Brooke's POV
Instinctively I sensed that something had happened at the casting when Julian came home. His mood was depressed and he seemed somehow absent. He was silent most of the time at dinner, and I was really worried.
"Was it that bad today?" I asked compassionately.
"What?"
"The casting. How was it?" I repeated and frowned as he lowered his head and avoided my gaze. "Julian?"
"It was... successful."
"But that's good, right?" I looked at him in confusion. 'Successful' meant that they had cast the roles. But why wasn't he happy about it? "What roles did you cast?"
"The 'Brooke'.
"Really?" I felt my heart beat faster with joyful excitement. "When can I meet her?"
"You want to meet her?"
"Of course." I frowned about his odd question. "I want to help her to portray the role more authentically. I also have some clothes from my high school days. She can wear some of them." I looked at him questioningly. "What size is she?"
"Normal, I guess." He shrugged.
"What does 'normal' mean?" I asked, frowning.
"I think your clothes will fit."
When he suddenly jumped up and began to clear the table, I also got up and walked after him. When he had put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, I put my arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you've cast the roles now," I said softly. "Then we can start shooting soon, which means the movie will be finished sooner and then we can get married."
"We don't have to wait for the movie to be finished," he said out of the blue.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked confused.
"Let's run off! Let's fly to Las Vegas and get married!"
"But... Julian..." I stammered perplexed. "What about our families and friends? And besides, I thought that we would get married in a church and then have a big party afterwards."
"We can have this later, I promise. But it may take forever for the movie to be finished. I don't want to wait that long. I want you to become my wife now, Brooke Davis!"
He knew exactly which buttons he had to press to get what he wanted. And when he looked at me pleadingly with his dark brown eyes and then smiled, my resistance melted away. "Okay," I agreed hesitantly.
"Really?" He asked.
"Yes, let's do it." I laughed as he suddenly lifted me up and spun me around in circles.
"I love you!" He said softly.
"I love you even more!" I whispered and sealed his mouth with my lips.
Brooke's POV
Las Vegas
The next day
I wasn't completely awake yet and my eyes were still closed, when I felt Julian's soft lips on mine.
"Good morning, Mrs. Baker. Did you sleep well?"
"I'd say I definitely didn't have enough sleep that night," I mumbled sleepily.
"I wonder why?" He asked, smiling mischievously.
I turned to him and placed my hand around his neck. "It's probably because I couldn't resist my sexy husband." He laughed and grabbed my hand.
"You know, that this ring is just temporary? As soon as we are back home, I'll buy you a new wedding ring."
"Wedding ring," I said slowly, emphasizing each syllable as I looked at the ring. "I still can't believe we're really married."
"Should I pinch you, so you know you're not dreaming?" He asked with a grin.
"If that's a dream, then I'll never want to wake up." I pulled him closer to me until our lips touched.
"You're driving me crazy, you know that?"
When he moaned softly and then returned my kiss passionately, I felt like in seventh heaven. For a moment I just wanted to forget the reality. And reality meant that we would be returning to Tree Hill in a couple hours. We would have to catch up on our honeymoon later. First, we had to tell our family and friends. And I was really looking forward to Haley's and Peyton's reaction once they find out that Julian and I had gotten married. But when I thought of Julian's parents, I got a queasy feeling. I hadn't forgotten how Sylvia Baker had looked at me when I first came to her house. And I suspected that her opinion of me hadn't changed in the last 5 years.
"What are you thinking about?"
"We have to tell your parents," I said, grimacing. "And I'm quite scared of that."
"No need to be scared. I'm here."
"My God, what have I done to deserve you?" I leaned my forehead against his and sighed softly.
"Hey, Brooke, look at me."
I raised my eyes to him, and he gently caressed my cheek.
"I already told you that I don't care what my parents or other people think about us. What matters is what we both want. And I know exactly what you want. I can see it in your eyes."
"Really? Only in my eyes?" I asked teasingly and wrapped my leg around his waist.
He turned and looked at the alarm clock. "Okay, let's have another round. But then we have to get up, take a shower, have breakfast and pack our things. The plane back to Tree Hill will leave in two hours."
"I can shower and get dressed in 10 minutes, maybe have breakfast in 20, and we don't have to pack much, because we just stayed overnight anyway," I told him. "Remains about 1,5 hours to fulfill our marital obligations."
"Then we better shouldn't waste any time."
"No, we shouldn't," I whispered huskily, then lowered my mouth to his.
Julian's POV
The flight from Las Vegas to Tree Hill had taken only about 4 hours, but when we arrived home, we were completely exhausted. I had to smile when I saw Brooke yawning.
"Should we go to the bedroom?" I suggested, waiting for her reaction.
"Julian Andrew Baker!" She said indignantly. "Don't you want to give me a break?"
"To sleep, Brooke," I clarified, laughing. "Not to make love. We hardly got any sleep last night, and I'm really tired."
"Yeah, me too," she said, suppressing a yawn. "But first I want to call Haley and Peyton. They're probably worried."
