Disclaimer; I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

AN; I was going through my 'unfinished drafts' folder in an attempt to reorganize my laptop and came across a few lines I had written down early last year. I still thought the basic idea was good, so I started to work with it and then realized that I really wanted to finish what I started. A few weeks later, here we are :) This will probably have three or four chapters, so it will be more like an extended one shot than a full story.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this; please let me know what you think. Thank you!

PS. I did as much research on Pawleys Island, the surrounding area, Duke and basketball as I could, I hope everything that is mentioned is at least sort of correct :)

One year earlier;

'I, Nathan Scott, take you, Peyton Sawyer, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish you 'till death do us part. With all my heart I make this pledge to you.'

'I, Peyton Sawyer, take you, Nathan Scott, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this days forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish you 'till death do us part. With all my heart I make this pledge to you.'

'I now announce you husband and wife,' the minister smiled and gave them a little nod, 'Nathan, you may now kiss your wife.'

-np-

'Good morning, gorgeous,' Nathan leans in and gives Peyton a kiss. He watches her as she slowly opens her eyes. 'Happy one year anniversary, babe.'

Peyton smiles at him, 'Happy anniversary to you too, handsome,' She throws her arms around his neck and pulls him on top of her for another kiss.

'Peyton,' Nathan moans, reluctantly letting go of her, 'We really should get ready.'

He is certain that she still doesn't know what he has planned for her today, even though she has been begging him to tell her ever since he told her he had a surprise waiting for her on their anniversary.

'Nate,' Peyton moans, not wanting to get out of bed, 'Can't you just tell me what we are going to do today? That way I can decide if it is better than sex and if it is even worth getting out of bed for.' She looks at him, pleading, even pouting a little for effect.

He smiles at her but shakes his head, 'Can't do that, ma'am.'

'This sucks,' Peyton folds her arms across her chest and stares at Nathan, 'We are so not having sex for a month!'

But Nathan just shrugs and walks to the bathroom, mumbling something that sounds like 'Your loss,' under his breath.

Peyton huffs, she knows she should be a better sport about this, but she hates surprises. Well, surprises and being rushed and getting up early. Basically, she hates everything about this day so far, except for one thing; it is their one year wedding anniversary.

She smiles when she thinks of their wedding day and the proposal; Nathan had taken her to the beach house he had bought just months prior to celebrate their ten-year anniversary. He had planned the perfect evening, with dinner on their private beach and her ring hidden in the sand – after dinner he had made her treasure hunt her own ring.

To be honest, the idea that Nathan was about to propose hadn't really crossed her mind. She had discarded the whole idea of getting married; they had been together for so long, that it already felt like they were married. Things worked between them and Peyton didn't think a little piece of paper would change much. But, when she found the ring and saw Nathan kneeling in front of her, the only thing she could do was to say "yes".

Four months later, they were married.

Peyton shakes her head, still surprised over how fast a year went by, as she walks over to the bathroom, where Nathan is already out of the shower, putting his clothes on. She looks at his bare chest and sighs, 'Why do you have to be so hot?'

Nathan chuckles, 'I just am, babe.' He watches her as she steps into the shower, taking in every inch of her perfect body. She has changed little during the eleven years they have been together and her gorgeous legs are still as breathtaking as they were in high school. Already then, he had taken pride in the fact that she was his girlfriend and now, he is taking even more pride in the fact that she is his wife.

They had gotten together towards the end of 9th Grade and to be honest, they had had their fair share of arguments, probably more so than every other couple, but they always found their way back to each other.

Nathan grabs the two duffel bags from underneath the bed while Peyton is still in the shower. He has packed and hidden them there a couple of days ago and thanks to his wife's lack of interest in cleaning and a carefully instructed cleaning lady, Peyton has not found them.

'I'm going downstairs, babe.' Nathan says as he makes his was down the stairs. He hears a muffled answer coming from the bathroom, letting him know that Peyton heard him. He walks out the front door to his car, where he puts the two bags in the trunk. He already double-checked everything when Peyton was at work yesterday, which also meant harassing the person who would take care of things on their destination, so he closes the trunk with confidence.

