Ok so this is my first One Tree Hill Fanfic, please read and review honestly. I might be slow with the updates I have a lot going on but I love to write and do it whenever I have a free moment, or moments when I should be doing more constructive things like sleep lol. Thanks for taking the time to read.

"I've been calling you all night. Maybe teen marriage is all the rage in Hicksville, North Carolina, but I swear if you marry this boy I am going to have annulment papers drawn up so fast…" Victoria jumped up yelling the minute Brooke walked through the door.

"Mom, relax, it was just a joke."

"Oh, thank god. You have far too much to lose Brooke."

"And Lucas Scott was the one boy I might have lost it for." She whispered eyes filling.

"You should be focusing on the company, not boys with rings."

If her mom only knew what had transpired between her and Lucas tonight, she would be even angrier.

Brooke whirled around to face her mother "But what about love, Mom? Isn't that the key?"

"In case you've forgotten, it's called Clothes over Bros." Victoria spat back at her.

Brooke realized two things in the split second it took for her brain to register the words coming out of Victoria's mouth.

One she had never really gotten over Lucas Scott, and two, as much as she thought she'd changed and grown since high school she was still the heartbroken school girl and the best fix for that was to throw herself into Clothes over Bro's.

"Right, Okay, I'm in. The high end line, the magazine, I'm ready to take it to the next level."

"Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that. I promise you Darling, we are going to have everything we've ever wanted. Oh and by the way, call me Victoria. That whole mom thing just makes me sound too old."

Brooke was sitting at her small breakfast table looking over a few new designs the next morning when her private cell rang. Glancing down at the screen her heart did a little flip when she read Lucas' name. She hesitated over the answer key before quickly ignoring the call. She couldn't go down that road, not now, not again. It had been great to see him last night; to run around the city pretending that he really had chosen her. However, she knew she wasn't strong enough to fight her heart on him. All it took for her to lose control was when he told her he was lost without Payton.

Brooke knew that in high school she was always trying to fix him, to ease the pain he seemed to carry around on his shoulders. She'd stood there in front of him, his blue eyes pleading with her to make it better, to help him put the pieces of his broken heart back together. Then his mouth was on hers, and the warning bells went off in her head telling her that he didn't really love her, that he was using her to try and erase Payton from his heart. She pulled away from him, but when she looked into his eyes and saw the hurt and the vulnerability laying just under the surface. Brooke closed her eyes trying to regain control and the willpower to walk away from him right there. Instead she felt Luke stand up and pulled her slowly and gently into his arms, almost as if he was asking for her permission.

Her chin tilted up and she gazed into his face, "Luke" her voice came out thick with the desire she'd tried to hide. Lucas let out a groan and covered her mouth with his, his fingers digging into the small of her back as he pulled her tightly against him. Brooke made the decision in that moment to help him the only way she knew how. Shutting down her mind she forced her heart to only feel tonight, right now. Each kiss, each touch, how right his body felt against hers. How safe she always felt when she was in his arms, and nothing more, her mind became numb.

When it was done Luke pulled her into his side and wrapped his arms around her."Brooke Davis you are always saving me." And with those words he fell asleep, and Brooke lay there listening to his heart beat a painfully familiar rhythm. When the tears threatened to fall she eased out of his arms and quickly dressed, she needed to get out of this hotel now or she might never leave.

Brooke stared at the phone in her hand; it was time to move on for good, to remove Lucas Scott from her heart once and for all!

"Hey this is Brooke, you know what to do" Lucas didn't want to talk to her voicemail, he couldn't believe he'd done it again. He thought the days of him hurting her were over or else he would have never agreed to go out drinking with her last night. What had he done?

Two Months later….

Brooke rolled over in bed pulling the blankets over her head. She'd never had trouble getting up in the mornings but lately she could sleep all day and still be tired. But after taking the last few days off fight this flu or whatever it was, Victoria would flip if she didn't show up today.

As soon as her feet hit the floor though Brooke had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, what was wrong with her? Brooke Davis did not get sick! Standing at the sink looking at her pale face in the mirror her eyes fell on the snapshot of her Haley, Nathan, Payton, Lucas and Mouth just a few days before graduation. She let her gaze roam over each face remembering the day they'd taken it. When her eyes met Lucas, Brooke's breath caught in her throat.

"No way! This cannot he happening again!"

Brooke dressed quickly grabbing a scarf and large dark sunglasses; she needed to get this over with now. She had to be wrong she was wrong before, everything would be fine. An hour later Brooke was standing back in front of the mirror staring at the photo pinned there, the pregnancy test lay on the counter below. Two pink lines glaring back at her, what was she going to do now? Victoria was going to go nuts! Then another thought wiggled its way into her mind, a baby someone to love and that would love her back always unconditionally. Almost in that same instant her arms began to ache to hold the little one already growing inside her.

Almost Two years later….

"Hey Angel, how are you this morning? Today's your first birthday, are you excited about our trip?" Brooke reached into the ornate crib and lifted the little girl up to rub noses. "You make mommy so happy, you know that?" The giggle she got as a response was enough warm Brooke's heart and chase away the concerns today held. After talking to Payton on the phone last night she'd changed their tickets to fly back to Tree Hill instead, she was going home. Payton still didn't know about Alexis, Brooke knew that it would be a shock when she came to pick her up at the airport but it just wasn't something she wanted to try and tell her friend over the phone. She had made a choice a long time ago that No one needed to know what had happened between her and Lucas that night. Surely it had been long enough that he wouldn't remember the dates to be able to put it all together. And no one else knew about him coming to see her. So her secret should be safe, right?

