest as he surveyed the changes Brooke had made while he'd been gone. Four brightly-colored, oversized duffle bags were piled by the door, the same luggage he'd hauled in for her so many months ago. The jumble of shoes that had accumulated in the foyer since her arrival was noticeably absent. There wasn't a single nail polish bottle or hairbrush left lying in the wrong spot.

"Brooke?" he called out apprehensively. "Brooke, are you home?"

"That was quick," she observed, appearing from the bedroom with a jean jacket in one hand and her purse dangling from her wrist. "Did the two of you get everything settled?"

"Yeah, we – we talked it all over and everything's all set now," he responded, his voice sounding faint even to his own ears. Was it his imagination, or was she purposely keeping herself at a distance? "Do you want to sit down?"

Brooke barely spared the couch he pointed to a glance. "No, I'm good," she said briskly, her eyes sweeping over him as well. "I have a cab coming soon, so."

"A cab?" Nathan's eyes flew to the window, scanning the street. "Brooke, if you need a ride someplace, I'm happy to take you."

The last thing she wanted to do was subject herself to an awkward car ride with the boy she'd almost believed she could share her life with. Well, the second to last thing, because the last thing was subjecting herself to the breakup speech she was sure he'd come prepared with.

"The cab will do just fine, thanks. Listen, Nathan," she paused and blew out a breath, a few strands of hair fluttering out of her eyes. How did she approach the end of her world? "I want you to know, there's no hard feelings, okay? I get it."

Nathan tried to keep his impatience in check. He wanted to touch her, damn it. Why was she still standing so far away? "Get … what?"

"It." Brooke gestured expansively, as if to spell out whatever the hell it was she was talking about. "The thing with Haley. I get it. First love and all that. Married at seventeen. It's a freaking fairy tale. I know how those end."

"Right," Nathan said, still confused. If she knew that he'd ended things with Haley, why did she look like she was ready to snap? "Brooke, I'm not sure if …"

She cut him off again, determined not to hear a lame letdown from yet another Scott. "Nathan, it's fine, really. I mean, you couldn't have known Haley was coming back. And she's your wife. I understand."

"I don't think you do," he told her, stepping closer. "Brooke, I just told Haley that I can't be with her anymore. Because I'm in love with someone else."

"What?" Brooke stared at him, her shock evident in her slack jaw, her wide eyes. "You told her … you did what?"

"I told her it's over," he explained. "I said I was with you now and that it's going to stay that way. How could you think I'd say anything else? Weren't you listening to a word I said earlier?"

"But that was before." Brooke was utterly lost. She'd been so sure that she knew exactly what was coming; that Nathan would take his wife back without question. "Haley's back and you … you guys are married."

"Were married," he corrected, wiggling his ringless fingers for her to see. "Remember? Haley and I ended a long time ago, Brooke. We just finally got to say it today."

She still backed up when he reached for her, moving out of his grip like a dream upon waking. "I don't want to do that to you, Nathan. Five years down the road, you'll end up hating me for ruining what you had with her. I can't … I can't have you hating me."

"You didn't ruin anything." Nathan was tired of talking in circles. "And I could never hate you, Brooke. Never."

"You say that now," she sniffed. "But wait a while and see. There's a reason nobody ever sticks around me, Nathan, there's a reason everyone leaves."

"Yeah, there is," he said defiantly. "They don't love you like I do."

Brooke froze and hesitated, uncertainty still flashing in her eyes. "Look," Nathan began, wanting to drive the point home, "Haley made a choice when she walked out on me. But I made one, too, when I didn't ask her to stay. And now, Brooke, I choose you. Okay? Please don't walk out on this. I survived without Haley, but I don't think I could stand losing you. So just, trust me, okay?"

The silence that met his speech seemed unbearable. He had exhausted all the capabilities of language that he knew of. There were only so many ways to say you loved someone.

Of course, Brooke – being Brooke – found yet another one. She wiped away the tears that had spilled during their confrontation. She took her time crossing the room to him; slow, sure steps that could only mean one thing. She stood in front of him, head tilted upwards to meet his eyes, and said, very simply, "I do."

Nathan wondered why it should sound like more of a promise than any vow he and Haley had ever taken. Instead of dwelling on it, however, he decided to just be eternally grateful and brought his lips to her waiting ones with all the force of two stars colliding to create a universe.

"It's weird," Brooke murmured sometime later, her lips still close enough to his that he could feel the wry twist of them. "I keep thinking my world's coming to an end, and you just keep showing up and saying things that prove it's not."

"You're welcome," he said, purposely smug, and swallowed her giggle with a kiss.