When he walks back inside, he sees Peyton coming down the stairs. Her hair is still moist from the shower and her soft curls are showing. Nathan takes her in and smiles, extending his hand, 'Come on, gorgeous, time to go.'

Peyton grabs her purse from the counter and takes his hand, 'Can't you just tell me where we are going?'

'Nope,' Nathan closes the front door behind them and leads her to the car, 'In you go.'

Peyton sits down and crosses her arms, sighing heavily.

'Oh come on, Sawyer,' Nathan says as he sits down, 'If you keep pouting, I'm going to call Brooke and ask if she wants to come in your place.'

'I'm sure Julian would love that,' Peyton says under her breath. She looks at Nathan, who reverses the car before he drives off, and smiles, 'You should stop calling me "Sawyer", though.'

'Why?' Nathan looks at her, confused. He has called her that ever since they began dating and he still favors it over calling her by her first name.

Peyton shrugs, even though she secretly loves it when he uses her old nickname, 'You could at least call me "Scott" now, you know, since we're married an all.'

'Babe,' Nathan says with a straight face, 'I can't just call you that out of the blue. You have to earn that name.'

'Oh my god,' Peyton slaps him across his arm. She shakes her head but smiles, 'Ok, make that two months we're not having sex.'

Nathan chuckles, 'Sure.'

-np-

After almost two hours in the car and numerous guesses from Peyton about where they are going, she suddenly sits up in her seat when she sees the sign "Welcome to Pawleys Island". She grabs Nathan's arm as her eyes light up, 'We're going to the beach house?'

Nathan nods, not missing the excitement in her voice.

'Nate,' Peyton says slowly, trying not to let her emotions show, 'We haven't been here in ages.'

'I know, babe,' Nathan takes her hand and kisses it, 'I figured it was about time.'

Peyton nods, as the tears she has been trying to hold back start to form in her eyes, 'It is.'

They bought the beach house a year and a half ago and had spent almost every weekend there during the following summer. Both Peyton and Nathan loved going there, as it offered them a chance to relax after a hard week at work. Of course, after Nathan proposed on the beach six months after they bought it, the house would forever hold a special place in their hearts.

This year, however, proved to be very busy with work so far and even though it is already mid July and summer is in full swing, they haven't been up here yet.

Nathan parks in front of the house a few minutes later and looks at Peyton, 'Happy anniversary.'

Peyton leans in and gives him a kiss, 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Sawyer.'

Peyton lets go of him and opens her door before she takes a deep breath, enjoying the salty air. She walks to the other side of the car, where Nathan is waiting for her. She grabs his hand and lets him lead her up the three steps to the front door.

Nathan feels nervous when he turns the key, hoping that everything works out just as he has planned. He opens the door and steps aside, so Peyton can enter first. Without taking his eyes off of her, he smiles when he sees her excitement as she enters, confirming that it has gone as planned.

'Nate,' Peyton looks around the room and can't believe her eyes; every table, every flat surface is filled with large bouquets consisting solely of white lilies, her favorites. There are candles burning everywhere and she can see through the glass doors that even the porch has been decorated with lilies. She turns around and throws her hands around his neck before she gives him a kiss.

Nathan pulls her close and returns the kiss.

Peyton lowers her arms so they are around his waist and puts her head against his shoulder, 'How did you do all this?'

'It's all Edith,' Nathan admits, 'I called her and asked if she wanted to help and well, she went overboard.'

'You know Edith,' Peyton says as she nods in agreement, 'Plus I think she might have a little crush on you.'

Edith was their neighbor here on Pawleys Island, an elderly lady who had lost her husband just before they had bought this house. Of all the other neighbors here, Edith had been the most welcoming and she held a special place in both their hearts. Peyton would often visit her when they were here, as she found out, Edith had also worked in the music industry when she was younger and Peyton loved to talk to her about her own passion for music.