The plane ride was short and Alexis slept the whole flight, her mom however was restless and could barely sit still. When the cabin doors opened Brooke gathered her sleeping child in her arms and slung the designer diaper bag over her shoulder, all but bolting off the plane. She claimed her stroller and got Lexie situated in it before making her way to baggage claim and where she knew Payton would be waiting for her. When the crowed parted and Brooke finally made eye contact with her friend Payton's face lit up and she ran up to throw her arms around the girl that was like a sister to her. The two pulled apart and Brooke watched as Payton took in the stroller and the sleeping baby inside.

"Brooke…is she…I mean is she yours?"

"Of course she is, Auntie Payton meet Alexis Jane Davis." Brooke couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on her friends face.

"Wow Brooke she's beautiful. Why didn't you call me? Where's her dad? Who's her dad?" Payton fired questions at her one right behind the other.

Brooke laughed out loud this time, "I promise will tell you all about it but let's get out of here first"

"Okay" Payton slung an arm around Brooke's shoulders, "I missed you Brooke Davis"

"So he just doesn't want to have anything to do with you or the baby?" There was fire in Payton's eyes. The three of them had just settled into the hotel, Payton had already gotten adjoining rooms for them.

"Pretty much" Brooke responded pulling the soft blanket up over Lexie. She hated lying, especially to her best friend but there was no way she could tell her that Alexis father was the man that Payton was obviously still in love with. They couldn't survive this drama again and Brooke needed her friend. There was a quiet as the two of them seemed to both be lost in thought and maybe a few painful memories.

"I saw Lucas tonight, he with someone else. He wouldn't even hug me." Payton broke into Brookes thoughts.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that Payt, but you said you weren't coming back here for him right?"

"Right, no I came back because I missed home and I missed who I was, and I missed you."

"You ready for this? You know they are going to flip when they see the little one… in a good way though."

"Ready as I'm going to get." Brooke's knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.

"Yeah" Payton glanced back at the sleeping baby in the back seat with her corn silk white blonde hair. "They will all be happy for you Brooke, just upset that you didn't let us all share this with you before now. I mean look at her she's beautiful, and soooo low maintenance." Payton quipped in her typical semi-sarcastic tone.

"She's pretty laid back most of the time, but last night was the first time she's spent the night away from her bed, she's adjusting to being in a strange place with strange people. You cant judge her by last night."

"I'm joking, I remember how it was some nights when Jake would bring Jenny and spend the night at my house back when we were in school."

"Speaking of the allusive Jake Jegalski , have you heard from him since your surprise visit to Savannah right before Nathan and Haley's wedding?"

"Nope I thought about calling him a few times but I figured it would just complicate things you know? I mean he's the one who sent me running back to Lucas way back then so what's the point? He doesn't want me either." The last part of Payton's tirade came out more of a whispered plea for someone to disagree with her, and Brooke wasn't up for taking that bait right now.

"Well don't look now but isn't that our ex-lover boy standing there with Nathan?"

"Oh God"

Hey Payt you can do this…I promise" But even as she said the words the reality of what was about to happened crashed down over her. Everything in her screamed to turn the car around and leave, get as far away as fast as possible. But it was too late for that both boys had already seen them, Lucas Scott was about to unknowingly meet his daughter.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here? Did Haley know you were coming?" Nathan hugged both of them . Brooke ignored Lucas and quickly turned to get Alexis out of her car seat. She held her breath bracing for whatever reaction she was about to receive.

Nothing could have prepared her for the look on Lucas' face when his gaze fell on the sleepy eyed baby in her arms. Oh god he knew! Brooke pleaded with her eyes for him to wait to have this conversation when they were alone. She glanced quickly from him to Payton and back hoping that he would get the message she was sending.

"Luke how are you? I haven't seen you in forever, did you ever get your book published hoping he would get the hint that Payton didn't know about their little rendezvous in New York.

"Yeah, we'll talk about all that later." He reached out a hand almost in a trance to brush Lexie's cheek. "Hey little girl, what's your name?"

"This Uncle Lucas and Uncle Nathan, is Alexis Jane Davis" Brooke over emphasized the Uncle Lucas and that Lexie had her last name. Trying everything she could to steer him in a different train of thought.

"Well hello sweetheart, I know your Aunt Haley is going to want to meet you, come on lets go inside and find her." Nathan said taking Alexis out of Brookes arms and leading them into the house.

As they walked in the front door Lucas gripped her arm pulling her away from the others, "Brooke, is she…is she mine?"

Brooke's breath caught in her throat, she hadn't expected him to ask her point blank, "Luke… no she's not."

"But then who…?"

"No one, hey let's talk about this later ok. No point in causing Payton any more pain than we already have." Without waiting for him to respond she followed Payton and Nathan into the living room. Taking a deep breath and swallowing back the tears that were fighting to run down her face. She's known it was going to be hard to lie to him but this was going to be torture.