-1Hey guys, sorry this chapter took a while, I'm back at school and things are crazy. But this is the end of Dusk and Summer! I wanted to leave it like this, kind of open and frozen, but have no fear, there's a sequel in the works that has Lucas and Haley's return and Nathan and Brooke dealing with all that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave me your final thoughts!

Heaven Here

Heaven's not waiting, it's spilling its secrets

It's right here between us

And we've no other choice but to believe.

"What took you so long?"

Brooke screamed as she leapt into the air and her heart leapt into her throat. "What the hell?" she exclaimed, staggering backwards until she stumbled into the coffee table. "Nathan?! Jesus Christ, what are you doing in my living room?"

"Well, I tried the roof," he answered, standing from the couch he'd made himself comfortable on. "But you weren't up there."

"Let me rephrase," she growled, her anger only intensified by the near-death experience he'd just given her. "What are you doing here, period?"

"I just ..." He shrugged, at a loss. He'd been waiting for hours for her to return, watching the day slide into night, and he still had no idea how to begin. "I wanted to be sure you were okay. You took off from the Cafe pretty fast."

"To get away from you," she pointed out, pivoting and striding out of the room so that he had no choice but to follow. "I thought I made that pretty clear."

"Brooke, don't do that," he called after her, exasperated. Why was she always walking away from him? And for that matter, why was he always so quick to chase after her? "You know, one day you're gonna turn around and I'm not gonna be standing here."

That seemed to strike a nerve, as she whirled around on him, her eyes alight with a fierceness he'd never seen. "That," she spat out, driving her finger into his chest hard enough to bruise, "Is exactly the point."

Nathan raised his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. "Whoa," he said, rather mildly. "What are you talking about, Brooke? What's the point?"

Her hazel eyes rolled heavenward. "God, it's like you're challenged. No wonder you needed to marry a tutor."

"Hey -" he cut in, more in his own defense than of his marriage to Haley.

"The point," she continued, not giving him an inch, "Is that one day, you won't be here. I mean, you're asking me to spend time with you, to be in this - this screwed up, pseudo-relationship with you, and what happens next? Haley will be back in a few weeks. Are you really gonna look her in the eye and say 'Sorry, hon, but I've got myself a brand new girlfriend'?"

It was clear from the blank look on his face that confession wasn't an option Nathan had even considered. As he reeled from the shock, Brooke chuckled - mirthlessly, the sound a poor imitation of her usual joyful giggle.

"Exactly the point," she repeated, her tone just as flat as her laugh.

Her lack of emotion had him worried. Brooke was full of enthusiasm; she never spoke when she could chirp, never walked where she could bounce. To see her eyes go lifeless created a similar hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach. "I never said I would choose Haley over you," he argued.

"Of course you would," she told him, almost condescendingly. "You already have. Remember? At the courts? "I don't want to hurt you, Brooke, but I don't want to hurt Haley, either". Well, guess what, Nathan, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. You have to choose. And we both know who you'll pick."

"What if I pick you?" he shot back, an idea that silenced them both.

It wasn't something he'd let himself consider before, the edges of the plan still vague and fuzzy, but it was tempting. Why couldn't it work? They understood each other, or at least they were beginning to. He still wanted to know so much more about her - whether or not she snored, what she looked like when she cried, if she liked Italian or seafood better.

"If you pick me ..." Brooke trailed off, allowing herself to imagine it. They could be good together, she was sure of that. They had fit, physically, from the very first time they'd touched. It seemed like his body had been designed specifically with hers in mind.

But it wasn't her ring that he wore around his finger. He had never made any promises to her like the ones he'd given Haley. She couldn't be responsible for all the damage that would be done. She was trying to be a better person than who she'd been in the past. Starting the school year with her hand in Nathan's might make her feel good, but it would do nothing but hurt everyone around them, everyone they both cared about.

"If you pick me," she continued, her eyes still faraway and gleaming with unshed tears. "You'll have to divorce Haley. Lucas will come back and I'll have to tell him that I've fallen for his brother. We'll have to explain ourselves, constantly, to everyone. Your father will probably kill you. Karen won't be able to look me in the eye."

"But we'd be together," Nathan pointed out, bringing his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

It was a small gesture - they'd touched far more intimately before - but it stopped Brooke's heart. Her eyes shuttered closed, relishing the brush of his fingers, and then she reached to pull his hand away.

"I could probably love you," she confessed, each word a piece of shattered glass tearing at her insides as she forced them out. "I mean, if things were different, I really think we'd have a chance. But, Nathan ... let's be real here, okay? It would wreck lives - our lives, eventually. You would graduate high school with a divorce under your belt. I would lose the only real friends I've ever had. It's not right."

Nathan stared as the realization dawned that this was the Brooke he'd wanted so badly to see. The parts of herself that she hid from the world; the kindness she tried so hard to coat over with sarcasm; the heart she pretended not to have. Her speech did nothing but confirm the feelings he'd been wrestling with for weeks.

"Could you say that again?" he asked her, stepping closer so there was no space between them.

She told herself to back up, to regain the breathing room, but her feet didn't move. "It's not right," she repeated, unable to look at him.

"No." Nathan shook his head, tilting her chin up so that her eyes were forced to meet his. "The part about how you could love me. Do you mean that?"

Brooke exhaled. "Don't be an idiot," she told him, not unkindly. "This whole summer, it's been you and me. Since that first day on the beach, it's been ... it's been you."

"Thank God," was Nathan's only response before he enveloped her in his arms and buried his face in her hair. "You had me worried for a while, there. I was beginning to think it was just me."

She was wary, but couldn't help returning the embrace. "What are you talking about, Nathan?"

"Brooke." He pulled away, but just enough so he could look into her eyes as he said it. "I feel the same way. And I didn't see it coming. I tried to ignore it, and avoid it, and let it go, but I can't. I can't just walk away from you. And I can't stand it when you run away from me."

"But we can't do this," she said, her voice quite but insistent. She had turned her face into the crook of his shoulder as he'd spoken, relishing every syllable, but she raised her head now. "You were right, at the courts. I don't want to hurt anyone. And I don't want to hurt anymore either. Okay? It's too much."

Nathan only pulled her closer. "How about a compromise?" he proposed, knowing he was asking for more than he had a right to and just not caring. "It's still summer, right? Let's take tonight and just ... just enjoy it. Tomorrow, we can see where we stand."

"Tonight." Brooke could feel herself slipping. Would it be so terrible, really, for her to be happy for just one night? The damage had been done weeks ago, when they'd first slept together. It wouldn't make a difference now if they gave themselves one last night.

And it would be the last night. She understood that, even if Nathan didn't. She didn't need tomorrow to see where they stood - she knew exactly. He belonged with his wife and Brooke ... well, she didn't really belong to anyone.

"Okay," she said finally, a small smile twisting her lips. It felt good, saying yes to him, knowing that he would be holding her when she fell asleep.

The grin that spread across Nathan's lips made it clear he was looking forward to much of the same. "Yeah?" he asked, leaning into her so their foreheads touched. "For real?"

"For real," she acquiesced, and started to say more, but she was cut off by a kiss that sent shivers down her spine. Meeting his lips with the same kind of passion, Brooke closed her eyes and let everything else go with the inward resolve that in the morning, she would walk away.

Tonight, though ... tonight, she belonged with him.