Nothing Lasts Forever

Author's note: So hopefully at least some of you remember who I am! I know it's been a long time since I've posted on this board, but I'm finally inspired again so I hope you guys like this one, because I love writing it. Obviously this is severely AU, as almost anything I've ever written has been.

Summary: Single fathers Nathan and Lucas Scott decide to pool their experience and raise their young daughters together; a plan that works perfectly until the girls grow up, decide they want a mother, and choose the perfect candidate. Naley.

Chapter One: Daddy's Girls

Nathan Scott raised his eyebrows at the sight of an eleven year old girl at the foot of his driveway, dressed in sweats and dribbling a basketball hopefully. He smiled at her, suspecting he knew the reason for her early rising.

He slowed his strides, pull headphones out of his ears and stopped to talk to her. He reflected that she looked like him, surprisingly so. More like him than his own daughter did.

"What's up, Cass?" he asked fondly.

"Nothing. I woke up early and Celia told me to go away and Daddy told me to go asleep and then I tried to play with Shannon but..." Nathan sighed in made up irritation. By the time his niece began rambling about the family dog he knew the extent of her woes. She let out a squeal of surprise when he easily stole the basketball out of her inexperienced hands and made a basket.

The eleven year old eagerly followed her uncle at a jog, her younger, leaner body able to dodge in front of him and catch the basket as it rebounded. He laughed fondly and allowed her to make a graceful, arcing freethrow into the net mounted on the garage door.

Later they made their way into the house, sweating, talking proudly about the finer points of their spontaneous game. Nathan smiled and stopped in the kitchen doorway when they reached it, watching his elder brother make sandwiches and talk with the fourth resident of their house – Nathan's own daughter, eleven year old Cecilia Grace Scott. The young girl, shorter and blonder than her cousin, looked up from the sandwiches with a smile. Nathan grinned as she ran across the kitchen toward him.

Celia stopped, skeptical, when she saw his sweat stained shirt, her call of "Daddy!" cut short. He laughed and scooped her into his arms, disregarding her protests. He knew he had to relish her childhood, that they both did. Childhood was within their abilities, they weren't sure how they were going to handle what came after.

Cassie, Lucas' daughter, walked toward him and began to assist him with making the lunches. Letting Celia out of his embrace, Nathan joined them.

"Cassie, where did you go this morning?" asked her father, Lucas. "I didn't think you'd be so eager to get out of bed this morning."

"We were shooting hoops outside," explained Nathan, winking at his niece. Celia snuggled closer to her father, and Nathan was vaguely aware that she was worried that he loved her cousin more than her because she was not athletic like Cassie, did not enjoy all the same things. Nathan smiled at her reassuringly. In their housing situation both girls looked to the two men more or less equally, with conflict rising rarely. They all accepted the occasional speed bump with grace, knowing it was better than them all living apart.

"Did you win?" asked Lucas of his daughter. Cassie grinned.

"Kicked his butt. Right, Uncle Nathan?" she asked.

"That's right."

Cassie giggled and switched sides of the counter so that she was standing next to Celia. Whom, despite the fact that she was not athletic and could be girly at sometimes, and looked more like Lucas than her own father, Nathan, was really her best friend.

"You guys ready? You don't need anything?" asked Nathan anxiously. At times, such as the previous week when they'd all gone back to school shopping, he really did feel like having Celia's mother around would have been useful. But of course, that could not be helped.

"We're fine. You brought us enough paper to last us until high school, Daddy," said Celia with an exasperated eye roll.

"Well, you'll still need paper then anyway. Are you still in your pajamas?" he asked, taking a proper look at his young daughter and realizing that she was dressed in a pair of flannel pajamas, blonde hair messily over her shoulders. He knew for a fact that his style conscious daughter had not gone to school with her hair unbrushed on any day since the start of the second grade. Let alone the first day.

Celia Scott scampered up the stairs, followed at a more sedate by her cousin.

Nathan turned to his brother with a smile after the girls had disappeared upstairs and high, animated chatter began to float down.

"So you're taking them in today?" he asked. Lucas nodded.

"Yeah, I'll make sure they get to their new classroom. Grade six," he said, pronouncing the integer with alarm. "Room 208, Ms James."

"Okay. Get them early so they can sit together. Do you remember the third grade fiasco?" asked Nathan sternly. Lucas chuckled, nodding as the two girls ran back down the stairs. Celia now dressed in a summer dress, her blonde hair combed neatly under a hair band, Cassie in jeans and a t – shirt, her dark hair in a ponytail. Both girls hugged Nathan quickly before following Lucas out to his car, arguing about the passenger seat as they went.

Both girls sighed in relief when they entered the elementary school and it was revealed that they had in fact come early. Lucas took one girl by each hand and followed them as they lead them to their new classroom, on the second floor at the end of the hallway. They stopped short as soon as they entered the classroom, suddenly shy.

The young woman had been scanning papers at her desk when they entered, but hurriedly bounced up. Her eyes went first to the two young girls and she smiled encouragingly.

"Hi! My name is Miss James, I'm going to be your teacher this year. You two are the first ones here! What are your names?" she asked. Lucas studied her critically as she walked toward them. She was younger than any teacher they'd ever had, clearly just out of college. Her long blonde hair was tied back, as if she were trying to make herself appear older than she was. Her eyes were large and brown. She was, he realized, a beautiful woman and not at all teacher esque. She stopped in front of the two girls.

"Cassie Scott," said Cassie. Celia elbowed her.

"She means your full name, stupid. Mine is Cecilia Grace Scott," she said regally. The teacher hid a smirk and met Lucas' eyes over their heads.

"Cassidy Ariel Scott," replied Cassie. Miss James nodded and checked the two of them off a list she was carrying.

"Hey. I'm Lucas Scott," said Lucas, walking forward and extending a hand. They shook, but her attention went quickly back to the two girls. Lucas glanced at his watch and realized he was late for work. Looking back up at the teacher, he decided he had left the girls in capable hands and after a quick hug apiece, hurried back to his car.

Celia and Cassie both looked expectantly at their teacher once Lucas had gone.

"So you want me to call you Cassie?" She asked. "And you're Cecilia?"

"Celia," corrected Celia. Miss James nodded.

"Okay, that's fine. Take your pick of desks, then you can go out and play if..." She trailed off as the two girls ran off to pick a pair of desks, shoved into a pair as all the desks in the room were. She smiled as they unloaded their backpacks and meticulously began to arrange their shiny new school supplies in their desks.

"You two are both Scotts. That was your dad?" asked Miss James, aware that this could be a sensitive subject. Celia spoke ahead of Cassie, an idea occurring to her instantly.

"He's one of them," she said casually. Cassie rolled her eyes but allowed the misinformation to slide as their teacher raised her eyebrows in surprise but moved back to her desk.

Celia looked sideways at her cousin and giggled. Pretending they were sisters was something they had been doing for years, but they'd never before had a teacher who was new to the school and therefore believed them. This was going to be interesting.