A/N: You know, I was really sad when they skipped right from high school till after college. We missed out on a lot of Nathan, Haley and Jamie goodness. However, that just means that I get to write these special moments and that's all right with me. So welcome to Naley: The College Years! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing it.

Haley was exhausted. She could feel her eyes closing, but she jerked herself awake. It had to be at least three in the morning. She had a class at eight am, and she also had a twelve-page essay due for that class, which she wasn't even halfway finished.

To top it off, she had an inconsolable screaming baby on her lap.

She looked her three-month-old son right in his tear filled eyes and sighed heavily. "Come on baby, tell mommy what's wrong." She cooed as she wiped the tears off of his chubby cheeks. Jamie wrapped his little hand around her finger and whimpered some more.

She could feel her frustration building. Nathan and Lucas had left earlier that evening for their first basketball tournament and for the first night since Jamie was born, she was left completely alone to deal with him and college at the same time. Balancing both without any help seemed to be proving impossible and Haley considered calling Deb, who was coming over to watch Jamie while she was in class in the morning, for just a split second.

Instead, she got up from her desk, cradling her son's head against her shoulder. Clearly, English was going to have to wait.

After warming up a bottle, she sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of Jamie's room and brushed the soft wisps of hair on top of his head. "You know, it's okay to miss your daddy. I know I miss him." She said softly. "But we're both going to have to get used to it. Daddy is going to have to go away sometimes."

The more she talked, the more Jamie quieted down, so Haley kept on whispering quietly to him until she was finally able to get a bottle in his mouth. After he gulped down about half of it, his eyes started to close. Haley smiled to herself as she lifted him up to her shoulder. "Food puts you right to sleep. Just like your dad." She couldn't help but sigh in relief as she laid him down in his crib that he was fast asleep.

After checking to make sure the monitor was on, she shut the door gently and sat back down at her desk, checking the clock. 3:56am. Haley looked at her computer with droopy eyes and shook herself awake. "Three and a half hours to finish this." She mumbled.

Haley was jolted awake by the sound of her telephone ringing beside her ear. She groaned, flipping it open. "Hello?"

"Haley? Where are you? I've been knocking for twenty minutes." Deb said on the other line. Haley shot up and flung the door open. Her mother-in-law gave her a small smile. "Well you look like hell."

"Gee thanks." Haley mumbled sarcastically, stretching her sore neck. She walked into the bathroom to wash her face, when she heard Jamie start to cry. She froze for a moment until he stopped and she sighed tiredly. "Thank God for Deb." She muttered as she splashed water over her tired looking face.

By 7:45, Haley was throwing on her shoes and grabbing her car keys. Normally she walked, but it took her about fifteen minutes and she really didn't want to be late for class. Jamie, who was lying on his stomach on the floor, cried in distress and reached out for her.

Already running late, she settled for blowing him a kiss and rushing out the door. She could hear his screams from outside and she sat in the car for a minute, composing herself as her heart broke. Once she was sure she wasn't going to cry, she took off.

She made it to class with five minutes to spare, taking a seat next to a girl with long brown hair. They smiled at each other and she said, "You look exhausted. Last minute essay?"

Haley gave a tired laugh back. "My son kept me up all night."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "You have a son?" She sort of blurted out and then covered her mouth. "I'm sorry that was rude."

It wasn't like it was anything new to Haley, so she just shrugged. "It's okay, my husband and I get that a lot. I have a three-month-old son named Jamie."

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "Are you Nathan Scott's wife?" When Haley nodded, she continued. "I'm Aubrey, I'm a cheerleader for the basketball team. Nathan was showing us pictures of his son at practice the other day. He is so cute."

Aubrey then turned towards the front of the class without another word and Haley almost rolled her eyes. Her innuendo that she was talking about both Nathan and Jamie was not missed. However, Haley chose to ignore it. One of the things she didn't have time for in her life was petty drama.

