From Pain Springs Happiness

By: TracyCook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creator of One Tree Hill.

Couple: Haley/Brooke

Rating: M

Chapter 18

Go Be a Family

Haley immediately regretted attending the party when she saw the look on Nathan's face; he looked hurt and betrayed as she walked through the door. 'He definitely didn't want me here…' She watched as his eyes hardened as he looked to the woman who was holding onto her arm protectively and she sighed. 'Or Brooke for that matter… but I couldn't leave her at home alone… I refuse to do that for him.'

Jamie saw his mother walk into the birthday party and a smile spread across his face. He had hoped that she would come. All that he wanted was for them to be a family again like they used to be.

He ran toward Haley and she let go of Brooke's arm in order to kneel down and wrap her son up in a tight embrace, before squeezing his cheeks and kissing his forehead. "How old are you now? Five?"

"I'm six mama!" Jamie said excitedly as he lifted up his fingers to show her the number six.

Brooke smiled as she watched the interaction between the two of them, she loved them so much. It pained her even thinking about the possibility of losing them. "What? You're six?" Haley asked as a pout formed on her lips and Jamie nodded his head. "Already? I'm not ready for you to grow up yet; can't you just stay five for one more year?"

"No way! I'm ready to grow up! I love my birthday and presents!" He stopped speaking and smiled deviously as he looked up at his mother. "Speaking of which, what did you get me this year?"

"Is that all you care about you little brat?" She teased him, laughing and running her hand through his hair. "Do you hear this guy? He just uses me for presents." Haley said as she returned to a standing position and turned to look at her girlfriend. She was attempting to make the situation a little less awkward. Brooke laughed and smiled at her and she knew that she was succeeding. At least for the moment things weren't too tense.

She had no idea how the night would play out though and she could feel Nathan's eyes on them.

Brooke cast her hazel eyes down to Jamie and knelt down in front of him, pulling out her checkbook. "Speaking of presents, little buddy; I think that I owe you one." She opened her checkbook and wrote in 100 dollars. To a child that was practically a goldmine. She had sent him checks on his birthday when she lived in New York, even if she refused to talk to Haley during that time of her life, and it was sort of their tradition.

Pulling out the check she handed it to him and watched as his blue eyes lit up and shimmered with excitement. "Woah! That's a lot of zeros!" His smile spread across his face and she felt happy for a moment to have caused it, but then she realized that she had only bought his affection like her mother used to do with her.

He probably still hated her for destroying his family.

'I can't really blame him if he does…'

She was drawn out of her thoughts as Jamie lunged forward and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Thank you so much auntie Brooke!"

Brooke's eyes threatened to water as he hugged her, she looked up at Haley and saw that she was smiling back down at them. Looking down at Jamie she pressed a kiss to his forehead and ran a hand through his hair. "No problem, anything for my favorite boy on his special day." She forced back the tears and stood to her feet after he let her go. She did not even know why she felt like crying. It was just that her feelings were overwhelming.

Both women realized that Nathan was now standing next to Jamie, staring them down. He looked confused and upset. Haley offered him a small smile that went unreturned.

"Can I talk to you for a sec, Haley?" He asked.

"Yeah. Of course." The teacher said before looking over at Brooke and asking her if she was going to be alright, with her eyes. She nodded and encouraged her to go and speak with her husband despite the way that her chest was clenching tightly and she was finding it difficult to breath. This was not about her. It was about their family.

Haley mouthed a 'thank you' before reaching out and squeezing her girlfriend's hand and then walking toward the kitchen with Nathan.

"I hope they aren't gonna fight." Jamie said sadly.

"Yeah, me too buddy." Brooke muttered out.

"Hey!" His attitude changed completely as he reached up and grabbed ahold of her hand. "You wanna go play some Rockband with uncle Skills?"

She laughed and nodded her head allowing the young boy to drag her over to the game station. It hurt knowing that she would always just be auntie Brooke; she would never be Jamie's mother. Nathan had been right in that accusation. But, she would settle for it as long as she knew that he still loved her and looked up to her.

O

"What are you doing here Haley?" Nathan asked.

"Lucas invited me."

"And you decided to bring your new fuck-buddy along, too?"

"He invited her too." Haley muttered out, squinting her brown eyes up at him and clenching her jaw as she crossed her arms over her chest. She did not like the way that he was talking about Brooke. "And for your information she is not my "fuck-buddy," she is my girlfriend. We haven't even slept with each other yet. What I have with her isn't some experimental game, I care deeply for her and you need to know that."

"Care deeply for her? Do you hear yourself right now? You can't even say that you love her."

"You know that I love her Nathan. She is my best friend and she has been since high school, she is one of the most important people in my life—"

"—You know I don't mean as friends."

"I love her. Okay, I love her. As friends, as more than friends, are you happy now that you forced me to say it out loud and shove it in your face? Because, that's why I didn't want to say it Nathan, I didn't want to hurt you." Her eyes started to water as she threw up her hands in frustration before slamming one of them down on the countertop. "Speaking of which, Brooke isn't just some guy that I cheated on you with, you can't keep treating her like this. She is one of your best friends—"

"—Haley, she is dead to me. She died the minute that she took you away from me."