Nathan shrugs, 'Who doesn't?'

'Oh my freaking god,' Peyton smacks his chest, 'What's with the cockiness today?'

'What?' Nathan raises his hands in defense, flashing his famous grin, 'You know you want me.'

Peyton sighs, but she is glad to see that the boy she fell for so many years ago is still there. She would hate to see him lose that. So, all she could do was to agree with him, 'That's true.'

'Do you want me now?' Nathan raises an eyebrow and blows her a kiss.

'No,' Peyton laughs at his attempt at flirting, 'Right now, I want to kick off my shoes, throw my bikini on and spend the afternoon on the beach.'

'That,' Nathan says slowly, one hand on his heart, 'Hurt my ego just a little bit.'

Peyton shrugs, 'Oh well.'

'That's cold,' Nathan says of her rejection, 'Cold.'

'Just get the bags, hon.'

-np-

'Mr. and Mrs. Scott,' the hostess gives them a little nod before she leads them to their table, 'Here you are.'

'Thank you,' Peyton smiles at the woman and sits down. She looks around the restaurant, not surprised to see it is buzzing with people. La Plage is the best restaurant in the area, and most of Pawleys' residents come here on the weekends. Nathan and she had spent quite some time here as well, more often than not opting to come here rather than cook.

Nathan orders their drinks and dinner, already knowing what dish they prefer. He smiles when he sees Peyton glowing with happiness, knowing that the last couple of years definitely haven't been the easiest.

Ever since their last year in college, life had given them quite a few setbacks. True, he had been playing basketball for Duke's team all through college and had done so well that NBA teams were lined up to sign him, but the night they went out to celebrate, right after the graduation ceremony, he got thrown through a window by some punk and a piece of glass had dug into his spine.

It had taken him four months to learn how to walk again, which, according to the doctors, was some sort of miracle. According to all the NBA teams, the road to recovery had taken him too long and they had lost all interest in him. It resulted in a depression that lasted almost a year. Peyton had always been there for him, even when he was in his darkest place. There was a large part of him that hated that he had succumbed to his weaknesses and that he dragged her along with him, because even though she pretended she was ok, he could tell that she was just as hurt as he was.

During that same year, Peyton had been trying to find a good space for her record label. When she finally did, with help from Lucas, no artist wanted to sign with her for no real reason other than that they thought she lacked experience.

Things started to turn around about a year and a half after they graduated from college; Nathan was fully recovered from his injury and depression and even though he most likely would never play basketball again as a professional player, he was happy when he was offered a job as head coach for his old high school team, the Tree Hill Ravens.

And just when Peyton was almost ready to give up on her dream of changing the lives of others through music when Mia came along and her label became the representative of one of the best selling female artists of that year.

He had bought the beach house as a surprise birthday gift to Peyton a year later. It was there he proposed to her on their ten year anniversary. Four months later they were married and felt like they were on top of the world, like everything was finally going their way.

A few months after their wedding, they had gotten the awful news that Nathan's Mom had been in a car accident. She hadn't survived. Peyton had gone through a difficult time; after her Mom and Ellie passed away, she had always considered Deb to be her surrogate mother, just like Deb thought of her as her daughter.

'What are you thinking about?'

Her voice interrupts his thoughts. He looks at Peyton and smiles, 'The past couple of years,'

'They haven't been easy.'

'No,' Nathan shakes his head, 'But we got through it.'

'We did.' Peyton agrees.

'Who would have thought that two stubborn, messed up kids like us would make it this far?'

'Hey,' Peyton says firmly, 'We might have been stubborn, but we were never messed up.' She pauses for a second and looks at him, 'Maybe just a little lost and, if anything, very passionate about the things we believed in and cared for. But they could never accuse us of being messed up.'

Nathan smiles, 'You know I love you for that, right?'

'What?'