After a brutal two-hour lecture, Haley made her way across campus to stop and get breakfast before her next class, because she hadn't gotten the chance to eat that morning. She quickly grabbed a bagel and a coffee to keep her awake, and she sat down on one of the picnic benches.

While she ate, she glanced at her phone wistfully. She knew Nathan had an early morning practice, but she was dying for him to text her just to ask how she was doing. Just in case, she sent him a text saying that she missed him, and when he didn't reply after ten minutes, she bit her lip and tried not to cry.

She was probably just emotional because she was tired, but she really missed him.

For the second time that morning, she pulled herself together and made her way to her three-hour lecture. Thankfully it was her last class of the day, and then she could go home and be with Jamie. Haley was dying for sleep, but she knew that when she got home around two, he would just be waking up from his nap and there was no way he was going to let her sleep.

As she was making her way across the parking lot to head home, her phone rang. "Nathan?" She asked, sounding a little to eager.

"Hey Hales, it's me." He said. Haley slammed her car door shut and ran her hand through her hair, unable to formulate a response. "You there baby?"

She sniffled hard, all her tears coming out. "Yeah I'm here, sorry." She choked through her tears. "I miss you so much."

"I've only been gone for a day." He joked, and when she didn't say anything, he sighed. "I'm just joking Hales. I miss you and the boy too. Was he good for you last night?"

Haley couldn't help but laugh. "He was up crying until four. I think he missed his daddy."

"I wish I could have been there for him and you. But you got your paper done right?"

"Yeah I did, with just enough time to spare to get to my morning class. I'm exhausted and ready to fall asleep on my feet. I should probably get home so I don't end up falling asleep at the wheel. I'll talk to you tonight?"

"Yeah, the hotel has wifi so I'll video chat you later. Love you Hales."

She smiled. "Love you too, bye."

When she got home, she opened the door quietly to find Deb reading on the couch. "He's still sleeping, poor baby. It took me forever to get him to go to sleep. He's really messed up."

"He loves routine. Usually Nathan puts him to bed on Thursdays, and Lucas puts him down for his nap on Fridays. Last week, my Friday afternoon class got cancelled and I was here to put him to sleep but he refused to sleep for me."

"Well at least we know he's definitely your son then." Deb joked as she was walking out the door. "Bye Haley."

Haley looked at her homework, over to the couch and back to her homework. She knew she should do homework but she was just so… tired. Before she could change her mind, she kicked off her shoes, stretched across the couch and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds.

Haley wasn't sure what time it was when Jamie started crying through the monitor; all she knew was that she wanted to sleep until morning. "Only two more days," she mumbled to herself tiredly, as she shuffled into his room. The miserable look on his face brightened when he saw his mother, and his tiny hands stretched as far as they could go towards her. "Hi baby," She cooed, lifting him and cradling him against her chest. "Mommy missed you so much."

She changed his diaper and quickly shuffled into the kitchen when she realized it was almost five thirty. She popped a bottle into the microwave for Jamie, and she started shuffling through the fridge for something quick to eat. "Hmm… Pizza pockets." Her stomach growled at the thought of it, since she hadn't eaten since ten thirty.

When the microwave beeped, she let it cool down for a bit while Jamie stared up at her, happily tugging on her long locks. She grabbed the bottle and put it in his mouth, where he happily started sucking. Haley, the expert at doing things with one hand, quickly popped her pizza pockets into the microwave and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, watching her son eat.

After he had finished his entire bottle, she burped him and then grabbed her food from the microwave. "Come on Jimmy Jam, lets go play in the living room." She laid him down on his blanket while she sat next to him, eating her food and doing her readings for Monday's classes.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't seem to focus on her reading. She was too busy watching her son in awe as he lifted his head up, looked around and laughed to himself. Had it really been three months since she had given birth to him? She couldn't believe how fast the time was flying.

Jamie noticed her gazing at him and he tilted his head up and gave a big laugh. Haley, unable to control herself, scooped him into her lap and kissed his face. "Guess what time it is Jamie? Huh? Guess what time?" She cooed. "It's bath time for mommy and Jamie."