"There you go again. Accusing her of "taking" me away from you. Do you think so little of me that I cannot possibly make my own decisions? I chose to be with her, she didn't force me to do so. You can blame her all that you want, but this was my fault. No, this was your fault for not valuing our relationship enough in the first place! I gave up everything to be with you Nathan, I chose you, and you decided that I wasn't enough to make you happy. So, I found my happiness elsewhere."

"But, Brooke can't make you happier than I can."

"Maybe at one point in my life that was true, but she does make me happier than you do. I have fallen in love with her and I have fallen out of love with you Nathan, and you need to accept it so that we can find a compromise where Jamie is concerned."

"There isn't going to be a fucking compromise, Haley!" He shouted, slamming his hand down on the counter and moving toward her. His aggression shining through full-force. "You left me to be with a woman and that's fine. Whatever. But, I don't want either of you around my son!"

"You can't keep him away from me!" Haley screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she backed into the counter, trying to put some distance between the two of them.

"As long as you are with Brooke, I am gonna try my hardest to make sure that I get full-custody."

"God! Can't you stop being selfish for one minute—"

"—I'm the selfish one now!?" He screamed slamming his fist down on the counter behind her, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise as she threw up her hands to defend herself. She trusted Nathan and she wanted to believe that he would never hurt her; she knew that he wouldn't, but he was still scaring her. "You're the one fucking your best friend and I'm selfish!?"

"Okay, I think you need to back the fuck away from her this instant!" Brooke's voice echoed through the kitchen as she walked up to Nathan and pulled him away from Haley. She would not allow him to intimidate or hurt the woman that she loved.

He turned quickly and stared down into her eyes. "You're right, it isn't her fault anyway. It's your fault. You're a shitty friend Brooke, you know that? Seriously, you made your best friend feel like shit all through high school for doing the same thing you did to her and now the same thing that you did to me. You are a horrible person!"

"You don't mean that Nathan." Brooke attempted, her hazel eyes watering as he compared her to who she was in high school. She wasn't that person any more, she had grown up.

"Yeah, I kinda do." He moved toward her.

Both of them were drawn out of their argument as Jamie stood between the two of them and stared up at Brooke. "Leave daddy alone Auntie Brooke!"

Brooke could not contain the tears any longer as they spilled out of her eyes and ran down her pale cheeks; Jamie had just defended Nathan to her. He had told her to leave his daddy alone. He thought that she was the bad guy in the situation and it killed her. Her body felt numb and her breathing had stopped as she cast her eyes over to Haley who looked equally hurt by the situation. Haley wanted to reach out for Brooke, to help her through this, but she didn't know how to erase what had happened.

"Jamie I—I—"

"I want you to leave my party." He told her with a scowl as he turned to look up at his dad and mom. "All I wanted was for you guys to be a family again for my birthday!" He shouted out before running away from them, tears in his eyes.

O

An hour passed and everything seemed to have settled down. Jamie was playing Rockband with his father and having a fun time. He continued to ask Haley to come and play with them and she continued to decline his invitation. Brooke worried that she was the reason that she declined. She did not want to be this person anymore. The person who came between their perfect family. Nathan and Haley had been the ones to teach her that true love was possible.

Now she was proving that it wasn't. Love could always end.

Haley wrapped an arm around her waist and lent up kissing her cheek before resting her head against her shoulder. They had not said much since the argument, but they did have a silent agreement that they still wanted to be together and still loved each other.

Things were just a bit more complicated now. Soon, everything would settle down and things would get better, they had to get better.

"You should go and play Rockband with them." Brooke muttered, her voice shaking as she choked back the tears. She needed to be strong for them and do what was right. She could not be selfish with Haley, if she was than Nathan would be right about her. She would be the same girl that she was in high school.

"But, Brooke—" Haley pulled back and stared up at her with large worried eyes.

"—Go be a family."

When the teacher still looked apprehensive, Brooke flashed her a dimpled grin and leant down pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Do it for Jamie. We will deal with us later."

Neither of them liked the way that she said that they would "deal" with them later, but they both knew that there was a lot that needed to be discussed and decided in their relationship. And, as difficult as it was to watch Haley walk across the room and pick up the microphone to the game, she knew that she had to let them be a family. For Jamie. She just worried that it would tear their relationship apart and in the end she would be alone again.

Brooke watched as the three of them played the game. They laughed and had fun, and Jamie never looked happier than when he was with his parents. She wanted to have a family with Haley so bad. She wanted to be a part of their family, but how could she be?

Suddenly, she felt an arm wrapped around her shoulder and she turned and looked up at Lucas. He offered her a sad smile before refocusing on the scene in front of them. Neither of them said anything, but it helped Brooke knowing that someone was there for her. That even though he knew the entire story from both sides, he still loved her.

It gave her hope.

O

Authors Note:

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. :) I have been on a huge Rebekoline kick, but I am still trying to focus on my other pairings. Please do tell me what y'all think and leave me some feedback and I promise to have the next chapter up soon!

Thank you all for reading!

-Tracy Cook