'Your passion, Sawyer,' he explains, 'That look you get in your eyes when you are sketching, or when you are listening to really great music for the first time, or how protective you are about the people you love. It's one of the things about you that I admire the most. Well, that,' Nathan grins, 'And your endless legs.'

At that moment, the waiter brings their plate, which is perfect timing for Nathan, because it stops Peyton from kicking him under the table.

-np-

'That was delicious,' Nathan says when they walk back to their car.

Peyton takes a deep breath and puts her hands on her stomach, 'I know.'

'Better than sex and worth getting out of bed for?' Nathan asks, referring to her comment earlier this day.

'Definitely.'

Nathan opens the door for Peyton and waits until she is seated before he closes it and walks to his side. He starts the car and they begin their short drive home.

'God, this road is awful in the dark,' Peyton says as they turn onto Aspen Loop. She sits up, not comfortable with the situation, 'I can't believe they still haven't put any lights up here.'

'I know,' Nathan focuses on the road, 'They said the lights would be up and running in March, but I guess there was a delay or something.'

'Just be careful, Nate.'

Peyton trusts him enough to not worry about his driving; it is the other drivers she is worried about. The road is full of bends, with only a few straight stretches in between, which, for some reason, makes it a popular racing road with the local youth.

She sighs in relief when they make it home safe.

'Do you want to have a drink out on the porch?' Nathan closes the front door behind them and turns the lights in the living room on.

'Sure,' Peyton gives him a kiss, 'Let me just change real quick, ok?'

'Ok.' Nathan undoes his tie and rolls the sleeves of his dress shirt up. He grabs a bottle of whiskey and two glasses before he opens the glass doors leading to the porch. He fills both glasses and sits down on one of the deck chairs.

A few minutes later, Peyton stands in front of him, wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts.

'You opted for comfortable?' Nathan comments on her change of clothes.

Peyton bites her lip and brings her mouth to his ear, 'Just wait until you see what's underneath.'

Nathan smiles, 'What happened to no sex for two months?'

'Who said that you could touch?' Peyton kisses his neck and sits down, straddling his lap.

'This is just cruel,' Nathan says when Peyton kisses him and pins his arms down, 'Don't you want your present?'

'You got me a present?' Peyton lets go of his arms and sits up, 'Bring it on!'

Nathan nods and gets a tiny black box out of the pocket of his pants. He opens it and shows it to Peyton.

'Nate,' she gasps, recognizing what is inside.

Nathan looks at Peyton, 'I know she would love for you to wear it.'

Peyton tries to swallow back her tears but fails. She carefully takes the box and strokes the pendant; it was an intricate design, resembling a flower with a sapphire stone as the focus point. She had seen Deb wear it and had always complimented her when she did. It looks absolutely stunning.

She looks at Nathan, 'Thank you.'

Nathan smiles at her and uses the pad of his thumb to gently wipe away her tears before he kisses her. He puts his hands on her waist and stands up, carrying her inside and up the stairs to their bedroom.

-np-

'Nate,' Peyton says absentmindedly while she uses her index finger to draw circles on his bare chest. They are in bed, even though it is already late in the afternoon and they will have to go home soon.

'Yes, babe,' Nathan kisses her temple. He inhales the sweet scent her shampoo and smiles as he remembers that at their wedding, he made her promise to never change to another brand.

'Why can't just stay here?'

Nathan frowns, weighing the options; he has the next five weeks off from his job, as summer vacation has started last week. He won't be expected back at his coaching job at Tree Hill High until the end of August.

Peyton, on the other hand, even though she has drastically cut her schedule, still has some appointments and showcases to go to. For some reason, summer is always a hectic and important time when it comes to signing new bands and artists. But he guesses they can work around that.

He puts his hand under her chin and makes her look at him, 'We can,' he smiles at her, 'Just think about it; I have the rest of the summer off and you only have a couple of meetings and showcases, most of them are in Charleston anyway, so it's actually more convenient for you.'

'I like that reasoning,' Peyton slowly nods her head, 'So we're staying?'

'We're staying.'