I rolled my eyes. "If you call them now, you won't be able to get rid of them." I put my arm around her. "You can tell them later that you're Mrs. Baker now," I said grinning.
"Yes, you're right," she reluctantly admitted. "That saves me their accusation for the moment."
"You can tell them that we'll make a big party later," I said. "Maybe this will appease them."
She nodded and headed for the bedroom. "Are you coming?"
I followed her into the bedroom, and we cuddled together in the bed.
"Good night, Mr. Baker," she said, rolling over.
"Good night, Mrs. Baker." I put my arm around her waist and snuggled against her back.
"I know these words. I just can't remember from where?"
"The Waltons," I suggested, laughing softly. I kissed Brooke's neck one last time before closing my eyes and then fell asleep immediately.
Brooke's POV
Clothes Over Bros
I was working on some new drafts for the movie when the door opened and Haley came rushing into the store.
"Okay, where's the big surprise that you couldn't talk about on the phone?" She asked curiously, looking around.
I put my drawing aside, and with a smile, stretched out my left hand. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw the wedding ring.
"Brooke!" She exclaimed stunned. "You... you are... married?!"
"As you can see," I said, smiling. "Julian and I flew to Las Vegas the night before and gave us the 'yes-word'."
"In such a cheesy wedding chapel with Elvis as a witness?" She asked, frowning.
I nodded reluctantly. "It doesn't matter how you get married. Significant is that Julian and I are married now."
"But what about us?" I could see from her expression how disappointed she was. "Do you still remember the plans you made how your wedding should be while you were a kid?" She shook her head. "There was nothing like 'get married in a cheesy wedding chapel, without family and friends, without a party and a wedding cake, and without...'"
"Oh, Hales, I'm sorry!" I hugged her quickly before she could continue. She let me squeeze her and then moved away a bit.
"What's the rush, Brooke?"
I saw her gaze wander to my waist, guessing what she was thinking. "I'm not pregnant, if you think that," I said hastily. "You know I can't have children."
She frowned. "Technically, that's not quite correct, because you could get pregnant. You just have to find a way to keep the baby."
"Which is practically impossible." I rolled my eyes. "Well, like I said, that's not why Julian and I got married."
"And what was the reason?" She pried.
"We really wanted to wait for the movie to be finished. But that would have taken forever. And we just love each other so much that we didn't want to wait any longer."
"Yes, I can understand that," Haley admitted. "But I'm still disappointed."
"We'll catch up with everything," I promised. "Then you get your church wedding and your celebration." I grinned.
"What do Julian's parents say about that?"
I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed. "They don't know it yet. Julian wants to tell them today."
"And what about your parents?"
"Could we change the subject please?" I rolled my eyes.
"They also don't know anything about it?" Haley asked in disbelief.
I shook my head and grinned sheepishly. "They're both on business for the time being, so they wouldn't have time anyway to fly to Tree Hill and congratulate their daughter."
"Speaking of the truth..." Haley began hesitantly. "Does Julian know by now that you can't have children?"
I looked at the floor because otherwise Haley could have seen that I had a guilty conscience.
"Brooke!" Haley exclaimed in shock. "You still haven't told him?"
"No," I admitted meekly. "There hasn't been a good time yet."
"There will never be a good time for that. How long have you been together? Three months? You can't tell me that you haven't found the right moment to tell him that you can't have children in three months! You're scared, Brooke. That's the only reason you haven't told him yet."
I knew that Haley was right. Of course I was scared. Afraid that he would leave me then. Which wouldn't be so easy now because we were married. "I'll tell him," I promised.
"When?"
"I don't know..." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Tomorrow... on the weekend... no idea."
"Do you remember what you said after Julian had learned about the miscarriage?" She took a deep breath. "You said you wished you had the courage to tell the truth between then and now. And now it's the same. You've kept a secret from him again for fear of his reaction."
I stood there, like a beaten dog, knowing that everything Haley had said was true.
"You're married now, and he's probably looking forward to have children with you. Most men want children. I hardly believe that Julian is the exception."
"No," I agreed. "I don't believe that either."
"You have to tell him," she insisted. "Preferably today."
I closed my eyes and suddenly felt Haley's arms around me. "How am I supposed to explain to him that he will never become a father?" I blurted out desperately, leaning my head against her shoulder.
"If you're worried that he might leave you then, I think I can reassure you," she said softly. "Julian loves you like crazy. He would never leave you again. And there is still the possibility to adopt a child."
I carefully freed myself from her arms. "Yes, I know that. Maybe we should think about adoption."
Haley nodded pleased. "You can do this, Brooke," she said with a smile. "Can I leave you alone now? I have to pick up Jamie. He stayed with a friend."
I nodded and forced myself to smile. "Of course. Just go. I have to keep working anyway to finish the costumes for the movie."
"If you need anything, call me, okay?"
I nodded. "Go!" I urged her and then looked after her before I went back to my work.