She ran the bath for the two of them with lukewarm water and climbed in. Of course Jamie was immediately distracted by the little yellow duck floating in the water, so he didn't even fuss when Haley rinsed his hair.

After they were all cleaned and in their pajamas, Haley sat down at the computer and checked the clock. It was just about seven and she was right on schedule. As she expected, her video chat came up and she clicked the answer button, propping Jamie up on her lap.

As soon as her husband came on the screen, Haley broke into a smile. She looked down at her son, who was staring at the screen with wide eyes. "Look baby, is that daddy?"

"Hi Jamie," Nathan cooed over the screen. "Hi baby. Can you smile for daddy? Come on, smile for daddy!"

Luke walked over and slapped the back of his head. "You sound ridiculous."

Nathan glared at him. "That's my kid okay? I miss him." He turned back to the screen and waved. "Jamie!"

Jamie, who had been staring at the screen the entire time, finally broke into his toothless grin and reached his arms out towards the screen. When he realized that Nathan wasn't going to pick him up, his lower lip trembled and his face scrunched up before he broke into a full on wail.

Haley sighed, bouncing him on her knee to try and shush him. "He's been like this since you guys left." She said tiredly, shushing him. "It's okay baby, it's okay."

Nathan couldn't shake the heavy feeling in his heart as he saw how distressed his son was and the tired look in his wife's eyes. "Are you going to be okay, Hales? Do you need me to come home?"

She shook her head sadly. "Your team needs you Nathan. Jamie and I will hold down the fort here. Right Jimmy Jam?" She cooed at the cranky boy in her lap. "I'm going to grab him a bottle okay? I'll be right back."

Nathan watched her walk away and then he put his head in his hands, guilt overwhelming him. "Nate, everything is going to be okay. You'll be home in just a couple of days." Luke said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I hate seeing my son cry like that and not be able to do anything." He muttered miserably. He looked up as Haley sat back down, a quiet Jamie sucking his bottle happily. "Hey, Hales."

"Hey," She said quietly, smiling at her husband before looking down at her son again. "I hope he sleeps tonight, I'm exhausted." She stroked a finger over her son's face.

"I feel bad. We had such a good routine going on before I messed it up."

"It's not just you. Deb said that Jamie put up a huge fight when she tried to put him down for his nap today. Apparently little Jimmy Jam misses his Uncle Luke too, don't you baby?" She smiled at her husband. "I miss you too, you know. Just in case you didn't realize."

"I miss you too, Hales. I can't wait to come home." Nathan said softly as he glanced at his son. "I think you've got a worn out little man on your hands." Jamie had fallen asleep, milk dripping down his lower lip.

Haley tickled him under his chin so that his little eyes peered open tiredly and he whimpered a bit. "Wake up kid, I have to burp you. I don't want you choking on your own vomit in your sleep." After successfully burping him, he fell back into his slumber with his little fist closed around her finger. "Hey I'm going to go put him down and probably do some housework before bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure Hales, get some sleep. I love you."

"Love you too Nathan." She replied. "And you too Luke!"

Lucas rolled his eyes from the bed where he was watching sports. "Sure, sure."

She shut down the computer and slowly made her way into Jamie's room, gently laying him down in the crib. As he started to stir, she rubbed his belly in circles and it only took a minute before he dozed back off.

Haley walked into her room, glancing at the clock. It was only eight and she was exhausted. She really needed to get some cleaning done. Unconsciously, she lay down on the bed. "I'll just lay here for a minute…" She mumbled to herself as her eyes closed.

The sound of Jamie crying through the monitor woke her up sometime later. She recognized it as his fussy cry and she groaned, looking at the clock. 1:04am.

"Only two more days." She grumbled tiredly as she slowly made her way into Jamie's room.

OTH Quote of the Day: " I know that Keith saved me at the bridge, but Haley saved me long before the accident. There has to be a miracle left for her." - Nathan Scott 4x10